Forest Protection Research Articles

Producing Human Life or Protecting Wildlife?

A series of biodiversity conservation campaign since 1980s and the establishment of Siberut National Park on Siberut Island (West Sumatra, Indonesia) have seriously unsettled the relationship between the Mentawai and forest as well as between the Mentawai with powerful external agencies. For the Mentawai, forest and nature should be managed and utilized. Claiming and contesting forests have been part of the Mentawai social fabric and histories, while cultivating and transforming them into social spaces (agroforest, sago garden, settlements) and extracting uncultivated animals and plants are valued human activities and important criteria in the construction of Mentawai personhood. The park has tried to persuade people keeping the forest intact and not using and transforming it. The establishment of the park also implies that the state claims the land and the forest. This paper argues that establishing a national park and protecting forests contradicts the value of productive activities and the history of human labour attached and spent on the land and forest. The resistance over forest protection offers vital clues in understanding how producing nature is inseparable from producing humans and discusses how people can coexist with forests and nonhuman entities, not just by conserving it, but by transforming it. Understanding the mutual production and transformation of human nature is crucial to the future of biodiversity conservation activities on the island.

Spatiotemporal changes and driving factors of alpine land cover in Tianshan world natural heritage sites

Alpine natural heritage sites hold significant value due to their unique global resources. Studying land cover changes in these areas is crucial for maintaining and preserving multiple their values. This study takes Kalajun-Kuerdening, one of the components of Xinjiang Tianshan World Natural Heritage Site, as an example to analyze land cover changes and their driving factors in alpine heritage sites. Highlights include: (1) Between 1994 and 2023, Forest and Grassland increased by 55.96 km2 and 18.16 km2, with notable forest growth from 2007 to 2017. Trends in Forest changes align with forest protection policies, and a substantial amount of Bareland converted to Grassland indicates an increase in vegetation cover. (2) Elevation, precipitation, temperature, and evapotranspiration are key drivers of land cover changes, as validated by Random Forest algorithm and Geodetector model. (3) Favorable conditions for Grassland to Forest transition include annual precipitation between 275 and 375 mm, annual temperature between −2 and 3 °C, annual evapotranspiration between 580 and 750 mm, elevation between 1800 and 2600 m, and aspect between 0 to 110° and 220 to 259.9°. Continuous monitoring of land cover changes and their driving factors in mountain heritage sites contributes to the protection of the ecological environment and provides data and information support for addressing climate change, resource management, and policy making.

No evidence of increased forest loss from a mining rush in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests

Artisanal and small-scale mining is an important livelihood activity in many biodiversity hotspots. There is substantial international concern about the negative impact of artisanal and small-scale mining on biodiversity, yet in most places this remains poorly understood. We explore the impacts of a high-profile mining rush: the 2016 sapphire rush at Bemainty, Eastern Madagascar, where tens of thousands of miners descended on a protected forest. Media coverage claimed the rush caused hundreds of hectares of deforestation and threatened lemur populations. Using the synthetic control method to estimate counterfactual outcomes, we find no evidence that mining increased forest loss or degradation. Supported by informal interviews and a lemur survey, we argue that mining at Bemainty had limited impacts on the surrounding forest, relative to other threats. Our results highlight the heterogeneity of environmental impacts from artisanal and small-scale mining and emphasize the need for more robust evaluations to inform context-specific policies.

(Mis)Adapting Domestic Law to Meet New International Environmental and Trade Rules: How Peru Changed Its Environmental and Land Use Rights Laws in Response to the European Union Deforestation Regulation

Abstract International and domestic laws are being enacted or adjusted to implement climate goals, such as to fight deforestation—a key source of carbon emissions in tropical countries like Peru. These laws are increasingly connecting trade and the environment and becoming more intertwined at the national and international levels. This analysis reviews Peru’s recent change of its domestic environmental and land tenure laws partially in response to the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) as one recent example of the complexities involved in this interaction. Promoters of this legislative change in Peru frame it as a necessary alignment with the EUDR, but environmentalists argue that it is an excuse to weaken domestic forest protection rules, contrary to the intentions of the EUDR. This case study shows the importance of understanding the specific context of each of the countries targeted by new international zero-deforestation rules and highlights the tensions these new policies can encourage.

