Diameter growth models for mixed-species stands of Coastal British Columbia including thinning and fertilization effects

In this study, diameter growth models for three species growing in mixed-stands of Coastal British Columbia (BC), Canada, under a variety of silvicultural treatments were developed. The three species were: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn). A Box and Lucas model (1959) was initially fitted to the diameter growth series for each tree, as this model is very flexible and was based on processes reflective of the metabolic processes governing tree growth. Next, a random coefficients modelling approach (i.e., parameter prediction approach) was used to modify the estimated parameters for each species using functions of tree size and stage of development, site productivity, and inter-tree competition variables, while accounting for temporal correlation within trees. Impacts of fertilization on diameter growth were estimated by including the time since fertilization as an additional variable. Since state variables that are changed as a result of thinning were already in the model, accurate results post-thinning were obtained with no changes to the model. For the combined effects of thinning and fertilization, a two-step additive approach was used, where the state variables were changed following thinning and the diameter increment was modified for fertilization using the time since fertilization variable. Results indicated that multiple treatments sustain a change in growth for a longer time period following treatment than thinning or fertilization alone.     

Grass feedbacks on fire stabilize savannas

Savannas commonly consist of a discontinuous cover of overstory trees and a groundcover of grasses. Savanna models have previously demonstrated that vegetation feedbacks on fire frequency can limit the density of overstory trees, thereby maintaining savannas. Positive feedbacks of either savanna trees alone or trees and grasses together on fire frequency have been shown to result in a stable savanna equilibrium. Grass feedbacks on fire frequency, in contrast, have resulted in stable equilibria in either a grassland or forest state, but not in a savanna. These results, however, were derived from a system of differential equations that assumes that fire occurrence is strictly deterministic and that vegetation losses due to fire are continuous in time. We develop an alternative formulation of the grass-fire feedback model that assumes that fires are discrete and occur stochastically in time to examine the influence of these assumptions on the predicted state of the system. We show that incorporating fire as a discrete event can produce a recurring temporal refuge in which both grass and trees co-occur in a stable, bounded savanna. In our model, tree abundance is limited without invoking demographic bottlenecks in the transition from fire-sensitive to fire-resistant life history stages. An increasing strength of grass feedback on fire results in regular, predictable fires, which suggests that the system can also be modeled using a set of difference equations. We implement this discrete system using modified Leslie/Gower difference equations and demonstrate the existence of a bounded savanna state in this model framework. Our results confirm the potential for grass feedbacks to result in stable savannas, and indicate the importance of modeling fire as a discrete event rather than as a loss rate that is continuous in time.     

Forests in common: Learning from diversity of community forest arrangements in Europe

Europe has a wealth of community forest arrangements. This paper aims to transcend the diversity of locally specific terms and forms, to highlight the value of considering them inclusively. Building on methods to make sense of diversity, we use reflexive grounded inquiry in fifteen cases in Italy, Scotland, Slovenia and Sweden. Within four dimensions (forest, community, relationships between them, and relationships with wider society), we identify 43 subdimensions to describe them collectively. Our approach shows how European arrangements contribute to wider discourses of collective natural resource management. Both tradition and innovation in Europe inform options for environmental governance. Arrangements challenge the distinction between ‘communities of place’ and ‘communities of interest’, with implications for social and environmental justice. They exemplify multilevel environmental governance through both vertical and horizontal connections. Emerging from long histories of political and environmental pressures, they have a role in enhancing society’s connection with nature and adaptive capacity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01377-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.     

Socioeconomic changes and environmental policies as dimensions of regional land transitions in the Atlantic Forest,Brazil

The industrialization of the Paraíba Valley, Brazil has been driven since the 1950s by an intense urbanization process, while municipalities located far from the valley's economic center stagnated. Despite the economic differences and unequal population distribution in the region, the municipalities share similar topographic characteristics with a predominance of hilly terrains. The depletion of the soils' productive capacity after numerous land use cycles without adequate management practices was a common cause of land use abandonment. This research analyzes land use/cover data, environmental policies, census-based data, and interviews with stakeholders, to understand the factors that account for a forest transition in the Paraíba Valley where gains in forest cover more than offset any remaining deforestation. Local conditions, such as topography, land use history, environmental policies, engagement of society in complying with legal regulations, commodity markets, and the action of enforcement agencies, represent dimensions which, combined, have boosted forest transitions.     

