Field Of Forestry Research Articles

Relação entre alongamento anual da copa e o incremento diamétrico de árvores singulares de <i>Cedrela fissilis</i> (Vell)

http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509812354O crescimento da copa é uma variável pouco conhecida no campo florestal. Esta estrutura fotossintética tão importante para o crescimento da árvore encontra-se em um nível de difícil acesso para o manejador florestal e, portanto, pouco se conhece sobre seu desenvolvimento. Assim, o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi modelar o alongamento anual da copa utilizando como variável independente o incremento corrente anual em diâmetro do tronco de Cedrela fissilis. Utilizando 22 árvores singulares determinou-se o alongamento anual da copa e o incremento corrente anual em diâmetro no período de oito anos. Demonstrou-se que o desenvolvimento da copa esta relacionado com o incremento diamétrico (r=0,53; p<0,0001), entretanto, para estimar o alongamento anual da copa com maior precisão, o modelo linear misto também incluiu o diâmetro a altura do peito e a altura comercial, que explicou 70% da variação total do alongamento do galho por classe de altura total.

Criteria and indicators for the assessment of community forestry outcomes: a comparative analysis from Canada

In Canada, there are few structured evaluations of community forestry despite more than twenty years of practice. This article presents a criteria and indicator framework, designed to elicit descriptive information about the types of socio-economic results being achieved by community forests in the Canadian context. The criteria and indicators framework draws on themes proposed by other researchers both in the field of community forestry and related areas. The framework is oriented around three concepts described as amongst the underlying objectives of community forestry, namely participatory governance, local economic benefits and multiple forest use. This article also presents the results of a field-based application of the criteria and indicators framework, comparing four case studies in three Canadian provinces. All four are community forests with direct tenure rights to manage and benefit from forestry activities. Results reveal that in terms of governance, the case studies adhere to two different models, which we name ‘interest group’ vs. ‘local government’. Stronger participatory dimensions are evident in two case studies. In the area of local economic benefits, the four case studies perform similarly, with some of the strongest benefits being in employment creation, especially for those case studies that offer non-timber activities such as recreation and education. Two of four cases have clearly adopted a multiple-use approach to management.

THE EUROPEANIZATION OF THE SLOVAK ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND CURRENT STATE ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN THE AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND LAND SECTOR

Abstract State administration of the Slovak republic is a subject to extensive reform of local authorities with a purpose to simplify access of citizens to the administrative matters at the local state administration as well as for the purposes of public funds savings. The paper reflects current situation in the reforming process in the field of agriculture, forestry, hunting, landscape and cadaster state administration and current situation in the Europeanization of the Slovak administrative law. The ESO (effective, reliable, open state administration) reform transferred local specialized state administration to the general model of district offices with sectorial departments. Thus the reform introduced structural change with transfer of competences to newly established district offices. The reform also introduced horizontal two-instance decision making procedure at the district offices with the seat in the region that is doubtful. The emphasis is on the procedural rules of administrative procedure due to the fact that administrative law is modified under the Europeanization of law. The reform in the field of agriculture, forestry and cadaster state administration expects saving of public sources by 8 664 884 € in 2013 and by 33 013 199 € in 2014.

A Different Approach To Teaching Foresty

Abstract. This paper is the result of an experiment which took place at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj with forestry teaching staff , when giving scientific explanations. The most memorable professors have always been those who did more than teach the subject matter of some discipline. They espoused an underlying theme that established a perspective or framework within which to structure the details of the subject being taught. This paper describes a theme that reveals the structure of certain scientii¬c explanations relevant to a study of forestry. Because our suggestion emphasizes research explanations that belong to the field of forestry, it helps a student distinguish a sensible explanation from one that is not. The paper is intended to provide an example of a theme for an introduction to forestry that we have found useful. It is neither the only possible theme nor necessarily the best, but it does demonstrate what a “theme in a science course” means to us. Hopefully its usefulness will be apparent to the students. Some of the main results of our attempt are as follows: integration and implementation of the research in question into the teaching practice; breaking the psychological barriers such as fear of change and failure in new endeavours; resistance to changing one's teaching philosophy from a traditional to a more alternative mode of practice. The members of the teaching staff improved their teaching technique and students enjoyed a different way of acquiring knowledge.

