Aggregated Estimation of Basic Parameters of Biological Production and Carbon Budget of Russian Terrestrial Ecosystems: 3. Biogeochemical Carbon Fluxes

The biogeochemical cycle of organic carbon in Russian terrestrial ecosystems in 1990 is considered. Its components have been estimated as follows: net primary production, 4354 million metric tons of carbon (Mt C); annual amount of plant detritus, 3223 Mt C; heterotrophic soil respiration, 3214 Mt C; biomass utilization, 680 Mt C; damage to vegetation caused by fire and pests, 140 Mt C; and removal by surface and ground waters, 79 Mt C. Anthropogenically regulated fluxes of organic carbon (820 Mt C) are comparable to its amount involved in the natural cycle.     

三峡库区乔木林生物量和碳储量的估算

以三峡库区为研究地点,建立库区优势树种立木生物量模型,并测定乔木含碳系数,结合库区第7次和第8次森林资源连续清查数据,估算了整个三峡库区乔木林的生物量和碳储量。研究结果表明:(1)整个库区乔木林生物量和碳储量第7次调查为12 583×104t和6 471×104t,单位面积生物量75.70t/hm2,碳密度38.93t/hm2,第8次调查为14 253×104t和7 396×104t,单位面积生物量77.46t/hm2,碳密度40.20t/hm2。可见,这5a中,三峡库区生物量和碳储量都有所增加。(2)对于不同森林植被类型来说,松类的生物量和碳储量都显著高于其他类型,分别占三峡库区生物量和碳储量的40%和50%。(3)三峡库区森林植被生物量和碳储量随龄级增大先增大后减少,在中龄林时达到最大,比较两次调查的生物量和碳储量,森林植被主要以幼林龄和中龄林占优。(4)两次调查显示三峡库区森林植被生物量和碳储量主要分布在天然林中,对于碳汇起到主要作用,同时,人工林所占的比例有所提高,其碳汇能力也逐步提高。     

长江中上游防护林体系森林植被碳贮量及固碳潜力估算

基于“八五”期间长江中上游流域各省的森林资源调查资料,结合经典的材积源生物量法估算了长江中上游防护林体系生物量碳密度和碳贮量,并根据不同树种生物量-生产力回归关系推算了该地区当前的固碳潜力。结果表明：长江中上游地区森林平均碳密度为2575 t/hm2;碳贮量为1 39459 Tg (1 Tg = 1012 g),其中林分（包括经济林）碳贮量为1 20430 Tg,灌木林为13437 Tg,竹林为5592 Tg,三者分别占总碳贮量的8636%、963%和401%。整个防护林体系森林植被的固碳潜力为36856 Tg/a。位于本区西部的四川盆地嘉陵江流域和西部高山峡谷区,其森林碳密度、碳贮量和固碳潜力较高,而东部地区的川鄂山地长江干流、鄱阳湖水系以及洞庭湖水系相对较低,因此,长江中上游森林碳密度、碳贮量和固碳潜力总体上呈现自西向东逐渐降低的趋势。     

Fuelwood assessment at the micro-watershed level:a case study in Garhwal Himalaya,India

Biomass,as fuelwood,is one of the major sources of energy in rural areas,especially in the mountainous regions of the world.As the increasing human population exerts more pressure on the forest thereby inducing an adverse effect on the sustainability of the ecosystem,which consequently causes fuelwood crisis at a local level,this crisis is spatio-temporal in nature.Thus,the major objective of this study is to assess the sustainability of fuelwood at different probable scenarios at a micro watershed level.The present study was conducted in the Phakot watershed,the Tehri Garhwal district of central Himalaya in India,during 2006-2008.Based on the vegetation composition in the study area,the net primary productivity(NPP)value of the Oak forest,and mixed oak and sal forests,was used for the quantification of fuelwood availability in evergreen and deciduous forests,respectively.The fuelwood demand was calculated on the basis of seasonal fuelwood consumption values.Nine probable permutations for availability-demand scenarios assuming the existence of high(H),low(L)and average(A)conditions were analyzed for evaluating the stress.The available annual harvestable fuelwood in the watershed is in the minimum and maximum ranges of 2283.28 to 4066.00 tons,respectively,per year whereas it has a demand of 110.76 tons as the minimum to 3659 tons as the maximum annually.This shows that in the current availabilitydemand scenario,the watershed does not have fuelwood crisis in the present situation but needs to maintain the sustainability of the system.Based on our study,it is concluded that,globally,more spatio-temporal study is required to understand the issues at the local level.     

