Forest Depletion Research Articles

Cork consolidated by hot compression as a viable bio-based alternative to polyolefines in decking boards: A preliminary study

Currently, three classes of materials are used in deck boards production, i.e., wood, plastics and wood polymer composites. Wood is the best choice being bio-based, biodegradable and displaying better mechanical performance, but the environmental concerns deriving from forest depletion make the identification of a new bio-based solution necessary. In this sense, agglomerated cork is promising, being derived from the bark of the oak, but in its native form is not suitable for decking boards production due to low bending properties. The present work proposes a solution to use agglomerated cork in decking board manufacturing by converting its cellular structure in a consolidated one by hot compression. Design of Experiment was used to optimize consolidated cork mechanical properties as a function of the main manufacturing parameters, i.e., time and temperature. The exposure to high temperatures allows cork cell walls welding by developing adhesive properties, but it also induces a strong degradation of polysaccharides. It was discovered that the manufacturing parameters which maximize both flexural and tensile properties are a 180 °C operating temperature and a 31.5 min holding time. These conditions ensure a bending stiffness 40.9% and a bending strength 107.1% higher than the ASTM D6662 minimum requirements.

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Land Cover Change in the Yellow River Basin over the Past Millennium

Investigating the ecological and environmental impacts stemming from historical land use and land cover change (LUCC) holds paramount importance in systematically comprehending the fundamental human-land relationship, a pivotal focus within geographical research. The Yellow River Basin (YRB), often referred to as the cradle of Chinese civilization, ranks as the fifth-largest river basin globally. Early inhabitants made significant alterations to the landscape, resulting in substantial damage to natural vegetation, giving rise to prominent regional ecological challenges. By now, the examination of historical LUCC in the YRB over the past millennium remains in the qualitative research stage, primarily due to the limited availability of high-confidence gridded historical LUCC data. This study aims to advance the current historical LUCC research in the YRB from primarily qualitative analysis to an exploration incorporating timing, positioning, and quantification. Based on reconstructed historical cropland, forest, and grassland grid data of 10 km × 10 km from 1000 AD to 2000 AD, the degree of cropland development and the depletion of forests and grasslands were calculated, respectively. Then, the kernel density method was employed for spatiotemporal analysis and interpretation of dynamic changes in land cover. Subsequently, a cartographic visualization depicting the migration trajectories of the land cover gravity centers was generated, allowing for an assessment of the distance and direction of the centroids’ movement of cropland, forest, and grassland. The results indicate that the cropland coverage in the YRB escalated from the initial 11.65% to 29.97%, while the forest and grassland coverage dropped from 63.36% to 44.49%. The distribution of cultivated land continually expanded outward from the southeast of the Loess Plateau and the southwest of the North China Plain. All three types of land cover experienced a westward shift in their gravity centers between 1000 and 2000 AD. Besides the population growth and technological advancements, the regime shifts induced by wars, along with land use policies in distinct periods, always served as the predominant factors influencing the conversion between different land covers. This research will present a paradigmatic regional case study contributing to the investigation of historical changes in land use and land cover. Additionally, it will offer historical perspectives beneficial for the advancement of China’s objectives in “Ecological Conservation and High-Quality Development of the Yellow River Basin”.

Willingness-to-pay for reduced carbon footprint and other sustainability concerns relating to pork production – A comparison of consumers in China, Denmark, Germany and the UK

There is growing societal concern about the impact of animal production on climate and other dimensions of sustainability. Continuing development of production in response to this will require the industry to know how much consumers are willing to pay for more sustainable pork, and how they prioritize different sustainability dimensions.In this 2022 questionnaire-based study, we investigated willingness-to-pay for more sustainable pork among consumers in Denmark, Germany, the UK and Shanghai, China. We examined how respondents prioritised lower climate impact in comparison with four other dimensions of sustainability: improved animal welfare, decreased use of antibiotics, freedom from Salmonella and other harmful bacteria, and the avoidance of rain forest depletion in the production of pig-feed.While many respondents were found to be willing to pay a price premium for more sustainable pork, only 10% (approx.) were prepared to pay more than a 20% premium. In all four countries, lower climate impact was among the least important reasons for paying a price premium. In the Western countries animal welfare was the most important reason while food safety was the most important reason in China. The most frequently stated reason for prioritizing animal welfare over climate impact was the belief that paying a price premium is necessary to make a difference for the animals while climate impacts can be handled by other means. An important insight gained is that the current focus on reducing climate impacts of pig production should not blind the relevant stakeholders to the importance of better animal welfare and food safety. If they lose sight of the latter, stakeholders will fall out of step with the priorities that many consumers currently have.

