Economic,environmental and social impact of alternative forest management in Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and Västerbotten (Sweden)

The forest sector is important for the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg (BW) and the Västerbotten (VB) County in Sweden. Their forestry wood chains (FWCs) are of similar magnitude and supply forest industries. This study provides a regional comparison of the performance of FWCs from roundwood harvesting, including hauling, to mill gate concerning the factors that impact sustainability and assess different sustainability indicators for alternative supply chains, in particular fully mechanized chains in comparison to motor-manual operations. The harvest volumes are similar but operational conditions differ. Analysis of sustainability indicators demonstrated that the total costs for roundwood to industry are similar. Higher harvesting costs in BW are compensated for by lower transport costs to the mills. Employment per unit is higher in BW because of the high share of labour in felling. Due to smaller machinery and shorter transport distances in BW, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions per unit are lower than in VB. Areas for improvement are the technologies for logging in BW and the logistics of timber transport in VB.     

Despite failure: The emergence of “new” forest owners in private forest policy in Wisconsin,USA

Abstract

Similar to other industrialized countries, the USA has experienced a significant increase in the number of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners as well as shifts in the values held by these owners. This study examines the motivations of predominantly new ex-urban forest owners interested in forest management in pursuing collective action through participation in the now out-of-business Sustainable Woods Cooperative (SWC). While common elsewhere, forest landowner cooperatives in the USA are an anomaly. Through a case-study design that depended primarily on semi-structured interviews, it was found that SWC members were motivated to join SWC as it was an attractive alternative to (1) the typical timber sale scenario that often places the forest owner at a disadvantage, and (2) the primary government tax incentive program. SWC represents a shift towards owners playing a greater role in shaping forest practices and markets, which is generally absent in the USA. It also suggests that new ex-urban forest owners, who are found in most industrialized countries, will seek to reshape the forest policy arena to meet their values and objectives. As such, this study provides insights for others in understanding the potential changes wrought by the changing characteristics of forest owners.     

Deforestation and fragmentation of Chaco dry forest in NW Argentina (1972–2007)

The sustained increase in the global food demand has favoured the recent expansion of industrial agriculture into neotropical dry forest ecosystems, with resulting changes in their extent and spatial configuration. Based on Landsat satellite images, we analyzed changes in forest cover and landscape configuration over an area of 600 by 100 km located in NW Argentina (Tucumán and Salta provinces) in four periods between 1972 and 2007. The study area, one of the most active deforestation frontiers of South American dry forest, was divided into six relatively homogeneous sectors in terms of land property structure and biophysical characteristics. During the study period 1.4 millions hectares of dry forest were cleared. Deforestation started in the 1970s as a result of technological changes and increasing rainfall; continued (with spatial and temporal fluctuations) during the 1980s and 1990s in association to the sustained global demand of soybean, and was accelerated (to ca. 100,000 ha year⁻¹) between 2001 and 2007 following the global increase in commodity prices, and the national peso devaluation. We described the landscape structure using eight landscape indices, summarized as one synthesis value: the Euclidian distance across the seven dimensions from a theoretical non-fragmented situation. In areas with soil limitations deforestation resulted in relatively stable, highly fragmented landscapes. In contrast, the sites with regional coarser-scale limitations (rainfall), deforestation produced a less fragmented landscape where agriculture concentrates in sites with high rainfall. Sites with no limitations for agriculture tend to a largely deforested landscape with few small and poorly connected forest patches. The land properties size seems to influence some indices of fragmentation, but the synthetic index of fragmentation suggests an overall convergence of fragmentation patterns towards a similar configuration across different biophysical and land tenure conditions.     

Remote estimation of canopy leaf area index and chlorophyll content in Moso bamboo (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllostachys edulis</Emphasis> (Carrière) J. Houz.) forest using MODIS reflectance data

Key message

We estimated the leaf area index (LAI) and canopy chlorophyll content (CC) of Moso bamboo forest by using statistical models based on MODIS data and field measurements. Results showed that the statistical model driven by MODIS data has the potential to accurately estimate LAI and CC, while the structure of the calibration models varied between on- and off-years because of the different leaf change and bamboo shoot production characteristics between these types of years.

Context

LAI and CC (gram per square meter of ground area) are important parameters for determining carbon exchange between Moso bamboo forest (Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J. Houz.) and the atmosphere.

