Yahel Porat - 1 Forest Dept., Keren Kayemeth Leisrael (KKL), Israel. Chanoch Zoref - Mountain District, KKL, Israel

Forest Management Policy of Israel: Guidelines for Planning and Management (2014) provides a professional and mandatory basis for goal-oriented, sustainable forest management (SFM) in Israel. This document also necessitates the preparation of a management master plan for forestlands. The Kedoshim-Forest was chosen as a case study for applying this approach. First, the plan’s boundaries were defined to allow for a detailed study of the area’s elements at the regional level. The mapping of vegetation formations was a central component of this stage. The resultant database on vegetation units of the forest served as the foundation for developing a predictive model of future, potential vegetation for each unit. The next stage dealt with defining a vision for the forest, and the necessary planning and management principles for the forest, which were subsequently applied towards defining forest land-use types for each management unit. These categories were selected as a way to deliver a variety of ecosystem services and to preserve its biological diversity. The following stage involved the determination of management units (MU): a designated land-use unit with similar existing and projected vegetation formations. Planning principles for each type of MU, in conjunction with its designated land-use, helped in determining the desired vegetation formation for each MU. Meaning, the most appropriate vegetation formation for the MU’s primary land-use that can be achieved through a minimal level of site intervention or change in the natural vegetation dynamic. Next, specific stand treatments were established to obtain the desired vegetation formation for the MU. In 2014, the KKL began the preparation of a number of forest management master plans based on the Kedoshim-Forest model.

XIV WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS, Durban, South Africa, 7-11 September 2015