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• High functional diversity continued after intensive post-logging treatments. • Treated forests had similar dung beetle richness to primary and untreated logged forest. • Treated and untreated forest shared alike compositions distinct from primary communities. • Post-logging silviculture may return timber yields in a biodiversity-friendly way. Commercially logged tropical forests hold high conservation value but are rapidly being converted to lucrative low-diversity plantations. Post-logging interventions that accelerate forest timber and carbon recovery—such as enrichment planting and cutting of woody vines—may reduce both the spatial extent of logging and economic pressures to convert forests, delivering considerable conservation benefits. However, they could also seriously undermine logged forest biodiversity, simplifying forest structure and removing important wildlife microhabitats. To date, no study has investigated the impact of post-logging interventions on invertebrates. Focusing on dung beetles, we explore the effects of intensive vine-cutting and enrichment planting within a largescale post-logging silvicultural project in northern Borneo. We find that for four measures of functional diversity (the facet of diversity that accounts for species traits and functions) and for species richness, treated forest communities are similar to those in unlogged and naturally regenerating forest. Moreover, although community composition in treated forest remains distinct from old-growth forest, it is no different than that in naturally regenerating forest and in fact more closely resembles old-growth than naturally regenerating forest in terms of effective diversity. Our results indicate that logged forests continue to host diverse and functioning dung beetle communities even after silvicultural intensification. Post-logging interventions could therefore play an important role in forest and biodiversity conservation via their incorporation into emerging agendas including REDD+ and the Bonn Challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests provide a wide variety of ecosystem services and international conventions and national policies for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation recommend forest protection and restoration. However, global forest cover continues to decline, and recent evidence suggests deforestation rates are accelerating. Against this background the area of planted forests has increased globally. Recognizing the substantial potential of well-managed forest plantations, the new generation plantations (NGP) platform was launched in 2007. NGP encourages well-managed planted forests in the right places to conserve biodiversity and meet human needs. Here we describe the NGP approach and analyze data and information from NGP participants and others over 10 years. This shows that NGP participants are responsible for c.11.1 million ha of land, much of it previously degraded or abandoned; 43% is managed as timber plantations, with the remainder being wildlife reserves, restored natural forest, grassland and agriculture. NGP case studies illustrate a range of biodiversity, conservation and socio-economic achievements. These achievements, considered together with future projections of timber demand and of the land available for restoration to tree cover, demonstrate the potential of well-managed plantations to protect natural forests, provide timber, conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change. The NGP concept works in a variety of countries and contexts; participants have shown that it is possible to produce timber while maintaining and enhancing ecosystems and contributing to socio-economic development. We present the case for forest production, restoration and mitigation/adaptation to limit climate and other environmental risks and to improve the resilience of landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European beech-dominated forests are crucial for maintaining biodiversity in forested mountain landscapes of the European temperate zone. This paper presents the results of research and assessment of management strategy for mountain beech-dominated forests in the Jeseníky Mountains (Czech Republic). Our approach is based on combining research on historical development of the forest ecosystem, assessment of its current state, and predictions of future dynamics using a forest growth simulation model. Using such a method makes it possible to understand the current state of the mountain beech-dominated forest ecosystem and predict its future development as a response to specific management strategies. The application of this method is therefore appropriate for assessing the suitability of selected management strategies in mountain protected areas. Our results show that a non-intervention management for mountain beech forest in the next 80 years complies with the Natura 2000 requirement to maintain the existing character of the forest habitat. Thus, the current management plan for the beech-dominated forests in the Jeseníky Mountains does not require significant corrections in the context of its conservation targets (i.e. maintaining biodiversity and current character of the forest ecosystem dominated by beech). The results of this study suggest that combining the knowledge on historical development with forest growth simulation can be used as a suitable support tool to assess management strategies for forest habitats in protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the response of understory vegetation to fire disturbance is vital to biodiversity conservation and management of boreal forests. We surveyed understory vascular plant richness and composition, and measured related environmental variables along a toposequence within three successional stages, initial (3 years post-fire), early (13 years post-fire) and late (>100 years post-fire) successional stages. Using permutation multivariate ANOVA and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, we analyzed how understory species richness and composition change as time-since-fire proceeds, and their correlative relationships with environmental variables. Species richness and composition showed significant differences among the three successional stages. Understory species richness and abundance were significantly associated with time-since-fire, topographic position, elevation and organic layer depth. Among these variables, time-since-fire had the strongest effect and topographic position was the second major factor on affecting understory community assembly. In addition, time-since-fire overwhelmed the effects of soil pH in the initial successional stage and gravimetric soil moisture in early and late successional stages on understory species composition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the limited spatial extent and comprehensiveness of protected areas, an increasing emphasis is being placed on conserving habitats which promote biodiversity within production forest. For this reason, alternative silvicultural programs need to be evaluated with respect to their implications for forest biodiversity, especially if these programs are likely to be adopted. Here we simulated the effect of varied rotation length and associated thinning regimes on habitat availability in Scots pine and Norway spruce production forests, with high and low productivity. Shorter rotation lengths reduced the contribution made by production trees (trees grown for industrial use) to the availability