The visual landscape of forests is an important source of information for the public in judging the sustainability of forest resource management. What if people reject sustainable forestry because it looks unattractive? There is an increasing recognition of the importance of this linkage between ecology and aesthetics among foresters and environmental scientists. Forest resource managers pursuing the goals of ecosystem management must consider the aestetic consequences of timber-harvesting operations and find ways to explain the ecological benefits of their activities. This book is the first to specifically address the relationships between people's perceptions and sustainability. It consists of 17 chapters divided into six parts: linking ecological sustainability to aesthetics; approaches to aesthetics and sustainability; perspectives on forest sustainability; theories relating aesthetics and forest ecology; visualization of forested landscapes; and reconciling forest sustainability and aesthetics. Contributors are leading research workers in their subjects, from Canada, the USA and the UK. The book is of interest not only to foresters and ecologists, but also to landscape architects, sociologists, environmental psychologists and philosophers.
