Browsing by Autor "Lilian Blanc"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Can timber provision from Amazonian production forests be sustainable?
(IOP Publishing, 2019) Camille Piponiot; Edna Rödig; Francis E. Putz; Ervan Rutishauser; Plínio Sist; Nataly Ascarrunz; Lilian Blanc; Géraldine Derroire; Laurent Descroix; Marcelino Carneiro Guedes
Abstract Around 30 Mm 3 of sawlogs are extracted annually by selective logging of natural production forests in Amazonia, Earth’s most extensive tropical forest. Decisions concerning the management of these production forests will be of major importance for Amazonian forests’ fate. To date, no regional assessment of selective logging sustainability supports decision-making. Based on data from 3500 ha of forest inventory plots, our modelling results show that the average periodic harvests of 20 m 3 ha −1 will not recover by the end of a standard 30 year cutting cycle. Timber recovery within a cutting cycle is enhanced by commercial acceptance of more species and with the adoption of longer cutting cycles and lower logging intensities. Recovery rates are faster in Western Amazonia than on the Guiana Shield. Our simulations suggest that regardless of cutting cycle duration and logging intensities, selectively logged forests are unlikely to meet timber demands over the long term as timber stocks are predicted to steadily decline. There is thus an urgent need to develop an integrated forest resource management policy that combines active management of production forests with the restoration of degraded and secondary forests for timber production. Without better management, reduced timber harvests and continued timber production declines are unavoidable.
Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics
(Wiley, 2013) J. W. Ferry Slik; Gary D. Paoli; Krista L. McGuire; Iêda Leão do Amaral; Jorcely Barroso; Meredith L. Bastian; Lilian Blanc; Frans Bongers; Patrick Boundja; Connie J. Clark
Abstract Aim Large trees (d.b.h. ≥ 70 cm) store large amounts of biomass. Several studies suggest that large trees may be vulnerable to changing climate, potentially leading to declining forest biomass storage. Here we determine the importance of large trees for tropical forest biomass storage and explore which intrinsic (species trait) and extrinsic (environment) variables are associated with the density of large trees and forest biomass at continental and pan‐tropical scales. Location Pan‐tropical. Methods Aboveground biomass ( AGB) was calculated for 120 intact lowland moist forest locations. Linear regression was used to calculate variation in AGB explained by the density of large trees. Akaike information criterion weights ( AICc ‐wi) were used to calculate averaged correlation coefficients for all possible multiple regression models between AGB /density of large trees and environmental and species trait variables correcting for spatial autocorrelation. Results Density of large trees explained c . 70% of the variation in pan‐tropical AGB and was also responsible for significantly lower AGB in Neotropical [287.8 (mean) ± 105.0 ( SD ) M g ha −1 ] versus Palaeotropical forests (Africa 418.3 ± 91.8 M g ha −1 ; Asia 393.3 ± 109.3 M g ha −1 ). Pan‐tropical variation in density of large trees and AGB was associated with soil coarseness (negative), soil fertility (positive), community wood density (positive) and dominance of wind dispersed species (positive), temperature in the coldest month (negative), temperature in the warmest month (negative) and rainfall in the wettest month (positive), but results were not always consistent among continents. Main conclusions Density of large trees and AGB were significantly associated with climatic variables, indicating that climate change will affect tropical forest biomass storage. Species trait composition will interact with these future biomass changes as they are also affected by a warmer climate. Given the importance of large trees for variation in AGB across the tropics, and their sensitivity to climate change, we emphasize the need for in‐depth analyses of the community dynamics of large trees.
Rapid tree carbon stock recovery in managed Amazonian forests
(Elsevier BV, 2015) Ervan Rutishauser; Bruno Hérault; Christopher Baraloto; Lilian Blanc; Laurent Descroix; Eleneide Doff Sotta; Joice Ferreira; Milton Kanashiro; Lucas Mazzei; Marcus Vinício Neves d'Oliveira
The Tropical managed Forests Observatory: a research network addressing the future of tropical logged forests
(Wiley, 2014) Plínio Sist; Ervan Rutishauser; Marielos Peña‐Claros; Alexander Shenkin; Bruno Hérault; Lilian Blanc; Christopher Baraloto; Fidèle Baya; Fabrice Bénédet; Kátia Emídio da Silva
Abstract While attention on logging in the tropics has been increasing, studies on the long‐term effects of silviculture on forest dynamics and ecology remain scare and spatially limited. Indeed, most of our knowledge on tropical forests arises from studies carried out in undisturbed tropical forests. This bias is problematic given that logged and disturbed tropical forests are now covering a larger area than the so‐called primary forests. A new network of permanent sample plots in logged forests, the Tropical managed Forests Observatory (Tm FO ), aims to fill this gap by providing unprecedented opportunities to examine long‐term data on the resilience of logged tropical forests at regional and global scales. Tm FO currently includes 24 experimental sites distributed across three tropical regions, with a total of 490 permanent plots and 921 ha of forest inventories.