Influence of post-harvest silviculture on understory vegetation: Implications for forage in a multi-ungulate system

Natural disturbance emulation has emerged as a key management approach to maintaining biodiversity in logged boreal forests. Forest managers’ success in emulating understory forest ecosystem functions, e.g., for the provision of habitat even for large mammals, has not been tested due, in many cases, to incomplete records of silviculture. We examined regenerating areas of previously conifer-dominated forests in northwestern Ontario, Canada, 10 and 30 years after logging and 10 and 30 years after fire to test if understory development and moose (Alces alces) forage abundance differed between the two disturbance types and artificial or natural regeneration approaches. In addition, we counted moose pellet groups as a measure of moose use of the region. Specific treatments included: (1) naturally regenerating, fire-origin forests, (2) post-harvest, regenerating forests with natural establishment of trees, and (3) post-harvest, regenerating forests with mechanical or chemical site preparation and planting and/or herbicide spraying. We hypothesized that the understory in post-harvest stands would support higher forage availability for moose compared to similarly-aged, fire-origin stands. Abundance of hardwoods, shrubs, and herbaceous plants was greater in naturally-regenerated post-harvest stands than in fire-origin and artificially regenerated post-harvest stands at both 10 and 30 years post-disturbance. However, post-harvest, naturally regenerating stands were not significantly associated with higher moose use, rather evidence of moose use increased as a function of the amount of naturally regenerating logged forest in the surrounding landscape. This study suggests that, relative to fire, the intensity of post-harvest silviculture influences habitat suitability for moose. The effect likely cascades to other ungulates, such as woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), and vegetation management needs to be considered at scales greater than the stand level in order to achieve habitat management for large mammals.     

浅论科学编制安徽省林地保护利用规划

土地是一切社会经济活动的重要载体,林地是重要的土地类别,也是今后经济建设用地的主要来源。编制好林地保护利用规划,对于保证森林资源有效增长、同时尽可能满足地方社会经济建设的用地需求,使林业更好地为地方经济建设服务有着非常重要的意义。我们要认识到林地被征、占用是经济建设发展的必然趋势。要科学预测使用林地方向和规模,合理规划补充林地的来源,规范林地定义,完善统计口径,真实反映林地现状。突出加强保护、合理利用、统筹兼顾、保持平衡的原则,确保实现林地稳中有增,满足森林覆盖率规划指标需要的目标。     

林地宁都黄鸡大棚散养模式探讨

林地大棚散养是宁都黄鸡的主要饲养方式.2010年,宁都黄鸡出栏3 632万只,产值5.6亿元,劳动力转移1万多人,成为宁都县农业增收、农民脱贫致富的农业支柱产业.但是,伴随着宁都黄鸡产业的发展,林地植被的破坏越来越严重,要引起高度重视,做到二者平衡发展.     

Differences in the reproductive success and survival of the rufous treecreeper (Climacteris rufa) between a fragmented and unfragmented landscape

The rufous treecreeper (Climacteris rufa) has declined in abundance in the agricultural regions of southwestern Australia. The patterns of decline are well documented, but the processes that threaten population persistence are poorly understood. I compared the reproductive success and survival of the treecreeper between three sites in an unfragmented landscape and four remnant categories (large, small, grazed and ungrazed) in a fragmented, agricultural landscape. Nest success and annual productivity were significantly higher in the unfragmented landscape, but varied between sites and remnant categories within landscapes. Nest success was lowest in grazed remnants and annual productivity was positively associated with territory size in the fragmented landscape. Fledgling survival rates did not differ between landscapes, but there was a trend for juvenile survival rates to be higher in the unfragmented landscape. I used artificial nests to compare relative predation rates between landscapes, and provisioning rates and prey biomass brought to nestlings to assess differences in food availability. There were no landscape differences in predation rates, but provisioning rates to nestlings and total prey biomass were significantly lower in the fragmented landscape. Mean habitat quality was also lower in the fragmented landscape, although it differed between remnant categories. Reduced reproductive success, juvenile survival, food availability and habitat quality may threaten the viability of the rufous treecreeper population living in the fragmented landscape. Limiting the modification of remaining habitat (e.g. removing stock grazing) and improving habitat quality are required to assist in the conservation of this species.     

