Mixed Species Forests

This textbook offers a detailed overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the ecology and management of compositionally and structurally diverse forests. It provides answers to central questions such as: What are the scientific concepts used to assess the growth, dynamics and functioning of mixed-species forests, how generalizable are they, and what kind of experiments are necessary to develop them further? How do mixed-species stands compare with monocultures in relation to productivity, wood quality, and ecological stability in the face of stress and disturbances? How are the effects of species mixtures on ecosystem functioning influenced by the particular species composition, site conditions, and stand structure? How does any over- or underyielding at the forest-stand level emerge from the tree and organ level, and what are the main mechanisms behind mixing effects? How can our current scientific understanding of mixed-species forests be integrated into silvicultural concepts as well as practical forest management and planning? Do the ecological characteristics of mixed-species stands also translate into economic differences between mixtures and monocultures? In addition, the book addresses experimental designs and analytical approaches to study mixed-species forests and provides extensive empirical information, general concepts, models, and management approaches for mixed-species forests. As such, it offers a valuable resource for students, scientists and educators, as well as professional forest planners, managers, and consultants.

This textbook offers a detailed overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the ecology and management of compositionally and structurally diverse forests. It provides answers to central questions such as: What are the scientific concepts used to assess the growth, dynamics and functioning of mixed-species forests, how generalizable are they, and what kind of experiments are necessary to develop them further? How do mixed-species stands compare with monocultures in relation to productivity, wood quality, and ecological stability in the face of stress and disturbances? How are the effects of species mixtures on ecosystem functioning influenced by the particular species composition, site conditions, and stand structure? How does any over- or underyielding at the forest-stand level emerge from the tree and organ level, and what are the main mechanisms behind mixing effects? How can our current scientific understanding of mixed-species forests be integrated into silvicultural concepts as well as practical forest management and planning? Do the ecological characteristics of mixed-species stands also translate into economic differences between mixtures and monocultures? In addition, the book addresses experimental designs and analytical approaches to study mixed-species forests and provides extensive empirical information, general concepts, models, and management approaches for mixed-species forests. As such, it offers a valuable resource for students, scientists and educators, as well as professional forest planners, managers, and consultants.

Much of the world's forested land is dominated by mixed-species stands. Understanding the complex structure and dynamics of these mixtures is a necessary step in the process of formulating appropriate silvicultural systems for their management. David M. Smith, Professor Emeritus of Silviculture at Yale University, has devoted much of his career to the study of the structure, development, and silvicultural treatment of these kinds of stands. This volume is presented by Professor Smith's collegues to honor the contributions he has made to the field. It contains both reviews of past work and results of current studies of mixed stands: topics range from analysis of forest dynamics in unmanaged stands to studies of silvicultural systems applied to mixtures, with examples drawn from boreal, temperate, and tropical regions. Much of the work stresses the importance of understanding the characteristic growth patterns of individual species within mixed stands, and how species interactions shape developmental patterns.

The capacity of mixed forests to mitigate climate change effects by increasing resilience and lowering risks is pinpointed as an opportunity to highlight the role of tree species rich forests as part of complex socio-ecological systems. This book updates and presents the state-of-the-art of mixed forest performance in terms of regeneration, growth, yield and delivery of ecosystem services. Examples from more than 20 countries in Europe, North Africa and South America provide insights on the interplay between structure and functionining, stability, silviculture and optimization of management of this type of forests. The book also analyses the role of natural mixed forests and mixed plantations in the delivery of ecosystem services and the best modelling strategy to study mixed forest dynamics. The book is intended to serve as a reference tool for students, researchers and professionals concerned about the management of mixed forests in a context of social and environmental change.

The most up-to-date, comprehensive resource on silviculture that covers the range of topics and issues facing today’s foresters and resource professionals The tenth edition of the classic work, The Practice of Silviculture: Applied Forest Ecology, includes the most current information and the results of research on the many issues that are relevant to forests and forestry. The text covers such timely topics as biofuels and intensive timber production, ecosystem and landscape scale management of public lands, ecosystem services, surface drinking water supplies, urban and community greenspace, forest carbon, fire and climate, and much more. In recent years, silvicultural systems have become more sophisticated and complex in application, particularly with a focus on multi-aged silviculture. There have been paradigm shifts toward managing for more complex structures and age-classes for integrated and complementary values including wildlife, water and open space recreation. Extensively revised and updated, this new edition covers a wide range of topics and challenges relevant to the forester or resource professional today. This full-color text offers the most expansive book on silviculture and: Includes a revised and expanded text with clear language and explanations Covers the many cutting-edge resource issues that are relevant to forests and forestry Contains boxes within each chapter to provide greater detail on particular silvicultural treatments and examples of their use Features a completely updated bibliography plus new photographs, tables and figures The Practice of Silviculture: Applied Forest Ecology, Tenth Edition is an invaluable resource for students and professionals in forestry and natural resource management.

Almost 20 years after the first MEDPINE book "Ecology, biogeography and management of Pinus halepensis and P. brutia forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin "(Ne'eman and Trabaud, 2000) was published, this new book presents up-to-date and state of the art information, covering a wide range of topics concerning Mediterranean pine trees growing in native and planted forests, their ecosystems and management. This will be an essential source of scientific information for learning, exploring planning and managing mediterranean pine and mixed forests. We focus on: genetics, adaptation, distribution and evolution; ecophysiology and drought resistance; pine and mixed forest ecosystems; forest dynamics biodiversity and biotic interactions; fire ecology; ecosystem services and policy; afforestation and management; all under the effect of global climate change. While forests are studied mainly in temperate and tropical zones, in the light of current climate change, focusing on Mediterranean forests growing in semi-humid to semi-arid zones is more important than ever. This book will include mostly review chapters (and two outstanding case studies) contributed by leading scientists, foresters and managers, and will serve as a scientific textbook for students of biology, agriculture and forestry, researchers of ecology forestry and related fields, forest managers, policy and decision makers.

One of the central research themes in ecology is evaluating the extent to which biological richness is necessary to sustain the Earth's system and the functioning of individual ecosystems. In this volume, for the first time, the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes in forests is thoroughly explored. The text examines the multiple effects of tree diversity on productivity and growth, biogeochemical cycles, animals, pests, and disturbances. Further, the importance of diversity at different scales, ranging from stand management to global issues, is considered. The authors provide both extensive reviews of the existing literature and own datasets. The volume is ideally suited for researchers and practitioners involved in ecosystem management and the sustainable use of forest resources.