Publications

Selecting a variant of forest regeneration cuttings that would ensure fulfilling multiple, frequently conflicting forest functions is a challenging task for forest management planning. The aim of this work is to present an efficient and complex analysis of the impact of different forest management scenarios on stand wind stability, timber production (economy), and biodiversity of a secondary mixed temperate forest in Central Europe. We evaluated four different harvest-regeneration systems: clear-cutting, shelter-wood, selection cutting, and no-cutting using theSIBYLA growth simulator. We simulated forest stand development over time and applied 450 variants of 4 harvest-regeneration systems. The selected outputs from the simulator were used as indicators of the fulfilment of wood-production and non-wood-production functions. The calculated indicators were forest stability (height/diameter ratio), economic efficiency (soil expectation value, SEV), and tree species diversity (Shannon index). These indicators were used as inputs for multi-criteria a posteriori decision analysis using the weighted summation method and Pareto fronts. The results revealed substantial trade-offs among the three investigated criteria. The decision space was highly sensitive to their weighting system and included all regeneration systems. The Pareto fronts for wind stability revealed that the maximum stability could be achieved with shelter-wood based on target diameter. This variant, however, fulfils the other two examined functions only to a limited extent (SEV and diversity only to 9% and 27% of their absolute maxima). Other similar variants achieve high stability by sacrificing diversity and increasing SEV, simultaneously. If a high diversity level is favoured, optimal stability could be achieved by the selection system. The proposed approach enables objective testing of a large number of variants, and an objective assessment of stand management planning since it provides us with the complex multi-dimensional picture about the impact of criteria weights on the selection of optimal variants, and the relative fulfilment of individual criteria.

Sustainable management promises to improve the conservation and utilization of ecosystem services and their contribution to human wellbeing through management plans. This paper explores the concept of characterization and integration of ecosystem services in a management planning concept. The integration process involves the identification, quantification, valuation, assessment, and monitoring of ecosystem services over time. The quantification of common ecosystem services, such as soil erosion, water conservation, recreation, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration was explored. A framework was developed to integrate ecosystem services into the management planning process. Ecosystem services are classified as provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services with a defined typology. The conceptual framework acts as an organizing structure and it serves as a model for the management of ecosystems with their contribution to human wellbeing. Ecosystem management with multi-criteria decision techniques, information technologies, and structured participation is a proposed approach for the sustainable management of ecological, economic, and socio-cultural functions. Establishing the quantitative relationships between ecosystem services and societal benefits is essential. The provision of a universally accepted clear measurement of regulating, supporting, and cultural services is challenging. A commitment, vision, and strong willingness are required to adopt policies, regulations, and management objectives in planning. Integration can only be realized by prioritizing ecosystem services with the involvement of stakeholders. Substantial understanding of both the ecological and social systems is a prerequisite for sustainable management of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services with significant benefits to the well-being of society should primarily be characterized, their relative importance is weighted and prioritized through a participatory approach. A holistic approach with a comprehensive decision support system is essential in forecasting the future provision of ecosystem services and assessing the trade-off analysis, resulting in better policy formulation before on-the-ground implementation.

Both in Germany and in China, there is strong expertise regarding the different aspects of forest management, as well as forest products management. Nevertheless, forestry in both countries is facing challenges, some of which are regional, but many of which are shared. Therefore, experts from both countries (Technical University of Munich Germany; Northwest A&F University Yangling, China; Forestry Academy of Shaanxi, China; Thünen Institut, Germany; FEDRC GIZ Forest Policy Facility (Forestry Economics Development and Research Center of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH), Germany; and Center for Natural Forest Protection in Shaanxi, China) met to share their knowledge and deduce recommendations for future multifunctional forest management for the temperate zone. The workshop, held at the Northwest A&F University in September 2018, included presentations and intensive discussions, as well as a field tour. The results of the workshop that are summarized in this white paper are meant to provide an overview of the multi-faceted nature of the topic for interested scientists and forest practitioners, describe tools that can be used to analyze various aspects of multifunctionality and, in an exemplary fashion, highlight gathered experience from long- and short-term experiments. Included are social demands, economic goals, and scientific baselines. The topics reach from economic evaluations of forest ecosystem services over forest management practices, including afforestation, restoration, and preparations to face climate change, to wood/forest products utilization and participation of local people for poverty reduction. Overall, an optimistic picture emerges, showing that by using adapted forest management practices, which try to embrace the concept of multifunctionality, various use schemes and demands can be integrated at single sites, allowing us to achieve both environmental protection and productive forests, including societal demands, as well as aspects of tradition and national identity.

