Sustainable Management of Planted Forests in China: Comprehensive Evaluation, Development Recommendation and Action Framework

China is one of the largest countries in the world in terms of planted forests area. Planted forests play an important role in soil and water conservation, food source, timber supply and energy security, but there are still many problems waiting for immediate resolution. Based on the current development status of planted forest in China, the paper made an comprehensive analysis for the positive impact and existing problems with regard to planted forests, and then came up with policy recommendations for promoting sustainable management of planted forests, mainly including: 1) to accelerate planted forests development and improve the quality; 2) to strengthen the protection and management, and quicken the development of planted forests; 3) to enhance the scientific planning for planted forests; 4) to reinforce the management for forests harvesting so as to promote the reasonable utilization of planted forests; 5) to perfect the management system for planted forest resources and improve the managerial capacity; 6) to complete related laws and regulations and improve the policy guarantee system; 7) to reinforce the forest tenure reform and establish a sound planted forest land transference system. Finally, the paper presented the future action framework for guiding the sustainable management of planted forests in China.

Population structure and body condition of White-crested Elaenia(Elaenia albiceps)in relation to habitat in a modiffed Neotropical forest landscape

Despite the widely accepted view that planted forests are valuable habitat for wildlife species,there is a lack of empirical evidence showing the suitability of this novel habitat,especially in relation to plantations of exotic tree species.Furthermore,little is known about the effects of forest management on the ecology and dynamics of wild populations in the Neotropics.During the breeding season,the migrant flycatcher White-crested Elaenia is the most abundant bird species in forested landscapes in Chile.For several years we have studied different aspects of these artificial forests in the coastal range of south-central Chile as habitat for the species,particularly in contrast to the native forest.In general,our results indicate that plantation forests offer a poorer quality habitat,where the density of the species tends to be lower than in the native forest,although a significant edge effect suggests that its quality can be mitigated by planting as a matrix mosaic with native forest.Furthermore,compared to native forests,populations in plantations contained a higher proportion of younger adult individuals maintaining larger territories,and showing poorer body condition.We suggest that these differences could also have an impact on the birds'longevity and survival.

Sensitivity of forest phenology in China varies with proximity to forest edges

Background:Shifts in forest phenological events serve as strong indicators of climate change.However,the sensitivity of phenology events to climate change in relation to forest origins has received limited attention.Moreover,it is unknown whether forest phenology changes with the proximity to forest edge.Methods:This study examined the green-up dates,dormancy dates,time-integrated NDVI(LiNDVI,a measure of vegetation productivity in growing season),and their sensitivities to climatic factors along the gradients of distance(i.e.proximity)to forest edge(0–2 km)in China's natural forests(NF)and planted forests(PF).For the analysis,field-surveyed data were integrated with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)NDVI from 2000 to 2022.Results:Our results reveal that PF had earlier green-up dates,later dormancy dates,and higher LiNDVI than NF.However,green-up sensitivities to temperature were higher at the edges of NF,whereas no such pattern was observed in PF.Conversely,the sensitivity of dormancy dates remains relatively stable from the inner to the edge of both NF and PF,except for a quadratic change in dormancy date sensitivity to precipitation found in NF.Additionally,we found that the green-up sensitivity to temperature increased with decreasing proximity to edge in NF evergreen forests,while it showed the opposite trend in PF evergreen forests.Furthermore,we observed that the precipitation impact on green-up dates shifts from postponing to advancing from the inner to the edge of NF,whereas precipitation dominantly postpones PF's green-up dates regardless of the proximity to edge.The LiNDVI exhibits higher sensitivity to precipitation at the edge areas,a phenomenon observed in NF but not in PF.Conclusions:These results suggest that the responses of forests to climate change vary with the distance to the edge.With increasing edge forests,which results from fragmentation caused by global changes,we anticipate that desynchronized phenological events along the distance to the edge could alter biogeochemical cycles and reshape ecosystem services such as energy flows,pollination duration,and the tourism industry.Therefore,we advocate for further investigations of edge effects to improve ecosystem modelling,enhance forest stability,and promote sustainable tourism.

