Decision Support Framework for Assessing Alternative Mountain Pine Beetle Management Strategies on Sustainable Forest Management
Decision Support Framework for Assessing Alternative Mountain Pine Beetle Management Strategies on Sustainable Forest Management

Author: Ann Chan-McLeod

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13:

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We developed a decision support framework that facilitates the assessment of alternative mountain pine beetle (MPB) management strategies on wildlife and other sustainable management indicators. Specifically, the framework permits the evaluation of ecological trade-offs (i.e., the probability of occurrence of bird species; landscape composition and configuration; wildlife habitat supply) under alternative salvage logging strategies. An additional function of the framework is to identify areas of uncertainty where data gaps continue to limit decision-making. We demonstrated the application of the decision support framework by evaluating the consequences of five specific salvage harvesting strategies in a case study of a forest landscape in northeastern British Columbia. The five strategies included: 1) a baseline scenario based on current management practices in MPB-affected landscapes; 2) a scenario for salvage-logging-only stands with high pine composition; 3) a scenario for salvage logging stands that included minimal pine; 4) a low retention scenario where relatively few trees are retained within large cutblocks; and 5) a high retention scenario where more trees are retained in large cutblocks than currently practiced. In our case study, we used a subset of the components identified in the conceptual framework since many parameters (e.g., stand-level attributes) were not widely available and could not be scaled up to the case study landscape. The components were for: 1) simulating infestation, salvage logging and forest succession, 2) tracking landscape-level changes in avian probability of occurrence and supply of broad habitat types, and 3) facilitating scenario analysis and decision-making. We identified some broad patterns in species responses over time and helped to identify areas of uncertainty that are the result of model limitations and data gaps. In our case study, avian response was dictated more by the bird species' natural history traits than by differences between management regimes. However, eligibility criterion for salvage logging (i.e., the amount of pine in the stand) was generally more important than the stand retention levels used in our simulations in governing post-harvesting avian response.

National Forest Inventories
National Forest Inventories

Author: Claude Vidal

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-24

Total Pages: 847

ISBN-13: 3319440152

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The book presents the current state and good practices of national forest inventories in monitoring wood resources and demonstrates pathways for harmonisation and improved common reporting. Beyond a general overview over availability and use of wood resources in different countries, it provides a unique collection of original contributions from national forest inventory experts with in-depth descriptions of current NFI methods in assessing wood availability and wood use in European countries, and selected countries from America and Asia.The main topics are national definitions and improvements in common reporting of forests available for wood supply, stem quality and assortments, estimation of change including growth and drain, and tree resources outside forest land. The book is a must-have for everyone who is contributing to national forest inventories either methodologically or operatively, for people who want or need to understand national forest inventory provided data and information on the availability of wood resources. By providing profound knowledge it is a valuable basis for scientists involved in scenario modelling and analysing effects of climate change, as well as individuals in private organisations and public administrations promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and the potential of green economy.

Forecasting Forest Futures
Forecasting Forest Futures

Author: Hamish Kimmins

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2010-09-23

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1136532153

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Modelling is an important tool for understanding the complexity of forest ecosystems and the variety of interactions of ecosystem components, processes and values. This book describes the hybrid approach to modelling forest ecosystems and their possible response to natural and management-induced disturbance. The book describes the FORECAST family of ecosystem management models at three different spatial scales (tree, stand and landscape), and compares them with alternative models at these three spatial scales. The book will help forest managers to understand what to expect from ecosystem-based forest models; serve as a tool for use in teaching about sustainability, scenario analysis and value trade-offs in natural resources management; and assist policy makers, managers and researches working in assessment of sustainable forest management and ecosystem management. Several real-life examples of using the FORECAST family of models in forest management and other applications are presented from countries including Canada, China, Spain and the USA, to illustrate the concepts described in the text. The book also demonstrates how these models can be extended for scenario and value trade-off analysis through visualization and educational or management games.

Forest Value Chain Optimization and Sustainability
Forest Value Chain Optimization and Sustainability

Author: Sophie D'Amours

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2016-12-01

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 1498704875

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This book provides a global perspective on the various issues that the industry has to face as well as to provide some key global strategies that can help coping with those global challenges, such as collaboration, strategic value chain planning, and interdependency analyses. It presents literature reviews, strategic research orientations, assessment of some current key issues, and state-of-the-art methodologies.

