Do the size and landscape context of forest openings influence the abundance and breeding success of shrubland songbirds in southern New England?

Early successional birds have declined in the northeastern United States due to the regeneration of forest on abandoned farm fields and the suppression of natural disturbances that once provided appropriate habitat. These species have become increasingly dependent on early successional habitats generated by such activities as timber harvesting. Recent approaches of timber harvesting, which range from single-tree harvesting to clearcutting, create forest openings of different sizes and configurations embedded in landscapes with different land use patterns. To assess the importance of forest openings created by timber harvesting for shrubland birds, we surveyed birds on 50 m radius plots in 34 harvest sites (0.5–21 ha). We collected data on multi-scaled habitat variables ranging from plot-level vegetation characteristics to land use patterns within 1 km of each study site. We also monitored mating and nesting success of Blue-winged Warblers (Vermivora pinus) in 10 forest openings.

The abundance of most shrubland species was influenced by plot-level habitat variables, such as tree density and vegetation height, rather than shrubland area or the composition of land uses in the surrounding landscape. Only Eastern Towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) were more frequent in survey plots in larger forest openings. In contrast, neither abundance nor reproductive activity of Blue-winged Warblers was correlated with the size of the forest opening. Their abundance was negatively related to vegetation height, however. Only 54% of the territorial male Blue-winged Warblers in forest openings were mated. We documented relatively low nest success rates of 21.1% during the egg laying and incubation nest stages, but increased success rates during the later stages of nesting.

Our results indicate that even small forest openings with low vegetation provide habitat for Blue-winged Warblers and other shrubland birds. The overall reproductive rate of territorial male Blue-winged Warblers in forests openings was low during the 2 years of the study, however. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term value of this type of habitat for sustaining shrubland bird populations.     

The relationship between shelterwood cuts and crown thinnings and the abundance and distribution of birds in a southern New England forest

Forest regeneration methods such as shelterwood treatments have been shown to substantially increase the diversity of bird species, specifically of species that prefer early seral forests, now rare in the eastern United States. Stand improvement techniques such as thinnings have also been found to increase avian diversity under some conditions. A sustainably managed forest, however, must simultaneously apply regenerative harvesting with stand improvements, and the effect of such treatment combinations on bird community composition is not clear. We compared bird distribution and abundance on shelterwood cuts, crown thinnings, and unmanaged stands at the Yale Myers Forest, a large privately owned and actively managed forest in southern New England. Bird abundance and species diversity was highest in shelterwood cuts and lowest in unmanaged forest, with thinnings being intermediary. Different suites of species inhabited the three treatments, with 18 of 49 common species differing significantly in their abundances between treatments. Characteristics of the vegetation that were directly influenced by silvicultural intervention, including canopy openness, seedling regeneration and vertical structural diversity, appeared to be the dominant drivers of bird abundance. The abundances of some species or groups of species were correlated with the number of trees retained in the implementation of the forestry practices. In conjunction with the conservation of a variety of mature forest habitats, regenerative cuts and stand improvement techniques can be used together to sustain a diverse assemblage of bird species.     

A functional analysis of streamside habitat use by southern Appalachian salamanders: Implications for riparian forest management

