What is the “END” (emulation of natural disturbance) in forest ecosystem management? An open question

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 2159-2168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Klenk ◽  
Gary Bull ◽  
Dave Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Management ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Qualitative Analyses ◽  
Promising Avenue

The emulation of natural disturbance (END) is said to be the most promising avenue for implementing sustainable forest management; however, there appears to be no consensus as to the meaning of the END. We have interviewed forest scientists across Canada and, with the use of mental models and network textual analyses, created a shared mental model of the END. Results from both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that there are contrasting and contradictory views about the meaning of the END, which raise serious implications for the use of the END in policy making.

Conservation de la biodiversité dans les paysages forestiers aménagés : utilisation des seuils critiques d’habitat

2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 572-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghislain Rompré ◽  
Yan Boucher ◽  
Louis Bélanger ◽  
Sylvie Côté ◽  
W. Douglas Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Sensitive Species ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Ecological Threshold

In Canada, as in other large forested countries of the world, managers and scientists alike question what can happen to forest biodiversity under long-term industrial forest management. Recent studies may help us understand how species react when habitat is lost past a certain threshold in the landscape. In the case of population, a “critical threshold for habitat” does exist in forested habitat, which is defined by the minimal proportion of habitat needed to be preserved to avoid drastic population declines or massive species loss. In this paper, two types of thresholds are described, the first refers to population, and the second refers to the community of species. Many ecologists agree with the assumption that the specialist, sensitive species are the first to disappear (local extirpation for specialist species). For most species with large home range (such as birds), the threshold may generally be located between 30% and 40% of the habitat still remaining, compared to the proportion observed under a natural disturbance regime. We suggest, in order to protect the most sensitive species and to deal with uncertainty associated with thresholds, to maintain at least 40% of residual habitats. Although there is still much to understand concerning these thresholds, we nevertheless recommend their use for the diagnostic analysis that must be performed in the context of forest management planning and biodiversity conservation, as these thresholds could represent the minimal proportion of habitat to preserve integrity of the forest ecosystem. However, to be effective, the application of thresholds should be based on detailed knowledge of ecosystem characteristics and dynamics. Key words: ecological threshold, forest management, forest ecosystem, habitat loss, mature and old forests, population, community, biodiversity, conservation

scholarly journals Synthesizing knowledge of the Claybelt to promote sustainable forest management

2002 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Lefort ◽  
B Harvey ◽  
J Parton ◽  
G KM Smith
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Forest Practices

A review of the scientific literature relevant to the Claybelt region was undertaken under the initiative of Lake Abitibi Model Forest (LAMF) and in collaboration with the Canadian Forest Service, the Ontario and Quebec Ministries of Natural Resources and the NSERC-UQAT-UQAM (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council – Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue – Université du Québec à Montréal) Industrial Chair in Sustainable forest Management. The objective was to synthesize this information in order to develop better forestry practices and identify knowledge and research gaps. Forestry-related knowledge was gathered on six broad topics: i) natural disturbances, ii) forest ecosystems, iii) past and present forest practices, iv) biological diversity, v) forest management and vi) examples of current applications of natural disturbance-based forest management. The work allowed us to synthesize a large body of knowledge into one publication that will be a useful reference for foresters in both provinces. Key words: biodiversity, Claybelt, even-aged/uneven-aged forests, fire, silvicultural practices

Past, current, and future fire frequencies in Quebec's commercial forests: implications for the cumulative effects of harvesting and fire on age-class structure and natural disturbance-based management

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 2737-2744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Dominic Cyr ◽  
C Ronnie Drever ◽  
Mike Flannigan ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Class Distribution ◽  
Age Class ◽  
If Current ◽  
In Fire

The past decade has seen an increasing interest in forest management based on historical or natural disturbance dynamics. The rationale is that management that favours landscape compositions and stand structures similar to those found historically should also maintain biodiversity and essential ecological functions. In fire-dominated landscapes, this approach is feasible only if current and future fire frequencies are sufficiently low compared with the preindustrial fire frequency, so a substitution of fire by forest management can occur without elevating the overall frequency of disturbance. We address this question by comparing current and simulated future fire frequency based on 2 × CO2 and 3 × CO2 scenarios to historical reconstructions of fire frequency in the commercial forests of Quebec. For most regions, current and simulated future fire frequencies are lower than the historical fire frequency, suggesting that forest management could potentially be used to maintain or recreate the age-class distribution of fire-dominated preindustrial landscapes. Current even-aged management, however, tends to reduce forest variability by, for example, truncating the natural age-class distribution and eliminating mature and old-growth forests from the landscape. Therefore, in the context of sustainable forest management, silvicultural techniques that retain a spectrum of forest compositions and structures at different scales are necessary to maintain this variability and thereby allow a substitution of fire by harvesting.

scholarly journals Forest ecosystem management in North America: From theory to practice

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (04) ◽  
pp. 525-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Patry ◽  
Daniel Kneeshaw ◽  
Stephen Wyatt ◽  
Frank Grenon ◽  
Christian Messier
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Forest Dynamics ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Management

Forest ecosystem management (EM) in North America has evolved from a theoretical concept to operational practice over the last two decades, but its implementation varies greatly among regions. This paper attempts to evaluate (1) if and how emulation of natural disturbances (END) is being used as a conceptual bases for implementing EM, and more particularly, what strategies are used to define the natural forest of reference, and (2) what temporal and spatial scale strategies are being considered for seven important retention elements (downed woody debris, snags, green trees, corridors, riparian buffers, large patches and old forest)? To conduct this evaluation, five guides from four geographically well-distributed regions in North America are compared. Although END is the central conceptual foundation underlying four of the five guides, a natural forest of reference is not always clearly identified and none of the guides consider future impacts due to global change. The major weakness common to all five guides is the lack of consideration of long-term forest dynamics, particularly the lack of clear strategies for retention elements at a temporal scale longer than a single rotation. Generally, the spatial scales chosen for retention elements are not well-justified ecologically and targets for each retention element are not identified at different spatial scales. We stress that strong efforts have been made to develop forest management that incorporates some elements of natural variability and which considers societal needs, but further improvements are required. We conclude by presenting some suggestions to improve the approach. For example, creating more realistic guidelines in integrating current and future forest dynamics with pre-settlement information and planning rotation lengths that are inspired by the dominant natural disturbance.

