Pines And Their Mixed Forest Ecosystems In The Mediterranean Basin

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.

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 scientific knowledge and information. It covers a wide range of topics concerning Mediterranean pine trees growing in natural and planted forests, their ecosystems and management. This book will be an essential source for learning, exploring, planning and managing Mediterranean pine and mixed pine-broadleaved forests. It includes mostly review chapters contributed by leading scientists, foresters and managers. It covers: genetics and adaptation, distribution and evolution, ecophysiology and drought resistance, function of pine and mixed forest ecosystems, forest dynamics, biodiversity and biotic interactions, fire ecology, afforestation and management, ecosystem services and policy - all under the effect of global climate change. While forests are studied mainly in temperate and tropical climate zones, looking at Mediterranean forests of sub-humid to semi-arid regions is important more than ever due to current global climate trends. This collection can 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.

A comprehensive review essential for all involved in the management of natural and planted pine forests.

Used by humans since ancient times, evergreen oak forests still cover extensive mountain areas of the Mediterranean Basin. These broadleaved evergreen forests occupy a transitional zone between the cool-temperate deciduous forest biome and the drier Mediterranean pine forests and shrublands. Slow growing and casting a deep shade, the sclerophyllous holm oak (Quercus ilex) absolutely dominates the closed canopy of many Mediterranean evergreen oak forests. This is a synthesis of 20 years of research on the structure, function, and dynamics of holm oak forests in two intensively studied experimental areas in Spain. By combining observational measurements at the leaf, tree, plot, and catchment scales with field experiments and modelling, the authors explore how these forests cope with strong water limitation and repeated disturbances.

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.

This book is an ideal and practical resource on the potential impact Artificial Intelligence (AI) can have in space sciences and applications. AI for Space Application presents a hands-on approach to browse in the subject and to learning how to do. AI is not yet fully accepted as a pervasive technology in space applications because they are often mission-critical and the cost of space equipment and modules raises skepticism on any practical use and reliability. However, it is evident that its potential impact on many aspects is dramatic. Starting from either actual or experimental realizations, the book accompanies the reader through such fascinating subjects like space exploration, autonomous navigation and landing, rover control and guidance on rough surfaces, image analysis automation for planet or star classification, and for space debris avoidance without human intervention. This kind of approach may facilitate further investigations on the same or similar subjects, as the future of space explorations is going toward adopting AI. The intended audience of the book are researchers from academia and space industries and practitioners in related start-ups.

This edited open access volume explores the role of forest bioeconomy in addressing climate change. The authors put a particular focus on planetary boundaries and how the linear, growth-oriented economy, is coupled with climate change and environmental degradation. Biobased products and sustainable production paths have been developed, but how can they be scaled in order to lead to an economic paradigm shift? This and other questions are discussed throughout the volume. Since science indicates that climate change will continue this century, the authors also analyse how forests can be adapted to increasing forest disturbances that changing climate are expected to cause. The authors propose climate-smart forestry as useful approach for climate mitigation and adaptation of forests to climate change, as wells as sustainable increase of economic well-being based on forestry. The book illustrates the application of climate-smart forestry in the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Spain, i.e., in EU countries with quite different forests and forest sectors. This proactive and inspiring volume is an essential resource for Forest Management professionals, decision makers, scientists, and forestry students.