Use of Geospatial Technologies to Identify the Impact of Deforestation and its Associate Event (Soil Erosion) in the North-Bilate Watershed, Southern Ethiopia

The rapid population growth in Southern Ethiopia's North-Bilate watershed, specifically in the Boyo Lake area, has resulted in widespread deforestation and soil erosion, affecting the livelihood of farmers. Thus, the current study aimed at assessing the effects of land cover change on soil erosion and agricultural land. For this purpose, 2 lands sat ETM images for the years 2000 and 2020 which have 30*30m resolution were used. The main trajectories of land use change are based on five land use classes which are farmland, built-up area, forest, bare land, water, and open area derived from the remotely sensed images. The analysis showed that Bushland and built-up areas increased with a rate of 1.2 and 2.6 ha/year between 2000 and 2020, respectively. On the contrary, woodland, farmland, and bare land had decreased by 0.2, 0.4, and 3.2 ha/year in the same study period. The NDVI value response of the study period clearly shows the highest value for vegetation cover change, as the maximum value was +0.91 in 2000 and the minimum value was -0.38 in 2020. The dramatic expansion of settlements was due to the runoff of farmland, woodland, and bare land within the allotted period due to rapid population growth and migration from the surrounding rural areas, poor land management, and illegal housing. In summary, signs of deforestation and consequent soil erosion due to population growth, agricultural expansion, forest depletion, and mismanagement are leading to reductions in vegetation cover and agricultural productivity. To minimize soil erosion, physical measures such as terracing and dams should be implemented. In addition, to preserve and increase the biodiversity of the study area, the planting of various types of native vegetation and plantation tree species should be carried out with a viable afforestation and reforestation program.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use Land Cover Mapping and Change Detection in Dambatta Local Government Area

This research studied the spatiotemporal changes in land use (LU)/land cover (LC) in Dambatta local government area, with a view to identifying the effect arising from the observable changes in land use patterns. The imageries used in the study were obtained from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA), Abuja. Spatial analytical techniques and descriptive statistical techniques were employed to analyze the data. The results showed 66.8% reduction in agricultural lands, 45.5% reduction in vegetation cover, 223.2% increase in built-up areas, 269.1% increase in bare lands and 70% increase in water bodies within the 20 years. Spatio-temporal analysis of the three imageries revealed that agricultural lands were largely been taken over by urbanization while vegetation had rapidly given way to bare lands within the 20 years. It was observed that these changes resulted from anthropogenic activities, environmental factors and climate change. These result in the loss of farmlands, inadequate food supply, unemployment, inadequate industrial raw materials, reduction in revenue generated, forest depletion, desertification, wildlife extinction and temperature increase. While it is recommended that reforestation, land reclamation and irrigation agriculture should be promoted in the area, it is also suggested that further research should focus on the impact of climate change on land cover change in the area.

Detection techniques of forest fire: Using WSNs

Forests are essential to maintain the ecosystem of the earth and also for human survival. However, because of some uncontrolled natural conditions and abnormal human activities, forest fires occur frequently as we see. One of the major cause of depletion of forests, is forest fire. In order to protect the forest fires, many forest fire detection methods have been adopted like charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras and Infrared (IR) detectors, satellite systems and images, and Wireless sensor networks, Video surveillance. Therefore, this paper reviews different existing algorithms based on wireless sensor network and their parameters that work for forest fire detection. This paper provides a comparative study of these forest fire detection algorithm and also provide a new idea for future work.

