Over-mature beech trees (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) and close-to-nature forestry in northern Iran

Oriental Beech is the most important commercial tree species in northern Iran. In recent years wood production companies interested in felling large beech trees for profit have challenged advocates of close-to-nature silviculture who favor conservation. Our study objective was to assess the economic value of over-mature beech trees by relating tree diameter （DBH） to amount of decay. Based on the location of onset of decay, we categorized three types of decay as stump, stem, and crown decay. Trees of greater diameter （age） typically showed greater decay in the stem. Percent of decayed volume, diameter of decayed tissue, and length of decay in tree stems varied between 0.5%-64.3%, 15 cm-75 cm, and 2.0-19.5 m, respectively. With increasing trunk diameter, the propor- tion of truck decay increased. Red heart and dark red heart constituted 25% and 14.3% of sampled trees, respectively. However, we found no correlation between intensity of stem decay and morphological charac- teristics of trees. Seedlings were not abundant around the bases of over-mature trees, suggesting that the trees did not contribute to regeneration of the stand. Beech trees of diameter 〉1 m do not provide valu- able round wood for industries and cause to raise wood production costs. We recommend that these trees 〉1 m DBH should be retained in forest stands because of their low commercial value but high ecological and conservational values such as maintaining biodiversity in forest ecosystems.

Spatial patterns in natural Picea crassifolia forests of northwestern China,as basis for close-to-nature forestry

Close-to-nature forest management has been proposed as an effective method for improving the quality of plantation forests. Knowledge of spatial distribution patterns, structure, and succession trajectories in natural forests can provide guidelines for the establishment of close-to-nature forest plantations. Such knowledge is lacking in natural spruce(Picea crassifolia) forests in the Qilian Mountains of China, impeding the establishment of production forests. We conducted a case study in the Qilian Mountains to analyze the relationships between the naturally-formed forest patches and terrain factors, spatial heterogeneity of stand characteristics, and stand structure following harvesting disturbance. Our results suggested that spruce plantations will be effective on the N, NE, and NW slopes, at elevations between 2700 and 3300 m, and on slopes ranging from 15° to 45°. Further, planted forest patches should occupy 64% of the slope area on semi-shady slopes(NE, NW). Spatial patterns in the studied forest exhibited a strong scale-effect, and an area of 0.25 ha could be used as the most efficient plot scale for the management of spruce plantations. Partial logging is an effective method for the conversion of spruce planted forests into nearnatural forests, and the intensity of partial logging can be determined from the negative exponential function relationship between stand density and DBH. Our results provided critical information for the development of spruce plantations and conversion of existing plantations.

Close-to-nature and Value-oriented Forest Management in Harbin City, China

The paper came up with the basic principles, technology system, planning and forest governance system of close-to-nature and value-oriented forest management on the basis of discussions on its concept and theoretical foundation, and finally introduced initial effects of close-to-nature and value-oriented forest management implemented in Harbin.

Impacts of close-to-nature management on the stand states of Masson pine forests

Introduction:Research on the effect of close-to-nature management(CTNM)on stand states and dynamics of forests is crucial for the evaluation of CTNM implemented and sustainable development of forestry.Outcomes:We analyzed and compared the stand states and dynamics of Masson pine(Pinus massoniana)plantations in the young,middle-aged,and near-mature stages under CTNM eight years after selective cutting and unmanaged control.Both paired-sample T-tests and RDA ordination results demonstrated that the overall stand states with CTNM were superior to the control treatment in all three stages.The interaction of the CTNM and stand age significantly affected The Shannon-Wiener index of diameter class and regeneration density.Discussion and Conclusion:CTNM and stand age jointly affected the stand state of forests and CTNM accelerated the forest development,which promoted an increase in the heterogeneity of stand parameters and shortened the formation time of a target stand.Greater tree size differentiation and adequate regeneration are particularly important aspects for improving the quality of Masson pineforests during the management processes.

Close-to-nature Design and Management:Developing Effective and Harmonious Urban Forest in China

The plantation occupies great proportion in urban forest in many cities in China. The design and managementforurban forest supplementseach other.Thedesign decides theorientation of management, while the management also affects the landscape effects and ecological benefits of the design in reverse. There are many issues on design and management of urban forest. For example,somedesignsonly emphasizethe visualimpressionwhileignoring theecologicalbenefits, the problems of simplifying the forest layer structure and purifying its species composition are ubiquitous,It isshort ofcomprehensiveanalysisof local environment conditions, the phenomena are very outstanding in learning foreign or other city’s model by copying mechanically. The management model is not only monotonous, but also behind the step of urban development and thehuman demand for returning to nature.These unreasonable designs and managements areone of the main reasons for lower ecological benefits, and also caused some other bad aftereffects, such as lower biodiversity and high cost of management, etc. So the thought of close-to-nature design and management in urban forest is proposed and its feasibility and methods are discussed in the paper.