Whitebark Pine Communities
Whitebark Pine Communities

Author: Diana F. Tomback

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 9781597263207

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Whitebark pine is a dominant feature of western high-mountain regions, offering an important source of food and high-quality habitat for species ranging from Clark's nutcracker to the grizzly bear. But in the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada, much of the whitebark pine is disappearing. Why is a high-mountain species found in places rarely disturbed by humans in trouble? And what can be done about it.Whitebark Pine Communities addresses those questions, explaining how a combination of altered fire regimes and fungal infestation is leading to a rapid decline of this once abundant -- and ecologically vital -- species. Leading experts in the field explain what is known about whitebark pine communities and their ecological value, examine its precarious situation, and present the state of knowledge concerning restoration alternatives. The book. presents an overview of the ecology and status of whitebark pine communities offers a basic understanding of whitebark pine taxonomy, distribution, and ecology, including environmental tolerances, community disturbance processes, regeneration processes, species interactions, and genetic population structure identifies the threats to whitebark pine communities explains the need for management intervention surveys the extent of impact and losses to dateMore importantly, the book clearly shows that the knowledge and management tools are available to restore whitebark pine communities both locally and on a significant scale regionally, and it provides specific information about what actions can and must be taken.Whitebark Pine Communities offers a detailed portrait of the ecology of whitebark pine communities and the current threats to them. It brings together leading experts to provide in-depth information on research needs, management approaches, and restoration activities, and will be essential reading for ecologists, land managers, and anyone concerned with the health of forest ecosystems in the western United States.

Forest Management and Planning
Forest Management and Planning

Author: Pete Bettinger

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2016-12-29

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 012809706X

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Forest Management and Planning, Second Edition, addresses contemporary forest management planning issues, providing a concise, focused resource for those in forest management. The book is intermixed with chapters that concentrate on quantitative subjects, such as economics and linear programming, and qualitative chapters that provide discussions of important aspects of natural resource management, such as sustainability. Expanded coverage includes a case study of a closed canopy, uneven-aged forest, new forest plans from South America and Oceania, and a new chapter on scenario planning and climate change adaptation. - Helps students and early career forest managers understand the problems facing professionals in the field today - Designed to support land managers as they make complex decisions on the ecological, economic, and social impacts of forest and natural resources - Presents updated, real-life examples that are illustrated both mathematically and graphically - Includes a new chapter on scenario planning and climate change adaptation - Incorporates the newest research and forest certification standards - Offers access to a companion website with updated solutions, geographic databases, and illustrations

Forests in Landscapes
Forests in Landscapes

Author: Stewart Maginnis

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2013-06-17

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1136565396

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At last a really useful book telling us how all the rhetoric about ecosystem approaches and sustainable forest management is being translated into practical solutions on the ground CLAUDE MARTIN, WWF INTERNATIONAL For too long, foresters have seen forests as logs waiting to be turned into something useful. This book demonstrates that forests in fact have multiple values, and managing them as ecosystems will bring more benefits to a greater cross-section of the public JEFFREY A. MCNEELY, CHIEF SCIENTIST, IUCN This book demonstrates that [ecosystem approaches and sustainable forest management] are neither alternative methods of forest management nor are they simply complicated ways of saying the same thing. They are both emerging concepts for more integrated and holistic ways of managing forests within larger landscapes in ways that optimize benefits to all stakeholders ACHIM STEINER AND IAN JOHNSON, FROM THE FOREWORD Recent innovations in Sustainable Forest Management and Ecosystem Approaches are resulting in forests increasingly being managed as part of the broader social-ecological systems in which they exist. Forests in Landscapes reviews changes that have occurred in forest management in recent decades. Case studies from Europe, Canada, the United States, Russia, Australia, the Congo and Central America provide a wealth of international examples of innovative practices. Cross-cutting chapters examine the political ecology and economics of forest management, and review the information needs and the use and misuse of criteria and indicators to achieve broad societal goals for forests. A concluding chapter draws out the key lessons of changes in forest management in recent decades and sets out some thoughts for the future. This book is a must-read for practitioners, researchers and policy makers concerned with forests and land use. It contains lessons for all those concerned with forests as sources of people's livelihoods and as part of rural landscapes. Published with IUCN and PROFOR