Expansion of traditional land-use and deforestation: a case study of an adat forest in the Kandilo Subwatershed,East Kalimantan,Indonesia

Deforestation issues are more problematic when indigenous(adat) communities,living within a forest,have lived there for many generations.These adat communities,who employ traditional land-use,are frequently accused of encroaching on the forest.To understand existing and future trends in the spatial patterns of the expansion of traditional land-use and deforestation,we conducted a case study in the Kandilo Subwatershed using mixed methods with image interpretation,spatial modelling and sociocultural surveys to examine the interrelationships between physical conditions,community characteristics and traditional land-use expansion.We investigated community characteristics through household interviews,communication with key informants,and discussions with focusgroups.By using an area production model,we were able to analyze the effect of improved farming systems,policy intervention and law enforcement on traditional land-use expansion and deforestation.Based on our examination of a 20-year period of traditional land-use activities in adat forests,the evidence indicated that the steeper the slope of the land and the farther the distance from the village,the lower the rate of deforestation.Our study found that customary law,regulating traditional land-use,played an important role in controlling deforestation and land degradation.We conclude that the integration of land allocation,improved farming practices and enforcement of customary law are effective measures to improve traditional land productivity while avoiding deforestation and land degradation.     

Capacity building to advance the United Nations sustainable development goals: An overview of tools and approaches related to sustainable land management

The United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide an ambitious and comprehensive framework for addressing the development needs on a global, regional, and national scale. In order for the SDG targets to be obtainable, diverse stakeholders need the technical, institutional, and organizational capacity to implement the wide variety of initiatives covered under these goals. Inspired by a 2016 workshop, this article synthesizes capacity-building themes and strategies for the following approaches to sustainable development, specifically related to forestry, restoration, agriculture, and other forms of land management. Using three case studies from the authors’ experience, we present approaches to building local capacity for sustainable land management (SLM) in the tropics. These projects have taken different steps in order to build technical and leadership capacity as well as develop management or financial skills, and offer insight into various approaches that may be used in order to improve the effectiveness and long-term impact of SLM efforts. By presenting a range of tools and approaches to capacity building, the authors hope that this synthesis can serve as a valuable guide for the development of diverse capacity-building initiatives required to meet the SDGs.     

Impact of community forest program in protection forest on livelihood outcomes: A case study of Lampung Province,Indonesia

The global to local-level importance of Indonesian forests for the environment and development is now very well documented. However, how to govern these forests to achieve the diverse and, at times, conflicting interests is still an open question. Hutan Kemasyarakatan (HKm) is a community forest (CF) that is being implemented to contribute to local development while creating sufficient incentives for conserving the forest. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential of HKm to conserve forests. This study analyzed the changes in the five major types of capital for HKm farmers. The results indicated HKm to have contributed positively to the improvement of natural, physical, and human capital. In addition to its direct impact, HKm was also found to improve the financial capital of the farmers by avoiding patron–client relationships and side payments between the pre-HKm illegal encroacher farmers (now legal land cultivators) and government officers. Although the results support the possibility of HKm producing a win-win situation between forest conservation and rural development, its future applicability, especially with consideration of population growth and associated increase in demand for cultivation land, needs to be given due emphasis.     

An approach to cork oak forest management planning: a case study in southwestern Portugal

This paper presents results of research aiming at the development of tools that may enhance cork oak (Quercus suber L.) forest management planning. Specifically, it proposes an hierarchical approach that encompasses the spatial classification of a cork oak forest and the temporal scheduling of cork harvests. The use of both geographical information systems and operations research techniques is addressed. Emphasis is on the achievement of cork even flow objectives. Results from an application to a case study in the Charneca Pliocénica of Ribatejo in southern Portugal encompassing a cork oak forest extending over 4.8 thousand ha are discussed. They suggest that the proposed approach is capable of effective spatial classification of cork oak management units. They further suggest that it may be used to select optimal cork even flow scheduling strategies. Results also show that the proposed approach may lead to a substantial increase in net present value when compared to traditional approaches to cork oak forest management planning.     

Comparison of depth- and mass-based approaches for estimating changes in forest soil carbon stocks: A case study in young plantations and secondary forests in West Java, Indonesia

Soil carbon (C) stocks in forest ecosystems have been widely estimated to a fixed soil depth (i.e., 0-30 cm) to clarify temporal changes in the C pool. However, surface elevations change as a result of compaction or expansion of the soil under forest management and land use. On the other hand, the calculation of soil C stocks based on “equivalent soil mass” is not affected by compaction or expansion of forest soil. To contribute to the development of a forest C accounting methodology, we compared changes in soil C stocks over 4 years between depth- and mass-based approaches using original soil data collected at 0-30 cm depths in young plantations and secondary forests in West Java, Indonesia. Our methodology expanded on the mass-based approach; rather than using one representative value for the mass-based calculation of soil C stocks, we adjusted individual values, maintaining the coefficient of variance in soil mass. We also considered the effect of an increase or decrease in soil organic matter on equivalent soil mass. Both increasing and decreasing trends in soil C stocks became clearer when the mass-based approach was used rather than the depth-based approach. The trends in soil C stocks based on equivalent soil mass were particularly evident in the surface soil layers (0-5 cm) and in plantation sites, compared with those for soil profiles including subsurface soil layers (0-30 cm) and in secondary forests. These trends in soil C stocks corresponded with temporal trends in litter stocks. We suggest that equivalent mass-basis soil C stock for the upper 30 cm of soil be calculated based on multiple soil layers to reduce estimation errors. Changes in soil organic matter mass had little effect on the estimation of soil C stock on an equivalent mass basis. For the development of a forest C accounting system, the mass-based approach should be used to characterize temporal trends in soil C stocks and to improve C cycle models, rather than simpler methods of calculating soil C stocks. These improvements will help to increase the tier level of country-specific forest C accounting systems.     

Temperate forest dynamics and carbon storage: a 26-year case study from Orange Kloof Forest,Cape Peninsula,South Africa

Temperate forests are globally important carbon stores that are, in the face of recent improvements in their conservation, likely to increase their storage capacity in the future. Despite this, these ecosystems are poorly understood, especially over longer time periods. To remedy this and to better understand these important ecosystems, we monitored marked stems >5 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) in a 0.52 ha forest plot on the Cape Peninsula over 26 years. Aboveground biomass (AGB), calculated from stem diameter, increased from 203 to 226 Mg ha^?1 over this period. The AGB residence time was greater than a century. Stem mortality was relatively high (1.2% per annum [p.a.]) and exceeded recruitment (0.2% p.a.). The recruitment of a large number of smaller stems of species not presently represented in the forest canopy suggests that compositional changes will occur in the future. Overall, these results suggest that the forest is in a post-disturbance recovery phase, although favourable climatic conditions over the last three decades may also have had an influence on AGB accumulation.     

Traditional agroforestry,parcel management,and social forestry development in a pioneer agricultural community: the case of Jala-jala,Rizal, Philippines

This paper overviews a variety of traditional agroforestry systems found in a small community of Filipino migrant farmers. Background information provides context, and then case studies of seven farmers are offered to illustrate the functions which their agroforestries fulfill in a situation of parcellization of farm-holdings into both level and sloping fields. The implications of the brief portraits presented for further research and development and for the acceptability of a social forestry program now going on in the community are suggested.     

Urban forest park use and psychosocial outcomes: A case study in six cities across South Korea

Abstract

Urban forest parks provide a wide range of experience outcomes to visitors. However, there is too little scientifically documented knowledge of the outcomes of the use. This study was conducted to identify visitors' psychosocial outcomes from urban forest park use, and to examine whether or not the visitors' psychosocial outcomes were related to some personal variables. Structured surveys were conducted with 2292 urban forest park visitors in six cities across South Korea during the summer and autumn of 2003. Examination of park experience outcomes revealed that there were three factors of outcomes: “learning and self/other relations”, “social and self-development” and “enjoying nature”. The results also indicated that older and more highly educated visitors were more likely to rate the outcomes as important than those who were younger and less educated. There were no significant differences in the outcomes between male and female visitors.     

