Environmental Effects of Afforestation in North-Western Europe

As issues of water quality and carbon emissions have moved up the political agenda, the afforestation of former arable land has become an increasingly common practice throughout much of Europe.

In addition to wood production these new forests can provide a range of environmental services – including carbon sequestration. Yet, like any land-use change, afforestation may also bring negative impacts, such as reduced groundwater recharge.

Recognising the need for effective decision making in relation to land-use change, this timely book develops a series of tools for estimating the environmental impacts of afforestation. It also presents guidelines and decision support systems (DSS) to enable both policy makers and forest managers to maximize the benefits and minimize the adverse effects of afforestation.

Focusing on three key issues – carbon sequestration, water surplus and nitrate leaching, the book presents clear examples of afforestation research to develop detailed models and reduced ‘metamodels’ suitable for implementing in a real-time management system. It then goes on to illustrate the application of the decision support system developed in the text, demonstrating the applicability of the method throughout northwest Europe and beyond.

This book will provide a valuable resource for both graduate students and researchers in forest, environmental and biological sciences, as well as for landscape planners and policy makers involved in afforestation projects at local, regional and international levels.