Selective Logging Research Articles

Plant community traits can explain variation in productivity of selective logging forests after different restoration times

The emerging concept of plant community traits offers a promising tool for explaining the variations in forest productivity. We measured the leaf thickness (LT), leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) of 234 plant species from seven adjacent Korean pine and broad-leaved mixed forests in Northeast China, which varied in restoration time after selective logging (6, 14, 25, 36, 45, 55, and 100 years). Four leaf traits varied significantly at the species, plant functional group, and community scales. At the community level, LA, SLA, and LDMC followed a significant quadratic trend along the chronological sequence of restoration after selective logging, whereas LT showed no significant variation with time. Interestingly, plant community traits (LT, LA, and SLA) were significantly positively correlated with aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). Furthermore, plant community traits, restoration time, species diversity, and soil nutrients could jointly explain 78% of the ANPP variation. These findings highlight that the variation in community traits of leaves may play an important role in determining the spatial variation of ANPP in temperate broadleaf-conifer mixed forests. These findings further demonstrate the close linkages between plant community traits and productivity and offer a theoretical basis for incorporating these community traits into future ecological models.

Amazonian forest degradation must be incorporated into the COP26 agenda

Nations will reaffirm their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26; www.ukcop26.org), in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. Revision of the national commitments will play a key role in defining the future of Earth’s climate. In past conferences, the main target of Amazonian nations was to reduce emissions resulting from land-use change and land management by committing to decrease deforestation rates, a well-known and efficient strategy1,2. However, human-induced forest degradation caused by fires, selective logging, and edge effects can also result in large carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions1,2,3,4,5, which are not yet explicitly reported by Amazonian countries. Despite its considerable impact, forest degradation has been largely overlooked in previous policy discussions5. It is vital that forest degradation is considered in the upcoming COP26 discussions and incorporated into future commitments to reduce GHG emissions.

River Buffer Effectiveness in Controlling Surface Runoff Based on Saturated Soil Hydraulic Conductivity

In tropical Indonesia, rainforests are managed by an intensive forest management system (IFMS). The IFMS has promoted selective logging for timber harvesting and intensive line planting to enrich the standing stock. The implementation of the IFMS has reduced the forest canopy cover, disturbed the surface soil, changed the soil hydraulic properties, and increased direct runoff and soil erosion. Investigation of the IFMS impact on soil hydraulic properties and the generation of surface runoff using a saturated hydraulic conductivity model is needed. Soil hydraulic properties were investigated on 11 plots, including one virgin forest plot and 10 plots at different operational periods of the IFMS. A two-dimensional saturated soil water flow simulation was applied to generate surface runoff from different periods of the IFMS. The main parameters of canopy cover, net rainfall, and saturated hydraulic conductivity were used in the simulations. A simulation scenario of a surface runoff hydrograph in different forest operations was used to analyze the river buffer effectiveness. The results showed that fundamental IFMS activities associated with mechanized selective logging and intensive line planting have reduced the soil hydraulic conductivity within the near-surface profile. The recovery time for near-surface Ks on non-skidder tracks was between 10 and 15 years, whereas on the skidder tracks it was more than 20 years. Forest disturbances have altered the typical surface hydrological pathways, thereby creating the conditions for more surface runoff on disturbed surfaces than on undisturbed surfaces. Maintaining the buffer area is an effective means to reduce the peak discharge and surface runoff in the stream channel.

Impacts of selective logging on Amazon forest canopy structure and biomass with a LiDAR and photogrammetric survey sequence

Sustainable forest management relies on good knowledge of forest structure obtained from ground surveys combined with remote sensing. Capable of detecting both the forest floor and canopy elements, airborne LiDAR can estimate forest structure parameters with accuracy and precision, but is still difficult to acquire due to the lake of service provider in remote regions of developing countries. Alternatively if ground surface elevations are known (e.g., from LiDAR), they can be tied to a canopy surface model derived from stereo photogrammetry using RGB images from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Here we assessed whether such photogrammetric canopy measurements offer aboveground biomass (AGB) and disturbance impact estimates from logging that are comparable to LiDAR, and whether the use of both in sequence can provide an efficient post-harvest monitoring system. Specifically, through a combination of forest inventory ground plots, airborne LiDAR data, and a UAV-RGB camera system we (i) automatically located and measured canopy disturbance caused by logging, (ii) compared AGB models produced by LiDAR alone and the combination of LiDAR (for terrain elevation model) and RGB-photogrammetry (for forest surface model), and (iii) estimated the AGB stock loss from logging. The study was carried out in the Antimary State forest located in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon. Our results demonstrate that the use of RGB-photogrammetry in regions where the terrain elevation has already been estimated can be an effective way to rapidly identify selective logging and to accurately monitor its impact.

