Comments on “Plantation development: Economic analysis of forest management in Fujian Province,China”

This short article reexamines Zhang et al., 2010 (Forest Policy and Economics 2010, 12, 223–230) who concluded that forest expansion in China will continue due to the high economic benefit of forest plantations. It is suggested that their conclusion rested on data mistakes and problematic calculation, and might be misleading. A more realistic calculation is made.     

The impact of climate change on forest fire danger rating in China’s boreal forest

The Great Xing’an Mountains boreal forests were focused on in the northeastern China.The simulated future climate scenarios of IPCC SRES A2a and B2a for both the baseline period of 1961-1990 and the future scenario periods were downscaled by the Delta Method and the Weather Generator to produce daily weather data.After the verification with local weather and fire data,the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System was used to assess the forest fire weather situation under climate change in the study region.An increasing trend of fire weather severity was found over the 21st century in the study region under the both future climate change scenarios,compared to the 1961-1990 baseline period.The annual mean/maximum fire weather index was predicted to rise continuously during 2010-2099,and by the end of the 21st century it is predicted to rise by 22%-52% across much of China’s boreal forest.The significant increases were predicted in the spring from of April to June and in the summer from July to August.In the summer,the fire weather index was predicted to be higher than the current index by as much as 148% by the end of the 21st century.Under the scenarios of SRES A2a and B2a,both the chance of extremely high fire danger occurrence and the number of days of extremely high fire danger occurrence was predicted to increase in the study region.It is anticipated that the number of extremely high fire danger days would increase from 44 days in 1980s to 53-75 days by the end of the 21st century.     

The production and use of knowledge in regulatory impact assessment – An empirical analysis

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) – understood as the formalised analytical activities initiated or carried out by central government administrations when designing specific policy instruments – is currently receiving high levels of political attention. It is seen as a tool to improve regulatory quality and to promote cross-cutting objectives such as sustainable development. Often conceived as an economic analysis of costs and benefits, RIA tends to be depicted as a ‘neutral’ assessment process that informs decision-makers about ‘facts’. This does not explain, of course, why RIA often becomes an arena for political conflict involving both government departments and stakeholders. Based on empirical research on the design and practical application of RIA across the European Union, this paper explores the relationship between RIA, policy-making and politics. The aim is to shed light on what knowledge is produced, how it is used by different actors and what role it plays in decision-making. Based on this analysis, we explore to what extent and under what conditions RIA can serve as a tool for more evidence-based and sustainability oriented policy-making processes.     

The effect of fire disturbance on short-term soil respiration in typical forest of Greater Xing’an Range,China

We investigated the effect of fire disturbance on short-term soil respiration in birch （Betula platyphylla Suk.） and larch （Larix gmelinii Rupr.） forests in Greater Xing’an range, northeastern China for further understanding of its effect on the carbon cycle in ecosystems. Our study show that post-fire soil respiration rates in B. platyphylla and L. gmelinii forests were reduced by 14%and 10%, respectively. In contrast, the soil heterotrophic respiration rates in the two types of forest were similar in post-fire and control plots. After fire, the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration was dramatically reduced. Variation in soil respiration rates was explained by soil moisture （W） and soil tem-perature （T） at a depth of 5 cm. Exponential regression fitted T and W models explained Rs rates in B. platyphylla control and post-fire plots （83.1% and 86.2%） and L. gmelinii control and post-fire plots （83.7%and 88.7%）. In addition, the short-term temperature coefficients in B.     

The impact of spatial agglomeration on export of forest products manufacturing in China: evidence from enterprises’ data

Industrial spatial agglomeration is an important feature of modern industry development; however, little academic attention has been paid to the impact of industrial spatial agglomeration on the export of enterprises. Based on a large sample from a Chinese industrial enterprise database, this paper applies the EG index method to measure the spatial agglomeration level of forest products’ manufacturing and further explores its impact on exports. The results show that the spatial agglomeration level improved slightly in China’s forest products’ manufacturing during 1999–2009. However, the spatial agglomeration level of China’s forest products’ manufacturing is lower than is the average level of the total manufacturing industry. The regression results show that the level of spatial agglomeration has a significant positive impact on the export of enterprises in China’s forest products’ manufacturing industry. This may imply that the spatial agglomeration effect has not yet been fully exploited, and the level of spatial agglomeration in China’s forest products’ manufacturing industry needs to be further improved.     

