Introduction: Forest restoration in temperate and boreal zones
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed an acceleration of forest restoration activities around the globe. Afforestation of former agricultural land, rehabilitation of natural forest processes and structures at the stand and landscape levels, and conversion of single-species plantations to mixed-species stands are among the prominent types of restoration practices currently being implemented throughout temperate and boreal forests. The impetuses for these forest restoration activities are diverse but restoration goals often include increasing the land-base of a particular forest ecosystem, increasing biodiversity, increasing ecosystem resilience and resistance, and increasing forest sustainability.