Impacts of selective logging on haemosporidian infection and physiological correlates in tropical birds

Tropical forest degradation affects host-parasite interactions, determining the probability of animals acquiring an infection. The activation of an immune response to fight off infections requires energy and other resources such as antioxidants which may be redirected from growth and reproduction. A key question is how selective logging—the most common form of tropical forest degradation—impacts the prevalence of avian haemosporidian infection and its correlated physiological responses (nutritional and oxidative status markers). We investigated the prevalence of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon parasites in 14 understorey bird species in lowland, logged and unlogged, old-growth forests of Borneo. Prevalences of infections were similar between selectively logged and unlogged forests. To explore nutritional and oxidative status effects of haemosporidian infections, we examined associations between infections and plasma proteins, plasma triglycerides, and multiple blood-based markers of oxidative status, testing for an impact of selective logging on those markers. Birds infected with Plasmodium showed higher levels of plasma proteins and non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity, and lower levels of plasma triglycerides and glutathione, compared with haemosporidian-free individuals. Conversely, birds infected with Haemoproteus showed no changes in nutritional or physiological markers compared with uninfected individuals. These results indicate higher metabolic and physiological costs of controlling Plasmodium infection, compared with Haemoproteus, possibly due to higher pathogenicity of Plasmodium. Selectively logged forests had no effect on the responses of birds to infection, suggesting that the environmental conditions of degraded forests do not appear to induce any appreciable physiological demands in parasitised birds.

A Comparative Assessment of Machine-Learning Techniques for Forest Degradation Caused by Selective Logging in an Amazon Region Using Multitemporal X-Band SAR Images

The near-real-time detection of selective logging in tropical forests is essential to support actions for reducing CO2 emissions and for monitoring timber extraction from forest concessions in tropical regions. Current operating systems rely on optical data that are constrained by persistent cloud-cover conditions in tropical regions. Synthetic aperture radar data represent an alternative to this technical constraint. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of three machine learning algorithms applied to multitemporal pairs of COSMO-SkyMed images to detect timber exploitation in a forest concession located in the Jamari National Forest, Rondônia State, Brazilian Amazon. The studied algorithms included random forest (RF), AdaBoost (AB), and multilayer perceptron artificial neural network (MLP-ANN). The geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of logged trees and the LiDAR point clouds before and after selective logging were used as ground truths. The best results were obtained when the MLP-ANN was applied with 50 neurons in the hidden layer, using the ReLu activation function and SGD weight optimizer, presenting 88% accuracy both for the pair of images used for training (images acquired in June and October) of the network and in the generalization test, applied on a second dataset (images acquired in January and June). This study showed that X-band SAR images processed by applying machine learning techniques can be accurately used for detecting selective logging activities in the Brazilian Amazon.

Commercial Logging of Timber Species Enhances Amazon (Brazil) Nut Populations: Insights from Bolivian Managed Forests

A typical case of multiple-use forest management (MFM) in Southwestern Amazon is the commercial harvesting of Amazon or Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) seeds and of timber of other tree species. Although the Amazon nut is the most important non-timber forest product (NTFP) in the Amazon basin, the species is under serious threat due to deforestation and may also be affected by overharvesting. However, selective logging of other tree species coexisting with Bertholletia may positively affect Bertholletia populations, thus enabling a special case for MFM. For this research, we investigated the impact of the intensity of Amazon nut harvesting and timber logging on Bertholletia populations in the Bolivian Amazon. We used demographic data from 72 two-hectare transects located within 24 community-based household forests varying in the intensity of nut collection (0–100%) and timber logging (0–15% of logging-disturbed forest area). Simulated Bertholletia population size increased with logging intensity but decreased with Amazon nut harvesting intensity. Bertholletia populations were projected to grow at the average MFM harvesting scenario tested: 57.4% of nut harvesting, 5.3% of logging-disturbed area (λ100 = 1.011). Our simulations also revealed that up to 89% of Amazon nut seeds can be harvested while sustaining Bertholletia populations, under 15% of logging-disturbed area, and applying liana cutting. Modest levels of timber logging and application of liana cutting may compensate for the negative effect of Amazon nut collection on Bertholletia populations for the next century. Our study demonstrates that Amazon nut and timber production could be combined in a sustainable MFM scheme, thus increasing the economic value of managed tropical forests and its promotion to reduce the increasing pressure by deforestation.

