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The African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) in homogenous plantations and natural forests is widely studied, but there is a lack of information on wood from trees grown in agroforestry systems (AFSs)...

This comprehensive comparison study of the actual and perceived environments of tourist attractions has policy implications for both tourism management and ecological conservation. This study focuses on China’s natural forest reserves (NFRs), comparing the environmental perceptions of residents and tourists with the actual forest environments (greenness and connectivity) of the same tourist attractions. Based on the literature and forest environmental indexes, this quantitative research reveals a discrepancy between tourism development and environmental conservation. First, in most of the tourist attractions we studied, both residents and tourists had a positive perception of their environments; second, most of these tourist attractions had high-level forest greenness but low-level forest connectivity; third, a regression analysis confirms that the environmental perceptions of residents and tourists are significantly and positively related to forest greenness but not to forest connectivity. This study informs policymakers about the degradation of forest connectivity in NFRs and argues that reforestation, afforestation, and the relocation of unnecessary facilities and buildings are needed to restore these areas. In this way, this work aims to increase forest connectivity, improve biodiversity, and enhance tourism development in sustainable ways.

Following the nuclear disaster of 1986, forests have established throughout the abandoned agricultural landscapes within Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ). However, they are yet to be monitored prope...

Forest cover change analyses have an essential role in forest management. Thus, this study adopted Landsat satellite imagery to assess the decadal spatiotemporal forest cover changes that occurred ...

The concept of site quality was developed to project the expected production of timber species in even-aged stands in order to produce standardized site index curves. This concept can also be used ...

Stem surface area (S) plays an important role in the eco-physiological processes of trees or forests such as stem respiration, self-thinning mortality, and rainfall interception. As the direct meas...

Utilize agricultural residues from pruning brings many advantages including employment, social and economic benefit, rural development, natural forest protection, increased energy efficiency, and lower costs of raw material for the production of particleboard industry. In this study, the use of wood utilization of pruning residues from apple trees has been investigated by using chipping at the landing chipping methods (LCMs) and farm chipping methods (FCM). These methods were conducted on seven farms, totaling 9.2 ha. A time study was used to estimate operation time and cost. Transportation of chips from the study area to factories was done with semi-trailers, trucks, and pickup trucks. The residue yield was between 1.8 and 2.0 green ton per hectare. The maximum time was related to chipping and the collection of residues and the most delay was mechanical. The residues were collected, chipped, and transported to the particleboard factory at a cost between US$10.18 and US$19.46 per ton, and the profit rate between US$15.5 and US$24.8 per ton depending on chipping methods and secondary transport system. Cost and the total time of LCM were lower than the FCM, and also production rate of LCM was higher than the FCM; therefore, this method was more effective in processing residues from apple trees. Regression techniques showed that in LCM, the effect of diameter and age was significant on residue processing time and in FCM, the effect of diameter, age, residue density, and functional the area was significant in residue processing time.

China holds the world’s largest area of planted forests, which play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Knowledge gaps remain on the responses of the growth of planted forests to climate c...

In Vietnam, the expansion of plantation forests, the logging ban in natural forest, and the partial timber import ban were predicted to drastically change the industry’s procurement of raw material...

A new species of Olopachys Berlese, Olopachys (Olopachys) magnoexudatus sp. nov., is described herein, based on female specimens collected from soil and litter in the natural forests of Behshahr, M...

The rehabilitation of degraded subtropical natural forests is a global concern. A detailed assessment of their structure is a challenging and costly prerequisite because diverse structures ...

Expansion of natural forest or woodland in forestry plantations can potentially provide insight about the behaviour of plant communities in human-modified ecosystems. Here, we investigate the expan...

Introduction. Agroforests are often surrogate habitats for threatened bryophytes and other organisms. This is important in urban settings where natural forests are often absent. Unfortunate...

Attempts to mitigate global climate change have brought forestry into focus. Forests absorb carbondioxide from the atmosphere, alleviate global warming and contribute for rural livelihoods. To real...

