The compatibility of timber and non-timber forest product extraction and management

We discuss the extent of compatibility of timber and non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction in two neotropical localities from biophysical, social, and institutional perspectives: the community concession forests of the Petén, Guatemala, and extractivist communities in northern Bolivia. In both localities, timber is harvested via reduced-impact logging (RIL) practices. In Guatemala, the main NTFP extracted is foliage from the understory xate palm (Chamaedorea spp.); in northern Bolivia, the fruits of the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa). The Guatemalan case suggests a relatively high degree of compatibility due to low timber harvesting intensities, coupled with temporal, spatial, and social segregation of xate extraction in a well-defined land tenure system. In northern Bolivia, forest management regulations pay little attention to NTFPs and land tenure issues and related conflict complicate efforts to limit timber harvesting impacts on Brazil nut trees. The introduction of timber management plans overlain on customary property rights systems in which the extraction of Brazil nut is organized could undercut its management system. The two case studies suggest that specific legislative, education, and project interventions may help to promote the compatibility of timber and NTFP extraction and management. These include formal training of foresters on NTFP ecology and management while taking into account the perspectives of multiple stakeholders in the design of management plans. Tropical forest users, research managers, and policy makers will also better understand the need for integrated management of timber and NTFPs, if the trade-offs and potential economic benefits from NTFP extraction are clarified.     

Damage to Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) during selective timber harvesting in Northern Bolivia

The success of multiple forest management systems is contingent on a variety of social, economic, biophysical, and institutional factors, including the integration of timber and non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction and management. Selective logging for timber is increasingly taking place in forests where the collection of Brazil nuts, a high-value Amazonian NTFP, also occurs. We report on logging damage to Brazil nut trees in three certified timber concessions in Northern Bolivia from which timber is harvested using reduced-impact logging (RIL) guidelines and nuts are gathered yearly from the ground by local people. Observed frequencies of logging damage to Brazil nut trees were low, likely mirroring the low intensity of timber harvesting (∼0.5 trees/ha and ∼5 m³/ha) being currently applied across the study area. Of the trees ≥10 cm in diameter at breast height about 0.1 Brazil nut trees and 0.4 timber species per hectare suffered some degree of logging damage. Crown loss was the predominant damage type for Brazil nut trees accounting for 50% of all damage. In spite of the observed low rates of tree damage, we further recommend that RIL guidelines be amended to include the pre-harvest marking of pre-reproductive Brazil nut trees along with the future crop trees of commercial timber species. Further refining directional felling to reduce crown damage to Brazil nut trees would also serve to help maintain nut yields in the long term.     

Estimating the demand for non-timber forest products among rural communities: a case study from the Sinharaja Rain Forest region,Sri Lanka

Lack of adequate knowledge on forest-people interaction is an important reason for the failure of many conservation policies. This study focuses on the behavior of peripheral communities towards non-timber forest product (NTFP) harvesting by estimating the demand functions for NTFP. The paper develops a theoretical model for deriving the shadow price for NTFP using time allocation among different economic activities. Then it tests the competitive time allocation hypothesis between NTFP extraction and tea plantations, the predominant agricultural sector in the vicinity of Sinharaja rain forest. Results provide statistical evidence for the existence of competitive time allocation between tea plantations and NTFP extraction. Own-price elasticities are consistently inelastic, except for one product. As indicated by the inelastic responses, pricing policies may not be very useful in manipulating subsistence NTFP extraction. Repeating similar studies for commercial NTFPs is encouraged.     

