To thin or not to thin: bio-economic analysis of two alternative practices to increase amount of coarse woody debris in managed forests

Maintenance of biodiversity in commercial forests has become a main goal in forestry, and several new management principles to reach that goal have been introduced lately. For example, in even-aged forestry, tree retention (leaving a proportion of trees standing in clear-cut sites) is widely used to increase the structural diversity and the amount of dead wood in forests. However, the cost-efficiency of the new management principles is poorly studied. To increase the amount of dead wood, an alternative way could be a change in the thinning regime, so that the self-thinning builds up of woody debris of a growing stand. We used long-term (200?years) simulations to compare ecological and economical effects of the two alternative management practices to increase the amount of dead wood in forest stands: (1) green tree retention and (2) growing stands unthinned. We simulated stand growth and management of 12 pine and 12 spruce stands that represented sites in different parts of Finland. We found that growing stands unthinned produced about 5–6?times more dead wood than retention with 20 trees left per hectare. In terms of economical loss, leaving stands unthinned reduced the net present value of harvest revenues less than 20%. Consequently, leaving stands unthinned offers a cost-effective option to increase the amount of dead wood in commercial forests. The effects of unthinned management were, however, dependent on thermal sum and initial stand density, indicating that biodiversity-oriented management practices should be designed for local conditions.     

An integrated assessment approach to optimal forest bioenergy production for young Scots pine stands

Background: Bioenergy is re-shaping opportunities and imperatives of forest management. This study demonstrates,through a case study in Scots pine(Pinus sylvestris L.), how forest bioenergy policies affect stand management strategies.Methods: Optimization studies were examined for 15 Scots pine stands of different initial stand densities, site types, and temperature sum regions in Finland. Stand development was model ed using the Pipe Qual stand simulator coupled with the simulation-optimization tool Opti For Bioenergy to assess three forest bioenergy policies on energy wood harvest from early thinnings.Results: The optimal solutions maximizing bare land value indicate that conventional forest management regimes remain optimal for sparse stands. Energy harvests occurred only when profitable, led to lower financial returns. A forest bioenergy policy which included compulsory energy wood harvesting was optimal for denser stands. At a higher interest rate(4 %), increasing energy wood price postponed energy wood harvesting. In addition, our results show that early thinning somewhat reduced wood quality for stands in fertile sites. For less fertile sites, the changes were insignificant.Conclusions: A constraint of profitable energy wood harvest is not rational. It is optimal to carry out the first thinning with a flexible forest bioenergy policy depending on stand density.     

Impacts of different forest management scenarios on forestry and reindeer husbandry

In northern Sweden, the forests are used simultaneously for both timber production and reindeer husbandry. During the winter months, lichen is the most important fodder for reindeer. Forest management operations are generally considered having a negative impact on reindeer husbandry as harvesting and dense stands remove or obscure the ground lichen cover. In this study, we simulate three different scenarios for forest management, differing in the intensity and types of harvest operations. The resulting 100-year scenarios are analyzed with respect to their estimated suitability for providing reindeer pasture areas. Suitability is determined by vegetation type, stand density and stand height. The results indicate that the current trend of a decrease in lichen area will continue if existing forestry practice prevails. Implementing continuous cover forestry as a management alternative and carrying out precommercial thinning could halt the decrease in reindeer pasture area and even lead to a future increase in pasture area, with losses of approximately 5% in the net present value of forestry.     

A simulation of the development and restoration of old-growth structural features in northern hardwoods

Thinning treatments in second-growth forest may be a practical means of accelerating the development of certain old-growth structural features in regions where old stands are presently uncommon. We used CANOPY, an individual-tree model calibrated with data from thinned and unthinned stands, to simulate effects of thinning on growth rates and development of old-growth structural features in second-growth northern hardwoods. Three simulated, moderately heavy thinnings over a period of 45 years nearly doubled the predicted mean radial increment of canopy trees, percent of stand basal area in large trees, and area of canopy gaps. Compared to untreated stands, thinned stands had fewer dead trees per ha, but the dead trees were larger in size and the overall volume of snags and logs was little affected. In a 77-year old even-aged stand, moderately heavy thinning was predicted to reduce the time needed to attain the minimum structural features of an old-growth forest from 79 to 36 years. Simulated treatments in an older, uneven-aged stand gave mixed results; the moderately heavy treatment stimulated individual tree growth, but the removal of some medium-sized canopy trees in conjunction with natural mortality delayed the development of old-growth structure. Total volume of dead wood may still be deficient under the thinning regimes investigated in this study, but predicted live-tree structure 45 years after moderately heavy thinning was typical of stands in the advanced transition and steady-state stages of old-growth development. Results suggest that thinning can substantially accelerate the development of old-growth structure in pole and mature northern hardwoods, but response in older, uneven-aged stands is more modest, and treatments in these stands may need to be more conservative to achieve restoration goals.     

