Impact Assessment of Timber Harvesting Operations for Enhancing Sustainable Management in a Secondary Atlantic Forest

Abstract

Conservation and management of forest ecosystems are currently largely conflicting goals in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome. At present, all parts of the Atlantic Forest are protected and commercial logging is highly restricted. However, sustainable forest management systems can offer significant income opportunities for landholders, and thereby actively support the process of ecosystem rehabilitation and protection of the Atlantic Forest. This research is intended to contribute to enhancing the development of environmentally sound forest management alternatives in the Atlantic Forest biome. Through a case study, the harvesting impact of a conventional harvesting method (CM) was evaluated and compared with an alternative and improved harvesting method (AM), performed by a well-trained professional chainsaw operator experienced in reduced impact logging techniques, and included the use of a snatch block and a skidding cone. Following a full pre-harvest inventory, 110 different tree species were identified. The harvesting impact on the residual stand was classified and evaluated through a successive post-harvest inventory. Damage maps were developed based on interpolation of tree damage intensities with the triangular irregular networks (TIN) methodology. Our results showed noticeable high rates of tree hang-ups, observed for both harvesting methods. Furthermore, the harvesting damaged trees mainly in the lower diameter at breast height (DBH) classes. In comparison to winching, the felling process caused most of the damage to remnant trees for both methods, at 87% (CM) and 88% (AM). The number of damaged trees (above 11.9 cm DBH) per harvested tree, for CM, ranged from 0.8 trees to 2.5 trees and, for AM, ranged from 0.6 trees to 2.2 trees. Improvements of the AM method (operator skills, skidding cone and snatch block) over CM allowed for a reduction of the damaged basal area, a reduction of the “high damaged area” per plot, and a reduction of the winching disturbed ground area. Nonetheless, a suitable harvesting system should consider further improvements in the felling technique, and additionally integrate the local knowledge of CM regarding forest and tree species with the technical improvements of AM.

Residual Stand Damage Due to Timber Harvesting in PT Tunas Timber Lestari, Papua

“…Kerusakan tegakan tinggal tersebut dapat menyebabkan terhambatnya pertumbuhan pohon karena adanya serangan hama dan serangga sehingga terjadi pembusukan pada pohon tersebut dan berakhir pada kematian. Britto et al (2019) mengemukakan bahwa kerusakan tegakan tinggal dari kegiatan pemanenan kayu disebabkan oleh 1) penebangan, dengan kerusakan berupa patah tajuk, pohon terbelah, kulit terkelupas dan bagian batang patah dan 2) penyaradan, dengan kerusakan berupa batang miring, pohon roboh dan akar terangkat.…”

Multi-year, post-harvesting impact assessment in a neotropical secondary Atlantic Forest

“…As one of the most threatened Biomes in South America, the Atlantic Forest is currently subject to a very controversial debate on conservation and management. Sustainable forest management in the Biome has the potential to actively support the process of ecosystem recovery and rehabilitation and, at the same time, generate income opportunities for landowners (Britto et al 2019;Fantini et al 2019). One component of successful forest management is a harvesting Communicated by Eric R. Labelle.…”

“…Numerous researchers have argued that policy incentives fostering sustainable management of secondary forests may generate income opportunities for the landowners, favoring local development and, at the same time, maintaining core ecosystems services provided by this forest. Therefore, it would be more effective to conserve and possibly even expand the forest cover (Alarcon et al 2011;Britto et al 2019Britto et al , 2017Fantini et al 2019;Santos et al 2019;Silva et al 2018;Trevisan et al 2016;Zambiazi et al 2021). Research analyzing alternative forest management strategies is fundamental for knowledge-based decision making with respect to potential utilization of native tree species from the Atlantic Forest, through responsible and regulated timber harvesting (Alarcon et al 2011).…”

“…Within this context, a research study site was set in the municipality of Guaramirim, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, within the Atlantic Forest Biome, where various alternative forest management regimes for sustainable forest management, including timber utilization, are tested and evaluated (Britto et al 2017(Britto et al , 2019. The present study aimed at better understanding the potential impacts of timber harvesting operations within sustainable management strategies for the Atlantic Forest.…”

Timber stock recovery in a chronosequence of secondary forests in Southern Brazil: Adding value to restored landscapes

“…Other studies have focused on the natural regeneration of secondary forests as a strategy to restore forest ecosystems (Brancalion et al, 2019;Chazdon and Brancalion, 2019;Chazdon and Guariguata, 2016;Crouzeilles et al, 2020;Rozendaal et al, 2019;Siminski et al, 2021). Only recently has secondary forest, as source of timber production, started to gain attention based on data from forest management (Britto et al, 2017;Britto et al, 2019;Fantini et al, 2019;Oliveira et al, 2018;Piazza et al, 2017;da Silva et al, 2017). Such studies showed the significant volume of timber available in mid-to late-secondary forests and signaled the effectiveness of management in enhancing timber production and providing other ecosystem services (Fantini et al 2019;Guariguata, 1998;Mesquita, 2000;Finegan, 1992).…”