The appropriate management of streamside forests and use of riparian strips is poorly resolved for many systems because of a lack of understanding of the extent to which riparian forests function as environmental buffers for aquatic species versus core (essential) habitat for semi-aquatic and terrestrial species. We studied streamside forests in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, USA, to help delineate their functional value for plethodontid salamanders. We established 30 m × 40 m plots at 17 sites (823–1716 m in elevation) in unmanaged forests with closed canopies. Plots contained a portion of a seep or first-order stream along one edge and typically extended 36–38 m into the adjoining forest. We examined use of stream and streamside habitats based on captures during area-constrained searches of cover objects. We observed 6423 plethodontid salamanders belonging to 7 terrestrial-breeding and 12 aquatic-breeding species. Terrestrial-breeders (primarily Plethodon spp.) comprised 37% of terrestrial specimens and were more abundant at higher elevations. Aquatic-breeders (primarily Desmognathus spp.) increased their proportionate use of terrestrial habitat, but declined in overall abundance with elevation. Catches of aquatic-breeders were greatest within 8 m of aquatic habitats (49% of total terrestrial catch of aquatic-breeders), particularly at low elevation sites. The terrestrial zone provided core habitat for one terrestrial-breeder (D. wrighti) and six semi-aquatic species (Desmognathus spp., Gyrinophilus porphyriticus and Eurycea wilderae) that were broadly distributed throughout plots, and acted as an aquatic buffer for four highly aquatic species (Desmognathus spp.). The remaining species were terrestrial-breeders (Plethodon spp.) that were evenly distributed across plots, suggesting that riparian strips would function as important source populations for recolonization following timbering on adjoining land. Because of the vulnerability of plethodontid salamanders to edge effects, effective management of southern Appalachian streamside habitats may require the addition of a terrestrial buffer to protect terrestrial core habitat that immediately adjoins streams and seeps.     

Innovation and forest industry: domesticating the pine forests of the southern United States, 1920–1999

The history of forest management in the southern United States has been a process of intensification and the pine forests of the Coastal Plain can be regarded as in the early stage of crop domestication. Silviculture research into tree improvement and other aspects of plantation establishment and management has been critical to the domestication process, which began in the early 1950s with the paradigm shift from natural stand management to plantation forestry. Advances were incremental innovations that relied heavily on basic knowledge gained in other disciplines and from formal university–industry silviculture research cooperatives. These cooperatives played a critical role in the domestication process, especially as they disseminated technological innovations. Sixteen major pulp and paper companies were examined in terms of participation in research cooperatives, expenditures on research and implementation of innovations. Despite a lack of relationship between company size (gross sales) and expenditures on forestry research, implementation of innovations was significantly related to research expenditures, timberland owned and total sales. Adjusting for timberland ownership or annual sales, the companies that spent the most on forestry research did the best job implementing research results. Emerging trends in industry structure and support for research may indicate a new role for public research institutions in the South, and call into question the need for silviculture research cooperatives.     

A method for integrating the Breeding Bird Survey and Forest Inventory and Analysis databases to evaluate forest bird–habitat relationships at multiple spatial scales

The limited spatial scales of many bird–habitat studies restrict inference regarding large scale bird–habitat relationships. A potential solution to this challenge is integrating the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and USGS Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) databases. We describe a methodology for integrating these databases into a uniform dataset for modeling bird–habitat relationships at multiple spatial scales. We accumulated route-level BBS data for four species guilds (canopy nesting, ground-shrub nesting, cavity nesting, early successional), each containing a minimum of five bird species. We developed 43 forest variables at the county level using FIA data from the 2000 inventory cycle within 5 physiographic regions in 14 states. We examined spatial relationships between the BBS and FIA data at three hierarchical scales: (1) individual BBS routes, (2) FIA units, and (3) physiographic sections. At the BBS route scale, we buffered routes at 100 m, 1 km, and 10 km radii, intersected these buffers with county boundaries, and developed weighted averages for each forest variable within each buffer width. Weights were a function of the percent of area each county had within a buffer. We calculated 29 landscape structure variables from 1992 National Land Cover Data (NLCD) imagery using Fragstats within each buffer width. At the BBS route scale, we developed models relating variations in bird occupancy and abundance to forest and landscape structure within each buffer width using classification and regression trees (CART). We aggregated the FIA variables to the FIA unit and physiographic section scales and recalculated the landscape variables within each unit and section using NCLD imagery resampled to a 400 m pixel size. We used regression trees (FIA unit scale) and general linear models (GLM, physiographic section scale) to relate variations in bird abundance to the forest and landscape variables. At the BBS route scale, 80% of the best CART models accounted for >50% of the variation in bird occupancy and abundance. Among FIA units and physiographic sections, the regression trees accounted for an average of 54.1% and the GLMs accounted for an average of 66.3% of the variability in bird abundance, respectively. This methodology shows promise for integrating independent databases for evaluating bird–habitat relationships across broad spatial extents, and the hierarchical nature of these models provides a potentially consistent means of evaluating management options at varying spatial scales.     

