Workshop: Climate-Disturbance Interactions in Boreal Forest Ecosystems: Pre-Conference Activities of the12th Annual IBFRA Conference, Fairbanks, Alaska, May 2004

北方森林是地球上第二大陆地生物群落，代表着具有全球意义的木材资源，是北方国家文化和经济财富的重要组成部分。在目前位置的北方森林相对短暂（1万年）的历史中，它经历了气候、植被和动物的剧烈变化。过去30年的变暖与永久冻土的变暖和融化、主要树木生长速度的变化、燃烧面积的增加、昆虫爆发和脊椎动物种群的变化有关。这些变化之间的因果关系及其对北方森林功能和居住在该地区的人们的影响尚不完全清楚。北方针叶林的结构和功能决定并受其扰动状态的影响。火灾、虫害、木材采伐和洪水是重要的干扰因素。随着气候变暖、人口增长和社会经济条件的变化，这些干扰的程度和分布正在迅速变化。为了了解当前和未来北方森林的结构、多样性和功能，了解气候和干扰如何相互作用以及这些相互作用对北方森林的生态、经济和文化可持续性的影响是很重要的。为了促进对北方森林中气候干扰相互作用的理解，Bonanza Creek长期生态研究计划和国际北方森林研究协会（IBFRA）组织了一次关于“北方森林生态系统中气候干扰相互作用”的国际科学会议，会议将于2004年5月3日至7日在阿拉斯加费尔班克斯公主河畔小屋举行。第12届IBFRA会议的目标是：(1)介绍和讨论当前对环周地区气候干扰相互作用的科学认识；(2)探讨影响北寒带地区有关干扰、气候变化影响和适应气候变化的管理决策的独特生态、经济和社会条件；(3)在研究活动中引入环极视角；(4)促进各国在环极寒带森林领域的合作和思想交流。

The boreal forest, which is the second most extensive terrestrial biome on earth, represents a wood resource of global significance that is an important part of the cultural and economic wealth of northern countries. During the relatively brief (10,000 yr) history of the boreal forest in its current location, it has experienced radical changes in climate, vegetation, and fauna. Warming during the last 30 years has been associated with warming and melting of permafrost, changes in growth rates of dominant trees, increased area burned, insect outbreaks, and changes in vertebrate populations. The causal links among these changes and their implications for the functioning of the boreal forest and the people who inhabit this region are not completely understood. The structure and functioning of the boreal forest determines and is influenced by its disturbance regime. Fire, insect outbreaks, timber harvest, and flooding are important disturbances. The extent and distribution of these disturbances are changing rapidly as climate warms, human populations grow, and socioeconomic conditions change. To understand the current and future structure, diversity, and functioning of the boreal forest, it is important to understand how climate and disturbance interact and the implications of these interactions for ecological, economic, and cultural sustainability of the boreal forest. To promote an understanding of climate-disturbance interactions in the boreal forest, the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Program and the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA) have organized an international science conference on "Climate-Disturbance Interactions in Boreal Forest Ecosystems" to be held in Fairbanks, Alaska 3 - 7 May 2004 at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. The objectives of the 12th IBFRA Conference are: (1) to present and discuss the current scientific understanding of climate-disturbance interactions in the circumboreal region; (2) to discuss the unique ecological, economic, and social conditions that influence management decisions regarding disturbance, climate change impacts, and adaptation to climate change in the boreal region; (3) to bring a circumpolar perspective to research initiatives; and (4) to foster cooperation and an exchange of ideas among countries in the circumpolar boreal forest.