Current situation and development of Chinese urban forestry

This paper introduces Chinese urban forestry research in terms of the concept, forest types, ecosystem services, spatial structure, planning and construction, assessment and management. Modern Chinese urban forest had a close relationship with traditional landscape architecture. Urban forest services had been quantified in some case cities, and determined by urban forest spatial patterns and internal structures. Based on landscape ecology and urban planning, urban forest spatial patterns have been analysed and planned rationally in some cities. However, studies on urban forestry generally lack long-term, continuous and systemic observations, as well as in-depth research on ecological processes and mechanisms. The development trends in urban forestry in China might include extensive application of '3S' technology, research on the relationship between urban forest landscape spatial patterns and their ecological effects, economic assessment, ecological and economic benefits and studies on the negative effects of pollutants.     

Urban planning and sustainable development under transitional economy: a case study of Guangzhou

There are always conflicts between the need for conservation and economic growth in the developing countries. Planning plays a primary role in balancing these conflicts. This is particularly obvious in Chinese cities since China adopted its open door policy in 1978. Foreign investment has been a major driving force for rapid growth of the Chinese economy. Planners in China have been facing the dilemma of protecting the natural environment on the one hand while, on the other hand, supporting the overall national goal of attracting foreign investment to maintain continuous economic growth. The planning system in China, which has been largely based on a planned economy, soon found itself handicapped in safeguarding the environment from rapid industrialization and urbanization fostered by market forces. This paper takes Guangzhou as an example to study challenges to the planning system in Chinese cities in the past two decades of rapid economic growth and urbanization. By means of a case study on an industrial development within a protected orchard area in Guangzhou, this study illustrates the conflict between the need for rural conservation and the pressure for economic development in the Chinese cities. In particular, it analyzes the pressures on the present urban planning system in China in terms of the following categories: the emergence of private investors in urban development; the goal of pursuing a high economic growth rate; the implications of a transitional economy for urban planning; and the weakness of the present urban planning system. It concludes that the role of urban planning in China should change from simply providing guidelines on board land-use strategy, to a combination of a strategic plan with specific development control laws at the operational level. Finally, some recommendations are suggested as to how to improve the planning system in China.     

Public space networks as a guide to sustainable urban development and social life: A case study of Muğla,Turkey

This study examines the possibility of designating and implementing a citywide public space network, constituted of randomly dispersed and not interrelated public spaces and greenways across the city of Mu?la. Although Mu?la is a major coastal province, with worldwide tourism districts, the city centre falls behind other settlements in terms of quality of social life, physical layout, economic investment and tourism revenue. In 2001, the local government commissioned the Department of Landscape Architecture of Ege University to prepare a comprehensive master plan towards achieving a corporate public space network, as well as development strategies to ameliorate the previous failures. The master plan developed a blueprint for the citywide network and addressed each existing or potential public space and greenway as integrated components of the network. The process involved short-, medium- and long-term action from the local government to achieve the physical layout and efficiently implement phases of the network. As a guide for other small or medium urban settlements in Turkey, a model proposal was derived from the study to address formulation, implementation, and management of the network in order to create a sustainable urban development.     

Comprehensive urban planning and management at multiple scales based on ecological principles: a case study in Beijing,China

SUMMARY

Rapid urbanisation and serious environmental problems have led people worldwide to realise the significance of urban planning and management towards a sustainable environment. Beijing was used as a case study to develop a framework and strategies for sustainable development using ecological principles. At the regional level, Beijing-Tianjin agglomeration and Hebei Province are considered together. At the Beijing administrative level, some important measures are put forward for revision of the Beijing Urban Master Plan. At the Beijing plain level, the future spatial structure of Beijing city and the relationship between settlements, green space and transportation are considered, and three basic development patterns are proposed. At the inner district level, the ecological corridor system is suggested, based on ecosystem services. At the selected area level, a comprehensive strategy and key measures for conservation and renewal of old Beijing city core are provided. Once strategies for Beijing urban development are implemented step-by-step, a vision for future development can be achieved. This paper provides considerations for improvement of urban planning and management in China and other countries.     

