The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems

The Value of Forest Ecosystems

The Economic Value of Forest Ecosystems

Forest ecosystems are being degraded and lost because of rapid population change and economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. All ecological functions of forests are also economic functions. Many important forest functions have no markets, and hence, no apparent economic value, justifying the use of forest land for other purposes. Imputing...

THE VALUE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS (CBD technical series no. 4)

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views reported in this publicatio...

Extreme value analysis of wildfires in Canadian boreal forest ecosystems

Large fires are a major disturbance in Canadian forests and exert significant effects on both the climate system and ecosystems. During the last century, extremely large fires accounted for the majority of Canadian burned area. By making an instaneous change over a vast area of ecosystems, extreme fires often have significant social, economic, and ecological consequences. Since extreme values o...

Modelling forest ecosystems: the Edinburgh Forest Model

Reasons for building an ecosystem model are discussed, stressing the importance of objectives. A model is required for any research programme aiming to take a firm grasp of forest responses. The Edinburgh Forest Model (EFM) is outlined. This is a standard model of the genre, taking account of pools and fluxes of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and water. It comprises tree, soil and water submodels. Th...