Forestry Region Research Articles

Determining the effect of tree size, bark-wood bond strength and tree form on the productivity of an excavator-based harvester in Acacia mearnsii in the KwaZulu-Natal forestry region of South Africa

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of tree size, bark-wood bond strength and tree form on the productivity of cut-to-length harvesting of Acacia mearnsii, using an excavator-based harvester with a SP Maskiner harvester head in the KwaZulu-Natal forestry region of South Africa. Tree diameter and height measurements were used to determine individual tree volumes, after which the trees were classified into different bark-wood bond strength and tree-form classes. Time studies were carried out to determine harvester productivity. The results showed that tree size plays a crucial role in the productivity of the harvester, but bark-wood bond strength and tree form also influence productivity. The harvester productivity varied from 5.5 m3 per productive machine hour (PMH) in 0.05 m3 trees to 16.9 m3 PMH−1 in 0.25 m3 trees The bark-wood bond strength did not influence harvester productivity when handling small trees of less than 0.1 m3. In small trees, the productivity of the harvester was also not affected by different form classes, but as tree size increased, there was greater productivity variation between the different form classes.

Sustainable Forest Management: A Pragmatic Approach

Galicia is the most important forestry region of Spain, but its potential of producing the forest products is underdeveloped. A healthy and growing forestry sector could be an engine for regional and rural economic development, but forest management is impeded by forest ownership patterns. Most forests in Galicia are privately owned in small, scattered holdings that make it difficult to carry out the sustainable forest management required for forest sector development.A comprehensive sustainable forest management (SFM) strategy, based upon internationally recognized principles of sustainability, has been proposed as a means of rectifying the situation in Galicia. This strategy involves eight lines of actions that include such initiatives as improved legislation, increased public education and participation, and a new process for sustainable forest management that would be run by the government.This paper outlines the strategy, then goes on to describe new forest management processes and supporting technologies that are seen as necessary for promoting sustainable forest management in a region predominated by small forest ownerships. The new process will be based upon hierarchical and integrated forest management concepts, but will involve innovative approaches to regional and forest district management. The paper ends with a brief description of the initial steps that have been taken to implement the SFM Strategy of Galicia.

Climate changes, environment and infection: Facts, scenarios and growing awareness from the public health community within Europe

