Forest gain is not the mirror-image opposite of forest loss. Forest definitions provide the conceptual, institutional, legal, and operational basis for the policies and monitoring systems that drive or enable deforestation, forest degradation, reforestation, and forest restoration (van Noordwijk and Minang 2009).įorest concepts and definitions influence how we assess and interpret forest transitions-the change over time in the balance between forest loss and forest gain within a geographic region-where both loss and gain are defined in terms of tree canopy cover. These efforts could fail to achieve their ambitious goals if they are not informed by clear and appropriate concepts and definitions of forests. We live in an era of unprecedented environmental change, motivating equally unprecedented global actions to protect and restore forest ecosystems (Aronson and Alexander 2013). We provide a framework to illustrate how different management objectives drive the relative importance of different aspects of forest state, dynamics, and landscape context. Purpose-built and contextualized definitions are needed to support policies that successfully protect, sustain, and regrow forests at national and global scales. New technologies and participatory assessment of forest states and trajectories offer the potential to operationalize such definitions. Implementing and monitoring forest and landscape restoration requires additional approaches to defining and assessing forests that reveal the qualities and trajectories of forest patches in a spatially and temporally dynamic landscape matrix. Policies dealing with a broad range of forest issues are often based on definitions created for the purpose of assessing global forest stocks, which do not distinguish between natural and planted forests or reforests, and which have not proved useful in assessing national and global rates of forest regrowth and restoration. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.We present a historical overview of forest concepts and definitions, linking these changes with distinct perspectives and management objectives. ![]() The AP is solely responsible for all content. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. “Modern conservation has to happen not only inside the fences of protected areas, but within agricultural areas and even urban areas, where there’s potential habitat for at least some species,” said the University of California’s Ocampo-Penuela. Increasingly, scientists say conserving species will require paying attention to landscapes with a human footprint - not just untouched areas. “A pineapple plantation is like a ‘bird desert’ here,” said Zook. Still, such habitat sanctuaries don’t offset overall population losses from the conversion of primary forests to plantations, the authors stressed. “It’s a huge contribution to have documented that some birds aren’t just going there, but staying there and populations are growing,” said Ruth Bennett, an ecologist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, who was not involved in the research. These include the collared aracari, a small toucan-like bird, with a yellow chest and enormous beak, as well as several members of the manakin family - small brightly colored forest birds known for elaborate courtship dances. Three-quarters of the 305 species found in diversified farms showed stable or growing populations over the time of study. “With 18 years of data, you can show the species is persisting in that area, not simply passing by,” she said. ![]() The findings may seem intuitive, but Natalia Ocampo-Penuela, a University of California, Santa Cruz conservation ecologist not involved in the study, said it’s extremely rare to have detailed long-term data from tropical regions to show that varied farming landscapes can sustain some forest bird populations. That trend was “in stark contrast to what we saw in intensive agriculture,” or monocrop pineapple and banana plantations, he said. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.
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