Using soil quality indicators to assess forest stand management

A general goal of the forestry sector in many countries is developing and applying best management practices that will result in sustainable forestry. Maintaining soil productivity is a criterion in most sustainability initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to outline the steps and rationale of a monitoring approach, using soil-based indicators as an example, to assess stand-level sustainability of intensively managed forests. The monitoring process, described here, includes steps that establish the proper inference space, identify soil functions, attributes, and indicators, combine indicator responses in a soil quality model, establish baseline conditions for comparing soil change, validate relationships between indicators and soil productivity, and implement a sampling scheme to measure indicators, analyze trends, and interpret change for adapting Sustainable Forestry Practises (SFPs) to maximize their effectiveness. This monitoring process is proposed as a method for SFP research and development that will lead to sustainable forest management at the unit level. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.