Anthropogenic Threats to Degraded Forest Land in the Savannahs’ Region of Togo from 1984 to 2020, West Africa

This study focuses on the landscape dynamics of the savannahs’ region in the far north of Togo. Based on a literature review and satellite images analysis using GIS and remote sensing, the study aims to ascertain the effects of anthropogenic threats on the forest coverage of the Savannahs’ Region between 1984 to 2020. The objective is to clarify the dynamics of land use in the region from 1984 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2020. The findings indicate a significant decline in forest coverage within the region from 1984 to 2020, a trend attributed to land use patterns. Dry forests in the Savannah region are largely converted to farmlands, housing, dry savannahs or agroforestry parks, leading to a steady reduction in forest areas.

Diversity of soil bacteria and fungi communities in artificial forests of the sandy-hilly region of Northwest China

Soil erosion is a serious issue in the sandy-hilly region of Shanxi Province,Northwest China.There has been gradual improvement due to vegetation restoration,but soil microbial community characteristics in different vegetation plantation types have not been widely investigated.To address this,we analyzed soil bacterial and fungal community structures,diversity,and microbial and soil environmental factors in Caragana korshinskii Kom.,Populus tomentosa Carr.,Populus simonii Carr.,Salix matsudana Koidz,and Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.forests.There were no significant differences in the dominant bacterial community compositions among the five forest types.The alpha diversity of the bacteria and fungi communities showed that ACE(abundance-based coverage estimator),Chao1,and Shannon indices in C.korshinskii forest were significantly higher than those in the other four forest types(P<0.05).Soil organic matter,total nitrogen,and urease had a greater impact on bacterial community composition,while total nitrogen,β-glucosidase,and urease had a greater impact on fungal community composition.The relative abundance of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms was similar across all forest types.Based on microbial community composition,diversity,and soil fertility,we ranked the plantations from most to least suitable as follows:C.korshinskii,S.matsudana,P.tabulaeformis,P.tomentosa,and P.simonii.

Unveiling evapotranspiration patterns and energy balance in a subalpine forest of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau:observations and analysis from an eddy covariance system

Evapotranspiration is an important parameter used to characterize the water cycle of ecosystems.To under-stand the properties of the evapotranspiration and energy balance of a subalpine forest in the southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,an open-path eddy covariance system was set up to monitor the forest from November 2020 to October 2021 in a core area of the Three Parallel Rivers in the Qing-hai-Tibet Plateau.The results show that the evapotranspira-tion peaked daily,the maximum occurring between 11:00 and 15:00.Environmental factors had significant effects on evapotranspiration,among them,net radiation the greatest(R^(2)=0.487),and relative humidity the least(R^(2)=0.001).The energy flux varied considerably in different seasons and sensible heat flux accounted for the main part of turbulent energy.The energy balance ratio in the dormant season was less than that in the growing season,and there is an energy imbalance at the site on an annual time scale.

Discussion on the relationship between Construction of Forest Towns and Reform & Development of State-owned Forest Farms

In recent years, China's social economy has continued to develop. While paying attention to the pursuit of the economy, people are paying more and more attention to the pursuit of quality of life. China has vast territory and abundant resources, forest resources are particularly rich, in order to make full use of forest resources and regulate the use and protection of forests, China has promoted the development of forestry by deepening the construction and reform of state-owned forest farms, and using forest resources to obtain benefits to meet people's living needs. This paper explores the necessity and advantages of building a forest town by analyzing the reform and development situation of state-owned forest farms.

Mapping and Floristic Diversity of the Nakpadjouak Community Forest, Tami Canton, Togo (West Africa)

Since 2015, community forests have been promoted in Togo as an alternative to protect areas from degradation and as a means of contributing to forest landscape restoration. The study focuses on the Nakpadjouak Community Forest (NCF) in Tami (Togo, West Africa) which contributes to community forests sustainable management. It aims in (i) mapping forest ecosystems and analysing their dynamic and (ii) characterizing the floristic diversity of the NCF. The ecosystems were mapped and their dynamic was evaluated based on Google Earth images of 2014 and 2020. Floristic and forestry inventories were carried out using the transect technique in a sample of 20 plots of 50 m × 20 m. The NCF was made up mainly by wooded/shrub savannahs (95.37%) and croplands/fallow (4.63%) in 2014. These two land use types undergone changes over the 6 years prior to 2020. By 2020, the NCF had 3 land use types: wooded/shrub savannahs (77.59%), open forest/wooded savannahs (22.23%), and croplands/fallows (0.18%). A total of 89 plant species belonging to 70 genera and 28 families were recorded within the NCF. The dominant species are: Heteropogon contortus (L.) P.Beauv. and Combretum collinum Fresen. followed by Pteleopsissuberosa Engl. & Diels, Annona senegalensis Pers. The most common species are: Lannea acida A.Rich. s.l., A. senegalensis, Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertner subsp. paradoxa, C. collinum and Acacia dudgeonii Craib ex Holland. Due to its small area of just 40 hectares and its diverse plant life, this community forest of Savannahs Region is a significant biodiversity hotspot and warrants conservation efforts.

