scholarly journals Impacts of Alternative Harvesting and Natural Disturbance Scenarios on Forest Biomass in the Superior National Forest, USA

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Russell ◽  
Stephanie Patton ◽  
David Wilson ◽  
Grant Domke ◽  
Katie Frerker
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Volume Control ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Project Area

The amount of biomass stored in forest ecosystems is a result of past natural disturbances, forest management activities, and current structure and composition such as age class distributions. Although natural disturbances are projected to increase in their frequency and severity on a global scale in the future, forest management and timber harvesting decisions continue to be made at local scales, e.g., the ownership or stand level. This study simulated potential changes in natural disturbance regimes and their interaction with timber harvest goals across the Superior National Forest (SNF) in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Forest biomass stocks and stock changes were simulated for 120 years under three natural disturbance and four harvest scenarios. A volume control approach was used to estimate biomass availability across the SNF and a smaller project area within the SNF (Jeanette Project Area; JPA). Results indicate that under current harvest rates and assuming disturbances were twice that of normal levels resulted in reductions of 2.62 to 10.38% of forest biomass across the four primary forest types in the SNF and JPA, respectively. Under this scenario, total biomass stocks remained consistent after 50 years at current and 50% disturbance rates, but biomass continued to decrease under a 200%-disturbance scenario through 120 years. In comparison, scenarios that assumed both harvest and disturbance were twice that of normal levels and resulted in reductions ranging from 14.18 to 29.85% of forest biomass. These results suggest that both natural disturbances and timber harvesting should be considered to understand their impacts to future forest structure and composition. The implications from simulations like these can provide managers with strategic approaches to determine the economic and ecological outcomes associated with timber harvesting and disturbances.

Vom Forst zum Wald. Entwicklungstendenzen im naturnahen Waldbau | From a Production-Oriented Forest to a Multipurpose Forest. New Trends in Near-Natural Silviculture

1999 ◽  
Vol 150 (12) ◽  
pp. 484-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf Hockenjos
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
The Other ◽  
Private Forest ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Great Demand ◽  
The Past ◽  
Forest Enterprises

Concepts of near-natural forestry are in great demand these days. Most German forest administrations and private forest enterprises attach great importance to being as «near-natural» as possible. This should allow them to make the most of biological rationalisation. The concept of near-natural forestry is widely accepted, especially by conservationists. However, it is much too early to analyse how successful near-natural forestry has been to date, and therefore to decide whether an era of genuine near-natural forest management has really begun. Despite wide-spread recognition, near-natural forestry is jeopardised by mechanised timber harvesting, and particularly by the large-timber harvester. The risk is that machines, which are currently just one element of the timber harvest will gain in importance and gradually become the decisive element. The forest would then be forced to meet the needs of machinery, not the other way round. Forests would consequently become so inhospitable that they would bear no resemblance to the sylvan image conjured up by potential visitors. This could mean taking a huge step backwards: from a near-natural forest to a forest dominated by machinery. The model of multipurpose forest management would become less viable, and the forest would become divided into areas for production, and separate areas for recreation and ecology. The consequences of technical intervention need to be carefully considered, if near-natural forestry is not to become a thing of the past.

Using knowledge of natural disturbances to support sustainable forest management in the northern Clay Belt

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Nicolas Lecomte
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Natural Fire ◽  
Coarse Filter

Several concepts are at the basis of forest ecosystem management, but a relative consensus exists around the idea of a forest management approach that is based on natural disturbances and forest dynamics. This type of approach aims to reproduce the main attributes of natural landscapes in order to maintain ecosystems within their natural range of variability and avoid creating an environment to which species are not adapted. By comparing attributes associated with natural fire regimes and current forest management, we were able to identify four major differences for the black spruce forest of the Clay Belt. The maintenance of older forests, the spatial extent of cutover areas, the maintenance of residuals within cutovers and disturbance severity on soils are major issues that should be addressed. Silvicultural strategies that mitigate differences between natural and managed forests are briefly discussed. Key words: natural disturbance, landscape patterns, coarse filter, harvest pattern, volume retention, historic variability, even-aged management

Preliminary investigation of the effects of timber harvesting on the activity status of beaver lodges in central Ontario, Canada

2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 878-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn J Landriault ◽  
Brian J Naylor ◽  
Stephen C Mills ◽  
Dianna Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Castor Canadensis ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Partial Harvest

Beavers (Castor canadensis) are widely considered a keystone species in boreal and northern temperate forest ecosystems and are seasonally dependent on intolerant hardwood tree species for food. We used existing data to investigate the effects of timber harvesting on the activity status of beaver lodges in central Ontario, Canada. Beaver lodges were initially visited from 1976 to 1979 and active lodges were revisited in 1994. We analyzed a sample of 100 lodges. Fifty had some timber harvesting within 400 m of the lodge, 41 of which had harvest within 100 m of the shoreline (subsequently referred to as shoreline harvest). We differentiated timber harvest by type (clearcut vs. partial cut), years since harvest, and location for each lodge. Clearcut timber harvesting appeared to have a positive effect on the occupancy of beaver lodges. Seventy-three percent of lodges adjacent to shoreline clearcut areas were active, whereas only 34% of lodges with no shoreline harvest were active. We developed logistic regression models to evaluate the relationship between presence of timber harvest and activity status based on harvest location, harvest type, years since harvest, and water feature (pond, stream, lake, or wetland). Using Akaike’s Information Criterion, our modeling suggested that the presence of a 21- to 35-year-old shoreline clearcut adjacent to a lodge, combined with the associated water feature type, was the best predictor of lodge activity. However, our dataset included only a small sample of lodges in this harvest category (n = 11). While these results are viewed as preliminary, they do suggest that further investigation into the effects of shoreline timber harvest and shoreline reserves on habitat suitability for beavers is warranted. Key words: beaver, beaver pond, boreal, clearcut, forestry, Great Lakes – St. Lawrence, natural disturbance, Ontario, partial harvest, riparian, shoreline

