Timber mobilization and habitat tree retention in low-elevation mixed forests in Switzerland: an inventory-based scenario analysis of opportunities and constraints

Timber use in central Europe is expected to increase in the future, in line with forest policy goals to strengthen local wood supply for CO₂-neutral energy production, construction and other uses. Growing stocks in low-elevation forests in Switzerland are currently high as exemplified by the Swiss canton of Aargau, for which an average volume of 346 ± 16 m³ ha⁻¹ was measured in the 3rd Swiss National forest inventory (NFI) in 2004–2006. While this may justify a reduction of growing stocks through increased timber harvesting, we asked whether such a strategy may conflict with the sustainability of timber production and conservation goals. We evaluated a range of operationally relevant forest management scenarios that varied with respect to rotation length, growing stock targets and the promotion of conifers in the regeneration. The scenarios aimed at increased production of softwood, energy wood, the retention of potential habitat trees (PHTs) and the conversion to a continuous cover management system. They were used to drive the inventory-based forest simulator MASSIMO for 100 years starting in 2007 using the NFI sampling plots in Aargau. We analyzed model outputs with respect to projected future growing stock, growth, timber and energy yield and harvesting costs. We found growing stock to drop to 192 m³ ha⁻¹ in 2106 if business-as-usual (BAU as observed between the 2nd and 3rd NFI) timber volumes were set as harvesting targets for the whole simulation period. The promotion of conifers and a reduction of rotation lengths in a softwood scenario yielded 25% more timber over the whole simulation period than BAU. An energy wood scenario that reduced growing stock to 200 m³ ha⁻¹ by 2056 and promoted the natural broadleaved regeneration yielded 9% more timber than BAU before 2056 and 30% less thereafter due to decreasing increments. The softwood scenario resulted in higher energy yield than the energy wood scenario despite the lower energy content of softwood. Retaining PHT resulted in a reduction of timber harvest (0.055 m³ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ per habitat tree) and higher harvesting costs. Continuous cover management yielded moderate timber amounts throughout the simulation period, yet sustainably. Considering climate change, we discuss the risks associated with favoring drought- and disturbance-susceptible conifers at low elevations and emphasize that continuous cover management must allow for the regeneration of drought-adapted tree species. In conclusion, our simulations show potential for short-term increases in timber mobilization but also that such increases need to be carefully balanced with future forest productivity and other forest ecosystem services.

     

Conversion of Norway spruce forests in the face of climate change: a case study in Central Europe

Steadily increasing damage to Norway spruce forests in Europe has caused researchers and managers to consider whether these forests can be converted to more stable ecosystems. In a central European mountain region, we investigated whether management systems (MSs) specified by regional stakeholders provide sound alternatives to the currently applied management. We used the forest model Sibyla to explore whether the tested MSs differ in their sensitivity to climate change in terms of altered biomass production, stand structure, forest damage, and financial outcome. The tested MSs were no-management (NM), currently applied management (BAU), and management based on the preferences of forest managers (FM) or on the preferences of other stakeholders (OSH). With NM, spruce remained dominant during the simulation period 2010–2100, and the rate of damage significantly increased. Spruce also remained dominant with FM, while the abundance of non-spruce species significantly increased with BAU and OSH. The rate of salvage logging converged at 50% of the total harvest for all MSs up to 2050. Climate change reduced biomass production (?15%) with all MSs but had a negligible effect on biodiversity indicators. The average initial value of the simulated stands was 20,000 € ha^?1 and the nominal value in 2100 was between 1900 and 10,900 € ha^?1. The Net Present Value calculated with the 2% interest rate was negative during the whole simulation period (?5600 to ?18,500 € ha^?1 in 2100). Effect of climate change on all financial indicators was negative. Our findings indicate that secondary spruce forests are highly vulnerable and that the systems proposed by both forest managers and other regional stakeholders failed to significantly reduce forest damage and stabilize forest production.     

