Differences in the forest landscape structure along the Finnish–Russian border in southern Karelia

Abstract

This study describes forest landscape fragmentation and connectivity along the Finnish–Russian border near the Karelian Isthmus. The landscape pattern was analysed using classification data based on Landsat ETM+ and Landsat TM images in combination with systematic surveys in Finland (Finnish National Forest Inventory) (n=546) and the authors’ own fieldwork data in Russia (n=101). On the Finnish side the forest patches are significantly smaller than on the Russian side. In addition, the Finnish forests landscape is more scattered and distances between patches of the same forest type are longer. The Russian side is more dominated by broadleaved and mixed forest stands. The disparities are due to differences in forestry policy and traditions of forest practices. The growing conditions of the areas are similar. The habitat fragmentation and habitat connectivity are important issues because the Karelian Isthmus is one of three main corridors and migrating routes connecting large Russian boreal taiga forests and their fauna and flora with Finnish isolated boreal forests.     

Can market-based agroforestry germplasm supply systems meet the needs of forest landscape restoration?

By late 2017, governments had pledged more than 140 M ha to the global forest landscape restoration (FLR) agenda. Although much FLR will consist of conventional ecological restoration, a substantial proportion will involve agroforestry. The question therefore arises of how the agroforestry germplasm needs of FLR can be met, particularly given its emphasis on species diversity. This paper examines the role of market-based germplasm supply systems. A simple analytic framework is presented, and key demand- and supply-related factors are described. It is suggested that seedling supply and demand at market prices will not necessarily coincide with needs of all farmers nor with the requirements of a particular restoration program, and that market-based germplasm supply systems will therefore often not meet the needs of restoration programs. Implications of these findings are then identified and appropriate responses are suggested. These include those intended to produce shifts in demand or supply curves through addressing the underlying enabling environment, and direct subsidies to tree planting stock prices.     

Is generalisation of uneven-aged management in mountain forests the key to improve biodiversity conservation within forest landscape mosaics?

Context

Uneven-aged management systems based on selection silviculture have become popular in European mountain forests and progressively replace other silvicultural practices. In time, this trend could lead to a homogenisation of the forest mosaic with consequences on structural indices recognised as beneficial to forest biodiversity.

Aims

This study was conducted to investigate the potential effects of a generalisation of the selection silvicultural system on structural diversity in the forest landscape with consequences for forest biodiversity conservation.

Methods

We compared four structural indices (tree species richness, diameter heterogeneity, deadwood volume and basal area of mature trees) in five different stand types typical of the northern French Alps, using forest plot data in the Vercors mountain range. Through virtual landscape simulations, we then calculated predicted mean proportions of stand types under two different conservation strategies: (i) maximising mean index values at the landscape level and (ii) maximising the number of plots in the landscape with index values above given thresholds.

Results

Multi-staged forests did not maximise all indices, the best solution being to combine the five stand types in uneven proportions to improve biodiversity conservation.

Conclusion

The expansion of selection silviculture in European heterogeneous forest landscapes could enhance biodiversity conservation if other stand types with complementary structural characteristics are maintained.     

Not seeing the forest for the trees? The environmental effectiveness of forest certification in Sweden

Forest certification can be conceived as one of many rapidly growing non-state market driven (NSMD) modes of governance. The environmental effectiveness of forest certification is oftentimes evaluated by indicators such as stringency of standards, degree of participation by key stakeholders, certified area, etc. In political science, forest certification as an NSMD governance arrangement is usually evaluated in terms of the quality of the decision-making procedures (input legitimacy) rather than for its problem solving capacity, i.e. its environmental performance or effectiveness. We conceptualize environmental effectiveness as a function of a standard's environmental stringency and the area covered by the standard, the latter dependent on the degree of social acceptance. Accordingly, the environmental effectiveness of different certification schemes ought to be evaluated taking both the standard stringency and the area certified into account. The forest certification process in Sweden illustrates how forestry history and regional differences affect the development, acceptance and adoption of different certification schemes. Industrial and Northern forestry owners favour the NGO led Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards whereas Southern small-scale private forest owners preferred to develop an alternative scheme the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). We demonstrate that there is a bifurcated geographical coverage of the two certification schemes along a north–south divide coupled with a similarity in standard stringency and a high degree of acceptance in their different areas of dominance. Both forest certification schemes display a similar degree of environmental effectiveness — but in different parts of the country and for different types of ownership.     