of key habitat features, while concurrently increasing the contribution from retention trees. The contribution of production trees to habitat features was larger for high productivity sites, than for low productivity sites. We conclude that shortened rotation lengths result in losses of the availability of habitat features that are key for biodiversity conservation and that increased retention practices may only partially compensate for this. Ensuring that conservation efforts better reflect the inherent variation in stand rotation lengths would help improve the maintenance of key forest habitats in production forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tropical forest ecosystems across the globe are under major threats from spread of exotic invasive plant species. Identification of biodiversity rich areas prone to large-scale plant invasion and their prioritisation is vital for targeting prevention and control programmes. Recent availability of field inventoried forest native and forest invasive species (FIS) data from a nation-wide biodiversity project in India, has served as a valuable source of information for conservation prioritization. Our approach considers prioritisation of phytogeographic areas based on congruence of spatial pattern of phytorichness distribution and spatial pattern of potential spread of hotspots of multiple FIS. We modelled native phytorichness at landscape scale following a three-tier methodology of mapping of habitat types, field sampling of vascular plants and spatial modelling with landscape matrices for central Indian landscape in India. The hotspots of multiple FIS were modelled with occurrences of 98 species, and optimally chosen environmental covariates using MaxEnt. We then integrated phytorichness and FIS invasion hotspots information to identify priority zones (high, medium and low) for informed policy decisions for conservation actions. Study emphasises that potential hotspots of invasive species should be considered for conservation priority setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of the spatial and temporal patterns in land use and land cover (LULC) change is a key issue for conservation efforts. In the Chilean hotspot, different studies have attempted to understand variations of LULC change. Nevertheless, a broader understanding of common patterns and variability of LULC over the entire range of the hotspot is lacking. We performed a complete review of the different studies reporting LULC changes and performed a joint analysis of their results using an integrated comprehensive approach. We related the variation of LULC change to latitude, time period and vascular plant richness using generalized linear models. Overall, there were nine studies, which covered 36.5 % of the study area, and reported the loss of 19 % of native forest (782,120 ha) between 1973 and 2011. The highest net forest loss was observed in the 1970-1990 period. This decreased in the 1990-2000 period and rose again in the 2000-2010 period. This result reveals a continuous forest loss in the last 40 years. Conversion of native forest to shrublands is the most important contributor to net native forest loss, accounting for 45 % of the loss. However, in the area of greatest species richness native forests are mainly converted to exotic tree plantations. Chilean forestry model has proved successful in expanding exotic tree plantation, but so far it has not been compatible with native forest conservation and restoration. It is imperative to design a new forestry policy to assure the conservation of one of the most unique biodiversity hotspots worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oak-dominated woodlands and forests of northern Europe have experienced dramatic declines due to agriculture, urbanization, and conifer-dominated production forestry. These losses have had a substantial negative impact on biodiversity due to the large number of forest species which depend on oak and the environments oak-dominated forests provide. Production oak stands may serve as a means of supplementing or complementing the habitat provided by the limited remaining natural oak remnants in this region. Here we evaluate the extent to which oak plantations in temperate southern Sweden provide habitat and resources for bird communities, by surveying and contrasting the bird species composition and diversity found in mature and young production oak stands (5 and 8 replicates respectively) and protected oak-dominated remnant forests (5 replicates). The mature production stands possessed a bird community partially overlapping in bird species composition, and comparable in species richness (34 species) to that found within protected oak forests (39 species). Furthermore, the production oak forests surveyed hosted threatened or near threatened bird species, including black woodpecker ( Dryocopus martius ), goldcrest ( Regulus regulus ), starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ), and yellowhammer ( Emberiza citrinella ). Though production oak forests cannot replace the habitat provided by protected oak forests, these stands do appear to provide conditions consistent with the habitat and resource requirements of a diverse cross-section of bird species in this region, including species of substantial conservation concern. Production oak forests thus have the capacity to make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation, as well as providing a diverse range of goods and services to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The biodiversity of forests set aside from forestry is often considered best preserved by non-intervention. In many protected forests, however, remaining biodiversity values are legacies of past disturbances, e.g. recurring fires, grazing or small-scale felling. These forests may need active management to keep the characteristics that were the reason for setting them aside. Such management can be particularly relevant where lost ecological values need to be restored. In this review, we identified studies on a variety of interventions that could be useful for conserving or restoring any aspect of forest biodiversity in boreal and temperate regions. Since the review is based on Swedish initiatives, we have focused on forest types that are represented in Sweden, but such forests exist in many parts of the world. The wide scope of the review means that the set of studies is quite heterogeneous. As a first step towards a more complete synthesis, therefore, we have compiled a systematic map. Such a map gives an overview of the evidence base by providing a database with descriptions of relevant studies, but it does not synthesise reported results. Methods: Searches for literature were made using online publication databases, search engines, specialist websites and literature reviews. Search terms were developed in English, Finnish, French, German, Russian and Swedish. We searched not only for studies of interventions in actual forest set-asides, but also for appropriate evidence from commercially managed forests, since some practices applied there may be useful for conservation or restoration purposes too. Identified articles were screened for relevance using criteria set out in an a priori protocol. Descriptions of included studies are available in an Excel file, and also in an interactive GIS application that can be accessed at an external website. Results: Our searches identified nearly 17,000 articles. The 798 articles that remained after screening for relevance described 812 individual studies. Almost