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Forests
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Effects of Forest Management Practices on Forest Biodiversity
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Effects of Forest Management Practices on Forest Biodiversity

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2019) | Viewed by 15989

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kari T. Korhonen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistokatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland
Interests: sustainable forest management; forest resources; statistics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human activities are affecting practically all ecosystems around the globe. In some cases, the changes have been drastic, and in the human time horizon, permanent. Examples of such extreme changes are the clearing of forests for agricultural land or settlement. In some cases, the changes are less extreme; for example, forestry or recreation activities may not completely change the forest ecosystems, but definitely do have biodiversity impacts. Increasing population and, at the same time, an increasing demand for replacing the use of non-renewable natural resources with renewable ones, is expected to increase the need for the active management of forests.

Forest scientists and ecologists have developed models for making scenarios of the development of forests under different management practices and other disturbances. To better understand the trade-offs between different ecosystem services, especially biodiversity and timber/bioeconomy production, we invite research articles on scenario analyses done at the regional or national levels. Research questions may include: Future development of forest biodiversity under different forest use scenarios, mitigating the impacts of forest management on biodiversity, comparison of alternative cutting regimes, cost-effective management of forest biodiversity.

Dr. Kari T. Korhonen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest management
  • biodiversity
  • scenario modeling
  • biodiversity indicators

