Qualitative Forest Quality Assessment Through Local Knowledge Integration and Co-Creation: A Participatory Study in Northern Malawi

Forest quality plays a crucial role in sustaining the functions of forest ecosystems. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable model for assessing forest quality through six dimensions: forest productivity, forest structure, soil factors, climatic conditions, topography, and anthropogenic factors. Vegetation data were collected from 138 sample plots using a stratified purposive sampling method. Soil, topography, and climate data were obtained from the SoilGrids, DEMNAS, CHIRPS, and NASA POWER websites, respectively. Anthropogenic data were derived from Sentinel-2 imagery. The forest quality assessment model was developed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results showed that forest structure, forest productivity, soil, and anthropogenic factors are valid and reliable in assessing forest quality, with forest productivity as the primary determinant. However, topographic and climatic factors were not valid for assessing forest quality due to the low variation in topographic and climatic data within the study area. The goodness-of-fit model evaluation indicated a good fit based on criteria including the chi-square, RMSEA, GFI, SRMR, AGFI, TLI, CFI, NFI, and CMIN/DF. Based on the relative weights of each dimension and indicator and using linear additive equations, a mathematical equation for the forest quality index is derived, providing a practical framework for assessing forest quality at the landscape scale, particularly in heterogeneous tropical ecosystems. Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis, forest quality assessment, Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, sustainable forest management

An improved quality assessment framework to better inform large-scale forest restoration management

Assessing nature-based solutions for transformative change

Local knowledge of impacts of tree cover on ecosystem services in smallholder coffee production systems

Deforestation in Indonesia is in a status that is quite alarming. From year to year, deforestation is still happening. The decline in fauna and the diminishing biodiversity are greatly affected by deforestation. This paper proposes a bioacoustics-based forest quality assessment tool using Nvidia Jetson Nano and convolutional neural networks (CNN). The device, named GamaDet, is a portable physical product based on the microprocessor and equipped with a microphone to record the sounds of birds in the forest and display the results of their analysis. In addition, a Google Collaboratorybased GamaNet digital product is also proposed. GamaNet requires forest recording audio files to be further analyzed into a forest quality index. Testing the forest recording for 60 seconds at an arboretum forest showed that both products could work well. The GamaDet takes 370 seconds, while the GamaNet takes 70 seconds to process the audio data into a forest quality index and a list of detected birds.

Besides timber and economic benefits, forest ecosystems provide other ecosystem services related to biological diversity and environmental functions of forests. Assessing some of the ecosystem services, which can be an indicator of forest quality at a landscape level requires the use of geospatial technology to achieve it. The aim of this work is to develop a forest performance index at the landscape level for mangrove forests. Several ecosystem services were identified and selected as indicators. The target value was set for each indicator and calculated into percentage value, which indicates progression to the target value, combined from field and geospatial data. The forest performance index was then produced by combining all indicators to get an overall performance of one particular forest area with respect to the target. The index was developed and tested at one of the best managed mangrove forests in the world, which is Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) in Perak. Based on the index that has been developed, the forest quality of MMFR, which consists of 19 forest reserves, is classified as good forest with an overall score of 72 percent. Pulau Kecil and Telok Kertang forest reserves have shown a very good forest quality with an overall score over 80 percent. Other 17 forest reserves in MMFR shown good forest quality with a ranged index of 68.8 to 78.4 percent. This work can be a tool for assessing forest quality at landscape level for decision support in sustainable landscape management and can be applied on other regions.

Filling global gaps in monitoring data with local knowledge

Spatial assessment of ecosystem functions and services for air purification of forests in South Korea

Culturally diverse expert teams have yet to bring comprehensive linguistic diversity to intergovernmental ecosystem assessments

Linking forest ecosystem processes, functions and services under integrative social–ecological research agenda: current knowledge and perspectives

The sustainability of management practices in forest ecosystems should provide ecosystem services and maintain the livelihoods that largely depend on the benefits directly derived from forests; but this goal requires various theoretical and analytical approaches. This research aims to develop a conceptual model for sustainable forest management based on the integration of three conceptual frameworks founded on the society-ecosystem interaction: socio-ecological systems, sustainable forest management, and ecosystem services. The results offer a methodological, analytical, organizational, and operational route to integrate a scientific model at the material, causal, and dynamic levels, considering theoretical and empirical information; it uses grounded theory methodology to select the interactions between variables and socio-ecological dynamics of forest ecosystems under community management. For example, it integrates social components (local knowledge, governance, and social organization) and ecological components (diversity and composition of plant species, carbon pools, and nutrient dynamics) to understand their interactions through management practices and the magnitude of the ecosystem services provided according to the local contexts. We illustrate this process by analyzing the influence of governance, decision-making, resource use, and management practices on forest management and ecosystem services; this exemplifies the factors, interactions, and effects on socio-ecological systems based on experience in forest communities. These integrated frameworks provide steps through which our understanding of specific socio-ecological approaches produces better outcomes for sustainable forest management, preserves ecosystems services and benefits livelihoods in Mexican temperate forests.

