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These research articles are highly varied and can be classified into eight sub-domains that are representative of the chosen domain: natural and human disturbances, genetics, site conditions, tropical forest, peri-urban forest, forest soils, forest reserves, and mountain ecosystems (Figure 2). The sustainable and regular supply of ecosystem services by forests requires excellent knowledge of the functional and biological diversity in these complex ecosystems [[7], [9]]. In this study, natural forests were the most positively rated type of forest, while the managed ones were the least positively rated, revealing an important trend among the participants, and human intervention was not the foremost landscape-related factor affecting this perception. Forest ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing and the economy through the complex ecosystem services they provide [[1], [3], [5]]. [Extracted from the article]

Forests are crucial in supporting biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. Understanding forest biodiversity dynamics under different management strategies and climate change scenarios is essential for effective conservation and management. This paper introduces the Forest Biodiversity Dynamics Prototype Digital Twin (pDT), integrating forest and biodiversity models to predict the effects of management options on forest ecosystems. The primary objective is to identify optimal management strategies that promote biodiversity, focusing on conservation and adaptation to different climate conditions. We start with the case of Finnish forests and bird species and plan to expand to include more European countries and a variety of species as the pDT is further developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are an essential part of the ecosystem and play an irreplaceable role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem and protecting biodiversity. The monitoring of forest distribution plays an important role in the conservation and management of forests. This paper analyzes and compares the performance of imagery from GF-1 WFV, Landsat 8, and Sentinel-2 satellites with respect to forest/non-forest classification tasks using the random forest algorithm (RF). The results show that in the classification task of this paper, although the differences in classification accuracy among the three satellite datasets are not remarkable, the Sentinel-2 data have the highest accuracy, GF-1 WFV the second highest, and Landsat 8 the lowest. In addition, it was found that remotely sensed data of different processing levels show little influence on the classification accuracy with respect to the forest/non-forest classification task. However, the classification accuracy of the top of the atmosphere reflectance product was the most stable, and the vegetation index has a marginal effect on the distinction between forest and non-forest areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are subject to a huge variety of often competing socio-economic demands and environmental change. This paper assesses the related conflicts that occur along what we label to be a "Global Forest Environmental Frontier". Assessing 11 contributions to a special issue on the same topic, it summarizes the main contents of these papers and concludes with an assessment of major trends. The contributions to the special issue take both a regional and topic-related approach, assessing forest environmental conflicts on all five forested continents and investigating issues such as forest biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental justice and equity, development, and forest management and conservation discourses. Taken together, they provide an overview on the multiple facets of the Global Forest Environmental Frontier, but also identify some shared patterns and trajectories, which are outlined at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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.)

Since biodiversity is a multifaceted aspect of natural systems, several indices have been suggested to measure it. In this paper, we examined a number of well-known diversity indexes to see whether some performed better than others when applied to forest data. In order to reach this goal, we used data on basic forest variables (such as the diameters, heights, and volumes of trees) from forest plots to see if common diversity indices lead to the same conclusions about changes in biodiversity in a pairwise comparison (i.e., comparing the same region at two different times or two different regions at the same time). Out of a collection of 17 diversity indices, 8 of them exhibited robustness, indicating their constant ability to demonstrate either an increase or decrease in biodiversity over pairwise comparisons. However, it is important to note that the remaining seven diversity indices may yield inconsistent or inconclusive results, but only with regard to forest data, highlighting the complexity and nuances of measuring biodiversity with different sorts of data. In this review article, all 17 indices are presented, allowing the reader to choose which ones are most applicable to their particular dataset (genetic, econometric, sociometric, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1 Forested landscapes as multidisciplinary spaces contributing to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (modified from Mansourian [12]) However, forest landscapes are under pressure with the loss of forest areas by conversion to other land uses and degradation of existing forests, and reduced biodiversity. The paper of Jandl et al. ([11]) considers the strategy of non-management and of the reliance solely on natural forest dynamics as an optimal approach for adapting forests to climate change. Forests and forest landscapes, characterised by dominant forest areas with other embedded land uses, fulfil multiple essential ecosystem services (ES). With this, forests and forest landscapes may lose their characteristic structural and ecological features, and societies worldwide face diminishing levels of ecosystem services provided by forest landscapes. [Extracted from the article]

Forests contribute to numerous ecosystem functions and services and contain a large proportion of terrestrial biodiversity, but they are being negatively impaced by anthropogenic activities. Forests that have never been clear‐cut and have old growth characteristics, termed "near‐natural," often harbor different and richer species assemblages than managed forests. Alternative management strategies may be able to balance the needs of biodiversity with the demands of forestry, but evaluation efforts are limited by the challenges of measuring biodiversity. Species richness is frequently used as a simple measure of biodiversity, but research indicates that it may not adequately capture community‐level changes. Alternatively, trait‐based measures of biodiversity may prove to be useful, but research is lacking. In this paper, we use a large dataset that includes 339 obligate saproxylic beetle species collected over a decade in the boreal region throughout southern Norway to: (1) establish if there is a difference in beetle community composition between near‐natural and managed forests; and (2) determine which measures of beetle biodiversity best indicate forest naturalness. We arranged the sites in an ordination space and tested for differences in community composition between these forest types. We also tested different measures of biodiversity to determine which were the most predictive of forest naturalness. We found a clear difference in community composition between near‐natural and managed forests. Additionally, three measures of biodiversity were most predictive of forest naturalness: proportional abundance of predators, community weighted mean (CWM) of wing length, and CWM of body roundness. The probability that a forest was near‐natural increased with the proportional abundance of predators but decreased with CWM wing length and body roundness. Although species richness was higher in near‐natural forests, the effect was not significant. Overall, our findings underscore the conservation value of near‐natural forests and highlight the potential of several measures of biodiversity for determining forest quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Applied Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Highlights • Forest resource Metabolism Network model isdeveloped for ecological and economic analysis. • Exploitation index is developed to reveal the weaker sectors in the ecological relations. • A case study of Guangdong province, China isconducted to illustrate the potential benefits. • Scientific Basis are provided to allocate forestresources and stabilize industrial structure. Abstract Integrating forest resources into the socio-economic system correctly and reasonably is of vital importance to tackle the increasingly scarce forest resources. In this paper, forest resource input-output model and forest resource metabolism network model are established to provide new insights into the relationships among the systems, industries and sectors related to forest resources. A promising indicator named exploitation index is developed to reveal the weaker sectors in the ecological relations, which will further help to provide better corrective actions and integrated strategic measures. Guangdong is taken as an example to verify the availability of the model and solve the problem. The results show that the primary manufacturing consumes more direct timber, while advanced manufacturing and the service sector utilize timber indirectly. In addition, Guangdong forest metabolism system shows a negative correlation and the whole network does not achieve the mutualism state, leading to competition relationships between pairwise sectors that should not appear, such as Forestry sector and Papermaking and Paper Products sector. These results provide the corresponding reference for helping the decision makers to allocate forest resources and coordinate ecological and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the effects of Poland's forest management evolution over the last 75 years on forest biodiversity at the ecosystem level. Forest biodiversity changes in the two politically and economically different eras (socialism and democracy) are interpreted based on four indicators used in assessments of forest stands (naturalness; habitat diversity; forest management system; forest stand age structure). In the era of socialism (1945–1989), there were dynamic increases in the area of semi-natural forests as well as in the proportion of the most fertile habitats, whilst the proportion of the poorest habitats decreased quite dynamically. Then, the clearcutting management system was regularly implemented, with adverse impacts on forest spatial structure diversity. The proportion of old/mature tree stands and the stand average age increased at relatively slow rates. In the era of democracy (1990–2020), there were comparatively more dynamic increases observed in the area of forests undisturbed by man, as well as in the proportions of mixed broadleaved and wetland forest habitats. At the same time, the proportion of old/mature stands and stand average age kept increasing at relatively fast rates. The area of forests managed with the use of the shelterwood system increased and the area of forest plantations substantially decreased. On the other hand, irrespective of the era under study, there occurred a noticeable not-so-favourable decreasing trend in the proportion of the youngest forest stands. All in all, during the analysed period of more than seven decades, the evolution of forest management practice implemented in Poland's forests by State Forests National Forest Holding led to the restoration of/an increase in biodiversity at the ecosystem level. Yet, there have remained unsolved issues, as regards the following aspects: organisational (the assurance of further reconstruction of forest stands, and the restoration of water profiles), political (a lack of up-to-date national forest policy), and financial (the costs of protecting/restoring biodiversity vs. State Forests' self-financing), as well as conceptual (old-growth stands in managed forests, and controversy over clearcutting) and natural/anthropogenic (climate change, and the eutrophication of forest habitats) issues. The solutions may require measures outside the limits of Poland's forestry, if not far beyond national borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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.)

Social forestry (SF) has long been implemented in production and protected forests in Indonesia. SF is considered to be a win–win solution for occupied and cultivated forest areas. The aim of this paper was to review the implementation of social forestry in Indonesia and its strengths and challenges. The secondary purpose was to synthesize the lessons learned and recommendations for the government about designing SF that can integrate the objective of forest biodiversity conservation and the social welfare of the surrounding communities. The study used a systematic literature review (SLR) of international and national peer-reviewed articles. The results of the study indicate that SF is intended to achieve benefits in three main areas: social, economic, and ecological. However, the review found that the ecological aspects of biodiversity conservation often receive less attention compared to the social and economic goals. A strong point of SF implementation is increasing community access to forest land use, while a challenge that must be resolved is that including communities in forest management can result in fragmentation and changes to animal habitats; thus, there is the potential for population decline and extinction. This study advises policymakers to pay more attention to ecological functions to ensure forest sustainability in SF development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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 