National Forest Planning Research Articles

Centralized governance for food safety of non-timber forest products: Wild-simulated ginseng in the Republic of Korea

Global interest in non-timber forest products is increasing, owing to their contribution to the diversification of forest livelihoods. Wild-simulated ginseng (WSG) is a non-timber forest product that has received attention for promoting the livelihood of mountain villages and providing healthy foods in the Republic of Korea. The country's government policy for specializing the WSG with high commercial value was established and conducted according to the National Forest Plans. This study examined the policy changes for facilitating the WSG industry in the Republic of Korea for understanding innovation and governance of non-timber forest product industry, applying a policy arrangement approach with four dimensions; discourses, rules of the game, actors, and actors' resources or power. The results indicate that these four interconnected dimensions contributed to establishing and implementing policies for facilitating the WSG industry. The policy arrangement approach confirms two features in WSG industry policies; the transition of discourse of non-timber forest products from quantity-oriented to quality-oriented focusing on food safety and centralized governance mode. The innovative policy approach, focusing on food safety and governance mode, contributes to facilitating and revitalizing the non-timber forest product industry in the food market.

Assessing and Mapping Forest Functions through a GIS-Based, Multi-Criteria Approach as a Participative Planning Tool: An Application Analysis

A relatively new planning tool in Italy is the Local Forest Plan, which stands at a broader level in the land planning scale compared to the Forest Management Plan but at a finer scale considering a Regional or even National Forest Plan. This intermediate scale was considered the most appropriate for working out a planning process based on a multi-criteria assessment of forest functions. The proper functioning of forest ecosystems can provide services conceived as benefits people can obtain through ecological processes that sustain and satisfy essential needs of human life. Four particular forest functions providing services were identified: protective, productive, naturalistic and touristic, respectively. A set of functional criteria, as well as attributes within criteria, were recognized to perform an “Analytic Hierarchy Process” (AHP). A specific application of this methodological approach was selected as a case study. This multi-criteria decision-making process involved the participation of five selected experts in a preliminary phase, followed by the participation of thirty representative stakeholders who contributed to the forest planning process and the subsequent selection of actions to be taken. Data related to forest types and management, physical and morphological features of the forested terrain and infrastructure such as forest roads, touristic trails and hiking pathways, together with natural protected areas or wildlife preservation areas, were explicitly located in space by using a “geographical information service” (GIS) software. The combined application of AHP and GIS can be considered as a significant methodological innovation presented in the case study, together with the implementation of a participative process aimed at the management of forest resources and the creation of possible new professional and entrepreneurial forest activities for the benefit of the entire residential community.

PRISM: A decision support system for forest planning

PRISM, a new forest management decision support system, was developed for United States national forest planning at the same time existing tools were deprecated. PRISM has a friendly graphical user interface to facilitate model development, database management, sensitivity analysis, and data visualization. It integrates SQLITE engine for database storage and exploration. It supports both classic forest planning Model I and II to schedule management activities and achieve multiple management objectives through the lifecycle of a forest plan. Multiple models may be created through the PRISM interface and solved in batch mode for convenient sensitivity analysis. Various options to visualize model outputs are available through the embedded JFREECHART library. The open-source nature of PRISM makes it free to use and allows for long-term software development and collaboration. This paper presents the architecture, core functionality, and selected applications of PRISM in the United States national forest planning.

Ecosystem Management & the Evolution of Ideas at the US Forest Service

In the early 1990s, ecosystem management was touted as an emerging new paradigm for US national forest planning, but by the end of the decade the phrase had virtually disappeared from public discussion of the subject. The purpose of this article is to understand what legacy, if any, that ecosystem management left on national forest management. While Klyza (1996) has arguably offered the leading viewpoint on how policy ideas influence change in national forest management, this article relies more heavily on insights from the work of Carstensen (2011) and other scholars who view policy idea change as an evolutionary process. Ultimately, it is concluded that ecosystem management was one component of a longer-term evolution in ideas that culminated most recently in the promulgation of the 2012 forest planning rules.

Estructura de bosques con palo santo (Gonopterodendron sarmientoi): Evaluación regional para su manejo y conservación en la Argentina

Gonopterodendron sarmientoi is a threatened native tree of the Dry Chaco region in South America, adapted to semiarid conditions. However, the relationships among climatic and edaphic conditions and its forest structure have not been defined yet. Up to date, in Argentina, the study of palo santo forest management and conservation is scarce and still depends on basic information. The objectives of this study were 1) to classify forest groups based on forest stand attributes and species composition, 2) to analyze relationships between dasometric parameters of palo santo with climatic and edaphic variables at the regional level and forest types, and 3) to compare total aboveground biomass between forest types as a tool for managing and conserving this species. We compiled forest inventories carried out during the years 2004-2019, containing dasometric data of palo santo for the northern part of the Argentine Dry Chaco region. In the study area, we extracted climatic and edaphic conditions from global data base and national maps. We obtained three forest groups: palosantal, forests with low presence of palo santo and forests with high presence of palo santo. Temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration and soil textures had significant effects on the forest structure of palo santo at the regional level and on forest types. The total density of individuals of G. sarmientoi has a different effect on the total biomass depending on the type of forest, which allows for different management and conservation practices. Consolidating a national forest plan for palo santo could address more viable proposals to manage and conserve the species in the region.

A Social Science Method for Public Engagement in the Context of Natural Resource Planning in the United States

The application of scientifically rigorous public engagement approaches is lacking. In this context, we present a “social vulnerability protocol” which has now been applied in several broad-scale planning efforts. The protocol aims to understand the multitude of relationships that people have with public land through a prioritization of ecosystem services and a selection of relevant drivers of change. The protocol is analytically rigorous and readily interpretable, and is clearly tied to the planning objectives of knowledge co-production, tradeoff analysis, and understanding how various threats may impact social well-being. In the context of the Gila National Forest Plan revision, comparisons between the perspectives of the public and those of the local land management agency show a diversity of stakeholder values and human-nature relationships. We believe this approach contributes to more inclusive decision-making, strengthens public understanding of the complexities involved, and builds trust through transparent and explicit acknowledgement of diverse perspectives.

Informing forest conservation planning with detailed human footprint data for Argentina

Conserving the remaining wildest forests is a top priority for conservation, and human footprint maps are a practical way to identify wild areas. However, available global assessments of wild areas are too coarse for land use decisions, especially in countries with high deforestation rates, such as Argentina. Our main goal was to map the human footprint in Argentina’s forested areas to improve conservation planning at regional and country levels. Specifically, we quantified the level of human influence on the environment and mapped the wildest native forests (i) across forest regions, and (ii) in the different land-use categories of the National Forest Plan, which is a key policy instrument for conserving the nation’s native forests through zoning, and (iii) identified wildest forests that are at risk due to human activities. We analyzed detailed spatial data on settlements, transportation, energy, and land use change, and estimated the areal extent to which these various human activities disrupt natural processes. We defined pixels with human footprint index of zero as wildest areas. We found that a substantial portion (43%) of Argentina’s forested area remains wild, which suggests there are opportunities for conservation. However, levels of human influence varied substantially among forest regions, and Atlantic and Chaco forests have the highest levels of human influence. Further, we found that the National Forest Plan does not conserve the wildest forests of the nation, as most (78%) of the wildest native forests are located in zones that allow silvopasture, timber production, and/or forest conversion to crops, thus potentially threatening biodiversity in these areas. Our map of wildest forests is an important, but first, step in identifying wildland forests in Argentina, as available spatial data layers of human activities capture many, but not all, human influences on forests. For instance, small human features, like certain rural roads, trails, and rural settlements exist in our wildest areas. Our study provides new datasets to assist land use planners and conservationists, and identifies areas for conservation attention in Argentina. More broadly, our analyses highlight the value of detailed human footprint data to support conservation decisions in forest landscapes.

Impacts of the National Forest Rehabilitation Plan and Human-Induced Environmental Changes on the Carbon and Nitrogen Balances of the South Korean Forests

Humans have affected the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in forests; however, the quantification of the responses of forest C and N balances to human activities is limited. In this study, we have quantified the impacts of the long-term national forest rehabilitation plan and the contribution of the increase in air temperature, CO2 concentration, and N deposition on the C and N balances of the South Korean forests during 1973–2020 by using a biogeochemical model. During the simulation period, the C balance increased from 0.2 to 4.3 Mg C ha−1 year−1, and the N balance increased from 0.2 to 17.4 kg N ha−1 year−1. This resulted in the storage of 825 Tg C and 3.04 Tg N by the whole South Korean forests after the national forest rehabilitation plan. The increase in air temperature, CO2 concentration, and N deposition contributed −11.5, 17.4, and 177 Tg C to the stored C stock, respectively, and −25.4, 8.90, and 1807 Mg N to the stored N stock, respectively. This study provides references for future forest rehabilitation efforts and broadens our knowledge on the impacts of human-induced environmental changes on the C and N balances of forests.

Finding woodlands in drylands: Bases for the monitoring of xeric open forests in a cloud computing platform

Conservation and sustainable management of woodlands in drylands is a priority at the global level considering the numerous benefits and ecosystem services they offer for local people. Sustainable use of forest resources requires the planning of forest conservation, restoration, and use on a global scale through National Forest Plans. It is imperative to generate information about their location and main characteristics to develop such plans. In this context, satellite imagery presents invaluable advantages related to the possibility of covering greater extensions in less time using fewer resources. However, there is limited knowledge about dryland woodlands spatial distribution due to the challenges associated with their identification. Particular features of these forests may conceal them from remote sensors. In Argentina's drylands, the detection of Monte biogeographical province's woodlands is hindered due to the spectral confusion that takes place between them and the surrounding shrubland. The objective of this study was to assess and compare different methodologies in a web-based image processing platform to develop a monitoring methodology easy to apply by public offices. We selected two study areas in the Monte region where we performed and assessed 16 types of supervised image classifications. In drier sites characterized by high contrast between woodlands and surrounding areas, forest detectability improved. In both study areas, we found better results using higher resolution images. The improvement associated with the inclusion of a vegetation index, as well as the classification algorithm and scheme implemented was case-dependent. In both study areas, classifications detected non-forest areas more accurately, indicating the possible application of the assessed procedures for the monitoring of forest loss. The cloud computing platform proved very useful and included multiple advantages. Bases for the detection of woodlands in drylands emerge from this study, considering improvements in accuracy and suitable alternatives: the use of Sentinel images, the addition to the mosaic of the SATVI index, the use of the CART algorithm, and a detailed classification scheme. These do not intend to be rigid instructions, but baseline recommendations to orient the design of monitoring approaches of these hidden forests.

Can Forest Managers Plan for Resilient Landscapes? Lessons from the United States National Forest Plan Revision Process.

The United States Forest Service, a federal agency entrusted with managing 78 M hectares of national forestlands under a broad multiple-use mandate, has seen recent shifts in policy direction emphasizing ecological restoration, consideration of climate change impacts, and a focus on managing for resilient landscapes. The process of revising the comprehensive plans guiding national forest management presents opportunities to reorient objectives, activities, and commitments toward these goals. Here we analyze case studies of three national forests that have completed the forest plan revision process since 2014: the Francis Marion National Forest in coastal South Carolina, the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona, and the Rio Grande National Forest in southern Colorado. We analyze plan revision participants' perspectives on the opportunities and barriers to reorienting national forest management toward resilient landscapes and the broader political, social, and institutional factors that influence these dynamics. Key opportunities included better promoting resilient landscape objectives by revising fire management guidelines, incorporating scientific data and modeling from multiple agency and non-agency partners, and building opportunities for adaptive management via long-term trust networks. Major barriers included inconsistent higher-level support for resilience objectives, an emphasis on meeting narrow quantitative performance targets, and under-investments in monitoring.

Exploring the Use of Ecosystem Services Conceptual Models to Account for the Benefits of Public Lands: An Example from National Forest Planning in the United States

A shared understanding of the benefits and tradeoffs to people from alternative land management strategies is critical to successful decision-making for managing public lands and fostering shared stewardship. This study describes an approach for identifying and monitoring the types of resource benefits and tradeoffs considered in National Forest planning in the United States under the 2012 Planning Rule and demonstrates the use of tools for conceptualizing the production of ecosystem services and benefits from alternative land management strategies. Efforts to apply these tools through workshops and engagement exercises provide opportunities to explore and highlight measures, indicators, and data sources for characterizing benefits and tradeoffs in collaborative environments involving interdisciplinary planning teams. Conceptual modeling tools are applied to a case study examining the social and economic benefits of recreation on the Ashley National Forest. The case study illustrates how these types of tools facilitate dialog for planning teams to discuss alternatives and key ecosystem service outcomes, create easy to interpret visuals that map details in plans, and provide a basis for selecting ecosystem service (socio-economic) metrics. These metrics can be used to enhance environmental impact analysis, and help satisfy the goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 2012 Planning Rule, and shared stewardship initiatives. The systematic consideration of ecosystem services outcomes and metrics supported by this approach enhanced dialog between members of the Forest planning team, allowed for a more transparent process in identification of key linkages and outcomes, and identified impacts and outcomes that may not have been apparent to the sociologist who is lacking the resource specific expertise of these participants. As a result, the use of the Ecosystem Service Conceptual Model (ESCM) process may result in reduced time for internal reviews and greater comprehension of anticipated outcomes and impacts of proposed management in the plan revision Environmental Impact Statement amongst the planning team.

Perceptions and Application of the Ecosystem Services Approach among Pacific Northwest National Forest Managers

The ecosystem services concept has emerged as a guiding principle in natural resource management over the past two decades, and an ecosystem services approach to management is currently mandated as a core element of United States National Forest planning. However, the concept of ecosystem services has been interpreted and operationalized in a variety of ways, leaving a pronounced knowledge gap regarding how it is understood and implemented in different contexts. To better understand the conceptualization and implementation of the concept within United States National Forests, semi-structured interviews with planners and managers of the Pacific Northwest Region were conducted at the region, forest, and ranger district levels, addressing the following topics: (1) how has the ecosystem services concept been perceived by managers and planners?; (2) what are the perceived key ecosystem services offered by National Forest lands?; (3) how has the concept been applied at multiple spatial scales?; and (4) what are perceived challenges or opportunities related to applying the concept in the National Forest context? Results indicate that although participants had a high level of understanding of the ecosystem services concept, there was not a clear, widely adopted approach to considering ecosystem services in management. Through qualitative analysis, three general perspectives arose: one employed the concept to fulfill regulatory requirements at the National Forest scale, a second engaged with ecosystem services to improve participatory planning at the project scale, and a third, business as usual perspective, considered ecosystem services as new language for describing longstanding National Forest priorities. These results draw attention to the challenges of implementing an ecosystem services-based approach in the United States National Forest context and the continued need for the development of management-relevant methods for describing and quantifying ecosystem services.

Developing UAV-Based Forest Spatial Information and Evaluation Technology for Efficient Forest Management

Forest spatial information is regularly established and managed as basic data for national forest planning and forest policy establishment. Among them, the grade of vegetation conservation shall be investigated and evaluated according to the value of vegetation conservation. As the collection of field data over large or remote areas is difficult, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used for this purpose. Consequently, there is a need for research on UAV-monitoring and three-dimensional (3D) image generation techniques. In this study, a new method that can efficiently collect and analyze UAV spatial data to survey and assess forests was developed. Both UAV-based and LiDAR imaging methods were evaluated in conjunction with the ground control point measurement method for forest surveys. In addition, by fusing the field survey database of each target site and the UAV optical and LiDAR images, the Gongju, Samcheok, and Seogwipo regions were analyzed based on deep learning. The kappa value showed 0.59, 0.47, and 0.78 accuracy for each of the sites in terms of vegetation type (artificial or natural), and 0.68, 0.53, and 0.62 accuracy in terms of vegetation layer structure. The results of comparative analysis with ecological natural maps by establishing vegetation conservation levels show that about 83.9% of the areas are consistent. The findings verified the applicability of this UAV-based approach for the construction of geospatial information on forests. The proposed method can be useful for improving the efficiency of the Vegetation Conservation Classification system and for conducting high-resolution monitoring in forests worldwide.

The Role of Precision in Spatial Narratives: Using a Modified Discourse Quality Index to Measure the Quality of Deliberative Spatial Data

The importance of spatial precision in geographic information science is not limited to quantitative data. As spatial data can also exist in qualitative form, modifying a discourse quality index from the field of discourse ethics can help understand whether mentioning specific spatial locations changes the quality of spatial narratives. The discourse quality index was modified by incorporating an item into the index that detected the presence and magnitude of a spatial precision construct. The spatial narratives analyzed with this modified index were 151 public comments submitted during a public policy revision process, for a national forest plan revision at the Chugach National Forest in Alaska, USA.Analysis showed when discourse quality values underwent a comparison of means test, the values were significantly changed between comments with no spatial precision versus those considered to have spatial precision. The results suggest, preliminarily, that employing spatial precision in narratives changes discourse quality during deliberative activities. Further, the way in which people use spatial precision to communicate during a policy revision process can impact how spatial narratives are understood and valued.

Analysis of fire frequency on the Talladega National Forest, USA, 1998-2018

Fire is an essential ecological process and management tool for many forested landscapes, particularly the pine (Pinus spp.) forests of the southern USA. Within the Talladega National Forest in Alabama, where restoration and maintenance of pine ecosystems is a priority, fire frequency (both wild and prescribed) was assessed using a geographical process applied to a fire history database. Two methods for assessing fire frequency were employed: (1) a simple method that utilised the entire range of years acknowledged in the database and (2) a conservative method that was applied only the date of the first and last fires recorded at each location. Analyses were further separated by (a) method of mean fire return interval calculation (weighted by area or Weibull) and (b) fire season interval with analyses conducted on growing season and dormant season fires. Analyses of fire frequency for national forest planning purposes may help determine whether a prescribed fire program mimics ecological and historical fire frequencies and meets intended objectives. The estimated fire return interval was between ~5 and 6.5 years using common, straightforward (simple) methods. About one-third of the forest receives no fire management and about half of the balance has sufficiently managed fuels.

Wall-to-wall spatial prediction of growing stock volume based on Italian National Forest Inventory plots and remotely sensed data

Spatial predictions of forest variables are required for supporting modern national and sub-national forest planning strategies, especially in the framework of a climate change scenario. Nowadays methods for constructing wall-to-wall maps and calculating small-area estimates of forest parameters are becoming essential components of most advanced National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. Such methods are based on the assumption of a relationship between the forest variables and predictor variables that are available for the entire forest area. Many commonly used predictors are based on data obtained from active or passive remote sensing technologies. Italy has almost 40% of its land area covered by forests. Because of the great diversity of Italian forests with respect to composition, structure and management and underlying climatic, morphological and soil conditions, a relevant question is whether methods successfully used in less complex temperate and boreal forests may be applied successfully at country level in Italy.For a study area of more than 48,657 km2 in central Italy of which 43% is covered by forest, the study presents the results of a test regarding wall-to-wall, spatially explicit estimation of forest growing stock volume (GSV) based on field measurement of 1350 plots during the last Italian NFI. For the same area, we used potential predictor variables that are available across the whole of Italy: cloud-free mosaics of multispectral optical satellite imagery (Landsat 5 TM), microwave sensor data (JAXA PALSAR), a canopy height model (CHM) from satellite LiDAR, and auxiliary variables from climate, temperature and precipitation maps, soil maps, and a digital terrain model.Two non-parametric (random forests and k-NN) and two parametric (multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression) prediction methods were tested to produce wall-to-wall map of growing stock volume at 23-m resolution. Pixel level predictions were used to produce small-area, province-level model-assisted estimates. The performances of all the methods were compared in terms of percent root mean-square error using a leave-one-out procedure and an independent dataset was used for validation. Results were comparable to those available for other ecological regions using similar predictors, but random forests produced the most accurate results with a pixel level R2 = 0.69 and RMSE% = 37.2% against the independent validation dataset. Model-assisted estimates were more precise than the original design-based estimates provided by the NFI.

A Field Takes Stock: Papers From The 8th International Congress On Coastal And Marine Tourism

Humans are transforming the coastal and marine tourism environment at an ever-increasing rate. Concurrently, the multiple amenities and natural resources of coastal zones and the reality of population growth contribute to omnipresent tourism user conflicts. This results in social, wicked, and super wicked problems that are value infused, difficult to frame, and seemingly intractable. In response, scientists and other experts are encouraged to engage in use-inspired research. Further, they are advised to reconsider the basic applied science dichotomy and to make policy contributions in the role of the honest broker. Articles from the 8th International Congress on Coastal and Marine Tourism are introduced that deal with tsunami vulnerability (Thailand), wreck diving (Australia/Micronesia), national forest planning (Gulf of Alaska), cruise industry research, aquatic safety (Australia), surfing expansion (South Africa), stakeholder relations (Zanzibar, Tanzania), and kiteboarding (the Netherlands).

Unearthing ‘dead capital’: Heirs’ property prediction in two U.S. southern counties

Heirs’ property is a form of tenancy in common. It is typically inherited land passed to subsequent generations as intestate property, or property inherited outside of the formal probate process, without “clear title.” In economic terms, this form of property ownership can result in inefficient property uses, as owners tend to under-invest in such properties, owing to uncertainties regarding returns on investments. This, in turn, contributes to a diminution of wealth for affected families. Unclear titles also impede homeowners’ ability to apply for various forms of land and home improvement aid offered by federal agencies. As well, tenancies in common have the effect of intensifying already existing vulnerabilities of place, again, because constraints on homeowners’ access to equity make home improvements less likely.The magnitude of the heirs’ property phenomenon is not well-understood. Extant estimates are dated and often not verifiable; and no systematic means of identifying these parcels has been accepted. We present a methodology for assessing the accuracy of predictors typically used to identify heirs’ parcels using logistic models and data from a rural Appalachian county (Leslie County, KY) and a more urban Black Belt11Historically, the southern “Black Belt” referred to rural counties comprising the antebellum plantation South, renowned for its rich, black, fertile soil. Because of the co-existence between these productive lands and high proportions of African American residents, Black Belt now references that sub-region of the U.S. South with counties containing higher than average numbers of African Americans, including both rural and urban counties. county (Macon-Bibb County, GA). This is the first attempt to empirically examine these predictors. Year property was last sold and financial caretaker are the strongest predictors in both counties. Using these indicators, the percent of correctly predicted heirs’ parcels is about 67 percent in Leslie County and 48 percent in Macon-Bibb County. Applications of this methodology for national forest planning are discussed.

Comparative study of the forest transition pathways of nine Asia-Pacific countries

Forest transition (FT) over the last three decades has attracted much academic attention. In this paper we present a comparative study of FT to assess regional variety in nine countries in Asia: China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam, using data covering the years 1960–2010. This study's examination of changes in forest area demonstrates that Korea and Japan achieved FT before the 1980s, and that China, Vietnam, India and the Philippines achieved FT more recently, while Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos still experience forest cover decline. Economic development pathway and state forest policy pathway are most common in these nine countries. The globalization pathway is also found to contribute to FT, primarily in countries that are net importers of forest products. The land use intensification pathway is not identified in any of the nine countries. This study also observed that four countries (China, Vietnam, India and the Philippines) tend to achieve FT at relatively low income levels, which may point to the significance of state intervention in the region's countries via forest protection laws, national forest planning and afforestation programs.

Assessing the impacts of federal forest planning on wildfire risk mitigation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

We analyzed the impact of amenity and biodiversity protection as mandated in national forest plans on the implementation of hazardous fuel reduction treatments aimed at protecting the wildland urban interface (WUI) and restoring fire resilient forests. We used simulation modeling to delineate areas on national forests that can potentially transmit fires to adjacent WUI. We then intersected these areas with national forest planning maps to determine where mechanical treatments are allowed for restoration and fire protection, versus areas where they are prohibited. We found that a large proportion of the national forest lands (79%) can spawn fires that burn adjacent WUIs. The bulk of the predicted WUI exposure originated from simulated fires ignited outside of conservation and preservation reserves and in dry forests, rather than moist mixed conifer forests. Thus the notion that fuel buildup in reserves on national forests contributes to wildfire risk in the urban interface was only partially supported by the data for the region studied. Most of the national forest lands that contribute wildfires to the WUI are not within the boundaries of community wildfire protection plans, which may undermine the effectiveness of these planning efforts. We used the spatial data themes developed in the study to map conflicts and opportunities for restoration and mitigation of WUI wildfire risk. The analysis disentangles the spatial complexity of managing landscapes for multiple socio-ecological objectives as part of ongoing restoration programs, collaborative planning, and national forest plan revisions on national forests in the US.