Goshawk breeding densities in relation to mature forest in southeastern Norway

Forest harvesting practices have been assumed to be the main reason for the decrease in Goshawk Accipiter gentilis populations in Fennoscandia during the late 1900s, by reducing prey density, especially grouse and Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), and preferred hunting habitats (mature forest). In Norway, the highest breeding densities are now found in areas with a high proportion of farmland and urban areas where corvids and pigeons are important prey. To assess the importance of mature forest for Goshawk populations in southeastern Norway, we compared breeding densities from 20 municipalities with different percentages of farmland and mature forest. In multiple regression models, regional breeding densities were positively related to both the percentage of mature forest, and the percentage of farmland and urban areas. We conclude that the recommendation of establishing buffer zones around nest sites will not be sufficient to maintain Goshawk populations if the proportion of mature forest is reduced at a landscape level.     

Effects on stream water chemistry and forest vitality after whole-catchment application of dolomite to a forest ecosystem in southern Norway

An acidified, 0.8 km² coniferous-forested catchment was limed with 3 t ha⁻¹ of coarse-grained dolomite powder in September 1994. The liming resulted in an immediate change in runoff water chemistry relative to the stream of an adjacent reference catchment. pH, calcium, magnesium and acid neutralising capacity (ANC) increased and inorganic Al decreased after liming. Potential favourable water quality for sensitive organisms remained relatively constant over the post-liming period (7 years), and model simulations indicate that adequate water quality may last for an additional 40–50 years. NO₃ concentrations showed no significant change due to liming. A significant increasing trend in TOC was attributed to liming. Concentrations of Cd, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn were lower in the limed stream than in the reference stream during a period of 3 years after liming, whereas concentrations of As, Cu, and Pb were not significantly different. Steep slopes, thin soils, high amounts of precipitation and thus dominance of surface and subsurface flow in this catchment may explain the rapid response in runoff. During the first 6 years after liming there have been no significant effects on tree growth and vitality (crown density and crown colour). This experiment shows that liming of forested catchments may be a viable method to obtain long-term improvement in water quality and potential positive effects for acid-sensitive aquatic organisms.     

Attitudes of small-scale forest owners to their properties in an ageing society: Findings of survey in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan

Populations of most developed countries have been ageing, and the populations of Japanese mountain villages are estimated to have reached into a super-ageing society. In particular, because forestry is unprofitable and due to the economic recession in Japan, many small-scale forest owners face the problems of ageing. For policy-makers, it is important to assess the socioeconomic impacts of forest owners’ ageing in order to ensure the sustainable management of forests. A survey was conducted of forest owners in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is famous for overall depopulation and ageing of the rural population. It was found that 83% of 687 plantation forest owners who responded in the survey were 60 years or older and 76% did not have forestry income over the past three years, but 81% had kept up ownership of their forest as the traditional family property. In terms of forest management intentions, the respondents were found to consist of four types, namely ‘family management’, ‘commissioned management’, ‘de-accession’ and ‘possession without proper management’. Differences in evaluations of hypothetical policies were found among the four types.     

