Distribution Characteristics of Soil Organic Carbon in Degraded Forest Land in the Sandstorm Area of Jingbian County,Shaanxi Province

[Objectives]To explore the distribution characteristics of soil organic carbon in degraded forest land in the sandstorm area of Jingbian County,Shaanxi Province.[Methods]The distribution characteristics and abundance of 0-20 cm shallow soil organic carbon in 5 towns in the sandstorm area in the north of Jingbian County were studied by field sampling and indoor detection.[Results]The average soil organic carbon contents in Hongdunjie Town,Haizetan Town,Huanghaojie Town,Ningtiaoliang Town and Dongkeng Town were 2.93,3.21,2.53,2.54 and 4.08 g/kg,respectively,which were all lower than the national background value(31.00 g/kg).The coefficients of variation of soil organic carbon content in Hongdunjie Town,Huanghaojie Town and Dongkeng Town were 59.04%,35.97%and 47.55%,respectively,with higher coefficients of variation and larger differences in spatial distribution.The organic carbon content of Haizetan Town and Dongkeng Town was above the abundance,accounting for 70%and 50%,which were relatively rich,while the soil organic carbon content of Hongdunjie was relatively scarce.The average content of soil organic carbon in the sandstorm area was 3.03 g/kg,which was also lower than the national background value.The coefficient of variation was 46.53%,showing high coefficient of variation and large difference in spatial distribution.In addition,20.41%of the average content of soil organic carbon in the sandstorm area was in the deficient level,and 79.59%were in the medium or above level.[Conclusions]The study of distribution characteristics of soil organic carbon in degraded forest land in the sandstorm area of Jingbian County will better serve the precise management of soil resources.

Distribution Characteristics of Soil Total Nitrogen in Low-efficiency Forest Land in the Northern Windy Desert Area of Jingbian County

[Objectives]The paper was to investigate the distribution characteristics of soil total nitrogen in low-efficiency forest land in the northern windy desert area of Jingbian County.[Methods]The distribution of soil total nitrogen in the 0-40 cm soil layer of 5 towns in the northern windy desert area of Jingbian County was studied through field sampling and laboratory detection.[Results]The average soil total nitrogen contents of Hongdunjie Town,Haizetan Town,Huanghaojie Town,Ningtiaoliang Town,Dongkeng Town and windy desert area in the 0-20 cm soil layer were 0.259,0.224,0.242,0.248,0.431 and 0.275 g/kg,respectively.The soil total nitrogen content in Dongkeng Town was higher than those in other towns,while there was little difference among other regions.The average total nitrogen contents in the 20-40 cm soil layer were 0.239,0.285,0.113,0.262,0.349 and 0.241 g/kg,respectively.The soil total nitrogen content in Huanghaojie Town was slightly lower than those in other towns,while that in Dongkeng town was higher.The variation coefficient of soil total nitrogen content in the survey area was greater than 30%,and there was great difference in spatial distribution.With the increase of soil depth,there was little change in soil total nitrogen content,namely the soil total nitrogen contents in 5 towns and windy desert area were not statistically different in the 0-40 cm soil layer.According to the nutrient grading standard of the second national soil survey,the soil total nitrogen content in the survey area was in the deficiency grade.[Conclusions]The research will provide a scientific guidance for the healthy and sustainable development of vegetation in arid regions.

Estimating Ecological Characteristics and Carbon Stock in Uneven-Aged Plantations of Acacia senegal L. in the Savannah Woodlands of Sudan

The aim of this study was to assess Acacia senegal trees’ characteristics as well as evaluate the carbon stock under a variety of ages in the El Demokeya forest in Sudan, where the Gum Arabic belt is located. 12 sample plots, in 2021 were randomly distributed to represent the entire area of the forest prior to the required measurements. The sample was designed as squire plots with one hectare. In each sample plot, all trees were counted, their height (m), and Diameters Breast Height (DBH in cm), respectively. The results showed the highest number of trees per ha at age 20 years old and the lowest number at age 47 years, while the highest values of DBH and volume were found at age 47 years old. As a result, the maximum and minimum values of the aboveground biomass were found in the age 47 years old and 16 years, accounting for 19.87 tons and 1.9 tons respectively. Thus, the amount of carbon stock was 11.92 tons/ha in the 35-years-old and 1.19 tons/ha in the 21-year stands. Furthermore, the average carbon stock in all plots was estimated as 18.70 tons/ha and hence the total carbon stock in the El Demokeya forest is equal to 620.11 tons. Conclusively, the characteristics of trees, amount of aboveground biomass and carbon stock in the El Demokeya forest varied among the uneven-aged plantation groups. The study recommends and encourages the protection of A. senegal in order to increase the carbon sink as well as protect the environment in the era of climatic changes.

