Forest Protection Research Articles

Conserving dipterocarps biodiversity in remnant forests of small islands in Batam Island, Indonesia

Abstract. Susilowati A, Wijaya K, Mawazin, Rachmat HH, Lismayati Y, Kurniawan H, Ginting IM. 2024. Conserving dipterocarps biodiversity in remnant forests of small islands in Batam Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25: 726-733. The protected forest of Sei Harapan is a remnant forest in Batam Island, the Riau Islands Province, Indonesia and one of the keruing (Dipterocarpus spp.) habitats on Sumatra Island. Illegal logging for its wood and land degradation have significantly reduced the keruing population. The objective of this research was to assess the diversity of keruing species and floristic composition in the Sei Harapan Protected Forest. This study employed a vegetation analysis method using purposive sampling with plotted lines and the transect placement based on the keruing position. The research revealed more than 70 species, three of which were Dipterocarpaceae species, including Vatica pauciflora, Shorea curtisii, and Dipterocarpus rigidus. D. rigidus had the highest IVI at the sapling (52.80%) and pole (67.22%). However, D. rigidus ranked 13th in the seedling stage, with an IVI of 5.79%. The diversity index was high at the seedling stage (3.73), moderate at sapling (2.25), pole (2.76), and tree stage (2.89). The evenness index was high at all growth stages, with values of 0.94 (seedling), 0.98 (sapling), 0.91 (pole), and 0.81 (tree). The richness index at the seedling, pole, and tree stage were categorized as high, with values of 10.40, 5.39, and 7.09, respectively, whereas the richness index at the sapling stage was moderate at 3.51. The study finding pointed out that the existence of Sei Harapan remnant forest requires to be preserved considering its essential function for preserving high economic value tree species, especially Dipterocarp. The comprehensive conservation effort for dipterocarps species, is crucial considering the research findings revealed a problem of continuity of species regeneration and the emergence of new pioneer species as the consequence of anthropogenic disturbance.

Combatting forest fires in the drylands of Sub‐Saharan Africa: Quasi‐experimental evidence from Burkina Faso

AbstractForest fires are among the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the drylands of Sub‐Saharan Africa. We use remote sensing data on forest fires and remaining tree cover to estimate the effectiveness of a project targeted at reducing fire incidences in 12 protected forests in arid Burkina Faso. The project consisted of two components that were implemented in the villages surrounding the target forests: a campaign aimed at raising community awareness about the detrimental effects of forest fires, and a program to support establishing and maintaining forest fire prevention infrastructures. Using the synthetic control method, we find that the project resulted in an overall reduction of in the number of days on which an average forest grid cell was detected to be on fire in the month of the year when fires tend to be most prevalent—November, at the very end of the agricultural season. This impact is, however, short lived (as the reduction only occurred in the November months in the first 4 years of the program), and the overall reduction in forest fire occurrences was not sufficiently large to result in a detectable increase in vegetation cover. We then try to uncover the underlying mechanisms to shed light on which of the project's components were effective to also learn how the program can be improved.

Liability For Illegal Trade in Protected Non-Endemic Wildlife in Indonesia

One of the most important natural wealth for humans is the diversity of animals found on this earth. Every country on earth has its diversity of animals; some examples are the Komodo dragon from Komodo Island, Indonesia, the giant panda from Shaanxi Province, China, the wildebeest from the Serengeti, Tanzania, the grizzly bear from Alaska, United States, and synchronous fireflies from Selangor Malaysia. Along with the development of technology, it turns out that the internet has also become the dominant factor influencing the amount of trade in protected endangered species. So far, thousands of protected animals are sold regularly via the internet. Both sellers of protected animals and their buyers take advantage of the advantages of the internet, which cannot be found in the real world, namely anonymity and the wide reach of the capital market. According to the Head of the Ministry of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, According to Law no. 5 of 1990 concerning the Conservation of Living Natural Resources and Their Ecosystems, Conservation of living natural resources is living natural resources which use them as needed to ensure compliance with their needs and improve the quality of the aid and its value. Conservation of living natural resources and ecosystems is based on preserving and utilising living natural resources and their ecosystems harmoniously and balanced.

