Sustainable Forestry Development Research Articles

Impacts of close-to-nature management on the stand states of Masson pine forests

ABSTRACT Introduction: Research on the effect of close-to-nature management (CTNM) on stand states and dynamics of forests is crucial for the evaluation of CTNM implemented and sustainable development of forestry. Outcomes: We analyzed and compared the stand states and dynamics of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) plantations in the young, middle-aged, and near-mature stages under CTNM eight years after selective cutting and unmanaged control. Both paired-sample T-tests and RDA ordination results demonstrated that the overall stand states with CTNM were superior to the control treatment in all three stages. The interaction of the CTNM and stand age significantly affected The Shannon-Wiener index of diameter class and regeneration density. Discussion and Conclusion: CTNM and stand age jointly affected the stand state of forests and CTNM accelerated the forest development, which promoted an increase in the heterogeneity of stand parameters and shortened the formation time of a target stand. Greater tree size differentiation and adequate regeneration are particularly important aspects for improving the quality of Masson pineforests during the management processes.

Is There a Scope for Social Innovation in Ukrainian Forestry?

Social innovation is recognised for its potential to turn societal challenges into opportunities and develop sustainable solutions for people and nature. We identify and examine challenges that Ukrainian forestry is facing and apply an “action arena” conceptual approach to explore whether and how social innovation can enhance the sustainable development of forestry. We develop a framework to analyse the reconfiguration of social practices by using research methods that focus on the use of documentation of the institutional contexts and interviewing forest policy experts, as well as stakeholder evaluation of the challenges and ways forward for Ukrainian forestry. We apply the Q-method to identify stakeholder attitudes and examine the role of people in the reconfiguring of social practices and promoting sustainable development of the forest sector. Implications for changing the rules of the game and institutional perspectives on forestry are identified, with examples of social innovation initiatives presented. Results show that to emerge, develop, and be transformative, social innovation must have supporting institutional conditions to create new norms, rules, and social practices. Relevant stakeholders need to envision alternative futures, reshape places, and become more actively engaged in decision-making processes. We identify the key directions for changing the rules of the game and the opportunities that social innovation has to offer.

Automated system for monitoring the development and spread of forest crop pests

An automated monitoring system has been developed for the AFM “Protection” of the development and spread of pests of forestry crops. The system is designed in the form of a local computer network, operates on-line and has the following additional features: automatic integration of daily data required for services of regional departments and the Forestry Agency of the republic. Based on these data, weekly, monthly maps and summary tables will be compiled.
 
 SUMMARY
 In the main directions of sustainable development of forestry in the Republic of Uzbekistan at the present stage for the period up to 2030, it is envisaged to further increase the productivity of forests on the basis of technical re-equipment, the introduction of advanced techniques to increase the efficiency of forestry production, improve the protection of forests from fires and protect them from pests and diseases. According to the forestry agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the area of forest plantations is 3.2 million hectares. This is about 7% of the total area of the republic. Of these, 821.0 thousand hectares are forest plantations. This means that only 2% of the area is covered by forests.
 When planning the necessary forest protection measures, it is required to identify complexes of the most important, most dangerous pest species and predict further changes in the number of pest populations. Therefore, when organizing a monitoring system, it is necessary to obtain reliable information about the level of the number of pests and the degree of their threat to crops and plantations. First, when organizing a systematic system of forestry monitoring, the territory should be zoned based on economic and ecological criteria. Secondly, due to the fact that the emergence of foci of mass reproduction of pests is usually confined to regions where critical weather situations are observed, then when designing forestry monitoring such areas should be given priority attention. Thirdly, it is necessary to strongly recommend the organization of stationary objects in all farms, which will annually assess the level of abundance, the qualitative state of the populations of the main species and the state of the growing stand.
 In case of significant damage to forest stands, a detailed survey with an assessment of the dynamics of tree mortality, determination of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the dominant pest species and the development of a strategy for forest protection measures should be carried out by specialists-entomologists.

