Medium and long term effects of logging systems on forest structure and composition in the tropical rainforest of Suriname

ABSTRACT

In this study, we compared the medium and long-term effects of logging on tropical rain forest ecosystems in Suriname using reduced impact logging (RIL), CELOS Management System (CMS), and conventional logging (CL) with forest without logging (NAT). In 18 forest plots with different times since logging ended and 9 unlogged forest plots, assessments were conducted on indicators of forest structure and vegetation composition. These indicators were then modelled as a function of management type and plot age. Multivariate ordination was used to visualize forest structure and vegetation composition differences between plots. High vegetation cover in the tree layer was more related to the older RIL and the CL plots, while high vegetation cover in the sapling and seedling layer related more to the CMS and NAT plots. Canopy openness was more related to the NAT, the CMS and the younger RIL plots. Furthermore, the CMS plots, which were logged 30 years ago, still did not reach the basal area of commercially important primary forest species, compared to unlogged forest. Both RIL and CMS plots have a strong presence of secondary species. This study shows the importance of applying the RIL technique correctly and taking forest characteristics and ecological processes into account when developing forest management principles. Forest management systems should also be flexible enough to adapt to area-specific requirements, for example, increasing the rotation cycle if the timber volume is not on the desired level. In this way, both conservation and economic goals are reached.

KEYWORDS:

• Forest dynamics
• tropical rainforest
• logging techniques
• vegetation composition
• forest structure

Acknowledgments

We thank the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) for funding the first part of this study and the Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (VLIR-UOS) for the PhD grant, resulting from the VLIR UOS program between the Anton de Kom University (AdeKUS) and Flemish Universities (Belgium); the National Zoological Collection of Suriname, the National Herbarium of Suriname, the Center for Agricultural Research in Suriname (institutes within the AdeKUS) and the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control (SBB) for assistance in the field and logistical support. Also, a big thanks to Charlene Sanches and Sahieda Joemratie for their assistance with the maps and figure formatting.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centre for International Forestry Research [0000]; Flemish Inter-University Council University Development Cooperation (VLIR-UOS) [0000].