Improvement and Exploration of Teaching Methods for General Entomology in Agriculture and Forestry Colleges and Universities

According to characteristics of General Entomology and existing problems in teaching process,it came up with methods and countermeasures for improving teaching General Entomology,including improving practical ability of students through enhancing all links of practice teaching,and stimulating learning interest of students through improving methods of course examination.

Riverscape Approach and Forestry Interventions for Ganga River Rejuvenation

Rivers have been degraded globally due to various reasons over centuries and limiting their ecological health and value, including Ganga River in India. Riverscape approach can provide relevant information on riverine resources needed in river restoration programmes. We propose a conceptual riverscape model to rejuvenate the holy river Ganga in India through forestry interventions after due consideration of ecological processes, mosaic of landforms, communities and environment within the large landscape of Ganga basin. The select riverscape area includes the area of 5 km and 2 km on either side of the river Ganga and important tributaries, respectively, all along the rivers in five stakeholder states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal in the country. The width of the riverscape was taken from the maximum bank line in recent years on either side of river in the concerned state. However, all micro-watersheds in the hills of Uttarakhand state, being the origin place of river, have been included in riverscape area up to Haridwar. Here riverscape is a mosaic of different land uses viz., natural ecosystems, rural and agricultural ecosystems and built-up urban environment including flood plain and is an ecologically sustained system developed during the last 30 years due to river meandering all along the river. Geospatial modelling and GIS data on land use pattern, soil erosion rates, slope of the topography, etc. were used to classify riverscape area into high, medium and low priority areas to implement forestry interventions in delineated riverscape. Thereafter, forestry interventions were planned and carried out in three identified landscapes viz., Natural (forests), Agriculture (agroforestry), and Urban along with conservation activities. Forestry interventions in delineated riverscape are expected to increase water recharge and decrease the sedimentation load in the Ganga River and its tributaries.

Delivering forestry courses online:experiences,lessons learned,and future of forestry online education in the Asia Pacifi c

Innovation in forestry education is needed to address changing contexts of the positionality of forests.This is particularly signifi cant in the Asia–Pacifi c region,where deforestation and degradation are high.However,the accessibility of high-quality forestry education to address changing regional and global contexts is lacking.A series of innovative sustainable forest management(SFM)open education resource(OER)courses were developed and implemented to improve the accessibility of SFM education to enhance teaching quality,curriculum,and research capacity of universities in the Asia-Pacifi c Region.To evaluate the SFM-OER program in terms of student experiences,this study investigated student achievement,perceived success of the pedagogical approach and instructional design,and perceived eff ectiveness of the learning activities in promoting active and transformative learning through the assessment of a 1,191-course feedback survey between 2018 and 2020,including the global pandemic.This study revealed that the program attracted diverse student demographics,including a higher proportion of female students majoring in forestry,ecology,and other environmental studies.Their primary motivation to participate in the courses was to gain international experience,followed by the fl exibility of online learning,mandatory course requirements,and earning course credits.Students were satisfi ed with the Canvas learning management system.Most students spent less than 5 to 10 h of their weekly time in the course and agreed or strongly agreed that the workloads were manageable.Students refl ected positively on various learning activities and assignments,such as watching lecture videos,taking quizzes,reading and summarizing,having discussions,and peer review writing.However,they did not clearly prefer specifi c learning activities,signifying the importance of using diverse learning activities to satisfy diverse individual learning styles in online settings.This analysis contributes to the further development of student-centered pedagogical development for online learning and provides insight into the ways forward for online higher forestry education,while repurposing existing OER courses in a post-Covid-19 era.

Countermeasures for the Protection and Sustainable Development of Forestry Resources

Firstly,the problems of the protection and sustainable development of forestry resources were analyzed,such as lack of overall planning for the protection of forestry resources,insufficient investment in the protection of forestry resources,etc.Afterwards,the corresponding countermeasures were proposed,such as making overall planning for sustainable forestry development,increasing the investment in the protection of forestry resources,improving the forestry management system,etc.