长江中上游防护林体系森林植被碳贮量及固碳潜力估算

基于“八五”期间长江中上游流域各省的森林资源调查资料，结合经典的材积源生物量法估算了长江中上游防护林体系生物量碳密度和碳贮量，并根据不同树种生物量-生产力回归关系推算了该地区当前的固碳潜力。结果表明：长江中上游地区森林平均碳密度为2575 t/hm2；碳贮量为1 39459 Tg (1 Tg = 1012 g)，其中林分（包括经济林）碳贮量为1 20430 Tg，灌木林为13437 Tg，竹林为5592 Tg，三者分别占总碳贮量的8636%、963%和401%。整个防护林体系森林植被的固碳潜力为36856 Tg/a。位于本区西部的四川盆地嘉陵江流域和西部高山峡谷区，其森林碳密度、碳贮量和固碳潜力较高，而东部地区的川鄂山地长江干流、鄱阳湖水系以及洞庭湖水系相对较低，因此，长江中上游森林碳密度、碳贮量和固碳潜力总体上呈现自西向东逐渐降低的趋势。     

中国农业源碳汇估算及其与农业经济发展的耦合分析

农业作为重要的产业部门,在满足人们基本的物质需求的同时具有重要的生态保障和碳汇功能,充分发掘农业的碳汇潜力对于农业绿色化发展和农民增收具有重要意义。本文量化测算了我国1993—2011年的农业源碳汇潜力,并构建农业源浄碳汇与农业经济发展的耦合模型,结果发现农业源碳汇量由1993年的52 318.70万t波动增加到2011年的66 073.77万t,年均增加1.38%,但是农业源的浄碳汇量却呈现波动递减趋势,由1993年的36 691.72万t减少到34 815.67万t,其中粮食作物的CO2吸收总量占据主要部分,经济作物CO2吸收量在农业总的CO2吸收量所占的比重虽小,但是增速较快,年均增幅达到4.15%;从影响因素来看,农业源碳汇和耕地面积关联度不大,农作物单位产量和农业源碳汇呈正相关;农业源浄碳汇与农业经济发展之间处于强负耦合状态,耦合状态不理想,农业产值与农业净碳汇关联度不强,这主要是由高投入、高消耗的农业生产方式引发农业碳排放增加和农业总产出效益提升等原因造成的。最后,本文针对性地提出促进我国农业减排增汇的对策建议:强化政府引导,从农业的规划、生产、消费等多领域进行引导;加大农业减排增汇的技术、资金和人力支持,为农业的减排增汇做好保障;通过林地增汇、农田增汇、草地增汇、综合增汇等多种手段,提升农地的碳汇能力;加快碳市场交易体系建设,以市场杠杆推进农业的减排增汇。     

Fuelwood assessment at micro-watershed level in Northeast Himalaya:a case study in Manipur,India

Fuelwood is one of the major sources of energy in the domestic sector across the rural areas,especially in the developing regions across the world.The Northeastern Himalayan state of Manipur is dominated by the tribal population that largely depends on fuelwood from the nearby forest area.The entire dependence on forests for energy resources is affecting the sustainability of the forest ecosystem in the region,thus indicating the livelihood conditions.Since land-use land-cover change is the key driver to the change in resource availability of a region,the present study has tried to analyze the landcover changes over a period 28 years.The second major component affecting resource availability is the increasing population pressure that leads to changes in the land dynamics,which directly affect the resource production.Based on the existing consumption pattern,the total consumption of fuelwood in the watershed ranges fiom a minimum of 289.992 tons/year to a maximum of 3545.719 tons/year with an average of 1561.956 tons/year in the year 2009 and simulated fuelwood consumption for the year 2021 is around 1469.260 tons/year.Nine different probable scenarios of resource are proposed to calculate the stress value that can be used by the policy-makers and planners for suitable policy implementation at the micro level with a complex social system.     