Erratum to: Stand structure, floristic composition and species diversity along altitudinal gradients of a Bornean mountain range 30 years after selective logging

On Page 1428, Table 5 is missing. It should be placed after this paragraph “In this study, a total of 19 endemic species of Borneo were recorded (Table 5). The highest number of endemic species was found in S1 followed by S2 and S3. Four endemic Dipterocarpaceae (Shorea crassa at S2; Shorea isopteran, Shorea parvistipulata and Vatica micrantha at S1) were found in this study area (Table 5). Three endemic species each from Fagaceae, Lauraceae and Myrtaceae were also documented during this study (Table 5). At a similar elevation range to S3, Kueh et al. (2017) recorded 12 endemic species in their study.”.

Intra-Annual Identification of Local Deforestation Hotspots in the Philippines Using Earth Observation Products

Like many other tropical countries, the Philippines has suffered from decades of deforestation and forest degradation during and even after the logging era. Several open access Earth Observation (EO) products are increasingly being used for deforestation analysis in support of national and international initiatives and policymaking on forest conservation and management. Using a combination of annual forest loss and near-real time forest disturbance products, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the deforestation events in three forest frontiers of the Philippines. A space-time pattern mining approach was used to map quarterly deforestation hotspots at 1 km pixel size (100 hectares), where hotspots are classified according to the spatial and temporal variability of the 2000–2020 deforestation in the study area. Our results revealed that 79–81% of the hotspots overlap with primary forests and 27–29% are inside the state-declared protected areas. The intra-annual analysis of deforestation in 2020 revealed an alarming trend, where most deforestation occurred between the 1st and 2nd quarter (92–94% in hotspot forests; 87–89% in non-hotspot forests), highly overlapping within the slash-and-burn farming season. We also found “new” hotspots (2020) formed mostly from landslide scars and partly from selective logging, the latter is believed to be underestimated. Our study paves the way for rapid and regular assessment of the country’s deforestation, useful for the respective environmental institutions who convene several times a year. Moreover, our findings assert the imperative of alternative livelihoods to upland farmers, efficient forest protection activities, and even the mitigation of landslide risks.

Drivers of soil microbial community assembly during recovery from selective logging and clear‐cutting

Abstract Despite important progress in understanding the impacts of forest clearing and logging on above‐ground communities, how these disturbances affect soil microbial β‐diversity and the ecological processes driving microbial assemblages are poorly understood. Furthermore, whether and how the microbial shifts affect vegetation composition and diversity during recovery of post‐logged forests remain elusive. Using a spatial grid experiment design in a primary tropical forest intermixed with post‐logged patches naturally recovered for half century in Hainan Island, China, we characterized and explained the distance–decay relationships of soil microbial similarities in primary, selectively logged and clear‐cut forests. Selectively logged sites showed a lower spatial turnover rate of bacterial assemblages based on phylogenetic and taxonomic β‐diversity, but a higher spatial turnover rate of fungal assemblages based on phylogenetic β‐diversity, suggesting a higher level of phylogenetic variability in fungal composition. Clear‐cut sites showed lower spatial turnover for both bacterial and fungal assemblages based on the two β‐diversity, indicating community homogenization. Main drivers of microbial assemblages shifted from soil properties in primary forest to tree composition in selectively logged sites, whereas microbial–tree associations declined in clear‐cut sites, leading to stochastically organized microbial assemblages. Synthesis and applications. The increased fungal phylogenetic turnover with tree turnover following selective logging promotes unassisted recovery of plant diversity. In contrast, the decoupling of tree and microbial turnover following clear‐cutting suggests restoration approaches based on tree planting, and tree species that have strong associations with bulk soil microbial community should be considered. Our findings advance the understanding of spatial patterns, processes and drivers of soil microbial assemblages in parallel with tree community recovery during regeneration of post‐logged tropical forests, and highlight the importance of coupling assemblage patterns between tree and soil fungal communities for conserving tropical forest biodiversity.

