Forest vegetation of Xishuangbanna, south China

1 Introduction The tropical area of southern China is climatically and biogeographically located at the northern edge of tropical Asia, including southeastern Xizang (Tibet, lower valleys of the southern Himalayas), southern Yunnan, southwestern Guangxi, southern Taiwan and Hainan Island. The largest tropical area still covered by forests is in southern Yunnan. Tropical forests of southern Yunnan were little known until the late 1950s because of poor access except for some brief descrip-…     

Growth–climate responses of high-elevation conifers in the central Hengduan Mountains,southwestern China

Improved understanding of tree-growth responses to climate is needed to model and predict forest ecosystem responses to current and future climatic variability. We applied dendroclimatological techniques to assess the effects of inter-annual climate variations on radial growth of high-elevation conifers in the central Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China. Eight tree-ring width chronologies of the major tree genera Abies and Picea that are aligned along an elevation gradient from 3200 to 4200 m a.s.l. were developed. Correlation and principal component analyses for the eight chronologies identified three groups of sites, representing different patterns of growth–climate relationships. Correlation and redundancy analyses with regional climate data revealed that radial growth of fir growing at high-elevation sites is enhanced by normal or warm summer temperatures (June and July) during the current growing season. In addition, radial growth of trees growing from high to middle elevations is sensitive to low temperatures during winter season. At low-elevation sites, trees display low sensitivity to temperature variation. However spring moisture availability becomes crucial for radial growth regardless of tree species. High- to middle-elevation conifers in the central Hengduan Mountains may benefit from the current climate warming, especially from rising winter temperatures.     

Evaluation of Loss of Degraded Farmland Ecosystem Services in Tibet,China

Four environmemtal service functions of wheat, barley and rape ecosystem are evaluated in material production, air adjustment (including carbon dioxide fixation and oxygen release in Tibetan Autonomous Region), water conservation, and nutrient recycling. Based on it the economic loss of environment due to desertification is valued. The results show that the service functions of farmland ecosystem in Tibet are totally valued at 4 436. 2 × 106 yuan, the value of each service function is ordered as: air adjust...     

Introduction of Action Plan of Forestry Sustainable Development of Qinzhou-Fangchenggang area, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

Guanngxi Autonomous Region is an important tropical forestry region in south of China. The main purpose of this research supported by FAO is to generate action plan for sustainable forestry development of this region. Through two-year broad and deep investigation, the programme of the action plant has been made, which includes 12 fields, 38 projects, with duration of 5 years.     

Species frequency of communities along northern slope of Changbai Mountain, Northeast China

IntroductionAs an important index reflecting species spatialpatterns, frequency reflects not only the importanceof species, but also the evenness of spatial distribution in community (Lin 1986, Magurran 1988; Dale1999). Frequency figure could reveal the complexityand diversity of community at some extent. Raunkiaer(1918) divided frequency indices into five classes,namely, Ac 1%-20%, Ba 21%-40%, Cd 41%-60%, Da61%-80%, and Ed 81%-100%, and based on 8 078frequency indices of herbaceous vegetat…     

Institution, Legislation and Policy Analysis of China’s Wetland Protection

Wetland protection is a complex issue. In the executive system of wetland preservation, the central government is the main body of policy formulation and implementation. Although China has taken many steps to protect wetlands, there are still some institutional, legal and policy problems in the area of wetland protection. This article presents an analysis of these factors. First, the authors state and analyze the major legal and management problems currently hampering wetland protection in China. Then the authors believe that in the future, new problems of wetland protection will arise. Given the following three major aspects of wetland protection in China： i.e., the policy, law and management systems, this article provides some relevant suggestions in the area of policies and management.     

The current status, threats and protection way of Sanjiang Plain wetland, Northeast China

The Sanjiang Plain is a vast area of alluvial floodplains and low hills in northeast Heilongjiang Province. It is the largest tract of wetlands in China and East Asia outside of Siberia. 28 wetland nature reserves exist on the Sanjiang Plain, and three of them have been listed as wetlands of international importance to water bird conservation by the Ramsar Convention Bureau. The wetlands of Sanjiang Plain are noteworthy for its rich biodiversity, but they continue to decline in area and deteriorate in quality currently. The main threats or constrains, immediate cause, root cause and required response are analyzed in this paper, and the four aspects opinion such as improvement of watershed management, enhancement of protection and restoration of habitats and biodiversity, alternative livelihoods of rural residents living in and near natural wetland reserve, and reinforcement of capacity building of natural reserves are brought forward as the effective measures for the Sanjiang Plain wetland protection.     

