Forest management

Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, protection, and forest regulation. This includes management for timber, aesthetics, recreation, urban values, water, wildlife, inland and nearshore fisheries, wood products, plant genetic resources, and other forest resource values.[1] Management objectives can be for conservation, utilisation, or a mixture of the two. Techniques include timber extraction, planting and replanting of different species, building and maintenance of roads and pathways through forests, and preventing fire.

Definition

The forest is a natural system that can supply different products and services. Forests supply water, mitigate climate change, provide habitats for wildlife including many pollinators which are essential for sustainable food production, provide timber and fuelwood, serve as a source of non-wood forest products including food and medicine, and contribute to rural livelihoods.[2]

The working of this system is influenced by the natural environment: climate, topography, soil, etc., and also by human activity. The actions of humans in forests constitute forest management.[3] In developed societies, this management tends to be elaborated and planned in order to achieve the objectives that are considered desirable.

Some forests have been and are managed to obtain traditional forest products such as firewood, fiber for paper, and timber, with little thinking for other products and services. Nevertheless, as a result of the progression of environmental awareness, management of forests for multiple use is becoming more common.[4]

Public input and awareness
Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.

There has been increased public awareness of natural resource policy, including forest management. Public concern regarding forest management may have shifted from the extraction of timber for economic development, to maintaining the flow of the range of ecosystem services provided by forests, including provision of habitat for wildlife, protecting biodiversity, watershed management, and opportunities for recreation. Increased environmental awareness may contribute to an increased public mistrust of forest management professionals.[5] But it can also lead to greater understanding about what professionals do for forests for nature conservation and ecological services. The importance of taking care of the forests for ecological as well as economical sustainable reasons has been shown in the TV show Ax Men.

Many tools like remote sensing, GIS and photogrammetry[6][7] modelling have been developed to improve forest inventory and management planning.[8] Since 1953, the volume of standing trees in the United States has increased by 90% due to sustainable forest management.[9]

Wildlife considerations

The abundance and diversity of birds, mammals, amphibians and other wildlife are affected by strategies and types of forest management.[10] Forests are important because they provide these species with food, space and water.[11] Forest management is also important as it helps in conservation and utilization of the forest resources.

Approximately 50 million hectares (or 24%) of European forest land is protected for biodiversity and landscape protection. Forests allocated for soil, water, and other ecosystem services encompass around 72 million hectares (32% of European forest area).[12][13][14] Over 90% of the world's forests regenerate organically, and more than half are covered by forest management plans or equivalents.[15][16]

Management intensity

Forest management varies in intensity from a leave alone, natural situation to a highly intensive regime with silvicultural interventions. Forest Management is generally increased in intensity to achieve either economic criteria (increased timber yields, non-timber forest products, ecosystem services) or ecological criteria (species recovery, fostering of rare species, carbon sequestration).[17]

Proportion of forest area with long-term management plans, by region, 2020[18]

Most of the forests in Europe have management plans; on the other hand, management plans exist for less than 25 percent of forests in Africa and less than 20 percent in South America. The area of forest under management plans is increasing in all regions – globally, it has increased by 233 million ha since 2000, reaching 2.05 billion ha in 2020.[19]

Forest certification is a globally recognized system for encouraging sustainable forest management and assuring that forest-based goods are derived from sustainably managed forests.[20][21][22] This is a voluntary procedure in which an impartial third-party organization evaluates the quality of forest management and output against a set of criteria established by a governmental or commercial certification agency.[23][24]

See also


Sources

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken from Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings​, FAO, FAO.

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief​, FAO & UNEP, FAO & UNEP.

References
  1. "Glossary of Forestry Terms in British Columbia" (PDF). Ministry of Forests and Range (Canada). March 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  2. The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief. Rome: FAO & UNEP. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca8985en. ISBN 978-92-5-132707-4. S2CID 241416114.
  3. "Natural Forest Management". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  4. Young, Raymond (1982). Introduction to Forest Science. John Wiley & sons. p. 207. ISBN 978-0471064381.
  5. Shindler, Bruce; Lori A. Cramer (January 1999). "Shifting Public Values for Forest Management: Making Sense of Wicked Problems". Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 14 (1): 28–34. doi:10.1093/wjaf/14.1.28. ISSN 0885-6095. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  6. I. Balenovich, A. Seletkovich, et al. Comparison of Classical Terrestrial and Photogrammetric Method in Creating Management Division. FORMEC. Croatia 2012. pp. 1-13.
  7. I. Balenović, D. Vuletić, et al. Digital Photogrammetry – State of the Art and Potential for Application in Forest Management in Croatia. SEEFOR. South-East European Forestry. #2, 2011. pp. 81–93.
  8. Mozgeris, G. (2008) “The continuous field view of representing forest geographically: from cartographic representation towards improved management planning”. S.A.P.I.EN.S. 1 (2)
  9. The Value of Hardwood Floors
    • Philip Joseph Burton. 2003. Towards sustainable management of the boreal forest 1039 pages
  11. "Home | Ohio Woodland Stewards Program". woodlandstewards.osu.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  12. Bank, European Investment (2022-12-08). Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5403-4.
  13. "Forests - Environment - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  14. "Protected Forests in Europe" (PDF).
  15. Bank, European Investment (2022-12-08). Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5403-4.
  16. Martin. "Forests, desertification and biodiversity". United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  17. Classification of Forest Management Approaches: A New Conceptual Framework and Its Applicability to European Forestry Philipp S. Duncker 1, Susana M. Barreiro 2, Geerten M. Hengeveld 3, Torgny Lind 4, William L. Mason 5, Slawomir Ambrozy 6 and Heinrich Spiecker 1|http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol17/iss4/art51/
  18. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings. Rome: FAO. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca8753en. ISBN 978-92-5-132581-0. S2CID 130116768.
  19. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings. Rome: FAO. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca8753en. ISBN 978-92-5-132581-0. S2CID 130116768.
  20. Bank, European Investment (2022-12-08). Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5403-4.
  21. "What is certification?". pefc.org. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  22. "An Introduction to Forest Certification | NC State Extension Publications". content.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  23. Bank, European Investment (2022-12-08). Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5403-4.
  24. "What is certification?". pefc.org. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
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