Toward forest ‘‘sprawl':monitoring and planning a changing landscape for urban sustainability

The present study analyzes the structure and dynamics of the forest landscape in a peri-urban area(Rome, Italy) during the city's expansion from 1949 to2008 using landscape metrics and change detection analysis of digital maps of the area(1500 km2). While urban settlements increased continuously from 6.5 to 27.5 % of the study area, woodlands changed less clearly, with a moderate increase(from 11.2 to 11.9 % of the total area)and a higher fragmentation as a consequence of Rome's expansion. The structure of forest landscape changed along the urban-to-rural gradient with patch size increasing with the distance to the inner city in 1949 and substantial landscape homogeneity in 2008. The indicators proposed in this study inform dedicated measures for conserving forest and maintaining landscape diversity. Measures adopted in Rome's forestation plan to counteract woodlandffragmentation were analyzed and discussed. Based on the complex landscape dynamics found for Rome, an integrated multiscale planning approach targeting forest conservation is considered a key contribution to urban sustainability.     

‘The fridge in the forest’: Historical trajectories of land tenure regulations fostering landscape transformation in Jambi Province,Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia has attracted increasing global attention in recent years due to concerns over large-scale deforestation. The island of Sumatra in particular is severely affected by the rapid expansion of monoculture cash crops. Since Dutch colonial times, land tenure regulations here have generally favored such resource exploitation. The current National Development Plan continues to see Sumatra as a center of resource production in order to eradicate poverty and accelerate national development. This developmental focus, however, is accompanied by contested land use scenarios.Taking a historical perspective, this research discloses different layers of past and present land tenure regulations to understand present contestations of land use, resource exploitation, and their social consequences. Based on a village case study, the research demonstrates how different political eras and their accompanying land tenure approaches are inscribed in today's local landscape. We found that de jure regulations which were added to customary laws created a situation of legal pluralism. Our case study explains how local actors craft institutional arrangements in a process of institutional bricolage to use ‘their’ resources.     

The forest as a taskscape: seeing through the good forest owner’s eyes

This article is a reanalysis of interviews conducted in 2006 and 2009 with forest owners and their families. It gives a complementary interpretation of the forest owners’ decisions to replant spruce despite strong criticism from the public and from experts. The interviewees’ visual conception of the forest landscape and how they relate to it through their forestry practices is analysed. The results show that the forest owners prefer landscapes that are clean and tidy, showing characteristics indicative of forestry skills. At the same time they remain sensitive to the existence of other value systems among the public. The forest owners’ way of looking at the forest was characterized by the fact that they worked with the landscape; for them the forest is not only a symbolic project linked to identity, but also a taskscape, an imprint of performed work. In the discussion, the forest owners’ aesthetic value system is discussed and a supplementary answer is given to why forest owners refused to heed warnings about the replanting of spruce, a question that earlier studies generally attributed to forest owners’ wish to avoid short-term economic risks.     

Why do forest owners fail to heed warnings? Conflicting risk evaluations made by the Swedish forest agency and forest owners

In the aftermath of a hurricane in Sweden that felled some 250 million trees, the Swedish Forest Agency advised forest owners to reduce forest vulnerability by planting different tree species. This paper analyses why forest owners failed to heed the Forest Agency's recommendation, thereby reproducing a forest vulnerable to storms. This paper focuses on the deliberations and risk evaluations of forest owners when deciding which tree species to plant. The analysis identifies three main categories of reasoning that guided the forest owners' decision-making process: short-term economic reasoning caused by the pressing situation they faced; an understanding of windstorms as natural catastrophes that are impossible to influence; and the uncertainties associated with alternative forest management practices. Furthermore, given their risk-averse strategy, their approach to understanding and coping with uncertainty was crucial in determining their responses. This paper concludes that the forest owners primarily employed experience-based, practical and embodied knowledge, implying that abstract risks and theoretical knowledge regarding future developments were not deemed relevant. An additional conclusion is that even if a huge storm felling shows the need to change forest management practice, it does not provide the most favourable social conditions for achieving change.     

