Ecoforestry
Encyclopedia
Ecoforestry has been defined as selection forestry or restoration forestry. The main idea of Ecoforestry is to maintain or restore the forest to standards where the forest may still be harvested for products on a sustainable basis.. Ecoforestry is forestry
that emphasizes holistic practices which strive to protect and restore ecosystems rather than maximize economic productivity. Sustainability
of the forest also comes with uncertainties. There are other factors that may affect the forest furthermore than that of the harvesting. There are internal conditions such as effects of soil compaction
, tree damage, disease, fire, and blow down that also directly affect the ecosystem.. These factors have to be taken into account when determining the sustainability of a forest. If these factors are added to the harvesting and production that comes out of the forest, then the forest will become less likely to survive, and will then become less sustainable.
Since the forest is considered an ecosystem
, it is dependent on all of the living and non-living factors within itself. This is a major part of why the forest needs to be sustainable before it is harvested. For example, a tree would convert sunlight to sugars for respiration to keep the tree alive. The remains of the converted sugars is left in roots for consumption by the organisms surrounding the tree in the habitat. This shows the productivity of an ecosystem with its inhabitants..Productivity within the ecosystem cannot come to fruition unless the forest is sustainable enough to be harvested. If all of the organisms of the ecosystem are non existent, the ecosystem itself will soon come to be non existent. Once that happens, there is no longer any forest to harvest from. The overall productivity of a system can be found in an equation where the Net Primary Production, or NPP, is equal to the Gross Primary Production, or GPP, minus the Carbon respiration
, or R. The formula is the NPP = GPP - R.. The NPP is the overall efficiency of the plants in the ecosystem. Through having a constant efficiency in NPP, the ecosystem is then more sustainable. The GPP refers to the rate of energy stored by photosynthesis
in plants. The R refers to the maintenance and reproduction of plants from the energy expended.
Ecoforestry has many principles within the existence of itself. It covers sustainable development and the fair harvesting of the organisms living within the forest ecosystem. There have been many proposals of principles outlined for ecoforestry. They are covered over books, articles, and environmental agencies. All of the principles relate to the idea that in ecoforestry, less should be harvested, and diversity must be managed. Through harvesting less, there is enough biomass left in the forest, so that the forest may stay healthy and still stay maintained. It will grow at a sustainable level annually, and thus it will be able to still be harvested the following year. Through management of the diversity, species may cohabitate in an ecosystem where the forest may feed off of other species in its growth and production.. The Principles of Ecoforestry may be found below.
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
that emphasizes holistic practices which strive to protect and restore ecosystems rather than maximize economic productivity. Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
of the forest also comes with uncertainties. There are other factors that may affect the forest furthermore than that of the harvesting. There are internal conditions such as effects of soil compaction
Compaction (geology)
Compaction refers to the process by which a sediment progressively loses its porosity due to the effects of loading. This forms part of the process of lithification. When a layer of sediment is originally deposited, it contains an open framework of particles with the pore space being usually...
, tree damage, disease, fire, and blow down that also directly affect the ecosystem.. These factors have to be taken into account when determining the sustainability of a forest. If these factors are added to the harvesting and production that comes out of the forest, then the forest will become less likely to survive, and will then become less sustainable.
Since the forest is considered an ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
, it is dependent on all of the living and non-living factors within itself. This is a major part of why the forest needs to be sustainable before it is harvested. For example, a tree would convert sunlight to sugars for respiration to keep the tree alive. The remains of the converted sugars is left in roots for consumption by the organisms surrounding the tree in the habitat. This shows the productivity of an ecosystem with its inhabitants..Productivity within the ecosystem cannot come to fruition unless the forest is sustainable enough to be harvested. If all of the organisms of the ecosystem are non existent, the ecosystem itself will soon come to be non existent. Once that happens, there is no longer any forest to harvest from. The overall productivity of a system can be found in an equation where the Net Primary Production, or NPP, is equal to the Gross Primary Production, or GPP, minus the Carbon respiration
Carbon respiration
Carbon respiration is a phrase used in combination with carbon storage to calculate the amount of carbon flux occurring in the atmosphere through the various processes that add and subtract atmospheric carbon...
, or R. The formula is the NPP = GPP - R.. The NPP is the overall efficiency of the plants in the ecosystem. Through having a constant efficiency in NPP, the ecosystem is then more sustainable. The GPP refers to the rate of energy stored by photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
in plants. The R refers to the maintenance and reproduction of plants from the energy expended.
Ecoforestry has many principles within the existence of itself. It covers sustainable development and the fair harvesting of the organisms living within the forest ecosystem. There have been many proposals of principles outlined for ecoforestry. They are covered over books, articles, and environmental agencies. All of the principles relate to the idea that in ecoforestry, less should be harvested, and diversity must be managed. Through harvesting less, there is enough biomass left in the forest, so that the forest may stay healthy and still stay maintained. It will grow at a sustainable level annually, and thus it will be able to still be harvested the following year. Through management of the diversity, species may cohabitate in an ecosystem where the forest may feed off of other species in its growth and production.. The Principles of Ecoforestry may be found below.
