Wood Exploitation Research Articles

Diversidade e estrutura genética de populações de <i>Podocarpus lambertii</i> Klotzsch ex Endl. na floresta ombrófila mista em Santa Catarina

Podocarpus lambertii (Podocarpaceae) é conhecido popularmente como pinheiro-bravo. Ocorre em várias formações florestais da Mata Atlântica, principalmente na Floresta Ombrófila Mista. Devido à intensa exploração madeireira sofrida pela espécie, ela está presente na categoria “Quase ameaçada” da Lista Vermelha das Espécies Ameaçadas da IUCN. Diante disso, este estudo teve por objetivo caracterizar a diversidade e estrutura genética de 12 populações no Estado de Santa Catarina, a fim de gerar informações para fundamentar estratégias de conservação para a espécie. Foram coletadas folhas de 50 indivíduos adultos em cada população. Para acessar os níveis e a distribuição da diversidade genética, utilizaram-se 10 sistemas enzimáticos. As frequências alélicas, a porcentagem de locos polimórficos (P100%), as heterozigosidades observada (HO) e esperada (HE), o índice de fixação (f) e a divergência genética (FST) foram calculados com auxílio do programa FSTAT. Os 10 sistemas enzimáticos analisados revelaram 11 locos com um total de 32 alelos (A= 1,8). As populações de Podocarpus lambertii apresentaram baixa diversidade genética (P100% = 52,7; HO = 0,049; HE = 0,079). As frequências alélicas das populações apresentaram desvios significativos das esperadas em Equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg, evidenciando um deficit de heterozigotos (f = 0,374). A presença de alelos raros nas populações e uma divergência genética significativa (FST = 0,303) evidenciam um baixo fluxo gênico histórico e um grande risco de perda de diversidade. Os resultados obtidos indicam a necessidade de conservação in situ das várias populações de Podocarpus lambertii e de um aumento da conectividade entre as populações remanescentes.

From influence to impact: The multifunctional land use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP)

Archaeobotany is used to discover details on local land uses in prehistoric settlements developed during the middle and beginning of late Holocene. Six archaeological sites from four countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey) have pollen and charcoal records showing clear signs of the agrarian systems that had developed in the Mediterranean basin during different cultural phases, from pre-Neolithic to Recent Bronze Age. A selected list of pollen taxa and sums, including cultivated trees, other woody species, crops and annual or perennial synanthropic plants are analysed for land use reconstructions. In general, cultivation has a lower image in palynology than forestry, and past land uses became visible when oakwoods were affected by human activities. On-site palynology allows us to recognise the first influence of humans even before it can be recognised in off-site sequences, and off-site sequences can allow us to determine the area of influence of a site. Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites show similar land use dynamics implying oak exploitation, causing local deforestation, and cultivation of cereal fields in the area or around the site. Although a substantial difference makes the Neolithic influence quite distant from the Bronze Age impact, mixed systems of land exploitation emerged everywhere. Multiple land use activities exist (multifunctional landscapes) at the same time within the area of influence of a site. Since the Neolithic, people have adopted a diffuse pattern of land use involving a combination of diverse activities, using trees–crops–domesticated animals. The most recurrent combination included wood exploitation, field cultivation and animal breeding. The lesson from the past is that the multifunctional land use, combining sylvo-pastoral and crop farming mixed systems, has been widely adopted for millennia, being more sustainable than the monoculture and a promising way to develop our economy.

Fuel selection during long-term ancient iron production in Sudan

ABSTRACTThe Royal City of Meroe, a capital of the ancient Kushite kingdom in modern Sudan, is renowned for its extensive remains of ancient iron production. The exploitation of wood to fuel Meroe’s metallurgical past has long been linked to environmental degradation. However, palaeoenvironmental studies involving archaeobotanical methods such as charcoal analysis, which might confirm or disprove the hypothesis of large-scale deforestation, have so far been missing for the area. Our investigations offer the first comprehensive anthracological data for the iron-smelting contexts at Meroe and its surroundings covering more than 1000 years. They provide unequivocal evidence for extreme selectivity for a single species, the Nile acacia Acacia nilotica (Syn. Vachellia nilotica), throughout the course of the currently known metallurgical history of the Meroe region. The charcoal data neither point to fuel shortage nor to environmental degradation at any point in time during the entire production period. Non-metallurgical contexts show that a wider array of taxa was used for fuel with low values of Acacia nilotica type charcoal. We thus conclude that Acacia nilotica wood was preferably used and mainly spared for the technical application of iron smelting. The probable source areas for Nile acacia wood and possible woody resource management strategies to maintain the fuel supply are discussed.