АЛГОРИТМ МАССОВОЙ КАДАСТРОВОЙ ОЦЕНКИ ЛЕСНЫХ ЗЕМЕЛЬ ПО ТАКСАЦИОННЫМ ПОКАЗАТЕЛЯМ НАСАЖДЕНИЙ

Актуальность исследования обусловлена необходимостью разработки единого методического подхода к государственной кадастровой оценке земель лесного фонда. Это необходимо для рационального управления природными ресурсами, установления справедливой платы за пользование лесными землями и обеспечения концепции устойчивого развития лесного комплекса. Цель: разработать алгоритм массовой кадастровой оценки лесных земель по минимально возможным учетным единицам – таксационным выделам, что позволяет диффернцировать их по качеству. Должна обеспечиваться возможность ее использования по всей России путем учета региональных особенностей заготовки лесных ресурсов. Методы: дисконтирование денежных потоков от заготовки лесных ресурсов; регрессионный анализ связи между значениями таксационных показателей и продуктивностью лесных ресурсов; геоинформационное моделирование средствами MapInfo; проверка гипотезы о нормальности распределения полученных результатов; обеспечение работы алгоритма кадастровой оценки средствами MS Excel. Результаты и выводы. Разработан алгоритм определения кадастровой стоимости лесных земель по таксационным выделам средствами MS Excel. Он позволяет определять кадастровую стоимость как повыдельно, так и в рамках районных и участковых лесничеств, используя таксационные показатели насаждений в качестве исходных данных. Алгоритм может изменяться путем модульного дополнения дисконитрованными денежнами потоками от заготовки природных ресурсов, характерных для конкретной лесорастительной зоны. Разработанный алгоритм испытан с использованием таксационных показателей для одного из участковых лесничеств на территории Ленинградской области, учитывая местные особенности заготовки природных ресурсов. Полученные величины удельных показателей кадастровой стоимости распределены по нормальному закону, территориально высокие значения удельных показателей кадастровой стоимости приурочены к выделам с лучшими качественными и количественными таксационными показателями.

Ensuring sustainable development of forestry in the Russian Federation

The study is dedicated to the pressing issues of sustainable development of Russia’s forestry. The relevance of the study is substantiated by the importance of understanding sustainability as a new paradigm for the development of society and the uniqueness of forests as an ecosystem resource. The purpose of the study is to justify a set of measures to ensure sustainable development of forestry at the mega- and macrolevels, while taking into account the economic, environmental and social aspects of this process. The present study used international and Russian research data and publications, and regulatory documents. Based on the provisions of the Concept of Sustainable Development of Forestry and other international and national regulatory documents, we present the results of the analysis and the rationale for the proposed measures to ensure the sustainable development of the forest complex of the Russian Federation in the following areas: reforestation and afforestation; forest conservation and protection; monitoring, inventory and assessment of forests; public administration, services and support; forest exploitation; and forest education and science. The study identified problems of sustainable development of the forestry sector of the Russian Federation that require immediate attention. We provide characteristics of some digital solutions in the forestry of the Russian Federation. We have also analyzed the effectiveness of tools for assessing the status and for inventory of forest resources of the Russian Federation, and presented a comprehensive rationale for digitalization of forestry. We have analysed in detail the level of the development of forestry education and science and proposed the ways for further improvement.

Response of Preferential Soil Flow to Different Infiltration Rates and Vegetation Types in the Karst Region of Southwest China

The widespread preferential flow phenomenon has an important impact on the water resource allocation of vegetation restoration in karst regions. In this study, four kinds of water infiltration experiments were conducted on six kinds of vegetation types (Pinus yunnanensis Franch. var. tenuifolia plantation forestlands, Eucalyptus robusta Smith plantation forestlands, Platycladus orientalis (L.) Francoptmxjjkmsc plantation forestlands, secondary forestlands, scrublands, and natural grasslands) separately to evaluate the effect of vegetation restoration on preferential flow in karst regions. The distribution of soil water infiltration was visualized via Brilliant Blue staining (290 images of soil vertical section staining) and data were processed via structural equation model (SEM). Results showed that 15–35 mm water accumulation was beneficial to the visualization of preferential flow. The experimental statement of a higher matrix flow in grassland than in plantations made it possible to draw conclusions of economic importance. Therefore, undergrowth of vegetation coverage in plantation forestlands should be increased. Experimentally analyzing the water-vegetation-soil interaction, shows an increase in vegetation coverage inhibits the development of matrix flow, an increase in soil erodibility may inhibit the development of preferential flow, and an increase in soil clay content may promote the deepening of matrix flow depth. The artificial forest can improve the soil structure and can effectively restore the degree of soil fragmentation; vegetation can be restored reasonably to prevent desertification in karst regions. Therefore, identifying and analyzing the structure characteristics of the soil macropore network under the conditions of natural vegetation communities and artificial vegetation communities in karst-geologic settings is an urgent study, which can provide a reference for improving the restoration measures of artificial forests and sustainable forestry development in karst desertification areas.

