This paper introduces a Special Issue of Forest Ecology and Management that includes a collection of analytical results from the 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA 2015) covering 25 years of forest change (1990–2015).

This document summarizes the latest global and regional policy developments related to forests. It describes decisions resulting from international and intergovernmental processes and identifies areas where these decisions may have an impact on the forest sector in the COFFI and EFC region.

Meeting Name: European Forestry Commission
Meeting symbol/code: FO:EFC/2015/11 - ECE/TIM/2015/11
Session: Sess.38 - Sess.73

In this edition you will find a series of articles on a wide range of themes whose common denominator is a wish to improve the livelihoods of rural communities, especially in Africa. It is interesting to note that two aspects emerge strongly from the variety of themes: nutrition and the role of young people – two aspects of development that are also central to activities at FAO.

The built environment as a part of society is facing fast and constant changes occurring in the surrounding environment. This is a challenging situation for real estates because their character does not inherently support fast changes and constant development.

Species-rich semi-natural grasslands have rapidly declined and become fragmented in Northern Europe due to ceased traditional agricultural practices and animal husbandry. Restoration actions have been introduced in many places to improve the habitat conditions and increase the area to prevent any further losses of their ecological values.

The arctic forest-tundra ecotone (FTE) represents a major transition zone between contrasting ecosystems, which can be strongly affected by climatic and biotic factors. Expected northward expansion and encroachment on arctic tundra in response to climate warming may be counteracted by natural and anthropogenic processes such as defoliating insect outbreaks and grazing/browsing regimes.

In this pilot study, we examine the relationship between the organisation of property rights and the economic importance of forestry on the one hand and the degree to which integrative nature conservation is formally implemented in forest policy on the other hand. Further, we are interested in whether political institutions moderate this relationship.

Here, we use a unique long‐term data set on total organic carbon (TOC) fluxes, its climatic drivers and effects of land management from a large boreal watershed in northern Finland. TOC and runoff have been monitored at several sites in the Simojoki watershed (3160� km²) since the early 1960s. Annual TOC fluxes have increased significantly together with increased inter‐annual variability.