Improvement of forest management key strategies: a contribution to conservation and sustainable land use

尽管作出了各种努力，但热带森林仍然受到开发和转变为农用土地的威胁。除了法律保护外，可持续管理理念对于这些生态系统的稳定养护也是必不可少的。该项目旨在确定和优化厄瓜多尔南部沿高度和气候梯度的三种不同生态系统(干燥森林、热带山地雨林和帕拉莫)的森林管理潜力。因此，必须考虑森林管理的多重和局部不同方面：直接提供货物(木材和非木材森林产品)以及生态系统服务(固碳、水调节)，这些都越来越重要；此外，应调查森林管理对生物多样性的影响，气候变化对复原力指标的影响，以及选定的具有可持续管理或养护潜力的物种的潜在分布情况。首先，必须在三个地点确定最重要的森林结构类型和可能改进的管理替代办法，以评估不同的管理概念。这些替代办法将在试验田进行测试，从而监测其对当地最重要的森林管理标准的影响。将开发一个健全的决策支持工具，同时考虑到投入参数的不确定性和不同森林管理标准的相关性。因此，将使用多准则决策分析来生成适用于不同生态系统的本地适应的管理概念。这些概念应能够考虑森林管理的多重功能，并将代表可持续土地利用模式中的林业组成部分。将与德国和厄瓜多尔的其他科学小组以及与森林管理有关的当地机构密切合作，进行全面研究。厄瓜多尔学生和青年学者的直接参与以及将调查纳入教育概念将有助于能力建设和地方加强环境能力的努力。此外，试验田地块将在一定程度上作为落实可持续森林管理概念的示范对象。

In spite of a variety of efforts, tropical forests are still threatened by exploitation and conversion to agricultural land-use. Besides legal protection, sustainable management concepts are essential for stable conservation of these ecosystems. This project aims at identifying and optimizing the potentials for forest management for three different ecosystems (Dry Forest, Tropical Mountain Rain Forest, Paramo) along a height- and climate gradient in Southern Ecuador. Therefore, multiple and locally differentiated aspects of forest management have to be considered: the direct provision of goods (timber and non-timber forest products) as well as ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, water regulation), which are of increasing importance; moreover, the effects of forest management on biodiversity and the impacts of climate change on resilience indicators and the potential distribution of selected species with high potential for sustainable management or conservation should be investigated. First of all, the most important forest structure types and possible improvements of management alternatives have to be identified at the three sites for the assessment of different management concepts. The alternatives will be tested on experimental field plots and consequently monitored for their impacts on the locally most important criteria of forest management. A sound decision support tool will be developed, taking into account uncertainties with regard to input parameters and the relevance of different criteria of forest management. Therefore, Multi Criteria Decision Analysis will be used to generate locally adapted management concepts for the different ecosystems. Those concepts should be able to consider the multiple functions of forest management and will represent the forestry component in sustainable land-use models. The comprehensive studies will be carried out in close cooperation with other scientific teams from Germany and Ecuador as well as local institutions of relevance for forest management. The direct involvement of Ecuadorian students and young academics and the integration of the investigations in educational concepts will contribute to capacity building and local efforts for the enhancement of environmental competencies. Moreover, the experimental field plots will serve in parts as demonstration objects for the implementation of sustainable forest management concepts.