Thermal properties of wooden based flask from tropical hardwood species

Abstract. Ogunsanwo OY, Onakpoma I, Korede M. 2020. Thermal properties of wooden based flask from tropical hardwood species. Asian J For 4: 61-64. Most materials used for production of conventional thermos flask (metals and plastics) are not environment friendly with particular concerns about plastic which are not biodegradable. Wood waste management is important in producing environmentally friendly materials and achieving sustainable development in forestry through wood waste utilization as thermos flask. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the thermal properties of wooden thermos flask (WTF) using tropical hardwood species with a view to promoting the use of greener technology. Offcuts of Tectona grandis and Albizia saman were used to produce 12 WTF of two thicknesses (11 mm and 12 mm), with a height of 10.5'' using bamboo as inner lining. The heat loss and heat gain by the wooden flasks and conventional flask were collected using a thermometer which was inserted into the cap of the flasks through a hole drilled in it, the hole was covered at intervals to prevent heat loss and heat gain from the opening. Data was collected every two hours for twelve hours. The study was laid out in a 2×2 factorial experimental in a completely randomized design. Data were analyzed using ANOVA at p=0.05. The highest heat loss (64.00ºC) after 12 hours was observed in Tectona grandis WTF with 11 mm and 12 mm while Albizia saman thermos flask with 12 mm thickness had the least heat loss (62.00ºC). Metallic flask lost only about 30.00 ºC of its heat content after 12 hours. The highest heat gain (28ºC) after 12 hours was observed in Tectona grandis WTF with 11mm and 12mm while Albizia saman WTF with 11 mm thickness had the least heat gain (25.67ºC). Heat gained by WTF was 28.00ºC and 25.83ºC for Tectona grandis and Albizia saman respectively after 12 hours while heat gain by the metallic flask after 12 hours was 18.00ºC. Species and thickness did not significantly affect heat loss and gain of thermos flask. Significant difference was however observed between the heat lost and gained by WTF and metallic flask. Wooden thermos flask still retained heat and prevented loss to a certain degree but technological improvement would perform better.

Using remote sensing and GIS to monitor of land cover change in the Middle Volga region during 1985-2014

Study of land cover change is one of the most significant fields in sustainable development in forestry and prevention of ecological degradation in the Middle Volga region. Land use change can directly transform wide landscapes, impact on the biodiversity and eco-productivity. Due to these remote sensing technologies, take an important place in such research. GIS techniques are widely used for land cover change monitoring under climate change and human impact but the lack of reliable information on land use changes remains a major challenge of today. The research covers the assessment of land cover change caused by different types of natural and human disturbance in the Middle Volga region of the Russian Federation. This paper argues the method of monitoring of land cover change using satellite information and assessing land cover that can be beneficial for the further research affecting changes over different space and time scales.

Assessment of the Profitability of Environmental Activities in Forestry

The paper presents a framework for the financial analysis of the environmental measures (programmes) for forestry enterprises. The indicators of the economic and social effectiveness of environmental measures are discussed. The prospects for their implementation in the context of sustainable forest management in Ukraine are analysed. The research focuses on the effectiveness of environmental measures at the level of forestry enterprise. The proposed framework allows for determining the economic and social effectiveness of environmental measures at the enterprise level. To this end, the net discounted income is used to measure the profitability of environmental measures. The payback period is determined to provide an intuition behind the decision to participate in the environmental measures. The proposed framework allows for improving decision support for the national sustainable forestry development programmes not only at the macro level, but also at the level of enterprises.

