Indicators Of Sustainable Forest Management Research Articles

Sustainable forest management worldwide: a comparative assessment of standards

The number of initiatives aimed at the evaluation of Sustainable Forest Management has risen considerably since the UNCED Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In a large number of countries and regions standards with Principles, Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) have been developed. In many cases, this development took place within the framework of an intergovernmental or international initiative. Sometimes the initiative was taken by national or local organisations. Standards were often developed for the purpose of forest certification. In this research, 164 standards for SFM were collected worldwide and compared using multivariate statistics. The comparison was carried out using a reference standard specially designed for this purpose. It is a generic tool that can be used for any comparative study between the contents of standards. Although a number of typical sustainability elements are present in most standards, differences between standards are substantial. The main cause of variation between standards is the difference between levels of application. Standards developed for the National level are less detailed and contain many elements concerning monitoring aspects to be evaluated at sub-national scale. The more detailed standards for assessment at the Forest Management Unit (FMU) level combine monitoring aspects with a large number of management aspects. These different conditions between FMU and National/Sub- National Level and, therefore, the need for level-specific Criteria and Indicators are well known and accepted by the forestry profession. A second and less known cause of variation between standards is the difference in geographical origin. The observed geographical differences between standards can be explained by biophysical and socio-economic differences between countries and regions. Standards from developing countries in the South most often emphasise the social and economic aspects of sustainability, while they give little attention to the need for research-based information. Standards from industrialised countries in the North on the other hand, strongly emphasise the ecological forest functions and the need for research-based information. Harmonisation among standards is only recommended as far as differences are caused by a lack of capacity or by socio-economic inequity. These deficiencies should be eliminated through international cooperation in order to obtain a more harmonised standard of SFM throughout the world.

Birds as indicators of sustainable forest management

This paper discusses the potential of birds as indicators of sustainable forest management. Several reviews have been critical of birds as indicators of environmental change, and we discuss the major criticisms in the context of forest management. We address these criticisms by suggesting alternative approaches for an indicator research program including the use of focussed studies to identify cause-and-effect relationships, habitat modelling to act as a surrogate to extensive monitoring of populations, and spatially-explicit population modelling (1) to conduct exploratory sensitivity analysis to identify the most important parameters; (2) to incorporate the spatial configuration of habitat into consideration of the impacts of management; (3) to anticipate future impacts as an alternative to measuring past impacts; (4) and, as a means of evaluating alternative management scenarios including natural disturbance regimes. Birds are unlikely to be able to act as a precise tool for the measurement of some forest condition, but they could be useful indicators of sustainable forest management as part of an iterative research program. Key words: sustainable forest management, biological indicators, forest birds, habitat modelling, population modelling, natural disturbance regimes

Potential indicators of the impacts of forest management on wildlife habitat in northeastern Ontario: A multivariate application of wildlife habitat suitability matrices

Protocols to select ecological indicators of sustainable forest management will benefit from a proactive approach that identifies species likely to be most seriously impacted by management. Here, we use an objective approach that couples forest resource inventory information from logged and unlogged landscapes in northeastern Ontario with information from the provincial vertebrate habitat suitability matrix to assess habitat suitability (the amount of used and preferred habitats) in the landscapes and to identify potential indicators of the impacts of forest management activities. Because they may be most representative of potential future logged landscapes in the region, we contrasted the oldest post-clearcut landscapes in the region (1950s and 1960s era, n = 27) with unlogged landscapes (n = 16). Each landscape was a 2-km radius circle (12.6 km2). In light of reported invasions of hardwood species into logged conifer sites, we considered two regeneration scenarios for very young post-harvest stands: full and partial regeneration control. Logged landscapes differed markedly from unlogged landscapes with respect to forest age and forest type. These differences resulted in strong distinctions between logged and unlogged forests for bird and mammal communities, but relatively weak separation for herpetofauna. Redundancy analysis indicated that the percent variation in habitat suitability attributable to logging was 27% for birds, 17–18% for mammals, and 8–12% for herpetofauna. More than 40% of bird and mammal species showed highly significant differences in habitat suitability between the two landscape types (P<0.01), with more species having higher suitability in unlogged than logged forests. This higher habitat suitability in unlogged forests was associated with a greater amount of older forests and a higher richness of forest types in unlogged compared to logged forests. The effect of the two regeneration scenarios was discernible for all communities, but had a relatively weak effect, with the possible exception of higher snowshoe hare (Lepus americana) densities under partial compared to full regeneration control. Various lines of evidence are presented suggesting that these differences between logged and unlogged landscapes may be maintained into the future unless actions are taken to ameliorate these effects of clearcut logging. The technique presented here may prove useful in forest monitoring and adaptive management planning because it is objective, can simultaneously consider a large number of forest taxa, focuses on real rather than projected landscapes, and outlines, in a succinct way, the main habitat-related gradients in habitat suitability matrices. Key words: wildlife habitat supply, clearcut logging, boreal forest, indicator species, forest age, forest regeneration, multivariate analysis

