The future of the world's forests is at the forefront of environmental debate. Rising concerns over the effects of deforestation and climate change are highlighting the need both to conserve and manage existing forests and woodland through sustainable forestry practices. The Forests Handbook, written by an international team of both scientists and practitioners, presents an integrated approach to forests and forestry, applying our present understanding of forest science to management practices, as a basis for achieving sustainability. Volume One presents an overview of the world's forests; their locations and what they are like, the science of how they operate as complex ecosystems and how they interact with their environment. Volume Two applies this science to reality; it focuses on forestry interventions and their impact, the principles governing how to protect forests and on how we can better harness the enormous benefits forests offer. Case studies are drawn from several different countries and are used to illustrate the key points. Development specialists, forest managers and those involved with land and land-use will find this handbook a valuable and comprehensive overview of forest science and forestry practice. Researchers and students of forestry, biology, ecology and geography will find it equally accessible and useful.

Discover new approaches to promote a viable forest industry while protecting non-timber values!Frontiers of Forest Biology: Proceedings of the 1998 Joint Meeting of the North American Forest Biology Workshop and the Western Forest Genetics Association gives you significant new insights on current initiatives in forest biology. Because the field is changing rapidly, you need to keep aware of current trends, as the emphasis in forest research shifts from productivity-based goals to sustainable development of forest resources. In this volume, you will find a comprehensive summary of the state of the art of forest science in North America. Whether your focus is on genetics or on the environmental aspects of forest science, plant physiology, or silviculture, you will find helpful chapters by practitioners as well as cutting-edge research by scientists. This integrated approach is unique in the field. Based on the 1998 Joint Meeting of the North American Forest Biology Workshop and the Western Forest Genetics Association, Frontiers of Forest Biology addresses changing priorities in forest resource management. This important book contains fascinating research studies, complete with tables and diagrams, on topics such as biodiversity research, the productivity of commercial species, conserving adaptive variation in forest ecosystems, and the effect of harvesting trees on nutrient leaching.The book maps the frontiers of this fast-changing science with chapters on: the social, biological, and industrial context of forest biology new directions for research into genetics, physiology, plant silviculture, and conservation the impact of genetics on sustainable forestry the effects of cold and disease on plant physiology regeneration of various species after logging new species adapted for agroforestry the impact and management of exotic weeds Frontiers of Forest Biology offers solid information on a broad spectrum of topics and suggests fresh avenues for your investigations in all aspects of forest biology.

Planted forests, from irrigated eucalypts in Brazil to Douglas-fir seedlings in the mountains of Oregon, are described and discussed by international experts. The varieties, purposes, forms, and ecological, economic and social aspects of planted forests are considered in technical details and in case studies from temperate and tropical regions of the world.