Meeting the challenge: silvicultural research in a changing world. Selected papers based on the Proceedings of the IUFRO Division 1 (Silviculture) conference held in La Grande Motte, Montpellier, France, 14-18 June 2004.

摘要

This special issue contains 12 selected papers presented at the title conference. The first paper discusses the need to complement traditional forest management systems with technical knowledge and support from government agencies and researchers so that local villagers and forests can better meet the pressures of increasing internal and external demands and threats. The second paper, using a case study from Mexico, discusses the use of a landscape ecology approach to develop policies and silvicultural management practices for a mixed pine forest. The third paper discusses the evolution of silvicultural strategies in forest ecosystems affected by exotic pests in the USA towards a broader understanding of both host and pest ecology within an integrated pest management approach. The fourth paper presents a national-level analysis of land suitability for forest fertilizer application with biofuel ash on organic soils in Sweden. The fifth paper describes the results of a study using a forest growth simulator and a GIS to assess the effects of alternative forest management strategies on selected goods and services in a peri-urban catchment in Switzerland over a 50-year period. Based on studies conducted in the complex tropical moist forests of French Guiana, the sixth paper discusses the use of predictive models to forecast long-term population trends for important commercial species in selectively logged forests. The seventh paper examines the question of spatial scale in assessing the structural complexity in old-growth forest stands. The eight paper examines the effects of partial cutting on bird species and their habitat in northern hardwood forests in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The ninth paper reports on long-term experiments on the effects of variable harvests of overstorey hardwoods on the subsequent development eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) in pine mixedwood forests in eastern Ontario, Canada. The tenth paper describes a free-selection system designed to maintain flexibility to favour healthy, fire resistant trees, and its application to forest management in northwestern USA. The eleventh paper provides a critical assessment of the benefits and risks associated with mixed plantations in a study of pure- and mixed-species stands of Eucalyptus globulus and Acacia mearnsii in Australia. The last paper in this special issue reports the results of long-term research on Norway spruce (Picea abies) in the Czech Republic, examining the effect of thinning treatments on wood production, wood quality, and the influence of these plantations on soil structural development.