Analysis of optimal economic management regimes for Picea abies stands using a stage‐structured optimal‐control model

A stage‐structured model for projecting stand growth and yield is coupled with a gradient‐based algorithm to determine optimal treatment regimes for Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) plantations. The growth model forecasts the movement of trees between 3 cm diameter classes using a growth matrix that includes nonlinear equations for diameter growth. Because harvest treatments may be specified by tree diameter class, the model allows the determination of the optimal thinning timing, thinning intensity, and thinning type simultaneously with planting density and clearfelling age. The optimization model is used to determine treatment regimes with and without thinning for a wide range of values for economic and biological parameters. Results show that the optimal economic planting density is highly sensitive to interest rate, logging costs, planting costs and site class. For a given set of economic parameters, the optimal planting density is not sensitive to the number of thinnings performed or the thinning intensity. Top thinning is the optimal method for every regime in which thinning is scheduled. Results indicate that managers have great flexibility in choosing thinning schedules: few thinnings and shorter rotations give almost the same economic results as more frequent thinnings and longer rotations. Major uncertainties in these results and areas for further research are discussed.     

A spatial decision support system for long‐term forest management planning by means of linear programming and a geographical information system

The increased concern for environmental values increases the complexity of long‐term forest management planning. Environmental issues have to be dealt with over space and time. By creating links between existing aspatial long‐term forest management models and geographical information systems (GIS), environmental issues can be treated within the forest management planning process. In this article, a spatial decision support system (SDSS) developed by incorporating a forest management planning model into a GIS is presented. A case study is employed to illustrate the usefulness of the SDSS using real data. In order to preserve the water bodies in a forest area, the allowable treatments in areas falling within certain distances of lakes, streams, and swamps were restricted. Treatment schedules were simulated for all stands, and linear programming was utilized to maximize the net present value (NPV) subject to a non‐declining felling path. The NPV was reduced by 6.9% due to the treatment restrictions, and the annual harvest flow was reduced by about 10%. Various thematic maps of future time periods may be produced for subjective evaluation of the results.     

Emulating natural disturbances as a forest management goal: Lessons from fire regime simulations

Emulating natural forest disturbance is an increasingly popular forest management paradigm that is considered a means of achieving forest sustainability. Adopting this goal requires a sound understanding of natural disturbances at scales that correspond to management policies and strategies. In boreal forest landscapes driven by periodic stand-replacing fires this requires knowledge of fire regime characteristics, especially their spatial and temporal variability as well as stochasticity. The major goal of this study was to demonstrate the utility of fire regime simulation modeling to explore the variability of fire regime characteristics, with respect to formulating and assessing forest management strategies. We conducted a modeling experiment in a boreal forest landscape of northwestern Ontario, Canada, to examine its long-term fire regime in relation to forest policies on harvest size distribution. We used BFOLDS, a spatially explicit fire regime model that simulates individual fire events mechanistically in response to fire weather, fuel patterns, and terrain. The fire regimes in four large eco-regions were modeled for a 200-year period under three fire-weather (cold, normal, and warm) scenarios, with replications. We found that fire size distribution in all eco-regions followed power law under all weather scenarios, but their slopes and intercepts varied among eco-regions and fire weather scenarios. Warming fire weather increased burn rates and fire numbers in all eco-regions, albeit to different degrees. Overall, the variability among eco-regions was higher than the variability among fire weather scenarios, and among replicates. Comparisons of simulated fire size classes with those from an 86-year long fire history showed that empirical data cannot capture the variability that could be revealed by simulation modeling. We also show that fire size distribution is spatially heterogeneous within eco-regions, and provide several suggestions for forest policy directions with respect to forest harvest size distributions and harvest rates, based on the variability of fire regime characteristics. An assessment of present forest policies of emulating natural disturbances that guide forest harvest sizes showed that these are incongruent with simulated fire size distributions under all scenarios with one exception. Overall, this study illustrates the value of scenario simulation modeling to explore and quantify the variability of forest fire regime, for use in forest policies and strategies that attempt to emulate natural disturbance.     

