Socioecological Landscape Planning: An Approach to Multi-Functional Forest Management

In the socioecological landscape planning of natural resources, as presented in this article, sociocultural and ecological decision criteria are considered with ‘traditional’ timber production analyses in an integrated and holistic way. As the main phases, the approach involves: pinpointing sites that are important with respect to management objectives related to ecological or sociocultural considerations; elaborating different so-called ecological and sociocultural networks; producing alternative economically sound production programmes for areas not included in different combinations of ecological and sociocultural networks (resulting in different alternative management plans); evaluating the relative worth of alternative plans with respect to each relevant objective; and, fi nally, the holistic comparison of alternative management plans. In the following, the principles and rationale of the approach are briefl y presented. Outline of a landscape planning case where the approach is being tested is described for illustrative purposes. As is well-known among forestry professionals, and more generally among those of environmental management, broad-in-scope ecological reviews are applied in natural resources management to fi nd means for securing the biodiversity of the landscape (e.g., Lackey 1998, Leitao and Ahern 2002). Determining the ecological potential of the planning area, producing alternative ecological solutions, and evaluating alternative solutions in relation to the preservation of the vitality of organisms require landscape-level ecological assessments. Ecological potential is a function of the present state of the area in terms of characteristics of species populations persisting in the area or near-by, and of the possibilities to maintain viable populations of different species, different habitats and the multi-formity of life in general. Defi ning area-wise operational ecological objectives in a justifi able way is possible only after the assessment of the ecological potential. Landscape-level natural resources planning with special emphasis on ecological management objectives is often called ecosystem management (e.g., Grumbine 1994, Pirot et al. 2000) or, as has been usual in Finland, landscape ecological planning (e.g., Karvonen 2000). In practice, it often also includes considerations related to objectives other than those of just ecology, such Silva Fennica 36(4) discussion papers