Silvicultural management in maintaining biodiversity and resistance of forests in Europe-temperate zone

In Europe temperate forests play a prominent role in timber production, nature protection, water conservation, erosion control and recreation. For centuries temperate forests in Europe have been affected by forest devastation and soil degradation. Applying great efforts to eliminate the severe wood shortage of those days, countermeasures were taken during the last 150 years by regenerating and tending highly productive forests. High growth rates and an increasing growing stock of these forests indicate that formerly stated goals have been successfully achieved. Coniferous species were often favoured because they were easy to establish and manage, and gave reason for high volume growth expectations. Today coniferous forests expand far beyond the limits of their natural ranges.These changes have been accompanied by a loss of biodiversity, a shift to nonsite adapted tree species and reduce the resistance against storms, snow, ice, droughts, insects and fungi. Some of these hazards were further intensified by the increasing average stand age, as well as in some areas by severe air pollution. Climatic fluctuations, especially changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme warm and dry climatic conditions and of heavy storms, had considerable impact on forest ecosystems.The changing demands of today require a widened scope of forest management. Society is asking for sustainable forestry emphasizing biodiversity and naturalistic forest management. It is of great economic and ecological relevance to know on which sites today's forests are most susceptible to climatic and other environmental changes and hazards. In those areas adjustments of management through a conversion the prevailing forests towards more site adapted mixed forests needs to be considered with priority. The high diversity in site conditions, ownership, economic and socio-cultural conditions require strategies adapted to the local and regional needs. Higher resistance of forests will increase economic and social benefits of forests and reduce the risks by maintaining sustainable forestry.     

Potential Impact of Afforestation on Water Yield in the Subalpine Region of Southwestern China1

Abstract: To combat its growing ecological problems, China has implemented a large‐scale Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP). Under the umbrella of this program, the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) was established in 1999 to return cultivated land with slopes of 25° or more to perennial vegetation. However, the regional impacts on water resource management that are incurred by afforestation have not been carefully evaluated, especially in the subalpine region of southwestern China. The purpose of the present study was to provide reference values for the SLCP by evaluating the potential impact of afforestation on water yield under different climatic regimes. Accordingly, evapotranspiration (ET) in cropland (CL), shrubland, and general forest was calculated using a modification of Thornthwaite’s method, and in coniferous forest, broad‐leaved forest (BF), and mixed coniferous and broad‐leaved forest (MF) using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) model. The results of both approaches showed that afforestation reduces water yield by 9.6‐24.3% depending on the types of conversion and climatic conditions. Water‐yield reduction is greatest (>143.4 mm, or 24.3%) when CL is converted to BF in dry climate conditions. Compared with the other forest types studied, coniferous plantations prevented water‐yield reduction by as much as 9.6% because of their relatively low levels of ET. It is expected that implementation of the SLCP, together with continuing climate change, will further pressure regional water resources. Thus, the effectiveness of afforestation must be evaluated in a broader context while taking into account its positive ecological aspects, such as soil‐erosion control, the preservation of biodiversity, and the significant carbon sequestration provided by forests.     

Sustainable Farming Practices: Ghanaian Farmers' Perception of Erosion and Their Use of Conservation Measures

/ Major responsibility for conserving forest biodiversity is often assigned to natural resource agencies. Often unknown is the appropriate administrative context for doing so, especially the organizational location for biodiversity programs in state government, suitable levels of financial and professional investment in biodiversity programs, processes useful for coordinating programs located in different administrative settings, and the effectiveness of biodiversity programs, especially conditions associated with programs judged to be very effective. Focusing on forests, a nationwide survey of 156 forestry agency and biodiversity program administrators in all 50 states was undertaken. Effective forest biodiversity programs were those with a long-range plan, administered as a single organizational unit, located in close organizational proximity to a state's forestry agency, actively providing management practice advice to landowners, administrators, and the public, and firm actions taken to ensure coordination with other natural resource programs.     