This paper initially reviews the occurrence of clones in nature, through geological history to the present day. Studies of the current natural population structure of Picea abies are reviewed as a ...

The year-to-year variations in flowering, pollen and fruit production in ten Gmelina arborea individuals in a natural forest were observed over a period of five years, 2009−2013, and pollinator vis...

Foliar nutrient concentrations are commonly recommended as indicator for soil nutrient status in managed and wildland ecosystems. Using data from an oil sands mine reclamation site in Alber...

Hyperspectral remote sensing (RS) and images of various spatial resolution open new vistas for classification and mapping trees. These approaches would improve plant classification in a complex pop...

Background: The effects of trees on understorey communities is a major driver of vegetation composition. However, we have little understanding on how isolated forest patches of the forest-steppe tr...

Rwanda's natural forest is under pressure due to increasing rural population growth and subsistence farming. The Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture has therefore introduced agroforestry technology in f...

Japanese fir (Abies firma Sieb. et Zucc.) usually shows a trifurcated branching form, differentiated into main and lateral shoots. We compared the radiocesium (137Cs) concentration in needles betwe...

Logging damage to residual trees is an important parameter when considering the sustainability of selective logging in tropical natural forests. Here, we applied a proposed tree-based approach to e...

Tea oil camellia (Camellia oleifera) is a perennial evergreen shrub or small tree with multiple uses. Its seed oil contains rich bioactive compounds with powerful nutritional and medicinal values. To improve low seed yield in natural forests of this species, the new grafting technique of high-grafting and change-crown is being widely used. This usually has three grafting methods, inlay graft by separating bark (IGSB), bark xylem graft by cutting stock (BXGCS), and cleft graft (CG). In this research, we (1) investigated growth, development, fruit yield, and traits of trees after high-grafting and (2) tested effects of grafting methods (IGSB, BXGCS, and CG) and times (spring, summer, and autumn) on survival rates. Results indicated that sprouted scions flowered and set fruit in the third year after high-grafting, and grafted trees produced higher oil yields in the fourth year. Both grafting methods and times significantly influence grafting survival rates. The optimal grafting method for this specie...

Motivated by a lack of scholarly attention to the substance of interpretive messages and materials, this study examines discursive aspects of interpretative brochures available at forest recreation and tourism sites in Vermont, United States. Directive statements that instruct and guide visitor experiences—and the discourses to which they contribute—were analyzed for content, form, and meaning. Across the interpretive brochures, four broad discourses were identified: the natural forest, the recreational forest, the productive forest, and the dependent forest. Consideration of intertextuality revealed a fifth, hybrid discourse that linked forests to meanings of Vermont as a distinctive place. The convergence of these discourses across the set of brochures gives insight into the ways interpretation serves to both direct individual visitor experiences at particular sites, and to influence the development of larger-scale place meanings.

The importance of different agroforestry systems in conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated tree diversity, carbon stocks, and major soil nutrients in cocoa-dominated and mixed food crops agroforests compared to a natural forest in southern Ghana. Significant decreases in tree species diversity and dominance and carbon stocks in the agroforestry systems compared to natural forest were recorded. The magnitude of carbon stocks declined from natural forest through cocoa-dominated agroforest to mixed food crops agroforest. Soil nitrogen content was greatest in cocoa-dominated agroforest and least in natural forest whereas phosphorus was greatest in natural forest and least in cocoa-dominated agroforest. However, potassium in soil did not vary significantly with land use. The results suggest that, though a poor substitute for natural forest, both cocoa-dominated agroforest and mixed food crops agroforest contained significant levels of tr...