Forestry Interventions and Groundwater Recharge, Sediment Control and Carbon Sequestration in the Krishna River Basin

It is a known fact that human activities have a significant impact on global rivers, making the task of rehabilitating them to their former natural state or a more semi-natural state quite challenging. The ongoing initiative called “Rejuvenation of Krishna River through Forestry Interventions” aims to contribute to the overall river rejuvenation program in the country. In this context, the effects of forestry interventions on the Krishna River will be evaluated based on water quantity, water quality, and the potential for carbon sequestration through plantation efforts. To assess the outcomes of this study, various methodologies such as Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN), Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been utilized to estimate water savings, reduction in sedimentation, and carbon sequestration potential within the Krishna basin. The projected results indicate that the implementation of forestry plantations and soil and moisture conservation measures in the Krishna River rejuvenation program could lead to significant improvements. Specifically, the interventions are expected to enhance water recharge by 400.49 million cubic meters per year, reduce sedimentation load by 869.22 cubic meters per year, and increase carbon sequestration by 3.91 lakh metric tonnes per year or 14.34 lakh metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. By incorporating forestry interventions into the Krishna riverscape, it is anticipated that the quality and quantity of water flowing through the river will be positively impacted. These interventions will enhance water infiltration, mitigate soil erosion, and contribute to an improved vegetation cover, thereby conserving biodiversity. Moreover, they offer additional intangible benefits such as addressing climate change concerns through enhanced carbon sequestration potential along the entire stretch of riverine areas.

Research on the Construction of Entrepreneurship Course Clusters for Students in Agriculture and Forestry Universities

Curriculum construction is the key factor in determining the quality of education.The innovation and entrepreneurship course clusters have effectively upgraded entrepreneurship courses in terms of talent cultivation,resource integration,and educational practice.In response to the existing problems and difficulties in the construction of entrepreneurship course clusters in agricultural and forestry universities,suggestions and measures are proposed from macro-,meso-,and micro-level perspectives to reach a consensus on entrepreneurship education,construct interdisciplinary course clusters,and improve the quality and effect of education implementation.This provides a reference for agricultural and forestry universities to construct high-quality entrepreneurship course clusters.

Forestry Standardization & Forestry Insurance

Forestry insurance of our country has developed slowly, of which the main difficulty lies in predicting and determining forestry risk , confirming the sum insured, raising the premiums , indemnity for property loss , coordinating forestry insurance and forestry protection, and lack of insurance legal system etc. With the implementation of forestry’s standardized project, and overcoming effectively the technological obstacle existing in forestry’s insurance , the development speed of forestry’s insurance will be accelerated too.

Forest fire risk zone mapping from satellite images and GIS for Baihe Forestry Bureau, Jilin, China

A forest fire can be a real ecological disaster regardless of whether it is caused by natural forces or human activities, it is possible to map forest fire risk zones to minimize the frequency of fires, avert damage, etc. A method integrating remote sensing and GIS was developed and applied to forest fire risk zone mapping for Baihe forestry bureau in this paper. Satellite images were interpreted and classified to generate vegetation type layer and land use layers （roads, settlements and farmlands）. Topographic layers （slope, aspect and altitude） were derived from DEM. The thematic and topographic information was analyzed by using ARC/INFO GIS software. Forest fire risk zones were delineated by assigning subjective weights to the classes of all the layers （vegetation type, slope, aspect, altitude and distance from r3ads, farmlands and settlements） according to their sensitivity to fire or their fire-inducing capability. Five categories of forest fire risk ranging from very high to very low were derived automatically. The mapping result of the study area was found to be in strong agreement with actual fire-affected sites.

Developing a quantitative index system for assessing sustainable forestry management in Heilongjiang Province,China： a case study

In this study, we developed a comprehensive index system for forestry sustainability of Heilongjiang Province, which includes forest resources sustainability,sustainable economic development, sustainable social development and sustainable advancement in science and technology. Based on this system and the regional forest development, we further evaluated the sustainability of Heilongjiang Province for year 2008-2013. The results show that even though the regional forestry has been preliminarily on the track of sustainable development, it is fragile. Four indicators, e.g. soil and water retention rate,forest stand growth（per unit area）, the proportion of national investment and the annual carbon sequestration have important impact on the sustainability, with a weight of 39.0 % in all the indicators. We also analyzed the factors hindering the sustainable development. It turns out that soil and water retention rate, forest stand growth（per unit area）,the proportion of science and technology funds, per capita GDP and the proportion of the tertiary industry production are the main factors hindering regional sustainable development, which accounts for 50.94 % of the total obstacle degrees in the system. At last, we discussed how to promote the regional sustainable development from the perspectives of forest resources sustainability, economic development sustainability, society development sustainability and the sustainable advancement of science and technology.

