Forest Ecology and Forest Management
The Forest Ecology and Forest Management group, led by Sheil Douglas, aims to understand the structure and functioning of forest ecosystems and their responses to changing environmental, biotic, and social conditions, and to apply this knowledge for the development of sustainable forest resource use systems.
Our research
Globally, forests are of great importance for the biodiversity they harbour and the ecosystem services they provide. Global threats like land-use and climate change, biodiversity decline and a growing human population increasingly challenge the way in which forest can adapt to these changes and maintain and improve the delivery of ecosystem services, conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change. These changing realities and new roles of forests form the context in which the Forest Ecology and Forest Management group (FEM) operates. We currently focus on three main themes:
- Multiple forest resources use and management
- Resilient forests
- Forest restoration
Education
Education by this Chair Group
The Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group (FEM) coordinates and contributes to a wide variety of courses in the BSc and MSc programme Forest and Nature Conservation. Our professors and lecturers supervise many students during their internship, thesis, and PhD projects as well.
Publications & Projects
The Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group publishes in various formats including scientific journals, professional journals, scientific and popular books, and proceedings. Our mission is to understand trees and forests in relation to site and climate, and to apply this knowledge to support forest management aimed at the provision of ecosystem services.
We work at local, regional and national scales and in a wide variety of forest ecosystems. Our research approach is to combine field data, statistical analysis of large datasets, and mechanistic modelling to increase fundamental understanding of forest ecosystems and their properties.
Highlighted publications
Chair Holder
Sheil Douglas is professor and chair of the Forest Ecology and Forest Managent Group. Sheil has authored and coauthored over 200 scientific publications, including the book 'Tropical Rain Forests: Ecology, Diversity, and Conservation' which is widely used by students at WUR and other universities. Before joining WUR, he was a professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and Sheil ramains a Senior Associate with CIFOR in Indonesia.
prof.dr. RD (Douglas) Sheil
Professor/Chairholder
People of Forest Ecology and Forest Management
Each chair group of Wageningen University & Research, under leadership of a professor, has its own area of expertise. Meet the people of Forest Ecology and Forest Management.
