Balancing different forest values: Evaluation of forest management scenarios in a multi-criteria decision analysis framework

Eggers, Jeannette; Holmgren, Sara; Nordström, Eva‐Maria; Lämås, Tomas; Lind, Torgny; Öhman, Karin

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2017.07.002

Cited by 59 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In these scenarios, there is potential and great need (climate change adaptation measures) to increase the use of approaches that currently are less attractive than the typical plantation of Norway spruce in terms of production but are more beneficial for other ecosystem services and/or decrease climate change related risks. This includes inter alia increasing the share of set-asides and continuous cover forestry, establishing mixed forests and native broadleaves [6,73,74].…”

Section: Projection Results With Possible Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios with Current Forest Owner Behavior: A Scenario Study from a Region in Southern Sweden

Lodin

Eriksson

Forsell

et al. 2020

Forests

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This study investigates the need for change of current forest management approaches in a southern Swedish region within the context of future climate change mitigation through empirically derived projections, rather than forest management according to silvicultural guidelines. Scenarios indicate that climate change mitigation will increase global wood demand. This might call for adjustments of well-established management approaches. This study investigates to what extent increasing wood demands in three climate change mitigation scenarios can be satisfied with current forest management approaches of different intensities in a southern Swedish region. Forest management practices in Kronoberg County were mapped through interviews, statistics, and desk research and were translated into five different management strategies with different intensities regulating management at the property level. The consequences of current practices, as well as their intensification, were analyzed with the Heureka Planwise forest planning system in combination with a specially developed forest owner decision simulator. Projections were done over a 100-year period under three climate change mitigation scenarios developed with the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIUM). Current management practices could meet scenario demands during the first 20 years. This was followed by a shortage of wood during two periods in all scenarios unless rotations were reduced. In a longer timeframe, the wood demands were projected to be easily satisfied in the less ambitious climate change mitigation scenarios. In contrast, the demand in the ambitious mitigation scenario could not be met with current management practices, not even if all owners managed their production forests at the intensive extreme of current management approaches. The climate change mitigation scenarios provide very different trajectories with respect to future drivers of forest management. Our results indicate that with less ambitious mitigation efforts, the relatively intensive practices in the study region can be softened while ambitious mitigation might push for further intensification.

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Section: Projection Results With Possible Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios with Current Forest Owner Behavior: A Scenario Study from a Region in Southern Sweden

Lodin

Eriksson

Forsell

et al. 2020

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In general, an MCA provides a proven suite of methods for sustainability evaluation in the context of forest management [31,[52][53][54][55]. In particular, its use in SIA of forest-wood chains has been demonstrated previously [33,56,57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Thinning Operations in Mediterranean Softwood Plantations

Schweier

Spinelli

Magagnotti

et al. 2018

Forests

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Abstract:Mediterranean pines account for 14,000 ha in Tuscany alone, where they form large and homogeneous stands and represent an important resource for the forest economy. Among the harvesting systems applied to thinning operations, the most popular are whole-tree and cut-to-length harvestings. Both systems can be deployed with different levels of mechanization. The decision about which system might be the best option in a specific case possibly leads to conflicts due to different management goals, for instance when the shift from cut-to-length to whole-tree harvesting systems results in a decrease of costs and an increase of environmental burdens. Thus, an accurate determination of economic, environmental and social indicators is crucial to make balanced decisions. With that in mind, we carried out a sustainability impact assessment of typical forest-wood chain alternatives applied to young Mediterranean pine plantations and made a comparative evaluation by means of multi-criteria analyses. Trials were carried out in umbrella pine (Pinus pinea L.) plantations in Tuscany. The analyzed cases considered four thinning operations and included the processes of harvesting, extraction and chipping. In the analysis, 12 indicators were considered (e.g., global warming potential, fatal accidents). Results of the investigation allow quantifying possible sustainability impacts and, thus, supporting management decisions.

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“…Forests also support high biodiversity levels, which ensures forest resilience and is of high value in itself (Oliver et al 2015). Evaluations of the effects of management scenarios on the sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services and biodiversity (ESB) need to account for levels of ESB provision, trade-offs between individual ESB (Eggers et al 2017) and also the ability of forests to deliver ESB continuously over long time periods (Albrich et al 2018). Disturbance events such as wind storms and bark beetle calamities may disrupt the continuity in ESB provision (Schelhaas et al 2003;Thom and Seidl 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs between ecosystem service provision and the predisposition to disturbances: a NFI-based scenario analysis

et al. 2020

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Background: Scenario analyses that evaluate management effects on the long-term provision and sustainability of forest ecosystem services and biodiversity (ESB) also need to account for disturbances. The objectives of this study were to reveal potential trade-offs and synergies between ESB provision and disturbance predisposition at the scale of a whole country. Methods: The empirical scenario model MASSIMO was used to simulate forest development and management from years 2016 to 2106 on 5086 sample plots of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI). We included a businessas-usual (BAU) scenario and four scenarios of increased timber harvesting. Model output was evaluated with indicators for 1) ESB provision including a) timber production, b) old-growth forest characteristics as biodiversity proxies and c) protection against rockfall and avalanches and 2) for a) storm and b) bark beetle predisposition. Results: The predisposition indicators corresponded well (AUC: 0.71-0.86) to storm and insect (mostly bark beetle) damage observations in logistic regression models. Increased timber production was generally accompanied with decreased predisposition (storm: >−11%, beetle: >−37%, depending on region and scenario), except for a scenario that promoted conifers where beetle predisposition increased (e.g. + 61% in the Southern Alps). Decreased disturbance predisposition and decreases in old-growth forest indicators in scenarios of increased timber production revealed a trade-off situation. In contrast, growing stock increased under BAU management along with a reduction in conifer proportions, resulting in a reduction of beetle predisposition that in turn was accompanied by increasing old-growth forest indicators. Disturbance predisposition was elevated in NFI plots with high avalanche and rockfall protection value. Conclusions: By evaluating ESB and disturbance predisposition based on single-tree data at a national scale we bridged a gap between detailed, stand-scale assessments and broader inventory-based approaches at the national scale. We discuss the limitations of the indicator framework and advocate for future amendments that include climate-sensitive forest development and disturbance modelling to strengthen decision making in national forest policy making.

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Balancing different forest values: Evaluation of forest management scenarios in a multi-criteria decision analysis framework

Cited by 59 publications

References 42 publications

Combining Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios with Current Forest Owner Behavior: A Scenario Study from a Region in Southern Sweden

Combining Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios with Current Forest Owner Behavior: A Scenario Study from a Region in Southern Sweden

Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Thinning Operations in Mediterranean Softwood Plantations

Trade-offs between ecosystem service provision and the predisposition to disturbances: a NFI-based scenario analysis

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