Forestry: genetics, silviculture and policy

What were the key points from the FAO 2016 report?

"Forestry for a low-carbon future - Integrating forests and wood products in climate change strategies" 1) Why and where: • Forests are critical to mitigation • Dual role: global net carbon sink + responsible for 10-12 % of global emissions • More than 70% of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions submitted to UNFCCC indicate countries' intentions to use forest-based mitigation actions 2) Options + programmes: • According to IPCC, forest management offers the best mitigation option (easy implementation + short time scale) • "Virtuous cycle" of reforestation, afforestation + reduced deforestation + sustainable forest management • REDD+ + accounting for forest management + wood products under Kyoto Protocol increase opportunities to benefit from forests' full mitigation potential 3) Local action + policies: • Forests contribute to important policy objectives e.g. enhancement of livelihoods, climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation • The potential of different mitigation options varies among countries + regions + their prioritization depends on local considerations 4) Wood uses: • Increased use of wood offers important mitigation potential when it displaces fossil fuel intense products • Wood energy represents a high mitigation potential

What are three major quantitative traits considered in tree breeding?

1) Adaptation to growing conditions: • Phenology: timing of beginning + end of active growth during annual growth cycle • Phenology: strongly linked to adaptation to climate, is critical in temperate + cold regions + has strong genetic control 2) Productivity: growth, yield, insect, disease + stress resistance: • Similar to agronomic plants but evaluation takes several years • Strong environmental influence 3) Product quality - wood properties: • Unique to trees • Trait complexity from within tree variations

How do you develop a forest policy?

1) Ascertain if the timing is right for initiation of policy development 2) Ensure political support and cooperation 3) Communicate information regularly, broadly and transparently 4) Engage stakeholders and nurture joint ownership and responsibility 5) Negotiate to set priorities and address conflicts 6) Align and coordinate with other national policies 7) Strategise and plan a course of action for implementation

What are the seven criteria of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)?

1) Enabling conditions for sustainable forest management 2) Extent & condition of forests 3) Forest ecosystem health 4) Forest production Criterion 5) Biological diversity (ecosystem, species, genetic diversity) e.g. HCV forest for strict conservation + management outside of these areas 6) Soil & water protection 7) Economic, social & cultural aspects

Give five examples of different site conditions and trees which are suitable for these conditions

1) Fertile sites e.g. ash + douglas fir 2) Infertile sites e.g. oak, lodgepole pine 3) Free draining mineral soil e.g. Corsican pine 4) Wet upland peat e.g. sitka spruce 5) Very wet mineral soil e.g. alder

Give three examples of wood properties

1) Fibre length • Length of fibre increases as function of cambial age 2) Cellulose microfibril angle (MFA) • In S2 layer of 2* cell wall • Angle of microfibril determines strength: more vertical = stronger (mature wood), more horizontal = weaker • Decreases as functional of cambial age, heritability variable (higher in earlier yrs) • Compression wood forms due to mechanical strain (horizontal angle) 3) Wood density • Sig variation within single growth ring: early in season = low density, end of season = high wood density • Many conifers have pattern of variation from juvenile to mature wood functional of cambial age, many start at high level of density, decrease + stabilise at intermediate level

How can we increase genetic gain through controlled crosses?

1) Full-sib seed production • Seeds used for mass-prorogation are obtained through controlled crosses where given pollen used to fertilise given mother tree • Decreases range of variation in progeny • Capture non-additive variance (dominance effects or epistasis) - not possible in seed orchards • V labour-intensive 2) Hybrid production • Crosses between different species may result in hybrid vigor (due to over-dominance or heterosis) • Used extensively in poplars + eucalyptus + to a lesser extent in conifers

What are three primary goals of tree breeding?

1) Improve economic traits 2) Maintain or improve adaptability 3) Maintain genetic diversity for future improvement + evolution

How can we reduce GHG emissions from forest management?

1) Improved harvesting: • Reduced-impact logging - effect on soils • 6-14% of emissions from tropical forests caused by degradation 2) Increase of rotation length: • Using management approaches like CCF reduces emissions • Positive economic impacts also expected but vary w products + conditions • Trade-offs: reduced productivity, increased risks of negative impacts due to environmental change on forest heath/vigour 3) Management of pests + diseases + fires: • Monitoring, preventive and sanitary felling 4) Management of the Soil Carbon Pool (SOC, Soil Organic Carbon): • Thinning (-,+ effects on C balance), site preparation (-, =), harvesting (-), fertilisation (+)

What are the recommendations to the Government from the Natural Capital Committee (2017)?

1) Increase woodland by at least 250,000ha by 2040 2) Restore peatland systems, particularly in upland areas, to favourable condition 3) Restore natural hydrological processes including better habitat management, wetland creation, wildlife passages, channel restoration + natural flood management approaches as appropriate in river catchments

How does forestry compete with other land uses?

1) Land required to ensure resource security + supply of e.g. food, biofuels, timber, clean water, pollination services etc. 2) Land required for urban growth, industry (including extractives) + infrastructure etc. 3) Land required for recreation, wildlife conservation and other cultural services etc.

What are the FOUR main guiding principles of continuous cover forestry?

1) Managing the forest ecosystem 2) Using natural processes including perturbations 3) Working within site limitations 4) Diversifying stand structure

Describe three examples of the process of crop establishment

1) Nursery grown pines, planted on open ground, not a native species to the region 2) Gap created in native beech wood to encourage growth of beech natural regeneration 3) Stumps left after cutting for firewood - these will regrow + can then be cut again in 20yrs time - coppice

Describe the findings of the State of Natural Capital Report in the UK

1) Overemphasis of "Carbon Sink" • Risk of overlooking wider natural capital interests . • Several issues & potential trade-offs need careful consideration 2) Data Gaps • NCC have previously advised government undertakes census of natural capital assets 3) Tree Planting • Careful planning to avoid loss of habitats & land uses • Wrong trees in wrong places can have adverse impacts • Capacity to produce planting stock & risks of importing 4) Managing tree cover • Animal browsing & adaptability to changing conditions • Carbon storage capacity at risk from pests & climate change 5) Trade in wood • Over & under extraction would have negative knock-on effects on other countries & sustainability

In theory, what do all agroforestry systems possess?

1) Productivity: most aim to maintain/increase production (of preferred commodities) also land productivity • Can improve productivity in many ways, including: > output of tree products, > yields of associated crops, reduction of cropping system inputs, > labour efficiency 2) Sustainability: by conserving production potential of resource base, mainly through beneficial effects of woody perennials on soils, agroforestry can achieve & indefinitely maintain fertility goals 3) Adoptability: as a new word for old set of practices - in some cases, agroforestry already accepted by farming community • Improved or new agroforestry technologies introduced into new areas should also conform to local farming practices

Why do we do the second generation of selection - new mating of selected individuals

1) Provide information for evaluating parents 2) Provide estimates of genetic parameters (e.g. heritability of traits) 3) Provide estimates of genetic gains 4) Provide a base population for further selections • generate new combinations of genes • increase frequencies of desirable genes

What are the types of ecosystem services?

1) Provisioning services: products of ecosystems such as water, food & the supply of raw materials 2) Cultural services: 'non-material' benefits that result from our interaction w the natural environment 3) Regulating services: results of natural processes such as water purification & air quality 4) Supporting services: functions provided by ecosystems that underpin all the other services

What are the FOUR components of a silvicultural system?

1) Regeneration 2) Tending 3) Harvesting 4) (Stands of distinctive form) It's a cycle!

What are the two types of multiplication populations?

1) Seed orchards 2) Clonal deployment

What are the FIVE main silvicultural systems?

1) Selection system 2) Clear-cutting system 3) Uniform system 4) Group system 5) Irregular shelterwood

Describe these mating designs: 1) Single pair 2) Full diallel 3) Half diallel 4) Partial diallel

1) Single pair • Parents mated only once by pairs • Good information for full-sib family performance • Estimates of some genetic parameters • Not for estimating genetic gains from VA • Maximum unrelatedness but not optimum for selection • Low cost 2) Full diallel • Each parent mated with every other parent in population, including selfs + reciprocal • Lots of crossings so... 3) Half diallel • Each parent mated with every other parent in population, excluding selfs & reciprocal • Good evaluation of parents & full-sib families • Estimates of both additive & dominance effects • Estimates of genetic gains from both VA & VD • High cost 4) Partial diallel • Made up of no. of small half-diallel mating programmes • Each individual only crossed w small no. of other individuals Large costs of doing controlled pollinations

Describe a model of growth stages after a disturbance

1) Stand initiation stage 2) Stand exclusion stage 3) Understorey reinitiation stage 4) All-sized

What two characteristics should the scientific definition of agroforestry stress which are common to all forms of agroforestry and separate them from the other forms of land use?

1) The deliberate growing of woody perennials on the same unit of land as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial mixture or sequence 2) There must be a significant interaction (positive and/or negative) between the woody and non-woody components of the system, either ecological and/or economic Not to be confused with 'Farm Forestry' - plantation of trees that occupies unit of land on farm

Give three conditions under which logging may disrupt reproduction for much longer

1) Where a species does not maintain a soil seed-bank & has few individuals in size-classes smaller than those that are harvested • Although many of species that fall into this category are light-demanding & capable of rapid growth in disturbed conditions, recruitment may be insufficient to prevent sig reduction in size of reproductively mature population 2) Where most of advanced regeneration (open up canopy gap to allow regen) has been damaged during logging 3) Where a species is naturally slow growing & therefore recruitment to reproductive size classes is slow • Many long-lived, slow-growing species may not reach reproductive maturity until relatively late stage

What is a wold, a wood or a forest?

1) Wold: plain open country e.g. a down 2) Wood: an area occupied by trees 3) Forest: initially a hunting preserve but now a wood or wooded tract of land

What are the FIVE barriers to implementation of CCF in the UK?

1) Wood is a low value - product often extracted from remote locations + needs to be transported a long way to market 2) Costs of management - big issue 3) Knowledge + experience - lacking + availability of a skilled work force - forest management is hard work! 4) Machinery + equipment - available but cost 5) Few species in Britain - 10 tree species account for 80% of our woodland + many are not shade tolerant

How do changes in photoperiod and temperature affect the annual cycle of growth and dormancy?

1. Active growth season (spring + summer): - shorter days start process of growth stopping + buds forming - reinforced by cooler temperatures 2. Ecodormancy (autumn) - cold temperatures lead to leaf senescence + abscission + cold acclimation 3. Ecodormancy (winter) - cold temperatures key to meeting chilling requirements for winter 4. Ecodormancy (spring) - warm temperatures resume active growth - longer days do not play a role (no leaves, only closed buds, can't perceive changes in day length) TEMPERATURE HAS MORE SIG ROLE THROUGHOUT YEAR THAN CHANGES IN DAY LENGTH

What FIVE principles does sustainable forestry rely upon?

1. Basic scientific knowledge 2. Proper management practices 3. Use of modern technologies e.g. satellite + LiDAR 4. Policy 5. Markets

What taxonomic group(s) do trees belong to?

1. Broadleaf (or broad-leaved) trees which belong to angiosperms (v diverse group) • Eudicots only; no monocots considered trees • Examples from tropics: teak, mahogany + rosewood • Examples from temperate: oak, maple, beech + ash 2. Conifers (gymnosperms) • More ancient taxonomically • Examples: Sequoia, Douglas fir, pine, spruce, firs + larch

Describe the process of carbon allocation and accumulation in trees

1. C source-sink relationships are central to plant + tree physiology 2. C relationships are driven by photosynthesis (C fixation) 3. Sources (e.g. leaves) export C; sinks (e.g. fruits, developing leaves) import C (carbohydrates) 4. Wood is major C sink of unique importance in forest trees; up to 70% of tree's biomass is wood

Describe the phases of acquisition of cold tolerance

1. Cessation of growth (end of summer): short days + T 10-20°C • Accumulation of energy reserves to support phase 2 processes • Cessation of growth (begin dormancy) 2. Induced by T < 5°C + most strongly by T < 0°C • Tolerance to -60-80°C in species w extracellular exclusion • T must drop close to 0°C for highest supercooling capacity to be acquired • Synth + structural changes of proteins, lipids + cell membranes 3. (Some authors) Induced by T < -20 to -60°C: • Extreme cold tolerance in some species (artificial conditions)

What are the steps involved in silviculture?

