Jerome K Vanclay

An evaluation of the Australia Research Council's journal ranking

Jerome K. Vanclay — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:15:37 PST

As part of its program of ‘Excellence in Research for Australia’ (ERA), the Australian Research Council ranked journals into four categories (A*, A, B, and C) in preparation for their performance evaluation of Australian universities. The ranking is important because it likely to have a major impact on publication choices and research dissemination in Australia. The ranking is problematic because it is evident that some disciplines have been treated very differently than others. This paper reveals weaknesses in the ERA journal ranking and highlights the poor correlation between ERA rankings and other acknowledged metrics of journal standing. It highlights the need for a reasonable representation of journals ranked as A* in each scientific discipline.

Forestry at Southern Cross University: fifteen years in review

David J. Lloyd et al. — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:15:25 PST

After 15 years, it is timely to review the 4-year bachelor degree in forestry offered by Southern Cross University (SCU), now the only remaining such 4-year degree in Australia. The SCU program is characterised by innovative teaching, a strong fieldwork component, emphasis on research, and strong links with local interest groups (both environmental and industrial). The progressive introduction of two-site delivery and on-line lectures has maintained the viability of the course despite modest student demand.

Publication patterns of award-winning forest scientists and implications for the Australian ERA journal ranking

Jerome K. Vanclay — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:15:12 PST

Publication patterns of 79 forest scientists awarded major international forestry prizes during 1990–2010 were compared with the journal classification and ranking promoted as part of the ‘Excellence in Research for Australia’ (ERA) by the Australian Research Council. The data revealed that these scientists exhibited an elite publication performance during the decade before and two decades following their first major award. An analysis of their 1703 articles in 431 journals revealed substantial differences between the journal choices of these elite scientists and the ERA classification and ranking of journals. Implications from these findings are that additional cross-classifications should be added for many journals, and there should be an adjustment to the ranking of several journals relevant to the ERA Field of Research classified as 0705 Forestry Sciences.

Forest growth and yield modeling

Aaron R. Weiskittel et al. — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:14:59 PST

Completely updated and expanded new edition of this widely cited book, Modelling Forest Growth and Yield, 2nd Edition synthesizes current scientific literature, provides insights in how models are constructed, gives suggestions for future developments, and outlines keys for successful implementation of models.The book describes current modeling approaches for predicting forest growth and yield and explores the components that comprise the various modeling approaches. It provides the reader with the tools for evaluating and calibrating growth and yield models and outlines the steps necessary for developing a forest growth and yield model

What was wrong with Australia's journal ranking?

Jerome K. Vanclay — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:14:54 PST

The balance between facilitation and competition in mixtures of Eucalyptus and Acacia changes as stands develop

David I. Forrester et al. — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:33:36 PDT

The balance between facilitation and competition is likely to change with age due to the dynamic nature of nutrient, water and carbon cycles, and light availability during stand development. These processes have received attention in harsh, arid, semiarid and alpine ecosystems but are rarely examined in more productive communities, in mixed-species forest ecosystems or in long-term experiments spanning more than a decade. The aim of this study was to examine how inter- and intraspecific interactions betweenEucalyptus globulus Labill. mixed with Acacia mearnsii de Wildeman trees changed with age and productivity in a field experiment in temperate south-eastern Australia. Spatially explicit neighbourhood indices were calculated to quantify tree interactions and used to develop growth models to examine how the tree interactions changed with time and stand productivity. Interspecific influences were usually less negative than intraspecific influences, and their difference increased with time for E. globulus and decreased with time for A. mearnsii. As a result, the growth advantages of being in a mixture increased with time for E. globulus and decreased with time for A. mearnsii. The growth advantage of being in a mixture also decreased for E. globulus with increasing stand productivity, showing that spatial as well as temporal dynamics in resource availability influenced the magnitude and direction of plant interactions.

Future harvest: what might forest harvesting entail 25 years hence?

Jerome K. Vanclay — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:38:38 PST

A review of current literature offers a basis for forecasting some future trends in forest harvesting. It is likely that major gains will be achieved through closer integration between informatics and harvesting technology. New sensing technology will allow harvesting machines to better optimise both vehicle movements and handling of harvested material, and to provide a comprehensive inventory of the residual stand and of soil data to assist the management of the residual forest. Such speculation about future harvest possibilities is important to foster planning and research. Industry-wide agreement about data protocols could facilitate the development and adoption of new technologies.

