Chapter 10. Mapping Ecological Attributes Using an Integrated Vegetation Classification System Approach

Summary

Land managers need vegetation maps to inventory, monitor, and manage ecological resources across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Current vegetation maps usually only describe one vegetation characteristic, such as cover types, across the landscape. Although these maps provide important information for land management, they often fall short of addressing key issues like forest health and ecosystem management. In this paper we present an integrated approach where three different vegetation classifications are used in concert to spatially characterize many ecological attributes such as snag densities, insect susceptibility, and fire behavior across the landscape. Two examples from the Pacific Northwest are used to illustrate how this approach can be used to describe fuel characteristics and resource hazard across multiple scales.     

Modeling fire susceptibility in west central Alberta, Canada

Strategic modification of forest vegetation has become increasingly popular as one of the few preemptive activities that land managers can undertake to reduce the likelihood that an area will be burned by a wildfire. Directed use of prescribed fire or harvest planning can lead to changes in the type and arrangement of forest vegetation across the landscape that, in turn, may reduce fire susceptibility across large areas. While among the few variables that fire managers can influence, fuel conditions are only one of many factors that determine fire susceptibility. Variations in weather and topography, in combination with fuels, determine which areas are more likely to burn under a given fire regime. An understanding of these combined factors is necessary to identify high fire susceptibility areas for prioritizing and evaluating strategic fuel management activities, as well as informing other fire management activities, such as community protection planning and strategic level allocation of fire suppression resources across a management area. We used repeated fire growth simulations, automated in the Burn-P3 landscape-fire simulation model, to assess spatial variations in fire susceptibility across a 2.4 million ha study area in the province of Alberta, Canada. The results were used to develop a Fire Susceptibility Index (FSI). Multivariate statistical analyses were used to identify the key factors that determine variation in FSI across the study area and to describe the spatial scale at which these variables influence fire susceptibility at a given location. A fuel management scenario was used to assess the impact of prescribed fire treatments on FSI. Results indicated that modeled fire susceptibility was strongly influenced by fuel composition, fuel arrangement, and topography. The likelihood of high or extreme FSI values at a given location was strongly associated with the percent of conifer forest within a 2-km radius, and with elevation and ignition patterns within a 5-km radius. Results indicated that prescribed fire treatments can be effective at reducing forest fire susceptibility in community protection zones and that simulation modeling is an effective means of evaluating spatial variation in landscape fire susceptibility.     

Integrating climate change into forest management in South-Central British Columbia: An assessment of landscape vulnerability and development of a climate-smart framework

The achievement of sustainable forest management requires the incorporation of risk and uncertainty into long-term planning. Climatic change will have significant impacts on natural disturbances, species and ecosystems, particularly on landscapes influenced by forest management. Understanding where vulnerabilities lie is important in managing the risks associated directly or indirectly with climatic change. The vulnerability of landscapes to natural disturbances, the resilience of ecosystems and distribution of species are all important components that need to be considered when undertaking forest planning, but climatic change is rarely factored into such planning. In this study, the vulnerability of fire potential, fire regimes, ecosystems and species to climatic change was modelled for a 145,000 ha landscape in the south-central interior of British Columbia, Canada. The results from these analyses were used to guide forest zoning, using the triad zoning framework, and for the development of a “climate-smart” management framework. The use of climate-smart management is advocated as a decision-making framework for managing forested landscapes based on an understanding of landscape vulnerability to future climatic change. From this understanding, the maintenance of ecosystem health and vitality could be achieved.     

云南省自然保护地资源现状及保护价值评估

对云南省自然保护地的土地利用、森林起源和类别、生态系统、重点保护物种和景观资源等现状进行分析,并从多样性、典型性和脆弱性、稀有性和特有性、自然性等方面评估其保护价值。结果显示,云南省90%的典型生态系统、27.61%的湿地生态系统、57.90%的原始林、超过90%的国家重点保护植物、约80%的国家重点保护动物以及重要的地质遗迹、自然风景资源在保护地内得到有效保护。对云南省自然保护地资源状况的全面掌握为自然保护地整合优化工作,以及建立以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系研究提供了理论依据。     

