230 research outputs found
Forest ecotone survey by line intersect sampling
Given their ecological relevance, the survey of ecotones is of considerable interest in forest multiresource inventory. To this end, it is useful to set up survey procedures to provide efficient and reliable information about the length of such elements within the landscape mosaic. This note demonstrates a procedure based upon line intersect sampling on remotely sensed imagery. The estimate of ecotone length per unit area is obtained by visual interpretation of the changes from forest to other land use classes along each sampling line. The experimentation carried out in two test areas within forest landscapes of central Italy proves the operative soundness of the proposed procedure, which is more efficient than the classical approach by forest polygon delineation and perimeter mensuration in a GIS environment. Under the examined conditions, samples based on a moderately high number of lines characterized by relatively long length prove to be more efficient than those based on shorter survey units.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.nrcresearchpress.co
Armonizzazione degli inventari forestali per il monitoraggio della biodiversitĂ
Gli approcci selvicolturali orientati alla gestione sostenibile delle risorse forestali richiedono la disponibilitĂ
di informazioni di supporto qualitativamente e quantitativamente superiori rispetto a quelle richieste
da un approccio piĂą tradizionale finalizzato alla massimizzazione della produzione legnosa.
Negli ultimi anni la selvicoltura si è evoluta proponendo nuovi approcci orientati alla ottimizzazione
delle funzionalitĂ biologiche del sistema bosco. Parallelamente vari processi internazionali a livello Europeo
(Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, Streamlining Biodiversity Indicators
by 2010) e globale (Montreal Process, Protocollo di Kyoto) richiedono la quantificazione di numerosi
indicatori attraverso i quali valutare il livello di sostenibilitĂ della gestione forestale e il valore
ecologico degli ecosistemi forestali. L’ampliata domanda di informazioni su aspetti ecologici e ambientali
delle foreste richiede un adattamento dei protocolli di rilevamento inventariale che ne costituiscono
la principale fonte informativa.
Il presente contributo è basato sui primi risultati dell’azione COST E43 “Harmonisation of National
forest inventories in Europe: techniques for common reporting” Working Group 3 che è impegnato nella
valutazione della capacitĂ di reporting armonizzato del livello di biodiversitĂ degli ecosistemi forestali
da parte degli inventari forestali nazionali. Dall’analisi dei metodi, delle definizioni e dei protocolli
adottati da 27 Paesi è possibile dedurre l’attuale capacità degli inventari forestali per la derivazione di
un gruppo di indicatori della biodiversitĂ forestale organizzati in sette aree tematiche (core variables):
tipologie forestali, legno morto, diversitĂ compositiva e strutturale, etĂ , naturalitĂ , vegetazione non forestale,
rinnovazione. Sulla base delle analisi realizzate nell’azione COST E43 viene qui presentato
l’inquadramento metodologico delle procedure di armonizzazione e la loro possibile applicazione finalizzata
alla derivazione di indicatori di biodiversitĂ forestale
European forest types and forest Europe SFM indicators: tools for monitoring progress on forest biodiversity conservation
Since 2003 the MCPFE-Forest Europe process has adopted a set of Pan-European Indicators that has
become a policy instrument to monitor, evaluate and report progress towards sustainable forest management
(SFM). Two new experimental tools have been introduced in the framework of the «State of Forests
and Sustainable Forest Management in Europe 2011»: (i) pilot reporting by 14 classes of European Forest
Types (EFTs) for a selection of quantitative SFM indicators; (ii) key parameters for monitoring progress for
all quantitative indicators.
The main aim of this paper is to discuss whether reporting by EFTs of key forest biodiversity-related
parameters can improve the way forest biodiversity conservation policy targets are addressed and evaluated
in Europe. Accordingly, data on SFM indicators for a sample of European countries (ranging from 6
to 28, depending on indicators) have been processed and analyzed in a pilot study using a question-driven
approach, so that information from monitoring could direct policy action.
The main findings show that:
– forest area has been significantly increasing (>0.2% per year) in the period 2000–2010; however,
annual changes in forest cover by EFTs reveal a polyedric picture at country level, in terms of gain
and loss of forest habitat dominated by native and introduced tree species;
– old even aged forests (>140 yrs) are fairly consistent (>5%) only in a few countries and limited to specific
EFTs;
– in naturally species-poor EFTs (e.g. Boreal forest, Alpine coniferous forest, Broadleaved evergreen forest)
single species stands cover from 15–100% of the total area, while in species rich EFTs (e.g. Mesophytic
deciduous forest, Thermophilous deciduous forest) the maximum share of single species is in
the order of 30%;
– deadwood amount ranges from 9 to 26 m3 ha 1, a value which is however far below natural reference
values found in European old growth forests (160 m3 ha 1).
Findings from this test demonstrate that reporting of key forest biodiversity-related parameters by
EFTs enables question-driven monitoring in many ways: (i) reporting by EFTs helps to interpret the variability
in the values taken by the indicators explicitly considering ecological differences between EFTs;
(ii) temporal trends in forest area can be interpreted in terms of expansion or loss of forest habitats dominated
by native and introduced tree species; (iii) progress in implementing biodiversity friendly strategies
(e.g. increasing share of old even aged forests, promotion of multispecies stands and accumulation of
deadwood) can be quantitatively evaluated against baselines.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.sciencedirect.co
Deadwood distribution in European forests
National forest inventories are a primary source of data for the assessment of forest resources and lastly more often biodiversity at national scales. The diversity of adopted sampling designs and measurements reduces the prospect for a reliable comparison of generated estimates. The ICP Forest dataset represents a unique opportunity for a standardized approach of forest estimates through Europe. This work aims to provide a distribution map of the mean deadwood volume in European forest. A total of 3243 ICP Forests plots were analysed and presented. The study area extends over 3,664,576 km2 interesting 19 countries. We observed that the highest percentage of plots show a deadwood volume lower than 50 m3 ha-1, with a few of forests attaining around the maximum of 300 m3 ha-1. Forests with more than 100 m3 ha-1 are concentrated in mountainous regions, central Europe and other regions, linked to high-forest management types, while coppices-derived forest systems (part of the Great Britain, Mediterranean region) show lower deadwood content. The map of deadwood volume on European Forests is of interests for scientists, land planners, forest managers and decision-makers, as a reference for further evaluation of changes, stratified sampling, ground reference for model validation, restoration and conservation purposes
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