Publications

In northern Sweden, improvements of grazing conditions are necessary for the continuation of traditional, natural pasture-based reindeer husbandry. Ground and tree lichen constitute the main fodder resource for reindeer during winter but have reached critically low levels. Using a forest decision support system, we prescribe adapted forest management to improve the preconditions for reindeer husbandry and compare outcomes with the continuation of current forest management. We found that adapted management increases the forest area with ground lichen habitat by 22% already within 15 years, while a continuation of current management would result in a further decrease in ground lichen. Tree lichen habitat can be retained and increased in all scenarios, which is important in a changing climate. Compared to a continuation of current practices, adapted management with significantly improved conditions for lichen resulted in a decrease in net revenues from wood production by 11–22%. © 2023, The Author(s).

Climate change and forest management are recognized as pivotal factors influencing forest ecosystem services and thus multifunctionality. However, the magnitude and the relative importance of climate change and forest management effects on the multifunctionality remain unclear, especially for natural mixed forests. In this study, our objective is to address this gap by utilizing simulations of climate-sensitive transition matrix growth models based on national forest inventory plot data. We evaluated the effects of seven management scenarios (combinations of various cutting methods and intensities) on the future provision of ecosystem services and multifunctionality in mixed conifer-broad-leaved forests in northeastern China, under four climate scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5, and constant climate). Provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services were described by timber production, carbon storage, carbon sequestration, tree species diversity, deadwood volume, and the number of large living trees. Our findings indicated that timber production was significantly influenced by management scenarios, while tree species diversity, deadwood volume, and large living trees were impacted by both climate and management separately. Carbon storage and sequestration were notably influenced by both management and the interaction of climate and management. These findings emphasized the profound impact of forest management on ecosystem services, outweighing that of climate scenarios alone. We found no single management scenario maximized all six ecosystem service indicators. The upper story thinning by 5% intensity with 5-year interval (UST5) management strategy emerged with the highest multifunctionality, surpassing the lowest values by more than 20% across all climate scenarios. In conclusion, our results underlined the potential of climate-sensitive transition matrix growth models as a decision support tool and provided recommendations for long-term strategies for multifunctional forest management under future climate change context. Ecosystem services and multifunctionality of forests could be enhanced by implementing appropriate management measures amidst a changing climate. © 2024 The Authors

The increasing global demand for sustainable forest resource management highlights the significance of intelligent decision support systems (IDSS) in this field. This study proposes a multi-objective optimization model based on IDSS to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of forest management. By integrating ecological, economic, and social goals, the model addresses the conflicts between forest development and conservation, providing a scientific basis for policymakers. The research first identifies key challenges in managing forest resources, such as biodiversity conservation, economic maximization, and community involvement. A multi-objective optimization framework is then developed using techniques like decision trees and genetic algorithms. Case studies validate the model's effectiveness, showing that the IDSS-based approach offers real-time, accurate information to decision-makers and facilitates sustainable resource use through trade-offs among objectives. The findings offer a crucial theoretical foundation and practical guidance for future forest management policies. ©2024 IEEE.

The sustainable management of forest ecosystems is directly linked to the management of forest fires. The increasing occurrence of wildfires has prompted the need for the establishment of infrastructure aimed at addressing them. The placement of anti-fire water reservoirs can address the lack of water intake points. This study introduces a decision support system (DSS) tailored for the optimal allocation of anti-fire water reservoirs in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, ensuring a reliable water supply for firefighting operations. The methodology integrates the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique of order of preference by similarity to ideal solutions (TOPSIS) methods, facilitating precise location determination through comprehensive criteria analysis. Additionally, the analysis of the forest road network is incorporated to optimize the placement of water reservoirs. In the forest complex of Taxiarchis, Chalkidiki, Greece, 100 potential reservoir sites were identified and prioritized based on factors such as fire risk, proximity to existing water sources, and coverage area using optimal pathways. The study’s findings demonstrate that by establishing 34 water reservoirs, firefighting forces can access a replenishment point within a 5-min travel time. The conclusions underscore the efficacy of this methodology as a valuable decision-making tool for sustainable wildfire prevention planning. This approach contributes to allocating resources judiciously, effectively mitigating the wildfire risk in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, and therefore promoting sustainability. © 2024 by the authors.