This paper analyses the community choice of fuelwood species among 30 selected tree species in Mizoram state, north-east India. The analysis was based on 12 community selected criteria, including availability of the species and 11 fuelwood quality criteria. The wood constituent properties, including the fuelwood value index (FVI), were also assessed for the 30 tree species. The most preferred species were Quercus spp. Due to its low availability in the area, Mesua ferrea, which was ranked 12th by the community, although it showed the highest wood density (0.58 g/cm2). Similarly, Anogeissus acuminata ranked only 15th, although it had the highest FVI. Quercus pachyphylla, Quercus polystachya, Quercus xylocarpa, Quercus helferiana, Quercus serrata, Vitex peduncularis and M. ferrea were found to be highly desirable fuelwood species based on their high FVI. These species should therefore be considered as good candidates for a domestication and plantation programme in order to relieve pressure on natural forests.

With the Regional Law 43/1974 (Provisions for the Protection and Development of Forests), the Lazio region of Italy has imposed a severe ban on the silvicultural management of some forest areas, even if they were located outside of protected areas. Regional legislators assumed that doing so would increase the capacity of forests to provide goods and services and it would create new natural forests. Over 30 yr after the adoption of R.L. 43/1974, this forest preservationist policy has been analyzed. The study involves a sample of sites under the 43/1974 regime, representative of the Lazio forest heritage. Through questionnaires submitted to forest owners and a multidisciplinary panel, a matrix of effectiveness valuation has been built. Three aspects were investigated: (a) the management of forest farms, (b) the state of the forests, and (c) the effects on multifunctional forestry. Recommendations are presented in the Conclusion section if, in the future, regional policymakers would like to come up to use ag...

Nowadays, the intensive management and huge pressure from the human population has become a great challenge for efficient forest management. The main focuses of this study are to investigate (1) the current socio-economic status of a forest-dependent community and (2) the social contribution of two environmental conservation efforts – remnant natural forest conservation and plantation establishment – in a comparative way. The structural interview method was used for the survey, and questionnaires were set out as both closed- and open-ended questions. The respondents were stratified as poor, medium and better off, and the sample shape was defined as a triangle. The results showed that restoration by means of remnant forest conservation gave much more tangible and intangible benefits than plantations. The mean value of fuelwood availability from natural forests was significantly higher than that of the plantation forests, whereas most of the local people depended on both types of forests for their supplies....

The purpose of this study was to assess the carbon storage (CS) and mean carbon sequestration (MCS) for natural forests, man-made forests, and bamboo forests. The study site was located in central Taiwan. We predicted the CS and MCS for a natural forest and two man-made forests (Taiwan red cypress and Japanese cedar) and cited the CS and MCS for two bamboo forests (Makino and Moso) from the previous studies. The results showed that the CS and MCS, respectively, were 192.84 Mg ha−1 and 0.67 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for the natural forest; 68.85–96.81 Mg ha−1 and 3.47–4.45 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for the Taiwan red cypress; 101.14–164.80 Mg ha−1 and 2.66–5.23 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for the Japanese cedar; 49.8 Mg ha−1 and 9.89 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for the Makino bamboo; and 40.6 Mg ha−1 and 8.13 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for the Moso bamboo. The natural forest had the highest CS and the lowest MCS; conversely, bamboo forests had the lowest CS and the highest MCS. Moreover, the ratios of MSC to CS (RMCS/CS) were 0.0034, 0.0229–0.0562, and 0.2 for the natural fo...

We studied population structure, composition and diversity in a traditional Indian agroforestry system, called paan jhum, in comparison to natural forests of the Barak valley, Assam, northeast India. The phytosociological data from these forests were analysed quantitatively, to determine species richness, diversity, importance value, stand density and the basal area. The analysis showed that species richness and diversity were higher in paan jhum than in natural forests, in all three study sites. A total of 47, 37 and 48 tree species were recorded in paan jhum, compared with 35, 32 and 42 species in natural forests of the three study sites, respectively. Paan jhum had higher stand density (790, 934 and 763) and basal area (74.05, 41.60 and 55.88 m2 ha−1), whereas natural forests had lower stand density (775, 865 and 522) and basal area (68.75, 40.50 and 48.04 m2 ha−1) in all the study sites, respectively. An F-test showed significant differences in the variance in species richness, basal area and the stan...