Prospective carbon balance of the wood sector in a tropical forest territory using a temporally-explicit model

Selective logging in tropical forests is often perceived as a source of forest degradation and carbon emissions. Improved practices, such as reduced-impact logging (RIL), and alternative timber production strategies (e.g. plantations) can drastically change the overall carbon impact of the wood production sector. Assessing the carbon balance of timber production is crucial but highly dependent on methodological approaches, especially regarding system boundaries and temporality. We developed a temporally-explicit and territory scale model of carbon balance calibrated with long-term local data using Bayesian inference. The model accounts for carbon fluxes from selective logging in natural forest, timber plantation, first transformation and avoided emissions through energy substitution. We used it to compare prospective scenarios of development for the wood sector in French Guiana. Results show that intensification of practices, through increased logging intensity conducted with RIL and establishment of timber plantations, are promising development strategies to reduce the carbon emissions of the French-Guianese wood sector, as well as the area needed for wood production and hence the pressure on natural forests. By reducing logging damage by nearly 50%, RIL allows increasing logging intensity in natural forest from 20 m3 ha−1 to 30 m3 ha−1 without affecting the carbon balance. The use of logging byproducts as fuelwood also improved the carbon balance of selective logging, when substituted to fossil fuel. Allocating less than 30000 ha to plantation would allow producing 200000 m3 of timber annually, while the same production in natural forest would imply logging more than 400000 ha over 60 years. Timber plantation should be preferentially established on non-forested lands, as converting natural forests to plantation leads to high carbon emission peak over the first three decades.We recommend a mixed-strategy combining selective logging in natural forests and plantations as a way to improve long-term carbon balance while reducing short-term emissions. This strategy can reduce the pressure on natural forests while mitigating the risks of changing practices and allowing a diversified source of timber for a diversity of uses. It requires adaptation of the wood sector and development of technical guidelines. Research and monitoring efforts are also needed to assess the impacts of changing practices on other ecosystem services, especially biodiversity conservation.

Follow the forest: Slow resilience of West African rainforest frog assemblages after selective logging

Assessing resilience of ecological communities, the ability of species assemblages to return to a previous state following disturbance, is an essential task when designing biodiversity friendly concepts for silvicultural management regimes. However, ecological communities may demonstrate resilience only after long time periods, and long-term data, collected on permanent study sites within standardized sampling frameworks, are scarce. We assessed the resilience of amphibian assemblages to disturbance via selective logging within the largest remaining rainforest in Ivory Coast, the Taï National Park. We analyzed extensive amphibian and habitat data obtained during two major assessment periods > 15 years apart (period P1 = in 2000, period P2 = in 2016–2017) and spanning 45 years post-logging recovery (period P1 = 30 years post-logging). We revisited identical sites and used identical, standardized methodology in both study periods. Forest structure in formerly selectively logged sites slowly recovered towards old growth forest structure over the course of 45 years, with most visible changes occurring between P1 and P2. While species richness and diversity in both old growth and secondary forests remained largely unchanged across the study periods, frog assemblage composition in formerly disturbed sites followed the forest recovery process. Yet, their composition was still distinctly different from old growth forest assemblages. The different levels of resilience over time indicate that the slowest organisms in our system (forest trees) set the pace for the recovery of associated taxa (frogs). Effective post-harvesting restoration schemes need to incorporate these delayed response times. Thus, significantly longer felling cycles than those commonly applied in regular harvesting schemes are needed if the goal is to conserve and restore original forest diversity in logged forest ecosystems.

Post-harvesting natural regeneration of Theobroma subincanum Mart. (Cupuí) (Malvaceae) inside and around logging gaps

The natural regeneration dynamics of Theobroma subincanum Mart. (Malvaceae) around canopy gaps created by tree felling due to selective logging was assessed. For that, an experiment located in the Experimental Field of Embrapa Eastern Amazon in Moju municipality, PA, Brazil was carried out. Nine logging gaps were selected, and four strips of 10 m x 50 m were installed in each of these gaps following the cardinal directions. These plots were split in five 10 m x 10 m plots numbered from 1 to 5 from the gap’s border toward the forest. In plots 1, 3, and 5 and in the gap’s center 2 m x 2 m plots were installed to monitor individuals ≥ 10 cm in height and < 5 cm in DBH. In most of the variation factors analized, Theobroma subincanum presented higher recruitment rate in period 1 (1998-2000), since the competition for light were less intense. In period 2 (2000-2010), under a possible lower luminosity and higher competition, RR was lower for all factors analyzed. In relation to gap size, T. subincanum presented the best results in RR around medium size gaps. The distance of 20 m in relation to the gap center, with intermediary sunlight condititions, T. subincanum presented higher RR. The population of T. subincanum had better performance under intermediate light conditions.

Selective logging in a chronosequence of Atlantic Forest: drivers and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Selective logging impacts biodiversity and ecosystem services in forest ecosystems, but we know little about its main drivers in the Atlantic Forest. We investigated selective logging along a chronosequence (mature, late secondary and early secondary forests) in a State Park in Pernambuco, Brazil, and hypothesised that it is driven by variables of supply (forest age, density, richness and biomass of living trees) and access (nearest edge and declivity). Selective logging was described by richness, density and biomass of logged trees. We predicted the relationship of logging to be positive with supply and negative with the distance of access. Logged trees comprised 267 stumps, 55 species and 5.11 Mg.ha-1 in one year, corresponding to 2.8%, 20.8% and 0.37% of living trees density, richness and biomass. Selective logging was the highest in richness in mature forest, influenced by access and forest age. Access influenced higher species removal in the early-secondary forest, despite its lower richness, while the lowest logging values were recorded in the late-secondary forest, regardless of its higher supply than early-secondary forest. Logging occurs in more accessible areas, where tree species exploitation will depend on the available supply. In this scenario, integrated actions for biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation should account for socioeconomic demands, vigilance and control.

Community composition of tree and palm species following disturbance in a forest with bamboo in southwestern Amazonia, Brazil

AbstractAnthropogenic disturbances such as selective logging and forest fires can cause further degradation in tropical forests. Various authors have suggested that logging and fire in southwestern Amazonia can increase bamboo abundance and contribute to slowing succession, but few studies have addressed community‐composition patterns at either the local or the regional scale. We used a natural experiment with forest fire and post‐burn logging to analyze the effects of increased bamboo abundance on the community composition of trees and palms in Brazil's Acre state in southwestern Amazonia. Bamboo abundance was expressed by variables collected both by field sampling and from high‐resolution images using a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). Disturbance in these forests was associated with a significant reduction in the number of crowns of emergent trees and palms and an increase in the canopy fraction occupied by bamboo. A significant negative relationship was observed between the canopy area occupied by bamboo and the number of tree and palm species, regardless of the level of disturbance. Bamboo density (culms m−2) and canopy area occupied by bamboo had significant effects on community composition, indicating that bamboo abundance is a key driver affecting the floristic composition of the forest.Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.

Sustainability of Brazilian forest concessions

In 2006, the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) started an ambitious program to establish forest concessions so as to provide a legal framework for long-term sustainable timber production in Amazonian forests. Forest concessions in the Brazilian Amazon currently cover only 1.6 million ha (Mha) but we estimate the area of all potential concessions as 35 Mha. This paper assessed the conditions under which the present and potential concession system can ensure an annual production of 11 Mm3. yr−1 to meet the estimated present timber demand. For this we used the volume dynamics with differential equations model (VDDE) calibrated for the Amazon Basin with a Bayesian framework with data from 3500 ha of forest plots monitored for as long as 30 years after selective logging. Predictions of commercial volume recovery rates vary with location.We tested 27 different scenarios by using combinations of initial proportion of commercial volume, logging intensity and cutting cycle length. These scenarios were then applied to the current area of concessions and to the area of all potential concessions (35 Mha). Under current logging regulations and the current concession area (mean logging intensity of 15–20 m3.ha−1, a harvest cycle of 35 years and an initial commercial timber volume proportion of 20%), timber production can be maintained only for a single cutting cycle (35 years). Only the scenario with a logging intensity of 10 m3ha−1 every 60 years with a 90% initial proportion of commercial timber species can be considered as sustainable. Under this scenario, the maximum annual production with the present concession areas is 159,000 m3 (157–159), or less than 2% of the present annual production of 11 Mm3. When considering all potential concession areas (35 Mha), under current rules, the total annual production is 10 Mm3yr−1 (2–17 Mm3yr−1, 95% credibility interval) but is not maintained after the first logging cycle. Under the most sustainable scenario (see above) and a concession area of 35 Mha, the long-term sustainable annual production of timber reaches only 3.4 Mm3yr−1. Based on these results we argue that the concession system will not be able to supply the timber demand without substantial reforms in natural forest management practices and in the wood industry sector. We argue that alternative sources of timber, including plantations linked with forest restoration initiatives, must be promoted.