Forestry library and its 60th anniversary

ABSTRACTThe Forestry Library was established in 1948 at the Slovenian Forestry Institute. Today it is a faculty and research library. The library, together with its reference and documentation service, is the only information center and provider of scientific and technical literature in the field of forestry in Slovenia. It is also the main repository of sources for the study of Slovenian forest and forestry history. Over the 60 years of its existence, the Forestry Library has collected over 41 000 units of material. In the time of its existence, the library counts over 7000 members; 500 users are active and borrowover 18 000 units annually. From the beginning, it has had good relations and a good history of collaboration with many domestic and foreign institutions. From a small library with a modest but valuable collection kept in a single room it has developed into a 21st century virtual library.

Developing research report writing skills using corpora

This exploratory study investigates the use of corpora to develop the research report writing skills of college-level students enrolled in a professional forestry program. Specifically, the study identifies the contribution of a concordance program in highlighting the characteristics of effective writing in the field of forestry by focusing on a set of selected linguistic features: (a) linking adverbials, (b) reporting verbs, (c) verb tenses (past and present), and (d) passive sentence structures. These features were selected for the study based on a comparison of a corpus of published forestry articles vis-à-vis a corpus of students’ research reports. Initial analysis showed interesting differences in the distributions of these linguistic features between professional and student texts. Two groups of forestry students (N=28, with 14 students per group) were randomly assigned, one receiving six hours of instruction over a two-week period using corpus tools and materials, while the other group was given traditional research report writing instruction. The reports written by the students in the two groups before and after the treatment were compared with the distributional data from the corpus of published articles (i.e., professional corpus). Overall, results show that corpus instruction contributed positively to the patterning of the frequencies and distributional data of linking adverbials, reporting verbs, and verb tenses in the students’ research reports relative to the professional corpus.

Lending money: Latin America and China’s New Engagement

Recent research highlights that much of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) is located in developing countries (UNCTAD, 2006, Morck, Yeung & Zhao, 2008;Gugler & Boie, 2008). At the same time, reports from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM, 2010) point to sub-Saharan-Africa and Latin America as important destinations for FDI. In addition, other research suggests that there are two fundamental reasons that explain Chinese FDI in both regions: a) the need for oil and raw materials and b) the need for international allies (Chambers, 2006;Lafargue, 2006; Van de Looy, 2006; Hsiang, 2009; Regalado 2009). However, Sino-African relations have historically been deeper than Sino-LatinAmerican relations. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s China provided assistance to some African countries in the field of agriculture, forestry, food processing, textiles and other light industries, supply and distribution of water and in electric power generation. They also collaborated in the construction of the TaZaRa Railway. Inthe early 1970s they provided military assistance to several countries in the region who fought for independence, but as the decade progressed, the ideological approachled to a more pragmatic strategy focused on the economic interests of the country (He, 2006). Instead, the Chinese assistance in Latin America was almost non-existent and the ideological support ended when, in the mid-1960s, relations with Cuba deteriorated since the Caribbean country decided to support the Soviet Union in its struggle to secure global hegemony (Li, 1991).

Memorial of Ray E. Wilcox, 1912-2012

Ray Everett Wilcox, born on March 31, 1912, in Janesville, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully in Lakewood, Colorado, at age 99 on March 12, 2012, only a few weeks away from his 100th birthday. He was a distinguished Research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver for nearly 40 years. His record of publications spanned 64 years, from 1935–1999, with more than 86 reports and articles. Few scientists establish prominence in a single field, but Ray was exceptional in that he made groundbreaking contributions to two distinctly different disciplines, volcanology–igneous petrology and optical mineralogy. Ray used his extensive knowledge in mineral optics to identify sources of volcanic ash beds and utilize the beds as stratigraphic markers; this work helped solve problems not only in geology, but also in the fields of archeology, botany, and forestry. Ray attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison (where he was a member of Sigma Xi), receiving degrees in geology for his Ph.B. in 1933; his Ph.M. in 1936 (with a thesis on “The solubility of certain silicate materials in body fluids as a factor in silicosis”), and his Ph.D. in 1941 (with a dissertation on “Contact relations between rhyolite and basalt on Gardiner River, Yellowstone Park, Wyoming”). His graduate experience exposed him to some of the outstanding scientists of that era. He held a Geology Fellowship from 1934–1936 with R.C. Emmons (an icon in optical mineralogy and universal stage work) where he worked on developing a rotation apparatus for a modified universal stage and coauthored a paper on mineralogy on silicosis in 1937 (Emmons and Wilcox 1937). Following his tenure with Emmons, he became a teaching assistant for A.N. Winchell from 1936–1939. Ray’s tutelage under Emmons and Winchell gave him a solid foundation of the principles and utility of optical mineralogy, which served …

The Juridical Protection of the Forest in Romania

In the field of forestry, there have been numerous situations when the law did not apply, for various reasons (most important of them being corruption), which lead to the lost of over 60% of the forest area, since 1990 to the present day. The article aims to point out:-the current legislation in the field of forestry;-the protection measures that must be adopted by the legislative and administrative authorities of the state, in order to stop the savage aggression against national forests;-the deeds that are incriminated as crimes or contraventions and which is the difference between them in Romanian legislation;-the legal provisions in some states of the world in the field of forestry;-measures that must be taken by Romanian legislative and administrative authorities in order to harmonize Romanian legislation with the one of the EU in the field of forestry

Fine root production, turnover, and decomposition in a fast-growth Eucalyptus urophylla plantation in southern China

A rapid increase of Eucalyptus plantation area in southern China has raised widespread attention in the field of ecology and forestry. It might be argued that fast-growth Eucalyptus would increase the consumption of resources and thus cause soil degradation. Fine root dynamics could provide insight into nutrient uptake or return. This study therefore focused on fine root production, turnover, and decomposition in a subtropical Eucalyptus urophylla plantation. Sequential coring method was used to estimate fine root production and turnover rate. Root decomposition rate and root nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dynamics were determined using the litterbag method. In this study, roots were divided into three diameter classes: <1, 1–2, and 2–3 mm. We settled litterbags with all three different root diameter classes under the forest floor (0–10 cm) in winter, spring, and summer. The total production of fine roots at diameter <2 mm was 45.4 g m−2 year−1, and its turnover rate was 0.58 year−1. The roots at diameter <1 mm showed much greater production or turnover rate than those at diameter 1–2 mm. The root mass loss from litterbag across the three diameter classes (<1, 1–2, and 2–3 mm) was similar at the beginning period of 180 days, but significantly different later. The decomposition constant (k value) of roots estimated by exponential decay model decreased with increasing diameter class. In addition, the season of litterbag settlement also had effects on root mass loss. In root nutrient dynamics, the fractions of initial N immobilized increased with increasing diameter class. Root P at the three diameter classes showed a similar mineralization pattern. Our studies on fine root production, turnover, and decomposition give some important insights into nutrient cycling between plant and soil in Eucalyptus plantations. Our results which show that fine roots had relatively low production and turnover rate partly explain the potential soil degradation under the short rotation systems. The variation of root dynamics among different diameter classes suggests that to accurately assess fine root roles, one should consider the effects of root diameter size.

Romania's participation in the Agricultural Conference in Moscow, 2–3 February 1960

Investigating the origins of Romania's detachment from the Soviet Union, this article focuses on Romania's participation in two bloc economic gatherings: the Agricultural Conference held on 2–3 February 1960 in Moscow and the seventh session of the CMEA Permanent Commission on Scientific–Technical Collaboration in the Field of Agriculture and Forestry, held in Sofia (Bulgaria) on 12–14 May 1960. Drawing on recently declassified documents from the archive of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, the study argues that Romania's opposition to the rest of the bloc – the USSR included – could be traced as early as February–May 1960 and that this opposition was triggered by the Romanian leaders' perceptions of threats to Romania's interests.