Assessing future land-uses under planning scenarios: A case study of The Brantas River Basin, Indonesia

Understanding land-use dynamics and patterns and how they respond to management scenarios helps to develop sustainable land use policies. This study simulated future land uses in Brantas River Basin (BRB), East Java, Indonesia using Land Change Modeler (LCM) under policy scenarios. Following identification of twelve important biophysical and socio-economic spatial drivers, the LCM accurately simulated land-use changes over the period 1995–2015, with validation against the 1995 land use map giving an overall accuracy of 85–88 %. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the LCM predicted that during the period 2015 to 2035 continuing deforestation may leave forest cover accounting for only 4 % of the total BRB area, and cause declines in dryland from 45 % to 40 % and in rice-field farming from 24 % to 22 %. The results of that scenario also indicate the prospect of massive urban development, increasing from 18 % of the BRB area in 2015 to 30 % in 2035, with increasing threats to food security and water resources. Both percentage changes and a mean-weighted fractal dimension index suggest increased risks of forest fragmentation and urban aggregation. A spatial planning-influenced scenario, which aims to reduce forest loss and support watershed protection, is predicted to lead to 5.5 % forest cover, 37 % dryland, 29 % rice-field farming and 24 % urban area in 2035. Sensitivity analysis of the LCM showed that the model results were more sensitive to drivers, spatial resolution, and policy scenarios than to uncertainty in model parameters. It is concluded that despite some limitations, the LCM successfully provided" insights into policy impacts on land-uses in BRB, and the roles of forest and rice-field protection in spatial planning are essential in controlling urban development for watershed sustainability.

Temporal and Spatial Assessment of Carbon Flux Dynamics: Evaluating Emissions and Sequestration in the Three Northern Protection Forest Project Areas Supported by Google Earth Engine

Contemporary research on terrestrial carbon exchange processes is paramount for a nuanced comprehension of global and local climatic fluctuations and their interaction with anthropogenic activities. This study delves into the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation carbon exchanges within the Three Northern Protection Forest Project Area, leveraging two decades of MODIS NPP data and an innovative NEP estimation model. Our analysis highlights a generally increasing trend in Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) from 2000 to 2020, with significant growth in approximately 32.97% of the study area and slight increases in 24.18%. Notably, lower NEP values were found in desert and arid zones, whereas higher values were observed in more vegetated regions like Ningxia, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and the northeast. The study also assesses the impact of climate variables and land-use changes on NEP, identifying both negative and positive correlations in specific regions. Despite the overall positive trend towards ecological restoration and enhancement, significant uncertainties remain, emphasizing the urgent need for further research to support ecosystem resilience and sustainable management practices.

A comparative analysis of soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure among four shelterbelt species in the northeast China plain.

The focal point of this study lies in the implementation of a controlled experiment conducted under field conditions. In this experiment, we deliberately selected four shelterbelts within the same field, characterized by identical planting density, and planting year. This deliberate selection effectively mitigated the potential impact of extraneous factors on the three microbiomes, thereby enhancing the reliability and validity of our findings.

Classification algorithm for land use in the giant panda habitat of Jiajinshan based on spatial case-based reasoning

Jiajin Mountain, where the giant pandas reside, is an essential nature reserve in China. To comprehend the land use classification of the habitat, this article proposes a remote sensing interpretation algorithm based on spatial case reasoning, known as spatial case-based reasoning (SCBR). The algorithm incorporates specific spatial factors into its framework and does not require an extensive amount of domain knowledge and eliminates the need for a complex model training process, making it capable of completing land use classification in the study area. SCBR comprises a spatial case expression model and a spatial case similarity reasoning model. The paper conducted comparative experiments between the proposed algorithm and support vector machine (SVM), U-Net, vision transformer (ViT), and Trans-Unet, and the results demonstrate that spatial case-based reasoning produces superior classification outcomes. The land use classification experiment based on spatial case-based reasoning at the Jiajinshan giant panda habitat produced satisfactory experimental results. In the comparative experiments, the overall accuracy of SCBR classification reached 95%, and the Kappa coefficient reached 90%. The paper further analyzed the changes in land use classification from 2018 to 2022, and the average accuracy consistently exceeds 80%. We discovered that the ecological environment in the region where the giant pandas reside has experienced significant improvement, particularly in forest protection and restoration. This study provides a theoretical basis for the ecological environment protection of the area.

Carbon storage and sequestration in a eucalyptus productive zone in the Brazilian Cerrado, using the Ca-Markov/Random Forest and InVEST models

Tropical ecosystems in Brazil, particularly Mato Grosso do Sul, possess substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential through carbon sequestration in tree forests. However, the expansion of agricultural activities poses a threat to this potential. Notably, eucalyptus forests could enhance carbon sequestration and reduce GHG emissions. This study focused on Três Lagoas, known as Brazil's cellulose capital, and aimed to evaluate carbon stock and sequestration for 2030 under business as usual (BAU) and protected forest (PF) scenarios. Combining Cellular Automata (CA) and Random Forest models implemented in Patch-Generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, we simulated land use scenarios and assessed ecosystem services generated by carbon sequestration. The results showed that the PF scenario indicated a higher total carbon stock than the BAU scenario, with a difference of 2.48 Tg. Carbon sequestration varied by period and scenario. Between 2010 and 2020, 3.88 Tg of carbon were sequestered. However, in the next period (2020–2030), the BAU scenario estimated 2.45 Tg in total carbon sequestration. In contrast, the PF scenario predicted 4.93 Tg of carbon sequestration for 2020–2030, surpassing the previous decade. Monetarily, carbon sequestration in 2010–2020 amounted to $92.48 million, decreasing to $58.49 million for 2020–2030 in the BAU scenario. In the PF scenario, sequestration for 2020–2030 increased to $ 117.43 million, nearly double that of the BAU scenario. In conclusion, combining the Ca-Markov/Random Forest and InVEST models revealed the spatiotemporal dynamics of carbon stock and sequestration in the municipality with the largest eucalyptus-planted area in Brazil. The results underscore the significant variability in carbon stocks and sequestration based on classes, periods, and scenarios analyzed. This study contributes valuable insights into the potential for carbon mitigation in this critical region.

Editorial: Impacts of global change on protective forests in mountain areas

Editorial: Impacts of global change on protective forests in mountain areas

Wild Foods Are Positively Associated with Diet Diversity and Child Growth in a Protected Forest Area of Madagascar

BackgroundConcurrent losses in biodiversity and human dietary diversity are evident in Madagascar and across many food systems globally. Wild food harvest can mitigate nutrition insecurities but may also pose species conservation concerns. ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the association of wild plant and animal species consumption during hunger season with diet diversity and child growth near the Alandraza-Agnalavelo protected forest in Southwestern Madagascar. Second, we studied the conservation status of the consumed wild plants. MethodsMethods from public health nutrition (24-h recall dietary intake, anthropometry using World Health Organization [WHO] Growth Standards), ethnobotany, and forest ecology (ecologic studies of abundance, habitat preference, associated species, food chemistry assays, and species richness) were applied. ResultsMalnutrition in children (n = 305) was highly prevalent: stunting (32.3%); wasting (18.8%); and low-dietary diversity (4% meeting WHO minimum dietary diversity threshold). Animal foods were consumed in small quantities, providing <10% of Dietary Reference Intakes for all limiting nutrients. Twenty-two wild plant species were consumed during hunger season, prominently tubers (Dioscoreaceae), and leafy greens (Asteraceae, Blechnaceae, Portulacaceae, and Solanaceae). Eight of the 9 target species were identified as abundant and “Least Concern,” whereas Amorphophollus taurostigma was abundant and “Vulnerable.” Regression modeling showed wild food consumption was associated with an increased household dietary diversity score [β = 0.29 (0.06 standard error); P < 0.001], and total wild animal foods positively correlated with height-for-age Z score [β = 0.14 (0.07 standard error); P = 0.04]. ConclusionsWild plant and animal foods may be an important element of food systems to support human nutrition while maintaining ecosystem viability.

The Dynamics of Stand Structure Development and Natural Regeneration of Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Plitvice Lakes National Park

The authors investigate the structural characteristics, regeneration processes, growth, development, and survival of a young generation of common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) based on three periodic measurements (1998, 2009, and 2018). The studied forest community (Lamio orvale-Fagetum sylvaticae (Ht. 1938) Bohridi 1963) is situated within a forest reserve in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. Monitoring was carried out according to UN/ECE (2000) for systematic and repeated research. The basic structural indicators, structural canopy elements, and appearance of the young generation were measured as the basic conditions of natural restoration in repeated phytocenological surveys (1980, 1988, 2004). The distribution of the number of trees of the first two measurements (1998–2009) indicates a distribution with pronounced right asymmetry. The structural dynamics observed during the surveys and alongside vegetation surveys indicate the dynamics of the growth and development of beech. The results show that the main drivers of development dynamics in protected forest ecosystems are structural breaks (gaps) that occur in stands due to the action of abiotic and biotic factors. The passive management model in effect in the national park should be replaced with a more active approach to facilitate natural processes with the aim of preserving and renewing the forest ecosystem.

Gaps between Rice Actual and Potential Yields Based on the VPM and GAEZ Models in Heilongjiang Province, China

Heilongjiang Province is a significant region for grain production and serves as a crucial commodity grain production base in China. In recent years, due to the threat of declining cropland quality and quantity, coupled with the increasingly prominent demand for grain, there is an urgent need to enhance rice yields in Heilongjiang Province. It is imperative to accurately identify the gaps between actual and potential grain yields and effectively implement yield-enhancing measures in regions with significant yield gaps. This study aimed to determine the rice reproductive periods of Heilongjiang Province for 2000, 2010, and 2020, estimate the rice actual yields using the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), simulate the rice potential yields based on the Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) Model, and then identify the rice yield gaps at the pixel level by calculating the rice absolute yield gap (AYG) and relative yield gap (RYG). Additionally, yield-enhancing measures were proposed for regions with significant yield gaps. The results were as follows. (1) The rice reproductive periods of Heilongjiang Province for 2000, 2010, and 2020 were determined as days 153~249, days 145~249, and days 137~249. (2) The mean rice actual yield and potential yields decreased by 1222 and 5941 kg ha−1 during the 2000–2020 period, respectively, and the total actual and potential production increased by 3.75 and 1.70 million tons in Heilongjiang Province, respectively. (3) The rice AYG and RYG in the Sanjiang Plain region, such as Jixi City, Hegang City, and Jiamusi City were relatively large compared to other regions for the three years, and the rice yield gaps continued to decrease during the 2000–2020 period. (4) With regard to the Sanjiang Plain region with a large rice yield gap, this study proposes measures to narrow the rice yield gap by establishing ecological protection forests on cropland, transforming low- and middle-yielding fields, increasing agricultural science and technology inputs, selecting better rice cultivars, etc., which are important for ensuring food security.

‘Kesho’ Scenario Development for Supporting Water-Energy Food Security under Future Conditions in Zanzibar

Social-ecological interactions mediate water–energy–food security in small developing islands, but community-scale insights are underrepresented in nexus research. These interactions are dynamic in their response to environmental and anthropogenic pressures and need to be understood to inform sustainable land use planning into the future. This study centered on bringing together diverse stakeholders to explore water–energy–food futures using the “Kesho” (meaning “tomorrow” in Kiswahili) scenario tool for two of the largest islands that comprise the Zanzibar Archipelago. The methodology comprised four core stages: (1) exploration of how past drivers of change impacted water–energy–food security; (2) modeling of a Business as Usual Scenario for land cover change; (3) narrative development to describe alternative futures for 2030 based on themes developed at the community scale; and (4) predictions about how narratives would shape land cover and its implications for the nexus. These results were used to model alternate land cover scenarios in TerrSet IDRISI (v. 18.31) and produce visual representations of expected change. Findings demonstrated that deforestation, saltwater incursion, and a reduction in permanent waterbodies were projected by 2030 in a Business as Usual Scenario. Three alternative scenario narratives were developed, these included Adaptation, Ecosystem Management, and Settlement Planning. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of actions under the scenario options differ between the islands, indicating the importance of understanding the suitability of national policies across considered scales. Synergies across the alternative scenario narratives also emerged, including integrated approaches for managing environmental change, community participation in decision making, effective protection of forests, cultural sensitivity to settlement planning, and poverty alleviation. These synergies could be used to plan strategic action towards effectively strengthening water–energy–food security in Zanzibar.

Pemetaan Stakeholder Penanganan Lahan Kritis

There has been an intensively increase in the area of critical land in many regions including in DIY Province from 2013 - 2018. In handling the problem, there needs to be cooperation between various related stakeholders. This research was conducted to map stakeholders in order to understand factors constraining coordination as well as the collaboration. The method used in this research is deductive qualitative with data analysis techniques, namely stakeholder analysis. The data used are primary data obtained from interviews and secondary data formed of policy documents obtained from an inventory of publications of relevant agencies. The results showed that there are 7 (seven) stakeholders related to the handling of critical land in DIY Province. The most influential stakeholders (Key Players) are the Serayu Opak Progo Watershed Management Center and the Division of Rehabilitation, Nature Conservation and Forest Protection (DLHK Provinsi DIY) because they have a high level of importance and influence. Coordination in order to build collaborative work between stakeholders has not been implemented in this case due to the mismatch between resources (budgeting) and authority assigned to each Key Players stakeholder agency.

Diversity of undergrowth types in frankincense stands in Humbang Hasundutan Regency

Understory plants are one of Indonesia’s biodiversity. The presence of undergrowth has an important role in the ecosystem and economy of the surrounding community. Research on the diversity of understory plants in the Frankincense forest has never been carried out. This research aims to determine the diversit y of understory plants in incense stands in Humbang Hasundutan Regency. Sampling was carried out using understory vegetation analysis plots. Analysis of the distribution pattern of incense using the standardized Morisita’s index. Based on the results of vegetation analysis at the understory level, 27 types of understory plants were found in community forests, with the most dominant type found being the fern (Diplazium esculentum) with an IVI value of 25.90%. In the protected forest, 16 types of understory plants were found with the most dominant type being Etlingera elatior with an IVI value of 31.48%. Species diversity in community forests (2.76) is in the medium category and in protected forests (2.48) is in the medium category. Species richness (R) in Community Forests is 4.34 in the medium category and in protected forests is low (2.36).

Rainfall-runoff partitioning in small watersheds of different vegetation types in the loess area based on hydrogen and oxygen isotope tracing.

Recognizing watershed runoff process and its component sources is a prerequisite for the rational use of water resources. To elucidate the effects and quantitative contributions of various vegetation types on the components of watershed runoff, we centered on the Caijiachuan main channel watershed in Jixian, Shanxi and five sub-watersheds with distinct vegetation types. By tracking the hydrological responses to two representative rainfall events and assessing the spatiotemporal variations in hydrogen and oxygen isotope signatures, we aimed to discern disparities in the runoff processes across these sub-watersheds and pinpoint their constituent origins. The results showed that under medium rainfall condition, the contribution rates of event water to the river flow of each watershed were in an order of protected forest (94.3%) > Caijiachuan main channel (83.1%) > agro-pastoral composite (64.3%) > plantation-secondary forest (52.4%) > cropland (0.3%) > secondary forest (0.0%); under light rainfall condition, plantation-secondary forest (52.4%) > protected forest (58.5%) > cropland (40.6%) > secondary forest (15.8%) > agro-pastoral composite (12.5%) > Caijiachuan main channel (9.3%). The event water contribution rate of secondary forest and protected forest watersheds to runoff was higher than that of plantation watersheds. The secondary forests watersheds had a stronger runoff storage capacity. The event water contribution rate of protected forest and agro-pastoral composite watersheds under medium rainfall intensity condition was greater than that under light rainfall intensity condition, while the event water contribution rate of cropland, plantation-secondary forest, and secondary forest watersheds was in adverse. The event water contribution to the runoff of forested watersheds was greater than that of cropland watersheds, which may be related to the presence of silt dams at the mouth of agricultural watershed channels. This study can provide a scientific basis for the analysis of water conservation and runoff change attribution in the loess area of west Shanxi.