two-thirds of the included studies were conducted in North America, whereas most of the rest were performed in Europe. Of the European studies, 58 % were conducted in Finland or Sweden. The interventions most commonly studied were partial harvesting, prescribed burning, thinning, and grazing or exclusion from grazing. The outcomes most frequently reported were effects of interventions on trees, other vascular plants, dead wood, vertical stand structure and birds. Outcome metrics included e.g. abundance, richness of species (or genera), diversity indices, and community composition based on ordinations. Conclusions: This systematic map identifies a wealth of evidence on the impact of active management practices that could be utilised to conserve or restore biodiversity in forest set-asides. As such it should be of value to e.g.conservation managers, researchers and policymakers. Moreover, since the map also highlights important knowledge gaps, it could inspire new primary research on topics that have so far not been well covered. Finally, it provides a foundation for systematic reviews on specific subtopics. Based on our map of the evidence, we identified four subtopics that are sufficiently covered by existing studies to allow full systematic reviewing, potentially including meta-analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are State-Federal agreements underpinning the management of the majority of Australia's commercially productive native forests. Introduced between 1997 and 2001, they were designed to deliver certainty to forest industries while, simultaneously, guaranteeing environmental protection, including the conservation of biodiversity. Using examples, we argue that RFAs in some jurisdictions have failed to do either. We strongly recommend a comprehensive reassessment of RFAs. This is needed to: (1) take into account significant new knowledge on forest ecology and management that has been gathered in the past 20 years, including updated prognoses for some critically endangered species; (2) better evaluate the full range of wood and non-wood products and services provided by forests; (3) accommodate new methods of forest inventory and more environmentally sensitive silvicultural systems; and (4) better account for the impacts of natural disturbances, such as fires, on the area available for logging, sustained yield, and forest ecosystem integrity per se. Without a substantial overhaul of the RFAs, there is a significant risk of undervaluing the full range of native forest values, exacerbating species declines, and permanently damaging forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) shifted federal lands management from a focus on timber production to ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation. The plan established a network of conservation reserves and an ecosystem management strategy on ~10 million hectares from northern California to Washington State, USA, within the range of the federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Several subsequent assessments-and 20 years of data from monitoring programs established under the plan-have demonstrated the effectiveness of this reserve network and ecosystem management approach in making progress toward attaining many of the plan's conservation and ecosystem management goals. This paper (1) showcases the fundamental conservation biology and ecosystem management principles underpinning the NWFP as a case study for managers interested in large-landscape conservation; and (2) recommends improvements to the plan's strategy in response to unprecedented climate change and land-use threats. Twenty years into plan implementation, however, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, under pressure for increased timber harvest, are retreating from conservation measures. We believe that federal agencies should instead build on the NWFP to ensure continuing success in the Pacific Northwest. We urge federal land managers to (1) protect all remaining late-successional/old-growth forests; (2) identify climate refugia for at-risk species; (3) maintain or increase stream buffers and landscape connectivity; (4) decommission and repair failing roads to improve water quality; (5) reduce fire risk in fire-prone tree plantations; and (6) prevent logging after fires in areas of high conservation value. In many respects, the NWFP is instructive for managers considering similar large-scale conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconciling conservation and livelihoods is a concern wherever forests are important in local people's lives. We plead for engaging these people in survey activities to clarify what is important to them, as a first step in conservation planning. This will help to address their priorities and gain their guidance and support for interventions. This paper presents the results of such a survey with the community of Kwerba in Mamberamo, a remote and little known part of Indonesian Papua. Views and priorities were explored through interviews, scoring exercises, community mapping and a field survey. Whereas small gardens provided most staple food, culture and livelihoods were linked to the forest. People scored primary forest highest for nearly all use categories. Primary forest was particularly highly valued as a source of construction materials, ornaments and rituals, and as a hunting place. We developed a list of the overall most important plants and animals. Many natural resources were used, but few were commercially exploited. The community had rules to control access to certain areas and resources. Taboos to restrict access to sacred places were also maintained. Our evaluation identified opportunities to achieve conservation outcomes jointly with the Kwerba people. In follow-up activities, the community presented local government with a land-use plan for their territory. The government recognized the value of our approach and requested training to implement it more widely in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incentives for resource extraction and development make the conservation of biodiversity challenging within tropical forestlands. The 2007 establishment of the Royal Belum State Park in the Malaysian state of Perak offers lessons for creating protected areas in tropical countries where subnational governments are major forestland owners. This article elucidates the social and political forces that influenced Royal Belum’s creation. Those forces included Malaysian conservation groups’ efforts to establish the ecological uniqueness of the site and rally public support to protect it; the Perak state government, which is the landowner under Malaysia’s constitution, seeking a protection option that would minimize the economic costs to it (and perhaps generate net economic benefits); and the federal government providing a legal framework and support for park protection and ecotourism development. Successful long-run protection of Royal Belum will require action beyond simply designating the area as protected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The realized species richness of tropical forests cannot yet be reliably mapped at a regional scale due to lack of systematically collected data. An estimate of the potential species richness (PSR), however, can be produced through the use of species distribution modelling. PSR is interpretable as a climatically determined upper limit to observed species richness. We mapped current PSR and future PSR under climate change scenarios for Mesoamerica by combining the spatial