Carbon Accumulation and Fossil Fuel Substitution During Different Rotation Scenarios

Accumulation of carbon (C) in biomass and soil, and using forest residues for bioenergy are examples of forestry’s contribution to reducing the enhanced concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The aim of this report was to study the effect of rotation length on carbon accumulation in biomass and soil, and on the amount of forest residues that could substitute fossil fuel during 2000–2100. Two models, based on inventory data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory, were used to simulate the effects of a changed rotation length in the region of Dalarna (1.8 × 10⁶ ha), in central Sweden. During the studied period, the accumulation of carbon in biomass was 32 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 larger for the prolonged rotation period and 105 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 smaller for the shortened rotation period compared with the base scenario. The build-up of carbon in forest soil was 23 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 larger for the prolonged rotation than for the base scenario, whereas the shortened rotation was 24 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 smaller than the base scenario. The potential to substitute fossil fuel was 37 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 larger for the shortened rotation and 17 kg C ha^?1 yr^?1 smaller for the prolonged rotation compared with the base scenario. The annual accumulation of carbon in biomass decreased in all scenarios, which resulted in a prolonged rotation scenario possibly being a poor long-term solution (> 100 yrs). The amount of forest residues that could substitute fossil fuel increased in all scenarios during the studied period.     

Silvicultural strategies for increased timber harvesting in a Central European mountain landscape

The demand for wood as construction material, renewable source for energy and feedstock for chemicals is expected to increase. However, timber increments are currently only partly harvested in many European mountain regions, which may lead to supply shortages for local timber industries, decreases in forest resistance to disturbances and functioning as protection from gravitational hazards. Using an inventory-based forest simulator, we evaluated scenarios to increase wood mobilization in the 7105-km² Swiss canton of Grisons for the period 2007–2106. Scenarios varied with respect to landscape-scale harvesting amounts and silvicultural strategies (low vs. high stand-scale treatment intensity) and accounted for regulations and incentives for protection forest management. With 50 and 100% increases of harvests, the current average growing stock of 319 m³ ha^?1 was simulated to be reduced by 12 and 33%, respectively, until 2106 in protection forests of Northern Grisons, where management is prioritized due to subsidies. Outside protection forests and in Southern Grisons, growing stock was simulated to continually increase, which led to divergent developments in forest structure in- and outside protection forests and in the Northern and Southern Grisons. The effect of silvicultural strategies on simulated forest structure was small compared to the effect of future harvesting levels. We discuss opportunities and threats of decreasing management activities outside protection forests and advocate for incentives to promote natural regeneration also outside protection forests to safeguard long-term forest stability.     

Economic assessment of use values of near-natural forestry compared with rotational forestry in Denmark

The present study is a cost-benefit analysis of converting the current rotational forestry (RF) of Norway spruce stand into near-natural forestry (NNF) of beech, based on two representative soil conditions and visitors popular case areas in Denmark, considering welfare economic values of timber, recreation provision, and groundwater recharge. The study answers the major research question of how large the welfare economic values of recreation and groundwater benefits of the conversion are as compared with timber benefits. The net present values (NPV) of the benefits were calculated for an infinite time horizon at a 3 % discount rate. The results reveal that converting into NNF would result in a NPV of at least 6,832 € ha^?1 from use values of recreation and water benefit on a site with good soil and a high visitor frequency, as is typical in the eastern part of Denmark. On a site in the west of the country, with poor growth conditions and a lower visitor frequency, the gain is still substantial, namely 5,581 € ha^?1. These benefits though come at a cost of 3,375 and 6,206 € ha^?1 from timber production, respectively. This means that the economic value of use values of recreation and water benefits outweighs the loss of timber on good soil conditions but not on poor soil conditions.     

Scenario analyses on the effects of fertilization,improved regeneration material,and ditch network maintenance on timber production of Finnish forests