Manipulation of conventional forest management practices to increase forest growth—results from the Skogaby project

Above ground dry mass production and N accumulation on an areal basis in stems, branches and needles as well as in litterfall in a Norway spruce stand in south Sweden treated with unlimited availability of water and nutrients (fertilisation with irrigation) or of water (irrigation) during a 6 year experimental period are presented. Fertilisation was made in liquid form on a weekly basis during the vegetation period with 100 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ during each year. The fertiliser also included a balanced composition of P, K, Ca, Mg and S as well as of micronutrients. Irrigation was carried out as soon as a 20 mm water storage deficit developed. It is concluded that there is a large potential to improve Norway spruce production through liquid fertilisation with irrigation. Stem and branch production of Norway spruce was almost doubled due to this treatment. Also, stand needle dry mass and litterfall were markedly increased in comparison with the control. Water and N availability were the two most limiting growth factors. During the experimental period, irrigation had a greater effect on growth than N addition. The gross N uptake increased by 450 kg ha⁻¹ as a result of 600 kg ha⁻¹ fertiliser addition. Needle retention was increased for irrigated trees but needle litterfall remained unchanged. Changing the forest management of Norway spruce to intensive cultivatation results in transitional carbon sequestration in both stand and soil compared with an untreated ecosystem. The largest long-term environmental value is, however, achieved if this cultivated renewable biomass is used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Wood utilisation options of intensively cultivated Norway spruce are discussed.     

Drought in the forest breaks plant–fungi interactions

European Journal of Forest Research - Drought in the forest is not only a prolonged state of water shortage, but also an occasion where interactions between plants and fungi are affected. Water...     

Evaluation of the forest ecosystem health in Beijing area

The evaluation of ecosystem health has become one of the main research topics of ecosystem science, thus more and more assessment methods and frameworks have been put forward in recent years. However, the attention people pay to ecosystem health is actually more about what the social functions the ecosystem affords, which depend on the integrity and maintenance of the ecosystem structure and function, and the intensity of disturbance from outside. Accordingly, this research commenced from three main aspects, selected the evaluation indices, and then established the Evaluation Index System of Beijing Forest Ecosystem Health (EIS-BFEH). In the EIS-BFEH, each of the three foundations contained an easily-operated and standard sub-index system, which compounded the specific natural and social conditions of Beijing and was concrete enough to measure and evaluate. Then with the method of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the comprehensive index (CI) could be obtained, which represented the health of the forest ecosystem. As a case study, the forest ecosystems in the Badaling area were sampled, evaluated, compared and ranked by use of the EIS-BFEH. The result show that the health of natural forests is much better than that of plantations in the Badaling forest center: the average comprehensive index of the former is 7.9, while the latter is only 6.6. From the results, it could also be found that there are nine units in the healthy state, two units in the subhealthy state, and only one unit of Robinia pseudoacacia in the morbid state.     

Effect of land-use on small mammal abundance and diversity in a forest–farmland mosaic landscape in south-eastern Norway

During the last century the boreal forests of south-eastern Norway have been converted into patchworks of agricultural areas, clear-cuts and even-aged conifer monocultures. Even though Scandinavian forest ecosystems are strongly influenced by small mammals’ dynamics, the effects of anthropogenic changes on these communities are still debated. We conducted an extensive capture–mark–recapture study to examine the relative abundance and distribution of 11 species of small mammals during the reproductive season with respect to all available landscape-scale habitat types and fine-scale vegetation characteristics.     

Is multiple-use forest management widely implementable in the tropics?

Multiple-use forest management (MFM) for timber, non-timber forest products and environmental services is envisioned by many as a preferable alternative to timber-dominant management models. It is praised as a more equitable strategy of satisfying the demands from multiple stakeholders, an ecologically more benign harvesting approach, and a way of adding more value to forests making them more robust to conversion. MFM thus represents a common and prime management objective under the sustainable forest management (SFM) paradigm. However, its implementation has been lagging behind the expectations, particularly in the tropics. In this paper, we analyze selected MFM implementation examples to try to explain why. We scrutinize the tropical forestry debate to find that the meaning of MFM has undergone significant changes along the way, and that the topic depends heavily on the scale of inspection. Also, we examine the conditions that either favor or constrain MFM adoption. At the local scale, the factors that set the scene for multiple-use approaches to be successfully adopted are favorable governance conditions relate to land-devolution policies, effective collective institutions, and multi-agent forest-management models. MFM feasibility also depends on the stage of forest transition, i.e. in society's economic development. MFM (at the stand level) dominates in poor subsistence-oriented autarchic forest settings, it typically declines when entering capitalist stages of specialized commodity production, but may then rebound (at the landscape level) in more advanced development stages. Key factors MFM generally is up against range from intricate technical trade-offs to the economies of scale in forestry production and marketing. MFM remains a valid management alternative under specifically favorable local context conditions, especially when practiced at the landscape scale, but these conditions are less frequent than commonly assumed.     