Comparing multipurpose forest management with timber management,incorporating timber,carbon and oxygen values: A case study

Abstract

This paper comparatively examines two forest management planning approaches: multipurpose forest management and traditional timber management, with carbon, timber and oxygen production objectives in mind. The effects of both approaches on carbon and oxygen values were estimated with an oxygen and carbon flow matrix, while timber production was modelled through a growth and yield model. The estimated values were simultaneously integrated into a linear programming model developed for this study. The objective was to maximize the net present value (NPV) of the profits of timber, oxygen and carbon under the constraints of an even flow of timber production and ending forest inventory for each planning approach. The results showed that the ecological and environmental regulations in multipurpose management substantially decreased the NPV of timber production even though they increased the NPV of carbon and oxygen flow. The results also indicated that over a 100 year planning horizon the total NPV of all forest ecosystem values including carbon, timber and oxygen is almost the same (only 1.9% reduction in multipurpose management approach) in both management approaches. Although multipurpose management creates more NPV of carbon and oxygen than timber management does, the latter provides better results in terms of timber production. It is therefore important to take into account the NPV of all apparent and quantifiable forest values in preparing forest management plans, particularly in developing new management planning approaches.     

Why Is Non-Timber Forest Product Harvesting an “Issue”?

Summary

Despite an encouraging trend in North America of growing interest across a range of disciplines in non-timber forest products (e.g., this volume), NTFP harvesters' knowledge and practices continue to be poorly understood and undervalued, if not ignored, both by research scientists and forestland policy-makers and managers. This article explores why NTFP harvesting suddenly emerged in North America as an “issue” in the early 1990s. Drawing from a three-year study of chanterelle mushroom harvesters on the Olympic Peninsula Biosphere Reserve (Washington, USA), we discuss a variety of forces which intersected in this period to bring NTFP harvesting to wider attention. Unfortunately, harvesters continue to be excluded as knowledgeable actors in, if not legitimate co-managers of, temperate forest ecosystems, resulting in both passive and active harvester resistance to research and management, a devaluing of local harvesting traditions, and missed opportunities for collaboration. We reluctantly conclude that despite “New Forestry” co-management rhetoric, given existing institutional barriers and positivist scientific categories, NTFP workers will likely remain excluded from active roles in temperate forest research and management-contributing in turn to the ongoing legitimacy crisis of public and private forest management entities.     

Initial Effects of Intensity and Severity of Balsam Fir Tip Harvesting on Harvesting Intensity at the Stand Level,Tip Production,and Tip/Foliage Removal at the Tree Level,and Harvesters’ Production and Productivity

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.), which is widely used for floral greenery, is an important source of nontimber forest products (NTFP) from the northern forests of North America. Nonetheless, additional information is needed to refine and revise commercial tip-harvesting management guidelines to promote sustainable forest management. Therefore, a study was initiated to: (a) examine the socioeconomic impacts of and anticipate the potential biological responses to four contrasting harvesting practices; (b) discuss the implications of the results for the relevance and applicability of some specifications of management guidelines; and (c) assess the compatibility of tip harvesting while pursuing an objective of timber production.     

Reduced-impact logging: Challenges and opportunities

Over the past two decades, sets of timber harvesting guidelines designed to mitigate the deleterious environmental impacts of tree felling, yarding, and hauling have become known as “reduced-impact logging” (RIL) techniques. Although none of the components of RIL are new, concerns about destructive logging practices and worker safety in the tropics stimulated this recent proliferation of semi-coordinated research and training activities related to timber harvesting. Studies in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South and Central America have clearly documented that the undesired impacts of selective logging on residual stands and soils can be substantially reduced through implementation of a series of recommended logging practices by crews that are appropriately trained, supervised, and compensated. Whether reducing the deleterious impacts of logging also reduces profits seems to depend on site conditions (e.g., terrain, soil trafficability, and riparian areas), whether the profits from illegal activities are included in the baseline, and the perspective from which the economic calculations are made. A standardized approach for calculating logging costs using RILSIM software is advocated to facilitate comparisons and to allow uncoupling RIL practices to evaluate their individual financial costs and benefits. Further complicating the matter is that while there are elements common to all RIL guidelines (e.g., directional felling), other components vary (e.g., slope limits of 17–40° with ground-based yarding). While use of RIL techniques may be considered as a prerequisite for sustaining timber yields (STY), in particular, and sustainable forest management (SFM), in general, RIL should not be confounded with STY and SFM. This confusion is particularly problematic in forests managed for light-demanding species that benefit from both canopy opening and mineral soil exposure as well as where harvesting intensities are high and controlled primarily by minimum diameter cutting limits. These qualifications notwithstanding, since logging is the most intensive of silvicultural treatments in most tropical forests managed for timber, some aspects of RIL are critical (e.g., protection of water courses) whether forests are managed for STY, SFM, or even replacement by agricultural crops.     

