Indigenous land rights and deforestation: Evidence from the Brazilian Amazon

Concerns over the expropriation of and encroachment on indigenous communities' lands have led to greater formalization of these communities' rights in a number of developing countries. We study whether formalization of indigenous communities' land rights affects the rate of deforestation in both the short and medium terms. Beginning in 1995, the Government of Brazil formalized the rights of several hundred indigenous communities whose lands cover more than 40 million hectares in the Amazon region and provided support for these rights’ enforcement. We study the program's impacts using a long time-series of satellite-based forest cover data. Using both plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of formalization and matched samples of treated and comparison communities, we find no effect of these protections on satellite-based greenness measures. This is true even for communities that received support for surveillance and enforcement of these rights. Notably, we observe low counterfactual rates of deforestation on communities' lands between 1982 and 2010, suggesting that indigenous land rights programs should not uniformly be justified on the basis of their forest protection, at least in the medium term.     

Assessment of frequent cutting as a plant-community management technique in power-line corridors

Repeated cutting of vegetation at or near ground level in power-line corridors is a common practice for inhibiting tree growth and regeneration. However, few data exist on long-term community responses. In this study, we sampled 20 northern Kentucky power-line corridors and compared their seedling and sapling communities to the edges and interiors of adjacent undisturbed forests. Mean seedling and sapling density in corridors was roughly twice that of adjacent undisturbed forest interiors, suggesting that repeated cutting is not a viable method of inhibiting tree regeneration. Corridor communities were dominated byRobinia pseudoacacia (black locust) andFraxinus americana (white ash), but ordinations indicated strong similaritties among communities in corridors and adjacent forests. Many of the tree species found in adjacent forests, with the exception of a few shade-tolerant species, had highest seedling and sapling densities in corridors. Stump or root sprouting by many species appears to regenerate forests quickly after cutting. However, disturbed soil and detritus accumulations caused by management crews and their equipment may also create a large variety of microsites for seedling establishment. Because repeated cutting selects for dominance by species with highest sprout growth rates, it should not be used as the sole management technique. It may instead be used to alter the vigor, stature, and stored reserves of trees so that herbicides or other methods of tree control can be used more efficiently.     

小良热带人工窿缘桉林群落结构分析

本文分析了广东小良24龄的人工窿缘桉林的群落结构。结果表明:该群落种类简单,以矮高位芽植物和大型叶植物为主,但建群种窿缘桉不属此列,反映了其生境差的特点;乔木层植物的密度虽小,但叶面积指数大。灌木、草本层植物密度较大,却无窿缘桉幼苗;组成结构分析表明群落的乔木层结构向着简单化或稳定方向发展,而灌木层和草本层向着复杂的方向发展;该群落总的生物量为217.7t/hm~2,其中树干的积累量最大,生产上可以林分改造组建混交林。     

Timber harvest calculations on a National Forest: A case study

Harvest calculations determine sawtimber flows from public lands and are closely scruntinized by a wide spectrum of forest users. This study examines the reliability of harvest calculations on a single national forest in New Mexico Forest Service determinations of an array of variables were reviewed and evaluated. The study revealed a lack of precision in Forest Service adherence to self-imposed procedural standards governing the calculation process. Timber sales have taken place on lands where such standards prohibit harvesting and these lands have been included in annual harvest calculations. Assumptions required by a mathematical model used by the Forest Service in calculating the harvest were not followed in the subsequent implementation of the harvest level. These factors suggest that the Forest Service could have significantly over-stated annual harvest rate for the first decade. Opportunities exist to improve the calculation, and benefits realized may greatly exceed additional costs of implementation     

论湿地及其保护和利用——以洪湖湿地为例

本文阐述了湿地的定义,并以洪湖为例,从水文、土壤、生物组成和系统的功能等方面论述了湿地生态系统的特征,进而提出湿地保护和利用问题。文章最后指出:只有对湿地进行充分的保护,才能使其持续地为人类提供财富。     

清水江流域的生态环境变迁与可持续发展

清水江流域是贵州省少数民族聚居、经济落后的地区。本文通过对该流域森林资源变迁的剖析，提出保护生态环境的措施，以保证流域的可持续发展。     

林火管理经济学的研究与探讨——多种防火要素投入的最佳组合

用经济学的观点分析了多种防火要素投入时的等减灾效益与等成本曲线,研究了多种防火要素之间的相互替代与边际替代率问题,提出了多种防火要素投入时最佳组合的判据。     

Carbon emissions from land-use change: an analysis of causal factors in Chiapas, Mexico

This study examines the correlation between deforestation, carbon dioxide emissions and potential causal factors of land-use change within an area of 2.7 million ha in Chiapas, southern Mexico between 1975 and 1996. Digitized land-use maps and interpreted satellite images were used to quantify land-use changes. Geo-referenced databases of population and digitized maps of roads and topography were used to determine which factors could be used to explain observed changes in land-use. The study analyzed the relationship between carbon emissions during this period and two types of possible causal factors: “predisposing” factors that determine the susceptibility of a particular area of forest to change (slope, distance to agriculture and roads, land tenure) and “driving” factors representing the pressures for change (population density, poverty). The correlated factors were combined in risk matrices, which show the proportion of vulnerable carbon stocks lost in areas with defined social, economic and environmental characteristics. Such matrices could be used to predict future deforestation rates and provide a verifiable evidence-base for defining baseline carbon emissions for forest conservation projects. Based on the results of the analysis, two matrices were constructed, using population density as the single most important driving factor and distance from roads and distance from agriculture as the two alternatives for the predisposing factors of deforestation.     

Breeding birds in short-rotation coppices on farmland in central Sweden—the importance of Salix height and adjacent habitats

Plantations of short-rotation coppice (SRC) have a potential for being a useful measure to stop the ongoing impoverishment of farmland biodiversity by increasing structural diversity, and decreasing cultivation intensity and use of pesticides in intensively managed farmland landscapes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative importance of the structure of the plantation and composition of adjacent habitats for breeding birds in 41 SRCs (meansize±S.E.=9.4±1.6 ha). Mean number of species per ha in the SRCs was 2.8±0.3 species and there were more farmland birds (32 species, 808 territories) than forest birds (22 species, 400 territories). A major result of the present study was the strong influence of adjacent habitats on bird community composition (18 of 22 analysed species affected). There were large differences in bird communities between forest-bordered and open-bordered sites, but occurrence of residual habitats (i.e. other habitats than forest, pastures, shrub areas and arable fields) was also associated with occurrence of several species. The second factor of major importance for the bird fauna was the height of the plantations. Most species (14) were associated with tall plantations (>2 m), seven species were associated with plantations of intermediate (1–2 m) height, and six species were associated with plantations of low height (<1 m). A comparison of ecological traits between species classified as preferring SRC and species classified as avoiding SRC suggests that nest height was the only ecological character associated with a preference for Salix habitats, i.e. species with nests on the ground or in shrubs were more abundant in Salix habitats than in farmland landscapes in general. However, a broad spectrum of species was found in the SRCs and many of these seemed to be dependent on habitat features outside the plantations. Planting of Salix in intensively managed farmland plains will have positive effects on bird diversity by increasing the structural diversity of the landscape. In contrast, plantations on infields in forest-dominated landscapes will have negative effects, since the mosaic structure (i.e. mixture of open and forested habitats) positive for most farmland birds will disappear, and Salix plantations favour relatively few forest species. Additionally, Salix could be planted along sharp edges between coniferous plantations and open farmland in order to increase the complexity of the ecotone in intensively managed forest-farmland landscapes.