Afforestation, seasalt episodes and acidification - A paired catchment study in western Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larssen, Thorjorn; Holme, Jorun

2006-01-01

As acid deposition has declined during the past 15-20 years in western Norway, afforestation and episodic seasalt deposition have become factors of increasing importance in explaining the mobilization of toxic aluminum (Al n+ ) to rivers and lakes. We conducted a paired catchment at four sites in western Norway across a gradient in acid deposition to evaluate the importance of afforestation and seasalt episodes. Streamwater was sampled intensively before, during and after seasalt episodes over a three-year period. A seasalt episode in January 2003 caused considerable impact on the streamwater chemistry. pH dropped and concentrations of Al n+ increased due to cation exchange of Na + ions for H + and Al n+ in the soil. The response was larger in streams draining the catchments which receive high acid deposition and in those afforested with spruce as compared with adjacent catchments in native birch. The results indicate that acid pulses induced by episodic inputs of seasalts are exacerbated by land use change from native birch to planted spruce. - Seasalt episodes cause higher mobilization of toxic aluminum in sites afforested with spruce

Evaluation of afforestation development and natural colonization on a reclaimed mine site

Science.gov (United States)

Diana Laarmann; Henn Korjus; Allan Sims; Ahto Kangur; Andres Kiviste; John Stanturf

2015-01-01

Post-mining restoration sites often develop novel ecosystems as soil conditions are completely new and ecosystem assemblage can be spontaneous even on afforested sites. This study presents results from long-term monitoring and evaluation of an afforested oil-shale quarry in Estonia. The study is based on chronosequence data of soil and vegetation and comparisons are...

THE OPTIMAL ROTATIONS OF GMELINA STAND ON TWO CARBON PROJECTS: LENGTHENING ROTATION AND AFFORESTATION

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Yonky Indrajaya

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Forest plantation may contribute economically and socially as a provider of wood raw materials for industry and providing jobs for local people. In addition, forest plantation may also contribute as watershed protection and carbon sequestration. Projects on carbon sequestration from plantation forest can be conducted in two types: (1 afforestation and (2 lengthening forest rotation. One of the potential carbon markets operationalized in the field is voluntary market with Verified Carbon Standard mechanism. This study aimed to analyze the optimal rotations of gmelina forests on two carbon projects: lengthening rotation and afforestation. The method used in this study was by using Hartman model ( i.e. Faustmann by maximizing profit with the revenue source from timber and carbon sequestration project. The results of this study showed that carbon price will affect the optimal rotation for lengthening forest rotation of VCS project. Meanwhile, for VCS afforestation project, carbon price had no effect on the optimal rotation on gmelina forest. The NPV value of afforestation project was relatively higher than that of NPV value of lengthening forest rotation project, since the amount of carbon that can be credited relatively higher in afforestation project.

Mid-latitude afforestation shifts general circulation and tropical precipitation.

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Swann, Abigail L S; Fung, Inez Y; Chiang, John C H

2012-01-17

We show in climate model experiments that large-scale afforestation in northern mid-latitudes warms the Northern Hemisphere and alters global circulation patterns. An expansion of dark forests increases the absorption of solar energy and increases surface temperature, particularly in regions where the land surface is unable to compensate with latent heat flux due to water limitation. Atmospheric circulation redistributes the anomalous energy absorbed in the northern hemisphere, in particular toward the south, through altering the Hadley circulation, resulting in the northward displacement of the tropical rain bands. Precipitation decreases over parts of the Amazon basin affecting productivity and increases over the Sahel and Sahara regions in Africa. We find that the response of climate to afforestation in mid-latitudes is determined by the amount of soil moisture available to plants with the greatest warming found in water-limited regions. Mid-latitude afforestation is found to have a small impact on modeled global temperatures and on global CO(2), but regional heating from the increase in forest cover is capable of driving unintended changes in circulation and precipitation. The ability of vegetation to affect remote circulation has implications for strategies for climate mitigation.

Mapping afforestation and its carbon stock using time-series Landsat stacks

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, L.; Wu, Y.

2015-12-01

The Three Norths Shelter Forest Programme (TNSFP) is the largest afforestation reconstruction project in the world. Remote sensing is a crucial tool to map land cover and cover changes, but it is still challenging to accurately quantify the plantation and its carbon stock from time-series satellite images. In this paper, the Yulin district, Shaanxi province, representing a typical afforestation area in the TNSFP region, was selected as the study area, and there were twenty-nine Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+ epochs were collected from 1974 to 2012 to reconstruct the forest changes and carbon stock in last 40 years. Firstly, the Landsat ground surface reflectance (GSR) images from 1974 to 2013 were collected and processed based on 6S atmospheric transfer code and a relative reflectance normalization algorithm. Subsequently, we developed a vegetation change tracking method to reconstruct the forest change history (afforestation and deforestation) from the dense time-series Landsat GSR images based on the integrated forest z-score (IFZ) model, and the afforestation age was successfully retrieved from the Landsat time-series stacks in the last forty years and shown to be consistent with the surveyed tree ages, with a RMSE value of 4.32 years and a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.824. Then, the AGB regression models were successfully developed by integrating vegetation indices and tree age. The simple ratio vegetation index (SR) is the best candidate of the commonly used vegetation indices for estimating forest AGB, and the forest AGB model was significantly improved using the combination of SR and tree age, with R² values from 0.50 to 0.727. Finally, the forest AGB images were mapped at eight epochs from 1985 to 2013 using SR and afforestation age. The total forest AGB in six counties of Yulin District increased by 20.8 G kg, from 5.8 G kg in 1986 to 26.6 G kg in 2013, a total increase of 360%. For the forest area since 1974, the forest AGB density increased from 15.72 t

Water in the face of afforestation in the Nile Basin (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Gebrehiwot, S. G.

