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Using Plant Functional Attributes To Quantify Site Productivity And Growth Patterns In Mixed Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay, A N. Gillison, Rod J. Keenan Dec 2015

Using Plant Functional Attributes To Quantify Site Productivity And Growth Patterns In Mixed Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay, A N. Gillison, Rod J. Keenan

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Forest growth models are one of several important prerequisites for sustainable management. The complexity of tropical moist forest means that there is often little objective information to classify sites and species for growth modelling and yield prediction. Classification based on observable morphological characteristics may be a useful surrogate for, or supplement to other alternatives. This study investigated the utility of plant functional attributes (PFAs) for site and species classification. PFAs describe a plant in terms of its photosynthetic and vascular support system, and the sum of individual PFAs for all species on a plot provides an efficient summary of vegetation …


Compatible Deterministic And Stochastic Predictions By Probabilistic Modelling Of Individual Trees, Jerome K. Vanclay Dec 2015

Compatible Deterministic And Stochastic Predictions By Probabilistic Modelling Of Individual Trees, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

A single growth model can provide both deterministic and stochastic predictions which are compatible. Change may be expressed using probabilistic functions which can represent proportions of populations or probabilities for individuals. The former represents determinism while the latter enables the stochastic implementation. The same functional relationships may thus be used to generate compatible deterministic and stochastic predictions. All components of forest growth and change, including diameter increment, can be expressed as probabilistic functions, enabling construction of a single model which provides compatible stochastic and deterministic outcomes. Users may specify the minimum expansion factor corresponding to the simulated plot size and …


Social Learning: A Knowledge And Capacity Building Approach For Adaptive Co-Management Of Contested Landscapes, Andrea J. Leys, Jerome K. Vanclay Feb 2011

Social Learning: A Knowledge And Capacity Building Approach For Adaptive Co-Management Of Contested Landscapes, Andrea J. Leys, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

There is increasing recognition in the field of natural resource management that transformative adaptation to climate and policy change requires cross industry learning and cooperation at the landscape scale. This can be supported by the development of systematic methodology on learning models for adaptive co-management between diverse and conflicting landscape managers. Our example of land-use change to hardwood plantation forestry in sub-tropical Australia illustrates an innovative implementation framework for a social learning process that helped build knowledge and community capacity for adaptive co-management of dynamic and shared landscapes. The action research methodology relied on deliberation over local knowledge, existing and …


Modelling Growth, Recruitments And Mortality To Describe And Simulate Dynamics Of Subtropical Rainforests Following Different Levels Of Disturbance, Maina Kariuki, Robert M. Kooyman, Lyndon O. Brooks, R Geoff B. Smith, Jerome K. Vanclay Nov 2010

Modelling Growth, Recruitments And Mortality To Describe And Simulate Dynamics Of Subtropical Rainforests Following Different Levels Of Disturbance, Maina Kariuki, Robert M. Kooyman, Lyndon O. Brooks, R Geoff B. Smith, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The capacity of rainforests to recover from logging disturbance is difficult to model due to the compounding interactions between long-term disturbance effects, natural dynamics, site characteristics and tree species regeneration strategies. The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative model using over three decades of data from stands subjected to various levels of disturbance ranging from natural, through increasing intensities of tree removal to intensive logging. Data for trees ¡Ý 10 cm diameter at 1.3 m above the ground (dbh) in subtropical rainforest of north-east New South Wales, Australia were used. Botanical identity of trees at species level, …


Land-Use Change Conflict Arising From Plantation Forestry Expansion: Views Across Australian Fence-Lines, Andrea J. Leys, Jerome K. Vanclay Nov 2010

Land-Use Change Conflict Arising From Plantation Forestry Expansion: Views Across Australian Fence-Lines, Andrea J. Leys, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

An annual trade deficit in Australia for forest products of approximately $2 billion (Aus$), predominantly in paper, pulp products and sawn timber, makes sound argument for continued support of plantation forestry expansion. Existing government policy promoting afforestation through fiscal tax-based incentives for Managed Investment Scheme (MIS) retail forestry however, has raised many questions regarding the need for performance targets and accountability criteria in response to the collapse of several private plantation companies during the global financial crisis of 2009 and 2010 that had been responsible for managing a large sector of the national estate. This paper reports on the first …


Stakeholder Engagement In Social Learning To Resolve Controversies Over Land-Use Change To Plantation Forestry, Andrea J. Leys, Jerome K. Vanclay Jun 2010

