Protection efficiency assessment and quality of coastal shelterbelt for Dongshan Island at the coastal section scale

The coastal shelter forest in China is under threat of destruction and degradation because of the impact of human activities. Protection efficiency assessment of the coastal shelterbelt is an important component of shelterforest remediation planning and sustainable management. In this study, a protection efficiency index （PEI） model was established using the projection pursuit method to assess the protective quality of the coastal shelter forest at the coastal section scale of Dongshan Island, China. Three criteria were used, including forest stand structure, forest belt structure, and windbreak effect; each criterion further comprised multiple factors. Based on survey data of 31 plots in the coastal shelter forest of Dongshan Island, we calculated PEI values using a projection of a pursuit model. The result showed 64.5 % of the PEIs fell at or below the middle level, which can indicate the status of the coastal shelterbelt is unsatisfactory. To further explore whether the different bays and land use types create significant differences in PEIs and evaluation indices, we used an ANOVA to test the influence of various bays and forms of land use on coastal shelterbelts. The results showed that PEI and most of the indices differed significantly by bay; mean tree height, mean DBH, mean crown width, stand density, vegetation coverage, and wind velocity reduction differed significantly by land use. Therefore, relevant measures for different locations, bays and surrounding land use can be proposed to improve the existing conditions of the coastal shelterbelt. The results of this study provide a theoretical and technical framework for future changes and sustainable management of coastal shelterbelt on Dongshan Island.

Wind Velocity Reduction of Coastal Shelterbelt System in Shanghai,East China

Wind velocity reduction of coastal shelterbelt system was monitored for 1 month in 3 weather stations in Nanhui,Shanghai,and the benefits of shelterbelt system and trunk shelterbelt forest were compared in this paper.The results showed the wind velocity at the first weather station(W1),which located in front of trunk shelterbelt forest by the seaside,was the biggest,with the average of 9.36 m/s;the wind velocity at the second weather station(W2) was lower than that at W1,with the range of 0 to 18.2 m/s and the average of 6.39 m/s,and the wind velocity at the third weather station(W3) was the lowest,with the average of 2.58 m/s.Both the ratio of W2 to W1 and the ratio of W3 to W1 ranged from 0 to 100%,but most of the ratio of W2 to W1(89.59%) was above 20%,and most of the ratio of W3 to W1(95.52%) was below 50%,which shows bigger wind velocity reduction in shelterbelts system than in trunk shelterbelt forest.With the wind scale increased from 1 to 8 scale at W2 and W3,the wind velocity increased.But the reduction in wind velocity decreased.