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Forest management strategies, reflecting the cognition and the demands of the human population on forests, have significant effects on the forest structures and functions. Nowadays, numerous forest management strategies have been introduced and implemented worldwide for a long time. However, our knowledge about the impacts of alternative management strategies on forest multipurpose management practices is still insufficient. Therefore, the overall goal of this study quantitatively assessed the impacts of four alternative forest management strategies on forest timber and carbon values in a large forest area in northeast China, as an example. Four alternative forest management strategies: no intervention management (NIM), classical timber management (CTM), multi-purpose management (MPM), and spatial-constraints management (SCM), in conjunction with different management objectives and regulations, were quantitative assessed using optimization methods. The results of numerical analysis showed that implementing eco-friendly forest management strategies such as imposed in MPM and SCM strategies may be economic inefficiencies, mainly due to significant decreases of the joint benefits from forest timber and carbon values (approximately $18.75 and $22.36 million per year) have been observed under the current carbon trading market of China (namely $20 per ton of carbon) when the ecological- and spatial-oriented constraints were further integrated into the typical CTM strategy. However, both MPM and SCM strategies were quite meaningful for the restoration of forest resources in northeast China, in which an additional of 13.6 and 16.2 thousand tons of carbon were sequestrated during the 50 years simulated horizon. Therefore, forest decision makers should evaluate the potential effects carefully prior to altering their forest management strategy in practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest ownership structure is known to have implications for forest management and the production of forest products and services. The ownership structure, as well as the degree of state regulation of forestry, could thus be expected to affect the functioning of timber markets. Hence, in the presence of strict prescriptions for forest management, the self-regulating mechanisms of timber markets – governed by the economic principle of supply and demand – could be inhibited. Using Finland and Lithuania as contrasting cases, we found empirical evidence for the existence of such a self-regulating mechanism in timber markets that are liberal in terms of state regulation of forest management, but not in those under strict state regulation. The results highlight how price increases (reductions) generally anticipate high (low) sales volumes or at least volume increases (reductions) in the Finnish case, suggesting that timber markets here self-regulate toward the equilibrium. Such patterns were not found in the Lithuanian case. The inability to respond to – and take advantage of – price signals could hamper the economic viability of forest ownership in timber markets constrained by regulation, and thus also impede efforts to mobilize wood to satisfy a foreseen increased demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used the coupled forest and rockfall model PICUS Rock’n’Roll, linking a hybrid forest patch model and a 3D rockfall model, to assess the effects of four management scenarios (BAU: business as usual age class shelterwood approach; PFM1 and PFM2: rockfall protection management scenarios with slit-shaped gaps; NOM: no management scenario without any active silvicultural intervention) on rockfall protection and timber production on a 38 ha slope over 100 years. Compared to PFM1 and PFM2, we found slightly more harvested timber for the BAU scenario (BAU: 6.7 m³ha−1yr−1, PFM: 5.7–5.9 m³ha−1yr−1), but lower contribution margins (BAU: 55 €ha−1yr−1, PFM: 113–115 €ha−1yr−1). Overall, depending on rock size and forest state, 30–70% of the simulated rocks that would otherwise hit the road at the foot of the slope were stopped by the forest. While the PFM scenarios maintained a high rockfall protection level over 100 years (PE between 45–64%) the BAU showed periods of reduced protection (PE between 26–65%). The NOM scenario maintained favorable conditions in the beginning, but declining protection efficiency in the last decades of the century (PE 49–63%). We conclude that rockfall protection management can outperform BAU with regard to both timber production and rockfall protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining stand simulation and forest-level optimization is an efficient way to study harvest scenarios of a forest area. A simulator first generates for each treatment unit a number of treatment schedules. Linear programming (LP) can then be used to study how stand-level schedules can be combined at the forest level with respect to alternative goals and constraints. The special structure of the obtained LP problems can be utilized using the generalized upper-bound technique which takes care of the so-called area constraints. JLP software was based on this technique. Later J software was developed to replace JLP. Now J is developed to deal with factory problems where the transportations costs and capacities of factories are included in the problem definition. The generalized upper-bound technique was modified to handle transportation constraints which tell that each timber unit produced is transported to some of the factories. The number of these constraints is very large. This paper describes the basic features of the algorithm and its implementation in the J software. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In northern Sweden, the forests are used simultaneously for both timber production and reindeer husbandry. During the winter months, lichen is the most important fodder for reindeer. Forest management operations are generally considered having a negative impact on reindeer husbandry as harvesting and dense stands remove or obscure the ground lichen cover. In this study, we simulate three different scenarios for forest management, differing in the intensity and types of harvest operations. The resulting 100-year scenarios are analyzed with respect to their estimated suitability for providing reindeer pasture areas. Suitability is determined by vegetation type, stand density and stand height. The results indicate that the current trend of a decrease in lichen area will continue if existing forestry practice prevails. Implementing continuous cover forestry as a management alternative and carrying out precommercial thinning could halt the decrease in reindeer pasture area and even lead to a future increase in pasture area, with losses of approximately 5% in the net present value of forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study sought optimal sustainable management regimes of uneven-aged Norway spruce-dominated stands with multiple objectives. The criteria were financial returns, CO2 sequestration and diversity of tree size and species. At prevailing timber prices, harvest and transport costs, and interest rates, uneven-aged management for timber alone was most profitable with a 5-year cutting cycle. Lengthening the cutting cycle to 20 years decreased the net present value from timber by 10%, but raised the carbon storage by 21%, the tree species diversity by 32%, and the tree size diversity by 24%. Maximizing CO2 sequestration induced an almost pure spruce stand. A compromise policy maximized CO2 storage, while maintaining a rate of return on the capital of standing trees equal to the interest rate. A supply curve for CO2 storage was derived, showing how much forest owners would be willing to sequester as a function of the price of CO2. Maximizing the NPV from combined CO2 storage and timber production showed complementarity of CO2 storage and timber production for up to NOK 300 Mg−1 of CO2, and sustained, though lower, timber production at higher CO2 prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harvest activity directly impacts timber supply, forest conditions, and carbon stock. Forecasts of the harvest activity have traditionally relied on the assumption that harvest is carried out according to forest management guidelines or to maximize forest value. However, these rules are, in practice, seldom applied systematically, which may result in large discrepancies between predicted and actual harvest in short-term forecasts. We present empirical harvest models that predict final felling and thinning based on forest attributes such as site index, stand age, volume, slope, and distance to road. The logistic regression models were developed and fit to Norwegian national forest inventory data and predict harvest with high discriminating power. The models were consistent with expected landowners behavior, that is, areas with high timber value and low harvest cost were more likely to be harvested. We illustrate how the harvest models can be used, in combination with a growth model, to develop a national business-as-usual scenario for forest carbon. The business-as-usual scenario shows a slight increase in national harvest levels and a decrease in carbon sequestration in living trees over the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study maps forest owners’ communication relationships in timber sales in Finland. The study applies the concept of structural equivalence from social network analysis. The aim is to recognise the existing communication channels that forest owners have during their timber sales to be better able to reach different forest owners. The egocentric data were collected from Finnish forest owners via a mail questionnaire (n=1244, response rate 59.7%). After a multiple imputation of incomplete network data, 753 respondents were included in the analysis. The most typical network structures were identified through a TwoStep Cluster Analysis, yielding non-committed Forest Management Association (FMA)-members (34%), independent timber traders (27%), relationship builders (24%) and FMA-partners (15%). The FMA-partners have an exclusive connection with the FMA, whereas the connections of independent timber traders are directed towards the timber buyer. It is essential for both the FMAs and timber buying companies to maintain and develop these existing relationships with their committed customers. Relationship builders differ from the others by having the largest networks with both forestry professionals and peer forest owners. The results suggest that these active forest owners could be channels to reach passive forest owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study quantified, across a landscape in Eastern Finland, the influence of administrative land-use and technical land-form constraints on timber production. Spatially explicit data about the nature conservation areas, land use plans and steep slopes were integrated with Multi-source National Forest Inventory (MS-NFI) data. The Finnish forestry model MELA was used in the calculations related to updating forest data and estimating different scenarios of timber production with and without constraints. In the study area, the annual volume of maximum sustainable cutting removal defined for the next 30 years was decreased by one-third due to restrictions. The presented approach could be used, for example, to assess timber availability at the landscape level. Future challenges include ensuring the compatibility of spatially explicit data obtained from different sources, identifying the feasibility of forest management operations in the restricted area, and incorporating near-nature forest management operations in the forest planning system in order to estimate the timber production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gap-type ecosystem model was used to assess how climate change may affect the growth (stemwood production), timber production (sawlogs and pulpwood) and carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem (trees and soil) under varying thinning regimes in Finland. Simulations were carried out over a 100-year period under current and changing climate for seven thinning regimes by changing both the basal area threshold when the thinning is performed and the remaining basal area after the thinning. The management recommendations, currently applied in Finnish forestry, were used to define the “business-as-usual” treatment. The results indicated that climate change may substantially increase the growth, timber production and carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. The largest relative changes were found in northern (above 64° N) Finland (south: growth 37-45%, timber production 23-40%, carbon stocks 8-10%; north: 75-78%, 59-70%, 21-23%, respectively, depending on the thinning regimes applied), although the absolute (mean) values were higher in southern (below 64° N) Finland. Regardless of climate scenarios, a reduced level of tree stocking in thinnings may result in cuttings exceeding the growth and result in lower carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. Conversely, increased tree stocking level up to 30% reduced timber production, but did not remarkably affect the growth and carbon stocks under the current or changing climate. Hence, it may be suggested that if thinning is made at 15-30% higher stocking than current level it would result in a positive compromise; beyond that, timber production could be reduced drastically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable forest management (SFM) has a long tradition in Finland, and modern sustainability concepts link economic, ecological and social aspects. The