text:
John Innes
Faculty of Forestry
Plants and Forests
Climate Changes and Impacts
Forestry, Master of Applied Science
Forestry, Master of Forestry
Forestry, Master of Science
Forestry, Doctor of Philosophy
Potential research project areas:
Because of UBC requirements for minimum funding, I will only accept new students or post-docs who are fully funded.
I support experiential learning experiences, such as internships and work placements, for my graduate students and Postdocs.
On criminalized livelihoods and community forestry : a case study of traditional forest use by tribal communities in South Gujarat, India (2016)
In India, the Indian Forest Acts of 1865 and 1878 transferred the ownership of all forest land and its resources to the colonial government. These were replaced by the Indian Forest Act of 1927, currently in force. Successive legislations continued to alienate resources from communities. This inadvertently criminalized the traditional forest-based livelihoods and cultural practices of local tribal communities. Tribal communities continue to follow their local traditions, but lack the voice to protect their culture against non-local interventions. This denial of participation to tribal communities in managing forest resources has led to their alienation from the very resource they depend upon. The Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme was promulgated in 1991 to increase local forest dwellers' participation in forest management. The Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA) attempted to address historical injustice meted to forest dependent communities. These policy level initiatives, de jure, could be viewed as an effort to partially restore the primacy of forests in the livelihoods of forest dwelling communities. However, JFM and the FRA continue to be subservient to the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and no substantial change is visible. Using a case-study approach and purposive sampling, four villages in Gujarat State were selected for the study. Data was collected in 1995-97 and 2011 on people's livelihoods, cultural practices, forest access and restrictions, awareness and participation in governmental, and community forestry activities. These data were compared to ascertain changes and continuity. Results showed that despite JFM, the basic governance of forest management remains unchanged. Forest related cultural practices and livelihoods of local tribal communities continue to be marginalized and criminalized.The thesis argues that the restorative efforts of JFM and FRA fail to adequately uphold human rights of tribal communities. It further offers an analysis of the impact of such provisions on the well-being of the tribal community.Based on a concept of criminalization and empirical findings, the aspect of illegitimate illegality (legitimate activities labelled as illegal) is teased out from corruption. Using elements of Aboriginal Forestry, the Classification of Decriminalization framework is developed to recognize and to respect tribal people's cultural identities.
Study of communication in joint forest management in India (2016)
Joint Forest Management (JFM) - i.e. forests jointly managed by the Forest Department and local community - has been operative across all States of India for more than two decades now. Despite its successes in expanding to over one third of the forest area, challenges in managing the forest jointly exist between these two unequal partners. Apart from issues of governance, the lack of communication between them has been reason for many of the on-going conflicts and issues. The present study explores the communication mechanisms in current practices in JFM, their effectiveness and challenges. The perception of community and the Forest Department about communication challenges, emerging technology, and possible solutions are also explored. A model is developed to help practitioners and planners to assess communication situation and to design appropriate mechanisms. To study the communication challenges and their relation to power and technology, I surveyed three village communities, and interviewed a range of Forest Department officers from Gujarat. I also surveyed senior Indian Forest Service officers from 19 States to understand their perception of the communication challenges. This data helped me to develop a model to understand communication in a culturally embedded governance situation. Results of the study indicate the lack of adequate mechanisms to understand the governance-communication linkages with consequential silhouetted approaches that fail to consider the impacts and linkages. The proposed model suggests that communication in governance should be planned taking into account 'skillholders' from 'civil experts' and 'conventional experts' across a variety of stages and dimensions. While community depends on the Forest Department for information and legitimacy for its various activities, the Department's approach has been haphazard and ambiguous leaving much improvement to be desired. Senior forest officers acknowledge the situation and suggest a number of solutions for improving communication, which ranges from improved relationships to delivery mechanism. The research suggests that there is too much focus on certain areas for communication, such as policy implementation, without adequate emphasis on the process of policy making, leading to lack of clarity on a number of processes and procedures.
The use of airborne LiDAR to assess tree species and forest biomass in subtropical forests (2016)
The subtropical forest biome accounts for approximately a quarter of the area of China and is particularly important for local economies, and for maintaining biodiversity and the carbon balance of forest ecosystems. Despite their importance, there is still considerable uncertainty about the characterization and spatial distribution of tree species, as well as the carbon budgets of these forests, many of which have been altered by anthropogenic activities. Remote sensing has the potential to provide quantitative, spatially explicit information for mapping and monitoring forest ecosystems. It is also a cost-effective tool to provide temporally uniform and "wall-to-wall" observations over time. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is an active remote sensing laser technology that provides an advantage over most other remote sensing technologies in its ability to provide detailed three-dimensional information of forest canopy structure, which is particularly useful for studying forest biophysical and structural properties. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate novel approaches for using and examining the effectiveness of LiDAR technologies, in order to classify tree species and estimate forest biomass and dynamics, across a study site within the subtropical region of southeast China. Specifically, airborne LiDAR was evaluated for its ability to: (i) discriminate tree species using small-footprint full-waveform LiDAR metrics; (ii) estimate forest biomass components by discrete-return and full-waveform LiDAR metrics; (iii) spatially extrapolate the estimation of forest biomass components, and (iv) predict and map biomass dynamics using multi-temporal LiDAR data. The results of this dissertation confirm that LiDAR-based approaches can make significant contributions to analyze the structure, composition and distribution of tree species across the study site, and provide effective methodologies and techniques for developing high resolution, spatially explicit estimations of forest biomass (and its dynamics). These methods have important applications to sustainable forest management, forest carbon cycling studies and carbon accounting projects.
Chain of custody certification adoption, innovation, and change management in the British Columbia value-added wood products sector (2015)
This study investigated the chain of custody certification adoption, the state of innovation, and change management in the BC value-added wood products sector. To achieve this goal, a survey was conducted in the fall of 2013 to determine attitudes, motivations, and barriers of a selection of value-added wood products manufacturers with regard to their current and potential participation in CoC certification. In addition, the innovativeness of the firms, as well as the change management attributes using the ADKAR (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement) model, were assessed. The study revealed that 41% of the respondents were certified, with remanufacturers having the highest adoption level. Another 13% of the companies were interested in becoming certified in the next 5 years and the remaining 46% were not certified and were not interested in certification citing a range of barriers including lack of customer demand, high costs, and a lack of price premiums. Certified and interested companies seemed to be ambivalent about the motivations regarding certification. For certified companies, improved corporate image and participation in LEED building projects were the two biggest motivations for adopting certification. However, for interested companies, the ability to command price premiums was the top motivation. To assess value-added wood products industry practices with respect to innovativeness, an indirect self-evaluation scale was used to assess the propensity to create and (or) adopt new products, processes and business systems. Respondents rated themselves more innovative with respect to business systems innovation as compared to product and process innovations. The two-cluster solution in cluster analysis found that companies in the cluster with the greater proportion of certified companies had more positive views about innovativeness although no statistically significant relationship was found.The ADKAR model for change management revealed that the ability to implement the change was a significant barrier for value-added wood products manufacturers in adoption of CoC certification. Suggestions made for policymaking and change management include strategies for the creation of awareness, desire and knowledge for CoC certification. Others include providing resources to enhance the ability of companies to adopt certification, and reinforcing the change through recognitions and rewards systems.
Improved decision-making processes for the transfrontier conservation areas of southern Africa (2015)
The focus of this research is environmental governance in Africa, explored through the lens of trans-border conservation initiatives. I used the embedded case study approach to dissect the political, socio-economic and ecosystem management aspects of decision making in the establishment and management of protected areas across national boundaries, focusing on two transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) in southern Africa, the Greater Limpopo and the Greater Mapungubwe transfrontier conservation areas. This is a qualitative study using mixed methods to collect data, including 93 semi-structured interviews with current and potential decision makers from every possible level, 16 questionnaires, ten mental model workshops, several meetings with local municipalities and other decision-making platforms, and an in-depth scrutiny of relevant policies and treaty documents. Interviewees provided inputs into a value system framework based on a compilation of attributes from each of the ecosystem, socio-economic and governance literature, to produce an average score for each of the two case study areas. The results indicated highly disjunctive approaches among countries forming part of the TFCAs, leading to many undesirable feedback loops. The decision-making processes of each country component of the two TFCAs were then analyzed separately, using a "governance" capability maturity model to determine the effectiveness of current management practices. A "collaboration" maturity model was used to identify gaps in the information sharing, decision making and patterns of interaction among the different stakeholders of each of the two TFCAs, indicating institutional and decision-making flaws in the current system. Some recommendations are provided to improve these in order to overcome current failures in the three dimensions of a TFCA.