Stakeholder Engagement In Social Learning To Resolve Controversies Over Land-Use Change To Plantation Forestry, Andrea J. Leys, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Rapid land-use change arising from incentives for afforestation has created tensions in rural communities previously dominated by agricultural enterprises. This paper reports on an innovative experiment with social learning that incorporated participatory modelling to resolve community concerns in a case study of plantation forestry in the Upper Clarence catchment of north-eastern NSW Australia. The development of a diagnostic framework helped identify socioeconomic and environmental issues within the community for investigation by a self-selected participatory advisory committee (PAC) representing a diversity of views. Implementation of a social learning exercise offered empathetic and intellectual engagement among PAC members that maintained interest, built …


Trends In Forestry Modelling, Guillermo A. Mendoza, Jerome K. Vanclay Jun 2010

Trends In Forestry Modelling, Guillermo A. Mendoza, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Different types of models have been developed and applied to address various problems and issues in forestry. This paper reviews modelling trends in four areas, namely, forest management planning and decision-making, forest dynamics and growth projection, forest landscape and spatial models and participatory forest management models. The first type includes decision models generally structured as optimization models applied to forest planning. These models evolved from single objective to multiple objectives with spatial dimensions, including visualization. The second type includes forest dynamics models designed to examine the growth response of trees using process-based empirical or conceptual models. Demands for 'close to …


Modelling Regeneration And Recruitment In A Tropical Rain Forest, Jerome K. Vanclay Mar 2010

Modelling Regeneration And Recruitment In A Tropical Rain Forest, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

A two-stage model predicts the recruitment (i.e., the number of stems reaching or exceeding 10 cm DBH) of the 100 species that account for 97% of all the recruitment observed on 217 permanent sample plots in the tropical rain forest of north Queensland. The first stage predicts the probability of the occurrence of any recruitment from stand basal area and the presence of that species in the existing stand. These probabilities can be implemented stochastically, or deterministically by summing the probabilities and initiating recruitment on unity. The second stage indicates the expected amount of recruitment, given that it is known …


Robust Relationships For Simple Plantation Growth Models Based On Sparse Data, Jerome K. Vanclay Feb 2010

Robust Relationships For Simple Plantation Growth Models Based On Sparse Data, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Three equations predicting height H = β1(t − 0.5)0.5, diameter D = β2(H − 1.3)/ln N, and mortality dN/N = −2(G/Gmax)3dD/D from plantation age (t), stocking (N) and basal area (G) can be calibrated with few data (even a single observation) for plantations in which re-measured data and growth models are unavailable. Despite having only three parameters to be estimated, these equations extrapolate reliably and allow objective forecasts of future plantation growth performance that may serve as useful first approximations until more precise growth models can be developed.


Growth Stress In Eucalyptus Dunnii, Timothy N. Murphy, Michael Henson, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Growth Stress In Eucalyptus Dunnii, Timothy N. Murphy, Michael Henson, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Growth stress in 9-y-old plantation-grown Eucalyptus dunnii was assessed by measuring longitudinal growth strain. Strain varied considerably (370–1560 ìm–1) and was sufficiently heritable (h2 =0.3–0.5) that tree breeding may be an effective way to reduce the incidence of growth stress in this species. Although the formation of longitudinal growth strain appears to be under strong genetic control (P = 0.0015), there was a tendency for tall thin trees to exhibit higher stress than short thick trees (P = 0.025 for height:diameter ratio). Two provenances and three families identified in this study show potential as superior material for further tree breeding.


Effects Of Selection Logging On Rainforest Productivity, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Effects Of Selection Logging On Rainforest Productivity, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

An analysis of data from 212 permanent sample plots provided no evidence of any decline in rainforest productivity after three cycles of selection logging in the tropical rainforests of north Queensland. Relative productivity was determined as the difference between observed diameter increments and increments predicted from a diameter increment function which incorporated tree size, stand density and site quality. Analyses of variance and regression analyses revealed no significant decline in productivity after repeated harvesting. There is evidence to support the assertion that if any permanent productivity decline exists, it does not exceed six per cent per harvest.


Healthy Forests, Sound Economics, Social Justice, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Healthy Forests, Sound Economics, Social Justice, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Concern over the management of the world's forests is becoming a hot topic, and no area is under heavier scrutiny than the tropical forests. The current rate of deforestation, especially in light of the enormous number of species these forests contain, is the primary cause for this concern. Despite this ominous trend, much can be done to protect and sustain these incredibly valuable resources.


