Forests Of British Columbia

Regenerating British Columbia's Forests will assist those responsible for planning reforestation projects to reach informed decisions and will challenge them to consider primarily the biological factors basic to reforestation success rather than short-term costs and production technology. Although its main audience is practising foresters and forestry students of British Columbia, the text will be of considerable interest to foresters in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Europe who manage reforestation.

The vast temperate rainforests of coastal British Columbia are world renowned, but much less is known about the other rainforest located 500 kilometres inland along the western slopes of the interior mountains. The unique integration of continentality and humidity in this region favours the development of lush rainforest communities that incorporate both coastal and boreal elements. In British Columbia's Inland Rainforest, scientists bring together, for the first time, a broad spectrum of information about this distinctive ecosystem. They also consider the ecological consequences of human activities in the rainforest and present strategies for its management and conservation.

This report on the state of British Columbia's forests is designed to inform both general and technical readers about British Columbia forests from a particular viewpoint, that of sustainability. The purpose of this report is two-fold: to provide information and links to enable readers to assess the province's progress in achieving sustainable forest management and to provide the Ministry of Forests and Range's assessment of that progress.--Document.

Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics. In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint. Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests. A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the world’s temperate and boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia). This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.

Trees, identification.

The forests of British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest have long been key to the biophysical and economic well-being and the cultural identity of the region. During the last two decades these forests have become the subject of increasing conflict due to competing demands, which are a reflection of conflicting economic interests and social/political values and visions. This book examines the sources of conflict and suggests steps toward resolving forest policy issues. It is unique in two ways: First, it examines forest policy in the context of a binational region, exploring how two political systems, facing similar cultural and economic challenges, have treated their forests. Second, the book brings consideration of environmental justice to forest policy discourse by highlighting perspectives of people--Natives, private non-industrial forest owners, citizen activists and workers in the emerging non-timber forest economy--whose voices are often unheard in forest policy debate.