Judging and predicting tree suitability is of great significance in the cultivation and management of forests. Background and Objectives: Due to the diversity of tree species for afforestation in China and the lack of experts or the limitations of expert knowledge, the site rules of tree species in some regions are lacking or incomplete, so that a small number of tree suitability empirical site rules are difficult to adapt to the afforestation expert system’s diverse needs. Research Highlights: This paper explores an intelligent method to automatically extract rules for selecting favorable site conditions (tree suitability site rules) from a large amount of data to solve the problem of knowledge acquisition, updating, and maintenance of suitable forest site rules in the expert system. Materials and Methods: Based on the method of site quality evaluation and the theory of the decision tree in knowledge discovery and machine learning, the dominant species of Chinese fir and Masson pine in the forest resources subcompartment data (FRSD) of Jinping County, Guizhou Province were taken as examples to select the important site factors affecting the forest quality and based on the site quality of potential productivity. Assessment methodology was proposed to determine the afforestation of a stand site by nonlinear quantile regression, the decision tree was constructed from the ID3, C5.0, and CART algorithms. Results: Finally, the best-performing CART algorithm was selected to construct the model, and the extractor of the afforestation rules was constructed. After validating the rules for selecting favorable site conditions of Chinese fir and Masson pine, the production representation method was used to construct the relationship model of the knowledge base. Conclusions: Intelligent extraction of suitable tree rules for afforestation design in an expert system was realized, which provided the theoretical basis and technical support for afforestation land planning and design.

This paper aims at analyzing whether existing economic value estimates for forest ecosystem services (ES) might be transferred and used for valuation purposes elsewhere and whether these data are appropriate for application in forest management. Many forest ES is public goods or positive externalities, and as a consequence, they do not have a market price. The valuation of forest ES can provide important information for decision making in forest management and planning as well as in political processes, especially by allowing the comparison of different alternatives and helping set priorities for practical actions, as well as developing financial incentives or support mechanisms. We analyze whether an integrated economic valuation model for forest ES can be developed based on existing published data. To achieve this, we assess to which extent a benefit transfer could be expedient, and which challenges must be addressed. Based on a literature search, we compiled an extensive database of forest ES values. Given that these values vary substantially for the same ES, such a database alone does not seem useful to serve as a decision and management support tool. In addition, the available information mainly focuses on forests as such and does not include desirable forest composition and management targets. If existing estimates should be transferred and used for forest management decisions, both the background conditions of the primary studies and the indicators used for valuation need to be specified in detail. The most expedient approach in this context seemed to be a valuation function transfer based on a broad set of indicators, offering the possibility to adapt the valuation function to changing background conditions.

Among terrestrial ecosystems, forests have the largest carbon deposits, and thus play an important role in global climate change. Forests of all ages and types have a significant capacity in sequestration or depositing carbon. Increasing their capacities from this aspect can only be possible through sustainably managed forests. Therefore, in order to increase the carbon stock in forests, carbon management concepts must be integrated into the forestry program. The purpose of this study is to understand how carbon sequestration can affect levels of wood production and harvest scheduling in a forest area operated mainly for wood production, by considering alternative ideas on the current conditions in the given area. Monetary revenue which will be achieved by a 100-year planning horizon with a mixed integer optimization model, the produced wood and the levels of carbon that was sequestrated from atmosphere were investigated under 5 different strategies. Strategies were formed according to the potential unit prices of carbon. In the basic strategy (STR1) carbon price is taken as zero (only wood production revenue), while other strategies, i.e., STR2, STR3, STR4, and STR5 is priced as €8, €35, €55, and €100 per ton, respectively. Regeneration periods of stands and amount of maintenance cuts, which will be extracted from the forest, differ according to the strategies. Results show that when sequestrated carbon unit price is low (STR2 and STR3) or even when carbon has no value (STR1) the management activities in these strategies are almost the same. However, if there is an increase in the value of carbon (STR4 and STR5), with the assessment of different options, it is understood that a much higher level of revenue can be accessible.

