scholarly journals Climate change and woodland caribou in Northwestern Ontario: a risk analysis

Rangifer ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Racey

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) range occupancy and populations have declined in northwestern (NW) Ontario over the last 100 years primarily due to human-induced factors. Recovery efforts are underway to halt this decline by reducing risk factors. Climate forecasts suggest a 4—5 oC increase in May—August mean temperature over the next century with little change in precipitation. Resulting increases in extreme weather events and increased fire weather severity will likely increase the amount of forest burned, reduce the area of older forest, alter distribution and abundance of forest tree species and plant communities, and increase abundance of alternate prey. The reduced amount of older forest preferred by caribou will be in greater demand by the forest industry leading to more conflict over ecological and economic values. Most of these factors will increase risk to caribou survival. Although forests may experience enhanced productivity, forest management practices will try to adapt harvest, regeneration, silviculture and fire management practices to both maintain economic benefits and increase the ability of forests to sequester carbon. The interaction of climate-induced forest change and forest management practices adds uncertainty to caribou conservation efforts at the southern edge of its current range. This uncertainty reinforces the need for a precautionary approach to forest management, increased research and monitoring effort, sustained emphasis on caribou recovery, and careful rationalization of restoration efforts where greatest opportunities for success may be realized.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Paluš ◽  
Ján Parobek ◽  
Rastislav Šulek ◽  
Ján Lichý ◽  
Jaroslav Šálka

Forest certification as a voluntary verification tool has been providing an independent assessment of sustainable forestry practices and thus confidence in sustainability benchmarks for over 20 years. Using either the international or national approaches and initiatives, two main forest certification systems, PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), have spread in a number of countries worldwide. The specifics of local conditions in the forestry sector have to be taken into account when implementing the certification context in a given country or a region. Apart from the natural conditions, institutional structure, or legislative framework, it is also the local and national stakeholders and their perception of this issue that provides the background for the implementation of the certification criteria. The main objective of this study is to examine the general understanding of the certification concept as an environmental, economic, and social tool, and to determine the incentives of forest owners in Slovakia for sustainable forest management (SFM) certification. In addition, the benefits and problems arising from participation in certification were identified and differences reflecting the ownership structure of forests, size of forest area, and participation in a particular certification programme were analysed. Results indicate that certified forest owners, unlike non-certified, demonstrated a high level of understanding of the SFM certification concept. Certified entities mainly consider forest certification as their commitment to environmental responsibility and a tool for improving external company image, promoting sustainable utilisation of forest resources, and improving forest management practices. The main benefits are linked to the possibility to demonstrate forest management practices, a better understanding of the forest management concept, and improvement of forest management practices. PEFC users perceive more benefits following from certification; the most important are those associated with non-economic values, while FSC-certified forest owners perceive mainly economic benefits connected to market penetration, increased sales volume, and potential price premiums. The key problems associated with certification relate to duties to ensure compliance with certification criteria by contractors and administrative difficulties. Respondents reported minimum price premiums for the sale of their certified timber. Additionally, the findings of the study pointed out that a nationally developed certification system can better recognise the roles and objectives of forest certification in the context of forest policy.


CERNE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Farinha Watzlawick ◽  
Marcos Vinicius Winckler Caldeira ◽  
Tiago de Oliveira Godinho ◽  
Rafaelo Balbinot ◽  
Jonathan William Trautenmüller

This study aimed to estimate biomass and organic carbon in stands of Pinus taeda L. at different ages (14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 32 years) and located in the municipality of General Carneiro (PR). In order to estimate biomass and organic carbon in different tree components (needles, live branches, dead branches, bark and stem wood), the destructive quantification method was used in which seven trees from each age category were randomly sampled across the stand. Stocks of biomass and organic carbon were found to vary between the different age categories, mainly as a result of existing dissimilarities between ages in association with forest management practices such as thinning, pruning and tree density per hectare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Skiadaresis ◽  
Bernhard Muigg ◽  
Willy Tegel

Tree-ring widths (TRW) of historical and archeological wood provide crucial proxies, frequently used for high-resolution multi-millennial paleoclimate reconstructions. Former growing conditions of the utilized trees, however, are largely unknown. Potential influences of historical forest management practices on climatic information, derived from TRW variability need to be considered but have not been assessed so far. Here, we examined the suitability of TRW series from traditionally managed oak forests (Quercus spp.) for climate reconstructions. We compared the climate signal in TRW chronologies of trees originating from high forests and coppice-with-standards (CWS) forests, a silvicultural management practice widely used in Europe for most of the common era. We expected a less distinct climate control in CWS due to management-induced growth patterns, yet an improved climate-growth relationship with TRW data from conventionally managed high forests. CWS tree rings showed considerably weaker correlations with hydroclimatic variables than non-CWS trees. The greatest potential for hydroclimate reconstructions was found for a large dataset containing both CWS and non-CWS trees, randomly collected from lumber yards, resembling the randomness in sources of historical material. Our results imply that growth patterns induced by management interventions can dampen climate signals in TRW chronologies. However, their impact can be minimized in well replicated, randomly sampled regional chronologies.


1996 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-258
Author(s):  
William P. Furey

Forest Certification is one of the priority issues facing the forest industry and will become increasingly more important as we move towards the year 2000. It will provide a voluntary, impartial process for each company to demonstrate to the general public, customers and Government, that its forest management practices meet or exceed established standards necessary for sustainability. Key words: sustainable forestry, Canadian forest management standards, forest certification


PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e43290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay E. Jones ◽  
Andrew J. Kroll ◽  
Jack Giovanini ◽  
Steven D. Duke ◽  
Tana M. Ellis ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-322
Author(s):  
Jari Miina ◽  
Mikko Kurttila ◽  
Rafael Calama ◽  
Sergio de-Miguel ◽  
Timo Pukkala

Abstract Purpose of Review The increased popularity and commercial use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) calls for the development of models for NTFPs to include their predicted yields in forest management planning and to evaluate the potential of multi-functional forest management. This study assesses and discusses the current state of the art and trends in NTFP yield modelling in Europe and the integration of the models in multi-functional forest management planning at different spatial scales. Recent Findings Climate-sensitive empirical yield models already exist not only for a variety of NTFPs that are economically important to forest owners (e.g. cork and pine nuts) but also for wild-gathered berries and mushrooms, the harvesting of which cannot be controlled by the forest landowner in all European countries. Several studies on multi-functional forest management planning consider the economic profitability of the joint production of timber and NTFP. Harvesting NTFPs can create significant additional incomes for forest owners, compared with timber production only. However, maximizing the economic returns from the joint production of timber and NTFPs often calls for changes in forest management practices. Summary Continued efforts in modelling and predicting the yields of NTFPs have enabled forest managers to further expand the analyses of multi-functional forest planning and management in Europe. Climate-sensitive models also allow analyses on the potential effects of climate change on NTFP yields. New models and forest management practices are still needed for tree fruits, birch sap, a wider variety of wild edible mushrooms, specialty mushrooms cultivated on live trees as well as medicinal and edible forest herbs harvested for commercial value in Europe.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document