Bat response to shelterwood harvests and forest structure in oak-hickory forests

Forest management practices, such as shelterwood harvesting, can greatly impact bat habitat relationships. Such practices can alter the amount of structural volume within a forest, which can influence bat foraging patterns. We determined the effects of shelterwood harvests of different retention levels (50% and 70% of full stocking) on bat activity patterns in oak-hickory forests located in southern Ohio. We used the Anabat system to monitor activity during May-September 2006. Our objectives were to quantify the effects of harvesting on structural volume and use the results to explain variations in bat activity. Because harvesting alters vertical structure as well as the total amount of volume within a forest, we also determined the height within the vertical profile where changes in structural volume begin to influence overall and species-specific activity. Overall bat activity did not differ significantly between shelterwood harvest levels, but was significantly different between harvested and control sites, with more passes detected within the harvested sites. Lasiurus borealis (red bat), Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat), and Lasionycteris noctivagans (silver-haired bat) activity was significantly greater in harvested versus control sites, but did not differ between shelterwood harvest levels. Myotis spp. (Myotis lucifugus (little brown bat) and Myotis septentrionalis (northern Myotis)) and Perimyotis subflavus (tri-colored bat) activity did not vary between shelterwood harvest levels or between harvested and control sites. The greatest reductions in structural volume occurred in the understory to mid-canopy of the shelterwood harvests. Overall activity was most influenced by the amount of volume within 3-6 m above the forest floor, and declined as volume within that height strata increased. Mean bat passes declined by 50% when volume within 3-6 m exceeded 17 m³/ha. Estimated use by L. borealis decreased by 50% at volumes exceeding 1750 m³/ha in the understory to mid-canopy (0-12 m), while E. fuscus and L. noctivagans estimated use was the highest when volumes within 3-6 m were less than 63 m³/ha. Our results suggest that forest management practices that reduce the amount of structural volume in the understory to mid-canopy provide suitable habitat for foraging bats. Quantifying the amount of structural volume at various heights within the vertical profile of the forest can lend valuable insights into overall and species-specific bat activity patterns.     

Technical efficiency in timber production and effects of other income sources

In Norway, as in many other European countries, income from forestry has become marginal to owners’ household economies and most employment of forest-owner households is now undertaken off the property. Also, many forest owners have focused increasingly on other revenue-earning activities on their properties, such as providing recreational services. It is a challenge in all kinds of production to find the optimal way of converting inputs into outputs, i.e., to be technically efficient. Extent of financial dependency on income from forestry differs between part-time and full-time forest owners. Since the two groups have different livelihood strategies, it is plausible that full-time forest owners have more professional forest management practices. Data for a cross-section of 3,249 active (i.e., harvesting) forest owners were extracted from the 2004 Sample Survey of Agriculture and Forestry representing the year 2003. A stochastic production frontier analysis was applied to evaluate forest management efficiency impacts of important factors including property and owner characteristics, outfield-related and agricultural activities, off-property income and geographical location in central or remote areas. It was found that many forest owners are technically inefficient, and there exist opportunities for improved performance. Off-property income was found to have an estimated negative impact on technical efficiency, the inefficiency arising (weakly) with increasing share of household incomes from outfield activities, and properties in urban centred areas are less efficient than those in remote areas. One policy implication of the study is that a potentially substantial efficiency increase might be achieved from allowing small inefficient woodlots to merge into larger units of forestry production. Also, providing support for forest management plans may improve efficiency.     

Decision making among Finnish non-industrial private forest owners: The role of professional opinion and desire to learn

Abstract

The primary basis of contemporary forest planning research, which assumes the forest owner to maximize his or her expected utility, has left aside cognitive and social patterns of reasoning in real decision-making situations. To add on to present knowledge, the decision aid needs were approached by assessing different ways of solving decision problems among non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners in Finland. The study investigated how the diversifying goal structure of NIPF owners would be reflected in practical decision-making strategies. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis were used to acquire a deeper understanding of NIPF owners’ decision making. Altogether, 30 purposively selected owners from southern Finland provided information to analyse the level of sharing decision power and eagerness to learn in decision making. Five decision-making modes were distinguished among the interviewees: (A) substantial trust in professionals, (B) desire to learn for self-reliance, (C) sequential, managerial judgements, (D) balanced, considerate decision making, and (E) strong decisions of one's own. According to these modes, corresponding decision aid approaches were constructed. The results show a broad variety of problem-solving strategies and thus decision aid needs. To facilitate unprompted and genuine decision making, the presented modes should be taken into account when owner-orientated forest planning services for NIPF owners are developed.     