Social learning: a knowledge and capacity building approach for adaptive co-management of contested landscapes

Andrea J. Leys et al. — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:43:47 PST

There is increasing recognition in the field of natural resource management that transformative adaptation to climate and policy change requires cross industry learning and cooperation at the landscape scale. This can be supported by the development of systematic methodology on learning models for adaptive co-management between diverse and conflicting landscape managers. Our example of land-use change to hardwood plantation forestry in sub-tropical Australia illustrates an innovative implementation framework for a social learning process that helped build knowledge and community capacity for adaptive co-management of dynamic and shared landscapes. The action research methodology relied on deliberation over local knowledge, existing and emergent scientific findings, resulting in attitudinal change. Processes required facilitation and mediation by a bridging organisation, in this case a research institution, to support cross-scale communications. Reflections suggest that attention is required to manage risk and support stakeholder analysis, particularly in understanding contested values and overcoming power differentials between industry and self-interest groups. Resolving funding issues will require greater consideration by governments and industry groups of their social responsibilities to communities and the environment; particularly as this social learning model is posited for more broad-scale use in providing multi-level governance linkages and as a basis for targeting interventions to address policy gaps or failure.

Customer response to carbon labelling of groceries

Jerome K. Vanclay et al. — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:18:32 PST

Thirty-seven products were labelled to indicate embodied carbon emissions, and sales were recorded over a 3-month period. Green (below average), yellow (near average), and black (above average) footprints indicated carbon emissions embodied in groceries. The overall change in purchasing pattern was small, with black-labelled sales decreasing 6% and green-labelled sales increasing 4% after labelling. However, when green-labelled products were also the cheapest, the shift was more substantial, with a 20% switch from black- to green-label sales. These findings illustrate the potential for labelling to stimulate reductions in carbon emissions.

Site index prediction of Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden plantations with soil and site parameters in sub-tropical eastern Australia

John C. Grant et al. — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 17:49:36 PST

The Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden plantation estate in north-eastern NSW and south-eastern Queensland is significantly expanding on ex-grazing land. Thirty-one growth plots (average age 5.2 y) covering a latitudinal range of about 3.2^o (370km) and at altitudes from 8 m to 740 m asl in NSW were used to evaluate the correlation of site, soil and climatic variables with growth of E. dunnii. Using height at an age of 10y as a standard, site indices for E. dunnii across the 31 sites averaged about 16 m, ranging from around 5 m to 26 m. The factors available-water storage capacity of the soil, rainfall and altitude accounted for 62% of the variation in site index. Inclusion of measures of fertility did not improve the predictive capacity of the model, possibly because of the limited size of the data set with soil chemical analyses. The predictive model, based on simple, easily accessible site factors, has the capacity to improve the quantitative evaluation of the productivity of sites for E. dunnii plantations. The need for a simple field assessment procedure for selection of suitable sites was highlighted by the wide range of productivity exhibited across the plots.

Hallmarks of an effective non-governmental organisation: the formation and management of Australia's Wentworth Group

Jerome K. Vanclay — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:42:36 PST

Australia's Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists has been highly effective in advancing policy solutions for Australia's land, water and biodiversity. The success of this group relies not only on high-profile individuals and clear communication, but also on organizational support and influential connections. The group's influence was maximized because membership was carefully selected, well-funded, and skillfully managed by a full-time campaign manager who was well-connected to key media and political decision-makers. This article offers evidence countering the emerging popular view that the Wentworth Group was spontaneous, and it offers lessons for other environmental NGOs seeking to influence government policy.

