Abstract
Forest ecosystems deliver multiple goods and services and, traditionally, forest owners tend to have a high interest
in goods in the form of merchantable wood. As a consequence, forest management often aims to increase timber production and
economic returns through intervention into natural processes. However, forests provide further services, including carbon
sequestration, water quantity and quality, and preservation of biodiversity. In order to develop and implement strategies for
sustainable forest management, it is important to anticipate the long-term effects of different forest management alternatives on
the ability of the forest to provide ecosystem goods and services. Management objectives might emphasize economic interests
at the expense of other services. Very few attempts have been made to illustrate and evaluate quantitatively the relationship
between forest goods and services. By use of virtual but realistic datasets, we quantified, for multiple services, the effects of
five forest management alternatives that form an intensity gradient. Our virtual forest management units represented Central
European forest ecosystems in the submontane vegetation zone under a humid–temperate climate with acidic soils. In this zone
the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is the dominant tree species. In order to assess the effects on ecosystem services, the
untouched natural forest reserve served as a reference. Wherever possible, response functions were deduced to couple the various
services via stand-level data to demonstrate trade-offs between the services. Management units comprised all development
phases in the sense of a "normal forest". It was clearly illustrated that maximizing the rates of biomass production and carbon
sequestration may conflict with protection of authentic biodiversity. Several silvicultural operations may, however, have positive
effects on biodiversity and water protection without high costs. We also illustrated that water quality and maintenance of soil
fertility may be affected either positively or negatively by several forest management operations. In contrast, water quantity was
only minimally influenced by forest management. For the virtual forest in a humid climate, differences of 70 mm/yr in runoff
were negligible. Under dry continental conditions, however, such differences may have important implications for groundwater
formation.
in goods in the form of merchantable wood. As a consequence, forest management often aims to increase timber production and
economic returns through intervention into natural processes. However, forests provide further services, including carbon
sequestration, water quantity and quality, and preservation of biodiversity. In order to develop and implement strategies for
sustainable forest management, it is important to anticipate the long-term effects of different forest management alternatives on
the ability of the forest to provide ecosystem goods and services. Management objectives might emphasize economic interests
at the expense of other services. Very few attempts have been made to illustrate and evaluate quantitatively the relationship
between forest goods and services. By use of virtual but realistic datasets, we quantified, for multiple services, the effects of
five forest management alternatives that form an intensity gradient. Our virtual forest management units represented Central
European forest ecosystems in the submontane vegetation zone under a humid–temperate climate with acidic soils. In this zone
the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is the dominant tree species. In order to assess the effects on ecosystem services, the
untouched natural forest reserve served as a reference. Wherever possible, response functions were deduced to couple the various
services via stand-level data to demonstrate trade-offs between the services. Management units comprised all development
phases in the sense of a "normal forest". It was clearly illustrated that maximizing the rates of biomass production and carbon
sequestration may conflict with protection of authentic biodiversity. Several silvicultural operations may, however, have positive
effects on biodiversity and water protection without high costs. We also illustrated that water quality and maintenance of soil
fertility may be affected either positively or negatively by several forest management operations. In contrast, water quantity was
only minimally influenced by forest management. For the virtual forest in a humid climate, differences of 70 mm/yr in runoff
were negligible. Under dry continental conditions, however, such differences may have important implications for groundwater
formation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Ecology and Society |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISSN | 1708-3087 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |