The effects of a thinning treatment on carbon stocks in a northern Arizona ponderosa pine forest

Vast areas of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) forest in the western United States have become unnaturally dense because of relatively recent land management practices that include fire suppression and livestock grazing. In many areas, thinning treatments can re-establish the natural ecological processes and help restore ecosystem structure and function. Precipitous global climate change has focused attention on the carbon storage in forests. An unintended consequence of fire suppression has been the increased storage of carbon in ponderosa stands. Thinning treatments reduce standing carbon stocks while releasing carbon through the combustion of fuel in logging machinery, burning slash, and the decay of logging slash and wood products. These reductions and releases of stored carbon must be compared to the risk of catastrophic fire burning through the stand and releasing large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere to more fully understand the costs and benefits – in carbon terms – of forest restoration strategies.     

Suggestions on management measures of pine forest ecosystems invaded by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bursaphelenchus xylophilus</Emphasis>

Pine wood nematode （PWN）, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus （Steiner et Buhrer） Nickle is an important invasive alien species in forests of China and has become one of the most destructive forest diseases. In order to improve the resistance and resilience of pine forest ecosystems against B. xylophilus invasion and make the pine forest ecosystem more timely responsive to PWN invasion, we made some recommendations based on five years of intensive observations. We advocate a set of management measures with the theme “Prevention is priority, but integrated with curative techniques and ecological resilience” on the pine forest ecosystem invaded by B. xylophilus; details of accurate measures are proposed. The aim is to discover the underlying problems of present pine forest ecosys-tems and to take, correspondingly, administrative measures and strategies, which will encourage the pine forest ecosystem to develop in a benign way.     

A review of ecological mechanisms for management practices of protective forests

A protective forest,including shelterbelt,windbreak,and shelter forest as its synonyms,is characterized by the protective functions of various forest types distributed or planted on ecologically fragile areas or nearby the objects that need to be protected using the ecological effects of forests.Ecological mechanisms for management practices of protective forests is one of the disciplinary orientations in forest ecology and management.Most protective forest studies are dependent on forestry eco-engineering,such as the Great Plains Shelterbelt Project in the United States,the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature in the Soviet Union,and the Three-North Afforestation Program in China.The development of sustainable management of protective forests has been given increasing attention by governments,scientists,and media due to their impacts on environment conservation and global change.We introduce forestry ecoengineering and provide a review of their main ecological mechanisms for management practices of protective forests.Ecological mechanisms for management systems currently applied are emphasized,i.e.,the theory of protection maturity and phase-directional management;the relationship between structure and protective functions and structural optimization measures;and,the decline mechanism and ecological restoration strategies.In addition,several unresolved problems in management practices of protective forests are discussed as well as the prospects for ecological mechanisms for management practices of protective forests in the future,which include:(1) theories and technologies for management practices of protective forests at the landscape or regional scale;(2) the decline mechanisms and corresponding ecological restoration approaches across multiple scales;and,(3) the comprehensive assessment of forestry eco-engineering at large-scales based on ecosystem principles.     

美国国有森林系统规划管理

美国的森林资源丰富且国有森林经营管理水平较高,其国有森林的权属清晰,管理理念先进,管理体系规范,法律法规健全,科学化经营程度高,森林多功能经营完善。美国最新的国有森林系统规划管理是在吸取了几十年的经验和教训之后提出的,旨在为人们和社区提供生态系统服务和多种用途,为当前和未来提供一系列的社会、经济和生态效益。文中介绍美国国有森林系统规划管理的背景和规划框架,分析其规划管理特点,总结其现行管理体系,并提出对我国国有林经营管理的借鉴意义。     

生态文明建设背景下国有林场科学经营策略

国有林是生态文明建设的重要载体,为公众提供优质的林产品和生态服务。国有林场是我国国有林业的经营主体,国有林场的经营管理水平决定了国有林能否高质量发展以及可持续发展。文中总结美国、欧洲国有林管理机构与管理模式,概括和梳理我国国有林场经营现状,剖析我国国有林场经营优势与面临的挑战;在此基础上,提出我国国有林场科学经营水平提升的措施,包括科学编制森林经营方案、拓宽研发资金渠道、提升科技创新能力、创新基层人才激励机制。     