Consequences of various landscape-scale ecosystem management strategies and fire cycles on age-class structure and harvest in boreal forests

At the landscape scale, one of the key indicators of sustainable forest management is the age-class distribution of stands, since it provides a coarse synopsis of habitat potential, structural complexity, and stand volume, and it is directly modified by timber extraction and wildfire. To explore the consequences of several landscape-scale boreal forest management strategies on age-class structure in the Mauricie region of Quebec, we used spatially explicit simulation modelling. Our study investigated three different harvesting strategies (the one currently practiced and two different strategies to maintain late seral stands) and interactions between fire and harvesting on stand age-class distribution. We found that the legacy of initial forested age structure and its spatial configuration can pose short- (<50 years) to medium-term (150–300 years) challenges to balancing wood supply and ecological objectives. Also, ongoing disturbance by fire, even at relatively long cycles in relation to historic levels, can further constrain the achievement of both timber and biodiversity goals. For example, when fire was combined with management, harvest shortfalls occurred in all scenarios with a fire cycle of 100 years and most scenarios with a fire cycle of 150 years. Even a fire cycle of 500 years led to a reduction in older forest when its maintenance was not a primary constraint. Our results highlight the need to consider the broad-scale effects of natural disturbance when developing ecosystem management policies and the importance of prioritizing objectives when planning for multiple resource use.

Local Stakeholders' Participation in Developing Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management

Abstract Criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management are important tools to improve the quality of forest management. In most cases they have been developed by experts, but the participation of stakeholders is essential if the C&I are to be locally relevant and practicable. We asked four stakeholder groups to apply a set of C&I to a forest management unit in the eastern Amazon basin. The study confirmed the importance of involving stakeholders and demonstrated that effective efforts begin with well-defined and clearly understandable C&I. Stakeholders were better able to apply and adapt measurable verifiers than the more abstract indicators and criteria. Intensive communication about personal experiences and subjective interpretations is necessary to prevent misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Our study also confirmed the general practical applicability of C&I and revealed their potential as instruments of communication and learning.

Converging global indicators for sustainable forest management

Policy-makers in most countries now recognise the need to conserve biodiversity, forest productivity and the prosperity of forest dependent communities in the long-term. There is wide recognition of the importance of forested watersheds to hydrological regimes and water quality and the significant cultural, social and aesthetic values of forests. Policies are now directed at achieving sustainable forest management (SFM). Criteria and indicators (C&I) define SFM but obtaining agreement on what SFM is has proven to be a difficult task internationally and nationally. International activities including the work of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the European Union (EU) and the Montreal Process (MP) for temperate and boreal forests outside Europe, have, over the past decade refined C&I for SFM to the point now that there is substantial agreement between them. This paper reviews progress towards defining SFM and shows through a synthesis of the ITTO, EU and MP C&I the emergent consistency in defining SFM. The implication is that there are now sufficiently specific and agreed principles, C&I to guide policy-makers towards SFM. While much work remains to be done to operationalise the C&I, the gap between these agreed criteria and current practice for forest management is so wide that progress can be made within the frameworks while refinement continues.

Fuzzy methods for assessing criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management

Abstract This paper describes the general concepts, meaning, and definitions of sustainability and proposes the use of soft methodologies, particularly fuzzy set theory, for its assessment. Criteria and indicators (C&I) are described as instruments to assess forest sustainability. Basic elements and concepts of fuzzy sets are described, including membership functions and their interpretations in the context of sustainable forest management. Moreover, fuzzy operators that can combine the operational concepts of sustainability, namely criteria and indicators are described. A simple illustrative example is described to demonstrate the application of these methodologies.

Knowing a socially sustainable forest when you see one: Implications for results-based forestry

The wider forestry community is struggling to define what the third leg of sustainability—social sustainability—actually means. While work is now underway to develop better social Criteria and Indicators for sustainable forest management in BC and elsewhere, it is already becoming clear that the social process of decision-making and management can be as important to society as the social outcomes. This has significant implications for a results-based system such as certification or a new Forestry Code in BC. This paper explores what a truly open and accountable planning process might look like. The achievement of social sustainability depends in part on society seeing tangible proof that forestry is ecologically sustainable and carefully designed. For many of the local and global publics, the forest landscape itself provides strong evidence of forest manager's performance. The concept of Visible Stewardship, the obvious expression of care and commitment to sustainable forestry, and emerging tools such as computer visualisation of future forests, may be vital to building trust in sustainable forestry. Key words: social sustainability, social criteria and indicators, public involvement, forest stewardship, visual quality, visualization, public perceptions

EFIMOD 2—a model of growth and cycling of elements in boreal forest ecosystems

The model EFIMOD 2 was developed for the description of tree (stand) growth and biological turnover of elements in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems. The model has the following features. (i) It is a spatially explicit stand-level simulator for Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce ( Picea abies L. Karst) and Pendula birch ( Betula pendula L.) on different forest soils growing under different climatic conditions in Europe; each stand consists of individual trees for which growth is modelled depending on the tree’s position within the stand and local light, water and available nutrient conditions. (ii) The model has a tree-based submodel for total biomass distributed between several biomass compartments. (iii) The calculations include natural regeneration as well as ground vegetation dynamics. (iv) The soil submodel (ROMUL) is used to assess organic matter dynamics and nitrogen availability for tree growth as a function of soil temperature, soil moisture content and litter quality. (v) EFIMOD 2 calculates nitrogen cycling and accounts for atmospheric nitrogen deposition, nitrogen fixation and leaching, vegetation uptake, litter fall and nitrogen redistribution within and between trees and soil horizons. (vi) Monte–Carlo simulations are done to simulate the extent of naturally oscillating variability. EFIMOD 2 allows for short-term and long-term simulations of natural and managed forest ecosystem dynamics over a wide range of forest sites, climatic conditions and silvicultural regimes. The model calculates dendrometric parameters for every tree, including undergrowth and seedlings, total growing stock, and pools of coarse woody debris and soil organic matter, with special reference to carbon and nitrogen dynamics. The model is effective for assessing wood productivity and evaluation of forest management regimes to meet criteria and indicators of Sustainable Forest Management. This includes a general evaluation of biodiversity and soil sustainability. The model system allows for the direct use of standard forest inventory data. Output variables include carbon and nitrogen pools in the stand and soil, CO 2 emissions, and tree (stand) growth and yield.

The ecological sustainability of tropical forest management: evaluation of the national forest management standards of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with emphasis on the need for adaptive management

From a conceptual point of view, national forest management standards in Latin American countries have progressed significantly in recent years. Examples include the Costa Rican Standards and Procedures for Sustainable Forest Management and Certification, developed by the National Commission for Forest Certification and in Nicaragua, the National Institute of Forestry proposal of principles, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. In line with general approaches worldwide, these national standards primarily focus on the fulfillment of sound forest practice. There is comparatively little emphasis on the assessment of management outcomes or changes in key components of the eco- and social-systems that result from management impacts. Essentially, there is little emphasis on adaptive management, though arguments that management cannot be sustainable if it is not adaptive are persuasive. This study sought to contribute to the development of standards that include elements for adaptive management that define, communicate and evaluate sustainable forest management in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Elements from the national standards and the CIFOR generic C&I template (predominantly focused on forest management outcomes) were used as a starting point. The basic research process consisted of three phases of evaluation (in-office, desk and field). The evaluations were carried out by multidisciplinary, international groups of experts in forest ecology, management and policy. This study demonstrated the value of forums and workshops that facilitate exchange between forest scientists and policymakers; the innovation and application of a practical, applicable and scientifically based methodology for developing national level C&I; and acceptance of this methodology by key players in the fields of forest management and policy. These experiences and the resulting proposals of C&I for the evaluation of ecologically sustainable forest management are expected to be used as points of reference for future development of forest policy in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and to contribute to the overall understanding of C&I development processes in the region.

Conformance of Ontario's forest management planning with criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management

Prescriptions of the Forest Management Planning Manual (FMPM) for Ontario's Crown forests are examined for conformance with the elements of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) Criteria and Indicators (C&I) of sustainable forest management (SFM). The examination identifies gaps and highlights forest management planning aspects that require gap–bridging interventions at the forest management unit (FMU) level. The three levels (parts) of the FMPM—Management Planning, Annual Operations, and Reporting & Monitoring—are examined. Gaps are categorized in three groups—major, intermediate, and minor gaps. Major gaps are recorded for five out of 22 elements of the CCFM C&I framework, and these gaps indicate inadequate prescriptions for the corresponding elements at all the three levels. Minor gaps are also recorded for five elements, and these gaps indicate inadequate prescriptions at the monitoring level. Intermediate gaps are recorded for 11 elements, and depending on the specific element and indicator, inadequacy of prescriptions may only be for operations, reporting and monitoring, or may also include the planning level. The main findings of the gap analysis are that none of the six criteria of SFM has been fully incorporated in the FMPM; Part C (Reporting and Monitoring) has the highest degree and Part A (Plan Contents) has the lowest degree of non–conformity with respect to CCFM C&I framework; at the criterion–level the Global Ecological Cycles has major gaps while three criteria—Soil and Water Conservation, Multiple Benefits, and Society' Responsibility—have intermediate gaps; and the changes in the FMPM have been incremental while the shift in the concept of forest management from Sustained Yield Timber Management to SFM was a drastic change. Key words: biological diversity, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, criteria and indicators, ecological cycles, forest management, multiple benefits, society's responsibility

The development and application of a decision support system for sustainable forest management on the Boreal Plain

Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. manages a forest in west-central Alberta under a Forest Management Agreement (FMA) with the Government of Alberta. Part of Millar Western's planning process brought researchers together to develop a decision support system (DSS) for forest management planning and monitoring programs. Four modules — timber supply, biodiversity, FIRE, and WATER — were built to evaluate, with the help of indicators of sustainable forest management, current and future forest conditions predicted from computer simulations of alternative management scenarios. In the first round of assessment four management scenarios, distinct by their level of silviculture intensification and by the spatial clearcut layout pattern, were compared. Such comparison has demonstrated that (1) the current forest management scenario improved moose habitat at the expense of timber supply, (2) all scenarios had similar fire risk, (3) generated increases in peak flow and water yield of selected watersheds, and (4) slightly impoverished forest biodiversity. All scenarios were examined in light of a computer-simulated natural disturbance benchmark. This led to landscape design scenarios to reduce fire risk and balance biodiversity indicators with timber supply objectives, one of which was eventually selected for implementation. The company's monitoring and research program is also highly focused on improving DSS modules and the underlying data, hence its association with the Forest Watershed and Riparian Disturbance (FORWARD) project, which considers the effects of forest management on aquatic ecosystem indicators. Key words: decision support system, ecosystem management, forest management, natural disturbance, indicators, sustainable forest management, adaptive management.

The evolving forest regime and domestic actors: strategic or normative adaptation?