Profit�CSize Relationships: A Wood Value Expression to Facilitate Stand Management Decision Making

This paper presents an alternative approach to expressing net value of wood in standing trees in relation to important tree characteristics. The approach aims at increasing woodlot owners’ and managers’ understanding of stand profit production and lead to consideration of stand interventions with higher profitability than those suggested by commonly used guidelines designed for maintaining biologically desirable stock levels. Our investigation showed that determining net wood value in individual trees for stand management purposes is not only feasible but relatively simple to do, requiring little additional information than typically used in stand level cash flow analysis. The presentation of wood value in the form of profit–size relationships presents two major improvements over traditional stand average values and product stumpage values: (1) it links both revenues and costs to determinant tree characteristics, providing a clearer picture of actual financial contributions of trees to stand value. (2) it gives the value of all wood grown and not just the value of volume sold. These two improvements allow landowners and managers to actually see where value is produced in specific stands, and design treatments accordingly to capture financial opportunities that would otherwise go unnoticed.     

Promoting old-growth characteristics and long-term wood production in Douglas-fir forests

Trade-offs among wood production, wood quality and ecological characteristics in the management of harvested forest stands are explored through model simulation of various silvicultural regimes. Long-term production of merchantable wood, production of various types of high-quality wood, and the level of certain quantitative ecological indicators are projected for coniferous forests of Pacific Northwestern USA. The set of ecological indicators used is based on the species composition and physical structure of old, unlogged forest stands. Simulations are performed with an ecological model of forest stand dynamics that tracks the fate of live and dead trees. Short rotations (<50 years) produce the least amount of high-quality wood over the multi-century simulation period. They also fail to generate ecological attributes resembling those of old forest stands. Production of high-quality wood is moderate to high under all rotations of 80 years or more; however, most ecological indicators require longer rotations unless alternatives to clearcutting are applied. Alternatives examined include retention of 15% cover of live tree canopy at each harvest in combination with artificial thinning between harvests. Thinning from below can expedite the development of large live and dead trees, and canopy height diversity without greatly diminishing wood quantity or quality. Proportional thinning retains understory stems, thereby expediting the recruitment of shade-tolerant trees. A possible drawback to thinning, particularly proportional thinning, is the diminished production of clean-bole wood at rotations of 150 and 260 years. It is concluded that most wood quantity, wood quality and ecological objectives can be met with long rotations (ca. 260 years). Certain objectives can be met with shorter rotations (80–150 years) when treatments of thinning and canopy tree retention are applied.     

云南松天然优良林分疏伐营建母树林的研究

10余年来对滇西和滇中的云南松天然优良林分疏伐营建母树林及遗传增益的研究结果表明疏伐是优良林分营建母树林的重要技术措施。改建16年生左右的云南松天然优良林分为母树林,以选择0．3(郁闭度)疏伐强度为好,母树林经2次疏伐后即可定型,其疏伐间隔期不超过4年。1993～1995年,母树林平均单株结球果达60个,每公顷结10329个,结实株率达95．65％,分别是对照的5．08倍、1．26倍和1．15倍。母树的结实性状较为稳定,单株结实量的频率分布呈对数正态分布,一般以4年为1个结实周期。云南松天然优良林分和母树林子代均具有干型通直、木纹理扭转度小、生长量大的特点。云南松诸性状间较多地受基因连锁或共效基因的作用,而受环境的影响相对较小,大多数性状具有较高的遗传稳定性。在云南松种子的调拨中应注意不同种源的适生区域。云南松优良林分和母树林子代林6～10年生的树高、胸(地)径、材积和木纹理扭转度的遗传增益分别为5．74％～20．14％、8．61％～40．46％、27．88％～107．11％和17．42％～59．79％。     

海南霸王岭陆均松类热带山地雨林伐后林结构与物种多样性研究

霸王岭林区是海南岛最典型的热带山地雨林分布区.在该区,现存分布面积最广、资源数量最大的是热带山地雨林的各种伐后林.以霸王岭分布最广的以陆均松(Dacridium pierrii)为主的山地雨林的伐后林为对象,研究了其组成、径级、高度结构和物种多样性特征,对比分析了伐后林与原始林以及伐后林不同类型之间的异同.结果表明:原始热带山地雨林经采伐后中小乔木和灌木的优势度增大,而大乔木树种的优势度则明显下降.阳性树种的种类、数量和相对重要性随采伐破坏的程度而增加.伐后林中矮、小树木在林分中比例随采伐破坏的程度增加,而高、大树木,特别是进入主林层树木的比例则随采伐破坏的程度明显下降.从林分测树因子的变化来看,采育择伐和径级择伐的林分要优于大强度择伐和皆伐的林分.原始林的物种丰富度大于伐后林,但其多样性指数和均匀度指数大都小于伐后林.组成上与原始林相似性较大的伐后林是各种择伐后的林分,而皆伐后的林分与原始林在组成上已有很大差别.     

Effect of thinning intensity on tree growth and temporal variation of seed and cone production in a Pinus koraiensis plantation

Thinning of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.) is used to facilitate timber and cone production. The present study in Northeast China investigated the effects of thinning intensity on individual tree growth, temporal variation in cone yield, and seed quality in Korean pine plantation. In 2005, five thinning intensity levels (none, extreme, heavy, moderate and light) were set in 15 permanent plots in a 32-year-old Korean pine plantation at Mengjiagang Forest Farm, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. We recorded tree growth and seed cone production from 2013 to 2016, i.e., from 8 to 11 years after thinning. Except for height growth, thinning increased tree growth (diameter at breast height and crown size) and improved cone yield. The extreme thinning treatment (to 300 trees per hectare) resulted in the largest tree diameter, tree volume, crown size and 4-year cone production per tree. The highest cone yield per tree in the mast year (2014) was observed when stands were thinned to 500 trees per hectare (heavy thinning). Although the best cone and seed quality and the largest cone and seed mass per tree were recorded in the heavily thinned stand, no significant differences were found between heavy and moderate thinning stands (750 trees per hectare). At the stand level, the moderately thinned stand had the highest basal area, stock volume and seed cone production per stand. Our results suggest that thinning to 750 trees per hectare will improve timber and cone productivity in 40-year-old P. koraiensis stands.     

目标经营——介绍一种森林经营方法

本文介绍了德国和奥地利提倡的一种现代森林经营方法——目标经营, 着重阐述了目标经营的特点、方法和判读疏伐的效果。作者认为, 我国应借鉴国外经验, 走集约经营森林的道路。     

Applying portfolio optimisation to the harvesting decisions of non-industrial private forest owners

The non-industrial private forest owner's optimal harvesting and investment strategies are studied at forest holding level by including individual forest stands in an asset class portfolio. The forest owner can either clearcut mature stands and invest the capital in financial or real asset classes (bank deposits, government bonds, stocks, apartments) or postpone clearcutting and retain capital in standing trees. Forest inventory data from actual forest holdings in Southwest Finland, the simulation–optimisation software MELA, and statistics on timber prices are utilised to compute the return series for forest stands. The numerical results show that the optimal level of clearcutting decreases markedly with initial non-forest wealth, especially at low risk-free rates of interest. It may therefore be rational for non-industrial private forest owners to consider shorter rotation periods than those of investors with diversified portfolios. The correlations between returns from forest stands are high, implying that increasing the variety of stand structures achieved by planting different species is not likely to bring substantial diversification benefits. The favoured investment outlet for harvesting revenues (apartments, government bonds or stocks) is sensitive to the period of historical data used to compute the return series and risk-free rate of interest. The value growth of forest stand can be used to estimate annual returns only for those stands that are readily mature. An alternative method of computing returns on stands in any development phase is proposed, based on net present value of stand adjusted for fluctuations in forest land prices. This method applies if selling forest land is considered an option. If selling is not an option, the ratio of maximised net present value to value at immediate harvest can be used as a ‘maturity index’ for ranking the stands for portfolio optimisation.     

Financial analysis of diameter-limit cut stands in northern hardwoods

Diameter-limit cutting of stands in the US northeast is a common practice often thought to give the landowner the highest financial returns. A landowner’s decision to diameter-limit cut or use some other harvesting option on a given stand involves examining mutually exclusive investments. Previous research that compared diameter-limit cutting to other harvesting options implicitly assumed these were independent investments. This paper develops analytical models to examine a variety of harvesting options for a single stand, including diameter-limit cutting, as mutually exclusive investments, and with stand and financial parameters defined by the landowner. These models are used to examine implications of changes in the financial parameters for harvesting options. It is found that no simple guidelines can be laid down for choice of harvesting options to maximise the net present value of stands with respect to diameter-limit cutting compared to other harvesting options. The empirical examples reveal that which harvesting option has the largest net present value depends on the parameters of the landowner’s stand and the financial parameters chosen by the landowner. The analysis illustrates the importance of understanding the interrelationships between the financial and stand parameters in determining whether a diameter-limit cut is in fact the best financial option for a landowner.     

