scholarly journals Should the whole Białowieża Forest be a national park?

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Zientarski ◽  
Janusz Szmyt

Abstract In Poland, the stormy discussion on the future of the Białowieża Forest has been ongoing already for a long time. The disputes are mostly focused on seeking answers to two questions: how to protect these unique forest ecosystems and whether forest management threatens their naturalness. The discussion has grown stronger after the recent, enormous outbreak of Ips ypographus in the Forest. The Białowieża Forest has been managed for years with no significant negative effect. However, antagonists of foresters blame forest management for degradation of the Forest’s ecosystems, which is caused by favoring the economic value of timber expected to be harvested in keeping with the management plans of 3 forest districts located in the Białowieża Forest. At any rate, such assumption, has nothing to do with reality. During this discussion the idea to extend the national park for all the Białowieża Forest revived. In this paper, we reviewed the economic, social and ecological dimensions which should be taken into consideration before making a decision on extending the Białowieża National Park. It should be underlined that the Park’s area is already under the strict protection; furthermore, 2/3 of the area of neighboring managed forests are under legal protection (the nature reserves, NATURA 2000, the so-called reference forests, etc.). All things considered, we cannot find any reasonable purpose (ecological, financial or social) for expanding the Park’s area from 10 500 ha (present status) to 62 500 ha (after extension). Also, we are convinced that sustainable forest management conducted in managed parts of the Białowieża Forest, which comprises the fulfillment of all forest functions and services, should not be perceived as a signifcant threat to naturalness of the Forest’s ecosystems.

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
Piotr Brewczyński ◽  
Kamil Grałek ◽  
Piotr Bilański

The small-sized gametophytes and sporophytes of the green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. make it difficult to study. However, in Europe, there has been increasing interest in this species in the past few years, mostly as a result of the implementation of the Natura 2000 network. In Poland, B. viridis has only been reported in isolated studies that have been limited in terms of area and the number of participating workers. One of the Polish regions where B. viridis was recently recorded is the Bieszczady Mountains, but there have been no large-scale surveys of that region to date. The objective of the current work was to describe the B. viridis population in the Bieszczady Mountains in terms of its spatial distribution and abundance, investigate its selected microhabitat preferences, and evaluate the conservation status of this moss species within the Natura 2000 site Bieszczady PLC180001. The studied region encompassed 93,490.44 ha, including 69,056.23 ha of managed forests and 24,434.21 ha of forests belonging to the Bieszczady National Park. A preliminary survey was conducted in the Cisna Forest District (forest area of 19,555.82 ha) on 15–17 November 2017, while the main survey was performed in selected forest subcompartments of four forest districts—Baligród, Komańcza, Lutowiska, and Stuposiany—as well as the Bieszczady National Park from 5 to 16 November 2018. The field work consisted of searching for B. viridis sporophytes and setae and recording selected population and locality characteristics. The study led to the discovery of 353 new B. viridis localities in 202 study areas, with 9197 diploid individuals (sporophytes or setae only) growing in 545 microhabitats. The number of B. viridis localities discovered in the Bieszczady Mountains during 17 days of survey in 2017 and 2018 was two times higher than the combined number of localities previously found in Poland over more than 150 years (159 localities). Additionally, the number of sporophytes and setae identified was two times greater than their overall number in previous records. In addition, this study provides information about selected microhabitat preferences and the conservation status of this moss in the Bieszczady Natura 2000 site.


1970 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pem N Kandel

In early 2005, 10,045 ha Community Forests (CFs) were certified in Bajhang and Dolakha districts of Nepal by using the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme. After two years of forest certification, subsequent questions are being asked such as: What benefits have certification brought for the Forest Users Groups (FUGs)? What tangible differences are there in forest management system because of forest certification? and What lessons have been learnt from the certified forests? In an attempt to answer these questions, a study was carried out in April 2007 in Dolakha district where 11 (2,182 ha) community managed forests were certified in 2005. On the basis of field study from two certified forests (Vitteripakha and Suspa) of the district, this paper analyzes the effects of forest certification and its implications for enhancing Sustainable Community Forestry (SCF) in Nepal. Key words: Sustainable forest management, forest certification, community forestry Banko Janakari: A journal of forestry information for Nepal Vol.17(1) 2007 pp.11-16