Aims

This study evaluated the ability of a statistical model driven by MODIS data to accurately estimate the LAI and CC in Moso bamboo forest, and differences in the LAI and CC between on-years (years with great shoot production) and off-years (years with less shoot production) were analyzed.

Methods

The LAI and CC measurements were collected in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China. Indicators of LAI and CC were calculated from MODIS data. Then, a regression analysis was used to build relationships between the LAI and CC and various indicators on the basis of leaf change and bamboo shoot production characteristics of Moso bamboo forest.

Results

LAI and CC were accurately estimated by using the regression analysis driven by MODIS-derived indicators with a relative root mean squared error (RMSEr) of 9.04 and 13.1%, respectively. The structure of the calibration models varied between on- and off-years. Long-term time series analysis from 2000 to 2015 showed that LAI and CC differed largely between on- and off-years.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that LAI and CC of Moso bamboo forest can be estimated accurately by using a statistical model driven by MODIS-derived indicators, but attention should be paid to differences in the calibration models between on- and off-years.

     

Spatial variability of nutrient stocks in the humus and soils of a forest massif (Fougères, France)

In this study, the spatial distribution of nutrient stocks (K, Ca, Mg and P) was examined in humus and soils at the forest massif scale (Fougères forest, France). A random stratified sampling plan including 100 sampling points was used and three potential variation factors of nutrient stocks were tested: age of stand, type of stand (broad-leaved or coniferous trees) and type of soil. Sampling classes were then compared and the variation factors were examined. Results demonstrated that nutrient stocks in the humus were not influenced by the cited factors and only the type of soil influenced nutrient stocks in soils. In fact, stocks of exchangeable elements in soils were much higher in Colluviosols-Fluviosols which show redoximorphic characteristics, and available phosphorus stocks were lower than in Alocrisols-Neoluvisols. Moreover, a low variability of nutrient stocks was observed in Alocrisols-Neoluvisols as opposed to Colluviosols-Fluviosols, which may suggest the existence of other variation factors not taken into account in this study (hydromorphic gradient, type and age of stand in hydromorphic zones).     

Developments in Swedish forest policy and administration – from a “policy of restriction” toward a “policy of cooperation”

Abstract

New tools and forms of cooperation at the landscape level are needed in order for forestry and environmental conservation to co-exist in areas with many land owners. Awareness has existed for several years in Sweden that cooperation at the landscape level is essential for protecting areas of high environmental value. This awareness has come to expression in several projects and initiatives. One of these projects is the Östra Vätterbranterna Partnership, a successful example of the new orientation toward environmental management as formulated in the government bill Sustainable protection of nature areas: new working methods with a focus on collaboration and increased dialog by involving more actors and utilizing a greater combination of steering instruments. This development resonates with the growing trend toward deregulation and less state intervention in environmental management, implying a stronger emphasis on new governance structures and market-driven processes. This paper examines the preconditions for a development toward governance-oriented forms of steering in the area of environmental policy and law, with specific emphasis on the protection of forestry areas with high environmental value. Paralleling this development, the transformation of environmental public administration is analyzed, using a model representing three different perspectives on administration's role, values and meaning, showing state action's progressive transition from “rowing” to “steering” to “serving” and facilitating.     

Decadal (2003–2013) changes in liana diversity,abundance and aboveground biomass in four inland tropical dry evergreen forest sites of peninsular India

In 2013, we re-inventoried all lianas(C1 cm diameter measured at 1.3 m from the rooting point) in four1-ha permanent plots distributed one each in four sites of inland tropical dry evergreen forest on the Coromandel Coast(Pudukottai district) of peninsular India, established in 2003. Among the four sites, Shanmuganathapuram(SP)and Araiyapatti(AP) were much disturbed and the other two sites(Karisakkadu—KR and Maramadakki—MM)were moderately disturbed. We inventoried a total of 3425 lianas representing 37 species of 33 genera and 22 families.Over a decade(2003–2013) liana species richness increased at two sites(MM and SP) and no changes occurred at the other two sites. Liana abundance increased by 210, 211, 164 and 162 individuals at sites AP, KR, MM and SP, respectively, and basal area increased(from 1.09 to1.76 m2 at AP, 0.67 to 0.86 m2 at KR, 1.68 to 2.06 m2 at MM, and from 0.44 to 1.06 m2 at SP). Over a 10-year period, three species(Abrus precatorius, Canavalia virosa,and Cocculus hirsutus) were lost and five species(Gloriosa superba, Ampelocissus tomentosa, Capparis sepiaria,Aganosma cymosa and Tiliacora acuminata) were newly added. Total aboveground biomass increased by 18.5, 0.74,3.6 and 9.5 Mg ha-1, respectively, at sites AP, KR, MM and SP.     

