Web-based forest resources management decision support system

In this paper, we present a web-based decision support system (DSS)—wSADfLOR—to facilitate the access of stakeholders to tools that may contribute to enhancing forest management planning. The emphasis is on a web-based architecture and a web graphic user interface (wGUI) that may effectively support the analysis of trade-offs between ecosystem services in order to address participatory and sustainable forest management objectives. For that purpose, the wGUI provides remote access to a management information system, enabling users to analyze environmental and biometric data and topological information as well. Moreover, the wGUI provides remote access to forest simulators so that users may define and simulate prescriptions such as chronological sequences of management options and the corresponding forest ecosystem services outcomes. Remote access to management planning methods is further provided so that users may input their objectives and constraints. The wGUI delivers information about tradeoffs between ecosystem services in the form of decision maps so that users in different locations may negotiate bundles of ecosystem services as well as the plan needed to provide them. The multiple criteria programming routines provide proposals for management plans that may be assessed further, using geographical and alphanumeric information provided by the wGUI. Results for an application to a forested landscape extending to 14,388 ha are presented and discussed. This landscape provides several ecosystem services and the development of its management plan involves multiple stakeholders. Results show that the web-based architecture and the wGUI provide effective access for stakeholders to information about the forest management planning area and to decision support tools that may contribute to addressing complex multi-objective and multiple-decision-maker management planning contexts. They also highlight that the involvement and participation of stakeholders in the design of the web-based architecture contributes to assuring the quality and the usability of the systeminfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Models for Forest Ecosystem Management: A European Perspective

Background Forest management in Europe is committed to sustainability. In the face of climate change and accompanying risks, however, planning in order to achieve this aim becomes increasingly challenging, underlining the need for new and innovative methods. Models potentially integrate a wide range of system knowledge and present scenarios of variables important for any management decision. In the past, however, model development has mainly focused on specific purposes whereas today we are increasingly aware of the need for the whole range of information that can be provided by models. It is therefore assumed helpful to review the various approaches that are available for specific tasks and to discuss how they can be used for future management strategies. Scope Here we develop a concept for the role of models in forest ecosystem management based on historical analyses. Five paradigms of forest management are identified: (1) multiple uses, (2) dominant use, (3) environmentally sensitive multiple uses, (4) full ecosystem approach and (5) eco-regional perspective. An overview of model approaches is given that is dedicated to this purpose and to developments of different kinds of approaches. It is discussed how these models can contribute to goal setting, decision support and development of guidelines for forestry operations. Furthermore, it is shown how scenario analysis, including stand and landscape visualization, can be used to depict alternatives, make long-term consequences of different options transparent, and ease participation of different stakeholder groups and education. Conclusions In our opinion, the current challenge of forest ecosystem management in Europe is to integrate system knowledge from different temporal and spatial scales and from various disciplines. For this purpose, using a set of models with different focus that can be selected from a kind of toolbox according to particular needs is more promising than developing one overarching model, covering ecological, production and landscape issues equally wel

Equilibrium and non-equilibrium concepts in forest genetic modelling: population- and individually-based approaches

The environment is changing and so are forests, in their functioning, in species composition, and in the species’ genetic composition. Many empirical and process-based models exist to support forest management. However, most of these models do not consider the impact of environmental changes and forest management on genetic diversity nor on the rate of adaptation of critical plant processes. How genetic diversity and rates of adaptation depend on management actions is a crucial next step in model development. Modelling approaches of genetic and demographic processes that operate in forests are categorized here in two classes. One approach assumes equilibrium conditions in phenotype and tree density, and analyses the characteristics of the demography and the genetic system of the species that determine the rate at which that equilibrium is attained. The other modelling approach does not assume equilibrium conditions and describes both the ecological —and genetic processes to analyse how environmental changes result in selection pressures on functional traits of trees and the consequences of that selection for tree— and ecosystem functioning. The equilibrium approach allows analysing the recovery rate after a perturbation in stable environments, i.e. towards the same pre-perturbation stable state. The nonequilibrium approach allows, in addition to the equilibrium approach, analysing consequences of ongoing environmental changes and forest management, i.e. non-stationary environments, on tree functioning, species composition, and genetic composition of the trees in forest ecosystem. In this paper we describe these two modelling approaches and discuss advantages and disadvantages of them and current knowledge gaps

Ecology of Yuqing County Carbon Sink Calculation and Ecosystem Protection Measures

