Evaluating Management Strategies Of Integrated Water Resource Management: A Case Study On Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs), Bangladesh

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) for Chittagong Hill Tracts is one the key future issues in Bangladesh forestry decision making of South Asia. Therefore a combined approach of criteria and indicators (C&I) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) have been used to formulate a clear and transparent picture of the current situation and to identify a potential and best compromise solution for the sustainable management of mountain watershed of Bangladesh

Decision support approaches in adaptive forest management

Climate and social changes place strong demands on forest managers. Forest managers need powerful approaches and tools, which could help them to be able to react to the rapidly changing conditions. However, the complexity of quantifying forest ecosystems services as well as the complexity of current decision theories, technologies and operation research methods, complicate the creation of one general tool. The continuous research and development in this area is an indispensable part of the success of adaptive management as well as the sharing of knowledge and information between research teams around the world. The Community of Practice of Forest Management Decision Support Systems provides a platform for broad discussion among scientists, researchers as well as forest professionals. This special issue provides papers which resulted from a conference session of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ (IUFRO) 125th Anniversary Congress in Freiburg, Germany in 2017. The joint sessions and other meetings (and resulting publications) are appropriate opportunities for knowledge sharing on these important methods and systems for protecting and managing forest ecosystems in the future.This special issue was supported by the project “Advanced research supporting the forestry and wood-processing sector’s adaptation to global change and the 4th industrial revolution”, reg. No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803

Growth Ring Measurements of Shorea robusta Reveal Responses to Climatic Variation

Many tropical species are not yet explored by dendrochronologists. Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.) is an ecologically important and economically valuable tree species which grows in the southern plains and mid-hills of Nepalese Central Himalayas. Detailed knowledge of growth response of this species provides key information for the forest management. This paper aims to assess the dendroclimatic potential of Shorea robusta and to understand climatic effects on its growth. A growth analysis was done by taking 60 stem disc samples that were cut 0.3 m above ground and represented different diameter classes (>10 cm to 50 cm). Samples were collected and analysed following standard dendrochronological procedures. The detailed wood anatomical analysis showed that the wood was diffuse-porous, with the distribution of vessels in the entire ring and growth rings mostly marked with gradual structural changes. The basal area increment (BAI) chronology suggested that the species shows a long-term positive growth trend, possibly favoured by the increasing temperature in the region. The growth-climate relationship indicated that a moist year, with high precipitation in spring (March–May, MAM) and summer (June–September, JJAS), as well as high temperature during winter (November–February) was beneficial for the growth of the species, especially in a young stand. A significant positive relationship was observed between the radial trees increment and the total rainfall in April and the average total rainfall from March to September. Similarly, a significant positive relationship between radial growth and an average temperature in winter (November–January) was noted

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

Diversity for Restoration (D4R): guiding the selection of tree species and seed sources for climate-resilient restoration of tropical forest landscapes

1. At the start of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), the restoration of degraded ecosystems is more than ever a global priority. Tree planting will make up a large share of the ambitious restoration commitments made by countries around the world, but careful planning is needed to select species and seed sources that are suitably adapted to present and future restoration site conditions and that meet the restoration objectives. 2. Here we present a scalable and freely available online tool, Diversity for Restoration (D4R), to identify suitable tree species and seed sources for climate-resilient tropical forest landscape restoration. 3. The D4R tool integrates (a) species habitat suitability maps under current and future climatic conditions; (b) analysis of functional trait data, local ecological knowledge and other species characteristics to score how well species match the restoration site conditions and restoration objectives; (c) optimization of species combinations and abundances considering functional trait diversity or phylogenetic diversity, to foster complementarity between species and to ensure ecosystem multifunctionality and stability; and (d) development of seed zone maps to guide sourcing of planting material adapted to present and predicted future environmental conditions. We outline the various elements behind the tool and discuss how it fits within the broader restoration planning process, including a review of other existing tools. 4. Synthesis and applications. The Diversity for Restoration tool enables non-expert users to combine species traits, environmental data and climate change models to select tree species and seed sources that best match restoration site conditions and restoration objectives. Originally developed for the tropical dry forests of Colombia, the tool has now been expanded to the tropical dry forests of northwestern Peru–southern Ecuador and the countries of Burkina Faso and Cameroon, and further expansion is underway. Acknowledging that restoration has a wide range of meanings and goals, our tool is intended to support decision making of anyone interested in tree planting and seed sourcing in tropical forest landscapes, regardless of the purpose or restoration approachISSN:0021-8901ISSN:1365-266

Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe : A Synthesis of National Perspectives

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009-2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action "Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society" funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.Peer reviewe