The inclusion of improved forest management in strategic forest planning and its impact on timber harvests, carbon and biodiversity conservation.

In forestry, although the so-called nature-based climate solutions have usually been focused on the calculation of carbon captured in new afforestation projects, it should be noted that the increase in carbon associated with improvements in their management (Improved Forest Management) can also be computed. This type of carbon is not usually integrated into strategic forest planning models, nor has its possible degree of conflict with other regulation ecosystemic services, like biodiversity conservation, been verified. In this research, those two issues have been approached by calculating a baseline in an emblematic forest with an extensive forestry history. For this purpose, we have designed two scenarios, i.e., one linked to its current management (Business As Usual, BAU) and another justified by the inclusion of Improved Forest Management (IFM). The results reveal a notable conflict between the carbon captured and the values of the indicators used to measure biodiversity. In order to reach a compromise between both scenarios, a multi-criteria model has been proposed that could be more attractive than the above ones. In addition, the carbon profit credits in the first ten years have been computed under the IFM scenario; the latter could be, a priori, an object of transaction in a voluntary carbon market. In conclusion, our model generates feasible solutions that allow the integration of IFM into strategic planning. Besides, those solutions show interesting tradeoffs between carbon and biodiversity. This discord must be distinguished by the current state of the forest and its expected growth, as well as their influence on the values associated with provision ecosystem services, such as the present net value associated with timber harvests.

Incorporating acoustic objectives into Forest Management Planning when sensitive bird species are relevant.

BACKGROUND: The potentially negative effects of timber harvesting on biodiversity and habitat conservation leads to the consideration of a wide range of restrictions to forest logging in natural areas. In particular, high noise levels produced by forest machinery present a challenge to developing sustainable forest management plans. The Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), the largest bird of prey whose nests are located in mature trees, is considered to be appropriate as an indicator species for environment-friendly forest planning. In this work, we evaluated spatially differences in sound propagation between stands. We hypothesized that differences due to the influence of orography in mountainous forests would allow the relaxation of spatial and temporary restrictions to timber logging, without causing any great disturbance at nesting sites of sensitive species. METHODS: Our study was conducted in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest of Spain, where an important colony of the Western European population of Cinereous vulture is located. We built 62 noise maps to characterize noise pollution due to tree logging at planning level. We modeled two different scenarios, in order to characterize; (i) the effect of a chainsaw operator during a complete cycle for felling a tree (Scenario 1), and (ii) the effect of the peak level produced by the breaking noise emitted by the trunk of the tree and its impact on the ground (Scenario 2). A strategy of three logical steps was designed; (i) landscape-scale analysis of noise propagation in stands, (ii) hierarchical cluster analysis of stands, (iii) assessment of the potentially significant influence of noise management in timber harvesting. RESULTS: The minimum distance (DIST) from chainsaw operator sites to the 40 dB(A) contour lines was the only variable that had a significant influence on the clustering results. On the other hand, mean values of a newly proposed metric called average radius or radial distance (ARD) oscillated between 174 m in cluster #1 (Scenario 1) and 407 m in cluster #2 (Scenario 2). DISCUSSION: Our results highlight the convenience of considering noise modeling tools at a forest planning level in order to address the compatibility of forest logging and the necessity of protecting nature. We found that spatial propagation of noise made by chainsaws at felling sites does not differ between stands even in a mountainous terrain, contrary to what we initially hypothesized. However, temporary logging restrictions could be excluded in about 36% of the current conditioned management areas according to ARD results in Scenario 2 (400 m). This proposal could be based on a sound pressure level (in decibels) criteria instead of conventional buffer protection distance criteria. In addition, it is suggested that the current size of restricted management areas could be generally extended from a 100 m radius to a 200 m one around the Cinereous vulture nest sites.

A new large-scale index (AcED) for assessing traffic noise disturbance on wildlife: stress response in a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population.

