Anja Nölte

University of Freiburg

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Co-Authors

Rasoul Yousefpour

University of Freiburg

Marc Hanewinkel

University of Freiburg

Arne Pinnschmidt

University of Freiburg

Olmán Murillo-Gamboa

Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica

Miguel Cifuentes

Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie

Daniel Piotto

Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia

Pedro Zúñiga

Henrik Meilby

University of Copenhagen

Cooperative Institutions

University of Freiburg

Institute of Forestry

Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie

University of Copenhagen

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research

Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear

University of Helsinki

Environmental Earth Sciences

KU Leuven

Nordwestdeutsche Forstliche Versuchsanstalt

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Close-to-Nature management of tropical timber plantations is economically viable and provides biodiversity benefits

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2023)

Arne Pinnschmidt Rasoul Yousefpour Anja Nölte Marc Hanewinkel

Tropical forest

10.5281/zenodo.8087526

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Citations (0)

Tropical Mixed-Species Plantations Can Outperform Monocultures in Terms of Carbon Sequestration and Economic Return

SSRN Electronic Journal (2022)

Arne Pinnschmidt Rasoul Yousefpour Anja Nölte Marc Hanewinkel

Large-scale reforestations in the tropics have become an important strategy to mitigate the global climate crisis through the sequestration of CO2. Mixed-species reforestations have been suggested for carbon plantings. In the context of commercial plantation forestry, the establishment of mixed-species plantations should be addressed under the consideration of competitiveness with existing monoculture practices. In this study, we compared the economic and carbon sequestration performance of commercial mixed-species stands and monocultures for two plantation sites in Costa Rica using a simulation-optimization approach. We found that mixed-species stands outperformed their monoculture peers by net present value (NPV) up to 3135 USD/ha if only timber sales were considered, or up to 3500-16800 USD/ha if the sale of carbon credits was considered. When managed solely for carbon sequestration the best-performing mixture achieved a mean stand carbon 7% above the best-performing monoculture. However, whether mixed stands outperformed monocultures was highly sensitive to the chosen baseline for comparison. Under perfect certainty and along with limited knowledge of the management of mixtures, commercial mixed stands will rarely outperform the best-performing monocultures. Under uncertainty – e.g. with regards to site suitability – or if forest owners prefer a diversified species portfolio, mixed stands might consistently outperform monocultures.

Monoculture

Carbon fibers

10.2139/ssrn.4276509

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Citations (0)

Broad-scale and long-term forest growth predictions and management for native, mixed species plantations and teak in Costa Rica and Panama

Forest Ecology and Management (2022)

Anja Nölte Rasoul Yousefpour Miguel Cifuentes Daniel Piotto Olmán Murillo-Gamboa

Tectona

Monoculture

Basal area

Old-growth forest

Tropical climate

Panama

Tropical forest

10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120386

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Citations (5)

Sharp decline in future productivity of tropical reforestation above 29°C mean annual temperature

Science Advances (2023)

Anja Nölte Rasoul Yousefpour Miguel Cifuentes Marc Hanewinkel

Tropical reforestation is among the most powerful tools for carbon sequestration. Yet, climate change impacts on productivity are often not accounted for when estimating its mitigation potential. Using the process-based forest growth model 3-PGmix, we analyzed future productivity of tropical reforestation in Central America. Around 29°C mean annual temperature, productivity sharply and consistently declined (-11% per 1°C of warming) across all tropical lowland climate zones and five tree species spanning a wide range of ecological characteristics. Under a high-emission scenario (SSP3-7.0), productivity of dry tropical reforestation nearly halved and tropical moist and rain forest sites showed moderate losses around 10% by the end of the century. Under SSP2-4.5, tropical moist and rain forest sites were resilient and tropical dry forest sites showed moderate losses (-17%). Increased vapor pressure deficit, caused by increasing temperatures, was the main driver of growth decline. Thus, to continue following high-emission pathways could reduce the effectiveness of reforestation as climate action tool.

Reforestation

Tropical climate

Tropical forest

Afforestation

10.1126/sciadv.adg9175

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Citations (15)

Changes in sessile oak (Quercus petraea) productivity under climate change by improved leaf phenology in the 3-PG model

Ecological Modelling (2020)

Anja Nölte Rasoul Yousefpour Marc Hanewinkel

Quercus petraea

Growing season

Microclimate

10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109285

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Citations (13)

Economic potential and management of tropical mixed-species plantations in Central America

New Forests (2022)

Arne Pinnschmidt Rasoul Yousefpour Anja Nölte Olmán Murillo-Gamboa Marc Hanewinkel