It is difficult to monitor forests in tropical regions with frequent cloud cover using optical remote-sensing data. Adequate multi-temporal, high-resolution imagery is often not available. Microwave imagery is able to penetrate cloud cover, enabling imagery of the land surface to be recorded more frequently. This study seeks to improve tropical forest mapping by combining optical and microwave imagery, with one of the main objectives being the discrimination of planted and natural forests. First, multi-spectral Advanced Land Observing Satellite ALOS/Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 AVNIR-2 images were used to create a forest and land-cover classification of the study area. Subsequently, ALOS/Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar PALSAR single-polarized and dual-polarized microwave images were used to generate forest and land-cover masks to be used in combination with the ALOS/AVNIR-2 classification. The overall accuracy of the ALOS/AVNIR-2 classification was 77%. When the ALOS/PALSAR masks were used in combination with the ALOS/AVNIR-2 classification, the overall accuracy increased to 88% with higher than 90% accuracy for the main forest classes.

The leaf area index (LAI) of plant canopies is an important structural variable for assessing terrestrial ecosystems. This research examined the use of multitemporal Landsat TM imagery to estimate and map LAI in mixed natural forests in the southeastern USA. The performances of canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and partial least squares (PLS) regression techniques were evaluated for feature extraction to estimate forest LAI. The experimental results indicate that use of multitemporal TM imagery can improve the accuracy of estimating the forest LAI, and that CCA analysis outperforms PLS regression for feature extraction.

The effect of six plantation species in comparison to natural forest (NF) on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, depth-wise distribution, biomass carbon (C), and N was investigated on plantations and cultivated lands on an Andic paleudalf soil in Southern Ethiopia. The SOC, N, and bulk density were determined from samples taken in 4 replicates from 10-, 20-, 40-, 60-, and 100-cm depth under each site. Similarly, the biomass C and N of the plantation species and understory vegetation were also determined. The SOC and N were concentrated in the 0- to 10-cm depth and decreased progressively to the 1-m depth. Next to the NF, Juniperous procera accrued higher SOC and N in all depths than the corresponding plantations. No evidence of significant difference on SOC and N distribution among plantations was observed below the 10-cm depth with minor exceptions. The plantations accrue from 133.62 to 213.73 Mg ha–1 or 59.1 to 94.5% SOC, 230.4 to 497.3 Mg ha–1 or 6.9 to 14.9% TBC and 420.37 to 672...

Geografisk Tidsskrift Danish Journal of Geography 111(1):11–26, 2011 The international mechanism for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) supposedly offers new opportunities for combining climate mitigation, conservation of the environment, and socio-economic development for development countries. In Laos REDD is abundantly promoted by the government and development agencies as a potential option for rural development. Yet, basic information for carbon management is missing: to date no knowledge is available at the national level on the quantities of carbon stored in the Lao landscapes. In this study we present an approach for spatial assessment of vegetation-based carbon stocks. We used Google Earth, Landsat and MODIS satellite imagery and refined the official national land cover data to assess carbon stocks. Our study showed that more than half (52%) of carbon stock of Laos is stored in natural forests, but that 70% of this stock is located outside ...

Southeastern Anatolia represents an agricultural area deeply fractured with the valleys extending in front of Taurus Mountains, consisting of calcareous plateaus of 500–600 m. An extremely extensive steppe vegetation is dominant in southeastern Anatolia. The region is entirely within natural forest borders and there are only a few large steppe areas in this area. The most important factor which caused formation of southeastern Anatolian steppes is severe summer and autumn drought. Forest vegetation in the area has been destroyed to a great extent by several factors (clear-cutting, fuel supply, etc.), most of which are anthropogenic impacts. The survey area, Germus Mountain (Sanliurfa), exists in the warmer Mesopotamian sector. Four associations belonging to the steppe vegetation (Phlomidetum kurdico—bruguieri, Scrophulario xylorrhizae—Astragaletum diphtheritae, Salvio palaestinae—Convolvuletum oxysepali and Torilido leptocarpae—Thymbretum spicatae) have been detected as a result of the phytosocio...

