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Scanning the horizon for the future of Arboriculture

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The "Great Acceleration" is upon us, an era of rapid and transformative change (Steffen et al. 2015). According to some observers, we have reached a historic inflection point in which multiple mega-trends—such as technological disruption, economic globalization, and climate change—are accelerating and interacting at the same time. Rapid social, technological, environmental, economic, and political change is the broad context for arboriculture in the 21st century. The recent past and business-as-usual thinking may not be good guides for navigating this turbulent future. Faced with rapid, widespread, and accelerating change, what can we do to thrive and build resilience in our organizations and professional lives? The Forest Futures Horizon Scanning Project at the US Forest Service is an effort to proactively respond to the increasing pace and complexity of change, to "look beyond the headlights" in order to help the Forest Service and its partners better anticipate and prepare for change.

Citation

Bengston, David N. 2019. Scanning the horizon for the future of Arboriculture. Arborist News. 28(4): 26-31. August.​
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/58696