Temporal mapping of deforestation and forest degradation in Nepal: Applications to forest conservation

Deforestation and forest degradation are associated and progressive processes resulting in the conversion of forest area into a mosaic of mature forest fragments, pasture, and degraded habitat. Monitoring of forest landscape spatial structures has been recommended to detect degenerative trends in forest conditions. GIS and remote sensing play an important role in the generation of such data to identify degraded and deforested areas as well as potential areas for conservation. In this study we analyzed forest degradation and deforestation trends in Chitwan district in Nepal, which contains key habitat elements for wildlife in the region. An artificial neural network was used to predict forest canopy density in five classes using Landsat images of the year 2001. Forest canopy density was predicted with 82% overall accuracy. Except riverine forest, forest area of all other forest types was reduced. Terai Shorea robusta forest, which has high commercial value, showed a loss of 23% between 1976 and 1989 and an overall loss of 15% forest covers between the year 1976 and 2001. Deforestation and forest degradation disproportionately reduced the sizes of the different forest types, a finding that has important management implications. The maps presented in this article could be useful to prioritize limited resources for conservation.     

城市森林火灾隐患及其管理

人为纵火、林区吸烟、施工用火、闪电、林区建筑物以及不合理的城市森林规划等是城市森林火灾发生的重要隐患,常常导致城市森林火灾的发生,给城市居民的生命和财产造成了巨大的损失。加强对城市森林火灾发生原因的研究,合理规划城市森林布局和结构,加强对火灾隐患的管理,减少城市森林火灾的发生,是维护城市生态可持续发展的必然要求。       

新时期林权纠纷的主要类型及对策

随着林权制度改革的深入开展,有关国有林场的林权纠纷问题成为了改革的主要焦点和难点。本文以木兰林管局为对象,根据其林权纠纷形成的主要原因,划分为内部管理不善型、管护责任不强型、群众无端挑起型和重证、无效证件型纠纷类型,并讨论了化解国有林场林权纠纷的对策和建议,即履行资源管理交接手续、明确工作任务目标、建立专门组织、加强资源档案管理、加强督导检查和协调好乡邻关系。     

Identifying, managing and monitoring conflicts between forest biodiversity conservation and other human interests in Europe

In this paper, circumstances where various human activities and interests clash with the conservation of forest biodiversity are examined, with particular focus on the drivers behind the conflicts. After identifying past and current human-related threats potentially leading to conflicts in forests, the paper will focus on conflict management and monitoring, with an emphasis on inclusionary stakeholder networks and a range of approaches towards sustainable land use. Three dimensions of conflicts are examined: substance (‘how things are’), procedure (‘how things are done’), and relationships (‘how people behave’). These relations will relate to three conflict management approaches: (1) technical, which may contribute to reduce or solve the conflict acting on the ‘substance’ dimension, (2) political, which may influence the ‘procedure’ dimension of the conflict establishing principles or rules, and (3) cultural, which may affect the ‘relationship’ dimension of the conflict. Finally, a general model of adaptive conflict management emphasising communication among the parties and a participatory approach that involves monitoring of the conflict resolution outcomes is proposed. The recognition that strong perceptions among stakeholders have the potential to aggravate conflicts is central to the concept of a inclusionary conflict management framework, improved communication between all stakeholders, and better awareness of the context of the conflicts is emphasised.     

A forest optimisation model including carbon flows: Application to a forest in Norway

We analyse which management to choose in order to increase the carbon benefit from the 1.342 million ha forest area in Hedmark County, Norway, and the cost of doing this compared to traditional profit maximising behaviour. The model used in the analysis is a dynamic forest management optimisation model which includes the main carbon flows and benefits from the forest area: tree growth and mortality, litter accumulation, decomposition of dead wood and harvest residues, soil processes, end-use of wood products, and saved greenhouse gas emissions from using wood products instead of more energy intensive materials and fossil fuels.     