Colloid mobility has been tied to contaminant transport in many agricultural soils, and may be a factor in reclaimed mine soils as well. Before contaminant transport can be predicted, the actual patterns in colloid generation and transport following disturbance needs to be elucidated. A site in the Appalachian region of southwest Virginia was chosen to observe colloid transport within natural forest soils (F), reclaimed soils (R) and reclaimed soils underlain by spoil material (RS). A fourth treatment included the application of lime-stabilised biosolids to separate RS monoliths (RSB). These intact soil monoliths were leached with de-ionised water at a rate of 1.0 cm/h for at least 2 pore volumes. Total eluted colloid loads were greatest within natural forest (F) soil monoliths (2205 mg), followed by R (1460 mg) and RS (76 mg) monoliths. The addition of biosolids (RSB) induced greater colloid transport (871 mg) compared to RS monoliths not receiving biosolids. This was likely due to an increase in pH and ...

A new genus of soil-inhabiting nematode belonging to the family Mydonomidae Thorne, 1964 is described and illustrated from natural forests of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Paratimmus provulvatus gen. nov., sp .nov. is characterized by having a continuous lip region; tiny, asymmetrical odontostyle; single distinctly sclerotized guiding ring; simple, rod-like odontophore; a thin sheath (not spiral) around basal pharyngeal bulb; elongate conoid cardia; mono-opisthodelphic female genital system; transverse vulva; long filiform tail in both sexes and males with dorylaimoid spicules and three to four spaced ventromedian supplements.

A study aiming the establishment area—species relationship considering the age of the fallow has been led in the perimeter of the natural forest reserve of Kigwena (Burundi). According to the systematic inventory of all vegetal species present in three classes of fallows (0–2 years, 3–5 years and more than 5 years), equations of tendency curves obtained are respectively: y = 4,58 Lnx +19,7, y = 6,70 Lnx +4,99 and y = 7,22 Lnx +11,63. The regression is therefore very maid with raised coefficients in any case (R2 = 0,97). Values of c and z obtained show that, on an even surface of 1 m2, the highest specific diversity is in recent fallows (c = 18). According to Arrhenius equation, species—area relationship in fallows of our study (0–2 years, 3–5 years and more than 5 years) are respectively: S = 18A0,16, S = 8A0,31 et S = 11,8A0,26.

Natural forest expansion is one of the most relevant landscape changes in many temperate countries. Although large areas are involved, relatively few studies have been carried out with the objective of unravelling the specific impact of the individual factors characterising the sites prone to such a process. The aim of this article is to present a research tool for assessing the factors characterising farmland sites prone to natural conversion from crop growing and pasture to forests and other wooded land (OWL), and for predicting the probability of such a land-use change. The methodological approach is based on multinomial logistic regression. As a case study, the approach was applied to land-use classification repeated on the same sites in a large area of central Italy on two successive occasions, spanning two decades, from the beginning of the 1980s up to 2002. Of all the factors assessed, landscape attributes were identified as a sufficient subset for quantitative prediction of change from farmland to OWL or to forest. The tested modelling approach is explicitly empirical and planning-oriented. From a quantitative point of view, the precision of the models may be only indicative for assessing land-use change probability for single observations, while it is appropriate for predicting mean probabilities at a landscape mapping level, where it is possible to sample a number of sites. At this level, the approach is a useful tool for simulating future landscape scenarios related to natural forest expansion. L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.tandf.co.uk/journals/

This study tests a hypothesis derived from an expanded theory of foreign investment dependence. The tested hypothesis states that less-developed countries with higher levels of primary sector foreign investment exhibit greater rates of deforestation. Findings for cross-national analyses of deforestationfrom1990to2005for40less-developedcountriesconfirmthehypothesis,providing support for the proposed theorization. Additional results indicate that the presence of environmental international nongovernmental organizations is beneficial for natural forest areas, while population growth is a key driver of deforestation in less-developed countries.Besides confirming the hypothesis, this research underscores the importance for sociologists to consider both political‐economic forms of integration and human-ecological factors when investigating how humans impact the environment.

