Pablo J. Donoso

Timber investment returns for selected plantations and native forests in South America and the Southern United States

Timber investment returns were estimated for the principal exotic and selected native species in the Southern Cone of Latin America and in the Southern United States. Exotic eucalyptus plantations in South America were most profitable, with internal rates of returns (IRRs) ranging from 13% to 23%, followed by exotic loblolly pine, with IRRs from 9% to 17%. Average loblolly pine plantation returns in the US South were less profitable, with an IRR of about 9.5%, and natural forest management in the South had IRRs of 4% to 8%. Subtropical native species plantations of the best araucaria and nothofagus species had reasonable financial returns, with IRRs ranging from 5% to 13%. Subtropical or tropical native forests had fewer commercial timber species, and had much lower growth rates and returns. Their IRRs were less than 4%, or even negative for unmanaged stands. State subsidy payments for forest plantations or for timber stand improvements increased IRRs somewhat and reserving areas for environmental protection reduced their IRRs slightly. Including land costs in the cash flows decreased these internal rates of return substantially. Natural stand returns in Latin America were much less than those of plantations, but management of those stands offered better rates of return than only holding the land.

Silvicultural alternatives to conventional even-aged forest management - what limits global adoption?

BackgroundThe development of forestry as a scientific and management discipline over the last two centuries has mainly emphasized intensive management operations focused on increased commodity production, mostly wood. This “conventional” forest management approach has typically favored production of even-aged, single-species stands. While alternative management regimes have generally received less attention, this has been changing over the last three decades, especially in countries with developed economies. Reasons for this change include a combination of new information and concerns about the ecological consequences of intensive forestry practices and a willingness on the part of many forest owners and society to embrace a wider set of management objectives. Alternative silvicultural approaches are characterized by a set of fundamental principles, including avoidance of clearcutting, an emphasis on structural diversity and small-scale variability, deployment of mixed species with natural regeneration, and avoidance of intensive site-preparation methods.MethodsOur compilation of the authors’ experiences and perspectives from various parts of the world aims to initiate a larger discussion concerning the constraints to and the potential of adopting alternative silvicultural practices.ResultsThe results suggest that a wider adoption of alternative silvicultural practices is currently hindered by a suite of ecological, economic, logistical, informational, cultural, and historical constraints. Individual contexts display their own unique combinations and relative significance of these constraints, and accordingly, targeted efforts, such as regulations and incentives, may help to overcome specific challenges.ConclusionsIn a broader context, we propose that less emphases on strict applications of principles and on stand structures might provide additional flexibility and facilitate the adoption of alternative silvicultural regimes in a broader set of circumstances. At the same time, the acceptance of alternative silvicultural systems as the “preferred or default mode of management” will necessitate and benefit from the continued development of the scientific basis and valuation of a variety of ecosystem goods and services. This publication is aimed to further the discussion in this context.

Restoring forests: What constitutes success in the twenty-first century?

Forest loss and degradation is occurring at high rates but humankind is experiencing historical momentum that favors forest restoration. Approaches to restoration may follow various paradigms depending on stakeholder objectives, regional climate, or the degree of site degradation. The vast amount of land requiring restoration implies the need for spatial prioritization of restoration efforts according to cost-benefit analyses that include ecological risks. To design resistant and resilient ecosystems that can adapt to emerging circumstances, an adaptive management approach is needed. Global change, in particular, imparts a high degree of uncertainty about the future ecological and societal conditions of forest ecosystems to be restored, as well as their desired goods and services. We must also reconsider the suite of species incorporated into restoration with the aim of moving toward more stress resistant and competitive combinations in the longer term. Non-native species may serve an important role under some circumstances, e.g., to facilitate reintroduction of native species. Propagation and field establishment techniques must promote survival through seedling stress resistance and site preparation. An improved ability to generalize among plant functional groups in ecological niche adaptations will help to overcome site-limiting factors. The magnitude and velocity of ongoing global change necessitates rapid responses in genetics that cannot be naturally induced at valid temporal and spatial scales. The capacity for new concepts and technologies to be adopted by managers and accepted by society will depend on effective technology transfer and a community-based approach to forest restoration. The many benefits human society gains from forests requires that forest restoration considers multiple objectives and approaches to minimize trade-offs in achieving these objectives.

Historical Emergence and Current Application of CCF

Although the majority of the world’s forest ecosystems are dominated by uneven-sized mixed species stands, forest management practice and theory have focused on the development of plantation monocultures to maximize the supply of timber at low cost. Societal expectations are changing, however, and uneven-aged multi-species ecosystems are often believed to be superior to monocultures in addressing a wide range of expectations. This chapter attempts to clarify terminology and define, albeit somewhat simplistically, continuous cover forestry (CCF) as opposed to rotation management (RFM). RFM is characterized by three distinct development phases: planting–thinning–clearfelling. At least two of these phases, and sometimes all three, occur simultaneously in CCF. The second section of this chapter describes the development of the European Plenter Forest system, which, being based on a sound theory of sustainable use and an extended period of practical applications, is often considered to be the “Archetype” of CCF. Prompted by a rising interest in continuous cover forestry, specific methods have been developed in many other regions. Accordingly, the third section briefly covers some approaches in China, Chile, Mexico, the United States and South Africa. The forth section introduces adaptive approaches to CCF. The ideal J-shaped target structure is an artificial construct which is easy to implement and thus useful for management. The problem is to define it. This problem is aggravated when foresters wish to (a) mimic natural structures which do not resemble inverse J-shaped diameter distributions and (b) when there is a need to respond to changing economic and environmental conditions.

