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A common research theme in forestry addresses the management of forest resources in the face of intensive agriculture, resource extraction activities, and climate change. Researchers are working to understand how to successfully integrate the management of physical and biological resources with the economic and social aspects of land. They are studying biodiversity of various forest ecosystems such as rainforests, sub-alpine forests, and boreal environments, and correlating this with forest health and resilience to adverse effects. Forestry researchers are also conducting studies into genetic improvement, site preparation, fertilization, pest impact reduction, and density management for commercially valuable wood products.
Another hot research area is in land reclamation. Scientists are working to understand the impact of human land use activities (eg. mining, oil drilling, agriculture, recreation, etc), how disturbances alter a given ecosystem, and how forest ecosystems can be reclaimed. An example of a reclamation strategy involves the use of genetically modified microbes to remedy environments that have been previously polluted by oil or heavy metals.
Forest ecology is another area of research. Scientists are working to measure gas emissions in forests and compare them to urban areas, to determine how effective forests are as carbon sinks. Different types of forests are being examined such as rainforests, boreal forests, deciduous forests, and old-growth forests to determine how each type responds to elevated CO2 levels. See the articles on ecology and atmospheric science for more information.
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