Effects of management regime on the abundance and nest survival of shrubland birds in wildlife openings in northern New England, USA

Many shrubland bird species are declining in eastern North America and as a result forest managers have used a variety of techniques to provide breeding habitat for these species. The maintenance of permanent “wildlife openings” using prescribed burns or mechanical treatments is a widely used approach for providing habitat for these species, but there have been no studies of the effects of treatment regime on bird abundance and nest survival in managed wildlife openings. We studied shrubland birds in wildlife openings on the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in New Hampshire and Maine, USA, during 2003 and 2004. We analyzed bird abundance and nest survival in relation to treatment type (burned versus mowed), treatment frequency, time since treatment, and patch area. We found that wildlife openings provided habitat for shrubland birds that are not present in mature forest. There was relatively modest support for models of focal bird species abundance as a function of treatment regime variables, despite pronounced effects of treatment on habitat conditions. This probably was attributable to the combined effects of complex site histories and bird site fidelity. Overall nest success (52%) was comparable to other types of early-successional habitats in the region, but there were few supported relationships between nest survival and treatment variables. We conclude that wildlife openings provide quality habitat for shrubland birds of high conservation interest as long as managers ensure treatment intervals are long enough to permit the development of woody vegetation characteristic of the later stages of this sere. Also, wildlife openings should be large enough to accommodate the territory sizes of all target species, which was ≥1.2 ha in this study.     

Inclusion of forest harvest legacies, forest type, and regeneration spatial patterns in updated forest maps: A comparison of mapping results

In Maine and other heavily forested states, existing land cover maps quickly become dated due to forest harvesting and land use conversion; therefore, these maps may not adequately reflect landscape properties and patterns relevant to current resource management and ecosystem studies. By updating an older land cover product (the 1993 Maine GAP map) using Landsat imagery and established forest change detection techniques, we demonstrate a practical and accurate means of providing contemporary, spatially explicit forest cover data needed to quantify landscape change. For a 1.8 million hectares study area in northern Maine, we quantify the accuracy of forest harvest classes and compare mapped harvest and regeneration area between the 2004 GAP update product and the 2004 Maine Landcover Dataset (MeLCD), a map recently developed in coordination with the 2001 National Land-Cover Database (NLCD). For the period 1995–2004, the overall harvest/non-harvest accuracy of the GAP update map is 87.5%, compared to 62.1% for the MeLCD. Producer and user accuracy for harvest detection is 92.4% and 89.7%, respectively for the GAP update, and 48.8% and 92.5% for the MeLCD. Mapped harvest area differs considerably, reflecting a systematic under-representation of recent harvest activity on the part of the MeLCD. By integrating older land cover data, the GAP update retains the forest disturbance legacies of the late 1970s through the early 1990s while simultaneously depicting 2004 forest composition for harvested and regenerating stands. In contrast, the MeLCD (and 2001 NLCD) over-represents the area and connectivity of older forest (undisturbed since the late 1970s), and provides no forest composition information for mapped forest regeneration. Systematic misclassification of forest age classes and harvest history has serious implications for studies focused on wildlife habitat modeling, forest inventory, and biomass or carbon stock estimation. We recommend the integration of older land cover data and time-series forest change detection for retention of harvest or disturbance classes when creating new forest and land cover maps.     

