Theoretical derivation of risk-ratios for assessing wind damage in a coastal forest

Based on the discussion of relationships between thinning and wind damage, and published information, a method for estimating risk ratios of wind damage was developed. Estimations of risk-ratio for Pinus thunbergii trees and stands were de-duced from stem bending theory and coefficients characterizing wind profile, distribution of branches and optical stratification po-rosity. The results showed that if the value of constant b in the branch distribution-model equals the attenuation coefficient s in the wind profile model for a single tree crown, then the parameter H/D1.33 (height over stem diameter cubed) can be used to compare and evaluate the risk-ratio of wind damage for individual trees. The same method can be applied to stands using the coefficient of wind profile in a stand, i.e. attenuation coefficient , the coefficient from distributions of optical stratification porosity, i.e. extinction coefficient , and the parameter D1.33. The application of parameter H/D1.33 and the process of determining risk ra-tios of wind damage for stands were also given in the paper.

Effects of silviculture treatments in a hurricane-damaged forest on carbon storage and emissions in central Hokkaido, Japan

Hurricanes cause abrupt carbon reduction in forests, but silviculture treatment can be an effective means of quickly regenerating and restoring hurricane-damaged sites. This study assessed how silviculture treatments affect carbon balance after hurricane damage in central Hokkaido, Japan. We examined carbon storage in trees and underground vegetation as well as carbon emissions from silviculture operations in 25-year-old stands, where scarification and plantation occurred just after hurricane damage. The amount of carbon stored varied according to silviculture treatment. Among three scarification treatments, a scarified depth of 0 cm （understory vegetation removal） led to the largest amount of carbon stored （64.7 t·ha^-1 C）. Among four plantation treatments, the largest amount of carbon was stored in a Larix hybrid （L. gmelinii var. japonica × L. kaempferi） plantation （80.3 t·ha^-1 C）. The plantation of Abies sachalinensis was not successful at accumulating carbon （40.5·ha^-1 C）. The amount of carbon emitted from silviculture operations was 0.05-0.14 t·ha^-1 C, and it marginally affected the net carbon balance of the silviculture project. Results indicate that silviculture treatments should beperformed in an appropriate way to effectively recover the ability of carbon sequestration in hurricane-damaged forests.

Economic analysis on log damage during logging operation in Caspian Forests

Waste wood was studied in an economic enterprise by logging, function, tree species and log size in four Caspian hardwood sites. Dam- aged logs were recorded with additional information obtained for the location, dimensions and type of damage. The data were analyzed statis- tically to determine significant differences of damage during logging process. The results indicated that animal harvesting systems cause more volume （40.5% of log volume） and value loss （89.5 $.m^-3） to logs than mechanized harvesting systems （13.9% and 6.0 $.m^-3）, also bucking resulted in significantly more volume （9.9% of log volume） and value loss （5.5 $.m-3） when compared to skidding （0.2% of log volume and 0.2 $.m^-3）, decking （0.4% of log volume and 0.2 $.m^-3） and loading （0.2% of log＇s volume and 0.3 $.m^-3） operations. Study showed that the processes of skidding, decking and loading of logs have very little impact on dam- age levels. Volume and value losses of damaged logs are not sensitive to tree species and log size. The information from the field study is impor- tant in creating new guidelines or training to help minimize hardwood log damage during the timber harvesting process.

Equipment damage measurement method of wartime based on FCE-PCA-RF

As the“engine”of equipment continuous operation and repeated operation, equipment maintenance support plays a more prominent role in the confrontation of symmetrical combat systems. As the basis and guide for the planning and implementation of equipment maintenance tasks, the equipment damage measurement is an important guarantee for the effective implementation of maintenance support. Firstly,this article comprehensively analyses the influence factors to damage measurement from the enemy’s attributes, our attributes and the battlefield environment starting from the basic problem of wartime equipment damage measurement. Secondly, this article determines the key factors based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation(FCE) and performed principal component analysis (PCA) on the key factors. Finally, the principal components representing more than 85%of the data features are taken as the input and the equipment damage quantity is taken as the output. The data are trained and tested by artificial neural network (ANN) and random forest (RF). In a word, FCE-PCA-RF can be used as a reference for the research of equipment damage estimation in wartime.

