Effects of afforestation on ecosystems, landscape and rural development : Proceedings of the AFFORNORD conference, Reykholt, Iceland, June 18–22, 2005

Abstract

Forests and forestry play a major role in the economy and ecology of the Nordic countries. This important resource has been heavily exploited throughout the centuries, with the consequence that, in certain regions, forests were almost eradicated. In order to amend this, extensive afforestation has taken place in the Nordic countries. The goals of afforestation are many, among these to re-establish the forest resource and to have a positive influence on rural development. However, afforestation has other consequences, such as changes in ecosystems and landscape. Therefore, it is important to gain an overview over the multi-scale effects of afforestation in the Nordic countries. This is the goal of the Nordic project AFFORNORD. This book contains 43 scientific papers presented in an international conference held in Iceland in 2005 on the effects of afforestation on ecosystems, landscape and rural development. The papers are dealing with different topics related to afforestation, stretching from biology to sociology, from insect communities to human communities, and from microhabitats to landscapes