转型中的亚洲林业

在过去的20年里,亚洲林业经历了引人注目的转型,包括从计划经济到市场经济的转变,从天然林供给木材到人工林供给木材的转变,木材替代品与非木质林产品的增加,地方分权与当地群众的参与,生态时代的发展与生态系统管理。在促进亚洲可持续森林资源管理中,市场工具、社区参与和环境服务都得到了应用。亚洲林业的转型表现出多样化,其森林、社会与环境之间的联系是丰富多彩的。     

转型中的亚洲林业(续一)

在过去的20年里,亚洲林业经历了引人注目的转型,包括从计划经济到市场经济的转变,从天然林供给木材到人工林供给木材的转变,木材替代品与非木质林产品的增加,地方分权与当地群众的参与,生态时代的发展与生态系统管理。在促进亚洲可持续森林资源管理中,市场工具、社区参与和环境服务都得到了应用。亚洲林业的转型表现出多样化,其森林、社会与环境之间的联系是丰富多彩的。     

转型中的亚洲林业(续二)

在过去的20年里,亚洲林业经历了引人注目的转型,包括从计划经济到市场经济的转变,从天然林供给木材到人工林供给木材的转变,木材替代品与非木质林产品的增加,地方分权与当地群众的参与,生态时代的发展与生态系统管理。在促进亚洲可持续森林资源管理中,市场工具、社区参与和环境服务都得到了应用。亚洲林业的转型表现出多样化,其森林、社会与环境之间的联系是丰富多彩的。     

Adapting sustainable forest management to climate policy uncertainty: A conceptual framework

Sustainable forest management delivers ecological benefits critical to mitigating climate change impacts and can produce carbon offset credits tradable at the market price, generating additional income to forest landowners. However, due to high uncertainty in the climate policy of the United States, the economic potential of sustainably managing forests for offset credits is uncertain, discouraging landowners from participating in such practices. Also uncertain are the ecological consequences, especially in terms of forest carbon stocks. Here a conceptual framework was proposed which, with a regime-switching process, modeled the price of carbon credits as a proxy of the climate policy. Uncertainty in policy was translated into a limited number of scenarios regarding the timing and magnitude of policy regime switches. This model was then incorporated into a Markov decision process model of forest management, which accounted for multiple forms of risk and uncertainty affecting forest functioning and management. Using linear programming, this framework quantified the economic and ecological potentials of forest carbon management in various policy scenarios and determined optimal harvesting rules adaptive to policy shifts. A simple numerical example was provided to demonstrate the application of this framework.     

Determining the Ecological Compensation Standard Based on Forest Multifunction Evaluation and Financial Net Present Value Analysis: A Case Study in Southwestern Guangxi,China

ABSTRACT

There is growing concern that public benefits from forests are underprovided in current forest management regimes and need to be increased through policy and economic measures that promote conservation. Ecological compensation is a type of institutional arrangement for the sustainable use of ecosystem services achieved by adjusting the distribution of costs and benefits among different stakeholders using economic measures. However, how to accurately and reasonably determine the compensation standard for ecological services has not been guided by scientific methods and theories. This study provides an estimation of the compensation standard for forest ecological services based on the forest multifunction evaluation and financial net present value analysis, and a case study was performed in Southwest China. The results showed that most forest types brought some economic loss to the managers but contributed great ecological benefits to the public when they were managed as ecological forests. It is crucial to incentivize forest managers to participate in voluntary conservation programs through ecological compensation. The results of this analysis can potentially guide sustainable forest management by both accurate quantification of the value of forest ecosystem services and an improved understanding of the costs of voluntary forest conservation schemes currently in use in many countries.     

