Incorporating acoustic objectives into Forest Management Planning when sensitive bird species are relevant

Area of Science:

• Forestry Science
• Environmental Acoustics
• Wildlife Conservation

Background:

• Timber harvesting poses risks to biodiversity and habitat conservation.
• High noise levels from forest machinery challenge sustainable forest management.
• The Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) serves as an indicator species for eco-friendly forest planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate spatial differences in sound propagation between forest stands.
• To determine if orography influences noise dispersal in mountainous forests.
• To assess the potential for relaxing timber logging restrictions without disturbing sensitive species.

Main Methods:

• Conducted noise mapping in a Scots pine forest in Spain.
• Modeled two scenarios: chainsaw operation and impact noise.
• Employed landscape-scale noise propagation analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis.

Main Results:

• Noise propagation did not significantly differ between stands, even in mountainous terrain.
• The average radius (ARD) metric showed variations between modeled scenarios.
• Minimum distance to 40 dB(A) contour lines influenced clustering.

Conclusions:

• Noise modeling is crucial for balancing forest logging with nature protection.
• Temporary logging restrictions could be reduced in approximately 36% of management areas based on ARD.
• Suggests using sound pressure level criteria and expanding buffer zones to 200m around Cinereous vulture nests.