ecological aspect refers to the maintenance of biodiversity and the long-term functionality of forests, while the economic aspects concern continuity of timber supply. Socially sustainable forest management takes multiple use into consideration. These three components of SFM are commonly regarded as competing, or even exclusive, suggesting that there are trade-offs between them. Relationships between components of SFM, however, differ across spatial and temporal scales. Interdisciplinary research is needed to explore the interaction between sustainability components. This study explored the interrelationships between ecological, social and economic sustainability at the regional scale. Regional differences of sustainability components were also studied. Two economic, two social and eight ecological variables were included in the analyses. The study covered 41 regional municipality complexes in central Finland. The results show trade-offs between some ecological components and economic ones. Grouse abundance and numbers of old-growth forest patches decreased when forestry activity increased. There was some support for the idea that socially active communities compete less intensively with ecological components of forests than communities where forestry has a central role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comparatively examines two forest management planning approaches: multipurpose forest management and traditional timber management, with carbon, timber and oxygen production objectives in mind. The effects of both approaches on carbon and oxygen values were estimated with an oxygen and carbon flow matrix, while timber production was modelled through a growth and yield model. The estimated values were simultaneously integrated into a linear programming model developed for this study. The objective was to maximize the net present value (NPV) of the profits of timber, oxygen and carbon under the constraints of an even flow of timber production and ending forest inventory for each planning approach. The results showed that the ecological and environmental regulations in multipurpose management substantially decreased the NPV of timber production even though they increased the NPV of carbon and oxygen flow. The results also indicated that over a 100 year planning horizon the total NPV of all forest ecosystem values including carbon, timber and oxygen is almost the same (only 1.9% reduction in multipurpose management approach) in both management approaches. Although multipurpose management creates more NPV of carbon and oxygen than timber management does, the latter provides better results in terms of timber production. It is therefore important to take into account the NPV of all apparent and quantifiable forest values in preparing forest management plans, particularly in developing new management planning approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the seminar entitled "Profitable forestry in the Nordic and Baltic Countries." Discussed in the seminar were various ways of improving profitability in forestry that was attended by around 50 representatives from industrial enterprises, research institutes and universities in the Nordic and Baltic Countries. There were 16 presentations providing a broad background to the final discussion. Two main routes to increase forest profitability were made clear in the seminar. These include more effective traditional timber-focused forestry and the experience economy.

The article offers news briefs related to forestry and forest management. The Nordic project, which is a collaboration of KVL, Skog og Landskap, Metla and STFI-Packforsk and Skogforsk, provides a good platform for including timber quality traits in tree breeding programs. Meanwhile, in order for forest-related research to influence policy-making successfully, forestry scientists must be able to communicate their findings effectively.

Analysing sustainable forestry at a national level involves many stakeholder groups and multiple resources; thus, analyses tend to be complicated. To evaluate the consequences of different policy options, scenario analyses often are carried out to assess effects in terms of what goods and services can be obtained from forests. This article concerns the provision of input data to such studies. Owing to the complexity of the analyses and the rapid development in the area of forest inventory methodology it is not straightforward to decide how input data should be acquired. This article provides a framework for how analyses of this type can be addressed as well as a case example to illustrate how different data acquisition methods may be evaluated. The framework comprises two steps: the first is to identify the demand of data connected to the resources included in the analysis; the second step is characterizing the quality of inventory data provided by the data acquisition strategy. As an example, three data acquisition strategies were evaluated; none of them was found to be optimal from all points of views and thus the study concludes with a presentation of an integrated method for data acquisition that is based on data from sampled landscape patches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forests of the Congo Basin are exploited by rural communities and timber companies at different scales to meet various conflicting interests. The forests contributes in several ways to rural livelihoods, but the growing importance of timber exploitation poses a threat to this livelihood's fabric and to the conservation of biodiversity. For example, 61% of the top 23 timber species exported from Cameroon have important non-timber values to local communities. The paper argues that in the process of forest exploitation, a balanced approach is needed to take into account the interests of both rural communities and timber companies. This will require, among other things, the development and implementation of sustainable forest management plans by timber companies, exclusion from harvesting of timber species that are important to local communities, compensation of timer companies for compliance with management plans, and the involvement of rural communities in monitoring the activities of timer companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on developments in forest management for timber production in Sweden. The Heureka research program by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish Forest Research Institute was initiated in response to the need for new forestry decision support tools that emerged following changes in forest policy and practices. The Heureka system will provide integrated analyses of the most important utilities provided by the forest ecosystem that involves a conversion from forest ecosystem state and management effects to numerical values of indicators of the goods and services included.