Trade-Offs Between Forest Protection and Wood Supply in Europe

Forest protection is one of the main measures to prevent loss of biological and landscape diversity. This study aimed to assess to what extent forests are currently protected and how felling restrictions affect the potential annual wood supply within 27 European Union member states, Norway, and Switzerland and to discuss trade-offs between intensified use of forest biomass and forest protection efforts. Protected forests covered 33 million ha (20 % of total forest area) in 2005, of which 16 million ha was protected for biodiversity and the remaining area for landscape diversity. Within the protected areas, on average 48 % of the volume cannot be harvested in forests protected for biodiversity and 40 % in forests protected for landscapes. Consequently, 73 million m³ (10 % of the annual theoretical potential supply from the total forest area) of wood cannot be felled from the protected forests in Europe. Protected forests do not necessarily affect wood supply given the current demand for wood in Europe. However, if demand for wood from European forests for material and energy use significantly increases, the impact of existing protected forest networks may become significant after all. On the other hand, wood harvesting is allowed to a fair extent in many protected areas. Hence, the question could be raised whether biodiversity and landscape diversity within designated areas are sufficiently protected. Careful planning is required to accommodate both the protection of biological and landscape diversity and demand for wood, while not forgetting all other services that forests provide.     

Recreational impacts on backcountry campsites in Grand Canyon National Park,Arizona, USA

Backcountry campsites were studied in three desert vegetation types (pinyon-juniper, catclaw, and desert scrub) in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Relationships between amount of use and amount of impact were examined within each vegetation type. The area disturbed was small, but impacts were generally severe. Important impacts were increased soil compaction and associated decreases in infiltration rates and soil moisture content; these were substantially more pronounced on high than low use sites. The only impact parameter that differed significantly between vegetation types was core area. The types of impact identified are similar to those found in the coniferous forests studied elsewhere, as is the logarithmic relationship between amount of use and amount of impact. However, Grand Canyon sites can support more visitor use before reaching near-maximum levels of impact for important impact parameters.     

Impacts of land use conversion on bankfull discharge and mass wasting

Mass wasting and channel incision are widespread in the Nemadji River watershed of eastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. While much of this is a natural response to glacial rebound, sediment coring and tree ring data suggest that land use has also influenced these erosional processes. We characterized land use, inventoried mass wasting, surveyed stream channels and collected discharge data along segments of five streams in the Nemadji River watershed. Due to natural relief in this region, wetlands and agricultural lands are concentrated in the flatter terrain of the uplands of the Nemadji watershed, while forestland (coniferous or deciduous) is concentrated in the deeply incised (50-200% slope) stream valleys. Bankfull discharge was higher where forests had been converted from coniferous to deciduous forests and where there were fewer wetlands. Mass wasting increased exponentially with bankfull flows. While mass wasting was not correlated with forest type conversion and agricultural land use, it was negatively dependent upon wetland extent in headwater areas. Interactions between the spatial distribution of land use and terrain obfuscate any clear cause-and-effect relationships between land use, hydrology and fluvial processes.     

Agriculture adjustment, land-use transition and protected areas in Northwestern Argentina

Land-use change is the main component of regional environmental change, while protected areas represent a direct land use policy to prevent its potentially negative effects on biodiversity and environmental services. We combined an analysis of trends in land use and human demography with trends in creation of protected areas during the last three decades in northwestern Argentina, a subtropical region including a wide range of environments. The eighty nine administrative analysis units of the region were classified into four ecological groups based on their percentage of cover by the six eco-regions of the study area: (1) "Dry valleys"; dominated by Middle-elevation deserts; (2) "Highlands", dominated by High-elevation alpine zones and plateaus; (3) "Humid ecosystems", dominated by Foggy grasslands and Humid forests, and (4) "Dry forests". Between 1970 and 2002, human population became concentrated in urban areas and land use trends varied greatly among the four ecological groups. Agricultural area decreased in the Highlands and increased in the other regions, particularly in the Dry forests. Domestic animals decreased in Humid ecosystems, Highlands and the Dry valleys; and remained constant in the Dry forests. Several protected areas were created, but most of them were established in regions undergoing a decreasing intensity of land use. Overall, the analysis shows that agricultural production is becoming concentrated in the areas more suitable for modern agriculture while marginal agriculture areas and, particularly, extensive grazing are decreasing. The creation of protected areas reflects the decreasing opportunity costs of marginal areas and is failing to protect the eco-regions most threatened by current land-use trends.     

