Adaptive Management on Sustainability of Cork Oak Woodlands

Author(s):  
Nuno de Almeida Ribeiro ◽  
Peter Surový ◽  
António Cipriano Pinheiro

The cork oak woodland production systems result from the integration of conflicting activities in the same space creating the need of constant search of equilibrium between its components in order to achieve sustainability. In a climate change environment, associated with recent modifications in rural societies, adaptive management concepts are needed so as to maintain cork oak woodland systems sustainable. Nowadays/Currently cork oak woodlands are facing disturbances that are affecting the production system sustainability both by intensification of the activities undercover- that leads to a lack of regeneration and consequent disappearing of the crown cover, loss of cork production and site degradation mainly by soil loss-, or by the abandonment that conducts to an invasion of shrubs and other oaks increasing the competition (reducing cork production) and the risk of forest fire. Only adaptive management techniques associated with growth models and decision support systems, constructed in knowledge based monitoring system, are able to prevent cork wood land decline with the adoption of management practices focused in long term objectives. For the present study it was selected a set of permanent plots according with site quality and stand age and structure. Simulation studies results indicates that cork oak woodland system sustainability (both economical and ecological) is supported in regeneration events associated with the shrub control techniques without soil mobilization with strong dependency of cork prices and valuation of carbon sequestration, especially in the less productive soils. Without modification of actual funding policies and the valuation of carbon sequestration, the system faces increased risks of decline due to the maintenance of actual non sustainable management practices by the stake holders driven by their financial needs. This study is particularly relevant regarding that woodlands dominate the landscape of the south-western Iberian Peninsula, occupying approximately 3.1 million hectares in Spain and 1.2 million hectares in Portugal.

2011 ◽  
pp. 624-636
Author(s):  
Nuno de Almeida Ribeiro ◽  
Peter Surový ◽  
António Cipriano Pinheiro

The cork oak woodland production systems result from the integration of conflicting activities in the same space creating the need of constant search of equilibrium between its components in order to achieve sustainability. In a climate change environment, associated with recent modifications in rural societies, adaptive management concepts are needed so as to maintain cork oak woodland systems sustainable. Nowadays/Currently cork oak woodlands are facing disturbances that are affecting the production system sustainability both by intensification of the activities undercover- that leads to a lack of regeneration and consequent disappearing of the crown cover, loss of cork production and site degradation mainly by soil loss-, or by the abandonment that conducts to an invasion of shrubs and other oaks increasing the competition (reducing cork production) and the risk of forest fire. Only adaptive management techniques associated with growth models and decision support systems, constructed in knowledge based monitoring system, are able to prevent cork wood land decline with the adoption of management practices focused in long term objectives. For the present study it was selected a set of permanent plots according with site quality and stand age and structure. Simulation studies results indicates that cork oak woodland system sustainability (both economical and ecological) is supported in regeneration events associated with the shrub control techniques without soil mobilization with strong dependency of cork prices and valuation of carbon sequestration, especially in the less productive soils. Without modification of actual funding policies and the valuation of carbon sequestration, the system faces increased risks of decline due to the maintenance of actual non sustainable management practices by the stake holders driven by their financial needs. This study is particularly relevant regarding that woodlands dominate the landscape of the south-western Iberian Peninsula, occupying approximately 3.1 million hectares in Spain and 1.2 million hectares in Portugal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 12218
Author(s):  
Kaouther MECHERGUI ◽  
Wahbi JAOUADI ◽  
Amal S. ALTAMIMI ◽  
Souheila NAGHMOUCHI ◽  
Youssef AMMARI

Climate change represents an important challenge for forest management and the silviculture of stands and it is known that climate change will have complex effects on cork oak forest ecosystems. North Africa and the Mediterranean basin are especially vulnerable to climate change. Under the effect of climate change, cork oak will disappear from a large area in the future, and the rest will migrate to higher altitudes and latitudes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of climate change on the spatial distribution of Quercus suber L. and cork production in the Mediterranean area, and the risk of its exclusion by the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) expansion. The literature review showed that up to 40% of current environmentally suitable areas for cork oak may be lost by 2070, mainly in northern Africa and the southern Iberian Peninsula. Temperature directly influences atmospheric evaporative demand and should affect cork productivity. Precipitation is the main factor that positively influences cork growth and several authors have confirmed the negative effect of drought on this growth. Currently, cork oak habitats are colonized in several places mainly by the Aleppo pine. Under climate change, Aleppo pine is projected to occupy higher altitude sites and several authors have predicted that current and future global warming will have a positive influence on Aleppo pine growth in wet sites. In the future and under climate change, there is a strong possibility that the Aleppo pine will colonize cork oak habitat. Finally, we proposed management practices to protect cork oak against climate change and Aleppo pine expansion.


Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Tim Carruthers ◽  
Richard Raynie ◽  
Alyssa Dausman ◽  
Syed Khalil

Natural resources of coastal Louisiana support the economies of Louisiana and the whole of the United States. However, future conditions of coastal Louisiana are highly uncertain due to the dynamic processes of the Mississippi River delta, unpredictable storm events, subsidence, sea level rise, increasing temperatures, and extensive historic management actions that have altered natural coastal processes. To address these concerns, a centralized state agency was formed to coordinate coastal protection and restoration effort, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). This promoted knowledge centralization and supported informal adaptive management for restoration efforts, at that time mostly funded through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). Since the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 and the subsequent settlement, the majority of restoration funding for the next 15 years will come through one of the DWH mechanisms; Natural Resource and Damage Assessment (NRDA), the RESTORE Council, or National Fish and Wildlife Foundation –Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (NFWF-GEBF). This has greatly increased restoration effort and increased governance complexity associated with project funding, implementation, and reporting. As a result, there is enhanced impetus to formalize and unify adaptive management processes for coastal restoration in Louisiana. Through synthesis of input from local coastal managers, historical and current processes for project and programmatic implementation and adaptive management were summarized. Key gaps and needs to specifically increase implementation of adaptive management within the Louisiana coastal restoration community were identified and developed into eight tangible and specific recommendations. These were to streamline governance through increased coordination amongst implementing entities, develop a discoverable and practical lessons learned and decision database, coordinate ecosystem reporting, identify commonality of restoration goals, develop a common cross-agency adaptive management handbook for all personnel, improve communication (both in-reach and outreach), have a common repository and clearing house for numerical models used for restoration planning and assessment, and expand approaches for two-way stakeholder engagement throughout the restoration process. A common vision and maximizing synergies between entities can improve adaptive management implementation to maximize ecosystem and community benefits of restoration effort in coastal Louisiana. This work adds to current knowledge by providing specific strategies and recommendations, based upon extensive engagement with restoration practitioners from multiple state and federal agencies. Addressing these practitioner-identified gaps and needs will improve engagement in adaptive management in coastal Louisiana, a large geographic area with high restoration implementation within a complex governance framework.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kewat Sanjay Kumar ◽  

Mechanisms governing carbon stabilization in soils have received a great deal of attention in recent years due to their relevance in the global carbon cycle. Two thirds of the global terrestrial organic C stocks in ecosystems are stored in below ground components as terrestrial carbon pools in soils. Furthermore, mean residence time of soil organic carbon pools have slowest turnover rates in terrestrial ecosystems and thus there is vast potential to sequester atmospheric CO2 in soil ecosystems. Depending upon soil management practices it can be served as source or sink for atmospheric CO2. Sustainable management systems and practices such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry and application of biochar are emerging and promising tools for soil carbon sequestration. Increasing soil carbon storage in a system simultaneously improves the soil health by increase in infiltration rate, soil biota and fertility, nutrient cycling and decrease in soil erosion process, soil compaction and C emissions. Henceforth, it is vital to scientifically explore the mechanisms governing C flux in soils which is poorly understood in different ecosystems under anthropogenic interventions making soil as a potential sink for atmospheric CO2 to mitigate climate change. Henceforth, present paper aims to review basic mechanism governing carbon stabilization in soils and new practices and technological developments in agricultural and forest sciences for C sequestration in terrestrial soil ecosystems.


SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402098300
Author(s):  
Norwan Ahmad ◽  
Ng Siew Imm ◽  
Yuhanis Abdul Aziz ◽  
Norazlyn Kamal Basha

This article is aimed at examining the effect, direct and indirect, of knowledge-based human resource management on innovative offerings of service small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Knowledge-based human resource management essentially reflects the central role played by the embedded knowledge-centric human resource management practices, which may lead to new or improved services. A cross-sectional survey was implemented involving a sample of 278 business service SMEs from Malaysia and indicated two key findings from the study. First, knowledge-based human resource management was found to positively influence innovative service offerings. Second, dynamic capability in the aspects of entrepreneurial orientation, marketing capability, and technological capability were found to mediate the knowledge-based human resource management–innovative service offerings relationship. This study espouses the potentials of creating innovative service offerings among business service SMEs through embedding knowledge perspective in human resource management practices as well as investment in dynamic capabilities.


2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao F.P. Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Cork Oak ◽  

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