Management of forest ecosystems Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is the “high stands”-management strategy?
It is a strategy frequently used in modern times (especially in the Nordics). Thinning and harvesting of the forest is based on stem diameter and stand density. It is expected to result in tall, homogenous canopies with open nutrient cycles.
What is the “coppicing” (sv. skottskog) management strategy?
It is a traditional method that exploits the capacity that many tree species have: to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. Young trees are first repeatedly cut down, new growth emerges, after a number of years the coppiced tree is harvested. This method is assumed to have been implemented to satisfy the fuel wood demand.
How have the Swedish forest historically been used?
- Hunting
- Slash and burn agriculture
- Timber production
- Tar production
- Charcoal production
- Dimension cutting
- Sawmills
What is the European consensus on the definition of sustainable forest management?
The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems (MCPFE, Helsinki Resolution
1, 1993)
What does the EU restoration law say when it comes to sustainable forest management?
It would be legally binding to restore at least 30% of habitats in poor condition by 2030, 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. The focus is on habitats with most potential to capture and store carbon and to prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters.
- Sweden voted against this
How is human influence distributed in forests in northern Sweden?
- Natural forests, no human influence (2-3% of the area)
- Semi-natural forests, managed but naturally regenerated (in Norrland 60%)
- Plantations, very high degree of human influence (30-40% but steadily increasing)
What are some threat factors that cause forest ecosystem changes, when they are managed for production?
- Shorter rotations, younger forests
- Altered disturbance regime, fire supression
- Decreased structural diversity, removal of dead wood
- Less deciduous trees (conifer monocultures)
- Exotic tree species, e.g. Pinus contorta
- Soil disturbance, draining, big machines
- Fertilization
- Climate change
What are some threat factors that cause landscape modification and fragmentation in forest ecosystems?
- Patches increase in numbers and decrease in size (habitat fragmentation)
- Increased isolation
- More forest edges
- More roads
What type of species become “losers” in a managed forest?
- Specialists
- Slow-growing species
- Sedentary species
- Fire-dependent species
- Late-successional species (Most red-listed species belong to this category)
What are some social and economic issues in forestry?
- Native ancestral rights
- Increasing world trade competition and contrasting demands for protected forests
- Increasing demand for certified forest products
- Increasing economic activity in other sectors than forestry, competing interests for land use (ecotourism, non-timber products)
What are some instruments for sustainable forest management?
- Legislation (e.g. forestry act, miljöbalken), but legislation is unclear and weak at the moment.
- International conventions
- Certifications (e.g. FSC, PEFC) though it could be argued that it is green-washing.
- Protected nature (Natura 2000, national parks)
- Stand level management (Retention trees/patches, buffer zones)
What are some examples of ecological restoration in older forests?
- Key biotope set aside
- Postponed logging of broad-leaved trees
- Waterlogged, selective logging?
- Controlled burning
- Re-creation of broad-leaves
- Creation of mixed-age pine forests
- Creating dead standing trees through ring-barking (??)