We used national scenario analyses to examine the effects of fertilization, use of improved regeneration material and ditch network maintenance (DNM), both separately and simultaneously, on timber production of Finnish forests under the current climate. We also analyzed how the area of artificial regeneration, forest fertilization, and DNM developed in different management and harvesting intensity scenarios. The initial data were obtained from the 11th National Forest Inventory of Finland, excluding protected forests. Four sets of even-flow harvesting scenarios with annual timber harvest targets of 60, 70, 80, and 90 million m³ were developed for 90-year simulation period. Use of improved material in artificial forest regeneration was assumed to result in 10% higher diameter and height increment compared to naturally regenerated seedlings. Sub-xeric pine-dominated and mesic spruce-dominated sites were fertilized, and 40% of drained peatlands were maintenance-ditched when they fulfilled a set of predetermined criteria for temperature sum, stand basal area, and mean tree diameter. As a result, when fertilization, improved regeneration material, and DNM were all used, the mean annual volume increment over the 90-year simulation period increased by 3.4–5.4 million m³ depending on harvesting intensity. The maximum sustainable harvest of timber would be almost 80 million m³ yr^?1. The simulated fertilization area was about four times larger than the presently fertilized area, and the simulated DNM area was about the same as the current. Fertilization gave the largest additional 90-year volume increment and the DNM the smallest when they were used separately. The use of improved regeneration material gave the largest additional volume increment in southern Finland and fertilization in central and northern Finland.     

Optimal management of Korean pine plantations in multifunctional forestry

Korean pine is one of the most important plantation species in northeast China.Besides timber,it produces edible nuts and plantations sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.This study optimized the management of Korean pine plantations for timber production,seed production,carbon sequestration and for the joint production of multiple benefits.As the first step,models were developed for stand dynamics and seed production.These models were used in a simulation–optimization system to find optimal timing and type of thinning treatments and optimal rotation lengths.It was found that three thinnings during the rotation period were optimal.When the amount or profitability of timber production is maximized,suitable rotation lengths are 65–70 years and wood production is 5.5–6.0 m~3 ha~(-1) a~(-1).The optimal thinning regime is thinning from above.In seed production,optimal rotation lengths are over 100 years.When carbon sequestration in living biomass is maximized,stands should not be clear-cut until trees start to die due to senescence.In the joint production of multiple benefits,the optimal rotation length is 86 years if all benefits(wood,economic profits,seed,carbon sequestration) are equally important.In this management schedule,mean annual wood production is 5.5 m~2 ha~(-1) and mean annual seed yield 141 kg ha~(-1).It was concluded that it is better to produce timber and seeds in the same stands rather than assign stands to either timber production or seed production.     

Assessing carbon sequestration in plantation forests of important conifers based on the system of permanent sample plots across Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Plantation forests play a critical role in forest management due to their high productivity and large contribution to carbon sequestration (CSE). The purpose of this study was to assess the CSE of plantations containing four important conifer species distributed across Taiwan, namely, the China fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) and Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis). Data regarding the plantations were obtained from a survey of permanent sample plots (PSPs). We used these data to calculate the CSE in each PSP and adopted CSE_mean and CSE_period as indicators to assess the CSE of the four conifers. According to the CSE_mean obtained from analysis of variance and the least significant difference method, two groups were identified among these four conifers: the Japanese cedar (4.03 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1) and Taiwania (3.52 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1) yielded higher CSE_mean values and the China fir (1.79 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1) and Taiwan red cypress (2.36 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1) yielded lower CSE_mean values. The same patterns were observed in the CSE_period values; however, no significant difference in CSE_period was observed between Taiwan red cypress and either of the two groups. Therefore, Japanese cedar and Taiwania have high CSE potential among conifers.     

Short-term changes in the soil carbon stocks of young oil palm-based agroforestry systems in the eastern Amazon

