Walters, Michael

Michael Walters is a forest ecologist with basic and applied interests in the mechanisms underlying forest pattern and process at scales ranging from communities to landscapes. Recognition of Walters' expertise in this area includes more than 1,950 citations of his peer reviewed articles, invited presentations at national (Ecological Society of America, Annual Meeting) and international symposia (The Fourth New Phytologist Symposium, Montpellier, France), and seats on advisory boards and committees, including British Columbia Forest Productivity Council, Forest Renewal British Columbia Competitive Grant Review Committee and the Michigan DNR Forest Cultivation Team.

Working in a wide range of biomes Walters has gained extensive experience examining the mechanism governing forest succession, forest productivity and spatio-temporal patterns of forest dynamics.

Some of Walters' current projects include "Climate and site effects on the productivity of European larch and red pine," "Substrate, seed dispersal and resource limitations to hardwood regeneration dynamics in red pine plantations," Spatio-temporal patterns of forest dynamics in managed and unmanaged sub-boreal spruce-forests with and without Innotus tomentosus root disease," and "The factors that reinforce deer caused shifts in vegetation composition and structure."

Through his appointment as a PERM (Partnerships in Ecosystem Research and Management) assistant professor of forest ecology with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University, Walters has focused his research efforts on forest ecology problems of management concern.

Evidence of management's interest in his research includes financial and in kind support from a diverse set of stakeholders including Mead Corporation, International Paper, Sand County Foundation, Michigan DNR, and the U.S. Forest Service.