Plantation Forests and Biodiversity: Oxymoron or Opportunity? [electronic resource] / edited by Eckehard G. Brockerhoff, HervȨ Jactel, John A. Parrotta, Christopher P. Quine, Jeffrey Sayer, David L. Hawksworth.

Plantation forests and biodiversity: oxymoron or opportunity? -- Epiphytes of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) plantations in Ireland and the effects of open spaces -- Bird assemblages in pine plantations replacing native ecosystems in NW Patagonia -- Identifying practical indicators of biodiversity for stand-level management of plantation forests -- Options for biodiversity conservation in managed forest landscapes of multiple ownerships in Oregon and Washington, USA -- Impact of four silvicultural systems on birds in the Belgian Ardenne: implications for biodiversity in plantation forests -- The early effects of afforestation on biodiversity of grasslands in Ireland -- Multi-scale habitat selection and foraging ecology of the eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops) in pine plantations -- Diversity and composition of fruit-feeding butterflies in tropical Eucalyptus plantations -- Impact of landscape and corridor design on primates in a large-scale industrial tropical plantation landscape -- Non-native plantation forests as alternative habitat for native forest beetles in a heavily modified landscape -- Importance of semi-natural habitats for the conservation of butterfly communities in landscapes dominated by pine plantations -- Relevance of exotic pine plantations as a surrogate habitat for ground beetles (Carabidae) where native forest is rare -- Stand-level management of plantations to improve biodiversity values.

This book brings together a selection of original research articles that address biodiversity and conservation in plantation forests. Although such forests are perhaps the poor cousins of the species richer natural and semi-natural forests, they can still make a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation. This is particularly the case in regions that have lost much of their natural forest cover. Comparatively few studies have previously attempted to examine the biota associated with plantation forests and, as a result, some conservation needs and opportunities highlighted here have not been adequately recognised. Conversely, plantations have sometimes been a direct cause of natural habitat loss, and greater awareness is required to avoid this with future afforestation projects. The contributions in this volume provide new information about a wide range of taxa from lichens to primates, from various temperate and tropical regions around the world, in the context of plantation forestry, combined with suggestions for forest management at both stand and landscape levels, to improve biodiversity conservation. The findings are equally of interest to the scientific community, policy makers and forest managers. The topical examples of applied conservation issues will make the volume also highly valuable for use in conservation biology courses. Reprinted from Biodiversity and Conservation, volume 17:5 (2008)