Drawing from a decade-long collaboration between Japan and Russia, this important volume presents the first major synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of the coniferous forests growing on permafrost at high latitudes. It presents ecological data for a region long inaccessible to most scientists, and raises important questions about the global carbon balance as these systems are affected by the changing climate. Making up around 20% of the entire boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, these ‘permafrost forest ecosystems’ are subject to particular constraints in terms of temperature, nutrient availability, and root space, creating exceptional ecosystem characteristics not known elsewhere. This authoritative text explores their diversity, structure, dynamics and physiology. It provides a comparison of these forests in relation to boreal forests elsewhere, and concludes with an assessment of the potential responses of this unique biome to climate change. The book will be invaluable to advanced students and researchers interested in boreal vegetation, forest ecology, silviculture and forest soils, as well as to researchers into climate change and the global carbon balance.

Conifers include a wide range of species that are spread all over the world. These species have wide diversity, variable stand structures ranging from monospecific monocohort to multispecific multicohort, and produce an assortment of products and services, the most frequent of which is timber. This book is a collection of contributions, both reviews and research studies, from different fields and perspectives on the management, regeneration, growth, diversity, and production of conifer stands. The book also addresses the effect of wildfires on conifer ecosystems and respiratory allergies to conifers.

The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a suite of computer modeling tools for predicting the long-term effects of alternative forest management actions. FVS was developed in the early 1980s and is used throughout the United Sates and British Columbia. The Third FVS conference, held February 13-15, 2007, in Fort Collins Colorado, contains 20 papers. They describe the use of FVS on the stand and landscape scale, and to analyze fuels management in the presence of insects and fire. Several papers compare FVS predictions of the effects of insects and disease to field measurements. FVS is continually evolving and improving in technology and capability to meet the needs of its ever increasing user community. Papers describe new methods for data acquisition and preparation for input to FVS, new economic analysis capabilities within FVS, new methods for simulating forest regeneration, new developments in calculating growth and mortality, and future plans for incorporating the effects of climate change in model simulations.

Elegant, rich in history, and supremely useful, birches have played an extraordinary yet largely unrecognized part in shaping both our natural environment and the material culture and beliefs of millions of people around the world. Exploring birches’ many uses, the ancient beliefs and folklore we associate with them, their abiding portrayal in literature and art, and their biology, Birch presents a fascinating overview of the cultural and ecological significance of these versatile trees. For thousands of years, birches have given the people of northern temperate forests and beyond raw materials in the form of leaves, twigs, branches, bark, wood, and sap—materials used not simply to survive, but to flourish and express identity in practical and spiritual ways. Tough, waterproof, and flexible, birch bark has been used for everything from basketry and clothing to housing, transport, musical instruments, and medicines, and even to communicate and record sacred beliefs: some of our most ancient Buddhist texts and other historic documents are written on birch bark. Birches have not only shaped regional indigenous cultures—for example, in the form of the Native American wigwam and the birch bark canoe—they also continue to be of global economic importance today. Featuring an arbor of illustrations and rich analyses, Birch is an enlightening look into the history and possible future of these beautiful trees.

The book is intended to provide comprehensive introduction to the important aspects of the field of forest pathology and tree diseases. The book is arranged in two major parts. The fundamental chapters, present forest diseases, pathogens, epidemics, and management that is applicable to all forest trees. The applied chapters on the individual crops that are grouped alphabetically present information on the symptoms, pathogen and integrated management of major diseases of forest trees. It was designed to give a broad overview of the field of forest pathology but with sufficient detail that they will be able to assess their specific role as practicing forestry professionals. Note: T& F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

National parks, wildlife refuges and sanctuaries, natural reserves, conservation areas, frontier lands, and marine-protected areas are increasingly recognized as essential providers of ecosystem services and biological resources. As debates about climate change and sustainability intensify, protected areas become more important as indicators of eco