Springer National Forest Inventories: Assessment of Wood Availability and Use

The book presents the current state and good practices of national forest inventories in monitoring wood resources and demonstrates pathways for harmonisation and improved common reporting. Beyond a general overview over availability and use of wood resources in different countries, it provides a unique collection of original contributions from national forest inventory experts with in-depth descriptions of current NFI methods in assessing wood availability and wood use in European countries, and selected countries from America and Asia. The main topics are national definitions and improvements in common reporting of forests available for wood supply, stem quality and assortments, estimation of change including growth and drain, and tree resources outside forest land. The book is a must-have for everyone who is contributing to national forest inventories either methodologically or operatively, for people who want or need to understand national forest inventory provided data and information on the availability of wood resources. By providing profound knowledge it is a valuable basis for scientists involved in scenario modelling and analysing effects of climate change, as well as individuals in private organisations and public administrations promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and the potential of green economy. From the Back Cover This book presents the current state of the art and best practices concerning national forest inventories (NFIs) for monitoring wood resources, and demonstrates pathways toward harmonisation and improved common reporting. Beyond providing a general overview of the availability and use of wood resources in different countries, it presents a unique collection of original contributions from national forest inventory experts featuring in-depth descriptions of current National forest inventory methods for assessing wood availability and wood use in European countries, as well as selected countries in America and Asia. The main topics addressed are national definitions and improvements in common reporting of forests available for wood supply, stem quality and assortments, estimation of change including growth and drain, and tree resources outside forest land. The book is a must-have for everyone whose work involves national forest inventories, and for all those who want or need to understand the information NFIs provide on the availability of wood resources. By providing reliable information, it represents a valuable resource for scientists involved in scenario modelling and analysing the effects of climate change, as well as individuals at private organisations and public authorities working to promote the sustainable use of natural resources and to harness the potential of green economies. About the Author Claude Vidal Claude VIDAL was Director of the French National Forest Inventory (NFI) from 2002 to 2014. As a founding member of the European National Forest Inventory Network (ENFIN) from its creation in 2003 onwards, he has worked from the beginning to enhance comparability of NFI data and to help countries to improve or establish up to date NFI methodologies. In COST Action E43: “Harmonisation of National Forest Inventories in Europe: Techniques for Common Reporting”, from 2004 to 2008, he chaired one working group dealing with the harmonisation of definitions and from 2010 to 2014 also chaired another working group on the same subject within the COST Action “Usewood” focusing on the question of comparable data in terms of availability of wood in Europe on a sustainable basis. He was also the focal point of two Framework Contracts between ENFIN and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission helping the Commission to build a forest European database with comparable NFI data. From 2014 to 2016 he worked at the JRC to make proposals on the building of a European Forestry Bureau as foreseen in the European Forest Strategy document f