Amount Of Forest Land Research Articles

Spatial analysis of renewable energy sources in Lviv region

The introduction of renewable energy sources makes it possible to expand the possibilities of development of branches of the national economy, in particular heat energy, to accelerate economic growth and reduce the release of greenhouse gases into the environment. Spatial analysis of renewable energy sources contributes to their effective use and allows for planning the local development of renewable energy. In this article, a spatial analysis of renewable energy sources in the Lviv region, such as wind energy, solar radiation, fuel wood, agricultural animal manure, and sewage sludge, is performed. It was established that the most promising district in terms of the availability of renewable energy sources is the Stryi district, since the amount of solar radiation and the amount of forest land in it are higher than the same indicators for other districts, in addition, the amount of sewage sludge is also one of the highest in the region. For the possibility of increasing the total share of renewable energy sources, the districts of the region can cooperate with other districts of both Lviv region and neighboring regions.

Economic growth and environmental degradation paradox in ASEAN: A simultaneous equation model with dynamic panel data approach

Economic variables are dynamic in nature. This paper uses a simultaneous equation model to assess the complexity of the link between economic expansion and environmental deterioration in ASEAN. The study examines how CO2 emissions, economic growth, public health initiatives, and control factors interact using dynamic panel data from 2011 to 2020. The population, the amount of forested land, the use of renewable energy, foreign investment, the inflation rate, the total amount of foreign exchange reserves, and government health policies are just a few examples. In order to provide a reliable and accurate assessment of the long-term relationship, this study employs the generalized approach of the Arellano-Bond moment method. The econometric technique deals with the issues of nonstationary, endogeneity, cross-error correlation, and heteroscedasticity.Additionally, the two stage least square (2SLS) method was used to assess the results’ robustness. According to the statistical results, there is a causal link between CO2 emissions and economic growth, and between CO2 emissions and energy consumption. Furthermore, according to the data, ASEAN CO2 emissions showed a monotonically growing relationship during the sample period. Policymakers may use these findings since they can aid in implementing economic measures to promote sustainable and ecologically friendly development.

Color Variation, Tail Banding, and Sexual Dichromatism in Washington Populations of Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes, Crotalus oreganus

Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) are ambush-hunting predators that rely on crypsis to forage and to avoid encounters with predators, yet little is known about color variation in this ubiquitous rattlesnake species. This study addressed how coloration and contrast in tail banding in C. oreganus vary among habitat types in Washington State. We also explored whether C. oreganus exhibit sexual dimorphism in coloration or tail band contrast (sexual dichromatism). We sampled 127 rattlesnakes from seven different populations across northern and central Washington state during spring emergence from overwintering hibernacula in 2017 and 2018. We characterized snake coloration as red/blue color ratios from standardized photographs, and used GIS supervised classification schemes of satellite imagery to characterize habitat. We used generalized linear models to assess relationships among snake color and tail bands, habitat, and sex. We found that coloration (red/blue color ratios) in C. oreganus varied greatly across the landscape, both within and among populations, likely a reflection of their variable and heterogenous shrub-steppe and forest ecotone habitats. In 20% of 21 pairwise comparisons, populations differed in body color. Rattlesnake coloration was not associated with habitat (amount of forested land within 0.5 km of the snake den), but male and female rattlesnakes showed different associations between color and percent forested habitat. Male rattlesnakes did not differ in body coloration from females, but males showed greater contrast than females in the black and white banding present on the tail. We discuss several, nonmutually exclusive, hypotheses for sexual dichromatism in tail band contrast, including the possibility that tail banding constitutes warning coloration in rattlesnakes. Our results suggest that sexual dichromatism, and the role of tail banding in rattlesnake ecology, are topics worthy of further investigation.