Integrated spatial fire and forest management planning

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 2370-2383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio A. Acuna ◽  
Cristian D. Palma ◽  
Wenbin Cui ◽  
David L. Martell ◽  
Andres Weintraub
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Harvest Scheduling ◽  
Fire Loss ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Access Road

Forest management planners usually treat potential fire loss estimates as exogenous parameters in their timber production planning processes. When they do so, they do not account for the fact that forest access road construction, timber harvesting, and silvicultural activities can alter a landscape’s vegetation or fuel composition, and they ignore the possibility that such activities may influence future fire losses. We develop an integrated fire and forest management planning methodology that accounts for and exploits such interactions. Our methodology is based on fire occurrence, suppression, and spread models, a fire protection value model that identifies crucial stands, the harvesting of which can have a significant influence on the spread of fires across the landscape, and a spatially explicit timber harvest scheduling model. We illustrate its use by applying it to a forest management unit in the boreal forest region of the province of Alberta in western Canada. We found that for our study area, integrated fire – forest management planning based on our methodology could result in an 8.1% increase in net present value when compared with traditional planning in which fire loss is treated as an exogenous factor.

Model-assisted estimation of biomass in a LiDAR sample survey in Hedmark County, NorwayThis article is one of a selection of papers from Extending Forest Inventory and Monitoring over Space and Time.

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy G. Gregoire ◽  
Göran Ståhl ◽  
Erik Næsset ◽  
Terje Gobakken ◽  
Ross Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
National Forest Inventory ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Stage Design ◽  
Variance Estimators ◽  
Inventory And Monitoring ◽  
Selection Of

Inasmuch as LiDAR is becoming an increasingly prominent tool for forest inventory, it is timely to develop a framework to understand the statistical properties of LiDAR-based estimates. A model-assisted approach to estimation and inference when using LiDAR as a tool to inventory aboveground forest biomass is presented. An empirical example is also presented, yet the article’s focus is largely methodological. The sampling plan in the example is viewed as a two-stage design, with slightly different primary sampling units between the profiling and scanning laser surveys. A regression estimator is presented that uses biomass data from the Norwegian National Forest Inventory as the response variable and laser-derived variables as covariates. A major thrust of this article is the presentation of the variance of the estimators of total biomass and biomass per hectare as well as variance estimators.

Implementing wildfire-based timber harvest guidelines in southeastern Manitoba

2002 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 680-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Ehnes ◽  
Vince Keenan
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Landscape Design ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Design Guidelines

The Manitoba Model Forest and Tembec Industries (Pine Falls Operations) are operationalizing the overall goal of sustainable forest management: maintain forest ecosystem health while harvesting timber. Timber harvest guidelines intended to approximate the effects of a large wildfire were developed for spatial scales that span from the operating area down to the site. Operating area issues are addressed through landscape design guidelines that locate cutblocks and other activities (e.g., roads) within an operating area. Cut-block guidelines determine how harvesting, site preparation and regeneration are completed. These wildfire-based guidelines are being tested in four large-scale harvest trials in southeastern Manitoba. This paper describes the rationale behind the approach taken, the landscape design and cutblock operating guidelines that were developed, operational experiences from the harvest trials, and some of the challenges that arose. Key words: wildfire, operating guidelines, landscape design, timber harvesting, site preparation, regeneration, natural disturbance emulation, ecosystem processes, ecosystem health, maintaining biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem condition

scholarly journals Changes in the Assortment and Species Structure of Timber Harvested from the Polish Managed Part of Białowieża Forest

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Zastocki ◽  
Hubert Lachowicz ◽  
Jarosław Sadowski ◽  
Tadeusz Moskalik
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Species Structure ◽  
Wood Harvesting ◽  
Białowieża Forest ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
The Many

The subject of the research, which is the Polish managed part of Białowieża Forest together with Białowieża National Park, a remnant of primeval forests, is one of the most valuable forest areas in Europe. This article presents the history of the use of these forests. The assortment and species structure of the harvested timber was analyzed in detail for the Białowieża, Browsk, and Hajnówka Forest Districts from 2008 to 2017. The research is based on data from the State Forests Information System (SILP) and Forest Management Plans (PUL), as well as Nature Conservation Programs (POP). The volume of harvested timber was diversified. In 2011–2013, it was limited by a decision of the Minister of the Environment from 110,000 m3 in 2010 to 48,500 m3. This contributed to the increase of the European spruce bark beetle gradation, causing the death of spruce stands. By an annex to the Forest Management Plan issued in 2016, the Minister of the Environment increased the amount of the timber harvest. In 2017, it amounted to almost 190,000 m3, where 91% of the harvested volume was spruce, but the wood was markedly inferior in technical quality compared to previous years. Such a large increase in harvesting aroused the opposition mainly of environmental organizations and the European Commission. In April 2018, the EU Court of Justice decided that Poland violated EU law by increasing the number of felled trees in Białowieża Forest. After this decision, the Minister of the Environment repealed the earlier decision, the basis for conducting the increased wood harvesting in Białowieża Forest. Changes in the timber harvested in terms of volume, quality, and assortment, are due to the specificity of managing environmentally valuable areas. This relates to the many limitations on commercial forestry, which must take into account the need to protect nature and the legal acts regulating timber harvesting.

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