In the past decade there has been much debate over the environmental impact of forestry. People are justifiably concerned about what is happening to their local and global forest environments. But they are also confused by the polarized rhetoric that has characterized both sides of the forestry/environment debate.

In Balancing Act Hamish Kimmins calls for a balanced, more objective approach to forestry issues. He argues that these issues are too often debated without any common understanding of what forestry is really all about or about how forest ecosystems work. He points...

Modelling is an important tool for understanding the complexity of forest ecosystems and the variety of interactions of ecosystem components, processes and values. This book describes the hybrid approach to modelling forest ecosystems and their possible response to natural and management-induced disturbance. The book describes the FORECAST family of ecosystem management models at three different spatial scales (tree, stand and landscape), and compares them with alternative models at these three spatial scales.

The book will help forest managers to understand what to expect from...