Effects of the Surrounding Matrix on Tree Recruitment in Amazonian Forest Fragments

Abstract:  Little is known about how the surrounding modified matrix affects tree recruitment in fragmented forests. We contrasted effects of two different matrix types, Vismia - and Cecropia -dominated regrowth, on recruitment of pioneer tree species in forest fragments in central Amazonia. Our analyses were based on 22, 1-ha plots in seven experimental forest fragments ranging in size from 1 to 100 ha. By 13 to 17 years after fragmentation, the population density of pioneer trees was significantly higher in plots surrounded by Vismia regrowth than in plots surrounded by Cecropia regrowth, and the species composition and dominance of pioneers differed markedly between the two matrix types. Cecropia sciadophylla was the most abundant pioneer in fragments surrounded by Cecropia regrowth (constituting nearly 50% of all pioneer trees), whereas densities of species in Vismia -surrounded fragments were distributed more evenly. Thus the surrounding matrix had a strong influence on patterns of tree recruitment in Amazonian forest fragments.     

"一退两还"中的博弈分析与制度创新

“一退两还”即“退耕还林还草”，是我国政府在世纪之交所作出的一项旨在推进国民经济可持续发展的战略举措。本文运用博弈论的方法，通过对“一退两还”中的各个相关主体利益的思考和行为的辨析，结合分析结论，提出了对提高“一退两还”实施效果具有重要意义的制度创新思路。     

Institutions, Forest Management, and Sustainable Human Development – Experiences from India

New institutional economists have argued that there are many categories of institutions, including market and non-market institutions, which may prove economically efficient, specifically for public goods and common pool goods. The Government of India introduced a non-market community-based institution, known as Joint Forest Management (JFM), for forest management and protection in 1990. JFM is a sharing mechanism for forest planning and management based on sharing of rights and duties, control and decision-making authority over forestlands, between forest departments and local user groups. By 2001, 42 000 Village Forest Committees established under JFM were managing over 11.5 million ha forestland. These institutions have proved very useful, and have contributed to forest management as well as four aspects of sustainable human development (SHD) – ecological output, income generation, village infrastructure development, and community empowerment. In the long-term, community-based institutions will prove to be a foundation of SHD and participatory democracy.     

Seeing the wood for the trees: the role of woody resources for the construction of gender specific household cultural artefacts in non-traditional communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

There is a growing wealth of data capturing the direct-use values of the environment and recognition of forests and wild resources as representing “the poor manȁ9s overcoat”. This focus has however resulted in an emphasis on the utilitarian values of wild resources for rural livelihoods and has for the most part overlooked their cultural values. In tangent to these developments within the field of anthropology there has been increased attention directed towards the relationship between biodiversity and human diversity over the past decade. This has resulted in the recognition of what the Declaration of Belem calls an ȁ8inextricable linkȁ9 between biological and cultural diversity. The term bio-cultural diversity has been introduced as a concept denoting this link. Consequently there is a need for more elaborate assessments of the various ways in which different groups of people find value in biodiversity. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the cultural significance of wild harvested plant resources for the maintenance of two gender specific cultural artefacts for amaXhosa people in South Africa, to assess the persistence of these practices in rapidly modernizing communities. We demonstrate the endurance of these ancient cultural artefacts in present-day peri-urban communities and suggest that they point to the need for improved understanding of the significance of bio-cultural diversity. The findings of the study should not be interpreted as illustrating stagnation in the traditional past, but rather as pointing at the need for improved understanding of the significance of bio-cultural diversity in a dynamic sense.     

论长江流域生态危机与生态建设的对策

揭示了长江流域大面积山丘、水系生态系统普遍恶化,特别是中上游地区水土流失严重,以及因此而带来的一系列严重后果。根据史料、统计资料及实测成果等,分析了生态环境恶化的原因,着重研究了水土流失等生态失调现象与森林植被的紧密关系及其演变规律,探讨了进行绿色生态建设的必要性、可能性与可行性。最后提出了建设长江流域防护林体系的宏观战略和微观措施。     

Approaches to Quantitative Assessment of Biological Damage to Forest Communities under Technogenic Load

General trends in simplification of the structure and composition of forest communities in the zone of impact from the metallurgical industry are revealed. The load of toxicants is estimated from the concentrations of heavy metals in the snow and soil. The method is proposed for assessing biological damage on the basis of the main characteristics of phytocenosis, such as its species diversity and the cenotic significance of its structural components. The resultant integrated index of phytocenosis preservation (IIP _p) characterizes the degree of biological damage, and its value depends on the load of toxicants and resistance of plant communities characteristic of different natural zones.     

生态旅游区环境变化与可持续旅游发展——以张家界为例

生态旅游区在扩大接待能力，增加旅游注入的同时，不可避免地破坏了景区生态环境。既要接持更多的过夜游客，增加旅游收入，又要使旅游区生态系统维持在安全的水平上，开发建设规模多大为宜，这是许多生态旅游区亟待解决的问题。本文提出了基于环境脆弱因子的建设规模容限值计量模型，并在典型的生态旅游区张家界进行了验证。通过计算得出了在不同的建设规模条件下，张家界景区最为脆弱的环境因子-总磷含量的变化状态。实证研究表明，宾馆规模容限值模型是分析生态旅游区环境变化可持续发展的有效工具。     

Perceived Impacts of Ecotourism on Environmental Learning and Conservation: Turtle Watching as a Case Study

Using a case study, involving turtle-based ecotourism, we explore the role of ecotourism in promoting environmental learning and in sustaining conservation of nature. Mon Repos Conservation Park (an important marine turtle rookery involved in ecotourism) in Queensland, Australia, was selected for this study and visitors were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The reported on-site experiences of respondents are analysed to identify important factors that alter their stated conservation attitudes and behaviours. The impact of these factors (such as the amount of environmental education that respondents claimed they obtained, sighting of sea turtles, nationality) is quantified using regression analyses. There has been little previous quantification of such influences. The study reveals that a considerable amount of environmental knowledge is gained by visitors to Mon Repos. The ecotourism experience, involving environmental education and seeing of turtles, was found to have positive and statistically significant impacts on the visitors' stated desire and intended behaviour to protect sea turtles. The study reveals the importance of learning and the interaction of tourists with wildlife as a contributor to their pro-conservation sentiments and actions. It shows how ecotourism can support nature conservation. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Fingerprinting Global Climate Change and Forest Management Within Rhizosphere Carbon and Nutrient Cycling Processes

As one of the two Principal Subject Editors for ESPR Subject Area 1 'Terrestrial Ecology and Biology / Soil and Sediments: Toxicology-related Subjects' (see pp 287-293), the senior author and his colleague, Dr Chen, present an example of sub-category 4 'Environmental studies of pesticides, air pollution, and management strategies for forestry and plant ecosystems'. Thereby, they inform the ESPR community about the new Australian research project concerning the fingerprints of global climate change (GCC) and forest management on rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling and, subsequently, present an overview on the GCC and forest management fingerprints.