ИННОВАЦИОННЫЙ ПРОДУКТ ЛЕСНОЙ ГЕНЕТИКИ И СЕЛЕКЦИИ И ЕГО СИНЕРГИЧЕСКИЙ ЭФФЕКТ ДЛЯ ЛЕСНОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА И СМЕЖНЫХ ОБЛАСТЕЙ

New nature management, biotechnologies and other elements of the sixth technological order, to which the most developed countries are already beginning to move, also create new problems, risks and challenges. In the forest sector of the economy of the Russian Federation, such a challenge and problem is the need to strike a balance between sustainable development of forestry, as the basic sector of the forest sector, on which the entire pyramid of forestry industries rely, and environmentally responsible and safe forest management. Unfortunately, the Voronezh region has long lost its former glory, backed up by the presence of mighty oak stands and huge ship timber reserves, prompting Peter I to create a powerful Russian fleet. And when in 1970 it was decided to host the Research Institute of Forest Genetics and Breeding in Voronezh, then considerations about the revival of the forest potential of Voronezh oak forests was one of the last argument in favor of this particular territory. And today, it’s not too late to develop an ambitious project to restore selective, highly productive oak stands, increase the forest cover of the region to 12 percent or more, which will affect not only the quality of the ecological environment, growth of socio-economic indicators, increase in the yield of agricultural producers, but also at the level of investment attractiveness of the region. As a rule, in this case, the system organizes itself, the degree of its ordering increases, and a positive synergistic effect of a multifaceted nature arises. Moreover, the total synergistic effect of the self-organizing system is not a simple sum of the individual components of this effect, but often their multiplication, which significantly increases the final result

Study on the New Pathway of Ecological Poverty Alleviation an Forest Health Industry Integrated Development

Forest has the function of nourishing body and mind, promoting health, enhancing human immunity, which is of great significance to improve health index. Forest health care can give full play to the advantages of forest landscape, environment, space and culture, and extend forest functions. It is a new industry integrating forestry, health services, tourism and leisure industry, and is a new trend of sustainable development of forestry. Ecological poverty alleviation is a kind of poverty alleviation mode which combines ecological protection with poverty alleviation and development. Through the implementation of major ecological engineering construction, increasing ecological compensation, vigorously developing ecological industry, and innovating ecological poverty alleviation methods, the support for poverty-stricken areas and the poor population should be strengthened, so as to achieve the poverty alleviation mode of coordinating poverty alleviation development and ecological protection, and promoting poverty alleviation and prosperity with sustainable development, and finally achieve the goal of poverty alleviation and ecological civilization construction Win. Forest health care is a new way of ecological poverty alleviation. Forest health care can give full play to the resource advantages of mountain areas and drive mountain farmers to get rid of poverty and become rich. It is an effective way of forestry reform, forestry innovation and forestry development, and an inevitable trend to promote green prosperity and poverty alleviation. Based on the model of forest health care, this paper deeply analyzes the development status of forest health industry, discusses the measures to optimize the path of ecological poverty alleviation, and puts forward suggestions on the long-term development mechanism of organic combination of forest health industry development and ecological poverty alleviation work.

Національний лісотехнічний університет України – лідер вітчизняної освіти і науки в досягненні цілей сталого розвитку

Окреслено здобутки і роль Національного лісотехнічного університету України у царині екологізації вітчизняної освіти і науки. Доведено, що університет є провідним закладом вищої освіти у забезпеченні лісового господарства, деревообробної промисловості та суміжних галузей економіки України, який готує висококваліфікованих фахівців, спроможних вирішувати виробничо-господарські проблеми в контексті вимог сталого розвитку. Розглянуто сутність і сучасні проблеми екологізації вищої освіти з урахуванням глобальних екологічних викликів. Беручи до уваги 145-літню історію університету, подано досягнення його колективу в підготовці фахівців і здійсненні фундаментальних та прикладних наукових досліджень з актуальних проблем соціо-еколого-економічного розвитку України, що дало змогу університету стати лідером вітчизняної освіти і науки у сфері пошуку шляхів досягнення цілей сталого розвитку. Обґрунтовано необхідність реалізації ідеї Екологічної Конституції Землі як міжнародного правового акта екологічної безпеки планети і сталого розвитку суспільства. Концепцію цього міжнародного Акта розробили науковці НЛТУ України під керівництвом академіка НАН України, професора Ю. Ю. Туниці. Визначено стратегію та основні пріоритетні напрями досліджень сформованих в університеті наукових шкіл, зважаючи на те, що університет перебуває на перехідному етапі становлення від моделі університету розвитку до моделі підприємницько-екосистемного сучасного університету, активно інтегруючись у європейську та світову систему вищої освіти і науки. На підставі розробленої в університеті "Стратегії і перспективних напрямів розвитку освітньої, наукової та інноваційної діяльності" обґрунтовано засади виконання покладених на університет статутних функцій з формування патріотичної національно свідомої еліти України, підготовки висококваліфікованих фахівців для багатьох галузей вітчизняної економіки і сфер суспільного життя, подальшого розвитку лісотехнічної освіти і науки.

