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Maximizing Conservation and Production with Intensive Forest Management: It’s All About Location

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Abstract

Functional zoning has been suggested as a way to balance the needs of a viable forest industry with those of healthy ecosystems. Under this system, part of the forest is set aside for protected areas, counterbalanced by intensive and extensive management of the rest of the forest. Studies indicate this may provide adequate timber while minimizing road construction and favoring the development of large mature and old stands. However, it is unclear how the spatial arrangement of intensive management areas may affect the success of this zoning. Should these areas be agglomerated or dispersed throughout the forest landscape? Should managers prioritize (a) proximity to existing roads, (b) distance from protected areas, or (c) site-specific productivity? We use a spatially explicit landscape simulation model to examine the effects of different spatial scenarios on landscape structure, connectivity for native forest wildlife, stand diversity, harvest volume, and road construction: (1) random placement of intensive management areas, and (2–8) all possible combinations of rules (a)–(c). Results favor the agglomeration of intensive management areas. For most wildlife species, connectivity was the highest when intensive management was far from the protected areas. This scenario also resulted in relatively high harvest volumes. Maximizing distance of intensive management areas from protected areas may therefore be the best way to maximize the benefits of intensive management areas while minimizing their potentially negative effects on forest structure and biodiversity.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Programme de financement de la recherche et développement en aménagement forestier (Financial Program for Forest Management Research and Development) administered by the Ministère des resources naturelles et de la faune (Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife; MRNF) of the province of Quebec, Canada, and the Programme de mise en valeur des ressources du milieu forestier (Program for the Development of Forest Resources), administered by the MRNF and jointly funded by Resolute Paper, Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’étude de la forêt, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Rebecca Tittler, Jasmin Kroese & Christian Messier

  2. Centre d’étude de la forêt, UER Science et Technologie, Téluq, Unversité du Québec, 5800 rue Saint-Denis, Bureau 1105, Montréal, QC, H2S 3L5, Canada

    Élise Filotas

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  1. Rebecca Tittler
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  2. Élise Filotas
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  4. Christian Messier
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Correspondence to Rebecca Tittler.

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Tittler, R., Filotas, É., Kroese, J. et al. Maximizing Conservation and Production with Intensive Forest Management: It’s All About Location. Environmental Management 56, 1104–1117 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0556-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0556-3

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