Productive Forest Land Research Articles

Availability and mobilization of forest resources in Sweden

The available amount of wood supply is essential for national strategic planning and evaluation of forestry in Sweden. Since Sweden holds a large part of the forests in the European Union and plays a significant role in the global trade of wood-based products, a precise estimate of the potential of the Swedish forest resource is also important in regional and global outlook studies. In this study, we analyse factors influencing the availability and mobilization of wood supply. By comparing data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory with the stand registers of the five largest forest owners in Sweden, we estimate the productive forest area not included in the forest owners' stand databases. Our results show that 0.4 million hectares, or 5% of these large-scale forest owners productive forest area, is outside their stand registers and therefore neither included in their long-term harvesting plans nor in their nature conservation plans. For small-scale forest owners, we analyse the final felling rate during 2004–2020 using satellite imagery to estimate the proportion of properties that abstain from final fellings and thereby could affect the potential mobilization of wood supply. During this period, 32% of the forest properties owned by small-scale forest owners have not done any final felling. These forest estates hold in total 1.1 million hectares of productive forest land or 9% of the area owned by small-scale forest owners. This implies a gap between the potential and realistic estimates for Forest Available for Wood Supply.

Multipurpose Freshwater Coastal Reservoirs and Their Role in Mitigating Climate Change

A coastal reservoir (CR) is a freshwater reservoir to store river water in the sea area adjacent to the sea coast by replacing seawater. A CR is formed by constructing a long oceanic dike to impound surplus water that is flowing to the sea from a river basin. Freshwater from the CR is pumped throughout the year into a series of embankment canals to reach upland areas for meeting agricultural, industrial, municipal, etc water needs along with the required base blows and environmental flows in river basins. The embankment canals also create pumped storage hydropower (PSHP) potential to meet the energy storage requirements for harnessing variable power resources like solar, wind, etc which are economical, clean, renewable, and carbon neutral. The oceanic dike also creates a mega-scale ultra-deep sea harbor along with a coastal highway and railroad. CRs are cheaper to construct compared to land-based reservoirs wherever the cost of submerged land and immovable property acquisition and rehabilitation of the affected population is very high. They also serve multipurpose utilities such as deep-sea harbor, road transport, rail transport, land reclamation, PSHP energy storage, rejuvenation of over-exploited rivers, etc without appreciable overall environmental damage. CR projects are feasible in every continent except Antarctica as there are few mighty rivers with huge surplus water discharges to the sea and also the existence of vast desert/semi-desert areas which can be converted into productive agricultural lands or forest lands with water supplied from the CRs. Greening the desert or semi-desert lands into lush green farms or forest lands would enhance the soil carbon storage and also provide food grains and biomass. The available biomass can be used as feedstock to produce carbon-neutral biofuels to replace fossil fuels which are contributing to global warming. Few feasible CR projects are listed in the paper that can harness nearly 9,000 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water annually and contribute to achieving a carbon-neutral world. To explain the concept of the freshwater CRs and the associated embankment canals, a CR project to utilize the surplus waters of the Brahmaputra, Ganga, and Meghna rivers is considered as a case study in some detail in this paper. The project would create a 360 bcm capacity CR to harness nearly 1,200 bcm of water throughout the year regardless of monsoon vagaries for meeting various water needs in all major river basins between the Ganga and Krishna rivers.

Handling uncertainties in forest information: the hierarchical forest planning process and its use of information at large forest companies

AbstractThis qualitative study aimed to map what information is used in the forest planning process at large forest-owning companies, how it is used, its level of uncertainty and currently employed strategies to handle forest information uncertainty. An additional aim was to assess the status of the paradigm of the forest planning hierarchy in forestry. We used data from semi-structured interviews with representatives of six large forest-owning companies in Sweden, representing 30 per cent of the productive forest land in the country. Our results show that the forest planning process is a hierarchical system of decisions where the information used in the different planning stages is of varying quality and that the traditional hierarchical planning paradigm still plays a vital role in forestry. The most central source of information in the whole forest-planning process is the forest stand database (forest inventory). This includes uncertain information from various sources, including subjective field measurements and aerial image interpretation. However, the use of remote sensing estimates to feed the databases is increasing, which will probably improve the overall quality. Another important finding is that forest companies tend not to use decision support systems or optimization models to solve planning problems outside the scope of strategic planning; thus, most planning is done manually, e.g. in a geographic information system (GIS) environment. Apart from the hierarchical division of the planning process itself, we identified six main strategies that the companies use to control information uncertainty, namely locking the future by making a decision, utilizing a surplus of available harvests, updating information before a decision is made, replanning when the plan is found to be infeasible, planning by looking back and ignoring the uncertainty, either intentionally or unintentionally. The results from this study increase our understanding of contemporary forest-planning practices and will be helpful in the development of decision support systems and methods for information collection.

