Ecological sustainability of forest management practices: The case of the regenerating sal forests of south-western West Bengal, India

Social Change ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 142-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghazala Shahabuddin
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
Understorey Vegetation ◽  
Forest Management Practices

Under the Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme in south-western West Bengal, regenerating deciduous forests are being managed for the extraction of numerous plant products, both for commercial benefits and subsistence-level use, on a large scale. However, there has been little serious evaluation of the long-term biological sustainability of forest produce extraction in these forests or the accompanying ecological impacts. On the other hand, observational evidence indicates biological impoverishment of forest ecosystems and soils as a result of the forest management practices prevalent in the region such as clearfelling, extraction of understorey vegetation and monocultural plantations. The present review brings together the available scientific information on the ecological sustainability of the forest management practices currently prevalent in south-western West Bengal in an attempt to delineate the lacunae in our knowledge regarding the issue and draw up a research strategy that can be used to design long-term management plans for the forests of this region. It was found that currently there is little or no scientific data on the ecological impacts of forest produce extraction either at the species-or at the ecosystem-level. In view of the status of current knowledge on the ecological sustainability of JFM in the study area, (1) critical areas of research, (2) generalised research strategies, and (3) ways to expand the ongoing initiatives in participatory vegetation monitoring for long-term forest monitoring, are delineated for this region, based on interventions carried out in other parts of India and the rest of the world.

Decline of the maple-dominated forest in southern Quebec: impact of natural stresses and forest management

1996 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Côté ◽  
Rock Ouimet
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Predisposing Factor ◽  
Tree Disease ◽  
Forest Management Practices

Forest decline was rather ubiquitous throughout the industrialized world in the 1980s. Maple decline was particularly severe in southern Quebec and large research programmes were put together to determine cause–effect relationships, as well as understand the mechanisms involved in forest decline. The present review of the causes of the decline of the maple-dominated forest in southern Quebec is heuristic in nature and not exhaustive in that we do not address the role of atmospheric pollution, a likely predisposing factor that has received wide scientific coverage over the last 15 years. Rather, we discuss the potential role of natural stresses and forest management practices on forest decline. The process of natural selection and forest succession and the trend toward monocultures of sugar maple in sugar bushes are emphasized as important predisposing factors of forest decline. Climatic stresses and insect defoliations appear to have been major triggering factors, whereas insects and pathogens were likely contributing (killing) factors. Changes in forest management practices that would favour tree species diversity and decrease the likelihood of physical injury, tree disease, and insect epidemics are suggested to increase tree vigour and, therefore, decrease the susceptibility of the maple forest to decline. The evolution in time and space of the last forest decline in southern Quebec, as well as its repercussions on forest monitoring and the regional economy are also reviewed.Key words: biodiversity, climatic extremes, forest decline, forest management, insect epidemics, maple.

scholarly journals The Interplay between Forest Management Practices, Genetic Monitoring, and Other Long-Term Monitoring Systems

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darius Kavaliauskas ◽  
Barbara Fussi ◽  
Marjana Westergren ◽  
Filippos Aravanopoulos ◽  
Domen Finzgar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Genetic Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring Systems ◽  
Forest Management Practices ◽  
Long Term Monitoring ◽  
Term Monitoring

scholarly journals Aboveground stock of biomass and organic carbon in stands of Pinus taeda L.

CERNE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Farinha Watzlawick ◽  
Marcos Vinicius Winckler Caldeira ◽  
Tiago de Oliveira Godinho ◽  
Rafaelo Balbinot ◽  
Jonathan William Trautenmüller
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Stem Wood ◽  
Quantification Method ◽  
Forest Management Practices ◽  
Pinus Taeda L ◽  
Age Category

This study aimed to estimate biomass and organic carbon in stands of Pinus taeda L. at different ages (14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 32 years) and located in the municipality of General Carneiro (PR). In order to estimate biomass and organic carbon in different tree components (needles, live branches, dead branches, bark and stem wood), the destructive quantification method was used in which seven trees from each age category were randomly sampled across the stand. Stocks of biomass and organic carbon were found to vary between the different age categories, mainly as a result of existing dissimilarities between ages in association with forest management practices such as thinning, pruning and tree density per hectare.

