Towards a comprehensive social and natural scientific forest-recreation monitoring instrument—A prototypical approach

Hegetschweiler, K. Tessa; Plum, Christiane; Fischer, Christoph; Brändli, Urs-Beat; Ginzler, Christian; Hunziker, Marcel

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.06.002

Cited by 38 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Nord-Larsen et al 2016). The only country to use NFI data for the creation of indicators and for modelling the relationship between social and biophysical features of forests was Switzerland (Fisher and Fischer and Brändli 2017;Hegetschweiler et al 2017). No analysis has yet been published by any other.…”

Section: Political Context Reporting and Analysis And Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harmonising, improving and using social and recreational data in National Forest Inventories across Europe

Atkinson

Edwards

Jensen

et al. 2020

Annals of Forest Science

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Key message National Forest Inventories (NFIs) hold promise for monitoring and valuing of non-productive forest functions, including social and recreational services. European countries use a range of methods to collect social and recreational information within their NFI methodologies. Data collected frequently included general and recreation-specific infrastructure, but innovative approaches are also used to monitor recreational use and social abuse. Context Social and recreational indicators are increasingly valued in efforts to measure the non-productive value of forests in Europe. National Forest Inventories (NFIs) can be used to estimate recreational and social usage of forest land at a national level and relate this use to other biophysical, spatial and topographical features. Nonetheless, there is little information concerning the extent. Aims The study aims to identify the coverage of social and recreational data present in European NFIs including the types of data recorded as part of the NFI methodologies across European countries. It also aims to examine contrasting methods used to record social and recreational data and present recommendations for ways forward for countries to integrate these into NFI practice. Methods A pan-European questionnaire was designed and distributed to 35 counties as part of the EU-funded project Distributed, Integrated and Harmonised Forest Information for Bioeconomy Outlooks (DIABOLO). The questionnaire probed countries on all social and recreational data that was included within NFIs. Qualitative response data was analysed and recoded to measure the extent of social and recreational data recoded in European NFIs both as a function of the number of variable categories per country and the number of countries recording particular variables. Results Thirty-one countries reported at least one social or recreational variable over 12 categories of data. The most frequently recorded variables included ownership, general transport infrastructure and recreation-specific infrastructure. Countries collecting data over many different categories included Switzerland, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Luxemburg and Denmark. Conclusion The study proposes a specific set of indicators, based upon countries with well-developed social and recreational data in their NFIs, which could be used by other countries, and report on the extent to which these are currently collected across Europe. It discusses results and makes a series of recommendations concerning priorities for the inclusion of social and recreational data in European NFIs.

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Section: Political Context Reporting and Analysis And Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harmonising, improving and using social and recreational data in National Forest Inventories across Europe

Atkinson

Edwards

Jensen

et al. 2020

Annals of Forest Science

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“…Sievänen (2013) highlighted the need for further development of social indicators in the monitoring and management of sustainable forestry and forest use. NFI sample plots could also contribute to the provision of information aimed at integrating this social dimension of forests (Hegetschweiler et al 2017;Jensen et al 2008), although considerable effort would be required to integrate this aspect in most of the European NFIs (Sievänen 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The conservation status assessment of Natura 2000 forest habitats in Europe: capabilities, potentials and challenges of national forest inventories data

Alberdi

Nunes

Kovač

et al. 2019

Annals of Forest Science

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Key message There is a need to improve the consistency of international information concerning the conservation status assessment of the species and habitat types in the Natura 2000 reports. National Forest Inventories could contribute towards a more objective and harmonised assessment although their use shows some challenges as low precision for rare or small area habitats. Recommendations for a set of 12 structural and functional indicators are provided. Context There are differences among Member States as regards applying conservation status assessment and priorities according to the Directive on the conservation of natural habitats (Habitats Directive). Aims This paper aims to analyse the consistency as regards forest habitat types reporting and the use and suitability of National Forest Inventories (NFIs) to assess their conservation status, as well as to provide recommendations for harmonised assessments through NFIs. Methods A survey was carried out concerning the use of NFI data to report within the commitments of the Habitat Directive. The survey covered 13 European countries, accounting for 62% of forest habitat area. Additionally, case studies were carried out in four countries. Results The identification of forest habitat types and the set of quantitative and/or qualitative indicators differ between countries. The use of NFI data is being considered in seven countries and it is expected to increase for the 2013–2018 reporting period. The main challenges reported of use of NFI data are related to the habitat identification and their mapping, and the monitoring frequency, design and costs (i.e. rare or small area habitats). Conclusion It is necessary to improve the comparability of the conservation status assessments between countries.

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“…Stand structural indicators such as Shannon-index of dbh classes and density of large trees as well as indicators of tree species diversity, such as the Shannon index, number of tree species, or conifer proportion can be used as proxies for various aspects of biodiversity. Stand-structural and -compositional characteristics associated with high quality for recreation become increasingly available, especially at the local scale [65], such that MASSIMO could potentially be used to assess management policy impacts on forest recreational values. However, the applications of such indicators requires an accurate simulation of forest dynamics such that limitations in MASSIMO also limit the interpretation of indicators.…”

Section: Future Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presenting MASSIMO: A Management Scenario Simulation Model to Project Growth, Harvests and Carbon Dynamics of Swiss Forests

Stadelmann

Temperli

Rohner

et al. 2019

Forests

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Forest development models have been used to predict future harvesting potentials and forest management reference levels under the Kyoto guidelines. This contribution aims at presenting the individual-tree simulator MASSIMO and demonstrating its scope of applications with simulations of two possible forest management reference levels (base or business as usual) in an example application. MASSIMO is a suitable tool to predict timber harvesting potentials and forest management reference levels to assess future carbon budgets of Swiss forests. While the current version of MASSIMO accurately accounts for legacy effects and management scenarios, effects of climate and nitrogen deposition on growth, mortality, and regeneration are not yet included. In addition to including climate sensitivity, the software may be further improved by including effects of species mixture on tree growth and assessing ecosystem service provision based on indicators.

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Towards a comprehensive social and natural scientific forest-recreation monitoring instrument—A prototypical approach

Abstract: Towards a comprehensive social and natural scientific forest-recreation monitoring instrument -A prototypical approach Landscape and Urban Planning 167: 84-97.

Cited by 38 publications

References 30 publications

Harmonising, improving and using social and recreational data in National Forest Inventories across Europe

Harmonising, improving and using social and recreational data in National Forest Inventories across Europe

The conservation status assessment of Natura 2000 forest habitats in Europe: capabilities, potentials and challenges of national forest inventories data

Presenting MASSIMO: A Management Scenario Simulation Model to Project Growth, Harvests and Carbon Dynamics of Swiss Forests

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