Impacts on forest management and forest state in southern Sweden 10 years after the storm Gudrun

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Valinger ◽  
Göran Kempe ◽  
Jonas Fridman

Abstract About 70 million m3 was damaged by the storm Gudrun that hit southern Sweden in January 2005, i.e. almost as much as the normal annual cut for the whole country. To establish any differences in forest state and forest management before and after the storm, measures such as growing stock, annual growth, age-class distribution, choice of species in regeneration and cleaning and thinning activities were studied for the area affected and the area unaffected by the storm. For all analyses, sample plots from the Swedish National Forest Inventory were used. Results based on mean values for the periods 2000–2004/2006–2010/2012–2016 showed that the total growing stock for the damaged area decreased significantly by ~30 million m3 directly after the storm but has now recovered to the same level as before the storm. Therefore, it seems clear that forest owners and forest managers made rational choices when aiming to restore the forest area. As expected , the annually cleaned area and the area in immediate need of cleaning increased significantly in the Gudrun area after the storm. No other significant changes in behaviour to reduce future storm damage risk could be detected.

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1039
Author(s):  
Andrius Kuliešis ◽  
Albertas Kasperavičius ◽  
Gintaras Kulbokas ◽  
Andrius A. Kuliešis ◽  
Aidas Pivoriūnas ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: Significant progress in developing European national forest inventory (NFI) systems could ensure accurate evaluations of gross annual increment (GAI) and its components by employing direct measurements. However, the use of NFI data is insufficient for increasing the efficiency of forest management and the use of wood, as well as for meeting sustainable forestry needs. Specification of forest characteristics, such as GAI and its components, identification of the main factors that impact forest growth, accumulation of wood, and natural losses are among the key elements promoting the productivity of forest stands and possibilities of rational use of wood in large forest areas. The aims of this research were (a) to validate the quality of forest statistics provided by a standwise forest inventory (SFI) and (b) to reveal the potential benefits of rational wood use at the country level through the analysis of forest management results, which are based on GAI, including its components derived from the NFI. Materials and Methods: SFI and NFI data from 1998–2017 were collected from 5600 permanent sample plots and used to evaluate the main forest characteristics. Potential wood use was estimated based on the assumption that 50–70% of the total GAI is accumulated for final forest use. Results: Mean growing stock volume (GSV) is underestimated by 7–14% on average in the course of SFI. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the yield changes in forest stands, detection of factors negatively affecting yield and its accumulation, and regulation of these processes by silviculture measures could increase potential forest use in Lithuania. Conclusions: Implementation of sample-based NFI resulted in an improvement of forest characteristics and led to an increase in GSV and GAI. Continuously gathered data on GAI and its components are a prerequisite for efficient forest management and control of the use of wood.


2011 ◽  
Vol 162 (9) ◽  
pp. 300-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Kaufmann

Potential of sustainable wood production in Swiss forests In the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI), the data collected in the three inventories (NFI1 1983–1985, NFI2 1993–1995, NFI3 2004–2006) provide the basis not only for analysing the present state of the forest and how it has developed up to now, but also for assessing, with the help of models, how it might develop in future. The scenario model «Massimo 3», developed at the Swiss Federal Institut for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, is an empirical and stochastic simulation model. It relies on data from the NFI and forecasts the development of the forest according to how it is managed. Six scenarios with different management regimes were defined according to the economic, silvicultural and ecological aspects considered. In three scenarios the growing stock is kept constant at the level of NFI3, but different management strategies are used (Scenario A: basis [business as usual], Scenario E: even-aged forests are transformed into uneven-aged forests, and Scenario F: near-natural percentages of conifers are promoted). In two scenarios forest management is partially abandoned for either ecological reasons (Scenario B: reservations, 10% of the forest area is left unmanaged) or for economic reasons (Scenario C: harvesting costs, 40% of the forest area is left unmanaged). Scenario D (rotation periods are shortened) was used to study the effects of augmenting the annual harvesting amount. A forecasting time period of 100 years was selected to assess the long-term effects of the scenarios. Scenarios A, D, and E show that the sustainable harvesting potential of merchantable wood lies in a relatively narrow range of 7.1 to 7.3 million m3/year, even though in Scenario D the growing stock is reduced from 360 m3/ha to 305 m3/ha. In Scenario F regeneration is systematically established with near-natural percentages of conifers, the long-term harvesting potential is slightly less: about 6.5 million m3/year of merchantable wood. If forest management is abandoned for economic reasons on as much as 40% of the forest area (Scenario C, harvesting costs), the impact on the wood reserves is very negative.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Altrell

