Role of social networks in urban forest management collaboration: A case study in northern Japan

Public participation is crucial for sustainable forest management. In particular, in urban forest areas, it is an important tool for overcoming conflicts among diverse needs regarding the forests through collaboration between citizens and governments. Such collaboration requires social learning. Social learning is dependent upon the presence of social networks that serve as an infrastructure for social capital. This study analyses the role of the social network in a participatory forest management approach of the Nopporo Forest Regeneration Project (NFRP) in the urban Nopporo National Forest in Hokkaido, northern Japan, aimed at restoring a typhoon damaged forest.Within the framework of the participatory approach the project hascreated a network of several citizen organizations for exchanging information. Outside this formal NFRP network several additional citizenorganizations are concerned about the Nopporo Forest management. The article describes the overall social network that has evolved around the Nopporo Forest and compares the attitudes and evaluations of the NFRP network organizations and the not formally NFRP related organizations towards their collaboration with government agencies and other citizen organizations. The overall social network around the Nopporo Forest had a multi-nodal character with the National Forest Agency and Hokkaido Prefectural Government acting as main central nodes. Only a few citizen organizations had direct relations to both central nodes; many organizations had links to either the National Forest Agency or the Prefectural Government. The organizations involved in the formal NFRP network had close ties with the National Forest Agency. This contributed to a positive evaluation of present forest management approach and the collaborative activities of the government agencies. In contrast, the organizations that were not involved in the formal NFRP network were found to have fewer ties with the National Forest Agency. The lack of opportunity to form a direct social learning relation hindered the formation of social capital and resulted in a lower evaluation of the participatory management approach as well as of the collaborative activities. Thus, although the participatory forest management approach of establishing formal social networks enhanced collaboration between the National Forest Agency and several citizen organizations and social learning, it was less successful in encouraging a democratic process involving all interested citizen organizations.     

Urban non-timber forest products stewardship practices among foragers in Seattle,washington (USA)

Our research seeks to expand the concept of urban environmental stewardship to include the everyday stewardship practices of urban nontimber forest products foragers. Ethnographic data from 58 urban foragers and 18 land stewards in the city of Seattle (USA) revealed that foragers reported using a variety of practices to enhance and minimize negative desirable species and their habitats. Many of these practices were identical to those practiced by restoration volunteers in formal programs and align with Seattle Parks Department management objectives. Foragers actively sought to learn more about what practices are sustainable; many mentored others in sustainable harvesting practices. Most foragers emphasized the importance of treating plants and their environment with respect. The land stewards voiced some concerns about foraging in city parks, but most were cautiously supportive of opening up the parks to foragers. The study results suggest that an opportunity exists for park managers to develop alliances with foragers so as to leverage foragers’ everyday stewardship practices and accomplish some of their park restoration objectives. Doing so will require park managers to acknowledge the positive contributions that humans can to make novel ecosystems and foragers to develop or strengthen self-regulation norms.     

Exploring the characteristics of successful volunteer-led urban forest tree committees in Massachusetts

Citizen engagement through urban forest tree committee volunteer service may aid in providing essential experience, ideas, and skills that support municipal tree management. Using semi-structured, research interviews with tree committee (TC) representatives from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this study addresses current knowledge gaps concerning the general composition, processes, and relationships of volunteer-led urban forest tree committees. Our findings indicate that TC representatives are typically motivated, passionate volunteers who generally desire to work cooperatively with the many associations, organizations, and agencies that comprise the local socio-political landscape. Our findings also indicate it is important that TC representatives make a sustained, concerted effort to work collaboratively with their local tree warden to advance the care of their community’s urban trees. Furthermore, it is also essential that municipal managers and decision-makers attempt to provide TC volunteers with appropriate training opportunities, resources, as well as demonstrate appreciation, to further encourage and solidify volunteer-engagement in urban forestry at the local level.     

