scholarly journals An Example of Uneven-Aged Forest Management for Sustainable Timber Harvesting

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3305
Author(s):  
Jan Banaś ◽  
Stanisław Zięba ◽  
Leszek Bujoczek

This paper presents a system of uneven-aged forest management consistent with the principles of close-to-nature silviculture with treatments adopted to the requirements of individual tree stands, depending on their development phase, growing stock volume, DBH distribution and regeneration status. The study involves an experimental forest (property of the University of Agriculture in Cracow, Poland) with an area of 455.86 ha, located in the Western Carpathians. Data about stand characteristics and development processes, including regeneration, survival and removal, were obtained by measurements conducted at 10-year intervals on 413 permanent sample plots in the years 1976–2016, resulting in a total of four measurement periods. In the first period (1976–1986), harvesting intensity was low at 2.16 m3/ha/year but subsequently increased with the development of growing stock, higher volume increments and improved age and species structure, to finally reach 10.34 m3/ha/year in 2006–2016. The mean volume of timber harvested over the entire study period was 6.12 m3/ha/year, corresponding to 65.2% of the volume increment and 2.8% of the total growing stock. Management by the close-to-nature silviculture method had a positive impact on the forest characteristics. The improved species and age structure and the increased volume increment and growing stock translated into greater stand productivity without detriment to the implementation of non-timber forest functions.

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
Erik C Berg ◽  
Eric A Simmons ◽  
Todd A Morgan ◽  
Stanley J Zarnoch

Abstract Alaska forest managers seek information on how timber harvesting practices change the creation of postharvest woody residues. To predict residue volumes, researchers investigated how residue ratios—growing-stock residue volume per mill-delivered volume—related to readily available data on logging site and tree attributes in Alaska. Residue ratios were not related to logging site-level variables but were related to individual tree variables with predictive models. Ratios varied widely by tree species and were predicted to increase with larger stump height and larger small-end used diameters and decline exponentially with increasing diameter breast height (dbh) to approximately 25 inches. Ratios were then predicted to increase progressively in larger dbh trees. Results from this study update previous findings in other US Northwest states and can be used to produce or improve residue prediction tools for Alaska land managers.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Golo Stadelmann ◽  
Christian Temperli ◽  
Brigitte Rohner ◽  
Markus Didion ◽  
Anne Herold ◽  
...  

Forest development models have been used to predict future harvesting potentials and forest management reference levels under the Kyoto guidelines. This contribution aims at presenting the individual-tree simulator MASSIMO and demonstrating its scope of applications with simulations of two possible forest management reference levels (base or business as usual) in an example application. MASSIMO is a suitable tool to predict timber harvesting potentials and forest management reference levels to assess future carbon budgets of Swiss forests. While the current version of MASSIMO accurately accounts for legacy effects and management scenarios, effects of climate and nitrogen deposition on growth, mortality, and regeneration are not yet included. In addition to including climate sensitivity, the software may be further improved by including effects of species mixture on tree growth and assessing ecosystem service provision based on indicators.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 6071-6112
Author(s):  
Mats Lindeskog ◽  
Benjamin Smith ◽  
Fredrik Lagergren ◽  
Ekaterina Sycheva ◽  
Andrej Ficko ◽  
...  