1. Crop establishment 2. Intermediate tending 3. Harvesting

What are the TWO major mechanisms which allow tissues to tolerate freezing temperatures?

1. Extracellular freezing 2. Supercooling

Give FIVE biological features of trees

1. Founder or keystone species in many ecosystems 2. Large to very large size • Extensive secondary growth in above above ground + below ground organs • Accumulation of large amounts of wood (C-rich, secondary xylem) 3. Long to very long lifespans - annual cycle of growth + dormancy

What are the new challenges for forestry in the 21st century?

1. Introduced pests (result of globalisation) 2. Invasive plant species (result of human-modified environmental practices) 3. Public pressure for more responsible use 4. Greater accountability to preserve + enhance other ecosystem services 5. Pressure on land resulting from human population growth Overriding challenges are: climate change, globalisation + public expectations

Describe wood structure from macro- to nano-scale

1. Lignocellulosic (lignin, cellulose, hemi-cellulose) biomass 2. Stem section 3. Tissue 4. Cell wall 5. Polymer nanolayers 6. Lignocellulosic polymers

What are the different meristems associated with 1. primary growth 2. secondary growth?

1. Longitudinal growth: apical + root meristem 2. Diameter growth: cambium

What are the THREE major objectives of sustainable forestry?

1. Maintain healthy forests 2. Get productive forestlands 3. Derive economic value

What are the steps of a tree breeding programme?

1. Select plus trees from natural populations (may be modified or natural) 2. Set up a breeding population 3. Test trees by growing them in the field (10-20 yrs) 4. Assess performance + breeding value (genetic worth) to determine which are to be selected for... 5. Controlled crossings which result in improved germplasm Cycle continues... 6. Mass propagation for forestry - seed orchard to mass-produce seeds sent to forest nurseries to produce forest plantations

Give THREE examples of production systems combining aspects of TI and siliviculture

1. Systems with silviculture based on natural regeneration with some inputs of TI • European broadleaf trees i.e. hardwoods like oak, beech, cherry, birch etc • N American native hard/softwoods 2. Systems with intensive plantation + TI • Conifers (softwoods): pines, spruces • Eucalyptus, poplars 3. Agroforestry • Combined production of trees + food or other crops

What is 1t.org?

1t.org exists to connect, empower + mobilise a global reforestation community of millions, unleashing their potential to act at an unprecedented scale + speed, to ensure the conservation + restoration of one trillion trees within this decade (started 2020)

What is a cline?

A geographical gradient in phenotypic characters (Huxley 1938) Stepped cline = abrupt difference between two populations

What is the UK Woodland Carbon Code?

A voluntary standard for UK woodland creation projects where claims are made about CO2 they sequester + claims are verified to this standard

Give another example where knowledge of dioecious trees has been lacking in SFM

Aguaje palm Mauritia flexuosa - dioecious • Daily consumption in Peru of 20 tonnes = about 400 trees, felled to harvest fruit • 1500 ha of aguaje felled each year • Market prefers large fruit, trees with large fruit preferentially felled (females) • Felled trees don't coppice - all their seed collected • All male trees left, with remnant females - escapees (those that didn't produce fruit that year or 'missed' by harvesters) or those with small fruit -> fruit production affected, regeneration from small fruit females

What is forest policy?

An articulation of a society's values for its forests and of its intent as to how those values should be realised - McDermott et al. 2010 or Strategic guidance for managing and using forest and trees - FAO

Give another example where we see a cline in tree populations

Ash in Britain • During spring we get phenology of leaf flushing • If trees flush too early - they get frosted • Material from various parts of Britain/Europe planted in trial - looks at flushing period from April to May - when do they flush? • Romanian material flushes v early (suffers frost damage), Scottish material flushes quite late - reflection of pattern of spring in continental Europe compared to maritime climate of Britain (late spring frost) - native material waits to flush • Grouping of Britain/France patterns - scale of adaptation

What is the cause of forest loss?

At one level, v simple: land use change to agriculture major driver - As we lose forest in tropics, we gain agricultural land - As we lose agricultural land in temperate areas, we gain forest

Logging takes place over long timescales so it is necessary to model the long-term impacts of logging & selective cutting cycles to compare species' responses, give an example where two species have been looked at

Brazil: modelling of responses of no. of species - looking at resilience/susceptibility to logging 1) Jacaranda copaia • Reproductive size: ≥23 cm • Pioneer • 1.75 individuals/ha • Hermaphrodite • Pollination: bees • Seed dispersal: wind 2) Dipteryx odorata • Reproductive size: ≥36 cm (larger) • Climax (slower growing) • 0.17 individuals/ha (lower density) • Hermaphrodite • Pollination: medium bees • Seed dispersal: bats, rodents

What are three major genetic testing methods used in forestry?

Broadest to most specific 1) Provenance tests: compares trees representing different populations or geographic areas (does not require genetic structure) 2) Progeny tests: evaluates genetic worth of trees used as parents for crossing/mass-propagation • Half-sib: one parent in common, usually the mother, from open-pollination or crossing with a mixture of pollen from several other trees • Full-sib: both parents in common, obtained by crossing one tree with pollen from one other tree 3) Clonal tests: compares individual genotypes obtained by vegetative propagation

So what was the agreed solution?

Cancun Agreement 2010 • Developing countries agree to REDD+ as a voluntary, nationally-driven mechanism • REDD+ 'safeguards' to protect biodiversity & well-being of local communities

How are changes in photoperiod light signals perceived by plants?

Changes perceived by phytochromes in leaves + transduction mechanisms transfer signal throughout tree

Give an example of an agroforestry system in Spain

Dehesa, Spain • Multifunctional agro-sylvo-pastoral system on low quality soils • NTFPs - mushrooms, honey, cork, firewood • Many endangered species associated with habitat • Protected habitat (EU Habitat Directive)

Whether a perennial crop- shade tree system is beneficial or detrimental depends on what?

Depends on characteristics of crop, shade tree species, particular farming area (climate, soils, etc.), social & economic context

When is a forest a forest?

Different management objectives form the basis from which a forest is conceptualised and definitions are created e.g. ecosystem services, maximise potential of forests to store carbon + provide other ecosystem services, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

What is the main driver of continuous cover forestry?

Diversity at stand and landscape scale as part of an adaptation strategy to climate change and biotic risks

What is Goal 2?

Enhance forest-based economic, social + environmental benefits, inc by improving livelihoods of forest-dependent people

Give an example of within species variability in cold tolerance

Example in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga mensiesii) • Coastal population is adapted to later + milder winters than interior population • Hybrids between coastal + interior population have intermediate cold tolerance suggesting that cold tolerance is multigenic

Use an example to describe the patterns of adaptive variation we see in trees & in what traits

Example: Eucalyptus urnigera • Occurs across large altitudinal range, Mt. Wellington, Tasmania • Stepped transition from green to glaucous phenotypes (2 phenotypes) - correspond to difference in incidence of frost • Glacuous adapted to frost, green is susceptible • Difference in freq. of 2 phenotypes: higher = 100% glaucous • Transition where frost starts to occur = transition between phenotypes • More variability in seedlings due to gene flow - some glaucous lower down + green higher up - as competition occurs phenotypes selected against + get adult pattern • We see a CLINE/ECOCLINE

What are the advantages of shade trees with perennial crops (coffee/cocoa/tea)? (Beer 1987)

Facilitate crop management • Weed control • Product diversification • Control crop phenology (flowering, ripening) e.g. pollard trees when fruits ripening • Quality of product - coffee taste Hydrological cycle • Reduced evapotranspiration of shaded crop • Removal excess soil moisture • Increased moisture input thru horizontal interception mist/clouds Protection of crop from pathogen, insects, adverse climate • Reduced air, soil, crop leaf temp extremes • Reduced damage from hail/heavy rain • Reduced disease, pests, parasite infestation • Reduced wind speed < damage Improved soil fertility/protection • Soil mulch & > soil organic matter • Reduced decomposition rate of soil organic material • Recycling nutrients not available to crop • N fixation by shade tree root nodules • Reduced erosion on slopes • Reduced agrochemical inputs > Biodiversity - migratory birds, endangered species

How can agroforestry contribute to adaptation and mitigation to climate change?

For world climate goals: • Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for developing countries under Paris Agreement • Reduced emissions from agriculture (13% globally, 47% down) • Increase soil carbon stocks (x4 IPCC default values) For smallholder farmers: • Protect against temperature & precipitation changes • Increased stability against storms • Possible payments - carbon credits, ecosystem service

Instead of increasing tree cover (criticised), we could take a forest landscape approach - what is this?

Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is a practical means of realising international commitments + UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including: • Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Target 15 • UNFCCC REDD+ goal • UN SDGs (Sustainable Devo Goal) 15 "Life on Land" e.g. Rio+20 land degradation neutrality goal, + 17 "Climate Action" • FLR is also considered as a means to increase C sequestration globally

How does the forest sector contribute to GDP?

Forest industry accounts for up to 15% of GDP in some parts of world e.g. E Europe, Africa, Latin America

How does the structure of a tree vary depending on whether it's grown in forest or open area?

Forest-grown tree • Grew in closed canopy conditions • Any branches formed when young, rapidly killed by shade • Long, clean trunk (ideal for timber) • Few low branches Open-grown tree • Large low branches • Lower trunk full of knots (poor quality for timber)

Where does most of the science for forest policy come from in the UK?

Forestry Commission's research arm: Forest Research • Climate change, ecosystem services + plant health now high on the agenda

What lessons can we learn from REDD+?

Forestry for environmental protection, ecosystem services & climate change: - Is challenging - Must recognise multiple, conflicting forest values - Will involve diverse stakeholders & multiple institutions - 'Embracing Complexity' is arguably key to holistic forest management (Rayner et al. 2011)

How can we predict genetic gain?

Gain = Heritability x Selection differential (i x op) • Get more gain by controlling environmental variation + increasing heritability • Get more gain by selecting smaller proportion of population (increased i)

How can we calculate genetic gain?

Gain = Heritability x Selection intensity x Phenotypic standard deviation of a trait • Selection intensity: difference between the mean selection criterion of those individuals selected to be parents and average selection criterion of all potential parents, expressed in standard deviation units - Proportion of trees selected from population of trees measured for the trait e.g. 5% or 10% of population • Phenotypic standard deviation of trait important: if little variation in pop then opportunity to increase mean is restricted

What is adaptation?

Genetic changes of species or populations affecting fitness in response to changing environmental factors over the long term: • Major evolutionary force • Usually non-reversible (excluding epigenetic change)

What growth + development processes are affected by changes in photoperiod?

Germination Flowering Dormancy/growth

Which of the 17 global sustainable development goals does forestry fit into?

Goal 15: protect, restore + promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification + halt + reverse land degradation + halt biodiversity loss There is no global forest policy - instead a variety of fora

What is Goal 1 of the Global Forest Goals + Targets of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 (of 6)?

Goal 1: Reverse loss of forest cover worldwide through sustainable forest management, including protection, restoration, afforestation + reforestation + increase efforts to prevent forest degradation + contribute to global effort of addressing climate change Targets: - Forest area increased by 3% worldwide - World's forest carbon stocks maintained/enhanced

What is an ecocline?

Gradation in measurable characters apparently correlated with an observable ecological gradient

What is ecophysiology?

Growth & development responses to environmental factors: • Responses involve acclimation processes enabled by adaptations • e.g. leaf colour changing as temp. decreases in autumn is acclimation • e.g. different colour between species may represent adaptation

What affects the growth of trees?

