Effectiveness of Thinning and Prescribed Fire Fuel Treatments in Piñon-Juniper Woodlands of the Davis Mountains,West Texas,USA

We evaluated the effectiveness of four fire hazard mitigation techniques in piñon-juniper forests of the Davis Mountains Preserve in West Texas. Four replicate fuel treatments (thin only, thin + burn, burn only, and control) were implemented to assess the effects of fire and fire surrogates on fuel loadings. The results suggested that the thin only and the thin + burn treatments significantly altered fuel loadings. The thin + burn treatment resulted in a 63% reduction in tree density, the thin only treatment resulted in a 23% reduction, and the burn only treatment showed an 8% reduction. Seedling density and tree basal area were not significantly affected by the treatments. Although thinning and thinning + burning were the most effective for reducing live fuels, they generated significant increases in surface fuels. Our results suggest that more aggressive thinning operations that target larger trees and prescribed burning during hotter, drier conditions could enhance future fuel management treatments in piñon-juniper woodlands in this region.     

Making Tropical Succession and Landscape Reforestation Successful

Forests are dynamic ecosystems, spatial mosaics of localized disturbances and regenerating vegetation. Following forest conversion to human land uses, expanding forest cover follows four different modes of reforestation: (a) spontaneous natural regeneration; (b) assisted natural regeneration; (c) agroforestry; and (d) commercial tree plantations. Natural regeneration fundamentally depends on the alignment of ecological and social factors at landscape scales. A deeper socioecological understanding of reforestation in the tropics will lead to the development of effective policies and governance structures that enhance forest cover and ecosystem services, protect biodiversity, and improve forest-dependent livelihoods.     

Evaluating the Impacts of Forest Management Policies and Community-Level Institutions in the Buffer Zone of Chitwan National Park,Nepal

A Master Plan for Nepal’s Forestry Sector (MPFS), enacted in 1989, and subsequent legislation laid the foundation for modern community-based forest management in Nepal. In 2014, the MPFS reached the end of its 25-yr lifespan, after successfully ushering in significant institutional changes that fundamentally transformed the management of Nepal’s forests, mostly through devolving management and benefits from the national level to local communities. Here, we use the 25-yr anniversary of the MPFS to explore forest cover trends in the buffer zone surrounding Chitwan National Park (CNP). Landsat imagery was used for the years 1989, 2005, and 2013 to compute a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to analyze trends in forest cover for 36 buffer zone village development committees (VDCs). The analysis, covering approximately 1,267 km², found that since the MPFS was enacted, there was first a continued decrease in forest cover, followed by a significant recovery. These data offer insight into the success of modern community-based forest management policies and supporting institutions, and provide a model for other efforts to conserve forest resources in Nepal and elsewhere.     

The implications and challenges of First Nations forestry negotiations in British Columbia,Canada: The Tl’azt’en Nation experience

Abstract

This article examines the implications and limitations of First Nations forestry negotiations in British Columbia (BC), Canada by assessing how effectively the Tl’azt’en Nation is able to realize benefits under the current form of negotiations. The primary goal of the Tl’azt’en Nation has always been to defend their Aboriginal interests within their ancestral lands, which would entail the cessation of clear-cutting on their traditional territory. Although the community has pursued some economic opportunities in the forestry sector to improve their socioeconomic conditions, despite their efforts, the socioeconomic status of the community remains unchanged. The collective experience of the Tl’azt’en Nation illustrates that simply obtaining certain forest tenures and short-term-based revenue sharing agreements does not adequately meet their forestry and self-sufficiency goals. Without addressing the fundamental issues and challenges facing the community, the current practice of forestry negotiations between the Provincial government and the Tl’azt’en Nation has produced no significant benefits to the community.     

An Introduction to Community-Based Ecosystem Management

Abstract

This paper introduces the concept of community-based ecosystem management and explores cases and trends reflecting this emerging approach to natural resource management. It presents the workshop tone as a disciplined inquiry and addresses several questions such as where community-based ecosystem management came from, what it looks like, its potential benefits, and its key challenges.     

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.     

Response of Three Young Douglas-Fir Plantations to Forest Fertilization with Low Rates of Municipal Biosolids

Abstract

The growth of three young (5-6 years since planting) Douglas-fir plantations fertilized with a single low-rate application of municipal biosolids, ranging from 17-19 dry Mg ha^-1, was studied. Stand measurements showed increases in DBH, height, average and total basal area, average and total volume and average and total dry-weight differences in the biosolids-fertilized vs. control. For instance, average per tree DBH was 14.7% greater than the controls, height by 2.7%, per stem basal area by 27%, per stem average volume by 33%, per stem average dry weight by 38%, basal area per hectare by 28%, volume per hectare by 32% and dry weight per hectare by 36% compared to untreated controls. Comparing differences in volume increases from initial growth periods with the latest growth period indicates that volume increases due to the biosolids treatment are continuing and apparently increasing over time. However, none of these observed differences were statistically significant (0.05 level) due to high variation within and between stands.     

An Assessment of Forest Policy Changes in Western Washington

Abstract

Changing forest policies in both riparian and upland areas to help protect threatened and endangered species have contributed to the reduction of timber harvests in western Washington. The economic, biodiversity, and environmental impacts of these policy actions have been substantial. Policy simulations across 9.4 million acres of timber-land show that relative to proactive management strategies, current habitat conservation and environmental programs (largely based on a reservation strategy) result in net present value reductions to forestland owners of $9.9 billion. Accompanying these asset value reductions are employment losses (sustained) of 30% and tax receipt losses of 26%. The policy simulations further demonstrate that proactive management will not decrease the long-term percentage of the upland landscape occupied by functionally old forests relative to the reservation strategy. In the riparian area, adoption of a reservation strategy actually decreases (by 29%) the percent of the landscape occupied by functionally old forests relative to a proactive management approach. These results illustrate the importance of proactively managing western Washington forests to provide maximum functionally old forest habitat for endangered upland animals (such as the northern spotted owl and the marbled murrelet) as well as riparian species.     

Contras and Comandantes

Summary

In the 1980s, Nicaragua's Sandinista government faced armed mestizo and indigenous insurgencies in much of the nation's central and eastern regions. After the Sandinistas lost the 1990 elections, the in-coming government signed peace agreements with the insurgents and facilitated their return to civilian life. With the war over, the Nicaraguan army greatly reduced its troop strength, leaving tens of thousands of people unemployed. Within a few years, however, many former insurgents and soldiers took up arms again for multiple and complex reasons. This paper examines how three groups that rearmed influenced forest conservation in the buffer zone of Nicaragua's Bosawas Biosphere Reserve between 1991 and 1999. The three groups were the mestizo Northern Front 3-80 (FN 3-80) and the Andrés Castro United Forces (FUAC), made up of former ‘Nicaraguan Resistance’ and Sandinista soldiers respectively, and the Miskito YATAMA movement. The presence of these armed groups impeded the government from taking coercive action to remove farmers from the reserve's nucleus. It also limited the advance of cattle ranching. At times, the groups favored logging, at times they did not. The armed conflicts have tended to keep out prudent foreign investors and encourage the presence of smaller companies willing to take greater risks.     

Information and Training Needs of Non-Timber Forest Products' Operators in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the training needs of non-timber forest products' (NTFP) operators in Southern Nigeria. One hundred-fifty forest operators in Ondo State, Nigeria were sampled using structured questionnaire. Data collected was analyzed using percentages, mean, Chi-square test, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results revealed that majority of the forest operators in Southern Nigeria are middle-aged women with low level of education. The need for training is high and significant (P < 0.05), and there is a positive relationship between training/ information received and the operators's productivity.