Climate change is a current global concern and, despite continuing controversy about the extent and importance of causes and of its effects, it seems likely that it will affect the incidence and prevalence of both residual and imported infections in Europe. Climate affects mainly the range of infectious diseases, whereas weather affects the timing and intensity of outbreaks. Climate change scenarios include a change distribution of infectious diseases with warming and changes in outbreaks associated with weather extremes. The largest health impact from climate change for Europe doesn’t come from vector borne infectious diseases. This does not mean that these types of health impacts will not arise in Europe. The ranges of several vector-borne diseases or their vectors are already changing in altitude due to warming. In addition, more intense weather events create conditions conductive to outbreaks of infectious diseases: Heavy rains leave insect breeding sites, drive rodents from burrows, and contaminate clean water systems. The incidence of mosquito-borne parasitic and viral diseases, are among those diseases most sensitive to climate. Climate change affect disease transmission by shifting the vector’s geographic range and by shortening the pathogen incubation period. climate-related increases in temperature in sea surface and level would lead to higher incidence of waterborne infectious and toxin-related illnesses, such as cholera and seafood intoxication. Climate changes all around the world with impact in Europe are demonstrated by the fact that recent cases of cholera have been imported to Europe from Kenya, where spreading epidemic has been linked to the El Niño phenomenon, originated from the Pacific Ocean. Human migration and damage to health infrastructures from aberrant climate changes could indirectly contribute to disease transmission. Human susceptibility to infections might be further compounded by alterations in the human immune system caused by increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation and malnutrition due to alterations in agricultural products. Different kind of incidents in Europe with extreme weather events demonstrated effects on public health. The recent outbreak of the insect-borne Chikungunya virus in Italy in 2007 is an example of the kind of new health threat that the EU must be vigilant to confront. In addition, health effects of flooding, have been related to an excess cases of leptospirosis and campylobacter enteritis. Such examples have been demonstrated reported after flooding in the Czech Republic. Similarly, an increase of cryptosporidiosis in the United Kingdom has been related to flooding. Changing vector distributions associated with tickborne encephalitis and malaria have also been dempostrated in EU. A recently reported case of malaria in Italy in June 2008, suspected to be indigenously acquired, has shown how easily malaria could be reintroduced into several countries in the region. Another case of malaria in Greece in May 2010 affecting a young man living in a forestry region was claimed at KEELPNO-the Greek Center for disease control. Would this latest case be considered closely related to the one from Italy? If yes, then Public Health Services should elaborate plans to affront possible tickborne diseases. Heat waves are important causes of mortality on mortality are important. The deaths seen in France in 2003 from a heat wave are projected to be repeated, as heat waves become more severe. However, heat waves impacts on the transmission and severity of infectious diseases have not been elucidated. Finally scientific challenges include the elucudation of climate changes and extreme weather condition impact on infection transmission and outcome, human immune system changes and infection response, outbreak scenarios, animal and plant health and public health preparedness. European action plans to affront climate changes related health and infection problems are developed by the EU Commission at different levels and jointly by different DGs. In a few words within the EU the following points on human, animal and plant health are considered a priority: * Strengthening cooperation between the services of these three branches of health (human, animals, plants); * Developing action plans in the event of extreme weather conditions, in order to be better prepared and to react in the best way; * Gathering more reliable information on the risks of climate change whilst maintaining international cooperation, in particular with the WHO, as cooperation beyond that between Member States will be required to be more effective; * Providing additional effort to identify the most effective measures; * Improving the surveillance and the control of the animal diseases. The European Commission has decided to consider climate change, and the consequences it has on health, with greater importance whilst being aware that it is at the root of numerous diseases.

Sustainable forest management for Galicia

Galicia is the most important forestry region of Spain, but its potential as an engine for economic growth is underdeveloped. Most forests in Galicia are privately owned in small holdings that make it difficult to carry out the sustainable forest management required for forest sector development. This paper outlines a sustainable forest management strategy, and then describes forest management processes and supporting technologies that are seen as necessary for promoting sustainable forest management in a region predominated by small forest ownerships. The paper ends with a brief description of the initial steps that have been taken to implement the strategy. Key words: forest sector planning, small private ownerships, rural and regional economic development, Spain

A Critical Comparison of Typologies of Small-Scale Forestry in Baden-Württemberg Derived Using Single and Multiple Criteria

The paper presents a typology of small-scale forest owners in Baden-Wurttemberg based on multiple criteria and derived using multivariate cluster analysis of long-term accountancy network data. Four distinct types of landholders are identified based on a combination of structural, financial and biophysical data. These groups fit well with the present knowledge on small-scale forest owners in Baden-Wurttemberg. In addition, the members of each group display clear differences in attitudes towards forestry, giving further support for the validity of the grouping. A comparison is made of this typology and typologies derived using the single criteria of forestry region, forest size class, cutting volume, proportion of coniferous trees, forest income and main source of income. This comparison demonstrates the advantages of using cluster analysis to identify types of small-scale forest owners in south-west Germany. No matter whether structural, natural or financial data are assessed, the multiple criteria typology produced by cluster analysis provides the highest percentage of statistically significant distinctions between the medians of the groups identified. A typology based on the single criterion of ‘regions’ provides the second best fit and has the advantage of being simple to develop. A more detailed comparison between these two typologies, whereby the differences between groups were analysed based on the links between individual groups in respect to individual variables, also indicated that the multiple criteria typology was superior.

