哥本哈根，拯救人类的最后一次机会——美丽巴厘岛的曲折“小夜曲”

12月7日起,192年国家的领导人将在哥本哈根召开联合国气候会议,商讨《京都议定书》一期承诺到期后的后续方案,就未来应对气候变化的全球行动签署新的协议。这是继《京都议定书》后又一具有划时代意义的全球气候协议书,将对地球今后的气候变化走向产生决定性的影响。     

卡托维兹 能否留住人类“最后的机会”

正近日,法国政府为应对气候变化提出的加征燃油税计划引发大规模的黄背心抗议,使相距不远的波兰卡托维兹气候大会蒙上了一层阴影。全球碳计划于卡托维兹气候大会期间发布的一项报告指出,全球二氧化碳排放在2018年增长2.7%,全球碳排放在经过了连续三年的平稳表现后,2017年、2018年再度反弹。这也给全球应对气候变化的进程带来不确定性。《巴黎协定》提出了把全球平均气温较工业化前水平升高控制在2℃之内,并努力把升温控制在1.5℃之内的目标。东英吉利大学廷德尔气候变化研究中心主任教授Corinne Le Quéré表示,2018年二氧化碳     

只有人类才能拯救人类自己

<正>哥本哈根气候变化大会刚刚闭幕,《阿凡达》以20亿美元(截止到1月31日的数字)的票房记录席卷全球,生态环境的话题又一次在全球范围内得到提及。故事的主人公杰克·萨利是一个双腿残疾的退役士兵,被     

华南虎,野化放归是最后的生存机会?

华南虎野化放归栖息地联合考察组日前向国家林业局提交报告,建议将江西省资溪县和湖南省浏阳市株树桥水库区同时作为我国华南虎野化放归项目的首批实施地点。一旦国家林业局予以正式认定,将标志我国首个跨国合作拯救华南虎项目迈出关键性的一步。200万年前起源于我国,如今已极度濒危的华南虎,不仅因其是世界上所有老虎的始祖而具有重大的生物学意义,而且因其是中华民族的图腾之一和中华传统文化不可或缺的一部分而倍受珍惜和瞩目。因此,自野化放归项目启动以来,从华南虎幼崽远赴南非接受野化训练到去年底开展野化放归栖息地遴选工作,每一步…     

哥本哈根，人类把未来托付给你

经过了长久的期待与无数前期准备,2009年12月7日,在本文发表之时,联合国气候变化大会就将在丹麦首都哥本哈根托开大幕。     

上帝对地球人的最后一次谈话

上帝对地球人的最后一次谈话毛志成Ａ你们就要消亡了。你们的消亡，提前可以提到２１世纪末期乃至中期；推迟可以推迟到什么时候，这需要我最后做一次等待才能判定。我等待什么？直言不讳地说，我在等待着一个崭新的人种的出现，但愿这个崭新的人种是你们原体中分娩出来的...     

从《2012》到哥本哈根：拿什么拯救环境？

大地崩裂、海啸汹涌……好莱坞电影《2012》呈现的末日地球让人不寒而栗。为什么灾难题材科幻片总能抓住我们的眼球？因为它讲的是人类对未来的恐惧。为什么中国能成为《2012》除美国本土以外全球最热卖的市场？因为中国作为发展中的大国．对环境与发展之间关系的认识越来越清晰。     

从《2012》到哥本哈根:拿什么拯救环境?

大地崩裂、海啸汹涌……好莱坞电影《2012》呈现的末日地球让人不寒而栗。为什么灾难题材科幻片总能抓住我们的眼球?因为它讲的是人类对未来的恐惧。为什么中国能成为《2012》除美国本土以外     

动物是人类的忠实朋友 最后的野象谷

书籍是前人留给后人的精神遗言。对于陆地上最大的哺乳动物——象,我们中的绝大多数人,是通过图书在心灵上打下深深印记的。"盲人摸象"的典故,盛誉象之庞大;"曹冲称象"的故事,极言象之沉重。这流传千古的"一摸一称",不仅开启了代代童稚的心智,而且还似乎向人们透出这样的信息:大象不同于虎豹狼豺,是人类最可亲近的动物。实际上,象作为一种复合型的文化符号,早就凝结在华夏文明的篇章里。上古时代,黄帝乘坐的象驾之车,曰"象车";古代,宫廷中贵妇人身穿的绘有各种图案的礼服,称"象服"。汉代宫廷里曾养活着一批"象人",其职责是同擅长乐舞的优伶,在朝贺或宴饮时,一道献艺。象棋是我国最为普及的传统棋种,古即有之,当今的博弈规则,远在宋代就已定型……     