term bioeconomy and closely related notions like bio-based economy or knowledge-based bioeconomy (KBBE) are increasingly used by scientists and politicians in the last years. It does therefore have the potential of becoming an influential global discourse. Its role is however so far unclear. The general assumption that guides this paper is that discourses, resulting ideas and arguments are generally said to have performative power. They shape actors' views, influence their behaviour, impact on their beliefs and interests and can cause institutional change in a given society. Thus, the aim of this paper is twofold: first, it aims to analyse whether the ideas used in a bioeconomy discourse differs from those in other global meta-discourses of the last decades affecting forest discourses, such as the ecological modernization discourse or the sustainable development discourse. Second, this paper aims to analyse whether and how the bioeconomy discourse has started (or not) to reshape or overshadow the “classical” forest discourses, such as sustainable forest management, forest biodiversity or forest and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Protected areas (PA) are central to biodiversity, but their efficiency is challenged by human-induced habitat loss and fragmentation. In the Fennoscandian boreal region, forestry with clearcutting is a threat to biodiversity causing the loss of mature forest elements and deterioration of ecological processes in forest landscapes, ultimately affecting PAs via declined structural connectivity. This paper aims to (1) determine PAs with high, red-listed species concentrations; (2) estimate the change in forest habitat around these PAs on different spatial scales; and (3) determine if forest management intensity is higher around biologically most valuable PAs. Occurrences of red-listed forest-dwelling species in Finland were used to identify PAs harbouring these species and to produce site-specific importance indices. CORINE landcover data was used as a baseline for the distribution of forests to assess the cover of clear-cuttings from 2001 to 2019 with the Global Forest Change (GFC) data set in three buffer areas around the PAs with occurrences of red-listed species. Results: The largest proportion of clear-cuts occurred in 1 km and 10 km buffers around the PAs in the southern and middle boreal zones, being ca. 20%. This indicates that the forest habitat is degrading fast at regional and landscape levels. On the positive side, the change in forest cover was lower around the biologically most important PAs compared to other PAs with red-listed species. Conclusions: Open and free satellite-data based assessments of the cover and change of forests provide reliable estimates about the rates at which mature and old-growth forests are being converted into young managed ones in Finland mainly via clear-cuts on different scales around PAs. The rate of clear-cuts was lowest in adjacent buffer areas next to the most species-rich PAs, which provides opportunities for biodiversity conservation efforts to be targeted to the remaining mature and old-growth forests found in the vicinity of these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary prerequisite for the preservation of global diversity is often assumed to be a high level of naturalness. This paper reports a synthesis of naturalness definitions, distinctions between the concepts of naturalness and of hemeroby and an analysis of different naturalness assessment approaches. Naturalness may be commonly defined as ‘the similarity of a current ecosystem state to its natural state’. Hemeroby, a concept related to human impacts, is often associated with naturalness but, in principle, the two concepts are not inversely related. The hemeroby concept defines narrow assessment classes for greater hemeroby, whereas the naturalness concept defines narrow assessment classes for great naturalness. The rapidly increasing number of forest naturalness papers relies on the following main indicators in decreasing order of use: tree species, forest structure, fauna, ground vegetation and deadwood. A review of the literature on forest naturalness suggests four main reasons for the lack of a widely accepted approach for assessing naturalness: (1) the lack of a commonly accepted reference concept, (2) an incomplete list of essential naturalness traits, (3) unknown linkages between some naturalness traits and biodiversity and (4) the lack of an assessment approach that can be adapted for use at both regional and large scales. Following review of the literature on forest naturalness, a seven-level framework is presented to guide development of naturalness assessment approaches as a component of forest biodiversity monitoring and conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To sustainably manage forest biodiversity and monitor changes in species patterning, mapping the spatial distribution of tree species is indispensable. Remote sensing can provide powerful tools for mapping species, but this task is complex in areas with high plant diversity and multi-layered canopies. This paper addresses the issue of classifying wet eucalypt forest plants by examining tree crown segmentation and species classification using different combinations of remote sensing datasets against mapped tree locations. This study explores optimal segmentation parameters for tree crown delineation compared to manually digitized tree crowns. The best segmentation accuracy of 88.71%, resulted from segmenting a combined Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) dataset derived from hyperspectral imagery (HSI) and a LiDAR-derived Canopy Height Model (CHM). Object-based classification of tree species was performed using a random forest classifier. The fused dataset of MNF and CHM produced the highest overall accuracy of 78.26% for four vegetation classes, while the fused HSI, indices, and CHM performed best (66.67%) with five vegetation classes. However, both approaches had a high overall performance. The CHM contributed to tree crown segmentation and species classification accuracy, and fused datasets were more robust to spatially discriminate wet eucalypt forest species compared to a single dataset. Eucalyptus obliqua was classified with the highest accuracy of 90.86% for four classes using the fused MNF and CHM dataset, and 86.11% for five classes using the fused HSI, indices, and CHM dataset. An important understorey species – the tree fern (Dicksonia antarctica) – was classified with the highest accuracy of 83.54% for four classes using HSI. Therefore, fusing hyperspectral and LiDAR data could classify both the overstorey and dominant understorey species, and thus play a crucial role in identifying forest biological diversity. This approach will be useful for forest managers and ecologists to plan sustainable management of eucalypt forest biodiversity and produce maps for monitoring species of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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.)