泉州中心市区城市森林建设与发展

文章针对泉州中心市区城市森林建设现状及其存在的问题,以"近自然森林"的理念和模式,提出了解决现实问题的措施和建议,旨在为构建融山、水、林、城于一体,寓社会价值、经济价值、生态价值协调统一的泉州中心市区现代化城市森林体系,提供可持续发展的理论和实践依据。

Success factors for high-quality oak forest(Quercus robur, Q. petraea) regeneration

Background: Within the framework of close-to-nature forestry, oak forest(Quercus robur, Q. petraea) regeneration techniques that consider both silvicultural and nature conservation demands have become a very important issue.While there are many experimental and local studies that aim at disentangling the relationships between different environmental and silvicultural factors and the success of oak regeneration, systematic supra-regional studies at the greater landscape level are missing so far.Against this background, the first objective(a) of this study was to present an efficient and sufficiently accurate sampling scheme for supra-regional forest regrowth inventories, which we applied to young oaks stands. The second, and major, objective(b) was to identify the crucial success factors for high-quality oak forest regeneration in northwest Germany.Results: Objective(a): Factors that have been identified as potentially crucial for the success or failure of oak regeneration were either included in a field inventory procedure or extracted from forest inventory databases. We found that the collected data were suitable to be analyzed in a three-step success model, which was aimed at identifying the crucial success factors for high-quality oak forest regeneration.Objective(b): Our modeling procedure, which included a Bayesian estimation approach with spike-and-slab priors,revealed that competitive pressure from the secondary tree species was the most decisive success factor;no competition, or low competition by secondary tree species appeared to be particularly beneficial for the success of high-quality oak regeneration. Also fencing and the absence of competitive vegetation(weeds, grass, bracken)seemed to be beneficial factors for the success of oak regeneration.Conclusions: Trusting in biological automation was found to be mostly useless regarding economically viable oak forest regeneration. To efficiently organize oak regeneration planning and silvicultural decision-making within a forest enterprise, it is strongly recommended to initially evaluate the annual financial and personnel capacities for carrying out young growth tending or pre-commercial thinning and only then to decide on the extent of regenerated oak stands. Careful and adaptive regeneration planning is also indispensable to secure the long-term ecological continuity in oak forests. Oak regeneration should therefore preferably take place within the close vicinity of old oak stands or directly in them. The retention of habitat trees is urgently advised.

Research on Ecological Space Planning Oriented Urban River Landscape Planning

Based on the generalized landscape perspective, regional connotation of urban river landscape is expanded. The area connotation of urban river landscape is expanded based on the generalized landscape perspective. In addition to natural and functional attributes, river landscape should be regarded as a regional space element based on heterogeneous space scale. First, as for research method system, the space research models(including ecological footprint, space planning, and landscape pattern index, etc.) coupled with different angle scales and interdisciplinary theory, are utilized to study different correlations and results formed by urban river landscape elements and other regional space elements from the perspective of the regional ecological space, and the overall development goal of the urban river landscape pattern based on the goals of the regional ecological space planning is obtained. Second, the oriented urban river landscape planning and the "M" type close-tonature design strategy are evaluated through the city function zoning orientation and micro-scale urban river landscape pattern index. The research realizes the compatibility of overall goals in terms of the regional ecology, the development of urban functional areas, and the river landscape planning, without losing micro difference and maneuverability based on the urban river landscape planning and design oriented strategy, which innovates the new approach of urban river landscape planning and design with sustainable and balanced development of regional resources, multi-scale, and multiple objectives.

What Happens after the Gap?— Size Distributions of Patches with Homogeneously Sized Trees in Natural and Managed Beech Forests in Europe

A novel but simple approach for describing stand structure in natural and managed forests driven by small-scaled disturbances is introduced. A primeval beech forest reserve in Slovakia and two beech stands in Germany with different management histories were studied, and their forest stand texture was analysed in terms of tree coordinates, stem diameter, and crown radius. Neigh-bouring trees of similar size with estimated contact of their crowns were assigned to tree groups. The study goal was to estimate the number and size of such homogeneous patches. In all cases, the number of tree groups in a particular diameter class decreased exponentially as group size increased. Single trees were predominant. Compared to simulated random tree distributions, the natural stand exhibited a more clumped distribution of small trees and more regular distribution of larger ones. The natural forest generally had smaller groups than the managed even aged stand, but the smallest group sizes were found in the uneven-aged selection forest. The simple analytical approach provided new spatial insights into neighbourhood relations of trees. The continuous scale from single trees to larger tree groups is an important achievement compared to other analytical methods applied in this field. The findings may even indicate a certain degree of self-organization in natural forests. Due to the limitations associated with each method or statistical models, a joint consideration of 1) gap dynamics, 2) forest developmental stages, and 3) size classes of homogeneous tree groups is recommended. Relevant to forest practitioners, the size class distributions enhance an understanding of the complex stand structures in natural forests and therewith support an emulation of natural forest dynamics in managed beech forests.