2013-12-01

Abstract The Nile is the longest river in the world with catchment area of more than 3 × 106 km2 that is home to a fast growing population of some 2 × 107 people. The specific runoff of the River Nile is far less than that of other major world rivers. Much of the rain falling on the catchment, ca 86%, is lost to evapotranspiration which in turn account for the relatively low specific runoff. Afforestation in the Nile Basin is one the major developmental activities in Africa with more than 80% the continent's tree plantation located in the basin. National and continental greening programs, biofuel production, land acquisition and carbon trade are some of the reasons behind the large scale afforestation. Given the complex relationship between forests and water availability, afforestation program needs to give proper consideration to their influence on water availability. Background studies in the Basin indicate that the low flow is highly dependent on the availability of grassland and woodland land covers; while the concurrent biofuel plantation and land investments have been carried out in the areas of grasslands and woodlands, as remote sensing analysis shown. The same studies on the Basin, as well as other studies from similar areas elsewhere in the world suggest that forest impacts on hydrology tend to be localized, where there may also be regional climatic impacts. So, afforestation programs in the Nile Basin need to embrace local impacts with special focus to grasslands and woodlands.

Excessive reliance on afforestation in China's arid and semi-arid regions: Lessons in ecological restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Shixiong; Chen, Li; Shankman, David; Wang, Chunmei; Wang, Xiongbin; Zhang, Hong

2011-02-01

Afforestation is a primary tool for controlling desertification and soil erosion in China. Large-scale afforestation, however, has complex and poorly understood consequences for the structure and composition of future ecosystems. Here, we discuss the potential links between China's historical large-scale afforestation practices and the program's effects on environmental restoration in arid and semi-arid regions in northern China based on a review of data from published papers, and offer recommendations to overcome the shortcomings of current environmental policy. Although afforestation is potentially an important approach for environmental restoration, current Chinese policy has not been tailored to local environmental conditions, leading to the use of inappropriate species and an overemphasis on tree and shrub planting, thereby compromising the ability to achieve environmental policy goals. China's huge investment to increase forest cover seems likely to exacerbate environmental degradation in environmentally fragile areas because it has ignored climate, pedological, hydrological, and landscape factors that would make a site unsuitable for afforestation. This has, in many cases, led to the deterioration of soil ecosystems and decreased vegetation cover, and has exacerbated water shortages. Large-scale and long-term research is urgently needed to provide information that supports a more effective and flexible environmental restoration policy.

Development of an intertidal mangrove nursery and afforestation techniques

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Untawale, A.G.

The development of an intertidal mangrove nursery and afforestation technique for regeneration and restoration of mangroves of Goa is described. Site selection, source of plant material, nursery plantation, season of transplantation, technique...

Long-term effect of land use change on soil quality: Afforestation and land abandonment in semi-arid Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Zethof, Jeroen; Cammeraat, Erik; Nadal-Romero, Estela

2016-04-01

Soils under the Mediterranean climate are vulnerable for degradation, especially after land abandonment. Abandonment is an important factor in the Mediterranean landscape as vegetation regeneration is hampered due to the characteristic semi-arid and sub-humid Mediterranean climate regime. During the past 70 year extensive afforestation projects have been conducted with the aim to protect landscapes and soils against degradation. While large investments are still being made, little is known about the impact of afforestation on soil quality on a longer time scale. During the past decade, there is a growing interest in qualifying and quantifying the carbon storage in soils by such afforestation projects, to get a better understanding of the carbon cycle and look for possibilities to fixate atmospheric CO2 in the soil. It is generally accepted that afforestation projects will increase the soil carbon pool, but data on this process is scarce. Therefore an intensive fieldwork has been carried out in Murcia, southeastern Spain to study the effects of land abandonment and afforestation on soil quality along a chronosequence and included two afforested areas (from the early '70s and 1993). The Pinus halepensis trees were planted in rows, for which the underlying calcrete was broken. Samples were taken to study changes in soil quality (Aggregate stability, Corg, N, P, K, Na), Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks and soil hydraulic properties, such as infiltration and water retention, between the afforestation projects, abandoned agricultural plots of similar age, semi-natural vegetation, cereal crop fields and almond orchards. As the natural vegetation is characterized by a spotted pattern of bare areas and trees, forming so-called "islands of fertility", both bare and vegetation covered sub-sites were sampled. First results showed a positive effect of both land abandonment and afforestation on the soil aggregation. Especially the 40-year-old plots showed underneath trees

Community Earth System Model Simulations Reveal the Relative Importance of Afforestation and Forest Management to Surface Temperature in Eastern North America

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Benjamin J. Ahlswede

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Afforestation changes the land surface energy balance, though the effects on climate in temperate regions is uncertain, particularly the changes associated with forest management. In this study, we used idealized Community Earth System Model simulations to assess the influence of afforestation and afforestation management in eastern North America on climate via changes in the biophysics of the land surface. Afforestation using broadleaf deciduous trees maintained at high leaf area index (LAI in the southern part of the study region provided the greatest climate benefit by cooling summer surface air temperatures (Tsa. In contrast, the greatest warming occurred in the northern extent of the study region when afforesting with needleleaf evergreen trees maintained at high LAI. Forest management had an equal or greater influence on Tsa than the overall decision to afforest land in the southern extent of the region. Afforestation had a greater influence on Tsa than forest management in the northern extent. Integrating our results, focused on biophysical processes, with other research quantifying carbon cycle sensitivity to management can help guide the use of temperate afforestation to optimize climate benefits. Further, our results highlight the potential importance of including forest management in simulations of past and future climate.