Anthropogenic noise is a growing ubiquitous and pervasive pollutant as well as a recognised stressor that spreads throughout natural ecosystems. However, there is still an urgent need for the assessment of noise impact on natural ecosystems. This article presents a multidisciplinary study which made it possible to isolate noise due to road traffic to evaluate it as a major driver of detrimental effects on wildlife populations. A new indicator has been defined: AcED (the acoustic escape distance) and faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) were extracted from roe deer faecal samples as a validated indicator of physiological stress in animals moving around in two low-traffic roads that cross a National Park in Spain. Two key findings turned out to be relevant in this study: (i) road identity (i.e. road type defined by traffic volume and average speed) and AcED were the variables that best explained the FCM values observed in roe deer, and (ii) FCM concentration was positively related to increasing traffic volume (road type) and AcED values. Our results suggest that FCM analysis and noise mapping have shown themselves to be useful tools in multidisciplinary approaches and environmental monitoring. Furthermore, our findings aroused the suspicion that low-traffic roads (< 1000 vehicles per day) could be capable of causing higher habitat degradation than has been deemed until now.

Road traffic noise impact assessment in a breeding colony of cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) in Spain.

There is a global and growing concern with regard to anthropogenic noise impact on wildlife and natural habitats, but it is difficult to find consensus regarding scoping and assessment tools. This study adapts noise mapping procedures, common to most European countries, to a low traffic road (below 1000 vehicles per day) noise impact assessment in a breeding colony of the largest bird of prey in Europe. Results show that nest sites are located avoiding road traffic Leq levels higher than 40 dB. This means a road-effect zone of up to 500 m width from road margins, which previous scientific literature only refers in cases of traffic volumes higher than 10,000 vehicles per day. This finding is a noticeable impact by road traffic noise that reduces the breeding potential habitat more than 11% within the study area. This work shows the feasibility of expanding common methods and mapping tools for assessing and managing environmental noise in protected areas, which has worthwhile implications for both acoustics and conservation.

Noise pollution mapping approach and accuracy on landscape scales.

Noise mapping allows the characterization of environmental variables, such as noise pollution or soundscape, depending on the task. Strategic noise mapping (as per Directive 2002/49/EC, 2002) is a tool intended for the assessment of noise pollution at the European level every five years. These maps are based on common methods and procedures intended for human exposure assessment in the European Union that could be also be adapted for assessing environmental noise pollution in natural parks. However, given the size of such areas, there could be an alternative approach to soundscape characterization rather than using human noise exposure procedures. It is possible to optimize the size of the mapping grid used for such work by taking into account the attributes of the area to be studied and the desired outcome. This would then optimize the mapping time and the cost. This type of optimization is important in noise assessment as well as in the study of other environmental variables. This study compares 15 models, using different grid sizes, to assess the accuracy of the noise mapping of the road traffic noise at a landscape scale, with respect to noise and landscape indicators. In a study area located in the Manzanares High River Basin Regional Park in Spain, different accuracy levels (Kappa index values from 0.725 to 0.987) were obtained depending on the terrain and noise source properties. The time taken for the calculations and the noise mapping accuracy results reveal the potential for setting the map resolution in line with decision-makers' criteria and budget considerations.

Régimen óptimo para plantaciones de eucaliptos en Brasil: un análisis no determinista / Optimal coppice regimes for aucalyptus in Brazil: a non deterministic analysis

A diferencia de otras plantaciones en las cuales no existe la posibilidad de gestionar su capacidad de rebrote, en el manejo de los eucaliptares es frecuente que el turno óptimo no sea optimizado. Resulta habitual que se fije en el momento inicial un turno, que se mantenga constante en cada uno de los rebrotes, o bien que se desprecie la capacidad de rebrote volviendo a replantar después de realizar la corta final. En este trabajo se pretende, mediante la utilización de técnicas como la programación dinámica y la simulación Monte Carlo, optimizar tanto la duración de cada rebrote como el número de ellos de acuerdo a distintas variables, entornos (determinista y estocástico) y parámetros previamente definidos. Con el fin de ilustrar esta metodología, se analiza el caso de una plantación de eucaliptos en Brasil. Los resultados muestran cómo la duración óptima del régimen de corta puede experimentar cambios significativos al introducir en el análisis diversas hipótesis

Sustainability of forest management plans: a discrete goal programming approach.

Let us consider i = 1, 2,...n alternative forest plans to be evaluated according to j = 1, 2,...m indicators of sustainability. An expert or panel of experts suggests a set of targets or desirable levels of achievement for the m indicators of sustainability considered. Within this context, an important problem is to determine the system with a higher level of achievement with respect to the targets attached by the expert to the m indicators. A natural extension of this problem involves determining a ranking of the n systems considered. A general procedure based on discrete goal programming is proposed to address these problems. The methodology is applied in a case study of a Spanish forest.