A study on state-owned forest area stakeholders' behavior

The development of state-owned forest area plays a very important role in the development of Chinese forest industry, and even in the construction of national economy. As the backbone of Chinese forestry development, it contributes to Chinese economic development, ecological environment protection and social progress. How to balance all stakeholders' interest and behaviors remains as one of the focuses in the study of sustainable development of forest areas. On this basis, researches were carried out and described in the paper. Firstly, the paper goes through the concept and scope of state-owned forest area in China; Secondly, it defines the stakeholders of state-owned forest area, and discusses over the problems in stakeholders' behaviors from the aspect of responsibility, rights and interests; and Finally, it designs the stakeholders' behaviors on the basis of existing problems and provides constructive suggestions on deeper reform of state-owned forest areas.

Regional differences of water conservation in Beijing’s forest ecosystem

The water conservation capacities of main forests in Beijing,China were estimated through the quantitative analysis.Various methods developed in published papers on forest hydrology were employed.The forests in Huairou,Yanqing,Miyun,Mentougou and Fangshan districts are the main contributors to water conservation（the cumulative ratio reaches 65%）,and the forests in Tongzhou,Chaoyang,Shunyi and Daxing districts have the highest water conservation capacity（3000 m3/ha）.Altitude and slope are the key factors to affect the water conservation capacity.The forests located in Plain Area,Hilly Area,Low Mountain,and Middle Mountain contributes 27%,28%,24% and 21% of the conserved water,respectively.The water conservation capacity of forests in Plain Area（2 948 m3/ha）,is superior to the forests in other regions.And the forests situated on Flat Slope,Moderate Slope and Gentle Slope constitute the largest proportion（nearly 93%） of water conservation,while the forests on Flat Slope has the highest water conservation capacity（2 797 m3/ha）,and the forest on Steep slope has the lowest water conservation capacity（948 m3/ha）.

Assessing the vulnerability of a forest ecosystem to climate change and variability in the western Mediterranean sub-region of Turkey：future evaluation

This study evaluates the multifactorial spatial modelling used to assess vulnerability of the Du¨ zlerc？am？（Antalya） forest ecosystem to climate change.This was done to produce data,to develop tools to support decisionmaking and the management of vulnerable Mediterranean forest ecosystems affected by climate change,and to increase the ability of these forest ecosystems to adapt to global change.Based on regionally averaged future climate assessments and projected climate indicators,both the study site and the western Mediterranean sub-region of Turkey will probably become associated with a drier,hotter,more continental and more water-deficient climate.This analysis holds true for all future scenarios,with the exception of RCP4.5 for the period from 2015 to 2030.However,the present dry-sub humid climate dominating this sub-region and the study area shows a potential for change towards more dry climatology and for it to become semiarid between 2031 and 2050 according to the RCP8.5 high emission scenario.All the observed and estimated results and assessments summarized in this study show clearly that the densest forest ecosystem in the southern part of the study site,characterized by mainly Mediterranean coniferous and some mixed forest and maquis vegetation,will very likely be influenced by medium and high degrees of vulnerability to future environmental degradation,climate change and variability.

Causal effects of shelter forests and water factors on desertification control during 2000–2010 at the Horqin Sandy Land region, China