Financial Dilemmas Associated with the Afforestation of Low-Productivity Farmland in Poland

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Alina Źróbek-Różańska

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In Poland, 82% of forests are State-owned, and only 17% of forests constitute private property. Each year, forests are converted to other land-use types, mainly for road construction. The afforestation rate on privately-owned low-productivity land is decreasing steadily. The owners and perpetual usufructuaries of this kind of land are eligible to government subsidies to cover establishment expenditures in whole or in part, provided that the afforestation scheme complies with the local zoning plan or an outline planning permission. The above creates a dilemma for farmers—is this a profitable option of managing low-productivity land? Owners of small farms particularly often face such dilemmas. Owners of small farms, which consist of low-yield agricultural land, can be regarded as investors operating on the real estate market, but those investors have features characteristic of agricultural producers. This study relied on the net present value (NPV criterion, which is popularly used to assess the effectiveness of investments on the real estate market. A financial feasibility assessment performed with the use of such method in view of afforestation statistics and the 5% discount rate on the Polish forest market revealed the highest increase in net cumulative cash flows in the first five years, followed by a gradual decrease in successive years. The first negative cash flow was reported in year 20. NPV would remain negative because farmers would be charged with periodic maintenance expenditures until the stand reaches harvestable age at approximately 40 years. The longer the investment period, the lower the profits, even if discount rate is excluded. Investments of the type are difficult to terminate because forests younger than 20 years are difficult to sell at a price that covers growing outflows. Afforestation projects are also influenced by other economic and non-economic factors. The paper validates the research hypothesis that afforestation

Low effect of young afforestations on bird communities inhabiting heterogeneous Mediterranean cropland

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Juan S. Sánchez-Oliver

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Afforestation programs such as the one promoted by the EU Common Agricultural Policy have spread tree plantations on former cropland. These afforestations attract generalist forest and ubiquitous species but may cause severe damage to open habitat species, especially birds of high conservation value. We investigated the effects of young (<20 yr tree plantations dominated by pine P. halepensis on bird communities inhabiting the adjacent open farmland habitat in central Spain. We hypothesize that pine plantations located at shorter distances from open fields and with larger surface would affect species richness and conservation value of bird communities. Regression models controlling for the influence of land use types around plantations revealed positive effects of higher distance to pine plantation edge on community species richness in winter, and negative effects on an index of conservation concern (SPEC during the breeding season. However, plantation area did not have any effect on species richness or community conservation value. Our results indicate that the effects of pine afforestation on bird communities inhabiting Mediterranean cropland are diluted by heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.

Effects of afforestation on soil structure formation in two climatic regions of the Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

V. Podrazsky; O. Holubik; J. Vopravil; T. Khel; W. K. Moser; H. Prknova

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of agricultural land afforestation on soil characteristics. Two sites in two regions of the Czech Republic were evaluated, at lower as well as higher submountain elevations: in the regions of the Orlicke hory Mts. and Kostelec nad Cernymi lesy, afforested, arable and pasture lands were compared for basic chemical and...

Incentivizing afforestation agreements: Institutional-economic conditions and motivational drivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, R.; Lienhoop, N.; Oosterhuis, F.

2015-01-01

The main objective of this study is to estimate and compare farmer demand for afforestation agreements in the Netherlands and Germany under different institutional-economic contract design conditions. Farmers' responsiveness to financial and non-financial incentives to convert part of their land

Economics of afforestation for carbon sequestration in western Canada

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooten, van G.C.; Stennes, B.; Krcmar-Nozic, E.; Gorkom, van R.

2000-01-01

The Kyoto Accord on climate change requires developed countries to achieve CO2-emissions reduction targets, but permits them to charge uptake of carbon (C) in terrestrial (primarily forest) ecosystems against emissions. Countries such as Canada hope to employ massive afforestation programs to

Simulated Local and Remote Biophysical Effects of Afforestation over the Southeast United States in Boreal Summer

Science.gov (United States)

Guang-Shan Chen; Michael Notaro; Zhengyu Liu; Yongqiang Liu

2012-01-01

Afforestation has been proposed as a climate change mitigation strategy by sequestrating atmospheric carbon dioxide. With the goal of increasing carbon sequestration, a Congressional project has been planned to afforest about 18 million acres by 2020 in the Southeast United States (SEUS), the Great Lake states, and the Corn Belt states. However, biophysical feedbacks...

Plant species influence on soil C after afforestation of Mediterranean degraded soils

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Dominguez, Maria T.; García-Vargas, Carlos; Madejón, Engracia; Marañón, Teodoro

2015-04-01

Increasing C sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems is one of the main current environmental challenges to mitigate climate change. Afforestation of degraded and contaminated lands is one of the key strategies to achieve an increase in C sequestration in ecosystems. Plant species differ in their mechanisms of C-fixation, C allocation into different plant organs, and interaction with soil microorganisms, all these factors influencing the dynamics of soil C following the afforestation of degraded soils. In this work we examine the influence of different woody plant species on soil C dynamics in degraded and afforested Mediterranean soils. The soils were former agricultural lands that were polluted by a mining accident and later afforested with different native plant species. We analysed the effect of four of these species (Olea europaea var. sylvestris Brot., Populus alba L., Pistacia lentiscus L. and Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss.) on different soil C fractions, soil nutrient availability, microbial activity (soil enzyme activities) and soil CO2 fluxes 15 years after the establishment of the plantations. Results suggest that the influence of the planted trees and shrubs is still limited, being more pronounced in the more acidic and nutrient-poor soils. Litter accumulation varied among species, with the highest C accumulated in the litter under the deciduous species (Populus alba L.). No differences were observed in the amount of total soil organic C among the studied species, or in the concentrations of phenols and sugars in the dissolved organic C (DOC), which might have indicated differences in the biodegradability of the DOC. Microbial biomass and activity was highly influenced by soil pH, and plant species had a significant influence on soil pH in the more acidic site. Soil CO2 fluxes were more influenced by the plant species than total soil C content. Our results suggest that changes in total soil C stocks after the afforestation of degraded Mediterranean

