Incorporating ecological modelling into the planning of forest plans

New decision-support tools based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can aid forest design planning at the landscape scale and help ensure that management decisions and land-use change are targeted where they can provide benefits for both people and biodiversity. This study has applied and assessed spatial planning tools in a recent project to develop a forest plan for Glen Affric in the highlands of Scotland. Glen Affric is within the Upper Beauly Catchment Forest Plan area and contains the largest remnant of Caledonian Forest managed by the Forestry Commission and other non-wooded habitats of high conservation importance designated as part of the Natura 2000 network. The planning tools, 'Biological and Environmental Evaluation Tools for Landscape Ecology' (BEETLE), and 'Ecological Site Classification' (ESC-GIS), were employed in a desk study to test: a) the degree of fragmentation of Caledonian forest remnants within the matrix of secondary plantations and open ground; and b) the potential to convert stands of secondary woodland to native woodland types and reduce habitat fragmentation of remnant stands of Caledonian forest. The use of spatial decision-support tools was key to effective stakeholder engagement in the development of habitat networks and in encouraging a greater understanding of the principles of landscape ecology. Stakeholder workshops examined a selection of case study areas within the design plan and provided guidance on key focal species that were indicative of conservation and land management within each area. Conservation planning decisions are currently made on the basis of local expert knowledge which was captured to inform the modelling process in each of the study areas. The process provided stakeholders with a common approach, an essential concept if the tools are used to support planning. Feedback from the use of the tools has shown that they can help the spatial delivery of management objectives and also improve the repeatability, transparency and accountability of the decision-making process in relation to habitat factors at the landscape scale.