Barriers Beyond the Partners: Bureaucratic and Political Constraints to Implementing Joint Forest Management in Tamil Nadu,India

Whereas past research has treated co-management of common pool resources as if villagers and project implementing authorities were the only relevant actors, numerous external factors beyond the control of these two partners create barriers to successful co-management. This paper draws on discussions with Forest Department officials to examine the influence of these forces on the outcomes of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in Tamil Nadu, India. An empirical inquiry into the operational aspects of JFM indicates the important roles of political parties, powerful people, and other state institutions and functionaries as well as the flow of foreign funding. Further, the strong demand by local people for socio-economic development interventions as opposed to improvement of degraded forests belittles the role of the Forest Department relative to other departments. Numerous other conditioning factors and relationships are explored. The authors call for reforms in public governance to allow better participation of all the actors involved for this participatory management approach to succeed and sustain.     

Paleoecology and dynamics of forest ecosystems in Central Evenkia during the past 2400 years

New data on the composition of surface assemblages of plant macroremains from soil and swamp samples have been obtained in the study of geomorphologically different localities in the middle reaches of the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River. The results of paleocarpological analysis of forest soil sections supported by relevant palynological and geochronological data are presented. Natural changes of the forest cover over the past 2400 years and quantitative characteristics of the paleoclimate during each stage are described.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 1, 2005, pp. 3–10.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Koshkarova, Koshkarov.     

基于RF-LSTM的鸡舍恶臭气体预测研究

以鸡舍氨气为研究对象,对鸡舍氨气预测模型进行了研究.首先,利用随机森林算法（RF）对影响鸡舍氨气浓度的环境变量进行重要性排序,选取温度、湿度、光照、气象温度、降雨量作为模型的输入变量;在此基础上,构建了基于长短时记忆神经网络（LSTM）的鸡舍氨气浓度预测模型,并将提出的预测模型应用于江苏省宜兴市某养鸡场的氨气浓度预测中,并与LSTM模型、RF-Elman模型和RF-BP模型进行了对比实验,结果表明,基于RF-LSTM模型的预测效果最好,其平均绝对误差（MAE）、平均绝对百分误差（MAPE）和均方根误差（RMSE）分别为0.9183、4.9637%和1.4262;同时,为了验证该模型的性能,本文还实现了不同时间尺度的鸡舍氨气浓度预测,提前2h、3h、4h、5h氨气预测的平均绝对误差（MAE）分别为1.6218、2.1991、2.8553和3.0677.本文提出的预测模型提高了鸡舍氨气浓度的预测精度,可为减少鸡舍恶臭气体排放提供科学依据.     

大兴安岭5种乔木树种燃烧释放PM2.5中水溶性元素特性

采用自主设计的生物质燃烧实验装置,在不同燃烧状态（明燃、阴燃）下,对大兴安岭林区5种典型乔木树种的不同部位（枝、叶、皮）燃烧释放PM_2.5中的水溶性元素特性进行研究.结果显示,不同树种间PM_2.5的排放因子差异显著,排放范围为（2.408±0.854）~（9.227±1.172）g/kg.5种乔木树种燃烧释放PM_2.5中主要检测到Mg、Ca、K等16 种元素,其中Ca、K、Zn、Mg 4种元素的排放因子明显大于其它元素.不同树种间元素排放因子差异较大,针叶树的排放因子一般高于阔叶树.除Cd元素外,不同器官间排放的元素总量无明显差异.不同树种不同器官燃烧释放PM_2.5中水溶性元素的占比顺序较为一致,其中Ca、K、Zn和Mg 4种元素的排放因子在枝、叶、皮中均较高.此外,燃烧状态对元素排放特征影响较大,Li、Mg、Ca等7种元素的排放因子均表现为明燃显著高于阴燃.     

基于高分1号影像的森林植被信息提取

实时最新森林植被信息的提取是林业航空植保作业的必要前提。论文以安徽省蚌埠市为研究区域,探讨了基于高分1号卫星遥感数据在亚热带农林植被混合地区的森林植被信息提取。根据植被物候信息差异选择了提取森林植被信息的5个关键时期高分影像,采用分区决策树方法监测森林植被的空间分布和面积信息,并与未分区决策树法的提取结果进行比较。结果表明：采用分区决策树法和未分区决策树法对于大中尺度森林植被信息提取的总体精度均优于85%。但分区决策树森林植被提取总体精度达到90.72%,较未分区决策树法提高3.80%、4.65%,Kappa系数达到0.81,较未分区决策树法提高约0.07~0.10,结合植被物候信息的分区决策树森林植被提取法好于未分区决策树法,能够满足林业航空植保作业的精度需求。具有较高空间分辨率、宽覆盖、短重访周期的高分1号影像,对于大区域的林业航空植保当年最新森林植被信息的提取表现出较大的潜力。     

兰州市南山季节性土壤微生物特征及影响因素

为了探究不同季节和不同植被类型对土壤微生物分布的影响,以兰州市南山不同海拔的两种植被类型为研究对象,采用稀释涂布平板法测定了土壤微生物的季节动态变化特征.结果表明：研究区内细菌数量占微生物总数的96.22%~99.80%,远高于真菌和放线菌数量.土壤微生物类群随季节变化呈现明显差异,其总数整体表现为夏季最高,为89.22×10⁶cfu/g soil,分别是春、秋、冬季的12.02、3.28、2.74倍,其中夏季细菌数量最高,真菌与放线菌数量均在春季达到最大值.人工林样地土壤微生物数量略低于荒坡,环境因子中土壤含水量和有机碳含量高于荒坡.随着海拔的升高,pH值逐渐上升,土壤温度、有机碳与全氮含量逐渐下降,土壤微生物总数则呈现先减少后增加的趋势.相关分析表明,不同季节各微生物类群与环境因子的相关系数各有不同,春季放线菌与有机碳,秋季真菌与有机碳、全氮均呈极显著正相关（P<0.01）.冗余分析表明,环境因子中有机碳与第一物种轴的相关系数最高,为0.520,说明土壤有机碳含量是影响土壤微生物类群分布的主导因素.     