The Horqin Sandy Land（HSL）, the largest sandy land in the semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone of Northeast China, has been subject to desertification during the past century. In response, and to control the desertification,government implemented the Three-North Shelter/Protective Forest Program, world＇s largest ecological reforestation/afforestation restoration program. The program began in1978 and will continue for 75 years until 2050. Understanding the dynamics of desertification and its driving forces is a precondition for controlling desertification.However, there is little evidence to directly link causal effects with desertification process（i.e., on the changing area of sandy land） because desertification is a complex process,that can be affected by vegetation（including vegetation cover and extent of shelter forests） and water factors such as precipitation, surface soil moisture, and evapotranspiration.The objectives of this study were to identify how influencing factors, especially shelter forests, affected desertification in HSL over a recent decade. We used Landsat TM imagery analysis and path analysis to identify the effects of spatiotemporal changes in water and vegetation parameters during2000–2010. Desertification was controlled during the study period, as indicated by a decrease in desert area at a rate of163.3 km2year-1and an increase in the area with reduced intensity or extent of desertification. Total vegetation cover in HSL increased by 10.6 % during the study period and this factor exerted the greatest direct and indirect effects on slowing desertification. The contribution of total vegetation cover to controlling desertification increased with the intensity of desertification. On slightly and extremely severe desertified areas, vegetation cover contributed 5 and 42 % of the desertification reduction, respectively. There were significant correlations between total vegetation cover and water conditions（i.e., evapotranspiration and precipitation）and the area of shelter forests（P ／ 0.0001）, in which water conditions and the existence of shelter forests contributed49.7 and 12.8 % to total vegetation cover, respectively. The area of shelter forests increased sharply due to program efforts, but only shrub forests had significant direct effects on reducing the area of desertification categorized as slightly desertified. The reason for the lack of direct effect of increased arbor forests（accounting for 95.3 % of the total increase in shelter forests） on reducing desertification might be that the selected arbor species were not suited to water conditions（low precipitation, high evapotranspiration） prevailing at HSL. The establishment of shelter forests aided control of desertification in the HSL region, but the effect was less than expected. Effective control of desertification in the HSL region or other similar sandy areas will require greater improvements in vegetation cover. In particular,shrub species should be selected for plantation with reference to their potential to survive and reproduce in the harsh climatic and weather conditions typical of desertified areas.

Rational Harvesting Policy and Sustainable Development of Community in Forest Regions

Forest ecosystem is one of the most important ecosystems in the world that human-beings rely on. Forest harvesting policy is one of the main criteria indicating how and how much the human beings open up and make use offorest. Whether the policy is reasonable or not has high relations with not only the increasing or decreasing of forest system,but also the development speed of human society. In this paper, the author analyzed the development of interaction between human society and forest ecosystem from ancient times to today. Then author stated that the rational harvesting policy should be the harvesting sequences of both harvesting density and harvesting time, which might result in the maximumcomprehensive benefit, including economical profit, social benefit and ecological benefit, of forest to human society. Atlast, according to the analysis of interaction bctween human-beings and her environment, the prediction analysis for humansociety development in forest regions in the future was prescnted using Entropy Growing Analysis.

Evaluation of the Land Production Potential in the Context of Returning Farmland to Forest in Karst Region:A Case Study of Guizhou Province

In this paper, we take Guizhou Province (the heart of southwestern Karst region in China) as the research object. By establishing gray forecasting model and time series forecasting model, we conduct the accuracy test on the actual production capacity of land and the forecasted production capacity of land in 2007 and 2008, and then conduct comprehensive forecast of the land production potential in Guizhou Province in 2020. On this basis, considering the nutritional standards needed by three kinds of life type (dressing warmly and eating one's fill, well-off life, relatively affluent life), we evaluate the land production potential in Guizhou Province under the project of returning farmland to forest. Based on the evaluation results, we put forth the relevant recommendations for achieving sustainable land use in the context of returning farmland to forest in Guizhou Province.

Predicting equations of main factors affecting regional climate in the"Three-North" Protective Forest Area

The relationship between the change of forest resources and climatic factor in the, “Three-North” region of China were studied in this paper. The predicting equations of climatic factor (dependent variable) with regional independent variable (longitude, latitude and altitude) and stand independent variable (forest coverage rate), were developed by extensively using the linear and nonlinear regression methods. With these models, we can calculate the ecological benefit of Shelter-belt forest.

Development Plan for Under- forest Economy of Henan Province Based on Central Plains Economic Region

Firstly,this paper analyzed current situations,major practice and existing problems of under-forest economy in Henan Province.Then,it made an in-depth discussion of guiding thought,principle and objectives,construction task and safeguarding measures of the underforest economic development plan. Besides,it analyzed benefits of the under-forest economic development plan. By 2017,the area of underforest economic land will reach 1. 60 million hm2,create output value of 155. 2 billion yuan( accounting for more than 20% of forest output value),provide 3. 27 million jobs,and will greatly increase ecological carrying capacity of construction and development of the Central Plains Economic Region( CPER).

Impact of regional human capital and urban sprawl on forest——based on a forest conservation model

Metropolitan cities in China have become a major economic hubs with an unprecedented increase of land use and decline of environmental resources. Based on a simple and abstract forest conservation model, this paper attempts to explain changes of forest resources caused by urban sprawl. Through the research, it is found that high level of regional human capital is beneficial to curb urban sprawl. In this vein the model presents the urban forest conservation cost strategy at the Nash equilibrium of varied discount factor and parameter control.

