Special Issue "Future Forests"
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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2010)
Special Issue Editors
Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Sune Linder
Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 49, SE-230 53, Alnarp, Sweden
E-Mail: sune.linder@ess.slu.se
Phone: +46 40 415162
Fax: +46 40 462325
Interests: ecophysiology; long-term manipulation experiments; carbon and nutrient dynamics; forest production; impacts of climate change
Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Jon Moen
Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Fridhemsvagen 1C, S-90187 Umeå, Sweden
E-Mail: jon.moen@emg.umu.se
Phone: +46 90 7869647
Interests: sustainable uses of natural resources; climate change effects on vegetation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Climate change, globalization, and the growing consumption of energy and raw materials are placing increasing demands on our forest resources.
The challenge for the future is to make forests meet all our varied needs. This may require an upscaling of the forestry industry to extract more fiber and energy while at the same time safeguard biodiversity, recreational needs, and ecosystem services. A daunting task indeed. To achieve this, we believe that policy makers will require scientific analyses of consequences of different trade-offs. The research program Future Forests will attempt to provide this for boreal forests in general and for Swedish forests in particular. The program consists of researchers from many different disciplines within the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. We attempt to work both interdisciplinary and in close connection with our stakeholders. The papers in this special issue will together show a sample of the research questions that the program has addressed during our initial phase. For more information on the program, please visit our website www.futureforests.se.
Prof. Dr. Sune Linder
Prof. Dr. Jon Moen
Guest Editors
Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 300 CHF (Swiss Francs).
English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.
Keywords
- boreal forest
- biodiversity
- bioenergy
- forestry
- land use conflicts
- sustainability
- trade-offs
Published Papers (15 papers)
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Received: 1 November 2010 / Accepted: 20 December 2010 / Published: 29 December 2010
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Abstract: The present study focused on how forests will be managed in the future in light of the increased emphasis being put by the public on the ecological and recreational values of forests, the trend towards an increased share of non-resident forest owners, and the increased female forest ownership. The value and belief basis of forest management attitudes was explored using a questionnaire sent to a sample of private forest owners ‘residing on’ (n = 995, return rate = 51.3%) and ‘not residing on’ the forest property (n = 997, return rate = 50%). The results showed that a share of private forest owners strongly value both the view that the forest should predominately be used for timber production and the view that preservation is most important. The proposed hierarchical structure of influence, in which the forest management attitude was influenced by values and beliefs, was supported in the study. The ecological, recreational, and production forest values primarily influenced the most closely related forest management attitude, even if some cross-sectional effects and some effects of socio-demographics were found, showing that the view a private forest owner has on different forms of management styles is shaped by the perceived multiple values of the forest.
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Received: 29 November 2010 / Accepted: 20 December 2010 / Published: 31 December 2010
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Abstract: This paper presents a futures study of international forest trends. The study, produced as part of the Swedish Future Forest program, focuses on global changes of importance for future Swedish forest use. It is based on previous international research, policy documents, and 24 interviews with selected key experts and/or actors related to the forest sector, and its findings will provide a basis for future research priorities. The forest sector, here defined as the economic, social, and cultural contributions to life and human welfare derived from forest and forest-based activities, faces major change. Four areas stand out as particularly important: changing energy systems, emerging international climate policies, changing governance systems, and shifting global land use systems. We argue that global developments are, and will be, important for future Swedish forest use. The forest sector is in transition and forest-, energy, climate- and global land use issues are likely to become increasingly intertwined. Therefore, the “forest sector” must be disembedded and approached as an open system in interplay with other systems.
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Received: 1 November 2010 / Accepted: 14 January 2011 / Published: 20 January 2011
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Abstract: In the mid-1960s, fertilization (with nitrogen) had a breakthrough as a promising forest management method in Swedish company owned forests. The activity grew and peaked during the 1970s but then lost ground and stabilized at a low level in the 1990s and early 2000s. Over the last five years, however, interest in fertilizing Swedish forests has increased again. In this article both the forestry industry’s, and the environmental movement’s, attitudes toward forest fertilization over time are investigated. Furthermore, conflicting persistent ideas about nature and future, i.e., “figures of thought”, within interest groups, representing forestry and the environmental movement respectively, are identified and analyzed in relation to the debate on fertilization. The analysis reveals mainly three figures of thought that have influenced this debate during the period, “the idea of progress”, “the idea of decay” and “the idea of the great chain of being”. The study thus sheds light on how the relationship between forestry and the environmental movement has evolved from the 1960s until today and uncovers thought patterns that have stood, and continue to stand, in opposition to one another.