Goods and Services Associated with a Sandy Coastal Plain in Southeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to identify, characterize and map an area for its different types of direct and indirect use of native vegetation of sandy coastal plains (Restinga) at “Praia das Neves”, a district of the municipality of Presidente Kennedy, state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Data were collected on site using an orthophotomosaic provided by the State Environmental Institute (IEMA) on a 1:35,000 scale, where plant formations of sandy coastal plains were identified and mapped. Six phytophysiognomies were categorized by the following surveying: Halophyte/Creeping-Psamophyte, Open Scrub Palm, Low Closed Thicket, Open Scrub, Non-Flooded Forest and Herbaceous Swamp. Vegetation portions were fragmented due to use for real estate dynamics and cattle raising activity. Among the most prominent and supplied goods are wood exploitation, vegetable products for food and fresh water supply. Furthermore, the services identified are water resource maintenance and ecological functions provided by sandy coastal plain phytophysiognomies.

Design of Smart Forestry Cableway

Abstract In order to create a new product – a smart forestry cableway, a market survey was conducted among 118 companies belonging to the private sector and dealing with the exploitation of massive wood. Most of the respondents were owners of articulated forestry tractors, agricultural tractors equipped with forestry, crane equipment and various cableways. The aim of the study was to identify the main characteristics, which the buyer considers when purchasing the future product, for developing a smart prototype model. We collected information concerning the main elements that are influencing the design of a new product like: access to spare parts, easy to repair and to use, the quality of new product, efficiency, price, access to service, versatile and with many accessories, robustness, reliability, affordable parts and fast delivery, technical support, low machine consumption and comfort.

Primi risultati della utilizzazione del legname di Quercus pubescens Willd. (roverella) per la produzione di botti da invecchiamento

Quercus pubescens Willd. (Pubescent oak or downy oak), a semi-deciduous oak, widespread in western, central and south-eastern Europe (Jalas & Suominen, 1999) is characterized by a high morphological variability (Schwarz, 1993). It grows in thermophilous broad-leaved forests, with optimum in the sub-Mediterranean belt, and is well adapted in growing in different types of soils. Thanks to its drought resistance, probably linked to the fact that it easily hybridizes with other species of Quercus genus (Ferrari & Medici, 2003), it is commonly used in reforestation. In the past, the downy oak wood was mainly used for railway thanks to its good durability properties, while nowadays it is used as firewood, occasionally for carpentry or boat construction. Recently its use has been revalued and addressed to the production of aging barrels for the production of high quality wines. Usually for aging oak barrels are used; they are made with French oak ( Quercus petraea [Matt.] Liebl.) a wood species widespread in France but also in Eastern Europe and in some areas of Asia Minor and Morocco. Its wood gives color stability, spontaneous clarification and a complex and structured aroma to wine. In an experimentation undertaken by our research team two samples of the same red wine (Aglianico made by Cantine del Notaio, in Rionero in Vulture), aged for twelve months respectively in barrels of downy oak and of French oak, were compared to evaluate chemical and sensorial differences. The comparison also involved the study of the anatomical structure of wood, and the type of drying of the staves, since the speed and type of aging can be influenced by these. It is actually important to activate reactions between wine and the surrounding environment that are responsible of the wine color, aroma and taste. Oxidation, in particular, stabilizes wine allowing it to resist longer over time, while the release of tannins permits taste harmonization. By precision analytical instrumentation it was possible to quantify the content of resveratrol and tannins, also evaluating the antioxidant power of the two tested wines. In order to evaluate consumer’s acceptance and expectations in relation to the specific perceptible profile of the product, a sensory testing of aged wines was carried out, in addition to the chemical-physical analyses. Instrumental analysis of a food can actually assure the compliance with the hygienic-sanitary and physic-chemical parameters required by the legislation, but it does not provide data on its pleasantness to the palate or on the emotion induced by scent and aromas. The sensory experience was carried out not only on two wines but also on a blended wine obtained by mixing in a 1:1 ratio the two samples. The chemical analysis showed a higher content of resveratrol and lower of tannins in the wine aged in the downy oak cask, whereas the sensory analysis showed a greater liking of the blend. It is evident that new perspectives of exploitation of downy oak wood can be opened, which could allow the production of high quality wine, also from a nutraceutical point of view, with the consequent valorization of the currently underestimated stands of this specie

