Fig 10 - uploaded by Daniel Kraus
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Simulation of different interventions with Samsara2 performed for the Marteloscope Steinkreuz (simulation period 20 years): a) harvest of approximately 85 m 3 /ha with a strong focus on the removal of defective trees (negative selection), b) harvest of approximately 45 m 3 /ha with a positive selection of elite and habitat trees.
Source publication
Marteloscopes are multifunctional training tools that can create a better understanding of forest management and have been developed as didactic tools for virtual tree selections. With this paper the authors provide explanatory information on the more than 40 Marteloscopes that were established in the course of the project Integrate+. It presents t...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... the model, light distribution among trees, irradiance on the ground, and seed dispersion are spatially explicit and their spatial heterogeneity drives the changes in forest structure. In Fig. 10 we show the results of a simulation of two relatively contrasting interventions during a Marteloscope exercise at Steinkreuz. The projection of stand development and the light model was run for 20 ...
Citations
... A tree's habitat value (measured in habitat points) is calculated as a composite index based on (a) the type and number of TreMs on a given tree, (b) their rarity and (c) the time a specific TreM needs to develop. More information on the assessment of the economic and habitat value of the trees can be found in Kraus et al. (2018). ...
Integrating nature conservation effectively in forests managed for timber production implies reconciling a trade-off between ecological and economic objectives. In continuous cover forest management, this culminates in decisions about tree harvesting (or retention) determining both the prevalence of tree-related microhabitats in the forest and the economic viability of timber management. Applying an innovative mixed methods approach, we compare conservationists and foresters performing a tree selection exercise. We assess the outcomes of their forest management decisions quantitatively and explore their strategies and the underlying reasoning based on qualitative data. Our findings show that particularly the habitat trees differ greatly between the two groups: while conservationists retained almost exclusively large oaks at often high opportunity costs, foresters retained a notable number of smaller-diameter hornbeams. These differences are related to a different perception of opportunity costs of retention by both groups, as well as because they do not agree about how to value current tree-related microhabitats and their projection into the future. Such diverging patterns of reasoning imply incompatible interpretations of what constitutes a habitat tree. Our results indicate that it is important to apply benchmarks for evaluating ecological goals as well as to increase foresters’ and conservationists’ understanding about the motivations and restrictions of the respective counterpart. Our study points out a significant potential for (mutual) learning, and illustrates the complementarity of quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine tree selection behaviour.
... The trees' economic values (in euros) are then calculated based on the available volumes of timber of different quality classes multiplied by local wood prices. The trees' habitat values (in habitat points) are calculated as a composite index based on a method described in Kraus et al. (2018), which essentially combines information on the type and number of tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) on a given tree, including aspects such as their rarity and the time a specific microhabitat needs to develop. TreMs are assessed based on Kraus et al.'s (2016) catalogue of tree microhabitats. ...
The implementation of biodiversity conservation measures in forests managed for timber production usually implies trade-offs between ecological and economic objectives. In continuous cover forestry these trade-offs emerge at the scale of selecting individual trees for timber harvesting or habitat retention. Tree selection determines both the economic viability of timber management and the prevalence of tree-related microhabitats, considered a multi-taxon indicator of forest biodiversity.
Recent studies find that tree selection is influenced by several factors, such as individual management preferences and goals, professional education and institutional context. To gain a deeper understanding of tree-selection practices in the context of retention forestry, we analyse four tree-selection exercises on silvicultural training sites (Marteloscopes) performed by groups with different professional backgrounds: conservationists, foresters, and students of each. Based on qualitative data from participant observations and group discussions, we explore their decision-making strategies, reasoning, and practices. Our analysis provides novel insights into decision-making processes when implementing conservation measures, especially with regard to dealing with trade-offs and uncertainties.
Our findings indicate that tree-selection decisions are not merely the result of cognitive and rational weighing processes. They can be understood as practices requiring experience, professional routine, and intuition. These practices differ across professional cultures. Despite these differences, the participants of the analysed Marteloscope exercises developed an understanding of the other stakeholders’ motivations and restrictions. The setting stimulated a change of perspective that built awareness in many of the participants of their own routines and biases. This may facilitate professional cooperation, cross-disciplinary learning, and the implementation of biodiversity conservation.
... Connected to outreach and education noted in the preceding section, the tools employed to educate were highlighted as a central driving factor for the transfer of knowledge to current and future practitioners during the workshop discussion. For example, the European network of demonstration sites for IFM using Marteloscopes is an educational tool that provides practical experience in weighing the economic and ecological values of a forest stand (Kraus et al., 2018). These types of educational tools can be used to demonstrate and compare the shortand long-term consequences of forest management decisions, such as outcomes from preserving or removing high-value trees for microhabitats (Bütler et al., 2013). ...