Assessing Site Productivity Of Indigenous Cypress Pine Forest In Southern Queensland, Jerome K. Vanclay, N B. Henry Jan 2010

Assessing Site Productivity Of Indigenous Cypress Pine Forest In Southern Queensland, Jerome K. Vanclay, N B. Henry

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Site form, the expected height of a 25 cm d.b.h.o.b. tree predicted from the stand heightdiameter relationship, is shown to be a practical and useful measure of site productivity in indigenous cypress pine (Callitris sp.) forests in southern Queensland. Unlike site index, this measure is not based on age and thus has potential for site productivity assessment in stands of unknown or uneven age.


Modelling Changes In The Merchantability Of Individual Trees In Tropical Rainforest, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Modelling Changes In The Merchantability Of Individual Trees In Tropical Rainforest, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The deterioration of merchantable trees over time is often assumed to be negligible in growth models and yield calculations. Although the annual probability of becoming unmerchantable is small, the cumulative probability over a cutting cycle is significant, and should be included in yield studies. Logistic regression analyses of permanent sample plot data revealed that changing merchantability can be modelled using species, stand basal area, tree size and time since last logging. The equation developed for the rainforests of north Queensland indicates that up to ten percent of trees may become unmerchantable during a forty year cutting cycle.


Data Requirements For Developing Growth Models For Tropical Moist Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Data Requirements For Developing Growth Models For Tropical Moist Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Permanent sample plots provide the basis for growth modelling, yield prediction and sustained yield management, and the reliability of the data is crucial to these and many other aspects of forest management. To obtain reliable data, it is necessary to ensure consistent standards and that a wide range of stand and site conditions are sampled using both passive monitoring and experimental plots. Individual trees should be numbered, marked and mapped. Remeasurement frequency should be determined to facilitate plot relocation and ensure that growth is greater than measurement errors. Measurement records should be unambiguous and secure.


Technologies For Sustainable Forest Management: Challenges For The 21st Century, Jeffrey A. Sayer, Jerome K. Vanclay, Neil Byron Jan 2010

Technologies For Sustainable Forest Management: Challenges For The 21st Century, Jeffrey A. Sayer, Jerome K. Vanclay, Neil Byron

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Technology will help to address the challenges for sustainable forestry in the 21st century. Some of the challenges will include the shift of production from native forest to plantations in areas of comparative advantage, more efficient processing delinking end-use products from raw wood characteristics, increased demand, better information technologies to support decision makers, and more options for conserving biodiversity. Definitions of sustainability will vary in time and space as society's expectations and aspirations change, so there can be no 'silver bullet' to ensure sustainability. However, progress may be facilitated with a systematic approach to forest management embracing the usual planning …


Estimating Use-Values And Relative Importance Of Amazonian Flood Plain Trees And Forests To Local Inhabitants, Lars P. Kvist, Martin K. Andersen, Martin Hesselsoe, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Estimating Use-Values And Relative Importance Of Amazonian Flood Plain Trees And Forests To Local Inhabitants, Lars P. Kvist, Martin K. Andersen, Martin Hesselsoe, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Use-values have been advocated as a tool to compare the value of not just individual species, but also of plant families and forest types to local people, in order, for example, to identify species or habitats in need of special management or conservation. We estimated use-values in three forest types (upper restinga, lower restinga, tahuampa) on the Amazon flood plain south of Iquitos (Peru), compared two methodologies, identified the most valuable species and contrasted these valuations with the actual use of forest resources in local villages. A new method for estimating use-values was contrasted with the method of Phillips and …


Beer-Bottle Tops: A Simple Forest Management Game, Jerome K. Vanclay, Rod J. Keenan, Adam Gerrand, Ian Frakes Jan 2010

Beer-Bottle Tops: A Simple Forest Management Game, Jerome K. Vanclay, Rod J. Keenan, Adam Gerrand, Ian Frakes

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Forest planning and management concepts can sometimes be difficult to grasp. Games provide an effective way to demonstrate different concepts and facilitate deeper understanding of approaches and practices to sustainable forest management. In this paper we describe a game devised to demonstrate alternative ways to set allowable harvest levels in large (>10,000 ha) native forest planning units. The game requires minimal materials (photocopies of relevant maps and a few hundred beer bottle tops), and can be played and debriefed in 2-3 hours. The game focuses on the principles underlying area control and volume control of timber harvesting, and provides …


