What new information or knowledge did you learn from this presentation?

As a non forestry student, much of the information presented was new to me. I was particularly surprised to learn that the understory of pine beetled killed stands are more resilient, that a lot of moisture remains in the soil of red dead stands, making it more resilient to fire, and that the 2000-3000 year old great basin bristlecone pine trees are so vulnerable to fire, showing little to no regeneration years after a fire impact. It was also interesting to learn about forestry management practices and concerns in New Zealand. I am surprised that they take such a strict approach to the separation between managed forests and natural, conversation forested areas.

Are there particular aspects of the presentation you enjoyed or intrigued you and are there others that you think could have been improved?

Overall, I felt that this presentation was catered to an upper level forestry, natural science student demographic. As a social science student, I did not find the material very accessible and easy to understand, particularly due to the high use of forestry jargon. I would have appreciated some brief explanation of terms such as natural range of variability, VK2, and WK3. Similarly, while the use of graphs can be helpful to illustrate key points, the presenter reviewed them too quickly for my benefit, and I felt some of the examples used relied on audience understandings of forestry both within and outside of BC.

Are there components of the research that would be applicable or relevant to your own Master’s research (methodology, dataset used, philosophies, implications to society)?

While the topic of forest resiliency is distinct from my research topic, there are similarities that are worth noting. First, forestry, and how the industry is managed has a direct correlation to the quality of surface waters, a key theme of my research. Second, Dr. Burton calls for the management of forests beyond that of just trees, but also for soil, species range, and fire management. This call for more integration across values and sectors is important to consider in my own research, given the connection between water and all land activities.

How well did the speaker respond to questions and is there a question you would have asked given the opportunity?

The speaker responded to questions adequately, though in some cases I found myself seeking more clarification. For example, when answering the question about the impact of planting pine trees and the pine beetle outbreak he answered that outbreaks occurred in wild, unplanted pine forests. I would have appreciated more details on whether that was just the initial outbreak, and whether our practice of planting pine species had an impact on the pine beetle’s spread throughout the province. Given the opportunity, I would ask Dr. Burton about retention management practices. It is my understanding that there are a wide variety of ways forestry companies retain trees in specific blocks, and I would be interested in his opinion as to the best way of ensuring retention over years of harvesting, while ensuring wildfire resiliency.