Biodiversity
Biodiversity is directly related to the amount of species-critical habitat in a forested area. There are potential environmental impacts of bioenergy harvesting on biodiversity. Mitigating practices can also be practiced to reduce these impacts (Table:Potential Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy Harvesting on Biodiversity)
Habitat, and thus biodiversity, can be conserved by employing several techniques in stand and landscape management. These include the following:
Creating structurally complex stands - Structurally complex stands (at right) can be created by harvesting patches of adjacent stands over time, and deciding before harvest if large old trees, snags, and deadwood will be retained. The resulting mixture of stand ages and deadwood are critical for maintaining habitat for diverse species.
Creating habitat - The creation of habitat includes introducing animal and plant species (such as long leaf pine - at left), installing nest boxes, and providing the food and shelter needs for species across the landscape. Buffer zones and streamside management zones can be used to create areas of habitat adjacent to more intensively managed areas or highly sensitive landscape elements.
The use of long rotations - Managing stands over relatively long rotations (below left) would allow the development of more structurally complex stands over time due to the effects of biotic and abiotic stresses associated with natural disturbances such as fire, wind, insect and disease attacks, and tree mortality. While this may not be feasible for all stands in a management area due to a variety of management objectives and constraints, this technique can be used in buffer zones and streamside management zones to create ideal habitat.
Special attention must be given to the conservation of deadwood and large old trees (below right). These structures, while possibly attractive for bioenergy feedstocks, must be maintained in adequate quantities on a landscape basis due to their biodiversity value.
Encyclopedia ID: p1281
