Forestry articles from across Nature Portfolio

Species richness across taxa showed U-shaped patterns along a forest development gradient in the northern Alps, which remained stable with elevation. Habitat specialization decreased for all taxa and beta diversity varied across taxa with elevation.

Forest conservation policies driving reduced deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon improves local air quality and decreases hospitalization and mortality rates due to respiratory diseases of the population, as quantified with impact evaluation methods

Carbon markets are key in climate strategies, but only 16% of carbon credits represent real emission reductions, based on a study of 2,346 projects. Reforms are needed to improve the effectiveness of carbon crediting mechanisms in addressing climate change.

Not all wildfires can be averted, but data, models and collaborations can help to chart a course to a fire-resilient future.

High-altitude planting could buffer the trees, and the migratory butterflies that roost in them, against the effects of climate change.

As wildfires become more frequent and severe, efforts to improve the resilience of forests must be grounded in data and led by Indigenous Peoples.

The greenhouse gas abatement costs for two forest restoration methods — natural regeneration and plantations — are estimated by integrating observations on the costs of reforestation projects with other biophysical and economic data. This analysis reveals that a mix of reforestation methods offers greater potential to mitigate climate change at low cost than previously estimated.

Resilience in production forests can be achieved through natural ecological processes or repeated intensive interventions. We caution that ‘coerced’ resilience derived from intense and repeated human inputs may exacerbate biodiversity loss, narrow the range of ecosystem services provided and limit general resilience (that is, the capacity of production forests to recover from unforeseen disturbances).