Multifaceted Value Profiles of Forest Owner Categories in South Sweden: The River Helge å Catchment as a Case Study

Forest landscapes provide benefits from a wide range of goods, function and intangible values. But what are different forest owner categories’ profiles of economic use and non-use values? This study focuses on the complex forest ownership pattern of the River Helge å catchment including the Kristianstad Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve in southern Sweden. We made 89 telephone interviews with informants representing the four main forest owner categories. Our mapping included consumptive and non-consumptive direct use values, indirect use values, and non-use values such as natural and cultural heritage. While the value profiles of non-industrial forest land owners and municipalities included all value categories, the forest companies focused on wood production, and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on nature protection. We discuss the challenges of communicating different forest owners’ economic value profiles among stakeholders, the need for a broader suite of forest management systems, and fora for collaborative planning.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-012-0374-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

企业主导生态付费模式研究——以江苏盐城国家级珍禽自然保护区为例

以江苏盐城国家级珍禽自然保护区(简称盐城保护区)为例,在问卷调查的基础上,分析了盐城保护区周边居民农药和化肥的使用对保护区生物多样性保护的潜在威胁.鉴于盐城保护区在生物多样性方面的重要性、其面临的挑战和机遇在中国众多保护区中的代表性,结合当前国际上方兴未艾的生态付费的基本思想,探讨了在盐城保护区引入私人部门主导的生态付费机制作为政府主导型生态付费机制补充形式的可能性,提出了由绿色企业对保护区周边农户直接开展生态服务付费机制的初步设计思想.     

缙云山国家级自然保护区蝴蝶生态学研究

2007年和2009年的4-9月对缙云山自然保护区蝶类资源进行了调查,共采集蝴蝶标本112种,隶属11科67属.区系分析表明,本地区蝶类资源东洋种占优势,古北种所占比例较小,具备东洋界的基本属性.结合1998-2000年统计数据,以年份为影响因子对蝴蝶群落多样性指数进行单因素方差分析,结果表明缙云山自然保护区10年来各多样性指数无显著变化,蝴蝶群落结构相对稳定.     

Distribution of Economic Benefits from Ecotourism: A Case Study of Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in China

Ecotourism is widely promoted as a conservation tool and actively practiced in protected areas worldwide. Theoretically, support for conservation from the various types of stakeholder inside and outside protected areas is maximized if stakeholders benefit proportionally to the opportunity costs they bear. The disproportional benefit distribution among stakeholders can erode their support for or lead to the failure of ecotourism and conservation. Using Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas (China) as an example, we demonstrate two types of uneven distribution of economic benefits among four major groups of stakeholders. First, a significant inequality exists between the local rural residents and the other types of stakeholder. The rural residents are the primary bearers of the cost of conservation, but the majority of economic benefits (investment, employment, and goods) in three key ecotourism sectors (infrastructural construction, hotels/restaurants, and souvenir sales) go to other stakeholders. Second, results show that the distribution of economic benefits is unequal among the rural residents inside the reserve. Most rural households that benefit from ecotourism are located near the main road and potentially have less impact on panda habitat than households far from the road and closer to panda habitats. This distribution gap is likely to discourage conservation support from the latter households, whose activities are the main forces degrading panda habitats. We suggest that the unequal distribution of the benefits from ecotourism can be lessened by enhancing local participation, increasing the use of local goods, and encouraging relocation of rural households closer to ecotourism facilities.     

艾比湖湿地土地利用/覆被-景观格局和气候变化的生态环境效应研究

借助Arc GIS与ENVI软件,以1998年、2006年和2014年遥感影像Landsat TM/OLI为数据源,得到3期艾比湖湿地自然保护区土地利用/覆被类型图.在空间尺度上将研究区分为3个特定研究单元来分析土地利用/覆被变化特征,并从景观格局和气候变化两个方面来进行生态环境效应研究.通过计算土地利用/覆被类型生态风险指数,从而获得研究区生态安全指数,最终建立艾比湖湿地自然保护区土地利用/覆被类型与生态环境之间的数量关系,并对整体及局部地区进行生态环境质量动态分析.结果表明,水域和其他(裸地和戈壁)是研究区内的优势景观类型.水域的平均斑块面积最大,水域和其他(裸地和戈壁)的最大斑块指数较高,盐碱地和其他(裸地和戈壁)的分维度指数较高,水域和其他(裸地和戈壁)的聚集度指数较大,林草地空间分布离散,破碎化程度高,连通性差.1998—2014年期间多样性指数增加,说明各景观类型所占比例趋于均衡化,作为优势景观类型的湿地对整个景观的控制作用减小,景观异质性增加.1998—2014年间,艾比湖湿地自然保护区总体生态环境指数呈逐步升高趋势,但生态环境质量的改善与恶化同时存在,并在特定研究单元上出现明显的区域分异特征.盐碱地、其他(裸地和戈壁)向湿地及荒漠向其他(裸地和戈壁)的转化是环境改善的主导因素.湿地向水域和其他(裸地和戈壁)的转变是环境恶化的主导因素.据1998—2014年的气象资料,降水量呈下降趋势,降水减少使植物存活率降低,导致植被覆盖率下降,从而影响生态环境的健康发展.另外,在分析驱动机制的基础上,建立了优选多元线性回归方程,结果表明,在景观指数和年径流量中,艾比湖湿地自然保护区生态环境指数的变化与平均斑块面积和分维度指数均呈显著相关.该研究对艾比湖湿地自然保护区土地利用合理规划管理、生态恢复和经济发展政策的制定有着非常重要的意义.     