Growth potential = photosynthesis - respiration (difference) This is affected by ... • Climate (temperature, rainfall) • Soil (water content, nutrients, acidity) • CO2 levels Usable growth (allocation to branch, stem, roots etc - timber, fruit, bark, foliage) is affected by... • Species • Site • Age • Competition

What are the disadvantages of shade trees with perennial crops (coffee/cocoa/tea)? (Beer 1987)

Hinder crop management • Branch/tree fall & tree harvesting damages crop • Sudden defoliation cause shock to crop • Manual labour for pruning • Mechanisation difficult • New crop varieties not suited to shade • Heavy shading reduce tea quality Hydrological cycle • Competition for moisture (dry season), oxygen (wet season) Pathogens, insects, environment • Reduced air movement, > humidity may favour fungal infection • Insect attack maybe greater • Allelopathic effects • Alternative hosts for pests/diseases • < light and < yields on fertile soils, < quality of transmitted radiation Reduced soil fertility • Root competition for nutrients • Stemflow & rain drops can increase erosion • Fruit/wood harvest an additional nutrient drain

Describe the irregular and shelterwood system

IRREGULAR • Tends to be applied to stands which have a mixture of species inc. shade-tolerant species • Prep cut: aims to improve quality of stand, removing less desirable species or less healthy • Seed cut: aims to open up stand further, encourages regeneration • First removal: further open up stand gradually • Final removal: remove all remaining trees (~60 yrs) • 2-stepped removal used to gradually open up stand to avoid bringing in too much light - would encourage non-woody competition, herbaceous plants which could out-compete GROUP SHELTERWOOD • Same irregular approach but used in different areas within stand e.g. 4 diff areas in 4 diff stages of progression

What is breeding without breeding ideal for?

Ideal for: • Extensive programmes • When crossing is difficult - no mating designs • Simplified progeny testing • No long-term organisational commitment • Reasonable gain with reduced effort & cost • Complementary to conventional breeding • Provides genetic parameters (Breeding Values) for parents/offspring • Backward & forward selection

Describe the selection and management of seed stands

Identification of stand not enough to ensure • good seed production • moderate levels of genetic gain • seed will be collected Need active management... • heavy & timely thinning to remove worst trees (form & growth) • 1 in 10 to 1 in 100 trees left (much lower selection intensity than in plus trees) • increases seed production in remaining trees (best phenotype) In Britain, 120 registered seed stands of major broadleaves - only 20% collected from 2004-9 (not managed well so not worth collecting)

What are provenance trials useful for?

Identifying sources of variation + incorporating genetic diversity into breeding populations

What is a feature which might make some species resilient and some more susceptible to selective logging?

Impact of flowering size and logging: • Sp start to become reproductive at certain size, start to flower & fruit - some at small size & mean flowering size indicated • If allowed cutting diameter is 50cm then no probs - most trees will have flowered & set seed before cut down • If cutting diameter reduced, will take out large no. of trees before they reach flowering size or even all at v low diameter

What is interesting to note about biodiversity hotspots and coffee- and cocoa-growing regions?

In many cases they overlap - the tropics Coffee and cocoa have importance in terms of biodiversity conservation

Where is forest loss concentrated?

In the tropics (S America, Africa, SE Asia) Forest gain in the N hemisphere

What is Goal 3?

Increase significantly the area of protected forests worldwide + other areas of sustainably managed forests, as well as proportion of forest products from sustainably managed forests

What was important about the 'Modernising Government' white paper of 1999 for forestry?

It stated policy decisions should be based on sound evidence

How can we put into perspective selectively logged forests as a method of SFM?

Logging only accounts for 3% of deforestation in the Amazon As selectively logged forests retain substantial biodiversity, carbon, & timber stocks, this "middle way" between deforestation & total protection deserves more attention from researchers, conservation organizations, & policy-makers. Improvements in forest management are now likely if synergies are enhanced among initiatives to retain forest carbon stocks (REDD+), assure the legality of forest products, certify responsible management, & devolve control over forests to empowered local communities

What are the driving forces in forest tree breeding?

Long time scales • to reach rotation age - markets/environment may change (esp in temperate areas w long rotations) • to sexual maturity • need to maintain genetic diversity Techniques to shorten processes • multi-trait selection per generation • grafting to shorten seed production wait • juvenile mature correlations to speed selection • marker-assisted selection Tree breeding cycle • different pops to achieve different objectives within cycle • genetic gain captured + deployed in forests through improved seedlings or vegetative propagules Low value per individual tree • some propagation techniques (grafting) too costly for commercial planting (production population)

Give an example where-clear cutting is used

Maritime pine silviculture • SW France • 1 mil hectares • Trees planted (after felling) at 2000/ha density (2m between) • Successive thinning steps - resulting in high quality tree • Clear cut at 35-55 yrs

How has REDD+ worked to generate funding?

Multi / Bi-lateral REDD+ Finance • Much smaller pledges have been made by developed countries than needed • Release of funds has been very slow (approved v little) Private Forest Carbon Markets • Forest carbon offsets $2.8 Billion US through 2016 • Recent surge in regulated compliance markets - Most don't accept REDD+ credits, but could be in future

Where does the word sustainability come from?

Nachhaltigkeit (German) - first used in 1713 - never harvesting more than what the forest yields in new growth

Are most landscapes in the UK made up of natural forests?

No, there are some protected/recreation lands, some urban areas + some intensive agriculture including forest plantations (most of landscape)

What was the UN conference on Environment & Development (Rio 1992) Annex III?

Non-legally binding authoritative statement of principles for a global consensus on the management, conservation & sustainable development of all types of forests "Forest resources & forest lands should be sustainably managed to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural & spiritual needs of present & future generations. These needs are for forest products & services, such as wood & wood products, water, food, fodder, medicine, fuel, shelter, employment, recreation, habitats for wildlife, landscape diversity, carbon sinks & reservoirs, & for other forest products."

What are the outputs and inputs of restoration systems?

OUTPUTS Outcomes: • Social mobilisation, capacity building, cost-effectiveness, scaling up, accountability, innovation Benefits: • Climate mitigation + adaptation, biodiv conservation, ecosystem services, local livelihoods, economic gains, food security, well-being INPUTS Capital stocks: • Natural, human, manufactured, social, financial Enabling conditions: • Effective governance, institutions, supply chains, multi-sector alignment, public-private partnerships, stakeholder engagement

What certification schemes are found on coffee and chocolate?

Organic, shade-grown, bird-friendly, Fairtrade

Describe the structure of a tree trunk

Outwards-> inwards: 1. Outer bark (protective function) 2. Inner bark (protective function) 3. Cambium (only plant meristem that develops as a large sheet which envelopes stem of tree (trunk) from base to top, covering major branches, responsible for formation of sapwood 4. Sapwood (live xylem, responsible for carrying water + nutrients from ground to crown of tree) 5. Heartwood (made up of dead xylem, forms through impregnation of complex tannins which kill off living cells)

Describe the phased approach of REDD+

Phase 1: Readiness - Development of national strategies, action plans & capacity building Phase 2: Implementation - Implementation of national strategies, action plans, deployment of national forest monitoring system (NFMS), capacity building & results-based demonstration activities Phase 3: Payments for results - Results-based actions are fully measured, reported & verified

What is acclimation?

Phenotypic changes (within individuals) in response to short term variations in environmental factors (e.g. seasonal drought): • Involve genetically programmed mechanisms, mediated by internal signals such as phytohormones • Usually reversible, last from hours to months • Changes in metabolism, morphology, growth + development etc • Synonyms: genotype x environment interaction; phenotypic plasticity; response norms

How many trees are domesticated?

Planted forests compose <5% of world's forested areas; only fraction in early stages of domestication • Most undomesticated, followed by improved seed source, early domestication, semi-domestication then complete domestication

What is the importance of progeny testing in tree breeding?

Progeny testing is required to determine genetic control and predict genetic gains Can be used at several points in breeding cycle: devo base pop or devo pop of selected individuals etc

How can we distinguish between provenance and origin?

Provenance: the place in which any stand of trees is growing; stand may be indigenous or non-indigenous Origin: for an indigenous stand of trees the origin is the place in which the trees are growing; for a non-indigenous stand the origin is the place from which the seed or plants were originally introduced

What is photoperiodism?

Reactivity to changes in day/night length

How is REDD+ being operationalised? If multiple institutions are defining and financing REDD+, how does this impact REDD+ priorities, and the balance of environmental and social values?

Research focused on issue of safeguards: b) Transparent & effective forest governance c) Respect for indigenous & local rights & knowledge d) Full participation of stakeholders e) Conservation of natural forests, biodiversity & enhancement of environmental & social benefits

Describe the continuum of coffee-growing systems

Rustic (coffee planted into pre-existing forest, may be thinned) → Traditional polyculture (different strata of trees) → Commercial polyculture (couple of tree species) → Shade monoculture (one tree species) → No shade/sun coffee

If seed is needed now or it is a low priority species, what tree improvement approach is used?

Seed stands (aka Seed Production Areas) • Selected for having trees with visibly (phenotype) superior characteristics (e.g. better form, growth rate, health) • Relatively quick & cheap means to: - provide seed with modest level of improvement (form & growth) - ensure planted trees have broad genetic base • Example: Acacia auriculiformis - SPA > performance compared to natural provenance - SPA < performance compared to seed orchard

What is the goal of tree improvement (TI)?

Select, breed + propagate trees that produce higher yield or quality outputs in plantations

What is important to note about wood properties?

Several properties vary as a function of development (cambial age), over the course of a growth season or in response to mechanical strain

What is the effect of shade on crops?

Shade reduces photosynthesis, transpiration, metabolism & growth, < demand on soil nutrients, enabling a crop to be obtained on soils of lower fertility

How are coffee agroforests benefiting biodiversity in North & Central America?

Some North American birds over-winter in, or migrate through, shade coffee in Central America -> Marketing of Bird-Friendly coffee

What is the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?

Stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system

What are the main differences between a selection system and a uniform/group/irregular system?

Stand structure + species make-up In selection system: • Stand structure more complex + uneven-aged • More species diversity • More stable habitat • Better provision of ecosystem services (biodiv) • More resilient to biotic/abiotic stresses

What is sustainable forest management?

Sustainable forest management (SFM): the stewardship & use of forests & forest lands in a way, & at a rate, that maintains their biological diversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality & their potential to fulfill, now & in the future, relevant ecological, economic & social functions, at local, national & global levels, & that does not cause damage to other ecosystems ~ Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

What are the breeding objectives for different wood utilisations?

TIMBER * Timber recovery rate * • Stem straightness • Stem diameter • Knots * Timber performance * • Wood strength: determined by stiffness, density + MFA • Stability: MFA, grain orientation BIOMASS, PULP * Wood volume * • Rapid growth & accumulation of harvestable wood (stem, sometimes large branches) * Product recovery rate * • Wood density vs water content (low water content desirable) • Pulp & biofuels: high cellulose content • Energy: high lignin content • Fibre properties for paper products

What is the forest vs development dilemma?

The Global North already deforested for development, the Global South claims the right to do so also

What is the Principle of Equity?

The [UNFCCC] Parties should protect the climate system ... on the basis of equity ... Accordingly, the developed country Parties should take the lead in combating climate change & the adverse effects thereof

What are ecosystem services?

The benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute to making human life both possible & worth living Tangible & intangible 'goods' & 'services'

What is a silvicultural system?

The process by which the crops constituting a forest are tended, removed and replaced by new crops, resulting in the production of woods of a distinctive form (Troup 1928)

Define agroforestry

The production and deliberate use of trees combined with agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some sort of spatial mixture or in sequence (time) that involves a significant ecological and/or economic interaction between the components A new name (1970s) for a set of old practices

What is forestry?

The science, art + craft of creating, managing, using, conserving + repairing forests + associated resources, in a sustainable manner, to meet desired goals, needs + values for human benefit • Forestry is practiced in plantations + natural stands • Combines biological, physical, social, political + managerial sciences

What is tree improvement?

The use of genetics to develop better-performing tree crops in terms of yield of wood + quality of wood

How do photoperiod changes vary?

They vary in amplitude, direction + rate depending on latitude + time of year

How do our objectives differ for trees used in timber and non-timber production?

Timber production • Uniformity of product • Volume production • Stem straightness • Wood density Non-timber production • Biomass yield as fuelwood/fodder • Coppicing ability • Wood density/fodder palatability • Intercrop yield (constant yield from successive copiccings) Hopefully results in ideotype through multi-trait selection

Describe how timber trees can be traded off with coffee plants

Timber tree Cordia alliodora • 100 trees/ha • Over 15 years commercial volume • 60-90m3 / ha • US$2160-3340 • As density increases of mature timber trees, coffee production goes down • Table shows relationship between income from coffee & trees - Variable price to farmer - Production costs stable - Profit varies yr to yr - Tree income stable - How much coffee production farmer could lose & be made up for by value from timber sales • When coffee prices high, only afford to lose small amount of coffee before reduction in coffee production is not compensated for by timber sales • When coffee prices low, can afford to lose quite a bit of coffee production & be compensated by timber sales • Farmers view trees as money in the bank when coffee prices are low or disease has resulted in crop failure

What is the aim of the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) approach?