论长沙县风景名胜资源的保护与利用

为了解长沙县风景名胜资源的现状,并为长沙县风景名胜资源的保护、开发和利用提供合理的建议,对长沙县风景名胜资源开展了全面的普查分析.结果表明:长沙县共有风景资源2大类7中类29个小类,共168个景源单体.其中自然风景旖旎如画,以水景最为突出;人文景源数量众多,以名人故居为特色.建议采取以生态为基础,同时加大保护力度,构建合理的景源布局结构体系,并且逐步申报一批风景名胜区等一系列的开发和保护对策.     

风险感知、保险认知对农户参保苹果保险决策的影响

利用2017年陕西省洛川县569个样本农户的微观调研数据,采用补充双对数模型和截断泊松回归模型对农户是否购买苹果保险及购买次数的影响因素进行了分析。结果表明:灾害风险感知和苹果保险认知均正向影响农户参保苹果保险决策;社会网络中政府组织正向影响农户参保苹果保险决策;农户的种植规模越大越倾向于购买苹果保险。鉴于此,该研究提出我国农村地区深化政策性保险推广势必要同乡级、村级政府组织紧密结合,实现保险公司、政府组织与农户的有效对接;要深化农村土地制度改革,实现规模效应,推动农户层次的土地流转,促进苹果产业实现规模化经营的政策建议。     

Recreation shapes a “landscape of fear” for a threatened forest bird species in Central Europe

Predators can create a “landscape of fear” that influences the spatial distribution of their prey. Understanding whether human activity similarly affects the distribution of species beyond habitat suitability is crucial but difficult to assess for conservation managers. Here, we assessed the effect of recreation and forestry activity on a threatened forest-dwelling umbrella species, the Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). We followed the citizen science approach on the landscape scale in the Bohemian Forest. We analyzed species data non-invasively collected through intensive fieldwork by volunteers and assessed human activity in the entire study area by analyzing expert questionnaires. The study area extends over 119,000 ha and harbors one of the largest relict populations of this grouse species in Central European low mountain ranges. Our statistical models revealed a negative impact of recreational activities on the intensity of habitat use of the birds within suitable habitats, thereby pointing toward a landscape of fear. The influence of forestry activity, in contrast, was not clear. In comparison to existing regional tourism impact studies, we were able to elevate the examination to the landscape scale. Our results underlined the relevance of recreation in limiting the species’ habitat on an entire landscape and allow us to conclude that habitat managers should set aside well-defined zones without recreational activities to preserve the refuge of this umbrella species.     

Forest spread and phase transitions at forest-prairie ecotones in Kansas,U.S.A.

The spread of gallery forest habitat into upland areas is of substantial interest to resource managers because such spread has many implications for the management of grassland and forest habitats. This study used a dynamic percolation model to examine the potential rates of spread or invasion of forest in eastern Kansas. Aerial photos taken 16 years apart at the Fort Riley training base were used to calibrate a spatially explicit contagion model of forest spread to interpolate and extrapolate the forest spread processes. Results fit the actual pattern of spread well, as measured by both visual inspection and a multiscale fractal measure of pattern. Comparisons to a long-term fire-exclusion experiment in Geary County, Kansas, and to the Konza Prairie also provided validation. Both the simulation and the 100-year Geary County series showed an interesting pattern of forest spread. Spread was slow and steady until about 20% forest cover was reached, at which point the rate increased. We conclude that this self-accelerating response is due to spatial patterns created by the spreading forest that tend to accelerate the growth process after a critical point is reached. On the basis of theoretical study and experimental simulation of the percolation phase transitions, we suggest that fractal dimensions in a transient ecotone of binary mixtures (e.g., trees and grasses) should range between 1.56 and 1.8958, and the critical fractal dimension during ecotonal phase transitions should be 1.7951. This critical point of about 18.5% forest cover that we predicted was close to the observed result and might represent a phase transition at the forest-prairie ecotone.     