Biofuels have been promoted as a likely avenue for the future transportation energy mix. Hence, the production of biofuels using lignocellulosic feedstocks, such as forest-based biomass, is expected to increase globally. Forest biomass abundance and experience with applying biomass conversion technologies give the Nordic countries an advantage in catering to biofuel production capacity investment. Yet, given uncertainties in the techno-economic variables of biofuel conversion technologies, as well as differences between the Nordic countries in terms of labor costs, bioheat market prices, and electricity and forest biomass costs and prices, it is unclear which of the Nordic countries are comparatively attractive for future investment in forest-based biofuel production capacity. In this paper, we quantify how techno-economic cost components of a novel forest-based biofuel production technology affect the optimal allocation of biofuel production capacity in the Nordic countries at a regional level. We apply a scenario analysis approach using an endogenous biofuel capacity investment module in the Nordic Forest Sector Model (NFSM). In each scenario, we alter the techno-economic features of the technology and quantify total biofuel production allocation volume in each region and at a national level. We find that optimal capacity allocation is affected by the type of feedstock used in the technology and will affect existing industries dependent on forest feedstocks. Electricity selling or purchasing will have little effect on allocation because it comprises a small revenue or cost proportion. Bioheat may affect the allocation, but this will depend on local demand. Finally, labor costs may affect the allocation, but this will depend on the labor intensity, which changes with scale. The results are relevant for policy incentives to proliferate future forest-based biofuel production in the Nordic countries.

In this paper, we develop an interdisciplinary agent-based framework for studying the provision of forest ecosystem goods and services (ES) at the landscape level. It combines forest owner types and their behavioral models with forest decision support systems (DSS). For this, we draw on mainstream decision-making theories in social sciences and relevant empirical evidence from Europe and beyond to suggest how economic, sociological, and psychological rationalities can be combined to build a typology and behavioral models of forest owner decision-making including responsiveness to policy and socioeconomic changes. We then discuss how the theory-driven and evidence-based behavioral models in combination with forest owner and forest management insights can be used to analyze forest management behavior and responsiveness to policy and socioeconomic developments. By comparing standard forest DSS modeling results to exemplary results using the agent-based framework in terms of long-term simulations of timber production and biodiversity conservation in a case study in Sweden, we illustrate how the framework accounts for more differentiated and more realistic forest management practices at the forest landscape level. We discuss how the agent-based framework also helps explore and explain the impacts of future policy and socioeconomic changes on the provision of forest ES. We then suggest directions for future research that can further develop the framework and its use in forest modeling and DSS to better analyze the impact of future developments on forest management and the provision of forest ES at the landscape level.

The control and maintenance of species composition of mixed stands is a highly relevant objective of forest management in order to provide multifunctionality and climatic resilience. In contrast to this requirement, there is, however, an evident lack of quantitative methods for mixture regulation. In this context, we propose an approach for the regulation of mixture proportions that has been implemented in a forest management model. The approach considers species-specific growth characteristics and takes into account the mixing effect on stand density. We present five exemplary simulations that apply the regulation. Each simulation maintains one of five desired species compositions. In these simulations, we consider the species European beech and Norway spruce under good site conditions, thus representing the most prominent mixed stands in Central Europe. Based on this model experiment, we analyze the potential benefit of controlled mixing regulation for achieving desired levels and combinations of ecosystem service provision, in particular productivity, diversity, and groundwater recharge. We found that a constant 50% basal area share of beech (equivalent growing space share of 80% to 70% depending on stand age) provided the most balanced supply of ecosystem services. Prominently, groundwater recharge considerably decreased when beech basal area shares were held below 50%. We discuss the ecological and practical implications of the regulation approach and different mixing shares