Patterns and Processes in Forest Landscapes

by Lafortezza, Raffaele; Chen, Jiquan; Sanesi, Giovanni; Crow, Thomas R.; Spies, Thomas A.

• ISBN13: 9781402085031
• ISBN10: 1402085036
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Increasing evidence suggests that the composition and spatial configuration ' the pattern ' of forest landscapes affect many ecological processes, including the movement and persistence of particular species, the susceptibility and spread of disturbances such as fires or pest outbreaks, and the redistribution of matter and nutrients. Understanding these issues is key to the successful management of complex, multifunctional forest landscapes, and landscape ecology, based on a foundation of island bio-geography and meta-population dynamic theories, provides the rationale to deal with this pattern-to-process interaction at different spatial and temporal scales.This carefully edited volume represents a stimulating addition to the international literature on landscape ecology and resource management. It provides key insights into some of the applicable landscape ecological theories that underlie forest management, with a specific focus on how forest management can benefit from landscape ecology, and how landscape ecology can be advanced by tackling challenging problems in forest (landscape) management. It also presents a series of case studies from Europe, Asia, North America, Africa and Australia exploring the issues of disturbance, diversity, management, and scale, and with a specific focus on how human intervention affects forest landscapes and, in turn, how landscapes influence humans and their culture.An important reference for advanced students and researchers in landscape ecology, conservation biology, forest ecology, natural resource management and ecology across multiple scales, the book will also appeal to researchers and practitioners in reserve design, ecological restoration, forest management, landscape planning and landscape architecture.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Contributors	p. xv
Authors' Profiles	p. xxi
Underlying Concepts and Applicative Approaches
Ecology and Management of Forest Landscapes	p. 3
Cultural Determinants of Spatial Heterogeneity in Forest Landscapes	p. 17
Managing Forest Landscapes for Climate Change	p. 33
Consequences of Management across Regions and Scales
The Great Siberian Forest: Challenges and Opportunities of Scale	p. 47
Fragmentation of Forest Landscapes in Central Africa: Causes, Consequences and Management	p. 67
Human-Induced Alterations in Native Forests of Patagonia, Argentina	p. 89
Landscape-Scale Factors Influencing Forest Dynamics in Northern Australia	p. 107
Spatial Patterns and Ecology of Shifting Forest Landscapes in Garo Hills, India*	p. 125
Synthesis: Cultural Controls of Forest Patterns and Processes	p. 141
Landscape-Scale Indicators and Projection Models
Tools for Understanding Landscapes: Combining Large-Scale Surveys to Characterize Change	p. 149
Shape Irregularity as an Indicator of Forest Biodiversity and Guidelines for Metric Selection	p. 167
Land Suitability for Short Rotation Coppices Assessed through Fuzzy Membership Functions	p. 191
Assessing Human Impacts on Australian Forests through Integration of Remote Sensing Data	p. 213
Habitat Quality Assessment and Modelling for Forest Biodiversity and Sustainability	p. 241
Synthesis: Ecological Modelling and Perspectives of Forest Landscapes	p. 265
Long-Term Sustainable Plans and Management Actions
The Role of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in Forest Landscape Changes in Texas, USA	p. 273
Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods in Tropical Forest Landscapes	p. 297
Forest Management and Carbon Sink Dynamics: a Study in Boreal and Sub-Alpine Forest Regions	p. 323
Emulating Natural Disturbance Regimes: an Emerging Approach for Sustainable Forest Management	p. 341
Conserving Forest Biodiversity: Recent Approaches in UK Forest Planning and Management	p. 373
Synthesis: Ecology-Based Landscape Planning and Management	p. 399
Evaluating Forest Landscape Connectivity through Conefor Sensinode 2.2	p. 403
Index	p. 423
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