Dr. Simon Landhausser describes the role of trembling aspen in Alberta's boreal forests. Keystone species have a disproportionately large effect on their environment relative to their abundance and are key to the resilience of the community. He reviews the initial criteria for reclamation (cover) and how we have now restore functional ecosystems. He then lays out the process of reclamation when aiming for ecosystem resiliency, Dr. Landhausser discusses what makes aspen a keystone species, its root system, its wide distribution, its fast growth and open canopy, and its numerous seeds.
Dr. Simon Landhausser is associate professor and NSERC Industrial Chair. Forest land reclamation and applied forest ecology, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta. His presentation (divided in two parts) was the keynote address at the Edmonton Lunch and Learn session of the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association, March 28, 2013.
