Responses of Forest Ecosystems to Environmental Changes

Responses of Forest Ecosystems to Environmental Changes
Author: A. Teller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 1019
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401128669

This book arises out of a symposium on forest and woodland terrestrial ecosystems which was held in Florence on 20-24th May 1991. It was organised jointly by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) and the European Science Foundation (ESF) in association with the Italian Research Council (CNR). The symposium brQughUogether most -Of the internationally recognized groups working on forest ecosystems including biologists, botanists, ecologists, soil scientists, modellers, foresters and policy makers. All the CEC countries were represented. In addition, there was a broad audience from Eastern and Central Europe and from EFfA countries. Outstanding experts from outside Europe (US, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, etc.) were also present. In total, the symposium was attended by more than 500 participants. The structure of this book reflects the main elements of the meeting. As such it includes three main sections. The first consists of six major state-of-the-art reviews corresponding to the six plenary sessions, each followed by a discussion which has been summarized by rapporteurs. The reviews were prepared to assess critically the state of current knowledge in ecosystem research and to provide a scientific basis both for policy decisions and for further research.

Climate Change and Forest Ecosystems

Climate Change and Forest Ecosystems
Author: Silvia Lac
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Climatic changes
ISBN: 9781631177484

This book focuses on climate change and forest ecosystems (impacts, mitigation, vulnerability and adaptation), and includes work from various international institutions that consider forests as part of the solution to address climate change. The book aims to increase the understanding of forest ecosystems dynamics in response to a changing climate; to address deforestation; and maximise carbon sequestration in forests and forest products. Community and political issues involved at various project and ecosystem scales are discussed in detail. By advancing and exchanging knowledge that is complimentary to the UNFCCC-IPCC framework, our team of editors and authors hope to add a valuable contribution to address global climate change in relation to forestry and forest ecosystems in vulnerable locations. It includes work from various institutions and international contributors. Book chapters include a wide variety of topics on climate change impacts, mitigation, vulnerability and adaptation of forests. Our team of editors, reviewers, and authors are honoured to be part of this project; truly an example of international co-operation and articulation within the climate change community.

Managing Forest Ecosystems: The Challenge of Climate Change

Managing Forest Ecosystems: The Challenge of Climate Change
Author: Felipe Bravo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2008-05-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402083432

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.

Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change

Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change
Author: Mark B. Bush
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 427
Release: 2007
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 3540239081

The goal of this book is to provide a current overview of the impacts of climate change on tropical forests, to investigate past, present, and future climatic influences on the ecosystems with the highest biodiversity on the planet.Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change will be the first book to examine how tropical rain forest ecology is altered by climate change, rather than simply seeing how plant communities were altered. Shifting the emphasis onto ecological processes e.g. how diversity is structured by climate and the subsequent impact on tropical forest ecology, provides the reader with a more comprehensive coverage. A major theme of this book that emerges progressively is the interaction between humans, climate and forest ecology. While numerous books have appeared dealing with forest fragmentation and conservation, none have explicitly explored the long term occupation of tropical systems, the influence of fire and the future climatic effects of deforestation, coupled with anthropogenic emissions. Incorporating modelling of past and future systems paves the way for a discussion of conservation from a climatic perspective, rather than the usual plea to stop logging.

Impacts of Climate Change on Tree Physiology and Responses of Forest Ecosystems

Impacts of Climate Change on Tree Physiology and Responses of Forest Ecosystems
Author: Mariangela Fotelli
Publisher:
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2021-12-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9783036527505

Extreme climatic events, such as intense and prolonged droughts and heat waves, are occurring with increasing frequency and with pronounced impacts on forests. Forest trees, as long-lived organisms, need to develop adaptation mechanisms to successfully respond to such climatic extremes. Whether physiological adaptations on the tree level result in ecophysiological responses that ensure plasticity of forest ecosystems to climate change is currently in the core forest research. Within this Special Issue, forest species' responses to climatic variability were reported from diverse climatic zones and ecosystem types: from near-desert mountains in western USA to tropical forests in central America and Asia, and from Mediterranean ecosystems to temperate European forests. The clear effects of constraints related to climate change were evidenced on the tree level, such as in differentiated gene expression, metabolite abundance, sap flow rates, photosynthetic performance, seed germination, survival and growth, while on the ecosystem level, tree line shifts, temporal shifts in allocation of resources and species shifts were identified. Experimental schemes such as common gardens and provenance trails also provided long-term indications on the tolerance of forest species against drought and warming and serve to evaluate their performance under the predicted climate in near future. These findings enhance our knowledge on the potential resilience of forest species and ecosystems to climate change and provide an updated basis for continuing research on this topic.

Trees in a Changing Environment

Trees in a Changing Environment
Author: Michael Tausz
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2014-08-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401791007

This book delivers current state-of-the-science knowledge of tree ecophysiology, with particular emphasis on adaptation to a novel future physical and chemical environment. Unlike the focus of most books on the topic, this considers air chemistry changes (O3, NOx, and N deposition) in addition to elevated CO2 effects and its secondary effects of elevated temperature. The authors have addressed two systems essential for plant life: water handling capacity from the perspective of water transport; the coupling of xylem and phloem water potential and flow; water and nutrition uptake via likely changes in mycorrhizal relationships; control of water loss via stomata and its retention via cellular regulation; and within plant carbon dynamics from the perspective of environmental limitations to growth, allocation to defences, and changes in partitioning to respiration. The authors offer expert knowledge and insight to develop likely outcomes within the context of many unknowns. We offer this comprehensive analysis of tree responses and their capacity to respond to environmental changes to provide a better insight in understanding likelihood for survival, as well as planning for the future with long-lived, stationary organisms adapted to the past: trees.

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options
Author: James M. Vose
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2013-12-05
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1466572752

Forest land managers face the challenges of preparing their forests for the impacts of climate change. However, climate change adds a new dimension to the task of developing and testing science-based management options to deal with the effects of stressors on forest ecosystems in the southern United States. The large spatial scale and complex interactions make traditional experimental approaches difficult. Yet, the current progression of climate change science offers new insights from recent syntheses, models, and experiments, providing enough information to start planning now for a future that will likely include an increase in disturbances and rapid changes in forest conditions. Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options: A Guide for Natural Resource Managers in Southern Forest Ecosystems provides a comprehensive analysis of forest management options to guide natural resource management in the face of future climate change. Topics include potential climate change impacts on wildfire, insects, diseases, and invasives, and how these in turn might affect the values of southern forests that include timber, fiber, and carbon; water quality and quantity; species and habitats; and recreation. The book also considers southern forest carbon sequestration, vulnerability to biological threats, and migration of native tree populations due to climate change. This book utilizes the most relevant science and brings together science experts and land managers from various disciplines and regions throughout the south to combine science, models, and on-the-ground experience to develop management options. Providing a link between current management actions and future management options that would anticipate a changing climate, the authors hope to ensure a broader range of options for managing southern forests and protecting their values in the future.

Ecosystems of California

Ecosystems of California
Author: Harold Mooney
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 1008
Release: 2016-01-19
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0520278801

This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.

Wildlife, Fire & Future Climate

Wildlife, Fire & Future Climate
Author: Brendan Mackey
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2002
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780643067561

The conservation of Earth's forest ecosystems is one of the great environmental challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. This volume explores these themes through a landscape-wide study of refugia and future climate in the tall, wet forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria.