Forest Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Medicinal plants and their economic value in Kakamega Forest Ecosystem: A case study of sustainable land/forest project in Western Kenya

Forest Management of ecosystems plays a fundamental role in providing essential goods and services to rural communities. However, there has been a reduction in the natural forest cover due to resource utilization pressure. The pressure on forest resources is catalyzed by the expansion of markets for forest products, agricultural expansion and escalating poverty levels. An upsurge in the number of users of herbal medicine in urban and rural areas has increased the pressure on the forests, while modernization and change in lifestyle have led to the loss of traditional knowledge associated with medicinal plants utilization and conservation. No detailed economic evaluation of medicinal plants has been undertaken and the current illegal, unregulated and unreported exploitation of medicinal plants has led to overexploitation and loss of biodiversity. A better understanding of the abundance, distribution, uses and economic value of medicinal plants is important for the sustainable exploitation and conservation of forests. The study covered four forest blocks of Kakamega, North Nandi, South Nandi and Kibiri to determine plant species diversity, and their distribution in the disturbed and undisturbed areas of the forest; assess knowledge, utilization and economic estimate by willingness to-pay approach of medicinal plants to communities adjacent to the Kakamega Forest. Value chain analysis had been conducted for medicinal plants and forest user groups from Community Forest Association (CFA) had been trained in product development and access market were used in the study. Experimental Plot techniques were also used to gather ecological data on the frequency, density, diversity and distribution of the plants, whereas key informant interviews, focus group discussions and household interviews were utilized to gather information on ethnobotanical knowledge and household socioeconomic data. Thirty-two key species of medicinal plants were identified and used by local people around the Kakamega forest ecosystem. Forty-seven percent (47%) of these were trees, thirty four percent (34%) were shrubs, sixteen percent (16%) were herbs and climbers three percent (3%). Seventy percent (70%) of the medicinal plants were within the forest and thirty percent (30%) were outside the forest. The three most dominant families were Euphorbiaceae, Piperaceae and Fabaceae with leaves as the most common plant part used constituting 31 % (n=26) of the preparations, followed by roots with 20% (n=17),bark with 14% (n=14), fruits with 11 % (n=9), seeds having 11% (n=9), flowers 2% (n=2) and sap 2 % (n=3). The economic benefits generated from the medicinal plants within the forest ecosystem services in the Kakamega-Nandi landscape in terms of direct use value was about KES 601,918,256 (≈USD 5.19 million) per year, while indirect use value was KES 317,288,046 (≈USD 2.74 million) per year. Indigenous knowledge of the medicinal uses of the plants, their commercial aspects and distribution trends in the forest provision of wide scope for understanding relevant market systems may be tapped for decision support in rural health service planning, policy formulation for conserving the forest, tracking and mitigation of climate change impacts.

A Review of Eco-Product Value Realization and Eco-Industry with Enlightenment toward the Forest Ecosystem Services in Karst Ecological Restoration

Eco-product value realization and eco-industry are in a rapid development stage, but the eco-product value realization mechanism is still unclear. Strengthening research on eco-industry and eco-product value realization not only helps to coordinate the relationship between regional ecologies and the economy but also contributes to regional sustainable development. This study conducted a systematic literature review based on related articles retrieved from the Web of Science database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. The results showed the following: (1) Regarding time series, the average annual number of published works in the literature from 2000 to 2017 is less than 4, while the average annual number of published works in the literature from 2018 to 2022 is more than 97. The overall study on eco-product value realization and eco-industry has shown a year-on-year growth trend. (2) The research content primarily involves five aspects, including the connotation and extension of eco-products, eco-product supply, eco-product value accounting, eco-product value realization, and eco-industry. (3) It is essential to deepen the study on the improvement mechanism of the eco-product supply capacity, eco-products property rights, evaluation system for eco-product value realization, ecological compensation mechanism, driving mechanism for eco-products to eco-industry, and coupled development of ecological restoration and eco-industry. Based on the above research, this paper presents an enlightment of the forest ecosystem services in the karst ecological restoration area from three aspects: enhancing the supply ability of eco-products, improving the compensation mechanism of forest ecological services, and coordinating the development of ecosystem services and eco-industries.

Local stakeholders’ priorities and perceptions towards forest ecosystem services in the Red panda habitat region of Nepal

The Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) habitat has been providing several ecosystem services (ES) to the people; however, the differences in local stakeholders’ perceptions and preferences of these ecosystem services based on differences in their location, caste, gender, age, and engagement in CFUG are still understudied. This study was conducted using a telephone interview with 120 households from 28 Red panda habitat districts in the Himalayan range of Nepal. Respondents were asked to: (1) prioritize and rank the environmental (regulatory ES), economic (provisional ES), social, cultural, and spiritual importance of the Red panda habitat areas; (2) identify and prioritize the provisional ES; and (3) share their perceptions about the current state of the forest and biodiversity in comparison to the past decade to assess the change in Red panda habitat condition. Key findings include: (1) gender, caste, location, and involvement in community forest had a significant influence on people's perception and preference for ecosystem services (p < 0.05); (2) in overall, the environmental value of forests was significantly prioritized over the social, cultural, and economic values (p < 0.05); (3) provisional services such as fuelwood and fodder were significantly prioritized by Dalit and indigenous people and CFUG members, whereas timber was given the highest priority by the Brahmin and Chhetri caste groups (p < 0.05); and (4) forest cover, biodiversity, and forest condition have significantly improved in East Nepal over the past 10 years, while the reverse was true in West Nepal (p < 0.05). Information on the preferences of local communities could assist in planning, policymaking, and effective management of natural ecosystems and ecosystem services. More importantly, the findings provide a better understanding of the nature–human interactions in the Red panda region and indicate that people from marginalized groups (ethnic communities, Dalit, and women) still rely on forests (community forests in many cases), and any consideration in future policies should take this into account.

Estimating the Socio-Economic Values of Forest Ecosystem Services Using the Stated Preference Method in Dir Kohistan (Pakistan)

The research study was conducted in the Dir Forest Division of the KP Forest Department. The primary purpose was to estimate the socioeconomic values of ecosystem services of forests. For this study, 120 respondents were selected in 10 villages of the Dir Forest division through random sampling techniques. The study showed that firewood is the primary fuel source, and the local communities procured huge amounts of firewood from plantations and farmlands through local purchases. The economic value of forest ecosystem regulation, support, and cultural services must be addressed at the public level. As a result, the overall worth of the forestry industry in the globe in general, and Pakistan in particular, could be considered much higher. This study aimed to determine the relevance of various types of ecosystem services and their relationship to the socioeconomic status of individuals in the Dir Forest division. It focuses on estimating the economic value of a subset of services relevant to local communities, such as provisioning services (fuel wood) and cultural services (tourism), using the stated preference method (Contingent Valuation) and recommending a feasible payment for ecosystem services (PES) mechanism. According to data from the Economic valuation of fuel wood services, Dir Forest Division obtains a total of US$ 04 million- $ USD worth of fuel wood services per year. To determine the tourism trend and its economic worth, data was collected from hotel owners, 120 tourists, and key informants in the study area using a pretested questionnaire for seven years, from 2015 to 2021.

A systematic review of markets for forest ecosystem services at an international level

Markets for ecosystem services (MES) can play a key role in the protection of natural capital and the remuneration of sustainable management practices. This study aims to present the state of the art on forestry MES at the international level through a systematic review. The main objectives are (i) to analyse the distribution of actual or potential markets for forest ecosystem services (FES) that exist internationally today, (ii) to identify the spatial scale at which market-based instruments (MBIs) are applied and the respective measures of economic value used to assess FES, and (iii) to identify the actors and their involvement in the implementation of forestry MES. The study collected 304 peer-reviewed publications using the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol was used to guide the systematic process and select the 52 articles analysed in the review. The results show that Europe is the most representative continent in terms of geographical areas involved ( n = 8) by forestry MES, followed by America ( n = 6), Asia ( n = 5), and Africa ( n = 1). The main scale of application of MBIs for forestry MES is local, i.e., at the level of forest stand, municipality, or province ( n = 31), followed by subnational ( n = 10), national ( n = 9), and international ( n = 2). The main pattern of social composition in forestry MES is buyers, sellers, and intermediaries ( n = 25), followed by buyers and sellers only ( n = 12), buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and knowledge providers ( n = 5), and buyers, sellers, and knowledge providers ( n = 3). In terms of the measure of economic value, most studies use willingness to accept ( n = 30), as opposed to willingness to pay ( n = 17), and only 5 studies used both. Future research on forestry MES should be directed towards a better understanding of the process leading to their creation, implementation, effectiveness, governance, and level of satisfaction in economic terms of the actors involved.

A regional integrated assessment of the impacts of climate change and of the potential adaptation avenues for Quebec's forests

Regional analyses assessing the vulnerabilities of forest ecosystems and the forest sector to climate change are key to considering the heterogeneity of climate change impacts as well as the fact that risks, opportunities, and adaptation capacities might differ regionally. Here we provide the Regional Integrated Assessment of climate change on Quebec's forests, a work that involved several research teams and focused on climate change impacts on Quebec's commercial forests and on potential adaptation solutions. Our work showed that climate change will alter several ecological processes within Quebec's forests. These changes will result in important modifications in forest landscapes. Harvest will cumulate with climate change effects to further alter future forest landscapes, which will also have consequences on wildlife habitats (including woodland caribou habitat), avian biodiversity, carbon budget, and a variety of forest landscape values for Indigenous peoples. The adaptation of the forest sector will be crucial to mitigate the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystem goods and services and improve their resilience. Moving forward, a broad range of adaptation measures, notably through reducing harvest levels, should be explored to help strike a balance among social, ecological, and economic values. We conclude that without climate adaptation, strong negative economic and ecological impacts will likely affect Quebec's forests.

Economic valuation of restoring and conserving ecosystem services of Indian Sundarbans

Conservation of forest ecosystem is fundamental for economic-ecological sustainability. Indian Sundarbans provide several ecosystem services, which needs sustainable exploitation since forest dwellers are heavily dependent on the forest. In our study, we attempt to estimate the option value of the forest dwellers through a non-market based valuation technique. Using contingent valuation, we seek to estimate the contribution forest fringe dwellers are ready to provide for restoration and conservation of the ecosystem services. Assuming a random utility framework, mean willingness to pay is estimated from the forest dwellers’ responses to the Dichotomous Choice bidding as well as open-ended bidding question using socio-economic variables which determine the value towards forest ecosystem services. The results indicate that forest dwellers have a positive option value and hence are willing to forgo present extraction of forest resources for future use. This value the forest dwellers associate with non-use ecosystem services indicates their willingness to participate in forest conservation. The study therefore concludes that institutions like Joint Forest Management should be promoted for efficient management of the mangrove in providing livelihood and ecosystem services.

Assessment of Carbon Sequestration and Sink Potential: A Surrogate for Ecosystem Carrying Capacity in Dolvi Region, India

The socio-economic development activities are aimed to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants along with industrial growth of the region. The development activity proposing expansion or new construction is anticipated to affect environment and hence any ecosystem existing in the vicinity of development activity needs to be assessed. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the changes in existing ecosystem services due to expansion of industry and construction activities in the Dolvi region. For assessing the carrying capacity of region in such scenario indicators like NDVI, NDWI, Vegetation NDWI and forest ecosystem services such as carbon stock are estimated using geospatial techniques. To account for the possibility and effect of development on forest ecosystem, remote sensing and field analysis was carried out to estimate the status of indicators along with carbon sequestration and sink potential for the region. The NDVI value of 0.87 show healthy vegetation existing in the region. The NDWI has indicated the presence of water indicating region is not under water stress. From the current biomass estimation, the study region shows presence of forest which has biomass as high as 8 Mg/ha at terrestrial vegetation and 5 Mg/ha at mangrove vegetation. This biomass is a result of carbon sequestered in the region as 84.7 Mg/ha. The study confirmed that region has high Carbon stock with sink potential to absorb emissions from the development activities including construction and expansion of the industry in the region.q

Multiscale predictors of small tree survival across a heterogeneous tropical landscape.

Uncertainties about controls on tree mortality make forest responses to land-use and climate change difficult to predict. We tracked biomass of tree functional groups in tropical forest inventories across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and with random forests we ranked 86 potential predictors of small tree survival (young or mature stems 2.5-12.6 cm diameter at breast height). Forests span dry to cloud forests, range in age, geology and past land use and experienced severe drought and storms. When excluding species as a predictor, top predictors are tree crown ratio and height, two to three species traits and stand to regional factors reflecting local disturbance and the system state (widespread recovery, drought, hurricanes). Native species, and species with denser wood, taller maximum height, or medium typical height survive longer, but short trees and species survive hurricanes better. Trees survive longer in older stands and with less disturbed canopies, harsher geoclimates (dry, edaphically dry, e.g., serpentine substrates, and highest-elevation cloud forest), or in intervals removed from hurricanes. Satellite image phenology and bands, even from past decades, are top predictors, being sensitive to vegetation type and disturbance. Covariation between stand-level species traits and geoclimate, disturbance and neighboring species types may explain why most neighbor variables, including introduced vs. native species, had low or no importance, despite univariate correlations with survival. As forests recovered from a hurricane in 1998 and earlier deforestation, small trees of introduced species, which on average have lighter wood, died at twice the rate of natives. After hurricanes in 2017, the total biomass of trees ≥12.7 cm dbh of the introduced species Spathodea campanulata spiked, suggesting that more frequent hurricanes might perpetuate this light-wooded species commonness. If hurricane recovery favors light-wooded species while drought favors others, climate change influences on forest composition and ecosystem services may depend on the frequency and severity of extreme climate events.

Clash or concert in European forests? Integration and coherence of forest ecosystem service–related national policies

This paper compares how forest ecosystem service–related policies are integrated in different national European forest governance contexts. Efforts to achieve policy integration at the EU and national levels are often described in terms of limited success. Our analysis of forest, energy/bioeconomy, climate, and conservation policies suggests that notions of progress or failure merit careful assessment. Combining theories of policy integration (PI), environmental policy integration (EPI), and policy coherence, we argue that integration outcomes depend on the combined effects of the degree and nature of PI, EPI, and multilevel coherence in the context of the prevailing forest governance system. The nature of the interdependencies, specifically anticipated synergies, and the scope of FES-related climate objectives, are crucial. Realizing the range of FES-related objectives entails safeguarding objectives not synergistically aligned with economic aims. Failures to safeguard biodiversity and regulating and cultural ecosystem services in the process of integration may have far-reaching consequences.

Valuation of Visitor Perception of Urban Forest Ecosystem Services in Kuala Lumpur

Urban forests play a vital role in maintaining the city ecological balance and providing ecosystem services to citizens. Ecosystem services lead to better quality of life, better environmental quality, and more sustainable urban growth. However, many emerging nations have often progressed at the price of lowering and sacrificing forest coverage, which has a negative impact on the benefits that the public receives from natural green spaces. As a result, the goals of this research were to ascertain visitor impressions of urban forests in Kuala Lumpur, to assess the value assigned by visitors to urban forests in Kuala Lumpur, and to investigate the elements that impact the willingness to pay. A questionnaire-based field study was conducted on a total of 254 respondents among Taman Tugu Urban Forest visitors, Kuala Lumpur. The results show that visitor perceptions of regulating services, cultural services, and supporting services were positive, with high-level score values of 4.74, ±0.40, 4.69, ±0.37, and 4.70, ±0.50. Furthermore, provisioning services were perceived to be of moderately high level (3.49, ±1.12), and visitor perceptions of urban forest amenities were positive, with high-level scores (4.39, ±0.53). Overall, this indicates that visitors had a very good perception of Taman Tugu Urban Forest ecosystem services. However, when we looked at the factors that contributed to the willingness to pay for the conservation of urban forests and entry, only the perception of the amenities provided at Taman Tugu had a significant relationship with the willingness to pay. A total of 79.1% of visitors expressed their willingness to pay, for forest conservation, an average payment value of MYR 51.32 per year, while 65% of visitors were willing to pay, as entry fees at urban forests, an average payment value of MYR 3.07 per person. It can be concluded that visitors had a positive perception of urban forests in Kuala Lumpur and were willing to contribute for conservation and entry fee purposes. We hope that the findings of this research contribute to a better understanding of urban forest ecosystem services in Kuala Lumpur and visitor perception. In addition, this study could also be useful to policy makers to formulate a specific policy focus on urban forests by comprehensively and holistically including the monetary value of the ecosystem services provided, considering public opinion and needs, and performing financial allocation for conserving and managing urban forests. This is to ensure that the urban sustainable development goals and smart city aims can be achieved.

Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Services in Burabay National Park, Kazakhstan: A Case Study

The issues of forestry and the economic assessment of ecosystem services of forests, in the example of the national park “Burabay” in Kazakhstan, located in the northern part of the country, are investigated in this study. The relevance of forest ecosystem services, such as carbon fixation, oxygen emission, soil conservation from erosion and precipitation redistribution, are important environmental factors that contribute to the conservation of natural capital. Studies by domestic and international scientists show that the value of ecosystem services of forests is much higher than the cost of wood and its material products. Consequently, the ecosystem services of forests should be valued in monetary terms and considered in the context of the national wealth of the country. The main purpose of this research is to establish the value of non-market forest products while considering the prevailing natural and socio-economic conditions. The methods of the ecosystem approach for assessing the above ecosystem services of forests in value terms were implemented, and the real value of the multifunctional value of forests has been revealed. The results obtained can be used in planning measures to improve the sustainability of forests, ecotourism organizations and management decision-making.

Value ‘generalisation’ in ecosystem accounting - using Bayesian networks to infer the asset value of regulating services for urban trees in Oslo

In this paper, we demonstrate value generalisation from a sample of ecosystem assets – municipally managed trees - to all tree assets within an urban ecosystem accounting area. A Bayesian network model is used to machine-learn non-parametric correlation patterns between biophysical site condition variables and output variables of an ecosystem service model – here iTree Eco for modelling the regulating services of urban forests. The paper also demonstrates the use of spatial Bayesian network modelling to quantify the reliability of value generalisation for accounting purposes. Value generalisation entails inferring ecosystem service values for all locations in an ecosystem accounting area, where the accounting practitioner has less information about the asset and its context, than in an available sample of managed sites within the accounting area. The modelling is carried out as a “proof-of-principle” of potential value generalisation and uncertainty analysis methods for ecosystem accounting. It does not cover all regulating ecosystem services of urban forests, nor cultural services. While noting that wide confidence intervals for generalised values pose challenges for using monetary accounts for the accounting purpose of change detection, we find that tree-specific asset valuation is possible in an urban accounting setting. Our findings serve the purpose of raising awareness about asset values of urban green infrastructure, to bring them more on a par with grey infrastructure in urban planning. We also argue that the reliability of the asset value of individual trees is also good enough to be used for non-accounting purposes, such as municipal tree damage assessments.

Forest ecosystem services at landscape level – Why forest transition matters?

Forests in the humid tropics contribute to a wide range of globally demanded forest ecosystem services (FES) and are also beneficial to local communities, which are often highly dependent on natural resources. Approximately one-third of these forests are threatened by resource extraction, logging, and the expanding agricultural frontier. As a result of these developments, forest landscapes are shaped by a transition gradient representing areas with a high forest cover to locations resembling agricultural-forest mosaics. These transition gradients are often characterized by different types of forests and successional stages. We used inventory data from 331 plots collected in 24 landscapes in Ecuador and the Philippines, representing five forest-based land-use types. We used mixed linear effect models to analyze how the landscape transition gradient and forest type affect various forest ecosystem services. Additionally, we identified stand structure and landscape transition gradients that influence changes in these FES.Results show country and forest type specific reactions for different FES. For example, aboveground carbon, non-timber forest products, biodiversity, and timber volume in natural forests are not only affected by logging but also decline along the landscape transition gradient. This includes the risk of extinction of high conservation species and long-term depletion of timber resources. We show that tree-based secondary land-use systems may partially compensate for the loss of some FES, especially timber supply, but found evidence for increased nutrient depletion in agroforestry systems. Our results highlight the importance of connected forest landscapes and structurally diverse forest stands in early transition landscapes. We suggest conservation and restoration strategies sensitive to the transition context for FES and to make better use of the various benefits of tropical forests in a sustainable manner.

Individual structure mapping over six million trees for New York City USA

Individual tree structure mapping in cities is important for urban environmental studies. Despite mapping products for tree canopy cover and biomass are reported at multiple spatial scales using various approaches, spatially explicit mapping of individual trees and their three-dimensional structure is sparse. Here we produced an individual tree dataset including tree locations, height, crown area, crown volume, and biomass over the entire New York City, USA for 6,005,690 trees. Individual trees were detected and mapped from remotely sensed datasets along with their height and crown size information. Tree biomass in 296 field plots was measured and modelled using i-Tree Eco. Wall-to-wall tree biomass was mapped using relationships between field measurements and remotely sensed datasets and downscaled to individual trees. Validation using field-plot measurements indicated that our mapping products overestimated tree number, mean tree height and maximum tree height by 11.1%, 8.6%, and 5.3%, respectively. These overestimations were mainly due to the spatial and temporal mis-match between field measurements and remote sensing observations and uncertainties in tree segmentation algorithms. This dataset enables the evaluation of urban forest ecosystem services including regulating urban heat and promoting urban health, which can provide valuable insights for urban forest management and policy making.

Expert-Based Assessment of the Potential of Non-Wood Forest Products to Diversify Forest Bioeconomy in Six European Regions

The forest-based sector plays a significant role in supporting Europe on its pathway towards a more integrated and bio-based circular economy. Beyond the supply of timber, forest ecosystems offer a wide range of products and services beneficial to human wellbeing. Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) play an integral role in provisioning forest ecosystem services and constitute a huge portfolio of species from various taxonomic kingdoms. As diverse as the resources themselves is the list of end-products that may be derived from raw non-wood materials. Multiple value-chains of NWFPs provide benefits to actors across all stages of the supply chain. Forest management has not yet directed full attention towards NWFPs, since timber production remains the main management objective, although multi-purpose management is recognised as a key principle of the sector’s sustainability paradigm. Lack of knowledge of the socio-economic relevance of NWFPs for European societies and diverse property rights frameworks increase the complexity in forest-based decision making additionally. In this study, the future potential of 38 NWFPs for diversifying the forest bioeconomy is investigated by means of multi-criteria analysis, including stakeholder interaction and expert involvement. The results for six case studies in different biogeographical zones in Europe indicate the latent opportunities NWFPs provide to forest owners who are willing to focus their management on the joint production of wood and non-wood resources as well as their value networks. This study intends to unravel perspectives for forest owners in particular, as they often represent principal decision makers in forest ecosystem management, act as main suppliers of NWFP raw materials, and thus can be understood as key stakeholders in a forest bioeconomy. Even though regional perspectives differ, due to varying socio-economic and ecological environments, there is huge potential to strengthen the economic viability of rural areas. Furthermore, sustainable co-production may foster the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems across Europe. Results show that wild mushrooms constitute the most widespread opportunity to increase additional income from forest management, but the most promising NWFPs can be found in the tree product, understorey plant and animal origin categories.

Research Assessment on the Supply and Demand for Forest Ecosystem Services: The Case of Zhuxi County

A refined assessment of small-scale to medium-scale forest ecosystem services based on the unique geographical conditions of Zhuxi County provides a basis for decision-making to create a regional green development strategy for the county. The specifications for assessing forest ecosystem services (GB/T38582-2020) were followed to calculate the supply of forest ecosystem services in Zhuxi County using the physical quantity method and the value quantity method, and the demand was calculated using the standard value comparison method. The total supply value of forest ecosystem services in 2020 in Zhuxi County was 35,677,894,500 yuan·a−1. In terms of the value of each service, the value of water containment was the largest, accounting for 41.08%, and the value of forest recreation was the smallest, accounting for only 1.36%. The value per unit area of the local broadleaf–mixed forest in Zhuxi County was the largest, at 140,658.65 yuan·a−1, while the value of the fir forest was the smallest, at 89,181.32 yuan·a−1. The comprehensive supply–demand ratio of forest ecosystem services in Zhuxi County was 1.54, which means a moderate surplus; the supply–demand ratio of supply services was 1.27, which means a slight surplus; the supply–demand ratio of adjustment services was 1.34, which means a slight surplus; the supply–demand ratio of support services was 1.13, which means a slight surplus; and the supply–demand ratio of cultural services was 6.01, which means a high surplus. The supply–demand ratio of cultural services of forest ecosystem services in Zhuxi County was the largest and that of the support services was the smallest. From an overall perspective, the supply of forest ecosystem services in Zhuxi County in 2020 was relatively abundant and sufficient to meet local people’s demand for forest ecosystem services. In the future, some goals may include: (1) improving management capacity of forest resources and the quality of forest resources; (2) increasing the value of forest ecological services per unit area; (3) using mixed-forest planting to transform low-value tree species; (4) developing the supply capacity of forest ecological services; (5) enhancing the reprocessing industry of forest products; and (6) expanding the output of nonforest products. A good ecological defence must be established to achieve the sustainable management of forest resources.

