Forest Landscape Restoration for Environmental Management

Abstract

Forest resources around the world have been under immense pressure mainly due to anthropogenic activities. Land use changes have taken place caused by an increase in commercial agricultural as well as an intensified development for human settlements and infrastructure advancement, leading to the decline in forest cover. In addition, a substantial amount of forest loss is also contributed by natural phenomena such as drought and tree diseases which are different in magnitude between countries. The dwindling forest area has negatively affected our ecosystem by decreasing the biodiversity as a direct result of habitat loss and depletion in food source. This could bring about a cascade of environmental issues including reduction in plant production, increase in soil erosion, water and air pollution, as well as reducing the efficiency of carbon sequestration. In order to moderate the negative impacts, an implementation of forest landscape restoration (FLR) could improve the health and productivity of forests. FLR involves various stakeholders coming together and reinstating the forest landscape at any scale using appropriate approaches. Through careful planning of FLR operations, forest restoration can be executed which will be beneficial not only to the forests, but also to the whole ecosystem by enhancing food security, air and water quality as well as reducing the adverse impact of climate change to our planet. This chapter aims at introducing the roles of FLR in restoring ecological functionality of degraded forest landscapes. The various tools used in conducting FLR to support human well-being and biodiversity will be highlighted. Finally, the implementation of FLR in meeting the present and future needs of mankind will also be discussed.