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Novel ecosystems occur when new combinations of species appear within a particular biome. They typically result from direct human activity, environmental change, or the impacts of introduced species. In this paper, we argue that considering commercial tree plantations as novel ecosystems has the potential to help policy makers, resource managers, and conservation biologists better deal with the challenges and opportunities associated with managing plantations for multiple purposes at both the stand and landscape scales. We outline five inter-related issues associated with managing tree plantations, which are arguably the largest form of terrestrial novel ecosystem worldwide. This is to ensure that these areas contribute significantly to critical ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation, in addition to their wood production role. We suggest that viewing tree plantations as novel socioecological systems may free managers from a narrow stand-based perspective and having to compare them with natural forest stands. This can help promote the development of management principles that better integrate plantations into the larger landscape so that their benefits are maximized and their potential negative ecological effects are minimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a paper published by Spring et al. on the economics of a nest-box program for the endangered arboreal marsupial, Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) in southeastern Australian forests. Limitations of nest-box programs; Next-box study of Leadbeater's possum in Victoria mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell.) forests; How large numbers of nest boxes have been deployed, but very few have actually been occupied; Why harvesting regimes such as those that lead to on-site tree retention are needed to better conserve hollow-dependent species like Leadbeater's possum; What the need for nest boxes indicates about logging and forestry practices.