Primary databases for forest ecosystem management-examples from Ontario and possibilities for Canada: NatGRID

This paper identifies some scientific impediments to ecosystem management and describes bio-physical databases required to help systematically and empirically address the ecological sustainability challenge. Examples are drawn from ongoing work in Ontario. This work has implications for efforts in ecological land classification, landscape ecology, more efficient locating of research and monitoring plots, wildlife management and ultimately trade-off analyses. We conclude with the recommendation that the key primary databases, as currently evolving for Ontario, could and should be developed nationally, thereby creating a "NatGRID database", i.e., Nationally Georeferenced Resource Information for Decision-making. NatGRID could be used to help address, in a more quantitative manner, fundamental questions regarding ecological sustainability and trade-offs in forest management.