The Cost-effectiveness of Biodiversity Management: A Comparison of Farm Types in Extensively Farmed Areas of Scotland

The cost-effectiveness of biodiversity management of heather, herb-rich grassland and wetland habitats is compared between different farm types in the context of the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme in Scotland. Biodiversity is measured at two spatial levels. Costs to the public exchequer of habitat management are compared with private costs to the farmer. Biodiversity and cost are combined in cost-effectiveness ratios. Biodiversity, cost and cost-effectiveness differentials are found between farm types for all three habitats. Farms incur negligible opportunity costs in the management of all three habitats, implying farmer retention of compensating ESA management payments. It is concluded that greater account of biodiversity and cost characteristics of entrants to agri-environmental schemes would increase the costeffectiveness and transparency of schemes, and assist towards scheme assessment at the individual farm level.     

The effect of experience on choosing where to go: an application to a choice experiment on forest recreation

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of experience on the choice of visits to forests in a stated discrete choice experiment. Recent literature has indicated that experiences with the environmental services valuated may increase the respondents' certainty in their choice of hypothetical alternatives. We apply two indicators of experiences: the number of visits and the number of different forests visited during the last year. Applying the generalized multinomial logit model, we find that an increase in the number of visits to forests makes respondents' choices more predictable. However, the number of different forests visited reduces the predictability of choices. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between respondents' experience of forest recreation and the self-reported choice certainty, controlling for respondents' social-demographics and other design characteristics. Finally, we show that self-reported choice certainty is positive correlated with the scale factor, as expected.     

Effects of Management on Understory Diversity in the Forest Ecosystems of Northern Spain

Pine plantations are an alternative to marginal agriculture in many countries, and are often presented as an option that improves biodiversity. However, these plantations can have adverse environmental effects if improperly managed. To evaluate the effect of forest management practices on biodiversity, the diversity, species richness, dominance and frequency of understory woody plant species in different forests of the Basque Country (northern Spain) were compared. Plantations of exotic conifers (Pinus radiata [D.] Don) of different ages were compared with deciduous forests of Quercus robur L. and Fagus sylvatica L. The effects of different types and intensities of management were taken into account. The differences observed were mainly conditioned by the intensity of forestry management, although the response varied according to forest type and age. In unmanaged pine plantations, the diversity and species richness of the understory increased rapidly after planting (while dominance decreased), remained stable in the intermediate age range, and reached a maximum in plantations more than 25 years of age. Management practices resulted in decreased understory diversity and species richness, as well as greater dominance. This was more pronounced in younger than in older stands. Moderate management, however, favored a greater diversity of the understory in deciduous forests. The species composition of the plantations and deciduous forests were different, the latter having a wider range of characteristic species. Knowledge of how forestry practices influence biodiversity (in terms of diversity, richness, dominance, and species composition) may allow predictions to be made about the diversity achievable with different management systems.     

Estimating the economic value of improvements in river ecology using choice experiments: an application to the water framework directive

The Water Framework Directive is a major regulatory reform of water resources management within the European Union. Integrated catchment management plans must be prepared for all river basins, in order to achieve 'good ecological status' in all EU waters. Ecological status is a broader measure of water quality than the chemical and biological measures that were previously dominant. The Directive calls for a consideration of the economic costs and benefits of improvements to ecological status. In this paper, we use the choice experiment method to estimate the value of improvements in three components of ecological status. Given the high resource cost of valuation studies, benefits transfer methods will be needed in implementing the Directive. We thus also test the ability of choice experiments for benefits transfer across two very similar rivers in the UK.     

Carbon management and biodiversity

International efforts to mitigate human-caused changes in the Earth's climate are considering a system of incentives (debits and credits) that would encourage specific changes in land use that can help to reduce the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. The two primary land-based activities that would help to minimize atmospheric carbon dioxide are carbon storage in the terrestrial biosphere and the efficient substitution of biomass fuels and bio-based products for fossil fuels and energy-intensive products. These two activities have very different land requirements and different implications for the preservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of other ecosystem services. Carbon sequestration in living forests can be pursued on lands with low productivity, i.e. on lands that are least suitable for agriculture or intensive forestry, and are compatible with the preservation of biodiversity over large areas. In contrast, intensive harvest-and-use systems for biomass fuels and products generally need more productive land to be economically viable. Intensive harvest-and-use systems may compete with agriculture or they may shift intensive land uses onto the less productive lands that currently harbor most of the Earth's biodiversity. Win-win solutions for carbon dioxide control and biodiversity are possible, but careful evaluation and planning are needed to avoid practices that reduce biodiversity with little net decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Planning is more complex on a politically subdivided Earth where issues of local interest, national sovereignty, and equity come into play.     