Community and ecotourist perceptions of forest conservation benefits:a case study of Mabira Central Forest Reserve,Uganda

The different interests in forest resources by various stakeholders may result in differences in perceived value of forest conservation. In order to test this hypothesis, we compared the valuation by international ecotourists and local respondents of the perceived benefits of the Mabira Central Forest Reserve. The factors that influenced respondents’ valuation of forest conservation were also investigated. Describing a hypothetical scenario to elicit respondents’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for forest conservation was the central part of the questionnaire. The WTP;income ratio was used to estimate respondents’ perceived value of forest conservation. A chi-square (χ ²) test indicated significant association between respondent category (local and tourist) and categories of perceived benefits (p-value = 0.001). The locals were more interested in direct-use values while the tourists showed greater interest in the indirect-use values. A Student's t-test showed that the WTP:income ratios of the locals were much higher than for the ecotourists (p-value < 0.001). This implies that the local communities had a higher valuation of forest conservation than the ecotourists. Regression analysis revealed that all other factors being constant, the WTP of respondents who perceived direct- and indirect-use value as the most important forest benefit was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those who perceived no value by $5.8693 and $0.02628, respectively. The respondents who rated the contribution of the ecotourism project to community development as moderate had a significantly higher WTP compared to those who rated it as low by $6.6908. Overall, these results indicate that the benefits people derive from the forest either through direct or indirect uses influence valuation of forest conservation. Results also indicate that although ecotourismrelated benefits improved attitudes towards forest conservation, ecotourism alone may not be an adequate conservation tool because of the limited support it can provide to the local community.     

Changes of forest land use and ecosystem service values along Lao-Chinese border: A case study of Luang Namtha Province, Lao PDR

Forest cover and land use change directly impact biological diversity worldwide, contribute to climate change and affect the ability of biological systems to support human needs by altering ecosystem services. Given the forest land use characteristics and ecosystem types in Luang Namtha Province, Lao PDR, the forest cover and land cover category of Luang Namtha Province were divided into six classes, i.e., current forest (CF), potential forest (PF), other wooded areas (OW), permanent agricultural land (PA), other non-forest areas (NF) and water (W). In first instance, earlier geographic information data (GIS data) of forest cover and land use during 1992 and 2002 was obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Lao PDR. Two steps of forest land use change assessment were conducted by the MAF, i.e., plot sampling on satellite image maps (SIMs) to detect the changes of forest cover and land use during 1992 and 2002 for the entire Luang Namtha Province and field verification in order to identify causes of the changes. Secondly, dynamic information of the forest land cover changes during this ten-year period was calculated by means of map algebra in ArcGIS 9.2. Thirdly, based on the theory of ecosystem service functions and the service function values of different global ecosystems, the value of the six forest cover and land use categories in the province was obtained. Finally, ecological environmental effects, produced by the regional land cover changes over the study period, were calculated.     

Estimating forest biomass increment based on permanent sample plots in relation to woodfuel consumption: a case study in Kampong Thom Province,Cambodia

To assess the sustainability of forest use for woodfuel, above ground biomass increment must be examined against woodfuel consumption. However, reliable data on the biomass increment of tropical forests are very limited. In this study, we estimated above ground forest biomass increment in Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia, using two consecutive measurements of 32 permanent sample plots in 1998 and 2000, and forest inventory data of 540 plots collected in 1997. The permanent sampling plot data were used to determine the relationship between initial biomass and subsequent biomass increment over a 2-year period. This relationship was applied to the inventory data to obtain a robust estimate of biomass increment across the major forest types for the entire province. The weighted average annual above ground biomass increment for the whole province was 4.77Mg/ha, or 2.3% of biomass. Woodfuel consumption was estimated to be about 2% of biomass increment for the province, suggesting that deficiency of woodfuel may not occur in this province. However, localized variation needs to be taken into account and there is a need to examine the effects of stand age and factors such as soil type, microtopography, and species composition on biomass increment and to consider woodfuel collection rate in specific forest areas with respect to accessibility for firewood collection.     