Ecosystem responses to climate variability, disturbances and environmental factors in southwest Yukon of Canada (2014)
The south-western part of the Yukon Territory of Canada has experienced an unprecedented spruce bark beetle outbreak and frequent forest fires beyond the historical trends. Accumulating evidence also suggests that the southwest Yukon has experienced the impacts of recent climate change: warmer winters and warmer and drier summers over the past 15 years have contributed to the severe spruce bark beetle infestation, affecting white spruce on approximately 340,000 hectares of the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations in southwest Yukon. The mortality caused by the bark beetle outbreak has also increased the risk of wildfire severity and frequency in the region. I studied the impacts of climate variability, disturbances and environmental factors on stand structure, forest regeneration and vegetation diversity within the CATT. The research was conducted in close collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Resources of the Yukon Government and the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Government. Data were collected in the summer of 2008 from the forested landscape of the Champagne and Aishihik Traditional Territory. I found that stand structure varied significantly by edaphic and topographical factors with higher forest productivity at lower elevation and on lower slope positions where there was a higher soil moisture regime. Overall stand productivity and vegetation diversity were higher on warmer aspects and in mixed stands. Although regeneration of all tree species was higher in burned areas, broadleaved species prevailed in these areas, indicating that persistent disturbances associated with the predicted increase in temperatures in the region may promote broadleaved species. A higher diversity was found in moderately disturbed open areas with higher mean temperature and precipitation. Salvage harvested areas had the highest diversity and highest composition of broealeaved trees. The undisturbed mixed stands had the ecosystem characteristics that would closely meet the ecological goals of the Strategic Forest Management Plan (2004) in the region. The vegetation distribution were closely linked with topographical, climatic and disturbance regime in the study area, which could be a basis for vegetation classification, which is still lacking in the study area.
Informing and supporting climate change adaptation in British Columbia's forests through monitoring (2014)
Given the large uncertainties associated with climate change, regular and systematic measurement of various aspects of the natural environment is the primary means for understanding what changes are actually taking place. This research is focused on the development of a strategy for monitoring the biophysical attributes of British Columbia's forest and rangelands in order to supply the information needed to bring climate change adaptation considerations into decision-making in the Province. A framework of indicators for monitoring the impacts of climate change was developed through iterative, bottom-up processes involving both expert and end-user participation. The former involved interviews with key experts and an indicator development workshop attended by 58 delegates from across the Province. The latter involved a web-based survey designed to better identify the indicator framework's target audience as well as their key information needs and management questions with regard to climate change adaptation. The resultant framework identifies seventeen indicators of varying importance for monitoring in light of climate change. I developed approaches to measuring some of the indicators and analyzed the capacity of current monitoring and inventory programs to support their evaluation. Where possible, the data available to support the indicators was tested in south eastern British Columbia. This was designed to assess the capacity of the existing data sources to meet decision makers' climate change adaptation needs. The results of these tests showed that, while there are some relatively good data sources that can be used to support climate change adaptation in forests and rangelands, there are some indicators for which there is a paucity of data. Through this research I have been successful in developing a solid foundation for increasing the information available to incorporate climate change adaptation considerations into British Columbia's forest and range management. My research also offers an example to other sectors, countries and regions who are seeking to use their data to track climate change and better understand its impacts.
Development of forest aesthetic indicators in sustainable forest management standards (2012)
Forest aesthetic indicators are an important aspect of the social component of sustainable forest management (SFM) standards. However, SFM standards have few aesthetic indicators, especially at an international level. A possible reason for this is that public awareness of forest aesthetic values has often been regarded as unscientific or even contradictory to the ecological knowledge of forestry experts and that aesthetic values vary according to the cultural backgrounds of the individuals involved in any assessment. In response to the current lack of aesthetic indicators in SFM standards, several questions have been raised: (1) Does the public think forest aesthetic values are important and to what degree in terms of SFM, (2) Is there any consensus on the aesthetic values among the public and between the public and forestry experts, (3) Are there any differences in perspectives on the absence of aesthetic considerations in SFM standards between the experts participating in the creation and revision of SFM C&I and experts in the fields of forest aesthetics, and (4) How can aesthetic values be effectively and efficiently assessed? In order to address these questions, three surveys were conducted involving the public and experts in four countries. The survey revealed no significant differences in priorities for forest aesthetic values amongst selected groups of public respondents in Korea, China, Japan and Canada. However, significant differences existed between forestry experts and the public. Forest aesthetic values were rated as relatively important by the general public, but both types of experts generally rated the importance of aesthetics higher than did the public. Three major reasons for the lack of aesthetic indicators were provided by the SFM and aesthetic experts: a lack of aesthetic training amongst those designing criteria and indicators; a bias against aesthetics, which are often considered to be highly subjective; and the general omission of people with knowledge of aesthetics during the development of SFM standards. Ten possible aesthetic indicators that could be used in future SFM schemes were developed in this study. The indicators presented here and the direct involvement of aesthetic experts would improve the ability of current SFM frameworks to balance effectively social, environmental and economic values.
Integrated Dual Filter framework for forest management planning : a case study in the southwest Yukon (2012)
Forest management planning is increasingly difficult due to the growing numbers of values and interests associated with forests, with climatic and socio-economic change adding further complexity. Forest planning hence can be described as a wicked problem. It cannot be tamed by linear deterministic approaches, but rather requires a more holistic approach. This study illustrated the development and testing of a planning and decision-support framework, the Integrated Dual Filter (IDF), for forest management. The IDF consists of two Filters, an Environmental and a Social Filter, and three States: Environmental representing the no-management landscape that can be used in planning as a ‗natural baseline' for the Desired State (an engineered landscape); the Management State represents a managed landscape to explore tactical aspects of planning and assess the feasibility of the Desired State. The IDF was tested using empirical data from the Champagne and Aishihik Traditional Territory (CATT), southwest Yukon. The CATT has recently experienced a spruce bark beetle outbreak affecting over 85% of its forests. The governance response was the development of the Strategic Forest Management Plan (SFMP). The SFMP was the starting point for the IDF-Social Filter to extract important values during working group meetings in the Yukon, deploying a ratings table to develop, judge and rank a hierarchy of criteria and sub-features for the Analytic Hierarchy Process. This resulted in five alternative forest management strategies for the long-term: manage forests for the timber industry; for multiple values and use; for fire risk reduction; for wildlife; and for the carbon industry. The IDF-Environmental Filter revealed that white spruce will still dominate the landscape after 200 years; that fire will remain an important disturbance to maintain a heterogeneous landscape; and that climate change will likely have no direct effect on tree species in the overall landscape but will be important at the site level. The conceptual simplicity of the IDF makes it a valuable decision-making support system to identify system properties, constraints and concerns (by using the Filters) in order to simulate and project the planning landscape (using the States) into the future. It allows an extension of the existing planning horizon from 20 years for the CATT SFMP to >100 years; this will better inform management, especially under consideration of climate change.
An examination of challenges and issues facing sustainable forest management and forest certification in China (2011)
This study investigated the challenges facing the adoption of sustainable forest management (SFM) and forest certification in China. To achieve this goal, the perceptions of four influential direct and indirect stakeholders were examined to reveal the awareness, understanding, interest, motivation, and barriers to adopting SFM and forest certification. The four stakeholders consisted of Chinese small-scale forest farmers who have received small forest land from the collectives through the new forest tenure reforms, Chinese market officials working for forestry property markets, Chinese wood products manufacturers, and Canadian wood products retailers. In addition, the new forest tenure reforms and their supporting mechanisms, including forestry property markets, were assessed in terms of their impacts on the promotion of SFM and certification in China. The study revealed general low levels of awareness and understanding about SFM and forest certification amongst various stakeholders in China, with forest farmers having particularly low awareness. Several challenges to the adoption of SFM and forest certification in the period before the new forest tenure reforms were identified by the small-scale forest farmers, including insecure and unclear forest tenure, inconsistent forest policies, inadequate finances, under-developed infrastructure and transport system, and lack of efficient knowledge and technical transfer. Market officials were found to have limited knowledge of SFM and forest certification but their role in educating forest farmers and promoting SFM and certification is particularly important, as government support is considered to be critical to the early and rapid uptake of SFM and certification in China. Chinese manufacturers expressed immense interest in forest certification despite the identified barriers. From their perspectives, the biggest barrier was the lack of market demand for certified wood products. Canadian retailers were chosen as a substitute of Chinese retailers to gain insights into how a more advanced market for certified wood products might evolve, and how the demand might evolve in China. The new forest tenure reforms and forestry property markets are likely to overcome many of the challenges and enable forest farmers to adopt SFM and certification. That said, the widespread adoption of SFM and certification amongst various stakeholders has a long way to go.
Community forests for forest communities : an examination of power imbalances, challenges and goals in Brazil and Mexico (2011)
Community forestry can deliver economic, socio-cultural and ecological benefits to local communities. Case studies from around the world have shown this, yet results have also been mixed, as many initiatives have failed to deliver their promises. Criticisms have arisen that community forestry remains dominated by decision-making by offsite experts, replication of models deemed successful in other contexts, and the spread of forestry practices that have been developed for the large-scale forest industry.This research provides further insights into community forestry from the perspective of the local forest user. A case study approach was used for an in-depth examination of six community forestry initiatives in Brazil and Mexico, assessing the current status of community forestry and suggesting a path forward based on local needs and wants. Qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with community members, and elements of grounded theory methodology, were used to: assess the amount of forest management authority communities currently have; create a framework outlining the challenges facing communities in managing their forests; and, identify community-defined goals and processes for community forestry initiatives.Results showed that, despite the rhetoric of decentralization, communities continue to work within tightly regulated frameworks of forest management with limited decision-making power for forest product commercialization. Within this limited power structure, communities face interrelated challenges in both the development and operationalization phases of forestry initiatives, requiring a holistic strategy of intervention to encourage the maintenance of a profitable and self-sufficient enterprise. In identifying community-defined goals, this research found that other livelihood strategies, particularly agricultural practices, need to be considered when designing forestry interventions that are overly focused on timber production. This exercise also underlined the need to promote site-specific models of intervention that take into account the variety of contexts and community interests.A better understanding of local perspectives can aid in the design of community forestry interventions brought by conservation and development agencies, by adding an important and understudied perspective to the problems that face community forestry. Without the community member playing an essential and empowered role, the success of community forestry will be limited.