Cultivation Techniques of Panax notoginseng F.H. Chen under Different Forests

To overcome the issues of high cost and continuous cropping obstacles in facility cultivation of Panax notoginseng_ F. H. Chen, satisfy the market demand, save the production cost, improve the utilization rate of forest land, increase the in-come of forest farmers and protect the ecological environment, the cultivation tech-niques of high-quality P. notoginseng seedlings from Wenshan, Yunnan under four kinds of forests （walnut forest, China fir forest, grape forest and kiwi forest） were in-vestigated in this study. The results showed that the height growth, crown diameter, survival rate and 3-year-old tuber weight of P. notoginseng_under walnut forest were higher than those under the other three kinds of forests; the height growth, crown diameter, survival rate and 3-year-old tuber weight of P. notoginseng under China fir forest were higher than those under grape forest and kiwi forest; and the crown di-ameter and survival rate under grape forest were higher, and the height growth and tuber weight under grape forest were lower than those under kiwi forest. Walnut is a broad-leaved deciduous tree species, so large-scale cultivation of P. notoginseng_should be conducted under broadleaf deciduous forest with canopy density around 0.8, taking advantage of the cool environment and rich humus layer under forest. This cultivation technology could save labor, shade, fertilizer and other costs, and accord with the ecological habit and the growth rules of P. notoginseng, thus im-proving yield and achieving high economic benefit.

Quantitative Simulation of Dynamic Changes in Cultivated Land in Areas of Reclamation and Returning Cultivated Land to Forest or Pastures under RCPs Climate Scenarios

Northeast China as one of important agricultural production bases is an area under reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures. Therefore, it is of great practical significance in guaranteeing the sustainable development and national food security to study the spatial and temporal variation of cultivated land in Northeast China under future climate scenarios. In this study, based on data of land use, natural environment and social-economy, dynamics of land system（DLS） model was used to to simulate the spatial distribution and changing trends of cultivated land in the typical areas of reclamation and returning cultivated land to forest or pastures in Northeast China during 2010-2030 under land use planning scenario and representative concentration pathways（RCPs） scenarios quantitatively.The results showed that the area of cultivated land had an overall decreasing trend under the land use planning scenario, but the area of upland field increased slightly from 2000 to 2010 and then declined greatly, while the area of paddy field continuously declined from 2000 to 2030. Under the Asia-Pacific Integrated model（AIM）scenario, the total area of cultivated land had a tendency to increase considerably,with the upland field expanding more obviously and the paddy field declining slightly.In addition, the cultivated land showed a greater decreasing trend under the model for energy supply strategy alternatives and their general environmental impact（MESSAGE） scenario compared to the land use planning scenario. Moreover, analysis on the conversion between different land use types indicated that the reclamation and returning cultivated land to forests or pastures was likely to continue under future scenarios, but the frequency of occurrence could decrease as the time goes by. The conclusions can provide significant decision-making information for the rational agricultural planning and cultivated land protection in Northeast China to adapt to the climate change.

Comparison and Analysis of Agricultural and Forest Land Changes in Typical Agricultural Regions of Northern Mid-latitudes

The northeastern China, the United States, and the western Europe are important agricultural regions both on the global and regional scales. The westem Europe has a longer history of agricultural land development than the eastem United States. These two regions have changed from the deforestation and reclamation phase in the past to the current land abandonment and reforestation phase. Compared with the two regions, large-scale land exploitation has only been practiced in the northeastern China during the last century. After a short high-intensity deforestation and reclamation period, agricultural and forest lands are basically in a dynamic steady state. By comparing domestic and international agro-forestry development and considering the ecological environment and socio-economic bene- fits that can be derived from agro-forestry, this paper suggests that large area of reforestation would be inevitable in future though per- sistent and large agricultural demand in coming decades even more. And local reforestation at slope farmland with ecological vulner- ability should be imperative at present to avoid severer damage. At the same time, from the perspective of Land Change Science, the results demonstrate that the research on land use change in the agro-forestry ecotone is typical and critical, particularly those dealing with the analysis of spatial and temporal characteristics and the simulation of climate, hydrology, and other environmental effects.