Based on the remote sensing statistical data of land use of terrestrial ecosystems in Yuqing County, this paper calculates the amount of carbon sinks in the county according to the existing carbon sink carbon density index, compares the amount of different types of carbon sinks, and analyzes their respective carbon sink potential. The results show that the forest carbon sink is the largest, about 2.2 million tons, accounting for 75% of the total carbon sink in the county, showing the great potential of forest vegetation to absorb CO2 through photosynthesis, followed by the carbon sink produced by dry land (cultivated land), about 400,000 tons, accounting for 13% of the total carbon sink in the county; Although the amount of wetland aquatic carbon sink is small, its carbon density is very large, and it has the advantages of short renewal time and fast carbon sink, so it has great potential and can be artificially regulated to increase carbon sink. Based on the above research and analysis, combined with the spirit of the national carbon peak and carbon neutral policy and the natural law of ecosystem development, three measures to protect and increase carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems were put forward: (1) continuing to carry out forestry planting and do a good job in forestry protection; (2) stabilizing the surface water area and developing aquatic carbon sinks; (3) Establish a long-term monitoring system to ensure the contribution of carbon sinks, provide support for the protection of ecosystem and the development of carbon sink potential in Yuqing County from two aspects of science and management, and compare the amount of different types of carbon sinks, and analyze their carbon sink potential. On this basis, combined with the spirit of the national carbon peak and carbon neutral policy and the natural law of ecosystem development, three kinds of terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink protection and increase wording were put forward accordingly, which provided support for ecosystem protection and carbon sink potential development in Yuqing County from two aspects of science and management

A decision support system for assessing trade-offs between ecosystem management goals: an application in Portugal

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) and holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia) ecosystems are characteristic of Mediterranean forestry in Portugal. Even though cork is the most valuable product, these ecosystems provide multiple products and services. Assessing trade-offs between multiple goals is thus critical for the effectiveness of oak ecosystem management planning. This paper focuses on the development of a decision support system for oak ecosystems’ scenario analysis including multiple criteria. It includes an innovative decision support systems (DSS) functionality to assess trade-offs between the criteria that may support negotiation and consensus building between decision-makers and forest stakeholders. Specifically, a module that encapsulates the Feasible Goals Method/Interactive Decision Maps (FGM/IDM) technique is developed for interactive visualization of the Pareto frontier. The Pareto frontier illustrates the degree to which improving one particular criterion requires accepting sacrifices in the achievements of others. It thus provides information about trade-offs between competing decision-makers’ preferences. Results are discussed for a large-scale application encompassing over 1 million ha of cork and holm oak forest ecosystems in Southern Portugal. This study demonstrates the potential of the new DSS functionality to enhance multi-objective forest planning, namely by facilitating participation by stakeholders and providing transparency to the decision-making processesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of community empowerment based on zonation in the Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, Indonesia

Local communities surrounding Gunung Halimun Salak National Park are highly dependent on the national park area. Economic development is crucial to improving the livelihood of the local communities around the park area. Additionally, to ensure that the preservation of the national park will be supported by the surrounding communities, activities within the local communities can also align with the management of the national park. In Indonesia, national parks are managed through a zonation system, in which potential areas that satisfy the biophysical conditions will be considered for development activities that support the local communities. We analyze the biophysical condition of the area, zonation of area, and socio-economic conditions of communities to identify the types of potential community development activities. We conducted a survey of biophysical conditions, as well as interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders. The results of the study reveal five types of community development activities with the most potential, namely 1) development of tourism; 2) conservation partnership schemes; 3) cooperation on ecosystem restoration; 4) development of forest plant cultivation to provide seeds for economic benefits; 5) utilization of ecosystem services, such as water and hydroelectric power plants

Gaining Depth: State of Watershed Investment 2014

Last year, governments, businesses, and donors channeled $12.3 billion (B) toward nature-based solutions to the global water crisis. Water users and public funders were paying land managers to repair and protect forests, wetlands, and other natural systems as a flexible, costeffective strategy to ensure clean and reliable water supplies, resilience to natural disasters, and sustainable livelihoods. These deals paid for watershed protection and restoration across more than 365 million (M) hectares (ha) worldwide in 2013, an area larger than India.The value of investment in watershed services1 (IWS) - referring to funding for watershed restoration or protection that delivers benefits to society like aquifer recharge or erosion control - has been growing at anaverage rate of 12% per year. The number of operational programs grew by two thirds between 2011 and 2013, expanding in both scale and sophistication as program developers introduced new tools to track returns on watershed investment, coordinated efforts across political boundaries, and delivered additional benefits like sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity protection

Payments for Ecosystem Services: Legal and Institutional Frameworks

Analysis and engagement with partners working on ecosystem services transactions, policies and laws over the past 10 years have demonstrated a clear need to better understand the legal and institutional frameworks that have the potential to promote or hinder the development of payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes, as well as the complex legal considerations that affect ecosystem services projects. In response, the IUCN Environmental Law Centre and The Katoomba Group have worked on a joint initiative to analyze the legal and institutional frameworks of water-related PES schemes and projects in four Andean countries: South America (Northeastern)-Brazil; Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. It has resulted in this report. Country-based analysts with experience in ecosystem services transactions have developed country and project assessments to define existing and recommend future regulatory and institutional frameworks that enable equitable and long-lasting ecosystem services transactions. Partners from North America (Central America)-Costa Rica; North America-Mexico; Ecuador and the North America-United States provided feedback on the assessments. The country assessments yielded lessons which were used to develop a set of recommendations on legal frameworks, property rights, enabling institutions, PES contracts, and governance issues supporting the future development of PES schemes