On Monday, November 5, at 4:00 p.m. in Friends 201, the Sustainability Café topic will be "Revising the Forest Paradigm: Good and Bad Forest Edges," presented by John Confer, scholar in residence in the biology department.
Ecologists have documented that the area of transition from one ecosystem to another often has the greatest diversity of life and the greatest primary production. About 30 years ago, ecologists became aware that the edge of a forest located in an agricultural landscape had a major negative effect on nesting success of birds within the forest, leading to the belief that forest edges were a disaster.
Confer's research deals with restoration of shrubland habitat as the Eastern landscape becomes dominated by forest. In contrast to the prevailing paradigm, his results show that a small patch of shrubland in a large forest can create conditions favorable for shrubland species and, at the same time, the edge in this circumstance provides some benefits for forest species.
This Sustainability Café is cosponsored by the Natural Lands Committee and the Environmental Seminar.
"Teachable edibles" -- seasonal, organic, and/or local foods -- for the fall 2007 Sustainability Café series are being supported by Ithaca College Dining Services. Please bring your reusable mug and fill up at the drinking fountain or provide your beverage of choice.
Drink in a new way to think in the Sustainability Café.