The variation in timber prices is one of the main sources of uncertainty in forest planning. Timber prices in Finland are modelled in this study for the purposes of forest planning calculations. The model constructed consists of two different processes, one for price peaks, and the other for the rest of the time series. Modelling of price peaks, i.e. the exceptionally high timber prices in the early 1950s and mid- 1970s. is important especially when studying the adaptive behaviour of forestry decisionmakers. The AR(1) model is used in modelling the rest of the time series. The model can be used to simulate realistic future timber price scenarios, thus enabling the study of uncertainty in forest planning caused by timber prices. Although timber prices in Finland are used, similar methods could be applied in many other countries, too. The modelling approach presented could also be applied in simulating the prices of other raw materials, e.g. oil and some metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into decision-making processes is necessary for the successful construction of a decision support system (DSS). Consequently, the primary aim of this study was to analyse timber procurement decision-making at the various managerial levels of an organizational hierarchy. A secondary aim was to pinpoint those areas of procurement wheremanagers need decision support most urgently. The study was executedin the form of a mail-survey questionnaire. The research results obtained indicated that the decision-making environment of managers responsible for timber procurement is in a constant state of flux and that these managers regarded this to be the worst problem affecting decision-making. In particular, those decision-makers who claimed to often base their decisions on 'soft' data (experience, intuition, or judgement) clearly demanded more DSSs. There were no significant differences in results among the different hierarchical levels. Procurement managers estimated that they desired an average increase of approximately 20% in the availability of DSSs and they described several procurement functions where they hoped for more powerful computer-based support systems. One prominent finding in this connection was the need for a 'customer-satisfaction DSS' that would help managers in their timber dealings with forest owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amount and structural characteristics of coarse woody debris (CWD) were studied in 44 stands of old-growth and managed coniferous forestsin Finnish Lapland. The average volume of CWD in old-growth forests varied from 19 m3 ha-1 in pine forests to 60 m3 ha-1 in herb-rich spruce-dominated forests. The volumes of living and dead timber were highly correlated, the most productive sites having the highest volumes. In old-growth forests about 60-70% of the CWD was logs, 30-40% standing dead trees and snags,and 3.5-7% stumps and branches. The amount of CWD decreased considerably in clear-cutting, but increased or remained the same in seed-tree and selective cuttings in the short term. However, the accumulationrate of new dead material was greatly reduced after cutting. In 40-year-old seed-tree cutting areas the new supply of CWD, created by recent disturbance and mortality, was less than 1% of the respective amount in old-growth forest. All cutting methods reduced standing dead trees and snags considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of several studies have revealed that various personal, organizational, and situational factors are correlated with individual decision-makers' willingness to take risks. It has also been proposed that people are averse to risky choices involving unspecified probabilities. Hence people avoid choosing ambiguous alternatives. The main objectives of this study were (1) to describe peoples' attitudes towards risk by decision-makers engaged in timber procurement, (2) to discover the variables that are the most significantly related to risk-taking by managers, and (3) to express managers' needs and desire for taking advantage of real decision support systems (DSSs). The study was executed in the form of a mail-survey questionnaire. The results indicated that there were risk-averters, risk-neutrals, and risk-seekers in timber procurement organizations. Furthermore, several variables were found to differ in statistical significance among risk-averse, risk-neutral, and risk-seeking managers. They recognized many potential areas of activity where their decision-making could be supported by DSSs, Consequently, the next phase would be to design and construct DSSs that would help managers to specify the probabilities of the possible outcomes of the different alternatives more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects, in terms of economic value and harvest potential, of adopting restricted timber management practices promoting the preservation of biodiversity are analysed in a 5620 ha boreal forest landscapein southeast Norway. A forest management model based on ecological principles aiming at preservation of biodiversity, e.g. by adopting restricted silvicultural treatments imitating the effects of natural processes, such as forest fires, is applied. The forest area is dividedinto four separate classes reflecting the probabilities of forest fires, and different treatment options are assigned to each of the classes. These options comprise extended rotation periods and treatments such as clear-cutting with retention of seed trees and shelterwood cutting. A management problem specified as maximization of net present value subject to a requirement to preserve (medium term) about 10% ofthe forest area for a period of 70 yrs is solved by means of linear programming. Compared with current timber management practices, the net present value of the restricted management problem is reduced by 14% (15%) for a real rate of discount of 3% (4%) pro anno. The annual harvest flow is reduced by 11--33%. For a management problem comprising even-flow harvesting constraints in addition to biodiversity constraints, the net present value is reduced by 16% (19%). Key words. biodiversity, GIS, linear programming, strategic planning, treatment schedule simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]