Spruce (Picea abies L.) planting leads post-clearcut bird assemblages to a novel successional pathway\u2014a comparative study in hemiboreal mixed forests

Key messageBird assemblages in planted spruce (Picea abies L.) forests were compositionally distinct from those in naturally regenerated mixed stands. Despite rapid stand development on productive soils, even-aged silviculture cannot host most old-forest species. However, their habitat quality could be supported in landscape mosaics with retention forestry and set-asides.ContextThe most productive forest lands have naturally the richest bird assemblages but tend to be also most intensively managed. Sustainable solutions to this conflict are unclear.AimTo assess bird assemblages and their successional dynamics in planted Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) stands compared to naturally developing stands.MethodsWe mapped breeding bird assemblages in forty 5-ha plots on highly productive soils in Estonia. The plots included sets of naturally regenerated and planted stands, and (as successional endpoints) clear-cuts and old stands.ResultsPlanted stands had fewer bird species and pairs than naturally regenerated stands; the latter having a species composition resembling late-successional deciduous-dominated stands. Importantly, the species composition in mature spruce plantations converged toward the composition observed in late-successional conifer-dominated stands. Downed dead wood, stand age, deciduous trees, and stock density were the most significant stand characteristics shaping bird assemblages.ConclusionThe habitat value of established spruce plantations can be primarily improved by allowing for some deciduous trees and gaps with deciduous undergrowth. At the landscape scale, the bird diversity of even-aged systems would be enhanced by multi-scale applications of retention forestry—from retention trees to old-growth set-asides.

A Conceptual Landscape-Level Approach to Assess the Impacts of Forestry on Biodiversity

In this study, we propose a conceptual approach to assessing biodiversity impacts in the life-cycle assessments (LCAs) of forest wood production with a focus on Nordic managed forests at the landscape level. As a basis for our methodology, we suggest assessing the proportion of the total land area of productive forest under the control of a forest owner that fulfils certain criteria that can be regarded as having a positive impact on the development of forest biodiversity. A similar assessment of the forest management performed on the surrounding land is used to define a site-specific reference situation. In the context of an attributional LCA, the suggested method for the specification of business-as-usual (BAU) or environmental quality objectives (EQO) baselines encourages forest owners to choose forest management options that increase the proportion of productive forest land with properties that are more favorable to biodiversity over time. We illustrate the BAU baseline approach with two examples in Sweden to calculate the biodiversity impact from wood production for individual forest owners using four biodiversity indicators from the Swedish national Environmental Quality Objectives (EQOS)—‘Living Forests’. The approach defined in this study is at this stage only applicable to forestry assessments. Using a BAU baseline approach similar to that used for international climate reporting is a simple but novel approach that makes use of consensuses that have already been drawn and approaches that have already been established.

Temporal and Spatial Change of Carbon Storage in Alara Forest Planning Unit

Aim of study: Land use and carbon stock changes of Alara Forest Planning Unit (FPU) between the years of 1997 and 2017 were investigated.
 Area of study: Alara Forest Planning Unit (FPU) of Alanya Forest Enterprise (FE) within the boundaries of Antalya province, southwest Turkey.
 Material and methods: Data obtained from the forest management plans for the periods of 1997-2006, 2008-2017 and 2018-2037 were used in the study. Biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEF), root to shoot ratios (R) and carbon factors (CF) were used for carbon stock estimation.
 Main results: Total forest area of the Alara FPU decreased from 7497 ha to 7344 ha, while total carbon stock of the forest lands increased by 12.7%, from 1997 to 2017.
 Highlights: Despite the reduction of total forest area from 1997 to 2017, carbon stocks of all biomass pools in forest ecosystem raised with the increase of productive forest lands and growing stock.

Научный комментарий к стратегии развития лесного комплекса Российской федерации до 2030 года

The Russian Federation possesses a large area of available highly productive forestland, which creates a real potential for the formation of a developed and highly competitive forest complex. However, the Russian Federation is facing a number of serious problems that hinder the development of the forestry complex. The main problems issues include the depletion of accessible forests due to extensive forest management and unsatisfactory forest management, and the almost complete absence of economic instruments that motivate the reproduction of valuable forests and an increase in their productivity.