Promoting harvesting stands connectivity and its economic implications in Brazilian forest plantations applying integer linear programming and simulated annealing

The spatial allocation of harvesting activities is a challenging task for forest managers, given the complexity of coordinating operations and the great contribution of harvesting to the total cost of wood production. Traditionally, forest harvesting policies have intended to limit maximum clear-cut areas, leading to harvesting fragmentation, and have thus reduced interior forest habitat and negatively affected operational efficiency. Aiming to address this issue, the main goals of this study were i) to propose approaches to include harvesting connectivity into a forest planning model, and ii) to evaluate the impacts of enforcing connectivity on the economic outcomes of the forest. We applied two approaches for clustering forest harvesting: (i) a model based on the Minimum Spanning Tree problem for enforcing harvesting connectivity and (ii) a Simulated Annealing approach for simultaneous consideration of harvesting stands connectivity and wood flow. The optimization process could reduce the average harvesting radius from 4575.8 up to 2300.5 m and increase the average area of harvesting blocks from 22.4 up to 157.4 ha. However, this solution would marginally reduce the net present values (from 3.9% to 15.4%) compared to the base scenario, without the inclusion of connectivity requirements and depending on the level of enforced connectivity.     

Natural thinning and structural patterns of intermediate cutting intensity in a Cunninghamia lanceolata stand

In the intermediate cutting intensity experiment of a Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation for 20 years, the changing pattern of natural thinning in these stands, with different intermediate cutting intensities, was studied. The relationship between the number of trees removed by natural thinning and stand density and site conditions was explained. The mathematical equation M = K ₁·K ₂ of natural thinning lines of C. lanceolata stand density management maps was tested and the relationship of diameter, height and canopy structure of stands with different intermediate cutting intensities are proposed. Our study of natural thinning in these stands indicates that the starting and peak periods of natural thinning in the check and slightly thinned plots were both early. The amount of thinned wood was large and the course of thinning proceeded continuously. The three levels of thinning: the slight thinning period, the intensive thinning period and the continued thinning period could be divided on the basis of the amount of thinned wood. Natural thinning would be a very long process without artificial interference. The starting and peak periods of thinning in the middle and strong intermediate felling are both late and present intermittence. Their thinning stages were not clearly evident. Through our studies, we also discovered that stand density and site conditions had important effects on the number of dead and dying trees, but that density was more important than site conditions. By way of tests, the relative error of the mathematical equation of natural thinning lines of C. lanceolata stand density management maps was 3.91% and the precision was relatively high. The practical test results of the stands, given different intermediate cutting intensities and different site indices, show that the relative error of the check plots was 5.23%, while the relative errors of the other tested items were all < 5%, well within the allowable experimental error. The mathematical equation was comparatively practical. The study demonstrated the distribution laws of diameter and height classes of the stand at different intermediate cutting intensities. From this study we also obtained the growth differences and changing dynamics of the height to the first branch, canopy length and relative canopy height of the stand at different intermediate cutting intensities and various related patterns with an increase of stand age and proposed a mathematical model relating stand age and the single-tree periodic volume increment. __________ Translated from Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 2006, 42(1): 55–62 [[译自: 林业科学]     

Impacts of initial stand density and thinning regimes on energy wood production and management-related CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions in boreal ecosystems

An ecosystem model (Sima) was utilised to investigate the impact of forest management (by changing both the initial stand density and basal area thinning thresholds from current recommendations) on energy wood production (at energy wood thinning and final felling) and management-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for the energy wood production in Finnish boreal conditions (62°39′ N, 29°37′ E). The simultaneous effects of energy wood, timber and C stocks in the forest ecosystem (live and dead biomass) were also assessed. The analyses were carried out at stand level during a rotation period of 80 years for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) growing in different fertility sites. Generally, the results showed that decreased basal area thinning thresholds, compared with current thinning, reduced energy wood (logging residues) and timber production, as well as carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. Conversely, increased thinning thresholds increased energy wood production (ca. 1–27%) at both energy wood thinning and final felling and reduced CO₂ emissions (ca. 2–6%) related to the production chain (e.g. management operations), depending on the thinning threshold levels, initial stand density, species and site. Increased thinning thresholds also enhanced timber production and carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. Additionally, increased initial stand density enhanced energy wood production for energy wood thinning for both species, but this reduced energy wood production at final felling for Scots pine and Norway spruce. This study concluded that increases in both initial stand density and thinning thresholds, compared with the current level, could be useful in energy wood, timber and carbon stocks enhancement, as well as reducing management-related CO₂ emissions for energy wood production. Only 2.4–3.3% of input of the produced energy (energy wood) was required during the whole production chain, depending on the management regime, species and sites. However, a comprehensive substitution analysis of wood-based energy, in respect to environmental benefits, would also require the inclusion of CO₂ emissions related to ecosystem processes (e.g. decomposition).     

