Assessment of the effects of the biotic and abiotic harmful factors on the amount of industrial wood production with deep learning

The protection and sustainability of forest assets is possible with planned production of forest products to lead to minimum loss. One of the products obtained from forests is the industrial wood, which is the most important raw material for many sectors. Thus, changes in industrial wood production amounts directly affect these sectors. For this reason, it is important to detect and examine the factors affecting industrial wood production amounts for optimum production and use of this raw material. This study aims to investigate and assess the effects of two biotic and two abiotic harmful factors on the amount of industrial wood production by building a deep learning estimation model. These factors are forest fires, insect outbreaks, diseases, and severe weather events. The study shows that the most harmful factor decreasing the industrial wood production level is diseases. The second effective factor, however, appears to be severe weather events. The third and the fourth factors were determined to be insect outbreaks and burned forest areas, respectively.

Assessment and valuation of key ecosystem services provided by two forest ecosystems in Turkey

The study was designed to quantify value and the spatial distribution of key ecosystem services such as wood production, habitat for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and air quality regulation in two areas: Ereğli and Yeşilkuşak of Turkey. Wood production was quantified using forest inventory data and yield tables. Carbon storage was estimated based on the above - and below - ground biomass, deadwood and litter and soil. Habitat for species was characterized with a practical method based on the protection categories of stands. Vegetation cover in close proximity to the artificial surfaces and total health care cost avoided by the vegetation were used to quantify air quality regulation. Value transfer method was used in the valuation of ES in both areas. Average amount of wood production is quite low (5.7 m³/ha in Ereğli and 6 m³/ha in Yeşilkuşak) compared to the overall average (72 m³/ha) in Turkey. The amount of carbon is largely low (64-100 tC/ha), indicating poor to medium capacity of the areas. The value of habitat for biodiversity is medium with some crucial habitats and target species. Both areas indicate low air quality regulation capacity. Total economic value of the key ecosystem services was estimated $438,128,571 in 2017 ($127,303,516 for Yeşilkuşak, $310,825,054 for Ereğli). Composition and configuration of ecosystems determine the sustainable provision of ecosystem services. The potential economic value of ecosystems constitutes the basis for trade-off analysis in allocating best land use and utilization strategy. Developing enabling environment, accessing the best use of technologies and adopting best practice example for realizing sustainable forest management initiative is proposed to be the apparent strategy to enhance the role of ecosystem services in livelihood.

A comparative study of cambium histology of Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hil.) Ravenna (Malvaceae) under urban pollution

Air pollution is considered to be one of the main causes of forest decline. The cambium is responsible for increase in tree girth, and its functioning is determined by environmental pressures. This study compared cambium histology of Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hil.) Ravenna (Malvaceae) in polluted and preserved sites in the Atlantic Rainforest domain. Samples were obtained during periods of cambial activity and dormancy and were processed and examined according to standard light microscopy techniques. In addition to differences typically observed in cambium during periods of activity and dormancy, the fusiform initials were shorter in trees of the polluted site. Furthermore, cambial rays were shorter, but larger, in the polluted site. It should be noted that all parameters related to cambial rays showed significant differences between the study sites. This is the first report of the effects of pollution on cambial activity in a South American species. The results suggest a tolerance of C. speciosa to pollution and reveal this species to be an important biomarker for environmental monitoring studies.

Using the Viability Theory to Assess the Flexibility of Forest Managers Under Ecological Intensification

Greater demand for wood material has converged with greater demand for biodiversity conservation to make balancing forest ecosystem services a key societal issue. Forest managers, owners, or policymakers need new approaches and methods to evaluate their ability to adapt to this dual objective. We analyze the ability of forest owners to define sustainable forest management options based on viability theory and a new flexibility index. This new indicator gauges the adaptive capacity of forest owners based on the number of sustainable actions available to them at a given time. Here we study a public forest owner who regulates harvest intensity and frequency in order to meet demand for timber wood at forest scale and to meet a biodiversity recommendation via a minimum permanently maintained volume of deadwood per hectare at stand scale. Dynamical systems theory was used to model uneven-aged forest dynamics-including deadwood dynamics-and the dynamics of timber wood demand and tree removals. Uneven-aged silver fir forest management in the "Quatre Montagnes region" (Vercors, France) is used as an illustrative example. The results explain situations where a joint increase in wood production and deadwood retention does not reduce the flexibility index more than increasing either one dimension alone, thus opening up ecological intensification options. To conclude, we discuss the value of the new flexibility index for addressing environmental management and ecological intensification issues.