The war on deciduous forest: Large-scale herbicide treatment in the Swedish boreal forest 1948 to 1984

At the mid-twentieth century the pace of the transformation of the Swedish forest increased. New methods; large-scale clearcutting, mechanization of logging and planting of seedlings were developed. Chemicals were used to control insects and unwanted tree species. The aims of this study were to elucidate the timing, chain of events and the spatial extent of the large-scale spraying of phenoxy acids in Swedish forests and the drivers for this practice. More than 700 000 hectares of productive forest land was sprayed and the main driving force was a strong will to transform the forest into high-yield coniferous forest plantations. We conclude that; (1) the use of herbicides in forestry in Sweden was done on a very large scale in the period 1948–1984, (2) the ecosystem legacy of herbicide spraying must be investigated and (3) a homogenous cadre of like-minded professionals working across commercial companies, state agencies and universities is dangerous.

Lessons learned from assessing the cover and yield of bilberry and lingonberry using the national forest inventories in Finland and Sweden

Bilberry ( L.) and lingonberry ( L.) can be a part of healthy diet and are important for many animals. Two approaches are described to assessing their vegetation cover and berry yield via national forest inventory (NFI) observations. The aim was to provide estimates and predictions of the abundance and yield of the species at regional and national levels in Finland and Sweden. In Finland, the model-based predictions are used in evaluating the impacts of cutting intensity on forest berries needed in forest-related decision making. In Sweden, seasonal inventory-based estimates are used to evaluate the annual national and regional berry yields, and in a forecasting system aimed at large public and berry enterprises. Based on the NFI sample plots measured between 2014 and 2018, the total annual yields are estimated to be 208 Mkg of bilberry and 246 Mkg of lingonberry on productive forest land (increment at least 1 m ha year) in Finland, and 336 and 382 Mkg respectively in Sweden (average of NFI inventories in 2015–2019). The predicted development of berry yields is related to the intensity of cuttings in alternative forest management scenarios: lower removals favoured bilberry, and higher removals lingonberry. The model-based method describes the effects of stand development and management on berry yields, whereas the inventory-based method can calibrate seasonal estimates through field observations. In providing spatially and timely more accurate information concerning seasonal berry yields, an assessment of berry yields should involve the elements of both inventory-based and model-based approaches described in this study.Vaccinium myrtillusV. vitis-idaea3–1–1

Creating a spatial knowledge database for protective functions in sustainable forest management: the case of Greece

One of the basic indicators required to assess and monitor sustainable forest management at the national level within the mandatory for the EU countries FOREST EUROPE policy initiative concerns the area occupied by the protective forests. However, within this policy, no operational harmonised definition of the 'protective forest' term has been adopted to date, thus making it difficult to identify and map accurately the forest land area with protective functions. This paper presents a methodological approach for creating a spatial knowledge database for the protective functions related to soil, water, and infrastructure compatible with the FOREST EUROPE policy frame. The approach was implemented in Greece and it was found that about 40% of the country's productive forest land has an increased protection effect on soil and water, and about 15% of it on infrastructure.

Costs and benefits of seven alternatives for riparian forest buffer management

ABSTRACT Stand development in riparian forest buffers was simulated for three forest landscapes in Sweden, using data taken from a sample plot inventory along 38 streams. The objectives were: to quantify the effects on wood production and the economy of management alternatives for buffers; and to evaluate the development of important stand structures for buffer functionality. Buffer widths from 0 to 30 m were analyzed with unmanaged or selective logging as alternatives. Leaving unmanaged buffers resulted in the cost being generally proportional to the area of productive forest land covered by buffers in the landscape. The cost for the widest buffer alternative, 30 m, when left unmanaged, was between 4 and 10% of the total net present value of the entire forest landscape. Allowing selective logging to promote broadleaved trees in the buffer reduced the costs to 1–3% of the net present value. Selective logging increased the volume share of broadleaved trees in the buffer, thus enhancing some of its ecological functions. Unmanaged buffers increased the amount of dead wood more than the alternatives with selective logging. Decisions about buffer zone management must consider the trade-off between economic and environmental benefits, as well as the trade-offs between contrasting environmental goals.

Family Forest Owners’ Perception of Management and Thinning Operations in Young Dense Forests: A Survey from Sweden

Family forest owners (FFOs) own 48% of Sweden’s productive forest land and are responsible for 59% of the annual gross felling. They are thus important suppliers of raw materials to the forest industry and the energy sector. Environmental goals on the national and international level promote an increased use of renewable resources in order to replace fossil-based fuels, but since the current supply of forest products is already fully utilized by the industry, there is a need to find new types of biomass assortment. One way to increase the biomass supply is to replace traditional pre-commercial thinning operations, where fallen stems are left in the forest to rot, with whole-tree harvesting of small-diameter trees using novel technologies and methods. This will however require willingness of the FFOs to shift their management practices. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to elucidate FFOs’ perceptions of management and thinning operations in young dense forests, identify if there are differences depending on their demographic backgrounds, and clarify which factors could potentially affect their willingness to implement whole-tree harvesting in young dense forests. Data were collected through a survey administered to a random sample of 842 FFOs, with a response rate of 53.4% (n = 450). The results show that FFOs in general are positive towards implementing whole-tree harvesting in young dense stands, and are often also willing to promote the development of suitable stands. Factors such as forest size, geographical location, distance from home to their forest, degree of self-employment and current need for cleaning were found to significantly affect their attitudes. The study highlights that the development of cost efficient harvesting techniques and working methods is important if the industry wants to increase the FFOs’ willingness to engage in whole-tree harvesting in young dense forest stands and thereby increase the supply of biomass.

Benefits of juvenile stand management in Finland—impacts on wood production based on scenario analysis

Abstract We evaluated the impacts of juvenile stand management on wood production based on a nationwide scenario analysis. Measured plot-level information of the Finnish 11th National Forest Inventory (NFI) from juvenile stands formed the initial data for the analysis. To represent a total of 2.5 million hectares of productive forest land available for wood production, 6900 sample plots were selected. We predicted the development of the sample-plot stands for the next 100 years using the Motti stand simulator. We examined the impacts of juvenile stand management, including early cleaning and precommercial thinning, with three scenarios of different intensities of early-stage management (intensive, no management and business-as-usual). The results showed the benefits of juvenile stand management: earlier harvesting revenues, larger total removals, more valuable wood in the removals, and additional benefits that are associated with the first commercial thinning (i.e. no need for clearing before thinning, a larger stem size of removed trees). The main downside of juvenile stand management was the cost of the early cleaning and precommercial thinning. According to the results, a €560 million increase in costs would result in a €1700 million increase in stumpage earnings in Finnish forests during the next 100-year period. The 34 million m3 increase in the sawlog yield together with 28 million m3 decrease in the pulpwood yield also demonstrated the nationwide potential for increasing valuable sawlog production by intensive management of juvenile stands.

European Union’s Last Intact Forest Landscapes are at A Value Chain Crossroad between Multiple Use and Intensified Wood Production

Research Highlights: The European Union’s last large intact forest landscapes along the Scandinavian Mountain range in Sweden offer unique opportunities for conservation of biodiversity, ecological integrity and resilience. However, these forests are at a crossroad between intensified wood production aimed at bio-economy, and rural development based on multi-functional forest landscapes for future-oriented forest value chains. Background and Objectives: We (1) estimate the area of near-natural forests potentially remaining for forest harvesting and wood production, or as green infrastructure for biodiversity conservation and human well-being in rural areas, (2) review how forest and conservation policies have so far succeeded to reduce the loss of mountain forests, and (3) discuss what economic, socio-cultural and ecological values that are at stake, as well as different governance and management solutions. Materials and Methods: First, we estimated the remaining amount of intact mountain forests using (1) the Swedish National Forest Inventory, (2) protected area statistics, (3) forest harvest permit applications and actually harvested forests, (4) remote sensing wall-to-wall data on forests not subject to clear-felling since the mid-1950s, (5) mapping of productive and non-productive forestland, and (6) estimates of mean annual final felling rate. Second, we review policy documents related to the emergence of land use regulation in north Sweden, including the mountain forest border, and illustrate this with an actual case that has had significant policy implementation importance. Results: There is a clear difference between the proportions of formally protected productive forestland above the mountain forest border (52.5%) and north Sweden in general (6.3%). A total of 300,000 ha of previously not clear-felled mountain forest outside protected areas remain, which can support novel value chains that are not achievable elsewhere. Conclusions: The mountain forests in Sweden provide unique conservation values in the European Union. Since the beginning of the 1990s, policy regulations have been successful in limiting forest harvesting. Currently, however, mountain forests are a battle ground regarding intensification of forest use, including logging of forests that have never been subject to clear-felling systems vs. nature conservation and wilderness as a base for rural development. The ability of mountain municipalities to encourage sustainable rural forest landscapes must be strengthened.