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Received: 30 November 2010 / Accepted: 18 January 2011 / Published: 20 January 2011
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Abstract: This paper analyzes trends and possible future developments in global wood-product markets and discusses implications for the Swedish forest sector. Four possible futures, or scenarios, are considered, based on qualitative scenario analysis. The scenarios are distinguished principally by divergent futures with respect to two highly influential factors driving change in global wood-product markets, whose future development is unpredictable. These so-called critical uncertainties were found to be degrees to which: (i) current patterns of globalization will continue, or be replaced by regionalism, and (ii) concern about the environment, particularly climate change, related policy initiatives and customer preferences, will materialize. The overall future of the Swedish solid wood-product industry looks bright, irrespective of which of the four possible futures occurs, provided it accommodates the expected growth in demand for factory-made, energy-efficient construction components. The prospects for the pulp and paper industry in Sweden appear more ambiguous. Globalization is increasingly shifting production and consumption to the Southern hemisphere, adversely affecting employment and forest owners in Sweden. Further, technical progress in information and communication technology (ICT) is expected to lead to drastic reductions in demand for newsprint and printing paper. Chemical pulp producers may profit from a growing bio-energy industry, since they could manufacture new, high-value products in integrated bio-refineries. Mechanical pulp producers cannot do this, however, and might suffer from higher prices for raw materials and electricity.
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Received: 17 November 2010; in revised form: 4 January 2011 / Accepted: 25 January 2011 / Published: 10 February 2011
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Abstract: Changing and competing land use, where we make use of a growing share of resources, potentially undermines the capacity of forests to provide multiple functions such as timber, biodiversity, recreation and pasture lands. The governance challenge is thus to manage trade-offs between human needs and, at the same time, maintain the capacities of forests to provide us with these needs. Sweden provides a clear example of this kind of challenge. Traditionally, timber has been the most apparent contribution of the forest to Swedish national interests. However, due to competing land use, the identification of the wider role of forests in terms of multifunctionality has been recognized. Today, a number of functions, such as water quality and biodiversity together with cultural and social activities related to forests, are increasingly included as potential demands on forests in competition with traditional functions such as timber production. The challenge is thus related to trade-offs between different functions. How to balance the relationship and guide trade-offs between different functions of forests is, to a large extent, a matter of policy choice and the design of appropriate governance institutions and pro-active management activities. Based on perceptions among stakeholders on future competing demands and a literature review, the paper explore the multifunctionality of the Swedish forests and how it is affected by competing demands for land use; how multifunctionality is currently governed; and concludes by suggesting promising decision support methods to manage trade-offs between different functions.
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Received: 19 November 2010; in revised form: 17 January 2011 / Accepted: 8 February 2011 / Published: 16 February 2011
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Abstract: Additions of nutrients, faster growing tree varieties, more intense harvest practices, and a changing climate all have the potential to increase forest production in Sweden, thereby mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration and fossil fuel substitution. However, the effects of management strategies for increased biomass production on soil resources and water quality at landscape scales are inadequately understood. Key knowledge gaps also remain regarding the sustainability of shorter rotation periods and more intensive biomass harvests. This includes effects of fertilization on the long-term weathering and supply of base cations and the consequences of changing mineral availability for future forest production. Furthermore, because soils and surface waters are closely connected, management efforts in the terrestrial landscape will potentially have consequences for water quality and the ecology of streams, rivers, and lakes. Here, we review and discuss some of the most pertinent questions related to how increased forest biomass production in Sweden could affect soils and surface waters, and how contemporary forestry goals can be met while minimizing the loss of other ecosystem services. We suggest that the development of management plans to promote the sustainable use of soil resources and water quality, while maximizing biomass production, will require a holistic ecosystem approach that is placed within a broader landscape perspective.
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Received: 29 November 2010 / Accepted: 8 February 2011 / Published: 17 February 2011
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Abstract: The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is an ambitious piece of legislation designed to protect and improve water quality throughout Europe. However, forests are only mentioned once in the WFD, and forestry is not mentioned at all, despite its potential implications for streams, rivers and lakes. Here we present a transdisciplinary commentary on the WFD and its implications for forests and forestry in Sweden. This commentary has been prepared by forestry stakeholders, biophysical and social scientists. While we were cognizant of a large body of discipline-specific research, there are very few inter- or trans-disciplinary commentaries which link academic and stakeholder perspectives on the WFD. We had originally felt that there would be little commonality in our concerns. However, we found significant areas of agreement. Our key areas of concern about the implications of the WFD for forestry in Sweden included: (i) concerns about what is meant by good ecological status and how it is assessed; (ii) a perceived lack of clarity in the legal framework; (iii) an inadequate environmental impact assessment process; and (iv) uncertainties about appropriate programs of measures for improving water quality. We were also concerned that ecosystem services provided by forests and the positive effects of forestry on water quality are inadequately recognized in the WFD.
