scholarly journals Public Acceptance of Disturbance-Based Forest Management: Factors Influencing Support

ISRN Forestry ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine S. Olsen ◽  
Angela L. Mallon ◽  
Bruce A. Shindler
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Project Planning ◽  
Public Acceptance ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Disturbance Processes ◽  
Landscape Level

Growing emphasis on ecosystem and landscape-level forest management across North America has spurred an examination of alternative management strategies which focus on emulating dynamic natural disturbance processes, particularly those associated with forest fire regimes. This topic is the cornerstone of research in the Blue River Landscape Study (BRLS) on the Willamette National Forest in the McKenzie River watershed of western Oregon. As scientists and managers work to unravel the ecological and economic implications of disturbance-based forest management, they must also consider public acceptance for such an approach. In this study, citizen opinions from the local attentive public in McKenzie River watershed communities are examined. Results suggest the attentive public has moderate to low levels of knowledge about landscape-level disturbance processes and terms. Further, public confidence in agencies and the information they provide appears to be low, though respondents indicated a somewhat higher level of trust for local agency personnel than agencies as institutions. Overall, respondents display cautious support of disturbance-based management (DBM), but many are still undecided. Findings also demonstrate support may be improved through transparent and inclusive decision-making processes that demonstrate the use of sound science in project planning, frank disclosure of risks and uncertainties, and clear management objectives.

Is the END (emulation of natural disturbance) a new beginning? A critical analysis of the use of fire regimes as the basis of forest ecosystem management with examples from the Canadian western Cordillera

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Stockdale ◽  
Mike Flannigan ◽  
Ellen Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Disturbance Regime ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Management Actions

As our view of disturbances such as wildfire has shifted from prevention to recognizing their ecological necessity, so too forest management has evolved from timber-focused even-aged management to more holistic paradigms like ecosystem-based management. Emulation of natural disturbance (END) is a variant of ecosystem management that recognizes the importance of disturbance for maintaining ecological integrity. For END to be a successful model for forest management we need to describe disturbance regimes and implement management actions that emulate them, in turn achieving our objectives for forest structure and function. We review the different components of fire regimes (cause, frequency, extent, timing, and magnitude), we describe low-, mixed-, and high-severity fire regimes, and we discuss key issues related to describing these regimes. When characterizing fire regimes, different methods and spatial and temporal extents result in wide variation of estimates for different fire regime components. Comparing studies is difficult as few measure the same components; some methods are based on the assumption of a high-severity fire regime and are not suited to detecting mixed- or low-severity regimes, which are critical to END management, as this would affect retention in harvested areas. We outline some difficulties with using fire regimes as coarse filters for forest management, including (i) not fully understanding the interactions between fire and other disturbance agents, (ii) assuming that fire is strictly an exogenous disturbance agent that exerts top-down control of forest structure while ignoring numerous endogenous and bottom-up feedbacks on fire effects, and (iii) assuming by only replicating natural disturbance patterns we preserve ecological processes and vital ecosystem components. Even with a good understanding of a fire regime, we would still be challenged with choosing the temporal and spatial scope for the disturbance regime we are trying to emulate. We cannot yet define forest conditions that will arise from variations in disturbance regime; this then limits our ability to implement management actions that will achieve those conditions. We end by highlighting some important knowledge gaps about fire regimes and how the END model could be strengthened to achieve a more sustainable form of forest management.

Using knowledge of natural disturbances to support sustainable forest management in the northern Clay Belt

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Nicolas Lecomte
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Natural Fire ◽  
Coarse Filter

Several concepts are at the basis of forest ecosystem management, but a relative consensus exists around the idea of a forest management approach that is based on natural disturbances and forest dynamics. This type of approach aims to reproduce the main attributes of natural landscapes in order to maintain ecosystems within their natural range of variability and avoid creating an environment to which species are not adapted. By comparing attributes associated with natural fire regimes and current forest management, we were able to identify four major differences for the black spruce forest of the Clay Belt. The maintenance of older forests, the spatial extent of cutover areas, the maintenance of residuals within cutovers and disturbance severity on soils are major issues that should be addressed. Silvicultural strategies that mitigate differences between natural and managed forests are briefly discussed. Key words: natural disturbance, landscape patterns, coarse filter, harvest pattern, volume retention, historic variability, even-aged management

Using spatially explicit simulations to explore size distribution and spacing of regenerating areas produced by wildfires: recommendations for designing harvest agglomerations for the Canadian boreal forest

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Belleau ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Alain Leduc ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Andrew Fall
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Fire Size ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