Saving the sagebrush sea: An ecosystem conservation plan for big sagebrush plant communities

Vegetation change and anthropogenic development are altering ecosystems and decreasing biodiversity. Successful management of ecosystems threatened by multiple stressors requires development of ecosystem conservation plans rather than single species plans. We selected the big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystem to demonstrate this approach. The area occupied by the sagebrush ecosystem is declining and becoming increasingly fragmented at an alarming rate because of conifer encroachment, exotic annual grass invasion, and anthropogenic development. This is causing range-wide declines and localized extirpations of sagebrush associated fauna and flora. To develop an ecosystem conservation plan, a synthesis of existing knowledge is needed to prioritize and direct management and research. Based on the synthesis, we concluded that efforts to restore higher elevation conifer-encroached, sagebrush communities were frequently successful, while restoration of exotic annual grass-invaded, lower elevation, sagebrush communities often failed. Overcoming exotic annual grass invasion is challenging and needs additional research to improve the probability of restoration and identify areas where success would be more probable. Management of fire regimes will be paramount to conserving sagebrush communities, as infrequent fires facilitate conifer encroachment and too frequent fires promote exotic annual grasses. Anthropogenic development needs to be mitigated and reduced to protect sagebrush communities and this probably includes more conservation easements and other incentives to landowners to not develop their properties. Threats to the sustainability of sagebrush ecosystem are daunting, but a coordinated ecosystem conservation plan that focuses on applying successful practices and research to overcome limitations to conservation is most likely to yield success.     

Historical changes in the bird fauna at Coomooboolaroo, northeastern Australia, from the early years of pastoral settlement (1873) to 1999

Across most of northern Australia, the historical record is generally insufficient to serve as a baseline for interpreting the impacts of European settlement on fauna. A notable exception is the pastoral property Coomoobolaroo (454 km²) in central Queensland, where the ornithologist Charles Barnard maintained a detailed record of bird fauna from 1873 to 1933. We re-surveyed the property in 1999, and collated other information on its current avifauna, giving 242 species in total recorded over the period 1873-1999 (of which we had sufficient information to ascribe trends to 200 species). The bird fauna of Coomooboolaroo has undergone substantial change, across both of the periods 1873-1933 and 1934-1999. From 1873 to 1999, 45% of species declined or were lost from the property, compared with 13% of species that either colonised the property or increased. Most of the latter are widespread species or those known to benefit from clearing and land development. This extent of change appears at least as high as that reported for most comparable studies elsewhere in Australia, despite these being conducted at sites that have been subjected to superficially greater environmental degradation. The greatest rates of loss occurred among birds associated with softwood scrub (dry rainforest), grasslands and swamps. Smaller species were more susceptible to decline, but change in status was not significantly associated with foraging style nor different between residents and migrants. Many of the species that have declined at Coomooboolaroo have also declined in many other geographic regions, habitats and land-uses. Change in status at this property can be attributed to diverse factors, including changes in predation pressures; environmental change due to altered fire regimes and/or grazing by livestock; and vegetation clearance at both property and regional scales. The multiplicity and complex interrelationships of such factors renders it difficult to predict assemblage-level change.     

集体林权制度改革后农户林地投入现状的调查研究——以四川省林改示范县为例

基于对四川省3个林权改革示范县333户农户的调查数据,从农户对林地进行资金投入、劳动力投入、技术投入3个层面分析农户林地投入在林权改革深入推进背景下的发展现状,并指出农户在林地投入中存在的问题,结合四川省集体林权制度改革的实际情况,提出可以通过完善林权抵押贷款业务、发挥林业站功能及进行林业补贴等途径引导和刺激农户进行林地投入的政策建议。     

Declining birds in Australian agricultural landscapes may benefit from aspects of the European agri-environment model