Fuelwood assessment at micro-watershed level in Northeast Himalaya: a case study in Manipur,India

Fuelwood is one of the major sources of energy in the domestic sector across the rural areas, especially in the developing regions across the world. The Northeastern Himalayan state of Manipur is dominated by the tribal population that largely depends on fuelwood from the nearby forest area. The entire dependence on forests for energy resources is affecting the sustainability of the forest ecosystem in the region, thus indicating the livelihood conditions. Since land-use land-cover change is the key driver to the change in resource availability of a region, the present study has tried to analyze the land-cover changes over a period 28 years. The second major component affecting resource availability is the increasing population pressure that leads to changes in the land dynamics, which directly affect the resource production. Based on the existing consumption pattern, the total consumption of fuelwood in the watershed ranges from a minimum of 289.992 tons/year to a maximum of 3545.719 tons/year with an average of 1561.956 tons/year in the year 2009 and simulated fuelwood consumption for the year 2021 is around 1469.260 tons/year. Nine different probable scenarios of resource are proposed to calculate the stress value that can be used by the policy-makers and planners for suitable policy implementation at the micro level with a complex social system.     

Economic assessment of producing a fluting paper using agricultural residues – a case study: Iran,Mazandaran Province

Given limited forest resources and increased paper consumption and imports, establishing fluting paper mills using non-wood raw materials seems more essential than ever. This paper aims to investigate, technically and economically, the possibility of establishing a fluting paper mill (with a capacity of 10,000 tons a year) from agricultural residues in Iran's Mazandaran province. The average annual agricultural residues output (including wheat, barley, rice, corn, oil seeds and cotton) in the province was about 1.3 million tons from 2000 to 2010, showing the potential of the province as an appropriate source for providing raw material from agricultural residues. For economic evaluation of the project, economic indices such as rate of return, pay-back period and production break-even point were measured. The results indicated that establishing a fluting paper mill based on agricultural residues is feasible.     

Modeling Carbon and Water Budgets in the Lushi Basin with Biome-BGC

Abstract

In this article, annual evapotranspiration (ET) and net primary productivity (NPP) of four types of vegetation were estimated for the Lushi basin, a subbasin of the Yellow River in China. These four vegetation types include: deciduous broadleaf forest, evergreen needle leaf forest, dwarf shrub and grass. Biome-BGC—a biogeochemical process model was used to calculate annual ET and NPP for each vegetation type in the study area from 1954 to 2000. Daily microclimate data of 47 years monitored by Lushi meteorological station was extrapolated to cover the basin using MT-CLIM, a mountain microclimate simulator. The output files of MT-CLIM were used to feed Biome-BGC. We used average ecophysiological values of each type of vegetation supplied by Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG) in the University of Montana as input ecophysiological constants file. The estimates of daily NPP in early July and annual ET on these four biome groups were compared respectively with field measurements and other studies. Daily gross primary production (GPP) of evergreen needle leaf forest measurements were very close to the output of Biome-BGC, but measurements of broadleaf forest and dwarf shrub were much smaller than the simulation result. Simulated annual ET and NPP had a significant correlation with precipitation, indicating precipitation is the major environmental factor affecting ET and NPP in the study area. Precipitation also is the key climatic factor for the interannual ET and NPP variations.     

