Non-timber forest products and village livelihoods in Rajasthan,India: adaptation in a changing environment

This paper presents the results of research conducted between 2009 and 2014 in the village of Khanda Sharol in the state of Rajasthan, India. Our research objective was to determine how the livelihoods of village residents have been affected by the intensification of forest use, and the resulting loss of domestic access to traditionally used forest resources. Results indicate that changes in forest cover have resulted in a loss of livelihood options for village residents. Yet rather than being victimized by environmental change processes, this paper shows how villagers have responded by partnering with public and private actors to develop a community protected forest area that is now helping villagers to meet their livelihood needs. These findings suggest that sustainable livelihoods in rural regions of India require committed and scaled approaches involving local, public, and private actors.     

乡村路网对三峡库区社区水平森林结构的影响

道路作为人为扰动介质被认为是短时空尺度森林景观演化或用途转换的主要驱动力之一,体现为明显的“通道-阻隔”效应。论文以重庆市石柱县西沱镇为例,以3期遥感影像和调研数据为基础,利用ArcGIS的缓冲叠加功能,基于路网动态变化角度,从类型、林龄、起源等主要森林结构方面分析路网变化对森林结构变化的影响。结果表明：1）研究区道路数量先增加后减少,道路质量以等外公路和村级公路的改善为主。2）道路对森林景观干扰性明显。森林从类型、起源、林龄三方面在道路缓冲区内的破碎度均高于非缓冲区内的破碎度。1992—2002年及2002—2014年两个时期相比,前一时期其他灌木林、幼龄林以及萌生林大幅减少,基本表现为道路缓冲区内减少量大于非缓冲区内减少量。后一时期乔木林、中龄林以及萌生林有所增加,其他灌木林和成熟林轻微减少,其中,乔木林在道路缓冲区内增加量大于非缓冲区内增加量,中龄林及萌生林则表现为道路缓冲区内增加量弱于非缓冲区内增加量。3）道路影响域范围内,在无政策性干预条件下,道路的增加和质量的提高很大程度上导致森林景观的退化,低级路段的消失则有助于森林景观的恢复。     

影像纹理窗口大小对山地阔叶林不同群落有效叶面积指数估测的影响

森林叶面积指数是陆地表面过程和地球系统气候模型的基本参数,更是森林结构的关键参数之一,已广泛应用于辐射、植物光合作用和降雨截流估测等方面。论文以川西南山地阔叶林5种不同群落类型为研究对象,基于地面调查的112个20 m×20 m样地和SPOT 5数据,运用5种图像处理技术,包括光谱反射率、植被指数、影像单波段纹理、简单波段比纹理和主成分纹理,提取相应影像信息,建立多元回归模型估算有效叶面积指数（LAIe）。结果表明：光谱反射率、单波段纹理参数和植被指数对LAIe估测能力相对较低,利用植被指数仅获得实测LAIe约65%的精度（R²=0.65,RMSE=0.28 m²/m²）;更为有效的是运用所有比值处理的纹理特征参数值来估测LAIe,可获得实测LAIe约74%的变异（R² =0.74,RMSE=0.20 m²/m²）;改进最理想的是利用主成分处理建立的回归模型（R²=0.85,RMSE=0.10 m²/m²）。不同群落的LAIe估测,整体上相应地优于研究区结果,其中栲群落决定系数R²更是高达0.89（RMSE=0.07 m²/m²）。对于研究区阔叶林以窗口7×7、9×9比较成功,而各群落以窗口9×9较好。因此比值处理、主成分处理的纹理特征参数引入及高空间分辨率数据的使用,能显著提高LAIe估测精度。     

中国森林碳汇的空间溢出效应与影响因素——基于大陆31个省（市、区）森林资源清查数据的空间计量分析

科学估算各地区森林碳汇量并探讨其空间关联性特征是制定差异化碳汇发展政策的重要基础。根据1988—2013年中国大陆31个省（市、区）的6次森林资源清查数据,论文利用森林蓄积量扩展法测算了各地区的森林碳汇量,进而检测和比较了省域间碳汇总量空间关联性的方向和强弱,最后运用空间计量模型分析了碳汇的溢出效应与影响因素。结果表明：1）我国的森林碳汇量整体呈上升态势,各地区间碳汇量差异明显,其中西藏、黑龙江等地区碳汇量丰富,而上海、北京等地则碳汇增长率较快;2）研究期内的Moran’s I指数整体表现为倒“S”型的波动变化特征,全国森林碳汇在省域空间分布上的差异性并不是随机的,而是具备一定关联性;3）我国森林碳汇存在显著的近邻空间溢出效应,森林资源采伐、森林受灾程度和降水量等因素对森林碳汇水平的影响显著。因此,研究认为：我国在发挥森林生态功能时,应当考虑省份间的地理区位因素,合理制定兼具差异化和协调性的森林碳汇发展政策。     

兴安落叶松林火后对土壤养分和土壤微生物生物量的影响

以大兴安岭兴安落叶松林火后不同强度(重度、中度、轻度)及未火烧区的土壤为研究对象,于火烧结束3年后(2009年)的秋季,采用氯仿熏蒸浸提法测定了不同强度火烧后土壤的微生物生物量碳(C_mic)和微生物生物量氮(N_mic),并研究其与土壤养分因子的关系。结果表明:兴安落叶松林重度火烧区的C_mic显著高于中度、轻度和未火烧区,N_mic在不同强度火烧样地间差异不显著,但在重度火烧区出现最高值。其中重度、中度、轻度和对照的C_mic平均为692.8、499.9、428.8和498.7 mg·kg^-1,而N_mic分别为70.6、55.2、50.9和54.1 mg·kg^-1。土壤含水量、土壤pH值、土壤有机碳对C_mic和N_mic的影响显著,土壤微生物生物量与土壤含水量、pH值、土壤有机碳均呈正相关。研究将为进一步开展火干扰对北方森林土壤碳平衡影响机理研究提供科学依据。     

