As human populations increase so do demands for forest products and services. With the world’s natural forest shrinking or increasingly unavailable for timber production, planted forests are expected to fulfil more of these demands. Planted forests are often provide multiple ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, enhanced water supply, and reduced pressures on natural forests although these aims are often contested.
Therefore it is important to discuss - can multiple ecosystem services be provided by planted forests, and to what extent?
Please have at this useful ResearchGate link and PDF attachments.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256498522_Role_of_eucalypt_and_other_planted_forests_in_biodiversity_conservation_and_the_provision_of_biodiversity-related_ecosystem_services
Plantations can address these ecosystem services (and perhaps more):
Provisioning: Energy, fiber, food, water
Regulating: climate regulation, carbon sequestration, water purification, erosion control, pollination
Cultural: Recreation, reflection, aesthetics (all based on various human values)
Supporting: Soil formation, nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, water cycling
Hello,
in quite a number of cases I have noticed here in France that Fir (Picea) plantations can host red-listed species (like Accipiter gentilis, Buxbaumia viridis, Corralorhiza trifida, etc.) despite looking uniform and poor from biodiversity point of view.
You may go through these links
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfr/2012/295414/
https://www.cifor.org/library/5945/assessing-ecosystem-goods-and-services-from-community-managed-planted-forests-lessons-from-nepal/
https://www.fs.fed.us/research/publications/misc/72420_2014_BiodiversConserv_Thompson_etal.pdf
In general, forest systems offer multiple services, whatever their origin. So, I think the question would be: Why plantations can not provide multiples objectives?
Climate change mitigation, source of traditional and modern drugs, ritual value to certain society, reduce soil erosion, adds organic matter to soil, improve soil fertility, forests as lung of life on the earth, store energy and carbon, ......................
Thank you all for your responses and additional resources - very helpful.
Rüdiger Grote - you are partially right, the paper and associated blog - https://forestsnews.cifor.org/47752/green-deserts-or-functional-forests?fnl=en provide the answer, and intention was to get different opinion from the experts BUT CERTAINLY NOT to advertise ... :)
One of the main purposes of plantation is to produce wood and fibre. In addition, plantation forests provide several other ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, clean water production, regulation of the hydrological cycle, and improvement in the connectivity of landscape mosaics for biodiversity conservation and the alleviation of desertification.
Yes, planted trees can provide multiple ecosystem functions, but, care should be taken. Some tree species planted in Kenya have been invasive, killing indigenous vegetation with catastrophic effects. So, whereas our zeal is to plant as many tree species as possible for bio-diversity purposes, we must be cautious.
Additional resources related to this question:
Article Spatial Assessment of Ecosystem Services from Planted Forest...
https://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/WPapers/WP255Paudyal.pdf
https://forestsnews.cifor.org/62710/what-bamboo-forests-do-for-nature-and-human-well-being?fnl=
all forests do have multiple functions if they are managed properly. In plantation forests, design (selection of species; species composition; and their spacing considering future use) is the most important which is followed by the management. Here is one case.
https://www.intechopen.com/books/conifers/why-forest-plantations-are-disputed-an-assessment-of-locally-important-ecosystem-services-from-the-c
Dear Rajesh ji
Please see this recent article for your review. There may be some facts related to multiple ES from planted forests that satisfy your query. Regards. Kiran
Additional articles on this topic ...
Chapter Ecosystem Services in Eucalyptus Planted Forests and Mixed a...
Article Quantifying ecosystem service trade-offs for plantation fore...
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01878-0
https://forestsnews.cifor.org/66784/planted-forests-in-vietnam-enhance-ecosystem-goods-and-services?fnl=en
diferentes estudios académicos (Ver información Universidad Nacional de Colombia) demuestran que las plantaciones forestales ofrecen servicios ecosistémicos. Desde el punto de vista práctico, las coberturas vegetales su primera función es proteger los suelos de los impactos directos de las lluvias. Las plantaciones en su desarrollo, tienen la capacidad de retener Carbono. Para la región amazónica se define que el sistema de establecimiento de especies vegetales, con fines tanto de protección como de restauración productiva, más adecuado a las condiciones de la región son los sistemas agroforestales, silvopastoriles, enriquecimientos de coberturas
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