城市自然生态空间的价值评估及规划启示

城市自然生态空间是城市生态文明建设重要的物质基础。在规划过程中,应该将城市自然生态空间的生态价值评估作为城市规划的重要理论基础,通过相应的规划方法引导城市生态化建设和品质提升。文章通过对城市自然生态空间的界定,以及对城市自然生态空间生态价值评估的理论模型的研究,提出对规划建设的启示：积极构建城市自然生态空间统一的评估指标体系和建立适应中国本土的动态评估模型能够理性的指导城市的生态化建设,同时通过对城市自然生态空间的价值评估能够科学制定城市生态调控政策和正确引导公共参与城市生态化建设。     

中国城市绿化评价系统比较分析

城市绿化在城市环境建设中起着至关重要的作用。为衡量城市绿化建设的水平和指导城市规划,有必要建立科学的绿化评价体系。分析和比较了中国现有的4种国家级城市绿化评价体系：国家园林城市标准、全国绿化模范城市标准、国家森林城市标准和国家生态园林城市标准,并从易得性、可比性、简易性、客观性等4个方面对具体的指标进行了分析。4种绿化...     

永定河(北京段)生态修复工程运行管理机制研究

在充分调查永定河生态修复运行管理现状的基础上,以阈值跃迁、适应性管理为指导,对现有运行管理现状及存在问题进行深入分析。研究发现目前运行管理存在缺乏理论指导,管理权责不明晰,资金来源不明确以及生态监测体系、原水买卖平台缺失等问题。为实现运行管理目标,研究提出从构建基于适应性管理的流域委员会管理模式、确定管理机构权责、管理资金配置及建立生态修复管理评估体系4个方面完善运行管理机制,为永定河生态修复工程的运行管理及北方缺水城市的水生态修复工程运行管理提供参考与借鉴。     

中国的生态城市建设及生态产业方法在其中的作用

生态城市是一类具有经济高产生态高效的产业、系统负责社会和谐的文化、结构健康生命力强的景观的行政单元.其建设目标是通过规划、设计、管理和建设生态景观、生态产业和生态文化来实现结构耦合的合理、代谢过程的平衡和功能的可持续性.生态城市是以生态经济学、系统工程学为理论基础,通过改变生产方式、消费行为和决策手段,实现在当地生态系统承载能力范围内可持续的、健康的人类生态过程.体制整合、科技孵化、企业投资、公众参与和政府引导是生态城市发展的基本方法.清洁生产和生态产业是生态城市建设的关键.在搞好技术和管理的同时,怎样在局地和区域生态系统尺度上整合生产、消费和还原功能,建设一类和谐的生态景观,企业的空间和城市尺度应予以充分的重视.     

福州城市森林建设现状与可持续发展探讨

“让森林走进城市、让城市拥抱森林”已成为保护城市生态环境、提升城市形象和竞争力,推动经济可持续健康发展的全新理念．分析福州城市森林建设的优势与不足,提出以创建国家森林城市为目标、发展城市森林的建议．参9．     

四川遂宁现代生态田园城市建设的研究

生态田园城市是现代城市的发展目标,已成为我国城市建设的热点.现代生态田园城市建设的关键在于建立城市生态基础设施系统,为城市可持续发展和营造宜居环境提供生态系统服务.遂宁现代生态田园城市规划将生态基础设施规划、产业发展规划、社会公共服务设施规划"三规合一",营造一个生态安全健康、生产低碳高效、生活安康富裕,社会公平和谐的美丽新城市.     