distributions of 2000 tree species as predicted by generalized additive models built from herbaria records and climate layers. An explanatory regression tree was used to extract conditional rules describing the relationship between PSR and climate. The results were summarized by country, ecoregion and protected area status in order to investigate current and possible future variability in PSR in the context of regional biodiversity conservation. Length of the dry season was found to be the key determinant of PSR. Protected areas were found to have higher median PSR values than unprotected areas in most of the countries within the study area. Areas with exceptionally high PSR, however, remain unprotected throughout the region. Neither changes in realized species richness nor extinctions will necessarily follow changes in modelled PSR under climate change. However model output suggests that an increase in temperature of around 3°C, combined with a 20 percent decrease in rainfall could lead to a widespread reduction of around 15 percent of current PSR, with values of up to 40 percent in some moist lower montane tropical forests. The modelled PSR of dry forest ecoregions was found to be relatively stable. Some cooler upper montane forests in northern Mesoamerica, where few species of tropical origin are currently found, may gain PSR if species are free to migrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The biodiversity of West African rainforests is globally significant but poorly described, little understood in terms of its functional significance, and under threat from forest loss and degradation. Estimates suggest that about 10 million ha of forest may have been lost in the 20th Century, and around 80% of the original forest area is now an agriculture-forest mosaic. These highly modified forests provide food, fuel, fibre and a range of ecosystem services for over 200 million people. As a consequence, the future of biodiversity in the region is intimately linked with the lives and livelihoods of local people. The available evidence suggests that forest loss and degradation has been caused primarily by agricultural expansion, sometimes facilitated by other human activities such as wood extraction. This expansion is a response to the demand generated by a growing and increasingly urbanised human population, but has been exacerbated by small increases in crop yields over recent decades. We synthesize and review our state of knowledge on the value of human-modified habitats for forest biodiversity in the region. Data on biodiversity are patchy, but we show that across plant, invertebrate and vertebrate groups, there is a significant loss of forest species as tree cover is reduced and vegetation structure simplified. Agricultural expansion clearly causes significant local biodiversity loss. We argue that replicated landscape-scale studies are now needed that describe changes across a range of biodiversity groups (above and below ground) in relation to land-use and landscape context to address knowledge gaps and biases. Such descriptive studies need to be complemented by a deeper understanding of the causes of species turnover patterns, together with work on the consequences of biodiversity loss for ecosystem function and services. Biodiversity conservation in the region is becoming increasingly embedded within a more multi-functional view of agriculture-forest mosaics that attempts to recognise and value the range of services provided by tree cover and other land-uses. This relatively new perspective has the potential, at least in principle, to re-shape the drivers of land-use change because tree cover can generate additional revenue through carbon trading or certification schemes. It will become clearer over the coming decades whether this potential can be realised, but the implications for biodiversity conservation in the region are potentially profound. The socio-economic processes that have driven forest loss and degradation in West Africa are having an increasing impact on the relatively undisturbed rainforest of the Congo Basin. We conclude by pointing out that while West African forest landscapes are a potent reminder of what might happen in Central Africa in the near future, they also provide insights for developing policies and practice that might avoid comparable levels of forest loss and degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Amazonia (sensu lato) is by far the largest tropical forest region, but has succumbed to the highest absolute rates of tropical deforestation and forest degradation, driven by rapid frontier expansion, road-building, and spontaneous or government-subsidized migration. The large area-through-time and paleo-climatic stability of Amazonian forests may help explain the high regional to local scale plant and animal species diversity of true forest specialists and high ecological sensitivity to contemporary land-use change. We describe the prevailing forms of anthropogenic disturbance that affect forest organisms in the context of the geographic and evolutionary background that has shaped the degree to which forest species may be resilient to environmental change. The fate of Amazonian biodiversity will partly depend upon the interaction between land-use and climate change, and the extent to which seasonally-dry forests can retain immunity against catastrophic recurrent wildfires. This review illustrates the importance of considering interactions between different forms of forest disturbance to develop effective conservation policy. We conclude with some considerations of the policy agenda necessary to protect forest cover and forest biodiversity at a meaningful scale across the Amazonian biome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The tribal communities of Meghalaya nurture forests in the vicinity of their habitations, near water sources, on steep slopes and other ecologically sensitive lands. Their forest conservation practices can be seen in sacred groves, village restricted forests, village supply forests, clan forests and other traditionally managed forests, which comprise about 90% of Meghalaya's total forest area. These forests are protected and managed by the tribal people through institutional arrangements developed to benefit the community as a whole. The classification, protection, regeneration and extraction procedures practised for management of these forests are among the best examples of traditional ecological knowledge. Often including a variety of water bodies, these forests are very rich in aquatic as well as terrestrial biodiversity, including innumerable species of medicinal plants, wild foods and other economically important plants and animals. This study documented and analysed the role played by these traditionally managed forests and associated knowledge in conservation of biodiversity in general and of medicinal plants in particular. The paper also highlights aspects of the traditional forest management systems of the local tribal people and their contributions to food security, health care and also perpetuation of forest-related knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes of deforestation, known to threaten tropical forest biodiversity, have not yet been studied sufficiently in East Africa. To shed light on the patterns and causes of human influences on protected forest ecosystems, comparisons of different study areas regarding land cover dynamics and potential drivers are needed. We analyze the development of land cover since the early 1970s for three protected East