How does a biodiversity value impact upon optimal rotation length? An investigation using species richness and forest stand ...
Andrew Peace, Chris Quine, Gregory Valatin
Lead Author: Vadim Saraev
We use some essential cookies to make this website work.
We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use forestresearch.gov.uk, remember your settings and improve our services.
We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.
Preparing to search
Andrew Peace, Chris Quine, Gregory Valatin
Lead Author: Vadim Saraev
We have conducted one of the first attempts to integrate empirical biodiversity data with economic modelling of optimum rotation length for forest stands (the growth period required to derive maximum value from a stand of timber). We sought relationships between different taxonomic groups and stand age for a range of forest types based upon UK biodiversity assessment data. We then examined the impact of these relationships in combination with biodiversity monetary values on stand-level forest management – something which ecologists might anticipate would lead to extended rotations. Although we found some evidence of significant relationships between overall species richness and stand age for many of the forest types considered, with examples of minima at around 40 years for Sitka spruce in foothills and Corsican pine in lowlands and a maximum at around 50 years for Scots pine in lowlands, at individual taxonomic group level only about 4% of responses were different from constant. However, the overall results mask potentially diverse relationships for individual taxonomic groups. We found evidence of increasing and decreasing relationships (as well as no response) at individual group level which may result from the particular niche requirements and the species assemblages present. When incorporated into the economic Hartman model, the main relationships were found to make minimal difference (with two exceptions) to optimal rotation length under standard assumptions based upon biodiversity values from the literature. When we extended our modelling to incorporate a higher value afforded to biodiversity than published values, we saw significant changes in optimal rotation length in more cases. Our results suggest the need for further refinement of biodiversity estimation and valuation methodology – and we make recommendations for future developments.
This Research Note presents the findings of a study which examined how biodiversity changes with stand age, with a view to incorporating it into optimal forest rotation length modelling. The study reviewed relevant literature and analysed Forestry Commission Biodiversity Assessment Project data. The review revealed no simple or universal response of biodiversity to stand age. […]
Cookies are files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.
We use cookies to store information about how you use the dwi.gov.uk website, such as the pages you visit.
Find out more about cookies on forestresearch.gov.uk
We use 3 types of cookie. You can choose which cookies you're happy for us to use.
These essential cookies do things like remember your progress through a form. They always need to be on.
We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs. Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about: how you got to the site the pages you visit on forestresearch.gov.uk and how long you spend on each page what you click on while you're visiting the site
Some forestresearch.gov.uk pages may contain content from other sites, like YouTube or Flickr, which may set their own cookies. These sites are sometimes called ‘third party’ services. This tells us how many people are seeing the content and whether it’s useful.