Gender in European forest ownership and management: reflections on women as “New forest owners”

The group of female forest owners is growing across Europe and currently estimated to be about 30% of all private owners. This new category of forest owner merits a closer look. By introducing a gender perspective across three different research frameworks, this paper substantiates that gender matters in forest ownership, management, operations, and the understandings of these three aspects. Where gender-disaggregated data is available, and gender is assessed as an empirical variable, we find the differences in numbers between male and female forest owners in most countries. By adding the concept of gender as a relational and structuralizing category, we demonstrate that gender structures affect, for example, actual behavior of female and male forest owners and the self-evaluation of forestry competence. Further, when considering gender as a meaning category we explore how meaning produces behavior and behavior produces meanings, and how both shape institutions and natural and artificial matter. Here forestry competence is the applied example. To further increase the knowledge on new forest owners, we recommend (i) fellow researchers in the field to assume that gender matters and design their empirical studies accordingly and (ii) policy-makers to guarantee access to gender-disaggregated data in official registers and statistics.     

Despite failure: The emergence of “new” forest owners in private forest policy in Wisconsin,USA

Abstract

Similar to other industrialized countries, the USA has experienced a significant increase in the number of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners as well as shifts in the values held by these owners. This study examines the motivations of predominantly new ex-urban forest owners interested in forest management in pursuing collective action through participation in the now out-of-business Sustainable Woods Cooperative (SWC). While common elsewhere, forest landowner cooperatives in the USA are an anomaly. Through a case-study design that depended primarily on semi-structured interviews, it was found that SWC members were motivated to join SWC as it was an attractive alternative to (1) the typical timber sale scenario that often places the forest owner at a disadvantage, and (2) the primary government tax incentive program. SWC represents a shift towards owners playing a greater role in shaping forest practices and markets, which is generally absent in the USA. It also suggests that new ex-urban forest owners, who are found in most industrialized countries, will seek to reshape the forest policy arena to meet their values and objectives. As such, this study provides insights for others in understanding the potential changes wrought by the changing characteristics of forest owners.     

Rural household and forest: an evaluation of household’s dependency on community forest in Nepal

The aim of this paper is to analyze the level of dependency of rural households on forests, based on the economic status of the households and the property regimes of forests. The analysis of household-level dependency suggests that large numbers of rural households are benefiting regularly from their community forests. Out of three forest property regimes examined, community forests were found to be the most prominent sources for supplying forest products to local households. Analysis of the degree of forest-products dependency and the economic status of households shows that the low economic status households rely more on the community forest than the economically better-off households. In addition, a ² analysis indicates that the economic status of households affects the degree of forest-product collection activities. The results show three types of property regime with respect to forest management in Chitwan. Each regime holds its own ownership rights, which control the harvesting of forest products and provides incentives to the local households.     

Relationship between diversity of forest plant species and environmental gradient in eastern mountainous area of Heilongjiang Province, China

Twenty-three secondary forest communities with different structure were selected in Mao＇er Mountain National Park of Heilongjiang Province, China to study the relationship between diversity of forest plant species and environmental gradient. The forest plant species diversity was analyzed by the diversity index, and the environmental factors was quantified by the method of Whittaker＇s quantification of environmental gradient. Meanwhile, β-diversity indexes of communities were calculated with similar measurements. The results showed that the Shannon-wiener diversity index of forest plant species increased with the increase of the environmental gradient, and the β-diversity indexes of communities showed a liner increase along with the change of environmental gradient.     

An Empirical Estimation of Effects of Priority Forestry Programs on Farmers’ Incomes in China

China has launched six Priority Forestry Programs (PFPs) since 1998, i.e. the Natural Forest Protection Program, the Cropland Conversion to Forest and Grassland Program, Sandification Control Program for the Vicinity of Beijing & Tianjin , Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Development Program, Forest Industrial Base Development Program and Shelterbelt Development Programs for regions such as Three North and the Yangtze River Catchments. The Government of China has made different policies for these PF...     

