Why Forests? Why Now?

Why Forests? Why Now? PDF

Author: Frances Seymour

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2016-12-27

Total Pages: 438

ISBN-13: 1933286865

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Tropical forests are an undervalued asset in meeting the greatest global challenges of our time—averting climate change and promoting development. Despite their importance, tropical forests and their ecosystems are being destroyed at a high and even increasing rate in most forest-rich countries. The good news is that the science, economics, and politics are aligned to support a major international effort over the next five years to reverse tropical deforestation. Why Forests? Why Now? synthesizes the latest evidence on the importance of tropical forests in a way that is accessible to anyone interested in climate change and development and to readers already familiar with the problem of deforestation. It makes the case to decisionmakers in rich countries that rewarding developing countries for protecting their forests is urgent, affordable, and achievable.

Positive Impact Forestry

Positive Impact Forestry PDF

Author: Thomas J. McEvoy

Publisher:

Published: 2004-05

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13:

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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.

Mexico’s Community Forest Enterprises

Mexico’s Community Forest Enterprises PDF

Author: David Barton Bray

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2020-11-24

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0816541124

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The road to sustainable forest management and stewardship has been debated for decades. Some advocate for governmental control and oversight. Some say that the only way to stem the tide of deforestation is to place as many tracts as possible under strict protection. Caught in the middle of this debate, forest inhabitants of the developing world struggle to balance the extraction of precarious livelihoods from forests while responding to increasing pressures from national governments, international institutions, and their own perceptions of environmental decline to protect biodiversity, restore forests, and mitigate climate change. Mexico presents a unique case in which much of the nation’s forests were placed as commons in the hands of communities, who, with state support and their own entrepreneurial vigor, created community forest enterprises (CFEs). David Barton Bray, who has spent more than thirty years engaged with and researching Mexican community forestry, shows that this reform has transformed forest management in that country at a scale and level of maturity unmatched anywhere else in the world. For decades Mexico has been conducting a de facto large-scale experiment in the design of a national social-ecological system (SES) focused on community forests. What happens when you give subsistence communities rights over forests, as well as training, organizational support, equipment, and financial capital? Do the communities destroy the forest in the name of economic development, or do they manage them sustainably, generating current income while maintaining intergenerational value as a resource for their children? Bray shares the scientific and social evidence that can now begin to answer these questions. This is an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and the interested public on the future of global forest resilience and the possibilities for a good Anthropocene.

Managing Landscapes for Change

Managing Landscapes for Change PDF

Author: Robert M. Scheller

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-11-27

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 3030620417

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This book discusses how future landscapes will be shaped by pervasive change and where, when, and how society should manage landscapes for change. Readers will learn about the major anthropogenic drivers of landscape change, including climate change and human induced disturbance regimes, and the unique consequences that multiple and simultaneously occurring change agents can have on landscapes. The author uses landscape trajectories as a guide to selecting the appropriate course of action, and considers how landscape position, inertia, and direction will determine landscape futures. The author introduces the concept of landscapes as socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), which combines ecological and technological influences on future landscape change and the need for society to acknowledge both when considering landscape management. Thinking beyond solutions, the author identifies barriers to managing landscapes for change including the cost, cultural identity of local populations, and the fear of taking action under uncertain conditions. Nevertheless, processes, tools, and technologies exist for overcoming social and ecological barriers to managing landscapes for change, and continued investment in social and scientific infrastructure holds out hope for maintaining our landscape values even as we enter an era of unprecedented change and disruption.

Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape

Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape PDF

Author: Tom Wessels

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2010-09-20

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1581578571

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Take some of the mystery out of a walk in the woods with this new field guide from the author of Reading the Forested Landscape. Thousands of readers have had their experience of being in a forest changed forever by reading Tom Wessels's Reading the Forested Landscape. Was this forest once farmland? Was it logged in the past? Was there ever a major catastrophe like a fire or a wind storm that brought trees down? Now Wessels takes that wonderful ability to discern much of the history of the forest from visual clues and boils it all down to a manageable field guide that you can take out to the woods and use to start playing forest detective yourself. Wessels has created a key—a fascinating series of either/or questions—to guide you through the process of analyzing what you see. You’ll feel like a woodland Sherlock Holmes. No walk in the woods will ever be the same.