Geographical Distribution and Environmental Correlates of Eleutherosides and Isofraxidin in Eleutherococcus senticosus from Natural Populations in Forests at Northeast China

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) derived from understory plants are attracting attention about sustainable forestry development. Geographical distribution and climate correlates of bioactive compounds are important to the regional management for the natural reserves of medical plants in forests. In this study, we collected Eleutherococcus senticosus individuals from 27 plots to map the special distribution of concentrations of eleutheroside B, eleutheroside E, and isofraxidin in forests of Northeast China. Compound concentrations in both aerial and underground organs were further detected for relationships with the average of 20-year records of temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity (RH). We found higher shoot eleutheroside B concentration in populations in northern and low-temperature regions (R = −0.4394; P = 0.0218) and in eastern and high-RH montane forests (R = 0.5003; P = 0.0079). The maximum-likelihood regression indicated that both RH (Pr > Chi-square, 0.0201) and longitude (Pr > Chi-square, 0.0026) had positive contributions to eleutheroside B concentration in roots, but precipitation had strongly negative contributions to the concentrations of eleutheroside E (Pr > Chi-square, 0.0309) and isofraxidin (Pr > Chi-square, 0.0014) in roots. Both geography and climate factors had effects on the special distribution of medical compounds in E. senticosus plants in natural populations in Northeast China. The management of NWFP plants at the regional scale should consider effects from climatic geography.

METHODOLOGY FOR DEFINING SUSTAINABLE SPATIAL FORESTRY

Topicality. The current change in the ideology of forest management in Ukraine towards sustainable spatial development of forestry is due to the promising importance of ecosystem, economic and social values of forest resources, their multifunctional and intersectoral nature of the use of resource and ecological potential of forests, as well as the growing needs of society regarding the quality of the natural environment. Structural negative changes taking place in the forest sector during the transformation of the economy focus on the problem of sustainable spatial forestry. In particular, the restructuring of forest ownership forms, fiscal policy in the sector, forest management functions and integrated multi-purpose forest use are not consistent with the requirements of sustainable spatial development and a market-oriented model of forestry economics. More active implementation of institutional, ecological and economic, organizational and managerial mechanisms for ensuring sustainable spatial forestry requires conceptual and methodological reflection on the spatial approach to forestry.Aim and tasks. The purpose of the article is deepening the conceptual and methodological principles of sustainable spatial forestry in the context of modern environmental and economic problems of rational use of forest resource potential. Conceptually-methodological understanding of forestry requires: the disclosure of the substantive content of the spatial forestry; definition of features of formation and development of forest management; formation of criteria (classification) signs of the forestry space.Research results. The conceptual and methodological basis for the formation of forestry space is proposed in order to ensure sustainable development of the forestry complex. The basic economic-organizational principles of spatial development of forestry systems are considered. The content basis of sustainable forest management, in contrast to the forestry (in the broad sense), includes a wider range of organizational and technological components of forest-ecological, environmental, economic and social trends that are associated with sustainable use and the reproduction of forest resource potential and forestry space. Forestry space represents a combination of components of forest resource potential and socio-economic environment within a certain forestry region with their links and diverse relationships that are necessary for the sustainable development of society. The natural, informational, economic, financial, and intellectual components of forestry complement the institutional, which outline the legal norms for forest management. Forestry within the understanding of forestry space includes aspects of socio-ecological and economic equilibrium of forestry systems of different hierarchical levels of the organization.Conclusion. Research of the economic space of forestry goes beyond the substantive basis of the forestry economy, the theoretical and methodological basis of the regional economy, therefore, there is a problem of the formation of a new direction in the implementation of sustainable spatial forestry, which requires the consolidation of research into a coherent whole. It is the formation and development of an environmentally balanced, economic forestry space that is a prerequisite for rational use, reproduction and conservation of forest resource potential on an ecosystem basis.