Evaluating the cumulative impacts of air pollution in northeast British Columbia (2010)
This research examined the potential cumulative impacts of air pollution in northeast British Columbia (BC). It was part of a larger project to develop tools for assessing the cumulative impacts of development in BC's Treaty 8 traditional territory. Although this study was framed from a First Nations perspective, it has relevance to all residents of the region. The focus is on Criteria Air Contaminants (CAC); whose reporting in Canada is required based on contributions to acid rain, ozone and poor regional air quality. Air pollution in northeast BC is dominated by the upstream oil and gas (UOG) sector. An analysis of official emissions data and reporting policies showed that inventories severely underestimate UOG emission sources. Industry-based emission estimates were combined with a conventional government-based emissions inventory to give a more comprehensive dataset for the region. When CAC sources were considered inclusively and cumulatively across the region's landscape, emissions of the CAC sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds approximately doubled, reaching intensities comparable to urban areas. Due to the magnitude of SO₂ and NOx emissions, and their known contribution to the acidification of ecosystems in parts of Canada, the Critical Loads of Acidity (CL(A)) were estimated for freshwater lakes in the region. A scarcity of detailed lake chemistry data pre-empted the development of empirical methods for estimating CL(A). Alkalinity and calcium measurements were available for a significant number of lakes and were consequently used as indicators of acidification sensitivity using relationships between these parameters and existing CL(A) estimation procedures. The resulting CL(A) were used alongside Ambient Air Quality Objectives (AAQO) and critical limits for various ecosystem elements, as thresholds for measuring potential air pollution effects. The AERMOD model, traditionally used for simulating the dispersion of UOG emissions from individual sources in BC, was used here to predict ambient concentrations and surface deposition of both SO₂ and NOx from numerous emission sources in an area of both cultural significance and high source density. Results predicted potential threshold exceedances that may have implications for ecosystems, human health and First Nations Treaty rights.
Forest and hydrogeomorphic processes in shallow landslide initiation zones (2010)
Following a shallow landslide, hydrogeomorphic processes in the initiation zone respond to the discontinuities of soil depth, topographic expression, and hydrologic and forest conditions. The shallow landslides occurring at the study sites are episodic erosion processes punctuating periods marked by the deposition of hillslope material. Recovery of soil depth and topographic expression occurs through small-scale processes that infill the failure area. Rates of small-scale redistribution of hillslope material decline with time and are attributable to both vegetation re-establishment and diminished surface topographic variability. Understory forest vegetation in failure areas resemble the vegetation on adjacent undisturbed slopes within approximately 100 years of failure; re-establishment of the forest canopy may require several centuries longer. Stochastic elements of the surrounding forests strongly affect soil accumulation through influences on material transport and deposition. The central tendency of soil accumulation approximates a sigmoid curve with the majority of accumulation occurring within 100 years of failure. Soil depth on adjacent hillslopes positively influences soil accumulation in failure areas, but repeated shallow landslides can deplete hillslope materials from the contributing area. The sediment balance of weathering, storage, and evacuation strongly influences future cycles of failure and recharge. The frequency of preferential flow pathways in shallow landslide initiation zones was found to be spatially variable with fewer preferential flow pathways in the infilled soils of failure areas; thus landslide occurrence and subsequent infilling may negatively influence future slope stability. As a result of this study, recommendations for future research are made regarding the effects of forests on the regime of small-scale material transport processes occurring after shallow landslides, on the spatial and temporal development of preferential flow pathways in shallow landslide initiation zones, and on the long-term stability of sites of shallow landslides.
An analytical platform for cumulative impact assessment in northeastern British Columbia (2009)
The combined influence on the environment of all projects occurring in a single area is evaluated through cumulative impact assessments (CIA), which consider the consequences of multiple projects, each possibly insignificant on its own, yet important when evaluated collectively. Traditionally, the future human activities are included in CIA using an analytical platform, commonly based on complex models that supply precise predictions but with asymptotically null accuracy. To compensate for the lack of accuracy of the current CIA I have proposed a shift in the paradigm governing the CIA. The paradigm shift involves a change in the focus of CIA investigations from the detailed analysis of one unlikely future to the identification of the patterns describing the future changes in the environment. To illustrate the approach, a set of 144 possible and equally likely futures were developed that aimed to identify the potential impacts of forest harvesting and petroleum drilling on the habitat suitability of moose and American marten. The evolution of two measures of habitat suitability (average HSI and surface of the stands with HSI>0.5) was investigated using univariate and multivariate repeated measures. Both analytical techniques (i.e., univariate or multivariate) revealed that the human activities could induce at least one cycle (with a period larger than 100 years), in the moose and American marten habitat dynamics. The planning period was separated into three or four distinct periods (depending on the investigation methodology) following a sinusoidal pattern (i.e., increase – constant – decrease in the habitat suitability measures). The attributes that could induce significant changes in the environment are the choice of harvesting age and the valued ecosystem component. The choice of the valued ecosystem component is critical to the analysis and could change the conclusions of the CIA.
Sustainable Forest Management in the Context of Integrated Watershed Management in Southern China (2009)
Food security, forestry and REDD+ benefit distribution in Ghana (2018)
Do international Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) institutions, such as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), incorporate equal access to benefit as part of their programs in Ghana? This paper investigates the development of REDD+ strategies and project proposals in Ghana and looks specifically at what influence the creation of a new forest commodity could have on food insecurity in the country. Focusing on the access dimension of food security, a central question will be addressed: Are REDD+ Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) advantageous or disadvantageous to food insecure people wishing to strategically access forestry opportunities to reduce hunger and food insecurity? Critical to answering this question is an understanding of potential benefit available in REDD+ transactions in Ghana: who gets what, when, and how is benefit transferred. REDD+ ERPAs monetize forest carbon, Emission Reductions (ERs), gained through forest conservation and management activities. REDD+ is a market-based mechanism because it seeks to use market forces, the buying and selling of goods and services, to incentivize a conservation behaviour with respect to forest management. By commodifying and trading avoided deforestation and afforestation as a product and service, market actors institutionalize transaction types, roles, responsibilities and access characteristics of the marketplace. As a set of rules, REDD+ programs and protocols claim social and economic benefit is delivered to marginalized, often food-insecure, groups of people as stakeholders through contractual activities. At the same time as REDD+ projects are being planned and implemented in Ghana, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that there are presently no good indicators of social benefit in forestry. Looking closely at food security literature this paper highlights both opportunities and potential barriers being institutionalized by REDD+ programs. Carbon tenure rights and benefit sharing plans for REDD+ generated revenue will be discussed as well as the social and environmental safeguards mandatory under contractual regimes. Recommendations will focus on how to quantify social benefit from forestry and utilize knowledge created in the field of food and nutrition security more effectively in a cross-disciplinary manner.
Incentives for bamboo plantations development in Ghana (2018)
The need to reverse or halt the loss of natural timber resources of Ghana is of great importance. Bamboo is a good alternative to timber and bamboo plantations can help reduce the pressure on natural forests. A number of initiatives and academic works have been conducted to encourage the domestic and commercial use of bamboo in Ghana. This thesis sought to add to these by exploring appropriate incentives for the development of bamboo plantations and proposing arrangements for the design of a bamboo incentive scheme. I covered three major areas in order to achieve these objectives: desired incentives for the development of bamboo plantations, possible effects of desired incentives on bamboo plantations and potential challenges to the adoption of incentives for bamboo plantation development. Large-scale and small-scale plantations developers in the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions were interviewed with structured questionnaires. Purposive sampling was used and a total of 41 responses were gathered. I found profitability of bamboo and high demand for bamboo to be the top two desired incentives by the large-scale developers. Direct financial support and capacity building were the top two desired incentives for the Ashanti region small-scale developers while direct financial support and financial benefits from bamboo emerged as the top two desired incentives for the Brong-Ahafo small-scale developers. I also found that the use of incentives for the development of bamboo plantations would have favorable outcomes in Ghana. The lack of legal backing and favorable state policies and a lack of transparency in incentive acquisition processes emerged among the major potential challenges to the use of incentives for bamboo plantation development under both the large-scale and small-scale categories. I recommend that further studies should be conducted on a larger sample size to enable more reliable outcomes and conclusions to be drawn.