Efficiency analysis of forestry journals: Suggestions for improving journals’ quality

In this paper we attempt to assess the impact of journals in the field of forestry, in terms of bibliometric data, by providing an evaluation of forestry journals based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). In addition, based on the results of the conducted analysis, we provide suggestions for improving the impact of the journals in terms of widely accepted measures of journal citation impact, such as the journal impact factor (IF) and the journal h-index. More specifically, by modifying certain inputs associated with the productivity of forestry journals, we have illustrated how this method could be utilized to raise their efficiency, which in terms of research impact can then be translated into an increase of their bibliometric indices, such as the h-index, IF or eigenfactor score.

Diverse applications of electronic-nose technologies in agriculture and forestry.

Electronic-nose (e-nose) instruments, derived from numerous types of aroma-sensor technologies, have been developed for a diversity of applications in the broad fields of agriculture and forestry. Recent advances in e-nose technologies within the plant sciences, including improvements in gas-sensor designs, innovations in data analysis and pattern-recognition algorithms, and progress in material science and systems integration methods, have led to significant benefits to both industries. Electronic noses have been used in a variety of commercial agricultural-related industries, including the agricultural sectors of agronomy, biochemical processing, botany, cell culture, plant cultivar selections, environmental monitoring, horticulture, pesticide detection, plant physiology and pathology. Applications in forestry include uses in chemotaxonomy, log tracking, wood and paper processing, forest management, forest health protection, and waste management. These aroma-detection applications have improved plant-based product attributes, quality, uniformity, and consistency in ways that have increased the efficiency and effectiveness of production and manufacturing processes. This paper provides a comprehensive review and summary of a broad range of electronic-nose technologies and applications, developed specifically for the agriculture and forestry industries over the past thirty years, which have offered solutions that have greatly improved worldwide agricultural and agroforestry production systems.

Impact of misspecifying spatial exposures in a generalized additive modeling framework: with application to the study of the dynamics of Comandra blister rust in British Columbia

In environmental and epidemiological studies, the nearest distance between the susceptible subject and the exposure source is a commonly used exposure measure, principally because this measure is easy to collect; more recently, the density of the exposure has been considered as a measure of exposure. However, no study has ever quantitatively compared nearest distance and density of exposures in any field. In particular, in the field of forestry, few studies have accounted for density‐based exposure measures to disease pathogen, mostly due to the difficulty of measuring the spatial locations of disease host plants. Misspecification of exposure measures may result in inaccurate determinations of the link between exposure and the response of interest. Such considerations are motivated by the study of the disease dynamics of Comandra blister rust (Cronartium comandrae) on lodgepole pine. This disease spreads to pine trees through alternate host plants near the trees. We aim at understanding the relationship between the alternate host plant presence and the disease, as well as effects relating to genetic variation in the trees. We contrast the use of nearest distance to the alternate host plant, with host plant densities at different orders of neighborhood, as exposure measures, in the framework of a flexible semi‐parametric generalized additive model, while adjusting for a spatially smooth surface. We demonstrate that if exposure is inaccurately modeled, then bias in estimating genetic effects may manifest themselves and larger predictive error may be induced. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Institutional framework and impact of environmental organizations on issues of woody biomass utilization for energy

The use of wood for energy purposes is becoming a very important issue and the subject of cross-sectoral interaction in the fields of energy, environment and forestry. Woody biomass has been recognized as a significant potential to replace fossil fuels. Therefore, this situation has a large impact on all aspects of the forestry sector, making it a significant research issue, as well as operational issue in forest policy. The aim of this paper is to determine the nature and intensity of the impact of strategic, legislative and organizational framework on the use of wood for en?ergy purposes. The research used qualitative and quantitative methods in order to identify the impact of environmental institutions on the issues of biomass use for energy purposes. The results show that there is a complex organizational, strategic and legal framework related to the use of biomass for energy. On the basis of impact analysis, it can be concluded that some organizations may have a different character and the intensity of impact, while the most complex impact is exercised by the ministry responsible for the environment.