Abstract. Global forests are the main component of the land carbon sink, which acts as a partial buffer to CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Dynamic vegetation models offer an approach to projecting the development of forest carbon sink capacity in a future climate. Forest management capabilities are important to include in dynamic vegetation models to account for the effects of age and species structure and wood harvest on carbon stocks and carbon storage potential. This article describes the implementation of a forest management module containing even-age and clear-cut and uneven-age and continuous-cover management alternatives in the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS. Different age and species structure initialisation strategies and harvest alternatives are introduced. The model is applied at stand and European scales. Different management alternatives are applied in simulations of European beech (Fagus sylvaticus) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) even-aged monoculture stands in central Europe and evaluated against above-ground standing stem volume and harvested volume data from long-term experimental plots. At the European scale, an automated thinning and clear-cut strategy is applied. Modelled carbon stocks and fluxes are evaluated against reported data at the continent and country levels. Including wood harvest in regrowth forests increases the simulated total European carbon sink by 32 % in 1991–2015 and improves the fit to the reported European carbon sink, growing stock, and net annual increment (NAI). Growing stock (156 m3 ha−1) and NAI (5.4 m3 ha1 yr1) densities in 2010 are close to reported values, while the carbon sink density in 2000–2007 (0.085 kg C m−2 yr1) equates to 63 % of reported values, most likely reflecting uncertainties in carbon fluxes from soil given the unaccounted for forest land-use history in the simulations. The fit of modelled and reported values for individual European countries varies, but NAI is generally closer to reported values when including wood harvest in simulations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
John-Pascal Berrill ◽  
Kevin L. O’Hara

Estimating site productivity in irregular structures is complicated by variations in stand density, structure, composition in mixed stands, and suppression experienced by subordinate trees. Our objective was to develop an alternate to site index (SI) and demonstrate its application in models of individual-tree and stand growth. We analyzed coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb. ex D. Don) Endl.) tree and stand growth in a grid of 234 permanent sample plots covering a 110 ha study area in north coastal California. Partial harvesting created a mosaic of densities and openings throughout the 60-year-old redwood-dominated forest. Redwood SI was a poor predictor of volume increment (VI) per hectare among redwood in each plot over two decades after harvest. A new index of redwood basal area increment (BAI) productivity, calculated using inventory data for all stems in even-aged stands and the oldest cohort of multiaged stands, was a stronger predictor of VI. Diameter increment of individual redwood trees correlated strongly with stand density and the new BAI index. Forest managers should expect widely divergent responses following partial harvesting in crowded even-aged stands, with the greatest response coming from dominant redwoods with long crowns retained in areas with low residual stand density and high BAI index.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Lindeskog ◽  
Fredrik Lagergren ◽  
Benjamin Smith ◽  
Anja Rammig

Abstract. Global forests are the main component of the land carbon sink, which acts as a partial buffer to CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Dynamic vegetation models offer an approach to making projections of the development of forest carbon sink capacity in a future climate. Forest management capabilities in dynamic vegetation models are important to include the effects of age and species structure and wood harvest on carbon stocks and carbon storage potential. This article describes the introduction of a forest management module in the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS. Different age- and species-structure setup strategies and harvest alternatives are introduced. The model is used to represent current European forests and an automated harvest strategy is applied. Modelled carbon stocks and fluxes are evaluated against observed data at the continent and country levels. Including wood harvest in simulations increases the total European carbon sink by 32 % in 1991–2015 and improves the fit to the reported European carbon sink, growing stock and net annual increment (NAI). Growing stock (156 m3 ha−1) and NAI (5.4 m3 ha−1 y−1) densities in 2010 are close to reported values, while the carbon sink density in 2000–2007 (0.085 kgC m−2 y−1) is 63 % of reported values. The fit of modelled values and observations for individual European countries vary, but NAI is generally closer to observations when including wood harvest in simulations.


FLORESTA ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamella Carolline Marques dos Reis ◽  
Leonardo Pequeno Reis ◽  
Ademir Roberto Ruschel ◽  
José Natalino Macedo Silva ◽  
João Olegário Pereira de Carvalho ◽  
...  