Critical Land Mapping of Protected Forest Areas in Sukamakmur District, Bogor Regency

Sukamakmur District is one of the areas in Bogor Regency where disasters often occur related to critical land conditions. This situation is often associated with changes in land cover as population growth continues. This research aims to identify and map critical land using a geographic information system (GIS) in Sukamakmur District. The method used is tumpeng stacking analysis with classification, scoring and weighting. There are 4 classes of critical land in Sukamakmur District, the largest percentage of low potentially critical land is 14,008 ha (82.32%). Then followed by slightly critical land with an area of 2,777.5 ha (16.32%), critical land with an area of 215.5 ha (1.27%), and very critical land with an area of only 16 ha (0.09%) of total area. This indicates that critical land for protected forests in Sukamakmur District is still relatively low.

Widespread introduced species dominate the urban tree assemblage on the endemic-rich tropical island of São Tomé.

The Afrotropics are experiencing some of the fastest urbanisation rates on the planet but the impact of city growth on their rich and unique biodiversity remains understudied, especially compared to natural baselines. Little is also known about how introduced species influence β-diversity in these contexts, and how patterns coincide with native ranges of species. Here we investigated how tree assemblages of the endemic-rich Afrotropical island of São Tomé differed between urban, rural and natural zones. These were primarily characterised by urban greenspaces, shade plantations, and old-growth forests, respectively. Based on 81 transects, we assessed biodiversity metrics of endemic, native and introduced species. Tree abundance and species richness were highest in the natural zone, where the composition was most different from the urban zone. The tree community of the rural zone was the most uneven and had the least variation among transects, representing the lowest β-diversity. The urban zone was dominated by introduced species (57.7%), while the natural zone hosted almost exclusively native species (93.3%), including many endemics (26.1%). The biogeographic realms that species originated from were particularly diverse in the urban zone, with few species from the Afrotropics. In contrast to native and endemic trees, introduced trees were clearly associated with urban and rural expansion, as they were much more abundant and species-rich in these zones than in the natural zone, facilitating biotic homogenisation. These findings highlight how urban and rural environments are affecting the native tree flora of São Tomé, and the need for conservation measures geared towards globally threatened and endemic tree species. Importantly, these require the protection of natural forests, despite the rising land demands for settlements and agriculture. Ultimately, such action to conserve endemic trees will contribute to global efforts to prevent further biodiversity declines.

Balancing conservation and development: a review of navigating Malaysian forest policies and initiatives

Although Malaysia is renowned for its tropical rainforest and biodiversity, deforestation for economic development remains contentious. This review analyses Malaysian forest policies, afforestation, and forest carbon payment mechanisms, and makes policy recommendations. It categorises forests by altitude and protection level, highlighting diverse ecosystems. Policies, including the National Forestry Act of 1978 (Amendment 1993), Sabah Forest Policy (2018), and Sarawak Forest Policy (2019), prioritise sustainable management. Agencies shift towards conservation, moving beyond timber‐centric approaches, while revenue streams such as carbon offsetting, payment for ecosystem services, and non‐timber forest products gain traction. Forest connectivity programs protect state‐owned lands from logging, and have increased protected forests since 2005. Government incentives for afforestation and reforestation include tax exemptions. Malaysia commits to REDD+ with forest carbon offset and conservation certificate schemes. A structured implementation approach is proposed, emphasizing the need to understand and communicate market demand for forest carbon offset initiatives.

Niche of woody plant populations in Picea purpurea community in the upper Taohe River

The niche of plant populations is affected by the environment, species characteristics and anthropogenic disturbance. Picea purpurea, as a major constructive species in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, had been severely damaged. Although the national project for the protection of natural forests has promoted the recovery of its community, its structure, survival status, development trend, and the factors affecting it are still unclear. We selected P. purpurea communities in Zecha, Dayugou and Yeliguan forest zones at different altitudes and disturbance levels. We analyzed niche characteristics of the woody plants and the relationship between niche and altitude, and disturbance. P. purpurea has absolute advantages as a constructive species, and its population dominance and niche width in the tree layer show a decreasing trend with decreasing altitude, there is niche overlap between all species pairs. In the shrub layer, the dominant species are mostly Caprifoliaceae and Rosaceae besides P. purpurea seedlings, the proportion of species pairs with niche overlap is YLG>ZC>DYG, and all appeared niche divergence and convergence species pairs. In addition, P. purpurea seedlings had niche overlap with most woody species, and this overlap index was the highest. The mean values of the niche overlap index between species in the tree and shrub layers were all YLG>DYG>ZC. The niche overlap index between species in the tree layer was greater than that in the shrub layer in the same forest zones, indicating that the tree layer is more stable than the shrub layer, providing evidence that niche overlap maintains community stability. Regression analyses showed that minimum temperature was the main factor affecting dominance, niche, niche overlap and shrub layer species richness of the P. purpurea population. Disturbance did not significantly affect dominance and niche of P. purpurea seedling populations, but promoted niche differentiation of shrub layer species. We conclude that the P. purpurea community is mainly influenced by altitude and anthropogenic disturbance. Altitude-induced climatic variation fundamentally determines the distinct community composition and population niche. Anthropogenic disturbance has altered habitat heterogeneity and enriched community structure. Furthermore, the P. purpurea populations show a trend towards expansion. Understanding the structure and niche characteristics of P. purpurea communities on different environmental gradients enriches our ideas for implementing vegetation restoration and sustainable forest management in subalpine zones in the context of climate change, and is conducive to improving the conservation capacity of this population or community type.

The Potential of Ecotourism in Bayan Village's Customary Forest, North Lombok Regency

Bayan Village, North Lombok District has four customary forests, namely Mandala Customary Forest, Pengempokan Customary Forest, Tiu Rarangan Customary Forest, and Bengket Bayan Customary Forest. The four customary forests have the potential to be developed with the concept of ecotourism. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method. With the determination of the location and respondents using Purposive Sampling. The study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the feasibility of developing Customary Forests into one of the ecotourism attractions using the parameters of ecotourism appeal, accessibility, conditions of the surrounding area, accommodation, facilities and infrastructure and the availability of clean water. The research parameters used the Guidelines for Analysis of Natural Tourism Attraction Operation Areas (ADO-ODTWA) stipulated by the Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (Dirjen PHKA) in 2003. The results of the study showed that the four tourist attractions in Bayan Village have the potential to be developed into ecotourism destinations, with respective index values, namely Mandala Customary Forest 86.83%, Pengempokan Customary Forest 84.03%, Bangket Bayan Customary Forest 87.69% and Tiu Rarangan Customary Forest 84%

Influence of Hydrological and Climatic Changes on Tree Growth in Narew National Park, NE Poland, over the Past 50 Years

Over the last 50 years, groundwater levels have been decreasing and air temperatures have been increasing in Poland. Maintaining this trend may make it impossible to maintain hydrogenic habitats in good condition. Reactions to ongoing climate change recorded in tree rings may be a good indicator describing the degree of this threat. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of climatic and hydrological changes on the growth of scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn) in the Narew National Park over past 50 years. The research was based on tree increment cores extracted from 42 pine trees and 57 alder trees that were randomly selected and ranged in age from 25 to 88 years, as well as climatic and hydrological data. Standardised data (5-year index) were analysed by species, generation (Y—21–40 years, M—41–60, O—61–90), and decade using correlation analysis. The results of the study show that pine responded more strongly to changes in air temperature and changes in precipitation totals, while alder growth was more strongly related to fluctuations in the water level of the Narew River and changes in precipitation totals. Our research showed that differences in response to environmental factors also occur between tree generations. The decrease in the water level of the Narew River that occurred over the last 50 years did not adversely affect the condition of the trees. Analysis of DBH growth rates showed that the younger generations (Y, M) grow faster than the older generation (O). This is positive news for managers of commercial and protected forests, but accelerated tree growth may be associated with specific consequences, such as increased wind damage as a result of reduced wood density or reduced sensitivity of trees to climate and hydrological changes.

Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process–Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution: A Hybrid Method for Assessing Vegetation Management Strategies under Electricity Distribution Lines to Prevent Deforestation Based on Ecosystem Service Criteria

This study evaluated vegetation management (VM) strategies under electricity distribution lines (EDLs) through ecosystem service (ES) criteria. Deforestation, worsened by insufficient VM practices, poses a threat to ecosystem stability. Using a hybrid FAHP (Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) approach, ten VM strategies were assessed based on 15 ES criteria. The FAHP results identified biodiversity, timber resources, and erosion control as the most crucial criteria due to their significant weights. The TOPSIS analysis determined that VM6 (creation and restoration of scrub edges) was the most effective strategy, achieving a value of 0.744 for reducing deforestation and enhancing energy security. VM6 helps preserve forest cover and protect infrastructure by creating a “V”-shaped structures within the EDLs corridor. This study underscores the importance of ES-oriented VM strategies for sustainable vegetation management and deforestation mitigation. It also highlights the need for incorporating scientific, ES-based decision support mechanisms into VM strategy development. Future research should expand stakeholder perspectives and conduct a comprehensive assessment of ESs to ensure that VM strategies align with ecological and socio-economic sustainability. This study provides a framework for improving VM practices and offers directions for future sustainable energy management research. This study focuses exclusively on ecological criteria for evaluating VM strategies, neglecting other dimensions. Future research should use methods like ANP and fuzzy cognitive maps to explore inter-dimension relationships and their strengths. Additionally, employing SWARA, PIPRECIA, ELECTRE, and PROMETHEE for ranking VM strategies is recommended.

The Effectiveness of Tannin on the Amount of Damage to Forest Trees and Stands Caused by Red Deer in the Western Carpathians

Damage caused by cloven-hoofed game and wild animals is a serious problem in Slovakia and neighboring countries. In 2022, the damage to forests in Slovakia was estimated at a level of almost EUR 2.9 million. Despite several implemented measures, the situation is so severe that successfully restoring some trees in some heavily attacked stands is impossible. This paper deals with the preventive elimination of damage caused by red deer in forest stands by the biological method of applying tannin-based mineral licks. Specifically, licks containing tannin obtained from the edible chestnut were used for testing. Several positive effects are attributed to tannins in developing livestock and animal fitness status. To date, however, the question of using tannins as biological agents for the possible protection of forest stands has not been addressed. Therefore, red deer damage was assessed at two localities with similar natural conditions in the central part of the Western Carpathians to explore such a possibility. After the initial sample measurement of the bark-stripping damage caused by the red deer in the autumn, mineral licks with tannin were placed in one selected study area over the winter. The levels of and differences in forest damage by deer between areas with the application of licks with tannin and without tannin were detected in spring of the following year. In the location treated with tannin, the number of damaged sample plots decreased, and the mean plot damage did not increase (no statistically significant differences were registered in mean plot damage between autumn and spring). Meanwhile, in the control location, the total amount of bark-stripped area doubled, mainly due to a statistically significant increase in mean plot damage between autumn and spring. Based on this, we conclude that tannin had a significant preventive effect and considerably reduced the extent of bark stripping. Such promising results indicate that tannin licks can effectively mitigate the problem of bark-stripping damage in areas heavily attacked by red deer.

Multi-Dimensional Landscape Connectivity Index for Prioritizing Forest Cover Change Scenarios: A Case Study of Southeast China

Predicting forest cover change (FCC) and screening development scenarios are crucial for ecological resilience. However, quantitative evaluations of prioritizing forest change scenarios are limited. Here, we took five shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) representing potential global changes, namely SSP1: sustainability, SSP2: middle of the road, SSP3: regional rivalry, SSP4: inequality, and SSP5: fossil-fueled development, which were constructed by integrated assessment and climate models. We modeled them with the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) and constructed a multi-dimensional landscape connectivity index (MLCI) employing forest landscape connectivity (FLC) indices to assess forest development in Fujian Province, Southeast China. The MLCI visualized by radar charts was based on five metrics, including forest patch size (class area (CA), number (patch density (PD), isolation (landscape division index (DIVISION), aggregation (mean nearest-neighbor index (ENN_MN), and connectance index, (CONNECT). The results indicate that FC will remain above 61.4% until 2030, with growth observed in SSP1 and SSP4. Particularly, FC in SSP4 substantially increased, converted from cropland (1140.809 km2) and grassland (645.741 km2). SSP4 has the largest MLCI values and demonstrates significant enhancements in forest landscape integrity, with CA, ENN_MN and CONNECT increasing greatly. Our study offers valuable approaches to and insights into forest protection and restoration.