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Received: 1 December 2010; in revised form: 23 February 2011 / Accepted: 28 February 2011 / Published: 9 March 2011
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Abstract: The effects of intensifying the management of 15% of the Swedish forest land on potential future forest production over a 100-year period were investigated in a simulation study. The intensive management treatments, which were introduced over a period of 50 years, were: intensive fertilization of Norway spruce (IntFert); bulking-up Norway spruce elite populations using somatic embryogenesis (SE-seedlings); planting of lodgepole pine, hybrid larch, and Sitka spruce (Contorta, Larch, and Sitka); fertilization with wood ash on peatlands (Wood ash); and conventional fertilization in mature forests (ConFert). Potential sites for applying intensive forest management (IFM) to sites with low nature conservation values were determined with a nature conservation score (NCS). Four different scenarios were simulated: “Base scenario”, which aimed at reducing the negative impact on nature conservation values, “Fast implementation”, “No IntFert” (IntFert was not used), and “Large Forest Companies”, where the majority of plots were selected on company land. Total yields during the 100-year simulation period were about 85–92% higher for the intensive forest management scenarios than for the reference scenario (business as usual). In the “No IntFert” scenario total production was 1.8% lower and in the “Large Forest Companies” scenario total production was 4.8% lower than in the “Base scenario”. “Fast implementation” of IFM increased yield by 15% compared to the “Base scenario”. Norway spruce SE-seedlings and IntFert gave the highest yields, measured as total production during the 100-year simulation period, but relative to the yields in the reference scenario, the highest increases in yield were for Contorta. The “Base scenario” and “No IntFert” gave the highest yields for plots with the lowest NCS, but plots with higher NCS had to be used in the “Fast implementation” and “Large Forest Companies” scenarios. More than half of the effect on future growth of IFM methods was because of increased intensity in the regenerations. It took a relatively long time (40–60 years) for the simulated IFM treatments to result in a significant increase in stem volume production.
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Received: 28 January 2011; in revised form: 25 February 2011 / Accepted: 11 March 2011 / Published: 15 March 2011
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Abstract: It is only relatively recently that national adaptation strategies have begun to develop measures by which forestry can adapt to climate change; often those measures opt to use a relatively general strategy for coping under conditions of disturbance. Particularly in states using intensive forest management, such as Sweden, this approach marks a departure from current strategies for achieving maximum yield. In other countries, however, where the economic output from forestry is less significant and interests such as biodiversity, local use and tourism, may figure more prominently, the conditions for developing risk-based forest management may be more manifest. This study reviews literature on adaptations in forest management, and analyzes country reports submitted as part of an EU27 project. The study concludes that the diverse prerequisites and policies of states have seldom been reflected in the design of adaptation management actions to date.
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Received: 11 February 2011 / Accepted: 24 March 2011 / Published: 4 April 2011
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Abstract: A common concern is that damage by insects will increase in forests as a consequence of climate change. We are assessing the likelihood of this predicted outcome by examining how other factors (especially changes in forest management practices) may interact with effects of climate change. Here we describe the strategies for improving understanding of the causes of insect outbreaks and predicting the likelihood of insect-mediated damage increasing in the future. The adopted approaches are: (i) analyses of historical data, (ii) comparison of life history traits of outbreak and non-outbreak species, (iii) experiments along climatic gradients to quantify the strength of trophic interactions, and (iv) modeling. We conclude that collaboration by researchers from many disciplines is required to evaluate available data regarding the complex interactions involved, to identify knowledge gaps, and facilitate attempts to progress beyond speculation to more robust predictions concerning future levels of insect damage to forests.
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Received: 18 January 2011; in revised form: 3 March 2011 / Accepted: 3 March 2011 / Published: 4 April 2011
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Abstract: New diseases in forest ecosystems have been reported at an increasing rate over the last century. Some reasons for this include the increased disturbance by humans to forest ecosystems, changed climatic conditions and intensified international trade. Although many of the contributing factors to the changed disease scenarios are anthropogenic, there has been a reluctance to control them by legislation, other forms of government authority or through public involvement. Some of the primary obstacles relate to problems in communicating biological understanding of concepts to the political sphere of society. Relevant response to new disease scenarios is very often associated with a proper understanding of intraspecific variation in the challenging pathogen. Other factors could be technical, based on a lack of understanding of possible countermeasures. There are also philosophical reasons, such as the view that forests are part of the natural ecosystems and should not be managed for natural disturbances such as disease outbreaks. Finally, some of the reasons are economic or political, such as a belief in free trade or reluctance to acknowledge supranational intervention control. Our possibilities to act in response to new disease threats are critically dependent on the timing of efforts. A common recognition of the nature of the problem and adapting vocabulary that describe relevant biological entities would help to facilitate timely and adequate responses in society to emerging diseases in forests.
