scholarly journals Soil Disturbance and Recovery after Coppicing a Mediterranean Oak Stand: The Effects of Silviculture and Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachele Venanzi ◽  
Rodolfo Picchio ◽  
Raffaele Spinelli ◽  
Stefano Grigolato

Traditional coppice management system is one of the most debated topics in the Mediterranean area, as it is a forest management system that accounts for over 23 million hectares. Coppicing is considered the oldest form of sustainable forest management. Its past and current widespread popularity is mainly due to its capacity to positively contribute to the rural economy and ecosystem services. This research aimed at assessing the effect of coppicing on soil characteristics, understanding a possible treatment return time, and evaluating the implementation of proper sustainable forest operations (SFOs) in order to have a better understanding of the disturbance caused by silvicultural treatment and forest operations with two different harvesting techniques. The results demonstrated that physical, chemical, and biological soil features were partially disturbed by the coppicing. Both silvicultural treatment and forest operations influenced soil disturbance. The least impactful technique was extraction by winch, while forwarding resulted in heavier alterations of soil characteristics. It took about five years for the soil to recover its original pre-harvest conditions when the disturbance was caused by the silvicultural treatment alone (non-trafficked areas) and about eight to nine years when the disturbance was the cumulated effect of silvicultural treatment and logging activity (trafficked areas).

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Bourgeois ◽  
Daniel Kneeshaw ◽  
Louis Imbeau ◽  
Nicolas Bélanger ◽  
Stephen Yamasaki ◽  
...  

In order to receive forest certification and to respond to societal desires, many forest companies are attempting to demonstrate that their forest activities are «sustainable». The main objective of this paper is to qualitatively evaluate the ways in which forestry-related provincial regulations in the three provinces (Alberta, Ontario and Quebec) that contain most of the Canadian boreal forest help forest companies achieve certification with respect to ecological criteria. In the process of continually evolving towards sustainable forest management, we evaluate how these provincial regulations governing forest operations can be helpful in maintaining three criteria: biodiversity, the aquatic environment and soils. This study shows that the regulations evaluated have varied in their approach and thus have different strengths that must be underlined: (1) Ontario's approach is the strongest in terms of biodiversity, (2) Alberta and Ontario provide measures to abandon roads after harvesting, (3) Quebec provides the greatest specific measures for protecting waterways and aquatic species, (4) Alberta shows the greatest consideration for maintaining the most soil properties and functions. Better links between different regulations are necessary in all jurisdictions. The continual improvement of Canadian forest rules is often slow and advances at a different pace depending on regulators but it should be supported in all provinces. Key words: sustainable forest management, biodiversity, aquatic environment, soils, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1053
Author(s):  
Rachele Venanzi ◽  
Rodolfo Picchio ◽  
Stefano Grigolato ◽  
Raffaele Spinelli

Chestnut forests represent an important environmental and landscape element in Europe, especially in the hill regions of southern Europe. In Italy, the total surface amount of chestnut forests is slightly expanded with 788,408 hectares, but orchards show a dramatic reduction (147,586 hectares or 20% of the total) and timber-producing stands a comparable expansion (605,888 hectares or 80%). The coppice management actually applied is considered one of the oldest forms of sustainable forest management. Over the years, coppice highlighted its versatility, resilience and multifunctionality. In this management system, in consideration of the “frequent” cutting cycles, special attention must be paid to forestry operations, because tree damage and soil compaction can trigger fungal disease and soil erosion. Frequent and repeated machine traffic increases the risk for soil degradation derived from compaction, topsoil removal and general disturbance. This study covered different forest areas and mechanization levels, in order to evaluate if the extent, type and severity of soil disturbance changed with site characteristics and logging technique. Furthermore, the study sought to obtain a better knowledge about the recovery time required for restoring the original soil properties after a disturbance has occurred. The findings showed that physical, chemical, and biological soil features were only partially disturbed by the coppicing and again that a high level of specialized mechanization does not generate heavier soil impact compared with the smaller and lighter machines deployed under the traditional and intermediate mechanization scenarios. Soil recovery in the impacted areas is already measurable one year after harvest and may be complete within the eight year—that is halfway through the standard rotation applied in the region to chestnut coppice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. eR04S ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado ◽  
Andrés Bravo-Oviedo ◽  
Eduardo López-Senespleda ◽  
Felipe Bravo ◽  
Miren Del Rio

