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Examines the economic impact of policy changes in a forested region of the province of Alberta known as the Foothills Model Forest (FMF). Effects of policy changes in various sectors that are analyzed in terms of all sectors of the regional economy with particular emphasis on the forestry sector; Study that uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) framework rather than a fixed-price framework to analyze economy-wide impacts of land use or forest policy changes; Application of this technique on a regional scale that is rare in the scientific literature; Model results that indicate that a decrease in forestry output somewhat offsets the positive economic impact generated by increased visitor activity; Failure to consider these trade-off impacts in the analysis that will result in erroneous conclusions; Outcomes from timely policy scenarios that are examined; Results from the CGE framework that suggest that policy makers face a greater degree of complexity than in current economic impact frameworks.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reports that forest policymakers in Canada are considering the allowable cut effect (ACE) as a potential mechanism to provide tenure holders with incentives to practice enhanced forest management. To investigate the incentives created by the ACE, this paper estimates returns to ACE investments for a trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) - white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) mixedwood forest in Alberta. A timber supply model is used to optimize harvesting schedules to maximize net present values over a 200-year planning horizon. A number of scenarios are investigated with variations in intensity of silvicultural investments, beginning age-class distributions, levels of flexibility around the allowable annual cut (AAC), calculations of AACs based on coniferous and mixedwood volumes, and green-up constraints. In our simulations, it was difficult to find positive returns to the ACE. Positive returns only occurred when operating under harvesting constraints with a mature starting forest and AAC calculations that ignored deciduous volumes. In those limited cases where there were positive returns to the ACE, returns were higher for extensive, rather than intensive investments. Combining these results with other potential impediments to the ACE, previously identified in the literature, the probability of tenure holders having incentives to undertake ACE investments is low.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Discusses the proceedings of an international conference entitled The Role of Boreal Forests and Forestry in the Global Carbon Budget was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 8 to 12 May, 2000 to examine the present state of understanding of this subject, hosted by the Canadian Forest Service, the conference attracted nearly 300 scientists, forest managers, and policy advisors from around. Themes of the conference, including spectrum of research, broken into four themes, including boreal forest carbon budgets, monitoring and measuring boreal forest carbon fluxes and stocks, forestry practices for carbon management and social and economic issues, including implications of the Kyoto Protocol. Publications which capture the current scientific understanding of the contribution of boreal forests and forestry to the global carbon cycle, as presented at this conference, was captured in a series of publications.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The effects of partial and clear-cut harvesting on forest floor physical, chemical, and biological properties, forest floor mesofauna, and nutrient cycling were investigated in conifer- and deciduous-dominated stands of Alberta's mixedwood boreal forest. Forest floor samples were collected 2.5 years after harvest from clearcuts, strip-cut corridors in a partial cut, green tree retention patches in a partial cut, and uncut control sites. Partial cuts showed intermediate decreases in annual litter input and NH[sub 4] -N between uncut and clear-cut sites of both the deciduous and conifer stands, as did microbial biomass, PO[sub 4] -P, mesofauna abundance (total, Acari, and Collembola), and fine root biomass in the conifer stands. In the deciduous stands, microbial biomass and fine root biomass in partial- and clear-cut treatments were not significantly different, but were significantly reduced compared with the uncut controls. Mesofauna abundance was reduced in the corridors of the partial-cut treatment compared with partial-cut patch, clear-cut, and uncut treatments. In both deciduous and conifer stands, NO[sub 3] -N was elevated in the partial-cut corridors and clearcuts compared with partial-cut patch and uncut treatments. Findings from this study show that negative impact to forest floor properties associated with clear-cut harvesting may be reduced in partial-cut harvesting systems.Les effets de la coupe à blanc et de la coupe partielle sur les propriétés physiques, chimiques et biologiques de la couverture morte, sur la mésofaune de la couverture morte et sur le recyclage des nutriments ont été étudiés dans des peuplements dominés soit par des conifères, soit par des feuillus, dans la forêt mixte boréale de l'Alberta. Des échantillons de la couverture morte ont été prélevés dans des sites coupés à blanc, dans les corridors de coupes partielles par bandes, dans les îlots de réserves de coupes partielles et dans des sites témoins non coupés deux ans et demi après la récolte. La coupe partielle a entraîné une diminution de l'apport annuel de litière et de N (NH[sub 4] ) intermédiaire entre les sites coupés à blanc et les sites non coupés dans les deux types de peuplements de même qu'une diminution de la biomasse microbienne, du P (PO[sub 4] ), de l'abondance de la mésofaune (totale, d'acariens et de collemboles) et de la biomasse des racines fines dans les peuplements résineux. Dans les peuplements feuillus, la biomasse microbienne et la biomasse de racines fines ne différaient pas significativement entre la coupe partielle et la coupe à blanc mais étaient significativement plus faibles que dans les sites témoins non coupés. L'abondance de la mésofaune dans les corridors de la coupe partielle était inférieure à celle observée dans la coupe partielle avec réserves, dans la coupe à blanc et dans les sites non coupés. Tant dans les peuplements résineux que feuillus, N (NO[sub 3] ) était plus élevé dans les corridors de la coupe partielle et dans la coupe à blanc que dans la coupe partielle avec réserves ou dans les sites non coupés. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que l'impact négatif de la coupe à blanc sur les propriétés de la couverture morte peut être minimisé avec des systèmes de coupe partielle.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the ecological combining ability of three forest types in British Columbia and Alberta. Factors that are related to the stand volume of tree species; Effect of one species on the productivity of another species; Details of the forest policy in British Columbia; Analysis of vegetation and soil physics in British Columbia and Alberta.

Presents an study to analyze aerial photographs in order to assess changes in vegetation composition and distribution in the montane ecoregion of Jasper National Park, in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. Use of a quantitative approach for assessing relative vegetation change in repeat ground photographs; Consideration of grasslands, shrub, juvenile forest, and open forests; Findings that the coniferous species is dominant.

Reports on changes in terrestrial vertebrate communities from pre- to post-harvest in experimentally created buffer strips (20, 100, 200, and 800 m wide) in a boreal mixedwood forest in Alberta, Canada. Focus on the utility of forested buffer strips as reserves for forest species in managed landscapes; Observations on abundance of small mammals, amphibians, and forest-dependent bird species; Conclusion that 20?100 m buffers would not serve as reserves for forest songbirds in managed landscapes.

Develops statistical models of the size distribution of lighting-caused wildfires in the boreal mixedwood forests of Alberta, Canada. Comparative suitability of best-fit and exponential distribution; Correlation between expected size of a fire and abundance of pine forest; Evidence on the variation in forest structure and disturbance history.

Economic base analysis is a limited but useful tool for measuring forest dependence. It cannot measure the full range of forest values (e.g., subsistence, amenity, bequest, and existence values). However, economic base analysis utilizes widely available census data to provide accurate measures of communities dependent on industrial forest activity. This analysis includes Indian reserves and rural census subdivisions previously excluded in studies of economic base dependence. Economic base dependence measures are further improved by including a transfer payment sector. This paper presents findings of forest industry dependence measures using 1991 census data. Results show that including Indian reserves and other rural census subdivisions in the analysis increases the number of forest industry dependent places and population in the Prairie Provinces. The addition of the transfer payment sector to the economic base provides a more comprehensive account of the sources that contribute to the economic diversity of rural locations. These geographical and sectoral refinements to economic base calculations result in a more accurate accounting of forest industry dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]