百位母亲,乳汁接力拯救一只金丝猴

3月12日，位于三峡库区小神农架的湖北省巴东县境内，有一只刚出生不久便被母亲遗弃的小金丝猴，在奄奄一息之时，被前来进行科学考察的专家学者救起。为了从死神的手中将它脆弱的生命夺回来，于是一曲发生在人与猴之间的旷世绝唱上演了：当地深山里善良的农村产妇用自己的乳汁救活了它；为了增加免疫力，百位年轻母亲为它竞相献出自己的乳汁；省、市动物专家组成专门的紧急救护小组，对小金丝猴进行抢救……由于被这个故事所感动，笔者前去对此事件进行了寻访。看到遍体鳞伤嗷嗷哀号的小金丝猴，张小蓉的心好似被刀割一般痛……她含泪抱起…     

Scientific and economic aspects of wood research as we look to the future of wood

Summary As the world's supply of non-renewable resources becomes increasingly critical, wood with its many attributes, but also with some inherent problems, has the opportunity of playing a more and more important role in meeting a wide variety of man's needs. Research and the development and utilization of research findings will be most important in determining how well wood fares in the years ahead. Those involved in the research effort must be aware of the need to select problems which if successful solutions are found can aid wood in better meeting man's needs. Also, there need be the recognition that the solution will only find use, if in addition to the problem being deemed of importance, both technical and economic feasibility to a significant degree can be demonstrated. The industrial rather than the scientific community is the final judge.Paper presented at the IAWS International Conference, September 9–11, 1975, in Banská Bystrica, Czechoslowakia.     

Road paving,fire regime feedbacks,and the future of Amazon forests

Fire poses the greatest threat to the forests of Amazônia. The magnitude of this threat is amplified by three positive feedback loops that drive the expansion of forest fire in the region: (1) Fire promotes drought, and therefore more fire, by releasing smoke into the atmosphere, thus reducing rainfall. Fire-assisted conversion of forests to pastures may also promote drought by increasing albedo and decreasing water vapor flux to the atmosphere, further inhibiting rainfall. (2) Fire increases the susceptibility of forests to recurrent burning by killing trees, thereby allowing sunlight to penetrate the forest interior, and increasing the fuel load on the forest floor. (3) Finally, fires also self-perpetuate by burning agricultural and forestry systems, discouraging landholders from making those fire-sensitive investments in their land that would allow them to move beyond their dependence upon fire as a management tool.The long-term reduction of Amazon fire, and its substantial costs to society, is most likely to emerge through investments and policy change that stimulate permanent agricultural and forestry production systems within existing frontiers while slowing the rate of frontier expansion. But the Brazilian government’s plan to pave, recuperate or construct 6245 km of roads in the Amazon may have the opposite effect. We present research findings that the government plan would nearly double the area of forestland that is accessible by paved highways, including 192,000 km² of fire-prone forest. Our analysis finds that these roads will stimulate 120,000–270,000 km² of additional deforestation, and forest impoverishment through logging and understory fire, if the historical relationship between road paving and forest alteration by humans continues. Infrastructural investments are urgently needed in Amazônia to help integrate isolated urban centers into the market economy, to improve the quality of life for millions of rural Amazonians, and to improve the profitability of agribusiness in Brazil’s agricultural belt. But as currently planned, these investments will have the ancillary effects of accelerating deforestation, logging, forest fire, smoke-related illness, and the displacement of small-scale farmers.     

