Plantation Forestry, Tree Breeding, and Novel Tools to Support the Sustainable Management of Boreal Forests

Abstract

Successful stand regeneration is one of the keystone elements of sustainable forest management. It ensures that ecosystems submitted to stand-replacing disturbances return to a forested state so that they can maintain the provision of wood fiber, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and other ecosystem services. This chapter describes how plantation forestry, including tree breeding, and novel tools, such as genomic selection, can support the sustainable management of boreal forests in the face of climate change by, among other benefits, reducing management pressure on natural forests and favoring ecosystem restoration.