Climate services have a well-recognised potential for empowering decision makers in taking climate smart decisions; across sectors, public agencies, policy makers, and including citizens. This potential is, however, often not fully realised as the uptake of climate services may be hampered by a range of barriers, including the lack of understanding of the needs of users, and the poor recognition of the knowledge users themselves have. Research shows, however, that the users climate services intend to serve often have a well-developed knowledge of the climate systems around them based on their observation and experience. In a recently initiated H2020 research project, Innovating Climate Services through Integration of local and Scientific Knowledge (I-CISK, https://icisk.eu) we recognise that integrating multiple knowledges through co-creation of climate services with users, can contribute to closing the usability gap, despite the challenges to these knowledges as a result of demographic, climatic and environmental change. Here we present an introductory review of the current state of the art in the integration of local knowledge in climate services. This review does not aim to comprehensively address the very broad and multiple dimensions of local knowledge, but rather gives a perspective of current approaches in science and practice to the integration of local and scientific knowledge. We first explore what we consider as local knowledge within the scope of this review, which will also be used as a reference to inform our further research on local knowledge within the context of its integration in climate services in the I-CISK project. We then review how local knowledge is used in climate services, and introduce a basic typology of how local knowledge and scientific knowledge are considered and/or integrated within climate services. Finally, we provide a reflection on the challenges and directions of local and scientific knowledge integration in climate services, and give a brief outlook on how these challenges will be addressed in the I-CISK project.

After decades of afforestation, China’s forest coverage has increased significantly, but the forest quality and its impact on ecosystem services are still controversial. Taking forest vegetation carbon storage as an example, most assessment results based on the national forest inventory data showed that the contribution of enlarged forest area to the increase in China’s forest vegetation carbon storage was higher than that of the change in forest quality (vegetation carbon density). This means that the increase in forest carbon storage in China was mostly contributed by the increase in forest area and was less due to the increased forest vegetation carbon density. However, the national forest inventory data are based on national permanent plots that may be protected or are less disturbed to some extent. Therefore, the contribution of the change in forest quality to the increase in forest vegetation carbon storage, as evaluated from the national forest inventory data, might be overestimated, especially in regions with frequent human activities. To test the hypothesis, we selected Taihe County, a typical representative of the red soil hilly region in subtropical China, where the population is dense, economic development is fast, and the forest has experienced destruction and re-establishment. To accurately assess the impact of changes in the forest area and forest quality on forest vegetation carbon storage variation in real situations, we collected and used a series of remote sensing images from 1986 to 2019, inventory data for forest management, and field data. The results showed that the forest area and forest vegetation carbon density increased from 10.85 × 104 ha and 17.89 Mg/ha in 1986 to 16.40 × 104 ha and 26.51 Mg/ha in 2019, with an increase of 51.11% and 48.23%, respectively. Meanwhile, the forest vegetation carbon storage increased by 123.99%, from 1.94 Tg in 1986 to 4.35 Tg in 2019, suggesting a significant carbon sequestration ability. Further analysis showed that the contributions of changes in forest area and forest quality to the forest vegetation carbon storage variation were 1.23 Tg (51.19%) and 1.17 Tg (48.81%), respectively. The result implies that the increase in forest area and forest quality almost contributed equally to the increase in forest vegetation carbon storage during the 34 years of vegetation restoration in Taihe County. However, forest vegetation carbon density controlled the variation of forest vegetation carbon storage in all three forest developing stages. The precision of our results was also tested with two inventory datasets for forest management in Taihe County in 2009 and 2019. The relative contribution of forest vegetation carbon density is lower than most of the previous study results using national forest inventory data in this region, indicating that the contribution of change in the forest vegetation carbon density to the forest vegetation carbon storage variation might be overestimated based on these national permanent plots, which were protected or less disturbed to some extent.

Local People's perception of forest ecosystem services, traditional conservation, and management approaches in North Wollo, Ethiopia

This study aims to evaluate the ecosystem services of Upo wetland, one of the best-known Ramsar sites in Korea, reflecting the characteristics of the ecological assets and local knowledges in the area. Application of spatial text-mining begins with collecting local perceptions and knowledge of residents on the 17 ecological assets of Upo site and surrounding area. Our results identified five important ecosystem services: flood control during heavy rainfall, water purification by aquatic plants, cultural and natural heritages, agricultural products and water provision for crop cultivation. GIS created a map where these ecosystem services were linked to the locations of 17 ecological assets. This map showed which ecosystem service is associated with particular ecological assets and their characteristics from residents’ perspectives. Mapping local knowledge using the spatial text-mining is able to identify multi-functional bases which provide various ecosystem services in the same location simultaneously. Identification of multi-functional bases can provide information for local government to design an effective and comprehensive management plan considering physical-cultural geography of ecosystem services.