On Methods for Analyzing Ecotones of Forest Margins

A simple method for the quantitative gradient analysis of a xerotermic forest-margin ecotone is described. In this method, the mean value of the coefficient of similarity between all plots of the transect is used for estimating the rate of changes in species composition. Changes in the phytosociological spectrum are analyzed. The method adequately reflects trends in the displacement of forest species by forest-margin, steppe, and meadow species.     

Development of a Methodology for Selecting Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management: A Case Study on Participatory Assessment

This paper describes an application of multiple criteria analysis (MCA) in assessing criteria and indicators adapted for a particular forest management unit. The methods include: ranking, rating, and pairwise comparisons. These methods were used in a participatory decision-making environment where a team representing various stakeholders and professionals used their expert opinions and judgements in assessing different criteria and indicators (C&I) on the one hand, and how suitable and applicable they are to a forest management unit on the other. A forest concession located in Kalimantan, Indonesia, was used as the site for the case study. Results from the study show that the multicriteria methods are effective tools that can be used as structured decision aids to evaluate, prioritize, and select sets of C&I for a particular forest management unit. Ranking and rating approaches can be used as a screening tool to develop an initial list of C&I. Pairwise comparison, on the other hand, can be used as a finer filter to further reduce the list. In addition to using these three MCA methods, the study also examines two commonly used group decision-making techniques, the Delphi method and the nominal group technique. Feedback received from the participants indicates that the methods are transparent, easy to implement, and provide a convenient environment for participatory decision-making.     

论建立我国林木采伐远期责任法律制度

森林资源在生态系统的保护中有着多方面的功能,保护森林资源对于环境保护、经济发展和科学研究有着重要意义。我国森林资源破坏严重,其中重要原因之一就是有关森林资源保护法律中存在着许多不完善之处。本文指出我国《森林法》关于法律责任规定存在的问题,提出了违法砍伐林木者应当承担远期保护责任的立法建议。     

The Fernow Watershed Acidification Study: Ecosystem Acidification, Nitrogen Saturation and Base Cation Leaching

In 1989, a watershed acidification experiment was begun on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia, USA. Ammonium sulfate fertilizer (35.5 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹and 40.5 kg S ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) was applied to a forested watershed (WS3) that supported a 20-year-old stand of eastern deciduous hardwoods. Additions of N and S are approximately twice the ambient deposition of nitrogen and sulfur in the adjacent mature forested watershed (WS4), that serves as the reference watershed for this study. Acidification of stream water and soil solution was documented, although the response was delayed, and acidification processes appeared to be driven by nitrate rather than sulfate. As a result of the acidification treatment, nitrate solution concentrations increased below all soil layers, whereas sulfate was retained by all soil layers after only a few years of the fertilization treatments, perhaps due to adsorption induced from decreasing sulfate deposition. Based on soil solution monitoring, depletion of calcium and magnesium was observed, first from the upper soil horizons and later from the lower soil horizons. Increased base cation concentrations in stream water also were documented and linked closely with high solution levels of nitrate. Significant changes in soil chemical properties were not detected after 12 years of treatment, however.     

Conservation or Preservation? A Qualitative Study of the Conceptual Foundations of Natural Resource Management

Few disputes in the annals of US environmentalism enjoy the pedigree of the conservation-preservation debate. Yet, although many scholars have written extensively on the meaning and history of conservation and preservation in American environmental thought and practice, the resonance of these concepts outside the academic literature has not been sufficiently examined. Given the significance of the ideals of conservation and preservation in the justification of environmental policy and management, however, we believe that a more detailed analysis of the real-world use and understanding of these ideas is needed. In this paper, we describe the results of a qualitative, semantic study of the concepts of conservation and preservation undertaken in the context of the Chattahoochee National Forest (CNF), located in northern Georgia (USA). Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with scientists and north Georgia residents either interested or involved in the future management of the forest. Respondents were asked to define conservation and preservation in their own words and to indicate which approach they felt was more appropriate for the management of the CNF. Qualitative content analysis was used to elicit a set of recurring themes for each foundational concept. Taken together, these themes help to flesh out the meaning of conservation and preservation for citizens and scientists today, and illustrate the evolving nature of two of the more significant and venerable ideas animating US environmental policy and management.     

略论清代自然资源的保护与利用

清代在水土资源、林木资源、矿产资源的保护与利用等方面采取了积极有效的措施，包括开垦土地、兴修水利、发展生态农业、植树造林、加强法制、设立环保机构等。     

泵串联水灭火系统在森林防火方面的应用

现阶段为了适应国际及国内防火形势,出现了以水灭火为主要形式的灭火方式,并且在实际灭火中体现出巨大的优势.其中泵串联水灭火就是一种很好的形式.林海集团设计了一套远距离接力水泵串联供水灭火系统,尝试以手抬水泵(消防泵)接力供水的方式,从有水源的地方经过消防泵的增压,通过消防水带输送到火场,为水灭火工作提供条件,以实现水灭火.     

Organizational learning during policy implementation: lessons from U.S. forest planning

ABSTRACT

Learning is critical for land management agencies implementing new policies in the face of rapid social and ecological change. We investigated learning in the U.S. Forest Service as it implemented new planning regulations. Our research objectives were to: (1) identify collective learning processes and outcomes during this time, and (2) understand factors within the organization supporting or impeding learning. Based on participant observation and 25 interviews with planning personnel, we found evidence of collective learning on individual national forests and across the organization. Several factors helped the agency act as a ‘learning organization,’ including internal networks and tools for information sharing, and meetings for staff to exchange lessons learned. Learning was compromised by limited time and capacity, and lack of internal clarity about balancing the desire for innovation with the need to ensure legal compliance and meet deadlines. This work contributes to the empirical foundations of collective learning theory, allowing us to identify learning processes and outcomes at multiple levels in a public organization, and identifying topics for future research. Based on our exploration of organizational learning, we offer suggestions for how to effectively support learning during times of new policy implementation.     

WATER QUALITY FROM TWO SMALL FORESTED WATERSHEDS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS1

Two intermittent streams on oak-hickory watersheds in southern Illinois were gaged with a V-notched weir and sampled with an automatic water sampler. For three years data were collected on flow volume and water quality. Flow volumes show large variations between years and watersheds. Samples were analyzed for Na⁺, K⁺, Ca⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺, P, and NO^-₃. Water quality was consistently high, although there were significant differences between watersheds. A baseline for water quality has been established for comparison after one of the watersheds is clearcut at a later date.     

The role of stand history in assessing forest impacts

Air pollution, harvesting practices, and natural disturbances can affect the growth of trees and forest development. To make predictions about anthropogenic impacts on forests, we need to understand how these factors affect tree growth. In this study the effect of disturbance history on tree growth and stand structure was examined by using a computer model of forest development. The model was run under the climatic conditions of east Tennessee, USA, and the results compared to stand structure and tree growth data from a yellow poplar-white oak forest. Basal area growth and forest biomass were more accurately projected when rough approximations of the thinning and fire history typical of the measured plots were included in the simulation model. Stand history can influence tree growth rates and forest structure and should be included in any attempt to assess forest impacts.