Culture, Innovation and the Green Economy

Patterns and driving factors of biomass carbon and soil organic carbon stock in the Indian Himalayan region

Studying carbon and nitrogen stocks in different types of larch forest ecosystems is of great significance for assessing the carbon sink capacity and nitrogen level in larch forests. To evaluate the effects of the differences of forest type on the carbon and nitrogen stock capacity of the larch forest ecosystem, we selected three typical types of larch forest ecosystems in the northern part of Daxing’an Mountains, which were the Rhododendron simsii-Larix gmelinii forest (RL), Ledum palustre-Larix gmelinii forest (LL) and Sphagnum-Bryum-Ledum palustre-Larix gmelinii forest (SLL), to determine the carbon and nitrogen stocks in the vegetation (trees and understories), litter and soil. Results showed that there were significant differences in carbon and nitrogen stocks among the three types of larch forest ecosystems, showing a sequence of SLL (288.01 Mg·ha−1 and 25.19 Mg·ha−1) > LL (176.52 Mg·ha−1 and 14.85 Mg·ha−1) > RL (153.93 Mg·ha−1 and 10.00 Mg·ha−1) (P < 0.05). The largest proportions of carbon and nitrogen stocks were found in soils, accounting for 83.20%, 72.89% and 64.61% of carbon stocks and 98.61%, 97.58% and 96.00% of nitrogen stocks in the SLL, LL and RL, respectively. Also, it was found that significant differences among the three types of larch forest ecosystems in terms of soil carbon and nitrogen stocks (SLL > LL > RL) (P < 0.05) were the primary reasons for the differences in the ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks. More than 79% of soil carbon and 51% of soil nitrogen at a depth of 0–100 cm were stored in the upper 50 cm of the soil pool. In the vegetation layer, due to the similar tree biomass carbon and nitrogen stocks, there were no significant differences in carbon and nitrogen stocks among the three types of larch forest ecosystems. The litter carbon stock in the SLL was significantly higher than that in the LL and RL (P < 0.05), but no significant differences in nitrogen stock were found among them (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that different forest types with the same tree layer and different understory vegetation can greatly affect the carbon and nitrogen stock capacity of the forest ecosystem. This indicates that understory vegetation may have significant effects on the carbon and nitrogen stocks in soil and litter, which highlights the need to consider the effects of understory in future research into the carbon and nitrogen stock capacity of forest ecosystems.

The Kyoto-protocol permits the accounting of changes in forest carbon stocks due to forestry. Therefore, forest owners are interested in a reproducible quantification of carbon stocks at the level of forest management units and the impact of management to these stocks or their changes. We calculated the carbon stocks in tree biomass and the organic layer including their uncertainties for several forest management units (Tharandt forest, Eastern Germany, 5,500 ha) spatially explicit at the scale of individual stands by using standard forest data sources. Additionally, soil carbon stocks along a catena were quantified. Finally, carbon stocks of spruce and beech dominated stands were compared and effects of thinning intensity and site conditions were assessed. We combined forest inventory and data of site conditions by using the spatial unions of the shapes (i.e., polygons) in the stand map and the site map. Area weighted means of carbon (C) stocks reached 10.0 kg/m² in tree biomass, 3.0 kg/m² in the organic layer and 7.3 kg/m² in mineral soil. Spatially explicit error propagation yielded a precision of the relative error of carbon stocks at the total studied area of 1% for tree biomass, 45% for the organic layer, and 20% for mineral soil. Mature beech dominated stands at the Tharandt forest had higher tree biomass carbon stocks (13.4 kg/m²) and lower organic layer carbon stocks (1.8 kg/m²) compared to stands dominated by spruce (11.6, 3.0 kg/m²). The difference of tree biomass stocks was mainly due to differences in thinning intensity. The additional effect of site conditions on tree carbon stocks was very small. We conclude that the spatially explicit combination of stand scale inventory data with data on site conditions is suited to quantify carbon stocks in tree biomass and organic layer at operational scale.