African rainforests and their surrounding farmlands and assess the relationship between the observed changes in the context of the protection status of the forests. Processing of Landsat satellite imagery of eight or seven time steps in regular intervals results in 12 land cover classes for the Kakamega–Nandi forests (Kenya) and Budongo Forest (Uganda) whereas ten are distinguished for Mabira Forest (Uganda). The overall classification accuracy assessed for the year 2001 or 2003 is similarly high for all three study areas (81% to 85%). The time series reveal that, despite their protection status, Kakamega–Nandi forests and Mabira Forest experienced major forest decrease, the first a continuous forest loss of 31% between 1972/1973 and 2001, the latter an abrupt loss of 24% in the late 1970s/early 1980s. For both forests, the temporally dense time series show short-term fluctuations in forest classes (e.g., areas of forest regrowth since the 1980s or exotic secondary bushland species from the 1990s onwards). Although selectively logged, Budongo Forest shows a much more stable forest cover extent. A visual overlay with population distribution for all three regions clearly indicates a relationship between forest loss and areas of high population density, suggesting population pressure as a main driver of deforestation. The revealed forest losses due to local and commercial exploitation further demonstrate that weak management impedes effective forest protection in East Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We studied habitat selection of three-toed woodpecker (TTW) in relation to forest structural variables, habitat types and hydrological conditions in north-eastern Poland. Based on known locations of 34 breeding pairs and the data on location of forest areas with high conservation value (referred to as Biologically Important Forests), we created a habitat prediction model for TTW using a Maxent algorithm. We found that this species most often selected breeding sites characterized by high contribution of old-growth stands with uneven vertical structure and considerable amount of very old trees of previous generations, as well as boreal spruce-dominated bogs and riverine forests. Such sites were preferred regardless of their actual protection status, which leads to the following conclusion: although existing forest reserves are very important to three-toed woodpecker, suitable habitats with similar characteristics can still be found outside protected areas and are also utilized by the species. However, such sites outside reserves are threatened by fragmentation due to timber extraction. Therefore it is recommended to protect these sites by either including them into existing reserves or putting them under special management schemes. The presented model can be applied in similar environmental conditions across lowland Europe, allowing for identification of representative habitat network for future conservation planning at landscape scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The conversion of even-aged Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stands into more site adapted mixed stands is the main silvicultural goal in Germany and many other European countries. The conversion will primarily be achieved with the help of selection cutting, removing single target diameter trees and creating small gaps. At sites highly susceptible to windthrow, however, small scale clear cutting (up to 1ha) might be an appropriate alternative. Both selection and clear cutting will affect the understorey vegetation, an important component of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Thus, with the help of a BACI-experiment (before–after/control–impact), the short-term effects of selection and small scale clear cutting on the herb and shrub layer vegetation were studied at two sites in the Solling Hills (Lower Saxony, Germany). Both treatments led to an increase in herb and shrub layer species numbers, due to persistent and invading (mainly pioneer tree species and indicators of disturbance) species and to a shift in plant traits. Most responsible for the changes in vegetation was a higher light availability, and to a lesser degree soil disturbance. The number of annuals and ruderals, however, increased only immediately after clear cutting, whereas on selection cutting plots the numbers remained high. Gaining in number and coverage were competitive perennials (Epilobium angustifolium, Juncus effusus, Rubus idaeus) especially on the clear cuttings, fulfilling a nutrient retention function. The competitives did not deter tree species from regenerating in the clear cut plots, whereas on selection cutting plots the large expansion of R. idaeus appeared to be hindering tree colonisation. Suffering under clear cut conditions were predominantly shade-tolerant, closed-forest species, but no loss of these species could be detected. This indicates the potential for a fast recovery of these forest species, as soon as, pioneer trees expand. Although the vegetation changed in similar directions at both study sites, differences in species numbers and composition were found, indicating the importance of site conditions in the beginning of succession. In conclusion, our study shows no overall negative effects on shrub and herb layer biodiversity and trait composition after clear cutting. It is suggested that small scale clear cutting may be considered an appropriate alternative to silvicultural methods which cause a moderate rate of disturbance, to reach the goal of Norway spruce forest conversion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Regional conservation planning frequently relies on general assumptions about historical disturbance regimes to inform decisions about landscape restoration, reserve allocations, and landscape management. Spatially explicit simulations of landscape dynamics provide quantitative estimates of landscape structure and allow for the testing of alternative scenarios. We used a landscape fire succession model to estimate the historical range of variability of vegetation and fire in a dry forest landscape (size ca. 7900km2) where the present-day risk of high severity fire threatens the persistence of older closed canopy forest which may serve as Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) habitat. Our results indicated that historically, older forest may have comprised the largest percentage of the landscape (∼35%), followed by early successional forest (∼25%), with about 9% of the landscape in a closed canopy older forest condition. The amount and condition of older forest varied by potential vegetation type and land use allocation type. Vegetation successional stages had fine-grained spatial heterogeneity in patch characteristics, with older forest tending to have the largest patch sizes among the successional stages. Increasing fire severities posed a greater risk to Northern Spotted Owl habitat than increasing fire sizes or frequencies under historical fire regimes. Improved understanding of historical landscape-specific fire and vegetation conditions and their variability can assist forest managers to promote landscape resilience and increases of older forest, in dry forests with restricted amounts of habitat for sensitive species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Green-tree retention is a relatively new forestry application, which aims at decreasing the negative effects of clear-cut logging on forest biodiversity. In this study, the value of retained aspens in maintaining diverse assemblages of