Institution, Legislation and Policy Analysis of China’s Wetland Protection

Wetland protection is a complex issue. In the executive system of wetland preservation, the central government is the main body of policy formulation and implementation. Although China has taken many steps to protect wetlands, there are still some institutional, legal and policy problems in the area of wetland protection. This article presents an analysis of these factors. First, the authors state and analyze the major legal and management problems currently hampering wetland protection in China. Then the authors believe that in the future, new problems of wetland protection will arise. Given the following three major aspects of wetland protection in China: i.e., the policy, law and management systems, this article provides some relevant suggestions in the area of policies and management.     

Applications of RS, GPS and GIS to Forest Management in China

ForeSt is an jmPOhant. renewable resource which iscomPOrt Of all kinds of plantS. It has the charaCtersOf long grOWth P6riod and complex land distribution.So it has spotal rules of dynamic change. Forestcannot be subStituted by other resources in theeconomic conSbothen and environmentsl proteCtion.SO ti is imment tO eStablish a good pattern of forestresource management. In odder tO realize this goal,ffod the dynamic change Of forest resource must bemonitored and Predbe. then on this b…     

Regional Evaluation of Wind Erosion of the Loess Plateau in Pengyang County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

The loess plateau in China is well-known for its severe water erosion. A nationwide soil erosion survey discovered that wind erosion of the loess land is also greatly concerned. The severity of wind erosion for each land use in Pengyang County of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, was evaluated according to the national standard of soil erosion classification. The evaluation system includes a GIS database, an evaluation indicator system and a classification system for land and land use. The erodible nature of soil and annual soil loss of the most erodible land were obtained as follows: (1) Croplands plowed and harrowed in late autumn were the most erodible land,with an erosion intensity of medium grade and an erodible proportion of 46%; (2) The erodible proportion of natural grasslands was between 19.3% and 21.5%, whose erosion intensity was of mostly tolerable grade; (3)When it came to the whole county, there was 21.3% of the total area in tolerable grade in terms of wind erosion intensity, 42.1% slight and 34.8% medium.     

Population structure and distribution pattern of Taxus cuspidata in Muling region of Heilongjiang Province, China

An investigation was conducted on distribution pattern, site condition and population structure of yew Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc. in Muling Forest Bureau of Heilongjiang Province, China in April, 2005. Results showed that yew is mainly distributed under the main storey of natural mixed forest of conifer and broadleaf, the soil moisture content of the yew site is high （40%-60%）, the pH value of soil is relatively lower （4.7-5.5）, and that the population structure of wild yew is not rational, belonging to the degeneration population, which is one of the reasons leading to the population decline. Although the site conditions of Muling area are suitable for the growth of wild yew, the population of wild yew shows a decline tendency, due to the fact that the middle-sized adult yew trees have been cut, young yews are often grazed by wildlife, and that the trunks of adult yew tend to be hollow.     

Description of a new species of the genus Rhynchina Guene′ e, 1854 (Lepidoptera,Erebidae, Hypeninae) from Southeastern Tibet,China

A new species of the genus Rhynchina Guene′e, 1854, R. tongmaia Pan and Han, sp. n. is described from China. This species is compared with a supercially similar congener, R. rivuligera Butler, 1889 wit...     

Spatial Variability of Soil Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in a Small Watershed of Loess Hilly Region,China

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is an important soil hydraulic parameter for charactering the rate of water flow across the soils and is mainly related to its high spatial variability. In a small watershed with the area of 0.27 km2 in the Loess Plateau, Ks of 197 soil samples under different vegetations and landforms were measured. Ks had a moderate variability for total samples. The forestland had high Ks with low coefficient of variation (CV), but the grassland in the watershed bottom had low Ks wit...