Sustainable forest management in a mountain region in the Central Western Carpathians,northeastern Slovakia: the role of climate change

European forestry is facing many challenges, including the need to adapt to climate change and an unprecedented increase in forest damage. We investigated these challenges in a Norway spruce-dominated mountain region in Central Europe. We used the model Sibyla to explore forest biomass production to the year 2100 under climate change and under two alternative management systems: the currently applied management (CM), which strives to actively improve the forest’s adaptive capacity, and no management (NM) as a reference. Because biodiversity is thought to have mostly positive effects on the adaptive capacity of forests and on the quality of ecosystem services, we explored how climate change and management affect indicators of biodiversity. We found a differential response across the elevation-climatic gradient, including a drought-induced decrease in biomass production over large areas. With CM, the support of non-spruce species and the projected improvement of their growth increased tree species diversity. The promotion of species with higher survival rates led to a decrease in forest damage relative to both the present conditions and NM. NM preserved the high density of over-matured spruce trees, which caused forest damage to increase. An abundance of dead wood and large standing trees, which can increase biodiversity, increased with NM. Our results suggest that commercial spruce forests, which are not actively adapted to climate change, tend to preserve their monospecific composition at a cost of increased forest damage. The persisting high rates of damage along with the adverse effects of climate change make the prospects of such forests uncertain.     

Human appropriation of aboveground photosynthetic production in the Czech Republic

We assessed human impacts on ecosystems by calculating the proportion of aboveground net primary production appropriated by humans (aHANPP) in the territory of the Czech Republic. The human appropriation of aboveground net primary production reached 21.5 Tg C per year in 2006 or 56% of the annual potential natural productivity. Harvested productivity equivalent aNPP_H is contributing to the overall appropriation of photosynthetic production by 80%. Considerable productivity losses have been induced by agricultural land conversion and urbanization. While artificial surfaces are responsible for the appropriation of whole ecosystem production, productivity of urban green areas and managed forests can even exceed natural productivity levels. In the period 1990–2000, the aHANPP dropped by 7%, but the indicator shows an increase by over 2% in the period 2000–2006. The indicator of human appropriation of net primary production enables translation of land cover changes into measures of ecosystem services affected by human activities. We found aHANPP to be a suitable indicator of human impacts on ecosystems, as it detects trends and enables spatial mapping of human impacts.     

Biological productivity of bogs in the middle taiga subzone of Western Siberia

New experimental data on biological productivity of plant communities in oligotrophic and mesotrophic bogs of the middle taiga subzone over the past five years are presented. The relationship between net primary production and the stock of live phytomass is estimated. The stock of necromass in oligotrophic bog ecosystems increases from west to east, while the stock of live phytomass and net primary production decrease.     

Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forest trees and forest ecosystems: knowledge gaps

Atmospheric CO(2) is rising rapidly, and options for slowing the CO(2) rise are politically charged as they largely require reductions in industrial CO(2) emissions for most developed countries. As forests cover some 43% of the Earth's surface, account for some 70% of terrestrial net primary production (NPP), and are being bartered for carbon mitigation, it is critically important that we continue to reduce the uncertainties about the impacts of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forest tree growth, productivity, and forest ecosystem function. In this paper, I review knowledge gaps and research needs on the effects of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forest above- and below-ground growth and productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, water relations, wood quality, phenology, community dynamics and biodiversity, antioxidants and stress tolerance, interactions with air pollutants, heterotrophic interactions, and ecosystem functioning. Finally, I discuss research needs regarding modeling of the impacts of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forests.Even though there has been a tremendous amount of research done with elevated CO(2) and forest trees, it remains difficult to predict future forest growth and productivity under elevated atmospheric CO(2). Likewise, it is not easy to predict how forest ecosystem processes will respond to enriched CO(2). The more we study the impacts of increasing CO(2), the more we realize that tree and forest responses are yet largely uncertain due to differences in responsiveness by species, genotype, and functional group, and the complex interactions of elevated atmospheric CO(2) with soil fertility, drought, pests, and co-occurring atmospheric pollutants such as nitrogen deposition and O(3). Furthermore, it is impossible to predict ecosystem-level responses based on short-term studies of young trees grown without interacting stresses and in small spaces without the element of competition. Long-term studies using free-air CO(2) enrichment (FACE) technologies or forest stands around natural CO(2) vents are needed to increase the knowledge base on forest ecosystem responses to elevated atmospheric CO(2). In addition, new experimental protocols need to continue to be developed that will allow for mature trees to be examined in natural ecosystems. These studies should be closely linked to modeling efforts so that the inference capacity from these expensive and long-term studies can be maximized.     