Can Lessons From The Community Rainforest Reforestation Program In Eastern Australia Be Learned?, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Can Lessons From The Community Rainforest Reforestation Program In Eastern Australia Be Learned?, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The Community Rainforest Reforestation Program (1993-2000) was an attempt to create healthy vegetated catchments that maximize wood production, environmental protection and employment in eastern Australia. Despite a AUD10 million outlay, these goals were not fulfilled, because of limited resources and continually changing circumstances (goals, staff, institutions) that hampered the efforts of both researchers and coordinators. Both technical and managerial lessons need to be learned: blanket guidelines are rarely helpful because species, nutrition and silviculture need to be matched to each site; vigour, provenance and nutrition of nursery stock is critical to plantation success; health surveillance should not be overlooked; early …


Educating Australian Foresters For The 21st Century, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Educating Australian Foresters For The 21st Century, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

A review of forestry education based on literature and a survey of 186 foresters reveals the diversity of interests within the Australian forestry profession. The survey refl ects the utility of subjects such as silviculture, mensuration and forest management, and highlights the need to include subjects such as human resource management, business studies and communication skills in forestry programmes. Results also suggest that there is the need for more innovation in the teaching of foundation subjects such as chemistry. Important but unexpected fi ndings from the survey were the high proportion of respondents who stated that their bachelor studies provided …


Deforestation: Correlations, Possible Causes And Some Implications, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Deforestation: Correlations, Possible Causes And Some Implications, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Changes in national forest areas during 1990-2000 are contrasted with other variables to illustrate correlations and provoke discussion about possible causes. Twenty-five statistically-significant correlations (including rural population, life expectancy, GDP, literacy, commerce, agriculture, poverty and inflation) are illustrated and a statistical model suggests that good governance, alternative employment opportunities, and payments for environmental services may be effective in combating deforestation. The data suggest that a global forest convention may need to be supported by substantial and carefully-targeted development assistance to foster good governance.


Saving The Tropical Forest: Needs And Prognosis, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Saving The Tropical Forest: Needs And Prognosis, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Many attempts to reverse deforestation in the tropics have failed because they addressed symptoms rather than causes. Many pressures come from outside the forest, so a multi-sectoral approach is needed. The real causes and some possible solutions are examined. Whilst there is scope for further research, many problems can be overcome through increased community participation, better communication, more effective management and the implementation of a few simple guidelines.


Genetic Variation In Shrinkage Properties Of Eucalyptus Pilularis Assessed Using Increment Cores And Test Blocks, Marie-Chantale Pelletier, Michael Henson, Steve Boyton, Dane Thomas, Jerome K. Vanclay Jan 2010

Genetic Variation In Shrinkage Properties Of Eucalyptus Pilularis Assessed Using Increment Cores And Test Blocks, Marie-Chantale Pelletier, Michael Henson, Steve Boyton, Dane Thomas, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Assessments of genetic variation in wood properties are difficult and expensive to carry out. As a consequence, the inclusion of wood quality traits in eucalypt breeding programs has to date been limited. This study is part of a large investigation into the use of non-destructive methods of assessing wood properties by comparing the results with traditional destructive methods. This component of the study investigates the genetic variation in linear shrinkage of 152 open-pollinated families of Eucalyptus pilularis (Smith). Increment cores and test blocks were used to assess radial and tangential shrinkage as well as their ratio. Shrinkage results at 17% …


Using Plant Functional Attributes To Quantify Site Productivity And Growth Patterns In Mixed Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay, A N. Gillison, Rod J. Keenan Nov 2009

Using Plant Functional Attributes To Quantify Site Productivity And Growth Patterns In Mixed Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay, A N. Gillison, Rod J. Keenan

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Forest growth models are one of several important prerequisites for sustainable management. The complexity of tropical moist forest means that there is often little objective information to classify sites and species for growth modelling and yield prediction. Classification based on observable morphological characteristics may be a useful surrogate for, or supplement to other alternatives. This study investigated the utility of plant functional attributes (PFAs) for site and species classification. PFAs describe a plant in terms of its photosynthetic and vascular support system, and the sum of individual PFAs for all species on a plot provides an efficient summary of vegetation …


Mixed Species Plantations: Prospects And Challenges, J Doland Nichols, Mila Bristow, Jerome K. Vanclay Nov 2009