Ranking the benefits of biodiversity: an exploration of relative values

Public concern about the alarmingly high rate of biodiversity loss has not been matched by public willingness to bear boundless costs to stem the tide of extinction. Because resources for conservation are limited, setting conservation priorities to use those resources effectively is crucial. To do so in a way that addresses people's most pressing concerns about biodiversity loss, managers and policy makers must understand those concerns. This study investigates preferences for an array of benefits associated with biodiversity and wildlife and the relative importance to people of each. A survey was administered to a sample of the US population to explore public preferences for types of benefits often associated with biodiversity: utilitarian (commodity and recreation), ecological (certain and uncertain), aesthetic, symbolic, and humanistic. Respondents were asked to rank hypothetical species presented in choice sets of three species, each described simply in terms of one type of benefit. A rank-ordered multinomial logit model was estimated to establish a ranking of the benefits and evaluate the sensitivity of the ranking to socio-demographic variables. The means of the sample predictions indicated the relative importance of each type of benefit. Confidence intervals were constructed to evaluate the extent to which the ranks could be distinguished from one another. Ecological functions were most important to survey respondents; commodity-based benefits and human attributes were of moderate importance; and recreation, aesthetics, and symbolic references in literature and art appeared to be least important.     

Silvicultural management in maintaining biodiversity and resistance of forests in Europe-boreal zone: case Finland

The majority of untouched natural boreal forests have been regenerated through large catastrophes, occurring by intervals between 50 and 100 years. Storm and fire will open the landscape, result in a huge amount of dead or dying trees and let the pioneer tree species germinate. These processes are the guideline for Finnish forest management today.The main focus by maintaining the biodiversity in Finnish boreal forest zone is directed to managed forests. Nature-orientated silviculture on stand level is practised. The site type classification, a reflection of the modern concept of biodiversity and developed by Cajander early in 1900s, on the basis of natural vegetation composition of the site, has the central role by choosing tree species, regeneration methods and thinning procedure, and reflects also on the site productivity. The small size of stands, the abundance of natural seedlings in planted stands and the popularity of mixed stands have a positive impact on biodiversity of forests. The protection of small-sized valuable habitats in commercially managed stands, the leaving of retention trees standing and lying in the forest in all phases of the rotation, are activities made for biodiversity. Many insects and fungi are adapted to catastrophes and so they can survive in single stems left on regeneration areas. Maintaining the biodiversity in multifunctional forests is also supported by the new forest legislation and by the criteria of Finnish Forest Certification System.     

Economic valuation of urban forest benefits in Finland

Urban development projects may cause loss of amenity values of green areas, which should be taken into consideration in planning. Therefore, quantitative information on residents' valuation concerning urban forests is needed for assessing urban land use. The purpose of this investigation was to study the valuation of urban forests in two different urban environments Joensuu and Salo, Finland. The aims were to study the attitudes towards and benefits related to the use of urban forests and, in particular, to measure the valuations in monetary terms using contingent valuation, i.e. measure the residents' willingness-to-pay for larger wooded recreation areas and for small forested parks. Urban forests were seen in both towns as clearly producing positive benefits rather than causing negative effects. The negative features of forests were related to the management of the areas rather than their existence. The main values were related to nature and social functions of forests. In contrast, timber production achieved a distinctively low priority in both study towns. The results stress the importance of defining urban forest policies for municipalities in Finland. More than two-thirds of the respondents were willing to pay for the use of recreation areas. Good location and active management raised the average WTP. Moreover, approximately half of the respondents were willing to pay for preventing construction in urban forests. The results also show that the monetary value of amenity benefits in recreation areas is much higher than the present maintenance costs. The examples concerning the advantageousness of construction on green areas suggest that a limit could be found where the infill of housing areas is not worthwhile from the point of view of society, if the losses of green space benefits are taken into account.     

