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The world atlas of trees and forests : exploring Earth's forest ecosystems
The Earth's forests are havens of nature supporting a diversity of life. Shaped by climate and geography, these vast and dynamic wooded spaces offer unique ecosystems that shelter complex and interdependent webs of flora, fungi, and animals. 'The World Atlas of Trees and Forests' offers a beautiful introduction to what forests are, how they work, how they grow, and how we map, assess, and conserve them.
Book
Testing fertilizer, gypsum, planting season and varieties of wild leek (Allium tricoccum) in forest farming system
Wild leek (
Allium tricoccum
) is an edible spring ephemeral of the eastern deciduous forests of North America that takes advantage of the short period of high light conditions between snowmelt and canopy closure to accumulate the carbon required to complete its annual growth and seed production. In Québec (Canada), this slow-growing species has been subjected to great harvesting pressure, which forced the provincial government to ban commercial harvest and sales in 1995. An illegal market has since developed and the plant is still under threat. Conservation of existing natural populations might be possible through commercial production of wild leek. To investigate this possibility, we set up plots in four sugar maple forest stands where different organic fertilizer and gypsum (0 or 3,000 kg ha
−1
) applications were tested, together with two wild leek varieties, and bulb planting season. The two varieties,
tricoccum
and
burdickii
, despite morphological differences, are both suitable for cultivation. Planting bulbs in the spring seems more advantageous than in autumn, but these results will need to be confirmed. Fertilized plants exhibited better growth the year following transplantation than did non-fertilized plants. Belowground:aboveground biomass ratios indicated that plants receiving more fertilizer produced larger bulbs, but leaf size did not differ statistically. According to leaf nutrient analysis, fertilizers would need to be applied each year, whereas gypsum (as a calcium source) can be applied less frequently. Our results indicated a high potential for wild leek as a forest crop, at least when the bulbs are planted.
Journal Article
The regenerative agriculture solution : a revolutionary approach to building soil, creating climate resilience, and supporting human and planetary health
\"Is it possible that the solution to the global climate emergency lies in a \"waste\" agricultural product? Two brothers from a small town in Mexico are proving just that. The best-kept secret in the world today is that solutions to some of our most pressing issues-food insecurity, deforestation, overgrazing, water scarcity, rural poverty, forced migration-lies in adopting, improving, and scaling up organic and regenerative agriculture best practices. The Regenerative Agriculture Solution tells the story of how two brothers-Jose and Gilberto Flores-are at the leading edge of this approach, pioneering the use of the previously discarded leaves of the prodigious agave plant to regenerate agricultural soils, reduce erosion, and improve water capture. Amazingly, their methods also benefit their local economy, creating jobs by producing an inexpensive livestock feed supplement that could grow into a multi-billion-dollar industry and change the face of agriculture, animal husbandry, ecosystem restoration, and climate change forever. When Ronnie Cummins, the cofounder of Organic Consumer Association (OCA) and Regeneration International, met the Flores brothers in 2019 and witnessed their revolutionary agave agroforestry system, he knew they were onto something important. Cummins had spent decades studying the potential and pitfalls of organic and regenerative agriculture and knew best practices when he saw them. The scientific data was even more convincing, suggesting that the project-and others like it-could revolutionize the way we understand the climate catastrophe. Sadly, Cummins passed away in April 2023, in the midst of working on a book that told the Flores brothers' extraordinary story. Not to leave this work unfinished, Ronnie's widow and OCA cofounder, Rose, called on their friend, colleague, and collaborator, Regeneration International's cofounder André Leu, to complete the work and place the Flores brothers' breakthroughs in the broader context of regenerative agriculture solutions to the world's many interlocking ecological crises. The Regenerative Agriculture Solution is an agricultural, agroforestry, and public policy blueprint, as well as a call to action for organic and regenerative farmers, ranchers, and land managers around the world. It is also a call to action for consumers, policy leaders, organic and sustainable development advocates, corporations, and investors to address the climate, health, and environmental crises as well as rural poverty\"-- Provided by publisher
BOOK
Plant-frugivore networks are less specialized and more robust at forest-farmland edges than in the interior of a tropical forest
Forest fragmentation and local disturbance are prevailing threats to tropical forest ecosystems and affect frugivore communities and animal seed dispersal in different ways. However, very little is known about the effects of anthropogenic forest edges and of local disturbance on the structure and robustness of plant-frugivore networks. We carried out focal tree observations to record the frugivore species feeding on eight canopy tree species in the forest interior and at forest-farmland edges in a little and a highly disturbed part of a Kenyan rain forest. For each frugivore species, we recorded its body mass and its forest dependence. We examined how forest edge and local disturbance affected the abundance, the richness and the composition of the frugivore community and tested whether forest edge and local disturbance affected plant—frugivore networks. Abundance and species richness of frugivores were higher at edges than in the forest interior. Forest visitors and small-bodied frugivores increased, while forest specialists decreased in abundance at forest edges. The changes in frugivore community composition resulted in plant-frugivore networks that were more connected, more nested and more robust against species extinctions at forest-farmland edges than in the forest interior. Network specialization was lower at forest edges than in the forest interior because at the edges plant specialization on frugivores was very low in small-fruited species. In contrast, small-fruited plants were more specialized than large-fruited plants in the forest interior. Our findings suggest that forest-visiting birds may stabilize seed-dispersal services for small-fruited plant species at rain forest margins, while seed-dispersal services for large-fruited plant species may be disrupted at forest edges due to the decrease of large-bodied frugviores. To assess the ultimate consequences of bird movements from farmland to forest edges for ecosystem functioning, future studies are required to investigate the seed-dispersal qualities provided by forest-visiting bird species in the tropics.