Traditional Farming Landscapes for Sustainable Living in Scandinavia and Japan: Global Revival Through the Satoyama Initiative

Traditional, pre-industrial farming was adapted to the natural environment—topography, geology, hydrology, climate, and biota. Traditional land use systems are still to be traced in Scandinavia as an “infield/outland landscape”, and in Japan as a “Satoyama landscape.” There are obvious similarities and differences in land use—the main difference being that pasturing of cattle and sheep has been less important in Japan. These land use systems can be traced back to early sedentary settlements 1500–2500 years ago. In both regions, traditional management almost ceased in the mid-twentieth century leading to afforestation and decreased biological diversity. Today, there is in Japan a growing movement for landscape restoration and promotion of a sustainable living countryside based on local agrarian and forestry production, local energy, tourism, etc. With this background, the so-called Satoyama Initiative has been organized and introduced as a global socio-ecological project with ecosystem services for human well-being.     

Consumer response to integrated pest management and certification

This study investigated consumer awareness of integrated pest management (IPM) and the effects of two marketing strategies. Specific objectives were to find whether eastern Massachusetts farmstand and farmers' market customers purchasing sweet corn care how their food is grown, whether they are aware of IPM, whether they would prefer to buy IPM-certified sweet corn and why, and whether the marketing methods presently available to IPM-certified growers can enhance awareness of IPM. In 1993, the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture in collaboration with the IPM Program at the University of Massachusetts began a pilot IPM certification program for sweet corn and strawberries, designated ‘Partners with Nature’ (PWN). This study compared a ‘passive’ and ‘active’ PWN marketing strategy with a control that did not have any PWN publicity. The passive strategy was simply display of a PWN certificate and poster. The active strategy also included newspaper advertisements, clear labeling of corn as IPM-certified at the point of selection, a PWN sticker placed on bags of corn at payment, personally thanking customers for ‘buying our IPM-certified sweet corn’, and IPM brochures available to customers. Thirty purchasers of IPM-grown corn were interviewed at each of six farmstands and six farmers' markets.The dominant reason why customers patronize farmstands and farmers' markets was convenience. As found by other northeastern surveys, awareness of IPM was low: only 19% had heard of IPM before the survey, and only 38% of these could mention a specific method used in IPM. Although 45% of the respondents initially said that they did not care how their food is grown, 85% said that they would prefer to buy IPM-certified sweet corn after hearing a short definition. The definition gave only environmental benefits, but 74% of the customers preferring IPM-certified corn said they would buy it because it is safer or healthier. Most of the respondents claimed that they would be willing to pay 10% more for IPM-certified corn. Simply displaying an IPM poster had no significant results on consumer preference for IPM-grown produce, but active marketing significantly raised awareness of IPM and the PWN program.This study demonstrated the willingness of customers to support IPM because they believe it will have positive consequences for human health and environmental quality. It is concluded that sweet corn marketing based on IPM certification positively influenced consumer reactions to IPM; and a more extensive, diverse marketing strategy would enhance consumer awareness and support.     

甘肃国家级自然保护区旅游资源的游憩价值评估

旅游资源经济价值的量化能促进资源的合理开发和保护利用,对旅游资源价值的评估是监测旅游资源的保护与可持续开发利用效果的理论基础。以甘肃国家级自然保护区为研究对象,运用游憩费用法对甘肃国家级自然保护区旅游资源的游憩价值进行了评估,计算出其游憩总价值。这些结果可为甘肃国家级自然保护区的旅游资源管理决策和旅游资源补偿提供一定的参考。     

城口大巴山自然保护区现状及保护措施

在保护区物种资源和生态系统调查的基础上，结合保护区的实际情况和国家西部大开发生态环境保护政策，提出了保护区生物多样性保护措施。     

Potential solar radiation pattern in relation to the monthly distribution of giant pandas in Foping Nature Reserve, China

Solar radiation is an important parameter in ecological process modeling, hydrological modeling and bio-physical modeling. However, models focusing on solar radiation in relation to giant panda habitat and seasonal distribution are limited. The research aims to form spatial models of 12 month solar radiation patterns and to investigate the relation between the solar radiation patterns and the monthly distribution patterns of giant pandas. The solar radiation model of Kumar et al. was adopted for this study in Foping Nature Reserve (NR), China. By comparing twelve monthly solar radiation patterns and calculating statistics such as maximum, minimum, mean and standard deviation of the solar radiation, diversified solar radiation patterns over different months were obtained. Maximum solar radiation occurred in June and July, while minimum solar radiation occurred in December and January. The annual sum of solar radiation was 6954 MJ/m² in Foping NR. The range in solar radiation was smaller in hot months and larger in cold months. Radio tracking data of giant pandas were collected for twelve months and the ensuing maps were overlaid with the twelve-month solar radiation map to analyze the relation between the giant panda's monthly distribution and solar radiation. Our results showed that giant pandas prefer areas with lower solar radiation in warm months and select areas with higher solar radiation in cold months, which illustrates that the distribution of giant pandas is indeed affected by solar radiation. To a certain degree, it also explains the behavior of seasonal movement by giant pandas in Foping NR.