Spatial pattern of paulownia witches’ broom and its effects on the growth of Paulownia elongata in Shaanxi Province, China

The spatial pattern of paulownia witches’ broom was investigated using an Iwao’s (m*−m) model in Shaanxi Province, China. Iwao’s (m*−m) model revealed that spatial pattern of paulownia witches’ broom exhibited a uniform distribution in sample plots. In this model, characteristics of contagiousness coefficient (α) justified the probability of infection by virus-transmission vectors. For tree age less than six, susceptible individuals were aggregated as clusters in the plots and then mutually repelled over age. A preliminary survey of stand volume show that from age five to six, stand volumes of disease grade II showed excessive vegetative growth and returned to normal level between ages ten and 11. Loss rate of volume increment with disease grade II decreased, and then returned to raising trend both at grades III and IV. This phenomenon is possibly caused by an over-compensation effect and by environmental factors. The redundancy of growth hormones in branches, shoots, leaves, buds and roots increased the stem volume of entire trees.     

Effects of selection cutting on the forest structure and species diversity of evergreen broa-leaved forest in northern Fujian, southern China

The short-term effects of selection cutting of different intensities on the forest structure and species diversity of evergreen broad-leaved forest in northern Fujian Province were investigated and analyzed. The results showed that selection cutting of low and medium intensities caused little variation in the forest structure. After cutting, the dominant species retained their leading status in the community. However, the community structure changed significantly following selection cutting of high and extra-high intensities; the status of the dominant species of the community declined dramatically. Some tree species began to disappear from the sampling plots. Except for extra-high intensity cutting, the diversity of tree species did not change significantly for the other three cutting intensities. However, the evenness of the stands was very different among the four kinds of cutting plots. For low and medium intensity selection cutting, the evenness declined slightly. For extra-high intensity selection cutting, the evenness increased to some extent, which might be due to a more even distribution of tree species after cutting. Cutting operations resulted in some adverse reactions to development of arborous species diversity of evergreen broad-leaved forest, particularly serious damage to the forest canopy. But the rational selection cuttings, which may benefit the restoration and maintenance of species diversity over a long period and may come about from the variations in environmental factors such as sunlight, temperature and humidity.     

Determinants of illegal logging in Indonesia: An empirical analysis for the period 1996–2010

Illegal logging is a significant problem in Indonesia, which is one of the few countries with a large forest area. In this study, we investigate the factors that affect harvesting and supply of illegal timber from Indonesia to China and Japan. Moreover, we investigate the factors that lead to the demand of Indonesian illegal timber from China and Japan. A simultaneous-equation econometric model of illegally logged timber demand and supply is developed and tested using the annual data over the period 1996–2010. We find that corruption and decentralization in Indonesia have significant and positive impacts on the illegally logged timber supply while excess demand in Japanese construction and furniture industries as well as Japan’s housing starts are the significant factors that affect the illegal logging in Indonesia. The law enforcement or policies aimed at reducing illegal harvesting in Indonesia are found to be more effective than the policies targeting the import of illegally logged timber into Japan and China.     

The tree species matrix,influence on the level of herbivore browsing in mixed forest stands in southwest Sweden†

Herbivory pressure on a forest stand and each plant individual may be affected by the spatial distribution of conspecific and allospecific plants on the site; whether the plants are standing in solitary or groupwise settings; or by the differences in the preference of plants in relation to each other. The study was conducted in southwest Sweden, where 120 plots (1508?m²) were visited and 1280 individual woody plants evaluated and measured. We tested the hypothesis that preferred woody plants can protect unpreferred conspecific and allospecific woody species against herbivory in a system with one dominant, generalist herbivore, the fallow deer (Dama L.), and that the effectiveness of this protection varies depending on the relative preference of the neighboring conspecific and allospecific woody species placed in conspecific groups or standing solitary. Our results support the hypothesis that preferred woody plants can protect unpreferred conspecific and allospecific woody species against herbivory in the case of Picea abies dominating stands.     

Gender and agroforestry in Africa: a review of women’s participation

This paper presents a review of agroforestry in Africa from a gender perspective. It examines women’s participation relative to men and the challenges and successes they experience. Particular agroforestry practices examined include fodder production and utilization, soil fertility management, woodlots and indigenous fruit and vegetable production and processing. The review shows that agroforestry has the potential to offer substantial benefits to women; however, their participation is low in enterprises that are considered men’s domain, such as timber and high in enterprises that have little or no commercial value, such as collection of indigenous fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, the degree of women’s involvement relative to men in technologies such as soil fertility management, fodder production and woodlots is fairly high in terms of proportion of female-headed households participating but is low as measured by the area they allocate to these activities and the number of trees they plant. Data on whether women are able to manage agroforestry practices as well as men are mixed, although it is clear that women do most of the work. In cases where they do not perform well, the reasons are mostly due to scarcity of resources. In marketing, women are confined to the lower end of the value chain (retailing), which limits their control over and returns from the productive process. In order to promote gender equity in agroforestry and to ensure that women benefit fully, the paper recommends various policy, technological and institutional interventions. These include (1) facilitating women to form and strengthen associations, (2) assisting women to improve productivity and marketing of products considered to be in womens’ domain and (3) improving women’s access to information by training more women extension staff, holding separate meetings for women farmers, and ensuring that women are fully represented in all activities.     

