Managing Forest Ecosystems: The Challenge of Climate Change

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.

Overview of Climate Change and Forest Responses.- A Mechanistic View of the Capacity of Forests to Cope with Climate Change.- Greenhouse-gas Emissions from Temperate Mountain Forests.- Monitoring and Modeling.- Estimating Carbon Stocks and Stock Changes in Forests: Linking Models and Data Across Scales.- Forest Eco-physiological Models and Carbon Sequestration.- Influence of Climatic Variables on Crown Condition in Pine Forests of Northern Spain.- Economic and Management Impacts.- Influence of Carbon Sequestration in an Optimal Set of Coppice Rotations for Eucalyptus Plantations.- Use of Forests and Wood Products to Mitigate Climate Change.- Biomass Forest in Sweden and Carbon Emissions Balance.- Taper Equations and Wood Products: Assessing the Carbon Flow of the Forest Through Its Products.- Forest Management Strategies and Carbon Sequestration.- Analysing the Effects of Forest Structure on Carbon Stocks and Timber Production Under Changing Management and Climate.- Case Studies.- Carbon Sequestration in Mediterranean Pine Forests.- Carbon Sequestration of Ponderosa Pine Plantations in Northwestern Patagonia.- Assessing Pine Wilt Disease Risk Under a Climate Change Scenario in Northwestern Spain.- Dynamics of Soil Carbon in Primary and Secondary Tropical Forests in Colombia.- Carbon Sequestration Potential of Mangroves in Southeast Asia.- Silviculture and Carbon Sequestration in Mediterranean Oak Forests.