Modelling is an important tool for understanding the complexity of forest ecosystems and the variety of interactions of ecosystem components, processes and values. This book describes the hybrid approach to modelling forest ecosystems and their possible response to natural and management-induced disturbance. The book describes the FORECAST family of ecosystem management models at three different spatial scales (tree, stand and landscape), and compares them with alternative models at these three spatial scales. The book will help forest managers to understand what to expect from ecosystem-based forest models; serve as a tool for use in teaching about sustainability, scenario analysis and value trade-offs in natural resources management; and assist policy makers, managers and researches working in assessment of sustainable forest management and ecosystem management. Several real-life examples of using the FORECAST family of models in forest management and other applications are presented from countries including Canada, China, Spain and the USA, to illustrate the concepts described in the text. The book also demonstrates how these models can be extended for scenario and value trade-off analysis through visualization and educational or management games.

Modelling is an important tool for understanding the complexity of forest ecosystems and the variety of interactions of ecosystem components, processes and values. This book describes the hybrid approach to modelling forest ecosystems and their possible response to natural and management-induced disturbance. The book describes the FORECAST family of ecosystem management models at three different spatial scales (tree, stand and landscape), and compares them with alternative models at these three spatial scales. The book will help forest managers to understand what to expect from ecosystem-based forest models; serve as a tool for use in teaching about sustainability, scenario analysis and value trade-offs in natural resources management; and assist policy makers, managers and researches working in assessment of sustainable forest management and ecosystem management. Several real-life examples of using the FORECAST family of models in forest management and other applications are presented from countries including Canada, China, Spain and the USA, to illustrate the concepts described in the text. The book also demonstrates how these models can be extended for scenario and value trade-off analysis through visualization and educational or management games.

El mundo que conocemos esta experimentando un gran cambio, debido al constante incremento de la poblacion pero tambien al aumento del nivel industrial y de desarrollo a lo largo de todo el planeta. Este cambio supone un importante aumento en las necesidades de energia, agua, comida y materias primas, que deben ser cubiertas por los ecosistemas que componen la biosfera en la que vivimos. El dinamismo de la sociedad actual, junto con los cambios que ya hemos producido en el planeta (contaminacion, cambio climatico, modificacion del paisaje, etc.) supone que las formas tradicionales de estimar las producciones futuras de los recursos naturales ya no son validas, ya que las condiciones ecologicas, economicas y sociales futuras seran diferentes a las que hemos experimentado. Por este motivo resulta imprescindible la utilizacion de las mejores herramientas disponibles, basadas en conocimiento cientifico riguroso, para planificar la gestion de los recursos naturales a medio y largo plazo. En este libro se ofrece una revision de varios modelos aplicados en la gestion del carbono, la energia, la pesca o los recursos madereros, que sera de valor a cientificos, tecnicos y estudiantes relacionados con la gestion sostenible de los recursos naturales. Este libro es un ejemplo de que ya se puede combinar ciencia y gestion para asegurarnos de que las generaciones venideras pueden contar con una disponibilidad de recursos que asegure su calidad de vida.