Integrating Habitat Quality of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) in Forest Spatial Harvest Scheduling Problems

Abstract

Biodiversity conservation has been broadly recognized in multi-objective forest management over the past decade. Nevertheless, habitat serves as one of the key influencing factors of biodiversity; while timber production and habitat quality are integrated into forest management operations, our knowledge about the trade-offs between the two is still limited. Thus, we formulated a habitat suitability index model for the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and developed a forest planning model that integrated timber revenue and habitat quality for a forest landscape in northeast China. We created three alternative management strategies, which spanned from timber benefit maximization to various management strategies restricted to differing amounts of suitable habitat. The results show that when the amount of suitable habitat comprised 39% to 65% of the landscape, this generated a 40.7% to 74.4% reduction in the total net present value, in comparison with the timber benefit maximization base scenario. The restriction of suitable habitat amount demands significantly decreased the total timber benefit in spatial planning problems. Our planning model provides an efficient approach to learning more about the trade-offs between timber production and wildlife habitat. Furthermore, the consideration of optimal habitat protection rather than increased habitat amount could be helpful for balancing targeting strategies among ecological and economic factors.

An Updated Review of Spatial Forest Planning: Approaches, Techniques, Challenges, and Future Directions

“…Moreover, various biological, chemical, and physical processes that occur within ecosystems, influence the flow of energy, matter, and nutrients (i.e., nitrogen fixation, succession, disturbances and resilience) and thus the provision of ecosystem services [4,5]. Nevertheless, the escalating global demand for food, fuel, and fiber has resulted in intensified fiber production and more homogenous forest landscape mosaics that impact the vulnerability to pests and diseases [6] and to wildfires [7][8][9] as well as the biodiversity conservation [10][11][12]. This trend impacts the ecological integrity of forest landscaped and poses detrimental effects to the sustainability of global forest resources management.…”