The effect of shelterwood harvesting and site preparation on eastern red-backed salamanders in white pine stands

We studied the effects of the regeneration cut of the shelterwood system and four site preparation options on populations of eastern red-backed salamanders in 90–100-year-old white pine forests in central Ontario, Canada. We established the study in 1994 using a randomized complete block design with three replicates and five treatments: (1) no harvest, no site preparation; (2) harvest, no site preparation; (3) harvest, mechanical site preparation; (4) harvest, chemical site preparation; (5) harvest, mechanical and chemical site preparation. We applied harvest and site preparation treatments from fall 1995 to fall 1997. We collected pre-treatment data in spring and summer of 1995 and post-treatment data from 1998 to 2002. We monitored salamander abundance using a grid of 20 cover boards surveyed 10 times per year within each of the 15 treatment plots. We also quantified changes in overstory and understory cover, supply of downed woody debris, and disturbance to the forest floor. Our data suggest that shelterwood cutting and site preparation can have immediate negative effects on the abundance of red-backed salamander populations in pine forest. However, effects are relatively short lived (<5 years). Changes in abundance appeared to be related to overstory and understory cover, and forest floor disturbance.     

Price Adapted Timber Harvest Decision Model

研究了木材价格的变化为一自相关过程时用材林采伐的随机决策分析问题,分析了用材林经营决策中的不确定性因素及其对经营决策的影响;建立了一个木材市场随机变动的适应价格的主伐决策模型,利用动态规划求得在一个给定决策期内的主伐最优经营策略,对应这个策略有一个最大的期望效益．并进一步分析了在价格波动情况下和不同贷款利率下的最优策略．     

Assessing the Sustainability of Timber Harvests from Natural Forests

The concepts of sustainable original harvest (SOH) and sustainable disturbance harvest (SDH), and simple indices such as the ratio of successive harvests do not provide a reliable indication of the sustainability of a harvest. Some limitations of these concepts are illustrated in the context of selection harvesting of timber from natural forests. Four models are used to demonstrate that maintaining an SOH or SDH indicates little about the long-term sustainability of a timber harvest. The concepts may offer greater utility in evenaged systems harvested by clear-felling, but still suffer the limitation that many factors may mask any change in site productivity. Any measure of sustainability should include an appraisal of the condition and vitality of the residual resource. Simple indices based on successive harvests do not consider the residual stand, and can be misleading.     

Image texture indices and trend analysis for forest disturbance assessment under wood harvest regimes

Effective disturbance indices for Hyrcanian forests in Kheyroud,Nowshahr,Iran were determined.The study area was divided into landscape mosaics based on ecosystem parameters including profile type,slope and elevation.Co-occurrence texture indices were derived as forest disturbance factors on the first five bands of Landsat TM,ETM+and OLI images for the prevailing wood harvest disturbance regimes.These indices were screened using ten types of trend analyses and used for modeling disturbance of the harvesting regime through artificial neural networks.The results show that the selected indices can be useful in distinguishing areas with different disturbance intensities and as such,used in the context of health assessment through the health distance method.The accuracy of the health maps derived from the indices [increasing disturbance] led to give rise higher disturbance classification accuracy.     

From a strategic to a tactical forest management plan using a hierarchic optimization approach

The Finnish state forest enterprise, Metsähallitus, defines the regional harvest levels for a 10-year period in a strategic-level natural resources plan. Although this plan defines stand-level harvest schedules for all stands, in practice, it cannot be used, as the harvests need to be clustered in time and in space. It is applied by giving each subregion goals they need to fulfill in a tactical level planning process, and the harvests are manually clustered into predefined groups of adjacent stands (departments). In this study, we developed a hierarchical optimization process making use of departments for clustering the harvests. For each of the departments, 91 different stand-level harvest schedules (plans) were determined using incomes from one period and the forest value at the end as objectives. The department-level plans were then used as alternatives in a region-level goal optimization problem. The resulting hierarchic plan was compared to the stand-level solution of the strategic-level plan which served as a benchmark plan. The hierarchical plan clustered the harvests and achieved the goals set better than the benchmark plan, but the net present income was 3.3% lower. The approach turned out usable, but further developing of the approach is needed to reduce the costs of clustering.     

Simulating restoration strategies for a southern boreal forest landscape with complex land ownership patterns