Abstract Tropical forest plantations play an important role in meeting global wood demand. While research has highlighted the ecological potential of mixed-species plantations, studies on the economic viability and management of such plantations are largely missing in the context of tropical plantation forestry. In this study, we estimated the economic potential and optimized the management of commercial mixed-species plantations of four tree species native to Central America ( Dalbergia retusa , Dipteryx oleifera , Hieronyma alchorneoides , and Vochysia guatemalensis ) and Teak ( Tectona grandis). We combined the forest growth model 3-PGmix and detailed economic data for two plantation sites in Costa Rica to optimize the management of 11 different mixtures using a genetic optimization algorithm. We found that several of the modeled mixed-species stands can be highly profitable with net present values (NPV) up to 4821.2 USD/ha at an 8% discount rate, and internal rates of return up to 17% (under excellent site conditions). This indicates that the most profitable mixtures (e.g. of V. guatemalensis-D. oleifera or T. grandis-D. oleifera on excellent sites) could compete economically with conventional monoculture plantations such as Teak monocultures. Further, mixed stands can be managed based on the same simple even-aged management approaches currently applied in monoculture plantations if the specific management parameters are adapted. The optimized management parameters also lead to improved NPV of the modeled stands under alternative valuation assumptions but are site-specific. In the present study, we only considered financial benefits from timber production. However, establishing mixed-species plantations in the tropics could provide a wide range of ecosystem services including climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.

Monoculture

Tectona

10.1007/s11056-022-09937-7

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Citations (10)

Close-to-nature management of tropical timber plantations is economically viable and provides biodiversity benefits

Forestry An International Journal of Forest Research (2024)

Arne Pinnschmidt Rasoul Yousefpour Anja Nölte Marc Hanewinkel

Abstract Reforestation of tropical forests is crucial to mitigate the climate crisis and restore ecosystems. However, past efforts have been criticized for establishing monoculture timber plantations with exotic tree species. Close-to-nature (CTN) practices aim to minimize negative forest management impacts on forests ecosystems by mimicking natural dynamics. So far, CTN management practices are rarely applied in tropical plantation forestry. This study evaluates the economic, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity potential of CTN management in tropical mixed-species plantations in Central America using a simulation-optimization approach. To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the potential of tropical CTN-managed plantations on the basis of detailed process-based forest growth simulations. CTN practices such as selective harvesting, retention forestry, and shelterwood cutting of mixed-species stands were compared to even-aged mixtures and conventional monoculture practices. Results showed that CTN management was economically viable for certain species mixtures and management practices at an 8 % discount rate and had the potential to increase carbon storage and biodiversity in the modeled plantations. At current carbon prices, CTN-managed plantations may only become financially competitive with monocultures, if monocultures are excluded from carbon certification schemes that increasingly aim at co-producing non-carbon benefits like biodiversity conservation. If carbon prices increase, the sale of carbon credits could finance the transformation of monocultures to CTN-managed mixed-species stands. The competitiveness of CTN management could also be improved through performance-based biodiversity payments, such as the sale of biodiversity credits.

Tropical forest

10.1093/forestry/cpae036

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Citations (0)

Broad-Scale and Long-Term Forest Growth Predictions and Management for Native, Mixed Species Plantations and Teak in Costa Rica and Panama

SSRN Electronic Journal (2021)

Anja Nölte Rasoul Yousefpour Miguel Cifuentes Daniel Piotto Olmán Murillo-Gamboa

Native tree species and species mixtures are key elements for biodiversity conservation by forest plantations. Yet, introduced species planted in monoculture still dominate plantation forests in many regions around the world and especially in the tropics. In Costa Rica and Panamá, Tectona grandis (teak) is the most planted species, occupying 49% and 64% of the forest plantation area. Here, we analyzed growth performance of four neotropical native species ( Dalbergia retusa, Dipteryx oleifera, Hyeronima alchorneoides, Vochysia guatemalensis ) in mixture with teak or as an alternative to teak plantations. For the first time, we parametrized a forest growth model for these native, neotropical tree species that was based on a large database which covers different climate, soil and management conditions as well as prolonged monitoring. We parametrized the mixture version of the process-based forest growth model Physiological Principles Predicting Growth ( 3-PGmix ). We then developed management scenarios for pure and mixed plantations, where we analyzed mixtures of T. grandis with D. oleifera and D. retusa as well as a mixture of D. oleifera, H. alchorneiodes and V. gutemalensis as an alternative to teak plantations. With average 9% of model error, 3-PGmix qualified as a tool for making growth predictions for these native tree species and teak. Except for the very fast growing V. guatemalensis, growth of the native species at harvest age was lower than previously suggested by other studies in pure plantations. With two exceptions, all species showed good growth in mixture and a potential for implementation. Simulation results were highly sensitive to the 3-PG fertility rating input parameter, which emphasized the need for a careful choice of this parameter when simulating species mixtures with 3-PGmix . In all our simulated mixtures, we observed a trade-off between volume production and dbh growth, where dbh growth was inversely related to the tree density of the most productive species in the mixture. For mixtures of natives with of a close to baseline thinning T. grandis plantation, diameter growth of the natives was strongly reduced by the presence of teak. When comparing the tree-by-tree mixtures to their respective monocultures, the time of comparison was important, since, in monoculture, fast-growing species can be replanted during the long rotation periods of the slower growing species. This can reverse findings of increased volume production during early ages of plantation development.

Panama

10.2139/ssrn.3987790

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Citations (1)

Multi-purpose forest management in the tropics: Incorporating values of carbon, biodiversity and timber in managing Tectona grandis (teak) plantations in Costa Rica

Forest Ecology and Management (2018)

Anja Nölte Henrik Meilby Rasoul Yousefpour

Thinning

Tectona

Basal area

10.1016/j.foreco.2018.04.036

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