Forests in Time

Forests in Time PDF

Author: John D. Aber

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 477

ISBN-13: 9780300115376

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The Eastern Hemlock, massive and majestic, has played a unique role in structuring northeastern forest environments, from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and through the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. A "foundation species" influencing all the species in the ecosystem surrounding it, this iconic North American tree has long inspired poets and artists as well as naturalists and scientists. Five thousand years ago, the hemlock collapsed as a result of abrupt global climate change. Now this iconic tree faces extinction once again because of an invasive insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Drawing from a century of studies at Harvard University's Harvard Forest, one of the most well-regarded long-term ecological research programs in North America, the authors explore what hemlock's modern decline can tell us about the challenges facing nature and society in an era of habitat changes and fragmentation, as well as global change.

The State of the World’s Forests 2018

The State of the World’s Forests 2018 PDF

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-07-06

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 9251305617

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Nearly three years ago, world leaders agreed to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the central framework for guiding development policies throughout the world. This edition of The State of the World’s Forests is aimed at enhancing our understanding of how forests and their sustainable management contribute to achieving several of the SDGs. Time is running out for the world’s forests: we need to work across sectors, bring stakeholders together, and take urgent action. The State of the World’s Forests 2018 identifies actions that can be taken to increase the contributions of forests and trees that are necessary to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. It is now critical that steps be taken to work more effectively with the private sector, and the informal forest sector must be transformed in order to bring broader economic, social and environmental benefits. Seventy years ago, when FAO completed its first assessment of the world’s forest resources, the major concern was whether there would be enough timber to supply global demand; now we recognize the greater global relevance of our forests and trees. For the first time, The State of the World’s Forests 2018 provides an assessment of the contribution of forests and trees to our landscapes and livelihoods. The purpose of this publication is to provide a much wider audience with an understanding of why forests and trees matter for people, the planet and posterity.

Common Sense Forestry

Common Sense Forestry PDF

Author: Hans W. Morsbach

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1931498210

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Common Sense Forestry relates thirty years' experience of an environmentally conscious woodland owner. Much of the book is devoted to starting a forest and how to maintain it. It answers such questions as: What seedlings to buy? Should your forest be monoculture or a mixed forest? What is the payback for planting and maintaining a forest? Is seeding a good way to start a forest? What kind of seeds work best? Does it pay to hire a consultant? What should he/she do for you? Does it pay to do much maintenance in your forest? How should I prune? Is timberland improvement worthwhile? How, when and whether to thin? How to herbicide and when? Can the damage done to nature by chemicals be justified by the benefits to your seedlings? What are the economics of woodland ownership? The success and history of German forestry methods is discussed and suggests what can be learned from these age-old practices. It will tell you how to file your income taxes, what equipment to buy, what works--and does not work--and why. It also provides guidance on how to deal with state and federal programs. Although intended for private woodland owners, the book is used as a classroom text in universities. The book is more practical than technical, yet still imparts knowledge of basic forestry, explaining terms such as succession and shade tolerance and how to apply these concepts in practice. Even sophisticated concepts are covered in plain, non-technical terms. Hans Morsbach, the author, believes that forestry is an art more than a science. Competent foresters may apply different methods of managing their forests and achieve comparable results. Still, it is important to be guided by natural forest principles. Doing nothing may sometimes be a better course of action than doing too much. The book suggests ways to gauge your involvement with your woodland to time available and your personal preference. It is most important that you enjoy your forest.

Ecological Forest Management

Ecological Forest Management PDF

Author: Jerry F. Franklin

Publisher: Waveland Press

Published: 2018-03-19

Total Pages: 646

ISBN-13: 147863720X

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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.

Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals PDF

Author: Pia Katila

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 653

ISBN-13: 1108486991

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A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.