Matrix Management

FOR 272 – Sustainable Forest Management

Global Deforestation

– Deforestation accounts for 20 to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions

FAO (2005):

• 13 million hectares deforested annually

• Net loss of 7.3 million ha/yr (2000-2005)

• Down from 8.9 million ha/yr (1990-2000)

• Rates now increasing again due to conversion for oil palm plantations

http://www.millenniumassessment.org//en/index.aspx

IUCN’s* Six Protected Areas Management Categories

Category I. Strict Nature Reserve: managed for science or wilderness

Category II.National Park: managed primarily for ecosystem protection and recreation

Category III. Natural Monument: managed primarily for conservation of specific natural features

Category IV. Habitat/Species Management Area: managed for conservation through active intervention

Category V.Protected Landscape/Seascape: Managed for cultural and scenic integrity, conservation, and recreation; human

settlements and agricultural areas are accommodated

Category VI. Managed Resource Protected Area: Managed primarily for the sustainable use of ecosystems

IUCN = The World Conservation Union, previously known as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature

Status of the World’s Protected Areas

• 12% of terrestrial ecosystems

• < 10% of the world’s lakes

• 0.5% of marine areas

Data: World Conservation Monitoring Centre

From Lindenmayer and Franklin (2002)

• No more than 10-15% of the world major biomes are likely ever to be protected

• 50 % of tropical taxa predicted to go extinct with several decades even if > 10% of tropical forests are protected (Soule and Sanjayan 1998)

• Continued bias towards high elevations and least productive soils

• Hotspots and representativeness will be key issues

25 biological hotspots

1.4 percent of Earth’s land surface

35 percent of vertebrate species

44 percent of the world’s plant species.

1/3 of terrestrial plants and animals confined to less than 2 percent of the Earth’s surface.

Most hotspots have no conservation protection.

Atlantic Rainforest Restoration• The Atlantic rainforest

once covered 400,000 square miles

• Only 7% remains• 450 tree species per

hectare• 2.7% of world’s plant

species just in what is left• Testing innovative

funding mechanisms U.S. companies paying

for carbon sequestration• How do we restore it?

Large Core Reserve

Buffer Terrestrial

Corridor

Terrestrial RestorationWetland Restoration

Riparian Restoration

Riparian Corridor

Matrix Large Core Reserve

Buffer

Small Core Reserve

Matrix

Critical Roles for the Matrix

1. Supporting populations of species

2. Regulating the movement of organisms

3. Buffering sensitive areas and reserves

4. Maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems

5. Opportunities for timber harvesting and resource extraction

Critical Roles for the Matrix

Other ecosystem functions• Hydrologic and watershed processes• Regulation of regional and global climate• Carbon sequestration• Nutrient cycling and soil conservation• Pollination service• Clean air and clean water• Open space, recreation, aesthetics, wilderness/outdoors

experiences, quality of life amenities, etc.

Matrix Management Principles

1. Maintenance of connectivity

2. Maintenance of landscape heterogeneity

3. Maintenance of stand complexity

4. Maintenance of intact aquatic ecosystems

5. Risk-spreading

Late-Successional Reserves Established by the Northwest Forest Plan

From: Vogt, K.A., J.C. Gordon, J.P. Wargo, D.J. Vogt, H. Asbjornsen, P.A. Palmiotto, H. J. Clark, J.L. O’Hara, W.S. Keeton, T. Patel-Weynand, and E. Witten. 1997. Ecosystems: Balancing Science with Management. Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y. 470 pp.

“Demonstration of Ecosystem Management Options”

Weyerhaeuser Co. Variable Retention Forestry

National Forest System Lands

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker(Picoides borealis )

• Population declines due to loss of habitat

• Requires mature (70-100 year old) long-leaf pine forests for nesting

• Requires open-canopied, single-layered structure maintained by low intensity fire

• Forestry practices now the leading problem:

• Short-rotation silviculture

• Fire suppression

Historical Range of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker

• Historic: 74-92 millions acres of longleaf pine ecosystems on coastal plains of the southeast

• Current: 3 million acres remaining

Matrix Management Examples for

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

• Federal ESA Recovery Plan Pending

• International Paper Habitat Conservation Plan for Southlands Experimental Forest in Bainbridge, Georgia

1. Requires conservation of 1,500 acres of suitable nesting habitat

2. Increase this to 5,000 acres

3. Goal of 25-30 nesting clusters

What forestry practices should private companies

and government agencies follow?

-> Conclusion: Maximizing NPV results in a net reduction of suitable habitat. Moderate NPV scenarios provide sufficient habitat

Former International Paper Lands: 172,000 acres

Former Champion International Lands

132,000 acres total:

26,000 to West Mountain Wildlife Management Area

22,000 to Nulhegen National Wildlife Refuge

84,000 to Essex Timber Co.

Former Champion International Lands in Northeastern Vermont

Apply the Triad Model: Where are the reserves? Which of these qualify?

What form will Matrix Management take on Essex Timber Co lands?

FSC Certification – Smartwood - 2003