Restoring altered forest landscapes toward their ranges of natural variability (RNV) may enhance ecosystem sustainability and resiliency, but such efforts can be hampered by complex land ownership and management patterns. We evaluated restoration potential for southern-boreal forests in the ∼2.1 million ha Border Lakes Region of northern Minnesota (U.S.A.) and Ontario (Canada), where spatially distinct timber harvest and fire suppression histories have differentially altered forest conditions (composition, age–class distribution, and landscape structure) among major management areas, effectively resulting in forest landscape “bifurcation.” We used a forest landscape simulation model to evaluate potential for four hypothetical management and two natural disturbance scenarios to restore forest conditions and reduce bifurcation, including: (1) a current management scenario that simulated timber harvest and fire suppression practices among major landowners; (2) three restoration scenarios that simulated combinations of wildland fire use and cross-boundary timber harvest designed to emulate natural disturbance patterns; (3) a historical natural disturbance scenario that simulated pre-EuroAmerican settlement fire regimes and windthrow; and (4) a contemporary fire regime that simulated fire suppression, but no timber harvest. Forest composition and landscape structure for a 200-year model period were compared among scenarios, among major land management regions within scenarios, and to six RNV benchmarks. The current management scenario met only one RNV benchmark and did not move forest composition, age–class distribution, or landscape structures toward the RNV, and it increased forest landscape bifurcation between primarily timber-managed and wilderness areas. The historical natural disturbance scenario met five RNV benchmarks and the restoration scenarios as many as five, by generally restoring forest composition, age–class distributions, and landscape structures, and reducing bifurcation of forest conditions. The contemporary natural disturbance scenario met only one benchmark and generally created a forest landscape dominated by large patches of late-successional, fire-prone forests. Some forest types (e.g., white and red pine) declined in all scenarios, despite simulated restoration strategies. It may not be possible to achieve all objectives under a single management scenario, and complications, such as fire-risk, may limit strategies. However, our model suggests that timber harvest and fire regimes that emulate natural disturbance patterns can move forest landscapes toward the RNV.     

Riparian forest structure and succession in second-growth stands of the central Cascade Mountains,Washington, USA

We examined the relationship between landform types and riparian forest structure and succession in second-growth stands along mid order streams in the Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA. We sampled tree, sapling, seedling, and shrub characteristics across a range of fluvial geomorphic surfaces, which were classified into four landform classes, including low floodplain, high floodplain, terrace and hillslope. Landform classification was based on topographic characteristics, position relative to the stream channel, and estimated flood frequency. Statistical analyses using generalized estimating equations (GEE) showed that landform exerted a strong influence on the distribution and abundance of conifer and deciduous species and of different tree life stages. The floodplain landforms were characterized by initial disturbance from timber harvest, and ongoing fluvial disturbance, which favored the establishment of deciduous communities dominated by red alder (Alnus rubra) and maintenance of early successional riparian stands. In contrast, the terrace and hillslope landforms were also subject to timber harvest as the stand initiating agent but were unaffected by fluvial disturbance. However, based on differences in species distribution, we infer that forest structure on these two landforms differed from one another as a result of differences in soil moisture levels. Terraces and hillslopes were found to have high conifer tree abundance, but frequency of younger conifers was higher on hillslopes. Deciduous tree reproduction was very low on terraces and hillslopes. Our results also suggest that conifer recruitment in these second-growth riparian forests may be more successful on soil substrates than on coarse woody debris. We propose that the interplay between the disturbance regime (including type, frequency and intensity) and soil moisture conditions played an important role in influencing the course of riparian succession, present stand structure, and future successional trajectories and these were the primary mechanisms driving vegetation differences among landforms.     

Disturbance ecology benchmarks for Schima–Castanopsis forests in the central Himalayas

Roughly 2.8 billion people burn wood for basic energy needs, and traditional wood-fuel represents ~55% of global wood harvest. With increasing anthropogenic disturbance of natural forests, the “stability/fragility” paradigm of forest ecology is gradually being replaced by a “disturbance/recovery” paradigm. In order to understand effects of human-induced disturbances on natural forest ecosystems, and to plan for recovery of disturbed forests, appropriate metrics become necessary. Such metrics will aid in assessment and management of forests for carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem health, and sustainability of natural resources. Such metrics are especially needed in “wood-fuel hotspots” of the world where over 275 million people live and harvest wood-fuel unsustainably. In this article, I provide metrics of human-induced disturbance in Nepal’s Schima–Castanopsis dominated forests and show relationships of disturbance intensity with forest structure and composition, site productivity potential, natural regeneration, and tree species diversity. Benchmark data were collected from survey of two protected reference forests and compared against three other forests representing a disturbance gradient. The Schima–Castanopsis association is a common dominant forest type in the warm temperate zone of the central Himalayas, and the findings from this study should have wider application.     