Profitability of alternative management regimes in Scots pine stands on drained peatlands

In drained, forested peatlands, ditch network maintenance (DNM) is often considered necessary for tree growth, but it also constitutes additional management costs. Commercial thinnings, in turn, in addition to their silvicultural benefits, are generally applied to enhance the financial performance of stand management but results from peatland stands are scarce. In this study, our aim was to find financially feasible management practices for Scots pine-dominated stands on drained peatland sites in Finland. Using mainly inventory data sets, we compiled altogether 29 typical model-stands for four climatic areas, four site types, and two stand conditions according to need for silvicultural care. We used MOTTI stand simulator to predict the development of the model-stands according to different management regimes consisting of various combinations of 0–2 DNM and 0–2 thinnings with different timings and thinning intensities. We then calculated and compared the financial feasibility of the regimes using net present value (NPV; discount rate 3%) analysis. The separate effect of DNM on the profitability was marginal, but the positive effect of thinnings was clear. The harvesting removals varied within a wide range, depending on the timing and intensity of thinnings, but on average, the NPV doubled due to the thinnings. In the stands of initially good silvicultural condition, regimes including only one thinning and a DNM operation generally displayed a good financial result. In the stands of initially poor silvicultural condition due to neglected early care, regimes with two thinnings produced the best NPV regardless of the often low-yielding first thinning.     

Evaluation of growth response,stand value and financial return for pre-commercially thinned jack pine stands in Northwestern Ontario

This study examined the impact of pre-commercial thinning (PCT) on tree growth, product recovery, stand value and financial return in jack pine stands in Northwestern Ontario. Ten sites composed of both control and PCT stands representing various stand densities (2000–6000 trees/ha) and stand ages (26–36 years old) were selected for this study. Three thousand and eighty-two trees were measured for DBH and total height, and were reconstructed in 3-D using a taper equation for jack pine. The reconstructed virtual trees were then “sawn” using the software package Optitek to obtain optimal lumber value recovery, which was then used to determine total product value per tree and financial return. The quadratic mean DBHs of trees from the PCT stands were significantly larger than those from the control stands for all 10 sites. Six of ten PCT stands had significantly taller trees than did the controls of the same sites. With increasing stand density, tree DBH decreased in the control stands while no consistent pattern could be recognized for the DBH of the PCT stands. The increment in average DBH due to PCT increased with increasing thinning intensity. PCT reduced total tree volume per hectare, benefited merchantable stem volume per hectare, and improved the total lumber volume and value recovery per hectare. On average, the PCT stands produced approximately $2760 and $1770/ha (or 19.6 and 16.1%) more product value per hectare for the dimension mill and stud mill, respectively. PCT also significantly reduced logging and lumber conversion costs. Higher total product values and lower total costs resulted in higher benefit/cost (B/C) ratios in the PCT stands than did in the control stands. The increased financial return due to PCT is associated with the magnitude of difference in quadratic mean DBH resulting from PCT. The B/C ratio difference between control and PCT stands increased with increasing thinning intensity. Overall, this study indicates that PCT appears to be an economically viable silvicultural investment for jack pine stands in Northwestern Ontario.     

Effect of thinning on allometry and needle-age distribution of trees in natural Abies stands of northern Japan

We tested the effects of thinning on allometry and needle-age distribution in natural stands of Abies sachalinensis Masters by comparing a thinned stand to an unthinned, control stand. Specifically, we attempted to clarify how allometry was altered after a thinning. We assumed that the needle-age distribution of trees in the thinned stand would show a younger composition than in the control stand, given the effect of improved light conditions on needle dynamics following a thinning. These investigations were conducted in dense Abies stands located in central Hokkaido, northern Japan, 19 years post-thinning. In the thinned stand, the ratio of individual needle mass to stem mass increased significantly, as compared to the control. A difference in the H–DBH relationship between the stands was probably related to this tendency. Mean needle age of trees differed significantly between the two stands, and the thinned stand showed a younger needle age than the control. Within each stand, dominant trees showed older mean needle age than codominant or suppressed trees. These tendencies may have been caused by differential needle dynamics affected by light conditions in the stands, and by different crown positions among the trees within a stand. In summary, trees in the thinned stand showed increased growth rates after thinning, which were caused by increased needle mass, younger composition of needles, and improved light conditions.