Bark beetles,fuels, fires and implications for forest management in the Intermountain West

Bark beetle-caused tree mortality in conifer forests affects the quantity and quality of forest fuels and has long been assumed to increase fire hazard and potential fire behavior. In reality, bark beetles, and their effects on fuel accumulation, and subsequent fire hazard, are poorly understood. We extensively sampled fuels in three bark beetle-affected Intermountain conifer forests and compared these data to existing research on bark beetle/fuels/fire interactions within the context of the disturbance regime. Data were collected in endemic, epidemic and post-epidemic stands of Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. From these data, we evaluated the influence of bark beetle-caused tree mortality on various fuels characteristics over the course of a bark beetle rotation. The data showed that changes in fuels over time create periods where the potential for high intensity and/or severe fires increases or decreases. The net result of bark beetle epidemics was a substantial change in species composition and a highly altered fuels complex. Early in epidemics there is a net increase in the amount of fine surface fuels when compared to endemic stands. In post-epidemic stands large, dead, woody fuels, and live surface fuels dominate. We then discuss potential fire behavior in bark beetle-affected conifer fuels based on actual and simulated fuels data. Results indicated that for surface fires both rates of fire spread and fireline intensities were higher in the current epidemic stands than in the endemic stands. Rates of spread and fireline intensities were higher in epidemic stands due, however, to decreased vegetative sheltering and its effect on mid-flame wind speed, rather than changes in fuels. Passive crown fires were more likely in post-epidemic stands, but active crown fires were less likely due to decreased aerial fuel continuity. We also discuss the ecological effects of extreme fire behavior. Information is presented on managing forests to reduce the impact of bark beetle outbreaks and the interplay between management, bark beetle populations, fuels and fire hazard and behavior.     

中国吉林森林生态网络现状与展望

本文概要介绍了吉林省生态环境概况、林业建设成就与问题,论述了本省森林生态网络建设面临的任务及亟待解决的八个方面的问题,并对生物技术、信息技术、新材料技术及无公害森林保健技术在森林生态网络建设的应用前景进行了展望。参9。     

The ecological sustainability of tropical forest management: evaluation of the national forest management standards of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with emphasis on the need for adaptive management

From a conceptual point of view, national forest management standards in Latin American countries have progressed significantly in recent years. Examples include the Costa Rican Standards and Procedures for Sustainable Forest Management and Certification, developed by the National Commission for Forest Certification and in Nicaragua, the National Institute of Forestry proposal of principles, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. In line with general approaches worldwide, these national standards primarily focus on the fulfillment of sound forest practice. There is comparatively little emphasis on the assessment of management outcomes or changes in key components of the eco- and social-systems that result from management impacts. Essentially, there is little emphasis on adaptive management, though arguments that management cannot be sustainable if it is not adaptive are persuasive. This study sought to contribute to the development of standards that include elements for adaptive management that define, communicate and evaluate sustainable forest management in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Elements from the national standards and the CIFOR generic C&I template (predominantly focused on forest management outcomes) were used as a starting point. The basic research process consisted of three phases of evaluation (in-office, desk and field). The evaluations were carried out by multidisciplinary, international groups of experts in forest ecology, management and policy. This study demonstrated the value of forums and workshops that facilitate exchange between forest scientists and policymakers; the innovation and application of a practical, applicable and scientifically based methodology for developing national level C&I; and acceptance of this methodology by key players in the fields of forest management and policy. These experiences and the resulting proposals of C&I for the evaluation of ecologically sustainable forest management are expected to be used as points of reference for future development of forest policy in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and to contribute to the overall understanding of C&I development processes in the region.     

永林公司森林可持续经营目标指标体系研究

以实现永林公司森林可持续经营为目标,针对公司的资源状况与经营实践,提出由6大标准共43个指标构成的林业企业级的森林可持续经营目标指标体系,以期为南方集体林区林业企业的森林可持续经营提供借鉴。     

Habitat associations of saproxylic beetles in the southeastern United States: A comparison of forest types,tree species and wood postures

