Deforestation and Plant Diversity of Madagascar's Littoral Forests

Abstract:  Few studies have attempted to quantify the reduction or document the floristic composition of forests in Madagascar. Thus, we focused specifically on deforestation and plant diversity in Madagascar's eastern littoral community. We used a data set of approximately 13,500 specimen records compiled from both historical and contemporary collections resulting from recent intensive inventory efforts to enumerate total plant species richness and to analyze the degree of endemism within littoral forests. Change in littoral forest cover from original to current extent was estimated using geographical information systems tools, remote sensing data (satellite imagery and low-elevation digital photography), and environmental data layers. Of the original littoral forest only 10.3% remains in the form of small forest parcels, and only 1.5% of these remaining fragments are included within the existing protected-areas network. Additionally, approximately 13% of Madagascar's total native flora has been recorded from these forests that originally occupied <1% of its total land surface, and over 25% of the 1535 plant species known from littoral forests are endemic to this community. Given the ongoing pressure from human settlement along Madagascar's eastern coast, protection of the remaining forest fragments is critical for their survival. Fifteen of the largest intact littoral forest fragments we identified, collectively representing 41.5% of remaining littoral forest, are among priority sites recommended to the government of Madagascar for plant conservation and incorporation into the protected-areas network.     

Optimisation algorithms for spatially constrained forest planning

We compared genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and hill climbing algorithms on spatially constrained, integrated forest planning problems. There has been growing interest in algorithms that mimic natural processes, such as genetic algorithms and simulated annealing. These algorithms use random moves to generate new solutions, and employ a probabilistic acceptance/rejection criterion that allows inferior moves within the search space. Algorithms for a genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, and random hill climbing are formulated and tested on a same-sample forest-planning problem where the adjacency rule is strictly enforced. Each method was randomly started 20 times and allowed to run for 10,000 iterations. All three algorithms identified good solutions (within 3% of the highest found), however, simulated annealing consistently produced superior solutions. Simulated annealing and random hill climbing were approximately 10 times faster than the genetic algorithm because only one solution needs to be modified at each iteration. Performance of simulated annealing was essentially independent of the starting point, giving it an important advantage over random hill climbing. The genetic algorithm was not well suited to the strict adjacency problem because considerable computation time was necessary to repair the damage caused during crossover.     

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Assessing the Sustainability of Freshwater Crayfish Harvesting in Madagascar

Abstract:  There is growing interest among conservation decision makers in promoting harvesting of forest products as an incentive for communities to retain forest cover. Assessments of the sustainability of existing harvests are essential for implementing such policies. Madagascar's endemic freshwater crayfish, Astacoides spp., are harvested throughout their range. Despite their importance to human communities, Madagascar's crayfish, like much of the island's freshwater biodiversity, are poorly known, and there is concern that the harvest may be unsustainable. We investigated sustainability of the crayfish harvest in and around Ranomafana National Park in eastern Madagascar, focusing on the heavily harvested A. granulimanus. Several villages around the park have traditional taboos against selling crayfish, resulting in widely varying levels of crayfish exploitation. We used two approaches to assess sustainability of the harvest. First we used participatory mapping combined with a geographic information system analysis to produce a spatially accurate map of harvesting intensity. We then carried out mark-and-recapture sampling at 74 sites across a range of harvest intensities to test whether the level of harvesting was a significant predictor of crayfish density and structure. Second, we used size-structured matrix population models to estimate the forest area necessary to provide the observed annual harvest from one harvesting village and compared this estimate with the area available to the harvesters. Our findings show that the crayfish harvest in Ranomafana may be sustainable under current socioeconomic conditions, suggesting that A. granulimanus is less vulnerable to overexploitation than previously thought. We emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to assessing sustainability involving both ecological information about the harvested species and socioeconomic data about the level and spatial pattern of the harvest.     

广州市城市森林的空间特征与发展研究

应用城市林业的基本理论和ＧＩＳ技术，广州市城区森林的空间分布以两山（白云山、越秀山）两河（珠江、流溪河）为核心，辅之公共绿地和道路绿化，形成多功能、多类型的网络式结构。近郊森林建设好风暴旅游林以及环绕卫星城镇和重点工业镇的生态公益林。远郊森林保障了“菜蓝子”工程，促进森林旅游及其相关产业的发展。     

广州白云山次生常绿阔叶林的群落结构动态

根据对广州白云山次生常绿阔叶林群落相隔６ａ的两次植被调查，分析了广州白云山次生常绿阔叶林在保护条件下，自然演变过程中的群落结构动态．群落的垂直结构变化主要以大量幼树进入第一层成树为特点；水平结构则以密度和盖度的增长为特点．在种类组成方面，６ａ前群落中居多的阳性树种现已逐渐为耐阴性较强的种类所代替．在组织结构水平上，乔木层的物种多样性指数、群落均匀度指标趋于增加，而生态优势度指标趋于降低，反映了群落向着组成结构复杂、物种多样性增高的方面演变，且前期变化速度较快，后期较慢并趋于稳定．     

紫色森林土壤发育特点的研究

本文通过对赤水紫色森林土壤发育特点的研究，总结出划分紫色森林土壤剖面的方法，解决了紫色森林土壤剖面划分不清楚，研究人员之间各自划分的结果不能对比的问题，为进一步研究紫色森林土壤打下了基础。     

中国森林资源的过去、现在与未来发展趋势

中国是少林国家。在20世纪70年代中期进行“四五”清查以前,中国只掌握一些局部性的调查数据。在1978—1981年间又进行了以省为总体的宏观抽样调查,即“五五”清查。两次清查结果很接近,但都表明中国森林太少,远低于世界平均水平和有代表性的国家。 古代中国的林区远比现在为大。森林面积则比现在大若干倍。中国缺林少材的现状是几千年来农业社会发展进程中火烧、滥伐、滥垦、滥牧的结果。其中,置森林于万劫不复的是滥垦和滥牧。这一过程至今尚未停止。 根据中国的自然条件和宜林地资源的状况,有条件大幅度扩大森林面积和增加森林蓄积量。经过努力,森林面积可达到2.53×10⁸ha,蓄积量可达到210×10⁸m³以上。都是现在的2倍多。但对保护生态环境和向国民经济提供木材和林产品来说,仍然不能完全满足需要。     

第三系红层下石林的岩溶动力学特征

区域地球化学表明 ,第三系泉水及直接被第三系覆盖的灰岩泉水的SIC在雨季小于 0 ,在旱季大于 0。在祭白龙洞 ,地表被第三系覆盖洞段滴水的暂时硬度比地表无此覆盖层的滴水小 1 .6～ 3mmol/L ,pH值也较低。第三系盖层中空气CO2 浓度为 1 0 0 0 0～ 1 4 0 0 0mg/m3,随深度下降。第三系的裂隙最大渗透张量为 0 .0 2～ 0 .0 5m/d,高于石灰岩。野外溶蚀试验结果 ,第三系盖层中石灰岩的溶蚀速率为 1 .5mg/ 1 0 0d,且垂直溶蚀速率与水平溶蚀速率相当。上述特征表明 ,较高的裂隙渗透张量及随裂隙下渗的富侵蚀性的水是石芽、石林发育的两个重要因素。这也是为什么发育好的石林常常伴随残留的小面积第三系出现的原因     

种子大小在森林更新过程中的生态学意义

就种子大小与个体发育、种群动态和群落组成、结构与动态的相互关系进行综述,着重阐述了不同大小的种子在个体发育过程中的生态学意义。