Evaluating the contribution of forest ecosystem services to societal welfare through linking dynamic ecosystem modelling with economic valuation

Trade-offs exist among the multiple ecosystem services (ES) generated by forests. Generally, wood production conflicts with the provisioning of public-good ES such as the storage of carbon, nutrient retention and conservation of biodiversity. Recognizing that forests generate both private- and public-good ES implies that forestry should be optimized to maximize the contribution of forests to societal welfare. Here we develop an integrated approach for evaluating the contribution of forest ES to welfare. Our approach links the results from dynamic ecosystem modelling to economic valuation and benefit-cost analysis to evaluate the impacts of alternative forestry practices on welfare. We apply the approach to a Norway spruce forest in southern Sweden. We show that current practices are not maximizing societal welfare, because of conflicts in the optimal choice of practices from society’s and forest owners’ perspectives, and the distribution of welfare between generations. In particular, intensifying biomass production is shown to reduce welfare due to the concomitant degradation of public-good ES, while welfare would improve through expansion of continuous cover forestry. We anticipate that this type of approach will aid the sustainable development of forestry, by informing decision makers of the impacts of alternative forestry practices on societal welfare.

Dynamic Change Analysis and Forecast of Forestry-based Industrial Structure in China Based on Grey Systems Theory

ABSTRACTThe industrial structure of forestry-based can promote and drive the sustainable development of forestry. Based on the databases of Chinese Forestry Statistics, this paper applies the grey theory to calculate the correlation degree of forestry industrial structure in different years and further explores the changes of the forestry-based industrial structure in China. The results show that the scale of forestry-based industry expands unceasingly, the structure is characterized by “the secondary sector taking the lead, followed by the primary and tertiary sectors” during 2006–2015. The results of GM (1,1) prediction show that China’s forestry-based industries will secure a stable growth from 2017–2025, but it does not mean that the industrial structure will be optimized in the future. The structure is still unreasonable and incongruous, the forestry-based industry is growing fast but not well. This may imply that the optimized structures of China’s forestry-based industry can promote the high quality and sustainable development of forestry and even socio-economic development. Hence, it still needs much improvement on the efficiency of synergy, and to underline the need for market regulation and state macro-control in the dynamic process of forestry-based industrial structure adjustment.

Features of Foresight Methodology Application in the Forestry Complex of Ukraine: Sectoral and Spatial Aspect

This article substantiates the content basis of application of the foresight methodology in the forestry complex in the context of sustainable spatial forestry management. Socio-ecological and economic effectiveness of sustainable forestry is determined by the completeness of continuous and non-exhaustive use of all components of forest ecosystems, including non-market, at all levels of spatial development (local, regional, national and global). It stipulates the high responsibility of the world community, society, state, local authorities and businesses for political, institutional, economic, technological, and project decisions in the sphere of forestry management in the spatial-temporal dimension. It leads to the need for qualitative forecasting of the future sustainable development of the forestry complex, which determines the search and application of modern effective approaches to strategic planning and management of the forestry complex, among which foresight is particularly highlighted. Thus, the paper considers the key features of foresight, which must be taken into account when investigating the future vision of sustainable spatial development of forestry. Thus, the purpose of this study is to generalize and identify the features and possibilities of using the foresight methodology in the forestry complex in the context of sustainable spatial development. The particular features of nature management in the forestry complex in the process of foresight research should be taken into consideration. Existing principles and classification signs for the foresight are presented in the context of sustainable forestry. The application of existing foresight methods is implemented on the example of using the scenario approach to the substantiation of organizational and economic conditions for the formation and development of ecosystem entrepreneurship. At the same time, we have considered the application of the scenario approach within the framework of solving the problem of forest ecosystem business development. The development of entrepreneurship on the ecological and economic basis should become a qualitatively new and effective type of forestry management based on the use of advanced, innovative methods, forms, methods of production organization and combination of resources. The variable development of the use of the scenario approach to the substantiation of organizational and economic conditions for the formation and development of forest ecosystem entrepreneurship has been presented. Thus, the use of various foresight technologies (in particular, the scenario approach) will provide a qualitatively new level of constructive substantiation, in particular, the national strategy for sustainable forestry and long-term forestry programs on an innovative basis. Keywords: foresight, forestry complex, sustainable spatial forestry, foresight principles, foresight classification, scenario, ecosystem entrepreneurship

