Carbon sinks and sources in China's forests during 1901-2001

This paper reports the annual carbon (C) balance of China's forests during 1901-2001 estimated using the Integrated Terrestrial Ecosystem C-budget model (InTEC). Annual carbon source and sink distributions are simulated for the same period using various spatial datasets including land cover and leaf area index (LAI) obtained from remote sensing, soil texture, climate, forest age, and nitrogen deposition. During 1901-1949, China's forests were a source of 21.0+/-7.8 Tg C yr(-1) due to disturbances (human activities). Its size increased to 122.3+/-25.3 Tg C yr(-1) during 1950-1987 due to intensified human activities in the late 1950s, early 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. The forests became large sinks of 176.7+/-44.8 Tg C yr(-1) during 1988-2001, owing to large-scale plantation and forest regrowth in previously disturbed areas as well as growth stimulation by nondisturbance factors such as climatic warming, atmospheric CO(2) fertilization, and N deposition. From 1901 to 2001, China's forests were a small carbon source of 3.32 Pg C, about 32.9+/-22.3 Tg C yr(-1). The overall C balance in biomass from InTEC generally agrees with previous results derived from forest inventories of China's forests. InTEC results also include C stock variation in soils and are therefore more comprehensive than previous results. The uncertainty in InTEC results is still large, but it can be reduced if a detailed forest age map becomes available.     

Radiocaesium accumulation in stemwood: integrated approach at the scale of forest stands for contaminated Scots pine in Belarus

Twenty years after the Chernobyl accident, root uptake from the surface layers of contaminated forest soils plays a major role in radiocaesium ((137)Cs) transfer to the trees and accumulation in perennial compartments, including stemwood. Trustworthy long-term predictions (modelling) of stemwood contamination with (137)Cs should accordingly be based on a reliable picture of this source-sink relationship. Considering the complexity of the processes involved in (137)Cs cycling in forest stands, elementary ratios like transfer factors (TF) were shown to be not very relevant for that purpose. At the tree level, alternatives like the wood immobilisation potential (WIP) have therefore been proposed in order to quantify the current net (137)Cs accumulation in stemwood. Our objective was here to compare WIP values determined for a series of contaminated forest stands in Belarus with the corresponding pools of (137)Cs available in the soil for root uptake. The comparison reveals that both indices are quite proportional, whatever the forest ecosystem features. This corroborates the relevancy of WIP as an indicator of the current (137)Cs root uptake by the trees, which could accordingly help to improve the existing models of (137)Cs cycling and the long-term management of contaminated forest ecosystems.     

An integrated approach to modeling resource utilization for rural communities in developing countries

Resource consumption in developing countries has been the focus of a considerable amount of research. What has been understudied however, has been the feedback affects of resource consumption on resource availability to both households and communities. Heavy reliance on natural resources and intensive smallholder agriculture common to many rural communities in developing countries has forced people to fulfill short-term needs to the detriment of long-term ecological and livelihood sustainability. This paper introduces a conceptual framework to examine how individuals and households fulfill daily caloric needs and the aggregate effects on resource availability and consumption. Data were collected from a large number of published case studies of rural land-use dynamics, growth and yield models, and human livelihoods were reviewed from scientific journals, reports published by NGOs, and government reports. Using inputs defined by the user, the model tracks annual fuelwood and agricultural land use based on meeting individual energy demands. A case-study-based analysis was patterned after smallholder agriculturalists at the family and community level. Three scenarios are presented in this paper using data from Uganda to illustrate the application of this model.     

Implementing Participatory Decision Making in Forest Planning

Forest policy decisions are often a source of debate, conflict, and tension in many countries. The debate over forest land-use decisions often hinges on disagreements about societal values related to forest resource use. Disagreements on social value positions are fought out repeatedly at local, regional, national, and international levels at an enormous social cost. Forest policy problems have some inherent characteristics that make them more difficult to deal with. On the one hand, forest policy decisions involve uncertainty, long time scales, and complex natural systems and processes. On the other hand, such decisions encompass social, political, and cultural systems that are evolving in response to forces such as globalization. Until recently, forest policy was heavily influenced by the scientific community and various economic models of optimal resource use. However, growing environmental awareness and acceptance of participatory democracy models in policy formulation have forced the public authorities to introduce new participatory mechanisms to manage forest resources. Most often, the efforts to include the public in policy formulation can be described using the lower rungs of Arnstein’s public participation typology. This paper presents an approach that incorporates stakeholder preferences into forest land-use policy using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). An illustrative case of regional forest-policy formulation in Australia is used to demonstrate the approach. It is contended that applying the AHP in the policy process could considerably enhance the transparency of participatory process and public acceptance of policy decisions.     