木質バイオマスの粉砕エネルギーと輸送性評価に及ぼす半炭化熱分解の影響

In order to promote the utilization of unused woody biomass such as forestry biomass and pruned branch of fruit, the utilization of woody biomass has come to attract attention as a fuel at the pulverized-coal fired power plant. When the woody biomass in the forestry region is utilized, it is necessary to examine and reduce the energy consumption for collecting of resources, preprocessing such as comminuting and drying and transportation . In the present study, effect of semi-carbonization pyrolysis on comminution energy and assessment of transport property of woody biomass is investigated. The results obtained are as follows. Empirical correlations of work index in Bond′s Law are presented for both woody and semi-carbonization regions. The comminution energy can be estimated by the present empirical correlations within an accuracy of ±30 percent. To evaluate the effect of semi-carbonization process on the energy reduction of transport and comminution, an analysis of energy consumptions is conducted. From the result of analysis, it is found that the energy consumption ratio is the minimum at a mass yield condition of 0.6 for the same transport distance.

Paludification in black spruce ( Piceamariana) forests of eastern Canada: Potential factors and management implications

Over time boreal black spruce forests on fine-textured soils in western Quebec, Canada develop very thick forest floors composed of poorly decomposed litter created by the tree and understory layers. These paludified soils are typically waterlogged and cold, and in this fire-mediated landscape, are at least partially consumed by stand replacing fires, which facilitates the establishment of the next generation of trees. Within a context of ecosystem-based management, forest harvest should mimic the dual effects of high severity fire on tree and forest floor biomass. This study was designed to investigate potential factors of forest floor thickness in order to determine the impact of removing only a tree layer, and to suggest strategies to limit paludification in this important forestry region. Forest floor thickness, fire severity, basal area, canopy closure, cover of Sphagnum spp. and ericaceous spp. were measured in black spruce stands across a chronosequence from 50 to 350 years after fire. Fire severity was determined to be a key factor in determining forest floor thickness by path analysis. After high severity fires forest floor thickness was primarily dependant on stand age, but was also positively influenced by Sphagnum spp. cover and negatively influenced by the presence of trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides). These results suggest that forest interventions that do no remove the organic layer may be mimicking low severity fires and promoting poor tree growth and regeneration. Forest floor thickness may be limited by avoiding interventions that open the canopy and may promote the presence of Sphagnum spp. and ericaceous spp., and or by practicing mixed silviculture of trembling aspen and black spruce. However, a balance needs to be maintained between the application of these techniques and the preservation of paludified forests in the landscape.

The Influence of Fire Weather and Land Use on the Fire Activity of the Lake Abitibi Area, Eastern Canada

Abstract The fire history of two adjacent regions of the boreal forest, one characterized by logging (Ontario—510,000 ha) and the other by small scale agricultural activities (Quebec—140,000 ha), was studied before and after these regions were opened up to settlement in 1916. From a review of provincial forest fire records and the assessment of the age of fire-initiated forest stands, it appears that large but rare fires occurred during the presettlement period on both sides of the border. After 1916, due to slash and burn activities, the agricultural region (Que) had proportionally about twice the burned areas and ten times more fires than the forestry region (Ont). Despite differences in population density, road network, and land use, fire size class occurrence did not differ between landscapes over time. However, the occurrence of fires larger than 100 ha, considering three development phases (1916–1939; 1940–1969; 1970–1998), decreased in both regions from settlement to the present, particularly during the late phase (1970–1998) in the agricultural region. An analysis of fluctuations in the Canadian forest Fire Weather Index system (FWI), a rating of fire danger severity, showed major climatic stresses at the beginning of the century (1916–1924), followed by a decrease in the occurrence of extreme FWI values. Combined with the impact of climate, which affected the annual area burned and the number of large fires in both landscapes, the results suggest that the landscape fragmentation, the increase in the percentage of deciduous trees over time and/or effective fire detection by residents led to a decrease in the number of fires larger than 100 ha on the agricultural side for the late phase (1970–1998). FOR. SCI. 49(4):509–521.