Alucra Orman İşletme Şefliği Içindeki Nüfus Dinamiğinin Arazi Kullanım Değişimlerine Olan Etkisinin Belirlenmesi

Aim of study: This study is done to monitor temporal land use/land cover changes in a typical mountain watershed covering an area of 135441.0 ha in North Eastern of Turkey based on rural demographic dynamics and forest management plans belonging to the years 1987 and 2013 coupled by GIS analyses. It also investigates changes in the shape of land use class (LUC) over the period.Material and Methods: The changes occurring time wise and positional on the base of the local LUC was examined by benefiting from the forest management plans from 1987 to 2013. Moreover, the change of LUC around these areas has been examined with the 1000 m zones thrown around the settlement areas and correlated with the fast decrease of the population recent years. Demographic dynamics (increase or decrease) affect the usage of forest lands, as well.Main results: While there was an increase in the productive forest lands (pure coniferous and deciduous, and mixed forest) between 1987 and 2013. In the same periods there was a decrease in agricultural and sandy areas. The increase of patches in the productive forest lands mostly resulted from afforestation works conducted in the unproductive forest lands, and forestry maintenance activities. Another reason for this increase of forest patches is why people have immigrated to urban areas in the last years.Research Highlights: It can be said that one of the most important causes in the rise of the forest resources in the Alucra Forest Planning Units (FPU) is the time wise changes of social structure. Furthermore, the forestry activities in the study between 1987 and 2013 are also the other significant factor in this increase of forest resources.

Analysing Temporal and Spatial Changes in Land Cover: the Case of Drahna Forest Subdistrict Directorate

Aim of study: In this study, changes in land cover and land use from designing forest management plans within a plan unit up until today in the field of study are analysed under various categories.Field of study: Drahna Forest Subdistrict Directorate (FSD) under Ulus Forest Operation Directorate (FOD) of Zonguldak Regional Directorate of Forestry (RDF) was selected as the field of this study.Material and Method: Forest management plans and forest cover type maps for the related plan unit were utilized in the study. Forest cover type maps for the years 1967-1986 and 1986-2005 were digitized by using Geographical Information System tool ArcGIS version 10.4, whereas forest cover type map for the years 2006-2024 was obtained digitized from the relevant authority.Results: It was found that there was an increase of 227.6 ha in forest land in addition to a decrease of 227.6 ha in non-forest land between 1967 and 2006. It was also determined that there was a decrease of 2,295.33 ha in sparse forest land (with less than 10% canopy closure) whereas an increase of 2,523 ha in productive forest land (canopy closure above 11%). Further, a decrease of 369.91 ha in agricultural land in contrast with an increase of 36.69 ha in treeless forest land (TFL) and of 105.62 ha in settlement land were observed as well in non-forest lands.Emphasis of study: Within a period of 40 years between 1967 and 2006, immigration led to decreases in agricultural land and increases in forest land within the field of this study.

The Influence of Human Demography on Land Cover Change in the Great Lakes States, USA.

The Great Lakes region contains productive agricultural and forest lands, but it is also highly urbanized, with 32 of its 52 million residents living in nine large metropolitan areas. Urbanization of undeveloped areas may adversely affect the productivity of agricultural and forest lands, and the provision of ecosystem services. We combine demographic and remote sensing data to evaluate land cover change in the region using a two-phase statistical modeling approach that predicts the incidence and extent of land cover change for each of the region's 10,579 county subdivisions. Observed patterns are spatially uneven, and the probability of land cover change is influenced by current land use, human habitation, industry, and demographic change. Pseudo R2 values varied from 0.053 to 0.338 for the first-phase logistic models predicting the presence of land cover change; second-stage beta models predicting the rate of change were more reliable, with pseudo R2 ranging from 0.225 to 0.675. Overall, changes from agriculture or greenspace to development were much more predictable than changes from agriculture to greenspace or vice versa, and demographic variables were much more important in models predicting change to development. Although models successfully predicted the general location of land cover change, and models from before the Great Recession were useful for predicting the location but not the amount of change during the recession, fine-grained prediction remained challenging. Understanding where future changes are most probable can inform planning and policy-making, which may reduce the impact of development on resource production, environmental health, and ecosystem services.

