The Role Of The Sustainable Forestry Initiative In Forest Landscape Changes In Texas, Usa

We studied the changes in landscape pattern and function resulting from the application of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) in East Texas, USA. Changes in landscape structure were studied by comparing landscapes with different management histories. A methodology to integrate landscape and stand pattern dynamics with processes was developed based upon modeling and simulation. The effects of pattern on processes were analyzed with this methodology considering the quality, quantity and configuration of vertebrate habitat and hydrological processes.Comparisons among landscapes revealed that forest management has a strong influence on landscape structure. The SFI program has increased overall fragmentation with an increase in number of patches, length of edges and shape complexity and a decrease in patch size, and number and size of core areas.Management according to the SFI program resulted generally in higher habitat suitability for many of the species analyzed and higher habitat diversity in the landscape. The SFI program induced fragmentation of the habitat of pine warbler and the establishment of narrow and elongated habitats in a network structure for most of the remaining species. Landscapes managed under the SFI program showed lower sediment yield at the watershed level than those under the non-SFI program due to lower channel erosion. The effects of the SFI program at the landscape level are related to the network of buffer strips.In general we conclude that relevant measures at the landscape level improve the sustainability of forested landscapes in East Texas.