How have forest-related international environmental agreements (IEAs) affected domestic policy and forest owners in industrialised, forest-rich countries? This question is investigated by identifying and explaining the effects of IEAs on Norwegian forest policy and forestry. The analysis shows that international commitments and recommendations have had little effect on domestic forest policy. While environmental certification of forest owners by private initiative is in compliance with international recommendations and European criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management, competitiveness concerns and pressures from environmental organisations and the marketplace have been more important for this initiative than IEAs. Although environmental certification can be explained as strategic adaptation to market demands, this mechanism is dependent upon actors valuing and having internalised certain norms and principles. It is argued that IEAs have contributed to establish, strengthen and disseminate norms and principles regarding conservation of old-growth forests and biodiversity. The interplay between rational calculative and cognitive processes is thus important for understanding domestic adaptations to forest-related agreements.

Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest planning: a framework for recording Aboriginal resource and social values

The Aboriginal Forest Planning Process (AFPP) was developed to integrate indigenous and western forest management approaches. The AFPP is a participatory decision-making tool designed to enhance co-management of the John Prince Research Forest (JPRF) in central interior British Columbia, Canada and to elicit goals, objectives, criteria, and indicators of sustainable forest management from the JPRFs Aboriginal partners. Analysis of community interview transcripts, traditional land use documentation, and secondary sources resulted in a three-stage approach to information elicitation, management, and application. Resource and social values, concerns, and traditional knowledge are summarized and compiled according to criteria themes and sub-themes. This condensed information is further divided into spatial, quantitative, and qualitative criteria and indicator categories. The AFPP was a useful method for developing forest management goals, objectives and criteria; however, further interviews were required to identify appropriate management indicators.

Economic indicators of sustainable forest management: theory versus practice

There appears to be a divergence between the conceptual literature in economics on forest sustainability indicators and the practical literature on economic indicators of sustainable forest management. The former focuses on forest resource accounts and issues related to measurement of integrated natural or forest capital accounts. The latter includes some elements of capital accounts but also contains a variety of other community level economic activity indicators. The divergence between these two bodies of literature is evaluated in this paper. Some explanations for the differences are offered as are some suggestions for improvement and investigation in the area of economic sustainability indicators.

Prediction of organic carbon content in upland forest soils of Quebec, Canada

Soil organic carbon (C) is an important component of forest carbon pools and should be taken into account in sustainable forest management. However, there is a need to derive indicators for this attribute, as organic C content (Mg·ha–1) in forest soils is generally not available in Quebec survey data. Thus, we developed models to predict organic C accumulation in the forest floor and in mineral soils of upland forest soils (i.e., with forest floor thickness [Formula: see text]30 cm) using soil survey data as input variables. The best-fit model for predicting forest floor organic C content consisted of the explanatory variables forest floor thickness, latitude, and longitude. The model R2 was 0.76, and its CV was 28%. The second best-fit model, excluding geographical coordinates, included forest floor thickness and mean growing season precipitation as explanatory variables (R2 = 0.71, CV = 29.5%). The model for predicting mineral soil organic C content was composed of two submodels: (i) organic C concentration of a mineral horizon as a function of its colour and (ii) bulk density of that horizon as a function of its estimated C concentration (obtained from the former model). The R2 of the model for predicting organic C content in mineral soils was 0.57, and its CV was 29%. The models were used to predict organic C contents in 5547 pedons, dispersed throughout the commercial forest of Quebec and for which basic soil profile description data were available. It was then possible to evaluate and compare mean soil C accumulation in different forest stand types and to construct two maps of soil organic C accumulation in upland forest soils of southern Quebec. The results pointed out that forest floor thickness combined with mineral soil horizon colour, texture class, and pH would be useful sustainable forest management indicators of organic C accumulation in upland forest soils.