Dynamics of Lecythidaceae species were evaluated 13 years after logging in a dense tropical rain forest located in the municipality of Moju, Pará (02º 08’ 14’’ and 02º 12’ 26” S; 48º 47’ 34”S and 48º 48’ 14” W - SAD 69). Two hundred ha out of a 1,050 ha forest area were selectively logged for timber (23 m3 ha-1 harvested from 25 species) in 1997. Twenty-two permanent sample plots of 0.5 ha (11 ha sample area) were established and all trees with DBH ≥ 10 cm were measured and identified in 1995, 1998 and 2010. Density (trees ha-1) and basal area (m2 ha-1) of the species were evaluated in the three occasions. The opening of canopy caused by logging reduced the density and basal area of five species, but produced a positive response in nine species, boosting their natural regeneration and allowing the ingrowth of one species that was not present in the studied area in the beginning.Keywords: Forest dynamics; Tauari; forest management; Amazon Forest. ResumoEfeito da exploração de madeiras na densidade e área basal de espécies de Lecythidaceae no leste da Amazônia. Analisou-se a dinâmica de espécies de Lecythidaceae 13 anos após a exploração madeireira, em uma Floresta Ombrófila Densa no município de Moju, Pará (02º 08’ 14’’ e 02º 12’ 26” S; 48º 47’ 34”S e 48º 48’ 14” W - SAD 69). De uma área de floresta de 1.050 ha, foram selecionados 200 ha para exploração seletiva, em 1997, de 25 espécies comerciais madeireiras (intensidade de 23 m3 ha-1). Foram alocadas 22 parcelas permanentes de 0,5 ha, totalizando 11 ha amostrais, onde foram medidas todas as árvores com DAP≥ 10 cm, nos anos de 1995, 1998 e 2010. Analisou-se a densidade (árvores ha-1) e área basal (m2 ha-1) das espécies, nas três ocasiões. A abertura do dossel causada pela exploração reduziu a densidade e a área basal de cinco espécies, porém produziu impacto positivo em nove espécies, estimulando a sua regeneração natural e, inclusive, proporcionando o ingresso de uma espécie que não estava presente na área monitoradaPalavras-chave: Dinâmica da floresta; Tauarí; manejo florestal; Floresta Amazônica.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Zastocki ◽  
Hubert Lachowicz ◽  
Jarosław Sadowski ◽  
Tadeusz Moskalik

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.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J Dean ◽  
Anthony W D’Amato ◽  
Brian J Palik ◽  
Mike A Battaglia ◽  
Constance A Harrington

Abstract Standardizing gross volume increment on periodic height increment of the dominant trees is a means of minimizing the effects of site quality and age in growth–growing-stock relations; however, volume increment per height increment contains more information than just a normalization method for fitting growth models. This study builds on previous work suggesting that the cumulative sum of the ratios between individual-tree volume increment and height increment may be a direct measure of stand density. We used data from several levels of growing-stock studies for Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and red pine to explore this hypothesis. Regression analysis indicated that the sum of the ratios is proportional to(Dqx⋅N), the underlying equation form of Reineke’s stand density index. Stem growth is a function of canopy dynamics, and additional analyses showed that volume added per unit of height growth was also related to canopy architecture, increasing with decreasing live-crown ratio and increasing foliage density. The linkages between growth, canopy architecture, intermediary canopy dynamics, and (Dqx⋅N) support the hypothesis that the sum of the tree ratios between volume increment and height increment is a direct measure of site occupancy due to its association between growth and corresponding resource use. Study Implications Stand density indices are fundamental to managing the development of forest stands to achieve habitat and production goals, and advanced statistical techniques are providing silviculturists with more precise tools to manage density. However, the increased precision is only available with data from self-thinning stands, rare in managed forests. Furthermore, silviculturists must assume that constant fractions of relative stand density are parallel to fitted self-thinning trajectories. The results of this study show that the slope of the stand density gradient can be determined without data from self-thinning stands and the gradient in stand density runs parallel to the trajectory of self-thinning stands.


1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Meilby ◽  
L Puri ◽  
M Christensen ◽  
S Rayamajhi

To monitor the development of four community-managed forests, networks of permanent sample plots were established in 2005 at sites in Chitwan, Kaski and Mustang Districts, Nepal. This research note documents the procedures used when preparing for establishment of the plot networks, evaluates the applied stratification of the forest on the basis of data gathered in pilot surveys conducted in the early 2005, and provides a discussion on the implications of the choices made. Key words: Community-managed forests; permanent sample plots; stratification; allocation; estimates Banko Janakari Vol.16(2) 2006 pp.3-11


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