How Will Anthropogenic Disturbances Shape Forest Management?

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 4302

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA 24088, USA
Interests: wildlife; forestry; forest ecology; silviculture; biodiversity; forest regeneration
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humans have manipulated forests throughout history, often with dramatic consequences for these ecosystems. In general, however, forests have been remarkably resilient to human disturbances. Forests are now prone to more novel and pervasive disturbances, such as anthropogenic climate change, nitrogen saturation, increasingly intense wildfires, and invasive pests and pathogens. These disturbances may not only reduce the supply of forest products needed for a growing human population, but also threaten vital ecological services provided by forests. The enormous biodiversity of forests is also put at risk by these disturbances, particularly if forest managers need to fill the gap in wood production through the establishment of monocultures of high-yielding tree species. Forest managers have typically been as resilient as the forests they manage, but are now at the front lines confronting novel disturbances that may significantly and negatively alter the composition and function of forests. There are many tools available, including the establishment of more species-diverse forests, assisted migration, silvicultural treatments to reduce the risk of fire and pest outbreaks, biological pest and pathogen controls, and genetic engineering of tree species. I hope that this Special Issue will attract forest scientists from all fields of study who can document the threats to forests from current anthropogenic disturbances, model the possible outcomes, and, most importantly, propose novel solutions for forest management to mitigate the negative impact of these disturbances and preserve the ecological integrity of forests.

Dr. Todd Fredericksen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • anthropogenic disturbances
  • climate change
  • invasive species
  • wildfire
  • biodiversity
  • ecosystem services
  • forest management
  • silviculture

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1645 KiB  
Article
Intercropping Short Rotation Timber Species with Teak: Enabling Smallholder Silviculture Practices
by Aris Sudomo, Dewi Maharani, Dila Swestiani, Gerhard E. Sabastian, James M. Roshetko, Aulia Perdana, Diana Prameswari and Rizki A. Fambayun
Forests 2021, 12(12), 1761; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12121761 - 13 Dec 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3412
Abstract
Community forest management for timber production requires short- and long-rotation companion species to fulfill the demands of the timber industry, improve farmer welfare and maintain environmental sustainability. Four species (Falcataria moluccana, Neolamarckia cadamba, Acacia mangium and Gmelina arborea) were [...] Read more.
Community forest management for timber production requires short- and long-rotation companion species to fulfill the demands of the timber industry, improve farmer welfare and maintain environmental sustainability. Four species (Falcataria moluccana, Neolamarckia cadamba, Acacia mangium and Gmelina arborea) were tested as short-rotation timber crop companion species for teak (Tectona grandis) on dry-rocky soil in the Gunungkidul community forest. The selection of short-rotation timber species was based on growth performance and survival rate at the teak site. Two years after planting, the viability of G. arborea (87.3%) and A. mangium (78.2%) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of N. cadamba (40.6%) and F. moluccana (18.0%). G. arborea and N. cadamba achieved the best growth in terms of height, diameter, basal area, and volume, with the growth of A. mangium and F. moluccana being significantly inferior. Gmelina arborea has the ability to adapt to teak sites, grow well, and accompany teak. Neolamarckia cadamba demonstrated good growth with potential as a teak companion, and it demonstrated limited drought tolerance on the dry-rocky soils of the study sites. Acacia mangium had a high survival but produced slow growth, indicating that it required an advance evaluation in future years. Falcataria moluccana has different growing site requirements to teak so the performance was relatively poor at the study site. This mixed pattern provides benefits to farmers through commercial thinning of short rotations species, 5–8 years post establishment. Thinning operations will also increase the productivity of residual teak stands. The diversification of timber species in community forests can provide earlier returns, enabling the adoption of silviculture management by smallholders and communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How Will Anthropogenic Disturbances Shape Forest Management?)
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