Comparison of foliar nutrient concentrations between natural and artificial forests of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica on sandy land, China

In order to examine the causes of degradation of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations on sandy land, the foliar concentrations of N, P, K and C were analyzed and compared between the field grown P. sylvestris var. mongolica trees from two provenances （natural forests and plantations）. The results indicated that natural tree needles had lower N, P and C concentrations, and higher K concentrations than those of plantation tree needles. For plantation tree needles, ratios of N： P, P. K and N： K increased with tree age before 45 years old; but they were not clear for the natural tree needles. Compared with the conclusions reported on Pinus spp., we found that the foliar N and P concentrations were in the optimal range for both natural and plantation tree needles. This result suggested that N or P might not be the absolute limit factors in plant nutrient for P sylvestris var. mongolica on sandy land. However, foliar K concentrations in both natural and plantation tree needles were much lower than those reported on Pinus spp. （〉4.80 g kg-1）.The N： P ratio of natural needles was in the adequate ranges, but N： P ratio of plantation needles was out of the adequate ranges. These results indicated that there was a better balanced nutrition status in the natural forest than in the plantations. If only considering the foliar nutrient concentrations of P sylvestris var. mongolica from different provenances, it might be concluded that the degradation phenomenon of P. sylvestris var. mongolica plantations was not induced by nutrition deficiency of absolute nutrients of N and P, but might be induced by other mineral nutrients or by the effectiveness of N and P nutrients. The unbalanced nutrition status and relatively quick decomposition of needles in the plantations might also contribute to the degradation.

Rapid Urbanization Induced Extensive Forest Loss to Urban Land in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

China has experienced rapid urbanizations with dramatic land cover changes since 1978. Forest loss is one of land cover changes, and it induces various eco-environmental degradation issues. As one of China’s hotspot regions, the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area(GBA) has undergone a dramatic urban expansion. To better understand forest dynamics and protect forest ecosystem, revealing the processes, patterns and underlying drivers of forest loss is essential. This study focused on the spatiotemporal evolution and potential driving factors of forest loss in the GBA at regional and city level. The Landsat time-series images from 1987 to2017 were used to derive forest, and landscape metrics and geographic information system(GIS) were applied to implement further spatial analysis. The results showed that: 1) 14.86% of the total urban growth area of the GBA was obtained from the forest loss in1987–2017;meanwhile, the forest loss area of the GBA reached 4040.6 km2, of which 25.60%(1034.42 km2) was converted to urban land;2) the percentages of forest loss to urban land in Dongguan(19.14%), Guangzhou(18.35%) and Shenzhen(15.81%) were higher than those in other cities;3) the forest became increasingly fragmented from 1987–2007, and then the fragmentation decreased from2007 to 2017);4) the landscape responses to forest changes varied with the scale;and 5) some forest loss to urban regions moved from low-elevation and gentle-slope terrains to higher-elevation and steep-slope terrains over time, especially in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.Urbanization and industrialization greatly drove forest loss and fragmentation, and, notably, hillside urban land expansion may have contributed to hillside forest loss. The findings will help policy makers in maintaining the stability of forest ecosystems, and provide some new insights into forest management and conservation.

Spatiotemporal variation of forest land and its driving factors in the agropastoral ecotone of northern China

As an important natural resource,forest land plays a key role in the maintenance of ecological security.However,variations of forest land in the agropastoral ecotone of northern China(AENC)have attracted little attention.Taking the AENC as an example and based on remote-sensing images from 2000,2010 to 2020,we explored the spatiotemporal variation of forest land and its driving factors using the land-use transfer matrix,spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatial error model.The results showed that from 2000 to 2020,the total area of forest land in the AENC increased from 75,547.52 to 77,359.96 km^(2) and the changes were dominated by the transformations among forest land,grassland and cropland,which occurred mainly in areas with the elevation of 500-2000 m and slope of 15°-25°.There was obvious spatial agglomeration of forest land in the AENC from 2000 to 2020,with hot spots of forest land gathered in the southern marginal areas of the Yanshan Mountains and the low mountainous and hilly areas of the Loess Plateau.The sub-hot spots around hot spots moved southward,the sub-cold spots spread to the surrounding areas and the cold spots disappeared.The spatiotemporal variation of forest land resulted from the interactions of natural environment,socioeconomic and policy factors from 2000 to 2020.The variables of average annual precipitation,slope,terrain relief,ecological conversion program and afforestation policy for barren mountains affected the spatial pattern of forest land positively,while those of annual average temperature,slope and road network density influenced it negatively.