Population dynamics and management of Amazon tidal floodplain forests: Links to the past, present and future

Although tidal floodplain forests represent the oldest commercial logging frontier in the Amazon, tree demography analyses are lacking. Consequently, the accurate evaluation of impacts of past use and the development of ecologically sound forest management has lagged. To address that gap, we combine matrix model methods with data from interviews with tidal floodplain smallholders regarding land use and ecological knowledge. Here we examine the population dynamics of 8 common tidal floodplain species and explore the link between species population ecology and past, present, and future timber use.Despite the generally high timber stocks due to the dominance of Mora paraensis, these tidal floodplain forests offer challenges to management similar to those seen in tropical forests elsewhere, including low recruitment and species-specific tree growth rates, population densities and size distributions. Furthermore, species population ecology and survey results indicate that the long legacy of forest use in the tidal floodplain forests will influence the future of forest use and management, negatively impacting some species (e.g., Virola surinamensis) while likely benefiting others (e.g., M. paraensis). The observed diameter distributions of species least harvested in the past (e.g., M. paraensis, Licania heteromorpha) follow those derived from stable stage distributions. For other historically harvested species (e.g., Carapa guianensis, V. surinamensis), a larger number of harvest-sized trees for most species would be expected under unlogged conditions, a result corroborated by survey results indicating that maximum log size of long-used timber species has decreased over the past decades.While timber extraction in the Amazon Estuary has endured for centuries, our results suggest long-term timber use does not necessarily entail sustainability; a long history of timber harvesting can also indicate a gradual process of resource depletion as preferred species are sequentially exhausted. If current practices are left unchanged, the prospects for long-term management are likely to decrease further as the densities of preferred high-value species (C. guianensis, V. surinamensis, P. filipes) fall to levels that make management economically unattractive.     

Past,present and future of industrial plantation forestry and implication on future timber harvesting technology

Plantation forests are established,and expanding,to satisfy increasing global demand for timber products.Shifting societal values,such as safety,productivity,environmental,quality and social are influencing the plantation forestry sector.This is primarily driven through an ever increasing world population,which in turn influences the way nations view the value systems by which they live.More people require more resources—also forest products.Also,the availability of information is influencing the pace of technological development.These changes could result in a difference in the management of plantations that could affect the forest engineering systems of the future.This review aimed to summarize the current status of plantation forests;summarize future developments and possible scenarios in forest plantation management for the various products;and assess whether these developments in a plantation environment could affect the harvesting systems used.Factors influencing the form of plantations include the type and nature of the plantation owner;the change in demand for different and new forest products;climate change factors,including the use of biomass for energy,carbon sequestration and trading;ecosystem services and other products and services;and sustainability certification of forest management.The impact and influence of these factors were summarised into a series of key drivers that will influence the technology used in harvesting machines,as well as the choice of harvesting machines,systems and methods.These drivers were the effect of variations in tree size,the expansion of plantation areas onto more difficult terrain,diversity in plantation design,increased attention towards site impacts and the increased use of biomass for energy.Specific information is provided regarding how the harvesting systems could be affected.     

Considerations on the future biomass production potential of Iceland,and what role that could have in future fuel supply and carbon balances

This study suggests that Iceland may be able to produce sufficient liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biological sources in the future to substitute the Icelandic 2016 consumption of fossil fuels, by using forest products. The authors evaluate a strategy to put forest on up to 35,000 km² in Iceland to 2050. The preliminary study shows that Iceland could reach climate neutrality around 2050 and be a significant net carbon sequester for the next 250 years. Approximate estimates suggest that the total forest biomass production could reach about 10 million m³yr^?1, comprising 3.1 million m³yr^?1 of roundwood, 3.1 million m³yr^?1 for generic biomass, and about 4.2 million m³yr^?1 woody material for biofuel use. This could result in a net annual carbon dioxide sequestration of 2–2.5 mill ton CO₂ yr^?1 by 2100. The calculations suggest that such an afforestation and land restoration undertaking would be long term profitable in economic terms and that the payback time would be about 2050. The method applied in this study is that of a static mass balance calculations at different time points into the future. Parallel to this work, a full integrated regional forest production model is being developed and will be applied to this issue.     