国内外混交林研究进展

在应对气候变化与实现碳中和目标以及社会发展对森林生态系统要求更加多样化的时代背景下,混交林的重要性在世界各国已达成共识。通常认为,相对于纯林,混交林能够增加生物多样性、提高生产力、增加碳储量,具有更高的生态韧性（抵抗力与恢复力）。但混交林是否必然优于纯林,且混交林与生物多样性、生产力、碳汇、生态韧性以及混交效应的关系一直是国内外学者探讨与研究的问题。混交林绝不是简单的树种组合与排列,其结构与生态过程相对复杂。文中通过文献梳理,总结分析混交林与生物多样性、生产力、碳储量、生态韧性以及混交林经营管理5个方面的国内外研究成果,发现关于混交林与生态功能和生产力的关系研究结果多样,总的结论是,若要得到混交林的积极效应,不能单纯增加树种多样性,更重要的是要考虑树种特性、生态互补、林分结构以及立地和环境的影响。我国混交林研究主要是通过造林实验对比分析生长效果,选择较优混交造林技术。文中最后提出我国混交林研究发展建议,旨在促进对混交林的科学和全面认识。     

Anthropogenic alterations of genetic diversity within tree populations: Implications for forest ecosystem resilience

Healthy forests provide many of the essential ecosystem services upon which all life depends. Genetic diversity is an essential component of long-term forest health because it provides a basis for adaptation and resilience to environmental stress and change. In addition to natural processes, numerous anthropogenic factors deplete forest genetic resources. Genetic losses could be particularly consequential now because robust resilience is needed to respond to a growing number, variety, and frequency of stress exposures. Silvicultural management that selectively removes trees (and their genes) from forests may be another force reshaping forest gene pools. Although data concerning the influence of silvicultural management on genetic resources in temperate forests is somewhat mixed, through the genetic assessment of long-term silvicultural treatments within an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) forest, and computer-based simulated harvests of a genetically mapped eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) stand, we found that the selective removal of trees can alter gene frequencies. Due to an association with phenotypic characteristics used to guide harvests, the frequencies of rare alleles appeared particularly vulnerable to manipulation. Depending on the selection criteria used, rare allele frequencies either remained steady, decreased, or increased relative to study controls. Although harvest-associated genetic losses are possible, our data suggests that management can also sustain or enhance genetic richness. Similar to studies within temperate ecosystems, recent research in tropical forests underscores the potential influence of harvesting on the genetics of tree populations. In addition to efforts to reduce controllable sources of ecosystem stress (e.g., high pollutant exposures), management options should be evaluated that may bolster forest ecosystem resilience by preserving levels of genetic diversity within forests.     

Forest ecosystem services derived by smallholder farmers in northwestern Madagascar: Storm hazard mitigation and participation in forest management

Tropical dry deciduous forests provide numerous ecosystem services yet their contribution to agricultural production remains underexplored. We address this research gap by quantifying the broader suite of ecosystem services that support small holder farmers and identifying farmers' knowledge of storm hazard reduction benefits provided by forest fragments in Madagascar. We survey 240 households and interview eight key informants to identify household and community responses in two communities with contrasting forest cover trajectories. Using multivariate statistics, results show a heavy dependence on forests for food and raw materials and a majority of the respondents holding a positive view of hazard mitigation services provided by forest fragments. Education levels, earning an income from forest based tourism and honey production are the only predictors of participation in forest management. Positive view of the hazard reduction benefits derived from forests could be due to external influences or personal observations, and together with barriers to participation in forest management need to be further investigated to better link forest management to reduced hazards risks. These findings are significant for forest management policy, as local knowledge and rationale for decisions are instrumental in the success of decentralized forest management and maintenance of vital forest benefits to farmers.     

基于森林生态系统服务功能预测21世纪上半世纪中国林地资源需求(英文)

基于森林生态系统服务概念,建立了一个新的林地资源预测模型,预测中国2010-2050年的林地资源需求。通过耦合森林生态系统服务功能与森林分类经营之间的关系,预测在假设生态公益林提供生态系统服务功能需求,商品生产林供给原木和工业用材的前提下,同时考虑了人口增长、社会经济发展目标、森林管理方式和技术进步等要素对森林资源的影响。这一模型预测表明,2010、2020、2050年林地资源的需求量将分别达到2.448×108、2.612×108、3.622×108 hm2。结论表明,未来我国森林资源存在较大缺口,尤其是缺乏以提供生态系统服务功能为主的生态公益林。建议林业部门必须注重加强森林资源可持续经营,注重提升森林生态系统服务能力。     