Resilient landscapes in Mediterranean urban areas: Understanding factors influencing forest trends

Urban and peri-urban forests are recognized as basic elements for Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), as they preserve and may increase environmental quality in urbanized contexts. For this reason, the amount of forest land per inhabitant is a pivotal efficiency indicator to be considered in the sustainable governance, land management, planning and design of metropolitan areas. The present study illustrates a multivariate analysis of per-capita forest area (PFA) in mainland Attica, the urban region surrounding Athens, Greece. Attica is considered a typical case of Mediterranean urbanization where planning has not regulated urban expansion and successive waves of spontaneous growth have occurred over time. In such a context, an analysis of factors that can affect landscape changes in terms of PFA may inform effective strategies for the sustainable management of socio-ecological local systems in light of the NBS perspective. A total of 26 indicators were collected per decade at the municipal scale in the study area with the aim to identify the factors most closely associated to the amount of PFA. Indicators of urban morphology and functions have been considered together with environmental and topographical variables. In Attica, PFA showed a progressive decrease between 1960 and 2010. In particular, PFA progressively declined (1980, 1990) along fringe areas surrounding Athens and in peri-urban districts experiencing dispersed expansion of residential settlements. Distance from core cities and from the seacoast, typical urban functions (e.g., multiple use of buildings and per capita built-up area) and percentage of agricultural land-use in each municipality are the variables most associated with high PFA. In recent years, some municipalities have shown an expansion of forest cover, mainly due to land abandonment and forest recolonization. Findings from this case study have allowed us to identify priorities for NBS at metropolitan level aimed at promoting more sustainable urbanization. Distinctively, proposed NBS basically focus on (i) the effective protection of crop mosaics with relict woodlots; (ii) the improvement of functionality, quality and accessibility of new forests; and (iii) the establishment of new forests in rural municipalities.

Increasing forest loss worldwide from invasive pests requires new trade regulations

Loss of forests due to non‐native invasive pests (including insects, nematodes, and pathogens) is a global phenomenon with profound population, community, ecosystem, and economic impacts. We review the magnitude of pest‐associated forest loss worldwide and discuss the major ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of these invasions. After compiling and analyzing a dataset of pest invasions from 21 countries, we show that the number of forest pest invasions recorded for a given country has a significant positive relationship with trade (as indicated by gross domestic product) and is not associated with the amount of forested land within that country. We recommend revisions to existing international protocols for preventing pest entry and proliferation, including prohibiting shipments of non‐essential plants and plant products unless quarantined. Because invasions often originate from taxa that are scientifically described only after their introduction, current phytosanitary regulations – which target specific, already named organisms – are ineffective.

Analysis of Spatial Development in and Around the City of Isparta through Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems

Remote Sensing is a method of examination used in the study of resources on earth without any physical contact. It is a method by which the characteristics of the land below are recorded from space and sky. Determining the characteristics of natural and cultural resources of earth, sustainable exploitation of these resources in the most effective ways and continuous monitoring of the changes in these resources are fundamental to being a developed country. For a sustainable land use and urbanization, data about the unstable natural environment must be collected and monitored at regular intervals, and in order to do these, Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are employed. Images obtained through RS method can be analyzed for the accurate use of the data available. This study seeks to determine the spatial development in and around the city of Isparta through digital imaging processing techniques on different satellite images which belong to different years. Images from satellites ASTER and LANDSAT; information on the quarters in Isparta and the city plan and ERDAS IMAGINE 9.1 program were used in the study. The spatial development of the city of Isparta was studied on the basis of the satellite images obtained in the years 1987, 2000 and 2010 and this study was integrated into GIS. Having analyzed how much change occurred and which way it trended, important information was collected which will be used as source for future studies to be carried out on Isparta. It was observed that while residential areas increased, amount of forested land, and agricultural areas decreased during the periods studied.

Sustainable Oil-Palm Cultivation: We Need to Use Gene Technology to Boost Palm-Oil Production

