Aging in Pacific Northwest forests: a selection of recent research

This paper provides an overview of the work reported at a symposium on age-related changes in the structure and function of forests in the United States Pacific Northwest. Some of the work presented at this meeting is reported in the peer-reviewed papers comprising this journal issue. Age-related changes in leaf structure, CO2 assimilation rate, stable carbon isotope ratio, nitrogen concentration and stomatal limitation were demonstrated at many organizational scales. At larger scales, age-related changes were reported in canopy structure and light profile, stand productivity, tree mortality and respiration. These data raise new questions about the potential interaction among the structural and functional changes in aging forests, and indicate many avenues for future research concerning tree growth and ecosystem functioning.