Forest Conservation and Management


Book Description

Deforestation has lead to many serious problems on earth like, global warming, pollution, soil erosion, etc. Thus, the conservation and sustainable use of forest and its resources is the need of this hour. Forest conservation refers to the practice of using forest in the optimum way, so that we fulfill our requirements without jeopardizing that of the future generations. This book aims to provide essential information about this field. It presents the complex subject of forest conservation in the most comprehensible and easy to understand language. The topics covered in this extensive text deal with the core subjects of this subject. This book is an essential guide for students, academicians and those who wish to pursue this discipline further.




Forest Conservation


Book Description

Forest Conservation: Methods, Management and Challenges offers to a wide readership the opportunity to understand, consider and plan strategies that aim to conserve forest ecosystems across the world. This book presents ten chapters written by renowned researchers from Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia and Germany, offering to the scientific community � as well as to human society as a whole � important concepts, methods and gaps that we need to fill if we wish to preserve Earth�s forests.The authors begin this collection by demonstrating how rare tree species could be a surrogate for biodiversity in conservation decision-making (Chapter One). Sustainable management of biodiversity in woody ecosystems is the theme of Chapter Two, followed by an interesting synthesis and discussion on challenges for conservation of forests and Brazilian reptiles (Chapter Three). Prioritization of areas for permanent preservation for forest recovery aiming at landscape connectivity (Chapter Four), conservation of Aleppo pine forests for post flood and fire plantings (Chapter Five), agroforestry and its connections to REDD+ activities in the Amazon (Chapter Six), forest conservation and its challenges in tropical Africa (Chapter Seven), large dams in the Amazon and their effects on the fauna (Chapter Eight) and selection and propagation of native tree species for improving ecological restoration (Chapter Nine) are themes deeply addressed in the next contributions, including interesting case studies. This book ends with an approach to environmental suitability modeling and its potential to support conservation decisions and ecological restoration programs in virtually any part of the world (Chapter Ten).Forest Conservation: Methods, Management and Challenges is an important tool for students, researchers, decision-makers, governmental and non-governmental agencies that are interested in preserving different forest types in order to assure biodiversity conservation for current and future generations.




Forest Conservation Policy


Book Description

A one-of-a-kind introduction to the major issues and controversies dominating the heated debate over U.S. forest policy today. Forest Conservation Policy: A Reference Handbook chronicles the dramatic history, current status, and global influence of U.S. forest policy. Beginning with the foundations of early forest law during the colonial period through the rise of the Conservation Movement in the wake of 19th century massive forest exploitation, this reference also discusses the environmental challenges that have rewritten recent U.S. forest policy and explores future policy directions. What are the effects of forest destruction on biological diversity? Has the sustainable forest management movement been effective? Given the fact that individual landowners control the greatest share of U.S. forestland, how are forests on private lands regulated? Students and concerned citizens alike will discover answers to these and other critical questions regarding what is left of the nation's dwindling forests.




Ecological Forest Management


Book Description

Fundamental changes have occurred in all aspects of forestry over the last 50 years, including the underlying science, societal expectations of forests and their management, and the evolution of a globalized economy. This textbook is an effort to comprehensively integrate this new knowledge of forest ecosystems and human concerns and needs into a management philosophy that is applicable to the vast majority of global forest lands. Ecological forest management (EFM) is focused on policies and practices that maintain the integrity of forest ecosystems while achieving environmental, economic, and cultural goals of human societies. EFM uses natural ecological models as its basis contrasting it with modern production forestry, which is based on agronomic models and constrained by required return-on-investment. Sections of the book consider: 1) Basic concepts related to forest ecosystems and silviculture based on natural models; 2) Social and political foundations of forestry, including law, economics, and social acceptability; 3) Important current topics including wildfire, biological diversity, and climate change; and 4) Forest planning in an uncertain world from small privately-owned lands to large public ownerships. The book concludes with an overview of how EFM can contribute to resolving major 21st century issues in forestry, including sustaining forest dependent societies.




Landscape Ecology in Forest Management and Conservation


Book Description

“Landscape Ecology in Forest Management and Conservation: Challenges and Solutions for Global Change” discusses how landscape ecology can contribute to addressing the challenges in contemporary forest management practice, with diverse contributions from active researchers worldwide. It provides not only a summary of conceptual understanding of landscape ecology as related to forest management but also a whole set of specific challenges, issues, and methods on how to deal with them. This book is a stimulating addition to the international literature on landscape ecology and land resource management at large. Dr. Chao Li is a Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (CFS), Natural Resources Canada, and leads the Landscape Disturbances and Forest Valuation Modeling group. Dr. Raffaele Lafortezza is a Lecturer in forest landscape ecology at the University of Bari, Italy. Dr. Jiquan Chen is a Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences, the University of Toledo, USA.




Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas


Book Description

Under threat from natural and human disturbance, tropical dry forests are the most endangered ecosystem in the tropics, yet they rarely receive the scientific or conservation attention they deserve. In a comprehensive overview, Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Ecology, Conservation, and Management examines new approaches for data sampling and analysis using remote sensing technology, discusses new ecological and econometric methods, and critically evaluates the socio-economic pressures that these forest are facing at the continental and national levels. The book includes studies from Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil that provide in-depth knowledge about the function, status, and conservation efforts of these endangered forests. It presents key elements of synthesis from standardized work conducted across all sites. This unique contribution provides new light in terms of these forests compared to each other not only from an ecological perspective but also in terms of the pressures that they are facing, and their respective responses. Written by experts from a diversity of fields, this reference brings together the many facets of function, use, heritage, and future potential of these forests. It presents an important and exciting synthesis of many years of work across countries, disciplines, and cultures. By standardizing approaches for data sampling and analysis, the book gives readers comparison information that cannot be found anywhere else given the high level of disparity that exists in the current literature.




Forests in Our Changing World


Book Description

Scientists tell us that climate change is upon us and the physical world is changing quickly with important implications for biodiversity and human well-being. Forests cover vast regions of the globe and serve as a first line of defense against the worst effects of climate change, but only if we keep them healthy and resilient. Forests in Our Changing World tells us how to do that. Authors Joe Landsberg and Richard Waring present an overview of forests around the globe, describing basic precepts of forest ecology and physiology and how forests will change as earth’s climate warms. Drawing on years of research and teaching, they discuss the values and uses of both natural and plantation-based forests. In easy-to-understand terms, they describe the ecosystem services forests provide, such as clean water and wildlife habitat, present economic concepts important to the management and policy decisions that affect forests, and introduce the use of growth-and-yield models and remote-sensing technology that provide the data behind those decisions. This book is a useful guide for undergraduates as well as managers, administrators, and policy makers in environmental organizations and government agencies looking for a clear overview of basic forest processes and pragmatic suggestions for protecting the health of forests.




Forest Ecosystems


Book Description

This current book reviews and analyzes forest ecosystems. Chapter One begins with a discussion of radioactivity in forest ecosystems. Chapter Two discusses how litter chemistry has significant effects on soil biogeochemistry and looks into the relationships between litter chemistry, soil chemistry and microbial activity. Chapter Three summarizes information about short- and long-term study of the relationship between soil nematode communities as bioindicators of soil health and different types of disturbance forest soil (fallen trees, fire-damaged) and management (cleared and non-extracted windstorm plot). Chapter Four studies the organization of boreal forests in insular volcanic landscapes of the north-west Pacific. Chapter Five concludes the book with an analysis of the changes of snow moisture balance in logging areas in dark-needles forests of the Yenisei Ridge of Central Siberia.




Tropical Forest Remnants


Book Description

We live in an increasingly fragmented world, with islands of natural habitat cast adrift in a sea of cleared, burned, logged, polluted, and otherwise altered lands. Nowhere are fragmentation and its devastating effects more evident than in the tropical forests. By the year 2000, more than half of these forests will have been cut, causing increased soil erosion, watershed destabilization, climate degradation, and extinction of as many as 600,000 species. Tropical Forest Remnants provides the best information available to help us understand, manage, and conserve the remaining fragments. Covering geographic areas from Southeast Asia and Australia to Madagascar and the New World, this volume summarizes what is known about the ecology, management, restoration, socioeconomics, and conservation of fragmented forests. Thirty-three papers present results of recent research as well as updates from decades-long projects in progress. Two final chapters synthesize the state of research on tropical forest fragmentation and identify key priorities for future work.




Positive Impact Forestry


Book Description

Positive Impact Forestry is a primer for private woodland owners and their managers on managing their land and forests to protect both ecological and economic vitality. Moving beyond the concept of "low impact forestry," Thom McEvoy brings together the latest scientific understanding and insights to describe an approach to managing forests that meets the needs of landowners while at the same time maintaining the integrity of forest ecosystems. "Positive impact forestry" emphasizes forestry's potential to achieve sustainable benefits both now and into the future, with long-term investment superseding short-term gain, and the needs of families—especially future generations—exceeding those of individuals. Thom McEvoy offers a thorough discussion of silvicultural basics, synthesizing and explaining the current state of forestry science on topics such as forest soils, tree roots, form and function in trees, and the effects of different harvesting methods on trees, soil organisms, and sites. He also offers invaluable advice on financial, legal, and management issues, ranging from finding the right forestry professionals to managing for products other than timber to passing forest lands and management legacies on to future generations. Positive Impact Forestry helps readers understand the impacts of deliberate human activities on forests and offers viable strategies that provide benefits without damaging ecosystems. It speaks directly to private forest owners and their advisers and represents an innovative guide for anyone concerned with protecting forest ecosystems, timber production, land management, and the long-term health of forests. Named the "Best Forestry Book for 2004" by the National Woodlands Owners Association.