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Commercial tree plantations of fast-growing species have become increasingly important in Southeast Asia to meet global demand for wood and wood fiber products. There is a growing need to understand more about their value for wildlife and how they can be managed for biodiversity. We evaluated the effects of landscape attributes on mammal communities in a timber concession consisting of 83 % secondary forest and 17 % tree plantations in northern Sabah, Malaysia. Using camera traps, we compared mammalian species assemblages of secondary forest and commercial tree plantation stands and identified habitat predictors associated with total mammal species detections and species richness in the landscape mosaic. We used 87 camera stations deployed for 23 days across two major land-use types: 62 sites in secondary forest (previously logged natural forest) and 25 sites in tree plantations. We evaluated variation in species richness in these two major land-use categories and assessed the effects of natural and anthropogenic predictors on variation in total mammal detections and species richness. We detected at least 23 large and medium-sized mammal species over 2035 trap nights. Fourteen of those species were classified as threatened or near-threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Rarefaction did not reveal differences in mammal species richness or diversity between camera sites placed in tree plantations and secondary forests, likely because most camera sites in tree plantations were close to secondary forest and comprised

Socio-economic status, technologies, and policies are key factors affecting forest management planning and forest ecosystem functions. This study applied shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to a forest-management model framework. The potential timber yields and carbon sinks of spatially allocate alternatives were examined by quantifying their consequent changes at the regional tree species level in Chinese commercial forests (CFs) under the harvest and afforestation restrictions. The results indicate that the annual carbon sequestration rate of China's CFs over the next 50 years is estimated to be 152.0–162.5 Tg/a, which can offset approximately 5% of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions identified in 2019. Newly planted and regenerated forests can contribute more than 80% of this offset. The annual timber supply capacity is estimated to be 119.2–142.4 million m3/a with current policy interventions, which is not enough to meet the demand for China's timber market. Although most existing forests are managed as the primary source for forest goods and carbon service, the total commercial forest area changes are not as large as expected, resulting in only 2.0–10.6% differences. Our results also demonstrate that socioeconomic factors (e.g., social preference, carbon price, and forest logging and silvicultural practices) have a strong impact on carbon sinks but a minor impact on timber yields timber, except for improving harvesting and processing technologies. Establishing local long-term effective forest management systems and making afforestation and regeneration as a priority at the national level are suggested to comprehensively enhance the carbon sequestration and timber-supplying abilities of regional CFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic status, technologies, and policies are key factors affecting forest management planning and forest ecosystem functions. This study applied shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to a forest-management model framework. The potential timber yields and carbon sinks of spatially allocate alternatives were examined by quantifying their consequent changes at the regional tree species level in Chinese commercial forests (CFs) under the harvest and afforestation restrictions. The results indicate that the annual carbon sequestration rate of China’s CFs over the next 50 years is estimated to be 152.0–162.5 Tg/a, which can offset approximately 5% of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions identified in 2019. Newly planted and regenerated forests can contribute more than 80% of this offset. The annual timber supply capacity is estimated to be 119.2–142.4 million m3/a with current policy interventions, which is not enough to meet the demand for China’s timber market. Although most existing forests are managed as the primary source for forest goods and carbon service, the total commercial forest area changes are not as large as expected, resulting in only 2.0–10.6% differences. Our results also demonstrate that socioeconomic factors (e.g., social preference, carbon price, and forest logging and silvicultural practices) have a strong impact on carbon sinks but a minor impact on timber yields timber, except for improving harvesting and processing technologies. Establishing local long-term effective forest management systems and making afforestation and regeneration as a priority at the national level are suggested to comprehensively enhance the carbon sequestration and timber-supplying abilities of regional CFs.