Forest management required for consistent carbon sink in China’s forest plantations

Background:Forest is the largest biomass carbon(C)pool in China,taking up a substantial amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide.Although it is well understood that planted forests(PFs)act as a large C sink,the contribution of human management to C storage enhancement remains obscure.Moreover,existing projections of forest C dynamics suffer from spatially inconsistent age and type information or neglected human management impacts.In this study,using developed PF age and type maps and data collected from 1371 forest plantation sites in China,we simulated biomass C stock change and quantified management impacts for the time period 2010-2050.Results:Results show that future forest biomass C increment might have been overestimated by 32.5%-107.5% in former studies.We also found that age-related growth will be by far the largest contributor to PF biomass C increment from 2010 to 2050(1.23±0.002 Pg C,1 Pg=10^(15) g=1 billion metric tons),followed by the impact of human management(0.57±0.02 Pg C),while the contribution of climate is slight(0.087±0.04 Pg C).Besides,an additional 0.24±0.07 Pg C can be stored if current PFs are all managed by 2050,resulting in a total increase of 2.13±0.05 Pg C.Conclusions:Forest management and age-related growth dominate the biomass C change in PFs,while the effect of climatic factors on the accumulation is minor.To achieve the ambitious goal of forest C stock enhancement by 3.5 Pg from 2020 to 2050,we advocate to improve the management of existing forests and reduce the requests for more lands for forest expansion,which helps mitigate potential conflicts with agricultural sectors.Our results highlight that appropriate planning and management are required for sustaining and enhancing biomass C sequestration in China’s PF.

Relationship between diversity of forest plant species and environmental gradient in eastern mountainous area of Heilongjiang Province, China

Twenty-three secondary forest communities with different structure were selected in Mao＇er Mountain National Park of Heilongjiang Province, China to study the relationship between diversity of forest plant species and environmental gradient. The forest plant species diversity was analyzed by the diversity index, and the environmental factors was quantified by the method of Whittaker＇s quantification of environmental gradient. Meanwhile, β-diversity indexes of communities were calculated with similar measurements. The results showed that the Shannon-wiener diversity index of forest plant species increased with the increase of the environmental gradient, and the β-diversity indexes of communities showed a liner increase along with the change of environmental gradient.

Compound Planting of Bletilla striata under Forest in the Three Gorges Dam Area

[Objectives] The aim was to study the artificial cultivation of Bletilla striata to realize large scale and standardization planting. [Methods] The comparison tests were conducted on B. striata with different canopy densities of the Magnolia officinalis forests,different compound planting densities and different tending measures and management. [Results] When the stand canopy density was 0. 4-0. 6,the per unit yield of B. striata was 5. 4%,6. 8% higher than that at the canopy density of less than 0. 4 and more than 0. 6,respectively. When the planting density was 30 cm × 30 cm,the per unit yield increased by 16. 1%,12. 0%,13. 1% respectively compared with the planting density of 20 cm × 20 cm,25 cm × 25 cm,35 cm × 35 cm. When B. striata was planted from October to November,the per unit yield was 5. 6% higher than that planted from December to January of the following year,and 21. 3% higher than that from February to March of the second year. When farmyard manure was applied during the cultivation,the per unit yield was 31. 7% and 18. 4% higher than the application of chemical fertilizer and compound fertilizer. When weeding 4 times per year,the per unit yield increased by 240. 1%,137. 0% and 43. 9% respectively from that weeding 1 times,2 times,3 times per year. [Conclusions]When planting B. striata,the stand canopy density of 0. 4-0. 6 could make it receive absolutely shelters and the lighting conditions required for the growth,thereby bringing in high emergence rate,good growth potential and high yield. The best planting effect of B. striata could achieve by planting from October to November with the planting density of 30 cm × 30 cm,which can play the maximum benefit of individual plants. Moreover,weeding 4 times per year combined with the use of farmyard manure can promote the development and growth of tubers,which can greatly improve the yield of B. striata.

