Biodiversity And Conservation In Forests

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Biodiversity and Conservation in Forests" that was published in Forests

While most efforts at biodiversity conservation have focused primarily on protected areas and reserves, the unprotected lands surrounding those area—the "matrix"—are equally important to preserving global biodiversity and maintaining forest health. In Conserving Forest Biodiversity, leading forest scientists David B. Lindenmayer and Jerry F. Franklin argue that the conservation of forest biodiversity requires a comprehensive and multiscaled approach that includes both reserve and nonreserve areas. They lay the foundations for such a strategy, bringing together the latest scientific information on landscape ecology, forestry, conservation biology, and related disciplines as they examine: the importance of the matrix in key areas of ecology such as metapopulation dynamics, habitat fragmentation, and landscape connectivity general principles for matrix management using natural disturbance regimes to guide human disturbance landscape-level and stand-level elements of matrix management the role of adaptive management and monitoring social dimensions and tensions in implementing matrix-based forest management In addition, they present five case studies that illustrate aspects and elements of applied matrix management in forests. The case studies cover a wide variety of conservation planning and management issues from North America, South America, and Australia, ranging from relatively intact forest ecosystems to an intensively managed plantation. Conserving Forest Biodiversity presents strategies for enhancing matrix management that can play a vital role in the development of more effective approaches to maintaining forest biodiversity. It examines the key issues and gives practical guidelines for sustained forest management, highlighting the critical role of the matrix for scientists, managers, decisionmakers, and other stakeholders involved in efforts to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem processes in forest landscapes.

This book provides complete, comprehensive, and broad subject-based reviews for students, teachers, researchers, policymakers, conservationists, and NGOs interested in the biodiversity and conservation of woody plants. Forests cover approximately 31 percent of the world’s total landmass; 93 percent is natural forest and only 7 percent consists of planted trees. Forest decline is progressing at an alarming rate worldwide. In addition to human activities (logging, deforestation, and exploiting forest lands for agriculture and industrial use), a number of other factors – including pests and diseases, drought, soil acidity, radiation, and ozone – are cumulatively contributing to global forest decline. The present situation forces us to focus on forest conservation strategies for the present and future. Gene conservation and maintaining genetic diversity in forest ecosystems are crucial to the preservation of forest genetic resources. This calls for integrated action to implement both the in situ (on site) preservation of forest stands and ex situ (distant from the original site) strategies for the conservation of woody plants’ genetic resources. Selected priority areas include: 1) assessing patterns of genetic diversity and threats, 2) understanding the biological processes regulating genetic diversity, 3) assessing the impact of human activities and climate change on genetic diversity, and 5) finding methods for prioritizing species and populations for the conservation of forest trees genetic resources. All chapters were written by leading scientists in their respective fields, which include: woody plant diversity, ecology and evolution; assessment of genetic diversity in forest tree populations; conservation planning under climate change; and in situ and ex situ strategies, including biotechnological approaches, for the conservation of woody plants genetic resources.

One of the highest priorities for human societies in the 21st century, under the challenges of predicted great environmental changes, is to conserve all kinds of biodiversity across the planet. Among all the biota that exist on Earth, forest ecosystems demonstrate a high degree of biodiversity, being thought to comprise the most diverse ecosystems, as most of the terrestrial species in the world dwell in these ecosystems. Forest biodiversity is interlinked to a web of socio-economic factors, providing an array of goods and services that range from timber and non-timber forest resources to mitigating climate change and conservation of genetic resources; therefore, it is innately linked to ecosystems and human well-being. However, in recent decades, the decrease in forest biodiversity has been a crucial and ongoing environmental issue that needs special attention and adapted ecosystem management. This Special Issue book on forest biodiversity (FB) includes a selected number of research works from all over the world dealing with emerging issues, for understanding FB and its needs for conservation, ecological processes, disturbances, climate change and ecosystems resilience, structural complexity and ecosystem functions, ecological theories and silvicultural practices, and ecosystems stability. More specifically, it includes papers focused on the indicators and methods for assessing and monitoring forest biodiversity, evaluation of practices, planting and silvicultural treatments, and management and monitoring methods, with an overall goal to provide new insights on forest biodiversity conservation, conservation of forest biodiversity in protected areas, treatments of endangered or threatened forest habitats, and sustainable management of forest resources.

First Published in 2012. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In India forests cover about 75m ha or about 25 per cent of the entire land area. In order to fulfil the appropriate functions the foresty development in India must proceed at a rate much faster than witherto for the sake of the entire economy, for the protection and improvement of the environment and for a much greater production of wood and other non-wood products. Not only the quality of environment be preserved and improved, but also the economic demand for forests products met adequately, both the internal utilization and for export. A substantial increase in employment in forestry operation is feasible and should be aimed at. It is necessary to emphasise that a close integration of the protective and porductive functions of forest should be aimed at which is both feasible and possible. Forests are a major factor of environment conservation and control extremes of heat and cold, rendering the climate more equable. To achieve good conservation and management of our natural resources, we should know the status of our genetic and biological resources. Thus continuous workd and intensive research in the fields of genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity and urgently needed. Contents: Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: Land Use, Forest Area and Population, Chapter 3: History of Forestry in India, Chapter 4: Ecological Perceptions, Chapter 5: Ecology of Indian Forests, Chapter 6: Forests and Environment, Chapter 7: Ecosystem Theory and Application, Chapter 8: Forests and Environment: Soil Erosion and Floods, Chapter 9: Wildlife and Biosphere Reserves, Chapter 10: Silvicultural Principles and Practices, Chapter 11: Socio-economic Effects and Constraints, Chapter 12: Women and Environment, Chapter 13: Macro Issues: Pressure on Forests, Chapter 14: Forestry and Rural Development, Chapter 15: People Participation in Afforestation, Chapter 16: Environmental Considerations, Chapter 17: The Environmental Scenario, Chapter 18: Environmental Problems, Chapter 19: Environment: An Impact Assessment, Chapter 20: Analysis of the Environmental Problems: Case Studies, Chapter 21: Pollution: An Appraisal, Chapter 22: Pollution Control (Air and Water) and Its Concept, Chapter 23: Biological Diversity, Chapter 24: Management of Forests and Wildlife, Chapter 25: Biodiversity Biotechnology and Profits, Chapter 26: The Impact of Biodiversity Conservation or Indigenous Peoples, Chapter 27: Genes for Sustainable Development, Chapter 28: Forest Resources and Its Management, Chapter 29: Production and Receipt of Forest Products, Chapter 30: Genetic Resources and Their Importance, Chapter 31: Genetic Resources: Dilemma.

As global demand for forest products increases, conserving biodiversity has become more urgent and challenging. Forestry and Biodiversity advocates adaptive management � a structured approach to learning by doing � to sustain biodiversity in managed forests. It draws on the theory and principles of conservation biology and forest ecology and illustrates them, and the challenges they pose, through a practical, real-world study of commercial forestry in a coastal temperate rainforest. This book will be of interest to those who plan, or hope to influence, forest practices and the future of the environment.

At the meeting of the International Tropical Timber Organization held in Bali in 1990, ITTO adopted the target of ensuring that all tropical timber marketed internationally should, by the year 2000, come from forests that are managed sustainably. This study is an attempt to determine whether the member countries of the ITTO have a legal and administrative basis for managing their production forests in ways which will allow these forests to contribute to biological diversity conservation. It also attempts to assess the extent to which such management is already applied on the ground through member country studies. A set of guidelines on ways in which management of production forests could be improved is included.