森林旅游解说规划中的空间、信息与媒体关系模型构建——以天际岭国家森林公园为例

生态文明建设是中华民族永续发展的千年大计,要促进生态、文化和旅游的相互融合。森林旅游解说作为森林旅游过程中必不可少的传播手段,在我国生态文明建设中发挥着重要的作用。以往的文献中,多从游客角度来研究旅游解说规划,空间视角的相关文献甚少,且研究单一。旅游移动性作为旅游的本质属性,从空间视角认识旅游解说规划中的信息与媒体关系将有助于编制科学的旅游解说规划。以湖南天际岭国家森林公园为例,基于实地访谈法与内容分析法,通过对点-线-功能区-公园-区域等5个空间尺度下的80名游客解说需求与媒体偏好进行研究,构建了森林公园解说规划空间尺度、信息需求与媒体偏好概念模型,具有一定的创新性。研究发现,处于不同空间尺度下的游客对解说信息与媒体偏好存在较大的差异性,并指出游客解说信息需求呈现一定的尺度上升趋势,反之则表现不明显。     

Combining ALS and NFI training data for forest management planning: a case study in Kuortane,Western Finland

Forest inventories based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) have already become common practice in the Nordic countries. One possibility for improving their cost effectiveness is to use existing field data sets as training data. One alternative in Finland would be the use of National Forest Inventory (NFI) sample plots, which are truncated angle count (relascope) plots. This possibility is tested here by using a training data set based on measurements similar to the Finnish NFI. Tree species-specific stand attributes were predicted by the non-parametric k most similar neighbour (k-MSN) approach, utilising both ALS and aerial photograph data. The stand attributes considered were volume, basal area, stem number, mean age of the tree stock, diameter and height of the basal area median tree, determined separately for Scots pine, Norway spruce and deciduous trees. The results obtained were compared with those obtained when using training data based on observations from fixed area plots with the same centre point location as the NFI plots. The results indicated that the accuracy of the estimates of stand attributes derived by using NFI training data was close to that of the fixed area plot training data but that the NFI sampling scheme and the georeferencing of the plots can cause problems in practical applications.     

Balancing carbon dioxide: a case study of forest preservation,out-migration,and afforestation in the Pueblos Mancomunados of Oaxaca,Mexico

ABSTRACT

Carbon-based payments for ecosystem services solely consider afforestation and reforestation to assess sequestration. However, political ecology researchers demonstrate that tropical forests are complex socioecological systems where humans and institutions play an integral role in shaping landscapes. The current framing overlooks the net effect of traditional subsistence agriculturalists leaving behind low emission lifestyles, despite the likelihood of a significant increase in per capita emissions over time. In this case study, we use the history of forest use in the Pueblos Mancomunados—a commonwealth of indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico—to explore sequestration through a socioecological systems lens. As negative emissions programs consider afforestation, we triangulated semistructured interviews, an unsupervised GIS classification of land cover, and a review of carbon dioxide emissions to consider out-migration, abandonment, and lifestyle change. We find that communities are struggling to maintain livelihoods as migration to urban centers and the United States continues. Meanwhile, spatial analysis revealed 800 ha of afforestation. Our analysis of out-migration scenarios and per capita emissions changes identified a tipping point in which no net-sequestration would occur from afforestation due to the changing lifestyles of the migrants and recommend improved local development to avoid this form of “leakage” when assessing global carbon stocks.     