In recent years, global attention to forest ecological environment, carbon, wood yield, and biodiversity has been increasing, which requires forest managers to make reasonable forest planning in time and space to meet the needs of multi-objectives and multi-resources. In this study, the resources of business units in Northeast China were analyzed, and the FPS-ATLAS model was established. A multi-objective decision supporting spatial forest planning scheme for 16629.53 ha of forest in Jingouling forest farm of Wangqing Forestry Bureau in Jilin Province was proposed. In this paper, the volume growth model of six forest types was established, and the carbon storage model was introduced to show the total carbon, biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon, and total soil carbon of the ecosystem. The dynamic change in carbon during the whole planning period has achieved good results. After 20 time periods, the total soil carbon increased to 7,627,208 Mg (+6.63%), the total ecosystem carbon increased to 14,889,876 Mg (+27.51%), the biomass carbon increased to 5,362,779 Mg (+59.70%), and the dissolved organic carbon increased to 9,531,906 Mg (+14.59%). The purpose of this article is to achieve dynamic management of forest resources, meet multiple constraint settings, achieve multiple management objectives, harvest wood products, and ensure the ecological and social functions of forests so that forests ultimately achieve the ideal state of sustainability. Copyright © 2024 Lu and Zhang.

Enhancing forest drought resilience is important for preserving ecosystem services in the face of climate change, but operational management methods for boreal forests aiming to preserve ecosystem services under drought are still largely missing. This study explores the use of satellite remote sensing to monitor vegetation stress phases related to drought progression and to quantify both short- and long-term impacts on forest growth. Data from the Sentinel-2 satellite mission were used to calculate the response of vegetation indices across six forest types, using the time period from 2015 to 2017 as a reference dataset. The percentual difference between the drought year of 2018 and the reference period was used to represent disturbance intensity and the system’s capability to resist it. Additionally, the recovery time was taken into consideration. Breakpoint detection with daily temporal resolution was used to quantify the response time of each forest type in relation to the onset date of meteorological drought. Results indicate that Sentinel-2 data can be used to monitor vegetation stress associated with drought progression and estimate the characteristics of forest resilience. High temporal resolution observations should be prioritized over annual maximum vegetation index values to determine the intensity of disturbance. Consistent severe impacts were observed in areas with limited soil moisture availability. The recovery time of forests took up to 4 years. Drought exposure during consecutive years could be especially damaging for species requiring a longer recovery time than a single growing season. Sentinel-2-based monitoring approach could benefit decision-support systems for forest management aiming to enhance drought resilience. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Background. Recent policy instruments for integrated landscape management in Portugal provide an opportunity to develop strategies that optimise the implementation of global policies at a local scale. Aims. The main objective was to create and define a thorough framework that combines restoration of natural habitats and fire hazard management, to contribute to landscape resilience to fire under climate change. Methods. Ecological modelling was the basis to propose restoration of natural habitats in the area. A participatory approach was developed for the co-creation of alternative land management scenarios, described through Northern Forest Fire Laboratory (NFFL) fuel model maps expressing modified forest cover types. Results. The proposed framework, applied to integrate stakeholders’ perceived challenges and opportunities in the land management scenarios, resulted in a decrease in fuel load in forest areas, compared with simulated restoration of native habitats only, without subsequent management. Conclusions. The management of forest structure achieved through forest cover type modification suggests a reduction in wildfire propagation potential, progressively more noticeable with the cumulative management of new and pre-existing forests. Implications. The framework can be used as part of a decision-support tool for forest management and may be implemented in other places where habitat conservation and fire hazard are management concerns. © 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)).

