Forestry in the Ukraine: the road ahead?

The economy of the Ukraine is in transition from a communist command-and-control to a capitalist system. In this paper, we describe the current state of its forest resources, the structure of its forestry and wood processing sectors, and the problems facing policy makers. While the forest sector should be, and still has the potential to become, an engine for economic growth, the combination of past exploitation and the slow pace of economic reform are major obstacles to implementing rational forest policies. Given the right economic incentives and appropriate forest policies, it may still be possible for the Ukraine to improve its future timber supply while enjoying environmental benefits from its forests. However, this requires economic and institutional reforms beyond the forest sector.     

Changes in the phosphorus and nitrogen status and supply in the young spruce stands in the Lužické, the Jizerské and the Orlické Mts. in the Czech Republic during the 2004–2014 period

The contribution shows changes in the phosphorus and nitrogen status in long-term investigated spruce stands in the Lu?ické, the Jizerské and the Orlické Mts. on the border between the Czech Republic and Germany and Poland. During the 11 evaluated years, low phosphorus concentrations were measured, often below the deficiency limit 1.2 mg P/g, and an N/P ratio exceeding the optimal range (6–12), primarily in the second needle-year class. Values of an N/P ratio of between 12 and 18 in the Jizerské Mts. and of between 12 and 27 in the Lu?ické Mts. were discovered. A low phosphorus concentration below the 10 mg·kg^?1 was also detected in the mineral soil horizon. Temporal changes of N/P ratio (increase) and of P concentration (decrease) in the needles are significant for the spruce stands that are in the Orlické Mts. In the Jizerské Mts. and the Lu?ické Mts., there is fluctuation during evaluated period without any clear trend.     

Transplanting the Southern Bamboos in the north:A Fairy Tale happened in winter

Inquiringinto″TransplantingtheSouthernBamboosintheNorth″ThepeoplestayinginBeijingforalongtimeknowstheparkofZiZhuYuanBlackbamboothatwasestablishedforcommemoratingChineselongcultureofbamboobyBeijinggovernment.Intheearlywinterormistwhatwebreatheoutbecomest…     

Open woodland in Europe in the Mesolithic and in the Middle Ages: Can there be a connection?

In Grazing Ecology and Forest History F.W.M. Vera published his hypothesis that Europe's primeval vegetation was not closed forest but a more open, park-like landscape maintained by the grazing of large herbivores. The palaeoecological evidence has been re-examined a number of times, however, Vera's research and conclusions about more recent periods (ca. 500–1900 a.d.) have so far been neglected. These, nonetheless, are equally significant elements in the testing of the hypothesis, and deserve to be evaluated. It is argued in this paper that historical sources could be used in testing the hypothesis; however, analysis should concentrate on particular areas and periods and derive a synthesis from these. Vera mixes sources from many regions and periods in the same analysis, which therefore does not provide useful information about the hypothesis. Furthermore, Vera's analysis is based on the assumption that early medieval written sources depict a landscape that is in direct connection with the pre-Neolithic open vegetation, although in some early medieval landscapes domestic animals replaced the original large herbivores. He also claims that medieval coppices were formed straight out of this primeval vegetation. However, current landscape archaeological research shows that areas unaffected by human activity were virtually non-existent in the European lowlands by the Early Middle Ages, therefore early medieval Royal Forests and high medieval coppices were not formed out of primeval ‘wilderness.’ Because there is no direct connection between pre-Neolithic and medieval landscapes – although they can be analogous – the historical ecological evidence in Grazing Ecology and Forest History is irrelevant to the hypothesis. The hypothesis could only be tested if it were first proved that at a particular place the pre-Neolithic vegetation survived until the Early Middle Ages.     