The current expansion of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) in the Brazilian Amazon has mainly occurred within smallholder agricultural and degraded areas. Under the social and environmental scenarios associated with these areas, oil palm-based agroforestry systems represent a potentially sustainable method of expanding the crop. The capacity of such systems to store carbon (C) in the soil is an important ecosystem service that is currently not well understood. Here, we quantified the spatial variation of soil C stocks in young (2.5-year-old) oil palm-based agroforestry systems with contrasting species diversity (high vs. low); both systems were compared with a ~10-year-old forest regrowth site and a 9-year-old traditional agroforestry system. The oil palm-based agroforestry system consisted of series of double rows of oil palm and strips of various herbaceous, shrub, and tree species. The mean (±standard error) soil C stocks at 0–50 cm depth were significantly higher in the low (91.8 ± 3.1 Mg C ha^?1) and high (87.6 ± 3.3 Mg C ha^?1) species diversity oil palm-based agroforestry systems than in the forest regrowth (71.0 ± 2.4 Mg C ha^?1) and traditional agroforestry (68.4 ± 4.9 Mg C ha^?1) sites. In general, no clear spatial pattern of soil C stocks could be identified in the oil palm-based agroforestry systems. The significant difference in soil carbon between the oil palm area (under oil palm: 12.7 ± 2.3 Mg C ha^?1 and between oil palm: 10.6 ± 0.5 Mg C ha^?1) and the strip area (17.0 ± 1.4 Mg C ha^?1) at 0–5 cm depth very likely reflects the high input of organic fertilizer in the strip area of the high species diversity oil palm-based agroforestry system treatment. Overall, our results indicate a high level of early net accumulation of soil C in the oil palm-based agroforestry systems (6.6–8.3 Mg C ha^?1 year^?1) that likely reflects the combination of fire-free land preparation, organic fertilization, and the input of plant residues from pruning and weeding.     

Predictive models for biomass and carbon stocks estimation in Grewia optiva on degraded lands in western Himalaya

Grewia optiva Drummond is one of important agroforestry tree species grown by the farmers in the lower and mid-hills of western Himalaya. Different models viz., monomolicular, logistic, gompetz, allometric, rechards, chapman and linear were fitted to the relationship between total biomass and diameter at breast height (DBH) as independent variable. The adjusted R² values were more than 0.924 for all the seven models implying that all models are apparently equally efficient. Out of the six non-linear models, allometric model (Y = a × DBH ^b ) fulfils the validation criterion to the best possible extent and is thus considered as best performing. Biomass in different tree components was fitted to allometric models using DBH as explanatory variable, the adjusted R² for fitted functions varied from 0.872 to 0.965 for different biomass components. The t values for all the components were found non-significant (p > 0.05), thereby indicating that model is valid. Using the developed model, the estimated total biomass varied from 6.62 Mg ha^?1 in 4 year to 46.64 Mg ha^?1 in 23 year old plantation. MAI in biomass varied from 1.66–2.05 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1. The total biomass carbon stocks varied from 1.99 Mg ha^?1 in 4 year to 15.27 Mg ha^?1 in 23 year old plantation. Rate of carbon sequestration varied from 0.63–0.81 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1. Carbon storage in the soil up to 30 cm soil depth varied from 25.4 to 33.6 Mg ha^?1.     

Aboveground biomass and carbon stock in the largest sacred grove of Manipur,Northeast India

Aboveground biomass and carbon stock in the largest sacred grove of Manipur was estimated for trees with diameter [10 cm at 1.37 m height.The aboveground biomass,carbon stock,tree density and basal area of the sacred grove ranged from 962.94 to 1130.79 Mg ha~(-1),481.47 to 565.40 Mg ha~(-1) C,1240 to 1320 stem ha~(-1) and79.43 to 90.64 m~2 ha~(-1),respectively.Trees in diameter class of 30–40 cm contributed the highest proportion of aboveground biomass(22.50–33.73%).The aboveground biomass and carbon stock in research area were higher than reported for many tropical and temperate forests,suggesting a role of spiritual forest conservation for carbon sink management.     

Uncertainty of 21st century growing stocks and GHG balance of forests in British Columbia, Canada resulting from potential climate change impacts on ecosystem processes