湖南省碳源与碳汇变化的时序分析

在全球气候变暖的背景下,减少温室气体排放、发展低碳经济成为各地区在发展中的普遍共识。以湖南省为研究区域,以1995~2008年为研究时序,从能源消费、主要工业产品生产工艺过程、土地利用变化与牲畜管理、固体废弃物处理与废水处理和排放4个方面综合分析了碳源与碳汇的变化情况。研究表明:1995~2008年,湖南省温室气体排放总量约在220亿t（2000年）至399亿t（2008年）CO2当量之间,14 a间增长了6118%,年均增长374%;碳汇总量约在1754亿t（1995年）至2537亿t（2007年）CO2当量之间,14 a间增长了3607%,年均增长约240%;能源消费与农业部门是湖南省温室气体的主要来源,林地是湖南省碳汇的主要来源;综合碳源与碳汇变化的均衡结果,1995~2008年湖南省呈碳汇盈余状态,净碳汇在2001~2007年持续增加,14 a间增长了31.94%,年均增长2.15%     

Estimating the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the greenhouse gas balance of soils in Wales under current and future climate

The Welsh Government is committed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural systems and combat the effects of future climate change. In this study, the ECOSSE model was applied spatially to estimate GHG and soil organic carbon (SOC) fluxes from three major land uses (grass, arable and forest) in Wales. The aims of the simulations were: (1) to estimate the annual net GHG balance for Wales; (2) to investigate the efficiency of the reduced nitrogen (N) fertilizer goal of the sustainable land management scheme (Glastir), through which the Welsh Government offers financial support to farmers and land managers on GHG flux reduction; and (3) to investigate the effects of future climate change on the emissions of GHG and plant net primary production (NPP). Three climate scenarios were studied: baseline (1961–1990) and low and high emission climate scenarios (2015–2050). Results reveal that grassland and cropland are the major nitrous oxide (N₂O) emitters and consequently emit more GHG to the atmosphere than forests. The overall average simulated annual net GHG balance for Wales under baseline climate (1961–1990) is equivalent to 0.2 t CO₂e ha^?1 y^?1 which gives an estimate of total annual net flux for Wales of 0.34 Mt CO₂e y^?1. Reducing N fertilizer by 20 and 40 % could reduce annual net GHG fluxes by 7 and 25 %, respectively. If the current N fertilizer application rate continues, predicted climate change by the year 2050 would not significantly affect GHG emissions or NPP from soils in Wales.     

Analyzing the carbon dynamics of central European forests: comparison of Biome-BGC simulations with measurements

Biogeochemical models are often used for making projections of future carbon dynamics under scenarios of global change. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of the process-based biogeochemical model Biome-BGC for application in central European forests from the lowlands to upper treeline as a pre-requisite for environmental impact assessments. We analyzed model behavior along an altitudinal gradient across the alpine treeline, which provided insights on the sensitivity of simulated average carbon pools to changes in environmental factors. A second set of tests included medium-term (30 years) simulations of carbon fluxes, and a third set of tests focused on daily carbon and water fluxes. Model results were compared to aboveground biomass measurements, leaf area index recordings as well as net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and actual evapotranspiration (AET) measurements. The simulated medium-term forest growth agreed well with measured data. Also daily NEE fluxes were simulated adequately in most cases. Problems were detected when simulating ecosystems close to the upper timberline (overestimation of measured growth and pool sizes), and when simulating daily AET fluxes (overestimation of measured fluxes). The results showed that future applications of Biome-BGC could benefit much from an improvement of model algorithms (e.g., the Q₁₀ model for respiration) as well as from a detailed analysis of the ecological significance of crucial parameters (e.g., the canopy water interception coefficient).     

