Bridging the Gap Between National and Ecosystem Accounting Application in Andalusian Forests, Spain

National accounting either ignores or fails to give due values to the ecosystem services, products, incomes and environmental assets of a country. To overcome these shortcomings, we apply spatially-explicit extended accounts that incorporate a novel environmental income indicator, which we test in the forests of Andalusia (Spain). Extended accounts incorporate nine farmer activities (timber, cork, firewood, nuts, livestock grazing, conservation forestry, hunting, residential services and private amenity) and seven government activities (fire services, free access recreation, free access mushroom, carbon, landscape conservation, threatened biodiversity and water yield). To make sure the valuation remains consistent with standard accounts, we simulate exchange values for non-market final forest product consumption in order to measure individual ecosystem services and environmental income indicators. Manufactured capital and environmental assets are also integrated. When comparing extended to standard accounts, our results are 3.6 times higher for gross value added. These differences are explained primarily by the omission in the standard accounts of carbon activities and undervaluation of private amenity, free access recreation, landscape and threatened biodiversity ecosystem services. Extended accounts measure a value of Andalusian forest ecosystem services 5.4 times higher than that measured using the valuation criteria of standard accounts

Expert-Based Assessment of the Potential of Non-Wood Forest Products to Diversify Forest Bioeconomy in Six European Regions

24 Pág.The forest-based sector plays a significant role in supporting Europe on its pathway towards a more integrated and bio-based circular economy. Beyond the supply of timber, forest ecosystems offer a wide range of products and services beneficial to human wellbeing. Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) play an integral role in provisioning forest ecosystem services and constitute a huge portfolio of species from various taxonomic kingdoms. As diverse as the resources themselves is the list of end-products that may be derived from raw non-wood materials. Multiple value-chains of NWFPs provide benefits to actors across all stages of the supply chain. Forest management has not yet directed full attention towards NWFPs, since timber production remains the main management objective, although multi-purpose management is recognised as a key principle of the sector’s sustainability paradigm. Lack of knowledge of the socio-economic relevance of NWFPs for European societies and diverse property rights frameworks increase the complexity in forest-based decision making additionally. In this study, the future potential of 38 NWFPs for diversifying the forest bioeconomy is investigated by means of multi-criteria analysis, including stakeholder interaction and expert involvement. The results for six case studies in different biogeographical zones in Europe indicate the latent opportunities NWFPs provide to forest owners who are willing to focus their management on the joint production of wood and non-wood resources as well as their value networks. This study intends to unravel perspectives for forest owners in particular, as they often represent principal decision makers in forest ecosystem management, act as main suppliers of NWFP raw materials, and thus can be understood as key stakeholders in a forest bioeconomy. Even though regional perspectives differ, due to varying socio-economic and ecological environments, there is huge potential to strengthen the economic viability of rural areas. Furthermore, sustainable co-production may foster the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems across Europe. Results show that wild mushrooms constitute the most widespread opportunity to increase additional income from forest management, but the most promising NWFPs can be found in the tree product, understorey plant and animal origin categories.This study was financially supported by FP7 Project no. 311919 KBBE.2012.1.2-06 StarTree—Multipurpose trees and non-wood forest products a challenge and opportunity, and COST-Action FP1203: European non-wood forest products (NWFPs) network. Mr. S. de-Miguel was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 MultiFUNGtionality Marie Skłodowska-Curie (IF-EF No 655815), and Mr. J.A. Bonet benefited from a Serra-Húnter Fellowship provided by the Generalitat of Catalunya. José G. Borges and M. Marques participation was also funded by the Forest Research Centre, a research unit funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. (FCT), Portugal (UIDB/00239/2020). This study has been also done with affiliation to the Academy of Finland Flagship Forest-Human-Machine Interplay—Building Resilience, Redefining Value Networks and Enabling MeaningfulExperiences (UNITE) with decision number 337127.Peer reviewe