Structural Damage Identification System Suitable for Old Arch Bridge in Rural Regions: Random Forest Approach

A huge number of old arch bridges located in rural regions are at the peak of maintenance.The health monitoring technology of the long-span bridge is hardly applicable to the small-span bridge,owing to the absence of technical resources and sufficient funds in rural regions.There is an urgent need for an economical,fast,and accurate damage identification solution.The authors proposed a damage identification system of an old arch bridge implemented with amachine learning algorithm,which took the vehicle-induced response as the excitation.A damage index was defined based on wavelet packet theory,and a machine learning sample database collecting the denoised response was constructed.Through comparing three machine learning algorithms:Back-Propagation Neural Network(BPNN),Support Vector Machine(SVM),and Random Forest(R.F.),the R.F.damage identification model were found to have a better recognition ability.Finally,the Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO)algorithm was used to optimize the number of subtrees and split features of the R.F.model.The PSO optimized R.F.model was capable of the identification of different damage levels of old arch bridges with sensitive damage index.The proposed framework is practical and promising for the old bridge’s structural damage identification in rural regions.

Snow damages on trees of an uneven age in mixed broadleaf forests:effects of topographical conditions and tree characteristics

Snow damage on natural stands is an important problem concerning mountainous forest management.In the present research,the frequency and intensity of heavy snow damage on natural stands and the relationship of damages with characteristics of trees,stand and topography were studied in mountainous forests of northern Iran.A systematic sampling design was applied to the study area(140 ha),with 122 circular plots.The grid dimension was100 m and each plot area was 1000 m^2.The four types of snow damage to trees include:crown damage(8.6%),stem breakage(5.4%),uprooting(3.2%),and bending(1.4%).The frequency of crown damage grew with an increase inthe diameter at breast height(DBH),while the frequency of stem breakage,uprooting and bending decreased with an increase the DBH.The frequency of crown damage,stem breakage,and total damages was related to tree species(p<0.01).Not all tree species were equally susceptible to snow damage.The amount of damage grew with increasing elevation and slope angle and decreased with increasing soil depth.Young trees(DBH<25 cm)were more susceptible to snow damage than other trees.Snow damage decreased by as the trees in the stand became more mixed in age.The susceptibility of trees to snow damage increased by height and slenderness coefficient.With adequate silvicultural operation,snow damage can be reduced to a minimum level in these natural forests.

Nonparametric multivariate analysis of variance for affecting factors on the extent of forest fire damage in Jilin Province, China

Forest fires are influenced by several factors,including forest location,species type,age and density,date of fire occurrence,temperatures,and wind speeds,among others.This study investigates the quantitative effects of these factors on the degree of forest fire disaster using nonparametric statistical methods to provide a theoretical basis and data support for forest fire management.Data on forest fire damage from 1969 to 2013 was analyzed.The results indicate that different forest locations and types,fire occurrence dates,temperatures,and wind speeds were statistically significant.The eastern regions of the study area experienced the highest fire occurrence,accounting for 85.0%of the total number of fires as well as the largest average forested area burned.April,May,and October had more frequent fires than other months,accounting for 78.9%,while September had the most extensive forested area burned(63.08 ha)and burnt area(106.34 ha).Hardwood mixed forest and oak forest had more frequent fires,accounting for 31.9%and 26.0%,respectively.Hardwood-conifer mixed forest had the most forested area burned(50.18 ha)and burnt area(65.09 ha).Temperatures,wind speeds,and their interaction had significant impacts on forested area burned and area burnt.

Response of species and stand types to snow/wind damage in a temperate secondary forest,Northeast China

Snow/wind damage is one of the important natural disturbances in forest ecosystems,especially in a montane secondary forest.However,the effects of snow/wind damage remain unclear which affects the management of these forests.Therefore,we investigated the responses of species,individual tree traits and stand structure to snow/wind damage in a montane secondary forest.Results show that,amongst the canopy trees,Betula costata exhibited the most uprooting,bending and overall damage ratio(the number of damaged stems to the total number of stems in a plot); Quercus mongolica showed the highest breakage ratio and Fraxinus mandshurica and Juglans mandshurica the least overall damage ratios.Among the subcanopy trees,Carpinus cordata,Acer mono,Acer tegmentosum and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum showed the least uprooting and breakage,and the most bending damage.A.pseudo-sieboldianum demonstrated the lowest breakage and highest bending damage ratios.Thesefindings indicate that different species have various sensitivities to snow/wind damage.Larger trees(taller,wider crowns) tend to break and become uprooted,while smaller trees are bent or remain undamaged,suggesting that tree characteristics significantly influence the types of damage from snow and wind.Stands of Q.mongolica and B.costata had the highest damage ratios,whereas A.pseudosieboldianum had the lowest snapping ratio.In summary,the severity and type of snow/wind damage are related to individual tree attributes and stand-level characteristics.Therefore,selection of suitable species(e.g.,shorter,smaller with deep root systems,hard wood,bending resistance and compression resistance) and appropriate thinning are recommended for planting in the montane secondary forests.