It is now recognized that in the Canadian boreal forest, timber harvesting activities have replaced wildfires as the main stand-replacing disturbance. Differences in landscape patterns derived from these two sources of disturbance have, however, raised concerns that the way forest harvesting has been dispersed is potentially shifting patterns away from the natural range. In the context of natural disturbance-based management, we used a spatially explicit model designed to capture general fire regimes in order to quantify temporal variability associated with regenerating areas (burnt areas of 25 years or younger), and to develop strategic objectives for harvest agglomeration sizes and dispersion. We first evaluated temporal variability in the proportion of stands younger than 100 years (assumed to be even-aged stands) for various fire regimes (seven fire cycles: 50 to 400 years, and three mean fires sizes: 3000, 15 000 and 60 000 ha). Secondly, we quantified the size distribution and dispersion of regenerating areas for each fire regime. As expected by theoretical fire frequencies and size distributions, the importance of even-aged stands at the forest management unit level was found to decrease with longer fire cycles. However, the temporal variability associated with these proportions is shown to increase with mean fire size. It was also observed that the size distribution and dispersion of regenerating areas was primarily influenced by mean fire size. Based on these observations, natural disturbance-based management objectives were formulated, providing guidelines on harvest agglomeration size and dispersion. Key words: temporal variability, boreal forest, fire regime, forest management, age distribution, fire size distribution, clearcut agglomeration size distribution

scholarly journals Do Review Papers on Bird–Vegetation Relationships Provide Actionable Information to Forest Managers in the Eastern United States?

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 990
Author(s):  
Casey A. Lott ◽  
Michael E. Akresh ◽  
Bridgett E. Costanzo ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato ◽  
Shengwu Duan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Desired Future Conditions ◽  
Forest Managers

Forest management planning requires the specification of measurable objectives as desired future conditions at spatial extents ranging from stands to landscapes and temporal extents ranging from a single growing season to several centuries. Effective implementation of forest management requires understanding current conditions and constraints well enough to apply the appropriate silvicultural strategies to produce desired future conditions, often for multiple objectives, at varying spatial and temporal extents. We administered an online survey to forest managers in the eastern US to better understand how wildlife scientists could best provide information to help meet wildlife-related habitat objectives. We then examined more than 1000 review papers on bird–vegetation relationships in the eastern US compiled during a systematic review of the primary literature to see how well this evidence-base meets the information needs of forest managers. We identified two main areas where wildlife scientists could increase the relevance and applicability of their research. First, forest managers want descriptions of wildlife species–vegetation relationships using the operational metrics of forest management (forest type, tree species composition, basal area, tree density, stocking rates, etc.) summarized at the operational spatial units of forest management (stands, compartments, and forests). Second, forest managers want information about how to provide wildlife habitats for many different species with varied habitat needs across temporal extents related to the ecological processes of succession after harvest or natural disturbance (1–2 decades) or even longer periods of stand development. We provide examples of review papers that meet these information needs of forest managers and topic-specific bibliographies of additional review papers that may contain actionable information for foresters who wish to meet wildlife management objectives. We suggest that wildlife scientists become more familiar with the extensive grey literature on forest bird–vegetation relationships and forest management that is available in natural resource management agency reports. We also suggest that wildlife scientists could reconsider everything from the questions they ask, the metrics they report on, and the way they allocate samples in time and space, to provide more relevant and actionable information to forest managers.

scholarly journals Simulating the Effects of Intensifying Silviculture on Desired Species Yields across a Broad Environmental Gradient

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 755
Author(s):  
Eric B. Searle ◽  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
Guy R. Larocque ◽  
Mathieu Fortin ◽  
Jennifer Dacosta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Mechanistic Models ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Forest Modelling

In the past two decades, forest management has undergone major paradigm shifts that are challenging the current forest modelling architecture. New silvicultural systems, guidelines for natural disturbance emulation, a desire to enhance structural complexity, major advances in successional theory, and climate change have all highlighted the limitations of current empirical models in covering this range of conditions. Mechanistic models, which focus on modelling underlying ecological processes rather than specific forest conditions, have the potential to meet these new paradigm shifts in a consistent framework, thereby streamlining the planning process. Here we use the NEBIE (a silvicultural intervention scale that classifies management intensities as natural, extensive, basic, intensive, and elite) plot network, from across Ontario, Canada, to examine the applicability of a mechanistic model, ZELIG-CFS (a version of the ZELIG tree growth model developed by the Canadian Forest Service), to simulate yields and species compositions. As silvicultural intensity increased, overall yield generally increased. Species compositions met the desired outcomes when specific silvicultural treatments were implemented and otherwise generally moved from more shade-intolerant to more shade-tolerant species through time. Our results indicated that a mechanistic model can simulate complex stands across a range of forest types and silvicultural systems while accounting for climate change. Finally, we highlight the need to improve the modelling of regeneration processes in ZELIG-CFS to better represent regeneration dynamics in plantations. While fine-tuning is needed, mechanistic models present an option to incorporate adaptive complexity into modelling forest management outcomes.