Towards assessment of cork production through National Forest Inventories

The economic importance of cork in the Mediterranean region demands an accurate assessment of its production. Cork production is currently estimated by aggregating information provided by Regional Forest Services, but this approach results in a lack of robustness at the national level. The objective of the present study is to analyse the role of the Spanish National Forest Inventory (SNFI) as a potential source of data for quantifying cork weight at national level and the scope of National Forest Inventory data to define national trends in cork yield as well as to characterize the main types of cork producing forest stands in Spain. Data from the Second and Third SNFI are used together with the Spanish Forest Map. The results point to the suitability of SNFI to quantify cork production as long as the two main variables defining cork weight, namely cork thickness and debarking height, were correctly recorded in inventories. Although the Second SNFI complied with these requirements, from the Third SNFI the methodology changed, preventing the accurate estimation of cork weight. Based on this study recommendations are made to improve the estimation of cork weight at national level, e.g. to measure cork thickness in all the cork oaks in the plot and to take a sample of cork from the inventoried trees. This information would also make it possible to assess the cork quality in terms of cork thickness growth and to classify cork production in terms of suitability for producing high quality cork products.The economic importance of cork in the Mediterranean region demands an accurate assessment of its production. Cork production is currently estimated by aggregating information provided by Regional Forest Services, but this approach results in a lack of robustness at the national level. The objective of the present study is to analyse the role of the Spanish National Forest Inventory (SNFI) as a potential source of data for quantifying cork weight at national level and the scope of National Forest Inventory data to define national trends in cork yield as well as to characterize the main types of cork producing forest stands in Spain. Data from the Second and Third SNFI are used together with the Spanish Forest Map. The results point to the suitability of SNFI to quantify cork production as long as the two main variables defining cork weight, namely cork thickness and debarking height, were correctly recorded in inventories. Although the Second SNFI complied with these requirements, from the Third SNFI the methodology changed, preventing the accurate estimation of cork weight. Based on this study recommendations are made to improve the estimation of cork weight at national level, e.g. to measure cork thickness in all the cork oaks in the plot and to take a sample of cork from the inventoried trees. This information would also make it possible to assess the cork quality in terms of cork thickness growth and to classify cork production in terms of suitability for producing high quality cork products.The economic importance of cork in the Mediterranean region demands an accurate assessment of its production. Cork production is currently estimated by aggregating information provided by Regional Forest Services, but this approach results in a lack of robustness at the national level. The objective of the present study is to analyse the role of the Spanish National Forest Inventory (SNFI) as a potential source of data for quantifying cork weight at national level and the scope of National Forest Inventory data to define national trends in cork yield as well as to characterize the main types of cork producing forest stands in Spain. Data from the Second and Third SNFI are used together with the Spanish Forest Map. The results point to the suitability of SNFI to quantify cork production as long as the two main variables defining cork weight, namely cork thickness and debarking height, were correctly recorded in inventories. Although the Second SNFI complied with these requirements, from the Third SNFI the methodology changed, preventing the accurate estimation of cork weight. Based on this study recommendations are made to improve the estimation of cork weight at national level, e.g. to measure cork thickness in all the cork oaks in the plot and to take a sample of cork from the inventoried trees. This information would also make it possible to assess the cork quality in terms of cork thickness growth and to classify cork production in terms of suitability for producing high quality cork products

Shrub biomass accumulation and growth rate models to quantify carbon stocks and fluxes for the Mediterranean region

The importance of shrub formations in the Mediterranean area both in terms of area occupied and carbon sequestered by them is currently being recognized. However, due to the lack of suitable models to estimate biomass accumulation and growth rate in this region, the carbon sequestered by these formations is not included when computing the total carbon stocks in aboveground biomass in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, according to the IPCC guidelines. The aim of the present study is to develop equations to predict biomass accumulation and growth rate for the main shrub formations in the region of Andalusia (Southern Spain), using the fraction of canopy cover (FCCm) and the average height of the shrub formations (Hm) as predictors. To build these models, more than 800 plots were inventoried using destructive sampling; the mean value found in the region for biomass accumulation and annual growth rate being 16.73 Mg ha−1 and 1.14 Mg ha−1 year−1, respectively. Heathers and big-size Cistaceae formations were the ones that presented the highest values of biomass accumulation (24.99 and 21.01 Mg ha−1, respectively), while the highest values for annual growth rate were achieved by Leguminous gorse shrubs and, again, big-size Cistaceae bushes (1.49 and 1.64 Mg ha−1 year−1, respectively). The carbon content for the main shrub species and formations in the area was also obtained. The developed models provide the opportunity to estimate shrub carbon stocks in Mediterranean forest management from easy-to-obtain variables, namely FCCm and Hm. Moreover, the used shrub formations classifications and model structure allow their applicability to compute biomass accumulation and growth rate at regional and national level using as input data from the Spanish National Forest Inventory. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Review. Assessing uncertainty and risk in forest planning and decision support systems: review of classical methods and introduction of new approaches