Mangrove selective logging sustains biomass carbon recovery, soil carbon, and sediment

West Papua’s Bintuni Bay is Indonesia’s largest contiguous mangrove block, only second to the world’s largest mangrove in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. As almost 40% of these mangroves are designated production forest, we assessed the effects of commercial logging on forest structure, biomass recovery, and soil carbon stocks and burial in five-year intervals, up to 25 years post-harvest. Through remote sensing and field surveys, we found that canopy structure and species diversity were gradually enhanced following biomass recovery. Carbon pools preserved in soil were supported by similar rates of carbon burial before and after logging. Our results show that mangrove forest management maintained between 70 and 75% of the total ecosystem carbon stocks, and 15–20% returned to the ecosystem after 15–25 years. This analysis suggests that mangroves managed through selective logging provide an opportunity for coastal nature-based climate solutions, while provisioning other ecosystem services, including wood and wood products.

The impact of logging on vertical canopy structure across a gradient of tropical forest degradation intensity in Borneo

Abstract Forest degradation through logging is pervasive throughout the world's tropical forests, leading to changes in the three‐dimensional canopy structure that have profound consequences for wildlife, microclimate and ecosystem functioning. Quantifying these structural changes is fundamental to understanding the impact of degradation, but is challenging in dense, structurally complex forest canopies. We exploited discrete‐return airborne LiDAR surveys across a gradient of logging intensity in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and assessed how selective logging had affected canopy structure (Plant Area Index, PAI, and its vertical distribution within the canopy). LiDAR products compared well to independent, analogue models of canopy structure produced from detailed ground‐based inventories undertaken in forest plots, demonstrating the potential for airborne LiDAR to quantify the structural impacts of forest degradation at landscape scale, even in some of the world's tallest and most structurally complex tropical forests. Plant Area Index estimates across the plot network exhibited a strong linear relationship with stem basal area (R2 = 0.95). After at least 11–14 years of recovery, PAI was ~28% lower in moderately logged plots and ~52% lower in heavily logged plots than that in old‐growth forest plots. These reductions in PAI were associated with near‐complete lack of trees >30‐m tall, which had not been fully compensated for by increasing plant area lower in the canopy. This structural change drives a marked reduction in the diversity of canopy environments, with the deep, dark understorey conditions characteristic of old‐growth forests far less prevalent in logged sites. Full canopy recovery is likely to take decades. Synthesis and applications. Effective management and restoration of tropical forests requires detailed monitoring of the forest and its environment. We demonstrate that airborne LiDAR can effectively map the canopy architecture of the complex tropical forests of Borneo, capturing the three‐dimensional impact of degradation on canopy structure at landscape scales, therefore facilitating efforts to restore and conserve these ecosystems.

Обоснование необходимости развития стратегии технологических процессов лесопользования на лесных плантациях

The analysis of dynamics and final results of plantation reforestation in the context of geometric parameters and spatial placement of the stand is presented, possible ways and means of logging at each stage of forest care are proposed, requirements for the results of each stage of reforestation are formulated, a critical review of existing methods of conducting selective and complete logging under normal conditions is given, possible systems of machines for logging are justified, new elements of technological schemes for developing apiaries and belts are developed.

Effects of logging on the ecological strategy spectrum of a tropical montane rain forest

Ecological strategy is the various adaptation tactics of species to different living conditions, which can reflect their contrasting approaches to survival in varying habitats. The number and relative abundance of species in different types of ecological strategies actually forms an ecological strategy spectrum in a community. Logging is a widespread driver of forest degradation, severely influencing the composition of communities and the ecological strategy spectra in forest ecosystems. Understanding effects of logging on the ecological strategy composition of communities is vital to biodiversity conservation and efficient restoration of degraded forest ecosystems. Yet, the knowledge of how ecological strategies of different communities respond to varying types and intensities of disturbances in tropical forests are largely unknown. Here, by establishing forest dynamics plots (FDPs) in communities experienced increasing logging intensities (no logging (old-growth (OG)), selective logging (SL), and clear-cutting (CL) and measuring plant functional traits in a tropical montane rain forest, we compared the changes in ecological strategies of these stands by using Grime’s competitor, stress-tolerator, ruderal (CSR) scheme and by “StrateFy” ordination method based on measurements of three plant functional traits (Leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and specific leaf area (SLA)). Results showed that strategy number increased and ecological strategy spectra of communities changed significantly with increasing logging intensity: the proportion of S-selected strategies decreased while those of C- and R-selected strategies increased with increasing logging intensity. Community-weighted mean CSR (CWM-CSR) strategies of stands shifted from S to the C & R direction, i.e. CWM-C and CWM-R values increased and CWM-S values decreased with increasing logging intensity. Our findings suggest that logging intensity should be carefully controlled in harvesting planning, so that the recovery of species assemblages with multiple ecological strategies can be assured and the ecosystem services from these biodiverse forests can be provided sustainably.