Journal Article
Forest Farming: Who Wants In?
Forest farming is an agroforestry practice defined as the intentional cultivation of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) underneath a forest canopy. Forest farming perspectives and preferences among family forest owners are generally understudied, particularly in Appalachia, where many marketable native NTFPs species are found. We surveyed Appalachian family forest owners in 14 Southwest Virginia counties about their interest in forest farming and likelihood of leasing land for this purpose. We also asked about the owner’s residency and historical connection to the region as well as contemporary land uses, and identified the following types of uses: absentee and vacationers, newcomers, longtime farming residents, and longtime nonfarming residents. We mailed 1,040 surveys and 293 were returned (28.9%). Forty-five percent were interested or extremely interested in forest farming and 36% were likely or extremely likely to lease land. Rates of interest in forest farming and leasing were similar across owner types, suggesting broad appeal among family forest owners.
Journal Article
Estimating Forest Structural Parameters Using Canopy Metrics Derived from Airborne LiDAR Data in Subtropical Forests
Accurate and timely estimation of forest structural parameters plays a key role in the management of forest resources, as well as studies on the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a promising active remote sensing technology capable of providing highly accurate three dimensional and wall-to-wall forest structural characteristics. In this study, we evaluated the utility of standard metrics and canopy metrics derived from airborne LiDAR data for estimating plot-level forest structural parameters individually and in combination, over a subtropical forest in Yushan forest farm, southeastern China. Standard metrics, i.e., height-based and density-based metrics, and canopy metrics extracted from canopy vertical profiles, i.e., canopy volume profile (CVP), canopy height distribution (CHD), and foliage profile (FP), were extracted from LiDAR point clouds. Then the standard metrics and canopy metrics were used for estimating forest structural parameters individually and in combination by multiple regression models, including forest type-specific (coniferous forest, broad-leaved forest, mixed forest) models and general models. Additionally, the synergy of standard metrics and canopy metrics for estimating structural parameters was evaluated using field measured data. Finally, the sensitivity of vertical and horizontal resolution of voxel size for estimating forest structural parameters was assessed. The results showed that, in general, the accuracies of forest type-specific models (Adj-R2 = 0.44–0.88) were relatively higher than general models (Adj-R2 = 0.39–0.77). For forest structural parameters, the estimation accuracies of Lorey’s mean height (Adj-R2 = 0.61–0.88) and aboveground biomass (Adj-R2 = 0.54–0.81) models were the highest, followed by volume (Adj-R2 = 0.42–0.78), DBH (Adj-R2 = 0.48–0.74), basal area (Adj-R2 = 0.41–0.69), whereas stem density (Adj-R2 = 0.39–0.64) models were relatively lower. The combination models (Adj-R2 = 0.45–0.88) had higher performance compared with models developed using standard metrics (only) (Adj-R2 = 0.42–0.84) and canopy metrics (only) (Adj-R2 = 0.39–0.83). The results also demonstrated that the optimal voxel size was 5 × 5 × 0.5 m3 for estimating most of the parameters. This study demonstrated that canopy metrics based on canopy vertical profiles can be effectively used to enhance the estimation accuracies of forest structural parameters in subtropical forests.
Journal Article
Management of the Lati Petangis grand forest park (TAHURA): roles and perceptions of forest farmer groups
This research aims to identify and descriptively analyze the roles and perceptions of Forest Farmers Groups in the management of Tahura Lati Petangis in Batu Engau District, Paser Regency. This research uses a quantitative descriptive approach. The sample in this study consisted of all members of the three Forest Farmers Groups located around the Tahura Lati Petangis area, totaling 52 people. The results showed that the role of the Forest Farmer Group, which is a partner in the management of Tahura Lati Petangis, is to make efforts to restore the ecosystem and make efforts to manage forests sustainably in the form of Agroforestry, where partnerships with forest farmer groups are carried out in the form of work orders. While the perception of the Forest Farmer Group in the management of Tahura Lati Petangis shows that this partnership is very beneficial for forest farmer groups, they also get insight, skills, and wages from the Tahura Lati Petangis management, because they have planted and maintained the main plant, namely forest plants, and besides that, they also get additional income from planting intercrops and coaching from the Tahura Lati Petangis management.