Energy flows and efficiencies as indicators of regional sustainability – A case study of Jämtland, Sweden

An analysis of energy and material flows has been elaborated for the Swedish region Jämtland with the aim of monitoring and comparing regional sustainability by following the work energy flow method developed in a study of the Danish island of Samsø (Nielsen & Jørgensen, 2011).In the region of Jämtland about 46,000 TJ of energy flows into society, of which 88% is renewable. From this an amount corresponding to 30,800 TJ is exported as electricity from the region, while another 410 TJ is exported as waste to be incinerated. The remaining part, about 15,200 TJ (63% renewable), drives Jämtland. From an energy flow perspective, the most important production from the region, apart from electricity production, is biomass from the forest: 49,000 TJ estimated as energy content in the biomass harvested. Another 55,000 TJ is added to the standing biomass every year as forest growth (only productive forest land area has been calculated).Some suggested indices of sustainability have been calculated and Jämtland shows high values. However, it will be a challenge to transform the quite large transport sector of Jämtland, and therefore the potential to become fully sustainable (ref to indexes used for the Samsø study) might not be quite as high. In order to reduce the use of non-renewable energy, a major conversion of the transport fleet is needed, and this should be given high priority. The private sector is the largest single user of non-renewable energy (2,200 TJ). One successful transition is the Swedish diesel mix with 19% FAME/HVO derived from vegetable or animal sources and regarded as renewable. The consumption of FAME/HVO is predicted to increase significantly, increasing the importance of the forest as a source.A sustainability analysis based at work energy flows shows for both Samsø and Jämtland that large natural resources producing a high work energy output combined with low work energy use due to low population density, gives high sustainability indicators. This indicates that regions with high population density and the absence of natural resources (high import), as in most regions in the world, will show low sustainability indicators.

Avian diversity in Norway spruce production forests – How variation in structure and composition reveals pathways for improving habitat quality

Forests used for timber production provide essential ecosystem services to society, as well as potential breeding habitat for bird communities. In southern Sweden, 90% of productive forest land is used for timber production and stands dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies) constitute approximately 40% of the forested area. Due to their homogeneous structure, these spruce production forests are often regarded as depauperate. Despite this perception, knowledge about the biodiversity found in these stands is scarce. Here we synthesize the results of four separate bird surveys conducted within 35 spruce production stands of southern Sweden. The results are compared to recent population trends within the general study area. In total 49 bird species were recorded, with a strong difference in species composition between newly planted clear-cuts (forest age <15years) and forests older than 15years. The majority of species encountered in the older forest category were common forest birds, with a single red-listed species among the regularly occurring species. In contrast, three red-listed “farmland species” were frequently encountered in the newly planted forests, revealing the capacity of those birds preferring open and recently disturbed habitats to utilize clear-cuts. A higher diversity of tree sizes and the inclusion of even relatively small proportions (<15%) of broadleaved tree species had a positive effect on bird species richness. Several species encountered in spruce production forests are declining in numbers, but it is not clear whether these stands are acting as source or sink environments for their populations. However, our results indicate that relatively small adjustments to spruce forest management should improve the quality of this widespread habitat.

Conflict between humans and leopards (Panthera pardus melas Cuvier, 1809) in Western Java, Indonesia

Gunawan H, Iskandar S, Sihombing VS, Wienanto R. 2017. Conflict between humans and leopards (Panthera pardus melas Cuvier, 1809) in Western Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 652-658. Conflict between the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas Cuvier, 1809) and humans occupying the same region have tended to increase in the last decade in proportion to increase in deforestation followed by fragmentation and habitat loss. The objectives of this research were to study the leopard-human conflict and to analyze the causes in order to formulate recommendations for mitigation. Literature study, structured interviews, and field surveys were carried out to collect data on leopard-human conflict. Spatial modeling using weighted overlays generated a map of conflict potential in Western Java. The results showed that in the last 15 years 71 cases of leopard-human conflict had been recorded, with a tendency to increase over time. There have been 75 records of occurrence of the Javan leopard population in Western Java, of which 30% are assessed to have had a high potential for conflict; 25% had moderate potential, and 46% had low potential. There are indications that leopard-human conflict has occurred in villages around degraded forest areas due to human encroachment and cultivation. Consequently, a special forest management strategy must be implemented on a landscape scale, crossing the boundaries of conservation forest, productive forest, protected forest and other land uses.