Using a Marginal Value Approach to Integrate Ecological and Economic Objectives across the Minnesota Landscape

Forest management situations are intrinsically challenging due to the nature of being an interconnected and multi-faceted problem. Integrating ecological, social, and economic objectives is one of the biggest hurdles for forest planners. Often, decisions made with the interest of producing a specific ecosystem service may affect the production of other forest ecosystem services. We present a forest management scheduling model that involves multiple ownerships and addresses the joint production of two ecosystem services: timber and upland hardwood old forest. We use a marginal value approach to evaluate old forest. We analyze the impacts of considering different management options, shapes and levels of marginal value functions for old forest, and potential benefits of rewarding the major forest land ownership groups to produce old forest. Results show the downward-sloping marginal value function as a compromise strategy and the benefits of applying it over approaches using either fixed values or targets for addressing ecosystem services. A decomposition model was useful for recognizing important stand-level detail. A broad landscape and multiple ownership approach helped identify interconnections between forest cover types and between landowner groups.

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Wald und Klimawandel in der inneralpinen Trockenregion Visp

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2012.0481 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 163 (12) ◽

pp. 481-492

Author(s):

Andreas Rigling ◽

Ché Elkin ◽

Matthias Dobbertin ◽

Britta Eilmann ◽

Arnaud Giuggiola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Bark Beetles ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Forest Monitoring ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services

Forest and climate change in the inner-Alpine dry region of Visp Over the past decades, observed increases in temperature have been particularly pronounced in mountain regions. If this trend should continue in the 21st Century, frequency and intensity of droughts will increase, and will pose major challenges for forest management. Under current conditions drought-related tree mortality is already an important factor of forest ecosystems in dry inner-Alpine valleys. Here we assess the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to climate change and evaluate alternative forest management strategies in the Visp region. We integrate data from forest monitoring plots, field experiments and dynamic forests models to evaluate how the forest ecosystem services timber production, protection against natural hazards, carbon storage and biodiver-sity will be impacted. Our results suggest that at dry low elevation sites the drought tolerance of native tree species will be exceeded so that in the longer term a transition to more drought-adapted species should be considered. At medium elevations, drought and insect disturbances as by bark beetles are projected to be important for forest development, while at high elevations forests are projected to expand and grow better. All of the ecosystem services that we considered are projected to be impacted by changing forest conditions, with the specific impacts often being elevation-dependent. In the medium term, forest management that aims to increase the resilience of forests to drought can help maintain forest ecosystem services temporarily. However, our results suggest that relatively rigid management interventions are required to achieve significant effects. By using a combination of environmental monitoring, field experiments and modeling, we are able to gain insight into how forest ecosystem, and the services they provide, will respond to future changes.

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Formation of a Sustainable Forest Management Strategy

Общество политика экономика право ◽

10.24158/pep.2020.10.8 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 56-62

Author(s):

Svetlana Dorzhievna Puntsukova

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Economic Value ◽

Forest Products ◽

Ecosystem Approach ◽

Forest Sector ◽

Ecological Value ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Use

The paper is focused on the problem of developing a strategy for sustainable forest management and the forest sector of the economy of the territories. The aim is to improve approaches to its creation based on an ecosystem approach to generating real economic incomes from forest products and forest services and improving the environment. For this, the conceptual framework of the study based on the ecosystem approach is substantiated, considering the relationship between ecosystem services of the forest and various forms of their contribution to the economic development of territories, taking into account the forest and non-forest sectors of the economy. To determine the ecosystem services of the forest, the methods of direct counting, compara-tive analysis, assessment of “willingness to pay”, assessment of the carbon budget, etc. were used. The study of the economic value of the ecosystem services of the forest of transboundary territories showed the differences between the direct and indi-rect contribution of forests to the economy of the regions, which are determined by climatic features, the state of the forest fund, the degree of forestry activities, applied methods of forest management and forest use. The study made it possible to devel-op strategic directions for sustainable management of forest ecosystem services in transboundary terri-tories and to draw a conclusion about the need to move from a conservation type of forest manage-ment to the principles of sustainable development based on the preservation and enhancement of the economic, social and ecological value of forests.

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Forest ecosystem services derived by smallholder farmers in northwestern Madagascar: Storm hazard mitigation and participation in forest management

Forest Policy and Economics ◽

10.1016/j.forpol.2016.09.002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 84 ◽

pp. 72-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Radhika Dave ◽

Emma L. Tompkins ◽

Kate Schreckenberg

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Hazard Mitigation ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services

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Efficient, Sustainable, and Multifunctional Carbon Offsetting to Boost Forest Management: A Comparative Case Study

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12040386 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 386

Author(s):

Timothée Fouqueray ◽

Lucile Génin ◽

Michel Trommetter ◽

Nathalie Frascaria-Lacoste

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Social Scientist ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Comparative Case Study ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Forest Carbon Storage ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services

Research highlights: Funding forest management with subsidies from carbon offsetters is a well-documented mechanism in tropical regions. This article provides complementary insights into the use of voluntary offset contracts in temperate forests. Background and objectives: The mitigation of greenhouse emissions has become a major global issue, leading to changes in forest management to increase the capacity of forests to store carbon. This can lead to conflicts of use with other forest ecosystem services such as timber production or biodiversity conservation. Our main goal is to describe collective actions to fund carbon-oriented forestry with subsidies from carbon offsetters and to analyze how their governance and functioning prevent conflicts pertaining to multi-functionality. Materials and methods: We assembled an interdisciplinary research team comprising two ecologists, a social scientist, and an economist. Drawing on a conceptual framework of ecosystem services, social interdependencies, and collective action, we based our qualitative analysis on semi-structured interviews from two French case studies. Results: Carbon-oriented intermediary forest organizations offer offset contracts to private firms and public bodies. Communication is geared toward the mitigation outcomes of the contracts as well as their beneficial side effects in providing the ecosystem services of interest to the offsetters. Subsidies then act as a financial lever to fund carbon-oriented forestry operations. Scientific committees and reporting methodologies serve as environmental, social, and economic safeguards. Conclusions: These new intermediary forest organizations use efficient forest operations and evaluation methodologies to improve forest carbon storage. Their main innovation lies in their collective governance rooted in regional forest social-ecological systems. Their consideration of multi-functionality and socioeconomic issues can be seen as an obstacle to rapid development, but they ensure sustainability and avoid conflicts between producers and beneficiaries of forest ecosystem services. Attention must be paid to interactions with broader spatial and temporal carbon policies.

