Why Forests? Why Now?
Why Forests? Why Now?

Author: Frances Seymour

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2016-12-27

Total Pages: 389

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.

Global Climate Change and Human Impacts on Forest Ecosystems
Global Climate Change and Human Impacts on Forest Ecosystems

Author: J. Puhe

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 3642595316

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The inclusion of forests as potential biological sinks in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1997 has attracted international attention and again has put scientific and political focus on the world's forests, regarding their state and development. The international discus sion induced by the Kyoto Protocol has clearly shown that not only the tropical rain forests are endangered by man's activities, but also that the forest ecosystems of boreal, temperate, mediterranean and subtropical regions have been drastically modified. Deforestation on a large scale, burning, over-exploitation, and the degra dation of the biological diversity are well-known symptoms in forests all over the world. This negative development happens in spite of the already existing knowledge of the benefits of forests on global energy and water regimes, the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and other elements as well as on the biological and cultural diversity. The reasons why man does not take care of forests properly are manifold and complex and there is no easy solution how to change the existing negative trends. One reason that makes it so difficult to assess the impacts of human activity on the future development of forests is the large time scale in which forests react, ranging from decades to centuries.

Managing Landscapes for Change
Managing Landscapes for Change

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.

Managing Forest Ecosystems: The Challenge of Climate Change
Managing Forest Ecosystems: The Challenge of Climate Change

Author: Felipe Bravo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-05-20

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1402083432

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Climate changes, particularly warming trends, have been recorded around the globe. For many countries, these changes in climate have become evident through insect epidemics (e.g., Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in Western Canada, bark beetle in secondary spruce forests in Central Europe), water shortages and intense forest fires in the Mediterranean countries (e.g., 2005 droughts in Spain), and unusual storm activities (e.g., the 2004 South-East Asia Tsunami). Climate changes are expected to impact vegetation as manifested by changes in vegetation extent, migration of species, tree species composition, growth rates, and mortality. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has included discussions on how forests may be impacted, and how they may be used to mitigate the impacts of changes in climate, to possibly slow the rate of change. This book provides current scientific information on the biological and economical impacts of climate changes in forest environments, as well as information on how forest management activities might mitigate these impacts, particularly through carbon sequestration. Case studies from a wide geographic range are presented. This information is beneficial to managers and researchers interested in climate change and impacts upon forest environments and economic activities. This volume, which forms part of Springer’s book series Managing Forest Ecosystems, presents state-of-the-art research results, visions and theories, as well as specific methods for sustainable forest management in changing climatic conditions.

Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World
Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World

Author: Dominick A. DellaSala

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1597266760

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Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics. In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint. Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests. A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the world’s temperate and boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia). This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.

Trees and Global Warming
Trees and Global Warming

Author: William J. Manning

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-07-09

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1108471781

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Looks at the question: do forests cool or warm the atmosphere and reduce global warming?

Climate Change
Climate Change

Author: Johan Eliasch

Publisher: Earthscan

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1844077721

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First Published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Forests and Climate Change
Forests and Climate Change

Author: Anthony Hall

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2012-04-01

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 184980611X

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Controlling deforestation, which is responsible for about one-fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, has become a major tool in the battle against global warming. An important new international initiative – Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) – provides economic incentives to forest users to encourage preservation of trees. Nearly all Latin American countries are introducing national REDD strategies and pilot schemes. This insightful book raises questions over some of the basic assumptions that underpin REDD policies in Latin America. It raises doubts about whether sufficient account is being taken of the complex social, economic, cultural and governance dimensions involved, advocating a comprehensive 'social development' approach to REDD planning. Forests and Climate Change is the first book to comprehensively examine REDD policies across Latin America, including a focus on social aspects. It will prove invaluable for academics and postgraduate students in the fields of environmental studies, environmental politics, geography, social planning, social and environmental impact assessment, development studies, and Latin American area studies. Policy-makers, planners and practitioners working on REDD at national and international levels (both official and NGO sectors) will also find plenty of refreshing data in this much-needed resource.

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Tropical Forest Ecosystems
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Tropical Forest Ecosystems

Author: Adam Markham

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-11

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 9401727309

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Climate change represents one of the most alarming long-term threats to ecosystems the world over. This new collection of papers provides, for the first time, an overview of the potentially serious impact that climate change may have on tropical forests. The authors, a multi-disciplinary group of leading experts in climatology, forestry, ecology and conservation biology, present a state-of-knowledge snapshot of how tropical forests are likely to react to the changes being wrought on our planet's atmosphere and climate. Tropical forests represent extraordinary harbours for biological diversity, and yet as deforestation and degradation continue apace, they are under greater pressure from human impacts than ever before. Climate change adds yet another threat to these valuable ecosystems, and this volume demonstrates just how significant a problem this may really be. The authors identify certain types of forest, including tropical montane cloud forest that may be particularly vulnerable. They also show the strong likelihood of global warming aggravating problems in already fragmented forest areas.