Plant richness increases with surrounding habitat and management burns over 30-years in suburban forest understories

Forests within and adjacent to cities are important habitats for native species and provide vital ecosystem services to cities and their residents. Herbaceous plants represent over 80% of all plant species in these forests, yet little is known about the long-term effects of management and landscape context on the understory of suburban forests. In this study, we used a 30-year dataset to fill this knowledge gap and evaluate the effect of prescribed burns on native forest herbs in suburban forest preserves of DuPage County, Illinois, USA. We also evaluated how the amount and configuration of forest habitat at multiple spatial scales affects native herb richness, gains, and losses in these forests over 30 years. We found that forests managed with prescribed burns increased in native herb richness over time, while unburned forests did not. Managed forests now have more native herb species than unburned forests. We also found that habitat amount in the surrounding landscape, but not the configuration of that habitat, had a positive effect on native herb richness and species gains over 30 years. Overall, we conclude that prescribed burns are effective in maintaining native forest herb richness in suburban forests. However, additional management actions such as seed augmentation may be required in areas with little surrounding forest herb habitat, as both overall richness and species gains over time are reduced in isolated forests.     

The economic benefits and costs of trees in urban forest stewardship: A systematic review

Understanding the benefits provided by urban trees is important to justify investment and improve stewardship. Many studies have attempted to quantify the benefits of trees in monetary terms, though fewer have quantified the associated costs of planting and maintaining them. This systematic review examines the methods used to jointly analyse the costs and benefits of trees in the urban landscape, assesses the relative balance of benefits and costs, and attempts to understand the wide variation in economic values assigned in different studies. The benefits most frequently studied are those related to environmental regulation and property values, and the available data show that these usually outweigh the costs. Aesthetic, amenity, and shading benefits have also been shown to provide significant economic benefits, while benefits in terms of water regulation, carbon reduction and air quality are usually more modest. Variation in benefits and costs among studies is attributed largely to differences in the species composition and age structure of urban tree populations, though methodological differences also play a role. Comparison between studies is made difficult owing to differences in spatiotemporal scope, and in the way urban forest composition and demographic structure were reported. The overwhelming majority of studies concern deciduous trees in Northern America, and much less is known about urban forests in other regions, especially in the tropics. Future work should thus seek to fill these knowledge gaps, and standardise research protocols across cities. In light of ambitious goals in many cities to increase tree cover, ongoing advances in valuation methods need to provide a more comprehensive accounting of benefits and costs, and to better integrate economic assessment into the decision-making process.     

Why don’t people plant trees? Uncovering barriers to participation in urban tree planting initiatives

Urban tree cover is inequitable in many American cities, with low-income and non-white neighborhoods typically having the least coverage. Some municipal and non-profit tree planting programs aim to address this inequity by targeting low-income neighborhoods; however, many programs face lack of participation or resistance from local residents. In this study, we aimed to uncover the economic, social, cultural, and physical barriers that community leaders face in planting trees and fostering engagement in a neighborhood with low tree canopy. In collaboration with an urban greening nonprofit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (US), twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with community leaders in a low canopy neighborhood, North Philadelphia. Half of these leaders were already involved with local tree planting programs, while the other half were not. Findings reveal that despite broad appreciation for trees and greenspaces, there are concerns about the risks and costs residents assume over the course of a tree’s life cycle, the threat of neighborhood development and gentrification associated with trees, limited plantable space, and limited time and capacity for community organizations. Additionally, these barriers to participation may be amplified among low-income and communities of color who face the legacies of historical tree disservices and municipal structural disinvestment. Addressing community concerns regarding the long-term care of trees beyond the initial tree planting would likely require further programmatic support. Overall, this research highlights the complexity of addressing inequities in tree canopy and the importance of integrating resident and community leader perspectives about disservices and management costs into tree planting initiatives.     

