Forests & the Environment*:
a guide to library resources

*Note that Australian Forest resources are located in the Forests & Forestry section of the Environmental Studies Australia guide

STARTING POINTS

The following is a selection of overviews and introductory texts  

Checklist of Online Vegetation and Plant Distribution Maps [web access]
[This resource of online vegetation and plant distribution maps includes most of the world's forests]

Conservation atlas of tropical forests (3 volumes) [print]
[Covering Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and The Americas]

Forest Resources of Europe, CIS, North America, Australia, Japan and New Zealand [web access]
[This report  provides a comprehensive set of internationally comparable data on the temperate and boreal forests]

Forests in flux: climate change: the threats to world forests [web access]
[This report is part of the Forests in Flux project, the goal of which is to define priority areas for the establishment of a global network of protected areas in forest ecosystems]

Global Forest Resources Assessment [web access]
[FAO's report on the status of the world's forest resources and their changes over time]

Global overview of forest protected areas on the World Heritage list(1997) [web access]
[Part of IUCN's Natural Heritage Program]

Last rain forests : a world conservation atlas (1990) [print]
[Describes the remaining rainforest areas of the world]

Our forests, our future (1999) [print]
[Report of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development]

State of the world's forests [web access]
[FAO's Forestry Programme presents information on the current status of the world's forests. Also available in print format]

Tropical forestry handbook (2 volumes, 1993) [print]
[Provides comparative data for the management of tropical forest resources]

World list of threatened trees (1998) [print]
[Provides information on the global conservation status of more than 7000 tree species]

FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

 Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are some suggested starting points :

Afforestation

Agroforestry

Deforestation

Forest conservation

Forest ecology

Forest fires

Forest management

Forest policy

Forest productivity

Forest products

Forest reproduction

Forestry law and legislation

Forests & forestry

Logging Environmental Aspects

Rain forest conservation

Rain forest ecology

Rain forests

Reforestation

Sustainable forestry

Click here if you need help with constructing searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES

 Journal articles can be found through databases listed in the Databases for Geography guide.

 Researchers needing to undertake a more comprehensive literature search should note the following specialised databases & bibliographies:

Fire Ecology Database [web access]
[International in scope, the database covers a broad range of fire-related information with emphasis on North America]

Forest History Society: Environmental History bibliography [web access]
[Searchable database of publications dealing with forest related resources. Focussed on North America but with considerable international coverage]

Social Sciences in Forestry Bibliography [web access]
[An annotated bibliography maintained by the Forestry Library, University of Minnesota. International in coverage it covers the years from 1985 onwards]

Tropical Forest Conservation and Development: A Bibliography [web access]
[An annotated bibliography maintained by the Forestry Library, University of Minnesota. International in coverage it covers the years from 1982 onwards]

Urban Forestry [web access]
[An annotated bibliography maintained by the Forestry Library, University of Minnesota. International in coverage it covers the years from 1980 onwards]

WEB RESOURCES

The following are starting points for locating resources on the Web

APFT (Avenir des Peuples des Forets Tropicales / Future of Tropical Rainforest People)
[This project aims to investigate and document the future of the peoples of the rainforest]

CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research)
[CIFOR's mission is to contribute to the sustained well-being of people in developing countries, particularly in the tropics]

FAO Forestry Internet Site
[The FAO Forestry Programme addresses the issues of how to use trees, forests and related resources to improve people's economic, environmental, social and cultural conditions]

FIRENET
[FireNet is an international information retrieval and exchange network  for those interested in rural and landscape fire management]

Forestry AgNIC
[This guide is a part of the wider Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) & points to a broad range of forestry topics]

Forest Protection Portal
[Vast amount of information on worldwide rainforest and forest conservation]

Global Forest Watch
[Organised by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Global Forest Watch is an international effort to provide objective, quality data on the state of the world's forests]

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
[ITTO is an intergovernmental organisation promoting the conservation and sustainable mamagement, use and trade of tropical forest resources]

IUCN : the World Conservation Union
[The IUCN is a union of governments, government agencies, and non-governmental organisations working to protect nature. This site includes information on their Forest Conservation Programme]

Rainforestweb.org
[Gateway provided by the Rainforest Action Network, an organisation working to protect tropical rainforests and the human rights of those living in and around those forests]

UNEP -WCMC Forest Information Service
[A collaboration between UNEP & the World Conservation Monitoring Centre  to provides information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources]

United Nations Forum on Forests
[Founded in 2000 with an aim of promoting the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests]

This page is maintained by Helen Attar