wood-decaying fungi (polypores; Basidiomycota) on clearcuts was investigated, after the retention trees had died, fallen and started to decay. A total of 110 fallen aspen trunks were investigated on clear-cuts and within old-growth forests in eastern Finland, southern boreal zone; and 499 records of polypores belonging to 46 species were made. The intermediately decayed trunks on a clear-cut area hosted more species and more red-listed species than did trunks within forests. Most of the polypore species with more than two records were found in both habitats. These results suggest that many aspen-associated polypores are able to live and reproduce in sun-exposed habitats, if the quality and quantity of dead wood fulfill the species-specific requirements. This unexpected result, however, may be partly due to the exceptionally great abundance of aspen in the study area. Furthermore, in the long term, the local benefits of fallen retention trees can be limited, unless the local continuity of large aspens, both living and dead, is ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implemented in 1994, the Aquatic Conservation Strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan was designed to restore and maintain ecological processes for aquatic and riparian area conservation on federal lands in the western portion of the Pacific Northwest. We used decision support models to quantitatively evaluate changes in the condition of selected watersheds. In the approximately 10 years since strategy implementation, watershed condition scores changed modestly, but conditions improved in 64% of 250 sampled watersheds, declined in 28%, and remained relatively the same in 7%. Watersheds that had the largest declines included some where wildfires burned 30–60% of their area. The overall statistical distribution of the condition scores did not change significantly, however. Much of the increase in watershed condition was related to improved riparian conditions. The number of large trees (>51 cm diameter at breast height) increased 2–4%, and there were substantial reductions in tree harvest and other disturbances along streams. Whether such changes will translate into longer-term improvements in aquatic ecosystems across broader landscapes remains to be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus ) was listed as threatened in 1992, primarily because of loss of its old-forest nesting habitat. Monitoring conducted over the first 10 years following implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan shows at-sea murrelet populations appear to be stationary, but recruitment is very low and demographic models project a 4–6% annual rate of decline. Monitoring of nesting habitat indicated there were about 1.6 million ha of higher-suitability nesting habitat on all lands at the start of the plan, about half of which occurred on federal lands. Most (88%) of higher-suitability habitat on federal lands was protected within reserves. Over the past 10 years, losses of habitat due primarily to fire have totaled about 2% on federal lands. Losses have been much greater (12%) on nonfederal lands, due primarily to timber harvest. Habitat is expected to accrue within reserves as younger forest matures and attains sufficient diameter to support nesting sites. At-sea estimates of population size are strongly and positively correlated with amounts of adjacent nesting habitat at a broad scale, supporting the idea that amounts of nesting habitat are a primary driver in wide-scale murrelet population distribution. Conditions at sea, however, such as temperature regimes, prey availability, and pollutants, continue to affect murrelet populations. The system of large reserves seems to have achieved the short-term objective of conserving much of the remaining nesting habitat on federal lands. These reserves are also likely to contribute to the long-term objective of creating large, contiguous blocks of nesting habitat. The plan has a primary role in conserving and restoring nesting habitat on federal land but will succeed in this role only if land allocations calling for such protection are in place for many decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I evaluated the Northwest Forest Plan as a model for ecosystem management to achieve social and economic goals in communities located around federal forests in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. My assessment is based on the results of socioeconomic monitoring conducted to evaluate progress in achieving the plan's goals during its first 10 years. The assessment criteria I used related to economic development and social justice. The Northwest Forest Plan incorporated economic development and social justice goals in its design. Socioeconomic monitoring results indicate that plan implementation to achieve those goals met with mixed success, however. I hypothesize there are two important reasons the plan's socioeconomic goals were not fully met: some of the key assumptions underlying the implementation strategies were flawed and agency institutional capacity to achieve the goals was limited. To improve broad-scale ecosystem management in the future, decision makers should ensure that natural-resource management policies are socially acceptable; land-management agencies have the institutional capacity to achieve their management goals; and social and economic management goals (and the strategies for implementing them) are based on accurate assumptions about the relations between the resources being managed and well-being in local communities. One of the difficulties of incorporating economic development and social justice goals in conservation initiatives is finding ways to link conservation behavior and development activities. From a social perspective, the Northwest Forest Plan as a model for ecosystem management is perhaps most valuable in its attempt to link the biophysical and socioeconomic goals of forest management by creating high-quality jobs for residents of forest communities in forest stewardship and ecosystem management work, thereby contributing to conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 10 million ha of federal lands in the Pacific Northwest have been managed under the Northwest Forest Plan since 1994. The plan reduced logging levels by 80%; only recently, however, have inventories on status and condition of mature and old-growth forests become available. Our objectives were to (1) determine the areal extent of old (>150 years) and mature (50–150 years) conifer forests based on 2000 Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery, (2) examine levels of protection, (3) determine the degree of additional protection afforded to old and mature conifer forests if late-successional reserves (LSRs) and inventoried roadless areas (IRAs) were fully protected, and (4) review management options to achieve greater protection of older forests. The historical extent of old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest was roughly two-thirds (16,672,976 ha) of the total land area. Since the time of European settlement, approximately 72% of the original old-growth conifer forest has been lost, largely through logging and other developments. Of the remaining old growth, the Central and Southern Cascades and Klamath-Siskiyou account for nearly half. Mature conifer area (4,758,596 ha) nearly equaled the amount of old conifer. More than 78% of the old growth and 50% of mature forest were located on public lands. Approximately one-quarter (1,201,622 ha) of the old-growth conifer (or 7% of