Saproxylic beetles are highly sensitive to forest management practices that reduce the abundance and variety of dead wood. However, this diverse fauna continues to receive little attention in the southeastern United States even though this region supports some of the most diverse, productive and intensively managed forests in North America. In this replicated three-way factorial experiment, we investigated the habitat associations of saproxylic beetles on the coastal plain of South Carolina. The factors of interest were forest type (upland pine-dominated vs. bottomland hardwood), tree species (Quercus nigra L., Pinus taeda L. and Liquidambar styraciflua L.) and wood posture (standing and downed dead wood, i.e., snags and logs). Wood samples were taken at four positions along each log and snag (lower bole, middle bole, upper bole and crown) ∼11 months after the trees were killed and placed in rearing bags to collect emerging beetles. Overall, 33,457 specimens from 52 families and ≥250 species emerged. Based on an analysis of covariance, with surface area and bark coverage as covariates, saproxylic beetle species richness differed significantly between forest types as well as between wood postures. There were no significant interactions. Species richness was significantly higher in the upland pine-dominated stand than the bottomland hardwood forest, possibly due to higher light exposure and temperature in upland forests. Although L. styraciflua yielded more beetle species (152) than either Q. nigra (122) or P. taeda (125), there were no significant differences in species richness among tree species. There were also no relationships evident between relative tree abundance and observed or expected beetle species richness. Significantly more beetle species emerged from logs than from snags. However snags had a distinct fauna including several potential canopy specialists. Our results suggest that conservation practices that retain or create entire snags as opposed to high stumps or logs alone will most greatly benefit saproxylic beetles in southeastern forests.     

Assessing the relations between aquatic habitat indicators and forest harvesting at watershed scale in the interior of British Columbia

Selection of appropriate aquatic habitat indicators is important for supporting sustainable forest and watershed management. To date, many identified watershed indicators have not been well tested. To address this issue, we sampled 28 stream reaches in the central and south interior of British Columbia, Canada. The selected reaches were similar with respect to gradient, watershed and topographic characteristics but with various levels of forest harvesting. Aquatic habitat indicators were derived based on a field survey, involving substrates, channel dimensions, pools, and large woody debris (LWD), together with some ratios and derivatives generated from them. Timber harvest disturbance at the watershed scale was quantified by calculating historical forest clear-cut area based on the BC vegetation resources inventory database. To account for the subsequent forest recovery, equivalent clear-cut area (ECA) was calculated based on the dominant species of each stream watershed and its regrowth since being logged. Pearson correlation coefficients showed that percent ECA and percent historical clear-cut area could effectively quantify the cumulative logging disturbance by limiting the effect of factors not related to logging activity (i.e., watershed area and elevations). These two variables were then related to the aquatic habitat indicators. Pearson correlation analyses found that relative width (ratio of D to bankfull width) (D is the b axis diameter of the largest substrate particle found in the reach), relative roughness (ratio of D to bankfull depth), pool frequency and per piece LWD volume are sensitive to percent ECA, i.e., significant (p < 0.01) while independent of influence from non-forest logging activity related factors and spatial clustering of samples. This relationship also holds true for the last two indicators when related to percent historical clear-cut area, though with a reduced degree of correlation. In addition, mean LWD diameter also showed significant relationship with percent historical clear-cut area, but not with percent ECA. Overall, per piece LWD volume was considered as the best aquatic habitat indicator. The performance of mean LWD diameter was comparable to per piece LWD volume if percent historical clear-cut area was used to quantify forest disturbance. Implications of these findings for forest management strategies are discussed.     

Stakeholder perceptions,management and impacts of forestry conflicts in southern Sweden

ABSTRACT

Forests are under increasing pressure with increasing risk of conflicts between stakeholder groups with different interests in sustainable forest management (SFM). This study investigated the different dimensions of conflict as perceived by private forest owners and other stakeholders, and the likely impact of these pressures on SFM in a southern Swedish context. Data were collected through a mixed methods approach using qualitative in-depth individual semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and a quantitative survey (n?=?6–161), with questions on present and past conflicts, actors, drivers, acting, management and solutions. Stakeholders felt that in the past the conflicts were more about technical dimensions of forestry practice, and today more about the political and cultural dimensions of forestry issues. The most frequently mentioned reason for forest conflict was forest protection, especially woodland key habitats. In all conflicts, forest owners emphasised the importance of knowledge, responsibility and emotions. Other stakeholders did too, but with emotions less emphasised. In managing conflict, meetings, adaptation and education were stressed by stakeholders. Dialogue arenas on different levels are needed for all stakeholders. Governing bodies also need to realise the implication different approaches and strategies have on forest owners management.     

