Instant Insights: Ecosystem services delivered by forests
About this ebook
The first chapter summarises the current state of knowledge on the interactions between forest ecosystems and the climate system and the way in which forests influence the water cycle.
The second chapter reviews the wealth of research on the range of species, functional groups and ecological processes which can develop as a result of the biodiversity in tropical forests. The chapter also considers the main threats to tropical forest biodiversity.
The third chapter examines the importance of forest carbon content and the methods currently used to monitor it. The chapter also explores the mechanisms driving forest carbon storage and offers a considered discussion on whether forests should be considered sources or sinks of carbon.
The fourth chapter highlights how sustainable forest management (SFM) can be used to maintain or enhance biodiversity in temperate and boreal forests. The chapter utilises two case studies to demonstrate successful implementation of SFM in Ireland and Canada.
The final chapter considers the benefits of introducing agroforestry into agroecosystems, focussing on its influence on soil health. The chapter discusses the benefits of agroforestry systems on key soil physical, chemical and biological properties.
About the author
Beth A. Kaplin is a Professor of Conservation Science in the College of Science & Technology at University of Rwanda (UR) and a Research Professor in the School for the Environment at University of Massachusetts-Boston (UMB). She is also a Senior Fellow at the Center of Global Governance and Sustainability at UMB. In June 2016 she was appointed Director of the Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management at UR. She also created the Regional Network for Conservation Educators in the Albertine Rift to support and empower conservation scientists in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Tanzania, and Uganda. She is a member of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation, and formerly Associate Editor for the journal Biotropica.
Stephen H. Anderson is the William A. Albrecht Distinguished Professor of Soil and Environmental Sciences in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, USA. His current areas of research include evaluating soil management effects on soil hydraulic properties, developing X-ray computed tomography and microtomography techniques to assess pore-scale soil properties and processes, and utilizing hydrologic models to evaluate effectiveness of conservation practices at the watershed scale.