To restore ecological integrity at the same time as improving human well-being through multi- functional landscapes

Describe the processes which lead to the end of dormancy and cold tolerance in the spring and the associated benefits and risks of the timing of transition

Transition from cold tolerance to intolerance is associated with return to active growth: • Determined by increasing ambient air temperature • Photoperiod has no effect This transition is a critical period for survival + competition Benefits + risks are associated with the timing of transition: • Early: competitive advantage - access to light + other resources but potential exposure to late frosts + injury to tender tissues • Late: competitive disadvantage but reduce risk of frost injury Generally, damages are more costly for late spring frost than early autumn frosts

What is a plus tree?

Tree selected for phenotypic superiority in particular trait(s) selection criteria related to prime objective

Where do these ideas of local adaptation come from?

Turesson's 1922 observations of Betula • Observed in different parts of Sweden, tree had different phenotypes • Differences persisted in common garden experiment (planted seeds from different habitats in garden) leading Turesson to label each population an ECOTYPE of its species

What was the new ambitious target announced in 2015?

UNFCCC 2015 Paris Agreement • "Emphasising with serious concern the urgent need to address the significant gap between ... Parties' mitigation pledges ... and [actual] emission pathways ... [pursue] efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C..." (2°C before) • Renewed attention to forests: addressing forests & land use change essential to achieve 1.5°C target • Renewed interest in REDD+: relatively fast, cheap & easy way to mitigate climate change

How can we improve and use wood energy?

Use of wood for energy (not new) • >50% of all wood produced in world used for energy (with cooking largest contributor) • Accounts for 7% of global carbon emissions Fossil fuel displacement by wood (new!) • To produce electricity + biofuels: is relatively recent • This can lead to "Accelerating tree harvest for energy purposes" • Development of "Wood bio refineries" - use cellulose/lignin instead of petroleum-based products to make fabrics/plastics Carbon neutrality of wood energy - complex & debated • Significant C emissions + C accounting is complex; depends on sustainability of production system, economics, markets, policy framework • Need to consider GHG along whole value chain • Cascading use of wood improves efficiency - wood used as soil product initially e.g. construction then used as source of energy

How is the structure of the tree relevant to the management of stands?

We want to get allocation of growth to the right bits of the tree • For modern timber purposes, most valuable part is lower trunk (should be straight, wood not free) - Knots in timber are remains of branches that have subsequently died so we want tree where branches that form early on in growth die off quickly • Lower branches lost when shaded by those above - determined by species + how densely grown • Different species differ in depth of crown e.g. spruces have deep crowns + shade out any vascular plants • Trees like beech + spruce which develop wide but shallow root systems may be more vulnerable to windthrow; oaks which have deep roots less vulnerable

When would the group system typically be used?

When there is certain amount of advanced regeneration so these openings can be amplified to encourage further regeneration

When would the uniform system typically be used?

When there is relatively little useful regeneration so the stand is opened up uniformly to encourage production of seed + formation of germination beds (light, water, nutrients more available)

Can a clearfelling system be transformed into managed by continuous cover forestry?

Yes, this is stand transformation • Gradual removal of existing mature canopy through approaches like shelterwood system • Eventually get uneven-aged stages - will take time • Natural regeneration depends on level of shade-tolerance of species in stand e.g. some pines, spruces, douglas fir have shade-intolerance

How do carbon stocks change with stand age? (example of oak woodland under close-to-nature forest management)

• % of C in woody biomass small until age of 13 then increases over time • % in soil decreases slightly over time • % in dead wood decreases then increases

Describe contributions to GHG balance during the establishment phase

• 0-5 yrs • Example of sitka spruce on pasture land • Significant emissions, notably losses of soil carbon • V little fixation - 3.9 tons Co2/ha

Describe contributions to GHG balance during the full vigour phase

• 25-60yrs • C sequestration continues at high level • Wood extracted from site (439 tonnes CO2) through thinnings + final clearfell -> reducing emissions by substituting wood to fossil fuels or into wood products • Emissions from soil • Positive gains in debris + litter • Operations increase emissions

What is the global potential tree cover and how was it worked out?

• 4.4 billion ha of canopy cover • Then had to consider the global potential tree cover available for restoration - less! • Also looked at how climate change could affect this over next 30 yrs - climate change could increase overall continuous tree cover in N hemisphere, but more significant decreases in S hemisphere

Describe contributions to GHG balance during the initial phase

• 5-25 yrs • GHG balance is much more significance - more fixation (132 tons) + gains to litter • Emissions from soil respiration + operations (road maintenance, extraction, transport + processing) + some carbon removed from thinnings -> wood for fuel -> offset emissions?

How has UK forest cover changed in the last 6,000 years?

• 6,000 BP: 70% • 1,000 BP: <20% • 100 BP: 4-5% • 1919: formation of Forestry Commission • Current forest cover: 13-14% (Current European forest cover: 36%)

How do trees differ in their breeding to annual crops and animals?

• 600 sp of trees planted across the world

What is REDD+?

• A North/South win-win? • Reducing Emissions from Deforestation & Degradation (REDD+) is a climate mitigation mechanism developed under the UNFCCC • Developed countries pay developing countries for leaving forests standing • Cost ~US$17-33 Bil /year (to halve emissions by 2030)

What was SFM recognised as by parties to Convention on Biological Diversity in 2004?

• A concrete means of applying the Ecosystem Approach to forest ecosystems • Both concepts (SFM & EA), aim at promoting conservation & management practices which are environmentally, socially & economically sustainable, & which generate & maintain benefits for both present & future generations

What is heritability and how is it measured?

• A measure of the degree to which the variance in the distribution of a phenotype is due to genetic causes (0-1) • In the narrow sense it is measured by genetic variance due to additive effects divided by total phenotypic variance • In the broad sense, heritability is measured by total genetic variance divided by total phenotypic variance • Heritability is mathematically defined in terms of population variance components • It can only be estimated from experiments that have a genetic structure (full-sub progeny tests) - sexually produced offspring in this case

What are seed orchards and what are the two types?

• A seed orchard is a plantation of selected clones or progenies which is isolated or managed to avoid or reduce pollination from outside sources, & managed to produce frequent, abundant & easily harvested crops of seed • Deployment (e.g. plantations) in mixed seedlots or half-sib families 1) Clonal seed orchard: vegetative propagation (grafts/cuttings) of selected trees • on best sites for seed production + isolation • produce seed more quickly • easier for controlled pollination • need progeny trials to genetically prove selections • roguing (culling) based on progeny test to achieve gain 2) Seedling seed orchard: seedlings from selected trees • can combine testing (progeny trial) + seed production • need typical planting sites if progeny trial results to be relevant • tension between seed production (thin young) + best testing (thin old) • material for new selection (forward selection) Best option depends on resources, biology of species (time to sexual maturity, seed production capacity)

The ability to tolerate cold is acquired and lost every year - how does this happen?

• A succession of reversible physiological changes that are induced by external temperature • Aerial part of trees: 2 or 3 distinct phases • Roots: less clearly defined phases

How does temperature affect the growth and development of trees?

• Acts on cellular integrity + activity levels of enzymes • Affects processes such as germination, vernalisation, growth rates, acclimation to cold • Cold vs heat - Which is most limiting? (heat has irreversible effects above 40*C)

Describe continuous cover forestry

• Aim to have complete canopy cover - less drying out of forest soil, less loss of C when trees are felled + soil gets warmer + drier • Restocking could be via planting, generally aim to use natural regeneration • Not a lot of experience of using system in Britain • Works well for shade-tolerant trees • Our native broadleaves are more light-demanding

What happened in the Carrifran Wildwood Restoration Project?

• Aimed to restore wildwood which once existed in Scottish valley from few remaining trees in area • Seed collected + grown up in nursery to be planted in valley • Looked at genetic diversity in remnant trees + planted material: - Plenty of genetic diversity in remnant trees - Low levels of genetic diversity in nurseries due to collection method (volunteers collected low-hanging fruit from small no. of trees -> genetic bottleneck) • Woodlands being reestablished were low in genetic diversity - potential probs for future

What is continuous cover forestry?

• Also known as Low Impact Silvicultural Systems + Alternatives to Clearfelling • It is an approach to forest management + not a silvicultural system • There is not an exact match with different silvicultural systems - diff systems can be employed to enable transformation of even-aged stands to CCF

What is the aim of silviculture and what is it based upon?

• Apply treatment(s) of forest stands to preserve them + enhance their productivity • Both science + art of growing + tending forest crops, based on a knowledge of silvics, i.e., study of life history + general characteristics of forest trees + stands, with particular reference to locality factors

What do we assume is happening in seed orchards?

• Assumes panmixia (random mating between selected individuals) • Synchrony of flowering • Similar flowering abundance • No contamination

Describe the findings of Cornelius' 1994 metanalysis of heritability in tree traits

• Based on 67 published studies on conifers (approx. 80% of studies) + broadleaf trees (20%) • Majority of traits seem to have maximum heritability between 0.1-0.3 • Exception is specific gravity: density of wood (wood property traits tend to have higher heritability than other traits)

Describe how agroforestry is used for poultry

• Birds don't move v far in open conditions; only tend to range widely with tree/vegetation cover to protect from predators • Benefits of tree cover include: - reduced mortality - less feather pecking - fewer second quality eggs "seconds" • Problems include: - > disease with conifers - > labour • Cost of tree planting recouped in < 2-3 years • Woodland Eggs - Woodland Trust/Sainsbury's specify 20% cover in free range area, some trees within 20 m of shed • McDonald's/RSPCA require free range producers to have 5% tree cover

How does deforestation differ in Borneo and Costa Rica?

• Borneo has been increasingly deforested since the 1950s (like many countries in tropics) • Similar story in Costa Rica until 1997 where we see increases in forest cover due to national parks & change in attitudes toward natural resources - secondary forests

Selective logging involves the removal of a proportion of trees, what are some of the regulations of which trees can be logged?

• Brazil: decree 5.975 (2006) - 90% of trees of a species w DBH > 50cm, 30 yr cutting cycle • French Guyana: >60cm 65 yr cutting cycle • Why the difference? Are both sustainable or neither? All species the same?

How do we increase genetic gain whilst maintaining diversity?

• Breeding functions by working with three levels of population that are moved from one gen to next: - BP: base pop - SP: selection pop - PP: production pop • BP contains widest level of genetic diversity • As we move through cycles of breeding, want to maintain base v broad • SP one level up - still within breeding part of cycle, selected individuals • PP: narrowest, aims to propagate materials for period of time, will be renewed as SP changes • Through cycles, amount of genetic gain that can be achieved goes up, maintain structure of diversity in diff pops

Describe a study which examined how the progression of apical bud formation was influenced by day length and temperature simultaneously

• Buds form at tips of branches at end of growth season • Studied in white spruce, two pops from N + S provenances • Studied long + short days + warm + cool temperatures • Scored advancement of bud formation (0 (none) - 5 (fully-developed)) • Results from short vs long days where temp. is warm in both: - Short days: bud formation happened rapidly (level 3 within 5 days in both pops), then slowed because no cool temp. - Long days: buds at 0 after 5 days, then accelerated + reached same point as short days • S provenances more sensitive to shortening of photoperiod (do not shorten as rapidly in S)

Describe the global forest carbon stocks by type and by region

• C primarily present in biomass e.g. wood of trees + roots • Other major component is C in soil • Minor components in dead wood + litter • S America has large carbon stocks in biomass • Europe has largest carbon stocks - mostly in soils

How does net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) change with stand age?

• Calculated NECB by estimating from carbon stocks + measured carbon fluxes • Low to negative in early years • Then increases to reach high positive levels at 60 yrs or so (more net primary productivity compared to respiration) • Fluxes variable over time because affected by thinnings which occur every 10 yrs

What is clonal deployment?

• Can produce large amounts of individuals by rooting cuttings • As clonal blocks: - reduce inter-clone competition - ease of clonal removal - diversity issues • Number of clones deployed to minimize risk: 10-30 (ensure genetic diversity) • But often only a few clones planted e.g. poplar in France • Solution: release material as mixture of clones so there is genetic diversity

Describe the carbon fluxes in a mature oak plantation in the UK

• Carbon fluxes (tCO2 ha-1 y -1 ) and stocks (tCO2 ha-1 ) in a 70-80 year old deciduous oak plantation • Stocks: 12+576+62+494 = 1144 • Flux (fixation): 76.4 (photosynth productivity)-57.9 (respiration) = 18.5

What was T10Q?