Modelling growth, recruitments and mortality to describe and simulate dynamics of subtropical rainforests following different levels of disturbance

Maina Kariuki et al. — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:43:54 PST

The capacity of rainforests to recover from logging disturbance is difficult to model due to the compounding interactions between long-term disturbance effects, natural dynamics, site characteristics and tree species regeneration strategies. The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative model using over three decades of data from stands subjected to various levels of disturbance ranging from natural, through increasing intensities of tree removal to intensive logging. Data for trees ¡Ý 10 cm diameter at 1.3 m above the ground (dbh) in subtropical rainforest of north-east New South Wales, Australia were used. Botanical identity of trees at species level, species-specific shade tolerance and size at maturity were used to classify 117 species into five groups. These groups include the emergent and shade tolerant main canopy species, shade tolerant mid canopy species, shade tolerant understorey species, moderate shade tolerant species, and shade intolerant tree species. Multilevel nonlinear regression was used to estimate growth, recruitment and mortality parameters, based on the assumption of variations in tree species performance at both the plot and tree levels. The species group, tree size and competition from larger trees accounted for most variation at the tree level. Significant stand level variables included topography (elevation, slope and aspect), stand basal area, and time since the disturbance. The final model is a classical matrix management-oriented model with an ecological basis and maximum size-dependent parameters of ingrowth and outgrowth. The model provides a tool to simulate stand performance after logging and to assess silvicultural prescriptions before they are applied. Simulations with estimated parameters indicate that moderate harvesting (47% overstorey basal area (BA) removal) in a checkerboard of logged and unlogged patches (group selection) on a 120-year cycle could enable sustainable timber production without compromising the ecological integrity in these rainforests. This is due to reduced logging damage in group selection, which also released retained stems and facilitated recruitment of both shade tolerant and intolerant trees. Single-tree selection (35% BA removal) created small canopy gaps that resulted in low recruitment, a slight increase in the growth of retained stems and recovery time of 150 years. Intensive single-tree selection (50% BA removal) resulted in high logging damage that increased recovery time to 180 years. Intensive logging (65-80% BA removal) decreased the stem density and created larger canopy gaps allowing for high growth rates and recruitment of both shade tolerant and intolerant trees. However, few retained stems and high mortality of recruits, increased the recovery time to 180-220 years. Pre-harvest climber cutting coupled with poisoning of nontimber species followed by logging could allow harvesting on a 300-year cycle. Shorter logging cycles may lead to changes in species composition as well as in the forest structure.

Land-use change conflict arising from plantation forestry expansion: views across Australian fence-lines

Andrea J. Leys et al. — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:28:23 PDT

An annual trade deficit in Australia for forest products of approximately $2 billion (Aus$), predominantly in paper, pulp products and sawn timber, makes sound argument for continued support of plantation forestry expansion. Existing government policy promoting afforestation through fiscal tax-based incentives for Managed Investment Scheme (MIS) retail forestry however, has raised many questions regarding the need for performance targets and accountability criteria in response to the collapse of several private plantation companies during the global financial crisis of 2009 and 2010 that had been responsible for managing a large sector of the national estate. This paper reports on the first stage of a social research case study for a sub-tropical rural community in north-eastern NSW, Australia that had been undergoing rapid land use-change to plantation forestry prior to the global financial crisis. Socio-political, economic and environmental concerns of stakeholders are identified through social research methods to provide insights for a follow-up study using participatory modelling. Community concerns raised also help inform debate on the need to reform existing federal retail forestry policy to improve triple-bottom line sustainability.

Stakeholder engagement in social learning to resolve controversies over land-use change to plantation forestry

Andrea J. Leys et al. — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:34:52 PDT

Rapid land-use change arising from incentives for afforestation has created tensions in rural communities previously dominated by agricultural enterprises. This paper reports on an innovative experiment with social learning that incorporated participatory modelling to resolve community concerns in a case study of plantation forestry in the Upper Clarence catchment of north-eastern NSW Australia. The development of a diagnostic framework helped identify socioeconomic and environmental issues within the community for investigation by a self-selected participatory advisory committee (PAC) representing a diversity of views. Implementation of a social learning exercise offered empathetic and intellectual engagement among PAC members that maintained interest, built confidence, and improved problem-solving capacity while fostering group ownership over decision making. A shared understanding of dynamic landscape problems helped empower participants to collaboratively develop solutions for improved management and operational practices, and cooperate to explore further options for plantation industry development under existing policy guidelines which are presented in this paper. As a result of frank discussions between diverse stakeholders in a mutually respectful learning environment that combined local, scientific and expert knowledge, concerns dissipated and participants developed a more favourable view of plantation forestry activity.