Linear programming approach for optimal forest plantation

The aim of this research was to identify species suitable for plantation. We first identified species for potentially suitable for plantation based on ecological capabilities regarding soil properties. We determined the area of plantation for different species based on ecological capabilities. Then, we collected relevant data such as growth patterns of different species, labor requirements for plantation and plantation cost. A linear programming model and two integer linear programming models were used for optimization. The appropriate species based on ecological capabilities were ash, elm, maple, oak and bald cypress. A linear programming model was used based on ecological capabilities classification to determine the land area of different species for plantation. Then, two integer linear programming models were employed to select the species for plantation. We set ecological properties unequal for all of the species in the first run of the integer programming model. Two groups were classified： group one included maple and ash; group two included bald cypress,oak and elm. The second integer programming model assumed equal ecological properties for all the species.Results of linear programming showed that maple and bald cypress were appropriate for plantation at the site and their plantation areas should be 151.3 and 355.3 ha, respectively. Results of the first integer linear programming model showed that maple and bald cypress would be economically profitable for plantation. The results of the second integer linear programming model showed that only bald cypress would be appropriate for plantation.

Global Planted Forest Development: Opportunities,Challenges and Policy Choices

In recent decades, there has seen a dramatic expansion of global planted forest area and their great impact on human life. It is reported in Forest Resource Assessment 2010 that the current area of global planted forests is about 264 million ha, representing only 7% of the total forest area but able to meet the two thirds of the global demand for logs. Planted forests can not only provide timber, fiber, fuel and non-wood forest products, but also contribute to carbon sequestration, restoration of degraded land, landscape rehabilitation and watershed protection. Besides, planted forests can also provide the recreation and amusement for people. In such sense, in the coming decades, planted forests, driven by various factors such as social- economic conditions, market, consumers' demand and new technologies, will have good opportunities for development, and will also increase their contribution to achieving the series of development objectives worldwide. In the meanwhile, the development of planted forests is also constrained by the factors like policies, laws, regulations, technologies and funds, and therefore faced with the challenges in terms of eco- environment preservation, economic development and protection of community interests. Based on the long- term monitoring and research of planted forest development as well as the field study of planted forests abroad, the paper identified the opportunities and challenges in the development of global planted forests through such methods as the SWOT, policy analysis and the others, and proposed the policy choices for promoting the sustainable development of planted forests: 1) There is a need to further understand the functions of planted forests and the importance of the degraded land restoration; 2) A good institutional guarantee and investment environment should be created for the planted forest development; 3) The advanced concepts and methods in terms of the planted forests management should be actively promoted and applied; 4) There is a need to put more focus on environment management and social responsibility; 5) The intensive management of planted forests needs to rely on science and technology support; 6) The international cooperation should be strengthened to jointly facilitate the sustainable development of planted forests.

Climate factors affect forest biomass allocation by altering soil nutrient availability and leaf traits

Biomass in forests sequesters substantial amounts of carbon;although the contribution of aboveground biomass has been extensively studied, the contribution of belowground biomass remains understudied. Investigating the forest biomass allocation is crucial for understanding the impacts of global change on carbon allocation and cycling.Moreover, the question of how climate factors affect biomass allocation in natural and planted forests remains unresolved. Here, we addressed this question by collecting data from 384 planted forests and 541 natural forests in China. We evaluated the direct and indirect effects of climate factors on the belowground biomass proportion(BGBP). The average BGBP was 31.09% in natural forests and was significantly higher(38.75%) in planted forests. Furthermore, we observed a significant decrease in BGBP with increasing temperature and precipitation. Climate factors, particularly those affecting soil factors, such as p H,strongly affected the BGBP in natural and planted forests. Based on our results, we propose that future studies should consider the effects of forest type(natural or planted) and soil factors on BGBP.

A new complex plant for carbonization and composting of municipal wastes

A new complex plant for carbonization and composting of municipal wastes proposed for Gero City is introduced. The separated combustible waste and non-separated combustible waste are carbonized in two fluidized carbonization furnaces in the plant, and the coke produced is used in steelworks. The separated garbage and forest-wastes are mixed with dried septic-tank sludge to produce high quality compost for farms. This use of waste materials in the complex plant considerably lowers the amount of waste going to land-fills, and in addition, creates lower total emission of dioxins and carbon dioxide into the environment.