广州市南沙区海岸防护林群落构建技术研究

森林是稳固和改善生态环境的重要载体,因其能提供巨大的生态服务功能而备受各国政府和学界的关注。珠江三角洲地区城市化进程的步伐逐渐加快,带来一系列环境问题。以广州市南沙区海岸景观防护林（也即河涌水网林、公路隔离林、海岸防风林）建设为例,主要研究了防护林的关键构建模式、林分群落结构等方面内容。结果显示,采用多层次的乔灌草配置,遵循适地适树的原则,以本土树种为主,搭配部分优良的引进树种,采取适合的营林措施,可构建出具有一定防护功能的人工林群落。广州南沙防护林建设是珠三角地区城市森林建设的一个缩影和代表,为我国南方城市森林建设理论的创建提供了一定的参考经验。破解城市化危机,创建宜居城市环境,实现城市可持续发展,应综合考虑城市的人口集中程度,经济发展规模,环境污染模式,针对具体的水分、气候和土壤等要素,运用多学科理论和技术,制定合适的森林构建模式,并需要政府、社会组织、以及公众的协同努力。     

广东省生态环境现状、存在问题和对策

近年来，广东省基本实现土地资源的占补平衡，但部分城市周边土地污染较为严重；森林覆盖率较高，但森林生态系统较为脆弱；大江大河水质良好，但城市江段水质较差，生活污水成为主要的污染源；入海河口和近岸海域受陆源污染，部分海域海水水质变差，赤潮危害有所加剧；红树林面积大幅度减少；外来物种入侵面积较大；农业面源污染日趋严重。总的来说，广东省生态环境现状总体良好，但人为因素等对生态环境所造成的破坏不容忽视，应加强领导和规划，以实现可持续发展。     

Achieving sustainable rural development in Southern China: the contribution of bamboo forestry

Bamboo forests, due to their special characteristics and ecological functions, play an important role in sustainable forest management and rural development in China. Over the past two decades, China has successfully established millions of hectares of bamboo forest, which has restored fragile ecosystems, provided benefits to local communities, alleviated rural poverty and eased timber shortages. However, there is potential for further improvements to the bamboo forest estate. This paper analyses the current state of bamboo forest resources and management, and the roles of the bamboo forest industry in social development, economic growth and ecosystem protection in China. We examine the main issues related to governance systems, local economic development and traditional management practices. Finally, we suggest some directions for future development.     

Managing Biodiversity in a Forestry Environment

In forest management and other land-use planning, ecological, social, and economical demands often conflict. Forest planning in particular has been biased towards maximizing economic output while disregarding the ecological effects of forestry practices. In this paper we present an approach for taking biological diversity into account in strategic forest management planning. We used the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method for resource allocation and priority setting. We carried out a case study, whereby a set of management strategies was evaluated in order to identify the strategy which best fulfills the requirement of maintaining biological diversity while at the same time yielding a reasonable income from timber production. We discuss applicability of the approach in solving different forest management and conservation planning problems, as well as in assessment of ecological impacts.     

Remote sensing of global change: growth in China's Jiangsu Province

SUMMARY

This paper examines how remote-sensing data and regional social and economic data can be used together to identify changes in land-use patterns in particular regions. Study of the spatiotemporal dynamics of remote-sensing data can identify trends in competing uses of land, water and other natural resources for agriculture, industrial development and urban settlements. When combined with information on trends in industrial production, population, agricultural production, pollutant releases, water usage and natural forest coverage, these data reveal patterns of anthropogenic disturbance that can provide early signals of problems in resource decline or land-use management. This study focuses on land-cover changes in southern Jiangsu Province of the People's Republic of China between 1976 and 1984. This region, to the west of Shanghai and to the south of the Yangtze River, experienced unprecedented economic growth after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Remote-sensing imagery reveals the rapid growth of urban centres, commensurate declines in surface water area, and changing patterns of agriculture. The observed changes cast doubt on the ability of the region to sustain such rapid and intense land-use conflicts over a long period.     

