Interdisciplinary research approaches to address complex forest management issues

We examine the role of interdisciplinary research projects in providing information to forest managers about complex and long-term responses by forest ecosystems to managed and natural disturbances. Traditional research approaches focus on identifying issues, implementing the appropriate experimental design, conducting the work and disseminating information through peer-reviewed articles or internal manuscripts. Such independent studies can provide information about a specific issue, but do not necessarily consider long-term impacts or effects on multiple resources. Interdisciplinary research installations that focus on basic ecological processes, while addressing some operational issues of interest to managers can be used to complement traditional research programs. The Sicamous Creek silvicultural systems experiment in the Kamloops Forest Region, British Columbia is used as an example of such a project. We identify some of the benefits that large scale interdisciplinary projects have, how they complement traditional approaches, some of the challenges these projects face, and the administrative changes that should be undertaken to provide an environment in which such projects can develop. Key words: ecosystem research, long-term ecological research, interdisciplinary research, forest management