Spatialization of biomass and carbon stocks is essential for a good understanding of the forest stand and its characteristics, especially in degraded Mediterranean cork oak forests. Furthermore, the analysis of biomass and carbon stock changes and dynamics is essential for understanding the carbon cycle, in particular carbon emissions and stocks, in order to make projections, especially in the context of climate change. In this research, we use a multidimensional framework integrating forest survey data, LiDAR UAV data, and extracted vegetation indices from Landsat imagery (NDVI, ARVI, CIG, etc.) to model and spatialize cork oak biomass and carbon stocks on a large scale. For this purpose, we explore the use of univariate and multivariate regression modeling and examine several types of regression, namely, multiple linear regression, stepwise linear regression, random forest regression, simple linear regression, logarithmic regression, and quadratic and cubic regression. The results show that for multivariate regression, stepwise regression gives good results, with R2 equal to 80% and 65% and RMSE equal to 2.59 and 1.52 Mg/ha for biomass and carbon stock, respectively. Random forest regression, chosen as the ML algorithm, gives acceptable results, explaining 80% and 60% of the variation in biomass and carbon stock, respectively, and an RMSE of 2.74 and 1.72 Mg/ha for biomass and carbon stock, respectively. For the univariate regression, the simple linear regression is chosen because it gives satisfactory results, close to those of the quadratic and cubic regressions, but with a simpler equation. The vegetation index chosen is ARVI, which shows good performance indices, close to those of the NDVI and CIG. The assessment of biomass and carbon stock changes in the study area over 35 years (1985–2020) showed a slight increase of less than 10 Mg/ha and a decrease in biomass and carbon stock over a large area.

The concept of green economy has received significant international attention over the past few years as a tool to address the 2008 financial crisis. Governments today are seeking effective ways to lead their nations out of the crisis and the green economy (in its various forms) has been proposed as a means for catalyzing renewed national policy development and international cooperation and support for sustainable development. The aim of this article is to define and highlight the importance of the green (blue) economy and compare it with the so-called greed economy. This article is divided into different sections: after a brief introduction is a systematic literature review; the second section is about sustainable development and the green economy concept; the third is about the green economy and blue economy concept; and the fourth compares greed economy to green (blue) economy. Finally, the author will draw conclusions.

A GIS-based approach for quantifying and mapping carbon sink and stock values of forest ecosystem: A case study

Carbon stocks are calculated between from 0 - 100 cm depths of Adana great soil groups (GSG). Total carbon stock is 567.19 Tg in 0 - 100 cm, 168.37 Tg of which is organic carbon (OC) and 398.83 Tg of which is inorganic carbon (IC). While 77.81% of soil organic carbon consists of alluvial, brown and non-calcareous brown forest soils, 59.77% of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) consists of alluvial, colluvial and brown forest soils. Organic carbon stocks are mostly seen in non-calcareous brown forest soils (53.75 Tg or 31.92% of OC stocks, 22.61% of all area). The least stock is determined in alluvial coast soils (0.02 Tg or 0.01% of OC stocks, 0.01% of all area). Inorganic carbon stocks are mostly found in alluvial soils (165.7 Tg or 41.65% of SIC stocks, 19.88% of all area) and it is least seen in alluvial coast soils (0.12 Tg or 0.03% of SIC stocks, 0.01% of all area). While soil organic carbon amount is between 6.01 - 13.78 kg C m-2, soil inorganic carbon amount changes between 26.27-60.01 kg C m-2. Generally, it is seen that soil organic carbon amount is low in the area where intense agriculture techniques are used and it is high in meadow and forest areas which form high areas. Key words: Adana soils, soil organic carbon amounts and stocks, soil inorganic carbon amounts and stocks.