Land cover mapping of deciduous forest regions using ETM+ data: a case study of Azerbaijan Province, Iran

Up to date information about the existing land cover patterns and changes in land cover over time is one of the prime prerequisites for the preparation of an integrated development plan and economic development program of a region. By using ETM＋ image data from 2002, we provided a land cover map of deciduous forest regions in Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Initial qualitative evaluation of the data showed no significant radiometric errors. Image classification was carried out using a maximum likelihood-based supervised classification method. In the end, we determined five major land cover classes, i.e., grass lands, deciduous broad-leaf forest, cultivated land, river and land without vegetation cover. Accuracy, estimated by the use of criteria such as overall accuracy from a confusion matrix of classification was 86% with a 0.88 Kappa coefficient. Such high accuracy results demonstrate that the combined use of spectral and textural characteristics increased the number of classes in the field classification, also with excellent accuracy. The availability and use of time series of remote sensing data permit the detection and quantification of land cover changes and improve our understanding of the past and present status of forest ecosystems.

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.

An Innovative Land Approach for Spatially Determining SDGs-Sustainably Governing German Spree Forest and Lusatia Region

In times of highest necessities for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)and acknowledging planetary boundaries,the need for understanding general global goals and regional to local strategic governing structures has to be supported while combining assessment,monitoring,governance approaches,together with landscape planning,land use based approaches,land system and sustainability science.The initial research embeds an incrementally worked out theoretical framework followed by applied research parts.The case studies and field data in the German Lusatia Region and inner part Spree Forest Region inhabit intrinsic drivers of finding ways over bridging deficiencies of theoretical and applied adjusted objectives and in this small excerpt mainly about the scale and planning level,instrumental flexibility deficiencies while transmitting global transformation needs to the regional,local planning level and backward(counter-current principle).Innovative instrumental assessment structures were created with a new approach of spatially determining SDGs for accelerated Climate Smart Planning(CSP)and Integrated Drought and Water Management(IDWM).This research supports processes around acceleration and assessment of climate change-,crises-related and sustainable development options while enhancing interdisciplinary sustainability science for gaining more regional land resilience.

Dynamics of mediterranean pine forests reforested after fires

Forest fires are frequent under a Mediterranean climate and have shaped the landscape of the region but are currently altered by human action and climate change.Fires have historically conditioned the presence of pine forests,depending on severity and forest regeneration.Regeneration of Mediterranean pine forests is not always successful,and a transition to shrublands or stands of resprouting species can occur,even after reforestation.This study analyses vegetation changes in two Mediterranean pine forests after severe fires and both reforested.The pines had difficulty to regenerate,even despite post-fire reforestation.The problem is the difficulty of young seedlings to survive,possibly due to increased summer drought.Problems are greater in pine species at the limit of their ecological tolerance:Pinus pinea had a much better recovery success while P.sylvestris and P.nigra virtually disappeared.Pinus pinaster had intermediate results but recovery was generally poor.A transition has taken place in many burnt areas to scrubland or to thickets of the resprouting Quercus rotundifolia,although it is not possible to know whether they will evolve into forests or remain in a sub climatic state.Resprouting species may increase fire severity but facilitates post-fire colonisation.Post-fire recovery difficulties are closely linked to issues of natural regeneration.Fire could initiate the disappearance of pine forests,but even in the absence of fire they may disappear in the long-term due to the lack of regeneration.Action is needed to increase the resilience of these forests,ensuring natural regeneration,and incorporating resprouting species in the understorey.

Eco-environment Restoration and Regional Differentiation Characteristics Based on “Building Terrace and Returning Slope Farmland to Forests and Grass”

Based on the scientific and technological achievements in the past decade in the Loess Hilly-gully Region and the successful demonstration experience in Yan'an Yangou watershed, we summarize the characteristics of eco-environment restoration pattern based on "building terrace and returning slope farmland to forests and grass". According to the data on land use, slope farmland and the agricultural population in 1999, we calculate the area of new terrace that needs to be built, the area of garden plot that needs to be extended, vegetation restoration area and investment demand in counties (cities, districts). Establishing and using some indicators, such as basic farmland extension indicator, garden plot extension indicator, vegetation restoration index and investment demand density, we conduct type classification and analysis of regional differentiation characteristics in 55 counties (cities, districts). The results show that in the Loess Hilly-gully Region, 691 600 hm2 of new terrace needs to be built, 792 000 hm2 of economic forests and orchards need to be extended, 5 410 200 hm2 of vegetation needs to be restored, and the total investment demand is 15.82 billion yuan; in terms of geographical distribution, obviously there are two key areas for eco-environment restoration (one is located in the border area between northern Shaanxi and northwestern Shanxi, and the other is located in the eastern Gansu and southern Ningxia area); the classified regional guidance policies should be formulated as soon as possible, and the limited funds should be concentrated in the key areas.

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.