Effect of Microbial Degradation Treatments on Lignocellulose, Cellulose, and Water-Holding Capacity of Four Typical Forest Fuels from Northeast China

Since forest fuel decomposes slowly and increases the risk of forest fires by accumulating over the years, forest fuel management to accelerate the decomposition process is essential to prevent forest fires and protect forest resources. In this study, we conducted experiments on forest fuels (Pinus sylvestris var. mongholica, Larix gmelinii, Quercus mongolica and Fraxinus mandshurica) in four typical plantation forests in northeast China by adding Trichoderma spp. to investigate the decomposition process and the changes in cellulose, hemicellulose and the water-holding capacity of the fuels. The addition of Trichoderma spp. accelerated the decomposition of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in the fuel. Trichoderma spp. promoted the ratio of water absorption and loss, as well as the water-holding capacity of the fuels. The ratio of water absorption and loss reached equilibrium when the decomposition time was up to 35 days, and the addition of Trichoderma spp. increased the maximal water-holding capacity of the fuel. The residual ratio of the four types of fuel degraded by the different treatments was inversely proportional to their maximal water-holding capacities and to the residual ratios of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The residual ratios of degradation of the four fuels under different treatments were linearly related to their maximum water-holding capacity, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin residual ratios. Trichoderma spp. had a positive effect on the degradation effect and water-holding capacity of fuel on the ground surface of four typical plantation forests. The study is of positive significance for the decomposition of fuel in forests, it promotes the development of biological fire prevention technology and provides a basis for the reinforcement of the management of fuel in forests and the protection of forest resources.

The Humanitarian Tragedy of "Wadas and Rempang Island" Forms of Neo-Colonialism and New-Style Neo-Capitalism and the Collapse of Law in Indonesia

<em><span lang="EN-US">The clash on September 7, 2023, between Rempang residents and security forces (POLRI, TNI), which ended with the arrest of 43 residents, mirrors the conflict that occurred between the residents of Wadas Village, Bener Subdistrict, Purworejo Regency, Central Java, and the Central Java Regional Government on February 8, 2022. The violence perpetrated by security forces against the residents of Rempang Island occurred when the company, escorted by security, unilaterally staked out Malay customary land in 16 traditional villages on Rempang and Galang Islands in the Riau Archipelago, covering an area of 17,600 hectares. This included 10,028 hectares of protected forest, or about 45.84% of the total land area, which they had occupied since 1834. According to the head of Batam Concessionaires (BP), Muhammad Rudi, the Eco City development plan has been underway since 2004. At that time, PT. Makmur Elok Graha and Xinyi Glass Holding Ltd. (July 2023), the exclusive rights holders, became the private entities partnered with the government (September 12, 2023), receiving an 80-year concession from the government. The government's actions of land seizure and violence demonstrate a form of power arrogance that tends toward abuse of power, under the pretext of protecting a 381 trillion investment, while ignoring the rights of citizens as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution and the Basic Agrarian Law. The government's actions represent forms of Neo-Colonialism and Neo-Capitalism occurring during the Jokowi administration. This situation underscores that the law is no longer equal; the law has collapsed, becoming merely a symbol that only favors power.</span></em>

Avian phylogenetic and functional diversity are better conserved by land‐sparing than land‐sharing farming in lowland tropical forests