Sustainable production of non-timber forest products: Natural dye extraction from El Cruce Dos Aguadas,Petén,Guatemala

The traditional harvest of non-timber forest products (NTFP) in Petén, Guatemala, provides a model for integrated conservation and development programs. Conservation International and El Cruce a Dos Aguadas (El Cruce). and agricultural community in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Northern Petén, have created a new NTFP, called Gatherings™ which is a potpourri composed of seeds, flowers and leaves. Gatherings™ is promoted on international and domestic markets as a sustainably extracted natural product whose sale provides a direct incentive for local producers to conserve their forests. The purpose of this investigation is to test the ecological sustainability of extraction of the natural dyes used to color the potpourri ingredients and to present the following eight-step method for testing the sustainability of NTFP harvesting: (1) delineate current supply area; (2) determine current supply; (3) estimate the growth and yield of target species; (4) determine the current demand; (5) compare short-term supply and demand and evaluate management options: (6) assess secondary ecological effects of harvesting; (7) repeat the process for future time periods; and (8) summarize the analysis. Using this method, we found that two of the dyes are likely to be over-harvested within 10 years, and that the harvest of the third could be increased substantially without endangering the dye-producing species. When we summarized the analysis, we found no evidence to conclude that the current production of Gatherings™ directly benefits the forests of El Cruce. However, the goodwill created by this project has contributed to a new conservation initiative; a Land Management Area which has been proposed by the community to Guatemala's National Protected Areas Council (CONAP) and which contains a 13 273 ha forest reserve.     

Private native forest policies in New South Wales,Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania

Private native forests in Australia perform a dual production and conservation role, providing an important source of timber, and complementing formal conservation reserves. A comparison of policies for private native forests in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania illustrates the scope for timber harvesting, the provision for environmental values, and initiatives for responsible and sustainable forest management. The sustainable management of Australia’s forests requires initiatives by both government and landowners to accommodate changes in community attitudes, new management strategies, integrated catchment management principles and both commercial and non-commercial opportunities for forest use. Of all of the Australian states, New South Wales has the most restrictive laws in terms of forest management and harvesting. Queensland and Victorian legislation have a more commercial focus, while Tasmania has a balance of both environmental and commercial objectives. The duty of care for private native forests is a responsibility that falls to the landholder, and while this should be enforced by legislation, the private provision of community benefits requires both recognition and reward. The presence or absence of incentives potentially determines the effectiveness of forest codes of practice.     

Growth-Oriented Logging (GOL): A new concept towards sustainable forest management in Central Amazonian várzea floodplains

Against a background of increasing human populations in developing countries, and global climate change, conservation of tropical forests remains one of the most important ecological challenges of our time. One of the biggest difficulties for ecologically sustainable management of tropical forests is obtaining reliable growth data for trees, which is a prerequisite for determining harvesting volumes and cutting cycles. GOL is the first concept for sustainable management of tropical timber resources in Amazonian floodplain forests (várzea) based on species-specific management criteria, such as minimum logging diameters (MLDs) and cutting cycles. From timber species with varying wood densities of different successional stages, volume stocks have been estimated in 1-ha plots and 12 growth models have been developed based on tree rings, which are annually formed as a consequence of the regular, long-term flooding. The MLDs of timber species vary between 47 and 70 cm and the estimated cutting cycles differ the 10-fold, from 3 to 32 years. These enormous differences in the growth rates between tropical timber species are not considered in current management practices, which apply only one diameter cutting limit and one cutting cycle to harvest many tree species. This practice risks the overexploitation of slow-growing timber species, while the fast-growing timber species with low wood densities cannot be efficiently used. Based on the timber stocks and lifetime growth rates, the GOL concept has been created as an aid to improve forest management in the Central Amazonian várzea. The model is unique for tropical silviculture.     