Greening urban road verges highlights diverse views of multiple stakeholders on ecosystem service provision,challenges and preferred form

Globally, there is growing recognition of the potential of road verges to contribute to urban greening and ecosystem service provision, beyond their original functions of utility provision and public access. Numerous, diverse stakeholders are involved in their management, yet their shared and diverging perspectives on verge greening are poorly understood. This research examined the perspectives on road verge greening by 30 respondents from eight stakeholder groups from the Perth Metropolitan Area, Australia. Stakeholders spanned local and state governments, developers, peak bodies, utility providers, environmental consultants, verge treatment providers and urban greening advocates. Semi-directed interviews and Likert scales were used to assess respondents' perspectives and perceived importance of urban verge functions and ecosystem services, risks and challenges associated with verge greening, and preferred verge vegetation composition. The most important ecosystem services for all stakeholders were temperature regulation (through the provision of street trees), those associated with water management and aesthetically interesting streetscapes. Perceived challenges included limited knowledge for the management of native species verges and streetscapes, organisational costs for verge managers and utility providers, and the need to engage with multiple local government authorities with widely varying management and financial valuation of verge vegetation. Stakeholders’ preferred verge reflected diverse uses, local characteristics, and was climate and water resilient (particularly ‘waterwise’). A majority of stakeholder groups felt greater attention to the ‘understorey’ of the ‘urban forest’ was warranted. An emerging perspective across four stakeholder groups identified the potential for verges to grow a local ‘sense of place’, through plantings emphasising local native species and highlighting local Whadjuk Noongar seasons. These findings support policies and programmes associated with urban greening, and assist in navigating the contestation often associated with new or transformative uses of land at the public-private interface.     

Socio-ecological patterns of citizens science programs: The case of forestry observations in 3 central Mexico states

Citizen science programs have been used to identify and address socio-environmental issues. Environmental participatory monitoring has been particularly effective in providing useful information for forest management and decision-making processes directed at formulating policy. However, recent studies have identified a recurrent participation pattern: citizen science appears to concentrate on affluent municipalities while excluding highly marginalized regions. For this research, a non-parametric analysis of the distribution of observations collected via iNaturalist, a citizens science app for participatory monitoring, is presented. Spearman correlations and a Kruskal-Wallis test were conducted for plant species observations in three states of central Mexico. Results suggest that participatory monitoring patterns are influenced by the marginalization degree of municipalities. Percentage of natural protected areas and forested surface per municipality were also analyzed as variables useful to explain the spatial concentration of participation. Evidence shows that, contrary to observed patterns of exclusion, marginalized municipalities with a designated natural protected area concentrate more participation. Participatory monitoring via citizen science programs is discussed as a valuable tool for developing countries challenged with restricted budgets for environmental management.     

A review of the concept ‘management’ in relation to urban landscapes and green spaces: Toward a holistic understanding

The management of urban landscapes concerns existing urban open spaces such as public parks, playgrounds and residential green spaces. It involves many different actors and organizations and its practice is of importance for the sustainable development of cities. As a research field, it needs further theoretical development and common definitions. For example, the central term ‘management’ is seldom defined in the relevant literature regarding an urban landscape context, and public participation in management processes is unusual. This paper introduces urban landscape management as an overarching concept that brings together knowledge about management of urban landscapes from fields such as urban forestry, park management and landscape planning. Based on a literature review, a common understanding of management in an urban landscape context is proposed, including organizational and strategic aspects of managerial activities. Our approach is that urban landscapes are ultimately managed to provide user benefits. Urban landscape management can be viewed as a complex process that includes a number of different actors, elements and relationships, mutually affecting each other. This view supports future studies of urban landscape management and its role in sustainable urban development.     