What Promotes Natural Forest Protection and Restoration? Insights from the Perspective of Multiple Parties

The natural forest protection and restoration (NFPR) system is imperfect due to contradictions between the objectives of natural forest protection and the reality of situations, outdated cultivation concepts, conflicting interests among participating parties, and the lack of regulation guarantees and assessment criteria. These problems are not only common in China but also in international forest protection. As the NFPR system is more focused on the protection of natural forests, the level of natural forest restoration in China has been poor, with low natural forest quality and forest productivity. At the same time, the value of natural forest ecosystem services does not match the demand of farmers, forest management, and other multiple participating parties. As a result, except for the government, other multiple parties lack the intrinsic motivation to participate in NFPR, ultimately forming a sustainable management dilemma. Under the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, the objective of this research was to explore the influencing factors and outcomes of the participation of multiple parties in NFPR and to construct a multiple parties’ participation mechanism for solving this dilemma. This research found that among external variables, multiple parties’ characteristics, biophysical conditions, attributes of community, and rules-in-use jointly influence and constitute the driving mechanism of multiple parties’ participation in NFPR. The rules-in-use directly impact the participation action scenario and regulate the other three external variables. Various factors and mechanisms in NFPR interact in the action space and produce outcomes that create positive incentives for each external variable, thus promoting the whole mechanism to achieve a virtuous cycle of sustainable management. This study provides a theoretical contribution to understanding the behavior of multiple parties participating in NFPR.

Analysis of Forest Cover Change and Its Drivers in Biodiversity Hotspot Areas of the Semien Mountains National Park, Northwest Ethiopia

Forests provide multiple ecosystem services ranging from local livelihoods and socio-economic benefits to global ecological services. Despite these benefits, human activities have put immense strain on forest resources, resulting in forest degradation, impoverishment of the environment, and loss of livelihoods. Hence, monitoring forest cover change and identifying its drivers are essential for developing sustainable forest management strategies that restore forest resources and ecosystem services. This study examined the trends of forest cover changes and its drivers in and around the Semien Mountains National Park, Northwest Ethiopia, from 1984 to 2020. Data from Landsat satellite images of 1984, 1996, 2008, and 2020 were used for forest cover mapping and quantifying the changes using remote sensing techniques. A household survey and key informant interviews were also used to identify the drivers of forest cover change. Results showed an overall decline in forest cover and grasslands while cultivated lands, bare lands and built-up areas have registered gains in the study area. The percentage area under forests declined by about 31% (33,084 ha) over the past 36 years. This loss translates to an annual average forest loss of about 1.02% (919 ha). Conversely, cultivated land, bare land, and built-up areas have experienced an increase of about 159% (33,387 ha), 220% (10,121 ha), and 366% (6356 ha), respectively, over the last 36 years. Analysis of the 36-year change detection matrix revealed that about 62% of the study area experienced a transition, of which 21% and 41% were attributable to net change and swap change, respectively. The observed reduction in forest cover was driven by agricultural expansion, population growth, growing demand for fuelwood, livestock pressure, and forest fires. Such drastic changes in forest cover have a detrimental impact on the community’s well-being, biodiversity, climate, and the availability of forest ecosystem services. Thus, the study recommends concerted efforts by stakeholders to develop participatory forest management and public awareness that consider the co-existence of nature conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

Linking herbivory and ecosystem services in urban forests.

Urban forests provide important benefits for humans. Species interactions, in particular herbivory, can alter their function and ultimately threaten their ecosystem service provisioning. We call for research that identifies herbivory drivers in urban forests and tests for links between herbivory and forest services. Knowledge gained can inform management of urban ecosystems.