Over-mature beech trees (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) and close-to-nature forestry in northern Iran

Oriental Beech is the most important commercial tree species in northern Iran. In recent years wood production companies interested in felling large beech trees for profit have challenged advocates of close-to-nature silviculture who favor conservation. Our study objective was to assess the economic value of over-mature beech trees by relating tree diameter （DBH） to amount of decay. Based on the location of onset of decay, we categorized three types of decay as stump, stem, and crown decay. Trees of greater diameter （age） typically showed greater decay in the stem. Percent of decayed volume, diameter of decayed tissue, and length of decay in tree stems varied between 0.5%-64.3%, 15 cm-75 cm, and 2.0-19.5 m, respectively. With increasing trunk diameter, the propor- tion of truck decay increased. Red heart and dark red heart constituted 25% and 14.3% of sampled trees, respectively. However, we found no correlation between intensity of stem decay and morphological charac- teristics of trees. Seedlings were not abundant around the bases of over-mature trees, suggesting that the trees did not contribute to regeneration of the stand. Beech trees of diameter 〉1 m do not provide valu- able round wood for industries and cause to raise wood production costs. We recommend that these trees 〉1 m DBH should be retained in forest stands because of their low commercial value but high ecological and conservational values such as maintaining biodiversity in forest ecosystems.

Economic dependence of rural people on homestead forestry in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

Homestead forests contribute substantially to the rural econ- omy of Bangladesh. Rural people depend on trees and plants for their energy usage, housing, food and other forms of subsistence livelihood. In order to identify the potential role of forests on homestead dwellers, an empirical field investigation was conducted in the four Upazilas of My- mensingh district of Bangladesh. It was found that land holdings of the respondents within the four sites are the highest in Mymensingh. The study made an important observation that among all homestead vegeta- tion between 5-6 years old, tree species are generally preferred over plants. This is perhaps due to the efforts of the social forestry extension service to demonstrate that planting trees is an important long-term in- vestment. In all four Upazilas, there was a significant correlation between household annual income and homestead forestry, agriculture and fisher- ies practice, suggesting that higher income families tend to have larger holdings of homesteads, farms and pond areas. Three Upazilas displayed a strong positive relationship （nearly 45%） between homestead forest areas and annual family income; however, the Fulbaria Upazila showed a very poor relationship （0.2%） in this regard. The results of this study suggest that homestead forests play a positive role in the rural economy, in addition to helping mitigate the increasing problem of deforestation in Bangladesh.

Reliability of GPS/GNSS-based positioning in a forestry environment

The critical environment is one of the main insufficient to positioning. Geodetic observing systems such as the global positioning system （GPS） and the global navigation satellite systems （GNSS） are routinely used to estimate the contaminating effects by critical environment. In an effort to define the accuracy and reliability of GPS/ GNSS positioning, we investigated the data having con- taminating effects due to forestry environment. Some reliability criteria and geometric concepts were defined and then examined by them. Two sets of data were collected in open sky and closed canopy separately. The analysis of the observed data was performed using the reliability criteria and geometric concepts. The accuracy and reliability of positioning strongly depended on the canopy ratio and satellite availability. The minimum detectable error on baseline was estimated about 2.5 mm under closed canopy. The number of observable satellites and minimal detectable errors were computed for each epoch. The minimal biases on estimated baselines, bias-to-noise ratios for estimating baseline components and probability of success of the integer ambiguity solution were defined in case of forest canopy. Finally, geometric quality could be achieved using the factors of dilution of precision. Thus, the presented accuracy and reliability concepts fulfill the requirement proposed by the global geodetic observing system in forest environment.

Introduction to Urban and Community Forestry in the United States of America: History, Accomplishments, Issues and Trends

The urban and community forestry movement in the United States has matured over the last 20 years from managing street trees, to understanding the benefits of trees in urban ecosystems, and now to managing urban green infrastructure. This paper introduced the history, development, and major accomplishments of the urban and community forestry movement, highlighted the economic, ecological, environmental, and social values of forests and trees to communities, and discussed issues and trends of the urban and community forestry program in the United States.

Elementary Experiences,Problems and Countermeasures of County Forestry Economy

County forestry economy is a strong power for regional green economic development,and an important way to improve farmers' income and promote living environment in urban and rural areas. According to the investigation of ten typical counties or cities with forestry industrial advantage,this paper sums up the elementary experiences of county forestry economy,analyzes its prominent problems. Countermeasures are brought forward to improve the development of county forestry economy.

Application of optimal harvesting decision model to the analysis of Chinese forestry economic policy

This paper firstly extends the single period forest optimal harvesting decision model to infinite periods,in order to indicate how to determine the optimal rotation period aimed at maximizing forest revenue in all directions when repeat planting and harvesting trees on the same plot of earth till infinite future.The study also analyzes the influence of discounted rates,timber price,harvesting costs,planting costs,and tax on the determination of optimal rotation period;and how the optimal rotation period will change when we introduce the factors of continuously rising timber price and ecological revenue.Secondly,the authors introduce the intergenerational equity principle into the above model to design a resource-exploiting mode which satisfies bom the dynamic efficiency principle and the intergenerational equity principle.Last but not least,the research applies the above model to the analysis of Chinese forestry economic policy and explains the economic theory of institutions such as Government Purchasing Ecological Forest,Tree Compensation,and Forestry Subsidization,which provides a necessary theoretical foundation for future application of these new institutions.Besides,in regard to mis theoretical framework,the authors analyze the necessity of the Natural Forest Protection and Grain for Green projects which are currently being implemented in China.We also point out the emphasis of work to insure the project sustainable and successful.Finally,the research discusses the enterprise's incentive to over-the-quota harvesting and the government's means of restricting such behavior,which highlights the fact mat improved supervision and higher penalties are helpful in restricting over-the-quota harvesting.