以林地为主的土地利用类型对生态系统服务功能影响研究——以长沙市岳麓区莲花镇为例

土地利用结构的改变对生态系统服务功能影响深远。参照前人提出的陆地生态系统价值当量因子表并结合研究区实际情况,计算出研究区2005~2013年生态系统服务价值VESV。结果表明:莲花镇生态系统服务价值构成中,林地占主要部分,达到75%以上,其次是水域。研究区总VESV由2005年的45.73×107元减少到2013年的44.81×107元,林地面积的减少以及建设用地面积的增加是生态系统服务价值减少的主要原因;对开展"综合土地整理"项目的五村进行分析,结果表明大华村和立马村的单位面积ESV较高,说明两村生态效益较高,土地利用规划更加合理;桐木村的单位面积ESV最小,在今后的发展中应增加林地面积,保护耕地,减少未利用地向建设用地转变。研究期内各土地利用类型的敏感性指数均小于1,说明研究结果可信。     

A case study using remote sensing data to compare biophysical properties of a forest and an urban area in Northern Alabama,USA

ABSTRACT

The quantification of major biophysical features of forest and urban areas is important for assessing ecological service from land use change and is necessary for sustainable regional planning. This study compares biophysical indicators related to local climate, air quality, and hydrology using remote sensing and derived data at a representative forest area to a nearby urban area located in Huntsville, Alabama. Results indicate that (a) there was a higher albedo, a lower average air temperature, and 10% more annual precipitation in the forest area; the assumed air conditioner working time was about 7 days more per year in the urban area; (b) there was better air quality in the forest area based on lower levels of PM2.5, PM10, and SO₂; and (c) there was a higher latent heat, more runoff per year (both aboveground and belowground runoff), and a greater soil water content at the forest area. Although Huntsville is a small city, there were some profound biophysical differences in this urban area compared to the nearby forest. These results are useful for analyzing sustainability, planning regional resources (e.g., energy, air, and water), and estimating ecological services from forests.     

An approach to GIS-based multiple criteria decision analysis that integrates exploration and evaluation phases: Case study in a forest-dominated landscape

The increasing importance and complexity of land and natural resource management are creating a need for ecosystem-based management (EBM). Multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) combined with geographic information systems (GIS) can integrate factors related to the triple bottom line of ecological, economic, and social perspectives required by EBM. However, GIS-based MCDA is limited in this role because (i) it rarely integrates or encourages an exploration phase in preparation for structured evaluation and (ii) inexperienced users may find MCDA methods and GIS software difficult to use. This paper presents a novel approach for (i) supporting an exploration phase to help structure a problem and (ii) integrating the exploration and evaluation phases in an easy-to-use software system. The approach was validated through a land-management case study in a forest-dominated landscape with a variety of stakeholders. Case-study participants used the approach to rate areas within a timber harvest plan based on their potential for conflict with conservation values. The case-study decision analysis determined that between 1.3% and 6.6% of the harvest plan area had a conservation rating of 0.30 or higher on a scale of 0–1. The system was made available to the forest industry and other stakeholders to support harvest plan adjustments, demonstrating how such tools can be used to improve and integrate our knowledge of forest ecology and management. Assessment of participant feedback reveals that an exploration phase is effective in helping understand a problem and prepare for multiple criteria evaluation (MCE).     

地表蚂蚁群落对不同类型柠檬园的物种响应及生物指示——以云南省主要柠檬产区为例

通过陷阱法调查云南省主要柠檬产区9种类型柠檬园地表蚂蚁群落。采集地表蚂蚁52种2 641头,地表蚂蚁群落结构划分为5组。不同类型柠檬园地表蚂蚁特有种不同,柠檬园BC、BB及LE无特有种,柠檬园BA有1种,其余柠檬园有2~10种。6种以上柠檬园中均出现的物种在不同类型柠檬园中的多度变化明显。对群落结构相似性贡献率≥5%的特征物种分析显示,9种类型柠檬园间地表蚂蚁特征物种明显不同;柠檬园LE、BB及RI的指示物种各有1种,分别为宽结大头蚁Pheidole noda、黑头酸臭蚁Tapinoma melanocephalum及印度大头蚁P.indica。蚂蚁的生物学特性与样地特征相关联,地表蚂蚁通过物种组成及多度变化对不同类型柠檬园做出了响应。9种类型柠檬生产方式不利于地表蚂蚁群落的保护,建议柠檬生产中减少化学农药的使用,一定程度提高植被复杂程度,降低人为干扰,增加柠檬绿色生产技术的投入。