• Case study in public involvement in decision-making in 2009 • Asked people what they considered to be the most important aspects of forest research + policy • Result was top 10 questions for forestry • Most important was: what are the most technically + financially effective ways of identifying, monitoring and controlling invasive species, pests + disease? - an early warning for tree health!

Describe a case study of REDD+ safeguard policy into practice

• Case study of Much Kanan K'aax (MKK) • Community Conservation Area (CCA), State of Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico • Researchers identified key institutions funding or implementing REDD+-related actions & safeguards relevant to MKK community conservation area RESULTS • Many REDD+ activities in MKK e.g. Mexico's Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES Scheme), Forest carbon certification • But priorities are similar - Strong procedural rights: free, prior & informed consent among community members - But externally determined prioritization of carbon & biodiversity - Right to say no to carbon, but what is there to say yes to? • Livelihood benefits? - Restricted local access to forest resources - Contingent on sustained funding for carbon & conservation

Why is there a growing focus on ecosystem services?

• Changing social priorities - Growing concern over forest loss & degradation & desire for more holistic, multidimensional way of valuing forests - Urbanising, wealthy populations see forests as places of refuge, 'wilderness' • But social priorities are also contested...

Give four examples of logging practices

• Clear cut • Slash & burn - practiced by indigenous groups, burn down trees, plant crops, fertility down, leave area to reforest, not sustainable w high pop density • Conventional - skid trails present • Reduced impact

Describe the impact of service shade trees e.g. legume trees on production of cocoa and coffee

• Cocoa: without fertiliser, production optimised with shade (50%), with fertiliser (£££), production optimised at full sun, yield much higher • Coffee: optimal production at intermediate levels of shade (20-60%)

How does cold acclimation in trees vary?

• Cold acclimation is observed annually in temperate + boreal regions • e.g. white fir (Abies alba) needles can only tolerate -3*C in summer before dying, in winter same neals can tolerate -36*C (roots don't acclimate to same extent because not exposed to same level of cold) • Different tree species have different adaptations to cope with cold, e.g.: - Leaf senescence (in hardwoods) - Different mechanisms to avoid freezing

Describe large-scale plantations

• Common in Britain due to need to rapidly expand forest cover in 20th C on difficult sites e.g. conifers • Mainly managed as clearfells then restocked by planting on roation • 40-50 years • Felled in stand exclusion stage, some in understorey reinitiation stage - interest in developing uneven aged stands of conifers

How small can tree improvement programmes be?

• Common view: complex tree improvement not economically justifiable for relatively small-scale planting programmes Study done by Hamilton et al. 1997 in Costa Rica (usually grown by small farmers not commercially) looking area needed to plant to justify investment in level of genetic gain • Programme: i) clonal seed orchard established with ramets of plus-trees ii) three progeny tests/seedling seed orchards - Gmelina arborea • Total discounted/compounded cost was US$25,423 (5% discount rate) • 20 yr life of seed orchard cost justified at annual planting rates: - 31 ha per yr (at 20% genetic gain in volume) - 125 ha per yr (5% genetic gain) • Seed orchard programmes often economically justifiable at annual planting rates of 125 ha or less in tropics (shorter rotations)

Illustrate another potential issue with forest management with an example

• Community in Namibia wanting to conserve small amount of forest around villages - getting a lot of non-timber forest products from them • Conducted interviews with community & realised people recognised individ sp as having both M & F individs - some sp were dioecious • Asked which species you're using have M & F trees & how does that affect how you might manage that tree? • Most cases they said they would leave females in the field not males, in few cases they said both • If all males removed, only females left: unlikely to get seed production, no good regeneration of sp - no good because without males no fruit!! • Critical in many cases is knowledge of reproductive biology of species to see whether we can get SFM

How do you use genetic test data in breeding?

• Comparative plantations are often used to - identify sources of variation - define sampling strategies to create a breeding population with broad genetic diversity • P = m + G + E + G x E • In practice, the genotype, environmental & G x E effects are estimated by calculating their variances • Genetic variances may be partitioned into different variance components: - According to the source: provenance, tree to tree, parents, family - According to the type of effect: additive genetic effect, non-additive effect (dominance)

What agroforestry systems are the most beneficial for conservation?

• Complex systems (e.g. traditional shaded coffee) may rate highly for conservation benefits • Simpler systems (e.g. trees in pastures) less effective • Greatest potential role in highly deforested areas where reserves very small or non existent

Describe the economic contribution of the world's forest sector

• Contributes to economy beyond itself + extends to other sectors through indirect + induced effects • Forestry + logging subsector has lower ripple effects compared to other wood-based manufacturing subsectors • Global forest sector directly employed more than 18 million people + supported more than 45 million jobs in 2011 • Global forest sector had direct contribution of $539 billion + total contribution of $1298 billion to GDP in 2011

What is one of the issues with clonal forestry?

• Cost of propagating material - always costs a bit more to produce rooted cuttings than producing material from seedings • To keep cost of clonal stock low, demand must be high (difficult when there is high cost with low demand) • Example: Wildstar (improved cherry timber) - 7 clone mixture - 2-5x seedling price - too £££! • Clonal deployment may be more attractive when clones 100% of final harvest, but only 25-50% of planting stock • Economics of deploying tested clones favourable in countries like Brazil + South Africa - cost of vegetative propagation low, growth rates high (fast growing species on good sites), rotation age < 8 years - Long rotation species break-even cost of clonal stock is reduced

Give two examples of alley cropping and its benefits

• Cotton/pine trees, Alabama, windbreak-reduces soil erosion, 2nd income, large commercial • Maize/legume tree, India, mulch, N2 input (not released into soil until trees pollarded), weed control BENEFITS • Takes advantage of trees as soil improvers • Enhances amounts of organic matter returned to soils through use of tree prunings as mulch • Improves nitrogen status of system if N-fixing species are grown as hedgerows • Suppresses weed growth under mulch from hedges • Protects soils from erosive effects of heavy rainfall - major cause of fertility loss

How are results calculated?

• Countries must calculate estimates of what deforestation would be like if they hadn't taken efforts to slow it (business as usual (BAU) baseline) to use as reference level • Can then compensate countries for lower rates of deforestation than BAU

How important are forests globally?

• Cover nearly 33% of Earth's land area • Contain 66% of Earth's terrestrial biomass • Tightly linked with atmospheric carbon budgets • In most parts of the world, human activity has resulted in 20% or less of woodlands being primary • Planted forests account for minor component of forests globally (most in Asia) • Most of world's forest is naturally regenerated (after natural or human disturbance)

Describe the annual change in forest area by region between 1990 and 2010

• Deforestation + unsustainable practice has -vely impacted in the S hemisphere (sig net loss) • N hemisphere was -vely impacted in prev. centuries (slight net gain now)

Describe El Salvador as a case study

• Deforestation rates have historically been very high - 5% of country is forested now • Coffee plantations represent 60% of remaining forested area • Found up to 140 bird species & 40 tree species in these coffee plantations • New tree species was also discovered in coffee plantation • Because so little forest left, agroforests playing an important role in conserving biodiversity of area

Give three ways we might use genetics to enhance selected traits in tree breeding

• Develop populations more suitable for specialized products or uses (e.g. fruits, biomass) • Improved yields or quality on existing productive forest land • Grow trees on lands sub-marginal or not economic for timber production

How was it attempted to reconcile the issues of loss of adaptation and loss of genetic diversity?

• Develop seed zone maps for a particular country • Forestry Commission divided Britain up into: - 4 regions of provenance - 24 seed zones • Seed zone - an area within which plant materials can be transferred with little risk of being poorly adapted to their new location • Impractical + not based on empirical evidence of scale of adaptation • In more recent yrs, we've seen scale of adaptation of native tree species in Britain doesn't tend to coincide with these seed zones - 4 regions of provenance more relevant to scale of adaptation

What is breeding without breeding (BWB)?

• Developed to allow field screening of much larger numbers of progeny without costs of controlled pollinations + trial layouts • Uses molecular markers for pedigree reconstruction - retrospectively work out who the best parents were

How is forest policy implemented in the UK?

• Devolved business • Global commitments: UN • UK: Up to individual nations of UK to make their own policies, some aspects are dealt with at UK level e.g. research, plant health • By and large: all policies looking at expanding cover of trees, looking after what they already have + using as means of growing economy + providing jobs + recreation

What are the key aspects of the ecotype concept?

• Differences are genetically based • Differences may be morphological, physiological or phenological • Ecotypes occur in distinct habitats • Genetic differences are "adaptive" i.e. enhance survival & reproduction in that habitat • Ecotypes are potentially interfertile

What are criteria and indicators for evaluation of SFM?

• Different scope, scale & purpose • Many standards, many differences • Criteria: - define essential elements against which sustainability assessed - consideration paid to productive, protective & social roles of forests/forest ecosystems - each criterion relates to a key element of sustainability & may be described by one or more indicators • Indicators: - parameters which can be measured & correspond to a particular criterion - measure & help monitor status & changes of forests in quantitative, qualitative & descriptive terms that reflect forest values as seen by those who defined each criterion

Why does most tree breeding rely on population improvement?

• Due to the lack of domestication (working w wild pops) + to maintain diversity • A few breeding programs rely on the development of clonal lines e.g. poplar, eucalyptus, conifers on a small scale

Describe the current state of European forests + some of the policies involved

• EU contains 5% of world's forests (155Mha forests / 21Mha wooded cover) • Only global region that has increased forest cover in last 60 years • 40% of EU land area is forest/woodland • 60-70% of annual increment is harvested currently • 60% of forests are owned by c.16M private owners • Member states of the EU are bound by Forest Europe principles - last session in 2013 - stalled? • Moving towards legally-binding agreement • Also EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy

How can we increase genetic gain through early selection?

• Early selection is a method of indirect selection based on juvenile-mature correlations (will juvenile growth predict mature growth? difficult w wood properties) • Analyses young trees; works best if environmental variation is minimised • Accelerates selection + may increase genetic gain per unit of time

What are the predicted impacts of climate change on economic value of European forest land?

• Economic value of European forest land forecasted to decrease by 28% by 2100 • Primarily conifer-based forests -vely impacted • Mixed fairly stable • Oak may gain in value

What is extracellular freezing?

• Enables tolerance to coldest temperatures: water is excluded from the cytoplasm + moved to intercellular spaces (apoplasm) • Small ice crystals may form in the apoplasm without damaging the cells • Results in cellular contraction associated with osmotic + structural changes - cause of stress • Species adapted to T as low as -80°C: many conifers (pines, spruce, fir) + a few hardwoods (poplars, birches, lime)

Describe the nutrient benefits of Erythrina poeppigiana (legume tree)

• Erythrina poeppigiana pruned 2-3 times a year to keep shade constant (prunings added to soil) • Returns same amount of nutrients to litter layer of coffee plantations as inorganic fertilisers at highest rates recommended in Costa Rica i.e. 270 kg N2 /ha/yr, 60 kg P/ha/yr, 150 kg K/ha/yr

Give an example of what sustainability might look like on the ground

• Eucalyptus forest in SE Australia • Area clear felled for harvesting • No. of trees left as seed sources for regeneration within logging coupe • Works well - v good regeneration of same sp, landscape-level different age stands, economics of extraction of timber favourable • Coupes are up to 40 ha in size, rotations are 40-80 yrs, allowing time for forest regeneration - works from social, economic, ecological POV • One issue: Leadbeater's possum (endangered) is endemic to these forests (Victoria), dependent on old growth tree hollows for habitat

Why might local not be best?

• Extensive gene flow - low selection • Provenance ≠ population e.g. collected from different seed sources but pop may be much greater due to extensive gene flow • Conditions under which trees are planted may be mitigating against selection pressures e.g. use of seed guards prevents selection on germination stage • Climate change - past, future (different from when established) • History of invasion • Growing conditions • Objectives - production, restoration

Describe the process of FSC accreditation

• FSC certifies certifiers • 3 things subject to certification: - Forest management - Chain of custody - no illegal logs come into chain - Certified products

Compare forest ecosystems with agricultural systems and agroforestry ecosystems

• Forest: closed & efficient nutrient cycling system, high rates of turnover, low rates of outputs/losses from system - self-sustaining • Agricultural: open/leaky system, turnover is low & losses & in/outputs high • Agroforestry: nutrient cycling falls somewhere in between these 2 extremes, more nutrients in system reused by plants compared to agri, system managed to facilitate increased rates of turnover without affecting overall productivity of system, more closed & less leaky system like in forests

What were the findings of the EASAC 2017 report on forest C sequestration vs fossil fuel emissions in Europe?

