The expansion of tree-based boom crops in mainland Southeast Asia: 2001 to 2014

Over the past half century, countries of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – have witnessed increases in commercialized agriculture with rapid expansions of boom-crop plantations. We used MODIS EVI and SWIR time-series from 2001–2014 to classify tree-cover changes across MSEA and performed a supervised change detection using an upscaling approach by deriving samples from existing Landsat classifications. We used the random forest classifier and distinguished 24 classes (16 representing boom-crops) with an accuracy of 82.2%. Boom-crops occupy about 18% of the landscape (8% of which is rubber). Since 2003 74,960 km² of rubber have been planted; 70% of rubber is planted on former forest land, and 30% on low vegetation area (mainly former croplands). Timing, patterns of change, and deforestation rates, however, differ among the MSEA countries and the high spatial and temporal detail of our classification allowed us to quantify dynamics and discuss political and socio-economic drivers of change.     

Conservation and social outcomes of private protected areas

Government administered protected areas (PAs) have dominated conservation strategies, discourse, and research, yet private actors are increasingly managing land for conservation. Little is known about the social and environmental outcomes of these privately protected areas (PPAs). We searched the global literature in English on PPAs and their environmental and social outcomes and identified 412 articles suitable for inclusion. Research on PPAs was geographically skewed; more studies occurred in the United States. Environmental outcomes of PPAs were mostly positive (89%), but social outcomes of PPAs were reported less (12% of all studies), and these outcomes were more mixed (65% positive). Private protected areas increased the number or extent of ecosystems, ecoregions, or species covered by PAs (representativeness) and PA network connectivity and effectively reduced deforestation and restored degraded lands. Few PPA owners reported negative social outcomes, experienced improved social capital, increased property value, or a reduction in taxes. Local communities benefited from increased employment, training, and community-wide development (e.g., building of schools), but they reported reduced social capital and no significant difference to household income. The causal mechanisms through which PPAs influence social and environmental outcomes remain unclear, as does how political, economic, and social contexts shape these mechanisms. Future research should widen the geographical scope and diversify the types of PPAs studied and focus on determining the casual mechanisms through which PPA outcomes occur in different contexts. We propose an assessment framework that could be adopted to facilitate this process.     

城市森林大气PM2.5中水溶性无机离子沉降特征

森林被誉为"地球之肺",在防霾治污方面有其独特不可替代的作用,不同树种沉降PM_2.5的功能有很大差别.本文选取代表性城市森林——奥林匹克森林公园为研究对象,设置垂直监测塔观测大气PM_2.5的浓度垂直分布,以考察不同季节城市森林对PM_2.5中各组分的影响.在冬季、春季和夏季各采集PM_2.5样品,分析并计算PM_2.5中Na⁺、NH₄⁺、K⁺、Mg2⁺、Ca2⁺、Cl^-、NO₃^-和SO₄^2-等典型水溶性无机离子的浓度.结果表明,PM_2.5中水溶性无机离子总浓度呈规律性变化特征:冬季((56.90±27.38)μg·m-3)>春季((46.69±12.24)μg·m^-3)>夏季((23.16±8.75)μg·m^-3).其中SO₄^2-和NO₃^-浓度和占PM_2.5主要水溶性无机离子总浓度的50%以上.3个季节中,除冬季外,在春季和夏季,8种离子有明显的垂直方向上的沉降,夏季的沉降速率高于春季,但是春季由于大气颗粒物浓度高,沉降通量高于夏季.NO₃^-和SO₄^2-垂直方向的沉降量在所有可溶性无机离子中最高.植被密度、叶面积指数、气象条件等因素对于PM_2.5的沉降特征有明显影响.     

脱贫攻坚视角下森林生态产品供给有效路径选择——基于黑龙江省的实证分析

以黑龙江省为例,在脱贫攻坚视角下,选取林业产业总产值、造林面积、林业固定资产投资完成额、林业系统年末从业人数、林业产业结构比例5个有关森林生态产品供给效率的测算指标,通过DEA模型对黑龙江省2001—2017年森林生态产品供给效率进行测算,并运用Tobit模型对该效率的影响因素进行分析。结果表明:(1)黑龙江省森林生态产品供给效率的综合效率总体良好。(2)森林生态产品供给效率的综合效率与规模效率密切相关。(3)林业旅游与休闲服务收入比重和林业生态建设实际到位金额与供给效率显著正相关,而火灾次数与供给效率显著负相关。     

天保、退耕工程与环境可持续发展的关系

天然林保护、退耕还林还草工程是人类生存哲学的革新,是可持续发展思维方式的具体实践。其目的在于改善人类生存环境,达到人和环境的协调统一,实现人类与环境的可持续发展。探讨了两大工程顺利推进并充分发挥生态效益的因素：（1）加强生态文明建设;（2）坚持生态效益优先原则;（3）加强恢复生态学基础理论研究,制定科学的工程评估和监测标准;（4）建立和完善生态补偿机制;（5）完善工程机构建设;（6）完善生态环境保护的法律、法规及办法。     