Indigenous federations in the Peruvian Amazon : perspectives from the Ashéninka and Yine-Yami peoples (2015)
The emergence of a globalized model of development in Peru, based on extraction of natural resources, has led to the rise of indigenous movements. One of the strategies to address the negative impacts of public policies created to support this model is through the creation of indigenous federations. Indigenous federations have emerged as a strategy of indigenous peoples to make their voices heard and determine their own future. Scholars, federation representatives, and community members themselves have identified the strengthened relationships between representatives and community members as a major challenge for indigenous movements. The question that frames this study is: how could representation by indigenous federations be improved, from the points of view of indigenous peoples' epistemologies, ontologies, axiologies, and methodologies? In alliance with six Ashéninka and Yine-Yami indigenous communities and their local federations, we investigate their federational system of self-government. Through innovative and culturally sensitive methods of co-creating knowledge using emancipatory theories, this study addresses two objectives: (1) to identify factors that contribute indigenous federations' representatives to effectively achieve communities' objectives; and (2) to articulate recommendations to improve indigenous federations. These two objectives were attained with input from community members and federation representatives. Results show that the principal factors that explain representatives' sources of capacity to address member communities' objectives are primarily to establish close interpersonal relationships and to cultivate spiritual, ethical, and moral behaviours between representatives and community members. Five recommendations are identified by Ashéninka and Yine-Yami peoples to enhance their institutions: (1) to define the jurisdiction of the federations; (2) to formalize the federations; (3) to improve the processes of interaction; (4) to strengthen their self-determined indigenous economies; and (5) to increase political participation. The results inform current indigenous politics that aim to have a larger influence on the regional and even national formulation of public policies that impact the Peruvian Amazon. The recognition and practice of a pluri-national state and the need to establish more meaningful indicators of ethno-development are important in the formulation of the factors influencing a positive change and a way to address current and future conflicts around use of natural resources.
Developing indicators for human well-being in an ecosystem-based management context : a case study of Haida Gwaii (2014)
Ecosystem-based management (EBM) includes both ecological integrity and human well-being, although it is not clear how human well-being should be measured in an EBM context. Despite efforts to view EBM holistically, the human component is often overlooked or reduced to economic indicators that do not capture the full range of values held by the people affected by EBM policies. The purpose of this case study is to explore, in a region recently participating in EBM planning and policy implementation, human well-being indicators of importance to local residents. Haida Gwaii, an island archipelago located approximately 90 km off the coast of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada provides a particularly compelling case study, as the implementation of EBM on Haida Gwaii includes co-management between the Haida Nation and the Province of B.C. Using semi-structured interviews and constructivist grounded theory methodology, I identified seven categories important for human well-being on Haida Gwaii: employment and economic stability; relationship with the land, ocean and air; health; governance and access to services; culture and community; educated and engaged citizens; and overall well-being. Within these general categories, I also identified 46 specific human well-being indicators important to measure on Haida Gwaii. In addition, I identified concerns study participants had with human well-being indicators developed on the North and Central Coast of British Columbia. The important categories, sub-categories and indicators were integrated to produce three theoretical concepts that characterize what is important for human well-being on Haida Gwaii: 1) Relationship with the land, ocean and air 2) Access to benefits from natural resource development, and 3) Building resilient communities and human capital. Communities working to develop human well-being indicators in similar EBM contexts may find these concepts useful in their work.
Seasonal business diversification of ski resorts and the effects on forest management : effects on trees and people due to a shift from winter only to year-round business of ski resorts in British Columbia (2014)
Some ski resorts are shifting their business models from winter-only snow-based activities to year-round tourism. This may be happening as a result of climate change or because of a change in recreationists' behaviour, amongst other causes. This research seeks to understand the impacts of such shifts on forest management in the areas surrounding the ski resorts. It investigates the effects of these shifts on the boundaries of the the impacted land used by residents and visitors. These effects are evaluated from an environmental impact point of view and also from a socio-economic point of view. The research also attempts to relate these shifts to factors such as location, timing and scale effects related to the size of the resorts. Four case studies were chosen: Whistler, Sun Peaks resort, Hemlock Valley resort and Mount Washington resort. In each case, opinions of stakeholders were collected through semi-structured interviews and the data were analysed by a method inspired by grounded theory and Qualitative Data Analysis.Results identify factors and mechanisms that allow a shift to happen in a ski resort and propose dates for the two case studies where the shift occurred. The strength of the communities and their incorporation into resort municipalities are identified as critical factors. Forestry practices are found to have been impacted by the shift because of a change of management values towards more recreation and visuals values. An increase of the amount of stakeholders with varied vested interests in the forests is believed to improve the forests' management. The number of people experiencing nature during the summer months and their attitudes are believed to increase awareness about the environment. This increased awareness induces scrutiny and self-regulation through information technologies. Moreover, the quality of life of shifted communities is shown to be increased and linked to a more environmentally friendly land stewardship. This acts as a positive feedback loop for a successful shift and change in forest management.
Understanding the factors that drive firm-level transformations in the BC forest sector (2014)
Today's changing business environments pose challenges for British Columbian forest firms in sustaining long-term competitive advantages. In response to these challenges, forest firms can initiate complex transformation processes that seek to project their performance out of a conventional competition cycle. Of interest for multiple stakeholders are the questions of why these transformations ultimately occur, which type of changes can produce them, and how they can be implemented. This exploratory research focuses on analyzing the opinions of senior executives of BC forest businesses about the transforming processes of their firm. Understanding the views of these executives is one of the fundamental pieces of making sense of the forest business transformations. Semi-structured interviews provide the data collection strategy to elicit executives' views and preferences for adopting different transformational strategies and new product portfolios. Analyses of the transcribed interviews reveal that executives associate firm-level transformations with the execution of seven different business strategies. The findings suggest a firm-specific pattern in defining the transformation processes. Differences in framing the concept of firm-level transformations are linked to differences in the types of changes considered transformative by executives in different firms. Correspondingly, executives' preferences about adopting new product offerings in their firms also varied from one company to another, but were similar between executives from the same company. The firm-specific defining pattern is explained by a moderating role of the organizational culture of forest firms. The business culture of these companies can regulate executives' intentions to transform the firm and the decision-making processes aimed at selecting the transformational strategies. The leadership style, ownership structure and the organizational values are elements explaining the business culture of the BC forest firms.Results also uncover a number of forces that can trigger transformation processes in BC forest firms from the perspectives of the executives. The findings also reveal barriers to transformational change and a set of factors that facilitate the implementation of the transformation processes. To further understand the views of executives about firm level transformations, future studies would likely benefit from the decision-making model and the set of research questions drawn from the findings of this exploratory research.
Comparison of techniques for measuring forest carbon in British Columbia (2012)
The Earth is currently in a period of rapid climate change and the anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is widely considered to be the primary cause. Forests are an important part of the global carbon cycle and their ability to mitigate atmospheric CO₂ levels is increasingly being recognized. Forest carbon projects generate carbon offsets either through the application of specialized forest management practices, or through the protection or restoration of deforested or degraded land. The ability to quantify accurately the amount of carbon that would be sequestered by forest carbon project activities is critical to their success. A variety of forest carbon modeling techniques exist and use a variety of methods for data acquisition including forest inventory data, remotely sensed data, or ground measurements. However the accuracy of these modeling techniques varies, making their standard application difficult.This thesis contributes to the understanding of forest carbon quantification by comparing forest carbon estimates derived from a ground-based technique with forest carbon estimates derived from three forest carbon modeling techniques: Canadian Forest Service Carbon Budget Model (CBM-CFS3), Vegetative Resource Inventory Biomass Equations, and Private Woodland Planner. Both differential and least squares mean statistical analyses were conducted to determine which modeling technique estimated forest carbon closest to estimates derived from the ground-based technique. The hypothesis that framed this research was that CBM-CFS3 would be the most accurate modeling technique. However results indicated that forest carbon estimates from PWP are closest to those derived from the ground-based technique. Results derived from CBM-CFS3 are farthest from the ground-based technique. The results from this project suggest that an ideal forest carbon quantification technique incorporates field sampling with broad-based model estimates. Current research in forest carbon modeling techniques shows a trend towards more accurate and efficient estimates, which will allow project developers to better measure forest carbon stocks, improve forest conservation, and generate greater economic opportunities. These improvements will also increase the effectiveness of forest carbon projects and their role in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Reforestation under climate change in British Columbia : an institutional assessment (2012)
Reforestation is the most important part of any strategy intended to establish desired future forest conditions, including climate change resilience. Forest managers have a wide range of choices around forest regeneration. They can select among different tree species, genotypes, planting mixes; and silvicultural systems. Over time these choices influence forest composition, structure, and function that then affect the provision of forest values. In British Columbia (BC), climate change has been raised as major issue in terms of its current and projected impacts on forests resources, yet managing to address them remains uncommon. This raises questions about the institutional framework governing management and its influence on the capacity to use reforestation to adapt to climate change. This study describes how climate is changing in BC, adaptations in the forest sector, and the adaptation research efforts to date. It describes the policy environment and associated regulations that direct and guide management on public land in BC and their influence on the ability to use reforestation for climate change adaptation. This includes requirements for reestablishing free growing timber stands, the treatment of silvicultural costs under the stumpage system, and the use of alternative forest stocking standards not found in government guidebooks. Barriers to adaptive management are identified through two surveys of respondents directly involved in reforestation planning and implementation in BC. Important institutional barriers and risks to adaptation are identified as well as incentives and policy alternatives to facilitate it. Perspectives of government managers, licensees, researchers, and practitioners show a common belief that the climate is changing and that the responsibility to future generations for climate vulnerability reduction and forest resilience lies in the present. Nevertheless, differences in perspectives emerge at more operational levels and several factors may constrain the flexibility necessary for the use of adaptive reforestation strategies, especially, aversion to risk, timber supply impacts, stocking standard approval, free growing determination criteria, and silvicultural investment security. While sustainable forest management is the ideal framework for adaptation, it will not occur without policy adjustments to address these barriers and to provide an environment in which forest resilience is a key management objective.