Spatial assessment of forest cover and land-use changes in the Hindu-Kush mountain ranges of northern Pakistan

Anthropogenic activities and natural processes are continuously altering the mountainous environment through deforestation, forest degradation and other land-use changes. It is highly important to assess, monitor and forecast forest cover and other land-use changes for the protection and conservation of mountainous environment. The present study deals with the assessment of forest cover and other land-use changes in the mountain ranges of Dir Kohistan in northern Pakistan, using high resolution multi-temporal SPOT-5 satellite images. The SPOT-5 satellite images of years 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013 were acquired and classified into land-cover units. In addition, forest cover and land-use change detection map was developed using the classified maps of 2004 and 2013. The classified maps were verified through random field samples and Google Earth imagery(Quick birds and SPOT-5). The results showed that during the period 2004 to 2013 the area of forest land decreased by 6.4%, however, area of range land and agriculture land have increased by 22.1% and 2.9%, respectively. Similarly, barren land increased by 1.1%, whereas, area of snow cover/glacier is significantly decreased by 21.3%. The findings from the study will be useful for forestry and landscape planning and can be utilized by the local, provincial and national forest departments; and REDD+ policy makers in Pakistan.

Land Use/Land Cover and Forest Canopy Density Monitoring of Wafi-Golpu Project Area, Papua New Guinea

This study aims to examine the use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology in land use/land cover mapping to aide sustainable planning and development in the Wafi-Golpu project area. At the same time, this study examines an existing method of Forest Canopy Density (FCD) model to estimate forest canopy density of the proposed deforestation site, which is known as the Advanced Exploration Feasibility Study Activities (AEFSA) area within the Wafi-Golpu Project site. The FCD model calculates the forest canopy density using the three (3) indices of vegetation, soil and shadow from the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite image of year 2013. In this study an attempt has been made to monitor the forest loss or degradation during deforestation in a natural forest stand of the Wafi-Golpu project area using forest FCD mapping and monitoring model and the findings of the study will assist the project planners and developers with their work on forest rehabilitation and reforestation for the purposes of sustainable forest management. The result of the work shows that a considerable amount of forest loss will be undertaken during the AEFSA deforestation exercise and also the findings show that a reliable land use/land cover map will greatly assist sustainable development in a resource project development period.

Nitrogen flux in broad-leaved Korean pine forest land in Changbai Mountain

The flux of N in broad-leaved Korean pine forest land, Changbai Mountain, Northeast China was studied with thein situ sequential coring technique. The results showed that, in the growing season of 1994 (May to September), net rate of mineralization was 47.96 kg/hm2, plant uptake 28.37 kg/hm2 and leaching losses 20.47 kg/hm2. Net N mineralization rate exceeded plant uptake requirements. On the basis of the N budget, this forest land could be characterized as N saturated though more detailed studies are needed.

Potential Analysis of Inefficient Garden Land and Residual Forest Land Remediation in Comprehensive Land Remediation of the Whole Region—A Case Study of Zhemu Town, Guilin City, China

The remediation of inefficient garden land and defective forest land is one of the important sources and types of supplementary cultivated land in the comprehensive land remediation of the whole region. The remediation and development of inefficient garden land and defective forest land will effectively alleviate the multiple pressures faced by cultivated land at present. Taking Zhemu Town, Guilin City, China as an example, on that basis of the data of the third national land survey, using analytic hierarchy process, this paper selects six evaluation factors, including water source, traffic, slope, field concentration, farmland infrastructure and villagers’ will, to study the remediation potential of inefficient garden land and defective forest land in Zhemu Town, and delimits four potential divisions, in order to provide the basis for the arrangement of land remediation projects in Zhemu Town. The results show that the northern, central and western regions of Zhemu Town have great remediation potential.

Research on Converting Cultivated Land into Forests and Regional Sustainable Development

The capability of sustainable development of Wuchuan County is evaluated comprehensively with theories and methods of regional sustainable development capability evaluation, which are extensively applied at home and abroad. The results indicate that the developing speed and patterns of Wuchuan County cannot satisfy the demand of the regional sustainable development. Moreover, the patterns, distributions, tree species, growing patterns, and other aspects must consider the restriction of ecological water utilization. It is put forward that the standards for selecting the converting lands are slope, desertification degree, and rainfall.In addition, the control of soil erosion and the prevention of land desertification are selected as the dualpurpose of the converting project.

Changes of Organic Carbon in Soil under Different Land Use Patterns in Alpine Agricultural Region of Qinghai

Using organic carbon density grouping method,the change trends of soil total organic carbon(SOC),light fraction content and light fraction organic carbon under 4 land use patterns of returning cultivated land to forest(cropland,artificial forest,inter-cropping of forest and grassland and original sample plot)in alpine agricultural region of Qinghai were studied.The content of SOC was in order:intercropping of forest and grassland > original sample plot > artificial forest > cropland.There was signi...

