Assessing forest availability for wood supply in Europe

The quantification of forests available for wood supply (FAWS) is essential for decision-making with regard to the maintenance and enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to the global carbon cycle. The provision of harmonized forest statistics is necessary for the development of forest associated policies and to support decision-making. Based on the National Forest Inventory (NFI) data from 13 European countries, we quantify and compare the areas and aboveground dry biomass (AGB) of FAWS and forest not available for wood supply (FNAWS) according to national and reference definitions by determining the restrictions and associated thresholds considered at country level to classify forests as FAWS or FNAWS. FAWS represent between 75 and 95 % of forest area and AGB for most of the countries in this study. Economic restrictions are the main factor limiting the availability of forests for wood supply, accounting for 67 % of the total FNAWS area and 56 % of the total FNAWS AGB, followed by environmental restrictions. Profitability, slope and accessibility as economic restrictions, and protected areas as environmental restrictions are the factors most frequently considered to distinguish between FAWS and FNAWS. With respect to the area of FNAWS associated with each type of restriction, an overlap among the restrictions of 13.7 % was identified. For most countries, the differences in the FNAWS areas and AGB estimates between national and reference definitions ranged from 0 to 5 %. These results highlight the applicability and reliability of a FAWS reference definition for most of the European countries studied, thereby facilitating a consistent approach to assess forests available for supply for the purpose of international reportinginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Forest dynamics, SILVI-STAR : a comprehensive monitoring system

To learn about the interactions between individual trees and between trees and other forest organisms, long-term monitoring of spontaneous forest development is necessary. A complete monitoring system has been developed including a computer package for analysis of long-term forest dynamics observations. A method of nested plot data collection on forest architecture and plant species composition has been worked out for monitoring purposes. The spatial and temporal relations between data are numerically expressed. Therefore a three-dimensional single-tree architectural model has been worked out to describe asymmetric tree shapes with a minimum of measured data points. Time series of forest development at different sites are built up on the basis of a digital descriptive model of the complex reality of forest structure and species composition.To guarantee continuity in data storage and data query a commercially available database and a geographical information system were used in the design of the information system. A visual interpretation of data is enabled by graphical system outputs such as profiles and ground plans of tree crown projections, providing substitutes for traditional profile drawings and maps. Application programs were developed to solve specific problems, as a step towards predictive models. In an application program, for integration with remote sensing studies, an aerial view of the forest canopy is simulated on the basis of measured plot data. This view provides a ground-truth reference for the training and interpretation of remote sensing images. To explain the growth of individual trees and the distribution patterns of herbs and tree regeneration on the forest floor, another application was developed, simulating the penetration of direct and of diffuse light. For the reconstruction of forest growth with tree ring data, a technique of animation was elaborated facilitating a visual interpretation of the forest development. The system is applied to demonstrate forest development in some European forest reserves using forest architectural descriptions and vegetation releves, tree ring data and historical sources.</p

Towards an ecological network for the Carpathians

The Carpathian Biodiversity Information System (CBIS) and the proposal for an ecological network for the eastern part of the Carpathians are the two main outcomes of the project funded by the BBI Matra program of the Dutch government. This brochure presents information on how the CBIS was designed, and how the data stored can be retrieved and used. It also clarifies how the CBIS data were used to design the ecological network and, last but not least, it offers recommendations for the use of the proposed ecological network in supporting sustainable developmentin the Carpathians. Due to funding restrictions, the project focused on three east Carpathian countries: Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, which together host the largest area of the Carpathians (Fig. 2). Geographically, the Eastern Carpathians also include parts of the Carpathians located in Poland and Slovakia. Data collection in the Western Carpathians (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary) will be completed by 2010 and is funded by a parallel project

Making Forest Values Work: Enhancing Multi-Dimensional Perspectives towards Sustainable Forest Management

Background and Purpose: Sustainability, sustainable development and sustainable forest management are terms that are commonly, and interchangeably used in the forest industry, however their meaning take on different connotations, relative to varying subject matter. The aim of this paper is to look at these terms in a more comprehensive way, relative to the current ideology of sustainability in forestry.Materials and Methods: This paper applies a literature review of the concepts of: i) sustainable development; ii) sustainable forest management; and iii) economic and non-economic valuation. The concepts are viewed through a historical dimension of shifting paradigms, originating from production- to service-based forestry. Values are discussed through a review of general value theory and spatial, cultural and temporal differences in valuation. Along the evolution of these concepts, we discuss their applicability as frameworks to develop operational guidelines for forest management, relative to the multi-functionality of forests.results and conclusions: Potential discrepancies between the conceptual origins of sustainable development and sustainable forest management are highlighted, relative to how they have been interpreted and diffused as new perceptions on forest value for the human society. We infer the current paradigm may not reflect the various dimensions adequately as its implementation is likely to be more related to the distribution of power between stakeholders, rather than the value stakeholders’ place on the various forest attributes