Renewable energy, forest cover, export diversification, and ecological footprint: a machine learning application in moderating eco-innovations on agriculture in the BRICS-T economies.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) recommended that the member nations enhance their technological progression and structural transformation to mitigate the problems of climate change. The BRICS-T countries consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkey agreed to implement COP26's policy suggestions. These countries accounted for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2017, thus posing severe threats to the global environment. The current study explores the role of renewable energy, forest depletion, eco-innovations, and export diversification in impacting the ecological footprint for those BRICS-T countries. We further examine the moderating effect of eco-innovations on agriculture on the BRICS-T nations. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing newer empirical insights on how eco-innovations and export diversification, along with renewable energy, forest cover, and agriculture, affecting the ecological footprint in the BRICS-T nations. It utilizes novel empirical methods like parametric and non-parametric techniques to derive the short-run and long-run empirical results. The empirical findings based on the augmented mean group and the kernel regularized least square methods document that economic growth, agriculture value added, and forest depletion increase the ecological footprint. In contrast, renewable energy and eco-innovations decrease the level of ecological footprint. In the long run, a 1% rise in GDP leads to a rise in the ecological footprint by 0.64% using the augmented mean group (AMG) estimation. The mean marginal effects are - 0.27%, 0.29%, and 0.17% for renewable energy; agriculture and forest cover, respectively, using the kernel-based regularized least square methods. The study suggests that policies designed for controlling the ecological footprints focus on the use of energy efficient technologies, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Seasonal variation and fish assemblage at Hakaluki Haor, Moulvibazar, Bangladesh

Wetlands in Bangladesh have undergone rapid degradation, primarily attributable to a range of factors. These factors include a marked increase in population, extensive water diversion for irrigation purposes, depletion of swamp forests, as well as other natural and anthropogenic causes. Hakaluki Haor is a vast wetland area located at North East in Bangladesh provides habitat for a diverse range of fish species. Due to natural and anthropogenic causes, fish species are declining in the Hakaluki Hoar. Fish species are declining primarily due to the utilization of harmful gear, the drying of beels every year, and overexploitation. The aim of the research was to assess the occurrence of various fish species in different seasons, their distribution, and conservation status. The research was carried out over the course of three seasons (summer, autumn, and winter) spanning from September 2017 to August 2018. The study utilized a mixed methodology approach to investigate the fish assemblage, which included examining the fish catch on boats along with the fish available in the nearest assembling center (fish market). In addition, the Shannon-Weaver index was followed to recognize the species diversity (H), richness (D), and Evenness (e). The research documented the presence of 64 fish species that were classified into 25 different genera, and 24 families across 10 orders. The order Cypriniformes was the most prevalent, constituting 42% of the total number of species identified. Other orders such as Siluriformes (22%), Perciformes (16%), Channiformes (6%), and Clupeiformes (5%) also demonstrated a considerable variety of fish species, although Cypriniformes had the highest dominance with 42% of the total species documented. Additionally, the research determined that among the complete assemblage of fish species identified, a total of 14 (18.88%) were classified as species facing threats. Based on the analysis, 6.25% are vulnerable, 12.5% endangered, and 3.12% are critically endangered as per IUCN Redlist. The research observed the Shannon-Weaver diversity (H), richness (D), and evenness (e) values for the fish species, which were found to be 2.47, 6.28, and 0.65, respectively. Moreover, participants retorted that the present income from fishing had decreased as compared to five years ago. The research finds that anthropogenic pressure is one of the key reasons to fish decline at Hakaluki Haor. According to the findings of the current research, community-based wetland conservation and management have been proposed as a viable and sustainable strategy for augmenting the fish species abundance.