The first generation genetic gains in four second-generation seedling seed orchards of Eucalyptus pellita established at two locations in Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sumatra) were examined by analyzing data on the height, diameter and stem form of the trees during years 1 to 3. The seed orchards each consisted of 60 open-pollinated families: 48–49 families from first-generation plus trees (improved population) and 11–12 families from natural forest (unimproved population). The realized gains for height and diameter were ca. 16 and 19%, respectively. These gains were highly significant and consistent, irrespective of age and location. However, the gains in stem form were much lower (4%) in Kalimantan than in Sumatra (21%) and only significant in the latter, possibly because of the more intensive silvicultural management regimes at the Sumatran sites. The results confirmed that the first-generation tree improvement program for E. pellita has been effective in Indonesia, and that it should provide improved seeds for operational plantation, thus raising their productivity.

Adapting forest management practices to the changing environment of Komi Republic requires an understanding of the response of unmanaged natural forests to climatic changes. Komi Republic is a region of north-western Russia where large areas of natural boreal forest still exist. Apical growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) (108 trees, 529 discs) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) (88 trees, 423 discs) was analysed using stem analysis techniques. Mean apical growth curves were calculated for four zones of boreal forests in two subsequent 50 year periods starting from 1900. A statistically significant increase in height increment of 40% for Siberian spruce and 30% for Scots pine was identified from samples representing the Komi Republic. Within this region statistically significant height increment increases were found in the middle taiga zone for Siberian spruce of 240% and Scots pine of 140%, while northern taiga Siberian spruce increased by 164%. Taking into account that trees were ...

El Salvador has only 4.3% of its natural forest remaining. The loss of so much natural forest suggests that a large proportion of El Salvador's biodiversity and a number of ecosystem services are at risk. However, 11% of the country's land area supports shade agroforest for coffee production (based on Coffea arabica L.), and this has become the major forest resource for the country. We suggest that shade agroforest supports a considerable amount of native biodiversity but that the capacity to monitor and assess this diversity is lacking. Studies elsewhere in the world indicate that shade agroforest has levels of biological diversity of the same order of magnitude to that of natural forest. Shade agroforest for coffee should therefore play a central role in the conservation of biological diversity in El Salvador. The status of shade agroforest for coffee in national policies on biodiversity conservation is reviewed. We then identify and review the taxonomic capacity required to meet El Salvador's ...

SummaryIn Afghanistan, pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is found mainly in the wild in natural forests. In this study, 17 wild Afghan pistachio accessions and three cultivated genotypes were characterised using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Material was sampled mainly from the Kunduz and Takhar regions. A total of 288 AFLP fragments were generated using eight AFLP primer combinations. The number of amplified fragments varied from 18 – 48 per primer combination, and 136 bands were polymorphic, with an average of 17 polymorphic bands per primer combination. The percentages of polymorphic bands ranged from 26.2 – 79.2 per primer pair. According to UPGMA clustering of the Nei and Li distance matrix, the 17 wild accessions were grouped according to their region of origin and were distinct from the three cultivars. The AFLP technique was found to be effective for characterising wild P. vera material, which was genetically the closest to cultivated pistachio.

There is a surplus of wood growing in the world, despite generalizations about highly visible over-harvesting of some species and locations that suggests otherwise. Dealing with the oversupply by excluding natural forests from harvest and investing in intensive plantations is a risky strategy. Plantations require high financial investment, generally produce low quality wood, have a narrow “biological window” when they need harvesting, and put the entire investment at risk if this “window” is missed. Plantations could meet the world's wood needs on about ten percent of the current forest area; however, if the nonplantation forests were harvested, these natural forests could produce less expensive, higher quality timber than plantations and ruin the plantation investment. Alternative strategies for timber investment include increasing global wood demand, targeting high quality wood niches, and managing forests for other uses in addition to wood. Intensive plantations may be profitable in a few situ...