Forest biodiversity maintenance

The global biodiversity loss within forest ecosystems has attracted attention during the last decades. Awareness increased both world-wide and in Sweden, which led to changes in the Swedish forests policy. In the Swedish Forestry Act of 1993 the environmental and production goals became equally important, and several new policy implementation instruments were taken into use. One of these was the Woodland Key Habitat Survey, in which indicator species are used to identify sites with conservation values. The first two papers in this thesis assess the relationships between the lichen indicator species found in the study area (in South-Central Sweden) and their growing-substrates and habitats, respectively. Both studies confirm that the indicator species showed habitat preferences which included old or deciduous trees. In Paper II also the habitat preferences of sedentary birds were assessed and the mixed deciduous habitats showed to be the more species rich, compared to pure coniferous forest. Paper III and IV evaluate the forest owners’ intentions and knowledge of nature conservation, as well as their attitudes towards it. In paper III the conservation intentions of the forest owners were estimated on the harvest registration form and compared to the actual retention at the clear-cuts. The intentions were followed by associated practices, however, the retained amounts of stand structures were overall low. I conclude that the intentions did not increase over the study period, the retained amounts were too low to meet, e.g., the Forest Stewardship Council standards, and, also, that such forms could become important information instruments to the forestry authorities concerning intentions and practices of the forest owners. In Paper IV the results of a questionnaire sent to non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners within the study area, showed that knowledge about conservation and attendance to a recent educational programme, which included conservation information, were positively related to the attitude towards it. However, those occupied with land-use had a more negative attitude towards conservation than others. Also, in the ranking of operational goals for their own conservation efforts, only 7% of the respondents ranked ‘long-term species survival’ as their first priority, while the vast majority ranked ‘forest health’ as number one. In the fifth and last paper the usefulness of indicator species in monitoring systems adapted to NIPF owners, is discussed. In the questionnaire used in paper IV, NIPF owners were asked to mark all species that they could recognise, from a list of 12 forest species. The results showed that they had a weak knowledge of the listed lichens and fungi, but all four birds were recognised by more than 50%. Thus, in indicator species based monitoring systems for NIPF owners and the public only a few easily communicated and conspicuous species of documented indicator value should be used, e.g. vertebrates

The Due diligence system in the EU’s Timber Regulation: non-tariff trade barrier or leverage effect?

This paper presents a novel spatial equilibrium model to analyse the leverage impact of the EU’s Timber Regulation on sustainable timber production. This leverage effect is an argument in favour of FLEGT but it has never been investigated thoroughly, or simultaneously for demand and supply. The leverage effect is measured in terms of the market share of sustainable timber in the total timber consumption and production of a region. Our research finds that FLEGT does not provide an incentive for sustainable timber production and consumption at global level. FLEGT creates a non-tariff trade barrier at the conventional timber markets of important producing regions (Europe and North America). This protectionist situation favours conventional timber which decreases the importance of sustainable timber. In addition, the protectionist situation decreases global welfare

International trade of the NWFP: any opportunity for the Italian forest sector?

open5siThe Italian forests, traditionally managed for wood production, need to tackle today a demand of good and services considered as secondary outputs by the forest manager. The Italian forest sector showed an increasing role of the of the non-wood forest products (NWFP), considered raw material in other sectors like food, floral green and chemical industries. The scarce attention to the production of non-wood forest products in the forest, the complex legal system linked to the harvesting rights and the increment of the use of such products by the industries, have pushed the companies to import raw materials from the international market with favourable quantities and prices. Moreover, in Italy, NWFP have been transformed in functional goods sold to the final users as recreational services inside the forest, instead of as commodities. Wild mushrooms, truffles, berries, nuts, resins, cork, tannins, and ornamental green are the most frequently traded NWFP toward and from Italy; country that covers a key role in the import and processing of several NWFP; the import and processing of the tannin for leather tanning, or cork for stopper and cork panel production or the processing of fresh and dried mushrooms for national and international market are examples of products that let Italy become a leader in the international market. The paper describes the economic volume and quantities of the more traded NWFP from and to Italy, calculated through the analysis of international trade data reported in COMTRADE.openVidale, Enrico; Da Re, Riccardo; Lovric, Marko; Corradini, Giulia; Pettenella, DavideVidale, Enrico; DA RE, Riccardo; Lovric, Marko; Corradini, Giulia; Pettenella, DAVIDE MATTE