Soil microbial community and its interaction with soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics following afforestation in central China.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Qi; Cheng, Xiaoli; Hui, Dafeng; Zhang, Qian; Li, Ming; Zhang, Quanfa

2016-01-15

Afforestation may alter soil microbial community structure and function, and further affect soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics. Here we investigated soil microbial carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN) and microbial community [e.g. bacteria (B), fungi (F)] derived from phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis in afforested (implementing woodland and shrubland plantations) and adjacent croplands in central China. Relationships of microbial properties with biotic factors [litter, fine root, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and inorganic N], abiotic factors (soil temperature, moisture and pH), and major biological processes [basal microbial respiration, microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2), net N mineralization and nitrification] were developed. Afforested soils had higher mean MBC, MBN and MBN:TN ratios than the croplands due to an increase in litter input, but had lower MBC:SOC ratio resulting from low-quality (higher C:N ratio) litter. Afforested soils also had higher F:B ratio, which was probably attributed to higher C:N ratios in litter and soil, and shifts of soil inorganic N forms, water, pH and disturbance. Alterations in soil microbial biomass and community structure following afforestation were associated with declines in basal microbial respiration, qCO2, net N mineralization and nitrification, which likely maintained higher soil carbon and nitrogen storage and stability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impacts of afforestation on low flows: Paired catchment data revisited

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Blight, JJ

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Disruption of the hydrological regime caused by afforestation is well documented. Several sets of experimental catchments were set up in South Africa between 1935 and 1980 specifically to quantify such impacts. Data emanating from these experimental...

Effect of National-Scale Afforestation on Forest Water Supply and Soil Loss in South Korea, 1971–2010

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Gang Sun Kim

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Afforestation of forests in South Korea may provide an example of the benefit of afforestation on precipitation storage and erosion control. In this study, we presented the effects of afforestation on water supply and soil loss prevention. A spatio-temporal simulation of forest water yield and soil loss was performed from 1971–2010 using InVEST water yield and SWAT models. A forest stock change map was produced by combining land cover data and National Forest Inventory data. The forest water yield increased about twice with changes in forest stock and climate from 1971–2010 and showed a spatially homogeneous water supply capacity. In the same period, the soil loss decreased more than three times, and the volatility of soil loss, in the 2010s, was smaller than before. The analysis of the change in forest stock without considering climate change showed an increase of 43% in forest water yield and a decrease of 87% in soil loss. An increase in precipitation increased the water yield, but also increased the soil loss volume. A change in forest stock led to positive changes in both. This study presents functional positive effects of the afforestation program in South Korea that can be useful in various afforestation programs in other countries.

Influence of Afforestation on the Species Diversity of the Soil Seed Bank and Understory Vegetation in the Hill-Gullied Loess Plateau, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ning; Jiao, Juying; Jia, Yanfeng; Wang, Dongli

2017-10-24

The Chinese Loess Plateau region has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. Thus, large-scale afforestation has continued during the past decades in order to control soil erosion. Afforestation can dramatically alter nutrient cycles, affect soil-carbon storage, and change hydrology. However, it is unknown how afforestation influences species diversity of the soil seed bank and understory vegetation compared with spontaneous restoration of abandoned land. Forest land with trees planted 30 years ago, abandoned slope land restored spontaneously for 30 years, and the corresponding slopes with remnant natural vegetation were selected as sampling sites. The species richness both in the soil seed bank and vegetation was significantly higher on the afforested slope compared to the spontaneously restored abandoned land. The species similarity between the afforested slope and the remnant slope land was high both in the soil seed bank and standing vegetation compared to the abandoned land. The soil seed bank density varied from 1778 ± 187 to 3896 ± 221 seeds/m², and more than half of it was constituted by annual and biennial species, with no significant difference among sampling habitats. However, the afforested slope had higher seed density of grass and shrub/subshrubs compared to the abandoned slope. The present study indicates that in the study region, characterized by serious soil erosion, afforestation can better facilitate vegetation succession compared to spontaneously restoration of abandoned slope land.

Atmospheric feedbacks in North Africa from an irrigated, afforested Sahara

Science.gov (United States)

Kemena, Tronje Peer; Matthes, Katja; Martin, Thomas; Wahl, Sebastian; Oschlies, Andreas

2018-06-01

Afforestation of the Sahara has been proposed as a climate engineering method to sequester a substantial amount of carbon dioxide, potentially effective to mitigate climate change. Earlier studies predicted changes in the atmospheric circulation system. These atmospheric feedbacks raise questions about the self-sustainability of such an intervention, but have not been investigated in detail. Here, we investigate changes in precipitation and circulation in response to Saharan large-scale afforestation and irrigation with NCAR's CESM-WACCM Earth system model. Our model results show a Saharan temperature reduction by 6 K and weak precipitation enhancement by 267 mm/year over the Sahara. Only 26% of the evapotranspirated water re-precipitates over the Saharan Desert, considerably large amounts are advected southward to the Sahel zone and enhance the West African monsoon (WAM). Different processes cause circulation and precipitation changes over North Africa. The increase in atmospheric moisture leads to radiative cooling above the Sahara and increased high-level cloud coverage as well as atmospheric warming above the Sahel zone. Both lead to a circulation anomaly with descending air over the Sahara and ascending air over the Sahel zone. Together with changes in the meridional temperature gradient, this results in a southward shift of the inner-tropical front. The strengthening of the Tropical easterly jet and the northward displacement of the African easterly jet is associated with a northward displacement and strengthening of the WAM precipitation. Our results suggest complex atmospheric circulation feedbacks, which reduce the precipitation potential over an afforested Sahara and enhance WAM precipitation.

Estimating climate change effects upon flood risk reduction by afforestation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Díaz, R.A.; Querner, E.P.