Progress and Trend in Forest Scientific Researches in the World

Editor's note The 9th session of the general assembly of IUFRO was held atMontreal, Canada on August 5-11, 1990. The Chinese delegationpresent at this conference was headed by Liu Yuhe, the president     

Differences in the forest landscape structure along the Finnish–Russian border in southern Karelia

Abstract

This study describes forest landscape fragmentation and connectivity along the Finnish–Russian border near the Karelian Isthmus. The landscape pattern was analysed using classification data based on Landsat ETM+ and Landsat TM images in combination with systematic surveys in Finland (Finnish National Forest Inventory) (n=546) and the authors’ own fieldwork data in Russia (n=101). On the Finnish side the forest patches are significantly smaller than on the Russian side. In addition, the Finnish forests landscape is more scattered and distances between patches of the same forest type are longer. The Russian side is more dominated by broadleaved and mixed forest stands. The disparities are due to differences in forestry policy and traditions of forest practices. The growing conditions of the areas are similar. The habitat fragmentation and habitat connectivity are important issues because the Karelian Isthmus is one of three main corridors and migrating routes connecting large Russian boreal taiga forests and their fauna and flora with Finnish isolated boreal forests.     

Investigation on the Catalysis in the Oxidation of α-Pinene

概述了近20年来国内外对催化α-蒎烯氧化反应过程的研究,重点分析了α-蒎烯氧化中催化剂的性能特点及产物分布规律,总结了过渡金属盐、氧化物、配合物、分子筛及杂多酸在α-蒎烯氧化中的催化作用,比较了催化活性及选择性的特点,并初步探讨了发展趋势.提出在已有的α-蒎烯氧化反应催化剂中,分子筛类催化剂在制备方法和工业化发展上有一定的优势,深入研究过渡金属化合物在α-蒎烯氧化反应的催化性能及调变方法,应是α-蒎烯氧化反应中值得重点关注的研究内容.     

Influence of climatic factors on carbon accumulation in the aerial biomass of native vegetation in the south of Piauí, in the Brazilian Northeast

An understanding of forest carbon budgets, such as the factors that influence different levels of carbon accumulation, is one of the first steps in protecting and restoring areas of plant cover. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was applied to evaluate the influence of climate variables (Rainfall, and mean maximum and minimum temperatures) on intra-annual above-ground carbon accumulated in tree species of the Caatinga. Above-ground carbon accumulated in the trees was 0.06 Mg ha^?1 month^?1. Carbon allocation in the aerial parts of the trees increased significantly with rainfall. Maximum and minimum temperature had little influence on carbon storage; however, variations in carbon accumulation are best explained when minimum and maximum temperatures are added to the regression model for rainfall, thereby demonstrating the simultaneous effect of these variables, and better explaining the carbon increase.     

Advances in the Triploid Breeding Program of Populus tomentosa in China

本文报道了毛白杨三倍体育种的研究进展．应用染色体加倍、种间杂交和花粉辐射技术，成功选育出了２０个回交杂种异源三倍体无性系，最优三倍体无性系８年生单株材积达到了０．３６ｍ３，超过一般二倍体的２．５５倍．由此表明，育种材料的遗传组成和育种方法是获得较高遗传增益的基础．二倍体选种增益一般为４５％，回交杂种增益为１５５％，而异源三倍体最优无性系的增益为２５５％．     

Why is the productivity of Douglas-fir higher in New Zealand than in its native range in the Pacific Northwest,USA?

Douglas-fir (Pseudotusga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), a native to the Pacific Coast Range in North America, is recognized as a tree that is long-lived and can grow rapidly to standing volumes that approach the highest recorded for temperate conifers. Managed plantations in western Oregon register maximum periodic annual increments (PAI) at ages between 20 and 40 years of ∼30 m³ ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The same seed source, when planted in New Zealand and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, may attain a PAI of ∼50 m³ ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. Is this higher productivity mainly related to climate or to isolation from native pests? To evaluate the role of climate, we obtained meteorological data from plantation sites in New Zealand and Oregon, from which we established relationships between mean monthly temperature extremes and solar irradiance, air humidity deficits, and frost frequency. Using these empirical relationships, long-term weather records were converted to the meteorological variables required to drive a process-based forest growth model, 3-PG, for sites approaching the most productive in New Zealand and in Oregon. Annual precipitation is similar in both areas, but sites in Oregon receive only 10% during the growing season, resulting in humidity deficits 30% larger than those recorded in New Zealand. According to sensitivity analyses and direct measurements, the more productive Douglas-fir forests in Oregon avoid the limiting effects of summer drought by obtaining water from the subsoil and fractured bedrock. If such forests were under a reduced evaporative demand similar to that in New Zealand, we show that they would exhibit comparable productivity.     