Participatory Research for Adaptive Ecosystem Management

Summary

Participatory research involves members of interested communities who work with researchers to apply their joint skills and experience to explore issues of mutual concern. There is an increasingly explicit federal mandate for participatory research efforts involving stakeholder groups in public land management. This paper presents a case study of one effort ongoing in the Hayfork Adaptive Management Area (AMA) on the Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity national forests of northern California. There, a network of U.S. Forest Service staff, scientists, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nontimber forest product harvesters (wildcrafters) has been working to address ecological, economic, and social aspects of harvesting nontimber forest products (NTFP) from public land. This paper discusses the challenges of NTFP management on public lands and analyzes participatory research as an approach for addressing some of these challenges.     

Spatially explicit assessment of forest road suitability for timber extraction and hauling in Switzerland

Efficient forest management, and wood production in particular, requires a forest road network of appropriate density and bearing capacity. The road network affects the choice of a suitable extraction method and the length of the transport route from the forest, while the road standard defines the truck type that can be used.

We evaluate the forest road network’s economic suitability for harvesting operations in the entire Swiss forest, an area of about 13,000 km² covering a range of topographies, based on the Swiss National Forest Inventory’s (NFI) forest road dataset. This dataset is based on information from an interview survey with the local forest services and includes all forest roads in Switzerland capable of carrying trucks. Extraction options and hauling routes are analysed together; thus, the entire logging process is examined.

Model results include maps of the most suitable extraction method; extraction costs; hauling costs; and a suitability map based on a combination of the results. While the larger part of the Swiss forest is classified as “suitable” for economic harvesting operations, significant portions also fall into the “limited suitability” and “not suitable” categories. Our analysis provides an objective, country-wide, spatially explicit assessment of timber accessibility. The resulting suitability map helps identify areas where timber harvesting is economic using the current forest road network, and where it is not. The model results can be used in road network planning and management, for example, by comparing road-network re-design scenarios, and compared to the spatial distribution of available wood volume.

     

Ant community responses to experimental fire and logging in a eucalypt forest of south-eastern Australia

Sustainable forest management requires a sound understanding of the impacts of forestry management practices, especially prescribed fire and timber harvesting, on biodiversity. Many studies have examined the impacts of fire and logging separately, but few have considered them together. Here we describe the combined effects of selective logging and repeated prescribed fire on ants in eucalypt forest near Eden in south-eastern Australia. The study was conducted within 18 experimental coupes comprising three replicates of each of six treatments, representing combinations of two logging (selectively logged and unlogged) and three prescribed burning (unburnt, routine and high fire frequency over 20 years) practices. Ants were sampled using terrestrial and arboreal pitfall traps in two plots within each of the 18 coupes. A total of 92 species from 35 genera were recorded, with ant species richness increasing with both increasing fire frequency and selective harvesting. We also found significant differences in ant species composition between management treatments; however, these differences were rather modest, and apparent only between extremes of fire and harvesting combinations. Logging on its own was not a significant factor contributing to variation in ant species composition. However, the responses of two common species and a key functional group to fire depended on logging treatment; in each case their abundance decreased with increasing fire frequency at unlogged sites, but increased at logged sites. The general resilience of ant communities suggests that forests remain in good functional health even when subject to a combination of selective logging and frequent burning. However, our study under-sampled species with specialist microhabitat requirements, and these might have been more heavily impacted. We have also revealed some significant interactions between the effects of fire and logging, which highlights the importance of considering combined impacts of forest management practices.     