Mobility of the constituents of chromated copper arsenate in a shallow sandy soil

Small volumes of a commercial timber preservative containing approximately 60% w/w chromated copper arsenic (CCA) were applied to 15‐cm‐deep, undisturbed soil monolith lysimeters containing the surface horizon of a mildly acidic, sandy loam soil extracted from within the forestry plantation region of south‐west Victoria. The collected leachate and samples of the core profiles were analysed by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP‐ES) for a total of 28 elements, including the active ingredients of the preservative, copper, chromium, and arsenic. After application of CCA, of the metals studied, only the concentrations of arsenic, calcium, chromium, sodium, and potassium in the leachate differed from background concentrations during the irrigation of the cores. Copper concentrations in all leachate remained at background levels throughout the experiment. Up to 36% of the applied dose of chromium was detected in the leachate, with breakthrough at 15 cm soil depth occurring within 20 days of preservative application. Up to 13% of the applied dose of arsenic was detected in the leachate collected at 15 cm depth, although in this case breakthrough was not observed until 25 days after preservative application. The applied copper was immobilised in the top 4 cm of the soil. Elevated concentrations of arsenic and chromium were found in the top 6 cm of the soil profile.

Report about the field excursion of The Japanese Society of forest Environment-Multi-storied forest in Kuma forestry region and natural forest in Yanase

Report about the field excursion of The Japanese Society of forest Environment-Multi-storied forest in Kuma forestry region and natural forest in Yanase

Wintering habitat evaluation of Red deer (Cervus elaphus) in forest area of Northeastern China

Six ultimate factors (forage abundance, horizontal sheltering class, distance from human disturbance, snow depth, tree coverage, and edge effect) of Red deer (Cervus elaphus) were investigated in eastern Heilongjiang Province during winter from 1988 to 1991. On the basis of analysis of field data, we evaluated winter habitat conditions of Red deer. The results showed as follows: the wintering habitat quality of Red deer in poplar-birch stands was excellent in the Wanda Mountains, and was moderate in shrub-woods and Korean pine seed stands. According to habitat index (HI) values, the habitat quality in poplar-birch stands (HI=0.8185) was superior to that in shrub-woods (HI=0.4825) and in Korean pine seed stands (HI=0.4385). The wintering habitat quality of Red deer in the Wanda Mountains was superior to that of Dailing Forestry Region. According to the current situations of forestry areas in northeastern China, strengthening habitat management was important for the conservation and management of Red deer population in the next decades.

Pythium irregulareAssociated withPinusSeedling Death on Previously Cultivated Lands

Linde, c., Kemp, G. H. J., and Wingfield, M. J. 1994. Pythium irregulare associated with Pinus seedling death on previously cultivated lands. Plant Dis. 78;]002-1005. A serious root disease of Pinus patula seedlings has occurred in the northeastern Cape forestry region of South Africa during the past 3 yr. Mortality as high as 100% was experienced 4-5 rno after seedlings were planted on previously cultivated agricultural lands. No mortality, however, occurred in plantings on virgin lands. Where seedlings survived on previously cultivated lands, their growth compared poorly with those on virgin lands. PYlhium irregulare was consistently isolated from diseased roots of Pinus parula. as well as from the soil of previously cultivated lands. P. irregulare was highly virulent when artificially inoculated onto 4-mo-old Pinus parula and 2-mo-old Eucalyplus grandis seedlings. P. irregulare. therefore, appears to be an important factor associated with deaths of Pinus parula on previously cultivated agricultural lands. South Africa is a country character

Site Relationships for Some Wood Properties of Pine Species in Plantation Forests of Southern Africa

SYNOPSIS Although genetic variation in wood properties of the three main pine species planted in southern Africa is high, there are important site relationships. Density. A study of density in Pinus patula on 147 sites in the main forestry region showed that wood formed during the early years was influenced mostly by soil properties, whereas wood formed later in the rotation was influenced more by climate. Density gradient was more closely related to site than was inner density, outer density or mean density. Spirality. The same study indicated that spirality decreased as site quality improved. Stem bumps. Nodal swellings in P. patula increase in size with age, affecting strength properties and veneers. Regression models contained site variables strongly related to stem stability and to exposure. It was concluded that bumps are a reaction by the tree to wind-induced stresses at the zones of greatest weakness, viz. at the nodes. Heart shake. Resin-infiltrated heart shakes cause severe losses in the recover...

