Which type of forest management provides most ecosystem services？

Background： Forest ecosystems are increasingly seen as multi-functional production systems, which should provide, besides timber and economic benefits, also other ecosystem services related to biological diversity, recreational uses and environmental functions of forests. This study analyzed the performance of even-aged rotation forest management （RFM）, continuous cover forestry （CCF） and any-aged forestry （AAF） in the production of ecosystem services. AAF allows both even-aged and uneven-aged management schedules. The ecosystem services included in the analyses were net present value, volume of harvested timber, cowberry and bilberry yields, scenic value of the forest, carbon balance and suitability of the forest to Siberian jay. Methods： Data envelopment analysis was used to derive numerical efficiency ratios for the three management systems. Efficiency ratio is the sum of weighted outputs （ecosystem services） divided by the sum of weighted inputs. The linear programing model proposed by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes was used to derive the weights for calculating efficiency scores for the silvicultural systems. Results and conclusions： CCF provided more ecosystem services than RFM, and CCF was more efficient than RFM and AAF in the production of ecosystem services. Multi-objective management provided more ecosystem services （except harvested timber） than single-objective management that maximized economic profitability. The use of low discount rate （resulting in low cutting level and high growing stock volume） led to better supply of most ecosystems services than the use of high discount rate. RFM where NPV was maximized with high discount rate led to particularly poor provision of most ecosystem services. In CCF the provision of ecosystem services was less sensitive to changes in discount rate and management objective than in RFM.

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.

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.

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.