the historical old-growth area) was classified as GAP status 1 (strictly protected) or GAP status 2 (moderately protected). The total area of LSRs was slightly more than 3 million ha, approximately 36% (1,073,299 ha) of which contained old-growth conifer forest. Combined old and mature conifer within LSRs was approximately 59% of the total LSR area. The total amount of IRA for the Pacific Northwest was approximately 1,563,370 ha; of this, 526,912 ha (34%) was old growth. The combined area of old-growth conifer forest accounted for by protected areas (GAP 1 and 2), LSRs, and IRAs was 2,401,780 ha, which accounts for 66% of the old-growth conifer forests on public land, 51% of the old conifer in the region, and 14% of the amount that occurred historically. Outside these land designations, an additional 1,240,271 ha of old growth are on other public land and another 1,023,392 ha are on private lands throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our results indicate the need to periodically monitor status and condition of older forests and strengthen protections of old growth in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s the federal forests in the Pacific Northwest underwent the largest shift in management focus since their creation, from providing a sustained yield of timber to conserving biodiversity, with an emphasis on endangered species. Triggered by a legal challenge to the federal protection strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina ), this shift was facilitated by a sequence of science assessments that culminated in the development of the Northwest Forest Plan. The plan, adopted in 1994, called for an extensive system of late-successional and riparian reserves along with some timber harvest on the intervening lands under a set of controls and safeguards. It has proven more successful in stopping actions harmful to conservation of old-growth forests and aquatic systems than in achieving restoration goals and economic and social goals. We make three suggestions that will allow the plan to achieve its goals: (1) recognize that the Northwest Forest Plan has evolved into an integrative conservation strategy, (2) conserve old-growth trees and forests wherever they occur, and (3) manage federal forests as dynamic ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northwest Forest Plan in the Pacific Northwest sought to stabilize local economies, including local employment and income, by stabilizing the flow of wood fiber from public forests. This is also a common forest management objective in other regions and countries. Because this economic strategy ignores basic market adjustments, it is likely to fail and to unnecessarily damage forest ecosystems. Application of basic economic principles on how markets operate significantly changes the apparent efficacy of efforts to manage local economies by managing timber supply. The emphasis on timber supply tends to ignore the dominant role that the demand for wood fiber and wood products, rather than wood-fiber supply, plays in determining levels of harvest and production. Contemporary economics indicates that markets tend to operate to offset reductions in wood-fiber supply. This significantly moderates the economic cost of reducing commercial timber harvest in the pursuit of environmental objectives. In addition, contemporary economic analysis indicates that the economic links between natural forests and local communities are much broader than simply the flow of commercially valuable logs to manufacturing facilities. At least in the United States, the flow of environmental services from natural forests has increasingly become an amenity that has drawn people and economic activity to forested areas. Attractive site-specific qualities, including those supported by natural forests, can potentially support local economic development even in the face of reduced timber harvests. These market-related adjustments partially explain the Northwest Forest Plan's overestimation of the expected regional impacts associated with reduced federal timber supply and the ineffectiveness of the plan's efforts to protect communities by stabilizing federal timber supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) was motivated by concerns about the overharvest of late-seral forests and the effects of intensive forest management on the long-term viability of the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina ). Following several years of intense political and legal debates, the final NWFP was approved in 1994. Even though the plan evolved with a broad ecosystem perspective, it remained anchored in the Spotted Owl reserve design proposed in 1990. Based on a criterion of stable or increasing populations, a decade later it remains unclear whether the enactment of the NWFP has improved the conservation status of Spotted Owls. The results of intensive monitoring of several Spotted Owl populations for over a decade suggest a continuing range-wide decline even though rates of timber harvest have declined dramatically on federal lands. The cause of the decline is difficult to determine because the research needed to establish cause and effect relations has not been done. One plausible hypothesis is that the owl's life history greatly constrains its rate of population growth even when habitat is no longer limiting. Since enactment of the NWFP, new threats have arisen, including the movement of Barred Owls (S. varia ) into the range of the Spotted Owl, political pressure to increase levels of timber harvest, and recent changes to forest laws that eliminate the requirement to assess the viability of wildlife populations on U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service lands. At this time is appears that Spotted Owl conservation rests critically on continued implementation of the protections afforded by the NWFP and the U.S. Endangered Species Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Survey and Manage Program of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) represents an unparalleled attempt to protect rare, little-known species associated with late-successional and old-growth forests on more than 9.7 million ha of federal lands. Approximately 400 species of amphibians, bryophytes, fungi, lichens, mollusks, vascular plants, arthropod functional groups, and one mammal were listed under this program because viability evaluations indicated the plan's network of reserve land allocations might not sustain the species over time. The program's standards and guidelines used an adaptive approach, protecting known sites and collecting new information to address concerns for species persistence and to develop management strategies. Since implementation in 1994, approximately 68,000 known sites have been recorded at an expense of several tens of millions of dollars. New knowledge from surveys reduced concern for nearly 100 species, and they were removed from the protection list. Although successful in protecting hundreds of rare species not typically considered in most conservation programs, some of the enacted conservation measures created conflicts in meeting other management objectives of the plan, particularly timber harvest. The program accrued important gains in knowledge, reduced uncertainty about conservation of a number of species, and developed new methods of species inventory that will be useful in future management planning and implementation at many scales. The program, however, was not completed because of changes in land-management philosophy. Ongoing litigation