自然保护区与自然保护区学

本文综述了国内外自然保护区的发展历史和现状；提出了自然保护区学这一新概念；系统地论述了自然保护区学的理论基础、研究内容和方法，以及今后的展望。     

Integrating fire risk considerations in landscape-level forest planning

The low timber returns of Mediterranean forests, together with their high fire risk, has led to negligent forest management. Absence of management has in turn been blamed for increasing the risk of fire, thus forming a vicious circle of low profitability, little management and high risk of fire. Developing forest planning tools that maximize both economic objectives and fire resistance could help to revive the forest sector in the region and generate long-term fire prevention strategies. In the present study, we simultaneously maximized timber income and the overall fire resistance of the landscape to generate management plans for a typical forest landscape in the Pre-Pyrenees of Catalonia (North-East Spain). The risk of fire was integrated into the economic objective by incorporating potential fire losses in the expected net income. Landscape metrics describing fire resistance were also included in problem formulations. The results show that this approach greatly improves management efficiency in terms of economic profitability and fire resistance.     

Estimating rates of substitution for protecting values at risk for initial attack planning and budgeting

With changes in land management planning and a new federal fire policy, increased emphasis has been placed on protecting a broader set of resource values such as those associated with sensitive species habitat or cultural resources. Fire managers have long needed a system for assessing values at risk across the landscape that can be implemented in accordance with the budgeting and appropriation process and that can be updated annually or every several years. A viable system has to be operational at a reasonable cost and it must support strategic planning and budgeting. Currently available valuation methods, in their entirety, can be costly and time consuming making them problematic for these purposes. Consequently, managers have become accustomed to assessing values at risk without the direct support of structured economic analysis. This paper discusses an approach (Marginal Attribute Rate of Substitution) to assessing values at risk for initial attack planning and budgeting. MARS is an attribute based method for estimating rates of substitution among fire protection attributes in a spatial context. It consists of and builds upon specific elements from well known and peer-reviewed valuation methods for resource valuation. As such, MARS relies upon stated preference, expert opinion, the hedonic price equation and other familiar procedures. The paper concludes with an empirical example of the application of MARS to a forested area in California. As the first construction of this approach it has the potential for further modification and refinement for those that may find it of interest.     

滇中地区生态环境脆弱性对景观动态变化的响应 ——以云南清华洞国家森林公园为例

基于GIS技术,对云南清华洞国家森林公园2010—2019年的土地利用进行分类和统计,选取分维数、景观形状指数、香农多样性指数、香农均匀度指数、破碎度、分离度、脆弱度指数、生态环境脆弱度等8个景观评价指标,探讨在景观格局变化背景下生态环境脆弱性的变化特征.结果表明:森林公园的景观格局以林地为基底,建设用地、农地、水域零...     

Simulating restoration strategies for a southern boreal forest landscape with complex land ownership patterns

Restoring altered forest landscapes toward their ranges of natural variability (RNV) may enhance ecosystem sustainability and resiliency, but such efforts can be hampered by complex land ownership and management patterns. We evaluated restoration potential for southern-boreal forests in the ∼2.1 million ha Border Lakes Region of northern Minnesota (U.S.A.) and Ontario (Canada), where spatially distinct timber harvest and fire suppression histories have differentially altered forest conditions (composition, age–class distribution, and landscape structure) among major management areas, effectively resulting in forest landscape “bifurcation.” We used a forest landscape simulation model to evaluate potential for four hypothetical management and two natural disturbance scenarios to restore forest conditions and reduce bifurcation, including: (1) a current management scenario that simulated timber harvest and fire suppression practices among major landowners; (2) three restoration scenarios that simulated combinations of wildland fire use and cross-boundary timber harvest designed to emulate natural disturbance patterns; (3) a historical natural disturbance scenario that simulated pre-EuroAmerican settlement fire regimes and windthrow; and (4) a contemporary fire regime that simulated fire suppression, but no timber harvest. Forest composition and landscape structure for a 200-year model period were compared among scenarios, among major land management regions within scenarios, and to six RNV benchmarks. The current management scenario met only one RNV benchmark and did not move forest composition, age–class distribution, or landscape structures toward the RNV, and it increased forest landscape bifurcation between primarily timber-managed and wilderness areas. The historical natural disturbance scenario met five RNV benchmarks and the restoration scenarios as many as five, by generally restoring forest composition, age–class distributions, and landscape structures, and reducing bifurcation of forest conditions. The contemporary natural disturbance scenario met only one benchmark and generally created a forest landscape dominated by large patches of late-successional, fire-prone forests. Some forest types (e.g., white and red pine) declined in all scenarios, despite simulated restoration strategies. It may not be possible to achieve all objectives under a single management scenario, and complications, such as fire-risk, may limit strategies. However, our model suggests that timber harvest and fire regimes that emulate natural disturbance patterns can move forest landscapes toward the RNV.     

