Plantation forests are established, and expanding, to satisfy increasing global demand for timber products. Shifting societal values, such as safety, productivity, environmental, quality and social are influencing the plantation forestry sector. This is primarily driven through an ever increasing world population, which in turn influences the way nations view the value systems by which they live. More people require more resources—also forest products. Also, the availability of information is influencing the pace of technological development. These changes could result in a difference in the management of plantations that could affect the forest engineering systems of the future. This review aimed to summarize the current status of plantation forests; summarize future developments and possible scenarios in forest plantation management for the various products; and assess whether these developments in a plantation environment could affect the harvesting systems used. Factors influencing the form of plantations include the type and nature of the plantation owner; the change in demand for different and new forest products; climate change factors, including the use of biomass for energy, carbon sequestration and trading; ecosystem services and other products and services; and sustainability certification of forest management. The impact and influence of these factors were summarised into a series of key drivers that will influence the technology used in harvesting machines, as well as the choice of harvesting machines, systems and methods. These drivers were the effect of variations in tree size, the expansion of plantation areas onto more difficult terrain, diversity in plantation design, increased attention towards site impacts and the increased use of biomass for energy. Specific information is provided regarding how the harvesting systems could be affected.

Phylogeographic patterns of endemic species are critical keys to understand its adaptation to future climate change. Herein, based on chloroplast DNA, we analyzed the genetic diversity of two endemic and endangered tree species from the Brazilian savanna and Atlantic forest (Eremanthus erythropappus and Eremanthus incanus). We also applied the climate-based ecological niche modeling (ENM) to evaluate the impact of the Quaternary climate (last glacial maximum ~ 21 kyr BP (thousand years before present) and Mid-Holocene ~ 6 kyr BP) on the current haplotype distribution. Moreover, we modeled the potential effect of future climate change on the species distribution in 2070 for the most optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. One primer/enzyme combination (SFM/HinfI) revealed polymorphism with very low haplotype diversity, showing only three different haplotypes. The haplotype 1 has very low frequency and it was classified as the oldest, diverging from six mutations from the haplotypes 2 and 3. The E. erythropappus populations are structured and differ genetically according to the areas of occurrence. In general, the populations located in the north region are genetically different from those located in the center-south. No genetic structuring was observed for E. incanus. The ENM revealed a large distribution during the past and a severe decrease in geographic distribution of E. erythropappus and E. incanus from the LGM until present and predicts a drastic decline in suitable areas in the future. This reduction may homogenize the genetic diversity and compromise a relevant role of these species on infiltration of groundwater.

Afforestation is believed to be an effective practice to reduce global warming by sequestering large amounts of carbon in plant biomass and soil. However, the factors that determine the rate of carbon sequestration with afforestation are still poorly understood. We analyzed ecosystem carbon exchange after afforestation based on eddy covariance measurements with the aim to identify factors responsible for the rate of carbon exchange following afforestation. The results indicated that afforestation in the tropical/subtropical and temperate climate zones had greater capacities for carbon sequestration than those in boreal zones. Net ecosystem production (NEP), gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE) varied greatly with age groups over time. Specifically, NEP was initially less than zero in the < 10 year group and then increased to its peak in the 10–20 year group. Afforestation of varied previous land use types and planting of diverse tree species did not result in different carbon fluxes. The general linear model showed that climate zone and age of afforestation were the dominant factors influencing carbon sequestration. These factors jointly controlled 51%, 61% and 63% of the variation in NEP, GPP and RE, respectively. Compared to the strong regulation of climate on GPP and RE, NEP showed greater sensitivity to the age of afforestation. These results increase our understanding of the variation in ecosystem carbon exchange of afforestation and suggest that afforestation in subtropical and temperate areas after 20 years would yield greater carbon sink benefits than would afforestation of boreal regions.