Occurrence, Damage and Control Measures of Main Forest Pests in Sanyuan District, Sanming City

From 2015 to 2017, a total of 1957 investigation sites were set up in Sanyuan District of Sanming City, to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the species, occurrence and distribution of forest pests in 200 species of plants. The results showed that there were 163 species of forest pests in Sanyuan District, including 122 species of pests and 41 species of diseases. Dendrolimus punctatus walker, Monochamus alternatus Hope, Pantana phyllostachysae Chao, Loudonta dispar(Kiriakoff), Rammeacris kiangsu(Tsai) and Schizotetranychus nanjingensis Ma et Yuan were common forest pests, and Bursaphelenchus xylophilus(Steiner et Burher) Nickle was an invasive forestry quarantine disease. The prevention and control measures and technical measures against B. xylophilus and common forest pests were put forward, in order to provide scientific basis for productive control.

Assessment and Monitoring Damage by <i>Coraebus florentinus</i>(Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Mediterranean Oak Forests

Coraebus florentinus (Herbst) is a wood borer beetle that damages the most abundant Quercus species making up the Mediterranean forests. Damage is due to the feeding activity of the larvae which cuts the sap flow into the branch where it develops, drying it. In the last decades, the geographical range and the damage records of this species have expanded northwardly as a result of the climate global change since warmer conditions favor higher reproduction and quicker development of this species. On this paper, historical series of data after ten years evaluating damages by C. florentinus in Hornachuelos Natural Park (Southern Spain) are analyzed under the perspective of the environmental temperature increase linked to the global climate change. The assessment was done between 2007 and 2017, in two sampling plots of Mediterranean mixed-oak forests where holm and cork oaks are the predominant tree species. Results show that the infestation levels of this species at the beginning of the assessment period were higher than those described previously in the nineties and that they increased progressively during the monitoring time. The results also agree with the expansion of its distribution areas noticed in other areas of Europe. The foreseeable rising of damages of C. florentinus is discussed, at greater scale, under the perspective of future scenery of environmental warming and oaks decaying by losing fitness due to higher soil aridity.

Analysis of the Freezing Damage to Biennial Eucalyptus dunnii and Eucalyptus smithii in Haikou Forest Farm

In winter of 2013,cold weather occurred in Kunming,and biennial E. dunnii and E. smithii in Haikou Forest Farm suffered different degrees of freezing damage. The freezing damage to them was analyzed here. The results showed that in the families of E. dunnii,families suffering severe and especially severe freezing damage accounted for 7. 7%,while 92. 3% of families suffered moderate and below freezing damage; in the families of E. smithii,56. 7% of families suffered severe and especially severe freezing damage,while families suffering moderate and below freezing damage accounted for 43. 3%. There was significant difference between two species of eucalyptuses in tree height（ P 〈0. 05）,while there was extremely significant difference in freezing damage grade and index（ P 〈0. 01）. There was significantly negative correlation between the tree height and freezing damage grade of E. dunnii and E. smithii,with the correlation coefficients of- 0. 374 and- 0. 234. That is,the freezing damage grade would decrease with the increase of tree height.

Influence of environmental predispositions on temperate mountain forest damage at different spatial scales during alternating drought and flood periods:case study in Hruby Jeseník Mts.(Czech Republic)

Mountain forests are more prone to environmental predispositions(EPs)than submountain ones.While remote sensing of mountain forests enables instantaneous damage mapping,the investigation of the causes requires field data.However,a local field or regionally modeled environmental characteristics influence remote data evaluation differently.This study focused on the evaluation of EPs effects damaging mountain forests between various spatial resolutions during environmental change.The evaluation was divided into managed and natural forests in the Hruby Jeseník Mts.(Czech Republic;240-1491 m a.s.l.;50.082°N,17.231°E).Damage was assessed through the discrimination analysis of the normalised difference vegetation index(NDVI)by MODIS VI during alternating drought and flood periods 2003-2014.The local environmental influence was assessed using the discrimination function(DF)separability of forest damage in the training sets.The regional influence was assessed through map algebra estimated via the DF and a forest decline spatial model based on EPs from differences between risk growth conditions and biomass fuzzy sets.Management,EPs and soil influenced forest NDVI at different levels.The management afflicted the NDVI more than the EPs.The EPs afflicted the NDVI more than the soil groups.Strong winters and droughts had a greater influence on the NDVI than the flood events,with the winter of 2005/2006 inverting the DF direction,and the 2003 drought increasing differences in managed forest biomass and decreasing differences in natural forest biomasses.More than 50% of declining managed forests in the training sets occurred on Leptosols,Podzols and Histosols.On a regional scale,the soil influence was eliminated by multiple predispositions.The EPs influenced 96% of natural forest and 65% of managed forest,though managed forest damage was more evident.The mountain forest NDVI decline was dependent on both management and risk predispositions.