Abstract The transformation of natural habitats for farming is a major driver of tropical biodiversity loss. To mitigate impacts, two alternatives are promoted: intensifying agriculture to offset protected areas (land sparing) or integrating wildlife‐friendly habitats within farmland (land sharing). In the montane and dry tropics, phylogenetic and functional diversity, which underpin evolutionary values and the provision of ecosystem functioning and services, are best protected by land sparing. A key question is how these components of biodiversity are best conserved in the more stable environments of lowland moist tropical forests. Focusing on cattle farming within the Colombian Amazon, we investigated how the occupancy of 280 bird species varies between forest and pasture spanning gradients of wildlife‐friendly features. We then simulated scenarios of land‐sparing and land‐sharing farming to predict impacts on phylogenetic and functional diversity metrics. Predicted metrics differed marginally between forest and pasture. However, community assembly varied significantly. Wildlife‐friendly pastures were inadequate for most forest‐dependent species, while phylogenetic and functional diversity indices showed minimal variation across gradients of wildlife‐friendly features. Land sparing consistently retained higher levels of Faith's phylogenetic diversity (~30%), functional richness (~20%) and evolutionarily distinct lineages (~40%) than land sharing, and did so across a range of landscape sizes. Securing forest protection through land‐sparing practices remains superior for conserving overall community phylogenetic and functional diversity than land sharing. Synthesis and applications: To minimise the loss of avian phylogenetic diversity and functional traits from farming in the Amazon, it is imperative to protect large blocks of undisturbed and regenerating forests. The intensification required within existing farmlands to make space for spared lands while meeting agricultural demand needs to be sustainable, avoiding long‐term negative impacts on soil quality and other ecosystem services. Policies need to secure the delivery of both actions simultaneously.

Changes in gross ecosystem product and its response to land use changes in forest resource dominant regions: A case study of Zixi County, Jiangxi Province, China.

Forests are one of the most important terrestrial ecosystems and play a crucial role in the construction of ecological civilization. Understanding the changes in gross ecosystem product (GEP) and its response to land use change in areas with unique advantages in forest resources is of great significance for promoting sustainable development. We examined the GEP of Zixi County of Jiangxi Province. Based on the theory and method of ecosystem value accounting, and on the basis of the general indicator system for regulating services (water source conservation, soil conservation, oxygen supply, carbon fixation, climate control, flood regulation, water purification, air cleaning, species conservation) and the general indicator system for cultural services (landscape recreation, education), we added negative oxygen ions and health care indicators and introduced forest ecosystem service correction coefficients to construct a GEP indicator system and method with unique advantages in forest resources. We evaluated the spatio-temporal variations of GEP in 2010, 2017 and 2020, and quantified the impact of land use/land cover change on GEP by means of elasticity index and value profit and loss analysis. The results showed that the GEP of Zixi County in 2010, 2017 and 2020 was 16.788 billion, 26.817 billion, and 38.407 billion yuan, respectively. Forests contri-buted the largest amount of GEP, followed by wetland, farmland, grassland, and town. During the study period, the added value of GEP mainly came from forest ecosystems. Land use change had an important impact on GEP. From 2010 to 2020, the total land use change area in the study area was 8501.88 hm2. The amplitude of land use change was grassland (-2811.17 hm2)>town (1428.06 hm2)>forest (1357.67 hm2)>wetland (1031.05 hm2)> farmland (-1005.01 hm2). The absolute changes of various land use types were mainly occurred from 2017 to 2020. The elasticity index of each indicator on forest ecosystems was significantly higher than that of other ecosystems, indicating that GEP had the highest sensitivity to changes in forest area. The results of value profit and loss analysis showed that urban development had reduced GEP to some extent, while the protection of forest and wetland had increased GEP. From 2010 to 2020, the conversion of land use types in Zixi County led to an increase of 1.865 billion yuan in GEP, indicating that land use change in Zixi County had a positive ecological impact on the whole. Our results reflect the green development effect of Zixi County after becoming a national ecological civilization construction demonstration county, which could provide decision-making support for high-quality development, high-level protection and sustainable development and utilization of land resources in the future, and provide reference for other similar areas of GEP accounting.

Study of problems in utilizing the functions of Kasinan protected forest between local residents and "Sadar Alas" community groups

Understanding disputing styles is very important for solving a problem. The purpose of this research is to examine descriptively the problems in the Kasinan protected forest and to identify the conflicting styles of each party so that an appropriate resolution of the problems can be developed. This research was conducted in the protected forest of Kasinan, precisely in Pesanggrahan Village, Batu City. Data collection was carried out qualitatively, namely through interviews, observation, and documentation. The analysis used adapts the Disputing Style Analysis (AGATA). The results of the research show that the problems in the Kasinan protected forest stem from the use of the forest for tourism by relying on water sources from the Kasinan protected forest. The impact was a decrease in the discharge of water flowing into the rice fields and residents' homes, resulting in protests from residents. Actors involved in the problem include residents of Pesanggrahan village, HIPPA-HIPPAM, Pesanggrahan Village Government, Sadar Alas community, Perhutani KPH Malang, BKPH Pujon, and Walhi. Each party has various problems, including environmental beauty, reducing water discharge, and tourism interests. Communities are the most disadvantaged because they feel the impact directly. Each side has a different style of conflict. However, especially for residents of the Sadar Alas community, they have a competitive dispute style. So, in an accommodation style, the village government formed a team of Kasinan Forest Utilization Problem Resolution Facilities and held meetings including villagers, HIPPA-HIPPAM, Alas Awareness Community, Perhutani, and the Mayor of Batu City to negotiate and facilitate the proposal for zoning based on local policies so that the environment is beautiful. and the tour continues. So support from parties who have full authority, such as the Mayor of Batu City, is needed in order to realize a resolution to the conflict.