Forest management strategies for dealing with fire-related uncertainty when managing two forest seral stages

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Savage ◽  
David L. Martell ◽  
B. Mike Wotton
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Simulation Model ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Planning Model ◽  
Minimum Area ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Planning Models

Ecological values are an important aspect of sustainable forest management, but little attention has been paid to maintaining these values when using traditional linear programming (LP) forest management planning models in uncertain planning environments. We embedded an LP planning model that specifies when and how much to harvest in a simulation model of a “managed” flammable forest landscape. The simulation model was used to evaluate two strategies for dealing with fire-related uncertainty when managing mature and old forest areas. The two seral stage areas were constrained in the LP planning model to a minimum of 10% of the total forest area and the strategies were evaluated under four representative fire regimes. We also developed a risk analysis tool that can be used by forest managers that wish to incorporate fire-related uncertainty in their decision-making. We found that use of the LP model would reduce the areas of the mature and old forest to their lower bound and fire would further reduce the seral areas below those levels, particularly when the mean annual burn fraction exceeds 0.45% per annum. Increasing the minimum area required (i.e., the right-hand side of the constraint) would increase the likelihood of satisfying the minimum area requirements.

scholarly journals Sex-Specific Summer Roost-Site Selection by Seminole Bats in Response to Landscape-Level Forest Management

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 964-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cris D. Hein ◽  
Steven B. Castleberry ◽  
Karl V. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Landscape Level

scholarly journals Impacts of Alternative Harvesting and Natural Disturbance Scenarios on Forest Biomass in the Superior National Forest, USA

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Russell ◽  
Stephanie Patton ◽  
David Wilson ◽  
Grant Domke ◽  
Katie Frerker
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Volume Control ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Project Area

The amount of biomass stored in forest ecosystems is a result of past natural disturbances, forest management activities, and current structure and composition such as age class distributions. Although natural disturbances are projected to increase in their frequency and severity on a global scale in the future, forest management and timber harvesting decisions continue to be made at local scales, e.g., the ownership or stand level. This study simulated potential changes in natural disturbance regimes and their interaction with timber harvest goals across the Superior National Forest (SNF) in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Forest biomass stocks and stock changes were simulated for 120 years under three natural disturbance and four harvest scenarios. A volume control approach was used to estimate biomass availability across the SNF and a smaller project area within the SNF (Jeanette Project Area; JPA). Results indicate that under current harvest rates and assuming disturbances were twice that of normal levels resulted in reductions of 2.62 to 10.38% of forest biomass across the four primary forest types in the SNF and JPA, respectively. Under this scenario, total biomass stocks remained consistent after 50 years at current and 50% disturbance rates, but biomass continued to decrease under a 200%-disturbance scenario through 120 years. In comparison, scenarios that assumed both harvest and disturbance were twice that of normal levels and resulted in reductions ranging from 14.18 to 29.85% of forest biomass. These results suggest that both natural disturbances and timber harvesting should be considered to understand their impacts to future forest structure and composition. The implications from simulations like these can provide managers with strategic approaches to determine the economic and ecological outcomes associated with timber harvesting and disturbances.

scholarly journals Could increased boreal forest ecosystem productivity offset carbon losses from increased disturbances?

2007 ◽  
Vol 363 (1501) ◽  
pp. 2259-2268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner A Kurz ◽  
Graham Stinson ◽  
Greg Rampley
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Forest Sector ◽  
Carbon Budget Model ◽  
C Stocks ◽  
Carbon Losses ◽  
Forest C ◽  
Landscape Level

To understand how boreal forest carbon (C) dynamics might respond to anticipated climatic changes, we must consider two important processes. First, projected climatic changes are expected to increase the frequency of fire and other natural disturbances that would change the forest age-class structure and reduce forest C stocks at the landscape level. Second, global change may result in increased net primary production (NPP). Could higher NPP offset anticipated C losses resulting from increased disturbances? We used the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector to simulate rate changes in disturbance, growth and decomposition on a hypothetical boreal forest landscape and to explore the impacts of these changes on landscape-level forest C budgets. We found that significant increases in net ecosystem production (NEP) would be required to balance C losses from increased natural disturbance rates. Moreover, increases in NEP would have to be sustained over several decades and be widespread across the landscape. Increased NEP can only be realized when NPP is enhanced relative to heterotrophic respiration. This study indicates that boreal forest C stocks may decline as a result of climate change because it would be difficult for enhanced growth to offset C losses resulting from anticipated increases in disturbances.

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