Measuring economic loss caused by ecological damages: a case study of China's forest ecosystem in 2005

At present about 60% of ecosystem has been damaged and degraded severely, resulting in enormous ecological loss globally. The essential cause is the irrational utilization of ecosystem by humankind, so it is tire key to changing improper environmental performance of humankind so as to prevent ecosystem from being damaged The quantitative valuation on the loss of ecological damage is an effective tool to guide human eco-environmental performance. In this paper, the concepts related to the valuation on ecological damage cost are introduced,＂ uncertainties that might arise in the valuation on the loss of ecological damage such as area coverage of valuation, ecological damage quantity, borders of ecological damage cost and data support are analyzed and the valuation approaches for the loss of ecological damage are also discussed As a case study, the economic losses of ecological damage of forest in 2005 in China are valuated.

Effects of gap size on diversity of soil fauna in a Cunninghamia lanceolata stand damaged by an ice storm in southern China

Cunninghamia lanceolata （Lamb.） Hook. is economically the most important tree species in southern China and has been cultivated in plantations on a large scale. This species is widely used in construction, furniture, utensils and shipbuilding. Soil fertility of C. lanceolata stands affects soil structure, porosity and nutrient availability, which causes changes in fauna activity. During January to February 2008, an ice storm caused extensive damage to C. lanceolata stands. Despite the environmental importance of soil fauna, basic information on the distribution and diversity of soil fauna in C. lanceolata stands after ice storm damage is lacking. To assess the response of soil fauna diversity and distribution to forest gaps following the ice storm, five small gaps （each 30-40 m^2）, five large gaps （each 80-100 m^2） and five canopy cover plots were selected within a 2-ha C. lanceolata stand. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 10 cm depth in March 2011 to measure soil fauna diversity and abundance. The abundance and community composition of the soil fauna varied with gap size. In canopy cover sites, the number of individuals was 2.0 and 5.2 times greater than in the small gaps and large gaps. Three taxa （Nematoda, Oribatida and lnsecta） of soil inver- tebrates occurred commonly, and Nematoda dominated the communities in all three habitat types. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Margalef diversity index, and Pielou evenness index were high in the small gaps, indicating that they harbored the most species, with the most even distribution, and the highest diversity. Our results indicated that gap size apparently affected abundance and community composition of the soil fauna.

Predicting the Thickness of an Excavation Damaged Zone around the Roadway Using the DA-RF Hybrid Model

After the excavation of the roadway,the original stress balance is destroyed,resulting in the redistribution of stress and the formation of an excavation damaged zone(EDZ)around the roadway.The thickness of EDZ is the key basis for roadway stability discrimination and support structure design,and it is of great engineering significance to accurately predict the thickness of EDZ.Considering the advantages of machine learning(ML)in dealing with high-dimensional,nonlinear problems,a hybrid prediction model based on the random forest(RF)algorithm is developed in this paper.The model used the dragonfly algorithm(DA)to optimize two hyperparameters in RF,namely mtry and ntree,and used mean absolute error(MAE),rootmean square error(RMSE),determination coefficient(R^(2)),and variance accounted for(VAF)to evaluatemodel prediction performance.A database containing 217 sets of data was collected,with embedding depth(ED),drift span(DS),surrounding rock mass strength(RMS),joint index(JI)as input variables,and the excavation damaged zone thickness(EDZT)as output variable.In addition,four classic models,back propagation neural network(BPNN),extreme learning machine(ELM),radial basis function network(RBF),and RF were compared with the DA-RF model.The results showed that the DARF mold had the best prediction performance(training set:MAE=0.1036,RMSE=0.1514,R^(2)=0.9577,VAF=94.2645;test set:MAE=0.1115,RMSE=0.1417,R^(2)=0.9423,VAF=94.0836).The results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the relative importance of each input variable was DS,ED,RMS,and JI from low to high.

