Hydrological principles for sustainable management of forest ecosystems (pages 2152–2160)

摘要

Forested landscapes around the world are changing as a result of humannactivities, including forest management, fire suppression, mountaintopnmining, conversion of natural forests to plantations, and climate changen(Brockerhoff et al., 2008; Cyr et al., 2009; Johnston et al., 2010; Millernet al., 2009; Kelly et al., 2010; Palmer et al., 2010). Forests providensome of the cleanest and most plentiful freshwater supplies, sustainingnmany downstream communities. Given the ongoing changes in forests,nforest management needs to be forward looking, flexible, responsivento ongoing changes, place-based relative to land use and the types ofnforest management systems and prescriptions applicable at a particularnlocation, and open to the application of a more diverse range ofnmanagement options and prescriptions (Williamson et al., 2009) tonensure sustained supplies of high-quality water.nForest scientists and managers are aware of the importance of conservingnwater resources in a changing landscape. Specifically, they knownthat forest management strategies should lead to preservation of hydrologicalnflows, mitigation of extreme hydrological events, retention of soilsnand sediments, support productivity and biodiversity, as well as maintenancenand purification of water supply. Conservation of water resourcesnis already a forest management objective in most institutional settingsn(e.g. a necessary criterion in forest certification systems). However, on anglobal basis, water is still not getting the recognition it deserves in forestnmanagement.