莲花湖库区红松水源涵养林土壤水分-物理性质的空间分布特征

运用地统计学对莲花湖库区红松水源涵养林表层土壤水分-物理性质进行了空间异质性分析。研究结果表明: 土壤含水量、土壤密度、毛管孔隙度、非毛管孔隙度等因子均服从对数正态分布;毛管孔隙度最优拟合模型是球状模型,其它因子均为指数模型。土壤含水量、土壤密度、毛管孔隙度和非毛管孔隙度块金值、变程、结构比、分数维和空间自相关系数最大值分别为0.311、0.297、0.192、0.293,6.87 m、10.29 m、8.31 m、8.88 m, 0.690、0.694、0.814、0.707,1.968、1.939、1.937、1.945,0.111、0.200、0.246、0.157。可见以上4个因子空间自相关性均较强,随着空间距离的增大,其相关性逐渐减弱。其中毛管孔隙度均一性程度较高;土壤含水量空间分布形态较复杂,破碎化程度高。     

贵州省六冲关流域大气沉降和地表水化学特征

对比贵州六冲关森林小流域1992─1994年和2001─2005年2个时期穿透水沉降(TF)和地表水的化学组成,以分析大气沉降对森林小流域生物地球化学过程的影响. 结果表明:2001─2004年硫沉降量较1992─1994年有显著下降,但自2005年起硫沉降量又显著增加. 六冲关流域无机氮(尤其是NH₄+-N)沉降量较历史时期显著增加,说明贵阳市大气污染正在由硫酸型向硫酸-硝酸混合型过渡. 长期的大气沉降导致地表水中SO₄2-和NO₃-等阴离子质量浓度的增加,加剧了Ca,Mg和K等营养元素的流失,使地表水的酸中和能力在2002年为负值. 长期观测发现,地表水酸中和能力与穿透水中Ca和Mg的沉降通量密切相关,说明大气沉降已经对六冲关流域的相关生物地球化学过程造成了潜在的影响.      

Physiochemical properties influencing biomass abundance and primary production in Lake Hoare, Antarctica

The perennially ice-covered, closed basin lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys respond rapidly to environmental changes, especially climate. For the past 15 years, the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM-LTER) program has monitored the physical, chemical and biological properties of the lakes in Taylor Valley. In order to better assess the physiochemical controls on the biological process within one of these lakes (Lake Hoare), we have used vertical profile data to estimate depth-dependent correlations between various lake properties. Our analyses reveal the following results. Primary production rates (PPR) are strongly correlated to light (PAR) at 12-15 m and to soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) at 8-22 m. Chlorophyll-a (CHL) is also positively correlated to PAR at 14 m and greater depths, and SRP from 15 m and greater. This preliminary statistical analysis supports previous observations that both PAR and SRP play significant roles in driving plant growth in Lake Hoare. The lack of a strong relationship between bacterial production (BP) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an intriguing result of the analysis.     

Tradeoffs between forestry resource and conservation values under alternate policy regimes: A spatial analysis of the western Canadian boreal plains

An important element of resource management and conservation is an understanding of the tradeoffs between marketed products, such as timber, and measures of environmental quality, such as biodiversity. In this paper, we develop an integrated economic-ecological spatial optimization model that we then apply to evaluate alternate forest policies on a 560,000 km² study region of managed boreal forest in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. The integrated model incorporates dynamic forest sector harvesting, current levels of oil and gas sector development, coarse-filter or habitat-based old forest indicators, a set of empirical forest bird abundance models, and statistical models of the natural and current fire regimes. Using our integrated model, economic tradeoff curves, or production possibility frontiers, are developed to illustrate the cost of achieving coarse-filter targets by a set time (50 years) within a 100-year time horizon. We found levels of ecological indicators and economic returns from the timber industry could both be increased if spatial constraints imposed by the current policy environment were relaxed; other factors being equal, this implies current policy should be revised. We explore the production possibility frontier's relationship to the range of natural variation of old forest habitat, and show how this range can be used to guide choices of preferred locations along the frontier. We also show that coarse-filter constraints on the abundance of certain habitat elements are sufficient to satisfy some fine-filter objectives, expressed as the predicted abundances of various species of songbirds.     

Designing Climate-Smart Conservation: Guidance and Case Studies

Abstract:  To be successful, conservation practitioners and resource managers must fully integrate the effects of climate change into all planning projects. Some conservation practitioners are beginning to develop, test, and implement new approaches that are designed to deal with climate change. We devised four basic tenets that are essential in climate-change adaptation for conservation: protect adequate and appropriate space, reduce nonclimate stresses, use adaptive management to implement and test climate-change adaptation strategies, and work to reduce the rate and extent of climate change to reduce overall risk. To illustrate how this approach applies in the real world, we explored case studies of coral reefs in the Florida Keys; mangrove forests in Fiji, Tanzania, and Cameroon; sea-level rise and sea turtles in the Caribbean; tigers in the Sundarbans of India; and national planning in Madagascar. Through implementation of these tenets conservation efforts in each of these regions can be made more robust in the face of climate change. Although these approaches require reconsidering some traditional approaches to conservation, this new paradigm is technologically, economically, and intellectually feasible.