Europe's Changing Woods and Forests


Book Description

Our understanding of the ecological history of European forests has been transformed in the last twenty years. Bringing together key findings from across the continent, this book provides a comprehensive account of the relevance of historical studies to current conservation and management of forests. It combines theory with a series of regional case studies to show how different aspects of forestry play out according to the landscape and historical context of the local area.




Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge


Book Description

Exploring a topic of vital and ongoing importance, Traditional Forest Knowledge examines the history, current status and trends in the development and application of traditional forest knowledge by local and indigenous communities worldwide. It considers the interplay between traditional beliefs and practices and formal forest science and interrogates the often uneasy relationship between these different knowledge systems. The contents also highlight efforts to conserve and promote traditional forest management practices that balance the environmental, economic and social objectives of forest management. It places these efforts in the context of recent trends towards the devolution of forest management authority in many parts of the world. The book includes regional chapters covering North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Australia-Pacific region. As well as relating the general factors mentioned above to these specific areas, these chapters cover issues of special regional significance, such as the importance of traditional knowledge and practices for food security, economic development and cultural identity. Other chapters examine topics ranging from key policy issues to the significant programs of regional and international organisations, and from research ethics and best practices for scientific study of traditional knowledge to the adaptation of traditional forest knowledge to climate change and globalisation.




Sustainable Forestry Management and Wood Production in a Global Economy


Book Description

A global view of responsible forestry management Sustainable Forestry Management and Wood Production in a Global Economy examines emerging issues and key strategies for sustaining wood production while maintaining other forest resources. Internationally recognized forestry experts explore a broad range of topics on sustainable forestry at t




Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing World: a European Perspective


Book Description

Yet another book on the topic of ‘Sustainable Forest Management’ can only be justified by new information that is of direct relevance. The contents of this volume concentrate on the very latest factors and developments, thus, hopefully, contributing both to the book’s attractiveness and to closing gaps in the discipline’s database. This book is written for researchers in the field of forest management, international forestry, and climate change-related issues, legal and policy advisors, as well as for managers of private companies who deal with SFM. The authors of the various sections are scientists in the field of forestry and other environmental sciences. They represent different institutions, mainly universities and research agencies in Germany, but also high-level international institutions in development co-operation, such as the World Bank, FAO, and IIASA. The scope of the book is to refresh the meanings and perceptions of SFM against the background of the rapid changes in our natural and social environment. Climate change and the rapid increase of atmospheric CO concentration is a global process 2 with negative impacts of different kinds, among others on natural ecosystems such as forests. A crucial issue therefore is how forest management can contribute to forest conservation in light of changing climatic conditions. Moreover, policy changes such as the introduction of certification schemes and the new emphasis laid on Non-Wood Forest Products justify the re-evaluation of the role of SFM in delivering ecological goods and services from our forests.




Forestry in the EU and the World


Book Description

Recoge : The International Year of Forests 2011 - Forestry in the world: 1. Forests - 2. The economics of forestry and wood processing - 3. Wood and wood products - 4. Woods as a source of energy - Annexes.




Europe's Changing Woods and Forests


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive account of the relevance of historical studies to current conservation and management of forests. It combines theory with a series of regional case studies to show how different aspects of forestry play out according to the landscape and historical context of the local area.




Trees, Woods and Forests


Book Description

Forests—and the trees within them—have always been a central resource for the development of technology, culture, and the expansion of humans as a species. Examining and challenging our historical and modern attitudes toward wooded environments, this engaging book explores how our understanding of forests has transformed in recent years and how it fits in our continuing anxiety about our impact on the natural world. Drawing on the most recent work of historians, ecologist geographers, botanists, and forestry professionals, Charles Watkins reveals how established ideas about trees—such as the spread of continuous dense forests across the whole of Europe after the Ice Age—have been questioned and even overturned by archaeological and historical research. He shows how concern over woodland loss in Europe is not well founded—especially while tropical forests elsewhere continue to be cleared—and he unpicks the variety of values and meanings different societies have ascribed to the arboreal. Altogether, he provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of humankind’s interaction with this abused but valuable resource.




Climate Change, Air Pollution and Global Challenges


Book Description

Contemporary societies expect a range of services (including of carbon sequestration) to be supplied from forest ecosystems. Their growing societal importance is clearly reflected in policies. The conceptual framework for the states that people are integral parts of ecosystems and that a dynamic interaction exists between them and other parts of ecosystems. This approach encompasses social, economic and environmental interactions, and the dynamics and cross scale issues that have multiple outcomes. However, forest multifunctionality is a challenge since the combination of multiple ecosystem services may be very different and dependent on a high number of factors. Stakeholder priorities with respect to individual ecosystem services may be variable, as may be a range of stakeholders. Reflexive, participatory and multilevel governance, in a continuous process of its adjustment, needs therefore to be developed to enable forestry decision-makers to consider existing opinions and behavioural patterns of the diverse stakeholders who drive the forestry change and respond to it. In such a retrospective, numerous questions have arisen, among which the integration of carbon sequestration into multifunctional forestry is among priorities. Carbon forestry enables society to buy time for development of low carbon and decarbonisation technologies; while its integration into multifunctional land use offers innovation, employment and new markets, with locally and regionally oriented value chains. This particularly concerns remote areas where forestry could foster socio-economic development and combine it with the enhancement of nature and rural landscape. However, the question: how to multiply synergies and balance trade-offs merits attention. Fostering resilience of forestry systems to climate change necessitates the establishment of an appropriate framework, because, although multipurpose afforestation may result in lower rates of carbon sequestration, it is expected to be more attractive to people as it will provide additional benefits and will promote sustainable development.




Climate Change, Air Pollution and Global Challenges


Book Description

There are significant pressures from climate change and air pollution that forests currently face. This book aims to increase understanding of the state and potential of forest ecosystems to mitigate and adapt to climate change in a polluted environment. It reconciles process-oriented research, long-term monitoring and applied modeling through comprehensive forest ecosystem research. Furthermore, it introduces "forest super sites for research for integrating soil, plant and atmospheric sciences and monitoring. It also provides mechanistic and policy-oriented modeling with scientifically sound risk indications regarding atmospheric changes and ecosystem services. - Identifies current knowledge gaps and emerging research needs - Highlights novel methodologies and integrated research concepts - Assesses ecological meaning of investigations and prioritizing research need




Managing Northern Europe's Forests


Book Description

Northern Europe was, by many accounts, the birthplace of much of modern forestry practice, and for hundreds of years the region’s woodlands have played an outsize role in international relations, economic growth, and the development of national identity. Across eleven chapters, the contributors to this volume survey the histories of state forestry policy in Scandinavia, the Low Countries, Germany, Poland, and Great Britain from the early modern period to the present. Each explores the complex interrelationships of state-building, resource management, knowledge transfer, and trade over a period characterized by ongoing modernization and evolving environmental awareness.