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 876 KiB  
Article
Retention Forestry Supports Bird Diversity in Managed, Temperate Hardwood Floodplain Forests
by Ivo Machar, Martin Schlossarek, Vilem Pechanec, Lubos Uradnicek, Ludek Praus and Ahmet Sıvacıoğlu
Forests 2019, 10(4), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10040300 - 01 Apr 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2623
Abstract
The retention forestry approach is considered as one of the potentially effective tools for sustainable forest management for conservation of biodiversity in managed temperate and boreal forests. Retention of old-growth forest structures (e.g., very large old living trees) in forest stands during clear-cutting [...] Read more.
The retention forestry approach is considered as one of the potentially effective tools for sustainable forest management for conservation of biodiversity in managed temperate and boreal forests. Retention of old-growth forest structures (e.g., very large old living trees) in forest stands during clear-cutting provides maintenance of key habitats for many old-growth forest interior-species. Most of ecological studies on green tree retention (GTR) consequences for biodiversity have been focused on birds. However, the long-term studies of GTR impacts on forest birds are very poor. In this paper, we focused on assessment of the long-term consequences of leaving legacy oak trees on the cut areas for bird diversity 18–22 years after clear-cutting in managed temperate European hardwood floodplain forests. Results based on bird counting using mapping of bird nesting territories revealed a key importance of legacy oak trees for maintaining bird diversity in the study area. These results are widely applicable for managed temperate hardwood forests with serious dominance of oak (Quercus sp.) in forest stands. Legacy oak trees in this habitat type are keystone structures for bird diversity. Retention approach focused on these trees is potentially an important conservation tool for preserving forest bird diversity and other associated species in temperate hardwood forests managed by clear-cutting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Forest Management Practices on Forest Biodiversity)
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22 pages, 2271 KiB  
Article
Influence of Anthropogenic Factors on the Diversity and Structure of a Dry Forest in the Central Part of the Tumbesian Region (Ecuador–Perú)
by Jorge Cueva Ortiz, Carlos Iván Espinosa, Carlos Quiroz Dahik, Zhofre Aguirre Mendoza, Eduardo Cueva Ortiz, Elizabeth Gusmán, Michael Weber and Patrick Hildebrandt
Forests 2019, 10(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10010031 - 05 Jan 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5261
Abstract
The dry forest of southern Ecuador and northern Perú (called the Tumbesian region) is known for its high diversity, endemism, and healthy conservation state. Nevertheless, the forest is exposed to many threats linked with human activities. To understand the effects of these threats, [...] Read more.
The dry forest of southern Ecuador and northern Perú (called the Tumbesian region) is known for its high diversity, endemism, and healthy conservation state. Nevertheless, the forest is exposed to many threats linked with human activities. To understand the effects of these threats, which have not been appropriately assessed, we pose two questions: (a) What are the diversity and structural situations of the forest? (b) Are anthropogenic activities affecting the composition and structure of the forest? The assessed factors were species richness, diversity, species similarity, abundance, and density. Forest information was obtained from 72 plots (total area 25.92 ha) randomly placed to cover a wide range of stand densities (from 200 to 1100 m a.s.l.). After constructing linear mixed models and selecting the most influential one, we determined the individual influences of 12 predictors. The human pressure index (HPI) was the most negative predictor of forest health, and annual precipitation was the most important abiotic predictor of good health conditions. Livestock grazing did not significantly change the diversity and structure of mature forest. The mean annual temperature and stoniness influenced only the basal area and number of individuals, respectively. The species composition in our study area was not affected by the HPI, but was strongly predicted by annual precipitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Forest Management Practices on Forest Biodiversity)
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20 pages, 2632 KiB  
Article
Coarse Woody Debris Variability Due to Human Accessibility to Forest
by Farshad Keivan Behjou, Angela Lo Monaco, Farzam Tavankar, Rachele Venanzi, Mehrdad Nikooy, Piotr S. Mederski and Rodolfo Picchio
Forests 2018, 9(9), 509; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9090509 - 23 Aug 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3837
Abstract
Coarse woody debris (CWD) plays an important role in supporting biodiversity and assisting ecological processes. Sometimes local people intervene modifying the expected distribution of CWD components, harvested as fuel wood. The effect of the human accessibility (HA) on the volume and characteristics of [...] Read more.
Coarse woody debris (CWD) plays an important role in supporting biodiversity and assisting ecological processes. Sometimes local people intervene modifying the expected distribution of CWD components, harvested as fuel wood. The effect of the human accessibility (HA) on the volume and characteristics of CWD (snag, downed log and stump) was investigated in the natural uneven-age mixed hardwood stands of the Hyrcanian forests of Iran to quantify the impact on CWD. The HA was classified into three classes (easy, medium and difficult) on the basis of slope class, slope direction to the nearest road and road type. As expected, a negative relationship between the degree of accessibility was found with respect to the main qualitative and quantitative indices referring to CWD. The results showed that the volume of CWD decreased with an increase in human accessibility class (HAC), thus the mean volume of CWD in the difficult, medium and easy accessibility classes were 14.87 m3 ha−1, 8.84 m3 ha−1 and 4.03 m3 ha−1, respectively. The decrease in CWD volume was more associated with the decreasing volume of small diameter of low decayed downed logs. The ratio of snag volume to standing volume, the ratio of downed log volume to the volume of trees and the ratio of CWD volume to standing volume increased with a decrease in HAC, while the ratio of downed log volume to snag volume decreased with a decrease in HAC. No selective behaviour on the botanical species of CWD was recorded. For ecological forest management, the effect of HAC on CWD should be considered. A constant supply of snags and downed logs must be preserved to assure a high level of biodiversity. To balance social needs and biodiversity requirements, an increased level of CWD retention might be needed in areas with easy accessibility. The obtained results may be useful when ecological and socio-economical needs have to be taken into consideration in future policy-making decisions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Forest Management Practices on Forest Biodiversity)
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9 pages, 1654 KiB  
Article
Growth Variations of Tree Saplings in Relation to Species Diversity and Functional Traits in a Tree Diversity Pot Experiment
by Jingjun Yang, Pifeng Lei, Wenhua Xiang, Shuai Ouyang and Xinrong Hui
Forests 2018, 9(7), 380; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9070380 - 26 Jun 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3155
Abstract
Despite the accumulating evidence of the beneficial effects of diverse mixed species forests on ecosystem functioning and services, foresters in subtropical forest cultivation in China still prefer easily managed monocultures, which is also due to the complexity of mixed forests and the unknown [...] Read more.
Despite the accumulating evidence of the beneficial effects of diverse mixed species forests on ecosystem functioning and services, foresters in subtropical forest cultivation in China still prefer easily managed monocultures, which is also due to the complexity of mixed forests and the unknown underlying mechanisms related to relationships between biodiversity and forest growth. In a designed pot experiment, we selected two early-successional tree species (Pinus massoniana Lamb., Liquidambar formosana Hance.) and two late-successional tree species (Schima superba Champ., Elaeocarpus decipiens Hemsl.) and planted four saplings in one pot with regard to tree species diversity (monoculture, two species and four species mixtures), each combination replicated four times. In this three-year duration experiment, the effect of tree species diversity, tree identity, and functional traits on sapling growth (tree height, ground diameter, crown projection area), were analyzed. The results showed that the increments of ground diameter and crown projection area increased with tree species richness, whereas the mean tree height increment showed the opposite effect. This growth variation was species specific and related to functional traits (early or late succession), as the increments of the early successional tree species (P. massoniana Lamb. and L. formosana Hance.) had a positive correlation with tree species richness, while the late successional tree species (E. decipiens Hemsl. and S. superba Champ.) showed negative effects. In addition, our study provided evidence for the allometric differences between mixtures and monocultures, which have an important reference value on mixed-species forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Forest Management Practices on Forest Biodiversity)
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