First Report of Leaf Spot Blight of Camellia oleifera Caused by Diaporthe mahothocarpus in China.

Camellia oleifera Abel. is one of the native and important natural edible oil species in China. The cultivation of C. oleifera has vigorously increased in Guizhou Province in recent years. From June to August 2022, a severe leaf spot blight was observed on C. oleifera in Longli Plantation, with an incidence of 53.5% (n=200), which caused severe defoliation, negatively affected plant growth, and led to significant economic losses. Pale yellow and sub-circular leaf spots of 2-5 mm in diameter first appeared in the margin. The center of the spots then turned grey, and the edges turned brown. The symptomatic leaves gradually developed symptoms of blight with some brown acervular conidiomata, died, and fell off, with many deep black spots on the leaves (Fig. 1A-B). The fungal isolates GZU-Y2 and GZU-Y3 were obtained from the infected leaves of five-year-old symptomatic C. oleifera trees using the tissue isolation method, and a voucher specimen was deposited in the Forest Protection Laboratory, Guizhou University. Cultures grown on potato dextrose agar medium (PDA) were incubated at 28℃, 16L/8D. A round cream-like colony was formed on PDA, with a white surface, while the back gradually turned brown (Fig. 1C-E). The aerial hypha grew vigorously with an initial milky white color before turning grayish white. At 10 days after incubation, the pycnidia were dark brown to black and spherical, with a diameter of 563.3 μm (500 to 700) (n=20). The alpha conidia were unicellular, hyaline, aseptate, oval or fusiform and measured 6.1 μm (4.1 to 8.0) × 2.6 μm (1.9 to 3.6) (n=50). However, no beta conidia were observed (Fig. 1I). For further identification, total DNA from the pure culture was extracted using a DNA extraction kit (Sangon, Shanghai, China), and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF-1α), and beta-tubulin (TUB2) were amplified by PCR using the primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al., 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn, 1999) and Bt2a/Bt2b (Glass and Donaldson, 1995), respectively, and sequenced for a BLASTn analysis and phylogenetic tree construction. The sequences of ITS, TEF-1α and TUB2 were deposited in GenBank as accession numbers OQ168242 (99.25%), OQ689451 (99.71%) and OQ689453 (100.00%) for GZU-Y2 and OQ674554 (99.25%), OQ689452 (99.71%) and OQ689454 (100.00%) for GZU-Y3, respectively. A phylogenetic tree (Fig. 2) was constructed with the software MEGA X using the Neighbor-Joining algorithm (Felsenstein, 1985). Based on its morphological and molecular characteristics, the pathogen was identified as Diaporthe mahothocarpus, one of the synonyms of D. eres and the teleomorph of Phomopsis mahothocarpi (Gao et al., 2014 and 2015; Chaisiri et al., 2021). A pathogenicity test was conducted by spraying spore suspensions (2 × 107 spores/mL) of isolate GZU-Y2 on the leaves of 20 pots of annual C. oleifera seedlings in vivo. The same number of control seedings were sprayed with sterile water. The seedlings were placed at a constant room temperature of 28°C, with the inoculation points wrapped in Parafilm for 5 d to retain moisture. After 10 d, typical symptoms appeared on the inoculated leaves (Fig. 1F-H), and the re-isolated fungal culture was identical in morphology and ITS sequence to that originally obtained, fulfilling Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of D. mahothocarpus causing leaf spot blight of C. oleifera in China. In our future work, we tend to study the green prevention and control of this disease.