Mogućnosti procene kvaliteta drveta živih stabala poludestruktivnim i nedestruktivnim metodama u cilju smanjenja troškova prerade

Being a natural, ecological and renewable resource, wood is increasingly replacing artificial and toxic materials in the manufacture of various types of packaging and other products; thus, its proper and economically justified use has become necessary. The best utilization of wood raw materials has been sought both in practice and theory, which led to the development of a number of non-destructive and semi-destructive methods for the wood quality assessments in various stages of wood exploitation. In this paper, two instruments for the inspection of the internal condition of standing trees were analyzed. The resistograph was designed for the detection of internal defects. In addition to assessing the condition of living trees of different species, the instrument is used to assess the wood density in various materials. The observed resistance during drilling is proportional to the change in the wood density or the relative mass of the element analyzed. The results of drilling in different spots or directions, through the cross-section and along the element, can be used to map the properties of the element. The fractometer is a device designed to measure the strength and other mechanical properties of on a core sample extracted by using an increment borer from a certain part of the tree or branch examined. The fractometer can determine the maximum fracture force and bending and pressure strength of wood. It is also possible to identify the stage of decay. Due to its heterogeneous structure and anisotropy, the wood compressive and bending strengths differ between different anatomical directions even within a single species. The results of previous research in the literature indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between the radial bending strength and the longitudinal compressive strength of wood. This actualizes the need for the use of different tree species in construction, depending on the load that the wood element will be exposed to. These devices provide high precision and quality in measurement and can achieve a good correlation between the measured values and the mechanical properties of wood. This way, science and practice could be provided by significant data on the properties and quality of wood, while its consumption is minimized.

MEAN ANNUAL INCREMENT, WOOD DENSITY AND VESSEL DIAMETER OF 42-YEAR-OLD Balfourodendron riedellianum AND Peltophorum dubium IN A HETEROGENEOUS PLANTING

The knowledge of wood from potentially producing species is desirable to propose the expansion of such product through plantations, thereby avoiding the illegal exploitation of wood in native forests. To this end, we evaluated mean annual increment, wood density and vessel diameter of Balfourodendron riedelianum and Peltophorum dubium in a heterogeneous planting at 42 years of age. We selected these species because they belong to different successional groups; B. riedelianum is late secondary and P. dubium is a pioneer species. We aimed to determine and then compare growth characteristics and to relate them to wood density and vessel diameter. P. dubium presented a higher mean annual increment compared to B. riedelianum, and this difference was directly related to successional group. These differences were also related to structural variations, in which B. riedelianum presented smaller vessel diameter compared to P. dubium, as well as denser wood, either by the slower growth, the consensus line of reasoning, or, alternatively, climax and high longevity species tend to have denser wood, while pioneer species have lower density when compared to other successional groups. For timber producers requiring high productivity with a faster cycle, P. dubium is the indicated species. On the other hand, if a producer prefers denser and more strength wood, albeit with slower cycle, then B. riedelianum is indicated. It was revealed that species can be planted together, allowing a longer cycle with the wood supply in different periods and with different characteristics.

Norse Management of Wooden Resources across the North Atlantic: Highlights from the Norse Greenlandic Settlements

ABSTRACT Trees and timber are of great importance in many cultures across the globe, whether used as a construction material, as a fuel source, or for making tools and items of everyday life. This was also true in medieval Norse communities, resulting in the presence of considerable amounts of wooden artifacts and raw materials in sites across the North Atlantic. Because of a limited or even sometimes nonexistent timber supply, the Norse needed to rely on external wood sources, drifted or imported wood, for their everyday needs. Following the recent work of researchers in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, this paper presents results obtained from 710 artifacts distributed across seven sites in the Eastern and Western Settlements of medieval Greenland. Taxa identification is used first not only to discuss the strategies of wood exploitation by the Norse but also to give insights into the provenance of wooden materials. These, then, contribute to our understanding of timber management, human-environmental relations and mobility across the North Atlantic.