杉木人工林生态系统可燃物空间分布规律研究

在国家野外科学观测研究站-会同生态站的集水区中设置固定标准地,利用标准地和生物量调查数据,对杉木人工林的可燃物负荷量空间分布规律进行了研究,结果表明:杉木人工林生态系统的自然整枝能力较差,细小可燃物的空间分布均匀,易燃可燃物连续性好;含水率以近地面的最小;11年生的杉木人工林生态系统的枯死枝叶的总负荷量高达0.198 t.hm-2,分布于0～1.5 m的空间层中,这种均匀的空间分布规律为树冠火的发生创造了条件,从而加大了杉木人工林生态系统的火险性.建议在杉木人工林生态系统的经营过程中,要加强人工整枝,改变可燃物的空间分布;减少易燃可燃物的数量,降低森林的燃烧性;对于枯死枝叶可采取人工和计划烧除的措施进行清理.     

北京西山国家森林公园中空气负离子浓度与气象因子的相关性研究

空气负离子(Negative air ions,NAI)是城市空气质量的重要指标之一,揭示城市森林释放NAI的影响机制,有助于充分利用NAI的净化作用及保健作用,并判断空气质量.利用北京西山国家森林公园2017年9月—2018年8月的NAI和气象数据,深入探究不同季节条件下和典型天气下影响空气负离子浓度(NAIC)的气...     

Gaseous mercury fluxes from the forest floor of the Adirondacks

The flux of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg⁰) from the forest floor of the Adirondack Mountains in New York (USA) was measured numerous times throughout 2005 and 2006 using a polycarbonate dynamic flux chamber (DFC). The Hg flux ranged between −2.5 and 27.2 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ and was positively correlated with temperature and solar radiation. The measured Hg emission flux was highest in spring, and summer, and lowest in winter. During leaf-off periods, the Hg emission flux was highly dependent on solar radiation and less dependent on temperature. During leaf-on periods, the Hg emission flux was fairly constant because the forest canopy was shading the forest floor. Two empirical models were developed to estimate yearly Hg⁰ emissions, one for the leaf-off period and one for the leaf-on period. Using the U.S. EPA's CASTNET meteorological data, the cumulative estimated emission flux was approx. 7.0 μg Hg⁰ m⁻² year⁻¹.     

A Watershed-Scale Model for Predicting Nonpoint Pollution Risk in North Carolina

The Southeastern United States is a global center of freshwater biotic diversity, but much of the regions aquatic biodiversity is at risk from stream degradation. Nonpoint pollution sources are responsible for 70% of that degradation, and controlling nonpoint pollution from agriculture, urbanization, and silviculture is considered critical to maintaining water quality and aquatic biodiversity in the Southeast. We used an ecological risk assessment framework to develop vulnerability models that can help policymakers and natural resource managers understand the impact of land cover changes on water quality in North Carolina. Additionally, we determined which landscape characteristics are most closely associated with macroinvertebrate community tolerance of stream degradation, and therefore with lower-quality water. The results will allow managers and policymakers to weigh the risks of management and policy decisions to a given watershed or set of watersheds, including whether streamside buffer protection zones are ecologically effective in achieving water quality standards. Regression analyses revealed that landscape variables explained up to 56.3% of the variability in benthic macroinvertebrate index scores. The resulting vulnerability models indicate that North Carolina watersheds with less forest cover are at most risk for degraded water quality and steam habitat conditions. The importance of forest cover, at both the watershed and riparian zone scale, in predicting macrobenthic invertebrate community assemblage varies by geographic region of the state.     

旅游对张家界国家森林公园土壤酶及微生物作用强度的影响

为了探明旅游对张家界国家森林公园土壤生物性状的影响,为保护土壤生态平衡,合理开发生态旅游提供理论依据,进行了旅游人为踩踏对土壤酶及微生物作用强度的影响研究。结果表明:背景区土壤的酶活性>缓冲区土壤的酶活性>活动区土壤的酶活性。背景区土壤的氨化作用强度与微生物活度>缓冲区土壤的氨化作用强度与微生物活度>活动区土壤的氨化作用强度与微生物活度,而硝化作用强度的变化则正相反。旅游显著影响了0～5cm土壤的酶活性及微生物作用强度;在5～15cm土壤和15～25cm土壤层中,背景区和缓冲区的酶活性和微生物作用强度差异不显著,而与活动区的差异显著。有机质分解相关的微生物氨化作用强度、纤维素酶活性、木聚糖酶活性、蛋白酶活性的影响主要是由于土壤有机质的投入减少而造成,而硝化作用强度则主要与踩踏引起的土壤板结造成亚硝酸盐的积累有关,踩踏严重,硝化作用强度大。不同土壤层的微生物作用强度及酶活性强弱是:0～5cm土壤>5～15cm土壤>15～25cm土壤。张家界国家森林公园土壤微生物作用强度及酶活性受到了人为踩踏的破坏,生态系统抵御外界干扰的能力也受到了旅游活动的破坏。