2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Langor ◽  
H.E. James Hammond ◽  
John R. Spence ◽  
Joshua Jacobs ◽  
Tyler P. Cobb

AbstractSaproxylic insect assemblages inhabiting dead wood in Canadian forests are highly diverse and variable but quite poorly understood. Adequate assessment of these assemblages poses significant challenges with respect to sampling, taxonomy, and analysis. Their assessment is nonetheless critical to attaining the broad goals of sustainable forest management because such species are disproportionately threatened elsewhere by the reductions in dead wood generally associated with commercial exploitation of northern forests. The composition of the saproxylic fauna is influenced by many factors, including tree species, degree of decay, stand age, and cause of tree death. Wildfire and forest harvesting have differential impacts on saproxylic insect assemblages and on their recovery in postdisturbance stands. Exploration of saproxylic insect responses to variable retention harvesting and experimental burns is contributing to the development of prescriptions for conserving saproxylic insects in boreal forests. Understanding of processes that determine diversity patterns and responses of saproxylic insects would benefit from increased attention to natural history. Such work should aim to provide a habitat-classification system for dead wood to better identify habitats (and associated species) at risk as a result of forest management. This tool could also be used to improve strategies to better maintain saproxylic organisms and their central nutrient-cycling functions in managed forests.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana Pelyukh ◽  
Alessandro Paletto ◽  
Lyudmyla Zahvoyska

People’s attitudes towards forest stand characteristics including deadwood are becoming increasingly relevant in sustainable forest management. The aim of this study is to investigate people’s attitudes towards deadwood in forest. The study was carried out in the Rakhiv region (Ukraine) characterized by high importance of forest resources for the local community and economy. People’s opinions were collected through the face-to-face administration of a questionnaire to 308 respondents. The survey investigated three aspects: importance of deadwood in forest; people’s perceptions of positive and negative effects of deadwood in forest; effects of presence and amount of deadwood in different types of forest on people’s aesthetical preferences. The results show that the majority of respondents consider deadwood as an important component of the forest, but generally they prefer intensively managed forests without deadwood. According to the respondents’ opinions, the most important positive effect of deadwood is a contribution to stand dynamics, while the most important negative effect is an increasing risk of insects and diseases.


1997 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 596-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Robinson ◽  
M. M. Ross

Canada is an international leader in the methodology of traditional land use and occupancy mapping as a result of the negotiation process for settling comprehensive land claims in the North. Since the early 1980s this methodology has found increasing application in the Canadian mid-North, especially in the context of forest planning and management in the northern Alberta Forest Management Agreement (FMA) areas. The goals of traditional land use and occupancy mapping in these FMAs include collection and preservation of traditional environmental knowledge, integration of this knowledge into forest planning and management and, for the Aboriginal communities, active participation in decision-making processes in order to attain sustainable forest management. While the first goal is often met in mapping projects, goals two and three are proving harder to achieve because of conflicting government policy agendas, differing paradigms of community development in society at large, and the lack of recognition and legal protection for Treaty and Aboriginal rights. Key words: traditional land use and occupancy studies, traditional environmental knowledge, bush economy, co-management


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Miranda Leão ◽  
Luiz Fernandes Silva Dionisio ◽  
Loirena Do Carmo Moura Sousa ◽  
Marlon Costa De Menezes ◽  
Marcelo Henrique Silva de Oliveira ◽  
...  

Determining the ideal sampling intensity is important to guarantee data closer to reality with less cost and time in the forest inventory. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the influence of different sample intensities to estimate the floristic composition, species diversity and the timber volume, beyond compare the results with their respective parameters obtained in the census of an ombrophilous open forest area in Verde Para Sempre Extractive Reserve. Was simulated a random sampling with sampling units of 1 ha and several sample intensities: 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% in an area of 200 ha that it was submitted to a forest census. It was evaluated the phytosociological parameters such as structure and diversity, and the estimated errors in the sampling intensities for the volume. The forest has a structure with high diversity and species of high economic value, indicating the existence of an aptitude for sustainable forest management. The treatment with 5% and 10% sample intensity were not enough to contemplate all the species in the area and estimate the volume inside to the required accuracy limit, maximum of 10% sampling error. The treatments of 15% and 20% resembled the parametric value regarding floristic composition, species diversity and volumetry of the forest census of the area, showing no significant difference between them. The analysis of the phytosociological structure showed the importance of using sample inventories to evaluate the economic potential of an area and its suitability for forest management.