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Drivers of Forest Change from 1985–2000 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of China

Forests are fundamental to maintaining ecological security and achieving regional sustainable development in China. Forest land change can result in many ecological problems including soil erosion, water shortages drought and biodiversity loss. Based on landscape ecology and logistic regression we explored the spatiotemporal patterns and factors affecting forest land changes from 1985 to 2000 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of China. The results show decreased local fragmentation of woodland landscapes and that the shapes of forest patches have become more regular. For forest land cover change, soil organic matter content, slope type I （〈5°）, distance to the nearest village and per capita GDP were the most important independent variables from 1985 to 2000. This study indicates that spatial heterogeneity can affect the predictability of logistic regression models for forest land change.

Spatial disparities of regional forest land change based on ESDA and GIS at the county level in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area

Forest land is the essential and important natural resource that provides strong support for human survival and development. Research on forest land changes at the county level about its characteristics, rules, and spatial patterns is, therefore, important for regional resource protection and the sustainable development of the social economy. In this study we selected the GIS and Geoda software package to explore the spatial disparities of forest land changes at the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area county level, based on the global and local spatial autocorrelation analyses of exploratory spatial data. The results show that： 1） during 1985-2000, the global spatial autocorrelation of forest land change is significant in the study area. The global Moran＇s I value is 0.3122 for the entire time period and indicates significant positive spatial correlation （p 〈 0.05）. Moran＇s I value of forest land change decreases from 0.3084 at the time stage I to 0.3024 at the time stage II; 2） the spatial clustering characteristics of forest land changes appear on the whole in Beijing- Tianjin-Hebei area. Moran＇s 1 value decreases from the time stage I to time stage II, which means that trend of spatial clustering of forest land change is weakened in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area; 3） the grid map of the local Moran＇s I for each county reflects local spatial homo- geneity of forest land change, which means that spatial clustering about regions of high value and low value is especially significant. The regions with ＂High-High＂ correlation are mainly located in the north hilly area. However, the regions with ＂Low-Low＂ correlation were distributed in the middle of the study area. Therefore, protection strategies and concrete measures should be put in place for each regional cluster in the study area.

Monitoring of non-point source pollutants load from a mixed forest land use

The aim of this study was to determine the unit load of NPS （non-point source） pollutants including organic variables such as BOD （biochemical oxygen demand）, COD （chemical oxygen demand） and DOC （dissolved organic carbon）, nitrogen and phosphorus constituents, and suspended solids （SS） and their event mean concentration （EMC） of runoff flows from a water-shed of mixed forest land use by intensive field experiments. Field monitoring for continuous measurements of rainfall, flow, and water quality was conducted over 12 storm events during 2008-2009 using automated and manual sampling methods. The EMCs of individual runoff event were estimated for each water quality constituent based on the flow rate and concentration data of runoff discharge. The average EMCs of BOD, COD, DOC, SS, TN （total nitrogen）, NH4^＋-N, NO3^--N, TP （total phosphorus）, PO4^3-P from the mixed forest land were 1.794, 3.498, 1.462, 10.269, 0.862, 0.044, 0.634, 0.034, and 0.005 mg/L, respectively. The annual unit loads of BOD, COD, DOC, SS, TN, NH4^＋-N, NO3^--N, TP and PO4^3--P were estimated as 66.9, 133.2, 55.5, 429.8, 36.5, 1.6, 26.9, 1.3 and 0.1 kg/（ha·yr）, respectively. In addition, affecting parameters on the EMCs were investigated by statistic analysis of the field data. As a result, significant correlations with precipitation, rainfall intensity, and total runoff flows were found in most constituents.

Collective Forest Tenure Reform in Nature Reserves in China:Problems and Countermeasures

Collective forest tenure reform is now carried out throughout China with the aim to clarify the property,increase forest farmers' income and motivate the development of forestry.But the collective forest tenure reform in nature reserves comes to a dilemma.The current implemented laws and regulations provide that forests and trees in nature reserves shall be under strict protection,while the forest farmers hope to improve their livelihood in the reform.The paper discussed the problems encountered in the c...

SECURITY OF USE RIGHT FOR FOREST LAND AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY-A Case Study of the CompensatedTransfer of Use Right over CollectiveWasteland in Yao'an County

1Background1.1BasicsituationofstudysiteYao'ancountyislocatedinthenorthwesternpartofcentralYunnanplateau.ItisoneoftheimportantgrainProductionbasecountiesofYunnanProvince.HanandYiarethemainethnicgroupsinthisprovince.BanliuAdministrativeVillagebelongsto...