Structural Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Financing of Forestry Enterprises Based on Interpretive Structural Modeling(ISM)

Through the collection of related literature,we point out the six major factors influencing China's forestry enterprises' financing: insufficient national support; regulations and institutional environmental factors; narrow channels of financing; inappropriate existing mortgagebacked approach; forestry production characteristics; forestry enterprises' defects. Then,we use interpretive structural modeling( ISM) from System Engineering to analyze the structure of the six factors and set up ladder-type structure. We put three factors including forestry production characteristics,shortcomings of forestry enterprises and regulatory,institutional and environmental factors as basic factors and put other three factors as important factors. From the perspective of the government and enterprises,we put forward some personal advices and ideas based on the basic factors and important factors to ease the financing difficulties of forestry enterprises.

Risk Assessment and Service Benefit Evaluation of Forestry Meteorological Disasters in Guangxi

In order to strengthen the construction of forestry meteorological service capacity and improve the quality of forestry meteorological services,the national forestry meteorological disaster risk survey and service benefit assessment were carried out from November 2016 to May2017. A total of 196 risk sites in Guangxi were collected by means of questionnaire survey,expert evaluation and field survey. The results showed that fire,pest and wind hazards are the main types of risk points in Guangxi. The survey showed that there were 77 monitoring stations around the disaster risk sites belonging to the Forestry Sector,which mainly monitor fire hazards,while other disasters had no monitoring point yet. Early warning facilities were still constantly improving. The meteorological disasters that affecting forestry production were drought,gale,and heavy rainfall,and the main meteorological hazard factors were temperature,wind speed,and precipitation. Forest fire prevention,forestry resources development and utilization,forestation and tending demand for meteorological services were relatively large. It was hoped that forestry meteorological service products would be obtained through telephone,SMS and early warning systems. In addition,experts objectivly evaluated the contribution rate of meteorological services in Guangxi. The contribution rate of forest meteorological services in the whole region was8. 41%. The scale of Guangxi's total forestry output value was 31. 478 billion yuan in 2016. According to the calculation of this value,the service benefit value had reached 2. 647 billion yuan. In conclusion,strengthening the cooperation in forestry meteorological monitoring,technology development,and emergency response,and further improving forestry meteorological services and effective reducing forestry disaster losses are the top priorities of the meteorological department.

Educational Reform in Management Courses of Agricultural & Forestry Higher Vocational Schools from the Perspective of Microblog

At present there are many socialized microblog platforms.With powerful mobility,real-time information,fragment of information dissemination,and innovation of interaction,the microblog has become a socialized interaction mode in recent years.Since microblog is very popular with students of agricultural and forestry higher vocational schools,with the rising and development of network education,the microblog as a new information platform will be used by more and more teachers in education.From the perspective of microblog,this paper studied educational reform in management courses of agricultural and forestry higher vocational schools,in the hope of providing certain reference and help for current education practice of agricultural and forestry management courses.

Case Study on the Forestry Cooperation Model from Game Structure Perspective

Take Chinese yew cooperative organization for example,different game structures of forestry cooperation model were analyzed,the elative merit and applicable occasion was discussed combined with empirical investigation,and some suggestions were given also.The results showed that depending entirely on normal forest farmers cooperate spontaneously is difficult.Policies should be designed from the perspective of promoted village cadres and influential family salons to cooperation.When market factors become the main obstacle,it is necessary to introduce companies,relax constraints of forest management and build the right market atmosphere.According to unequal status of company and forest farmers,develop the cooperation model of " company + cooperation organization + farmers".In certain circumstances,especially there are several companies vicious competition,the intervention of association can play a coordinating role.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOME FORESTRY TABLES FOR DAHURIAN LARCH PLANTATIONS

Several growth models were selected to fit data of dahurian larch plantations using nonlinear regression analysis. The best models were used to construct the site index table' the 2-way volume table and the growth process table. The Chapman-Richards equation is the best model used as the guide curve to form the site index table for dahurian larch plantations.