Articles

Towards the challenge of biodiversity in forests and forestry

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Abstract

The  UNCED Convention on Biodiversity commits governments to report regularly on  the state of forest biodiversity. This includes the development of a system  of indicators. For indicators to be useful they should constitute a feedback  mechanism in the decision-making process. They should form a comprehensive  and integrated system.     Much of the discussions on possible forestry indicators revolve around the  identification of species-based and system-based indicators. The former  category includes the use of endangered or flagship species as well as  indicators of intraspecific variation. The latter category is intended to  cover measures of forest structure and composition, the use of vegetation  associations and ecological regionalizations, and measures of soil erosion or  nutrient loss. From those two long lists of biodiversity indicators, a short  list can be distilled, referring to the two major elements of the model  framework, viz. Drivers of Change and Attributes Inventoried and Monitored.      Despite the general objective of forest biodiversity conservation, it is  important to look closely at some of the current challenges that exists for  the future in forest management. In summary, changes in forestry practices  are heavily influenced by economic realities, particularly the supply/demands  variables. The shortage of information and knowledge implies that it will  take time and effort and many iterative revisions to improve and refine the  array of indicators that are required.

How to Cite:

Lust, N. & Nachtergale, L., (1996) “Towards the challenge of biodiversity in forests and forestry”, Silva Gandavensis 61. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sg.v61i0.852