Climate Change And Forests

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.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face - both in terms of its potential impact on our societies and the earth, and the scale of international co-operation that is needed to confront it. Emerging as a component of the international dialogue on the environment and climate, the role of forests in influencing earth systems will need to be assessed. Drawing together perspectives from researchers and policy makers, this book explores how forests will interact with the physical and natural world, and with human society as the climate changes. Also considered is how the world's forests can be managed to contribute to the mitigation of climate change and to maximize the full range of economic and non-market benefits. Providing an examination of the science, a detailed consideration of the science policy interface and the international frameworks and conventions, this book is valuable reading for all those interested in sustainable forest management, climate change and the associated environmental sciences.

The global climate change problem has finally entered the world's consciousness. While efforts to find a solution have increased momentum, international attention has focused primarily on the industrial and energy sectors. The forest, and land-use sector, however, remains one of the most significant untapped opportunities for carbon mitigation. The expiration of the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period in 2012 presents an opportunity for the international community to put this sector back on the agenda. In this timely, wide-ranging volume, an international team of experts explain the links between climate change and forests, highlighting the potential utility of this sector within emerging climate policy frameworks and carbon markets. After framing forestry activities within the larger context of climate-change policy, the contributors analyze the operation and efficacy of market-based mechanisms for forest conservation and climate change. Drawing on experiences from around the world, the authors present concrete recommendations for policymakers, project developers, and market participants. They discuss sequestration rights in Chile, carbon offset programs in Australia and New Zealand, and emerging policy incentives at all levels of the U.S. government. The book also explores the different voluntary schemes for carbon crediting, provides an overview of best practices in carbon accounting, and presents tools for use in future sequestration and offset programs. It concludes with consideration of various incentive options for slowing deforestation and protecting the world's remaining forests. Climate Change and Forests provides a realistic view of the role that the forest and land-use sector can play in a post-Kyoto regime. It will serve as a practical reference manual for anyone concerned about climate policy, including the negotiators working to define a robust and enduring international framework for addressing climate change.

A search for new methods for dealing with climate change led to the identification of forest maintenance as a potential policy option that could cost-effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the development of measures for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). This book explores how an analysis of past forest governance patterns from the global through to the local level, can help us to build institutions which more effectively deal with forests within the climate change regime. The book assesses the options for reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries under the international climate regime, as well as the incentives flowing from them at the national and sub national level and examines how these policy levers change human behaviour and interface with the drivers and pressures of land use change in tropical forests. The book considers the trade-offs between certain forestry related policies within the current climate regime and the larger goal of sustainable forestry. Based on an assessment of existing multi-level institutional forestry arrangements, the book questions how policy frameworks can be better designed in order to effectively and equitably govern the challenges of deforestation and land degradation under the global climate change regime. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Law and Environmental Studies.

This report updates a review of literature about the effects of global climate change on forest plants and communities published in 1998. The focus is on changes in Ontario predicted for forest fires, insect outbreaks, disease, forest growth, species composition, harvest rates, wood supply, genetics and regeneration, and carbon-based forest management.--Includes text from document.

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.

Effects of Climate Change on Forests: An Evidence-Based Primer for Sustainable Management of Temperate and Mediterranean Forests presents concepts, case studies and application techniques for theories on forest management under climate change. Readers will gain an understanding on how forest planning and management ties into the ecological functioning and resilience of forests by following variability in growth (or other processes) over time, a concept weakly implemented in traditional forest planning. This shift in focus has significant benefits, not only in better incorporating the services provided by forests, but also in opening up better adaptation planning. Outlines innovative tools to evaluate and assess forest management plans Provides guidelines and criteria for forest planning, sustainability and management techniques for adapting to climate change Helps the reader develop comprehensive forest management plans— complete with sylvicultural interventions—which account for uncertainties in climate change Ties directly into A for Climate project from the EU Commission as part of Horizon 2020