Exploring adaptation to climate change in the forests of central Nova Scotia, Canada

The threat of climate change is now recognized as an imminent issue at the forefront of the forest sector. Incorporating adaptation to climate change into forest management will be vital in the continual and sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services. The objective of this study is to investigate climate change adaptation in forest management using the landscape disturbance model LANDIS-II. The study area was comprised of 14,000 ha of forested watersheds in central Nova Scotia, Canada, managed by Halifax Water, the municipal water utility. Simulated climate change adaptation was directed towards three components of timber harvesting: the canopy-opening size of harvests, the age of harvested trees within a stand, and the species composition of harvested trees within a stand. These three adaptation treatments were simulated singly and in combination with each other in the modeling experiment. The timber supply was found to benefit from climate change in the absence of any adaptation treatment, though there was a loss of target tree species and old growth forest. In the age treatment, all trees in a harvested stand at or below the age of sexual maturity were exempt from harvesting. This was done to promote more-rapid succession to climax forest communities typical of the study area. It was the most effective in maintaining the timber supply, but least effective in promoting resistance to climate change at the prescribed harvest intensity. In the composition treatment, individual tree species were selected for harvest based on their response to climate change in previous research and on management values at Halifax Water to progressively facilitate forest transition under the altered climate. This proved the most effective treatment for maximizing forest age and old-growth area and for promoting stands composed of climatically suited target species. The size treatment was aimed towards building stand complexity and resilience to climate change, and was the most influential treatment on the response of timber supply, forest age, and forest composition to timber harvest when it was combined with other treatments. The combination of all three adaptation treatments yielded an adequate representation of target species and old forest without overly diminishing the timber supply, and was therefore the most effective in minimizing the trade-offs between management values and objectives. These findings support a diverse and multi-faceted approach to climate change adaptation.     

Implementing nature conservation through integrated forest management: A street-level bureaucracy perspective on the German public forest sector

Integrated forest management–pursuing multiple management objectives on the same area–is one important approach to reconciling conflicting demands towards forests. While a few studies have examined its implementation at a local level, the literature is thus far lacking detailed analyses of how forestry professionals perceive and implement the integration of multiple demands towards public forests, as well as what factors are influencing local level decision-making. This study attempts to fill this gap. Focusing on nature conservation aspects and their integration into public forest management, where a primary objective is timber production, we examine the implementation of integrated forest management in five German Länder (German federal states) as perceived by state forest enterprise rangers (Revierleiter). Our findings indicate a great willingness and commitment among forest rangers to implement integrative nature conservation approaches through integrated forest management. However, there are also a number of factors that hinder their implementation. In particular there is a mismatch between the demands placed on rangers and the support provided to them regarding time, more flexible timber targets, and financial as well as personnel resources. We argue that the practical implementation of integrative nature conservation requires more favorable conditions which can actually facilitate the balancing of multiple demands through integrated forest management.     

试论森林采运与森林可持续经营

无论从世界或是从一国的可持续发展来谈，适当的森林采运都是有益于森林可持续经营的。人工林的采运有益于人工林的可持续发展，天然林的采运有益于天然林的可持续发展。就是特种用途林，如寺庙林、自然保护区中的森林等也应该是这样。     

Commercial harvests of edible mushrooms from the forests of the Pacific Northwest United States: issues,management, and monitoring for sustainability

Widespread commercial harvesting of wild edible mushrooms from the forests of the Pacific Northwest United States (PNW-US) began 10–15 years ago. A large proportion of suitable forest habitat in this region is managed by the Forest Service (US Department of Agriculture) and Bureau of Land Management (US Department of the Interior). These lands are managed under an ecosystem management philosophy that entails multiple-use, sustainable forest product harvesting, resource monitoring, public participation in forest management issues, and holistic planning. Managing the harvest of edible mushrooms engages every aspect of this management philosophy. We examine a variety of issues raised by mushroom harvesting and how these issues interact with forest ecosystem management choices. We discuss regulations currently being used by managers to conserve the mushroom resource while further information is gathered, unique challenges and considerations inherent to sampling fungi, and current research and monitoring activities in the Pacific Northwest. Although current scientific evidence suggests that harvesting likely will not harm the resource in the short term, no statistically-based monitoring information exists about the cumulative impacts of intensive and widespread commercial harvesting over long-time periods. We outline a three pronged approach to long-term monitoring of the resource: (1) tracking harvest quantities in areas with intense commercial harvests; (2) sampling productivity in areas with no mushroom or timber harvests; and (3) conducting research to model the relations between forest management and mushroom productivity. Public participation and a broad collaboration among public land management agencies, private forest landowners, forest managers, researchers, and research organizations will make this approach cost effective and the results widely applicable.     

