This book describes the scientific principles that are used throughout the world to ensure the rapid, healthy growth of forest plantations. As the population of the world increases so does the amount of wood people use. Large areas of natural forests are being cleared every year and converted to other uses. Almost as large an area of plantation forests is being established annually to replace those lost natural forests. Eventually, plantations will produce a large proportion of the wood used around the world for firewood, building, the manufacture of paper and bioenergy. Forest plantations can also provide various environmental benefits including carbon storage, rehabilitation of degraded land, serving as disposal sites for various forms of industrial or agricultural waste and enhancing biodiversity in regions that have been largely cleared for agriculture. Whatever their motivation, plantation forest growers want their plantations to be healthy and grow rapidly to achieve their purpose as soon as possible. This book discusses how this is done. It is written for a worldwide audience, from forestry professionals and scientists through to small plantation growers, and describes how plantations may be grown responsibly and profitably.

Forests must be measured if they are to be managed and conserved properly. This book describes the essential principles of modern forest measurement, whether using simple hand-held equipment or sophisticated satellite imagery. It particularly focuses on measuring forest biomass over large forest areas, a key aspect of climate change studies, as well as the volumes of wood that are commercially available. Written in a straightforward style, it will be accessible to anyone who works with forests, from the professional forester to the layperson. It considers not only how and why forests are measured but also the scientific basis of the measurements taken.

This book describes the scientific principles that are used throughout the world to ensure the rapid, healthy growth of forest plantations. As the population of the world increases so does the amount of wood people use. Large areas of natural forests are being cleared every year and converted to other uses. Almost as large an area of plantation forests is being established annually to replace those lost natural forests. Eventually, plantations will produce a large proportion of the wood used around the world for firewood, building, the manufacture of paper and bioenergy. Forest plantations can also provide various environmental benefits including carbon storage, rehabilitation of degraded land, serving as disposal sites for various forms of industrial or agricultural waste and enhancing biodiversity in regions that have been largely cleared for agriculture. Whatever their motivation, plantation forest growers want their plantations to be healthy and grow rapidly to achieve their purpose as soon as possible. This book discusses how this is done. It is written for a worldwide audience, from forestry professionals and scientists through to small plantation growers, and describes how plantations may be grown responsibly and profitably.