Forests provide ecosystem services, including timber production. In some cases, private forest owners perform management actions in order to enhance the provision of such services, or they may be encouraged by public policies and payments. This paper focuses specifically on the decision to set forest land aside for biodiversity conservation, as part of the more general question of the efficiency of multiple-use vs. specialised management of forest lands. We propose an econometric analysis to identify factors in the set-aside choice and measure the impact of this decision on forest management costs. The results show that the set-aside choice depends on the landowners' income and motivations related to forest amenities. The choice of specialised management, as reflected in the set-aside decision, has a significant and positive impact on the intensity of management in the remainder of the forest and on management costs. From a policy implications point of view, these results suggest that instruments such as forest certification, subsidies and reverse auctions for conservation will be most likely to attract the interest of those forest owners with personal motivations and forest properties that offer both benefit and cost advantages in opting for such specialised management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a conceptual model of the urban forest patch as a complex social-ecological system, incorporating cross-scale interactions. We developed this model through an interdisciplinary process engaging social and ecological scientists and urban land management decision makers, with a focus on temperate forest social-ecological systems. In this paper, we place the production and management of urban forest patches in historical perspective, present a conceptual model of urban forest patches within a broader regional context, and identify a series of research questions to highlight future directions for research on urban forest patches. This conceptual model identifies how spatial and temporal social-ecological drivers interact with patch-level conditions at multiple scales. Our integrative approach can provide insights into the role of social-ecological drivers in shaping forest health, biodiversity, and benefits forest patches provide to people in urban and urbanizing regions, with direct implications for decision-making to improve management outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private forest (PF) program has the potential to be one of the most efficient forest management programs in Nepal but it has not gained the momentum compared to the other forest management regimes. Considering this, this paper aims to portray policy provisions, existing institutional arrangements as well as landholder experiences and perceptions over the existing mechanisms of PF registration, management, and forest product harvesting. Using the Sudoorpashchim province of Nepal as a case study, we conducted policy and literature reviews, key informant interviews, household surveys, and field observations. We found only 300 PFs registered in the Sudoorpashchim province, with lowland districts having the highest proportion (87%). Institutional arrangements and procedures for timber harvesting and selling were found to be lengthy and complex, with this being a major issue for PF owners with small forest areas. Government initiatives are inadequate to facilitate PF development due to poor implementation of policy provisions, as well as the lack of appropriate incentives and program packages. Despite a very small government investment in PF development, we found the return from PFs in terms of timber supply to be substantially higher than other forest management regimes. Among others, PF owners perceive the cumbersome regulatory procedures and lack of technical support to be the most pertinent factors responsible for the limited growth of PFs. Based on our results, we have discussed and recommended a number of policy and institutional measures to mainstream PF development programs, in order to support economic prosperity of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prof. Liu Shirong, the associate editor-in-chief of the Journal of Resources and Ecology (JRE), was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) in 2023. He has made significant contributions to China's ecological civilization through his work in natural forest conservation, restoration, and multipurpose forest management. Prof. Liu has a PhD in forest ecology and has conducted research in this field for over thirty years. He has published numerous academic papers and led national-level projects. His work has been recognized with awards, including the Second Prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. [Extracted from the article]

Anthropogenic land use and land cover change (LULCC) is projected to continue in the future. However, the influence of forest management on forest productivity change and subsequent LULCC projections remains under‐investigated. This study explored the impacts of forest management‐induced change in forest productivity on LULCC throughout the 21st century. Specifically, we developed a framework to softly couple the Global Change Analysis Model and Global Timber Model to consider forest management‐induced forest productivity change and projected future LULCC across the five Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). We found future increases in forest management intensity overall drive the increase of forest productivity. The forest management‐induced forest productivity change shows diverse responses across all SSPs, with a global increase from 2015 to 2100 ranging from 3.9% (SSP3) to 8.8% (SSP1). This further leads to an overall decrease in the total area with a change of land use types, with the largest decrease under SSP1 (−7.5%) and the smallest decrease under SSP3 (−0.7%) in 2100. Among land use types, considering forest management‐induced change significantly reduces the expansion of managed forest and also reduces the loss of natural land in 2100 across SSPs. This suggests that ignoring forest management‐induced forest productivity change underestimates the efficiency of wood production, overestimates the managed forest expansion required to meet the future demand, and consequently, potentially introduces uncertainties into relevant analyses, for example, carbon cycle and biodiversity. Thus, we advocate to better account for the impacts of forest management in future LULCC projections. Plain Language Summary: Land use and land cover change has shown widespread social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, the influence of forest management on forest productivity change and subsequent land use and land cover change projections remains under‐investigated. This study explored how changes in forest productivity caused by forest management practices impact land use and land cover throughout the 21st century under various social and economic scenarios. The results show that more intense forest management generally leads to more productive forests. This, in turn, results in smaller changes in land use and land cover. Increasing forest management reduces the need to expand managed forests and helps preserve natural lands by 2100. Ignoring the impact of forest management on forest productivity could lead to biases in projecting forest expansion and wood production and potentially induce uncertainties in carbon cycling and biodiversity. Our results emphasize the need to account for forest management in future projections of land use and land cover