Urban wilderness: Supply,demand, and access

The concept of urban wilderness feels like a paradox since natural and urban environments have long been viewed as antithetical. Today, however, wilderness is high on the urban agenda as a response to different challenges: biodiversity and human experiences of nature are being lost in increasingly dense cities, while at the same time a plethora of wild areas are developing in cities that are undergoing post-industrial transformation. Yet there is confusion around the definitions and the anticipated functions of urban wilderness and how humans can be incorporated therein. A unifying framework is proposed here that envisions urban wilderness as a social-ecological system; three major components are identified and linked: (i) the supply of wilderness areas along gradients of naturalness and ecological novelty, leading to a differentiation of ancient vs. novel wilderness, and the identification of wilderness components within cultural ecosystems; (ii) the demand for wilderness in urban societies, which differs among sociocultural groups as a function of underlying values and experiences; (iii) the access to urban wilderness, which can be improved both in terms of providing opportunities for encountering urban wilderness (e.g., by conserving, rewilding wilderness areas) and enhancing the orientation of urban people towards wilderness (e.g., through information, environmental education, citizen science). Evidence from urban wilderness projects in Europe demonstrates that multi-targeted approaches to conserving and managing existing novel urban ecosystems offer manifold opportunities to combine biodiversity conservation and wilderness experience in cities.     

The cost of gypsy moth sex in the city

Since its introduction in the 1860s, gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), has periodically defoliated large swaths of forest in the eastern United States. Prior research has suggested that the greatest costs and losses from these outbreaks accrue in residential areas, but these impacts have not been well quantified. We addressed this lacuna with a case study of Baltimore City. Using two urban tree inventories, we estimated potential costs and losses from a range of gypsy moth outbreak scenarios under different environmental and management conditions. We combined outbreak scenarios with urban forest data to model defoliation and mortality and based the costs and losses on the distribution of tree species in different size classes and land uses throughout Baltimore City. In each outbreak, we estimated the costs of public and private suppression, tree removal and replacement, and human medical treatment, as well as the losses associated with reduced pollution uptake, increased carbon emissions and foregone sequestration. Of the approximately 2.3 M trees in Baltimore City, a majority of the basal area was primary or secondary host for gypsy moth. Under the low outbreak scenario, with federal and state suppression efforts, total costs and losses were $5.540 M, much less than the $63.666 M estimated for the high outbreak scenario, in which the local public and private sectors were responsible for substantially greater tree removal and replacement costs. The framework that we created can be used to estimate the impacts of other non-native pests in urban environments.     

促进观赏百合试管苗移栽成活的研究

对百合品种Connecticut King、Enchantment和Hinomoto在移植时期的营养液浓度和基质等方面进行了研究,结果表明,组培苗根长小于1cm时,是移植的最佳时期;在瓶苗移植过程中,不同时期应施用不同浓度的营养液。过渡培养15天后,即可将组培苗移植入土,最适宜的基质是1/3沙土 1/3草炭 1/3腐殖土。Hinomoto的组培苗较Enchant.ment和Connecticut King移植后容易成活,成活率达90％。     

Values and beliefs about urban forests from diverse urban contexts and populations in the Greater Toronto area

Cities around the world are diverse. People’s perceptions of urban forests may vary according to urban contexts and people’s diverse identities. A better understanding of these diverse perceptions is critical to support stewardship initiatives, inform urban tree decisions, and guide community engagement, among other key management and governance processes in urban forestry. This study examines the values and beliefs that diverse people living in a variety of urban contexts associate with urban trees. Using an urban gradient approach, 2009 responses were collected through an online panel survey conducted in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to understand variations in values and beliefs of urban forests across municipal types (inner core, suburban, peri-urban, and regional cities). The GTA has an ethnoculturally diverse population, allowing us to also explore perceptions held by people with various identities. The study uses analytical techniques, such as means differences and linear regression models, to segment the diverse meanings people attribute to urban trees by municipal types and people’s identities. The results show that, while people value the urban forest very highly, people’s value orientations vary depending on their context and identities. For example, respondents who speak European or South Asian languages tend to hold value orientations related to cultural, social, and identity issues. Respondents living in inner municipal types tend to hold values related to identity issues, whereas respondents living in outer municipal types and regional cities tend to hold values related to natural issues. The results also show that people’s beliefs about urban forests are primarily positive. Urban forests managers and stewardship initiatives should recognize the diverse set of values and beliefs that people associate with urban forests, incorporating these perceptions into policy and programs. Additionally, since specific value and belief orientations may depend on personal identity and urban contexts, tailored messaging may also help generate support for policy or stewardship initiatives across different communities and in varied urban contexts.