Seven extractants were used to relate manganese (Mn) in soil and Mn concentrations in current year needles of Greek fir (Abies cephalonica) in a natural forest stand on calcareous soils containing free CaCO3. The extractants were ethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), 1 M NH4C2H3O2, 1 M Mg(NO3)2, 0.05 M Ca(NO3)2, 0.01 M Pb(NO3)2, 0.1 M HCl and 0.1 N H3PO4. All correlation coefficients between extracted Mn and Mn concentrations in needles were significant. The inclusion of soil chemical parameters in multiple linear regression equations did not improve prediction of Mn uptake. It was found that soil pH alone was the best predictor (R 2 = 0.72) for Mn uptake followed by Mn extracted with Ca(NO3)2 (R 2 = 0.71).

The objective of this study is to clarify the performance of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in forested areas after selective availability (SA) was turned off. In this study, we conducted a field test on horizontal and vertical positional errors of GPS positioning at different points in forested areas. The precision and accuracy of GPS positioning at different points were then calculated and compared. Furthermore, the effect of differential GPS (DGPS) on precision and accuracy was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the necessity for DGPS after SA was turned off was discussed. As a result, the largest horizontal precision errors were found to be in the plantation forest, followed by the natural forest and forest road. On the other hand, precision errors were smallest at the landing, around which there were no obstacles. Horizontal accuracy errors were greatly improved by using the DGPS. Large vertical precision errors were produced in the plantation forest, on the forest road, and in the natural forest, while those at the landing were much smaller. Vertical accuracy errors were also relatively small at the landing. In conclusion, tree canopies greatly affected precision errors, and the DGPS improved not horizontal precision but horizontal accuracy. The autonomous GPS is sufficiently useful for purposes in which horizontal positional errors of a maximum of 10 m are allowable. However, the DGPS should be used for surveying and mapping, for which higher accuracy is necessary.

The paper analyses mitigation options feasible in the forestry sector of India and estimates the carbon sequestration potential of forests for these options. The current scenario suggests that forests are emitting more carbon compared with carbon sequestered by tree growth. This will be the case until there exists an alternative supply of timber and fuelwood, which can decrease the overdependence on forests. If the entire area of feasible land is used for forestry, the mean estimate of carbon sequestered by natural forests along with newly afforested plantations is around 153 Tg (teragrams) carbon per year by 2030, equivalent to the 1990 fossil fuel emissions of India. An attractive feature of forest-based mitigation is that a large amount of carbon can be sequestered over a much shorter time than that over which energy consumption patterns are likely to change. In India, where there is overdependence on fuelwood, the fuelwood produced by a forest-based mitigation programme could delay a rise in fossil fu...

This study is intended to serve as an explicit and specific example of the social construction of nature. It is motivated by the need to develop a more sophisticated language for a critical public dialogue about society's relationship with nature. We conducted a case study of environmental discourse in one local population in hopes of better understanding how a place-based community of environmental stakeholders relates to its local natural environment. We did this by analyzing discussions with local residents about the values and physical indicators they associated with the wild, authentic, healthy, and natural qualities of the forest. Findings from this type of study (such as our finding of "cultured naturalness") can enable a more sophisticated discussion about which of the many possible natural conditions are desirable environmental conditions for the future.

This paper summarizes the evolution, types and research results of tree-tea intercropping technology in China. Some suggestions are also given in solving problems in the management of tea plantations. Historical records and present research results show that tea, as a natural forest component, grow under overhead tree canopy. China has about three thousand years of history of interplanting tea with shade-trees and has developed many intercropping types in different tea production areas. A lot of species are now used as shade trees in tea plantations in China, including timber, non-timber and fruit species. Appropriate tree shade could promote the photosynthetic rate of tea plants and thus increase yield of dry tea leaves. In addition, tree shade could improve the quality of tea leaves by increasing concentrations of amino acid, caffeine and carotenoid. Non-contaminated tea leaves could be produced in the interplanted tea gardens due to a decrease of insecticides used. Finally, trees play importan...