Effects of harvest management practices on forest biomass and soil carbon in eucalypt forests in New South Wales,Australia: Simulations with the forest succession model LINKAGES

Understanding long-term changes in forest ecosystem carbon stocks under forest management practices such as timber harvesting is important for assessing the contribution of forests to the global carbon cycle. Harvesting effects are complicated by the amount, type, and condition of residue left on-site, the decomposition rate of this residue, the incorporation of residue into soil organic matter and the rate of new detritus input to the forest floor from regrowing vegetation. In an attempt to address these complexities, the forest succession model LINKAGES was used to assess the production of aboveground biomass, detritus, and soil carbon stocks in native Eucalyptus forests as influenced by five harvest management practices in New South Wales, Australia. The original decomposition sub-routines of LINKAGES were modified by adding components of the Rothamsted (RothC) soil organic matter turnover model. Simulation results using the new model were compared to data from long-term forest inventory plots. Good agreement was observed between simulated and measured above-ground biomass, but mixed results were obtained for basal area. Harvesting operations examined included removing trees for quota sawlogs (QSL, DBH >80 cm), integrated sawlogs (ISL, DBH >20 cm) and whole-tree harvesting in integrated sawlogs (WTH). We also examined the impact of different cutting cycles (20, 50 or 80 years) and intensities (removing 20, 50 or 80 m³). Generally medium and high intensities of shorter cutting cycles in sawlog harvesting systems produced considerably higher soil carbon values compared to no harvesting. On average, soil carbon was 2–9% lower in whole-tree harvest simulations whereas in sawlog harvest simulations soil carbon was 5–17% higher than in no harvesting.     

The impact of community-based forest management on timber treeregeneration in north-eastern Honduras,with specific reference tobig-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)

Reduced-impact logging is used to minimise the negative effects of selective logging. However, it has been suggested that low-impact logging may create too little disturbance for the regeneration of the light-demanding timber tree species, hence compromising forest productivity. This study evaluates the impact of low-intensity, non-mechanised, certified community forest management on timber tree regeneration. Particular attention was paid to big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), which has a regeneration pattern linked with large-scale disturbances. Logging gaps were compared to natural treefall gaps of an unlogged forest. There were more species of the light-demanding timber trees, but fewer individuals of the shade-tolerant timber species in the certified forest logging gaps, compared to unlogged forest treefall gaps. Furthermore, significant differences were found in the environmental characteristics of the logging and natural treefall gaps, although these only partially explained the differences in timber regeneration. Mahogany was found in over half of the logged forest gaps, whilst being nearly absent in the natural treefall gaps. However, all mahoganies in the established logging gaps were seedling-sized, indicating that regeneration may be hampered due to competing vegetation. The results of the study suggest that low-impact forest management may, at least in the short term, favour light-demanding species over the shade-tolerant ones, similarly to conventional forest management.     

金平县林产业发展探讨

金平县2007年林业产值为1．91亿元，占全县农业总产值的35％，是林业重点县．该县具有发展林产业的优势项目，包括橡胶种植业、竹藤产业、木本油料（油荼）业、核桃特色经济林产业、杉木珍贵用材林产业以及草果林下资源开发等．分析了林产业发展的有利和不利因素．进行了产业发展规划和布局．提出加快集体林权制度改革、加大资金投入、加强科技支撑、扶持龙头企业、组建专业合作组织等保障措施．