Mixed Species Plantations: Prospects And Challenges, J Doland Nichols, Mila Bristow, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

About 2% of English-language literature on plantations deals with mixed-species plantations, but only a tiny proportion (<0.1%) of industrial plantations are polycultures. Small landholders are more innovative, with 12% of Australia’s farm forestry plantations under mixed-species plantings, and 80% of Queensland’s farm forestry as polycultures. We examine reasons for this discrepancy, and explore the history, silviculture and economics of polycultures. Financial analyses suggest that a yield stimulus of 10%, depending on product and rotation length, may be sufficient to offset increased costs associated with planting and managing a mixed-species plantation, a stimulus that has been demonstrated in many field …


Improving Productivity In Mixed-Species Plantations, Mila Bristow, J Doland Nichols, Jerome K. Vanclay Nov 2009

Improving Productivity In Mixed-Species Plantations, Mila Bristow, J Doland Nichols, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Mixed species plantations are often promoted as being environmentally preferable to monocultures, but are rarely considered operationally viable by commercial forest growers. Despite many publications documenting benefits demonstrated in research studies (e.g., Kelty 2006; Forrester et al. 2006b; Wood and Vanclay 1995), and despite continuing calls from a wide range of advocates for mixed-species plantations, polyculture remains the exception rather than the rule in industrial plantation forestry (Nichols et al 2006)...


Calibrating The Self-Thinning Frontier, Jerome K. Vanclay, Peter J. Sands Nov 2009

Calibrating The Self-Thinning Frontier, Jerome K. Vanclay, Peter J. Sands

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Calibration of the self-thinning frontier in even-aged monocultures is hampered by scarce data and by subjective decisions about the proximity of data to the frontier. We present a simple model that applies to observations of the full trajectory of stand mean diameter across a range of densities not necessarily close to the frontier. Development of the model is based on a consideration of the slope s = ln(Nt/Nt−1)/ln(Dt/Dt−1) of a log-transformed plot of stocking Nt and mean stem diameter Dt at time t. This avoids the need for subjective decisions about limiting density and allows the use of abundant data …


Lessons From The Queensland Rainforests: Steps Towards Sustainability, Jerome K. Vanclay Nov 2009

Lessons From The Queensland Rainforests: Steps Towards Sustainability, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Commercial timber harvesting commenced in the tropical rainforests of north Queensland in 1873 and ceased in 1988 following their inclusion on the World Heritage List. The evolution of forest policy, management and research is reviewed, and strengths and weaknesses are highlighted. Between 1950-85, eight estimates of the sustainable yield varied ten-fold. Discrepancies were due to different assumptions regarding management, and to errors in estimating net productive areas and growth rates. During 1950-85, the allowable cut (130,000-207,000 m3/ann) exceeded sustained yield estimates (60,000-180,000 m3/ann), but the actual harvest (90,000-205,000 m3/ann) remained less than the allowable cut. The allowable cut was reduced …


Bias In The Journal Impact Factor, Jerome K. Vanclay Nov 2009

Bias In The Journal Impact Factor, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The ISI journal impact factor (JIF) is based on a sample that may represent half the whole-of-life citations to some journals, but a small fraction (<10%) of the citations accruing to other journals. This disproportionate sampling means that the JIF provides a misleading indication of the true impact of journals, biased in favour of journals that have a rapid rather than a prolonged impact. Many journals exhibit a consistent pattern of citation accrual from year to year, so it may be possible to adjust the JIF to provide a more reliable indication of a journal’s impact.


Participation And Model-Building: Lessons Learned From The Bukittinggi Workshop, Jerome K. Vanclay, Mandy Haggith, Carol J. Pierce Colfer Nov 2009

Participation And Model-Building: Lessons Learned From The Bukittinggi Workshop, Jerome K. Vanclay, Mandy Haggith, Carol J. Pierce Colfer

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

FLORES (the Forest Land Oriented Resource Envisioning System) was initially constructed by 50 people during a multidisciplinary workshop in Bukittinggi, Sumatra, in 1999. It proved that a model of a complex system could be constructed in a participatory way by a diverse team; that it could be done with a graphically-based package such as Simile; and that the resulting model could remain reasonably accessible to all participants, and could run on an ordinary notebook computer. Many useful insights can be gained through building such a model, and subsequent experience has demonstrated that modelling in this way can foster continuing interdisciplinary …