8 to 11 October 2012
What was the event?
The ongoing dialogue around ecosystem services (ES) and their value to society presents forest managers with the major challenge of describing, assessing, and delivering the various benefits that forest ecosystems provide. These benefits will vary with different types of forest ecosystem and the ways in which they are managed. One ecosystem of major importance in the northern Hemisphere comprises those forests dominated by spruce species.
These forests are important sources of timber, yet can also provide a wide range of other ES such as biodiversity, recreation, water quality, carbon sequestration, and landscape. Planning and implementing multifunctional forest management in spruce dominated forests is challenging because of the trade-offs and synergies between ES.
Spruce-dominated forests will be examined as a ’model’ system to evaluate concepts capable of application across a much wider range of forest ecosystems.
This meeting enabled researchers, practitioners and policymakers to present and discuss findings on how best to translate the concepts promulgated by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) and successor documents into strategic, tactical and operational management regimes that will help adapt forests to meet changes in climate and in societal demands.
Conference programme (PDF-150K)
Presentations
Recordings of keynote speeches and full session on the Thursday 11 October
(Click on the Eventcasts tab).
- Atlantic spruce forests: an assessment within an ecosystem services framework (PDF-2641K)
- Biotic threats to spruce forests and plantations (PDF-15177K)
- Bundling of ecosystem services to increase forestland value (PDF-7711K)
- Can the drought resistance of Norway spruce stands lastingly be improved by thinnings? (PDF-7267K)
- Characteristics and distribution of deadwood in Norway spruce stands in Latvia (PDF-1386K)
- Climate change, forestry, and New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme (PDF-3343K)
- Early thinning of energy wood in dense mixtures of Norway spruce and birch in Northern Sweden (PDF-4415K)
- Economic analysis of ecosystem services - Forestry as the right thing in the right place (PDF-2750K)
- Estimation of stem volume with volume functions in Norway spruce and Scots pine thinning experiments (PDF-880K)
- Forest management approaches and ecosystem services from Sitka spruce forests: a case study in southern Scotland (PDF-3931K)
- Influence of butt rot occurrence on windthrow in Norway spruce stands (PDF-1085K)
- Innovation and learning for adaptive management of planted spruce forests (PDF-2377K)
- Integrating ecological & empirical models for forest management planning (PDF-899K)
- Knowing one, knowing all? Comparing diversity responses of plants, spiders and birds in 1st and 2nd rotation Sitka spruce plantations across the commercial forest cycle (PDF-5583K)
- Linking multi-functional forestry goals with the legacy of spruce plantations in Scotland (PDF-842K)
- Long term effect of silviculture measures on forest-floor under Norway spruce stands (PDF-614K)
- Management of spruce forests for timber and other services with an acceptable level of wind risk (PDF-9404K)
- Managing forests for ecosystem services: can spruce forests show the way? (Introduction) (PDF-1578K)
- Mixture and structure - sprucing up spruce forests (PDF-8612K)
- Possibilities to influence wood quality in spruce stands by thinnings, using the individual variation among trees (PDF-1756K)
- Practical experiences of managing a spruce forest to sustain ecosystem services (PDF-8553K)
- Reduced growth and dieback in Norway spruce trees in South-East Norway – possible causes and future management (PDF-10693K)
- Scottish Sitka Spruce plantation carbon exchange response to thinning (PDF-1494K)
- Site productivity models as a tool in conversion of Norway spruce monocultures in the Polish Western Carpathians (PDF-11941K)
- Sitka spruce as a sink for carbon dioxide (PDF-6941K)
- Storm and snow damages in a Norway spruce thinning experiment in Southern Sweden (PDF-1291K)
- Stump harvesting and carbon sequestration in Norway spruce stand: life cycle perspective (PDF-1350K)
- The challenges of sustainably delivering multiple ecosystem services in a private sector commercial forest plantation (PDF-2757K)
- The Gisburn mixtures experiment after 55 years: lessons in diversifying spruce forests to help multifunctional forest management (PDF-3027K)
- The role of decision support tools in improving management strategies for ecosystem services in spruce forests (PDF-6766K)
- Transformation of UK spruce forests to continuous cover: how does this affect the delivery of ecosystem services? (PDF-12649K)
- Transforming even-aged spruce stands to multi-layered forest (PDF-3226K)
- White spruce in boreal mixedwood forests of western Canada: Ecological and economic importance and mixedwood management (PDF-7393K)
- Wild forest - Wilder Valley (PDF-5182K)
Publication
Selected contributions from the meeting will be invited for submission to a special issue of the international forest science journal Forestry, subject to the normal peer review processes.
Who was the event suitable for?
Researchers, practitioners and policy makers.
Where did the event take place?
Heriot-Watt University
James Watt II Building
Riccarton
Edinburgh EH14 4AS
Contact
For further information please contact:
Evelyn Hall
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian EH25 9SY
UK
