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.     

Role of glycine on sulfuric acid-ammonia clusters formation: Transporter or participator

Glycine(Gly) is ubiquitous in the atmosphere and plays a vital role in new particle formation(NPF).However,the potential mechanism of its on sulfuric acid(SA)-ammonia(A)clusters formation under various atmospheric conditions is still ambiguous.Herein,a(Gly)_x·(SA)_y·(A)_z(z≤x+y≤3) multicomponent system was investigated by using density functional theory(DFT) combined with Atmospheric Cluster Dynamics Code(ACDC) at different temperatures and precursor concentrations.The results show that Gly,with one carboxyl(-COOH) and one amine(-NH_2) group,can interact strongly with SA and A in two directions through hydrogen bonds or proton transfer.Within the relevant range of atmospheric concentrations,Gly can enhance the formation rate of SA-A-based clusters,especially at low temperature,low [SA],and median [A].The enhancement(R) of Gly on NPF can be up to 340 at T=218.15 K,[SA]=10~4,[A]=10~9,and [Gly]=10~7 molecules/cm~3.In addition,the main growth paths of clusters show that Gly molecules participate into cluster formation in the initial stage and eventually leave the cluster by evaporation in subsequent cluster growth at low [Gly],it acts as an important "transporter" to connect the smaller and larger cluster.With the increase of [Gly],it acts as a "participator" directly participating in NPF.     

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.     

利用HYSPLIT模型研究珠三角地区VOCs时空分布特征

于2016年在中国广东大气超级监测站,开展4个季节的VOCs长时间观测,共获得2142组有效数据,并利用HYSPLIT模型分析珠三角地区VOCs时空分布特征.结果表明,各类VOCs混合比和化学反应活性具有明显的季节变化特点.观测期间,VOCs平均浓度为（18.523±20.978）×10^-9,其中,低碳烯烃和苯系物二者混合比之和仅占46%,但贡献了85%的·OH消耗速率（L_OH）、82%的臭氧生成潜势（OFP）和97%的二次气溶胶生成潜势（SOAFP）.观测站点主要受来自北部内陆地区气团（1#）、西部内陆地区气团（2#）、台湾海峡南端气团（3#）以及南部海洋地区气团（4#）的影响.1#气团中炔烃和苯系物的混合比占比最高,分别达到10%、37%,而3#气团中低碳烷烃的浓度水平最高,达到（8.437±5.561）×10^-9.通过估算气团中VOCs的化学反应活性,可以发现,1#气团的VOCs化学反应活性最强,其对O₃和SOA的生成贡献最高.1#、2#、3#和4#气团中VOCs的化学反应活性主要由苯系物和低碳烯烃贡献.     

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。     

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.