‘We are our land’—Ogiek of Mount Elgon, Kenya: securing community tenure as the key enabling condition for sustaining community lands

AbstractWe outline how securing the community tenure rights of forest peoples can create a rapid, rights-based route to the effective and sustainable conservation of their forests. We draw on the different skillsets and experiences of the authors (long-term fieldwork, mapping and monitoring, and a lifetime of experience) to identify the conditions that enable the Ogiek of Chepkitale, Mount Elgon, Kenya, to sustain and be sustained by their lands. We also identify the conditions that drive the disruption of this sustainable relationship through an appropriation of Ogiek resources by external interests that threaten to degrade, alienate and destroy their ecosystem. It is increasingly recognized that securing sustainable conservation outcomes can be best achieved through the deep knowledge, connection and commitment that ancestral communities have regarding their lands. Evidence from Mount Elgon and more broadly shows that Indigenous Peoples are better guardians of their forests than international or state protection agencies. This challenges the idea that evicting forest peoples is the best way to protect forests. Other studies, including those conducted by the Kenyan governmental Taskforce on Illegal Logging, highlight the way Kenyan state agencies such as the Kenya Forest Service have been responsible for the severe depletion of Indigenous forests. We examine how collective community control can enable decisions to be made in line with taking care of community lands over the long term, but also highlight how this ability is under constant threat until and unless national law and practice recognizes the collective tenure rights of such communities.

Land use change and forest patch analysis as a decision‐making tool to sustainably develop plantation agriculture and optimize biodiversity conservation

AbstractEstablished for biodiversity conservation, protected areas (PAs) have been downsized, downgraded, and/or degazetted for socioeconomic development including plantation agriculture. Although studies have highlighted causes, implications for biodiversity conservation, and the need for policies governing Protected Area Downsizing, Downgrading, and Degazettement (PADDD), no study has proposed a methodology to inform PADDD events to help decision making that balance economic growth pursuit with ecological and environmental commitments. A methodology based on land use change and forest patch analysis has been applied to Buvuma Island to guide the choice of PAs that can undergo PADDD as well as identification of new areas that can be declared as PAs. Our results revealed that, over the last decade, natural vegetation of Buvuma Island has been highly degraded with forest depletion from 45.0% in 2007 to 15.8% in 2016. About 65% of the initial forest cover were lost. The average yearly forest loss rate was 3.2% or 712.8 ha. A total number of 19 PAs covering 3103 ha including 2816 ha of existing PAs and 287 ha of identified forest patches were selected for biodiversity conservation. This flexible methodology can be applied at various spatial and temporal scale to ensure sustainable plantation agriculture development.

The Impact of Renewable Electricity Output on Sustainability in the Context of Circular Economy: A Global Perspective

In this article, we investigate the impact of “Renewable Electricity Output” on the green economy in the context of the circular economy for 193 countries in the period 2011–2020. We use data from the World Bank ESG framework. We perform Panel Data with Fixed Effects, Panel Data with Random Effects, Weighted Last Squares-WLS, and Pooled Ordinary Least Squares-OLS. Our results show that Renewable Electricity Output is positively associated, among others, with “Adjusted Savings-Net Forest Depletion” and “Renewable Energy Consumption” and negatively associated, among others, with “CO2 Emission” and “Cooling Degree Days”. Furthermore, we perform a cluster analysis implementing the k-Means algorithm optimized with the Elbow Method and we find the presence of four clusters. In adjunct, we confront seven different machine learning algorithms to predict the future level of “Renewable Electricity Output”. Our results show that Linear Regression is the best algorithm and that the future value of renewable electricity output is predicted to growth on average at a rate of 0.83% for the selected countries. Furthermore, we improve the machine learning analysis with a Deep Learning approach using Convolutional Neural Network-CNN but the algorithm is not appropriate for the analyzed dataset. Less complex machine learning algorithms show better statistical results.

Assessment of remote sensing-based indices for drought monitoring in the north-western region of Bangladesh