Growth simulation of Fraxinus chinensis stands damaged by Hyphandria cunea in Beijing area

Hyphandria cunea is an insect that can damage hundreds of plants in its larval phase and needs to be placed under quarantine at an international level. Its hosts involve 600 plant species, including forest and fruit trees, shrubs, crops, vegetables, weeds and others. In 2006, we surveyed two Fraxinus chinensis Roxb stands, damaged to different degrees, after the invasion of H. cunea in the Changping district of the Beijing area. Given our survey of individual trees and investigation of bio-environmental factors, we pro-vide a preliminarily simulation of the growth situation of F. chinensis stands, damaged by H. cunea, by using the Forest Vegetation Simulator software （FVS）, which is supported by the ＂948＂ project from the State Forestry Administration of China. The results will provide a valuable reference in forecasting the effect of H. cunea and other invasive pests in China on forest ecological values.

Operational impacts to residual stands following ground-based skidding in Hyrcanian Forest, northern Iran

Hyrcanian （Caspian） Forest in northern Iran has a richness of biological diversity, with endemic and endangered species. The usage of ground-based skidding is well accepted practice for the extraction of timber from the forest, but this operation has tended to cause the greatest environmental problems. The aims of the study were to evaluate and comparison of operational impacts, residual stand damage, regeneration, and to quantify these effects such as： the extent of the damage, wounding patterns, size and distribution after logging operations that utilized two different methods： short log and long log. A Timbetjack cable skidder was used and the study location was in the Kheyrud Forest. Post harvesting assessment of damage to the residual stand was compared along skid trail by 100% inventory method and also for the assessment of regeneration damage along winching strips. The results show that along winching strips the percentage of damage to the regeneration was 44% and 36%, while the tree damages along skid trails reached 2.3% and 4.1% in the short log and long log methods, respectively. The greatest average amount of damage to a bole occurred along the first 1 m up from the ground （97%） and also within 4 m of the skidder centerline （80%）. These results show that the short log method causes less damage to the residual stand than the longog method. Tree location to skidder trail appears to have a significant effect on the number and height of scars on a tree. Well designed and constructed trails should be wide enough to allow wood extraction from the forest. Damage to the residual stand might be reduced by proper planning and training of logging crews.

Effects of acid deposition on forests in south China

Acid deposition has caused serious damage to the forests of China. In this paper, the quantification theory I is used to calculate the forest volume loss caused by acid disposition in seven provinces of south China. The results showed that contribution rates of acid deposition to forest volume loss in seven provinces of south China vary from 24 5% to 37 91%; the volume loss rates range from 7% to 20%. Total volume losses per year are 1 0145×10 6 m 3, of which Zhejiang Province is the greatest, totalling 3 841×10 5 m 3, while Anhui Province is the least, amounting to 1 59×10 4 m 3.

Modelling Stand Dynamics after Selective Logging： Implications for REDD and Carbon Pools Estimations from Forest Degradation

Forest degradation and biomass damage resulting from logging is currently difficult to evaluate with satellite images, but contributes substantially to carbon emissions in the tropics. To address this situation, we modelled how changes in the minimum felling diameter affect stem density, basal area and the related carbon biomass at the end of the felling cycle （30 years） in a semi-deciduous natural forest in Cameroon. With new MFDs estimates, at 7% logging damage rate, we found that the stem density of initially harvestable trees reduces from 12.3 （50.4 MgC·ha^-1） to 6.7 （32.5 MgC·ha^-1） trees per ha and the number of initial residual trees increases from 80 （18.9MgC·ha^-1） to 85.7 （36.8 MgC·ha^-1） trees per ha. This corresponds to an avoided damage estimated at 17.9 MgC·ha^-1. We also found that increasing mortality and damage intensity also increases the damage on carbon biomass estimated to be 8.9 MgC·ha^-1 at 10% or to be 17.4 MgC.hal at 15% logging damage. Overall, our study shows that proper determination of MFD of logged species taking into consideration their capacity of reconstitution and the Reduced Impact Logging can avoid the loss of up to 35 MgC·ha^-1.

退耕还林地生态环境损害评估案例分析及应用

近年来,随着我国经济的高速发展,林地生态环境损害事件日益增加。不同类型的生态系统或同一生态系统在不同区域所提供的生态服务功能侧重均不同,鉴定评估林地生态系统的环境损害价值时应选用不同的测算方法。通过阐述理论公式法和实际监测法的原理和适用范围及其在生态环境损害评估中的应用,并对量化过程中参数的选取原则与方法进行说明。结合案例分析非法占用退耕还林地导致的生态环境损害范围和程度,计算出2012年~2019年的生态环境损害价值量为205万元。研究退耕还林地生态环境损害典型案例,并将其推广应用于小规模普通林地,对林地生态环境损害案件的鉴定评估环节具有重要引领作用。