Forest Resources

30% They are often the climax community and are found wherever conditions are suitable: - soil presence - climate that does not involve prolonged dry periods/serious fires - temperature determines what kind

Finland 72% UK 11% Brazil 62% DRC 45% Indonesia 52% Russia 50%

they represent the final, stable, and self-perpetuating stage of ecological succession, characterized by: - mature trees - high biodiversity - complex food webs - a balanced mix of species well-adapted to the local climate and conditions They reach equilibrium until a disturbance (like fire or logging) resets the process

• Taiga (boreal forest) • Temperate deciduous forest • Tropical rainforest

• northern, cold latitudes, coniferous forests

• low evaporation • low precipitation: 50-150mm/year • cold • variable light seasonally (though low sunlight)

• low biodiversity • evergreen forests = pts in low light levels • low primary productivity as pts = slow, so low energy production for higher trophic levels

mainly mid-Northern latitudes

• seasonal variations as in the UK • moderate rainfall: 100-200mm/year • reasonable light levels, undergrowth shaded

• deciduous to reduce evapotranspiration and snow damage in winter • trees such as ash, oak, beech, maple, lower story shrubs • higher primary productivity and biomass than Taiga

equatorial and southern equator

• high temp • high rainfall: (250 ->400mm/year) • frequent rainfall

• primary productivity and bidiversity very high due to all-year-round growth

• resources • ecosystem services

• both HICs and LICs gain a wide range • some extracted from existing forests, most produced by cultivated plantations of species that were discovered in forests to meet the growing demands of the human population

we may lose valuable species that become extinct before their importance is understood, or even before they have been discovered

timber fuel/firewood food/animal food medicines fibres OTHER: - paper - fruit - gums - resins

HICs - paper used far more - farming is more destructive monoculture, but there can be agroforestry - fuelwood generally only used in home fires, not for domestic/commercial/industrial consumption/use - eat less of the raw forest resources: we grow fruit and nuts commercially now, and have UPFs - medicine access such as aspirin is much higher LICs - farming may be subsistence or traditional, though some areas may be destructively cleared for commercial plantations and monocultures for export to HICs - fuel wood is more important for households and industries, such as cooking - more likely to eat the raw resources like fruits and nuts, and be more gatherers

CHINA = 103m tonnes a year USA = 71m tonnes a year

• contain twice as must carbon as is in the Earth’s atmosphere • act as a vast water store, releasing water slowly through evapotransp • slow down raindrops = reduced INFILTRATION, rain splash, erosion and overland flow • BIODIVERSITY: tropical rainforest sustain 40% of all life on Earth • they are typically ecologically stable and a source of valuable genes

• managing existing woodland areas to maximise the forest yield • rarely involved the total removal of the natural forest and often retains the original mix-species structure with trees of different ages • often overlap between forest management and agriculture in symbiosis as a form of early integrated multi-culture (agroforestry) • pre industrial societies used a wide variety of species, each having its own particular characteristics for different uses

• natural woodlands being replaced by plantations PROBLEMS: - generally unattractive - non-native species attract little wildlife - typically planted in straight lines that provide little variation in abiotic conditions - simple age structure = few niches created, due to lack of biological diversity (i.e. few mature trees/saplings) - all trees tend to be harvested at a similar time - meaning little or no deadwood is left, reducing levels of DOM in soils

• harvest maximum resources without compromising future harvests; harvesting at a rate it can regenerate - NOT ALL AT ONCE • population sizes kept far below carrying capacity, enabling fast growth • keeping MSY relevant, to prevent adverse or encourage positive interactions between species, and alter entire ecosystems • determining target population size to keep all these species interactions natural and at a good level, but it is largely a matter of trial and error • ensure healthy, productive forests for present and future use

• if we take too many trees, they can no longer provide adequate ecosystem services that support the entire community • this would lead to their rapid population decline, without good breeding, and also the population decline of all the species that rely on them • this could be a sudden collapse, as the species will first try to adapt to changing population dynamics, before they succumb to competition and loss of resources