Biodiversity in Dead Wood

Trends in windthrow management during the last 50 years in Lower Valais (essay) A review on the measures taken in forests hit by storms during the last 50 years reveals the mind-set behind the evolution of management operations. In the 1960s, to remove all dead wood in a stand was perfectly normal due to timber prices. Between 1984 and 1990, vast sums of money were pumped into the improvement of forest structures facing the threat of a general forest dieback. As a consequence, only few of the windthrow areas caused by storm Vivian remained with no intervention. Vivian also marked the beginning of manifold research activities and practical terrain examination in windthrow gaps. Conclusions of this first research phase resulted in a critical assessment of the windthrow areas caused by Lothar in 1999, considering different goals than systematic removal of damage wood and the prevention of bark beetle outbreaks. Since the 1990s, retaining timber after windthrow has been lively discussed, as well as the maintenance of the protection function against natural hazards and opportunities for biodiversity. Several handbooks were developed and successfully used for the planning and defining of top priority measures in damaged forests that resulted from disturbances in 2011 and 2012 in Lower Valais. These recent disturbances together with the certainty that storms will recur led to the formation of a task force in the canton Valais, aiming to organize both logistics and funds, as well as to define management priorities regarding a next hazard.

Download Full-text

Verantwortlichkeit bei waldtypischen Gefahren: Beispiele aus der Gerichtspraxis

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2016.0082 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 167 (2) ◽

pp. 82-89

Author(s):

Michael Bütler

Keyword(s):

Dead Wood ◽

Personal Responsibility ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Legal Practice ◽

Protective Measures ◽

Legal Case ◽

Legal Situation ◽

Forest Users ◽

The One ◽

Liability Risks

Responsibility for forest-linked dangers: examples from legal practice According to the Forest Policy 2020 of the Federal Council the share of old and dead wood should increase in Swiss forests. On the one hand, this is connected to positive ecological effects but on the other, to dangers, responsibilities and liability risks. Recent court and administrative decisions relating to accidents due to typical forest hazards such as falling trees and branches illustrate the legal situation for forest owners and enterprises as well as for forestry professionals. In the wooded environment near buildings and equipment there are obligations for the safety of traffic and passers-by. However, these obligations are limited by the reasonableness of protective measures and the personal responsibility of forest users. In this paper, the liability issue is illustrated by three legal case studies. The cases are assessed by the author, and the essential legal basis for liability is briefly summarized.

Download Full-text

Cost Analysis of a Novel Method for Ecological Compensation—A Study of the Translocation of Dead Wood

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6075

Author(s):

Ola Lindroos ◽

Malin Söderlind ◽

Joel Jensen ◽

Joakim Hjältén

Keyword(s):

Cost Efficiency ◽

Dead Wood ◽

Road Transportation ◽

Ecological Value ◽

Ecological Compensation ◽

Work Time ◽

Delivery Times ◽

Novel Method ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

The Cost

Translocation of dead wood is a novel method for ecological compensation and restoration that could, potentially, provide a new important tool for biodiversity conservation. With this method, substrates that normally have long delivery times are instantly created in a compensation area, and ideally many of the associated dead wood dwelling organisms are translocated together with the substrates. However, to a large extent, there is a lack of knowledge about the cost efficiency of different methods of ecological compensation. Therefore, the costs for different parts of a translocation process and its dependency on some influencing factors were studied. The observed cost was 465 SEK per translocated log for the actual compensation measure, with an additional 349 SEK/log for work to enable evaluation of the translocation’s ecological results. Based on time studies, models were developed to predict required work time and costs for different transportation distances and load sizes. Those models indicated that short extraction and insertion distances for logs should be prioritized over road transportation distances to minimize costs. They also highlighted a trade-off between costs and time until a given ecological value is reached in the compensation area. The methodology used can contribute to more cost-efficient operations and, by doing so, increase the use of ecological compensation and the benefits from a given input.

Download Full-text

Technical Note: Estimating the Amount of Dead Wood in Live Pinyon and Juniper Trees

Western Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/wjaf/9.1.18 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 18-20

Author(s):

David C. Chojnacky

Keyword(s):

Dead Wood ◽

Technical Note

Download Full-text

WHITE ANTS DESTROYING LIVING TREES AND CHANGING THF FOLIAGE, IN CAMBRIDGE, MASS

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent17134-7 ◽

1885 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. 134-136

Author(s):

H. A. Hagen

Keyword(s):

Dead Wood ◽

The South ◽

The Earth ◽

The Common

The common white ant, Termes flavipes, destroys dead wood, stumps of trees and timber, just as does its nearest relative, T. lucifugus, in Europe. Of the latter species some cases are reported where living pines and oaks have been destroyed in the South of France. For T. flavipes, only one case is known, in which living grape vines in a hot house in Salem were injured. (S. H. Scudder. Proc. Boston, N. H. S., vol. 7, p. 287). Now the earth in the hot houses here in Cambridge is largely infested by white ants, but as far as I know, no destruction of plants has been observed. I was very much interested by the information from Mr. F. W. Putnam that in a garden in Irwing street living maples were largely infested by white ants. The evidence of the truth of this information was apparent by the first glance at the trees.

Download Full-text