Aim of the study: To review and acknowledge the value of carbon sequestration by forest management in the Mediterranean area.Material and methods: We review the main effects of forest management by comparing the effects of silvicultural systems (even-aged vs. uneven-aged stands, coppice systems, agroforestry systems), silvicultural options (thinning, rotation period, species composition), afforestation, harvesting, fire impact or effects of shrub layer on carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean area.Main results: We illustrate as forest management can clearly improve forest carbon sequestration amounts. We conclude that forest management is an effective way to maintain and enhance high carbon sequestration rates in order to cope with climate change and provision of ecosystem services. We also think that although much effort has been put into this topic research, there are still certain gaps that must be dealt with to increase our scientific knowledge and in turn transfer this knowledge to forest practitioners in order to achieve sustainable management aimed at mitigating climate change.Research highlights: It is important to underline the importance of forests in the carbon cycle as this role can be enhanced by forest managers through sustainable forest management. The effects of different management options or disturbances can be critical as regards mitigating climate change. Understanding the effects of forest management is even more important in the Mediterranean area, given that the current high climatic variability together with historical human exploitation and disturbance events make this area more vulnerable to the effects of climate change


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Farzam Tavankar ◽  
Rodolfo Picchio ◽  
Mehrdad Nikooy ◽  
Meghdad Jourgholami ◽  
Ramin Naghdi ◽  
...  

The growth and quality of natural seedlings are important goals of forest management in uneven-aged high stands. In this study, the recovery process of the physical and chemical properties of soil, as well as growth variables of beech seedlings on the skid trails after skidding operations in three time periods (10, 20, and 30 years) were investigated in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran. Results revealed that the soil chemical properties (organic C, total N, and pH) were fully recovered after 20 years, while soil physical properties (bulk density, porosity, and penetration resistance) were not yet fully recovered even after 30 years. The values of growth characteristics (stem and root system) and the quality index of beech seedlings were not statistically different from those of the control area ones after 20 years. According to our findings, the process of recovering soil characteristics after forest operations is long and takes more than 30 years. Considering the effect that soil compaction can have on seedling establishment and growth, proper planning of the forest operation is needed to limit the negative effects of forest operations, which meets the requirements of sustainable forest management. We suggest designing skid trails with a minimum distance of 140 m from each other and with a longitudinal slope of less than 15%, in compliance with the principles of best management practice (BMP).


1996 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Rawlinson

The changes being contemplated by many forestry companies in a rapidly changing forestry environment include the proposed Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management System. During the past year several companies have begun the process of complying with the draft standards by initiating a review of their operations with the intent of identifying gaps in their operations relative to the CSA criteria. The following article identifies some of the key areas where companies will need to develop strategies to bridge those gaps. Key words: sustainable forestry, Canadian forest management standards, forest certification


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-96
Author(s):  
Yohanes Victor Lasi Usbobo

The implementation of todays forest management that based on formal-scientific knowledge and technical knowledge seems to fail to protect the forest from deforestation and the environmental damage. Decolonialisation of western knowledge could give an opportunity to identify and find the knowledge and practices of indigenous people in sustainable forest management. Forest management based on the indigenous knowledge and practices is believed easy to be accepted by the indigenous community due to the knowledge and practice is known and ‘lived’ by them. The Atoni Pah Meto from West Timor has their own customary law in forest management that is knows as Bunuk. In the installation of Bunuk, there is a concencus among the community members to protect and preserve the forest through the vow to the supreme one, the ruler of the earth and the ancestors, thus, bunuk is becoming a le’u (sacred). Thus, the Atoni Meto will not break the bunuk due to the secredness. Adapting the bunuk to the modern forest management in the Atoni Meto areas could be one of the best options in protecting and preserving the forest.


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