Potential spesies from the Dipterocarp family at Mandailing Natal Forest Production Management Unit, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Sumatra has extensive forests, rich in tree species, especially the Dipterocarpaceae species, which have high economic and ecological value in the development sector. The enormous number of Dipterocarpaceae species and the paucity of herbarium collections make identifying species quite easy. The study’s goal was to learn more about the Dipterocarpaceae family tree’s species, diameter, and height in the Mandailing Natal Forest Production Management Unit (KPHP ) in North Sumatra. Diameter and height data of Shorea sp was based on secondary data processing. The inventory revealed that the Dipterocarpaceae family has 12 different species. Trees in the Dipterocarpaceae family have an average diameter of 44.5 cm and a height of 20 cm. This inventory is expected to offer information on the several Dipterocarpacea families that can be found in this area, particularly those with high economic value and those that are protected.

Riparian Ecological Infrastructures: Potential for Biodiversity-Related Ecosystem Services in Mediterranean Human-Dominated Landscapes

Riparian Ecological Infrastructures are networks of natural and semi-natural riparian areas located in human-dominated landscapes, crucial in supporting processes that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. In this study, we developed a novel multimetric index, termed Habitat Ecological Infrastructure’s Diversity Index (HEIDI), to quantify the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting biodiversity, and related ecosystem services, in three managed landscapes: Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, and Forest Production. Metrics describing the structure, composition, and management of riparian vegetation and associated habitats were used to derive the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting three distinct biological dispersal groups: short-range dispersers (ants), medium-range dispersers (pollinators), and long-range dispersers (birds, bats, and non-flying small mammals). The composition of floristic resources, assessed by identifying trees and shrubs at the species and genus level, and herbaceous plants at the family level, was used as a proxy to evaluate the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in promoting seed dispersal and pollination ecosystem services provided by the three biological communities. Our research evidenced that Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Forest Production and Intensive Agriculture landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest potential for biodiversity-related ecosystem services, respectively. The Forest Production landscape revealed higher suitability of forage resources for short- and medium-range dispersers and a higher landscape coverage by Riparian Ecological Infrastructures, resulting in more potential to create ecological corridors and to provide ecosystem services. The Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Extensive Agriculture landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for supporting long-ranges dispersers, despite providing less habitat for the biological communities. Land-use systems in the proximity of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures should be sustainably managed to promote riparian vegetation composition and structural quality, as well as the riparian width, safeguarding biodiversity, and the sustainable provision of biodiversity-related ecosystem services.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the sustainable management of the forestry sector in Southern Africa

The objective of the study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainable forest management in southern Africa. The study employed a targeted approach, also referred to as purposive sampling, to select respondents from the various sectors. The results show that COVID-19 had an 80% impact on forest management operations. The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant effect on the conversion of land from forest to other land uses. However, there was severe illegal logging and moderate to severe fires. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a severe impact on the agriculture, environment and ecotourism sectors, with nature reserves completely closed. From the forest production perspective, the impact of COVID-19 on production, supply, demand and the price of timber was generally low due to the commercial nature of the forestry sector in South Africa; the largest economy in SADC being classified as an essential sector.

CAN LINEAR PROGRAMMING ASSIST METAHEURISTICS IN FOREST PRODUCTION PLANNING PROBLEM?

The planning of forest production requires the adoption of mathematical models to optimize the utilization of available resources. Hence, studies involving the improvement of decision-making processes must be performed. Herein, we evaluate an alternative method for improving the performance of metaheuristics when they are applied for identifying solutions to problems in forest production planning. The inclusion of a solution obtained by rounding the optimal solution of linear programming to a relaxed problem is investigated. Such a solution is included in the initial population of the clonal selection algorithm, genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, and variable neighborhood search metaheuristics when it is used to generate harvest and planting plans in an area measuring 4,210 ha comprising 120 management units with ages varying between 1 and 6 years. The same algorithms are executed without including the solutions mentioned in the initial population. Results show that the performance of the clonal selection algorithm, genetic algorithm, and variable neighborhood search algorithms improved significantly. Positive effects on the performance of the simulated annealing metaheuristic are not indicated. Hence, it is concluded that rounding off the solution to a relaxed problem is a good alternative for generating an initial solution for metaheuristics.

PROSPECTS OF PINUS AND EUCALYPTUS PRODUCING COMPANIES IN THE STATE OF PARANÁ

The objective of this work was to analyze the prospects for the next five years in relation to planted area, forest production, investment intention and hiring of employees. The research had as its area of coverage the state of Paraná and as a source of data, companies (legal entities) producers of forest raw material of planted origin that operate in the state. The contacts with the companies were obtained from the Paraná Association of Forest Based Companies (APRE), the Organization of Cooperatives of the State of Paraná (OCEPAR), SINPACEL and ABIMCI. The questionnaires were sent by e-mail to the entire contact base, aiming at the census. Thus, the resulting sample is made up of 41 companies, segmented between integrated and non-integrated companies, which corresponds to 17 and 24 companies. The evaluation answers were carried out. For the identification of the companies’ prospects, it was requested to fill in a table indicating a percentage (0 to 100%) that reflects the projections for the next 5 years. The prospects related to the planted area, production and investments were positive, however, the panoramas related to hiring new employees by the pulp and paper industry (integrated companies) presents a prospect of reduction. The Timos are the group that has the most positive expectations, being responsible for the expansion of the planted area, volume produced, investment and hiring of employees.

Evolution and Adaptation of Forest and Crop Pathogens in the Anthropocene

Anthropocene marks the era when human activity is making a significant impact on earth, its ecological and biogeographical systems. The domestication and intensification of agricultural and forest production systems have had a large impact on plant and tree health. Some pathogens benefitted from these human activities and have evolved and adapted in response to the expansion of crop and forest systems, resulting in global outbreaks. Global pathogen genomics data including population genomics and high-quality reference assemblies are crucial for understanding the evolution and adaptation of pathogens. Crops and forest trees have remarkably different characteristics, such as reproductive time and the level of domestication. They also have different production systems for disease management with more intensive management in crops than forest trees. By comparing and contrasting results from pathogen population genomic studies done on widely different agricultural and forest production systems, we can improve our understanding of pathogen evolution and adaptation to different selection pressures. We find that in spite of these differences, similar processes such as hybridization, host jumps, selection, specialization, and clonal expansion are shaping the pathogen populations in both crops and forest trees. We propose some solutions to reduce these impacts and lower the probability of global pathogen outbreaks so that we can envision better management strategies to sustain global food production as well as ecosystem services.