Drought is a widespread hazard that can tremendously affect the biodiversity, habitat of wild species, and ecosystem functioning and stability, especially in the dry region. Due to its geographic location, the north-western region of Bangladesh has a comparatively arid climate which is very much susceptible to drought occurrence and is marked as a red zone. Despite the growing evidence of the impact of drought on food security and ecosystem functioning, little effort has been paid to mitigate the drought in this region. The present study aimed to assess the drought condition of the north-western region of Bangladesh using earth observation techniques. For this purpose, Landsat data from 1990 to 2020 was used to determine various vegetation indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Water Index (NDWI), Moisture Index (NDMI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), along with Land Surface Temperature (LST). Results show that the depletion of forests (2832 km2) and water bodies (6773 km2) resulted from the expansion of settlement (6563 km2) and agricultural land (1802 km2) for the period 1990–2020. Examination of the temporal changes of vegetation indices and LST showed that the values of all indices decreased while the LST increased. The negative correlation between NDVI value and LST indicates that the vegetation in our study was subject to drought-induced shocks. This study reveals the current situation of the vegetation health in the north-western region of Bangladesh in relation to the drought conditions. The findings of this study have practical implications for the policymakers in implementing necessary measures for agriculture, forests, water development, and economic zone planning.

Comparative Study of Biogas Production from Jackfruit Waste, Banana Peels, and Pineapple Peels Co-Digested with Cow Dung

Only 42% of Uganda’s population has access to electricity. The population continues to use firewood and charcoal as a source of energy, which leads to depletion of forests thus to climate change. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of biogas production from jackfruit waste, banana peels, and pineapple peels when co-digested with cow dung as an alternative energy source. Substrates for each waste were co-digested with varying proportions (0%, 25%, and 50%) of cow dung using laboratory-scale 250 mL anaerobic digestors. The total biogas generation for jackfruit waste, banana peels, and pineapple peels after 30 days of anaerobic digestion was 82.3, 189, and 262 mL, respectively. When jack fruit waste, pineapple peels and banana peels were co-digested with 25% cow dung, the total amount of biogas produced increased by a factor of two and three, respectively. However, 50% of cow dung only significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved for jack fruit waste by two folds. Therefore, the results indicated that jackfruit waste, banana and pineapple peels can be used for biogas production to augment energy supply.

Forest Eco-Governance in Russia in the 18th Century and Its Practical Significance

Abstract The history of forest eco-governance in Russia can be traced back to more than 1000 years ago, but before Peter I came to power, the forest eco-governance in Russia rarely considered forest regeneration and sustainable development. Since ancient times, the European part of Russia has been regarded as the most wooded and forested region in Europe. However, in the 18th century, the consistent use of timber as the main fuel in the Russian manufacturing industry and residential heating, as well as the unrestrained use of forests in shipbuilding, construction, timber export, etc. led to the rapid depletion of forests in some regions of Russia. In this context, the Russian government put the reinforcement of the national forest eco-governance on the agenda. Peter I is considered to be the first forester in Russian history. During his reign, he promulgated about 200 laws and regulations on the conservation of forest resources, and his successors further developed his ideas about forest ecological conservation. Although it failed to prevent the trend of destruction of forest ecological environment in Russia, it solved the problems of building a powerful country and a strong army, achieving industrial development, and meeting people's needs in Russia to a certain extent. The measures and ideas of eco-governance in Russia in the 18th century are of important practical significance.

Increasing Pressure on Forest Resources and its Consequences in India

This is a review study based on the research articles published in peer reviewed journals and cited in various books over time. The purpose of the study is to highlight the importance of forest resources and major issues pertaining to these resources in India and underlining the consequences of forest depletion. The study focuses on the role of forests in rural livelihood, employment and income generation, poverty alleviation, and interaction of women with forests. Issues like market failure and trade-off between forest and economic development have also been touched upon. The way various researchers depict the tremendous pressure on forest resources and consequences of the same have been identified through review of the research studies.

Article: Legislative Pioneer on Global Forest Protection? A Commentary on the European Union’s Proposed Deforestation-Free Product Regulation