Scaling issues in forest ecosystem management and how to address them with models

Scaling is widely recognized as a central issue in ecology. The associated cross-scale interactions and process transmutations make scaling (i.e. a change in spatial or temporal grain and extent) an important issue in understanding ecosystem structure and functioning. Moreover, current concepts of ecosystem stewardship, such as sustainability and resilience, are inherently scale-dependent. The importance of scale and scaling in the context of forest management is likely to further increase in the future because of the growing relevance of ecosystem services beyond timber production. As a result, a consideration of processes both below (e.g. leaf-level carbon uptake in the context of climate change mitigation) and above (e.g. managing for biodiversity conservation at the landscape scale) the traditional focus on the stand level is required in forest ecosystem management. Furthermore, climate change will affect a variety of ecosystem processes across scales, ranging from photosynthesis (tree organs) to disturbance regimes (landscape scale). Assessing potential climate change impacts on ecosystem services thus requires a multi-scale perspective. However, scaling issues have received comparatively little attention in the forest management community to date. Our objectives here are thus first, to synthesize scaling issues relevant to forest management and second, to elucidate ways of dealing with complex scaling problems by highlighting examples of how they can be addressed with ecosystem models. We have focused on three current management issues of particular importance in European forestry: (1) climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration, (2) multi-functional stand management for biodiversity and non-timber goods and services and (3) improving the resilience to natural disturbances. We conclude that taking into account the full spatiotemporal heterogeneity and dynamics of forest ecosystems in management decision-making is likely to make management more robust to increasing environmental and societal pressures. Models can aid this process through explicitly accounting for system dynamics and changing conditions, operationally addressing the complexity of cross-scale interactions and emerging properties. Our synthesis indicates that increased attention to scaling issues can help forest managers to integrate traditional management objectives with emerging concerns for ecosystem services and therefore deserves more attention in forestry.     

Exploring the role of forest resources in reducing community vulnerability to the heat effects of climate change

While the growing literature on forest ecosystem services has examined the value and significance of a range of services, our understanding of the health-related benefits of ecosystem services from forests is still limited. To characterize the role of forest resources in reducing community vulnerability to the heat effects of climate change, a general index of heat vulnerability (HEVI) was developed through Principle Components Analysis (PCA) and subsequently used within ANVOA and Poisson regression to assess the relationship between the amount and type of forest resources (species, management regime, spatial pattern) and a county's vulnerability to the heat effects of climate change. Results of the ANOVA showed significant differences in the extent and characteristics of forests among counties experiencing different levels of heat vulnerability. The Poisson regression using county heat mortality as the dependent variable found forest characteristics to have a significant influence on heat mortality when other determinants of vulnerability were controlled. A negative and significant relationship was specifically found between forest area and heat related mortality, which supports the hypothesis that the extent of forest coverage helps to alleviate vulnerability associated with heat effects. These findings have important implications for understanding the role of forest ecosystem services in reducing a community's vulnerability to the heat effects of climate change. Findings will also be useful in guiding land use planning and preserving desirable forest characteristics to help communities adapt to climate change.     

Valuing acorn dispersal and resprouting capacity ecological functions to ensure Mediterranean forest resilience after fire