Simulating Long-Term Effects of Bioenergy Extraction on Dead Wood Availability at a Landscape Scale in Sweden

Wood bioenergy may decrease the reliance on fossil carbon and mitigate anticipated increases in temperature. However, increased use of wood bioenergy may have large impacts on forest biodiversity primarily through the loss of dead wood habitats. We evaluated both the large-scale and long-term effects of different bioenergy extraction scenarios on the availability of dead wood and the suitability of the resulting habitat for saproxylic species, using a spatially explicit forest landscape simulation framework applied in the Swedish boreal forest. We demonstrate that bioenergy extraction scenarios, differing in the level of removal of biomass, can have significant effects on dead wood volumes. Although all of the scenarios led to decreasing levels of dead wood, the scenario aimed at species conservation led to highest volumes of dead wood (about 10 m3 ha−1) and highest connectivity of dead wood patches (mean proximity index of 78), whilst the scenario aimed at reaching zero fossil fuel targets led to the lowest levels (about 8 m3 ha−1) and least connectivity (mean proximity index of 7). Our simulations stress that further exploitation of dead wood from sites where volumes are already below suggested habitat thresholds for saproxylic species will very likely have further negative effects on dead wood dependent species.

Phytoliths as an indicator of early modern humans plant gathering strategies, fire fuel and site occupation intensity during the Middle Stone Age at Pinnacle Point 5-6 (south coast, South Africa).

The study of plant remains in archaeological sites, along with a better understanding of the use of plants by prehistoric populations, can help us shed light on changes in survival strategies of hunter-gatherers and consequent impacts on modern human cognition, social organization, and technology. The archaeological locality of Pinnacle Point (Mossel Bay, South Africa) includes a series of coastal caves, rock-shelters, and open-air sites with human occupations spanning the Acheulian through Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA). These sites have provided some of the earliest evidence for complex human behaviour and technology during the MSA. We used phytoliths—amorphous silica particles that are deposited in cells of plants—as a proxy for the reconstruction of past human plant foraging strategies on the south coast of South Africa during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, emphasizing the use and control of fire as well as other possible plant uses. We analysed sediment samples from the different occupation periods at the rock shelter Pinnacle Point 5–6 North (PP5-6N). We also present an overview of the taphonomic processes affecting phytolith preservation in this site that will be critical to conduct a more reliable interpretation of the original plant use in the rock shelter. Our study reports the first evidence of the intentional gathering and introduction into living areas of plants from the Restionaceae family by MSA hunter-gatherers inhabiting the south coast of South Africa. We suggest that humans inhabiting Pinnacle Point during short-term occupation events during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 built fast fires using mainly grasses with some wood from trees and/or shrubs for specific purposes, perhaps for shellfish cooking. With the onset of MIS 4 we observed a change in the plant gathering strategies towards the intentional and intensive exploitation of dry wood to improve, we hypothesise, combustion for heating silcrete. This human behaviour is associated with changes in stone tool technology, site occupation intensity and climate change.

Wood exploitation patterns and pastoralist–environment relationships: charcoal remains from Iron Age Ṡhakal, Dhufar, Sultanate of Oman

Pastoralists have played a key role in shaping the landscape of Dhufar, Oman. With woody taxa tightly restricted to ecological zones and evidence of continuity in the structure of these vegetative communities, this region is a good case study for examining the relationships between pastoralists and their environments over time. The ethnobotanical literature of modern Dhufar documents pastoralists’ preferences for woody taxa for particular tasks. What remains uncertain is the time depth of these patterns. The archaeological site of Ṡhakal provides a rich charcoal assemblage, a material culture that allows archaeologists to approach human–landscape relations, even as such assemblages are relatively rare from ancient pastoralist sites. We argue that there is continuity to wood resource use over the last two millennia and this continuity correlates with a self-sufficient herding economy. With statistical analyses of the taxa identified and their respective contexts in the Iron Age occupations at Ṡhakal, we detect continuity in wood resource use over the last two millennia. Our results suggest that the wood exploitation patterns at Ṡhakal reflect preferences for abundant wood types with distinct physical properties. Furthermore, these results are consistent with a long-term self-sufficient pastoral tradition sustainable over millennia in a region that has only recently experienced severe environmental degradation.