To characterize the effects of plantation densities on the growth characteristics (diameter at breast level, tree height and volume) and the common wood properties, 38-year-old Populus simonii ×  P. nigra clones planted with four levels of spacing (2 m × 2 m, 3 m × 3 m, 4 m × 4 m, and 5 m × 5 m) in a semi-arid area in northeastern China were examined. The results of ANOVA showed significant differences (P < 0.01) for all the investigated growth traits and wood properties under different plantation densities, except for the chemical composition of wood. The repeatability and phenotypic variations of all the traits varied from 0.34 to 0.99 and from 13.45 to 59.65%, respectively. Except for wood density, which was significantly negatively correlated with the growth traits, a positive correlation was observed between the growth traits and all the other wood mechanical properties. However, most of the correlations between the growth traits and the chemical composition of the wood were not significant. The path analysis for the wood mechanical characteristics and the growth in the prediction of volume were significant and ranged from 0.18 to 0.72 for wood density and diameter at breast height, respectively, while those for the chemical composition of wood ranged from 0.001 to 0.336, which showed a low impact on the volume. The highest stand volume (610 m³) per hectare was observed with the 2 m × 2 m spacing, which consequently provided a high total price and income, while a high individual volume growth per tree was observed with the 5 m × 5 m spacing. The results suggested that for the poplar trees younger than 40 years in a semi-arid area in China, 2 m × 2 m spacing is suitable for obtaining a high volume per hectare, while 5 m × 5 m spacing is best for obtaining a high individual volume per tree.

Syringa species not only have good ornamental properties but also play an important role in the landscaping and environmental purification of cities. To investigate the chilling stress resistance of Syringa oblata Lindl. and Syringa reticulata var. mandshurica and provide theoretical grounds for the practical cultivation of Syringa species, in vitro leaves were used to study photosynthetic gas exchange parameters and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. After nine hours of chilling, decreasing rates of net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and transpiration in S. reticulata var. mandshurica leaves were significantly greater than that of the S. oblata, while intercellular CO₂ concentrations in S. oblata leaves were higher than those in S. reticulata var. mandshurica. The quantum yield of PSII reaction center (Ф _PSII) declined in S. reticulata and light capture efficiency (F _v′/F _m′) was stable. However, reduction percentages of F _v′/F _m′, Ф _PSII, and F _v/F _m in S. oblata were significant higher than those of S. reticulata var. mandshurica. After nine hours of chilling, the relative variable fluorescence of V _J and V _I of S. oblata increased and the increasing rate of V _J was greater than V _I. In contrast, the change of V _J and V _I in S. reticulata var. mandshurica leaves was relatively small. This suggests that chilling primarily damaged the electron transport process of Q_A to Q_B at the receptor site of the PSII reaction center. Photosynthetic capacity of S. oblata was more sensitive to chilling stress compared to S. reticulate var. mandshurica, which the limitations were mainly due to non-stomatal factors such as the decrease in electron transport efficiency, activity in the PSII reaction center, and the destruction of the photodamage defense system.

This study compares the performance of three fire risk indices for accuracy in predicting fires in semi-deciduous forest fragments, creates a fire risk map by integrating historical fire occurrences in a probabilistic density surface using the Kernel density estimator (KDE) in the municipality of Sorocaba, São Paulo state, Brazil. The logarithmic Telicyn index, Monte Alegre formula (MAF) and enhanced Monte Alegre formula (MAF+) were employed using data for the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2016. Meteorological data and numbers of fire occurrences were obtained from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) and the Institute for Space Research (INPE), respectively. Two performance measures were calculated: Heidke skill score (SS) and success rate (SR). The MAF+ index was the most accurate, with values of SS and SR of 0.611% and 62.8%, respectively. The fire risk map revealed two most susceptible areas with high (63 km²) and very high (47 km²) risk of fires in the municipality. Identification of the best risk index and the generation of fire risk maps can contribute to better planning and cost reduction in preventing and fighting forest fires.

Falcataria moluccana or sengon is one of the fast-growing wood species widely grown in Indonesia. However, its wood is low quality with low density, and poor strength, durability, and dimensional stability. This study determined the effects of impregnation with monoethylene glycol (MEG) and nano-SiO₂ on the characteristics of sengon wood, including its dimensional stability and density. Impregnation with MEG and nano-SiO₂ had a significant effects on dimensional stability in terms of the weight percent gain, anti-swelling efficiency, water uptake, bulking effect, and density. The impregnated wood was examined by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that MEG and nano-SiO₂ were distributed homogeneously into cell walls of wood treated with 0.5% MEGSiO₂.

Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden bark was liquefied in glycerol with two types of catalysts. The chemical components of the residues with respect to temperature were examined to investigate the liquefaction behavior of bark. The results reveal that sulfuric acid was more efficient in converting bark into fragments in glycerol at low temperatures ≤ 433.15 K, equivalent to 160 °C than phosphoric acid. The liquefaction order of chemical components was lignin, hemicelluloses, and cellulose. The decrease of liquefaction yields at high temperatures (> 453.15 K) catalyzed by sulfuric acid was possibly a result of the recondensation of lignin and/or hemicelluloses.