Designing Green Landscapes. Managing Forest Ecosystems, Volume 15. (Electronic book text)

Von Gadow and Pukkala 's unique, Designing Green Landscapes, presents the latest thinking in adaptive management for forest ecosystems. Based on the multiple path principle, this approach links species choice and silvicultural methods with changing demands and changing environmental conditions, to ensure continuous adaptation, often several times within the lifetime of a tree. The multiple path principle at the core of this approach represents a robust theoretical framework for designing forested landscapes. It provides a logical basis both for coordinating spatial objectives and for integrating varied forms of expertise; it limits planning horizons to realistic timeframes; and it allows for forecasts based on current real attributes of spatially explicit land parcels. This is in stark contrast with traditional forestry practices which simply assess the forest resource at regular time intervals and prescribe standard management schedules for specific forest types. Presenting new approaches to land management, this book represents a useful reference text for researchers and graduate students in forest management, ecology, modelling and landscape planning. It will also provide a valuable resource for professionals working for Land Management Agencies or as environmental consultants.