Challenges faced by more and more countries in their struggle for economic and social development are increasingly related to water. The water sector shows an emerging global crisis, presenting shortages, quality deterioration, flood impacts, increased competition for use and governance problems. In the mean time notable population growth, increasing water consumption and climate change have created severe limitations for social, economic and human development and poverty alleviation. This brings us to the question: why is water resource development and management a main instrument in creating a green economy? The answer to this question can be found in the definition of green economy (UNEP, 2011) as one which results in improving human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Accordingly, it is quite evident that green growth, fundamentally based on water resource development, is an outcome of green economy and that a green economy cannot be totally green unless it addresses water issues. In other words, a blue economy is a prerequisite of a green economy. Considering the core features of green economy, it is quite obvious that water-use efficiency and improving crop water productivity, i.e increasing crop by drop, are central aspects of green economy. This directly indicates the crucial role regional and locally adapted water management strategies could have in underpinning the transition towards the green economy in the water sector. Equally, policy reforms should implement integrated land and water resource management through innovative capacity development approaches, focusing on the water demand side rather than the supply side, promoting water use efficiency and the sustainable use of waste water as an additional water source. Moving towards a green economy through water resource management, specific attention should be given to capacity development programmes; to developing and retaining local capacity for sustainable maintenance of green technology; and to establishing an appropriate valuation, charging and allocation system. In the Mediterranean, transitioning to a green water economy requires a fundamental shift in the way we think and act. For this to happen, investments in people's capacities and fulfilment of their entitlement are needed by means of greater education, training, information, awareness, understanding and participation in decision-making processes. Investments and technological progress are important in moving towards a green water economy, but equally important are awareness, motivation and empowerment of individuals and communities.

Effects of rapid urban sprawl on urban forest carbon stocks: Integrating remotely sensed, GIS and forest inventory data

In the growing economy of developing countries, the environment is getting unsustainable. There is the requirement of goals that are standardized and complementary for the promotion of Green Economy Growth and developed the constraints confronting transformation and providing opportunities. Industrial civilization and inorganic products erode the healthy pathway. World global policies initiated the transformation of the planet as the result of the “Green go Economy”. This platform is an alternate vision for that developing countries' growth and development which are facing climate change, biodiversity losses, water scarcity, and negative externalities. This study aims to assess the effect of environmental factors quality of living standards, opportunities, and constraints confronting transformation towards a green economy in developing countries. The study measured the dimensions and principles of the “green economy” as a base for additional society development. The several challenges to initiating a green economy and achieving sustainable technological change need to be understood by professionals and policymakers to make adequate changes in the social setting. Effective influence on the level of echo of several important phenomena was implemented for the aspirational transformation of economic and environmental measurement. The recent developments are improving cheap, faster broader frameworks for measuring socio-economic environmental interactions. In the light of UNEP, OECD, and UN policies all the issues, challenges, and critics of the green economy that developing countries are facing are positively analyzed for promoting the green economy for sustainable development and maintaining a long-term relationship between environment and economic growth. The reviewer has many objectives for better improvement of measures in Green economy transformation. The study contributes towards the green economy development over a policy to decrease the environmental risks and progress economic growth. The study concludes that better investment in green product GDP, better interaction in the economy society environment, and ecosystem, and better economic transformation methodologies of the green economy will attain attention for a better future in developing countries.

An eco-Marxist reinterpretation of formal abstraction in Ecological Economics

Land use and land cover changes and carbon stock valuation in the São Francisco river basin, Brazil