Australia's forests: Contested past,tenure-driven present,uncertain future

Australia's forests have been characterized by a history of contestation and conflict since British colonization in 1788. This paper adopts a “pathways to sustainability” approach to review Australia's forest governance models, which are strongly tenure-dependent, and generally vary between sub-national jurisdictions; only climate change-related policies, which are in a state of considerable flux, apply to all forests. Consequently, pathways to sustainability are defined largely in terms of the dominant purpose of particular tenures, and are now little-integrated across institutions, landscapes or tenures. Three decades of trialing devolved models of natural resource governance have effectively been abandoned, as have many of the initiatives intended to support development of a more diverse and more integrated ‘forestry’ sector. While the near-term prospects for sustainability of Australia's forests in anything more than the narrowest sense are poor, there are both knowledge-based and historical institutional foundations from which more substantive progress towards sustainability could be realized. This progress will need to be founded on approaches to policy development and implementation that recognize and accommodate the plurality of interests in forests, that enhance coordination and integration between institutions and across landscapes, and that empower and enable the diverse communities of interests in forests.     

Do rates of litter decomposition tell us anything we really need to know?

Results of several long-term studies of non-woody litter decomposition in forests indicate that we need to rethink why and how we measure rates of litter decomposition. Effects on litter decomposition rates were postulated to explain some of the nutritional effects of factors such as tree species, forest harvesting and fertilization. However, the accumulated experimental evidence indicates that litter decomposition rates do not mediate these responses. Many studies have reported litter mass loss becoming extremely slow at values considerably below 100%, indicating that early decay rates may not accurately foreshadow the entire decay process. Exclusion of soil faunal activities from current measurements of decomposition rates seriously reduces the likelihood that we are properly modeling decomposition. Finally, the use of regression and correlation analyses to determine which climate or initial litter quality factors control decay rate has led to many unwarranted and potentially misleading conclusions. These concerns are illustrated with examples from a suite of litter decomposition studies in British Columbia, Canada. Insights into nutrient cycling and carbon storage in ecosystems are more likely to arise from measuring the mass and nutrient content of annual litter input and determining the maximum decomposition limit and nutrient content at that stage, than by measuring early rates of decay. Improved predictions of relative decay rates of plant litters are likely to arise from a holistic approach based on plant life attributes rather than correlations based on individual initial litter chemistry parameters. Finally, a better understanding of the fate of faecal material of soil fauna is necessary before we can accurately predict and model litter decomposition.     

Catch me if you can: novel foraging behavior of an egg parasitoid,Gryon gonikopalense,against the stinkbug pest,Bagrada hilaris

Journal of Pest Science - Host detection and parasitism by egg parasitoids involve host chemical recognition, spatial overlapping, and the ability to overcome physical barriers. Within the context...     

Pulse-labelling trees to study carbon allocation dynamics: a review of methods, current knowledge and future prospects

Pulse-labelling of trees with stable or radioactive carbon (C) isotopes offers the unique opportunity to trace the fate of labelled CO(2) into the tree and its release to the soil and the atmosphere. Thus, pulse-labelling enables the quantification of C partitioning in forests and the assessment of the role of partitioning in tree growth, resource acquisition and C sequestration. However, this is associated with challenges as regards the choice of a tracer, the methods of tracing labelled C in tree and soil compartments and the quantitative analysis of C dynamics. Based on data from 47 studies, the rate of transfer differs between broadleaved and coniferous species and decreases as temperature and soil water content decrease. Labelled C is rapidly transferred belowground-within a few days or less-and this transfer is slowed down by drought. Half-lives of labelled C in phloem sap (transfer pool) and in mature leaves (source organs) are short, while those of sink organs (growing tissues, seasonal storage) are longer. (13)C measurements in respiratory efflux at high temporal resolution provide the best estimate of the mean residence times of C in respiratory substrate pools, and the best basis for compartmental modelling. Seasonal C dynamics and allocation patterns indicate that sink strength variations are important drivers for C fluxes. We propose a conceptual model for temperate and boreal trees, which considers the use of recently assimilated C versus stored C. We recommend best practices for designing and analysing pulse-labelling experiments, and identify several topics which we consider of prime importance for future research on C allocation in trees: (i) whole-tree C source-sink relations, (ii) C allocation to secondary metabolism, (iii) responses to environmental change, (iv) effects of seasonality versus phenology in and across biomes, and (v) carbon-nitrogen interactions. Substantial progress is expected from emerging technologies, but the largest challenge remains to carry out in situ whole-tree labelling experiments on mature trees to improve our understanding of the environmental and physiological controls on C allocation.