European and United States perspectives on forest operations in environmentally sensitive areas |
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| Authors: | Dalia Abbas Fulvio Di Fulvio Raffaele Spinelli |
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| Institution: | 1. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA;2. Ecosystems Services and Management Program (ESMP), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria;3. Italian National Research Council, Institute of Tree and Timber IVALSA, Rome, Italy |
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| Abstract: | This paper offers a forest operations perspective in environmentally sensitive areas in Europe and the United States. The objective is to help inform key sustainability knowledge gaps in forest operations to reduce impacts on the environment and the equipment operators in these increasingly targeted and difficult to operate in areas. Under existing guidelines and best management practices, the protection of ecosystem services linked to soil, water, wildlife and biodiversity have rightly received the highest considerations. However, the connection between protecting these ecological values, safe operational practices and technological advancements is rarely well articulated. One means to address the operational and technological gap is the selection of equipment and tailor the work conditions to terrain type, forest features and management objectives. To that effect, this paper discusses the environmental, planning, equipment selection and operator considerations and proposes possible solutions and guidelines to contain both the operators’ safety and environmental risks in forest operations. |
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| Keywords: | Sensitive environment equipment technology ecosystem services forest operator safety wood supply sustainability |
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