Image Reduction Method for Rice Leaf Disease Based on Visual Attention Model

Analyzing the crop growth status through leaf disease image is one of the hottest issues in agriculture and forestry fields currently. But the size of image gathered by digital camera is too large, the focus of this research is to zooming-out image at the condition of ensuring the main information which carried by the image to distort lower. Based on the further study of visual attention model proposed by Itti and Ma YF. This paper establishes visual attention and visual saliency map of rice blast and brown spot disease image, whose size is 4272*2878 pixels. Finally, determines the reduction scale of the corresponding effective target collection and provide a new way to reduce the plant leaf images.

Detecting Changes in Forest Structure over Time with Bi-Temporal Terrestrial Laser Scanning Data

Changes to stems caused by natural forces and timber harvesting constitute an essential input for many forestry-related applications and ecological studies, especially forestry inventories based on the use of permanent sample plots. Conventional field measurement is widely acknowledged as being time-consuming and labor-intensive. More automated and efficient alternatives or supportive methods are needed. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has been demonstrated to be a promising method in forestry field inventories. Nevertheless, the applicability of TLS in recording changes in the structure of forest plots has not been studied in detail. This paper presents a fully automated method for detecting changes in forest structure over time using bi-temporal TLS data. The developed method was tested on five densely populated forest plots including 137 trees and 50 harvested trees in point clouds. The present study demonstrated that 90 percent of tree stem changes could be automatically located from single-scan TLS data. These changes accounted for 92 percent of the changed basal area. The results indicate that the processing of TLS data collected at different times to detect tree stem changes can be fully automated.

Urban Tree Growth Modeling

Selecting, locating, and managing trees to provide ecosystem services are becoming increasingly important facets of municipal and consulting forestry. The science of urban tree growth modeling is fundamental to quantifying these services. This paper describes three longterm tree growth studies conducted to evaluate tree performance because repeated measurements of the same trees produce critical data for growth model calibration and validation. Several empirical and process-based approaches to modeling tree growth are reviewed. Modeling is more advanced in the fields of forestry and pomology than in urban forestry. The USDA Forest Service’s reference city research has developed over 1,800 growth equations from measurements on more than 17,000 trees in 16 cities. The database is a valuable source of information that reflects regional differences in species composition, climate, soils, site conditions, and management practices. Several examples illustrate how differences in local climate and management practices can influence growth of a single species and the resulting value of services. Further advances in urban tree growth modeling are needed to inform the design, management, and modeling of high performing landscapes.

The Effect of Wireless Sensor Nodes Deployment Density in Forest Fire Monitoring Quality Evaluation

The early detection and monitoring of forest fire are very important for fire suppression quickly and reducing the loss of human and property. At present, forest fire monitoring techniques based on wireless sensor networks have drawn more and more attention from both academic and forestry field. In order to reduce the cost of monitoring system, it is necessary to monitor a biggest area with sensor nodes of given number. In this paper, based on the forest fire circular and elliptical propagation model, the case where the sensors are located in a regular triangle grid is analyzed. Some results which relate the sensor node density to the forest fire monitoring quality are presented. The theoretical analysis and the results of Monte Carlo simulations in fire circular propagation situation show that, the expect value of the time to fire detection is proportional to the ration of node density to the fire propagation speed, and the expect value of burned area only depends on the node density, but it doesn’t depend on the distribution of the fire ignition and fire propagation model.

Development of South Korean REDD+ Strategies for Forest Carbon Credits

The aim of this paper is to develop strategies for REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing conservation, sustainable management of forests and forest carbon stocks) projects that the Republic of Korea (ROK) can carry out in Indonesia, in order to secure carbon credits. By employing a strategic planning method called ACTIFELD, the paper considered institutions, economies, technologies, and stakeholders as central factors influencing the effectiveness of REDD+ activities. Through a TOWS analysis, these factors were analyzed in detail and possible national strategies for the ROK were identified. The priorities, resources required for implementation, obstacles, and alternative solutions were evaluated for each strategy, based on the results of focus interviews with experts in the field of forestry and climate change mitigation. The study proposes that a set of REDD+ national strategies be applied by the ROK in Indonesia, continuing until the year 2020, and involving three phases: early, mid-term, and final action. The results of study provide technical advice on what information is necessary in deciding national strategies for a donor country like ROK, and thus support planning and implementation of REDD+ national plans in developing countries experiencing rapid deforestation, such as Indonesia.