Th e aim of this work was to assess the eff ect of stand age and type of forest management on the species richness and abundance of spiders, ground beetles, centipedes, millipedes and woodlice. Th e arthropods were sampled in four treatments – clearings, young, middle-aged and old forest stands. Th e eff ect of management was evaluated for clearings and old forest stands. Clearings and older stands hosted the highest species richness for most of the studied groups of arthropods. On the contrary, the lowest species richness was found mainly in young stands. Our results emphasized the high importance of uneven-aged silviculture. Most species were found in clearings without mechanical soil preparation. Th erefore, mechanical soil preparation is not suitable for the studied groups of arthropods. Responses to the management of the old stands varied for diff erent arthropod groups. It is necessary to limit the large-area milling of clearings and maintain continuity of both commercial and non-interventional old forest stands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental stand was established as a monoculture by planting Norway spruce on a clear-felled area in 1925. In 1958, a research thinning experiment was established there. Control plots and the study of their development without anthropic interventions are of interest in particular. The spruce monoculture nearly disintegrated and the stand-forming role was taken over by species which occurred there originally as admixed ones. The stand became sparser and it was associated with the spontaneous regeneration of broadleaves. Out of the eight control plots three plots were selected differing significantly in stocking and extent of natural regeneration. The development of regeneration was studied in detail on these plots. The undergrowth consisted of 24 woody species in a total number of 6,000 individuals per hectare and about two thirds of them belonged to trees. The results of the study show a possibility to convert a spruce monoculture to a broadleaved commercial forest using the spontaneous regeneration of trees.

As the world's largest importer of timber, China's challenge in forestry is to find a way to increase forest productivity and carbon sequestration. We argue that China's state-owned forestry sector has low land productivities mainly because there are hidden barriers in the governmentally controlled forestry system. We suggest that a market-oriented forestry system should be applied to China's commercial forests, and timber harvesting from commercial forests should not be restricted by a maximum allowable harvest quota or minimum rotation lengths imposed by the national government. The market-oriented forestry system will help increase forestland productivity and revert forest carbon sources into sinks for many degraded forest areas in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new model was developed to predict forestland demand of China during the years of 2010–2050 in terms of the concept of forest ecosystem services. On the basis of the relationship between forest ecosystem services and classified forest management, we hypothesized that the ecological-forest provides ecological services, whereas commercial-forest supplies wood and timber production, and the influences of the growth of population, social-economic development target, forest management methods and the technology changes on forest resources were also taken into account. The prediction reveals that the demand of total forestland of China will be 244.8, 261.2 and 362.2 million ha by the year 2010, 2020 and 2050, respectively. The results demonstrated that China will be confronted with a shortage of forest resources, especially with lack of ecological-oriented forests, in the future. It is suggested that sustainable management of forest resources must be reinforced and more attention should be drown no enhancing the service function of forest ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We studied eucalyptus growth and biomass production as affected by soil properties. • In highly drainable soils, forest productivity is related to composition properties. • Productivity in high water-storage soils is explained by functional properties. • Acrisols, with better soil physical quality, are more productive than Arenosols. Linking edaphic properties to forest productivity provides significant gains in classification of site production potential. This study evaluated soil functional and composition properties that affect eucalyptus productivity in Acrisols and Arenosols, which represent two contrasting edaphic conditions and site productive potential capacity. Eucalypt stand growth, volumetric and biomass production data were related to the soil properties determined in undisturbed samples collected in 12 sampling points from seven soil layers, from the soil surface down to 1.20-m depth. Our results showed a volumetric wood production for 89-months-old stands of 422.3 m3 ha−1 (195.4 Mg ha−1; wood biomass) in Acrisols sites, and 288 m3 ha−1 (134.6 Mg ha−1; wood biomass) in Arenosols sites. Soil properties in Arenosols such as macroporosity and total porosity and soil bulk density (0.00-0.10 m layer) has positive and negative correlations, respectively, with eucalypt increment rates. In Acrisols, soil macroporosity, air permeability and saturated hydraulic conductivity in soil layers down to 0.60 m depth had positive correlation (p < 0.05) with forest productivity. Soil bulk density and air permeability in Acrisols affected more than 55% of variability in total height and biomass increment rates. Our results showed that forest productivity in soils with high water storage capacity is conditioned more by functional soil properties, particularly soil permeability to water and air, while in highly drainable soils forest productive capacity is conditioned by composition properties, such as soil porosity and soil bulk density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European aspen is important in boreal forests because of its rich fauna and flora. In Finnish commercial forests, however, aspen stems-especially large ones-are rare. Alternatives to aspen in managed forests were studied with a decision-support system where biodiversity was assessed according to the number of beetle species. The results showed that large aspen stems maintain the richness of beetle species in aforest. Such stems appear in commercial forests if green-retention trees remain after regeneration cutting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]