When is a forest a forest? Forest concepts and definitions in the era of forest and landscape restoration

Robin L Chazdon; P H S Brancalion; L Laestadius; A Bennett-Curry; K Buckingham; C Kumar; J Moll-Rocek; I C G Vieira; S J Wilson

doi:10.1007/s13280-016-0772-y

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When is a forest a forest? Forest concepts and definitions in the era of forest and landscape restoration

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When is a forest a forest? Forest concepts and definitions in the era of forest and landscape restoration

Robin L Chazdon, P H S Brancalion, L Laestadius, A Bennett-Curry, K Buckingham, C Kumar, J Moll-Rocek, I C G Vieira and S J Wilson

Ambio, Vol.45(5), pp.538-550

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0772-y

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Abstract

deforestation

forest assessment

forest management

landscape

plantation

reforestation

restoration

We present a historical overview of forest concepts and definitions, linking these changes with distinct perspectives and management objectives. Policies dealing with a broad range of forest issues are often based on definitions created for the purpose of assessing global forest stocks, which do not distinguish between natural and planted forests or reforests, and which have not proved useful in assessing national and global rates of forest regrowth and restoration. Implementing and monitoring forest and landscape restoration requires additional approaches to defining and assessing forests that reveal the qualities and trajectories of forest patches in a spatially and temporally dynamic landscape matrix. New technologies and participatory assessment of forest states and trajectories offer the potential to operationalize such definitions. Purpose-built and contextualized definitions are needed to support policies that successfully protect, sustain, and regrow forests at national and global scales. We provide a framework to illustrate how different management objectives drive the relative importance of different aspects of forest state, dynamics, and landscape context. © 2016, The Author(s).

Details

Title: When is a forest a forest? Forest concepts and definitions in the era of forest and landscape restoration
Authors: Robin L Chazdon (Author) - University of Connecticut, United States
P H S Brancalion (Author) - University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
L Laestadius (Author) - World Resources Institute, United States
A Bennett-Curry (Author) - CIFOR, Indonesia
K Buckingham (Author) - World Resources Institute, United States
C Kumar (Author) - International Union for the Conservation of Nature, United States
J Moll-Rocek (Author) - University of Connecticut, United States
I C G Vieira (Author) - Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Brazil
S J Wilson (Author) - University of Michigan, United States
Publication details: Ambio, Vol.45(5), pp.538-550
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date published: 2016
DOI: 10.1007/s13280-016-0772-y
ISSN: 0044-7447
Copyright note: Copyright © The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451024102621
Output Type: Journal article

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