Temperate Australia’s wheat/sheep zone and much of Western Europe have both experienced dramatic declines in native bird populations associated with agricultural landscapes. We compare recent conservation strategies on private land in the context of each region’s historical agricultural development and the ecology of its bird fauna. Specifically, we consider which aspects of the conservation instruments and practices employed in European agricultural landscapes might be used to augment and inform approaches to private-land biodiversity conservation in Australia. Australian biodiversity conservation activities have focussed predominantly on remnant native vegetation and rarely target the agricultural matrix (i.e. land that is primarily used for agricultural production). However, declining species include those that not only primarily inhabit woodland, but also species for which components of the agricultural matrix are important, or even their main, habitat. In contrast, in Europe a range of conservation activities undertaken through agri-environment schemes focus explicitly on the management of the agricultural matrix. Whilst the different approaches to conservation on private land in Australia and Europe reflect the two continents’ different ecologies, land-use histories and political economies of agriculture, there are a number of parallels between bird population declines in the two regions, and an opportunity may exist to incorporate some of the successful aspects of the European agri-environment approach into emerging stewardship schemes in Australia. We suggest that the long-term nature of European agri-environment agreements, the principle of landholder payments more commensurate with reduced production opportunity and management actions specifically targeted at the agricultural matrix, are features of the European scheme that could benefit both woodland- and matrix-inhabiting bird species in Australian agricultural landscapes.     

林地改为茶园对土壤净硝化速率及N2O排放的影响

以我国江南茶区(安徽、浙江)和华南茶区(福建)典型茶园土壤及各自相邻的林地土壤为研究对象,在25oC和60%田间持水量条件下,通过28 d的室内培养试验,研究了林地改为茶园后对土壤净硝化速率及N_2O排放规律的影响。结果表明:安徽地区林地改种茶园显著抑制了净硝化速率;与安徽地区的林地和茶园土壤相比,浙江和福建地区林地和茶园土壤净硝化速率很低(N,0.2 mg/(kg·d)),且林地改为茶园后对土壤净硝化速率没有显著影响。安徽地区植茶年限超过10 a的茶园土壤N_2O累积排放量均显著低于邻近的林地土壤,而植茶年限为10 a的茶园土壤与邻近的林地土壤差异不显著。浙江和福建茶园土壤N_2O累积排放量均高于各自对照的林地土壤。安徽地区土壤的N_2O累积排放量与p H呈显著的正相关关系,这表明林地改为茶园后,随着植茶年限的增加和氮肥的施用,p H降低抑制了净硝化速率,进而降低N_2O排放。     

Sampling downed coarse woody debris in fire-prone eucalypt woodlands

Downed coarse woody debris (DCWD) plays an important role in ecosystem processes and should be considered in land management decisions. Unfortunately accurate quantification of its abundance is difficult, due to its patchy distribution. This is especially problematic in woodland ecosystems where DCWD is relatively scarce, unevenly distributed and smaller in size than in other forest types. This study compared the efficacy of the line intersect and strip plot methods to sample properties of DCWD at woodland sites with differing fire histories. Although measures of abundance using the two methods did not differ statistically, the line intersect method had 20% less variability in the data, was quicker to perform and made it easier to locate individual pieces of DCWD than the strip plot method. The results of this study indicate that transects of 100 m or less are insufficient for estimating DCWD volume in woodlands. An acceptable level of precision was reached at approximately 450 m at very recently burnt sites and 700 m at long unburnt sites when only transect length was considered. However when taking both transect length and number of replicates into account, an acceptable level of precision was reached at 500 m when sampling a minimum of 20 sites. It is therefore recommended that pilot studies should be conducted to determine appropriate sampling intensities in previously unsampled areas as DCWD volume estimates are sensitive to the rate at which variance changes with increasing transect length. This is particularly important when there is variation in the disturbance history of the sites. However, if it is not possible to conduct pilot studies, the requirement would be to sample line intersect transects of at least 500 m, at a minimum of 20 sites in woodland systems.