Developing carbon-based ecological indicators to monitor sustainability of Ontario’s forests

With 2% of the world’s forests and 17% of Canada’s forested land, Ontario plays a major role in maintaining Canada’s forests and managing them sustainably. Ontario is developing a set of criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management (SFM) to aid in conservation and sustainable management of its temperate and boreal (BO) forests. The criteria and indicators are intended to provide a framework for describing and assessing processes of SFM at a regional scale; and to improve the information available to the public and decision-makers. This paper describes three ecological indicators, evaluated using a carbon (C) budget model, a forest inventory database, and disturbance records to assess long-term sustainability of Ontario’s forest ecosystems based on the environmental conditions of the past 70 years. Results suggest that total net primary productivity (NPP) of Ontario’s forest ecosystems increased from 1925 to 1975 and then decreased between 1975 and 1990; Ontario’s forest ecosystems acted as a C sink between 1920 and 1980, and a C source from 1981 to 1990, mainly due to decreased average forest age and NPP caused by increased ecosystem disturbance (e.g. fire, insect and disease infestations, harvesting) since 1975. Current estimates from this analysis suggest that there is significant potential for Ontario’s forests to function as C sinks by reducing ecosystem disturbances and increasing growth and storage of C in the young forests throughout the province.

Intensive monitoring of forest ecosystems in Europe: 1. Objectives, set-up and evaluation strategy

In order to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of air pollution and other environmental factors on forest ecosystems, a Pan-European Programme for Intensive and Continuous Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems has been implemented in 1994. Results of the Programme must contribute to a European wide overview of impacts of air pollution and the further development of its control strategies, being described in air pollution protocols. Objectives of the Intensive Monitoring Programme related to air pollution are the assessment of: (i) responses of forest ecosystems to changes in air pollution; (ii) differences between present loads and critical loads (long-term sustainable inputs) of atmospheric deposition; and (iii) impacts of future scenarios of atmospheric deposition on the ecosystem condition. Furthermore, the Intensive Monitoring Programme contributes to the assessment of ‘criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management’, such as the maintenance of forests as a net carbon sink to reduce the build up of atmospheric greenhouse gasses and the maintenance of species diversity of ground vegetation. The Intensive Monitoring Programme, which is carried out on approximately 860 selected plots, comprises monitoring of crown condition, forest growth and the chemical status of soil and foliage at all plots and monitoring of deposition, meteorology, soil solution and ground vegetation in a subset of the plots. In order to meet the major objectives of the Intensive Monitoring Programme, studies have been or are presently carried out with respect to the assessment of: (i) correlations between site and stress factors and the “forest ecosystem condition”; (ii) trends in stress factors and/or ecosystem conditions; (iii) critical loads, by evaluating the fate of atmospheric pollutants in the ecosystem with input–output budgets; and (iv) large-scale and long-term impacts of climate and deposition on forests and vice versa. Examples of those studies are given and the potential of the Programme to fulfil the objectives is evaluated.

Detecting forest dependant amphibians and reptiles as indicators of sustainable forest management using a questionnaire to herpetologists

Detecting forest dependant amphibians and reptiles as indicators of sustainable forest management using a questionnaire to herpetologists

Criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management.

Sustainable development is a term reflecting human, societal, and environmental values and in order to determine progress toward this goal; it is necessary to identify and define these values, and for governments or other institutions to establish the means to assess progress. Canada is directly involved in national and international processes to assess the sustainability of forest management processes using Criteria and Indicators. These consist of a group of broad core values (Criteria) and are supported by an number of measures (Indicators) to assess status or progress toward the realization of these values. Measuring and monitoring indicators is necessary to demonstrate progress toward sustainable development nationally and internationally. The criteria that have been identified include the traditional concepts of timber values, and include economics, environmental, social values, and national infrastructures. Each criterion is supported by a number of indicators to track progress. Countries in the international process also collaborate on defining terms, methods of reporting, and improving and enhancing indicators. C&I facilitate international reporting and provide a framework for international agreements while reflecting national differences in characteristics and descriptions of forests. The reporting process has stimulated the emergence of forest management issues that will influence forest science and forest ecosystem management in the future. For Canada, these include the development of a national system of forest ecosystem inventory, and ecological classification, the interpretation of the range of historic variation, and the adequacy and applicability of data sources.