Decision support systems based on spatial data are widely used in some countries for planning production activities in forestry and designing forest roads. In recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been playing an active role in the production of high resolution and accurate digital elevation models (DEMs) of forested areas. In the preparation of progress payments for forest road construction works, the workload is high, while the fee that has to be paid to the contractor company after the completion of the road construction is determined according to the final cost in the progress payment schedules. In this study, the applicability of UAV technology for determining forest road cut volume and land classification was investigated. A 640-meter section of the forest road coded 001 of Taşlıyayla Forest Management Sub-Directorate (Bolu/Türkiye) was examined in the study. Flights with an UAV (drone) were carried out in autonomous mode before and after the construction of the road examined in the study. In addition, in order to determine the amount of cut, measurements of the geometric characteristics of the road were made in the field after the road construction. As a result of the study, 2189 m³ cut volume was found with the UAV data with an average error of 3 cm. According to the field measurement results, the amount of cut was determined as 2080 m³. A difference of +5% was found between the UAV data and the field measurement results. In addition, using the JavaScript coding language on the Google Earth Engine platform, soil (46%) and loose soil (54%) land classification was identified from the orthophoto images. The obtained results reveal the usability of UAVs in determining forest road volumes. © 2024, Hrvatsko Sumarsko Drustvo. All rights reserved.

On the 50th anniversary of SSAFR, we present a brief survey and summary of the previous meetings and how the methods and applications presented have changed. References to previous surveys of SSAFR papers are included. From the 1st symposium in 1975 through the 20th in 2024, a consistent theme has been participation from a wide range of scientists from university, agency, corporate and non-governmental organizations from around the world. Some of the applications covered include fire management, transportation, multicriteria optimization, forest and land management planning, ecological/environmental analysis, biodiversity and sustainability, decision support systems, stochastic methods and hierarchical planning. While some topics from earlier years have lost currency, new topics have gained in popularity. Climate change has not been emphasized often as a specific topic, but it has been addressed in many areas such as fire management, biodiversity and sustainability, ecological/environmental considerations and stochastic methods. As we look to the future, we are confident that systems analysts will continue to provide solutions and insights into the pressing problems and issues addressed by future generations. Copyright © 2024 Publisher of the Mathematical and Computational Forestry & Natural-Resource Sciences Bare Tóth (2024) (MCFNS 16(2):33–49). Manuscript Editor: MCFNS Editor

In general terms, renewable energy sources are characterized by their decentralized availability, ability to quickly self-regenerate, and the reduced environmental impacts resulting from their use. The conversion of forest biomass into energy will make it possible to transform waste into raw material for the energy industry while promoting forest management. Reducing the forest's fuel load will be responsible for reducing the intensity of forest fires. In this context, biorefineries significantly prevent rural fire risks by addressing two important aspects: fuel management and renewable energy generation. based on these premises, this study aims to assess the potential for implementing a biorefinery in the Centro Interior region. The amounts of available residual biomass were calculated based on data from the national forest inventory, carried out in 2015.For the municipalities with higher residual biomass production, a decision support system based on GIS and Multicriteria Decision-making was used to select sites suitable for locating a forest biorefinery and provides a valuable reference for decision-makers. The combination of MCDM and GIS methods can, therefore, be seen as a powerful tool for solving power planning problems. The most relevant areas, in terms of land occupation of the three forest species considered, are mainly found in the south of the region under study. The area under study has the potential to generate an annual flow of residual biomass of 269,024 tons per year, with maritime pine harvesting accounting for 80% of this flow. However, around 88,193 tons of the annual flow of residual biomass (33%) are found in regions that are difficult to access, and the costs may make exploration unviable in economic terms. According to the study carried out, we consider that the implementation of the biorefinery will be located in the industrial area of the municipality of Oleiros. © 2024, Eesti Pollumajandusulikool. All rights reserved.