Land Resources

The land resources program within the Center for Water and the Environment focuses on understanding interactions among the forest communities of the northern lake states, the lake, river and wetland resources contained therein, and the shifting mosaics of human land use and natural disturbance that drive the ecological and economic health of the region.

Specific research areas include:

• climate change effects on forest composition, structure and productivity,

• the influence of shifts in forest land ownership and changing demographics on the character of northern forests,
• relationships between habitat condition and the success of forest birds, lynx and other animal populations,
• mammal and bird population responses to habitat conditions,
• ecology of managed forests,
• development of indicators of ecosystem health.

We work closely with federal, state, and local governments, non-profits, and private industry and individuals, to ensure that sound ecological principles are incorporated into the land-use decisions that drive the natural resource-based economy of our region.

Wildlife and Exotic Species:

• Canada lynx: Distribution, abundance, persistence, and habitat use in Minnesota.
• Moose: Investigating moose populations in Northern Minnesota.
• Great Lakes Worm Watch: Earthworms are not native to the Great Lakes region. The current population, brought here by early Europeans, is slowly changing the face of our native forests.
• Minnesota Birds: Impacts of forest management on bird species.
  Listen to a 2009 interview with Anna Peterson about bird populations on Lake Superior's North Shore in regard to potential wind energy production.
  North Shore Bird Migration (9 min. 40 sec.)

Forest Ecology

• Forest Land Parcelization: A study to predict which Minnesota lands are most susceptible to subdivision, and potential change to other land use.
• Vegetation Characterization and Conifer Regeneration Strategies for the Grand Portage National Monument
• Synoptic Mapping of Native Plant Communities of the Laurentian Mixed Forest
• Long-term Soil Productivity: Assessing ground-flora response to soil compaction and organic matter removal in aspen forests