The collaborative forest management user group's perceptions and expectations on REDD+ in Nepal (2012)
As many ecological and socioeconomic problems are associated with deforestation and forest degradation in Nepal, it is in the national interest to address REDD+ immediately. Although local communities and indigenous peoples are the main actors for REDD+ practices, their needs and perceptions have received little attention in the debates on REDD+.In this study, a Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) site was studied using a questionnaire survey administered to the CFM user group, interviews with key informants in the forestry sector and a review of documents to collect background data. The research revealed the local CFM forest users' perceptions of their forest and their expectations about the potential benefits of REDD+, and examined differences in these perceptions and expectations among nearby and distant users. The study provides insights into the feasibility of REDD+ with the context of the present form of CFM in Nepal. The findings indicate that people are sensitive to changes in climate and the forest around them but are unaware of climate change mechanisms and linkage of climate change and deforestation. There is therefore a need to raise social awareness of climate change and of REDD+. Compared to distant users, nearby users felt more strongly that the forest is essential to their lives and were more interested in participation in REDD+ practices. As the distant users would be also significant actors in the practices, there is a need to raise distant users' interests in REDD+. Both nearby and distant users have high expectations of the potential benefits of REDD+. However, REDD+ is treated as a technical matter in national debates, and there has been a failure to recognize the impacts on society and human welfare at the local level. The Government urgently needs to take human welfare into account if they are to receive local support. Nepal needs to keep exploring the most appropriate methods to implement REDD+ projects, given the structure of the society being affected. It is important to develop a system of equitable decision-making and benefit-sharing that reflects local needs, and is incorporated into any REDD+ action plans applied to the Terai forests.
Improvement of China's air pollution (sulphur dioxide and acid rain) control and countermeasures by introducing emissions trading system (2010)
As human beings, we rely on the atmospheric environment as a valuable resource for our daily needs. Destruction of this environment is usually an irreversible process. Attempting to restore an already damaged atmospheric environment is much more costly than preventing atmospheric pollution in the first place. As has been the case with the industrialization of western countries, Asia's social and economic development has created an awareness of new problems of environmental pollution and ecological degradation. Data collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) indicate that particulates transported in the air from East Asia to North America represent about 15% of the total particulate production in North America. China, as the largest developing country located in Asia, has experienced a dramatic increase in energy demands and pollutant emissions. This is partly because coal is the primary source of energy for China, something that is not expected to change in the foreseeable future. The country is not meeting its established objectives on air pollution abatement and the current administrative mechanisms are not providing adequate solutions for sulphur dioxide or acid rain problems. In response to this, the Chinese government is looking for more effective ways to balance economic growth and pollution control. One such mechanism for China could be an emissions trading program aimed at adjusting and improving air pollutant control mechanisms.This research is primarily an exploration of introducing an emissions trading system, which has played a significant and effective role in sulphur dioxide and acid rain control in US, aiming at adjusting and improving the air pollutant control mechanism in China. In terms of the feasibility analysis, with the improvement of China's special market economy conditions, integrating market mechanisms with "total amount control" to establish China's own emissions trading system, which is also known as "cap & trade", is likely to contribute greatly to sulphur dioxide and acid rain control in China. A recommended design and implementation roadmap for China's emissions trading scheme has also been conducted in this research.
UBC experts available to comment on wildfires and associated air quality (15 Aug 2018)
Potential effect of climate change on observed fire regimes in the Cordilleran forests of South-Central Interior, British Columbia (2013)
Climatic Change, 116 (3-4), 579-591
Public Awareness and Perceptions of Watershed Management in the Min River Area, Fujian, China (2013)
Society & Natural Resources, 26 (5), 586-604
Unstable climate-growth relations for white spruce in southwest Yukon, Canada (2013)
Did the 1976-77 switch in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation make white spruce in the southwest Yukon more susceptible to spruce bark beetle? (2012)
Forestry Chronicle, 88 (5), 513-518
Extent of soil erosion and surface runoff associated with large-scale infrastructure development in Fujian Province, China (2012)
Catena, 89 (1), 22-30
Forest certification in Canada: An exploratory study of perceptions of provincial and territorial government employees (2012)
Forestry Chronicle, 88 (1), 40-48
Framework for assessing the impact of human activities on the environment: the impact of forest harvesting and petroleum drilling on habitat of moose (Alces alces) and marten (Martens americana) (2012)
Biodiversity and Conservation, 21 (4), 933-955
Is Decentralization Leading to "Real" Decision-Making Power for Forest-dependent Communities? Case Studies from Mexico and Brazil (2012)
Ecology and Society, 17 (1)
National Park Development in China: Conservation or Commercialization? (2012)
Ambio, 41 (3), 247-261
An analytical platform for cumulative impact assessment based on multiple futures: The impact of petroleum drilling and forest harvesting on moose (Alces alces) and marten (Martes americana) habitats in northeastern British Columbia (2011)
Journal of Environmental Management, 92 (7), 1740-1752
An exploratory assessment of the attitudes of Chinese wood products manufacturers towards forest certification (2011)
Journal of Environmental Management, 92 (11), 2984-2992
Climate change adaptation and sustainable forest management: A proposed reflexive research agenda (2011)
Comparison between open-site and below-canopy climatic conditions in Switzerland for different types of forests over 10 years (1998-2007) (2011)
Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 105 (1-2), 119-127
Framing community forestry challenges with a broader lens: Case studies from the Brazilian Amazon (2011)
The efficacy of forest certification: Perceptions of Canadian forest products retailers (2011)
A deterministic harvest scheduler using perfect bin-packing theorem (2010)
European Journal of Forest Research, 129 (5), 961-974
Aboriginal Peoples and Forest Certification: a Review of the Canadian Situation (2010)
Back to the basics - Estimating the sensitivity of freshwater to acidification using traditional approaches (2010)
Private cost-benefits of voluntary forest product certification (2010)
International Forestry Review, 12 (1), 1-12
Adapting to Climate Change in the Southwest Yukon: Locally Identified Research and Monitoring Needs to Support Decision Making on Sustainable Forest Management (2009)
Arctic, 62 (2), 159-174
Application of Structured Decision Making to an Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Options for Sustainable Forest Management (2009)
Effects of environment on fish species distributions in the Mackenzie River drainage basin of northeastern British Columbia, Canada (2009)
Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 18 (2), 183-196
Evaluating ecological integrity in national parks: Case studies from Canada and South Africa (2009)
Biological Conservation, 142 (3), 676-688
IS FORESTRY A SOCIAL SCIENCE? (2009)
Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 21 (2), V-VI
On the Use of Statistical Tests with Non-Normally Distributed Data in Landscape Change Detection (2009)
Forest Science, 55 (1), 72-83
Respecting the oral and literate in co-management communication (2009)
The evolution of the World Bank's policy towards forestry: push or pull? (2009)
International Forestry Review, 11 (1), 27-37
The promotion of 'innovation' in forestry: a role for government or others? (2009)
Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 6 (3), 201-215
A framework for assessing the effectiveness of forest certification (2008)
Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 38 (6), 1357-1365
A tree and climate assessment tool for modelling ecosystem response to climate change (2008)
Ecological Modelling, 210 (3), 263-277
Achieving sustainable rural development in Southern China: the contribution of bamboo forestry (2008)
International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 15 (5), 484-495
Climate change adaptation and regional forest planning in southern Yukon, Canada (2008)
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies For Global Change, 13 (8), 833-861
Climatic change and fire potential in South-Central British Columbia, Canada (2008)
Global Change Biology, 14 (4), 841-855
Comanaging communication crises and opportunities between Northern Secwepemc First Nations and the province of British Columbia (2008)
Development of common indicators of sustainable forest management (2008)
Ecological Indicators, 8 (5), 425-430
Forest sciences in the world of tomorrow (2008)
Iforest-Biogeosciences and Forestry, 1, 140
Indicators for demonstrating sustainable forest management in British Columbia, Canada: An international review (2008)
Integrating climate change into forest management in South-Central British Columbia: An assessment of landscape vulnerability and development of a climate-smart framework (2008)
Forest Ecology and Management, 256 (3), 313-327
Opportunities and costs of intensification and clustering of forest management activities (2008)
Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 38 (4), 711-720
The need to cut China's illegal timber imports - Response (2008)
Science, 319 (5867), 1184-1185