West African savannas are experiencing rapid land cover change that threatens biodiversity and affects ecosystem productivity through the loss of habitat and biomass, and carbon emissions into the atmosphere exacerbating climate change effects. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in these areas is critical in the efforts to combat climate change. For such restorative actions to be successful, they must be grounded on a clear knowledge of the extent to which climate change affects carbon storage in soil and biomass according to different land uses. The current study was undertaken in semi-arid savannas in Dano, southwestern Burkina Faso, with the threefold objective of: (i) identifying the main land use and land cover categories (LULCc) in a watershed; (ii) assessing the carbon stocks (biomass and soil) in the selected LULCc; and (iii) predicting the effects of climate change on the spatial distribution of the carbon stock. Dendrometric data (Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and height) of woody species and soil samples were measured and collected, respectively, in 43 plots, each measuring 50 × 20 m. Tree biomass carbon stocks were calculated using allometric equations while soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks were measured at two depths (0–20 and 20–50 cm). To assess the impact of climate change on carbon stocks, geographical location records of carbon stocks, remote sensing spectral bands, topographic data, and bioclimatic variables were used. For projections of future climatic conditions, predictions from two climate models (MPI-ESM-MR and HadGEM2-ES) of CMIP5 were used under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 and modeling was performed using random forest regression. Results showed that the most dominant LULCc are cropland (37.2%) and tree savannas (35.51%). Carbon stocks in woody biomass were higher in woodland (10.2 ± 6.4 Mg·ha−1) and gallery forests (7.75 ± 4.05 Mg·ha−1), while the lowest values were recorded in shrub savannas (0.9 ± 1.2 Mg·ha−1) and tree savannas (1.6 ± 0.6 Mg·ha−1). The highest SOC stock was recorded in gallery forests (30.2 ± 15.6 Mg·ha−1) and the lowest in the cropland (14.9 ± 5.7 Mg·ha−1). Based on modeling results, it appears clearly that climate change might have an impact on carbon stock at horizon 2070 by decreasing the storage capacity of various land units which are currently suitable. The decrease was more important under HadGEM2-ES (90.0%) and less under MPI-ESM-MR (89.4%). These findings call for smart and sustainable land use management practices in the study area to unlock the potential of these landscapes to sequestering carbon.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the steps that Belarus has been taking ever since 1992 towards creating a 'green economy'. It consists of a comparative analysis of international and national legal norms and describes the activities of Belarusian organisations aimed at the implementation of 'green economy' principles. The analysis of the key areas of 'green economy' shows promise for their development in the Republic of Belarus. The major fields of application are directed at the development of 'renewable energy', forestry and the implementation of ISO 14000 series standards in Belarusian enterprises. The main limitation of this study is that a very limited number of organisations present information on their progress towards a 'green economy'. The results presented here should help organisations to understand the main principles of 'green economy' and the possibilities implementing them.

Thinning is a crucial silvicultural practice in forest management, the rational intensity of which plays an important role in increasing carbon sequestration capacity of forest ecosystems. However, it is not clear how different thinning intensities affect forest ecosystem carbon stocks and their fractions. We investigated Larix kaempferi plantations in the mountainous regions of eastern Liaoning Province, analyzed changes in carbon stocks and fractions with different thinning intensities (0, 10%-30%, 30%-50% and 50%-70%), and explored key factors influencing stand productivity and soil organic carbon dynamics. The results showed that tree biomass carbon stocks gradually decreased with increasing thinning intensity (from 110.89 Mg C·hm-2 to 65.77 Mg C·hm-2) and that herbaceous biomass carbon stocks were significantly lower at different thinning intensities than in control stand, indicating that higher thinning intensities resulted in substantial carbon loss. Compared to the control stand, different thinning intensities increased the reserved individual tree biomass C increment, but only light thinning (25%) improved the reserved stand biomass C increment, suggesting that light thinning was the optimal intensity for L. kaempferi plantations. Diffuse solar radiation was the main factor affecting reserved stand biomass increment. In 0-20 cm soil layer, particulate organic carbon (POC) stocks showed significant difference between different thinning intensities. POC stocks were positively correlated with litter biomass and soil C:N. In 20-40 cm soil layer, soil organic carbon (SOC) and POC stocks showed significant difference between different thinning intensities. SOC and POC stocks were negatively related to soil C:N and litter biomass, respectively. These results suggested that there are different mechanisms of SOC formation and stabilization in different soil layers.