7 p.m.
Dear IUFRO Meliaceae E-list:
IUFRO Spotlight #41 may be of interest. Other Spotlights can be found at:
http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
Regards,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Wed, Nov 9, 2016 at 7:28 AM
Subject: IUFRO Spotlight #41 - Sustainable Planted Forests to Meet Growing
Global Needs
To: Dear IUFRO Officeholder <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO Spotlight]
IUFRO Spotlight #41 - Sustainable Planted Forests to Meet Growing Global
Needs
*IUFRO Spotlight* is an initiative of the International Union of Forest
Research Organizations. Its aim is to introduce, in a timely fashion,
significant findings in forest research from IUFRO officeholders and member
organizations to a worldwide network of decision makers, policy makers and
researchers.
IUFRO will encapsulate, and distribute in plain language, brief, topical
and policy-relevant highlights of those findings, along with information on
where/how to access the full documents. The *IUFRO Spotlight* findings will
be distributed in a periodic series of emails as well as blog postings.
*________________________________*
*Sustainable Planted Forests to Meet Growing Global Needs*
PDF for download
<http://www.iufro.org/download/file/25649/5157/spotlight41-planted-forests_pdf/>
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=17620&md5=12e0b3a3c180e70c7c3c5f18b36bbb87dacd9a5d¶meters%5B0%5D=YTo0OntzOjU6IndpZHRoIjtzOjQ6IjgwMG0iO3M6NjoiaGVpZ2h0IjtzOjQ6IjYw¶meters%5B1%5D=MG0iO3M6NzoiYm9keVRhZyI7czoyMjoiPGJvZHkgYmdjb2xvcj0iYmxhY2siPiI7¶meters%5B2%5D=czo0OiJ3cmFwIjtzOjM3OiI8YSBocmVmPSJqYXZhc2NyaXB0OmNsb3NlKCk7Ij4g¶meters%5B3%5D=fCA8L2E%2BIjt9>
*Plantation of Olga Bay Larch at Qingyuan in Liaoning Province, China.
Plantations such as these will be an important source of roundwood in the
future. Photo: John Innes, Coordinator of IUFRO Task Force on Resources for
the Future: Transformation in Forest Use)*
The 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessments report from the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) noted that "…in planted forests, a new
timber resource is continuing to be created … (that will) contribute
significantly not only to future wood and energy supplies but … (also to) a
range of wider social and environmental benefits…"
About 25 years ago, planted forests represented 4% of the world's forested
area. Today they represent almost 7%. But that 7% provides at least
one-third of the world's timber, so their importance should not be
underestimated.
"We do not consider planted forests as a replacement for natural forests,"
said Dr. Christophe Orazio of the European Forestry Institute and
coordinator of IUFRO's Task Force on Sustainable Planted Forests for a
Greener Future. "We see them as being complementary to natural forests."
"In addition to their economic contributions, they capture significant
amounts of carbon; reduce pressure on natural forests and help offset
deforestation; offer alternatives for climate change adaptation and, since
about 80% of planted forests consists of native species, negative impacts
on biodiversity are limited," he said.
Landscape diversity, in which planted forests cover smaller areas and fit
into the landscape mosaic, can also address the issue of biodiversity
conservation in planted forests, he said.
"Planted forests also contribute to poverty alleviation and are a key
component of the green economy, serving not only the traditional timber
industry but also emerging transformation processes such as bioplastics,
biochemicals and bioenergy," Dr. Orazio added.
The Task Force was established by IUFRO because increased international
scientific cooperation aimed at strengthening the commitment to research
and development is considered critical to the sustainable management of
planted forests.
He noted that globalization, by facilitating the movement of invasive
species, can be a threat to monoculture stands and said his Task Force is
working with the biodiversity Task Force to explore setting up mixed,
two-species plantations.
Two other key considerations are climate change and population growth. When
those are factored in, Dr. Orazio said, priorities – geographic regions
where the need for planted forests can be considered more urgent – can be
identified.
In many developing countries, smallholders and farmers own planted forests
and depend on them for their livelihoods. In addition, a large number of
people – especially women – gain employment from nursery operations, land
preparation, plantation establishment, stand management and maintenance
from wood-based industries.
"Africa, as an example, is one of the areas that would benefit from
sustainable planted forests where they can help combat deforestation and
help provide fuel, food and employment to a rapidly growing population," he
said.
The Task Force's main outcomes will result from a focus on some key issues
related to sustainable intensification – the intensification of planted
forest management aimed at meeting the increasing need for forest products
by a growing population, and doing this in a sustainable manner.
Among the Task Force's deliverables will be a joint scientific journal
paper and a technical 'state of knowledge' brief on planted forests, and
preparation of a scientific journal on "New Practices, Management Tools and
Approaches" in industrial tree plantations in the tropics and subtropics.
The Task Force will also contribute to the organization of the 4th
International Congress on Planted Forests in China in 2018.
The Task Force on Sustainable Planted Forests for a Greener Future is one
of several established by IUFRO to advance knowledge under five research
themes in accordance with the IUFRO 2015-19 Strategy.
The five themes are: Forests, Soil and Water Interactions; Forests for
People; Forests and Climate Change; Forests and Forest-based Products for a
Greener Future; and Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Biological
Invasions.
*For more information about the IUFRO Task Force on Sustainable Planted
Forests for a Greener Future, please visit*:
http://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/planted-forests/
*________________________________*
The findings reported in *IUFRO Spotlight* are submitted by IUFRO
officeholders and member organizations. IUFRO is pleased to highlight and
circulate these findings to a broad audience but, in doing so, acts only as
a conduit. The quality and accuracy of the reports are the responsibility
of the member organization and the authors.
Suggestions for reports and findings that could be promoted through *IUFRO
Spotlight* are encouraged. To be considered, reports should be fresh, have
policy implications and be applicable to more than one country. If you
would like to have a publication highlighted by Spotlight, *contact: Gerda
Wolfrum, IUFRO Communications Coordinator, wolfrum(at)iufro.org
<http://iufro.org>*.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is the
only worldwide organization devoted to forest research and related
sciences. Its members are research institutions, universities, and
individual scientists as well as decision-making authorities and other
stakeholders with a focus on forests and trees.
Visit: http://www.iufro.org/
*________________________________*
*IUFRO Spotlight #41, published in November 2016by IUFRO Headquarters,
Vienna, Austria.Available for download at:
**http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
<http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/>*
*Contact the editor at office(at)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org> or visit
http://www.iufro.org/ <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=104>*
If you do not wish to receive *IUFRO Spotlight* publications, please email
us at: office(at)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org>
*Imprint: http://www.iufro.org/legal/#c18944
<http://www.iufro.org/legal/#c18944>*