changes. Key Points: Forest management‐induced productivity change has a significant impact on future land use and land cover change (LULCC)Neglecting such impact could overestimate the managed forest expansion and natural land reduction, especially under SSP1 and SSP5We advocate considering such impacts during LULCC projection to constrain the uncertainty [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the dynamics of forest structure complexity is a critical task in times of global warming, biodiversity loss and increasing disturbances in order to ensure the resilience of forests. Recent studies on forest biodiversity and forest structure emphasize the essential functions of deadwood accumulation and diversification of light conditions for the enhancement of structural complexity. The implementation of an experimental patch‐network in managed broad‐leaved forests within Germany enables the standardized analysis of various aggregated and distributed treatments characterized through diverse deadwood and light structures. To monitor the dynamics of enhanced forest structure complexity as seasonal and trend components, dense time‐series from high spatial resolution imagery of Sentinel‐1 (Synthetic‐Aperture Radar, SAR) and Sentinel‐2 (multispectral) are analyzed in time‐series decomposition models (BEAST, Bayesian Estimator of Abrupt change, Seasonal change and Trend). Based on several spatial statistics and a comprehensive catalog on spectral indices, metrics from Sentinel‐1 (n = 84) and Sentinel‐2 (n = 903) are calculated at patch‐level. Metrics best identifying the treatment implementation event are assessed by change point dates and probability scores. Heterogeneity metrics of Sentinel‐1 VH and Sentinel‐2 NMDI (Normalized Multi‐band Drought Index) capture the treatment implementation event most accurately, with clear advantages for the identification of aggregated treatments. In addition, aggregated structures of downed or no deadwood can be characterized, as well as more complex standing structures, such as snags or habitat trees. To conclude, dense time‐series of complementary high spatial resolution sensors have the potential to assess various aggregated forest structure complexities, thus supporting the continuous monitoring of forest habitats and functioning over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spending time in forests benefits human well‐being, but the importance of forest characteristics on well‐being is unclear. This knowledge could help guide forest management decisions to improve outcomes for both people and nature.The overall aim of this study was to investigate how psychological restoration, defined as psychological recovery processes in nature, may be supported by forest characteristics. We (1) investigated how perceptions of restoration (perceived restorativeness) were linked to specific forest characteristics. More specifically, we selected attributes included in nature protection legislation in Germany (beauty, diversity and uniqueness) as the basis to evaluate how forest characteristics were related to perceived restorativeness. Additionally, we (2) tested differences in the assessments of these attributes between forestry experts and people from the general public. Based on the results of the first two objectives (1, 2), we (3) predicted how forest management that affects forest characteristics may impact psychological restoration today and in the future.We developed a perceived restorativeness model based on attributes stated in the German Nature Conservation Act and specific forest structure variables. Drawing from the literature, we included perceived naturalness as an additional key predictor for restoration. Forestry experts and participants from the general public were then asked to rate computer‐generated forest stand pictures on these attributes and restorativeness.We found that all attributes were positively associated with perceived restorativeness, but perceived beauty was most important. Perceived uniqueness was statistically significant, but the strength of the relationship was weak. Mixed forests were rated as most beautiful, while coniferous forest stands were rated as least beautiful. The general public gave higher ratings than forestry experts on all attributes, but the pattern was similar. Based on participant ratings, forests left without management (Set‐aside), followed by forests with management aiming for resilience to climate change (Adaptation forestry), both supporting biodiversity conservation, showed the highest perceived restorativeness over the course of 100 years.Based on our results, it could be recommendable to increase forest diversity, especially in areas with many visitors. However, more nuanced knowledge involving diverse stakeholders is needed to inform forest management decisions on landscape level. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need of designing a monitoring network in Sierra de Guerrero motivated this paper. The study of the effect of deforestation of the forest needs of monitoring in the diversity. A quantitative evaluation of diversity is measured by estimating an index. Commonly the monitoring of biodiversity is based on the periodical selection of samples for evaluating the diversity. We propose to use sample information for determining post strata. They must constitute homogeneous zones in the forest. A stochastic program is developed for determining the post strata to be used for sampling. The procedure seems to be a good alternative with respect to the use of a heuristic procedure. The results presented are based on the data obtained in a research developed at one of the most important forest diversity reservoirs of Mexico [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the meta-analysis concerning the effect of forest management on biodiversity based from the paper written by Y. Paillet and colleagues. It discusses four major shortcomings of the study that contradicts the result of their analysis such as observational independence, bias on the taxonomic distribution, and exaggerated generalizations of the taxonomic data. It mentions that data based from the studies on saproxylic beetles were used by Paillet and colleagues for the analysis. It also concludes that the use of species richness as biodiversity value can be misleading and that Paillet and colleagues' analysis did not contribute to the understanding of the effect of forest management on biodiversity.

Summary: Mature forests have structural habitat features that can take hundreds of years to develop, and large reserves alone are unlikely to ensure conservation of the species that rely on these features. This paper outlines a proposed new approach to managing mature forest features, the ‘mature habitat management approach’, in areas outside of reserves. The objective was to maintain a network of current and future mature forest habitat distributed across the landscape. The approach is designed to complement the existing reserve network and management actions and is tenure‐blind. Spatial information on the availability of mature forest habitat at the local (1‐km radius) and landscape (5‐km radius) scales is used for decisions on retention within a 1‐km radius of a harvest area, to reach the minimum target of 20% and 30% retention of mature forest at the local and landscape spatial scales, respectively. We believe this approach could contribute to meeting the conservation needs of many species that require mature forest features for refuge and breeding in Tasmania and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.)