The aim of this article is to consider recent developments in the European Union’s legal policy on combating global forestation. Specifically, it focuses on the significance of the European Commission’s recent legislative proposal of November 2021 to minimize the EU’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation (DFD) worldwide by banning the placement on the internal market or export from the Union of certain commodities that have been produced on land that has been subject to deforestation or from wood harvested from forests inducing forest degradation (referred to in this article as the draft deforestation-free product regulation (DFPR)). Whilst for a number of years the EU’s approach towards addressing global forest depletion has been focused on combating the trade in illegally harvested timber products and more lately on biofuel sourcing for renewable energy policy purposes, the recent launch of the DFPR proposal reflects a growing awareness by the EU that its contribution to the environmental problem of DFD is more profound and far-reaching than previously recognized. EU consumption of a range of commodities constitutes an important DFD driver, through which large areas of natural forest have been depleted at an unsustainable rate for the purposes of agricultural conversion and production, with severe consequent environmental and social costs. The article explores the content and implications of this new legislative initiative, for the Union and more broadly for the international community. Given the continued absence of a global environmental agreement addressing DFD, the stakes for the Union are high economically, politically and to some extent legally for it deciding unilaterally to introduce regulatory controls on a range of commodities to address its complicity in consumption involving embedded deforestation. One thing is clear, though, namely that the EU is not afraid to act as a legislative pioneer on the international scene, in which the Union’s environmental values may be seen as trumping short-term economic considerations of international competitiveness. European Union, deforestation, forest degradation, draft deforestation-free product regulation

ETHNOPHARMACY SUKU ANAK DALAM OF BUNGKU VILLAGE, BAJUBANG DISTRICT, BATANGHARI REGENCY, JAMBI PROVINCE IN 2021

Suku Anak Dalam (SAD), the one of ethnics in Indonesia precisely on Jambi Province still use various types of plants and animals part as medical substance. Traditional medicine among local ethnics has differences of each other. In addition, the depletion of forests as a source of life and modern culture make traditional medicine been forgotten. The aim of this study was determine the souce of natural products used by SAD for medical purposes. It was a descriptive study using purposive sampling and snow ball sampling to get as much data as possible about medicinal plants or animals used by Suku Anak Dalam, Bungku Village. The results showed that there were 17 plats and 4 animals used by SAD for medicine. The disease are often experienced by Suku Anak dalam are stomachache, dyspepsia, kidney desease, dengue, hyperlipidemia, vulnus, toothache, and ascariasis. The part of natural product frequently used include root, stem, leaves, and sap, which were commonly processed by boiling, mashing, eating, searing, sticking, and burning. Based on the results that has been done that were 17 plants and 4 animals from different genus and family used as traditional medicine with different part and processed.

Sustaining Protected Forests and Forest Resources in Ghana: An Empirical Evidence

ABSTRACT The increasing concern for sustainable forest and protected forest resources motivates this study. In the wake of rising protected forest depletion, climate change and public health problems, this study through a bidding game format develops a sustainability index to show households’ sustainability behavior toward the protected forests in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Relying on a cross-section of household survey data and regression analysis, this study finds that overall, approximately 79% of respondents exhibited sustainable behavior toward protected forests in GAR. Also, this sustainable behavior is associated with expected revenue of GH¢ 80,837,594 (USD$ 15,368,398) per annum. We also find that socioeconomic, psychological, and environmental factors are the main drivers of protected forest sustainability in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. This study has important implications for institutions working toward sustaining protected forest and forest resources in Ghana.

Guarding the colonial woodlands: A genealogy of forest conservation discourses in late Bourbon's period in new Spain (Mexico)

Facing a dramatic depletion of forests in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, throughout the last decades of colonial rule (between the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) the Bourbon administration wrote and published a considerable number of laws, reports, surveys, and ordinances on forest management and conservation. In this paper we examine discourses of forest conservation and the measures applied to preserve this critical resource by colonial official and experts. Drawing on forest laws, ordinances, and reports from national archives in Mexico City, we argue that conservation became part of the concepts which defined how forests were conceptualized and managed, but also that conservation was intrinsic to colonial processes of state-making and territorialization. This paper aims to approach Bourbon officials’ understanding of conservation as a complex interrelation between renewed discourses of nature and the practices of colonial forest administration through the idea of indeterminacy. Likewise, it sheds light on patterns that have defined the ways in which forest conservation has been constituted in modern Mexico, addressing a little-studied period in forest management in this country.

The Role of Large Volcanic Eruptions in Stratospheric Ozone Depletion and Degradation of Coniferous Forests

The Role of Large Volcanic Eruptions in Stratospheric Ozone Depletion and Degradation of Coniferous Forests