Copyright: © 2013 Bhore SJ. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Vegetable oil and fats are very essential in our daily life. There are several oil-producing crops, but mainly 8 crops (oil-palm, soybean, canola, sunflower, peanut, cotton, coconut and olive) contributes in the world market of the vegetable oil and fats [1]. Out of these 8 oil-producing crops, oil-palm [Elaeis guineensis Jacq (Tenera)] is the number one in the sense of its total yield per unit area (5 tonnes/hectare/ year) of cultivation and total supply in the world market of vegetable oil and fats. There are three fruit forms in E. guineensis, namely, ‘Dura’ (thick-shelled), ‘Pisifera’ (shell-less) and ‘Tenera’ (thin-shelled) [2,3]. Tenera form is a hybrid between Dura (♀) and Pisifera (♂). This E. guineensis Tenera is cultivated commercially in several countries due to its high oil yielding trait; but, Indonesia and Malaysia are the major producers and exporters of the palm-oil [1]. As of August 22, 2013, the world human population was 7.173 billion, and the demand for the vegetable oil and fats is steadily increasing. Currently, the market share of the palm-oil in the world market of vegetable oil and fats is about 34% [1]. Oil-palm does have a great potential to meet increasing demand of vegetable oil and fats [4,5]. In addition, palm-oil is also considered as a suitable raw material for biodiesel production [6,7]. Oil-palm cultivation is a good profitable business; hence, small, medium and large plantation companies are enthusiastically investing in the oil-palm plantations. Therefore, oil-palm plantation are rapidly expanding in the oil-palm growing countries. Yes, we do need to cultivate oil-palm for the production of palm-oil to meet the continuously growing demand for vegetable oil and fats. But, a growing body of research is clearly indicating that palm-oil farming can cause damaging deforestation and reduce biodiversity [8]. A huge amount of forest land is being converted into oil-palm plantations in the oil-palm growing countries, and it’s alarming. We cannot afford deforestation forever to make forest land available to expand oil-palm plantations.

A new hybrid land cover dataset for Russia: a methodology for integrating statistics, remote sensing and in situ information

Despite being recognized as a key baseline dataset for many applications, especially those relating to biogeochemical cycles, land cover products in their current form are limiting. Typically they lack the thematic detail necessary for driving the models that depend upon them. This study has demonstrated the ability to produce a highly detailed (both spatially and thematically) land cover/land use dataset over Russia – by combining existing datasets into a hybrid information system. The resulting dataset contains detailed subclasses of land cover and attributes necessary for biogeochemical modeling. In lieu of suitable validation data, a confidence map was produced creating six classes of confidence in the agreement between the various remote sensing and statistical datasets. In specific regions, a significant difference between the remote sensing products and the official statistics was observed. For example, in the northwest of Russia the statistics appear to be underreporting the amount of forest land which has likely been increasing in recent decades because of encroachment of forests on abandoned marginal agricultural land.

REGENERAÇÃO NATURAL EM SUB-BOSQUE DE Corymbia citriodora NO NOROESTE DO ESTADO DO PARANÁ

O desenvolvimento de espécies nativas plantadas em consórcio com eucaliptos, ou regeneradas naturalmente em povoamentos dessas espécies, vem sendo acompanhado em propriedades rurais do noroeste do estado do Paraná. Esses sistemas se destacam por constituir uma opção para a recuperação da cobertura florestal em ambientes degradados pela pecuária e agricultura intensivas, propiciando rentabilidade econômica, com possibilidade de atender a legislação ambiental para Reserva Legal. O presente trabalho visa conhecer o potencial de recomposição da vegetação nativa em sub-bosque de Corymbia citriodora, nas condições ambientais e de uso do solo daquela região. Assim, foi avaliada a composição florística e a estrutura da vegetação formada sob a rebrota de um povoamento dessa espécie, situado em São Pedro do Paraná (PR). Foram encontradas cinquenta e três espécies oriundas de regeneração natural numa densidade de 4.725 plantas por hectare. As plantas, identificadas até o nível de espécie, foram enquadradas segundo seu grupo ecológico e/ou usos potenciais.Foram observados parâmetros estruturais que mostraram o elevado potencial de regeneração natural e crescimento da vegetação em sub-bosque de C. citriodora, indicando que, com manejo adequado, essa espécie pode ser usada como uma facilitadora para fins de recomposição de vegetação nativa.Palavras-chave: Regeneração natural; plantação florestal; composição florística. AbstractNatural regeneration in understory of Corymbia citriodora plantation, in north-west of Paraná state, Brazil. Natural regeneration in eucalyptus stands, as well as forest plantations that combine eucalyptus and native species, have been monitored in rural areas in the north-west of Paraná State, Brazil. Such forest systems involving eucalyptus represent an alternative for forest recovery and regeneration in areas degraded by livestock and intensive agriculture. Furthermore, such plantations offer new economic opportunities for landowners while providing incentives for their compliance with environmental regulations for saving a minimum amount of forested land (Reserva Legal). This study aims to understand the potential of natural vegetation recovery in the understory of Corymbia citriodora stands, due to the context of current environment and land use in the region. Thus, it evaluates floristic composition and vegetation structure in the understory re-growth within such plantation stands, in São Pedro do Paraná (Paraná State). As result, it identified 53 species from natural regeneration at a density of 4725 plants per hectare. Such plants, identified at the species level, were organized accordingly to their ecological group and/or potential uses. The observed structural parameters pointed to a high potential for natural regeneration and growth of vegetation in the understory of C. citriodora, which reveals that, with appropriated management, these species could be used to make native restoration vegetation easer in the region.Keywords: Natural regeneration; forest plantations; floristic composition.