2005-01-01

In areas prone to flooding it is impossible to remove excess water by increasing drainage. Under such conditions a local solution deserves consideration. In this study the impact of afforestation is examined for the Lagunas Encadenadas of Argentina. To assess the sustainability of this intervention,

Modelling tree dynamics to assess the implementation of EU policies related to afforestation in SW Spain rangelands

Science.gov (United States)

Herguido, Estela; Pulido, Manuel; Francisco Lavado Contador, Joaquín; Schnabel, Susanne

2017-04-01

In Iberian dehesas and montados, the lack of tree recruitment compromises its long-term sustainability. However, in marginal areas of dehesas shrub encroachment facilitates tree recruitment while altering the distinctive physiognomic and cultural characteristics of the system. These are ongoing processes that should be considered when designing afforestation measures and policies. Based on spatial variables, we modeled the proneness of a piece of land to undergo tree recruitment and the results were related with the afforestation measures carried out under the UE First Afforestation Agricultural Land Program between 1992 and 2008. We analyzed the temporal tree population dynamics in 800 randomly selected plots of 100 m radius (2,510 ha in total) in dehesas and treeless pasturelands of Extremadura (hereafter rangelands). Tree changes were revealed by comparing aerial images taken in 1956 with orthophotographs and infrared ones from 2012. Spatial models that predict the areas prone either to lack tree recruitment or with recruitment were developed and based on three data mining algorithms: MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines), Random Forest (RF) and Stochastic Gradient Boosting (Tree-Net, TN). Recruited-tree locations (1) vs. locations of places with no recruitment (0) (randomly selected from the study areas) were used as the binary dependent variable. A 5% of the data were used as test data set. As candidate explanatory variables we used 51 different topographic, climatic, bioclimatic, land cover-related and edaphic ones. The statistical models developed were extrapolated to the spatial context of the afforested areas in the region and also to the whole Extremenian rangelands, and the percentage of area modelled as prone to tree recruitment was calculated for each case. A total of 46,674.63 ha were afforested with holm oak (Quercus ilex) or cork oak (Quercus suber) in the studied rangelands under the UE First Afforestation Agricultural Land Program. In

Influence of Afforestation on the Species Diversity of the Soil Seed Bank and Understory Vegetation in the Hill-Gullied Loess Plateau, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ning; Jiao, Juying; Jia, Yanfeng; Wang, Dongli

2017-01-01

The Chinese Loess Plateau region has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. Thus, large-scale afforestation has continued during the past decades in order to control soil erosion. Afforestation can dramatically alter nutrient cycles, affect soil-carbon storage, and change hydrology. However, it is unknown how afforestation influences species diversity of the soil seed bank and understory vegetation compared with spontaneous restoration of abandoned land. Forest land with trees planted 30 years ago, abandoned slope land restored spontaneously for 30 years, and the corresponding slopes with remnant natural vegetation were selected as sampling sites. The species richness both in the soil seed bank and vegetation was significantly higher on the afforested slope compared to the spontaneously restored abandoned land. The species similarity between the afforested slope and the remnant slope land was high both in the soil seed bank and standing vegetation compared to the abandoned land. The soil seed bank density varied from 1778 ± 187 to 3896 ± 221 seeds/m2, and more than half of it was constituted by annual and biennial species, with no significant difference among sampling habitats. However, the afforested slope had higher seed density of grass and shrub/subshrubs compared to the abandoned slope. The present study indicates that in the study region, characterized by serious soil erosion, afforestation can better facilitate vegetation succession compared to spontaneously restoration of abandoned slope land. PMID:29064405

Spectroscopic Characteristics of Dissolved Organic Matter in Afforestation Forest Soil of Miyun District, Beijing

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chen; Shi, Zong-Hai; Zhong, Jun; Liu, Jian-Guo; Li, Jun-Qing

2016-01-01

In this study, soil samples collected from different plain afforestation time (1 year, 4 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years) in Miyun were characterized, including total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available K (K+), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The DOM in the soil samples with different afforestation time was further characterized via DOC, UV-Visible spectroscopy, excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The results suggested that the texture of soil sample was sandy. The extracted DOM from soil consisted mainly of aliphatic chains and only a minor aromatic component. It can be included that afforestation can improve the soil quality to some extent, which can be partly reflected from the indexes like TOC, TN, TP, K+, MBC, and DOC. And the characterization of DOM implied that UV humic-like substances were the major fluorophores components in the DOM of the soil samples, which consisted of aliphatic chains and aromatic components with carbonyl, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups. PMID:27433371

The afforestation problem: a heuristic method based on simulated annealing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vidal, Rene Victor Valqui

1992-01-01

This paper presents the afforestation problem, that is the location and design of new forest compartments to be planted in a given area. This optimization problem is solved by a two-step heuristic method based on simulated annealing. Tests and experiences with this method are also presented....

Water quality improvements from afforestation in an agricultural catchment in Denmark illustrated with the INCA model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Bastrup-Birk

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Intensive agricultural land use across Europe has altered nitrogen (N budget of catchments substantially, causing widespread N pollution of freshwater. Although the N cycle in forests has changed due to increased N deposition, most forest soil waters in Europe have low nitrate concentrations. The protective function of forests on water quality has led to increasing interest in the planting of new forests on arable land as a measure to protect valuable or sensitive freshwater resources. The paper illustrates the effects of afforestation on water and N cycling using the Integrated Nitrogen Catchment (INCA model. The model was calibrated on the Horndrup catchment in the eastern part of Jutland, Denmark, which is dominated by agricultural land use but also covered by 18% of forest land. The dynamics of nitrate concentrations in the stream water were simulated successfully by INCA over a three-year period. The simulation of the dynamics of nitrate concentrations in the soil water is closely linked to the simulation of the hydrological dynamics and especially to the rainfall. The best fit was achieved for both arable and forest land during the wettest year of the study period. The model was then used to simulate the effect of afforestation of a catchment dominated by agriculture on N fluxes with seepage and runoff. Scenarios of whole catchment conversion to forest were run, based on observations of evapotranspiration and N deposition from other Danish sites. The simulated conversion to mature forest reduced runoff by 30–45% and reduced the nitrate concentrations in the soil water by 50–70%. The simulated effect of afforestation on N leaching was an almost direct reflection of the change in the N input: substantial changes in the plant demand and soil N dynamics over the afforestation period were not simulated. To simulate the N dynamics over longer time-scales, appropriate for the study of afforestation, it is suggested that the INCA model be run