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Received: 25 February 2011; in revised form: 18 March 2011 / Accepted: 22 March 2011 / Published: 4 April 2011
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Abstract: Coping or adaptation following large-scale disturbance may depend on the political system and its preparedness and policy development in relation to risks. Adaptive or foresight planning is necessary in order to account and plan for potential risks that may increase or take place concurrently with climate change. Forests constitute relevant examples of large-scale renewable resource systems that have been directly affected by recent environmental and social changes, and where different levels of management may influence each other. This article views disturbances in the forest sectors of Sweden and Canada, two large forest nations with comparable forestry experiences, in order to elucidate the preparedness and existing responses to multiple potential stresses. The article concludes that the two countries are exposed to stresses that indicate the importance of the governing and institutional system particularly with regard to multi-level systems including federal and EU levels. While economic change largely results in privatization of risk onto individual companies and their economic resources (in Canada coupled with a contestation of institutional systems and equity in these), storm and pest outbreaks in particular challenge institutional capacities at administrative levels, within the context provided by governance and tenure systems.
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Received: 13 February 2011; in revised form: 16 April 2011 / Accepted: 26 April 2011 / Published: 4 May 2011
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Abstract: Forest biomass is an important energy source in Sweden and some other European countries. In this paper we estimate the physically available (i.e., total potential) forest biomass for energy from annual forest harvesting (1970–2008) or in the total standing stock (2008) in Sweden. To place Sweden’s forest resources into perspective we relate this to an estimated need for renewable energy sources in Europe. As Swedish forests supply a range of goods and ecosystem services, and as forest biomass is often bulky and expensive to procure, we also discuss issues that affect the amount of forest biomass that is actually available for energy production. We conclude that forests will contribute to Sweden’s renewable energy potential, but to a limited extent and expectations must be realistic and take techno-economical and environmental issues into consideration. To meet future energy needs in Sweden and Europe, a full suite of renewable energy resources will be needed, along with efficient conversion systems. A long-term sustainable supply of forest resources for energy and other uses can be obtained if future harvest levels are increased until they are equal to the annual growth increment. Delivering more than this would require increasing forest productivity through more intensive management. The new management regimes would have to begin now because it takes a long time to change annual production in temperate and boreal forests.
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Received: 22 April 2011 / Accepted: 2 August 2011 / Published: 9 August 2011
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Abstract: Due to pressure to raise forest productivity in Sweden, there are proposals to apply more intensive forestry methods, but they could have potentially large effects on biodiversity. Here we report a compilation and evaluation of the extent and significance of such effects. We evaluated potential effects on biodiversity by introducing intensively fertilized Norway spruce plantations as a management option in Swedish forests with low conservation values on insects, vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, and red-listed species. Due to a lack of specific studies addressing this question, we based the evaluation on a combination of available and appropriate empiric and anecdotic knowledge; literature data, and expert judgments largely available in species data bases. Our evaluations suggest that such forests will only harbor species that are common and widespread in conventionally managed stands and that species of conservation interest will be lacking, due to the low heterogeneity and light intensity of even-aged monocultures with dense canopies, short rotation times and low availability of coarse woody debris. Effects at the landscape scale are more difficult to evaluate, but will be dependent on the area utilized and the conservation value of sites used. We conclude that negative effects on biodiversity can be reduced if: (1) only land with the lowest conservational value is utilized; (2) plantations are spatially arranged to minimize fragmentation of the landscape; (3) the quality and quantity of key structural elements (e.g., coarse woody debris, old living trees and snags) are maintained at the landscape level; and (4) management intensity is relaxed on other land. For effective implementation of these measures, legislative frameworks and policy instruments need to be adjusted and new models for planning and monitoring need to be developed.
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Received: 13 July 2011 / Accepted: 2 August 2011 / Published: 9 August 2011
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Abstract: Forests deliver multiple ecosystem services to society. Management of forests must be able to deal with trade-offs when the delivery of different ecosystem services comes in conflict with each other. The research program Future Forests (http://www.futureforests.se) attempts to form a scientific basis for managing such trade-offs between conflicting interests in northern boreal forests. Some key characteristics of the research program are interdisciplinary and participatory research and a clear communication agenda for stakeholders. This paper gives a brief overview of the underlying ideas behind the program, and an introduction to the papers published in this Special Issue.
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Last update: 10 February 2011