Changes in surface soil organic carbon in semiarid degraded Horqin Grassland of northeastern China between the 1980s and the 2010s

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and in mitigating climate change. The Horqin Grassland is one of the largest grasslands in China and has undergone serious aeolian desertification in recent decades. We conducted the largest field inventory to date, with the highest density of soil sampling, and explored changes in SOC in the region over the 30-year gap between the 1980s and the 2010s. Our results indicated that the mean SOC density to a depth of 20 cm decreased from 2.58 to 2.21 kg C m−2, while the total SOC storage decreased from 311.11 to 266.70 Tg C, at an average of 12.29 g C m−2 yr−1. We ranked the SOC densities by ecosystem as woodland > grassland > cropland > sandy land. The decreased SOC storage in the Horqin Grassland can be ascribed to a combination of increasing temperature, decreasing precipitation, an expansion of the areas of extremely severely desertified land and cropland, and shrinkage of the grassland area. Our results provide an important updated regional baseline for quantifying how SOC storage will respond to future climate change and anthropogenic activities. Our results will also help policy makers determine how to achieve sustainable development of agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry based on carbon sequestration.

Benefits of Agro Forestry Land Use in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria

The natural environment of the Nsukka, is characterized by a combination of trees and grasses in different proportions. This readily provides conducive conditions for the combined cultivation of annual crops and perennial crops, or trees. But, some factors might have stalled the espousal and practice of agro forestry in Nsukka; this is because Nsukka until recently was generally inaccessible and lacked basic infrastructure. These have contributed negatively to result in wastage of farm products especially during harvest periods, and consequent loss of income to the farmers. The broad aim of the study was to analyze agro forestry land use practices of Nsukka farmers, assess the benefits, and draw up lessons and recommendations for sustainable agro forestry development in community-based forestry projects by describing the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers, determining the type of agro forestry practiced in the area, identifying the reasons for farmers’ participation in agro forestry practices, identifying the constraints to sustainable agro forestry in the area and the measures for tackling the constraints and determining the benefits of agro forestry to participating farmers and their communities at large. The results of the study showed that most farmers sale greater part of their produce as the only source of income and most farmers spend less because they use animal dropping as a source of fertilizer. The land tenure system of the entire study area is largely by inheritance, and land use is determined by the male head and, on whom the right of usage is vested. Similarly, the ownership, sponsorship and management of agro forestry farms are largely by the families.
 

Benefits of Agro Forestry Land Use in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria

The natural environment of the Nsukka, is characterized by a combination of trees and grasses in different proportions. This readily provides conducive conditions for the combined cultivation of annual crops and perennial crops, or trees. But, some factors might have stalled the espousal and practice of agro forestry in Nsukka; this is because Nsukka until recently was generally inaccessible and lacked basic infrastructure. These have contributed negatively to result in wastage of farm products especially during harvest periods, and consequent loss of income to the farmers. The broad aim of the study was to analyze agro forestry land use practices of Nsukka farmers, assess the benefits, and draw up lessons and recommendations for sustainable agro forestry development in community-based forestry projects by describing the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers, determining the type of agro forestry practiced in the area, identifying the reasons for farmers’ participation in agro forestry practices, identifying the constraints to sustainable agro forestry in the area and the measures for tackling the constraints and determining the benefits of agro forestry to participating farmers and their communities at large. The results of the study showed that most farmers sale greater part of their produce as the only source of income and most farmers spend less because they use animal dropping as a source of fertilizer. The land tenure system of the entire study area is largely by inheritance, and land use is determined by the male head and, on whom the right of usage is vested. Similarly, the ownership, sponsorship and management of agro forestry farms are largely by the families.