Learning from practices — implications of the “practice based approach” for forest and environmental policy research

With the book publication “Forest and Nature Governance — A practice based approach” (Arts et al., 2013, Eds.) the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group of Wageningen University, The Netherlands demonstrates its high aspirations of developing a new research approach. This article aims at discussing the methodological and conceptual contributions of the book to the field of forest and environmental policy research and proposes perspectives for further developing this methodological approach. It finds the “practice based approach” being an innovative, theoretically sound concept, which is able to produce valuable and “thick” empirical results. The approach is also found offering a plethora of possibilities to link up to analytical policy research. Yet, the approach will require further elaboration, especially on questions regarding the role of definitions, its contribution towards explaining social phenomena, and concerning the use of normative orientations in some of the empirical cases. The future challenges of the approach lie in either moulding a niche for further developing it independent from other schools, or in influencing mainstream approaches through theoretical innovations or surprising empirical results.     

Service logics and strategies of Swedish forestry in the structural shifts of forest ownership: challenging the “old” and shaping the “new”

ABSTRACT

Sweden is one of the most forested countries in Europe, and it has one of the highest shares of productive forest. Production in forestry is largely reliant on the private non-industrial forest owners, who own half of the forest land. As in many countries, however, forest ownership is changing towards a higher extent of urban, female or non-forestry-background owners. This poses a challenge for the forestry services sector, mainly forest owners’ associations and companies, but also broadly the sector at large. By exploring the sales and marketing processes, this paper analyses the service logics and strategies of Swedish forestry under changing forest ownership, drawing on an interview study covering all the large actors in the Swedish forestry sector. The study illustrates an increased focus of forestry organizations on services from a strategic and managerial perspective, in customer-oriented relationship development and in value creation and sales processes, specifically in order to manage “new” forest owners and the demand of forest industries. The results highlight the domination of service logics associated with timber production and the challenges for the service market and the provision of diversified services to forest owners.     

Living without herbicides in Qu��bec (Canada): historical context, current strategy, research and challenges in forest vegetation management

Vegetation management is crucial to meeting the objectives of forest plantations. Following public hearing processes, chemical herbicides were banned on Crown forest lands in Québec (Canada) in 2001. Release now mainly relies on mechanical treatments. Our objectives are to review the historical context and the research conducted over the past 15 years that has led to the province??s current vegetation management strategy and to identify the major challenges of vegetation management being faced in Québec in the context of intensive silviculture and ecosystem-based management. Research has led to an integrated management model without herbicides, adapted to the ecological characteristics of reforestation sites. The Québec experience illustrates how, on most sites, vegetation management that is based on early reforestation, the use of tall planting stock and intensive mechanical release brings crop trees to the free-to-grow stage without the use of herbicides and without resulting in major effects on vegetation diversity. This vegetation management strategy is an asset in the implementation of ecosystem-based management. However, research demonstrates that mechanical release alone does not promote optimal crop-tree growth, due to rapid resprouting or suckering of competitors and competition from herbaceous species. Therefore, the current strategy poses important challenges in the management of plantations where the objective is to maximise wood production.     

Forest Landscape Development Scenarios (FoLDS)–A framework for integrating forest models,owners' behaviour and socio-economic developments

The FoLDS framework presented in this paper is set up to develop scenarios for forested landscapes with a transparent connection between the broad-scale developments in socio-economic factors and the ecosystem services provided. The forests that provide these ecosystem services are managed by a multitude of forest owners. Different forest owners have their own objectives and will thus adjust their forest management differently to socio-economic developments. The FoLDS framework breaks down the connection from socio-economic developments to the landscape level in three steps. In the first step, a structure is provided for deciding on scenarios combining the socio-economic factors that have most influence on forest owners. In the second step, the scenarios are translated to the distribution of forest management approaches in the landscape by invoking a behavioural matrix of forest owner types and forest management decisions. The third step involves the implementation of these forest management approaches in a forest modelling tool that is tailored to the specific landscape at hand. The results of these calculations are then translated to a set of indicators for the ecosystem services of interest. A survey among researchers experienced with the FoLDS framework indicates that there is an added value in systematically including both qualitative and quantitative scenario methods for forested landscapes.     