Snow disturbances in secondary Norway spruce forests in Central Europe: Regression modeling and its implications for forest management

Snow is an important ecological factor limiting vegetation distribution, growth, and regeneration, and the importance of snow in the latitudes of Central Europe is expected to increase in the future. We assessed snow damage to secondary spruce stands (not of native provenance therefore not adapted to local conditions) in a mountainous region of 14500 ha in Central Europe (Moravian-Silesian Beskids, Czech Republic). We used neural networks-based regression modeling to study the relationship between stand and environmental parameters and four types of snow damage (top tree, crown, and stem breakage, and uprooting) that occurred during heavy snowfalls in winter 2005/2006 and 2009. Almost 40000 trees were sampled in 345 plots after each of these two events.The results suggest that parameters that can be controlled by forest management (mainly stand density and taper) were not closely associated with spruce forest resistance to snow damage. Investigated snow damage types were primarily related to the developmental stage of the stand, as indicated by stand volume, age, height, and diameter. Damage in 2009, which was caused by shorter-lasting and lower snow loads than the damage in 2005/2006, was also associated with elevation and snow depth. The response of snow damage to all stand development-related variables was clearly unimodal.We infer that forest management can reduce snow damage to secondary spruce forests in Central Europe only to a limited extent, especially under heavy snow loads. This conclusion is supported by the heavy snows that have frequently fallen on forests in Central Europe in the past and the projected increase in winter precipitation in mid- and northern latitudes; thereby increasing snow damage to forest in the future. Therefore, managers of such spruce forests should not specifically consider forest resistance to snow damage but should apply general practices that maintain forest health and productivity.     

Explaining gender differences in private forest risk management

In many countries, lower levels of forest management activities have been observed among female forest owners compared to male owners. The present study examined potential explanations for gender differences in private forest risk management among forest owners in Sweden (n?=?1482) using a questionnaire. Results from this study confirmed a slightly lower level of forest risk management among female owners in proactively combating damage caused by climate change and animal browsing when compared to their male counterparts. Further gender differences were revealed on a structural level. For example, female owners displayed higher levels of education and were more often non-resident owners and urban owners, as compared to their male counterparts. In addition, female and male owners differed regarding social-psychological variables (e.g. forest values and threat and coping appraisals). However the greatest gender difference was found in involvement in forest planning and forestry work. Even though gender differences were evident on multiple levels, involvement in forest issues and forest planning were found to be most important for explaining gender differences in forest risk management. By disentangling predictors of gender differences in private forest risk management, this study may contribute to a more strategic gender approach to forest risk governance.     

贵州息烽林场森林火险的数量生态学分析及区划

对贵州息烽林场６７个森林火险调查样方进行ＰＣＡ、ＣＯＡ排序和模糊综合评判表明：海拔影响林场森林可燃物分布状况和土壤含水量;林场森林火险以危险和较危险两级为主,影响的主要因素是海拔、森林可燃物类型和火源状况;森林可燃物分为非林分型可燃物,林相整齐的中幼林型可燃物和近成过熟林型可燃物、林相不整齐林分型可燃物;林场森林型可燃物和近成熟林型可燃物、林相不整齐林分型可燃;林场森林火险区划为４级区域,即很危险区（Ⅰ）、危险区（Ⅱ）、较危险区（Ⅲ）和略危险区（Ⅳ）。     

The forest planning system in relation to the forest resource and forestry policies

The current forest planning system of Japan has been in place since the formulation of the Forest Law back in 1897. During this time, although addressing specified forests as demonstrated in the system for protection forests, in a more general sense, the execution of the forest planning system has placed forestry management at the core. In other words, it has instead been forest administration delivered in a manner relevant to forestry management. This trend is exhibited in, for instance, policies for the reorganization of common forest, the forest management planning system, forest owners associations, the proceeds-sharing reforestation system, cooperative silviculture management, and valley forestry revitalization; which have all been implemented.In this paper I review the results of these practices and explore the contemporary forest owners pattern of behavior. I also discuss the passive attitudes among forest owners, especially in comparison with the attitudes prevalent during the postwar reforestation era, continuing up to the 1960s, and the current tendency towards neglect in the afforested areas, as well as the increasing number of forest owners giving up forestry practice.In the postwar era (up to the 1960s), forestry had been following an upward trend of development that motivated forest owners to afforest, as this was the optimal choice for increasing the familys stocks for future generations (in the manner of holding an asset), and thus a rapid expansion of plantation forests resulted. By the 1970s, when domestic wood supply became less than a half of all domestic wood demand (it is still declining now), forest owners gradually began to lose interest in reforestation and care of the forest as a method of increasing assets. The current share of domestic wood supply in total consumption has dropped to 20%, and the annual cut volume is only 23% of the annual volume increment.Forests are as much a public property as they are private and, moreover, represent a globally significant resource. Active stewardship, such as materializing internationally agreed notions of sustainable forest management, promoting forest certification systems, and complying with the Kyoto Protocol, are now important issues, both domestically and internationally.The paradoxical gap between current forestry trends and public aspirations for forests is widening with each year, thus creating a grave social problem. I have been focusing on forestry revitalization as the primary step towards the resolution of this issue. As the logical basis for executing this policy, I review the relations between forest resource policies and forestry policies.At the same time, by reviewing the forest planning system and its developmental process, I sought to investigate what new policies would fulfill the need to realize the public functions of forests while revitalizing forestry, form the point of view of forestry policies and their influence on the forest planning system. I have concluded that there is a case for separating forest management from forest ownership in units of forest compartments; namely to establish an incorporative management system by which forest owners can invest in their stands.     

