Assessment of structural dynamics in forest landscape management

Developing and implementing landscape management planning is an important step towards shifting the traditional focus of forest management from managing resource flows, such as timber and wildlife habitat, to managing forests. This paper describes and applies a forest landscape management design process with a GIS-based landscape management model (LANDMAN) that incorporates harvesting intervention patterns and performance indicators using spatial structure measurements. In a case study, one small landscape was identified and quantified using the spatial structure measurements. The structural effects of four different harvesting patterns (scatter, negative edge distribution, edge progressive, and nuclei progressive) on landscape fragmentation were explored. Performance indicators quantified structural changes over time. Degree of structural change varied greatly among the four harvesting patterns. The scatter harvesting pattern created fragmented landscapes, while the nuclei progressive pattern significantly reduced fragmentation. Likewise, the negative edge distribution and edge progress harvesting patterns also tended to reduce fragmentation and mimic patterns of natural disturbances such as fire and insects. In any event, the case study demonstrated that geographically based harvesting patterns and performance indicators could provide an opportunity to design management for the creation of alternative forest landscapes. The paper concludes that forest landscape management, with its spatial structure focus, is a desirable evolution.