Direct and mediated impacts of mixed forests on Norway spruce infestation by European bark beetle Ips typographus

Climate change-induced windfalls and droughts exacerbate bark beetle outbreaks, severely impacting forest ecosystems. Despite extensive research on bark beetle infestation patterns, the question regarding the optimal spatial grid (SG) size for analyzing this phenomenon remains unresolved. The protective potential of natural forest complexity against bark beetles has been underestimated. We used remotely sensed data to fit Generalized Linear Models and structural equation models to explore the direct and environment-mediated effects of mixed forest cover (MFC) on Norway spruce forest infestation in central Europe. We assessed the effectiveness of various spatial grids (from 100 m to 1 km) for studying infestation by Ips typographus. We found a strong non-linear decline in infestation with increasing MFC across different spatial scales. The relationship between infestation and temperature was positive, while elevation had a negative effect on infestation, with higher infestation rates observed below 900 m. Direct effects of environmental predictors on infestation were significant at SGs of 100 m, 300 m, 400 m, and 500 m, but insignificant at 200 m and 1000 m SGs. Slope positively influenced infestation at 300 m and 400 m SGs. MFC exhibited significant indirect effects on infestation mediated by elevation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration, slope, and heat load index. Landscape variables played a significant role in the models at high-resolution spatial grids, whereas climate variables were influential in models at lower spatial grids of infestation data. We argue that mixed forest facilitates cooling, preserves water, enriches symbiotic fungal community, alleviating tree drought stress and mitigating infestation risk. Broad-leave trees’ non-host volatiles presumably disrupt olfactory signals, impeding beetles’ ability to locate host trees effectively. Our results underscore the potential of increasing mixed forest cover as a self-sustainable silvicultural measure for forest protection against I. typographus and for mitigating the effects of climate change.

Topography- and depth-dependent rhizosphere microbial community characteristics drive ecosystem multifunctionality in Juglans mandshurica forest

Rhizosphere microbial community characteristics and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF), both affected by topographic factors, are closely correlated. However, more targeted exploration is yet required to fully understand the variations of rhizosphere microbial communities along topographic gradients in different soil layers, as well as whether and how they regulate EMF under specific site conditions. Here, we conducted relevant research on Juglans mandshurica forests at six elevation gradients and two slope positions ranging from 310 to 750 m in Tianjin Baxian Mountain. Results demonstrated that rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities of both layers (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm) varied significantly with elevation, while only at top layer did slope position have significant impacts on most indicators. Bacterial richness and diversity were higher in the top layer at slope bottom and middle-high elevation, the difference in fungi was not as noticeable. Both topographic factors and soil depth significantly impacted microbial community structure, with Candidatus_Udaeobacter of bacteria, Mortierella, Sebacina, and Hygrocybe of fungi mainly contributing to the dissimilarity between communities. EMF rose with increasing elevation, bacteria were more critical drivers of this process than fungi, and topographic factors could affect EMF by altering bacterial diversity and dominant taxa abundance. For evaluating EMF, the aggregate structure of sub layer and the carbon cycle-related indicators of top layer were of higher importance. Our results revealed the depth-dependent characteristics of the rhizosphere microbial community along topographic gradients in studied stands, as well as the pivotal regulatory role of bacteria on EMF, while also highlighting depth as an important variable for analyzing soil properties and EMF. This work helps us better understand the response of individuals and communities of J. mandshurica to changing environmental conditions, further providing a scientific reference for the management and protection of secondary forests locally and in North China.