Development and applications of the relative spacing model for loblolly pine plantations

The development through time of relative spacing was modeled for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations across the Lower Coastal Plain (LCP) and Piedmont and Upper Coastal Plain (PUCP) regions of the southern United States, using data from two culture/density studies. The lower asymptotic limit of relative spacing decreases exponentially with increasing planting density in both the LCP and PUCP regions. It is also correlated with site index in the LCP region, but not in the PUCP region. In the PUCP region, loblolly pine plantations with the intensive management regime approach a higher value of minimum relative spacing than those with the operational management regime. In the LCP region, however, for a given planting density and site index loblolly pine plantations approach the same limit of relative spacing, regardless of management regime. Site index, planting density, and management intensity also affected other model parameters. How the resulting relative spacing models are used to determine thinning schedules and indirectly derive the survival patterns over time for young loblolly pine plantations were explored and outlined.     

The impact of the introduction of sustainable forest management objectives on the optimisation of PC-based forest-level harvest schedules

Previous to the introduction of sustainable forest management principles, PC-based modelling techniques had been developed for the financial optimisation of forest-level harvest scheduling under Irish conditions. These financial models were further developed to produce a Mixed Integer Programming-Sustainable Forest Management (MIP-SFM) model, in which principles of sustainable forest management were incorporated into the harvest scheduling process. The effectiveness and practicality of the harvest schedules produced by the financial model and the MIP-SFM model were compared to the harvest schedules produced by the process currently employed by Coillte (The Irish Forestry Board). Evaluation of the models was carried out in Clonbrock forest (294.8 ha), a typical Irish plantation forest, owned and managed by Coillte. The MIP-SFM model produced effective and practical harvest schedules that enhanced the sustainability of Clonbrock forest by incorporating environmental, ecological and social management parameters. The application of the developed MIP-SFM model resulted in an increase in NPV of 5.7% compared to the NPV produced by the scheduling process currently employed by Coillte. The application of the financial model had resulted in a comparable increase in NPV of 14.2%. The smaller increase in NPV produced by the MIP-SFM model provided an indication of the cost associated with the introduction of environmental, ecological and social SFM principles in the management of Clonbrock forest.     

Modeling forest harvesting effects on landscape pattern in the Northwest Wisconsin Pine Barrens

Forest management shapes landscape patterns, and these patterns often differ significantly from those typical for natural disturbance regimes. This may affect wildlife habitat and other aspects of ecosystem function. Our objective was to examine the effects of different forest management decisions on landscape pattern in a fire adapted ecosystem. We used a factorial design experiment in LANDIS (a forest landscape simulation model) to test the effects of: (a) cut unit size, (b) minimum harvest age and (c) target species for management. Our study area was the Pine Barrens of northwest Wisconsin, an area where fire suppression has caused a lack of large open areas important for wildlife. Our results show that all three management choices under investigation (cut unit size, minimum harvest age and target species for management) have strong effects on forest composition and landscape patterns. Cut unit size is the most important factor influencing landscape pattern, followed by target species for management (either jack pine or red pine) and then minimum harvest age. Open areas are more abundant, and their average size is larger, when cut units are larger, target species is jack pine, and minimum harvest age is lower. Such information can assist forest managers to relate stand level management decision to landscape patterns.     

Optimal harvest cluster size with increasing opening costs for harvest sites

In strategic level planning, the harvest levels are often obtained by maximizing NPV of the forest area. The resulting harvests within each planning period are then typically scattered over the area. In practical forestry, clustering harvests is seen as important, but tools for planning harvest clustering applicable for practical level planning are largely missing. In previous studies, clustering harvests has been seen as an objective in itself rather than means to save costs. It has thus not been possible to define an optimal level for clustering in order to maximize the NPV. In this study, clustering is carried out by minimizing the total opening costs (TOCs) for harvest sites. TOC is defined as a fixed cost for one contiguous harvest cluster. It consists of e.g. transferring the machines to the harvest site, waiting time for the machinery and workers due to the transfer, delineation of the harvest site and administrative work required for each harvest site. Our results show that with small opening cost, it is optimal to follow the strategic level plan, while as the opening cost increases it is optimal to make larger and larger harvest clusters. The clustering also affects the treatments carried out: with high opening costs the harvests in some stands will be postponed for 10 years or more, or the treatment may change from the strategic level optimum.     