• Forests able to capture carbon through photosynthesis but also emit carbon • Forests sequester 756 terragrams of carbon/yr • Forests emit 533 Tg C annually • Overall balance: net fixation of 100 Tg C/yr - only 10% of overall fossil fuel emissions

Describe the production system of Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)

• Found in SE USA • Tall, fast-growing pines • 1 billion Loblolly pine planted annually, on average (increased in 2nd half of 20th C) • Produces 18% of world's industrial roundwood • Pine planted area: 2% of world's forests • Different methods have been implemented over time: natural stand in 1940, to plantation, to site preparation to tree improvement - yield has improved! • Productivity has more than quadrupled in 60 yrs!

How can agroforestry systems be categorised by different sets of criteria?

• Functional basis: refers to major function or role of system, usually wrt woody components - service or protective nature e.g. windbreak, shade • Structural basis: refers to composition of components, including spatial arrangement of woody component, vertical stratification of all components, & temporal arrangement of different components • Socioeconomic basis: refers to level of management inputs (low input, high input) or intensity or scale of management & commercial goals (subsistence, commercial, intermediate) • Ecological basis: refers to environmental condition & ecological suitability of systems, based on assumption that certain types of systems more appropriate for certain ecological conditions; i.e. separate sets of systems for arid & semiarid lands, tropical highlands, lowland humid tropics

What happens during field testing to evaluate tree traits?

• Genetic control parameters are estimated by means of Comparative plantations = genetic tests (aka genetic trials), i.e. based on phenotypic data • Test trees: seeds are obtained from population to be tested, grown into seedlings + planted following an experimental design replicated on several sites

How can we determine whether the variation we see in trees is ecotypic (genetic differences) or down to plasticity (not gen)?

• Genetic differentiation between populations is generally relatively low (trees show extensive gene flow) but often of major significance for adaptation or production • Typically 20% between - 80% within populations • 20% still highly important in terms of adaptability (might not be able to adapt to same conditions despite low genetic differentiation)

How can we determine genetic gain?

• Genetic gain depends on trait variability & heritability • Tree breeding uses field evaluation to identify most desirable trees to cross (e.g. tallest) • Differential between mean of parents & mean of next generation is genetic gain • Genetic gain: 10-15% per breeding cycle

What happens during the testing phase of tree improvement?

• Genetic trials: testing genetic worth of selected individuals - from seed (progeny) - vegetatively (clonal) • Ranking: - parents (previous generation - backward selection) - progeny (new generation - forward selection) • P = G + E + GxE • Need to test on a range of sites - stable performers across all sites

Describe the global commitments to forest restoration

• Global commitments to restore 100s of millions ha of degraded forests/landscapes by 2030 • NY Declaration on Forests 2014; United Nations 2015 -> millions tons tree seed/trillions of seedlings - how? • Global survey of seed sourcing strategies in 2017 - 139 restoration projects - Lack of seed selection guidelines (44% projects) - Emphasis on 'local' seed for adaptation (51%) without regard for genetic diversity of such sources • European Community's 1993 guideline "native species & local provenances should be preferred where appropriate" • Forest certification & timber labelling standards require action to conserve genetic diversity & to use local provenances • But is local best? Local genotypes assumed to be well-adapted to local conditions...

What is the Bonn Challenge?

• Global effort • Goal: bring hectares of deforested land + degraded land into restoration • Target: 150 million by 2020 + 350 million by 2030 • 2011: launched in by the Government of Germany + IUCN • 2014 UN Climate Summit: endorsed + extended by the New York Declaration on Forests

What is T20Q?

• Global repeat of T10Q in 2015 (last time UK only) • Top Q: how can degraded ecosystems be restored to meet objectives of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem function, ecosystem resilience + sustainability of rural livelihoods? • Involving people is a good idea!

One forest-based solution is to expand forest and tree cover - what is the global tree restoration potential?

• Globally, ecosystems could support an additional 0.9 billion hectares of continuous forest • >25% increase in forested area + >200 gigatonnes of additional carbon at maturity • Potential to store an equivalent of 25% of the current atmospheric carbon pool • "One of the most effective carbon drawdown solutions to date" (Bastin 2019) • Heavily criticised due to lack of consideration of planting at this scale

Describe the origins of modern forestry

• Hans Carl von Carolvitz: founding principle of modern professional forestry is sustainable forestry • Here this means, the long-term productivity of the forest to continuously produce valuable trees for human use e.g. silver, mining + metallurgy industries

Give the major characteristics of trees

• Has a secondary cambium responsible for wood formation and stem diameter growth • Large amounts of lignin in their wood which makes wood hard + durable (v little in herbaceous annuals) • So palm trees aren't trees! Don't follow criteria, no branches, basically large grasses

What conditions need to be met for CCF to be successful?

• High silvicultural knowledge - complex management • Good species options - shade-tolerant sp • Good economics - availability of markets for variety of diff species, close proximity to purchasers (transportation costs) • Low constraints - site conditions + accessibility

What was revealed about the amount of D. odorata timber that can be extracted after 300 years of logging?

• Highlighted in red are current Brazil regulations: 30 year logging cycle & 50cm minimum cut diameter then extended to 100cm • At high logging intensities (30-70%), take out more timber over successive logging cycles if increase MCD to 100cm • Most companies only concerned with what happens after 1 or 2 cycles

What is Taungya?

• Hill (Taung) cultivation (ya) • Combines a stand of trees with annual crops in first few years of tree establishment • Developed in Burma (1856) to reduce detrimental effect of shifting cultivation on timber resources • "Regeneration of teak (Tectona grandis) with assistance of taungya" based on German Waldfeldbau (cultivation of annual crops in forests) • Objective: wood production - crop cultivation ensures weeding (at same for trees & crops) & tree establishment • Successful in terms of reestablishment, not v beneficial for farmers, no land tenure, had to keep moving on after 2/3 yrs

What is accelerating harvest for energy purposes?

• If we want to use wood to displace fossil fuels we need to consider... • Red: C in stand reduced after harvesting - loss in C stock + sequestration • Purple: Extra C emissions from harvesting • Green: emissions saves as a result of replacing fossil fuel • Certain amount of time needed to compensate for loss of C • Parity: time at which regrowth compensates for timber harvested + foregone growth • Year of parity repayment varies for different rates of harvesting, thinning + residue removal in replacement of coal or gas for eight forest types in Europe - wood not efficient source of energy so better at offsetting coal (inefficient too) than natural gas • Time to reach parity longer for felling than thinning/residue removal - largest opportunity • Timescale for offsetting natural gas v long

Where is alley cropping successful/where is it not?

• In arid climates, ecologically beneficial but socially doesn't work - timing of when labour inputs are required to pollard trees, usually when farmers want to be doing something else on farm • More successful in wet, humid tropical areas - large benefits in terms of weed control, weeding requires large labour inputs, benefits of mulch, benefits in terms of key limiting nutrient in tropical soils - phosphorus

How are individual trees selected for breeding?

• Individual trees may be selected for breeding based on their combining ability, either in general or in specific combinations • Must have established trait is heritable • General Combining Ability (GCA): represents the average (genetic) worth of a given tree when crossed with other trees compared to a reference population • For Tree #2, GCA #2 = (average for tree #2) - (general average) = 17 - 13 = +4 (attractive) • Tree #3, GCA#3 = 10 - 13 = -3 • Tree #6, GCA#6 = 12 - 13 = -1 • GCA is an indication of a tree's ability to produce progeny of high or low quality • In contrast, the specific combining ability (SCA) applies to a specific pair of trees e.g. tree #2 & tree #7 have SCA of 20 - might be family in which we could carry out clonal selection

What is reduced impact logging?

• Intensively planned & carefully controlled harvesting operations to minimise impact on forest stands & soils, usually individual tree selection cutting (2-8 trees/ha • e.g. <1/3 basal area removed, landings planned, max. utilisation of all trees felled • Simulates natural canopy gaps from tree falls - higher than normal but still allows regeneration • Skid trails 50% < than in conventional logging • Damage to trees per trees felled 56% < than in CL

What is the British Woodlands Survey?

• Involving woodland owners in the debate - asking about their priorities • Restarted in 2012

What are the questions that still remain about REDD+?

• Is REDD+ really fast, cheap and easy? • Will REDD+ change major economic drivers? • Is it feasible to radically transform the valuation of forests across the tropical frontier in 5-10 years? • How will this effect: - Land tenure disputes? - Who benefits, who loses?

Contamination does occur in seed orchards. What is this influenced by?

• Isolation distance • Size of seed orchard pollen cloud & hence orchard • Size of background sources • Flowering synchrony between orchard & background Lots of contamination = reduced genetic gain because material coming from non-selected individuals

How can we increase genetic gain through vegetative propagation methods?

• Labour-intensive • Individual genotype can be multiplied on large scale • Can be deployed at production phase • Using stem cuttings, tissue culture

Earlier studies of "ecotypes" took place due to forestry production interests, describe these

• Langlet (1971) Two hundred years' genecology, noted study of intraspecific variation & adaptation of populations to environmental heterogeneity began much earlier than Turesson's genecology in 1922 • Linnaeus reported in 1759 that yew trees brought to Scandinavia from France were less winter hardy than indigenous Swedish yews • du Monceau planted different pine sources at common sites between 1745-55 - wanted sufficient material for shipbuilding rather than scientific insights in intraspecific variation of pines • Oldest provenance trials started in 1890s

Describe the process of harvesting

• Large-scale clear-felling, big machines , bulk transport (trees all similar size + species) • Smaller-scale working + smaller kit (smaller patches to meet specific needs)

What are the main types of agroforestry system, categorised on their functional basis?

• Live fences: used for fodder, firewood & timber (no barbed wire) • Windbreaks (provide shelter) • With annual crops: taungya, alley cropping (e.g. legume trees & maize), contours (trees planted along contours to stabilise land, maize planted in between contour lines) • With perennial crops: shade for coffee, cacao, tea & home gardens (timber & fruit trees) • Silvopastoral systems (trees w animal production): fodder banks & trees in pastures

Describe the findings of a metanalysis of >100 studies of conservation values in selectively logged tropical forests

• Looked at how much timber recovered over second & third harvests, amount of carbon sequestration & biodiversity • In selectively logged forests, large proportion of biodiversity is actually retained e.g. >80% bird sp BUT what does 20% consist of - might be endangered sp/endemics - highlights importance of landscape viewpoint - HCV areas set aside

How do the aforementioned different populations have different purposes?

• Maintain different levels of genetic diversity + associated with that different levels of genetic gain

Describe the various schemes of mating selected individuals

• Many possible schemes: simple to complex • Broad classification: open- or controlled-pollination • Commonly used mating designs 1) Open-pollinated 2) Polycross 3) Single-pair mating 4) Nested mating 5) Factorial mating & tester design 6) Diallel mating (full, half, partial & disconnected)

How are these types of agroforestry systems important in terms of the economic considerations of farmers?

• Market diversity - not dependent on just one product • Flexibility - responding to changes in market conditions • Reduce financial inputs - don't have to invest in large amounts of fertiliser/herbicides etc • Reduce risks - not so susceptible to price fluctuations • Premium prices for sustainable products Agroforestry practices directly linked to livelihoods of 12-16% of global population

Should Tachigali versicolor be logged?

• Monocarpic sp: flowers once in its life, produces fruit then dies • If tree cut out before it has a chance to reproduce then likely lead to localised extinction

Concerns about SFM lead to the development of certification schemes from the mid 90s, what are these?

• Most familiar: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) • Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) • These schemes provide a framework to codify & allow independent assessment of extent to which broader objectives of SFM are being achieved in practice

What are the considerations of a tree breeder in terms of quantitative variation?

