Mount Taishan Forest Ecosystem Health Assessment Based on Forest Inventory Data

Yan Meng,Banghua Cao,Chao Dong,Xiaofeng Dong

doi:10.3390/f10080657

Yan Meng, Banghua Cao + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f10080657

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Journal: Forests	Publication Date: Aug 5, 2019
Citations: 20	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Shandong Agricultural University, Taishan University

Abstract

Forest health is an important aspect of sustainable forest management. The practical significance of health assessments of forest ecosystems is becoming more and more prominent because good knowledge about the health level of forests and the causes of unhealthy forests enables the identification of proper actions for enhancing sustainable development of forest ecosystems. This paper evaluated the health status of the forest ecosystem of Mount Taishan using the spatial analysis technique of GIS (Geographic Information System) and local forest inventory data. A comprehensive indicator system that reflects the health status of forestsin the study areawas established. Based on this indicator system, the health level of each sub-compartment of the forests in the study area was assessed. The results show that the high-quality grade forest (80.4 ha) and healthy grade forest (2671 ha) accounted for only 23.5% of the total forest area of Mount Taishan. About 60.5% of Mount Taishan forest was in a sub-health status. The area of unhealthy forests was 1865 ha (accounting for 16% of the total forest area), of which about 98 ha was inextremely unhealthy conditions.Asmore than two-thirds of the forests in Mount Taishan are in a sub-health or unhealthy state, effective measures for improving forest health are in urgent need in the study area.

Highlights

Forests ecosystems are an essential natural resource basis for human wellbeing
16% of the total forest area), of which about 98 ha was inextremely unhealthy conditions.Asmore than two-thirds of the forests in Mount Taishan are in a sub-health or unhealthy state, effective measures for improving forest health are in urgent need in the study area
Using local forest survey data and the spatial analysis technique of GIS, we evaluated the overall health level of the Mount Taishan forest

Summary

Introduction

Forests ecosystems are an essential natural resource basis for human wellbeing. They are socioeconomically and ecologically important ecosystems that are exposed to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors [1,2,3,4]. Forest health is currently assessed in Europe (ICP Forests monitoring program) [9]. When assessing the conditions of forest ecosystems and forest health, both the production of forest products and many other important attributes of forest ecosystems, such as species assemblage, vegetation structure, and biomass should be considered [10]. China is a country with relatively scarce forest resources.

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