Towards a new paradigm: the development of China's forestry in the 21(st) century (2008)
International Forestry Review, 10 (4), 619-631
Ecology - China's forestry reforms (2007)
Forest planning using co-evolutionary cellular automata (2007)
Forest Ecology and Management, 239 (1-3), 45-56
Impacts of air pollution and climate change on forest ecosystems - Emerging research needs (2007)
Thescientificworldjournal, 7, 1-8
Incorporating climate change adaptation considerations into forest management planning in the boreal forest (2007)
International Forestry Review, 9 (3), 713-733
Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: A regional comparison of forestry stakeholder perceptions (2007)
Journal of Environmental Management, 84 (4), 572-585
Perspectives of forest practitioners on climate change adaptation in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada (2007)
Evidence of elevated ozone concentrations on forested slopes of the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada (2006)
Water Air and Soil Pollution, 173 (1-4), 273-287
Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: An inter-jurisdictional comparison of soft law standards (2006)
Forest Policy and Economics, 9 (4), 297-315
Monitoring and information reporting through regulation: An inter-jurisdictional comparison of forestry-related hard laws (2006)
Silva Fennica, 40 (2), 365-387
The importance of climate change when considering the role of forests in the alleviation of poverty (2006)
Fans with forests: contemporary hydrogeomorphic processes on fans with forests in west central British Columbia, Canada (2005)
Alluvial Fans: Geomorphology, Sedimentology, Dynamics, 251, 25-40
Forest loss with urbanization predicts bird extirpations in Vancouver (2005)
Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: An international multiple case study analysis (2005)
Monitoring sustainable forest management in different jurisdictions (2005)
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 108 (1-3), 241-260
Multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and training in forestry and forest research (2005)
Watershed sustainability: Strategic and tactical level assessment in the Min River watershed, China (2005)
Environmental Informatics, Proceedings, , 76-83
Long-term forest experiments: The need to convert data into knowledge (2004)
Balancing Ecosystem Values: Innovative Experiments for Sustainable Forestry, 635, 25-31
Recognition of debris flow, debris flood and flood hazard through watershed morphometrics (2004)
Landslides, 1 (1), 61-66
Streamlining local-level information for sustainable forest management (2004)
International Perspectives on Streamlining Local-Level Information For Sustainable Forest Management, 400, 1-16
Streamlining planning and reporting for sustainable forest management (2004)
International Perspectives on Streamlining Local-Level Information For Sustainable Forest Management, 400, 105-109
Effects of census duration on estimates of winter bird abundance and species richness along line transects in coastal coniferous forest fragments (2003)
Journal of Field Ornithology, 74 (2), 119-124
Forestry on fans: a problem analysis (2003)
Identification, measurement and interpretation of tree rings in woody species from mediterranean climates (2003)
Biological Reviews, 78 (1), 119-148
Integrating biodiversity and forestry practices in western Canada (2003)
Introduction to the ecological issues section (2003)
Environment International, 29 (2-3), 137-140
Ranking forest rarity: No need to reinvent that wheel! - Response from Innes and Er (2003)
Bioscience, 53 (3), 200
The incorporation of research into attempts to improve forest policy in British Columbia (2003)
The presence of old-growth characteristics as a criterion for identifying temperate forests of high conservation value (2003)
International Forestry Review, 5 (1), 1-8
Global forest regulation in the ten years after Rio (2002)
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 17 (9), 445
Tree-life history prior to death: two fungal root pathogens affect tree-ring growth differently (2002)
Journal of Ecology, 90 (5), 839-850
Ozone exposure thresholds and foliar injury on forest plants in Switzerland (2001)
Environmental Pollution, 111 (2), 321-331
Variation of gas exchange within native plant species of Switzerland and relationships with ozone injury: an open-top experiment (2001)
Biomass burning and climate: An introduction (2000)
Biomass Burning and Its Inter-Relationships With the Climate System, 3, 1-13
Comparative stem-growth rates of Mediterranean trees under background and naturally enhanced ambient CO2 concentrations (2000)
New Phytologist, 146 (1), 59-74
Interactions between biomass burning and climate: Conclusions drawn from the workshop (2000)
Biomass Burning and Its Inter-Relationships With the Climate System, 3, 341-346
The view from British Columbia (2000)
Forestry Chronicle, 76 (3), 390
Observation and confirmation of foliar ozone symptoms of native plant species of Switzerland and southern Spain (1999)
Ozone - A risk factor for trees and forests in Europe? (1999)
Potential sampling bias in long-term forest growth trends reconstructed from tree rings: A case study from the Italio alps (vol 109, pg 103, 1998) (1999)
An assessment of the use of crown structure for the determination of the health of beech (Fagus sylvatica) (1998)
Forestry, 71 (2), 113-130
Assessment of biodiversity in ecosystem monitoring plots with particular reference to Switzerland (1998)
Forest Biodiversity Research, Monitoring and Modeling, 20, 371-395
Forest biodiversity and its assessment by remote sensing (1998)
Global Ecology and Biogeography, 7 (6), 397-419
Forests as ecosystems within a changing environment (1998)
Environmental Forest Science, 54, 107-117
Investigations of ozone induced injury in forests of southern Switzerland: Field surveys and open-top chamber experiments (1998)
Chemosphere, 36 (4-5), 995-1000
Potential sampling bias in long-term forest growth trends reconstructed from tree rings: A case study from the Italian Alps (1998)
Forest Ecology and Management, 109 (1-3), 103-118
Temporal development of visual ozone injury on the foliage of Prunus serotina - a statistical evaluation (1998)
Environmental Pollution, 102 (2-3), 287-300
A method for the identification of trees with unusually colored foliage (1996)
Comparing sampling strategies in forest monitoring programs (1996)
Forest Ecology and Management, 82 (1-3), 231-238
AIR-POLLUTION AND FOREST DECLINE IN CENTRAL-EUROPE (1995)
Environmental Pollution, 90 (2), 171-180
COMBINING FIELD AND CONTROL TEAM ASSESSMENTS TO OBTAIN ERROR-ESTIMATES FOR SURVEYS OF CROWN CONDITION (1995)
Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 10 (3), 264-270
OBSERVER VARIATION AS A SOURCE OF ERROR IN ASSESSMENTS OF CROWN CONDITION THROUGH TIME (1995)
Forest Science, 41 (2), 235-254
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF ECOSYSTEM MONITORING PLOTS IN SWISS FORESTS (1995)
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 36 (3), 271-294
CLIMATIC SENSITIVITY OF TEMPERATURE FORESTS (1994)
Environmental Pollution, 83 (1-2), 237-243
NEEDLE RETENTION AND NEEDLE LOSS OF SCOTS PINE IN RECENT DECADES AT THETFORD AND ALICE-HOLT, ENGLAND (1994)
RELIABILITY OF DIFFERING DENSITIES OF SAMPLE GRIDS USED FOR THE MONITORING OF FOREST CONDITION IN EUROPE (1994)
STEM DAMAGE IN SWISS FORESTS - INCIDENCE, CAUSES AND RELATIONS TO CROWN TRANSPARENCY (1994)
European Journal of Forest Pathology, 24 (1), 20-31
THE OCCURRENCE OF FLOWERING AND FRUITING ON INDIVIDUAL TREES OVER 3 YEARS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON SUBSEQUENT CROWN CONDITION (1994)
Trees-Structure and Function, 8 (3), 139-150
WALDSTERBEN IN THE FORESTS OF CENTRAL-EUROPE AND EASTERN NORTH-AMERICA - FANTASY OR REALITY (1994)
Plant Disease, 78 (11), 1021-1032
CONSISTENCY OF OBSERVATIONS OF FOREST TREE DEFOLIATION IN 3 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES (1993)
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 25 (1), 29-40
NEW PERSPECTIVES IN FORESTRY - A BASIS FOR A FUTURE FOREST MANAGEMENT POLICY IN GREAT-BRITAIN (1993)
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CROWN CONDITION OF SITKA AND NORWAY SPRUCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN GREAT-BRITAIN - AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS (1993)
Journal of Applied Ecology, 30 (2), 341-360
FOREST CONDITION AND AIR-POLLUTION IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM (1992)
Forest Ecology and Management, 51 (1-3), 17-27
FOREST DECLINE (1992)
Progress in Physical Geography, 16 (1), 1-64
OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONDITION OF BEECH (FAGUS-SYLVATICA L) IN BRITAIN IN 1990 (1992)
Forestry, 65 (1), 35-60
STRESS COMBINATIONS IN FORESTS (1992)
Acidification Research : Evaluation and Policy Applications, 50, 87-96
STRUCTURE OF EVERGREEN TEMPERATE RAIN-FOREST ON THE TAITAO PENINSULA, SOUTHERN CHILE (1992)
Journal of Biogeography, 19 (5), 555-562
FOREST CONDITION AND AIR-POLLUTION IN GREAT-BRITAIN (1991)
Chemistry & Industry, (3), 79-82
MEASURING EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC-POLLUTION ON TREES IN EUROPE (1991)
Geography, 76 (330), 70-71
Past Growth Variations in Picea sitchensis with Differing Crown Densities (1991)
Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 6 (1-4), 395-405
RELIABILITY, PRESENTATION, AND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG DATA FROM INVENTORIES OF FOREST CONDITION (1990)
RAPID YELLOWING OF NEEDLES OF PICEA ABIES (1989)
TREE-RING ANALYSIS AS AN AID TO EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF POLLUTION ON TREE GROWTH (1989)
FOREST DECLINE IN URBAN AREAS - A COMMENT (1988)
Science of the Total Environment, 72, 227-233
FOREST HEALTH SURVEYS - A CRITIQUE (1988)
Environmental Pollution, 54 (1), 1-15
FOREST HEALTH SURVEYS - PROBLEMS IN ASSESSING OBSERVER OBJECTIVITY (1988)
C-14 DATING AND PALEOENVIRONMENT OF THE HISTORIC LITTLE ICE-AGE GLACIER ADVANCE OF NIGARDSBREEN, SOUTHWEST NORWAY (1986)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 11 (4), 369-375
DATING EXPOSED ROCK SURFACES IN THE ARCTIC BY LICHENOMETRY - THE PROBLEM OF THALLUS CIRCULARITY AND ITS EFFECT ON MEASUREMENT ERRORS (1986)
INFLUENCE OF SAMPLING DESIGN ON LICHEN SIZE-FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS AND ITS EFFECT ON DERIVED LICHENOMETRIC INDEXES (1986)
Arctic and Alpine Research, 18 (2), 201-208
THE SIZE FREQUENCY-DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE LICHENS SPORASTATIA - TESTUDINEA AND RHIZOCARPON-ALPICOLA THROUGH TIME AT STORBREEN, SOUTHWEST NORWAY (1986)