This paper presents a comparative analysis of expert opinions on forest biodiversity indicators for protected areas, using a questionnaire given to forest experts in Turkey and Sweden. Experts were selected according to whether they had studied or worked in areas related to biodiversity, protected areas and sustainable forest management. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the differences between the opinions of Swedish and Turkish experts regarding the indicators. The experts from both countries considered "endemic species" and "naturalness" as the most important indicators, while "overused species", "forest distribution and regeneration", "carrying capacity in terms of important species of area" and "the existence of different conservation status of protected areas" were considered equally as the least important indicators. The most important difference between the two groups was related to the indicators "dead wood" and "hollow trees", which Swedish experts found more important than their Turkish counterparts. Two other large differences were that the Swedish experts found "litter layer" much more important and Turkish experts instead found "plant species composition" much more important. The differences between the two groups reveal different perspectives regarding the planning and management of protected areas in each respective country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits that people receive from ecosystems. Understanding the impact of forest management on their supply can inform policy and practice for meeting societal demand. The objectives of this paper are to identify and review the effect of management intensity on priority ES supply and identify synergies and trade-offs among ES of different management approaches. We review seven priority ES identified from UK land and forestry strategy and policy documents: timber/biomass production, carbon storage, biodiversity, health and recreation, water supply and quality and flood protection. We present a synthesis of the impact of management on relative ES supply. It shows that low intensity management is unsuitable for high biomass production, yet provides high or moderately high levels of other services. Higher intensity management impacts negatively on biodiversity, health and recreation and water supply services. Combined objective forestry provides high or moderately high levels for all services except biomass. We recommend that a diversity of management approaches is needed to maintain multiple ecosystem service provision. The ES framework offers opportunities to forest management by revealing areas of conflict or co-production and potential trade-offs that may arise from adjusting management intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bohemian Forest represents the most extensive continuous forest landscape in central Europe. Two neighbouring national parks (NP), the Bavarian Forest NP in Germany and the Šumava NP in Czechia, protecting the most valuable part of this area have been recognized as an important site for monitoring of effect of climate change on central European biodiversity and ecosystem structure. For long time, a hydrological monitoring program in the Große Ohe headwater catchment and complex monitoring of glacial lakes recently recovering from acidification were flagships of long-term transboundary research in the Bohemian Forest. Recently published results of biodiversity research in the Bavarian Forest NP and experiences with monitoring of mires in the Šumava NP supported a necessity of multidisciplinary and transboundary research. To improve the cooperation of both national parks, optimize methodologies, and coordinate research activities in the region a new Interreg project No. 26 "Silva Gabreta Monitoring - Implementation of transboundary monitoring of biodiversity and water regime" was jointly prepared. The aims and monitoring methodologies of three main project activities are presented in this paper: (i) monitoring of forest biodiversity, (ii) monitoring of mires, and (iii) monitoring of aquatic ecosystems. In addition, we briefly present several supplementary project activities and tasks, such as modelling of mesoclimatic conditions, monitoring of effect of deicing salt, project conference and common database. As well as sampling design, methods and strategies, and brief overview of the preliminary results are mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overstory and understory vegetation play a vital role in forest ecosystem functionality. However, it is necessary to enhance the knowledge of their diversity and compositional dynamics following cessation of disturbance, which is required to inform restoration approaches and the mechanisms required for maintaining disturbance cessation. We conducted a chronosequence spanning 0–1, 5–6, 11–12, 20–24, and 28–34 years since disturbance cessation, and old-growth forests to investigate the dynamic changes in overstory and understory vegetation diversity and composition, as well as maintenance mechanisms following the cessation of anthropogenic disturbances in subtropical regions of Eastern China. The current study results indicated a decrease in understory cover and periodic fluctuations in the diversity of overstorey and understory vegetation following disturbance cessation efforts. Specifically, the shrub layer exhibited the highest richness in 28–34 years, while the herb layer showed the lowest evenness. Multivariate analysis using multiple-response permutation procedures indicated that the species composition and interspecific quantity ratio of understory plants in the forest at 28–34 years significantly differ from those in the early closure stage. An indicator species analysis revealed that more support was given to sun-loving plants after 0–1 years of the enclosure, while species with shade tolerance and low nutrient requirements were supported after 28–34 years. The structural equation model results show that 38.8% of the impact on herb evenness was related to light and substrate diversity. The ecological restoration time mainly indirectly affects understory vegetation by influencing the upper vegetation, light availability, and substrate heterogeneity. Overall, this study revealed that cessation of anthropogenic disturbance can maintain and care for understorey plant diversity and contribute to the sustainable management of forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires are among the most serious disturbances that affect forest biodiversity, damaging both flora and fauna. In some burned areas, vegetation recovery is a long and complex process that requires the support of restorative actions. This study evaluated changes in forest structural features after a fire that affect habitat suitability for Rhinocryptids, an endemic group of bird species that are indicators of biodiversity in the temperate forests of South America. The study area was the Malleco National Reserve, Chile, where the main ecosystems are temperate forests. Four species from the Rhinocryptidae family of birds were used as bioindicator species. This group of species is endemic to temperate forests in South America. After fires occurred in 2002 and 2015, affecting temperate forests dominated by several Nothofagus species, two field inventories were carried out in 2016 and 2018. These inventories recorded the presence of Rhinocryptids and some forests structural features. Differences between the two stages of forest regeneration were assessed using statistical tests (T-test and Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test) and a classification model was proposed to determine the presence of Rhinocryptidae species. The statistical analysis of forest structural features showed that the variables more relevant in the habitat recuperation are vertical stratification (p-value < 0.001) and understory cover (p-value = 0.053). The trained decision tree to predict the presence of Rhinocryptidae species had an accuracy of 65.22%. This model showed that the coexistence of more than one Rhinocryptidae species occurs when vertical stratification is not mono-stratified and the density is lower than 335 trees ha−1. Our results can help forest managers to consider forest structure as a suitable habitat for certain major wildlife species when implementing post-fire