Mongolia’s first Multipurpose National Forest Inventory, 2014-2017, was implemented by the Forest Research and Development Centre, in collaboration with international expertise and the country’s main forestry institutions, universities and research organisations.The long-term objective of the multipurpose NFI is to promote sustainable management of forestry resources in Mongolia, to enhance their social, economic and environmental functions.The NFI findings show that there are 11.3 million hectares of Boreal Forest in Mongolia. 9.5 million hectares are Stocked Boreal Forest Area, of which 69 percent is located outside of protected areas, 4 percent are designated for green-wood utilisation through forest enterprise concessions, and another 16 percent designated for fallen dead-wood collection through forest user group concessions. The non-protected stocked forests (i.e. production forest) have an average growing stock volume of 115 m3 per hectare, compared with an optimal growing stock volume of 237 m3 per hectare, and there is an additional 46.5 m3 of dead wood per hectare. The growing stock age distribution shows that 24 m3 per hectare are over 200 years (i.e. economically over-aged). The main tree species in stocked forest are Larix sibirica (81%), Pinus sibirica (7%), Betula platyphylla (6%) and Pinus sylvestris (5%), of which all, except for P. sibirica, are classified as legally harvestable tree species. Wild fire is the current main environmental factor decreasing the forest tree biomass.The NFI helped identifying priority areas for the forestry sector, and to guide the implementation of sustainable forest management at the local level. The main forest management challenges of Mongolia’s boreal forest will be to address that they are a) under-stocked (less than 50% of production potential), b) over-aged (31% of growing stock volume in stocked production forest is above optimal production age), and c) under-utilised (4% of forest area designated to green-wood utilisation). 


2008 ◽  
Vol 159 (9) ◽  
pp. 281-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Thürig ◽  
Edgar Kaufmann

A new function of forests was brought into focus by the Kyoto Protocol: forests as carbon sinks. Switzerland decided to have forest management taken into account under the Kyoto Protocol (Art. 3.4). This new forest function brings about new conflicts. The Swiss Forestry statistics and the Swiss National Forest Inventory show harvesting amounts are increasing and the trend seems set to continue. In a study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) different forest management scenarios were analyzed as was their influence both on the amount harvested in the long term and the forest sink effect. The study focussed on the following question: How can increased forest management be combined with forest carbon sinks and where are the limits? The scenarios range from reduced forest management and corresponding forest carbon sinks to a reduction of growing stock with corresponding carbon sources. Results show that for a limited time span both aspects can be considered on a national scale. Further studies should focus on interactions with other forest functions such as preservation of biodiversity, damage to forests and the effect of climate change.


1973 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.-A. Lamberg ◽  
R.-L. Kantero ◽  
P. Saarinen ◽  
O. Widholm

ABSTRACT In an endocrine survey of healthy girls aged 8 to 20 years before and after the menarche, the serum thyroxine (T4), uptake of triiodothyronine by Sephadex (T3U), and the binding capacities of thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) and pre-albumin (TBPA) were measured, and a free thyroxine index (FTI = T4 × T3U) was calculated. The subjects were grouped according to skeletal age (SA) until the menarche and after this in the post-menarcheal age (PMA), expressed in years. T4 and FTI increased concomitantly and reached peak values of 8.40 μg/100 ml and 8.40, respectively, at 2–3 years PMA. The corresponding mean values for post-menarcheal girls (7.74 μg/100 ml and 7.51) differed statistically significantly from the means before the menarche (7.03 μg/ 100 ml and 6.75). The TBG remained virtually unchanged during the whole period, whereas the TBPA showed a continuous increase and reached a maximal level 1–2 years after the menarche. The maturation process in girls in some way involves an increase in the total and free T4 level which is not dependent on hormone binding proteins.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matieu Henry ◽  
Zaheer Iqbal ◽  
Kristofer Johnson ◽  
Mariam Akhter ◽  
Liam Costello ◽  
...  

Abstract Background National forest inventory and forest monitoring systems are more important than ever considering continued global degradation of trees and forests. These systems are especially important in a country like Bangladesh, which is characterised by a large population density, climate change vulnerability and dependence on natural resources. With the aim of supporting the Government’s actions towards sustainable forest management through reliable information, the Bangladesh Forest Inventory (BFI) was designed and implemented through three components: biophysical inventory, socio-economic survey and remote sensing-based land cover mapping. This article documents the approach undertaken by the Forest Department under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to establish the BFI as a multipurpose, efficient, accurate and replicable national forest assessment. The design, operationalization and some key results of the process are presented. Methods The BFI takes advantage of the latest and most well-accepted technological and methodological approaches. Importantly, it was designed through a collaborative process which drew from the experience and knowledge of multiple national and international entities. Overall, 1781 field plots were visited, 6400 households were surveyed, and a national land cover map for the year 2015 was produced. Innovative technological enhancements include a semi-automated segmentation approach for developing the wall-to-wall land cover map, an object-based national land characterisation system, consistent estimates between sample-based and mapped land cover areas, use of mobile apps for tree species identification and data collection, and use of differential global positioning system for referencing plot centres. Results Seven criteria, and multiple associated indicators, were developed for monitoring progress towards sustainable forest management goals, informing management decisions, and national and international reporting needs. A wide range of biophysical and socioeconomic data were collected, and in some cases integrated, for estimating the indicators. Conclusions The BFI is a new information source tool for helping guide Bangladesh towards a sustainable future. Reliable information on the status of tree and forest resources, as well as land use, empowers evidence-based decision making across multiple stakeholders and at different levels for protecting natural resources. The integrated socio-economic data collected provides information about the interactions between people and their tree and forest resources, and the valuation of ecosystem services. The BFI is designed to be a permanent assessment of these resources, and future data collection will enable monitoring of trends against the current baseline. However, additional institutional support as well as continuation of collaboration among national partners is crucial for sustaining the BFI process in future.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 944
Author(s):  
Mihai A. Tanase ◽  
Ignacio Borlaf-Mena ◽  
Maurizio Santoro ◽  
Cristina Aponte ◽  
Gheorghe Marin ◽  
...  

While products generated at global levels provide easy access to information on forest growing stock volume (GSV), their use at regional to national levels is limited by temporal frequency, spatial resolution, or unknown local errors that may be overcome through locally calibrated products. This study assessed the need, and utility, of developing locally calibrated GSV products for the Romanian forests. To this end, we used national forest inventory (NFI) permanent sampling plots with largely concurrent SAR datasets acquired at C- and L-bands to train and validate a machine learning algorithm. Different configurations of independent variables were evaluated to assess potential synergies between C- and L-band. The results show that GSV estimation errors at C- and L-band were rather similar, relative root mean squared errors (RelRMSE) around 55% for forests averaging over 450 m3 ha−1, while synergies between the two wavelengths were limited. Locally calibrated models improved GSV estimation by 14% when compared to values obtained from global datasets. However, even the locally calibrated models showed particularly large errors over low GSV intervals. Aggregating the results over larger areas considerably reduced (down to 25%) the relative estimation errors.


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 1643-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ross ◽  
L. Leger ◽  
P. Martin ◽  
R. Roy

The purpose of this study was to compare the estimates of lean body mass (LBM) and percent body fat (%BF), as predicted by bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and sum of skinfolds (SF), with those derived by hydrostatic weighing (HW) obtained before and after a 10-wk diet and exercise regimen. The experimental (E) group consisted of 17 healthy male subjects; 20 healthy males served as the control (C) group. Post hoc Scheffe contrasts computed on E group data indicated that, for both LBM and %BF, the Lukaski and Segal BIA equations, as well as the Durnin SF equation, derived mean values that were not significantly different (0.05 significance level) from HW in both pre- and postregimen conditions. For LBM, the same equations derived the following significant (P less than 0.01) correlation coefficients for both pre- and postregimen data: Lukaski, 0.87 and 0.85; Segal, 0.89 and 0.87; and Durnin, 0.90 and 0.88. For %BF, the correlation coefficients were slightly lower but remained statistically significant (P less than 0.01). The findings of this study suggest that the BIA method, by use of either the Lukaski or Segal prediction equations, is a valid means of predicting changes in human body composition as measured by the Siri transformation of body density.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document