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Eliciting Expert Knowledge of Forest Succession Using an Innovative Software Tool

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Expert Knowledge and Its Application in Landscape Ecology

Abstract

Professionals add a wealth of experiential knowledge to the application of scientific data and the implementation of procedures in many fields of work. In the forestry sector, expert knowledge is used in developing strategic plans for forest management, including large-scale land-use planning to manage the timber supply (OMNR 2010), or for conservation planning (McNay et al. 2005, 2006). Tactical applications of expert knowledge in forestry include landscape mapping (Walton and Meidinger 2006) and forest management operations (Willoughby and Thomson 2004; Bone et al. 2007). Despite the common use of expert knowledge in forestry applications, this use is neither formal nor rigorous, and the knowledge is often implicit and latent, with unknown characteristics and reliability.

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Correspondence to Michael Drescher .

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Drescher, M., Buse, L.J., Perera, A.H., Ouellette, M.R. (2012). Eliciting Expert Knowledge of Forest Succession Using an Innovative Software Tool. In: Perera, A., Drew, C., Johnson, C. (eds) Expert Knowledge and Its Application in Landscape Ecology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1034-8_4

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