Challenges and Opportunities for the World's Forests in the 21st Century (Forestry Sciences Book 81)

This book addresses the challenges and opportunities faced by the world’s forests posed by climate change, conservation objectives, and sustainable development needs including bioenergy, outlining the research and other efforts that are needed to understand these issues, along with the options and difficulties for dealing with them. It contains sections on sustainable forestry & conservation; forest resources worldwide; forests, forestry and climate change; the economics of forestry; tree breeding & commercial forestry; biotechnological approaches; genomic studies with forest trees; bio-energy, lignin & wood; and forest science, including ecological studies. The chapters are contributed by prominent organisations or individuals with an established record of achievement in these areas, and present their ideas on these topics with the aim of providing a ready source of information and guidance on these topics for politicians, policy makers and scientists for many years to come. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction....Pages 1-19 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 A Burning Issue: Tropical Forests and the Health of Global Ecosystems....Pages 23-35 Silviculture of Planted Forests Managed for Multi-functional Objectives: Lessons from Chinese and British Experiences....Pages 37-54 Forests for All? Considering the Conservation Implications of Human-Species Interactions in the Context of Multifunctional Forestry....Pages 55-69 Human Engagement with Forest Environments: Implications for Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing....Pages 71-92 Sustainable Forest Management in China: Achievements in the Past and Challenges Ahead....Pages 93-122 The Value of Forest: An Ecological Economic Examination of Forest People’s Perspective....Pages 123-159 Front Matter....Pages 161-161 Global Trends and Outlook for Forest Resources....Pages 163-211 Save the Forests: Use More Wood....Pages 213-227 Front Matter....Pages 229-229 Forests in the Global Carbon Cycle....Pages 231-239 Forests, Forestry and Climate Change....Pages 241-266 The Influence of Climate Change on Insect Invasions in Temperate Forest Ecosystems....Pages 267-293 Front Matter....Pages 295-295 How Cost-Effective Is Forestry for Climate Change Mitigation?....Pages 297-339 Additionality of Climate Change Mitigation Activities....Pages 341-373 Different Economic Approaches in Forest Management....Pages 375-389 Front Matter....Pages 391-391 Eucalyptus Breeding for Clonal Forestry....Pages 393-424 Conifer Somatic Embryogenesis and Multi-Varietal Forestry....Pages 425-439 Modern Advances in Tree Breeding....Pages 441-459 A ‘Reality Check’ in the Management of Tree Breeding Programmes....Pages 461-479 Seed Orchards and Aspects on Supporting Tree Breeding....Pages 481-487 Front Matter....Pages 489-489 Biosafety Considerations in the Context of Deployment of GE Trees....Pages 491-524 Scientific Research Related to Genetically Modified Trees....Pages 525-548 Forest Biotechnology Futures....Pages 549-565 Research and Application of Transgenic Poplar in China....Pages 567-584 Front Matter....Pages 585-585 Genome Resequencing in Populus : Revealing Large-Scale Genome Variation and Implications on Specialized-Trait Genomics....Pages 587-595 Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics of Forest Trees....Pages 597-614 Front Matter....Pages 615-615 Willows as a Source of Renewable Fuels and Diverse Products....Pages 617-641 Woodfuel Production in the UK: Unlocking the Existing Resource and Growing for the Future....Pages 643-657 Bioenergy Opportunities from Forests in New Zealand....Pages 659-676 Creating the Wood Supply of the Future....Pages 677-704 Front Matter....Pages 705-705 Community Genetics Applications for Forest Biodiversity and Policy: Planning for the Future....Pages 707-725 The Long Reach of Biogenic Emissions in the Atmosphere....Pages 727-737 Ecological Interactions of the Host-Insect System Quercus robur and Tortrix viridana ....Pages 739-765 Forests Have Survived Climate Changes and Epidemics in the Past. Will They Continue to Adapt and Survive? At What Cost?....Pages 767-781 Horse Chestnut Bleeding Canker: A Twenty-First Century Tree Pathogen....Pages 783-794 The Use of Small Footprint Airborne LiDAR for the Estimation of Individual Tree Parameters in Sitka Spruce Stands....Pages 795-818 Back Matter....Pages 819-838 This book addresses the urgent and complex threats and challenges to the world's forests posed by the four great problems of the age: climate change, conservation objectives and sustainable development needs, and the growing demand for affordable energy. The intention is to outline the research and other efforts that are needed to understand how these issues will affect the world's forests along with the options and difficulties for dealing with them, as well as the opportunities that the world's forests and production forestry can offer for tackling these very issues. Included in this book are sections on (1) sustainable forestry & conservation; (2) forest resources worldwide; (3) forests, forestry and climate change; (4) the economics of forestry; (5) tree breeding & commercial forestry; (6) biotechnological approaches; (7) genomic studies with forest trees; (8) bio-energy, lignin & wood; and (9) forest science, including ecological studies. It therefore provides a wide ranging and multidisciplinary view of the role and contribution of forests and forestry for addressing some of the most critical problems and issues facing humanity in the 21st century and the interactions between them. Contributions are provided by prominent organisations or individuals with an established record of achievement in these subjects, who have been asked to present their ideas on these topics in a manner that is readily accessible to professionals from disciplines other than their own. The aim being to provide a ready source of information and guidance on these topics for a wide range of scientists, policy makers and politicians for many years to come