Journal Article
The advantage of afforestation using native tree species to enhance soil quality in degraded forest ecosystems
Different vegetation restoration methods have improved soil quality to varying degrees. This study, focused on the forest–grassland–desert transition zone in the Hebei–Inner Mongolia border region, and employed a systematic grid sampling method to establish fixed monitoring plots in the Saihanba Mechanized Forest Farm and the Ulan Buh Grassland. The differences in soil quality evolution across various vegetation restoration methods under the same climatic and soil historical conditions were analyzed, elucidating the roles of these vegetation restoration methods in degraded forest ecosystems, with the aim of providing a reference for ecological restoration under similar land conditions. This study used a grid method to establish sample points in the forest–grassland–desert transitional zone and assessed five methods of vegetation restoration sites: artificial forest composed of native species of
Larix principis-rupprechtii
(FL), artificial forest composed of exotic
Pinus sylvestris
var.
mongolica
(FP), natural secondary broad-leaved forest (FN), open grassland (GO), and enclosed grassland (GC). The differences in soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AN), rapidly available phosphorus (AP) and rapidly available potassium (AK) among the different vegetation restoration sites were compared via variance analysis, and the soil quality index (SQI) was calculated to assess the soil quality at the sample points. The SOC, TN, and AN contents of forest soil were significantly greater than those of grassland, and the TN, TP, AN, AK, and SOC contents of FL, FN, and GC were significantly greater than those of FP and GO. Among them, the TN, TP, and SOC contents were the highest in the FL, reaching 2.74, 0.39, and 47.27 g kg
−1
, respectively. In terms of ecological stoichiometric characteristics, the average N:P ratio in the study area was 6.68, indicating a serious lack of N in the study area. Among the different types of restoration sites, the effect was stronger in the FP than in the FL, and the TN and AN contents were only 1.48 g kg
−1
and 116.69 mg kg
−1
, respectively. The SQI in the FL was not significantly different from that in the FN or GC, but it was significantly greater than that in the FP and GO. These findings indicate that native tree species restoration in degraded forest ecosystems significantly improved soil quality, while the introduction of exotic tree species for afforestation had a minimal effect on improving soil quality.
Journal Article
Tree Species Classification of Forest Stands Using Multisource Remote Sensing Data
The spatial distribution of forest stands is one of the fundamental properties of forests. Timely and accurately obtained stand distribution can help people better understand, manage, and utilize forests. The development of remote sensing technology has made it possible to map the distribution of tree species in a timely and accurate manner. At present, a large amount of remote sensing data have been accumulated, including high-spatial-resolution images, time-series images, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, etc. However, these data have not been fully utilized. To accurately identify the tree species of forest stands, various and complementary data need to be synthesized for classification. A curve matching based method called the fusion of spectral image and point data (FSP) algorithm was developed to fuse high-spatial-resolution images, time-series images, and LiDAR data for forest stand classification. In this method, the multispectral Sentinel-2 image and high-spatial-resolution aerial images were first fused. Then, the fused images were segmented to derive forest stands, which are the basic unit for classification. To extract features from forest stands, the gray histogram of each band was extracted from the aerial images. The average reflectance in each stand was calculated and stacked for the time-series images. The profile curve of forest structure was generated from the LiDAR data. Finally, the features of forest stands were compared with training samples using curve matching methods to derive the tree species. The developed method was tested in a forest farm to classify 11 tree species. The average accuracy of the FSP method for ten performances was between 0.900 and 0.913, and the maximum accuracy was 0.945. The experiments demonstrate that the FSP method is more accurate and stable than traditional machine learning classification methods.
Journal Article
Institutional Analysis Of Forest Farmers Groups (FFG) In Community Forest Area In Mammi Village, Binuang Ditrict, Polewali Mandar Regency
Community Forest is carried out as a form of legalization based on the utilization of state forests by the community. The CF Program is one of the important initiatives in forest resource management in Indonesia. Through CF, local communities are given the right to manage state forests or other forest areas sustainably. Community Forestry (CF) opens up greater opportunities for the people of Mammi Village, Binuang District, to access management rights over forest resources with legal certainty. This study aims to analyze the institutional structure of forest farmer groups (FFG) in community forest areas and formulate strategies for strengthening the institutional structure of FFG Lestari in Mammi Village. This study uses a census method, namely members of FFG Lestari around the forest totaling 47 people, members of Forest Management Unit Mapilli (2 people), the village head, and the Facilitator/Social Forestry Extension (1 person). The analysis used to achieve these objectives is a SWOT analysis. Based on the study carried out, it shows that the institutional analysis contained in forest farmer groups Lestari is included in the Madya class category, so according to the Regulation of the Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia Number 57 of 2014, it is categorized as Madya class.
Journal Article