The Austrian domestic forest policy community in change? Impacts of the globalisation and Europeanisation of forest politics

The interest intermediation system has always attracted the attention of forest policy scientists. However, research on this subject has focused on the national level, despite the fact that forest issues are increasingly prominent on international and European agendas, both in the EU and the Pan-European Process on the Protection of Forests in Europe. Accordingly, the impacts of the globalisation and Europeanisation of forest policy and the peculiarities of multi-level policy processes have not been sufficiently taken into account. This article examines how international forest politics and the integration of national actors in the EU multi-level system of joint decision-making affect national actor constellations. To this end, I draw on the advocacy coalition framework to depict the Austrian forest policy network and its actors’ dispute on forest certification, as well as on hypotheses and empirical results of multi-level governance scholars and on my own preliminary results to investigate the likely effects of the evolving EU forest policy. The discussion provides some hypotheses and indications that national forest policy networks might be subject to significant change.     

Is the private forest sector adapting to climate change? A study of forest managers in north Wales

? Context

Two-thirds of Britain’s forest area is privately owned. Thus, understanding private forest owners and managers, and their attitudes to uncertainty and change, is essential for the success of climate change adaptation policies.

? Aim

The aims of this study are to (1) assess how beliefs in climate change in the private sector have influenced forest management practices; (2) identify constraints related to changes in species choice and silvicultural systems; (3) analyse the implications for implementing climate change policy in forestry.

? Method

Semi-structured interviews with key informants who provide advice to, or manage woodlands in, the private forest sector in north Wales.

? Results

Woodland managers and some advisers are not generally convinced of a need to adapt. They feel the future is uncertain, more usually in relation to tree disease than to climate change itself. Species choice is the principle focus of adaptation activities and reveals a deep divide in opinion. Commercial advisors look to new exotics but are inhibited by absence of markets, while small-scale owners rely more on native genetic diversity.

? Conclusions

Findings that are likely to apply widely include: the influential role of forest agents in forest management decisions including species choice; lack of confidence in climate change predictions, and in markets; more immediate concerns about tree pests and diseases; demand for leadership from the public sector, and for engagement amongst the private sector. Further research is needed across a wider area to test the variability in relationship between attitudes and behaviours, and local conditions including climate change predictions.     

Strategies on natural forest protection of collective forest area in minority nationality community in China─A case of the forest resource management in datu village

IntroductionForestisakindofmulti-function'resourcethatcanbesustaininglyutiIized,butsomeprobIems,suchasinsufficiencyoftimberyieId,soiIerosion,cIimateim-baIanceinpartdistrictetc.,oftenarousedbecauseofincorrectuseandmanagementofnaturalresources.InordertodevelopthefOrestry,IotsoffOrestrypoIi-cieshavebeenissuedandcarriedout.V8rioustypesofforestresourcesmanagementhavebeenaroused,especialIycollectiveforestareasinsouthChina.However,whydiff6rentefficiencies,good,badandworse,eventoresultinthedecrea…     

Analysis of temporal changes in land cover and landscape metrics of a managed forest in the west Black Sea region of northern Turkey: 1970–2010

Forest structure changes continuously by natural and anthropogenic effects. Because the level of goods and services provided by forest ecosystems are related to this structure, some attributes have to be controlled while they are being managed. In this paper we describe the long-term temporal changes in land area and landscape metrics related to different land uses of a managed forest in Turkey. The study was carried out for the Daday Forest Planning Unit located in the west Black Sea region of northern Turkey. The total area is 16,813 ha and besides wood production, it is managed for erosion control, public health, aesthetics, and recreation. Stand type maps that were constructed in 1970, 1989, 1999, and 2010 were used in this analysis. Transition matrixes that illustrate area changes among cover types and temporal changes on some landscape metrics were obtained using Geographic Information Systems. Stands were separated into small patches, and thus the number of patches increased nearly two-fold between 1970 and 2010. The total forest edge increased and through the associated fragmentation, the amount of core forest area decreased at the landscape scale. Landscape metrics were applied to digitized versions of historical maps to assess how forest area changed. Human use of the land has changed, forest management practices have evolved, and these along with natural forest growth have contributed to interesting changes in landscape character.     