Ecosystem Management across Ownerships: the Potential for Collision with Antitrust Laws

Abstract:  Cross-boundary ecosystem management is increasingly being advocated to address large-scale ecological issues on forested landscapes. Such management requires information about the age, composition, and distribution of trees and other vegetation in addition to the ability to coordinate management over large areas. In the United States, the forest industry owns and manages a large quantity of biologically productive forest land, and these forests are crucial to the success of regional ecosystem planning. Antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, limit the industry's ability to participate in regional ecosystem planning because they restrict the ability of competing firms to coordinate activities and share information. Because antitrust courts do not consider the intentions of violators, achieving conservation or other public policy goals, even when working with government agencies, is not a sufficient defense. Therefore, the real and perceived threat of antitrust litigation is a disincentive to the forest industry's participation in large-scale ecosystem management. Potential solutions to this problem include state immunity statutes and third-party data aggregation.     

生态规划在冕宁县城市总体规划中的作用研究

以冕宁县的生态规划为例,通过对冕宁县生态城市规划建设背景的研究,确定其生态城市建设的定位,通过分析冕宁县城市的现状,得出了冕宁县进行生态城市规划的总体思路.生态城市建设的重点是对城市的生态功能进行划分,生态功能划分的原则包括生态城市功能区划的原则、可持续发展原则、区域相关原则、部分与整体协调原则、相似性原则、环境容量和环境承载力原则以及区域特色原则等等.通过对冕宁县城市生态区域的划分,将生态规划彻底融入冕宁县的总体规划之中,进一步改善冕宁县生态环境、人居环境和发展环境,不断提高城乡人民生活质量,将冕宁建设成为生态县.     

城市生态的氧平衡研究：以南京市为例

城市化地区人的生态及其产业活动强度大、范围广，对氧的收支关系反应敏感。空气中氧的平衡能力及其可持续性，是促进城市社会经济与环境协调发展的基本条件，按南京总体规划确定的主城．中心城市围及市域三个层次的格局，主城的氧亏可从城乡结合部的制氧空间得到足够的补偿。中心城市圈自身耗氧低，对主城的外延发展，卫呈城镇的工业化，新增大型耗能企业的布点均有较强的氧平衡能力，维护城市生态氧平衡的关键措施是建设城市生态防     

Ecological network determination of sectoral linkages, utility relations and structural characteristics on urban ecological economic system

Analyzing the structure and functioning of the urban system revealed ways to optimize its structure by adjusting the relationships among compartments, thereby demonstrating how ecological network analysis can be used in urban system research. Based on the account of the extended exergy utilization in the sector of urban socio-economic system, which is considered as the composition of extraction (Ex), conversion (Co), agriculture (Ag), industry (In), transportation (Tr), tertiary (Te) and households (Do) sectors, an urban ecological network model is constructed to gain insights into the economic processes oriented to sustainable urban development. Taking Beijing city as the case, the network accounting and related ecological evaluation of a practical urban economy are carried out in this study in the light of flux, efficiency, utility and structure analysis. The results showed that a large quantity of energy and resources have to be consumed to maintain the structure and function of a city. The thermodynamic efficiencies of individual sector in Beijing remain at a low level. The social system in Beijing is a highly competitive network, and there are 8 competitive relations and only two mutualistic ones. The Domestic and Agricultural sector are the major controlling factors of the system. Moreover, the assessment results of Beijing are compared with the other three socio-economic systems, Norway, UK and Italy, and the ecological network function and structure comparisons are correspondingly illuminated and discussed. The conclusions indicate that the exergy-based network analysis can be refined to become an integrative tool for evaluation, policy-making and regulation for urban socio-economic system management concerning structure and efficiency at urban levels.     

Assessment and management of urbanization-induced ecological risks

The urban ecological risk incurred during the processes of urbanization has been constantly accumulating, creating a severe challenge for China to achieve sustainable urban development. At present, research on systematic evaluation of urban ecological risks is still inadequate, especially at an urban ecosystem level. In this special issue, we use Xiamen City as an example to identify the sources and receptors of urban ecological risks, to develop a methodology system of urban ecological risk assessment, and to propose a method for the management of urban ecological risks. This special issue contains 11 research articles resulting from a comprehensive research project funded by China’s National Natural Science Foundation. The innovations reported in this special issue include a framework of urban ecological risk assessment and a standardized procedure for carrying out urban ecological risk assessment using multiple stressors and endpoints.