Overview

Forest ecosystems: ecosystem theory and processes; genetic diversity in forest ecosystems. Anthropogenic impacts: increases in temperature, fire frequency, ozone and carbon dioxide levels; soil acidification and nitrogen deposition. Climate change impacts on tropical forests. Ecosystem services from forests: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. Valuing forests and forest ecosystem services: conventional methods – market value, NPV, etc.; cost-benefit analysis; payment for ecosystem services (PES).

Learning Outcomes

• Critically discuss the concept of forest ecosystem services.

• Critically discuss the concepts of ecosystem stability and the destabilisation effects of environmental pollutants and climate change.

• Describe and evaluate conventional and emerging methods for valuing forests and forest ecosystem services.

• Show a detailed understanding of forest ecosystems and their biogeochemistry.