Combining remote sensing imagery and forest age inventory for biomass mapping

Aboveground biomass (AGB) of forests is an important component of the global carbon cycle. In this study, Landsat ETM(+) images and field forest inventory data were used to estimate AGB of forests in Liping County, Guizhou Province, China. Three different vegetation indices, including simple ratio (SR), reduced simple ratio (RSR), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), were calculated from atmospherically corrected ETM(+) reflectance images. A leaf area index (LAI) map was produced from the RSR map using a regression model based on measured LAI and RSR. The LAI map was then used to develop an initial AGB map, from which forest stand age was deduced. Vegetation indices, LAI, and forest stand age were together used to develop AGB estimation models for different forest types through a stepwise regression analysis. Significant predictors of AGB changed with forest types. LAI and NDVI were significant predictors of AGB for Chinese fir (R(2)=0.93). The model using LAI and stand age as predictors explained 94% of the AGB variance for coniferous forests. Stand age captured 79% of the AGB variance for broadleaved forests (R(2)=0.792). AGB of mixed forests was predicted well by LAI and SR (R(2)=0.931). Without differentiating among forest types, the model with SR and LAI as predictors was able to explain 90% of AGB variances of all forests. In Liping County, AGB shows a strong gradient that increases from northeast to southwest. About 64% of the forests have AGB in the range from 90 to 180 t ha(-1).     

Observation and simulation of net primary productivity in Qilian Mountain, western China

We modeled net primary productivity (NPP) at high spatial resolution using an advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) image of a Qilian Mountain study area using the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS). Two key driving variables of the model, leaf area index (LAI) and land cover type, were derived from ASTER and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Other spatially explicit inputs included daily meteorological data (radiation, precipitation, temperature, humidity), available soil water holding capacity (AWC), and forest biomass. NPP was estimated for coniferous forests and other land cover types in the study area. The result showed that NPP of coniferous forests in the study area was about 4.4 tCha(-1)y(-1). The correlation coefficient between the modeled NPP and ground measurements was 0.84, with a mean relative error of about 13.9%.     

A framework for reforming India's forest biodiversity management regime

India's forest biodiversity management regime is analysed at the policy, legal and institutional levels, from the perspective of the triple objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the principles of the Indian constitution. The forest biodiversity management regime has both structural and functional flaws that render it largely incapable of facing the challenge of increasing biodiversity degradation and deepening poverty among the Adivasis and other forest‐dependent communities. The paper argues for the reform of the forest biodiversity management regime and offers recommendations in regard to most aspects of the regime, with a view of putting the country's conservation enterprise on a course that is effective, sustainable and inclusive, rejecting the report of the High Power Committee (HPC) (also known as the Subramanian Committee), which is premised on easing corporate access to forests.     

Variation in Vegetation Structure and Soil Properties, and the Relation Between Understory Plants and Environmental Variables Under Different Phyllostachys pubescens Forests in Southeastern China

Biodiversity maintenance and soil improvement are key sustainable forestry objectives. Research on the effects of bamboo forest management on plant diversity and soil properties are therefore necessary in bamboo-growing regions, such as southeastern China’s Shunchang County, that have not been studied from this perspective. We analyzed the effects of different Phyllostachys pubescens proportions in managed forests on vegetation structure and soil properties using pure Cunninghamia lanceolata forests as a contrast, and analyzed the relation between understory plants and environmental variables (i.e., topography, stand and soil characteristics) by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The forest with 80% P. pubescens and 20% hardwoods (such as Phoebe bournei, Jatropha curcas, Schima superba) maintained the highest plant diversity and best soil properties, with significantly higher plant diversity than the C. lanceolata forest, and better soil physicochemical and biological properties. The distribution of understory plants is highly related to environmental factors. Silvicultural disturbance strongly influenced the ability of different bamboo forests to maintain biodiversity and soil quality under extensive management, and the forest responses to management were consistent with the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis (i.e., diversity and soil properties were best at intermediate disturbance levels). Our results suggest that biodiversity maintenance and soil improvement are important management goals for sustainable bamboo management. To achieve those objectives, managers should balance the inputs and outputs of nutrients and protect understory plants by using appropriate fertilizer (e.g., organic fertilizer), adjusting stand structure, modifying utilization model and the harvest time, and controlling the intensity of culms and shoots harvests.