Our project aims to develop a tool to value the ecosystem services that forests provide to enable better decisions for the most sustainable use of land and forests. This may result in something known as ecosystem conversion. Here, Kathleen Conroy, Trinity College Dublin, looks at what conversion means in relation to forestry, with three significant associated terms - deforestation, reforestation and afforestation. Ecosystem Conversion Ecosystem conversion is an ecosystem ch

The concept of agroforestry can seem intimidating. Breaking it down: agro- (Greek, means “field”) and forestry (Latin, means “the outside woods”). Having the literal definition is just the starting point, now what does agroforestry actually mean? Here, Trinity College Dublin PhD candidate Kathleen Conroy explains a little bit more on the concept. Agroforestry is a type of multi-use land management which combines the forestry and agriculture industries. Under agroforestry, lan

Our research project, which will look to co-develop tools for sustainable forestry management decision-making, is led by natural scientists at Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with University College Dublin and Coillte, supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine. It is well understood that forestry provides timber but it also supports biodiversity and supplies other public benefits, including carbon capture to tackle climate change. However, unless