Extreme events and climate change: the post-disaster dynamics of forest fires and forest storms in Sweden

How are extreme events understood in the forest sector? What are the implications of forest professionals' understandings and evaluations of extreme events? These questions are central to this study, which analyses the handling of the largest forest storm and the largest forest fire in modern Swedish history. The theoretical approach is that of risk governance in practice, which stresses that understanding the framings, practices and strategies used by members of professional organizations is pivotal for how disasters are managed. Two interview studies have been conducted with forest professionals involved in the two cases. The analysis shows that there were fundamentally different understandings of the two events and their implications for forestry practice. The storm was seen as an unavoidable natural disaster, but the consequences of future storms were considered possible to mitigate through changed forest practices. The forest fire, on the other hand, was conceptualized as a partly natural and partly man-made disaster, and forestry was seen as having very limited possibilities to reduce the likelihood as well as the consequences of similar events. The different understandings had significant implications for the post-disaster dynamics and for which management practices that were developed. Thus, understanding how extreme events are perceived is crucial to understanding which management practices that emerge in their wake, a topic of growing relevance because climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of forest fires and storms.     

Assessing the impacts of four alternative management strategies on forest timber and carbon values in northeast China

Forest management strategies, reflecting the cognition and the demands of the human population on forests, have significant effects on the forest structures and functions. Nowadays, numerous forest management strategies have been introduced and implemented worldwide for a long time. However, our knowledge about the impacts of alternative management strategies on forest multipurpose management practices is still insufficient. Therefore, the overall goal of this study quantitatively assessed the impacts of four alternative forest management strategies on forest timber and carbon values in a large forest area in northeast China, as an example. Four alternative forest management strategies: no intervention management (NIM), classical timber management (CTM), multi-purpose management (MPM), and spatial-constraints management (SCM), in conjunction with different management objectives and regulations, were quantitative assessed using optimization methods. The results of numerical analysis showed that implementing eco-friendly forest management strategies such as imposed in MPM and SCM strategies may be economic inefficiencies, mainly due to significant decreases of the joint benefits from forest timber and carbon values (approximately $18.75 and $22.36 million per year) have been observed under the current carbon trading market of China (namely $20 per ton of carbon) when the ecological- and spatial-oriented constraints were further integrated into the typical CTM strategy. However, both MPM and SCM strategies were quite meaningful for the restoration of forest resources in northeast China, in which an additional of 13.6 and 16.2 thousand tons of carbon were sequestrated during the 50 years simulated horizon. Therefore, forest decision makers should evaluate the potential effects carefully prior to altering their forest management strategy in practices.     

A comparison of landscape fuel treatment strategies to mitigate wildland fire risk in the urban interface and preserve old forest structure

We simulated fuel reduction treatments on a 16,000 ha study area in Oregon, US, to examine tradeoffs between placing fuel treatments near residential structures within an urban interface, versus treating stands in the adjacent wildlands to meet forest health and ecological restoration goals. The treatment strategies were evaluated by simulating 10,000 wildfires with random ignition locations and calculating burn probabilities by 0.5 m flame length categories for each 30 m × 30 m pixel in the study area. The burn conditions for the wildfires were chosen to replicate severe fire events based on 97th percentile historic weather conditions. The burn probabilities were used to calculate wildfire risk profiles for each of the 170 residential structures within the urban interface, and to estimate the expected (probabilistic) wildfire mortality of large trees (>53.3 cm) that are a key indicator of stand restoration objectives. Expected wildfire mortality for large trees was calculated by building flame length mortality functions using the Forest Vegetation Simulator, and subsequently applying these functions to the burn probability outputs. Results suggested that treatments on a relatively minor percentage of the landscape (10%) resulted in a roughly 70% reduction in the expected wildfire loss of large trees for the restoration scenario. Treating stands near residential structures resulted in a higher expected loss of large trees, but relatively lower burn probability and flame length within structure buffers. Substantial reduction in burn probability and flame length around structures was also observed in the restoration scenario where fuel treatments were located 5–10 km distant. These findings quantify off-site fuel treatment effects that are not analyzed in previous landscape fuel management studies. The study highlights tradeoffs between ecological management objectives on wildlands and the protection of residential structures in the urban interface. We also advance the application of quantitative risk analysis to the problem of wildfire threat assessment.     

Long-term influence of fire and harvesting on boreal forest age structure and forest composition in eastern Québec

In boreal forests, historical variations in the area disturbed by natural disturbances or harvesting have rarely been compared. We measured temporal and spatial variations in areas affected by severe fires and clearcutting throughout the 20th century in a 57, 332 km² section of the eastern Canadian boreal forest. We examined the effects of these disturbances on spatio-temporal variations in the abundance of forests >60 years. Natural variability for the abundance of forests >60 years was estimated from simulations of natural disturbance regimes. We also measured compositional and structural differences between three categories of stands originating from relatively recent disturbances (∼50 years; clearcutting, fires, and clearcutting followed by fires), and one category of stands that were undisturbed for at least 200 years. At the regional level, we observed that forests >60 years gradually became scarcer throughout the 20th century due to a gradual expansion of harvested areas, an effect most pronounced in the southern part of the region, where mature and old forest abundance was clearly outside the range of natural variability at the end of the studied period. At the stand level, forest composition and structure differed between stand-origin categories: clearcutting-origin stands contained more balsam fir (Abies balsamea), fire-origin stands more black spruce (Picea mariana), and fire/clearcutting-origin stands more hardwoods (Betula papyrifera and Populus tremuloides). Overall, we estimate that strict forest management targets based on natural disturbance regimes will be difficult to achieve in eastern North-American boreal forests, most notably because contemporary disturbance rates, including both clearcutting and fire, have gradually become higher than the fire rates observed during the preindustrial period.     

Comparative analysis of multi-criteria probabilistic FR and AHP models for forest fire risk(FFR) mapping in Melghat Tiger Reserve(MTR) forest

A comparative study of Frequency Ratio(FR)and Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)models are performed for forest fire risk(FFR)mapping in Melghat Tiger Reserve forest,central India.Identification of FFR depends on various hydrometeorological parameters altitude,slope,aspect,topographic position index,normalized differential vegetation index,rainfall,air temperature,land surface temperature,wind speed,distance to settlements,and distance by road are integrated using a GIS platform.The results from FR and AHP show similar trends.The FR model was significantly higher accurate(overall accuracy of 81.3%,kappa statistic 0.78)than the AHP model(overall accuracy 79.3%,kappa statistic 0.75).The FR model total forest fire risk areas were classified into five classes:very low(7.1%),low(22.2%),moderate(32.3%),high(26.9%),and very high(11.5%).The AHP fire risk classes were very low(6.7%),low(21.7%),moderate(34.0%),high(26.7%),and very high(10.9%).Sensitivity analyses were performed for AHP and FR models.The results of the two different models are compared and justified concerning the forest fire sample points(Forest Survey of India)and burn images(2010-2016).These results help in designing more effective fire management plans to improve the allocation of resources across a landscape framework.