Forest Management and the Water Cycle

The protective function of forests for water quality and water-related hazards, as well as adequate water supplies for forest ecosystems in Europe, are potentially at risk due to changing climate and changing land-management practices. Water budgets of forest ecosystems are heavily dependent on climate and forest structure. The latter is determined by the management measures applied in the forestry sector. Various developments of forest management strategies, imposed on a background of changing climate, are considered in assessing the overall future of forest–water interactions in Europe.

Synthesizing recent research on the interactions of forest management and the water regime of forests in Europe and beyond, the book makes an important contribution to the ongoing dialogue between scientists dealing with different scales of forest-water interactions. This collaborative endeavour, which covers geographic and climatic gradients from Iceland to Israel and from southern Spain to Estonia and Finland, was made possible through the COST Action "Forest Management and the Water Cycle (FORMAN)", which was launched in 2007 (http://www.forestandwater.eu/).

The book will be of particular interest to the research community involved in forest ecosystem research and forest hydrology, as well as landscape ecologists and hydrologists in general. It will also provide reference material for forest practitioners and planners in hydrology and land use.