Comments on “Plantation development: Economic analysis of forest management in Fujian Province,China”

This short article reexamines Zhang et al., 2010 (Forest Policy and Economics 2010, 12, 223–230) who concluded that forest expansion in China will continue due to the high economic benefit of forest plantations. It is suggested that their conclusion rested on data mistakes and problematic calculation, and might be misleading. A more realistic calculation is made.     

An “electronic nose” as a potential device for fire detection of forest product fire loads in enclosures

Abstract

Saving lives and properties are of primary importance in fire disasters. Unfortunately, current fire detectors are not fast enough to allow the detection of many fires, especially, at the smouldering stages. Some preliminary studies on laevoglucosan (LG), as an important product from cellulose degradation, have shown interesting properties and could be detected by devices classified as “electronic noses” (e-noses). In the present work, the mechanisms of pyrolysis of some ligno-cellulosic materials were investigated using thermo-gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and by a tube furnace with a view to determining the major degradation products from wood, white paper and cardboard samples. Additionally, an odour sensor, made of tin oxide semiconductor thin film, was employed to evaluate its sensitivity in detecting LG. It was found that LG can be readily found among the thermal degradation products of cellulosic materials in question, and that the metal oxide sensor employed was sufficiently sensitive in detecting its presence. Therefore, the work opens up the potential of using such a sensor as an “e-nose” for the early detection of fires stemming from forest product fire loads in storage places and in other enclosures.     

Traditional agroforestry systems of multi-crop “milpa” and “chichipera” cactus forest in the arid Tehuacán Valley,Mexico: their management and role in people’s subsistence

Agroforestry systems (AFS) derived from the cactus forest “chichipera” and cultivated with “milpa”, the traditional multi-crop system of maize-beans-squash were studied in the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico. Plant management types practiced by people, role of agricultural and forest resources in households’ subsistence, and consequences of changes in AFS were investigated through ethnobotanical, ecological, and economic approaches. People maintain in this AFS 122 plant species that provide useful products for 14 different purposes. Nearly 90% of useful plants are native to the region, representing 54% of all plant species recorded in the chichipera forest. Management strategies were identified occurring on 63 species at landscape, parcel, and individual plant levels. About 67% of managed plant species are left standing during clearance of vegetation; 35% are transplanted to the parcels’ surrounding area, 32% receive particular protection, and 10 species from other areas are cultivated inside the fields. During years of higher rainfall (~745 mm) AFS supply nearly 75% of the maize grain and 50% of the maize straw used as fodder by households. AFS with intermediate vegetation cover have higher economic value than monocultures and forest. However, plots with low forest cover and monocultures are progressively more common as consequence of socio-cultural processes. Local traditional ecological knowledge and management techniques are crucial for managing resilience of these AFS.     

The actions,detection and synthesis of platelet-activating factor (PAF) in mammalian pregnancy

PIateIet-activatingfact0r(PAFf1-O-aIkyI-2-acetyl-sn-glycer0-3-ph0sph0ch0Iine)wasdiscoveredasachemicaImediat0r,reIeasedfromsensitizedbas0-phiIs(Benvenisteetal1972),thatcausedpIateIetaggregati0n.SubsequentstudiesdemonstratedthatPAFwasproduceduponappropriatestimulation0favariety0fhumancells,includingneutrophils,e0sino-phils,mon0cytes,andend0thelialcells,andthisp0-tentlipidmediatorisinv0IvedinanumberOftheal-IergicandinfIammatoryresp0nses(Hanahan1986;BraquetetaI1987;WalIace1989IPresc0tte…     

“Smart regulation”: Can policy instrument design solve forest policy aims of expansion and sustainability in Flanders and the Netherlands?

The current study investigates with a multiple case study the relation between instrument design and policy success. The conclusion is that the instrument mix matters. The Flemish interventionist approach, which focuses more on traditional instruments, was not as effective as the Dutch stimulating approach, which uses a broad pallet of social and economic instruments, including many new environmental policy instruments. It is conspicuous that the government remains the most important regulator in all cases, although the importance of surrogate regulators is growing. Mostly the government is needed to stimulate or even create such surrogate regulators. Therefore, the government has a key position to decide which regulatory tasks will be transferred to surrogate regulators. This is currently restricted to capacity-building and certification.     