• Most tree species are out-crossing; inbred lines do not exist + pedigree tracking is critical • Traits of interest typically controlled by many genes + have low heritabilities (some traits have moderate or high heritability) - env factors can strongly influence traits • Most tree species possess a lot of genetic variability for most traits of interest - lots of quantitative variation - controlled by many genes so follows normal distribution • Most traits are under additive control • Improved varieties must be widely adapted + retain a lot of diversity

Describe the forest policy implications at global level

• N America + Europe tend to stand higher in forestry value chain than rest of world • Developed countries (DCs) have achieved higher production efficiency through industrialisation of advanced forestry & manufacturing technologies • DCs have ability to use fewer jobs to create more income than developing countries • DCs exhibit comparative advantage in producing higher-value products from wood-based processing subsectors • These points need to be considered in design of forest policy by United Nations aiming to reduce gap in growth of forest sector between developed + developing economies

Is it due to post-material values or displacement of environmental burdens?

• N hemisphere much higher consumer per capita than S hemisphere • A lot of environmental burden placed on S hemisphere - a lot of the carbon emission from UK/US emitted elsewhere e.g. China where goods being produced

What are the core elements of REDD+?

• National REDD+ Strategies • Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV) - Emissions reduction - Safeguard information systems (SIS) • Results-based payments

Describe the intensive production system of Eucalyptus in Brazil

• Native of Australia, 734 species • From tropical + sub-tropical areas • Selected varieties grow to 30 m in 6-7 years (incredibly fast-growing) • Tree improvement: field testing is essential • Yield gains: wood volume in 1970 was 30m3/ha/yr, in 2000 was 50+! • Used to manufacture pulp for paper products

How should we think of forests - stable or disturbed?

• Natural forests are not always stable climax communities • They can be disturbed in all sorts of ways, with differing degrees of severity e.g. blown over, killed by disease, destroyed by natural fires, become more/less suitable for different species over time through effects of climate • Some species are able to take advantage of changed conditions created by disturbance, others in stable conditions • e.g. species can regrow after fires from stumps/seedlings in ground/seeds blown in • Human intervention can be viewed as another form of disturbance - should be planned + controlled - work with native species or introduce new species/varieties

Give two examples of agroforests in the UK

• New Forest • Forest of Dean - decree from 1628 where local people have rights to put in cattle, pigs & wild boar (acorns)

What is the main challenge associated with continuous cover forestry?

• Non-woody or herbaceous competition • Can happen when stands are opened up too rapidly • Depend on presence of seed bank or neighbouring sources of seed to colonise the area

Describe the North/South interdependence

• North gaining forest cover, urbanising, shifting forest values while South loses forests • Tropical deforestation increasingly driven by urban & international consumption - Palm oil, soy and cattle

What objectives do humans want from their forests?

• On a global scale: firewood (timber) • Protection against avalanches/landslides • Maintaining water catchment quality • Preserving biodiversity

What determines a tree's phenotype?

• Phenotype = Genotype + Environment • Genotype variation due to: - Genus - Species - Provenance - Stand - Tree - Within tree • Environmental variation comes from: - Climate - Soils - Tree density - Biotic agents - Silvicultural treatments - Elevation - Slope

Describe the process of restocking, thinning + harvesting

• Planting by hand + machine • May also be more potential in future to use natural regeneration • Weeding + protection from browsing usually necessary • Thinning may be to: - reduce no. of trees to conc. growth on final crop - favour particular species by removing competition • Thinning may provide some early income from trees removed • Harvesting almost completely done by machine, chainsaws used in small patches

Describe the classical studies of Clausen, Keck & Hiesey

• Potentilla glandulosa from 3 different elevations planted at 3 different altitudes - reciprocal transplant experiment (Clausen, Keck & Hiesey 1940) • In each case the local material is growing the best • Species composed of genetically distinct groups of ecotypes, best suited to their specific environment

Where do we find trees?

• Predominately in forest ecosystems • Forests occur where water availability is sufficient • Cover 30% Earth's land mass • Different forest types: 1. Tropical hardwood - S hemisphere 2. Temperate hardwood - N America + Europe 3. Softwood (coniferous) - far east to N Europe + N America 4. Mixed (hardwood + softwood) - Europe, Asia + N America

Describe a case study using the Woodland Carbon Code

• Project location: Tree-planting in Dumfries & Galloway, Scottish Borders & Northamptonshire • Hardwoods & spruce • Calculating Carbon Sequestration in WCC Sitka spruce, planted 2m x 2m, with thinning, site yield class of 18: - In first few yrs v little C sequestration - increases rapidly in early phase until 40 yrs where it plateaus - Majority accumulated 15-40 yrs - Thinning at age 20 removes 14 tons of CO2/ha/yr

What concerns and multiple-use management does modern forestry embrace?

• Provision of timber + fuel wood + wildlife habitat • Management of natural water quality, biodiversity, watersheds, recreation, forests as 'sinks' for atmospheric carbon dioxide • Protection of landscapes + community, soils (erosion control) + preserving forests

What can we conclude about REDD+?

• REDD+ has become fragmented across multiple institutions • Diverse implementing institutions helped to diversify REDD+ priorities & incorporate non-carbon values, at least in policy • But this fragmentation creates enormous complexity • In practice, is REDD+ holistic or merely shifting management of forests from one commodity (timber) to another (carbon)?

Is REDD+ dead? How relevant is it to forest management in the UK & beyond?

• REDD+ part of a 'new forestry' focused on: - Carbon & other ecosystem services - Cross-sectoral links between forests, agriculture & other land use - Balancing priorities & values

What is the controversy surrounding REDD+?

• REDD+ payments are focused on carbon • Concern that valuing forests for their carbon would crowd out other forest values - Unclear land tenure across tropical forest frontier - Risk of land grabs & displacement of indigenous/forest people - Risk of favouring 'carbon farms' over natural forests

How does funding for REDD+ compare to that for fuels?

• REDD+ readiness funding $1 bil/year • Future REDD+ payments $30 bil/yr • Global subsidies for biofuels $24 bil in 2011 • Global subsidies for fossil fuels $480 bil in 2011

What is multiple population breeding and what are its aims?

• Rather than focus on one particular population, would have benefits to develop no. of different breeding populations • Conserve genetic variation • Increase gain by putting more effort into better selections • Restrict inbreeding in production population - seed orchard • But uncertainty of future value of selected traits

The typical model for tree breeding has been tree breeding cooperatives - who are members of these cooperatives?

• Regular members: contribute directly through annual membership fee, in-kind support (land, labour, equipment) (works well with multiple population breeding programme) • Associate members: landowners with >40,000 has, in-kind support, smaller annual fees than regular members • Liaison members: organisations such as universities, provide guidance, no annual fees, no voting rights

How old are trees when harvested?

• Relatively young in terms of their natural growth potential (lifespan) • Don't reach full size + decay on site • Some stands have been set aside to allow these processes to happen e.g. Lady Park Wood • Old technique seeing a revival: maintaining few old trees in landscape grazed by cattle; pollarding is done few metres high to prevent browsing animals from eating fresh shoots e.g. Epping forest

Describe coppicing

• Relies on fact that most broadleaf trees in temperate zone regrow from a stump if you cut them • Must be protected from browsing • Happens naturally when beavers cut down trees/when landslides/wind knocks over trees - adopted by humans • Mainly on conservation sites now • Only get to stand exclusion stage • Cut on 10/20/30 yr rotation • V simple system but can produce wide range of products • But labour-intensive + no longer the markets

What are the different types of multiple population breeding?

• Replicate populations - low GxE • Diversified populations - high GxE • Structured breeding populations e.g. nucleus breeding strategy (maintain breeding pop which has large amount of gen diversity + plenty of trees for making new selections but in each gen select much smaller no. of elite trees as well as main breeding pop - conc. gain in nucleus pop) • Heterotic populations (intra-specific hybrid vigour)

Tree improvement: P = G + E. What is the role of the tree breeder and the forester/silviculturalist to improve this equation?

• Role of tree breeder is to alter G > diverse than crops • Role of forester/silviculturist is to manipulate E > diverse than crops (e.g. planting distance, fertilisers) • Both attempting to maximise a desired P • Management of trees to increase their benefit to humans - through selection + breeding

How can we increase genetic gain through clonal selection?

• Root cuttings + tissue culture used • Most intensive breeding approach - not only full sib families but individs within full sib families • Clonal tests enable the selection of individuals within families: increased selection intensity • Selection based on clonal trials helps to capture additive + non-additive genetic effects • Increase gain because more easily able to capture full heritability (broad-sense) - potential to deliver more gain

Describe the fruiting in Shorea siamensis under different logging levels

• SE Asia, dipterocarp forest • Undisturbed, moderate & heavy logging • Moderate logging v similar % fruit set to undisturbed forest - no impact in terms of fruit set, possible to regenerate • Sig impact on fruit set in heavy logging - 1/3 of undisturbed • % pollinated flowers roughly same for all - no impact on pollinators • BUT amount of movement of pollinators between trees being reduced because trees further apart so pollinate same trees - self-incompatibility mechanism = reduction in fruit set

How do we form a base population?

• Sample widely to get the genes you may need - may be random or involve some phenotypic (P) selection from natural populations • Ideally similar levels of genetic diversity in seed orchards compared to natural pops or even improved - sampled well across nat distribution (across number of pops) • Selecting on basis on phenotype - difficult to tell if due to good genes or good environment • Much easier to select accurately for genotype in plantations than in natural stands where E variability is high

What can we conclude about the scale of adaptation and local adaptation?

• Scale of adaptation depends on strengths of selection & gene flow • High gene flow may prevent local adaptation • Local adaptation over wider scales than in annual, herbaceous plants • Climate change - past & future may mitigate against local adaptation & its future importance

What factors need to be taken into consideration with tree improvement?

• Scale of species: distribution, use/planting - large or small? • Objective: increased volume, better form, more uniform? • Type of species: - growth rate, site adaptability (ecological range) - propagation mode, sexual maturity (how long to wait) • Availability of resources - money, personnel, time, land, continuity (land available in future) - base population - size/variability - germplasm deployment - how is it distributed? commercial nurseries? exchanged farmer to farmer?

What is the myth about science into policy and practice?

• Science -> Policy -> Practice is a myth • Instead 'leaky evidence pipeline' - v little of original science ends up being in good policy + practice • Scientific 'facts' are only one part of forestry policy 'story'

What are the forces driving the scale of adaptation?

• Selection • Migration • Plasticity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ • Frequency of allele A or a on y axis • Environment a or A on x axis • e.g. in environment A we have selection in favour of A • Cline: as we move from one environment to other get higher freq. of A/a - steepness of curve reflects intensity of selection • Selection acts to differentiate between pops • Gene flow - lot of movement/dispersal - less differentiation

What were the results of modelling these two species' responses to logging?

• Simulations of recovery time for a) number of reproductive trees, b) basal area, using 50 cm minimum cutting diameter, c) 100 cm MCD (minimum cutting diameter) • Different colour lines = different proportions of trees being taken out (e.g. 90% in Brazil) • Taking out 90%: takes almost 300 yrs for D. odorata to recover in terms of basal area & reproductive individs • Change to 100cm diameter: quicker recovery time (esp for low take out) • Jacaranda copaia (pioneer sp): modelling response much quicker - after 30yrs, taking 90% out, goes back to og levels FOR NEXT GRAPHS • Simulations of 30 year cutting cycles for: J. copaia (a,c) D. odorata 50 cm (b,d) 100 cm (e,f) minimum cutting diameter • J. copaia responding quicker to taking out proportion of trees - at 50cm, recover in 30 yr cutting cycle - meet idea of sustained yield • D. odorata: impact of taking out 50cm trees on 30 yr cycle is damaging - model crashes if you take out 90% of trees - sp will not regenerate w current Brazil regulations

What is Britain's most planted forest tree?

• Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) • 50 million planted annually • Most planted in Scotland

What are the key characteristics of soil which determine which trees can grow?

• Soil depth • Mineral or organic • Water regime • Soil pH

Describe the benefits of Inga alley cropping

• Soil protection • Weed control • Improved nutrient regime: phosphorus (P) is key limiting nutrient in slash & burn systems on acidic ultisols • Inga alley cropping retains & recycles phosphorus it inherits from original burned forest ecosystem

What is supercooling?