Does forest biomass harvesting for energy reduce fire hazard in the Mediterranean basin? a case study in the Caroig Massif (Eastern Spain)

The Mediterranean basin is a fire-prone area and is expected to continue being so according to projected climate and socioeconomic changes. Sustainable exploitation of forest biomass could have a positive effect on wildfire hazard mitigation. A modelling approach was used to compare how four different Scenarios for biomass collection for energy use affect fire behaviour and potential burnt area at landscape level under extreme meteorological conditions in a typical Mediterranean Massif. A case study of Pinus halepensis stands in Valencia (Eastern Spain) was conducted. The FARSITE simulator was used to evaluate the burnt area and fire behaviour parameters. Simulations predicted a significant increase in the burnt area and the values of most fire behaviour parameters in a Scenario of rural abandonment, relative to the current situation. Biomass management through thinning reduced canopy bulk density; however, no differences in the values of the main fire behaviour parameters were detected. Thinning and understory clearing, including biomass collection in large shrub fuel model areas, significantly reduces fire hazard. Forest biomass sustainable harvesting for energy is expected to reduce fire hazard if management includes intense modification of fuel models, comprising management of shrub biomass at the landscape level. Strong modification of forest fuel models requires intensive silvicultural treatments. Therefore, forest biomass collection for energy in the Mediterranean basin reduces fire hazard only if both tree and shrub strata are managed at landscape level.     

社区是有效保护天然林的主体

自然保护区管理的实践证明，仅靠政府的投入而忽略社区的角色和作用是难以实现自然资源的有效管理的。天然林保护工程的实施面临着来自当地社区的比自然保护区管理更大的压力。社区林业的实践表明以社区为基础的森林资源管理可能是天然林有效保护的途径之一，社区将是天然林有效保护的主体。     

Chapter 8. Assessing the Impacts of Severe Fire on Forest Ecosystem Recovery

Summary

The potential for severe impacts from a wildland fire, with or without a subsequent severe precipitation event, was evaluated in western and central Colorado and in a case-study area, the former Rio Grande National Forest (NF) of the San Juan-Rio Grande NF. The evaluation involved identifying the factors that are conducive to vulnerability and, additionally, the factors that impede or enhance recovery. Forest ecosystem characteristics that can increase vulnerability to the effects of a severe fire, with or without a subsequent severe precipitation event, include: relative flammability of forest floor materials, the location of nutrient storage (above or below ground), depth of soil, site quality, steepness of slopes, propensity to produce hydrophobic soils, and likelihood of mass movement, among others. Ponderosa pine forests appear more vulnerable, with natural regeneration more difficult than for some other types because of the relatively higher flammability of the foliar material in the forest floor, storage of nutrients above ground, and the episodic and infrequent years for good natural regeneration in drier areas.

In western and central Colorado, only two subbasins-the subbasin in which Boulder is located and the subbasin south of Denver-had both a high fire-ignition frequency and a high hydrophobicity composite risk index placing them at risk for both fire and erosional overland flow. Construction of a vegetation map showing the forest types most likely to be damaged by a severe wildfire and erosion, particularly on steep slopes, was done using GIS.

The forest landscape structure and composition existing today appear as the result of many stochastic factors operating over decades to centuries. Not all of these historic conditions and processes can be duplicated today. Potential losses of organic matter and nutrients from severe fire and subsequent intense precipitation events can be substantial.     

Protected Area Management in the Tropics

SUMMARY

This paper provides a brief overview of some key experiences from protected area management projects in Africa and Asia, to help set the scene for the new generation of transboundary protected areas. Particular attention is given to projects attempting to support protected area management by improving the welfare of local people, a key component of many transboundary protected area initiatives.