Trends in forestry modelling

Guillermo A. Mendoza et al. — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:34:50 PDT

Different types of models have been developed and applied to address various problems and issues in forestry. This paper reviews modelling trends in four areas, namely, forest management planning and decision-making, forest dynamics and growth projection, forest landscape and spatial models and participatory forest management models. The first type includes decision models generally structured as optimization models applied to forest planning. These models evolved from single objective to multiple objectives with spatial dimensions, including visualization. The second type includes forest dynamics models designed to examine the growth response of trees using process-based empirical or conceptual models. Demands for 'close to nature' forest management created new challenges for modellers to provide models with expanded capabilities to deal with tree growth, succession, and competition in stands with many species and wide range of tree sizes. The third type takes advantage of increased computational and graphic capabilities to model landscapes and display them as 'virtual' realities. These models combine spatial models such as geographical information systems (GIS), visualization tools and analytical models to form an integrated decision support system. The fourth type includes participatory models designed to accommodate multiple stakeholders in addressing collaborative forest management. These models are particularly adaptable to community-based forest management. Finally, the uses of models as 'learning' tools and as 'problem structuring' tools are also described.

Modelling regeneration and recruitment in a tropical rain forest

Jerome K. Vanclay — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:32:05 PDT

A two-stage model predicts the recruitment (i.e., the number of stems reaching or exceeding 10 cm DBH) of the 100 species that account for 97% of all the recruitment observed on 217 permanent sample plots in the tropical rain forest of north Queensland. The first stage predicts the probability of the occurrence of any recruitment from stand basal area and the presence of that species in the existing stand. These probabilities can be implemented stochastically, or deterministically by summing the probabilities and initiating recruitment on unity. The second stage indicates the expected amount of recruitment, given that it is known to occur, and employs stand basal area, the relative number of trees of that species in the stand, and site quality. This approach is easily implemented in growth models and planning systems.

Robust relationships for simple plantation growth models based on sparse data

Jerome K. Vanclay — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:40:01 PST

Three equations predicting height H = β1(t − 0.5)0.5, diameter D = β2(H − 1.3)/ln N, and mortality dN/N = −2(G/Gmax)3dD/D from plantation age (t), stocking (N) and basal area (G) can be calibrated with few data (even a single observation) for plantations in which re-measured data and growth models are unavailable. Despite having only three parameters to be estimated, these equations extrapolate reliably and allow objective forecasts of future plantation growth performance that may serve as useful first approximations until more precise growth models can be developed.

Growth stress in Eucalyptus dunnii

Timothy N. Murphy et al. — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:08:30 PST

Growth stress in 9-y-old plantation-grown Eucalyptus dunnii was assessed by measuring longitudinal growth strain. Strain varied considerably (370–1560 ìm–1) and was sufficiently heritable (h2 =0.3–0.5) that tree breeding may be an effective way to reduce the incidence of growth stress in this species. Although the formation of longitudinal growth strain appears to be under strong genetic control (P = 0.0015), there was a tendency for tall thin trees to exhibit higher stress than short thick trees (P = 0.025 for height:diameter ratio). Two provenances and three families identified in this study show potential as superior material for further tree breeding.

Effects of selection logging on rainforest productivity

Jerome K. Vanclay — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:08:28 PST

An analysis of data from 212 permanent sample plots provided no evidence of any decline in rainforest productivity after three cycles of selection logging in the tropical rainforests of north Queensland. Relative productivity was determined as the difference between observed diameter increments and increments predicted from a diameter increment function which incorporated tree size, stand density and site quality. Analyses of variance and regression analyses revealed no significant decline in productivity after repeated harvesting. There is evidence to support the assertion that if any permanent productivity decline exists, it does not exceed six per cent per harvest.

Healthy forests, sound economics, social justice

Jerome K. Vanclay — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:26:59 PST

Concern over the management of the world's forests is becoming a hot topic, and no area is under heavier scrutiny than the tropical forests. The current rate of deforestation, especially in light of the enormous number of species these forests contain, is the primary cause for this concern. Despite this ominous trend, much can be done to protect and sustain these incredibly valuable resources.