Forest Dynamics

Forests concentrate a large portion of terrestrial biological diversity and are one of the main storages of carbon, which is accumulated in the forest biomass, in the dead organic matter and in the forest soils. Halting or reducing forest loss is required to ensure the conservation of many species that depend on forest habitats and ecosystems. On the other hand, a sustainable use and management of forests, which obtains wood and non-wood products for human use while ensuring forest persistence, is crucial to support, in many areas, the livelihoods of rural communities, which would otherwise get impoverished by a depleted forest cover. Avoiding forest loss, or increasing the area covered by forests where necessary, is also needed to preserve or restore many other important ecosystem services like water regulation, erosion control, pollution control or recreation. Forests are in risk in many areas due to a variety of pressures, most notably agricultural expansion but also extractive activities (such as mining), urbanization, infrastructure development or wildfires, among others.