A comparative analysis of spatial, temporal, and ecological characteristics of forest fires in seasonally dry tropical ecosystems in the Western Ghats, India

The Western Ghats in India is one of the 25 global hotspots of biodiversity, and it is the hotspot with the highest human density. This study considers variations in the regional fire regime that are related to vegetation type and past human disturbances in a landscape. Using a combination of remote sensing data and GIS techniques, burnt areas were delineated in three different vegetation types and various metrics of fire size were estimated. Belt transects were enumerated to assess the vegetation characteristics and fire effects in the landscape. Temporal trends suggest increasingly short fire-return intervals in the landscape. In the tropical dry deciduous forest, the mean fire-return interval is 6 years, in the tropical dry thorn forest mean fire-return interval is 10 years, and in the tropical moist deciduous forest mean fire-return interval is 20 years. Tropical dry deciduous forests burned more frequently and had the largest number of fires in any given year as well as the single largest fire (9900 ha). Seventy percent, 56%, and 30% of the tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical dry thorn forests, and tropical dry deciduous forests, respectively have not burned during the 7-year period of study. The model of fire-return interval as a function of distance from park boundary explained 63% of the spatial variation of fire-return interval in the landscape. Forest fires had significant impacts on species diversity and regeneration in the tropical dry deciduous forests. Species diversity declined by 50% and 60% in the moderate and high frequency classes, respectively compared to the low fire frequency class. Sapling density declined by ca. 30% in both moderate and high frequency classes compared to low frequency class. In tropical moist deciduous ecosystems, there were substantial declines in species diversity, tree density, seedling and sapling densities in burned forests compared to the unburned forests. In contrast forest fires in tropical dry thorn forests had a marginal positive effect on ecosystem diversity, structure, and regeneration.     

南京市六合区基于0.5m分辨率影像的林地落界及分析

林地落界是为了掌握林地的现有状况,为林地的保护利用规划提供重要的基础数据。高空间分辨率的遥感影像很大幅度地提高了室内林地落界的精度。该文是以高空间分辨率遥感影像为底图,在目视解译的方法上,结合二类调查基础数据,通过建立高清影像的判读解译标志,提取六合区林地,得到南京市六合区林地分布图,与基于中分辨率影像,采用面向对象的方法提取的林地分布图比较,并选取六合区龙袍镇为对象,分析比较了本次林地落界数据和二类调查数据的林地变化率和林地小班的差值变化。结果表明:0.5 m分辨率的影像能够达到将林地落实到田间地块的目的;六合区龙袍镇林地落界由林地到非林地变化率是15%,林地小班差值D的均值为0.24,说明利用高空间分辨率的遥感影像作为目视解译的底图,在林地地类识别和落界精度上都有较大的提高。     

Forecasting landscape-scale,cumulative effects of forest management on vegetation and wildlife habitat: A case study of issues,limitations, and opportunities

Forest landscape disturbance and succession models have become practical tools for large-scale, long-term analyses of the cumulative effects of forest management on real landscapes. They can provide essential information in a spatial context to address management and policy issues related to forest planning, wildlife habitat quality, timber harvesting, fire effects, and land use change. Widespread application of landscape disturbance and succession models is hampered by the difficulty of mapping the initial landscape layers needed for model implementation and by the complexity of calibrating forest landscape models for new geographic regions. Applications are complicated by issues of scale related to the size of the landscape of interest (bigger is better), the resolution at which the landscape is modeled and analyzed (finer is better), and the cost or complexity of applying a landscape model (cheaper and easier is better). These issues spill over to associated analyses that build on model outputs or become integrated as auxiliary model capabilities. Continued development and application of forest landscape disturbance and simulation models can be facilitated by (1) cooperative efforts to initialize more and larger landscapes for model applications, (2) partnerships of practitioners and scientists to address current management issues, (3) developing permanent mechanisms for user support, (4) adding new capabilities to models, either directly or as compatible auxiliary models, (5) increasing efforts to evaluate model performance and compare multiple models running on the same landscape, and (6) developing methods to choose among complex, multi-resource alternatives with outputs that vary over space and time.     