Agricultural adjustment,population dynamics and forests redistribution in a subtropical watershed of NW Argentina

Patterns of land-use and land-cover change are usually grouped into one of two categories defined by the dominant trend: (1) deforestation resulting from expanding agriculture and (2) forest expansion, usually related to the abandonment of marginal lands. At regional scale, however, both processes can occur simultaneously even in the absence of net change. Given the focus on net change, such redistribution of agricultural and natural and seminatural lands has been generally overlooked. The interaction between agriculture modernization, human demography and complex topographic gradients of northwestern Argentina has resulted in processes of both forest recovery and deforestation, thus providing the opportunity to analyze patterns and driving forces of land-cover redistribution. We analyzed 20 years (1986–2006) of land-cover change in a subtropical watershed in relation to topographic and demographic variables. Although net forest change represented <1 %, forests redistribution affected 7 % of forest lands. There was a consistent geographic segregation of deforestation and forest recovery, with forests expanding over steep highlands and agriculture expanding over lowland irrigated areas. Population trends were not associated to forest expansion in lowlands but they explained 32 % of forest recovery in highlands. Highland forest expansion and lowland deforestation, respectively, imply conservation opportunities for humid montane forests and the environmental services they provide (e.g., watershed conservation) and threats for the conservation of dry forests and its biodiversity. Our study exemplifies the importance of land-use redistribution (rather than net change) with relevant environmental consequences at regional scale.     

三峡库区森林植被恢复与可持续经营研究

系统的野外调查数据和历史资料分析结果表明,三峡库区森林植被在空间上发展不均匀,无明显垂直分带,且分布分散,人为干扰严重。目前,在70多个植被类型中,森林类型占25个,江岸两侧海拔800 m以下地区森林已经很少。森林类型中,马尾松、柏木林的分布面积最大,并在许多疏林中成为主要树种,主要是飞播或人工种植。库区大于25°的坡耕地占耕地面积的17.5％。库区薪炭林仅能满足农村用能总需求量的10.78％。不合理的土地利用方式和对森林的不合理砍伐导致脆弱的土壤系统和森林生态系统的严重退化、生产力下降和严重的水土流失。库区土壤年侵蚀量达到2.9亿t。三峡工程建设和移民安置对库区森林生态系统的压力和影响将是长期的。调查结果同时表明,库区植物生物多样性丰富,植物种类在5 032种以上,而且乡土树种多。分析认为,只要抓住三峡工程建设的契机,紧密结合国家天然林保护和退耕还林工程建设,充分利用良好的生物学基础,科学地封山育林,分带逐步恢复,同时,因地制宜,退耕还林,发展森林能源,建设多目标复合和多种模式并存的林业经营体系,发展经济,就能从根本上改善森林经营环境,实现森林恢复,形成合理布局的水库森林防护系统,促进三峡库区生态环境建设和可持续发展。     

Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) in Nova Scotia,Canada

Photosynthetically fixed energy from the sun, in the form of net primary production, ultimately supports the majority of life on earth. Given the importance of this energy source, we calculate the human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) for the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. We find that over 25% of potentially available production is appropriated by humans through harvest (forestry and agriculture) and land cover change. The level of appropriation in Nova Scotia is close to the global average, when methodological differences between studies are taken into account, but substantially less than in Austria and India where detailed surveys have also been conducted. Furthermore, HANPP is not distributed evenly throughout the province, but is instead concentrated in the north-central counties, where appropriation reaches 50%. We discuss the implications of these results, and the novel method used to obtain them, in the context of biophysical assessment and the species-energy hypothesis.