THE USE OF PERCENTAGE COVER MEASUREMENTS IN LICHENOMETRIC DATING (1986)
A STANDARD RHIZOCARPON NOMENCLATURE FOR LICHENOMETRY (1985)
Boreas, 14 (1), 83-85
AN EXAMINATION OF SOME FACTORS AFFECTING THE LARGEST LICHENS ON A SUBSTRATE (1985)
Arctic and Alpine Research, 17 (1), 99-106
LICHENOMETRIC DATING OF DEBRIS-FLOW DEPOSITS ON ALPINE COLLUVIAL FANS IN SOUTHWEST NORWAY (1985)
LICHENOMETRY (1985)
Progress in Physical Geography, 9 (2), 187-254
MAGNITUDE-FREQUENCY RELATIONS OF DEBRIS FLOWS IN NORTHWEST EUROPE (1985)
Geografiska Annaler Series a-Physical Geography, 67 (1-2), 23-32
MOISTURE AVAILABILITY AND LICHEN GROWTH - THE EFFECTS OF SNOW COVER AND STREAMS ON LICHENOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS (1985)
REPLICATION OF LICHENOMETRIC DATA - ERRORS ASSOCIATED WITH VARIATIONS IN OPERATOR SEARCH EFFICIENCY (1985)
Area, 17 (3), 221-232
LICHENOMETRIC DATING OF MORAINE RIDGES IN NORTHERN NORWAY - SOME PROBLEMS OF APPLICATION (1984)
Geografiska Annaler Series a-Physical Geography, 66 (4), 341-352
THE OPTIMAL SAMPLE-SIZE IN LICHENOMETRIC STUDIES (1984)
DEBRIS FLOWS (1983)
LANDUSE CHANGES IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS DURING THE 19TH-CENTURY - THE ROLE OF PASTURE DEGENERATION (1983)
Scottish Geographical Magazine, 99 (3), 141-149
LICHENOMETRIC DATING OF DEBRIS-FLOW DEPOSITS IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS (1983)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 8 (6), 579-588
SIZE FREQUENCY-DISTRIBUTIONS AS A LICHENOMETRIC TECHNIQUE - AN ASSESSMENT (1983)
STRATIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF EPISODIC TALUS ACCUMULATION ON THE ISLE OF SKYE, SCOTLAND (1983)
USE OF AN AGGREGATED RHIZOCARPON SPECIES IN LICHENOMETRY - AN EVALUATION (1983)
Boreas, 12 (3), 183-190
LICHENOMETRIC USE OF AN AGGREGATED RHIZOCARPON SPECIES (1982)
A MANUAL FOR LICHENOMETRY - COMMENT (1981)
Current Students & Alumni
This is a small sample of students and/or alumni that have been supervised by this researcher. It is not meant as a comprehensive list.
Jose Arias-Bustamante
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Contested lands and climate change: A case study of adaptation to change in the context of Mapuche People
John Innes's Profile
Department of Forest Resources Management


Hey lovelies, what a dreadfully beautiful rainy day it is today. Honestly as of late my friends/acquaintances have been stumbling onto my blog and I thought it was time to write about why I don't share it with people. I fully respect why people do share it with their loved one/friends/associates but it's just not something that I want to do.
If people ask me what I do with my free time or why I'm on my mac so much I simply tell them "I'm writing" or "I'm a writer" which factually speaking isn't incorrect because I'm currently working on my thesis. I have no problem with the term blogger, or anything like that but since I spent most hours of the day writing or planning writing or thinking about writing, I think the term writer suits me more. Plus it make me sound slightly less like a loser.
Writing has always been something I've done to get away from my life, the people around me, the thoughts I have that drag me down. Maybe this is where the divide started, I don't know. I feel like when I write I have the space and freedom to write anything I want, especially my mental health - something I don't talk to with people in my life - and maybe that is why I'm so protective of my little space on the internet. If I had my friends/family/acquantances reading my blog everyday then I know I wouldn't be so honest about the things I wanted to say. It's the space that gives me the freedom to do that, and it's not necessarily a judgement thing because I have published writing that people in my life have seen.
Maybe the underline is that I'm simply not comfortable sharing my inner thoughts and feelings with the people in my life and therefor I share them on my little piece of the internet as sanctuary. I just feel like the minute I share it with everyone, my content becomes less about what I want to write, and more about what I want other people to see/read. If I'm honest I really like having my private space.
I mean who knows though, there might come a day when my blog is published in a newspaper or mentioned on the radio and it will become unavoidable to keep to myself. But, for the time being it works for me, I'm not in a position where I live with my family; since I live 100 miles away. With my friends we talk about art and alcohol, I do have previous partners and two friends that do know but they are the select few.
I would love to know if you tell people you know and why, and if you don't share it I'd love to know why too in the comments.
Hi, my name is Kayleigh and I'm an artist, part time blogger and full time bartender. I love grunge fashion, homeware and this is my creative space on the internet. I post a mixture of lifestyle, beauty, travel and much more. I'm potentially the most boring person you'll ever come across I watch too much Netflix and drink too much coffee.


A highly simplistic definition of "power" would be that it is the ability to produce effects, or to accomplish what one wills. The Scriptures clearly affirm not only that God has such an ability but that he has it without limitations. Hence, we speak of God as being omnipotent, infinite in power.
His "power is vast" (Job 9:4). He is "the Lord strong and mighty" (Ps. 24:8), "great and awesome" (Deut. 7:21), "the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel" (Isa. 1:24). "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the father's sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds" (Jer. 32:17-19a). Creation is a testimony to "his great power and mighty strength" (Isa. 40:26). He is Lord, Owner, Ruler, and King of all creation, whom none can resist or overpower (Matt. 11:25; Rev. 1:8; Ps. 29:10; Jer. 10:7,10). He is "the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 4:8; 11:17), "the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15). Nothing is too difficult for him; all things are within his power (Gen. 18:14; Zech. 8:6; Jer. 32:27).
When Mary asked Gabriel how she, a virgin, could conceive a child without the involvement of a man, his response was: "For nothing will be impossible with God." After comparing the difficulty of a rich man getting into heaven with a camel passing through the eye of a needle, Jesus said: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
"But our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases" (Ps. 115:3).
"Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps" (Ps. 135:6).
"For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for his stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27).
"Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'" (Isa. 46:10).
"Then Job replied to the Lord: 'I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted'" (Job 42:1-2).
"And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off his hand or say to him, 'What hast Thou done?'" (Dan. 4:35).
See also 2 Chron. 20:6; Job 23:13; Prov. 21:30; Isa. 43:13.
"God need not have created anything. And after creation, he may annihilate. Only when he has bound himself by promise, as in the instance of faith in Christ, does his action cease to be optional" (Dogmatic Theology, I:359).
It is also important to note that God accomplishes his will in one of two ways.
(1) He accomplishes much by appointed means, i.e., by the uniform and ordered operation of what are called second causes. This would include God's providential activity in which he makes use of existing things. God utilizes what we erroneously call "laws of nature" to carry out his purpose (e.g., sustaining human life by means of food and water, providing warmth for our atmosphere via the heat of the sun, etc.).
(2) God also accomplishes much by divine fiat, i.e., directly and immediately without the use of means or secondary causes. Creation, for example, as well as certain miracles (such as the resurrection) are expressions of this kind of divine power. They are actions which are the operation of the first cause (God) alone.
It is also the case that the actual exercise of God's power does not represent its limits. God can do all he wills (and does) but need not do all he can (and does not). That is to say, God's infinite power is manifested in the works of creation, but is not exhausted by them. God could have created more than he has, if he so pleased. What God has done, therefore, is no measure of what he could have done or can do.
"Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged" (Heb. 6:17-18).
"If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).
"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone" (Js. 1:13).
"It is . . . involved in the very idea of power, that it has reference to the production of possible effects. It is no more a limitation of power that it cannot effect the impossible, than it is of reason that it cannot comprehend the absurd, or of infinite goodness that it cannot do wrong. It is contrary to its nature. Instead of exalting, it degrades God, to suppose that He can be other than He is, or that He can act contrary to infinite wisdom and love. When, therefore, it is said that God is omnipotent because He can do whatever He wills, it is to be remembered that His will is determined by His nature. It is certainly no limitation to perfection to say that it cannot be imperfect" (Systematic Theology I:409).
These would appear to be those things God cannot do: (1) the logically contradictory (God's inability to be illogical is prevented by his truth, righteousness, faithfulness, etc.); (2) immoral actions (again, because of his moral excellency and consistency); (3) actions appropriate to finite creatures; (4) actions denying his own nature as God; and (5) the alteration of his eternal plan.
Augustine concurs: "God is omnipotent, and yet he cannot die, he cannot lie, he cannot deny himself. How is he omnipotent then? He is omnipotent for the very reason that he cannot do these things. For if he could die, he would not be omnipotent."
"The power of God is not diminished when it is said that he cannot die, and cannot sin; for if he could do these things, his power would be less. A being is rightly called omnipotent, from doing what he wills, and not from suffering what he does not will."
"The power to sin is the power to fall short of perfection. Since this is the opposite of omnipotence, God's inability to sin is not inconsistent with His omnipotence; rather, it is entailed by His omnipotence" (40).