Comparing Spatial Determinants of Forest Landscape Degradation based on Experts’ Perceptions and GIS Analysis: The Case of Kilimanjaro World Heritage Site, Tanzania

The awareness of spatial determinants of forest degradation is crucial to adequately equip human capacity and inform decision-makers when implementing institutional instruments, including the World Heritage Convention (WHC) and other strategic policies for forest protection. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate and contrast experts’ perceptions and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) outcomes on spatial determinants of forest landscape degradation in the Kilimanjaro World Heritage Site (WHS), Tanzania, to create awareness and support strategic policies for forest landscape protection and natural heritage sustainability. In doing so, Matrix questionnaire was designed to generate data and deployed a descriptive analysis of response to summarise the questionnaires’ data characteristics. The findings were used to contrast the GIS outcomes on spatial determinants of forest degradation. The key findings showed that most experts perceived distances to tourist routes, campsites, picnics, historical sites, and degrees of slope as positively associated with forest degradation but with contradicted opinions on the level of elevation. Also, key findings showed contradictions between the GIS outcome and experts’ perceptions of the degrees of slope. However, the findings on distances to campsites, tourist routes, and picnics showed that experts’ opinions are in line with the GIS outcomes as both indicated positive associations. The awareness provided in this study is crucial for experts and other decision-makers in implementing WHC and other strategic policies for forest protection in the Kilimanjaro WHS and other natural WHS found in the Global South in general and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular

Effects of Land Use Changes on Water Quality and Flooding in Upper Nan River, Thailand

Land use change is a crucial issue when considering global dynamics and their interactions with the hydrologic properties of the soil and water management in catchment areas. Between 2017 to 2018, research was conducted on the effects of land use changes on water quality and flooding in the upper Nan River Basin. In Nan Province, land use is distributed as follows: natural forest protection covers 61.77 percent, agricultural purposes account for 35.23 percent, residential areas constitute 1.95 percent, and water usage represents 0.7 percent. The results indicate that the expansion of urban and agricultural regions has impacted the water quality of the river basin. A significant positive correlation was observed between agricultural land use and total phosphate content, while a strong negative correlation was found between forest land and total phosphate content. Residential occupancy and water quality demonstrated a strong correlation with total coliform contents. There were significant differences in water quality between the wet and dry seasons, particularly temperature, turbidity, total solids, total dissolved solids, and conductivity. Moreover, increases in annual and seasonal stream flow amounts were noted in relation to water levels and residential and construction projects.

Ecological and biological features of the selected forms of checker tree for successful targeted introduction and reintroduction into the ecological network of Ukraine

The study considers the issues of introduction and reintroduction of the Red Book species of checker tree in the system of decorative gardening, forest protection, and forest ecosystems. That is why the purpose of the study was to monitor the green corridors of rural and urban ecosystems of the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine, to investigate and select the best forms of checker tree in terms of morphological characteristics and physiological properties for promising areas of distribution and conservation in the form of pure and mixed plantings. The following methods were used in the research: route, field, biometric, laboratory, comparative analysis, mathematical and statistical. New forms of checker tree were introduced, studied in in situ and ex situ conditions, and selected for the prospects of their further introduction and reintroduction into the ecological network of Ukraine and conservation to activate trophic, phoric, and other types of biotic interactions in a single territorial ecosystem. Sparsely distributed biotypes of Torminalis glaberrima (Gand.) Sennikov &amp; Kurtto f. Intermedia Kossetz were found in the zone of green corridors of rural and urban ecosystems of the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine. Some specimens of these biotypes were identified as valuable material for introduction into the system of fruit and ornamental gardening, including parks and monuments of landscape art, as well as natural monuments, protected tracts, sanctuaries and reserves of pure and mixed plantings, alleys, forest reclamation strips, etc. It was established that the elements of originality of the selected forms of checker tree – Eva, Podolianochka and Slavka – are the specificity of the crown shape, which determines the level of productivity, small and medium growth force, normal reaction to pruning (which affects the size and yield of fruits), high degree of flowering (60-80%), increased fruit size (diameter of more than 2 cm), increased fruit weight (1.8-2.1 g), increased number of fruits on the stem (≥20 units), a pleasant and harmonious taste of fruits, high quality of fruits, lack of periodicity in fruiting in nature and in culture, high xenogamy (69-75%), high yield of fruits from the plant, increased winter hardiness (7.5 pt.), high drought resistance (8 pt.) and resistance to pests, including pear leaf blister mite (7-9 pt.). The findings can be used in the future to replenish pure and mixed plantings in the ecological network of Ukraine