Differential effects of emergent Nothofagus dombeyi on growth and basal area of canopy species in an old-growth temperate rainforest

Abstract Question: Does overyielding of tree species mixtures in vertically stratified forests depend on complementary light use? Location: Andes of south-central Chile. Methods: Basal area data were obtained from 80 circular plots distributed regularly throughout old-growth stands with an emergent Nothofagus dombeyi tier over a canopy composed mainly of Laureliopsisphilippiana and Saxegothaea conspicua. Radial growth was measured from cores obtained from trees at the centre of each plot. The effects of competition on growth were evaluated through a competition index (CI) based on distances to and diameters of the two nearest neighbours. Results: Overall, basal area of the canopy species was only weakly affected by the number of N. dombeyi per plot, and with basal area of N. dombeyi. However, the two main canopy species responded differently: whereas basal area of S. conspicua was negatively correlated with that of N. dombeyi, that of L. philippiana showed no response. Radial growth of S. conspicua was negatively correlated with CI calculated from canopy trees and more weakly so from emergent N. dombeyi. In contrast, radial growth of L. philippiana was not affected by competition with either canopy or emergent neighbours. Conclusions: Results indicate that emergent N. dombeyi tend to depress growth and basal area of S. conspicua, but not of the more shade-tolerant L. philippiana. This supports the proposal that enhancement of wood production in stratified mixtures will be greatest when component species have strongly contrasting light use traits.

Stakeholder Perspectives on Prospects for Co-Management of an Old-Growth Forest Watershed Near Valdivia, Chile

When human and financial resources are limited, who assumes responsibility for managing a countrys protected areas? In Chile, government-owned protected areas lack sufficient management resources while facing extraction pressure from the rural poor. Multi-stakeholder partnerships have been posited as a co-management style alternative to traditional state-managed systems. This strategy is being tested in the Llancahue watershed near Valdivia, Chile. To understand stakeholders’ views toward the formation of this multi-stakeholder partnership, we evaluated stakeholders’ beliefs, positions, interests, and concerns. Results indicated stakeholders believed an adaptive co-management model could improve Llancahue forest and watershed conservation efforts if the partner roles were explicit, stakeholder involvement was inclusive, and appropriate financing mechanisms were determined. Stakeholders were most concerned with the financial, personnel, and legal costs of managing Llancahue. However, our analysis suggests the perceived benefits of halting illegal logging and creating a peri-urban park currently outweighed stakeholder concerns over project financing and institutional design.

Early performance of planted Nothofagus dombeyi and Nothofagus alpina in response to light availability and gap size in a high-graded forest in the south-central Andes of Chile

Resumen en: The Andes of south-central Chile (38 – 41° S) were once dominated by highly productive and valuable forests mainly dominated by Nothofagus dombeyi and N....

Efectos de distintas dosis de fertilizante de liberación controlada (Osmocote®) en el desarrollo de plantas de coigüe, raulí y ulmo

Resumen es: El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo determinar en coigue (Nothofagus dombeyi), rauli (Nothofagus nervosa) y ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia) la respuesta en...

The differential influences of human-induced disturbances on tree regeneration community: a landscape approach

C. Zamorano-Elgueta was supported by a CON- ICYT pre-doctoral fellowship (Government of Chile), the European Comission (Project contract DCI-ENV/ 2010/222-412), the Chilean NGO Forest Engineers for Native Forest (Forestales por el Bosque Nativo, www. bosquenativo.cl) and project REMEDINAL-2 (Comu- nidad de Madrid, S2009/AMB-1783). L. Cayuela was supported by project REMEDINAL-2. This work is part of the objectives of projects CGL2010-18312 (CICYT, Ministerio de Economia y Competividad de Espana). The authors acknowledge the valuable support of Vero nica Piriz, Cony Becerra, Rodrigo Gangas, Oscar Concha, Eduardo Neira and staff from the Valdivian Coastal Reserve, as well as the National Forest Service of Chile (Corporacion Nacional Forestal)

Poblaciones de araucaria enana (Araucaria araucana) en la Cordillera de Nahuelbuta, Chile

Araucaria araucana (araucaria o pehuen) desarrolla normalmente en su habitat natural un crecimiento arboreo con altura > 20 m. Sin embargo, en 1984, en la cima de la Cordillera de Nahuelbuta se encontraron dos poblaciones enanas. En este trabajo se caracterizo la estructura, composicion y edades de ambas poblaciones de A. araucana y Nothofagus dombeyi como especie asociada mas importante, asi como las caracteristicas fisicas y quimicas de los suelos donde crecen. El enanismo se manifesto en ambas especies. En A. araucana los individuos raramente sobrepasaron 10 m de altura con una alta relacion diametro/altura respecto a la de arboles normales de edad similar. El crecimiento diametral anual fue < 0,12 cm para edades cercanas a 300 anos y diametros de base de alrededor de 36 cm. El desarrollo de troncos cortos con ramas extendidas y delgadas, como patas de arana, refuerza el aspecto de arboles enanos. En N. dombeyi (edades de 36 a 37 anos) el crecimiento diametral anual fue de 0,26 a 0,27 cm; la mayor parte de los individuos (60-75%) presento diametro de base < 15 cm y altura entre 1 y 6,5 m. La ubicacion topografica en la cima de la Cordillera de Nahuelbuta, sobre 1.000 m de altitud, y la exposicion abierta hacia el oceano Pacifico definen un clima de rigurosidad extrema que, junto con la escasa profundidad del suelo y pobreza de nutrientes, influyen en el bajo crecimiento, reducido tamano y formas tortuosas de los arboles.