The Forest Ecosystem Research Network of Sites (FERNS)

1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Mitchell ◽  
C. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Ecosystem Processes ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Research Investments

The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) has organized a National Forest Ecosystem Research Network of Sites (FERNS). These sites are focussed on the study of sustainable forest management practices and ecosystem processes at the stand level. Network objectives are to promote this research nationally and internationally, provide linkages among sites, preserve the long-term research investments already made on these sites and provide a forum for information exchange and data sharing. The 17 individual sites are representative of six ecozones across Canada and address the common issue of silvicultural solutions to problems of sustainable forest management. While the CFS coordinates and promotes FERNS, the network consists of local autonomous partners nationwide who benefit from the FERNS affiliation through increased publicity for their sites. Key words: long-term, silviculture, network, interdisciplinary, ecozone, ecosystem processes

scholarly journals Teaching and research in forest ecology at UNB, 1942 to present

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 492-497
Author(s):  
Mark R Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Forest Ecology ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Herbaceous Layer ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Recent Developments

The purposes of this paper are to review the history of forest ecology courses at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in relation to the social context, summarize recent developments in forest ecology research at UNB, and identify critical areas for future research. Based on the UNB Undergraduate Calendar (1942 to present), the first forest ecology course was offered in 1957. Until the 1980s, forest ecology courses were generally related to silviculture and forest production. Since then, courses reflected increasing public concern with biodiversity and sustainable forest management. Research in the Forest Ecology Laboratory at UNB has emphasized forest ecosystem response to disturbance, including tree regeneration and herbaceous-layer recovery following silvicultural treatments. From this work, a disturbance severity model was developed for characterizing any kind of disturbance. Future research is needed to test the model across additional disturbance types, particularly new silvicultural treatments that are being used in forest ecosystem management. Key words: teaching, forest ecology, research, disturbance, herbaceous layer, biodiversity, sustainable forest management, ecosystem management

scholarly journals A Framework for Addressing Multiple Ecosystem Services in Forest Management Planning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emin Zeki BASKENT ◽  
Jose Guilherme BORGES ◽  
Jan KASPAR
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Management

Abstract Background: Forest policy and decision makers are challenged by the need to balance the increasing demand for multiple ecosystem services while addressing the impacts of natural disturbances (e.g. wildfires, droughts, wind, insect attacks) and global change scenarios (e.g. climate change) on its potential supply. This challenge provides the motivation for the development of a framework for incorporating concerns with a wide range of ecosystem services in multiple criteria management planning contexts. Thus, the paper focused on both the analysis of the current state-of-the art in forest management planning and the development of a conceptual framework to accommodate various components in a forest ecosystem management planning process.Results: Based on a thorough recent classification of forest management planning problems and the state-of-the-art research, the key dimensions of that framework and the process were defined. The emphasis is on helping identify how concerns with a wide range of ecosystem services may be analyzed and better understood by forest ecosystem management planning. This research discusses the potential of contemporary management planning approaches to address multiple forest ecosystem services. It highlights the need of a landscape-level perspective and of spatial resolution to integrate multiple ecosystem services. It discusses the importance of methods and tools that may help support the involvement of stakeholders and public participation in hierarchical planning processes. Conclusions: The research addressed the need of methods and tools that may encapsulate the ecological, economic and social complexity of forest ecosystem management to provide an efficient plan, information about tradeoffs between ecosystem services as well as the sensitivity of the plan to uncertain parameters (e.g. prices, climate change) in a timely manner.

scholarly journals Harvest volumes and carbon stocks in boreal forests of Ontario, Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (02) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Michael T. Ter-Mikaelian ◽  
Stephen J. Colombo ◽  
Jiaxin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Ecosystem Carbon ◽  
Harvest Volume ◽  
Unmanaged Forest ◽  
Ecosystem Carbon Stocks

We used models to project forest carbon stocks for a series of harvesting scenarios for 29 boreal forest management units totalling 23.3 million ha in Ontario, Canada. Scenarios evaluated for 2020 to 2050 ranged from a no harvesting option to annual harvesting of 2% of the total merchantable volume present in 2020. For each scenario, we estimated the following carbon quantities: (a) forest ecosystem carbon stocks, (b) sum of carbon stocks in forest ecosystem and harvested wood products (HWP) minus emissions associated with HWP production and decomposition, and (c) net greenhouse gas (GHG) effects of harvesting estimated as (b) combined with emissions avoided by substituting HWP for non-wood materials. The average of each carbon quantity for 2020 to 2050 was linearly dependent on the annual harvest volume. The developed relationships were used to estimate harvest volumes for which the three carbon quantities would equal equilibrium forest ecosystem carbon stocks for a pre-suppression natural disturbance cycle. These estimates indicate the range of harvest volumes for which resulting carbon stocks would equal or exceed those in an unmanaged forest. Also discussed are possible criteria for determining annual harvest volume.

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