Monitoring and forecasting of forest diversity

Biological diversity is one of the most often mentioned criteria for nature conservation and 2010 has been designated the International year of Biodiversity by the United Nations. The loss of biological diversity such as habitat, species or genetic variation still continues. The structural diversity of a forest however, is linked to ecological stability and species richness. This book includes a review of some practical methods for describing and monitoring of small scale spatial forest structure. It provides application examples from Finland, Mongolia, China and Germany and the results are discussed within the geographical context. Forecasts of ten Russian compartments are evaluated with regard to their impact on forest diversity. Finally, a practical concept for the monitoring of forest structure is presented. This book is relevant to academics and other professionals in the fields of conservation, forestry, and biology with an interest in the diversity of boreal and temperate forest ecosystems. The contents have been reviewed by scientific staff of the University of Helsinki, the FTA St. Petersburg, the University of Göttingen, and the University of Eastern Finland at Joensuu.