Impacts of management on ecosystem service capacity in northeastern U.S. Appalachian forest stands

Forests are critical resources that provide multiple ecosystem services. However, the capacity to produce these services depends on how forests are managed. The northeastern US is a highly forested and densely populated area with a strong potential for delivering multiple ecosystem services to owners of small, private forestlands. Thus, our objective was to quantify the impacts of harvesting on small forest stands in a northeastern US Appalachian forest. We leveraged existing harvest and inventory data to assess how harvest intensity, harvest type, and time since harvest completion play a role in forest productivity and biodiversity changes over time. In general, lower harvest intensities and longer times since completion improved forest stand ecosystem capacity. Harvesting at intensities of 30% or less of biomass removal and time durations of at least 15 years post-harvest allowed stands to recuperate carbon losses and improve biodiversity metrics. These results align well with previous recommendations of lower harvest intensities and longer rotations, and also suggest that co-production of multiple ecosystem services has potential for small forestland owners to manage their resource sustainably.