The Boreal Ecosystem presents an overview of the state of knowledge on the boreal forest region of North America, with extensive reference to the boreal regions of Europe and Asia. Initial sections of this book deal with aspects of the floristic composition and evolutionary history of the boreal vegetation. These introduce subsequent discussions on the processes at work in vegetation, soils, and the atmosphere—in short, with the boreal forest as an ecosystem, the sum total of the influences of many closely interlaced biotic and physical factors. These include not only plant species that make up the visible vegetation but also nutrients, soil, temperature, rainfall, progression of the seasons, soil microflora, arthropods, insects, and larger animals such as marten, otter, beaver, moose, caribou, bear, and wolf, and man. All are closely linked strands in the web of life, a web apart from, yet dependent on and influencing, the raw physical environment. This book should serve as an introduction and reference source to its audience: undergraduate and graduate students in the biological and ecological disciplines, research workers in these fields as well as in related areas such as soil science, agronomy, genetics, and climatology; in short, everyone with an interest in boreal ecology.

A unique look at the boreal forest, Earth’s vast and vital wilderness. The boreal forest, the planet’s largest land biome, spans the northern regions like “a scarf around the neck of the world.” Besides providing homes for many species, the forest’s influence is far-reaching: its trees and wetlands clean our air and water and are helping slow global climate change. In this evocative tour, a lyrical fictional narrative is paired with informational sidebars that describe life in the forest throughout the year, from one country to another. One of the world’s most magnificent regions comes to vivid life through the art of storytelling.

The boreal forest is one of the world's great ecosystems, stretching across North America and Eurasia in an unbroken band and containing about 25% of the world's closed canopy forests. The Kluane Boreal Forest Ecosystem Project was a 10-year study by nine of Canada's leading ecologists to unravel the impact of the snowshoe hare cycle on the plants and the other vertebrate species in the boreal forest. In much of the boreal forest, the snowshoe hare acts as a keystone herbivore, fluctuating in 9-10 year cycles, and dragging along secondary cycles in predators such as lynx and great-horned owls. By manipulating the ecosystem on a large scale from the bottom via fertilizer additions and from the top by predator exclosures, they have traced the plant-herbivore relationships and the predator-prey relationships in this ecosystem to try to answer the question of what drives small mammal population cycles. This study is unique in being large scale and experimental on a relatively simple ecosystem, with the overall goal of defining what determines community structure in the boreal forest. Ecosystem Dynamics of the Boreal Forest: The Kluane Project summarizes these findings, weaving new discoveries of the role of herbivores-turned-predators, compensatory plant growth, and predators-eating-predators with an ecological story rich in details and clear in its findings of a community where predation plays a key role in determining the fate of individuals and populations. The study of the Kluane boreal forest raises key questions about the scale of conservation required for boreal forest communities and the many mammals and birds that live there.

The boreal forest is buried in ice and snow during winter. But in summer lakes teem with fish, and bogs swarm with insects. Follow a snowshoe hare, beavers, a lynx, and other animals as they survive a year in this endangered landscape.

Forest Ecosystem Management. A management approach that aims to maintain healthy and resilient forest ecosystems by focusing on a reduction of differences between natural and managed landscapes to ensure long-term maintenance of ecosystem functions and thereby retain the social and economic benefits they provide to society.That is the definition of forest ecosystem management proposed in this book, which provides a summary of key ecological concepts supporting this approach. The book includes a review of major disturbance regimes that shape the natural dynamics of the boreal forest and gives examples from different Canadian boreal regions. Several projects implementing the forest ecosystem management approach are presented to illustrate the challenges created by current forestry practices and the solutions that this new approach can provide. In short, knowledge and understanding of forest dynamics can serve as a guide for forest management. Planning interventions based on natural dynamics can facilitate reconciliation between forest harvesting needs and the interests of other forest users.

The world's boreal forests, which lie to the south of the Arctic, are considered to be the Earth's most significant terrestrial ecosystems. A panel of ecologists here provide a synthesis of the important patterns and processes which occur in boreal forests and review the principal mechanisms which control the forest's patterns.

Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics. In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint. Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests. A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the world’s temperate and boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia). This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.

Provides the conceptual backbone and specific information necessary for the ecologically sound restoration and sustainable development of boreal ecosystems.

Global Change and Forest Soils: Cultivating Stewardship of a Finite Natural Resource, Volume 36, provides a state-of-the-science summary and synthesis of global forest soils that identifies concerns, issues and opportunities for soil adaptation and mitigation as external pressures from global changes arise. Where, how and why some soils are resilient to global change while others are at risk is explored, as are upcoming train wrecks and success stories across boreal, temperate, and tropical forests. Each chapter offers multiple sections written by leading soil scientists who comment on wildfires, climate change and forest harvesting effects, while also introducing examples of current global issues. Readers will find this book to be an integrated, up-to-date assessment on global forest soils. - Presents sections on boreal, temperate and tropical soils for a diverse audience - Serves as an important reference source for anyone interested in both a big-picture assessment of global soil issues and an in-depth examination of specific environmental topics - Provides a unique synthesis of forest soils and their collective ability to respond to global change - Offers chapters written by leading soil scientists - Prepares readers to meet the daily challenges of drafting multi-resource environmental science and policy documents

This is the first truly ecosystem-oriented book on peatlands. It adopts an ecosystems approach to understanding the world's boreal peatlands. The focus is on biogeochemical patterns and processes, production, decomposition, and peat accumulation, and it provides additional information on animal and fungal diversity. A recurring theme is the legacy of boreal peatlands as impressive accumulators of carbon as peat over millennia.