A Scenario-Based Method for Assessing the Impact of Suggested Woodland Key Habitats on Forest Harvesting Costs

Nils Søvde,Magne Sætersdal,Arne Løkketangen

doi:10.3390/f5092327

Abstract

Variable retention harvesting is acknowledged as a cost-effective conservation measure, but previous studies have focused on the environmental value and planning cost. In this study, a model is presented for optimizing harvesting cost using a high resolution map generated from airborne laser scanning data. The harvesting cost optimization model is used to calculate the objective value of different scenarios. By comparing the objective values, better estimates of the opportunity cost of woodland key habitats are found. The model can be used by a forest manager when evaluating what silvicultural treatments to implement or as an input for improving the nature reserve selection problem for woodland key habitats or retention patches. The model was tested on four real-world cases, and the results indicate that terrain transportation costs vary more than reported in the literature and that it may be worthwhile to divide the opportunity cost into its direct and indirect components.

Highlights

Forestry represents a major threat to forest biodiversity by modifying and fragmenting important habitats, such as deadwood and old trees
The basic assumption is that a digital terrain model generated from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data is accurate enough to find the resulting roll and pitch of a forest machine driving on the terrain
As the calculated net profits are due to the selected cost model, it seems appropriate to start this section by discussing the cost model and subsequently going into detail about how the scenarios can be used for assessing the impact of retention patches

Summary

Introduction

Forestry represents a major threat to forest biodiversity by modifying and fragmenting important habitats, such as deadwood and old trees. The preservation of biodiversity in forests is one of the major environmental challenges of our time. Spatial conservation prioritization is one of several tools to address this challenge (e.g., [1,2]). In this approach quantitative techniques are used to generate spatial information on which parts of the forest to prioritize for biodiversity. In addition to a range of methodological developments, these approaches typically integrate economic and socio-political analysis into the planning process to meet the real-world prioritization challenges (e.g., [6,7]).

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion