Institute Programs

  • Forest Health
  • Forest Physiology & Biotechnology
  • Forest Policy and Governance
  • Landscape Management
  • Eastern Decision Support Consortium
  • Private Forests
  • The Forests Dialogue
  • The School Forests
  • Tropical Forestry
  • Yale Forest Forum
    		•

     

    For more information on the Program on Forest Physiology and Biotechnology contact Mary Tyrrell, mary.tyrrell@yale.edu or 203-432-5983

     

     

    Yale University
    Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
    Yale Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

    Program on Forest Health
    Program Chair: Dr. Ann Camp
    Program Director: Mary Tyrrell

    Increasingly, forests face multiple stresses from insect outbreaks, invasive species, wildfires, disease, pollution, fragmentation, natural disturbances, and human impacts. In the face of these threats, forest managers are challenged to maintain forest ecosystems that provide environmental services, economic return, and recreational and aesthetic value to landowners and society as a whole.

    Good scientific information about emerging problems and complex interactions is crucial to ensure that management decisions today do not compromise the long-term health of forests.

    Program Mission
    The Program on Forest Health is engaged in education, research, and dissemination of scientific information to inform policy decisions affecting the health of forested ecosystems and landscapes. We emphasize (a) maintaining the long-term ecological health of forests in the face of increasing biotic, abiotic, and societal pressures, and (b) developing management solutions for sustaining and restoring healthy forests and the communities that depend on them.

    Core Activities
    Combining Yale's academic and research expertise with the practical experience of private sector leaders, we bring diverse stakeholder communities together to develop innovative management strategies and solutions to forest health problems, while promoting interdisciplinary assessments of critical forest health issues. Our research, forums, and publications provide policy-makers and the public with topical, scientifically-based information. As part of the School's curriculum, we offer courses, seminars, and workshops, for students and stakeholders and for public awareness. Graduate-level courses in forest health, fire science and policy, and invasive species are taught as part of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies curriculum.

    Wildfire - Each year wildfires consume thousands of acres of forest vegetation, including critical wildlife habitat and other forest resources. Fires at the wildland-urban interface often destroy homes, businesses, community infrastructure, and recreational facilities. Our goals are to research and understand the links between forest management, forest health, and fire, including the inter-relatedness of fire and other forest health problems such as insect outbreaks and exotic invasive species. Projects include research on the economic costs of wildfire at the urban-wildland interface and use of prescribed fire to achieve forest management goals. Research on fire effects on forest vegetation, and the converse -- the effects of forest composition and structure on fire behavior --is being undertaken in the "Sky Islands" of West Texas and Mexico as well as in boreal Alaska. A recent project resulted in the development of a decision support system for managing trees along public utility right of ways to reduce power outages complications resulting from tree failure from disease and/or storms.

    Invasive Species -- The IUCN rates invasive species as second only to habitat loss as the greatest threat to global biodiversity. The impacts on forested ecosystems from exotic invasive species are numerous, varied, and usually irreversible resulting in ecological and economic losses. Current projects include forums, workshops, and publications on threats and effects of invasive species; research on managing invasives in fire-dependent ecosystems; and control of invasive plants to protect endangered species habitat.

    Forest Fragmentation -- Fragmented forests are much more susceptible to invasive insects, plants, and diseases. We are collaborating with the GISF Program on Private Forests to understand the extent, pattern, rate, and effects of forest fragmentation in the United States.

     

    Yale Global Institute Publications Relating to Forest Health

     

    Assessing the Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Wildfire
    GISF Research Paper #001 (May 2003)
    Download (1.3 MB PDF)

      Invasive Species and the Public Good Fletcher Distinguished Lecture Series
    A summary of a forum and speaker series exploring the human and political dimensions of invasive species
    Vol. 8 Number 1 (2005)
    Download (2.4 MB PDF)
      Wildfire and Watersheds
    A detailed examination of the effects of the Hayman fire from multiple environmental and societal perspectives
    Vol. 6 Number 2 (2003)
    Download     (764 KB PDF)
      New Threats to American Forests
    A summary of a forum and workshop exploring the impact of Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer on forests and forest-based economies
    Vol. 6 Number 1 (2003)
    Download (560 MB PDF)
    More publications from the Yale Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry

     

     

    Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry
    360 Prospect Street • New Haven, CT 06511 USA • 203.432.5117