就森林资源谈林副产品加工专业的发展前景

本文通过对国内外森林资源利用概况及我校林副产品加工专业的现状分析,阐述了该专业的发展前景。     

南岳森林群落生物多样性研究(Ⅷ)——藏经殿森林群落学特征

南岳藏经殿森林群落内有维管束植物63科、102属、129种,属可以划分为以北温带、泛热带和东亚为主的13种分布类型。各占总属数的22.73％、21.59％和17.05％,总的情况是温性质为主,热带性质成分为辅:种可以划分为18种分布类型,其中以华夏、东亚和中国一日本为主,具有明显的“华东—华中”区系过渡性质。群落木本植物和草本植物各占65.12％和34.88％,在木本植物中,常绿成分和落叶成分各占32.15％和67.95％,群落可明显划分为乔、灌、草三层,它是一种尚未报道过的新群落类型。即包石栎—锐齿槲栎—甜槠+箬竹+求米草群丛,在更新演替过程中、群落仍将保持常绿落叶阔叶混交林性质,其优势种,亚优势种很可能会枝云和新木姜、尾叶山茶、山姜、多脉青冈、雷公鹅耳枥和长叶石栎等取代。     

Extending the EU Renewable Energy Directive sustainability criteria to solid bioenergy from forests

Solid bioenergy from forests plays — and is expected to continue to play — a key role to fulfil the renewable energy targets at the European Union level. When the Renewable Energy Directive was enacted, sustainability criteria were incorporated solely for biofuels and bioliquids. Sustainability criteria for solid bioenergy are also needed in order to prevent wood and primary forest residues from posing additional environmental risks to ecosystems. Acknowledging this, the European Commission has been working on extending the biofuels and bioliquids provisions to solid biomass. An internal draft was circulated in August 2013 which addressed the ways to both balance and mitigate the risks in three main topics: biodiversity; sustainable forest management; and greenhouse gases. This paper presents a set of criteria and indicators, developed during workshops with experts from Governments, scientific institutions, businesses and NGOs, that may be considered by the EU to assure that solid biomass from forests is obtained in an environmentally sustainable way.     

退耕还林工程驱动下的土地利用变化合理性研究——以云南芒市为例

以滇西南中低山盆谷区的芒市为例,在探讨土地利用变化合理度的概念和内涵并构建土地利用变化合理度的评价指标、测算方法和分级标准体系基础上,定量地分析评价了芒市近8 a来退耕还林工程驱动下各个地类变化的合理度和总体土地利用变化的合理度,为推进山区土地资源的可持续利用和退耕还林工程的科学实施提供基础依据。评价结果表明,全市近8 a所有地类转化的总面积为77 602.80 hm²,转化的合理度(RD值)只有48.98%,属于"中度不合理"级。总体上,芒市近8 a来退耕还林工程驱动下的土地利用变化,既有合理的部分,如部分陡坡耕地的生态退耕、荒山造林和封山育林等,但其不合理性亦非常突出,主要体现在生态退耕地中约96%属于"不该退"的宜耕地。此外,在实施退耕还林工程的同时,却又出现较为突出的毁林开垦现象。这些问题的突出存在,使芒市近8 a土地利用变化的合理性程度很低。     

Modeling net primary production of a fast-growing forest using a light use efficiency model

As interest grows in the quantification of global carbon cycles, Light Use Efficiency (LUE) model predictions of the forest net primary production (NPP) are being developed at an accelerating rate. Such models can provide useful predictions at large scales, but evaluating their performance has been difficult. In this study, a remote sensing-based LUE model was established to estimate forest NPP. Using the forest inventory data (FID) from the regional forest inventory survey in China and established allometric biomass equations, we calculated the biomass, the biomass increment, and the NPP of Eucalyptus urophylla (E. urophylla) plantation plots in the forestry jurisdiction of the Leizhou Forestry Bureau, Southern China. The FID-based NPP and the NPP from LUE model predictions were then compared to each other. Results show that the NPP from model predictions at a spatial resolution of 30 m × 30 m varied from 0 to 265 gC/(m² month) and showed regional differences. In addition, the stand age had variable effects on the average individual biomass of the E. urophylla plantation plots. The average individual biomass of the young and mid-age forests increased exponentially and logarithmically with the stand age (R² = 0.9178 and R² = 0.8683), respectively. For young and mid-age E. urophylla plantation plots, the LUE model-predicted NPP was fairly consistent with the FID-based NPP, but the model predictions of the NPP were higher than the estimates from FID. Through the analysis of the causes of uncertainty and the possible reasons for the discrepancy between the model-based NPP and FID-based NPP, the FID-derived estimates provided a foundation for model evaluation.