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Sustainability
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Tree Density Modelling and Ecosystem Services
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Tree Density Modelling and Ecosystem Services

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 11311

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Silvestre Garcia de Jalon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, 48940 - Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
Interests: land use; climate change adaptation; ecosystem services; environment; natural resource management; ecological economics; environmental awareness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tree density is a fundamental factor in dictating ecosystem structure, biogeochemical processes, habitats for wildlife, forest productivity and profitability, as well as the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. Modelling approaches can play a key role in assessing the effects of tree density, since the implementation of field experiments can often be limited, due to the length of time needed to assess multiple indicators under different stages of tree growth. It is essential to develop tree density modelling approaches at different scales to identify effective forest management practices that promote the delivery of ecosystem services. This Special Issue welcomes studies that consider biophysical, social, economic, or interdisciplinary perspectives of trees in forest, agriculture, and urban land-uses, at any spatial scale (tree, plot, farm, city, regional, or global scale). In particular, this Special Issue will include papers that examine one or more of the following general themes for managing and understanding forest dynamics: eco-physiological models including forest growth and agroforestry models, forest inventories and carbon sequestration, experimental studies assessing tree effects, forest delivery of ecosystem services, adaptive forest management, conservation of forest diversity, forest optimization and other decision making frameworks, forecasting forest productivity under different tree densities, remote sensing techniques, and geographic analyses of vegetation.

Dr. Silvestre Garcia de Jalon
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Modelling
  • Tree density
  • Ecosystem service
  • Optimization
  • Forest management
  • Resilience

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1611 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Economic Profitability of Arable, Forestry, and Silvoarable Systems
by Kristina J. Kaske, Silvestre García de Jalón, Adrian G. Williams and Anil R. Graves
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3637; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073637 - 25 Mar 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2859
Abstract
This study assesses the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sequestration of a silvoarable system with poplar trees and a crop rotation of wheat, barley, and oilseed rape and compares this with a rotation of the same arable crops and a poplar plantation. The [...] Read more.
This study assesses the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sequestration of a silvoarable system with poplar trees and a crop rotation of wheat, barley, and oilseed rape and compares this with a rotation of the same arable crops and a poplar plantation. The Farm-SAFE model, a financial model of arable, forestry, and silvoarable systems, was modified to account for life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from tree and crop management were determined from life-cycle inventories and carbon storage benefits from the Yield-SAFE model, which predicts crop and tree yields in arable, forestry, and silvoarable systems. An experimental site in Silsoe in southern England served as a case study. The results showed that the arable system was the most financially profitable system, followed by the silvoarable and then the forestry systems, with equivalent annual values of EUR 560, 450 and 140 ha−1, respectively. When the positive and negative externalities of GHG sequestration and emissions were converted into carbon equivalents and given an economic value, the profitability of the arable systems was altered relative to the forestry and silvoarable systems, although in the analysis, the exact impact depended on the value given to GHG emissions. Market values for carbon resulted in the arable system remaining the most profitable system, albeit at a reduced level. Time series values for carbon proposed by the UK government resulted in forestry being the most profitable system. Hence, the relative benefit of the three systems was highly sensitive to the value that carbon was given in the analysis. This in turn is dependent on the perspective that is given to the analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Density Modelling and Ecosystem Services)
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19 pages, 2957 KiB  
Article
The Probability Distribution of Worldwide Forest Areas
by Rafael González-Val
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1361; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031361 - 28 Jan 2021
Viewed by 2483
Abstract
This paper analyses the probability distribution of worldwide forest areas. We find moderate support for a Pareto-type distribution (power law) using FAO data from 1990 to 2015. Power laws are common features of many complex systems in nature. A power law is a [...] Read more.
This paper analyses the probability distribution of worldwide forest areas. We find moderate support for a Pareto-type distribution (power law) using FAO data from 1990 to 2015. Power laws are common features of many complex systems in nature. A power law is a plausible model for the world probability distribution of forest areas in all examined years, although the log-normal distribution is a plausible alternative model that cannot be rejected. The random growth of forest areas could generate a power law or log-normal distribution. We study the change in forest coverage using parametric and non-parametric methods. We identified a slight convergence of forest areas over the time reviewed; however, random forest area growth cannot be rejected for most of the distribution of forest areas. Therefore, our results give support to theoretical models of stochastic forest growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Density Modelling and Ecosystem Services)
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20 pages, 1228 KiB  
Article
Quantifying Regulating Ecosystem Services with Increased Tree Densities on European Farmland
by Josep Crous-Duran, Anil R. Graves, Silvestre García de Jalón, Sonja Kay, Margarida Tomé, Paul J. Burgess, Michail Giannitsopoulos and João H.N. Palma
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6676; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166676 - 18 Aug 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5445
Abstract
Agroforestry systems have been compared to agricultural and forestry alternatives, providing a land-use solution for additional environmental benefits while maintaining similar levels of productivity. However, there is scarce research assessing such patterns across a pan-European scale using a common methodology. This study aims [...] Read more.
Agroforestry systems have been compared to agricultural and forestry alternatives, providing a land-use solution for additional environmental benefits while maintaining similar levels of productivity. However, there is scarce research assessing such patterns across a pan-European scale using a common methodology. This study aims to improve our understanding of the role of trees in three different regulating ecosystem services—(1) soil erosion, (2) nitrate leaching and (3) carbon sequestration—in traditional and innovative agroforestry systems in Europe through a consistent modeling approach. The systems’ assessment spans environmentally from the Mediterranean environmental region in Portugal to the Continental environmental region in Switzerland and Germany to the Atlantic environmental region in the United Kingdom. Modeled tree densities were compared in the different land-use alternatives, ranging from zero (agriculture with only crops or pasture) to forestry (only trees). The methodology included the use of a biophysical model (Yield-SAFE) where the quantification of the environmental benefits was integrated. Results show a consistent improvement of regulating ecosystem services can be expected when introducing trees in the farming landscapes in different environmental regions in Europe. For all the systems, the forestry alternatives presented the best results in terms of a decrease in soil erosion of 51% (±29), a decrease of nearly all the nitrate leaching (98% ± 1) and an increase in the carbon sequestration of up to 238 Mg C ha−1 (±140). However, these alternatives are limited in the variety of food, energy and/or materials provided. On the other hand, from an arable or pure-pasture alternative starting point, an increase in agroforestry tree density could also be associated with a decrease in soil erosion of up to 25% (±17), a decrease in nitrates leached of up to 52% (±34) and an increase in the carbon sequestered of 163 Mg C ha−1 (±128) while at the same time ensuring the same levels of biomass growth and an increase in product diversification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tree Density Modelling and Ecosystem Services)
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