Identification of Environmental Covariates of West Nile Virus Vector Mosquito Population Abundance

The rapid spread of West Nile virus (WNv) in North America is a major public health concern. Culex pipiens-restuans is the principle mosquito vector of WNv in the northeastern United States while Aedes vexans is an important bridge vector of the virus in this region. Vector mosquito abundance is directly dependent on physical environmental factors that provide mosquito habitats. The objective of this research is to determine landscape elements that explain the population abundance and distribution of WNv vector mosquitoes using stepwise linear regression. We developed a novel approach for examining a large set of landscape variables based on a land use and land cover classification by selecting variables in stages to minimize multicollinearity. We also investigated the distance at which landscape elements influence abundance of vector populations using buffer distances of 200, 400, and 1000 m. Results show landscape effects have a significant impact on Cx. pipiens-estuans population distribution while the effects of landscape features are less important for prediction of Ae. vexans population distributions. Cx. pipiens-restuans population abundance is positively correlated with human population density, housing unit density, and urban land use and land cover classes and negatively correlated with age of dwellings and amount of forested land.

Freight Transportation and the Potential for Invasions of Exotic Insects in Urban and Periurban Forests of the United States

Freight transportation is an important pathway for the introduction and dissemination of exotic forest insects (EFI). Identifying the final destination of imports is critical in determining the likelihood of EFI establishment. We analyzed the use of regional freight transport information to characterize risk of urban and periurban areas to EFI introductions. Specific objectives were to 1) approximate the final distribution of selected imports among urban areas of the United States, 2) characterize the final distribution of imports in terms of their spatial aggregation and dominant world region of origin, and 3) assess the effect of the final distribution of imports on the level of risk to urban and periurban forests from EFI. Freight pattern analyses were conducted for three categories of imports whose products or packaging materials are associated with EFI: wood products, nonmetallic mineral products, and machinery. The final distribution of wood products was the most evenly distributed of the three selected imports, whereas machinery was most spatially concentrated. We found that the type of import and the world region of origin greatly influence the final distribution of imported products. Risk assessment models were built based on the amount of forestland and imports for each urban area The model indicated that 84-88% of the imported tonnage went to only 4-6% of the urban areas in the contiguous United States. We concluded that freight movement information is critical for proper risk assessment of EFI. Implications of our findings and future research needs are discussed.

Maine: On the Cusp of the Forest Transition

Deforestation is a serious problem in many parts of the world. Recently, deforestation is being reversed in some areas, a process called the transition. This article describes the historic changes occurring in Maine's forests, and discusses the implications of those changes. Large scale deforestation occurred as land was cleared for agriculture in the southern and central parts of the state; the forests in the north were heavily harvested by industry. Recently, a turnaround of sorts has occurred in the condition of the forests, and the latest [2005] forest inventory is quite optimistic. However, it is difficult to argue that a forest transition has occurred because improvements made by some forest landowners are counterbalanced by declines in forest conditions due to the activities of other landowners. As a result, the amount of forested land is likely to fall again as the acreage of agricultural land reverting to forest is overwhelmed by a larger amount of land being converted to housing and dev...