Forest-floor temperatures and soil moisture across riparian zones on first- to third-order headwater streams in southern New England,USA

Riparian zones along forest streams in the western United States have been repeatedly shown to be floristically and climatically different from adjacent upland forest, and to be important contributors to forest biodiversity. Similar evidence for the presence or function of riparian zones is lacking for forests of the northeastern U.S. We conducted seasonal surveys of forest-floor temperature and soil moisture across 30-m riparian transects on first- to third-order streams in southern New England. We were unable to detect any effect of distance from the stream channel on either temperature or soil moisture. These preliminary results indicate the absence of a unique riparian forest-floor microclimate within 30 m of low-order streams in southern New England. While this study failed to identify a distinctive riparian microclimatic zone, protection of a riparian buffer during forestry operations or other disturbance is essential for the protection of forest streams and their resources and the maintenance of forest biodiversity.     

The influence of gap creation on the regeneration of Pinus tabuliformis planted forest and its role in the near-natural cultivation strategy for planted forest management

It remains unclear whether or not creating gaps in planted forests can increase the plant species composition, structure, and biodiversity, and also whether it can be helpful for restoring planted forests (to a more natural state). Based on a comparison of species composition and structure among forest patches, small gaps (4-25 m²), medium gaps (25-150 m²) and large gaps (150-450 m²), we found that (1) creating gaps enhanced vascular plant diversity. Both the species richness and Shannon diversity indices of small, medium and large gaps were significantly higher than in the understory. The pattern of increasing diversity of vascular plants with gap creation could be partly attributed to the emergence of novel shade intolerant species in gaps. (2) Creating gaps favored the colonization and regeneration of native species. Gap size influenced not only the emergence and density of individuals of different species, but also the emergence of different life form types. Small gaps promoted the regeneration of some shrub species, such as Ostryopsis davidiana, Rosa hugonis, and Forsythia suspense, leading to these species becoming canopy dominants early on in succession. The medium and large gaps favored the growth of tree species, such as Populus davidiana and Betula platyphylla (early successional stage), and Quercus liaotungensis and Pinus tabulaeformis (later successional phase). (3) The canonical correspondence analysis showed that plant species composition and distribution were mainly influenced by gap size and slope aspect, and that the recorded plant species could be divided into three life forms (trees, shrubs and herbs) on the biplot diagram. (4) Finally, creating gaps provided opportunities not only for native pioneer species in the early successional stage, but also for climatic climax species to grow to canopy dominants in later successional phases, suggesting that a more natural forest will develop with plant succession. Gap size plays an important role in plant regeneration, and it could be used to produce desired successional communities in near natural management for planted forests.     

Structure of causation and its influence on cooperation: A comparative study of forest management in Ontario, Canada

The paper uses cause mapping and structural analysis to analyse how key consensus-building criteria influence the development of cooperation among and between stakeholders and a government agency. The analyses are based on a comparative study of two Local Citizens Committees (LCCs) in Ontario, Canada. Given–Means–Ends (GME) analysis is used to identify the informal goals of LCCs, including the development of cooperation, and LCCs' influence over consensus-building criteria, and Context, Structure and Performance (CSP) analysis is used to identify the relative influence of key consensus-building criteria on cooperation criteria. The paper concludes with a discussion of the relationship between the structural analysis and content analysis of the same data and four inferences for consensus-building and co-management theories.