Ecological processes within forests provide vital ecosystem services to society, most of which depend on the persistence of tree cover that can be altered after the impact of a disturbance. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of seed dispersal and resprouting that mediate resilience to large fires and evaluate the economic costs that these ecological functions provide. We used field data from 412 plots of the Spanish National Forest Inventory providing information on pre- and post-fire conditions of Mediterranean Pinus spp. and Quercus spp.-dominated forests. Then, we determined the need for restoration (N _Rest) and estimated the minimum pre-fire densities needed to ensure adequate post-fire cover. Economic valuations were assessed through three different scenarios (Sc) of possible human-management actions aimed at ensuring proper post-fire tree cover: Sc. 1) a pre-fire management scenario evaluating the costs of planting Quercus spp. seedlings in the understory, mimicking the whole dispersal function; Sc. 2) a pre-fire scenario in which enrichment plantations increased the densities of natural oaks; and Sc. 3) a post-fire scenario where the restoration is done through planting pines within the burned area. Approximately 90% of the burned area (371 out of 412 plots) was able to recover after fire supporting the view that Mediterranean forests are resilient to fire. This resilience was primarily mediated by biotic seed dispersal and posterior resprouting of tree species. These ecological functions saved between 626 and 1,326 €/ha compared to the human-management actions. Ensuring key ecological processes within forests increases forest resilience and recovery after fire leading to a generally significant saving of economic resources. In a perspective of increased future impact of disturbances and decrease availability of economic resources for forest management, the implications of the present study can be far reaching and extended to other forest planning exercises.     

Guiding Principles for Small-Scale Forestry in a Watershed of the Venezuelan Andes: Constraints and Opportunities

In the Venezuelan Andes, some small-scale forest plantations have become an important resource basis for forest management. In this paper, the forestry management progress in the Mucujún river watershed is analyzed. Constraints and opportunities for sustainable management within national policies, local regulations, environmental features and social benefits are also examined. Plantation assessment, and biophysical, legal and socioeconomics information, are used for guiding small-scale forestry practices in this watershed, with emphasis on the main principles of landscape management. These plantations have become an important part of the socio-ecological landscapes with potential for wood production—in the context of low intensity and low environmental impact environmental services and amenity—because of the two protected areas within the watershed. Current forest stand conditions, however, reflect that management requires improvement. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that improvement of local livelihoods may be achieved with a small-scale forestry approach, taking properly into account the basic criteria of social involvement and management of planted forests, while maintaining ecosystem services including biodiversity and water supply.     

European and United States perspectives on forest operations in environmentally sensitive areas

This paper offers a forest operations perspective in environmentally sensitive areas in Europe and the United States. The objective is to help inform key sustainability knowledge gaps in forest operations to reduce impacts on the environment and the equipment operators in these increasingly targeted and difficult to operate in areas. Under existing guidelines and best management practices, the protection of ecosystem services linked to soil, water, wildlife and biodiversity have rightly received the highest considerations. However, the connection between protecting these ecological values, safe operational practices and technological advancements is rarely well articulated. One means to address the operational and technological gap is the selection of equipment and tailor the work conditions to terrain type, forest features and management objectives. To that effect, this paper discusses the environmental, planning, equipment selection and operator considerations and proposes possible solutions and guidelines to contain both the operators’ safety and environmental risks in forest operations.     

Large-scale forest inventories of the United States and China reveal positive effects of biodiversity on productivity

Background:With the loss of species worldwide due to anthropogenic factors,especially in forested ecosystems,it has become more urgent than ever to understand the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship(BEFR).BEFR research in forested ecosystems is very limited and thus studies that incorporate greater geographic coverage and structural complexity are needed.Methods:We compiled ground-measured data from approx.one half mil ion forest inventory sample plots across the contiguous United States,Alaska,and northeastern China to map tree species richness,forest stocking,and productivity at a continental scale.Based on these data,we investigated the relationship between forest productivity and tree species diversity,using a multiple regression analysis and a non-parametric approach to account for spatial autocorrelation.Results:In general,forests in the eastern United States consisted of more tree species than any other regions in the country.The highest forest stocking values over the entire study area were concentrated in the western United States and Central Appalachia.Overall,96.4 % of sample plots(477,281)showed a significant positive effect of species richness on site productivity,and only 3.6 %(17,349)had an insignificant or negative effect.Conclusions:The large number of ground-measured plots,as well as the magnitude of geographic scale,rendered overwhelming evidence in support of a positive BEFR.This empirical evidence provides insights to forest management and biological conservation across different types of forested ecosystems.Forest timber productivity may be impaired by the loss of species in forests,and biological conservation,due to its potential benefits on maintaining species richness and productivity,can have profound impacts on the functioning and services of forested ecosystems.