Fishers, Farms, and Forests in Eastern North America

The fisher (Martes pennanti) has recently recovered from historic extirpations across much of its geographic range. There are at least five explanations for the recovery of the fisher, including changes in the amount of habitat, the suitability of habitat, trapping pressure, societal attitudes toward predators, and climate. We evaluated a recovering fisher population in Ontario to test two conditions we viewed as necessary to support the hypothesis that fisher populations have increased due to an increase in the amount of forested land. First, we tested whether the amount of forested land has increased. Second, we tested whether contemporary fisher abundance (and therefore habitat quality) was related to the amount of forest. Topographic maps showed that the proportion of forested land in the study area had increased by 1.9% per decade since 1934 and 3.3% per decade since 1959, likely as a result of land conversion from agricultural uses. Overall the proportion of the study area that was forested increased from 29% to 40% during 1934 to 1995. Census data from the region indicated that there had been a decline in the amount of land area being farmed during the last 50 years. Recent livetrapping data showed that fisher abundance was positively related to the proportion of landscapes that were forested. Based on our results, we could not reject the hypothesis that an increase in the amount of forested land has contributed to the recovery of fisher populations.

Trends Among Family Forest Owners in Alabama, 1994–2004

Abstract There are an estimated 432,000 family forest owners in Alabama and they control 67% of the State's forestland. About two-thirds owned less than 10 ac. and about 88% of the family forest owners have holdings of less than 50 ac; collectively, this group of owners with 1–49 ac of forestland own 15% of Alabama's family forestland. The corollary to this finding is that a majority (85%) of the state's family forestland is owned by the minority (12%) of owners who own 50 ac or more. Between 1994 and 2004, the amount of forestland owned by family forest owners with small (less than 10 ac) and large (more than 500 ac) forest holdings increased, while the total area of forestland owned by people with intermediate-size holdings, in general, decreased. Compared with 10 years ago, the number of family forest owners 45–54 years old is higher but they tend to own smaller parcels of forestland. During the same period, the number of owners 65 years or older decreased, but, on average, the size of their holdings increased. Recreation and investments have become more important objectives of ownership, whereas timber production as a primary ownership objective decreases. The probability of an owner having harvested trees, having a management plan, or having sought forest management advice increased as the size of the forest holding increased.

Localizing National Fragmentation Statistics with Forest Type Maps

Abstract Fragmentation of forest types is an indicator of biodiversity in the Montreal Process, but the available national data permit assessment of only overall forestland fragmentation, not forest type fragmentation. Here we illustrate how to localize national statistics from the 2003 National Report on Sustainable Forests by combining state vegetation maps with national forestland fragmentation maps. The degree and scale of fragmentation of different forest types can be gauged from the amount of forestland that meets certain fragmentation thresholds at multiple scales of analysis.

Correlates of hunting participation in Europe and North America

We examine the effects of rural residence, population density, amount of forestland, percent of forestland, age, income, unemployment, and gender on hunting participation in a total of 90 US States, Canadian Provinces and European Countries. The dependent variable was the standardized residual of hunter numbers predicted from the population of the country. This was calculated using a different regression line for each of four regions (US, Canada, EU, and Central European Countries+ Switzerland. Our analysis showed that the percent of the population that was classified as rural was the strongest and most consistent predictor of hunting participation. The amount of forestland also increased hunting participation. Controlling for these variables population density did not have an appreciable effect. States that had lower per capita income also had more hunting. But this relationship was largely do to the lower income in states with higher percentages of rural population. Age, gender, unemployment, and percentage of forestland had no direct influence on hunting participation across states. This analysis provided support for cultural explanations for hunting. Hunting is more associated with rural culture than it is with other factors. The implication is that if one wants to support hunter populations it is important to support rural development and strong rural communities. This could be as important as providing habitat and prey numbers.

