RT Journal Article
T1 Assessment and Monitoring Protocols to Guarantee the Maintenance of Biodiversity in Certified Forests: A Case Study for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Forests in Southwestern Spain
A1 Sánchez Almendro, Antonio José
A1 Hidalgo Fernández, Pablo José
A1 Galán, Rosario
A1 Carrasco, José M.
A1 López Tirado, Javier
AB Biodiversity, sustainable development and nature conservation are fundamental issuesnowadays. All companies, administrations, governments and international organisations take theseissues into consideration. Sustainable forest management always requires a compromise betweenprofitability and conservation and in this fragile equilibrium, forest certification plays a key scheme.This sustainable management is of great importance in the European Union (EU), with the ForestStewardship Council playing a fundamental role in forest certification. This certification forms thebasis of the ecosystem conservation and improvement strategy in Ence, Energía y Celulosa, the leadingcompany dedicated to the production of eucalyptus in Spain; (2) A three-phase protocol (identificationof High Conservation Values, assessment of conservation areas and monitoring program), has beendeveloped, providing clear, objective criteria, particularly concerning FSC (Forest StewardshipCouncil) Principle 9, the primary goal being the development and application of these objectivecriteria in the Ence conservation areas in the province of Huelva (Spain). One of the main criteriafor habitat classification was correspondence with the habitats listed in Annex I of the HabitatsDirective. The compatibility between forest exploitation management and conservation proposed bythe Natura 2000 network encouraged us to use this methodology for the identification, classificationand assessment of High Conservation Values considered in FSC forest certification: Principle 9;(3) The study encompasses 183 forest management units covering 52,022 ha, with a total of 11,847.45ha being identified as High Conservation Value Areas. Through the identification and assessmentof the conservation areas, the described methodology played a crucial role in demonstrating thepositive impact of Ence’s certified forest management on the conservation of biological diversity;(4) This study demonstrates that an objective and reliable identification, assessment and monitoringmethodology, with a proven high degree of accuracy in the location and characterisation of interestingand representative habitats in the region, can be implemented. Due to its objectivity, this strategycan be easily applied to other European sustainable forest management sites and possibly to othercountries outside the EU.
PB MDPI
SN 1999-4907
YR 2018
FD 2018-11
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/16298
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/16298
LA eng
NO Sánchez Almendro, A., Hidalgo, P., Galán, R., Carrasco, J.,  López Tirado, J. . Assessment and Monitoring Protocols to Guarantee the Maintenance of Biodiversity in Certified Forests: A Case Study for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Forests in Southwestern Spain. Forests, 9(11), 705. (2018) DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f9110705
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026