The Economic Consequences of Alien Plant Invasions: Examples of Impacts and Approaches to Sustainable Management in South Africa

The invasion of natural ecosystems by alien plants is a serious environmental problem that threatens the sustainable use of benefits derived from such ecosytems. Most past studies in this field have focussed on the history, ecology and management of invasive alien species, and little work has been done on the economic aspects and consequences of invasions. This paper reviews what is known of the economic consequences of alien plant invasions in South Africa. These economic arguments have been used to successfully launch the largest environmental management programme in Africa.Ten million hectares of South Africa has been invaded by 180 alien species, but their impacts are not fully understood, although they are undoubtedly significant. The indications are that the total costs of these impacts are substantial. Selected studies show that invasions have reduced the value of fynbos ecosystems by over US$ 11.75 billion; that the total cost of invasion would be about US$ 3.2 billion on the Agulhas Plain alone; that the net present cost of invasion by black wattles amounts to US$ 1.4 billion; that invasions by red water fern have cost US$ 58 million; and that the cost to clear the alien plant invasions in South Africa is around US$ 1.2 billion. These few examples indicate that the economic consequences of invasions are huge.One of the unique aspects of invasive plant control programmes in South Africa has been the ability to leverage further benefits (mainly through employment) for the expensive control programmes from the government's poverty relief budget. This has made it possible to allocate substantial funding to a programme that would otherwise have struggled to obtain significant support. Biological control of invasive species also offers considerable benefits, but is often the subject of debate. We believe that, at least in the case of many invasive alien plant species in South Africa, biological control offers one of the best, and most cost-effective, interventions for addressing the problem.     

3D打印技术在固体废弃物资源循环中的应用

打印材料是限制3D打印技术发展和推广应用的瓶颈问题,目前已经发现部分固体废弃物与3D打印的契合度很高,可以用于制备3D打印材料.本文综述了4类可以用于3D打印的固体废弃物,包括硅铝基废弃物、农林废弃物、废旧塑料和废旧金属,着重讨论了这4类废弃物制备3D打印材料的方法以及废弃物的添加对原打印材料造成的影响,同时分析了当前...     

关于建设高效林业的对策

本文讨论了高效林业的概念、特点及其内容,提出了建设原则与措施。     

A landscape ecological approach to countryside planning

Extensive losses of semi‐natural rural biotopes have led to pressures for conservation and habitat creation. Of particular concern is the loss of large‐scale structure and regional distinctiveness. If this is to be regained, planners will require both an effective body of theory relating to large‐scale visual and ecological cohesion, and effective methods of implementation. This study reviews the value of landscape ecology as a theoretical framework and discusses some applications, with particular reference to the re‐forestation of lowland Britain.     

西藏阿里地区的林业资源及其发展方向探讨

该文对西藏阿里地区林业资源的类型、数量、质量特征和生产现状进行了深入分析,同时,探讨了该地区林业生产存在的“资源结构简单、后续资源极端贫乏;资源分布不均,水平和垂直分异突出;宜林荒山荒地资源面积大,造林任务艰巨、生态环境破坏严重”等主要问题,提出了如下的对策和建议:①健全林业行政管理体制,加强林业资源管理;②节省薪柴,保护生态环境;③实行林地承包制,大力兴办林业;④加强林业科技投入,以科技兴林,走林业可持续发展之路。     

樟子松人工防风固沙林放牧资源的初步分析

本文通过测定樟子松防风固沙林草地植物产量,对草本植物生物产量的季节动态及林分密度对草本植物产量的影响作了定性和定量分析。此外,还采用牧草产量法对章古台樟子松固沙林可牧资源生产潜力进行了初步评价。     

热带林业实验中心森林病虫害防治对策

林病虫害已成为林业发展的一大难题,对中国林科院热带林业实验中心森林病虫害类型、危害特点等进行分析,并提出了具体有效防治措施与方法.参6.     

浅析相关因子对空气负离子水平的影响

空气负离子是一种重要的森林旅游资源，其保健功能迎合了人们追求生态健康的旅游心理．论文着重对其影响因素进行分析，借助于SPSS统计软件对若干因子进行一元回归分析．在分析结果的基础上，对森林旅游地有关保健设施的规划和设计提供一定的建议。     

Effects of New Forestry Practices on Rare Epiphytic Macrolichens

Abstract:  The preservation of key habitats is included in modern forest-management practices as one of the main means to preserve biodiversity in northern European production forests. I examined the distribution patterns and persistence of occurrence of rare epiphytic macrolichens in a predominantly unprotected forest landscape with an area of 278 km² in southern Finland. Occurrence data of macrolichens in two key habitats, rock outcrops and mires, were compared with data from production forests. The density of populations of rare macrolichens was 50-fold higher on rock outcrops and 25-fold higher on mires than in production forests. Most rare species of epiphytic macrolichens were found only in key habitats. In modern, intensively managed forest landscapes, rock outcrops appeared to represent the main habitats for rare macrolichens as a result of the long-term continuity of old trees. Most macrolichen occurrences represented very small populations with a high extinction risk. Of the populations found in 1989–1995 in key habitats, 51% had disappeared, by 2000–2001, mainly as a result of forestry activities. The disappearance of populations significantly exceeded the rate of establishment of new populations. My results emphasize the importance of key habitats for declining forest species. There is also a need to improve and sharpen the guidelines for delimiting and managing key habitats in order to halt the continued decline of epiphytic macrolichens.     

Carbon Monitoring Costs and their Effect on Incentives to Sequester Carbon through Forestry

Technically, forestry projects have thepotential to contribute significantly tothe mitigation of global warming, but manysuch projects may not be economicallyattractive at current estimates of carbon(C) prices. Forest C is, in a sense, a newcommodity that must be measured toacceptable standards for the commodity toexist. This will require that credible Cmeasuring and monitoring procedures be inplace. The amount of sequestered C that canbe claimed by a project is normallyestimated based on sampling a number ofsmall plots, and the precision of thisestimate depends on the number of plotssampled and on the spatial variability ofthe site. Measuring C can be expensive andhence it is important to select anefficient C-monitoring strategy to makeprojects competitive in the C market. Thispaper presents a method to determinewhether a forestry project will benefitfrom C trading, and to find the optimalmanagement strategy in terms of forestcycle length and C-monitoring strategyA model of an Acacia mangiumplantation in southern Sumatra, Indonesiais used to show that forestry projects canbe economically attractive under a range ofconditions, provided that the project islarge enough to absorb fixed costs.Modeling results indicate that between 15and 38 Mg of Certified Emission Reductions(CERs) per hectare can be captured by thesimulated plantation under optimalmanagement, with optimality defined asmaximizing the present value of profitsobtained from timber and C. The optimalcycle length ranged from 12 to 16 years andthe optimal number of sample plots rangedfrom 0 to 30. Costs of C monitoring (inpresent-value terms) were estimated to bebetween 0.45 (Mg C)^-1 to 2.11 (MgC)^-1 depending on the spatialvariability of biomass, the variable costsof C monitoring and the discount rate.