<p><em>Aim:</em> Since forest planning is characterized by long time horizon and it typically involves large areas of land and numerous stakeholders, uncertainty and risk should play an important role when developing forest management plans. The aim of this study is to review different methods to deal with risk and uncertainty in forest planning, listing problems that forest managers may face during the preparation of management plans and trying to give recommendations in regard to the application of each method according to the problem case. The inclusion of risk and uncertainty in decision support systems is also analyzed.</p><p><em>Area:</em> It covers the temporal and spatial scale of forest planning, the spatial context, the participation process, the objectives dimensions and the good and services addressed.</p><p><em>Material and methods:</em> Several hundreds of articles dealing with uncertainty and risk were identified regarding different forestry-related topics and approaches. Form them, around 170 articles were further reviewed, categorized and evaluated.</p><p><em>Main results:</em> The study presents a thorough review and classification of methods and approaches to consider risk and uncertainty in forest planning. Moreover, new approaches are introduced, showing the opportunities that their application present in forest planning.</p><p><em>Research highlights</em><em>:</em> The study can aid forest managers in the decision making process when designing a forest management plan considering risk and uncertainty.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> operations research; optimal alternative; stochastic risk; endogenous risk; stand level; forest level.</p

Optimal management of Pinus pinea stands when cone and timber production are considered

Pinus pinea is one of the most important tree species in the Mediterranean region due to the economic value of its edible seeds called “piñones”. Timber also represents an important source of income from this species. Generally, P. pinea stands have been managed to maximize either timber or seed production, optimization of the joint production of both products being rare. The difficulty in optimizing seed or joint production is the highly stochastic masting habit of P. pinea. The aim of the present study was to find the optimal management of P. pinea stands from the economic point of view when both seed and timber production are considered. A growth and yield model was employed to simulate the dynamics of P. pinea stands of the northern Iberian Peninsula. The novelty of the study is the implementation of a cone yield model that is able to predict expected cone harvests and seed yields when masting is stochastic. The model was linked with an optimization algorithm to obtain optimal schedules for two different stands. The results showed that seed production of P. pinea in the northern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula may increase the soil expectation value by more than 300 % in dense stands and 200 % in sparse stands. When seed yields were considered, rotation lengths were longer and thinnings were delayed. The results were highly sensitive to cone prices and discount rates. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Optimal management of Pinus radiata silvopastoral systems established on abandoned agricultural land in Galicia (North-Western Spain)

Timber production has been the main objective in forest production in Galicia for a long time. Nevertheless, factors such as fire risk and the need to obtain non-timber benefits make other production alternatives like silvopastoral systems worth of consideration. Integration of grazing in the production system not only diversifies products and benefits, but also decreases fire risk by enhancing fuel control. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the economic profitability of these systems. This article analyses the economics of silvopastoral systems established on abandoned agricultural soils afforested with Pinus radiata D. Don. Different tree planting densities, discounting rates, grass values and fire risk scenarios were analysed. The technique employed is based on the combination of an optimization algorithm and a simulator of stand growth and grass yield. The most profitable schedules were obtained with initial stand densities of 1500 trees per hectare. However, with high unit values of pasture production (high value of grass), schedules with an initial stand density of 500 trees per hectare were the most profitable. When the risk of fire was included in the analyses, silvopastoral systems were always more profitable than timber production systems. With an assumption that grazing reduces fire risk thinnings should be done earlier and heavier to reduce the expected losses due to fire and to promote grass production. This lengthens the pasture period. In general, rotation lengths of silvopastoral systems were shorter than in timber production