Is it necessary to change the number of samples for different forest types when evaluating plant species richness? A case study in a forested landscape in central Japan

We demonstrate a method for evaluating the appropriate number of samples required to estimate plant species richness in different forest types within a forested landscape. In each of 36 plots (0.1 ha each) from 5 forest types (deciduous broad-leaved secondary forest and 4 categories of coniferous plantation classified according to stand age) in central Japan, 40 quadrats of 1 × 1 m were set in a regular pattern; the total number of quadrats in each forest type ranged from 200 to 400. In each plot, the number of observed species in 40 quadrats ranged from 60 to 80% of the number of species estimated by the rarefaction method for each forest type. Sampling 30 quadrats detected approximately 90% of the observed species in each plot that were detected using 40 quadrats. In specific functional groups (i.e., tall trees and weed species), the ratios of both tall trees and weed species to all species were at equilibrium for 30 or more quadrats. For fewer than 30 quadrats these ratios were highly variable. No significant differences were found among forest types in the ratio of the observed number of species in each plot to the estimated number of species calculated using the rarefaction method, and in sampling efficiency estimated by use of non-parametric estimators. We concluded that the number of samples does not need to be changed according to forest type or plantation stand age in the studied landscape, and that the method used to evaluate the number of samples could be useful.     

Indigenous management of tropical forest ecosystems: the case of the Kayapó indians of the Brazilian Amazon

The Kayapó Indians of Brazil's Amazon Basin are described as effective managers of tropical forest, utilizing an extensive inventory of useful native plants that are concentrated by human activity in special forest areas (resource islands, forest fields, forest openings, tuber gardens, agricultural plots, old fields, and trailsides). Long-term transplanting and selection of plants suggest semi-domestication of many species. The overall management strategies of forest also includes many manipulated animal species (birds, fish, bees, mammals) utilized as food and game. Forest patches (apêtê) are created by Indians from campo/cerrado using planting zones made from termite and ant nests mixed with mulch: formation and development of these is briefly discussed, including the implications for new ideas concerning reforestation and campo management. Finally an integrative cognitive model is presented showing the relationships between variants of forest and savanna recognized by the Kayapó. Indigenous knowledge of subtle similarities between conceptually distinct ecological units in the model allows for the interchange of botanical material between microclimates to increase biological diversity in managed areas. It is suggested that indigenous knowledge is extremely important in developing new strategies for forest and campo/cerrado conservation, while improving productiveness of these ecological systems. Such knowledge is not only applicable for Amazônian Indians, but also has far-reaching implications for human populations throughout the humid tropics.This is a preliminary survey of indigenous management strategies that is generated as a part of the Projeto Kayapó , an interdisciplinary ethnobiological research project funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) and the World Wildlife Fund. I would like to thank Drs. Gerhard Gottsberger and Anthony Anderson for their assistance in collecting plants that are currently being identified to supply more complete data on Kayapó subsistence. I also wish to thank FUNAI (Fundaão Nacional do Índio) for their assistance and support, as well as FAB (Fora Aérea Brasileira) and VOTEC for providing some transportation to/from Gorotire, and the Unevangelized Field Missions for their assistance in providing communication and acquiring supplies.     

Analysis of the forest fires in the Antalya region of Turkey using the Keetch–Byram drought index

We investigated the correlation of large fires([300 ha) from 1992 to 2013 within the borders of the Antalya Regional Directorate of Forestry using the Keetch–Byram drought index(KBDI). Daily KBDI values were calculated for each year, and values for the period before the year 2000 differed significantly from those after2000. After 2000(large fires occurred in 2004, 2006, 2007,2008, 2010, and 2013), when KBDI values increased, the KBDI, but not the number of fires, was inversely correlated with the natural log of the burned area(NLBA). While there were both high and low KBDI values when the NLBA was small, only high KBDI values were associated with high NLBA values. Particularly for logarithmic values of 4 and higher, KBDI values increased in parallel with increases in NLBA values. On the basis of a Mann–Whitney U test done in addition to a Pearson correlation test, we found that when the burned areas were grouped according to small and large areas, the KBDI could be used to distinguish the two groups. Using a conditional probability analysis, we found that 4th, 5th and 6th class KBDI values may lead to large fires at the 60 % possibility.Similarly, the possibility of large fires greater than the median burned area in any given 6 years was found to be48 %. In addition, while the mean value of KBDI is 390.51 for the period from May to September for these 6 years, it is 359.93 for the other years. Consequently, the area burned also increased as the KBDI classes(Class 0: 0–99, Class 1:100–199, Class 2: 200–299, Class 3: 300–399, Class 4:400–499, Class 5: 500–599, Class 6: 600–699, and Class 7:700–800) increase.