Policy analysis of a government-sanctioned management plan for a community-owned forest in Romania

Forest management in Romania is based on sustained yield. However, the current sustained-yield policy may be outdated and may not be the best way of achieving Romania's intended objectives of biological sustainability and community stability. The existing policy also does not incorporate objectives consistent with Romania's new economic and social systems. We examine the potential economic net benefits from timber harvests that could result from changes to the existing sustained-yield policy by comparing the state-approved management plan of a community forest with three alternative forest management plans. We find that the three alternatives appreciably increase the potential economic net benefits. Certain aspects of these alternative plans deviate from Romania's current sustained-yield criteria; however, the costs associated with changes to the current regime could be balanced by the economic net benefits of implementing an alternative management plan. To employ the same static forest management policy throughout time without adapting to a dynamic socio-economic environment will likely lead to inefficient, ineffective, and unproductive utilization of Romania's forest resources.     

The impact of SFM-certification on forest product markets in Western Europe — an analysis using a forest sector simulation model

In the international discussion on labels for sustainably produced wood products based on the certification of sustainable forest management (SFM), little attention has been paid to what is probably the most crucial part of any market-based instrument: the potential impact on forest products markets. This paper analyses the potential impact of SFM-certification on forest products markets using a simulation model of the Western European forest sector. Two scenarios with assumptions regarding certification (chain-of-custody costs, timber supply reduction from certified forests) are projected for the period 1995–2015 and tested against the results of a base scenario (‘business as usual’). In general, the results show that rather modest changes are to be expected from SFM-certification in forest products markets. The market impact of a timber supply reduction from certified forest would be more distinct than the impacts of chain-of-custody costs. Industry gross profits would decrease more than production. Due to the large share of roundwood costs in total costs, the sawmill industry would be affected more by even small changes in raw-material prices than the panel and paper industry.     

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

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

Climate and recent fire history affect fuel loads in Eucalyptus forests: Implications for fire management in a changing climate

Predicted changes to global climates are expected to affect natural fire regimes. Many studies suggest that the impact of these effects could be minimised by reducing fuel loads through prescribed burning. Fuel loads are dynamic and are affected by a range of factors including fire and climate. In this study, we use a 22-year dataset to examine the relative influence of climate and fire history on rates of litterfall and decomposition, and hence fuel loads, in a coastal Eucalypt forest in south-eastern Australia. Litterfall and decomposition were both affected by temperature, recent rainfall and fire history variables. Over the study period prescribed burning immediately reduced fuel loads, with fuel loads reaching pre-burn levels within 3 years of a fire. Modelling fuel loads under predicted climate change scenarios for 2070 suggests that while fuel loads are reduced, the levels are not significantly lower than those recorded in the study. Based on these predictions it is unlikely that the role or value of prescribed burning in these forests will change under the scenarios tested in this study.     

Calibrating and testing a gap model for simulating forest management in the Oregon Coast Range

The complex mix of economic and ecological objectives facing today's forest managers necessitates the development of growth models with a capacity for simulating a wide range of forest conditions while producing outputs useful for economic analyses. We calibrated the gap model ZELIG to simulate stand-level forest development in the Oregon Coast Range as part of a landscape-scale assessment of different forest management strategies. Our goal was to incorporate the predictive ability of an empirical model with the flexibility of a forest succession model. We emphasized the development of commercial-aged stands of Douglas-fir, the dominant tree species in the study area and primary source of timber. In addition, we judged that the ecological approach of ZELIG would be robust to the variety of other forest conditions and practices encountered in the Coast Range, including mixed-species stands, small-scale gap formation, innovative silvicultural methods, and reserve areas where forests grow unmanaged for long periods of time. We parameterized the model to distinguish forest development among two ecoregions, three forest types and two site productivity classes using three data sources: chronosequences of forest inventory data, long-term research data, and simulations from an empirical growth-and-yield model. The calibrated model was tested with independent, long-term measurements from 11 Douglas-fir plots (6 unthinned, 5 thinned), 3 spruce-hemlock plots, and 1 red alder plot. ZELIG closely approximated developmental trajectories of basal area and large trees in the Douglas-fir plots. Differences between simulated and observed conifer basal area for these plots ranged from −2.6 to 2.4 m²/ha; differences in the number of trees/ha ≥50 cm dbh ranged from −8.8 to 7.3 tph. Achieving these results required the use of a diameter-growth multiplier, suggesting some underlying constraints on tree growth such as the temperature response function. ZELIG also tended to overestimate regeneration of shade-tolerant trees and underestimate total tree density (i.e., higher rates of tree mortality). However, comparisons with the chronosequences of forest inventory data indicated that the simulated data are within the range of variability observed in the Coast Range. Further exploration and improvement of ZELIG is warranted in three key areas: (1) modeling rapid rates of conifer tree growth without the need for a diameter-growth multiplier; (2) understanding and remedying rates of tree mortality that were higher than those observed in the independent data; and (3) improving the tree regeneration module to account for competition with understory vegetation.     

Population viability risk management (PVRM) for in situ management of endangered tree species—A case study on a Taxus baccata L. population

Population viability risk management (PVRM) provides a framework for explicitly including qualitative information about the possible outcomes of a management decision with regard to the viability of an endangered population in conservation management. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques enables managers to select the most preferred choice of action in a context where several criteria apply simultaneously. In that context a combined approach of the PVRM concept and a MCDM technique is presented for the development, evaluation and finally ranking of the in situ conservation strategies. We discuss the concept based on a case study for the maintenance of a gene conservation forest of an English yew population (Taxus baccata L.) in Styria, Austria. As part of the PVRM the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to evaluate six conservation strategies with regard to the viability of the yew population. The viability of the population is evaluated based on the results of an analysis of the current environmental, social and economical state and a characterization of the ecological parameters of its population. The most significant risk factors (illegal cutting, browsing by game, tree competition, light availability and genetic sustainability) are structured and prioritised according to their impact on the viability of the yew population applying the AHP. Effects of the six conservation strategies on the viability of the yew population are determined through a qualitative assessment of the probability of a decrease of the population along with four different environmental scenarios. In this context strategy IV combining selective thinning, protection measures, game control with public relation activities seems to be the most effective alternative. The benefits of the combined approach of the PVRM concept with the AHP for the rational analysis of conservation strategies for this endangered tree species are discussed.