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Mountain forest ecosystem services – maintaining resilience in the face of disturbances

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21291 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ana Stritih ◽

Peter Bebi ◽

Adrienne Grêt-Regamey

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Swiss Alps ◽

Mountain Forest ◽

Heterogeneous Structure ◽

Mountain Forests ◽

Wood Production ◽

Management Regime ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services

<p>For centuries, mountain forests in the Alps have provided essential ecosystem services such as wood production and protection from natural hazards (e.g. avalanches and landslides), which enable mountain societies to thrive in these marginal environments. These ecosystem services are affected by climate and land use change, as well as changes in societal demand and management regimes. In recent years, the management of mountain forests has been increasingly driven by forest disturbances, such as windthrow, bark beetle outbreaks, and forest fires. The increasing rate of disturbances has the potential to convert forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources, and may also affect the provision of other ecosystem services, such as avalanche protection. The capacity of forests to provide services, their vulnerability to disturbance, and their resilience depend on their structure, composition and management regime. Forests with a heterogeneous structure and species composition are expected to better maintain their protection function after disturbances.</p><p>Information on forest structure and its link to functions and services is available from a variety of sources, from Earth Observation and in-situ data, existing process-based models, to local expert knowledge. We use Bayesian Networks to integrate these different types of information and model ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, wood production, and avalanche protection) in the Swiss Alps. This probabilistic modelling approach allows us to identify knowledge gaps and explore uncertainties in the future provision of ecosystem services. Since disturbances are a major source of uncertainty, we combine remote sensing and forest management data to investigate how disturbance severity and post-disturbance recovery are influenced by stand characteristics, such as structural heterogeneity. Based on this analysis, we discuss how forest management can help ensure the provision of mountain forest ecosystem services under changing disturbance regimes.&#160;</p>

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Impacts of Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services in Protecting Forests in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12101383 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 1383

Author(s):

Pham Thu Thuy ◽

Le Thi Thanh Thuy ◽

Tuyet Hoa Nie Kdam ◽

Pham Van Truong ◽

Tran Phuong Hanh Nie Kdam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Political Commitment ◽

Natural Forests ◽

State Budget ◽

Forest Protection ◽

Income Source ◽

Income Sources ◽

Forest Ecosystem Services

Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PFES) scheme has the goal of protecting remaining natural forests by providing financial support to people involved in forest protection. However, studying the case of Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam shows that even after eight years of PFES implementation, achieving this goal remains a challenge. Although PFES does provide a stable income source and higher payments than state forest protection programs, enables the mobilization of more personnel resources for patrolling forest and relieves a great burden on the state budget in terms of investment in forest protection and development, forest cover in Dak Lak province is still decreasing, mainly due to conversion for other land uses, especially commercial agricultural and industrial crops. These drivers are rooted in national socio-economic planning aimed at boosting economic growth and in local people’s need to sustain their livelihoods. In addition, our paper shows that illegal logging is still widespread in Dak Lak. Weak law enforcement in areas of forest managed by state forest authorities and state companies also contributes to deforestation. However, these drivers are neither fully recognized nor addressed, and instead, the blame for deforestation is laid on local communities. PFES alone cannot protect forests in Dak Lak province. It needs to be backed up by political commitment to address underlying drivers of deforestation, improved social programs to help local people diversify their income sources and clarity over land use.

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Selective and traditional forest management options for black pine forests in Central Italy: effects on ecosystem services

Annals of Forest Research ◽

10.15287/afr.2017.799 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Alessandro Paletto ◽

Isabella De Meo ◽

Gianluca Grilli ◽

Natasha Nikodinoska

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Central Italy ◽

Pine Forests ◽

Black Pine ◽

Management Options

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Global Progress Towards Sustainable Forest Management – Bright Spots and Challenges

10.21203/rs.3.rs-744670/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kenichi Shono

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Forest Management ◽

Low Income ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

National Income ◽

Forest Area ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Forest Loss

Abstract Sustainable forest management is an imperative response to continuing deforestation and forest degradation, and the associated decline in forest productivity and supply of ecosystem services. This paper analyses progress towards sustainable forest management globally as well as by climatic domains and national income levels using data from the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. It also examines progress towards sustainable forest management relate to the presence of enabling factors. The findings reveal global expansion of sustainable forest management supported by the widespread presence of enabling framework as manifested in the slowing rate of forest loss in large deforesting countries, increase in forest area designated for conservation, and the rapid expansion of certified forest area. However, such progress has been uneven, and the rate of forest loss is accelerating in tropical low-income countries. In addition to inadequate forest governance in general, factors contributing to this deterioration include: low coverage of long-term forest management plans; high proportion of forests without designated management objectives; and unclear ownership of forests. To enhance the implementation of sustainable forest management in these priority geographies, this paper proposes conservation through sustainable use, including strengthening the role of well-managed production forests in maintaining forest cover and ecosystem services at the landscape level.

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