Principles of ecoforestry
The principles of ecoforestry are:| Number | Principle |
|---|---|
| 1 | One must consider retention. It must be the first consideration in any planned removal of trees from a stand. By placing retention at the beginning of a planned removal, one makes sure that they know what must be left to ensure the protection of such things as rare species, sites of native cultural significance, riparian zones. |
| 2 | Riparian zones should not be touched. It is a sensitive area, thus tree removal should not occur there. This protects the water quality. Water quality is protected by not altering the drainage pattern of the zones. No tree removal should take place in the most sensitive areas. |
| 3 | The composition and structures should be upheld so that forests may fully function. This may be subject to large old trees, snags, and large fallen trees. These pieces of the ecosystem are upheld through letting them grow and die out into a timber extraction area. |
| 4 | When removing trees, the lowest impact should be used. This means not compacting the soil in the forest and building small or no roads if at all possible. This takes away the disturbance that would be done to the foundation of the forest’s grounds. |
| 5 | Plan in terms of the needs of the larger watershed Drainage basin A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean... . The watershed zone plan designates areas where tree removal is not permitted. It also designates the areas where removal is possible, and the different types of removal available. |
| 6 | Prohibit clear cutting. Clear cutting is not ecologically correct. There are methods for cutting trees to maintain structure, and to allow the trees to cohabitate in a healthy ecosystem. |
| 7 | Select trees as candidates for removal by considering how abundant and redundant their structures and functions are to the rest of the forest as a whole, leaving potential wildlife trees (to become snags and coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris is a term used in English-speaking countries for fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests. Some prefer the term coarse woody habitat . A dead standing tree is known as a snag and provides many of the same functions as coarse woody debris... ). |
| 8 | The forest should be allowed to regenerate trees through the seeds from the trees in the logged areas. This allows tree planting to be taken out of the ecoforestry principles, allowing a natural regeneration. |
| 9 | Ecological succession should be kept at all times. This will protect biological diversity. This even means eliminating the process of brush control. |
| 10 | No slash burning. Fire may be used as a tool in landscapes that have a history of naturally occurring fires. Although this may be true, fire should still be used with caution. |
| 11 | No pesticide Pesticide Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest... use. The forest needs disease, insects, and shrub/herb vegetation Vegetation Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader... . They are essential parts of a fully functioning forest, even though they involve the forest’s decay in some cases. They are natural parts that allow the ecosystem to operate as a whole. |
| 12 | Maintain and restore topsoil quality. This can be done through leaving sufficiently coarse Coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris is a term used in English-speaking countries for fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests. Some prefer the term coarse woody habitat . A dead standing tree is known as a snag and provides many of the same functions as coarse woody debris... and small debris Slash (logging) Slash, or slashings, is a forestry term that refers to coarse and fine woody debris generated during logging operations or through wind, snow or other natural forest disturbances. Slash generated during logging operations may increase fire hazard and some North American states have passed laws... on the forest grounds. |
| 13 | Maintain beauty and other natural aesthetic qualities in the visual, sound, and odor landscapes. This includes not taking away the wildlife, the plants, or structural layout of the ecosystem. |
| 14 | Always look at the forest as a whole. Each part of the forest contributes to its overall needs and health. That is how the forest would have survived without human interference. |
| 15 | Rely more on people and markets. Use accounting and budgeting as a solution to rely less on the destruction or harvesting from the forests. |
| 16 | Don’t do wrong. If it feels wrong, then it is probably wrong. Don’t allow ignorance to persevere. Recognize that the ecosystem needs tending to. If the forest is not preserved, then it cannot be harvested forever. |
See also
- Conservation biologyConservation biologyConservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
- Conservation communitiesConservation communities-What is a conservation community?:A conservation community is a group of individuals and families living in a community who are committed to saving large parcels of land from ecological degradation...
- Conservation ethicConservation ethicConservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
- Conservation movementConservation movementThe conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
- Close to nature forestryClose to nature forestryClose to nature forestry is a theory and practice that takes the forest as an ecosystem and manages it as such. It is based in reduced human intervention, that should be directed to accelerate the processes that nature would do by itself more slowly. It aims at overcoming the divorce between...
- DeforestationDeforestationDeforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Environmental protectionEnvironmental protectionEnvironmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
- Habitat conservationHabitat conservationHabitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...
- Illegal loggingIllegal loggingIllegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...
- Sustainable developmentSustainable developmentSustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
External links
- Ecoforestry certification standards of Forest Stewardship CouncilForest Stewardship CouncilThe Forest Stewardship Council is an international not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting, independent certification and labeling of forest products...
- http://www.ecoforestry.us/
- http://ecoforestry.ca/default.htm
- Ecoforestry: Doing the Right Things
- Trust for Sustainable Forestry
- Living Forest Communities