Classification of forest management approaches: a new conceptual framework and its applicability to European forestry

The choice between different forest management practices is a crucial step in short, medium, and long-term decision making in forestry and when setting up measures to support a regional or national forest policy. Some conditions such as biogeographically determined site factors, exposure to major disturbances, and societal demands are predetermined, whereas operational processes such as species selection, site preparation, planting, tending, or thinning can be altered by management. In principle, the concept of a forest management approach provides a framework for decision making, including a range of silvicultural operations that influence the development of a stand or group of trees over time. These operations vary among silvicultural systems and can be formulated as a set of basic principles. Consequently, forest management approaches are essentially defined by coherent sets of forest operation processes at a stand level. Five ideal forest management approaches (FMAs) representing a gradient of management intensity are described using specific sets of basic principles that enable comparison across European forests. Each approach is illustrated by a regional European case study. The observed regional variations resulting from changing species composition, stand density, age structure, stand edges, and site conditions can be interpreted using the FMA framework. Despite being arranged along an intensity gradient, the forest management approaches are not considered to be mutually exclusive, as the range of options allows for greater freedom in selecting potential silvicultural operations. As derived goods and services are clearly affected, the five forest management approaches have implications for sustainability. Thus, management objectives can influence the balance between the economic, ecological, and social dimensions of sustainability. The utility of this framework is further demonstrated through the different contributions to this special issue

China’s Weibo: is faster different?

The popularization of microblogging in China represents a new challenge to the state’s regime of information control. The speed with which information is diffused in the microblogosphere has helped netizens to publicize and express their discontent with the negative consequences of economic growth, income inequalities and official corruption. In some cases, netizen led initiatives have facilitated the mobilization of online public opinion and forced the central government to intervene to redress acts of lower level malfeasance. However, despite the growing corpus of such cases, the government has quickly adapted to the changing internet ecology and is using the same tools to help it maintain control of society by enhancing its claims to legitimacy, circumscribing dissent, identifying malfeasance in its agents and using online public opinion to adapt policy and direct propaganda efforts. This essay reflects on microblogging in the context of the Chinese internet, and argues that successes in breaking scandals and mobilizing opinion against recalcitrant officials should not mask the reality that the government is utilizing the microblogosphere to its own advantage

The long-term effects of an implantable drop foot stimulator on gait in hemiparetic patients

Drop foot is a frequent abnormality in gait after central nervous system lesions. Different treatment strategies are available to functionally restore dorsal extension during swing phase in gait. Orthoses as well as surface and implantable devices for electrical stimulation of the peroneal nerve may be used in patients who do not regain good dorsal extension. While several studies investigated the effects of implanted systems on walking speed and gait endurance, only a few studies have focussed on the system’s impact on kinematics and long-term outcomes. Therefore, our aim was to further investigate the effects of the implanted system ActiGait on gait kinematics and spatiotemporal parameters for the first time with a 1-year follow-up period. 10 patients were implanted with an ActiGait stimulator, with 8 patients completing baseline and follow-up assessments. Assessments included a 10-m walking test, video-based gait analysis and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for health status. At baseline, gait analysis was performed without any assistive device as well as with surface electrical stimulation. At follow-up patients walked with the ActiGait system switched off and on. The maximum dorsal extension of the ankle at initial contact increased significantly between baseline without stimulation and follow-up with ActiGait (p = 0.018). While the spatio-temporal parameters did not seem to change much with the use of ActiGait in convenient walking speed, patients did walk faster when using surface stimulation or ActiGait compared to no stimulation at the 10-m walking test at their fastest possible walking speed. Patients rated their health better at the 1-year follow-up. In summary, a global improvement in gait kinematics compared to no stimulation was observed and the long-term safety of the device could be confirmed

Annual dynamics of natural regeneration of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) on a research plot located in the area of forest decline in the Silesian Beskid Mountains

The study shows a high dynamics approximately five-year-old natural regeneration of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) growing on the research plot located in the fertile mountain habitat in the middle of the lower montane forest zone in the Silesian Beskid Mountains (Beskid Śląski) compared to its co-occurring species. The dynamics is expressed as a significant annual increment in height and diameter of birch trees, leading in consequence to the appearance of an older sapling phase for most regenerations of this species. This creates the possibility of early undercanopy planting of tree species adjusted to the site conditions, mainly silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)