Integrated forest management (IFM) can help reconcile critical trade-offs between goals in forest management, such as nature conservation and biomass production. The challenge of IFM is dealing with these trade-offs at the level of practical forest management, such as striving for compromises between biomass extraction and habitat retention. This paper reviews some of the driving factors that influence the integration of nature conservation into forest management. The review was conducted in three steps-a literature review, an expert workshop and an expert-based cooperative analysis. Of 38 driving factors identified, three were prioritised by more of the participants than any of the others: two are socio-cultural factors, identity (how people identify with forest) as well as outreach and education, and one is economic-competitiveness in forest value chains. These driving factors correspond to what are considered in the literature as enablers for IFM. The results reveal that targeted, group-oriented, adaptive and innovative policy designs are needed to integrate nature conservation into forest management. Further, the results reveal that a "one-size-fits-all" governance approach would be ineffective, implying that policy instruments need to consider contextually specific driving factors. Understanding the main driving factors and their overall directions can help to better manage trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and biomass production in European forests.
... All visible structures such as dead branches, cavities (excavated or decayed), growth deformations, epiphytic structures, and nests were assessed, described, and counted according to size and developmental categories ). The economic and habitat values of each tree have been calculated in accordance with Kraus et al. (2018). A tree's economic value was calculated based on the available volumes of timber of different quality classes multiplied by the local wood prices. ...
... The assessed counts were calculated into the mentioned index with an algorithm considering the above-mentioned weighing factors (1-3). More detailed protocols and formulas on marteloscopes of the Integrate+ project and attributing tree values within these marteloscopes are given by Kraus et al. (2018) and Schuck et al. (2015). ...
Habitat trees provide microhabitats for many forest-related species, and thus habitat-tree retention is one of the main measures to integrate nature conservation objectives into forests managed for wood production. By setting aside habitat trees, forest managers have to solve a crucial tradeoff between economic and environmental benefits. Therefore, it is of major importance that trees with desired characteristics are retained as habitat trees. In this study, we analyze habitat-tree selection. Specifically, we are analyzing the outcome of a habitat-tree selection exercise that took place in a so-called “marteloscope” or “tree marking training site” with silviculture trainers, district foresters, and forestry students. Our results show that participants consistently selected habitat trees with a low economic value. However, the habitat values of the selected trees were highly variable. Selection behavior depended on participants’ expertise, with forestry trainers making more consistent decisions and outperforming the students as well as the foresters. Our results show that the selection of optimal habitat trees is not self-evident. We provide some ideas about how it can be improved, benefiting both ecological and economic forest management objectives.
This book provides a state-of-the-art overview covering distinct and relevant aspects of forest policy processes in Europe, presenting a fresh perspective on different analytical approaches, theories, and frameworks.
Set against the background of a changing world, driven by significant social, environmental, and economic developments, in Europe and elsewhere, there is a growing need for an improved understanding of forest governance and how to analyse the forest policymaking processes. This book introduces the reader to some of the key issues typically encountered in reviewing proposed as well as established forest policies, focusing on five socially relevant topics for the forest-based sector today. In so doing, this book presents a set of timely and rich case studies relevant to the study of forest governance. In the final chapter, it puts forward an innovative and systematic method for selecting the most appropriate analytical tool that accounts for the constraints and objectives involved in monitoring forest policy. The book is accompanied by chapter-level exercises and online Support Material which details the various approaches, theories, and frameworks discussed in the book, providing direct links back to individual chapters, discussion points, and a step-by-step guide for how each method can be applied.
This book will be an essential read for forestry students and scholars, and professionals and policymakers working on forest policy and forest management.
Tree to tree interactions are important structuring mechanisms for forest community
dynamics. Forest management takes advantage of competition effects on tree growth by
removing or retaining trees to achieve management goals. Both competition and
silviculture have, thus, a strong effect on density and distribution of tree related
microhabitats which are key features for forest taxa at the stand scale. In particular,
spatially-explicit data to understand patterns and mechanisms of tree-related microhabitats formation in forest stands are rare. To train and eventually improve decision-making capacities related to the integration of biodiversity aspects into forest management plot of one hectare, so called marteloscopes were established in the frame of the ‘European Integrate Network’. In each plot, a set of data is collected at the individual tree level and stored in a database, the ‘I+ repository’. The 'I+ repository' is a centralised online database which serves for maintaining the data of all marteloscope plots. A subset of this repository was made publicly available via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, based on a data-sharing policy. Data included are tree location in plot, tree species, forest mensuration data (diameter at breast height [cm], tree height [m]), tree status (living or standing dead) and tree-related microhabitats. Further, a visual assessment of timber quality classes is performed in order to provide an estimate of the economic value (market price) for each tree. This information is not part of the GBIF dataset.