Population and vegetation structure of ramin (Gonystylus bancanus) in secondary forests of Ketapang District, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Muin A, Astiani D. 2018. Population and vegetation structure of ramin (Gonystylus bancanus) in secondary forests of Ketapang District, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 528-534. In the tropical peatland, ramin (Gonystylus bancanus Miq. Kurz) was one of many prominent species that present in peatland forest. The species distribution is mostly in Southeast Asia peatland. The beautiful wood color, pale yellow sometimes grayish with no differentiated sapwood and heartwood with straight interlocked grain, made it become the most wanted tree species from tropical peatland.The exploitation of Ramin wood since the 1970s caused the decrease of its population in the peatland forest, led to this species being listed as an endangered species. This study aimed to search information on the Ramin population and vegetation structure left in its habitat in secondary peatland forest of Pematang Gadung and Sungai Sirih villages area of Ketapang District. The study employed a survey method, and data collection was carried out using line plots system. Data assessed were natural regeneration condition-seedling, sapling and pole growth levels-, and tree growth levels. A 20 m x 20 m size plots were continually established to form a line with the length of 550-680 m. Results showed that relatively a few Ramin was found in the forests in Sungai Sirih with a mean seedling density of only 9.9 tree ha-1, height ranges of 131 cm to 150 cm, and counted sapling level of 183 trees ha-1 with diameter ranges from 0.38 to 6.37 cm. At Pematang Gadung village, more Ramin was found, especially with a bigger diameter. Tree level (diameter >20cm) was recorded at 74.1 tree ha-1 with a contradictory far less seedling (2.8 tree ha-1), sapling level (only 1 tree ha-1) and pole level (7.4 tree ha-1) established. Based on the tree population condition and the variation of their growth level, the vegetation structure of Ramin did not describe a normal curve form in the natural forest both in the villages of Pematang Gadung and Sungai Sirih.

Towards a community-based concession model in the DRC

In 2014 Decree 14/018 laying down the rules for granting forest concessions to local communities, followed by Ministerial Order 0/25 on the same issue was published in the DRC. This paper aims to analyse the abovementioned legislation with respect to participatory ma nagement of forests. The explicit recognition of the duality of a customary de facto local community forest and a modern legal entity (concession) is an innovation. However, viewed from the perspective of the long-established habits within the country, the question remains whethe r these legal measures can be sufficient for ensuring the sustainable development of these community-held forested areas. Allowing community concessions up to 50,000 ha demonstrated a shift in the government policy away from the industrial timber cultivation model. However, an ar ea this size is much larger than the communities can monitor, particularly in the case of artisanal charcoal or wood exploitation. (Resume d'auteur)

Wood exploitation in a major pre-colonial West African iron production centre (Bassar, Togo)