The role of governments in forest certification—a normative analysis based on new institutional economics theories

Forest certification is an issue that changes the forestry sector more profoundly than many governmental initiatives. Governments have taken quite different approaches across the globe and over time in dealing with the phenomenon. In most regions, they have seemingly switched to a ‘wait and see’ mode when confronted with the complex and fast-developing issue of forest certification. This paper explores the usefulness of economic theories to come up with recommendations on the role of governments. The approach taken is mainly based on ‘new institutional economics’ theories, especially on economics of information and related agent issues. Data collected from policy makers are used to compare theoretical positions against empirical findings (Werle, 1997). The paper shows that the economic theories applied provide rather clear indications on the role of governments. There are essential roles, such as ensuring compatibility with laws and international obligations. These have largely been fulfilled. Ensuring legal compliance, however, might well not be the only guiding function that governments should exert for the sake of market transparency, and thus market efficiency. That concerns both setting standards for forest management and roles in setting up and running private certification systems.     

‘The fridge in the forest’: Historical trajectories of land tenure regulations fostering landscape transformation in Jambi Province,Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia has attracted increasing global attention in recent years due to concerns over large-scale deforestation. The island of Sumatra in particular is severely affected by the rapid expansion of monoculture cash crops. Since Dutch colonial times, land tenure regulations here have generally favored such resource exploitation. The current National Development Plan continues to see Sumatra as a center of resource production in order to eradicate poverty and accelerate national development. This developmental focus, however, is accompanied by contested land use scenarios.Taking a historical perspective, this research discloses different layers of past and present land tenure regulations to understand present contestations of land use, resource exploitation, and their social consequences. Based on a village case study, the research demonstrates how different political eras and their accompanying land tenure approaches are inscribed in today's local landscape. We found that de jure regulations which were added to customary laws created a situation of legal pluralism. Our case study explains how local actors craft institutional arrangements in a process of institutional bricolage to use ‘their’ resources.     

The impact of climate change on fire risk in Daxing’anling,China

Daxing'anling is a key region for forest fire prevention in China.Assessing changes in fire risk in the future under multiple climatic scenarios will contribute to our understanding of the influences of climate change for the region and provide a reference for applying adaptive measures for fire management.This study analyzed the changes in fire weather indices and the fire season under four climate scenarios(RCP2.6,RCP4.5,RCP6.0,RCP8.5)for 2021–2050 using data from five global climate models together with observation data.The results showed that the analog data could project the average state of the climate for a given period but were not effective for simulating extreme weather conditions.Compared with the baseline period(1971–2000),the period 2021–2050 was predicted to have an increase in average temperature of 2.02–2.65 °C and in annual precipitation 25.4–40.3 mm,while the fire weather index(FWI) was predicted to increase by6.2–11.2% and seasonal severity rating(SSR) by5.5–17.2%.The DMC(Duff moisture code),ISI(initial spread index),BUI(build-up index),FWI and SSR were predicted to increase significantly under scenarios RCP4.5,RCP6.0,and RCP8.5.Furthermore,days with high or higher fire danger rating were predicted to be prolonged by 3–6 days,with the change in the southern region being greater under scenarios RCP4.5,RCP6.0,and RCP8.5.     

Investigation of visitors’ motivation,satisfaction and cognition on urban forest parks in Taiwan

This study conducts a survey on the urban forest parks in Taiwan to assess the benefits and affecting factors. The results show that the larger the area of the park, the higher the degree of satisfaction with the landscape and the status of the plants, and the higher the density of trees, the lower the degree of satisfaction with the scenic view. The shading effect is positively correlated with the diameter of plants at breast height, canopy cover area, and proportion of green coverage. However, higher green coverage is associated with lower satisfaction regarding the scenic view and the uniqueness of the landscape. Most visitors are less satisfied with the area of plants and landscape attractiveness. The study results can be used to evaluate the impacts of setting up urban forest parks. The outcomes also provide guidance for the relevant authorities for sustainable management and future policy making.