Over the coming decades, climate change will increasingly affect forest ecosystem processes, but the future magnitude and direction of these responses is uncertain. We designed 12 scenarios combining possible changes in tree growth rates, decay rates, and area burned by wildfire with forecasts of future harvest to quantify the uncertainty of future (2010-2080), timber growing stock, ecosystem C stock, and greenhouse gas (GHG) balance for 67 million ha of forest in British Columbia, Canada. Each scenario was simulated 100 times with the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3). Depending on the scenario, timber growing stock over the entire land-base may increase by 14% or decrease by 9% by 2080 (a range of 2.8 billion m³), relative to 2010. However, timber growing stock available for harvest was forecast to decline in all scenarios by 26-62% relative to 2010 (a range of 1.2 billion m³). Forests were an annual GHG source in 2010 due to an ongoing insect outbreak. If half of the C in harvested wood was assumed to be immediately emitted, then 0-95% of simulations returned to annual net sinks by 2040, depending on scenario, and the cumulative (2010-2080) GHG balance ranged from a sink of −4.5 Pg CO₂e (−67 Mg CO₂e ha⁻¹) for the most optimistic scenario, to a source of 4.5 Pg CO₂e (67 Mg CO₂e ha⁻¹) for the most pessimistic. The difference in total ecosystem carbon stocks between the most optimistic and pessimistic scenarios in 2080 was 2.4 Pg C (36 Mg C ha⁻¹), an average difference of 126 Tg CO₂e yr⁻¹ (2 Mg CO₂e yr⁻¹ ha⁻¹) over the 70-year simulation period, approximately double the total reported anthropogenic GHG emissions in British Columbia in 2008. Forests risk having reduced growing stock and being GHG sources under many foreseeable scenarios, thus providing further feedback to climate change. These results indicate the need for continued monitoring of forest responses to climatic and global change, the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies by forest managers, and global efforts to minimize climate change impacts on forests.     

Conversion of tropical moist forest into cacao agroforest: consequences for carbon pools and annual C sequestration

Tropical forests store a large part of the terrestrial carbon and play a key role in the global carbon (C) cycle. In parts of Southeast Asia, conversion of natural forest to cacao agroforestry systems is an important driver of deforestation, resulting in C losses from biomass and soil to the atmosphere. This case study from Sulawesi, Indonesia, compares natural forest with nearby shaded cacao agroforests for all major above and belowground biomass C pools (n = 6 plots) and net primary production (n = 3 plots). Total biomass (above- and belowground to 250 cm soil depth) in the forest (approx. 150 Mg C ha^?1) was more than eight times higher than in the agroforest (19 Mg C ha^?1). Total net primary production (NPP, above- and belowground) was larger in the forest than in the agroforest (approx. 29 vs. 20 Mg dry matter (DM) ha^?1 year^?1), while wood increment was twice as high in the forest (approx. 6 vs. 3 Mg DM ha^?1 year^?1). The SOC pools to 250 cm depth amounted to 134 and 78 Mg C ha^?1 in the forest and agroforest stands, respectively. Replacement of tropical moist forest by cacao agroforest reduces the biomass C pool by approximately 130 Mg C ha^?1; another 50 Mg C ha^?1 may be released from the soil. Further, the replacement of forest by cacao agroforest also results in a 70–80 % decrease of the annual C sequestration potential due to a significantly smaller stem increment.     

Stocks and dynamics of soil organic carbon and coarse woody debris in three managed and unmanaged temperate forests

The effect of forest conservation on the organic carbon (C) stock of temperate forest soils is hardly investigated. Coarse woody debris (CWD) represents an important C reservoir in unmanaged forests and potential source of C input to soils. Here, we compared aboveground CWD and soil C stocks at the stand level of three unmanaged and three adjacent managed forests in different geological and climatic regions of Bavaria, Germany. CWD accumulated over 40–100 years and yielded C stocks of 11 Mg C ha^?1 in the unmanaged spruce forest and 23 and 30 Mg C ha^?1 in the two unmanaged beech–oak forests. C stocks of the organic layer were smaller in the beech–oak forests (8 and 19 Mg C ha^?1) and greater in the spruce forest (36 Mg C ha^?1) than the C stock of CWD. Elevated aboveground CWD stocks did not coincide with greater C stocks in the organic layers and the mineral soils of the unmanaged forests. However, radiocarbon signatures of the O _e and O _a horizons differed among unmanaged and managed beech–oak forests. We attributed these differences to partly faster turnover of organic C, stimulated by greater CWD input in the unmanaged forest. Alternatively, the slower turnover of organic C in the managed forests resulted from lower litter quality following thinning or different tree species composition. Radiocarbon signatures of water-extractable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the top mineral soils point to CWD as potent DOC source. Our results suggest that 40–100 years of forest protection is too short to generate significant changes in C stocks and radiocarbon signatures of forest soils at the stand level.     