Effects of preparation of clear‐cut forest sites on the soil mycobiota with consequences for Scots pine growth and health

Fungal abundance and diversity were assessed in two differently managed forest soils. In soil 1, chipped woody debris had been spread on the top soil and mixed with the soil by standard deep ploughing to 50 cm. In soil 2, woody debris was removed and there was no ground preparation. Ten years later, the different methods of management resulted in unexpectedly distinctive habitat heterogeneity with a high variation in structure of the mycobiota communities. Incorporation of woody debris into soil resulted in lower abundance of fungi but greater fungal diversity (which may enhance ecosystem stability) and was beneficial for the growth of Scots pines. Removal of post‐harvest woody debris from the surface of the clear‐cut site with no subsequent ground preparation, compared with incorporating chipped debris and deep ploughing, resulted in the soil of the subsequent 10‐year‐old Scots pine plantation having: (a) 159‐fold greater abundance of fungi, (b) lower fungal diversity, (c) different fungal community composition, (d) higher proportion of mycorrhizal fungi, (e) no root rot pathogens, (f) less tree biomass. The study showed that removal of post‐harvest woody debris and no ground preparation is potentially beneficial for the health of young coniferous trees.     

Emulating natural disturbances: the role of silviculture in creating even-aged and complex structures in the black spruce boreal forest of eastern North America

Ecosystem-based forest management is based on the principle of emulating regional natural disturbance regimes with forest management. An interesting area for a case study of the potential of ecosystem-based forest management is the boreal forest of north-western Québec and north-eastern Ontario, where the disturbance regime creates a mosaic of stands with both complex and simple structures. Old-growth stands of this region have multi-storied, open structures, thick soil organic layers, and are unproductive, while young post-fire stands established following severe fires that consumed most of the organic soil show dense and even-sized/aged structures and are more productive. Current forest management emulates the effects of low severity fires, which only partially consume the organic layers, and could lead to unproductive even-aged stands. The natural disturbance and forest management regimes differ in such a way that both young productive and old-growth forests could ultimately be under-represented on the landscape under a fully regulated forest management regime. Two major challenges for ecosystem-based forest management of this region are thus to: (1) maintain complex structures associated with old-growth forests, and (2) promote the establishment of productive post-harvest stands, while at the same time maintaining harvested volume. We discuss different silvicultural approaches that offer solutions to these challenges, namely the use of (1) partial harvesting to create or maintain complex structures typical of old-growth stands, and (2) site preparation techniques to emulate severe soil burns and create productive post-harvest stands. A similar approach could be applied to any region where the natural disturbance regime creates a landscape where both even-aged stands established after stand-replacing disturbances and irregular old-growth stands created by smaller scale disturbances are significant.     

A review of management impacts on the soil productivity of South African commercial forestry plantations and the implications for multiple-rotation productivity

An overview of southern African research that has investigated the impact of management practices that can potentially affect the long-term site productivity of plantations is presented, with an emphasis of these impacts on soil productivity and with the implications for multiple-rotation site productivity. Activities that are most likely to cause long-term changes in soil productivity are identified as those causing high site disturbance during the inter-rotation period, notably ground-based mechanised operations and harvest residue management (including complete biomass removal) and, under some conditions, fertilisation. The impacts of these practices on soil and stand productivity are discussed from a southern African perspective. Knowledge gaps are identified and it is suggested that the immediate research priority is to identify meaningful indicators that are sensitive to change and that can be linked to stand production. Other key research focus areas are proposed and the need for a permanent long-term monitoring network is highlighted.     

Effects of site preparation and slash management on growth and understory vegetation of Eucalyptus globulus plantations along a rotation time span in Portugal

The removal or maintenance of harvest residues in eucalypt plantations may influence site quality and productivity. Removal of slash from the site may facilitate further management operations and provide a valuable energy resource, but effects on site productivity and sustainability for a rotation time span were not yet assessed under Mediterranean conditions. Therefore, a study was carried out to assess the effects of slash (harvest residues plus forest floor litter) management and soil preparation options on stand productivity and understory vegetation dynamics, hypothesizing that those options influence tree growth, forest floor dynamics and understory biomass and diversity. An experiment was installed in West Central Portugal, consisting on: removal of slash without soil preparation (R); broadcast of harvest residues on the soil surface without soil disturbance (S); as in S, but concentrating the woody debris between tree rows (W); incorporation of slash into the soil by harrowing (I); removal of slash followed by harrowing (RH); and as in I followed by ripping (IS). The experiment was monitored for a rotation time span (140 months). Maintenance of slash followed by deep soil disturbance led to the highest wood production, but differences between treatments were not significant (p > 0.05). Forest floor load and understory biomass were also similar between treatments. Ground vegetation played an important role on nutrient cycling in early rotation stages, such effect being irrespective on slash management options. Incorporation of slash into the soil followed by ripping is probably the best option to match production and environmental sustainability of eucalypt plantations in Mediterranean conditions.