regarding its termination and potential changes to the plan cast further uncertainty on how the original goal of maintaining persistence of late-successional and old-growth species will be met and measured. The outcomes, controversies, and management frustrations of the program exemplify the inherent difficulties in balancing broad, regional conservation goals with social and economic goals of the NWFP. Defining acceptable trade-offs to reach that balance and developing practical conservation solutions remain challenges for the science and management communities. Lessons learned from the program provide a valuable biological and managerial reference to benefit future discussion on meeting those challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decade after its creation, the Northwest Forest Plan is contributing to the conservation of old-growth forests on federal land. However, the success and outlook for the plan are questionable in the dry provinces, where losses of old growth to wildfire have been relatively high and risks of further loss remain. We summarize the state of knowledge of old-growth forests in the plan area, identify challenges to conserve them, and suggest some conservation approaches that might better meet the goals of the plan. Historically, old-growth forests in these provinces ranged from open, patchy stands, maintained by frequent low-severity fire, to a mosaic of dense and open stands maintained by mixed-severity fires. Old-growth structure and composition were spatially heterogeneous, varied strongly with topography and elevation, and were shaped by a complex disturbance regime of fire, insects, and disease. With fire suppression and cutting of large pines ( Pinus spp.) and Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirbel] Franco), old-growth diversity has declined and dense understories have developed across large areas. Challenges to conserving these forests include a lack of definitions needed for planning of fire-dependent old-growth stands and landscapes, and conflicts in conservation goals that can be resolved only at the landscape level. Fire suppression has increased the area of the dense, older forest favored by Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina ) but increased the probability of high-severity fire. The plan allows for fuel reduction in late-successional reserves; fuel treatments, however, apparently have not happened at a high enough rate or been applied in a landscape-level approach. Landscape-level strategies are needed that prioritize fuel treatments by vegetation zones, develop shaded fuel breaks in strategic positions, and thin and apply prescribed fire to reduce ladder fuels around remaining old trees. Evaluations of the current and alternative strategies are needed to determine whether the current reserve-matrix approach is the best strategy to meet plan goals in these dynamic landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated factors limiting the recovery of natural forest in former large-scale conifer plantations abandoned after clear-cutting in southwestern Japan. We analyzed forest recovery status (“recovered” sites covered by evergreen broad-leaved trees, and “unrecovered” sites covered by pioneer community or nonvegetated sites) using aerial photographs and field survey. We applied logistic regression analyses to evaluate the effects of topography, construction of harvesting roads, distance from remnant forest, stand condition before clear-cutting, and prior land-use history on forest recovery. Human factors, i.e., land use and clear-cutting age, were found to affect to forest recovery more than environmental factors such as topography. Harvesting roads had the strongest negative impact on forest recovery. Forest recovery after clear-cutting of young sugi plantations also took longer than after clear-cutting of old sugi plantations or evergreen broad-leaved forests. Furthermore, areas formerly utilized as meadows recovered less successfully than those that had been managed as coppices. The influences of these factors were thought to be promoted by the advance reproduction as the regeneration sources for forest recovery. The influence of stand age before logging suggested an effect of thinning, which might alter the abundance of advanced reproduction in the understory. However, distance from remnant forest appeared to be less important. An influence of topography was also detected, but this could be partly explained by the existence of advance reproduction in the understory in certain topographic positions. Thus, our analysis suggests that regeneration sources originating from advanced reproduction in plantations play a significant role for the recovery of natural forest after clear-cutting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa has limited indigenous forest resources. These indigenous forests play a significant role in biodiversity conservation and socioecononiic development, although these values have never been fully accounted for. The general scarcity of natural forest cover defines the long history of forest biodiversity conservation that commenced as a proclamation in 1658. Subsequent proclamations and laws addressed the same issue until it was obvious that natural forests could not be managed sustainably to meet environmental, timber, and fuelwood needs that laws favoring the establishment of plantations were passed. Today, more sophisticated policies and laws which are anchored in South Africa's constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) have evolved to conserve the same resources. However, successful implementation of these natural resource conservation laws is weakened by the lack of' institutional capacity within the Forestry Function in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF). Furthermore, lack of capacity limits intersectoral and intergovernmental coordination which is essential for optimizing strategic synergies for natural resource conservation. Opportunities for overturning these constraints on indigenous forest conservation are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Uluguru Mountains in eastern Tanzania contain at least 16 endemic vertebrate and 135 endemic plant taxa, with hundreds of more taxa shared only with forests in eastern Tanzania and Kenya. This degree of endemism is exceptional in tropical Africa, and the Uluguru Mountains are one of the 10 most important tropical forest sites for conservation on the continent. Surveys carried out during 1999-2001 updated information on the status of forests and biodiversity across the Uluguru Mountains. Forest area has declined from c. 300 km2 in 1955 to 230 km2 in 2001. Forest loss has been greatest over altitudes of 600-1,600 m, and concentrated in submontane forest. During the recent surveys most of the endemic and near-endemic vertebrate species known from the Uluguru Mountains were re-recorded, but three endemic snake species and two near-endemic bird species were not found. These species were previously known from the elevations where deforestation has been greatest. More than 50 plant species are also known only from the altitude range that has been heavily deforested. The primary cause of forest loss has been clearance for new farmland. The forest that does remain is largely confined to Catchment Forest Reserves managed for water by the Tanzanian Government. Without these reserves the loss of forest, and hence the loss of biodiversity, in the Uluguru Mountains would most likely have been much greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]