During the 1990s the funding available to support protected areas in the tropics increased significantly, leading to a proliferation of Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) and similar approaches. But many of these attempts to broaden access to conservation benefits by establishing tangible links between protected area management and economic development among local communities have been based on unrealistic assumptions and have struggled to be effective. As a result, future international funding for similar initiatives may be at risk.     

Modeling forest harvesting effects on landscape pattern in the Northwest Wisconsin Pine Barrens

Forest management shapes landscape patterns, and these patterns often differ significantly from those typical for natural disturbance regimes. This may affect wildlife habitat and other aspects of ecosystem function. Our objective was to examine the effects of different forest management decisions on landscape pattern in a fire adapted ecosystem. We used a factorial design experiment in LANDIS (a forest landscape simulation model) to test the effects of: (a) cut unit size, (b) minimum harvest age and (c) target species for management. Our study area was the Pine Barrens of northwest Wisconsin, an area where fire suppression has caused a lack of large open areas important for wildlife. Our results show that all three management choices under investigation (cut unit size, minimum harvest age and target species for management) have strong effects on forest composition and landscape patterns. Cut unit size is the most important factor influencing landscape pattern, followed by target species for management (either jack pine or red pine) and then minimum harvest age. Open areas are more abundant, and their average size is larger, when cut units are larger, target species is jack pine, and minimum harvest age is lower. Such information can assist forest managers to relate stand level management decision to landscape patterns.     

Experiences from developing an integrated land-use planning approach for protected areas in the Lao PDR

While early efforts to establish protected areas often excluded local people, modern approaches in many countries now seek to involve local communities in ways that are appropriate to the objectives for the protected area. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a protected area management system was established in 1993. In many cases, the new protected areas had land-use conflicts with inhabitants who depended on the areas for their living. This study was undertaken in a protected area in the northwest of the Lao PDR. The primary objective was to identify and gain experiences from a feasible approach for improvement and implementation of protected area management with a positive interaction between people and the natural environment. An integrated land-use planning approach was adopted. It included participatory methods for data capture and analysis, including the use of a simple simulation model, the ‘Area Production Model’ (APM) aiming at evaluating different options for land use and primary production. The outcome of the study was positive in the sense that this integrated land-use planning approach was found to be well adapted to the needs of the protected area management system.     

基于自然保护地的自然教育创新路径探析

随着我国自然教育的快速发展,自然保护地依托自然生态系统、自然遗迹和自然景观等自然 资源及其独特的人文资源,已经成为自然教育的重要场所。为保障自然保护地自然教育工作的科 学有序开展,梳理当前我国自然保护地开展自然教育的现状,分析自然保护地开展自然教育的具体 实践和存在的主要问题。针对顶层设计不完善、教育资源挖掘不够、配套设施短缺、专业人才匮乏、 社会参与机制尚未形成等突出问题,提出自然保护地开展自然教育的具体路径。一是自然保护地 行政管理部门做好顶层设计,疏通多元参与渠道,为自然保护地开展自然教育构建完善制度体系。 二是自然保护地主动接受行政管理部门的指导,探索构建与自然保护地自然和人文资源紧密结合的 自然教育实践模式。三是自然保护地要大力加强自然教育设施建设,结合人工智能等高新技术,打造 智能自然教育一体化平台;结合独特的自然和人文资源,开发精品课程、编写特色教材;利用新媒体技 术做好宣传引导;严格管理程序,不断强化安全管理;注重存量人才培养,积极拓宽引才渠道等。     

An easy,accurate and efficient procedure to create forest fire risk maps using the SEXTANTE plugin Modeler