scholarly journals Historical Forest Management Practices Influence Tree-Ring Based Climate Reconstructions

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Skiadaresis ◽  
Bernhard Muigg ◽  
Willy Tegel
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
Climate Signal ◽  
Forest Management Practices ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Climate Reconstructions ◽  
Historical Forest

Tree-ring widths (TRW) of historical and archeological wood provide crucial proxies, frequently used for high-resolution multi-millennial paleoclimate reconstructions. Former growing conditions of the utilized trees, however, are largely unknown. Potential influences of historical forest management practices on climatic information, derived from TRW variability need to be considered but have not been assessed so far. Here, we examined the suitability of TRW series from traditionally managed oak forests (Quercus spp.) for climate reconstructions. We compared the climate signal in TRW chronologies of trees originating from high forests and coppice-with-standards (CWS) forests, a silvicultural management practice widely used in Europe for most of the common era. We expected a less distinct climate control in CWS due to management-induced growth patterns, yet an improved climate-growth relationship with TRW data from conventionally managed high forests. CWS tree rings showed considerably weaker correlations with hydroclimatic variables than non-CWS trees. The greatest potential for hydroclimate reconstructions was found for a large dataset containing both CWS and non-CWS trees, randomly collected from lumber yards, resembling the randomness in sources of historical material. Our results imply that growth patterns induced by management interventions can dampen climate signals in TRW chronologies. However, their impact can be minimized in well replicated, randomly sampled regional chronologies.

Effect of forest management on the formation and stability of phytolith and PhytOC in forest ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Xu ◽  
Yongjun Shi ◽  
Wanjie Lv ◽  
Zhengwen Niu ◽  
Ning Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Moso Bamboo ◽  
Soil System ◽  
Silicon Fertilization ◽  
Global Carbon

<p>Forest ecosystem has a high carbon sequestration capacity and plays a crucial role in maintaining global carbon balance and climate change. Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC), a promising long-term biogeochemical carbon sequestration mechanism, has attracted more attentions in the global carbon cycle and the regulation of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>. Therefore, it is of practical significance to investigate the PhytOC accumulation in forest ecosystems. Previous studies have mostly focused on the estimation of the content and storage of PhytOC, while there were still few studies on how the management practices affect the PhytOC content. Here, this study focused on the effects of four management practices (compound fertilization, silicon fertilization, cut and control) on the increase of phytolith and PhytOC in Moso bamboo forests. We found that silicon fertilization had a greater potential to significantly promote the capacity of carbon sequestration in Moso bamboo forests. this finding positively corresponds recent studies that the application of silicon fertilizers (e.g., biochar) increase the Si uptake<strong><sup>1</sup></strong> to promote phytolith accumulation and its PhytOC sequestration in the plant-soil system<strong><sup>2</sup></strong>. Of course, the above-mentioned document<strong><sup>2</sup></strong> also had their own shortcomings, i.e., the experimental research time was not long, lacking long-term follow-up trial and the bamboo forest parts were also limited, so that the test results lack certain reliability. We have set up a long-term experiment plot to study the effects of silicon fertilizer on the formation and stability of phytolith and PhytOC in Moso bamboo forests. But anyway, different forest management practices, especially the application of high-efficiency silicon-rich fertilizers<strong><sup>1</sup></strong>, may be an effective way to increase the phytolith and PhytOC storage in forest ecosystems, and thereby improve the long-term CO<sub>2 </sub>sequestration capacity of forest ecosystems. Research in this study provides a good "forest plan" to achieve their national voluntary emission reduction commitments and achieves carbon neutrality goals for all over the world.</p><p>Refences:</p><p><sup>1</sup>Li et al., 2019. Plant and soil, 438(1-2), pp.187-203.</p><p><sup>2</sup>Huang et al., 2020, Science of The Total Environment, 715, p.136846.</p>

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