recovery plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of artificial snags, so-called high stumps, within forest management operations is a recently established tool to enrich standing deadwood as a habitat for saproxylic species. In this study, we analysed the impact of active high stump management on saproxylic beetle species. We selected 63 high stumps in six Bavarian forest districts (Germany), which were felled and subjected to close examination, focusing on beetle (Coleoptera) colonization. We identified 63 emerged coleopteran species belonging to 29 families; a further 10 taxa were identified only at the genus or family level, respectively. Moreover, 17% of the obtained taxa are listed in the German Red List of Coleoptera. Furthermore, 32% of the examined high stump trunks, predominantly broad-leaved tree species, harboured Red List beetle taxa. In particular, trembling aspen (Populus tremula) showed a disproportionately high number of Red List beetle species. The total species richness of beetles was independent of the height, diameter and decay stage of the snags. High stumps (snags) containing Red List beetle species tended to have higher amounts of deadwood in their surroundings, but the difference was not significant. According to the results of our study, actively creating high stumps proved to be a suitable method for creating habitats and serve as stepping-stones for endangered saproxylic species. Proactive high stump management during harvest can be a valuable component of deadwood management and biodiversity protection in forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests in Central Europe have been used since centuries and were systematically changed by silvicultural practices since the late 1700s. Focusing on possible biodiversity losses, forest stand management primarily impacts on the biodiversity attributes 'composition, structure and functioning' that are interlinked and incorporate different organizational and spatial ecosystem levels. Forest stand management can manipulate tree species diversity, which in turn affects stand structure and finally leads to changes in forest functions and services. We used meta-analyses to review 49 papers with 197 comparisons on compositional and structural diversity between unmanaged and managed forests as well as 53 comparisons of biomass productivity between mixed and monoculture forests throughout the temperate biome of Europe. Besides management impacts, for species and structural comparisons, we took time since abandonment of forest stand management into consideration when dealing with unmanaged forests. For species richness and diversity, we could not detect significant management effects; no significant influences of time since abandonment of management could be identified either. Structural attributes partly revealed considerable responses to forest stand management. Importantly, deadwood quantity, the number of microhabitats, and tree size diversity were reduced by forest stand management, while no effect was found for stand basal area and the number of living trees. Some of these effects become more pronounced with increasing time since abandonment. Forest productivity was significantly enhanced by regular moderate thinning compared with untreated stands and by tree species mixing compared with monospecific stands. Based on these results, we discuss the role of direct and indirect silvicultural effects, interactions between biodiversity components, the problem of defining the unmanaged reference state, and perspectives for forest stand management in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of 20-year studies into the impact made by an experimental high-intensity fire on ecosystem components and postfire succession in a middle-taiga pine forest. About 44% of forest fuel loads burned down during the fire, and the emission of carbon was more than 18 t C/ha. As a result of the fire impact, trees died within 3 years after the fire, and this resulted in a significant accumulation of fuel loads. Twenty years after the fire, the biomass of forest fuel loads surpassed the prefire values 4 times, which led to the possibility of the origin of a repeated high-intensity fire. The initial stage of postfire succession in the pine forest is determined by forest vegetation conditions and takes place with the replacement of dominant grass and shrubs. The agrochemical and hydrothermal soil indicators were revealed to be changed after the fire, and this promoted improved conditions for the origin and development of natural regeneration sufficient for the formation of forest stand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Arboreal mammals are a group of special concern. We reviewed the available literature to summarize the overall potential effects of forest habitat disturbances on dormice ecology and population parameters. We took into consideration the influence of forest structure, area size and fragmentation, vegetation biodiversity, forestry treatments, and the development of road networks. The vast majority of studies have only examined two species, hazel and edible dormouse, while the ecological requirements and conservation priorities of forest, garden, and Japanese dormice have rarely been studied. There has been a substantial increase in the number of dormice studies; however, many aspects of their ecology are still unknown. The current state of knowledge points to the essential role of the complex vertical structure of forest vegetation in providing arboreal movement corridors and safe nesting places for dormice species. Moreover, dormice species are cavity dwellers that depend on the presence of old trees and nest boxes, which could have ambiguous effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest ecological benefit compensation protects the ecological environment, increases enthusiasm among forest ecological builders, protects the legitimate economic interests of forest landowners, and maintains environmental security. In this study, a systematic analysis was conducted on 4062 publications in the field of international forest ecological benefit compensation identified using the Web of Science core collection Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) databases alongside CiteSpace optical measurement software. The research status and influence of countries were tracked, scientific research institutions and important authors were identified, and interdisciplinary and scientific hotspots were analyzed. The results show that the number of studies in this field has significantly increased over time and has strong development potential. The journals and articles presenting cutting-edge research in this field are all considered highly professional. The selected research is highly interdisciplinary but primarily involves environmental science and ecology. Despite the publication volume of China ranking second among the top 10 countries, its average citation volume was the lowest, indicating the urgent need to increase the international influence of China. Forest biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate change are current research hotspots in this field. Dynamic changes in forest ecological benefit compensation and the driving forces behind its evolution are of great concern to researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the distribution of tree species and breeding bird species across the diverse forest habitats of Georgia, utilizing data from the U.S. Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. We investigate the quantitative relationships between tree species diversity and bird species richness at a county scale, integrating FIA data with multi-source geographic information system (GIS) data to produce detailed spatial maps. Our findings reveal significant associations between the diversity of tree species and the richness of bird species, underscoring the ecological interconnectedness of Georgia’s forest habitats. These results provide valuable insights for conservation planning and biodiversity monitoring, emphasizing the importance of maintaining diverse forest ecosystems to support varied wildlife populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Field Ornithology is the property of Resilience Alliance 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.)