RELATION OF MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY IMPAIRMENT TO CATCHMENT CHARACTERISTICS IN NEW JERSEY STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: The level of macroinvertebrate community impairment was statistically related to selected basin and water‐quality characteristics in New Jersey streams. More than 700 ambient biomonitoring stations were chosen to evaluate potential and known anthropogenic effects. Macroinvertebrate communities were assessed with a modified rapid‐bioassessment approach using three impairment ratings (nonimpaired, moderately impaired, and severely impaired). Maximum‐likelihood multiple logistic‐regression analysis was used to develop equations defining the probability of community impairment above predetermined impairment levels. Seven of the original 140 explanatory variables were highly related to the level of community impairment. Explanatory variables found to be most useful for predicting severe macroinvertebrate community impairment were the amount of urban land and total flow of municipal effluent. Area underlain by the Reading Prong physiographic region and amount of forested land were inversely related to severe impairment. Nonparametric analysis of variance on rank‐transformed bioassessment scores was used to evaluate differences in level of impairment among physiographic regions and major drainage areas simultaneously. Rejection of the null hypothesis indicated that the levels of impairment among all six physiographic regions and five major drainage areas were not equal. Physiographic regions located in the less urbanized northwest portion of New Jersey were not significantly different from each other and had the lowest occurrence of severely impaired macroinvertebrate communities. Physiographic regions containing urban centers had a higher probability of exhibiting a severely impaired macroinvertebrate community. Analysis of major drainage areas indicates that levels of impairment in the Atlantic Coastal Rivers drainage area differed significantly from those in the Lower Delaware River drainage area.

Influences of Watershed Land Use on Habitat Quality and Biotic Integrity in Wisconsin Streams

Abstract We analyzed relationships between watershed land use and habitat quality, and between watershed land use and biotic integrity for 134 sites on 103 streams located throughout Wisconsin. Habitat quality and index of biotic integrity (IBI) scores were significantly positively correlated with the amount of forested land and negatively correlated with the amount of agricultural land in the entire watershed and in a 100-m-wide buffer along the stream. Correlations were generally stronger for the entire watershed than for the buffer. Relationships between forested land and habitat and biotic integrity were linear, although there were several outlying sites with lower-than-expected IBI scores. Relationships with agricultural land use were more complex, with an obvious decline in habitat quality and IBI scores apparent only when agricultural land use exceeded 50%. Even when agricultural land use exceeded 80%, some sites maintained relatively good habitat quality and biotic integrity. These “good” sites te...

Sludge Loading Rates for Forest Land

A mathematical model is developed to evaluate applying municipal wastewater sludges to forest land. The model is used to estimate sludge loading rates that produce steady state nitrate concentrations in percolation that meet water quality standards. Annual loading rates for aerobically and anaerobically digested sludges consistent with a 10‐mg/l standard are computed for conifer and hardwood forests in the eight forest regions of New York. These rates vary from 1.7 to 2.7 Mg/ha of dry mass for conifers and from 1.4 to 2.3 Mg/ha for hardwoods among the various forest areas, or in terms of sludge nitrogen, 85 to 135 kg/ha for conifers and 70 to 115 kg/ha for hardwoods. Sludge application rates are sensitive to annual nitrogen uptakes by vegetation, and estimates of these quantities are very uncertain. A geographic information system is used to identify the amount of forest land within each region that meets state regulatory restrictions for sludge disposal. It is determined that sufficient forest land is av...

Forest cover monitoring of Bara district (Nepal) using remote sensing and geographic information systems

This study uses Landsat TM of 1989 and ETM+ of 1999 and 2005 imagery to evaluateforest cover dynamics during 1989-2005 in the Bara district of Nepal. The aim of thestudy was to analyse the extent and trend of forest cover dynamics, spatial pattern offorest and their driving forces. Forest cover change analysis was performed using objectorientedclassification approach applying a standard nearest neighbour algorithm to classifythe image in recognition. The overall classification accuracies were 85.71% and 88.23%for the year 1999 and 2005, respectively. Land cover maps were produced with sevenland cover categories and were further reclassified as forest and non-forest areas toanalyse the forest cover dynamics. Post-classification and time series analysis were carriedout to detect the changes. Spatial metrics were computed for detecting the spatial patternof forest. The classifications suggested that the amount of forest land had decreased by11.56% during 1989-2005. Spatial metrics revealed that forest area has been fragmentedand deforested with an annual rate of 0.72%. The overall result demonstrates that forestarea has experienced a significant shrinkage and mostly transferred into agricultural andbare land. Expected change for the year 2021 was projected using Markov Chain Analysis(MCA). The MCA result showed that forest area would decrease by 8.5% in the period of2005-2021.Key words: Forest cover dynamics; geographical information systems; landsat; remotesensing; spatial metricsDOI: 10.3126/banko.v20i1.3506Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 1 pp.30-36