To prevent, detect, and protect against forest fires, forest personnel need to define rules for determining forest fire risk. In Portugal, all municipalities must annually produce forest fire risk(FFR) maps. To produce more reliable FFR maps more easily, we developed an open source model using the Modeler plugin of SEXTANTE in the program QGIS version 2.0 Dufour. The model provides all the maps involved in the FFR model(susceptibility map, hazard map, vulnerability map, economic value map,and potential loss map) and was produced according to Portuguese Forest Authority's(AFN, Autoridade Florestal Nacional) rules for determining the FFR. This model was tested for the Portuguese municipality Santa Maria da Feira, where 40 % of the total municipality area falls in the category ‘‘very high' or ‘‘high' fire risk. The ‘‘very high'fire risk area is mainly classified as broad-leaved forest and has the steepest slopes(15 %). The distance of burned areas to roads was also analyzed; the proportion of burned areas increased with increasing distance to the main roads.In addition, 92.6 % of the ‘‘high' and ‘‘very high' risk zones were located in areas with lower elevation. These results confirmed that forest fire is strongly influenced not only by environmental factors but also by anthropogenic factors. The procedure implemented here was compared with our open source application already available in QGIS and also to the same procedure implemented in GIS proprietary software. Although the results were obviously the same, the model developed here presents several advantages over the other two approaches. Besides being faster,it is easy to change the model parameters according to user needs(i.e., to the rules of different countries), and can be modified and adapted to other variables and other areas to create risk maps for different natural phenomena(e.g.,floods, earthquakes, landslides). The model is easy to use and to create risk and hazard maps rapidly in a free, open source environment that does not require any programming knowledge.     

广东省自然保护地破损山地现状及生态修复对策研究

自然保护地破损山地包括自然保护地内废弃的矿山、石场、泥口和裸露的道路边坡等。自然保护地破损山地生态修复,可改善生态环境,保护生物多样性,提升景观质量,促进人与自然和谐共生。基于广东省自然保护地破损山地的现状,分析了全省自然保护地破损山地生态修复存在的问题,并从保护生态环境和生物多样性的角度,针对边坡、土壤、水环境、植被和景观等修复提出相应的对策,以期为自然保护地破损山地生态修复提供借鉴。     

Integration of Northern spotted owl habitat and fuels treatments in the eastern Cascades,Washington, USA

The restoration of natural fire regimes has emerged as a primary management objective within fire-prone forests in the interior western US. However, this objective becomes contentious when perceived to be in conflict with the conservation of rare wildlife species. For example, the integration of fire ecology in disturbance-prone forests of eastern Washington with the recovery of the Northern spotted owl has been described as a management dilemma. We intersected modeled spotted owl habitat with mapped priority fuels treatment areas in order to determine the magnitude of the potential conflict between fuels management and owl conservation. Our results show that there is considerable overlap within dry forests between high suitability spotted owl habitat and moderate-high priority fuels treatment areas (34% overlap). However, there is also considerable overlap of lower suitability spotted owl habitat with moderate-high priority fuels treatment areas (35% overlap) providing opportunities to accomplish multiple management objectives if one considers a landscape perspective. We propose that a conservation strategy for the Northern spotted owl in the eastern Cascades consider the following: emphasize landscape restoration of dry forests within which spotted owl habitat is embedded; landscapes considered for restoration need to be large enough to accomodate the effects of fire disturbances and still retain sufficient habitat to support spotted owl populations; and include adaptive management allowing for adequate monitoring and feedback for managers to make needed adjustments.     

Historic and current fire regimes in the Great Xing’an Mountains,northeastern China: Implications for long-term forest management

Understanding both historic and current fire regimes is indispensable to sustainable forest landscape management. In this paper, we use a spatially explicit landscape simulation model, LANDIS, to simulate historic and current fire regimes in the Great Xing’an Mountains, in northeastern China. We analyzed fire frequency, fire size, fire intensity, and spatial pattern of burnt patches. Our simulated results show that fire frequency under the current fire scenario is lower than under the historic fire scenario; total area burnt is larger with lower fire intensity under the historic fire scenario, and smaller with higher fire intensity under the current fire scenario. We also found most areas were burned by high intensity fires under the current fire scenario, but by low to moderate fires under the historic fire scenario. Burnt patches exhibit a different pattern between the two simulation scenarios. Large patches burnt by high intensity class fires dominate the landscape under the current fire scenario, and under historic fire scenario, patches burnt by low to moderate fire intensity fires have relatively larger size than those burnt by high intensity fires. Based on these simulated results, we suggest that prescribed burning or coarse woody debris reduction should be incorporated into forest management plans in this region, especially on north-facing slopes. Tree planting may be a better management option on these severely burned areas whereas prescribed burning after small area selective cutting, retaining dispersed seed trees, may be a sound forest management alternative in areas except for the severely burned patches.