Fragmentation of the forests affects forest ecosystems by changing the composition, shape, and configuration of the resulting patches. Subsequently, the prevailing conditions vary between patches. The exposure to the sun decreases from the patch boundary to the patch interior and this forms core and edge areas within each patch. Forest harvesting and, in particular, the clear-cut management system which is still preferred in many European countries has a significant impact on forest fragmentation. There are many indices of measuring fragmentation: non-spatial and spatial. The non-spatial indices measure the composition of patches, while the spatial indices measure both the shape and configuration of the resulting patches. The effect of forest harvesting on fragmentation, biodiversity, and the environment is extensively studied; however, the integration of fragmentation indices in the harvest scheduling model is a new, novel approach. This paper presents a multi-objective integer model of harvest scheduling for clear-cut management system and presents a case study demonstrating its use. Harvest balance and sustainability are ensured by the addition of constraints from the basic principle of the regulated forest model. The results indicate that harvest balance and sustainability can be also achieved in minimizing fragmentation of forest ecosystems. From the analyses presented in this study, it can be concluded that integration of fragmentation into harvest scheduling can provide better spatial structure. It depends on the initial spatial and age structure. It was confirmed that it is possible to find compromise solution while minimizing fragmentation and maximizing harvested area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest dimensional structure and tree species composition strictly define ecosystem resilience, success of its functioning and development. Spatial structure of forest compartments provides an additional information on the forest stand heterogeneity. The aim of this study is to examine structural patterns (both spatial and nonspatial ones) in European oak (Quercus robur L.) urban forests located in Kyiv city, Ukraine. We compared two middle-aged (~ 80 years) and two mature (~ 180 years) oak stands in terms of structural metrics collecting a data from geo-referenced trees on the established permanent sample plots. Younger stands reached similar tree diameter diversity (9.07 and 10.45 vs. 11.42 and 14.05 of Shannon indices), while the compositional diversity was driven by the dominance of either oak or European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.). We have not found any differences in the species mingling and deadwood distribution indices except a clear occurrence pattern for the stand located near roads. Herewith, the largest distance between the plot and park pathways was an indicator of changed spatial variation and tree dimensional differentiation within one middle-aged stand. We hypothesize that human impacts can alter structural development in urban deciduous forests providing both positive (gap formation, deadwood occurrence and ecosystem complexity) and negative (shifts in compositional and successional trajectories) effects on such forest stands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Logging wastes from sustainable forest management in Amazon are promising for bioenergy; however, highly heterogeneous technological properties limit their proper application. This paper sought to study the potential of colorimetry in the segregation of logging wastes for bioenergy in Brazilian Amazon. Branches of twenty forest species were sampled at the Forest Management Area Rio Capim, Pará, Brazil. Analyses of the wood physical, chemical, energy, and colorimetric properties (CIEL∗a∗b∗ system) were performed. Our study detected relevant variations for basic density (0.525–0.895 g cm−3); energy density (10.2–18.2 GJ m−3); total extractives (1.8–17.9%); total lignin (30.2–38.1%); lightness (39–63); green/red axis (5–11); blue/yellow axis (9–23); color saturation (13–25), and hue angle (45–74). The parameters L∗, b∗, C, and h∗ presented negative relations with BD and ED. The most promising wood group (Manilkara elata and Dinizia excelsa) for bioenergy formed by principal component analysis presented darker (purplish-brown) and densest woods (0.895 and 0.891 g cm−3), in addition to greater stored energy (17.8 and 18.2 GJ m−3). Thus, this research proved that colorimetry has a high potential to segregate logging wastes for the production of chips and charcoal. • Logging wastes from sustainable forest management is a renewable energy source in Amazon. • Logging wastes with higher red pigmentation have higher energy density. • Purplish brown woods have high potential to produce bioenergy due to high energy density. • The colorimetry is a potential tool for segregating logging wastes for energy purposes. • Lower hue angle refers to redder and denser logging wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.)

This paper introduces a Special Issue of Forest Ecology and Management that includes a collection of analytical results from the 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA 2015) covering 25 years of forest change (1990–2015). FRA 2015 builds on a series of global assessments that began in 1948 and covers change in forest area and type, volume, biomass and carbon stocking, measures of sustainable forest management, biodiversity and conservation, soil and water protective functions, wood production and a number of socio-economic variables. It covers 234 countries and territories with an emphasis on forest resource change over a twenty-five year period (1990–2015) and also looks forward to anticipated forest change – both as government targets for forest area and projected change (to 2030) to global production and conservation forest area (to the year 2050). This paper describes important contributions of global forest resource estimates to forest management, the methods used in the collection and analysis of FRA 2015 data and provides links to additional information resources. It discusses some of the limitations of this global dataset, some of the steps taken to improve quality and the characteristics that make this type of global data most useful. While forest area change dominates public use of the FRA, the state of the forest resource and management is critical to understanding the ecological and social values of the forest and forestry. Country level reporting not only provides insights that are only possible through national reporting but also provides greater national-level understanding and discussion of forest resource change. The papers that follow in this Special Issue provide analyses of FRA 2015 data covering a wide range of topics related to sustainable forest management and forest change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association 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.)