Mistletoe in Eucalypt Forest—A Resource for Birds

Summary The incidence of mistletoe plants on eucalypt trees in dry sclerophyll forest was recorded in Eden Forestry Region, New South Wales. Before logging there were 210 trees per hectare over 10 cms diameter breast height. On average 2.8 trees per hectare carried mistletoe at the rate of 5.0 mistletoe plants per hectare. In similar forest logged to 91 trees per hectare there remained 1.8 trees per ha carrying 2.3 mistletoe plants per ha. Yertchuk, Eucalyptus consideniana, Maiden, was the most common tree and had the most mistletoe plants in the study area with an average of 1.7 plants per tree. Birds foraging in mistletoe flowers were compared with birds foraging in eucalypt blossom to determine the use of these resources. Out of 180 plots 41 individuals were recorded as foraging in mistletoe while only eleven birds were recorded feeding amongst blossom of Eucalyptus sieberi L. Johnson. Logging reduced the number of trees per ha and therefore of mistletoe plants per ha and the number of bird foraging ac...

報告2 既成林業地域における伐境変動と林業再編（特集 林業経済学会1990年度春季大会討論要旨：日本林業の市場問題）

報告2 既成林業地域における伐境変動と林業再編（特集 林業経済学会1990年度春季大会討論要旨：日本林業の市場問題）

Restructuring of a forward forestry region changing in the logging frontiers(The Problem of Forest Products Market in Japan, Papers for the First Half General Meeting of 1990)

Restructuring of a forward forestry region changing in the logging frontiers(The Problem of Forest Products Market in Japan, Papers for the First Half General Meeting of 1990)

2. High Value of Yen and Recent Trends of the Sawmill Industries and Middle Class Owner's Management in a Backward Forestry Region (Theme: Structural Change of National Economy and Timber Production Regions in Transition, Record of Discussion at the 1988 Latter Half General Meeting of the Japanese Forest Economics Society)

2. High Value of Yen and Recent Trends of the Sawmill Industries and Middle Class Owner's Management in a Backward Forestry Region (Theme: Structural Change of National Economy and Timber Production Regions in Transition, Record of Discussion at the 1988 Latter Half General Meeting of the Japanese Forest Economics Society)

3. Problems of the Forest Administration in Backward Forestry Region (Theme: Current Aspects of Forest Resource Management, Record of Discussion at the 1988 First Half General Meeting of the Japanese Forest Economics Society)

3. Problems of the Forest Administration in Backward Forestry Region (Theme: Current Aspects of Forest Resource Management, Record of Discussion at the 1988 First Half General Meeting of the Japanese Forest Economics Society)

1. Problems of the Upper Class Owners' Management in Developed Forestry Region (Recent Trends and Problems in the Monagment of Large Private Forest Owners, Record of Discussion at the 1985 Latter Half General Meeting of the Japan Forest Economic Society)

1. Problems of the Upper Class Owners' Management in Developed Forestry Region (Recent Trends and Problems in the Monagment of Large Private Forest Owners, Record of Discussion at the 1985 Latter Half General Meeting of the Japan Forest Economic Society)

(1) Problems of the Upper Class Owners' Managements in Developed Forestry Region(Theme: Recent Trends and Problems in the Management of Large Private Forest Owners.,Papers for the Latter Half General Meeting of 1985)

(1) Problems of the Upper Class Owners' Managements in Developed Forestry Region(Theme: Recent Trends and Problems in the Management of Large Private Forest Owners.,Papers for the Latter Half General Meeting of 1985)