Integrated pest control in forest management — Combined use of pheromones and insecticides for attracting and killing the Bark Beetle Ips typographus II. Effects of methamidophos treatment following bark penetration into the ascending sap of pheromone-baited spruce

In 1985–1987, following bark treatment of Picea abies (Karst.) with an adhesive paste formulation (15% active ingredient of methamidophos), the effectiveness to Ips typographus (L.) was recorded from May until September. Groups of 4–6 trees were treated by scraping off a strip 20 cm wide of the dry bark about 1 m above the ground. The formulation CKB 1630 (proposed trade name: Ipidex®) was spread on the fresh bark and the band closed by covering it with foil. Two trees in the centre of a group were baited by a pheromone dispenser 2 m above the ground, and in the control group the central 2 trees were baited only but not treated. A total of 15 experiments, each consisting of 3 experimental and 3 control groups, was performed at different heights and with 3 different categories of spruce damage caused by environmental pollution. The first assay was performed 4–6 weeks after application, the second at the end of August or early in September, depending on the actual temperatures observed. No significant differences between treated and untreated trees were found in the number of holes drilled by the beetles attracted, indicating no repellent activity of the formulation tested, but highly significant (P < 0.01) reduction of larvae, pupae and young beetles in the treated trees was recorded until September. The effective dosage was 1.0 g of methamidophos/cm of trunk diameter (16 mg/cm² of treated bark surface). The number of beetles attracted and killed by the baited trees was greater by a factor of at least 3 than that attracted by traps. The treatment of trees after windfalls was also very effective.     

Characterizing long-term forest disturbance history and its drivers in the Ning-Zhen Mountains,Jiangsu Province of eastern China using yearly Landsat observations (1987–2011)

Forest losses or gains have long been recognized as critical processes modulating the carbon flux between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Timely, accurate and spatially explicit information on forest disturbance and recovery history is required for assessing the effectiveness of existing forest management. The major objectives of our research focused on testing the mapping efficacy of the vegetation change tracker (VCT) model over a forested area in China. We used a new version of VCT algorithm built upon the Landsat time series stacks (LTSS). The LTSS consisted of yearly image acquisitions to map forest disturbance history from 1987 to 2011 over the Ning-Zhen Mountains, Jiangsu Province of east China. The LTSS consisted of TM and ETM+ scenes with different projections due to distinct data sources (Beijing remote sensing ground station and the USGS EROS Center). The validation results of the disturbance year maps showed that most spatial agreement measures ranged from 70 to 86 %, comparable with the VCT accuracies reported for many places in USA. Very low accuracies were identified in 1995 (38.3 %) and 1992 (56.2 %) in the current analysis. These resulted from the insensitivity of the VCT algorithm to detect low intensity disturbances and also from the mis-registration errors of the image pairs. Major forest disturbance types existing in our study area were identified as agricultural expansion (39.8 %), urbanization (24.9 %), forest management practice (19.3 %), and mining (12.8 %). In general, there was a gradual decreasing trend in forest cover throughout this region, caused principally by China’s economic, demographic, environmental and political policies and decisions, as well as some weather events. While VCT has largely been used to assess long term changes and trends in the USA, it has great potential for assessing landscape level change elsewhere throughout the world.     

Classification and distribution of Comastoma (Gentianaceae) in Helan Mountains in China by floristic, ecological and geographical approaches

Four species of the Comastoma genus (Geianaceae) in Helan Mountains between Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Province in China have been recognized by morphological and geographical taxonomy. These four species are C. falcatum (Turcz.) Toyokuni, C. polycladum (Diels et Gilg) T. N. Ho, C. tenellum (Rottb.) Toyokuni and C. acutum (Michx.) Y. Z. Zhao et X. Zhang. Among them, C. tenellum (Rottb.) is a new recorded species and C. acutum (Michx.) Y. Z. Zhao et X. Zhang is a new combination. The floristic, ecological and geographical distribution of each species was analyzed and then a new key of Comastoma in Helan Mountains and the distribution maps have been generated, which will provide a reference for the revision of this genus and the analysis of the flora in Helan Mountains.