Technical efficiency analysis of the conversion of cropland to forestland program in Jiangxi,Shaanxi, and Sichuan

Conversion of Cropland to Forestland Program (CCFP) has greatly impacted China’s agricultural sector, and more specifically rural farmers. While changes in living standards as a result of the implementation of the CCFP have been analyzed, little research has been conducted regarding the impacts of such policies on farming operations. As agriculture contributes nearly 10% of national GDP, it is important to analyze the implications of policies on a national industry. An input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was used to examine the technical efficiency of farming operations following implementation of the CCFP, using survey data from farmers in Jiangxi, Shaanxi, and Sichuan provinces. Additionally, the impact of factors such as urbanization, age and education, and land fragmentation was examined with respect to farming operational efficiency. Scale inefficiency was found to have the greatest effect on overall inefficiency in farming operations in comparison to pure technical inefficiency, which was largely influenced by the presence and degree of land fragmentation of land holdings. Findings can be used to inform national land-use policies facilitating land fragmentation in China and address gaps in existing broader level studies that utilize non-parametric approaches to examine the technical efficiency of Chinese farmers affected by the CCFP.     

Forest Health,Collective Behaviors,and Management

This study compares community-based managed forests under different purposes of management, namely, state-driven conservation or community-designed utilization in two villages located in the Sopsai watershed, Nan Province, northern Thailand. The forest health under different intensity of uses is assessed in association with the collective behaviors and long-term purposes embedded in village social–cultural context. The study found no significant differences in forest succession and proportion in diameter at 1.3 m (dbh) class and height-class distribution of the forest under different use intensity. The forest for utilization also showed higher density and basal area of the local preferred species than the conservation forest. In the utilization forest, we also found a higher number of multipurpose and preferred species than in the conservation forest, which actually responded to the needs of the community in the long term to have more wood products (both firewood and timbers). The community-based forest management (CBFM) for utilization can also lead to natural regeneration and biodiversity similar to conservation forests. Through CBFM, forest resources can be managed to maintain the healthy condition under different intensities and respond to both community needs and external expectation. The findings also emphasize the importance of recognizing community needs and management objectives in watershed restoration and improving the productivity of forests under collective management.     

Land-Use Systems and Resilience of Tropical Rain Forests in the Tehuantepec Isthmus,Mexico

Land-cover types were analyzed for 1970, 1990 and 2000 as the bases for determining land-use systems and their influence on the resilience of tropical rain forests in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, Mexico. Deforestation (DR) and mean annual transformation rates were calculated from land-cover change data; thus, the classification of land-use change processes was determined according to their impact on resilience: a) Modification, including land-cover conservation and intensification, and b) Conversion, including disturbance and regeneration processes. Regeneration processes, from secondary vegetation under extensive use, cultivated vegetation under intensive use, and cultivated or induced vegetation under extensive use to mature or secondary vegetation, have high resilience capacity. In contrast, cattle-raising is characterized by rapid expansion, long-lasting change, and intense damages; thus, recent disturbance processes, which include the conversion to cattle-raising, provoke the downfall of the traditional agricultural system, and nullify the capacity of resilience of tropical rain forest. The land-use cover change processes reveal a) the existence of four land-use systems (forestry, extensive agriculture, extensive cattle-raising, and intensive uses) and b) a trend towards the replacement of agricultural and forestry systems by extensive cattle-raising, which was consolidated during 1990–2000 (DR of evergreen tropical rain forest=4.6%). Only the forestry system, which is not subject to deforestation, but is affected by factors such as selective timber, extraction, firewood collection, grazing, or human-induced fire, is considered to have high resilience (2 years), compared to agriculture (2–10 years) or cattle-raising (nonresilient). It is concluded that the analysis of land-use systems is essential for understanding the implications of land-use cover dynamics on forest recovery and land degradation in tropical rain forests.     

Factors affecting private forest landowner interest in ecosystem management: linking spatial and survey data

Many factors influence forest landowner management decisions. This study examines landowner decisions regarding participation in ecosystem management activities, such as a landscape corridor cutting across their private lands. Landscape corridors are recognized worldwide as an important tool in biodiversity conservation. For ecosystem management activities to occur in areas dominated by a multitude of small private forest landholdings, landowner participation and cooperation is necessary. Data from a survey of landowners combined with an analysis of their land's spatial attributes is used to assess their interest in ecosystem management. Results suggest that spatial attributes are not good predictors of an owner's interest in ecosystem management. Other factors such as attitudes and opinions about the environment are more effective in explaining landowner interest. The results have implications for any land manager using GIS data and implementing ecosystem management activities on private forestland.