Local iron production played a major role in the pre-colonial West African economy and certain metallurgical centres operated on an industrial magnitude. One of them is the Bassar area in central Togo where the onset of iron metallurgy is considered to date back to the 3rd-4th century BC, even though only from the 14th century AD onwards the area experienced distinct production intensification. High-level iron production lasted as late as the early 20th century.Bassar iron metallurgy was often considered to have caused massive deforestation and vegetation degradation, mainly due to wood exploitation for charcoal production, specifically to fuel iron smelting furnaces. The study presented here is the first to test this assumption using anthracological methods, supplemented by ethnohistorical interviews and archaeometallurgical investigations.The focus of our investigations is on two sites, Tchogma and Tatré. The charcoal assemblages at both sites and during all production periods are dominated by trees and shrubs with dense wood. According to our ethnohistorical interviews, hard wood species were considered particularly suitable for iron smelting, including several species with a strong capacity to re-sprout after coppicing.The taxon composition of the charcoal assemblages from metallurgical waste heaps generally corresponds to the oral traditions. In addition to the taxa mentioned by the interviewees, useful fruit trees such as the shea butter tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) were regularly used as fuel for ironworking. This demonstrates the exploitation of agroforestry parklands, which is providing evidence that arable land was already occupying a vast land surface of the Bassar area.The results of our study seem inconsistent with the previous idea of massive vegetation degradation due to the impact of wood exploitation for iron metallurgy in Bassar. Three main factors contradict previous general deforestation assumptions: 1. The anthracological results indicate the use of taxa with the ability to re-sprout, which probably allowed for fast woodland regeneration; 2. We consider the area to possess a higher biomass reproduction capacity in comparison to areas further north investigated in our previous studies; 3. The development of local craft specialisation scattered the impact of wood use on the Bassar landscape, thereby, preventing complete local deforestation.Our re-evaluation of Bassar slag amounts indicates fuel consumption was higher than previously thought. The over-exploitation of certain preferred taxa, particularly species with a restricted capacity to re-sprout, and local vegetation changes around the smelting sites is likely, although such modifications are not unequivocally reflected in the charcoal data.

Deciduous oak/chestnut: Differential shrinkage of wood during charcoalification? Preliminary experimental results and implications for wood diameter study in anthracology

Recent methodological developments in dendro-anthracology offer many new techniques to address the historical practices associated with the exploitation of wood as a fuel and to better understand the reciprocal interests of forest landscapes and societies. The study of wood diameter in dendro-anthracology involves three fundamental stages: i) to measure the position of charcoal pieces in relation to the heart of the wood, known as charcoal-pith distance ii) to correct the data, taking into account the error associated with using measurement as a tool and wood shrinkage, iii) to interpret the data in terms of original diameters exploited. Each of these steps has been, and continues to be, the basis of numerous research projects, notably by using experimental approaches in order to perfect the pith estimation tools (used to measure the distance between the charcoal fragment and the centre of the stem, refine experimental techniques and improve methodologies. This article is focused on estimating suitable correction factors related to wood shrinkage. Although this phenomenonis very well understood for a great number of species as regards the drying process, it remains more difficult to quantify a precise correction factor for shrinkage during the wood burning process. The experimental approach presented in this study involves a comparative analysis of wood shrinkage in oak and chestnut in charring conditions close to those observed in a charcoal-making context (charring in a low-oxygen environment, at temperatures between 400 °C and 600 °C). The charring of wood sections in a muffle furnace clearly shows an increase in the difference in radial shrinkage between dried and charcoalified wood. During drying, shrinkage in oak is only 2% greater than in chestnut. By contrast, the difference in shrinkage between the two taxa is 7% after charring. In addition, these experiments highlight the significant influences of temperature and of the presence of heartwood on the extent of wood shrinkage that occurs when wood is burned. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the phenomenon of shrinkage and also enable correction factors for these two taxa, more suitable for application in an archaeological context, to be proposed.

Timber exploitation during the 5th–3rd millennia BCE at Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey): environmental constraints and cultural choices

A considerable amount of charcoal remains from the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia) has been analysed. The anthracological assemblage comes from seven archaeological periods, ranging from the Late Chalcolithic 1–2 (mid-5th millennium BCE) to the Early Bronze Age III (late 3rd millennium BCE). The woody taxa exploited by the local communities appeared to have only minor changes throughout the investigated periods. For the evaluation of wood use practices, charcoal was chronologically grouped according to depositional context. The categories of depositional context identified differentiate between the uses of wood for structural parts of buildings, object manufacture, fuel, refuse, and wood found in outdoor areas or in burial contexts. Communities at Arslantepe, characterized by different cultural and socio-economic traits, appeared overall to select timber depending on its use: hydrophilous plants prevail in building material, with the exception of the 2900–2500 BCE period when environmental constraints probably motivate the dominance of woodland-steppe plants. The differential occurrence of taxa in the diverse depositional contexts highlighted cases of under/overestimation of remains, in particular in relation to the woods for construction. Finally, taxa have been attributed to different ecological groups. The interpretation of results and the comparison with other available palaeoenvironmental data point out that climatic factors play only a secondary role in the choice of wood exploitation in the area. Human choice may vary even with constant environmental records.

Early- and middle-Holocene wood exploitation in the Fayum basin, Egypt

The early and middle Holocene of North Africa was a time of dramatic climatic and social change, including rapid shifts in vegetation communities and the introduction of domesticated plants and animals. Recent research from the Fayum basin of Egypt, which holds archaeological evidence for early use of domesticates, aims to place inhabitants of that region within their contemporary environmental setting. We present here results of wood charcoal analysis from three early- and middle-Holocene deposits on the north shore of the Fayum and reconstruct both contemporary woodland ecology and patterns of anthropogenic wood use. In total, three woodland communities likely existed in the area, but inhabitants of this region made heavy use of only the local lakeshore woodland, emphasizing tamarisk ( Tamarix sp.) for fuel. While seasonally watered wadi woodlands were not harvested for fuel, more arid locations on the landscape were, evidencing regional mobility between ecological zones. Results indicate that wood was locally abundant and that inhabitants were able to select only preferred species for fuel. This study provides further evidence for low-level food production in the Fayum that preserved critical ecosystem services, rather than dramatic niche construction to promote agriculture as seen elsewhere in middle-Holocene Southwest Asia.

Avaliação de espectrômetro NIR portátil e PLS-DA para a discriminação de seis espécies similares de madeira amazônicas

Supervising wood exploitation can be very challenging due to the existence of many similar species and the reduced number of wood identification experts to meet the demand. There is evidence that valuable endangered wood species are being smuggled disguised as other species. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and chemometrics has been successfully used to discriminate between Amazonian wood species using high resolution instruments. In this study, a handheld spectrometer was evaluated for the discrimination of six visually similar tropical wood species using PLS-DA. Woods of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and cedar (Cedrela odorata), both high value tropical timber species included in Appendixes II and III of the CITES, respectively; crabwood (Carapa guianensis); cedrinho (Erisma uncinatum); curupixa (Micropholis melinoniana); and jatoba (Hymenea coubaril). The data for model development and validation take into account both laboratory and field measurements. Outlier exclusion was performed based on Hotelling T2, residuals Q and errors in the estimated class values. The efficiency rates were higher than 90% for all species, showing that the handheld NIR combined with PLS-DA succeeded in discriminate between these species. These results stimulate the application of handheld NIR spectrometers in the supervision of wood exploitation, which can contribute to the species preservation.

Forest-food nexus: a topical opportunity for human well-being and silviculture

As population will reach over 9 billion by 2050, interest in the forest-food nexus is rising. Forests play an important role in food production and nutrition. Forests can provide nutritionally-balanced diets, woodfuel for cooking and a broad set of ecosystem services. A large body of evidence recommends multi-functional and integrated landscape approaches to reimagine forestry and agriculture systems. Here, after a commented discussion of the literature produced in the last decade about the role for forests with respect to the food security global emergency, we summarize the state of the art in Italy as a representative country-case-study. The aim is to increase awareness about the potential of silviculture in Italy for combining ecological resilience with economic resilience, and reducing the pressure over tropical and sub-tropical forests by means of a sustainable intensification of forest management at national level. Although a quantification of the Italian non-wood forest products is difficult, the potential of this sector for the Italian bioeconomy is relatively high. Italy is among the four top European exporters of cork stoppers, is one of the three top countries for chestnut seed processing, and is among the leading exporters of wild mushroom, while it is the only European country among the top five global importers of tannins. In order to develop this sector for the food industry, more research is needed on non-wood forest products, the scale of production, emerging markets, marketing and production innovation. On the other hand, chain-supply fragmentation, landowner inertia, and lack of governance and cooperation may hamper an effective exploitation of non-wood products. A renewed joint impulse for exploitation of wood and non-wood products may come from a sustainable intensification of forest management. The strategies to guarantee an effective supply of non-wood products require appropriate business skills and the presence of a structured business services. A transparent market is also essential. Therefore, the introduction of standards (like those by forest certification schemes) is very important. They can add value to products and emphasize the importance and complexity of the forest sector. However, the implementation of sustainable forest management for an effective supply of non-wood products is affected by the availability of appropriate planning tools, and the public officers need a new mindset to stimulate and support business capacity of forest owners.