2010 ◽  
Vol 161 (3) ◽  
pp. 114-119
Author(s):  
Jari Parviainen ◽  
Peter Furu ◽  
Conor Kretsch

Human health related to forests can be evaluated by Health Impact Assessment (HIA) methodologies and by using indicators of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The HIA systematically reviews the health aspects associated with a development policy, plan or project for a forested area, whereas the indicators of SFM can be used to monitor and give information on the existing forests, and their management, including planning. A prerequisite for the assessment of human health aspects in forestry context is defining the relevant indicators. The physical and mental aspects of human health as well as human diseases related to forest conditions are not covered comprehensively and in an operational way for use in current forest management. The health aspects need more multidisciplinary research on the cause-effect relationships between health, forest management and biodiversity. It is also necessary to develop methodologies for the estimation of the economic value of the non-market forest ecosystem services. This article outlines several possibilities to collaborate and develop joint approaches between forest and health sector to assess the health aspect in forests and to ensure that the health aspects in forest management are taken into consideration.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Robert-George Pache ◽  
Ioan Vasile Abrudan ◽  
Mihai-Daniel Niță

Carbon storage and sequestration is one of the most important services provided by forest ecosystems, the most powerful tools for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Its value is not always captured and appreciated at a fair level, with people taking for granted these benefits provided by the ecosystems. Our first objective was to evaluate the amount of carbon storage and sequestration within a specific area—Retezat National Park (RNP), Romania, in a specific timeframe, using mainly the data from forest management plans. The second objective was to estimate the economic value of the carbon sequestered by the ecosystems within the national park. Based on the carbon market price, we calculated the monetary value of the sequestered carbon. The third objective was to cross-validate the model using mobile terrestrial LiDAR scanner 3D mapping technology in several field plots. Our results reveal comparable stocks of carbon with the ones modelled based on the forest management plans, enabling us to use these plans as an accurate source of information. The present study underlines that the financial effort for the management of the ecosystems which provide these services can be sustained by implementing financial mechanisms aiming to direct ecosystem services values into the management of these ecosystems.


Author(s):  
Jose Mbenga Ibesoa

This article attempted to define a compromise making it possible the satisfaction of the material needs of the populations living within the National park of Salonga while ensuring the conservation of long-term forest resources. The management of the forests requires deepened knowledge of the resources and the participation of the local communities, which are the better, informed on of the forest resources. The implementing of a policy on sustainable forest management would be possible by a better integration and participation of the local populations. A survey was carried out in four villages of the National park of Salonga. The results of the investigation show clearly a positive attitude of the rural populations with regard to the forest resources. The diversity of the needs for the population corresponds to the choice of the products and services of the forest. Overall, the potential of the park’s forests is superior in comparison with the needs of the population. The exploitation of the forest products is vast and is included in the category of a system of an economy of collection.


1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 961-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc-André Côté ◽  
Luc Bouthillier

Supporters of sustainable forest management and forest certification are seeking to improve worldwide forest practices. Groups involved in the forest sector will have to adapt themselves to respect new environmental regulations, standards, and agreements linked to these two new concepts. Some forest stakeholders will lose several of their long-time privileges under the pressure of new actors involved in sustainable forest management. Forest managers will have to consider more social values in their planning than they used before. Sustainable forest management and forest certification thus have the potential to resolve, through public participation processes, old conflicts between stakeholders involved in forest management. However, these same processes could be the source of new conflicts. This article analyzes the ways in which relationships between forest stakeholders could be affected by new sustainable forest management rules. Key words: sustainable forest management, certification, forest stakeholder, public participation


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