Forest Ecology

This management-driven, comprehensive book on ecosystem ecology is the only one on the market that covers the entire field, linking conventional ecosystem-level forest ecology to forest management. It features ecological site classification, ecosystem modeling, and strong sections on ecological diversity and the physical environment. It provides a comprehensive treatment of forestry issues; as well as excellent coverage of ecosystem management, landscape management, natural disturbances and their emulation. An excellent reference work for professional foresters, resource managers, wildlife managers, parks managers, forest planners and policy makers, and forestry researchers.

FOREST ECOLOGY Authoritative resource covering traditional plant ecology topics and contemporary components such as climate change, invasive species, ecosystem services, and more Forest Ecology provides comprehensive coverage of the field, focusing on traditional plant ecology topics of tree structure and growth, regeneration, effects of light and temperature on tree physiology, forest communities, succession, and diversity. The work also reviews abiotic factors of light, temperature, physiography (landforms and topography), soil, and disturbance (especially fire), and provides coverage of ecosystem-level topics including carbon storage and balance, nutrient cycling, and forest ecosystem productivity. The 5th edition of Forest Ecology retains the readability and accessibility of the previous editions and includes important additional topical material that has surfaced in the field. All topics are approached with a landscape ecosystem or geo-ecological view, which places biota (organisms and communities) in context as integral parts of whole ecosystems that also include air (atmosphere and climate), topography, soil, and water. As such, the book fills a niche utilized by no other forest ecology text on the market, helping students and researchers consider whole ecosystems at multiple scales. Sample topics covered in Forest Ecology include: Contemporary components of forest ecology, including climate change, invasive species, diversity, ecological forestry, landscape ecology, and ecosystem services. Characteristics of physiography important for forest ecosystems, including its effects on microclimate, disturbance, soil, and vegetation. Genetic diversity of woody plants and genecological differentiation of tree species, including the importance of hybridization, polyploidy, and epigenetics. Site quality estimation using tree height and ground flora, and multiple-factor approaches to forest site and ecosystem classification and mapping. Forest Ecology is a highly accessible text for students, but it also serves as an excellent reference for academics. In addition, practitioners of forest ecology can also harness the information within to gain better insight into the field for practical application of concepts.

Model-driven individual-based forest ecology and individual-based methods in forest management are of increasing importance in many parts of the world. For the first time this book integrates three main fields of forest ecology and management, i.e. tree/plant interactions, biometry of plant growth and human behaviour in forests. Individual-based forest ecology and management is an interdisciplinary research field with a focus on how the individual behaviour of plants contributes to the formation of spatial patterns that evolve through time. Key to this research is a strict bottom-up approach where the shaping and characteristics of plant communities are mostly the result of interactions between plants and between plants and humans. This book unites important methods of individual-based forest ecology and management from point process statistics, individual-based modelling, plant growth science and behavioural statistics. For ease of access, better understanding and transparency the methods are accompanied by R code and worked examples.

Forest Ecology Forest Ecology An Evidence-Based Approach Forest ecology is the science that deals with everything in forests, including plants and animals (and their interactions), the features of the environment that affect plants and animals, and the interactions of humans and forests. All of these components of forests interact across scales of space and time. Some interactions are constrained, deterministic, and predictable; but most are indeterminant, contingent, and only broadly predictable. Forest Ecology: An Evidence-Based Approach examines the features common to all forests, and those unique cases that illustrate the importance of site-specific factors in determining the structure, function, and future of a forest. The author emphasizes the role of evidence in forest ecology, because appealing, simple stories often lead to misunderstandings about how forests work. A reliance on evidence is central to distinguishing between appealing stories and stories that actually fit real forests. The evidence-based approach emphasizes the importance of real-world, observable science in forests. Classical approaches to ecology in the twentieth century often over-emphasized appealing concepts that were not sufficiently based on real forests. The vast amount of information now available on forests allows a more complete coverage of forest ecology that relies on a strong, empirical foundation. Forest Ecology: An Evidence-Based Approach is the ideal companion text for the teaching of upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in forest ecology.

This comprehensive handbook provides a unique resource covering all aspects of forest ecology from a global perspective. It covers both natural and managed forests, from boreal, temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world. The book is divided into seven parts, addressing the following themes: forest types forest dynamics forest flora and fauna energy and nutrients forest conservation and management forests and climate change human impacts on forest ecology. While each chapter can stand alone as a suitable resource for a lecture or seminar, the complete book provides an essential reference text for a wide range of students of ecology, environmental science, forestry, geography and natural resource management. Contributors include leading authorities from all parts of the world.

Rain forests represent the world's richest repository of terrestrial biodiversity, and play a major role in regulating the global climate. They support the livelihoods of a substantial proportion of the world's population and are the source of many internationally traded commodities. They remain (despite decades of conservation attention) increasingly vulnerable to degradation and clearance, with profound though often uncertain future costs to global society. Understanding the ecology of these diverse biomes, and peoples' dependencies on them, is fundamental to their future management and conservation. Tropical Rain Forest Ecology, Diversity, and Conservation introduces and explores what rain forests are, how they arose, what they contain, how they function, and how humans use and impact them. The book starts by introducing the variety of rain forest plants, fungi, microorganisms, and animals, emphasising the spectacular diversity that is the motivation for their conservation. The central chapters describe the origins of rain forest communities, the variety of rain forest formations, and their ecology and dynamics. The challenge of explaining the species richness of rain forest communities lies at the heart of ecological theory, and forms a common theme throughout. The book's final section considers historical and current interactions of humans and rain forests. It explores biodiversity conservation as well as livelihood security for the many communities that are dependent on rain forests - inextricable issues that represent urgent priorities for scientists, conservationists, and policy makers.

This volume provides an overview of recent advances in forest ecology on a variety of topics, including species diversity and the factors that control species diversity, environmental factors controlling distribution of forests, impacts of disturbances on forests (fires, drought, hurricane), reproduction ecology of both trees and understory species, and spatial organization of forests. Previously published in Plant Ecology, Volume 201, No.1, 2009.

Conclusion. Conservation Rebels: Blocking Land Grabs, Post-Conservation, and Decolonizing Coloniality -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index