典型铅锌矿化区不同土地利用类型土壤重金属污染特征与评价

选取云南者海典型铅锌矿区周边冶炼区（A）、粮食主产区（B）、保护区（C）三个区域土壤为研究对象,分析三个区域内林地（LD）和耕地（GD）土壤pH、总碳（TC）、总氮（TN）、总磷（TP）和5种重金属（Hg、Cd、Pb、Zn、Cu）含量,利用典范对应分析（CCA）研究不同土地利用类型下它们之间的关系,基于系统熵值与重金属生物毒性改进灰色聚类评价法对研究区重金属污染程度进行评价。结果表明,A、B、C三区土壤的5种重金属均超过云南省土壤背景值,且含量A区 > B区 > C区,所有土壤样品Hg、Cd、Pb、Zn、Cu平均含量分别为7.24、1.53、1 794、2 892、210 mg/kg;LD土壤重金属含量普遍高于GD。研究区土壤pH总体呈弱酸性,但A区土壤受矿业活动影响呈弱碱性。TC、TN含量和C/N值均表现出LD大于GD,但TP含量表现为GD显著大于LD （P<0.05）。CCA分析表明LD和GD土壤pH与Cd和Cu呈负相关,与Zn和Pb呈正相关,且pH对重金属含量的影响最大;TC、TP与重金属Cd和Cu在LD土壤中呈正相关,在GD土壤中呈负相关。改进灰色聚类评价结果表明重金属污染程度均表现为LD大于GD;A区污染最严重且均呈重度污染,B区次之,C区污染程度最轻。经比较本文改进的灰色聚类评价法在准确性和灵敏度方面优于传统方法。     

Floristics, performance and prognosis of historical trees in the urban forest of Guangzhou City (China)

Outstanding historical trees embedded in cities constitute pertinent environmental assets, yet they are widely threatened in third-world cities. Inadequate understanding of this valuable natural-cum-cultural heritage hinders proper conservation. A case study of Guangzhou in south China evaluated floristic composition, age profile and biomass structure of historical trees, assessed their performance in major habitats (institutional, park and roadside), and established a prognosis for future growth and management. The 348 historical trees examined belonged to only 25 species, vis-à -vis 254 trees in the entire urban forest, dominated by five species and native members. Roadside had more trees, followed by institutional and park, with merely the most common four species shared by all habitats. The limited commonality reflected tree-performance differentiation by habitats exerting selection pressure on species. The institutional growth-regime was more conducive to nurturing high-caliber specimens, whereas park is less capable. Individual species achievement by habitats, derived from tree-count ranking and relative-abundance indices, could inform species choice and tree conservation. Few trees exceeded 300 years of age in the millennium-old city, echoing a history of intense tree—city conflicts. Potential life-span, trunk and crown diameters indicated ample opportunities for further expansion of biomass and landscape impacts, which would be straitjacketed by the tightening urban fabric.     

Forest Area in Costa Rica: A Comparative Study of Tropical Forest Cover Estimates over Time

Forest area figures, at a given point in time and for a given region of interest, differ considerably, affecting the calculation of deforestation rates and thus confuse the political and scientific discussion on the state and change of the resource forest. This article discusses the variation of published forest cover figures, using Costa Rica as an example. A list of published figures on the forest cover of Costa Rica from 1940 onwards is analyzed. Reasons for the differences are hypothesized and discussed. These differences are mainly in the definition of forest and forest classes included, in the type of the studies conducted (mapping and/or sampling), in the precision of the estimates, and in the information sources used. It is concluded that part of the problem is inherent in the nature of the resource `forest'. Quality and completeness of the presentation of the forest cover estimates are a clue to their correct understanding and interpretation. The latter point being especially relevant, as forest cover data have both a technical-scientific and a political meaning and are used as relevant arguments in many discussions. In the example of Costa Rica, a general downward trend is observed up to about 1985/1990, whereas after that forest area figures are on the average at a markedly higher level. Some hypotheses for this change in the trend are discussed.     

A framework for assessment and monitoring of arthropods in a lowland tropical forest

By applying principles of adaptive management, and by using the valuable information that arthropods provide from assessment and monitoring programs, managers can identify and reduce possible impacts on biodiversity in development projects. In 1996, the Smithsonian Institution's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity program worked together with Shell Prospecting and Development Peru to establish an adaptive management program to protect biodiversity in a natural gas exploration project in a Peruvian rainforest. In this paper, we outlined the conceptual steps involved in establishing an assessment and monitoring program for arthropods, including setting objectives, evaluating the results and making decisions. We also present the results of the assessment using some of groups of arthropods, and summarize the steps taken to identify appropriate groups for monitoring.