"That God will not alter his own nature, that he cannot deny himself, that he cannot lie and cannot sin, that he cannot be deceived, and that, moreover, he cannot die, are affirmations which historic Christian theology has always properly associated with divine omnipotence and not with divine limitation or divine impotency, because the 'possibility' as stated is a logical impossibility. Any conception of omnipotence that requires God to contradict himself reflects a conjectural and ridiculous notion of absolute power" (God, Revelation, Authority, V:319).
The objection that this puts God in subservience to the laws of logic, as if to say he is restricted by something external to himself, fails to realize that the laws of logic are simply the way God thinks. The so-called "laws of logic" are the organization of the divine mind.
Let us apply the preceding to the age-old conundrum: can God create a stone too heavy for God to lift?
"If God can create the stone too heavy for God to lift, there is something God cannot do (namely, lift the stone). And if God cannot create the stone too heavy for him to lift, there is still something he cannot do (in this case, create the stone). Either God can or cannot create such a stone. Therefore, in either case, there is something God cannot do; and in either case, we seem forced to conclude that God is not omnipotent" (Ronald Nash, 47).
But again, for this objection to hold, it must propose a "thing," a genuine "task" for God to do. But it does not. The request that "the Being who can do anything, which includes creating and lifting all stones, create a stone too heavy to be lifted by the Being who can lift any created thing" is incoherent. It proposes nothing. It is a pseudo-task. That is to say, a stone too heavy to be lifted by him who can lift all stones is contradictory. Likewise, for God to create something which is a nothing (namely, a stone too heavy to be lifted by him who can lift all stones), is contradictory. That God cannot create a stone which logically cannot be created is no more a threat to omnipotence than his alleged "inability" to create a round triangle. Thus, praise be to God who can do all things!
"Wisdom and power are the ground of the respect we give to men; they being both infinite in God, are the foundation of a solemn honour to be returned to him by his creatures. If a man make a curious engine, we honour him for his skill; if another vanquish a vigorous enemy, we admire him for his strength; and shall not the efficacy of God's power in creation, government, redemption, inflame us with a sense of the honour of his name and perfections! We admire those princes that have vast empires, numerous armies, that have a power to conquer their enemies, and preserve their own people in peace; how much more ground have we to pay a mighty reverence to God, who, without trouble and weariness, made and manages this vast empire of the world by a word and beck! What sensible thoughts have we of the noise of thunder, the power of the sun, the storms of the sea! These things, that have no understanding, have struck men with such a reverence that many have adored them as gods. What reverence and adoration doth this mighty power, joined with an infinite wisdom in God, demand at our hands" (Charnock, 429).
"would think of this, and consider his unmeasurable boldness in thinking himself able to grapple with omnipotence! What force can any have to resist the presence of him before whom rocks melt, and the heavens at length shall be shrivelled up as a parchment by the last fire! As the light of God's face is too dazzling to be beheld by us, so the arm of his power is too mighty to be opposed by us" (437).
"(1) He is able to do or to work, for he is neither idle nor inactive, nor dead. (2) He is able to do what we ask, for he hears and answers prayer. (3) He is able to do what we ask or think, for he reads our thoughts, and sometimes we imagine things for which we dare not and therefore do not ask. (4) He is able to do all that we ask or think, for he knows it all and can perform it all. (5) He is able to do more . . . than (hyper, 'beyond') all that we ask or think, for his expectations are higher than ours. (6) He is able to do much more, or more abundantly, than all that we ask or think, for he does not give his grace by calculated measure. (7) He is able to do very much more, far more abundantly, than all that we ask or think, for he is a God of superabundance" (139-40).


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Home Fashion & Entertainment A$AP Rocky has confessed to being a sex addict
sabi tips Fashion & Entertainment,
A$AP Rocky has confessed to being a sex addict which according to him began when he was in Junior High School.
The rapper who got featured in an upcoming episode of Untold Stories of Hip Hop, said he has always been a horny kid.
A$AP Rocky told Angie:
"I'm not gon' fabricate. You win some, you lose some. If I won, Imma tell you I won. If I lost, Imma tell you I lost. That's life. You feel me?" He then takes a brief pause before beginning again. "I was always a sex addict.
"Like, I was horny! I ain't even have no sperm in my testicles yet but I literally was horny...I've been a sex addict for some time, yeah." He added, "These are things that people stay away from. They don't like to admit [it]. I can't be embarrassed about it. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I don't do nothin' that I'm not proud of speaking of."
This is however not the first time the rapper who recently got released from a Swedish jail after undergoing trial for an assault incident, has revealed his addiction to sex. Rocky had before now disclosed that he had his first orgy at the age of 13.
He once told Esquire he needed a $100k bed "because I have a lot of orgies at my house with some very close female companions. I've photographed and documented many of them. The women that I'm around are into that free-spirited s**t like me."
Tags # Fashion & Entertainment
Labels: Fashion & Entertainment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In the Mexican Revolution, the revolt was against the institutions, Catholicism included, but especially against the NAFTA of its day when foreign capital owned 95% of Mexico, like is happening today.
The case of the Naked Virgin is not an attack against the institution, it is an attack against the poor people of northern NM, with the collusion of California Chicnoas who preach daily about mutual respect, but when the chispas are down, they reveal, 1: a disdain toward the Hispanos of NM, and 2: a growing disdain for things Mexican. This dual prejudice, in California, goes under the name of "Progressive."
Had the Mexican revolt been patterned after the Alma Brigade, they would have attacked the peasants, as has now been the case in New Mexico.
In this day and age I find it amazing that Chicanos still uphold catholicism and "sacred" images like la virgen. Catholicism and la virgen we're meant to pacify us. Looks like it worked (especially in New Mexico).
If we look at the Mexican Revolution we will find anti-catholicism running throughout. Especially in the years after 1920 when the revolution put many restrictions, rightfully so, on the church.
Subsequently Mexico had the Cristero revolts where fanatical catholics took up arms against the state (they assasinated one of the Mexican presidents, the name escapes me).
The Cristeros eventually formed a political party and became the PAN.
There is definately a history of anti-catholic church sentiment in Mexico. Unfortunately more people have bought into the church.
I'm struck by the beauty and spirit of your work. Also your friend who is the focal point.
My friend, photographer Robert Heron, and I were discussing "Our Lady" and I was sharing the image you e-mailed. We travel to New Mexico every chance we get. He thinks an insight I have is significant and wonders if you ever thought this in creating Our Lady.
Before I give you my insight, I want you to know that I'm a modest collector (only when there's $$ laying around) and I have a painting by John Galvan who is a Denver southwestern impressionist. John used to do sitting portraits of homeless people and create his own gorgeous frames of gold leaf. I have his painting called "Willy." I felt John's point was to take people in the depths of despair, and somehow by painting them and framing them in gold, he was in reality demonstrating their dignity and pride.
My insight is what your friend who is the subject in Our Lady not only is like Willy in a sense, but moreso, she has a lot in common with the Mother Mary. Was Mary given the choice of having a baby or not? It seems to me she was ordered or told without any consideration given to how she felt about it.
Let me know when you have time how you feel about my opinion.


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Think back to grade school. That first warm day of spring. The energy. The restlessness of it. How many times did you glance at that clock and stare out the window?
Simple enough. So, we answered.
A car horn. People talking. A truck making noise.
Wind blowing the leaves in the trees.
I'm very thankful for experiences like that—the ones that help make a special connection to nature. And one thing that's drawn me to John Shannon is that for a long time he's also felt a closeness to the natural world.
Listen to the special sense of timing on his CD, American Mystic. When John plays the guitar and sings he's just so comfortable—it's like the music fits him just right. There's a steadiness and a peacefulness. Nothing feels manufactured.
Oh my heart; a thousand waves; years gone by are all the same, you know; you'll see; we're going like a breeze into the day.
And that's what John is aiming for—to bring us into our wide-angle vision, musically. To help us find those deeper meanings in song.
That search for new music philosophy has created material for an upcoming CD: Songs of the Desert River (early fall, 2010). John told me how the desert has been a main point of inspiration for his music and his life, and how he has spent much meaningful time there. Picture him sleeping in the openness of the American Southwest, or climbing down trails of ancient waterfalls in the deserts of Israel.
"What's amazing about the desert is that it's so empty. All this space, yet there's a presence there that's so strong. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA, so I spent my life on the east. The first time I went to the desert it was in Arizona, and it changed my whole concept of everything really. I'd never experienced being somewhere and seeing just desert as far as I could—and then a snow-capped mountain peak that was probably hundreds and hundreds of miles away in the distance. I never had that sense of depth perception. When I came back to the East Coast it translated into everything around me there, too. It was very expanding."
What becomes quickly apparent is the incredible understanding John has for the music (follow the exploration and improvisation back to Waking Vision, a jazz trio formed during John's stay at Berklee College of Music). But above all that innovation and music philosophy, it's a peacefulness and sincerity that shines.
In a way that reminds me of another singer and songwriter, Piers Faccini. It's their search for purity, and honesty. And the want to share something special—for the music to connect with people. Giving and receiving as one.
So it's about giving the listener credit for being an intelligent, feeling human being. John believes in letting us figure things out. He'll give us pieces of the story here and there, but lets us make connections on our own.
All stories are copyright of Gregory Koutrouby and A Thousand Stories unless otherwise noted.