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Forest landscape change and biodiversity conservation

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Forest Landscapes and Global Change

Abstract

Forest landscapes are changing at unprecedented rates in many regions of the world. This may have profound consequences for the diversity and resilience of forest ecosystems and may impose considerable challenges for their management. In this chapter, we review the different types of change that can occur in a forest landscape, including modifications in forest habitat amount, quality, fragmentation, connectivity, and heterogeneity. We describe the conceptual differences and potential interactions among these changes and provide a summary of the possible responses of forest species depending on their degree of habitat specialization, dispersal abilities, and other factors. We review the main current drivers of change in different regions of the world and how they are affecting (often synergistically) forest biodiversity: deforestation, climate change, forest fires, abandonment of rural land, land-use intensification, spread of invasive species, forest management, and the increasing amount of plantation forest. We conclude by providing a summary of recommendations and strategies for mitigating and minimizing the undesirable effects of landscape change on forest biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the DECOFOR (AGL2009-07140/FOR), MONTES CONSOLIDER (CSD2008-00040), and GEFOUR (AGL2012-31099) projects, and by the U.S. National Science Foundation under grant EPS-0904155 to the Maine EPSCoR Sustainability Solutions Initiative at the University of Maine. This chapter is publication number 3319 of the Maine Agriculture and Forest Experiment Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Management and Economics, ETSI Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Santiago Saura & Emi Martín-Queller

  2. Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

Authors
  1. Santiago Saura
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  2. Emi Martín-Queller
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  3. Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Santiago Saura .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Natural Re, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Portugal

    João C. Azevedo

  2. Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, SAULT STE MARIE, Ontario, Canada

    Ajith H. Perera

  3. Department of Environment and Natural Re, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Portugal

    M. Alice Pinto

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Saura, S., Martín-Queller, E., Hunter, M.L. (2014). Forest landscape change and biodiversity conservation. In: Azevedo, J., Perera, A., Pinto, M. (eds) Forest Landscapes and Global Change. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0953-7_7

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