• Some species protect critical tissues by mechanism called supercooling to avoid formation of ice crystals • Supercooling maintains water in a liquid state below freezing temperatures by excluding ice nucleators, mainly from parenchyma cells + meristems • Supercooled pure water freezes at -38°C • In plant cells, supercooling can avoid freezing as low as -38 + as low as -47°C due to presence of solutes dissolved in cytoplasm • Species adapted to T > -40°C: hardwoods (oaks, beech, maples, ash, walnut)

Describe the characteristics of the secondary xylem (wood)

• Specialised cell walls - Mechanical support (v rigid) - Water transport • Development ends with autolysis

What are the storage constituents (macromolecules) of woody tissues (stem + roots)? What are their properties?

• Starch (C-rich) + reserve proteins • Accumulate in variable proportions at onset of dormancy • Mobilisation (sugars): used as cryoprotectants (dormancy) + as energy (active growth) • Wood acts as C + N source, role is transient + varies with conditions • Role in adaptation to climatic conditions

How do the blocks of trees differ in size with subsequent rotations?

• Start off with large even-aged blocks • Tendency to move towards smaller blocks in second + subsequent rotations for landscape biodiversity + forest stability reasons • Ultimate aim is often no clearfells - continuous cover forestry

Give a brief history of British forestry

• Started because of shipbuilding - 30ha needed for a small ship/8,000 oaks per year in 16th/17th C • Demand for oaks for ships resulted in decline of forest cover from high levels in 1100 to low point of 5% land cover by 1900 • Acland committee told PM that state organisation was most effective way to do re-afforestation - FC set up in 1918 • Throughout 1920s/30s Forestry Commission bought 900,000 acres of land • WWII resulted in major wartime felling - nearly 30,000 acres (90% from private woods) • After war, FC continued to buy land to plant trees through 50s/60s/70s - some of the early work was in fact what would now be called bad forestry • Introduction of licences for timber felling • Moves to develop recreation + conservation: - Introduction of 'freedom to roam' on FC land - 1968 Countryside Act: due regard for conserving natural beauty + amenity of countryside

What are the structural constituents (macromolecules) of woody tissues (stem + roots)? What are their properties?

• Structural constituents (lignocellulosic) - Cellulose 35-45% - Hemi-celluloses 15-25% - Lignin 18-30% (not really present in primary cell walls) • Cannot be mobilised • Their biosynthesis is responsible for wood's C sink strength • Role in carbon sequestration because of long-term fixation • Heartwood is impregnated with tannins which increase resistance to decay

How are cocoa agroforests benefiting biodiversity in West Africa?

• Study in Nigeria found 45 tree species in 21 ha agroforests - 6 sp with IUCN classification • But 62 species in 0.56 ha of primary forest - 14 sp with IUCN classification • Agroforests important where we have only small areas of natural forest left - contribute to minimum viable population size of threatened species

How can we think about sustained yield and SFM?

• Sustained yield is about productive forest functions • SFM is about ecological, economic & social forest functions

Describe the clear-cutting system

• System based on clear felling followed by regeneration with tree planting • Mature stand → Clear cut → Establishment → Tending → Mature stand... • Used in 90% of planted forests in UK - v simple

How has REDD+ worked in practice?

• Taken many years to reach agreement on basic rules of REDD+ • Fragmentation of authority over REDD+: multi-scale, -actor, -sector, -authority (decision-making not centralised)

What new initiatives have emerged in parallel with REDD+?

• The New York Declaration on Forests 2014: end deforestation by 2030, 'zero deforestation' commodities, reforest 200 mil ha by 2050 e.g. UK target to plant 1.5 bil trees to reach net zero emissions by 2050 • BECCS (Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture & Storage) • Bio-economy • Rewilding • Ecosystem service certification e.g. FSC

What is silviculture?

• The practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health + quality of forests, to meet of land management, forest productivity + economic objectives • From Latin silvi- (forest) + culture (growing)

Why should we be concerned about tropical forest loss?

• The sixth mass extinction? • Role of tropical forest in global warming - agriculture/forestry responsible for 24% of global GHG • Climate change, as a global problem, heightens & legitimates demand for global governance...UNFCCC

Describe the problem of ash dieback

• The total cost of Ash dieback to the UK is estimated to be £15 billion • Half of this (£7 billion) will be over the next 10 years • The total cost is 50 times larger than annual value of trade in live plants to + from Britain, which is most important route by which invasive plant diseases enter country • There are 47 other known tree pests + diseases that could arrive in Britain + which may cost an additional £1 billion or more

What is the trade-off between genetic gain + diversity?

• To get genetic gain, genetic variation must be reduced • An appropriate balance is sought

What methods have allowed us to include improving wood density in the first generation of selection?

• Tools: resistograph & pilodyn - fire pin into tree + amount of penetration correlated w wood density • Traits can show correlation + we have to be careful improvement of one trait doesn't result in -ve result for another trait • e.g. in conifers fast growth rate is associated with low wood density • We can pick up correlation breakers (red arrow) which, even tho fast growing, also has high wood destiny so want to include these in breeding programme

Describe the process of intermediate tending

• Tree crops being grown for timber usually need to be thinned, several times during course of rotation • Deer + squirrels may need to be controlled to reduce damage to growing tree crops + to woodland ecosystem generally e.g. deer culling • Roads + tracks through forest need to be maintained to allow access for management

Describe the selection system

• Trees are felled + regenerated continuously over the whole area + continuously over time • Applied to stands w shade-tolerant sp • Successive cuts - gradually remove trees to encourage regeneration • After 20-30 yrs do second cut • Stand never removed completely - regeneration developing under canopy but always mature trees present

Describe systems based on natural regeneration

• Trees are removed through successive regeneration fellings • Major difference: instead of one clear cut, trees are gradually removed from site (seed-tree cuts) to enable natural regeneration to establish itself before mature trees removed • Tending follows

What are the challenges in tree improvement?

• Trying to predict ideal P & work towards that through silviculture & breeding, many years before crop finally felled • P is sum of a number of characteristics (quantitative traits) that are not necessarily independent of one another • We have to define breeding objectives

How similar are the gymnosperm and angiosperm trees?

• Two groups v evolutionarily distinct • Broadleaves evolutionarily more related to herbaceous plants like Arabidopsis • Two groups share many features in common: 1. Life habits: long-lived, large 2. Mating system: outbred 3. Genetics: heterozygous (nearly all trees are diploid) 4. Ecological role: keystone or founder species • Also have fundamental differences: 1. Taxonomy: conifers form monophyletic group; broadleaves are part of many different families 2. Genome: conifers have large (50x Arabidopsis, slow-evolving; broadleaves have small size (2x Arabidopsis), fast-evolving

How can we distinguish between local adaptation and GxE interaction?

• Two pops: square + circle - Square originally comes from habitat 1 - Circle originally comes from habitat 2 • (a) Original material from that site performs the best - local adaptation • (b) Both pops perform worse in habitat 2 but still local material is better - local adaptation • (c) & (d) have differences in performances depending on site - GxE interaction - local material is not the better in each case

How are tree species matched to the UK climate?

• UK has good climate for growing trees • Trees that grow well in Argyll, Scotland like sitkar spruce will struggle in Essex • Considering small size of UK, we have pronounced temp. gradients running N -> S spanning boundary between boreal forests at top + deciduous forests in S • Pronounced rainfall gradient from E to W - west are winds coming off Atlantic, mountain ranges tend to run N->S - hit mountains and drop rain (wet in Wales) • Rainshadow effect so Essex is dry • Lot of late frosts but relatively mild winter (due to Gulf stream) - weather can vary sharply depending on shift in Gulf stream pattern • Trees sensitive to cold in growing period in spring may suffer (even tho can tolerate much colder) - limits use of eucalyptus

How do the systems based on successive regeneration fellings vary in their open canopy?

• Uniform system - evenly over compartment • Group system - in scattered gaps • Irregular shelterwood - irregular + gradual

What are the actual conditions present in the UK for CCF?

• Variable silvicultural knowledge • Low species options - 80-90% of forests being made up on 10 sp • Poor economics - no market for diverse trees • High constraints

Describe the transition from primary to secondary vascular growth

• Vascular bundles are formed (with procambium) • Cambium (cambial meristem) develops • 2* vascular growth characterised by radial (diameter) growth • Secondary xylem + phloem are formed, giving rise to the woody stem

Give an example where we have selected for multiple traits

• Want to select for stem straightness + timber quality • Shake - 21% of all UK oak affected (timber falls apart as sawn up) • Annual loss in harvesting revenue £3-8 million (1994) • Vessel size good indicator of likelihood of shake (large = more susceptible) • High h2 (0.6) • Future Trees Trust selected 246 oak plus trees in Britain + reduced to 110 (eliminated those susceptible to shake) • Only 63 produced enough acorns to establish progeny trials

How are pests and diseases affecting forestry + what is our plan to improve tree health?

• We have seen alarming increase over last 30 yrs or so • Affecting almost all native trees - big one is Chalara ash dieback • Launched Tree Health Resilience Strategy in 2018 - 4 environmental goals: 1) Extent - increase no. of trees 2) Connectivity - creating corridors 3) Diversity - gen + structural div increase 4) Condition - encouraging healthier trees

What is the "forest transition"?

• We see a common pattern across countries, as they develop, as they urbanise & switch to different type of economy (less dep on agri, or more intensified agri), see a decline in forest cover • Then naturally transition into a lower rate of deforestation - due to change in values (post-material values) • Is there a way to change this curve (not to lose all that forest)?

What can we determine from a cross-section of a tree trunk?

• What we see is the accumulation of 1000s of secondary xylem cells • Visible growth rings - each ring formed during one growth season so each ring represents a yr • Ring number represents age of cambium when ring was formed • Within growth ring: early wood (formed at beginning of growth season) + late wood (higher density, thicker cell walls)

What did a study on Pinus caribaea find out?

• When grown in an aseasonal tropical environment (no dry season & high rainfall), tendency to grow up without producing any branch whorls (foxtail) -> becomes top-heavy + flops over (undesirable for timber!) • Graph represents results from no. of provenance trials - same 6 provenances planted on no. of different sites - some seasonal (dry), some aseasonal • Looks at expression of characteristic of foxtail on different sites - dry sites = low incidence of foxtails (value is length between each node where there is new production of branches, higher = foxtail) - wet sites = high incidence of foxtails • Two particular provenances showing much greater expression of trait - different performance labelled as a GxE interaction

What are the questions surrounding involving people in science and policy?

• Who contributes to the broader evidence base? Can we do this better? • Do we listen to what forest owners say? • Is the science we produce (at public expense, usually) used adequately? • Who sets the research questions? • Is public involvement in policy restricted just to commenting on near-complete policy documents? • Can the 'people' make a difference?

What other hazards do foresters need to consider?

• Windblow: - v windy climate - some commercial stands grown without thinning to reduce risk of windblow • Biotic hazards: - Young planted trees damaged by deer (from 1970s onward - pop increase) - Grey squirrels cause major damage to broadleaved crops by stripping bark off stem (from 1950s - introduced) - Can be controlled by fencing/shooting/trapping - £££ + time-consuming • New pests + diseases: - Increasing in last few decades - e.g. ash dieback, red band needle blight in corsican pine (heavy thinning reduces humidity, reduce spread of pathogen) - Mixed stands (diff species) mean less chance of disease wiping out whole stand (difficult to manage) • Climate change: - Some species may become more/less suitable due to changes in temp./rainfall pattern - More frequent storms/forest fires - Adapt to new way of living (e.g. less agriculture)

How do definitions of 'local' vary?

• Within 5-10 miles • Seed from similar woodland type within 20 miles radius • [from Ireland] - island of Ireland; County • Trees that naturally colonised the area now known as the British Isles after last ice age & before they were cut off from rest of Europe by rising sea levels as ice started to melt • [from Scotland] UK wide What is more important loss of adaptation or genetic diversity?

How has forest cover changed because of the work of the Forestry Commission - where are we at now?

• Woodland cover began to increase • By 2017, 13.1% forest cover, 3.2 Mha forest - England + N Ireland dragging % down • Continuous afforestation in UK • Still puts us low down compared to other countries - world average 31% • England aim to increase woodland from 10 to 12% by 2060 - 180,000 ha by 2042 • Unlike other countries, majority of UK woodland is in private sector - 73% - v important for developing forest policy • UK 2nd largest net importer of timber after China - drive to increase timber resources to reduce dependence on imported timber