Peatland Forest in MN: Past, Present, Future?

Join us to learn more about the peatland forest in Minnesota from Josh Kolasch, Master’s Student, Integrated Biological Sciences program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Peatland forests are wetland forest communities that play a crucial role in global carbon sequestering, water regulation and biodiversity conservation. These forests host a unique diversity of specialized flora and fauna, and are critical habitats for a number of species listed on Minnesota’s Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). In this presentation, we will explore the natural history of peatland forest, the historical impacts of colonization and industrial development, and the threats they currently face and the future outlook on this incredibly important but highly threatened ecosystem.

Josh Kolasch (he/him) is an ecologist, naturalist, and complete biodiversity nerd. He is a 2nd year graduate student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the Integrated Biological Sciences Master’s program. He works for Dr. Alexis Grinde in the Avian Ecology Lab out of the Natural Resources Research Institute. Josh has been fascinated with forest communities and biodiversity since early childhood. He has worked across the northern forested region and in primary tropical forest of Costa Rica on numerous ecology projects, deepening his love for these ecosystems and how our human society has and is impacting these ecosystems. His current research project is looking at how ecological succession impacts forest structure in black spruce peatlands, and how forest structure impacts peatland bird specialists in this forest community.

This event is part of the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog’s Friday Speaker Series. No registration required. We will gather for this talk on Friday, March 13th from 12:00pm-1:30pm at Lois King Education Center at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center, located at 8793 Owl Avenue, Meadowlands, MN 55765. No registration required.