Water quality improvements from afforestation in an agricultural catchment in Denmark illustrated with the INCA model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bastrup-Birk, A.; Gundersen, P.

2004-01-01

Intensive agricultural land use across Europe has altered nitrogen (N) budget of catchments substantially, causing widespread N pollution of freshwater. Although the N cycle in forests has changed due to increased N deposition, most forest soil waters in Europe have low nitrate concentrations...... was then used to simulate the effect of afforestation of a catchment dominated by agriculture on N fluxes with seepage and runoff. Scenarios of whole catchment conversion to forest were run, based on observations of evapotranspiration and N deposition from other Danish sites. The simulated conversion to mature...... forest reduced runoff by 30–45% and reduced the nitrate concentrations in the soil water by 50–70%. The simulated effect of afforestation on N leaching was an almost direct reflection of the change in the N input: substantial changes in the plant demand and soil N dynamics over the afforestation period...

Afforestation in China cools local land surface temperature

OpenAIRE

Peng, Shu-Shi; Piao, Shilong; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Ciais, Philippe; Zhou, Liming; Li, Laurent Z. X.; Myneni, Ranga B.; Yin, Yi; Zeng, Hui

2014-01-01

International audience; China has the largest afforested area in the world (~62 million hectares in 2008), and these forests are carbon sinks. The climatic effect of these new forests depends on how radiant and turbulent energy fluxes over these plantations modify surface temperature. For instance, a lower albedo may cause warming, which negates the climatic benefits of carbon sequestration. Here, we used satellite measurements of land surface temperature (LST) from planted forests and adjace...

Soil organic carbon dynamics following afforestation in the Loess Plateau of China

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, N.; Liski, J.; Chang, R. Y.; Akujärvi, A.; Wu, X.; Jin, T. T.; Wang, Y. F.; Fu, B. J.

2013-07-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool and sensitive to land use and cover change; its dynamics is critical for carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this study, we combined a modeling approach and field measurements to examine the temporal dynamics of SOC following afforestation of former arable land at six sites under different climatic conditions in the Loess Plateau during 1980-2010. The results showed that the measured mean SOC increased to levels higher than before afforestation when taking the last measurements (i.e., at age 25 to 30 yr), although it decreased in the first few years at the wetter sites. The accumulation rates of SOC were 1.58 to 6.22% yr-1 in the upper 20 cm and 1.62 to 5.15% yr-1 in the upper 40 cm of soil. The simulations reproduced the basic characteristics of measured SOC dynamics, suggesting that litter input and climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) were the major causes for SOC dynamics and the differences among the sites. They explained 88-96, 48-86 and 57-74% of the variations in annual SOC changes at the soil depths of 0-20, 0-40, and 0-100 cm, respectively. Notably, the simulated SOC decreased during the first few years at all the sites, although the magnitudes of decreases were small at the drier sites. This suggested that the modeling may be advantageous in capturing SOC changes at finer time scale. The discrepancy between the simulation and measurement was a result of uncertainties in model structure, data input, and sampling design. Our findings indicated that afforestation promoted soil carbon sequestration at the study sites, which is favorable for further restoration of the vegetation and environment. Afforestation activities should decrease soil disturbances to reduce carbon release in the early stage. The long-term strategy for carbon fixation capability of the plantations should also consider the climate and site conditions, species adaptability, and

Effect of climatic change and afforestation on water yield in the Rocky Mountain Area of North China

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Yang Zhao

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: We studied effects of climatic variability and afforestation on water yield to make a quantitative assessment of the hydrological effects of afforestation on basin water yield in the Rocky Mountain Area of North China. Area of study: Seven typical forest sub-watersheds in Chaobai River watershed, located near Beijing’s Miyun Reservoir, were selected as our study object. Material and methods: Annual water yield model and Separate evaluation method were applied to quantify the respective contributions of changes in climate and different vegetation types on variations in runoff. Main results: Statistical analysis indicated precipitation did not vary significantly whereas the annual runoff decreased significantly in the past decades. Although forest increased significantly in the late 20th century, climatic variations have the strongest contribution to the reductions in runoff, with the average contribution reaching 63.24%, while the remainder caused by human activities. Afforestation has a more positive impact on the reduction in runoff, with a contribution of 65.5%, which was more than the grassland of 17.6% and the farmland of 16.9%. Research highlights: Compared to the impact of climatic change, we believe the large-scale afforestation may not be the main reason for the reductions in basin water yield.

