Indicator – E7. Yield regulation by area and/or volume prescribed

Consultant's Initials:

LL, LI, BH

Source:

CIFOR

Identification No. in source: Use all refs:

3.2.3

Class:

Forest manage-ment planning and policy

Recommendation (after field testing) Yes or no

No

Revised Indicator Suggested? #

Combined with CCFM 5.1.1.

Box A:

Principle – Yield and Quality of Forest Goods are Sustainable

Criterion- Forest management provides for sustainability of goods and services.

Indicator – Yield regulation by area and/or volume prescribed.

Box B: Definition:

A fully regulated forest that produces an even flow of timber forever. The benefits of forest regulations are:

  1. Stable business planning.
  2. Balance between yearly expenditures and receipts
  3. Safety from fires, insects and diseases.
  4. Maximum opportunity for correlation with other forestland uses, e.g. recreation, wildlife, watershed protection, biodiversity and forage.
  5. Providing regular employment.

CIFOR information: Brief Definition:

Yield regulation is the calculation that may be harvested, annually or periodically, from a specific area over a stated period, in accordance with the objects of management.

Box C: Attributes

Rated on a scale of 1-5, where 1=no/bad/unimportant and 5=yes/good/important

Precisely defined? (clear)

5

Useable?

5

Is it applicable to other areas/ecosystems? (robust)

4

Sensitive?

4

Easy to detect, record and interpret?

4

Is it applicable to all landowners?

Yes

x

No

Box D: Applicability to Different Landowners. Explain any differences:

If native-American tribes were present in the study area, additional data sources could be found in the references cited in Box S.

Box E: Overlap:

CIFOR 3.1 3.1.1 3.2.2 3.4 3.3 3.4.2

Box F: Geo-Political Scale:

Global

North America

Intermountain

West

Study area

X

Tenure

X

Site

Notes: Yield regulation decisions are made by the landowner/manager and are applied at the forest level.

Box G: Indicator Characteristics:

Diagnostic

X

Predictive

Both

Notes: This indicator does not predict decisions that will be made in the future but…does this predict how it will be done in the future?…

Box H: Indicator Function:

Structure

Function/Process

Composition

Perturbation

Not Applicable

X

Notes: NA; Structure, function and composition are ecological parameters

Box I: Underlying Concepts:

Area Control. The principle of area control is simple: harvest and regenerate the same number of acres each year or period that would be harvested in a fully regulated forest.

Volume Control. In volume control, the essential decision involves how much volume to cut each year or period of time.

Underlying definition and concepts according to CIFOR management documents:

Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) is the volume of timber that may be harvested from a particular area of forest in any one year. AAC is based on the biological possibilities of the existing stands and the alternatives chosen to obtain a regulated forest.

Rotation age and cutting cycle are terms used to design when stands are cut.

Rotation age is the length of time from final harvest cut to final harvest cut in even-aged management. The second method a stand always exists and is only partially harvested each time the stand is cut. The length of time between these major cuts is called cutting cycle. This term only applies to uneven-aged stands. Analytical forest management techniques are often used to determine rotation age and cutting cycle.

Box J: Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Management:

This indicator is relevant because it provides a tool for achieving an evenflow of forest commodities including fiber production and all other ammenities.

Its Purpose, according to CIFOR:

Relevance to sustainable/unsustainable management; CIFOR Source:

Timber products are usually desired over a continuous time period and in about the same or increasing amounts if a population is stable or increasing. However, the distribution of trees will be ready for harvest throughout that period. In these situations the forest may be manipulated in such a way that trees of all ages are present for continuous harvesting.

Box K: Measurement Methods:

There are no standard methods. This decision is yes/no and it is to be made by professional judgement.

The following are some considerations on the principal requirements for a sustained yield of timber (from CIFOR Source):

  1. The soil and growing stock of trees must be kept in a healthy and productive condition;
  2. The composition, structure, and stocking of each stand must match the capability of the site;
  3. The condition of the soil and increment of the growing stock must progressively be improved;
  4. The individual stands must be so arranged that they can be tended and harvested efficiently;
  5. Within each unit of management the growing stock must have an appropriate distribution of size or age classes from youth to maturity, and;
  6. Reserves, in the form of trees or money or both, must be created as security against catastrophe (Matthews, J.D. 1989)

Box L: Data Required:

Historical data or information on how the yield was to be regulated combined with geographical information of current conditions of field visits to determine if the plan was followed.

Data needed to compile the indicator:

Data will be needed on fluctuation in the demand for forest products, weather condition, and availability of labor.

Direct measurement and observation in the field.

Box M: Data Used for the North American Test:

Need to get data and information from the different agencies.

We used the continuous forest inventory report from Idaho Department of Lands regarding the Payette Lakes Supervisory Area and Southern Supervisory Area from the 1996 Re-measurement. We also used Timber Sales Plan 1998 from IDL.

Box N: Example Results:

The following graph presents real data, updated to 1996, from source: Koski, W. 1998. Continuos forest inventory report. Southwestern Supervisory Area, 1996 Remeasurement. Idaho Department of Lands. pp 14-23.

Box O: Assessing the Practicality:

The concept of regulated forest is practical and can be tracked through time with historical records. However, forest conditions constantly change and plans have to be amended. Thus the practicality of prescribed plans for regulating yield as an indicator is seriously weakened.

Box P: Assessing the Information Value:

Yes, the indicator will provide information on whether the yield is regulated or not, which will help managers to know if sustainability is being planned and indicating the existence of a management organization.

Box Q: Overall assessment:

Rejected ; combined with E9 (CCFM 5.1.1).

Its main strength is that it would be an easy and cost effective measure of sustainability.

Limitation of the Indicator:

Box R: Did you rewrite or revise to a new indicator. If so what?

Combined with E9 (CCFM 5.1.1)

Box S: References:

Further reading (from CIFOR Source):

Appendix:

Please record your notes on evaluating the indicator here

Its main strength is that would be easy and cost effective measure of sustainability. However, forest conditions constantly change and plans have to be amended. Thus the practicality of prescribed plans for regulating yield as an indicator is seriously weakened.