A Natural Forest of Commercial Timber Species: Logging or Not Logging

Most tropical forests outside protected areas have been or will be selectively logged because the timber industry is a main income-generating resource for many developing countries. Therefore, understanding the composition of commercial timber species and logging types is key for sustainable forest management in countries like Vietnam as they move toward fulfilling Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) agreements. Seven 1-ha plots were surveyed in the Central Highland of Vietnam, and 18 commercial tree species from these plots, whose timber is widely used by local people for housing and furniture making and timber is easily sold at local markets for high prices, were analyzed. In total, 151 tree species with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of ≥?10 cm were recorded. The 18 commercially valuable species assessed in this study accounted for 33.2% of all stems (total of 524 stems ha^?1 for all species), 47.1% of basal area (total of 34.35 m² ha^?1 for all species), and 50.8% of aboveground biomass/AGB (total of 262.68 Mg ha^?1 for all species). Practicing diameter-limit harvesting of all commercially valuable species with DBH of ≥?40 cm, which is widely performed in Vietnam, will reduce the number of stems by 7%, basal area by 31.6%, and AGB by 38.2%. Because such harvesting practices cause severe ecological impacts on the remaining forest, logged forests may require >?40 years to recover the structure status of a pre-logged forest. In addition, the recovery of the 18 commercially valuable species may require a much longer time because they comprised 33.2% of stems. Permission for logging natural forests should be given in Vietnam to sustain lives of local communities, where logging has been prohibited. However, alternative harvesting systems, such as reduced-impact logging systems, should be considered. The systems selected must simultaneously generate economic returns for local people and respect the REDD+ agreements with regard to protecting biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions.     

How much carbon can the Siberian boreal taiga store: a case study of partitioning among the above-ground and soil pools

In the context of global carbon cycle management, accurate knowledge of carbon content in forests is a relevant issue in contemporary forest ecology. We measured the above-ground and soil carbon pools in the darkconiferous boreal taiga. We compared measured carbon pools to those calculated from the forest inventory records containing volume stock and species composition data. The inventory data heavily underestimated the pools in the study area(Stolby State Nature Reserve, central Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russian Federation). The carbon pool estimated from the forest inventory data varied from 25(t ha-1)(low-density stands) to 73(t ha-1)(highly stocked stands). Our estimates ranged from 59(t ha-1)(lowdensity stands) to 147(t ha-1)(highly stocked stands). Our values included living trees, standing deadwood, living cover, brushwood and litter. We found that the proportion of biomass carbon(living trees): soil carbon varied from99:1 to 8:2 for fully stocked and low-density forest stands,respectively. This contradicts the common understanding that the biomass in the boreal forests represents only16–20 % of the total carbon pool, with the balance being the soil carbon pool.     

A novel approach to optimize management strategies for carbon stored in both forests and wood products

We present a new approach to maximize carbon (C) storage in both forest and wood products using optimization within a forest management model (Remsoft Spatial Planning System). This method was used to evaluate four alternative objective functions, to maximize: (a) volume harvested, (b) wood product C storage, (c) forest C storage, and (d) C storage in the forest and products, over 300 years for a 30,000 ha hypothetical forest in New Brunswick, Canada. Effects of three initial forest age-structures and a range of product substitution rates were tested. Results showed that in many cases, C storage in product pools (especially in landfills) plus on-site forest C was equivalent to forest C storage resulting from reduced harvest. In other words, accounting for only forest, and not products and landfill C, underestimates true forest contributions to C sequestration, and may result in spurious C maximization strategies. The scenario to maximize harvest resulted in mean harvest for years 1–200 of 3.16 m³ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and total C sequestration of 0.126 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, versus 0.98 m³ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and 0.228 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for a scenario to maximize forest C. When maximizing total (forest + products) C, mean harvest and total C storage for years 1–200 was 173% and 5% higher, respectively, than when maximizing forest C; and 218% and 6% higher, respectively, when maximizing substitution benefits (0.25 t of avoided C emissions per m³ of lumber used) in addition to total C. Initial forest age-structure affected harvest in years 1–50 < 34% among the four alternative management objective scenarios, and resulted in mean C sequestration rates of 0.31, 0.10, and −0.14 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ when maximizing total C storage for young, even-aged, and old forests, respectively. Our results reinforce the importance of including products in forest-sector C budgets, and demonstrate how including product C in management can maximize forest contributions toward reduced atmospheric CO₂ at operational scales.     

Productivity and optimal management of the uneven-aged hardwood forests of Hyrcania

Hyrcania is a productive region near the southern coast of Caspian Sea. Her forests are mostly uneven-aged beach-dominated hardwood mixtures. There is increasing willingness to treat these forests without clear-felling, following the ideas of continuous cover management. However, lack of growth and yield models have delayed this endeavor, and no instructions for uneven-aged management have been issued so far. This study developed a set of models that enable the simulation of stand development in alternative management schedules. The models were used to optimize stand structure and the way in which various initial stands should be converted to the optimal uneven-aged structure. The model set consists of individual-tree diameter increment model, individual-tree height model, survival model, and a model for ingrowth. The models indicate that the sustainable yield of the forests ranges from 2.2 to 7 m³ ha^?1 a^?1 in uneven-aged management, depending on species composition. Better ingrowth would substantially enhance productivity. The optimal stand structure for maximum sustained yield has a wide descending diameter distribution, the largest trees of the post-cutting stand being 80–100 cm in dbh. If cuttings are conducted at 30- or 40-year intervals, they should remove 20–40 largest trees per hectare. Despite moderate growth rate, uneven-aged management produces high incomes, 850–1,000 UDS ha^?1a^?1, because the timber assortments that are obtained from the removed large trees have very high selling prices. Optimal conversion to uneven-aged structure showed that the steady-state stand structure depends on initial stand condition and discount rate when the length of the conversion period is fixed. Discount rates higher than 1 % lead to reduced wood production, heavy cuttings, and low basal areas of the steady-state forest.     

An integrated approach to assess carbon credit from improved forest management

Fossil fuel consumption in recent decades has caused the rise of CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere, with negative consequences on the environment and human health. This study develops a methodological framework to quantify carbon credits from carbon-oriented forest management and evaluates the economic sustainability of their sale. Application of the framework to two forest compartments with long-lasting active management in the Western Italian Alps showed the feasibility of the methodology and provided insights on its replication in other contexts. Particularly, the Carbon-oriented scenario led to a reduction of both the extracted wood volume (10% and 6.5% CASE1 and CASE2, respectively) and Net Present Value (32% and 29%), leading to a carbon credit price of 19.6 € MgCO_2eq^?1? and 44.1 € MgCO_2eq^?1 to counteract these losses.

This work allows us to highlight the factors needed to design and evaluate alternative forest management options while considering the consequences of climate change. Moreover, the hypothesized scenarios include an economic remuneration of the positive externalities provided by sustainable forest management.

Finally, the proposed workflow entails undeniable environmental benefits while contrasting climate change but still looks undesirable with respect to the traditional timber-oriented management in compartments where high-quality wood products can be obtained.     

Deadwood volume assessment in Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) peri-urban forests: Comparison between two sampling methods

In the Sustainable Forest Management, deadwood is a fundamental substrate for numerous species, and a key factor in carbon and nutrient cycles. The main aim of the paper is to estimate the amount of deadwood in two Calabrian pine forests (Monte Morello in Italy; Xanthi in Greece) characterized by different stand conditions and management practices. The second aim is to compare two different sampling methods to estimate the volume of lying deadwood: the fixed-area sampling (FAS) method and the line intersect sampling (LIS) method. The results show that the Monte Morello peri-urban forest is characterized by a high quantity of deadwood (75.1 m³ ha^?1) divided in 80% of lying deadwood, 18% of standing dead trees, and 2% of stumps. The Xanthi peri-urban forest is characterized by a total amount of deadwood of 9.21 m³ ha^?1 divided in 34% of lying deadwood, 18% of standing dead trees and 48% of stumps. The mean volume of lying deadwood in Monte Morello estimated using the FAS is 59.91 m³ ha^?1, while using the LIS the mean volume is 64.9 m³ ha^?1. In the Xanthi, the mean volume of lying deadwood is 3.11 m³ ha^?1 using FAS and 5.49 m³ ha^?1 using LIS.