Instant Insights: Ecosystem Services Delivered by Forests

Beth A. Kaplin is a Professor of Conservation Science in the College of Science & Technology at University of Rwanda (UR) and a Research Professor in the School for the Environment at University of Massachusetts-Boston (UMB). She is also a Senior Fellow at the Center of Global Governance and Sustainability at UMB. In June 2016 she was appointed Director of the Center of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management at UR. She also created the Regional Network for Conservation Educators in the Albertine Rift to support and empower conservation scientists in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Tanzania, and Uganda. She is a member of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation, and formerly Associate Editor for the journal Biotropica. Stephen H. Anderson is the William A. Albrecht Distinguished Professor of Soil and Environmental Sciences in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, USA. His current areas of research include evaluating soil management effects on soil hydraulic properties, developing X-ray computed tomography and microtomography techniques to assess pore-scale soil properties and processes, and utilizing hydrologic models to evaluate effectiveness of conservation practices at the watershed scale.

• Chapter 1 - Ecosystem services delivered by tropical forests: regulating services of tropical forests for climate and hydrological cycles: Oliver Gardi, Bern University of Applied Sciences and School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL, Switzerland; 1 Introduction 2 Forest-climate interactions 3 Forests in the carbon cycle 4 Climate change mitigation in the forestry and timber sector 5 Forests in the water cycle (regional scale) 6 Summary and future trends 7 Where to look for further information 8 ReferencesChapter taken from: Blaser, J. and Hardcastle, P. D. (eds.), Achieving sustainable management of tropical forests, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2020, (ISBN 978 1 78676 248 1)Chapter 2 - Biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical forests: recent findings and implications for sustainable forest management (SFM): Beth A. Kaplin, University of Rwanda, Rwanda and University of Massachusetts-Boston, USA; 1 Introduction 2 The importance of tropical forests as repositories of biodiversity 3 Recent research on biodiversity and ecosystem services from tropical forests 4 The main threats to tropical forest biodiversity 5 Synthesis and conclusion 6 Where to look for further information 7 ReferencesChapter taken from: Blaser, J. and Hardcastle, P. D. (eds.), Achieving sustainable management of tropical forests, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2020, (ISBN 978 1 78676 248 1)Chapter 3 - Advances in understanding the role of forests in the carbon cycle: Matthew J. McGrath and Anne Sofie Lansø, Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l’environnement, France; Guillaume Marie, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Yi-Ying Chen, Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Tuomo Kalliokoski, University of Helsinki, Finland; Sebastiaan Luyssaert and Kim Naudts, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Philippe Peylin, Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l’environnement, France; and Aude Valade, Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre, Spain; 1 Introduction 2 The importance of forest carbon content 3 Monitoring forest carbon 4 Mechanisms driving forest carbon storage 5 Are forests sources or sinks of carbon? 6 Carbon management as distinct from climate management 7 Future trends and conclusion 8 Acknowledgements 9 Where to look for further information 10 ReferencesChapter taken from: Stanturf, J. (ed.), Achieving sustainable management of boreal and temperate forests, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2019, (ISBN 978 1 78676 292 4)Chapter 4 - Advances in understanding forest ecosystem services: conserving biodiversity: Anne Oxbrough, Edge Hill University, UK; and Jaime Pinzón, Natural Resources Canada, Canada; 1 Introduction 2 The impact of forest loss and fragmentation on biodiversity 3 Tree species diversity, tree species composition and conservation 4 The impact of clearcutting on biodiversity 5 The importance of deadwood to forest biodiversity 6 Case study: managing for plantation forest biodiversity in landscapes of low forest cover 7 Case study: managing for biodiversity in boreal mixedwood forests – emulating natural forest dynamics 8 Summary 9 Future trends 10 Where to look for further information 11 ReferencesChapter taken from: Stanturf, J. (ed.), Achieving sustainable management of boreal and temperate forests, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2019, (ISBN 978 1 78676 292 4)Chapter 5 - Agroforestry: a system for improving soil health: S. H. Anderson and R. P. Udawatta, University of Missouri, USA; 1 Introduction 2 Biological properties critical for soil health 3 Physical properties critical for soil health 4 Chemical properties critical for soil health 5 Conclusion 6 Future trends 7 Where to look for further information 8 ReferencesChapter taken from: Mosquera-Losada, M. R. and Prabhu, R. (eds.), Agroforestry for sustainable agriculture, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2019, (ISBN 978 1 78676 220 7)