Comparison of the Chapman-Richards Function with the Schnute Model in Stand growth

IntroductionAsagrowthmodelforanindividualtreeorforeststhnd,theChapman-RichardsFunction,anextensiontotheVonBertalanffy'sgrowththeory(Bertalanffy1957)embodiesallotherestablishedgrowthfunction.ThisfunctionhasbeenwideIyusedinforestrybecauseofitsflexibility,ac…     

Progress in the technology of energy conversion from woody biomass in Indonesia

1 Introduction Wood and charcoal belong to an energy convention which can sustain fluctuation in their status as a non-conventional fuel, coupled with their uncertain supply. Customers or users of firewood stem from a former era, which until the present, remain associated with simple communities, while the consumption of fossil fuels indicates an industrial society. Along with the progress in industrial development where markets can provide cheap and easy fuel, inherently sim- ple-community co…     

k-Nearest Neighbor Regression in the Estimation of Tectona Grandis Trunk Volume in the State of Pará, Brazil

Models constructed from machine learning are a potential non-parametric alternative for the prediction of biometric variables in opposition to traditional regression modeling. The hypothesis of this study was that the non-parametric approach with the k-Nearest-Neighbor algorithm (k-NN) has the possibility of presenting better accuracy with lower demand for predictor variables in the estimates of T. grandis trunk volume than the traditional volumetric models applied in forest sciences. Ten volumetric models were adjusted. In the regression k-NN was defined as maximum of 25 (25-NN), but with learning only for the odd neighbors starting at 3-NN. The optimal k nearest neighbor for two variations of predictors was obtained through repeated cross-validations. Spurr (ln) and Schumacher-Hall were the most accurate linear models that meet the linear regression assumptions. The optimal k nearest neighbor for the algorithm was k = 5 for the two variations of predictors. The use of the k-NN estimator may be a more general approach to linear regression especially when the assumptions made about the errors are not satisfied. However, its use should be considered only when traditional linear regression models or other simpler methods do not show good results.     

Shifts in the bacterial community structure and function along a vegetation gradient in the Great Xing’an Mountains

The aim of this study was to compare soil bacterial communities in the Great Xing’an Mountains that represent three dominant vegetation types (Quercus mongolica forest, shrub mixed with herb and grassland). Soil bacterial communities were analyzed by both culture-dependent physiological profiling (Biolog) and culture-independent DNA-based approaches. The Q. mongolica forest and shrub mixed with herb had higher average well color development than the grassland, and the Q. mongolica forest and shrub mixed with herb soil bacterial communities easily utilized miscellaneous and amines/amides. The bacterial community structure was distinct across the three sites. Most of Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were found in grassland soil, while Firmicutes was present at a higher percentage in the Q. mongolica soil. Extracellular enzyme assays indicated that the soil ecosystem in the grassland experienced altered N and P nutrient cycling dynamics. pH, available phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen were important in shaping bacterial community structure. These results suggest that vegetation type was a strong determinant of the structure and function of bacterial communities, which may subsequently lead to significant changes in ecosystem functioning.     

Tree ecophysiology in the context of climate change

Forest structure and function strongly depend on and concurrently influence environmental conditions.Tree performance is generally governed by its genetics and environment;thus,recent hotspots in this field include tree genotype × environment,phenotype × environment,and functional trait × environment interactions.The editorial,review,and 22 original research articles in this Special Issue, "Tree ecophysiology in the context of climate change",highlight ecophysiological phenomena(e.g.,climate hor...