Rubber and pulp plantations represent a double threat to Hainan's natural tropical forests

Hainan, the largest tropical island in China, belongs to the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and harbors large areas of tropical forests, particularly in the uplands. The Changhua watershed is the cradle of Hainan's main river and a center of endemism for plants and birds. The watershed contains great habitat diversity and is an important conservation area. We analyzed the impact of rubber and pulp plantations on the distribution and area of tropical forest in the watershed, using remote sensing analysis of Landsat images from 1988, 1995 and 2005. From 1988 to 1995, natural forest increased in area (979-1040?sq?km) but decreased rapidly (763?sq?km) over the next decade. Rubber plantations increased steadily through the study period while pulp plantations appeared after 1995 but occupied 152?sq?km by 2005. Rubber and pulp plantations displace different types of natural forest and do not replace one another. Because pulp is not as profitable as rubber and existing pulp processing capacity greatly exceeds local supply, considerable pressure exists on remaining upland forests. We recommend for future management that these plantation forests be reclassified as 'industrial', making a clear policy distinction between natural and industrial forestry. Additionally, the local government should work to enforce existing laws preventing forest conversion on marginal and protected areas.     

巢湖浮游植物群落生态位的研究

运用物种间Levins生态位宽度和Petrailis生态位重叠计算公式分析了3月份巢湖东区和西区的24种优势浮游植物的生态位宽度值和生态位重叠程度，并以这两个参数为基础研究浮游植物物种间生态关系及它们与周围环境的相互影响。结果表明巢湖东区星形冠盘藻、啮蚀隐藻、颗粒直链藻最窄变种等10个种的生态位较宽，均大于3，而巢湖西区生态位较宽的主要有星形冠盘藻、啮蚀隐藻、卵形隐藻等9个种；研究结果还表明以生态位变动幅度大的种类作为水质指示种有更可靠的生态学意义，因此确定了以颗粒直链藻最窄变种、水华鱼腥藻和星杆藻sp.这3种藻作为巢湖水体区域污染状态的指示种。生态位重叠表明在巢湖东区蛋白核小球藻的发展速度最快；在巢湖西区星杆藻sp.的发展速度最快；巢湖西区的发展种比东区的发展种更多，大多数为耐污染的种。随后4月份进行了浮游植物群落组成调查，比较2次采样群落结构差异，验证了浮游植物生态位模型在巢湖鱼腥藻水华预测方面应用的可靠性。     

Increasing tree cover while losing diverse natural forests in tropical Hainan,China

To protect biodiversity and improve environmental conditions, China has invested billions of dollars in reforestation and payments for ecosystem service programs. Here, we examine the Sloping Land Conversion Program, the largest such program in the world and found that after 13 years of implementation at our study site, it has had negative impacts on natural tropical forests. GIS and remote sensing techniques revealed that both natural forests and natural shrub and grasslands were replaced by non-native monocultural plantations on Hainan Island, China, a key tropical biodiversity hotspot. Under current Chinese policy, these plantations are classified simply as “forests”, with the assumption that they are equivalent to natural forests. This lack of a distinction in forest quality has led to substantial deforestation and plantation expansion, including encroachment into protected areas on Hainan. Additional social and economic drivers of these changes were identified by examining the participants in this program and their actions. Without a new ecologically based definition of forests and new goals for reforestation, such programs designed to improve ecosystem services, and forest quality may actually threaten remaining natural forests and other vegetation types in Hainan and in other areas of mainland China.     

From waste tire to high value-added chemicals: an analytical Py-GC/TOF–MS study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A Pyroprobe 5000 pyrolyzer connected to a gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Py-GC-TOF–MS) was used to analyze the...