Growth and yield modelling for optimal multi-objective forest management of eastern Mediterranean Pinus brutia

Abstract

de Miguel Magaña, S. 2014. Growth and yield modelling for optimal multi-objective forest management of eastern Mediterranean Pinus brutia. Dissertationes Forestales 170. 59 p. http://dx. ABSTRACTPinus brutia is a major element of the Mediterranean forest landscape. It plays an important ecological and socioeconomic role by providing wood and non-wood forest products and ecosystem services. Despite its regional relevance, information is lacking for scientific management of P. brutia. The aim of this thesis is to address several gaps in knowledge in the prediction of P. brutia growth and yield in relation to contemporary multi-objective management planning. Individual-tree forest management-oriented models were fitted to predict stand dynamics of even-and uneven-aged P. brutia stands. Taper models and allometric biomass equations were fitted to enable the prediction of assortment volumes and aboveground biomass of P. brutia. Different prediction strategies based on mixed-and fixed-effects models in the absence and in the presence of model calibration were tested. The potential of using meta-analytical approaches was also inspected. The joint production of pine honeydew honey and timber was optimized. Although P. brutia tends to form evenaged stands and it is mainly managed using even-aged schedules, the prediction of semieven-aged stand dynamics is more accurate if ingrowth is considered within the framework of uneven-aged modelling approach. In the absence of calibration, marginal predictions of timber assortments based on mixed-effects taper equations are competitive with those from fixed-effects models. The calibration of generalized mixed-effects biomass meta-models with minimal sampling effort results in more accurate predictions than local models developed from much larger datasets. The economic profitability of P. brutia forest management is the highest in healthy stands growing on good sites unaffected by Marchalina hellenica. In infested stands growing on good sites, honey production cannot compensate for the volume increment loss caused by the scale insect. On the contrary, on poor and medium sites, joint production of honey and timber can result in higher economic profit than wood production in healthy stands.

Comparison of the Stand Structure Diversity of Open Pinus brutia Ten. Forests in Areas of Different Productivity in Central Cyprus

“…They cover an area of approximately 13 million ha, which is 5% of the total area of the region and 25% of its forest land [9]. P. brutia spreads in the eastern Mediterranean and is one of the most characteristic species of its vegetation, since according to recent calculations, the area it covers probably exceeds 6 million ha [10].…”

“…The economic value and importance of P. brutia forests are very high in the countries where they spread, since in many of them they are the only source of timber [14,15]. P. brutia forests are an important habitat for biodiversity protection since they support a significant number of both endemic plants and animals (see [10]).…”