A new climatic classification of afforestation in Three-North regions of China with multi-source remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xiao; Zhu, Jiaojun

2017-01-01

Afforestation and reforestation activities achieve high attention at the policy agenda as measures for carbon sequestration in order to mitigate climate change. The Three-North Shelter Forest Program, the largest ecological afforestation program worldwide, was launched in 1978 and will last until 2050 in the Three-North regions (accounting for 42.4 % of China's territory). Shelter forests of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program have exhibited severe decline after planting in 1978 due to lack of detailed climatic classification. Besides, a comprehensive assessment of climate adaptation for the current shelter forests was lacking. In this study, the aridity index determined by precipitation and reference evapotranspiration was employed to classify climatic zones for the afforestation program. The precipitation and reference evapotranspiration with 1-km resolution were estimated based on data from the tropical rainfall measuring mission and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer, respectively. Then, the detailed climatic classification for the afforestation program was obtained based on the relationship between the different vegetation types and the aridity index. The shelter forests in 2008 were derived from Landsat TM in the Three-North regions. In addition, climatic zones and shelter forests were corrected by comparing with natural vegetation map and field surveys. By overlaying the shelter forests on the climatic zones, we found that 16.30 % coniferous forests, 8.21 % broadleaved forests, 2.03 % mixed conifer-broadleaved forests, and 10.86 % shrubs were not in strict accordance with the climate conditions. These results open new perspectives for potential use of remote sensing techniques for afforestation management.

[Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon leakage and net carbon sequestration from afforestation and forest management: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bo Jie; Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiao Ke; Liu, Wei Wei

2017-02-01

Forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and concentration of CO 2 reduction in the atmosphere. Forest management, especially afforestation and forest protection, could increase carbon stock of forests significantly. Carbon sequestration rate of afforestation ranges from 0.04 to 7.52 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 , while that of forest protection is 0.33-5.20 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 . At the same time, greenhouse gas (GHG) is generated within management boundary due to the production and transportation of the materials consumed in relevant activities of afforestation and forest management. In addition, carbon leakage is also generated outside boundary from activity shifting, market effects and change of environments induced by forest management. In this review, we summarized the definition of emission sources of GHG, monitoring methods, quantity and rate of greenhouse gas emissions within boundary of afforestation and forest management. In addition, types, monitoring methods and quantity of carbon leakage outside boundary of forest management were also analyzed. Based on the reviewed results of carbon sequestration, we introduced greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and carbon leakage, net carbon sequestration as well as the countervailing effects of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon leakage to carbon sequestration. Greenhouse gas emissions within management boundary counteract 0.01%-19.3% of carbon sequestration, and such counteraction could increase to as high as 95% considering carbon leakage. Afforestation and forest management have substantial net carbon sequestration benefits, when only taking direct greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and measurable carbon leakage from activity shifting into consideration. Compared with soil carbon sequestration measures in croplands, afforestation and forest management is more advantageous in net carbon sequestration and has better prospects for application in terms of net mitigation potential. Along with the

Comparison of carbon sequestration potential in agricultural and afforestation farming systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chinsu Lin

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In the last few decades, many forests have been cut down to make room for cultivation and to increase food or energy crops production in developing countries. In this study, carbon sequestration and wood production were evaluated on afforested farms by integrating the Gaussian diameter distribution model and exponential diameter-height model derived from sample plots of an afforested hardwood forest in Taiwan. The quantity of sequestrated carbon was determined based on aboveground biomass. Through pilot tests run on an age-volume model, an estimation bias was obtained and used to correct predicted volume estimates for a farm forest over a 20-year period. An estimated carbon sequestration of 11,254 t C was observed for a 189ha-hardwood forest which is equivalent to 41,264 t CO2. If this amount of carbon dioxide were exchanged on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX market, the income earned would be 821 US$ ha- 1. Carbon sequestration from rice (Oryza sativa or sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum production is discharged as a result of straw decomposition in the soil which also improves soil quality. Sugarcane production does not contribute significantly to carbon sequestration, because almost all the cane fiber is used as fuel for sugar mills. As a result of changing the farming systems to hardwood forest in this study area, carbon sequestration and carbon storage have increased at the rate of 2.98 t C ha- 1 year- 1. Net present value of afforestation for a 20-year period of carbon or wood management is estimated at around US$ 30,000 given an annual base interest rate of 3 %.

Responsiveness of soil nitrogen fractions and bacterial communities to afforestation in the Loess Hilly Region (LHR) of China

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Chengjie; Sun, Pingsheng; Kang, Di; Zhao, Fazhu; Feng, Yongzhong; Ren, Guangxin; Han, Xinhui; Yang, Gaihe

2016-06-01

In the present paper, we investigated the effects of afforestation on nitrogen fractions and microbial communities. A total of 24 soil samples were collected from farmland (FL) and three afforested lands, namely Robinia pseudoacacia L (RP), Caragana korshinskii Kom (CK), and abandoned land (AL), which have been arable for the past 40 years. Quantitative PCR and Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes were used to analyze soil bacterial abundance, diversity, and composition. Additionally, soil nitrogen (N) stocks and fractions were estimated. The results showed that soil N stock, N fractions, and bacterial abundance and diversity increased following afforestation. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the dominant phyla of soil bacterial compositions. Overall, soil bacterial compositions generally changed from Actinobacteria (Acidobacteria)-dominant to Proteobacteria-dominant following afforestation. Soil N fractions, especially for dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), were significantly correlated with most bacterial groups and bacterial diversity, while potential competitive interactions between Proteobacteria (order Rhizobiales) and Cyanobacteria were suggested. In contrast, nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) influenced soil bacterial compositions less than other N fractions. Therefore, the present study demonstrated that bacterial diversity and specific species respond to farmland-to-forest conversion and hence have the potential to affect N dynamic processes in the Loess Plateau.

Carbon Storage of bottomland hardwood afforestation in the Lower Mississippi Valley, U.S.A.

Science.gov (United States)

David T. Shoch; Gary Kaster; Aaron Hohl; Ray Souter

2009-01-01

The emerging carbon market is an increasingly important source of finance for bottomland hardwood afforestation in the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMV). Notwithstanding, there is a scarcity of empirical...

Impacts of deforestation and afforestation in the Mediterranean region as simulated by the MPI atmospheric GCM

Science.gov (United States)

Dümenil Gates, Lydia; Ließ, Stefan

2001-10-01

For two reasons it is important to study the sensitivity of the global climate to changes in the vegetation cover over land. First, in the real world, changes in the vegetation cover may have regional and global implications. Second, in numerical simulations, the sensitivity of the simulated climate may depend on the specific parameterization schemes employed in the model and on the model's large-scale systematic errors. The Max-Planck-Institute's global general circulation model ECHAM4 has been used to study the sensitivity of the local and global climate during a full annual cycle to deforestation and afforestation in the Mediterranean region. The deforestation represents an extreme desertification scenario for this region. The changes in the afforestation experiment are based on the pattern of the vegetation cover 2000 years before present when the climate in the Mediterranean was more humid. The comparison of the deforestation integration to the control shows a slight cooling at the surface and reduced precipitation during the summer as a result of less evapotranspiration of plants and less evaporation from the assumption of eroded soils. There is no significant signal during the winter season due to the stronger influence of the mid-latitude baroclinic disturbances. In general, the results of the afforestation experiment are opposite to those of the deforestation case. A significant response was found in the vicinity of grid points where the land surface characteristics were modified. The response in the Sahara in the afforestation experiment is in agreement with the results from other general circulation model studies.

Assessing recreational values of Danish forests to guide national plans for afforestation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zandersen, Marianne; Termansen, Mette

2012-01-01

Forests provide a range of recreational benefits and it is essential to include these benefits in decisions related to forest management and/or afforestation. The assessment of recreational values and preferences in North Zealand (DK) found that the per hectare value of recreational services prov...

Afforestation of Boreal Open Woodlands: Early Performance and Ecophysiology of Planted Black Spruce Seedlings

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Daniel Lord

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Open lichen woodlands (LWs are degraded stands that lack the ability to regenerate naturally due to a succession of natural and/or anthropogenic disturbances. As they represent both interesting forest restoration and carbon sequestration opportunities, we tested disc scarification and planting of two sizes of containerized black spruce (Picea mariana Mill. (BSP seedlings for their afforestation. We compared treatment of unproductive LWs to reforestation of harvested, closed-crown black spruce-feathermoss (BSFM stands. After one year, seedling survival and nutritional status were equivalent among stand types but despite higher root elongation index (REI, planted seedlings in LWs had lower relative growth rate, smaller total biomass and stem diameter than those in BSFM stands. Soil fertility variables, soil temperature, nor seedling water potential, helped at explaining this early growth response. Disc scarification significantly improved seedling first-year survival, biomass and foliar nutrient concentrations of P, Ca, and Mg. Smaller planting stock showed higher REI, higher shoot water potential, and higher foliar nutrient concentration of all but one of the measured nutrients (N, P, K and Mg. Hence, preliminary results suggest that planting of smaller containerized black spruce stock, combined with disc scarification, shows potential for afforestation of unproductive LWs. The impact of the lichen mat and other potential growth limiting factors on afforestation of these sites requires further investigation.

Contracts for afforestation and the role of monitoring for landowners' willingness to accept

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vedel, Suzanne Elizabeth; Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl; Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark

2015-01-01

The proper balance between costly monitoring and non-compliance have often been studied, however, the costs of monitoring from landowners’ perspective have only received little attention. We designed a Choice Experiment where landowners expressed their willingness to accept afforestation contracts...

From land use to land cover: Restoring the afforestation signal in a coupled integrated assessment - earth system model and the implications for CMIP5 RCP simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Vittorio, Alan V. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chini, Louise M. [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Bond-Lamberty, Benjamin [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mao, Jiafu [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Shi, Xiaoying [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Truesdale, John E. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Craig, Anthony P. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Calvin, Katherine V. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Jones, Andrew D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Collins, William D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Edmonds, James A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hurtt, George [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Thornton, Peter E. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Thomson, Allison M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2014-11-27

Climate projections depend on scenarios of fossil fuel emissions and land use change, and the IPCC AR5 parallel process assumes consistent climate scenarios across Integrated Assessment and Earth System Models (IAMs and ESMs). To facilitate consistency, CMIP5 used a novel land use harmonization to provide ESMs with seamless, 1500-2100 land use trajectories generated by historical data and four IAMs. However, we have identified and partially addressed a major gap in the CMIP5 land coupling design. The CMIP5 Community ESM (CESM) global afforestation is only 22% of RCP4.5 afforestation from 2005 to 2100. Likewise, only 17% of the Global Change Assessment Model’s (GCAM’s) 2040 RCP4.5 afforestation signal, and none of the pasture loss, were transmitted to CESM within a newly integrated model. This is a critical problem because afforestation is necessary for achieving the RCP4.5 climate stabilization. We attempted to rectify this problem by modifying only the ESM component of the integrated model, enabling CESM to simulate 66% of GCAM’s afforestation in 2040, and 94% of GCAM’s pasture loss as grassland and shrubland losses. This additional afforestation increases vegetation carbon gain by 19 PgC and decreases atmospheric CO2 gain by 8 ppmv from 2005 to 2040, implying different climate scenarios between CMIP5 GCAM and CESM. Similar inconsistencies likely exist in other CMIP5 model results, primarily because land cover information is not shared between models, with possible contributions from afforestation exceeding model-specific, potentially viable forest area. Further work to harmonize land cover among models will be required to adequately rectify this problem.

Dynamics and sources of soil organic C following afforestation of croplands with poplar in a semi-arid region in northeast China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ya-Lin Hu

Full Text Available Afforestation of former croplands has been proposed as a promising way to mitigate rising atmospheric CO2 concentration in view of the commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. Central to this C sequestration is the dynamics of soil organic C (SOC storage and stability with the development of afforested plantations. Our previous study showed that SOC storage was not changed after afforestation except for the 0-10 cm layer in a semi-arid region of Keerqin Sandy Lands, northeast China. In this study, soil organic C was further separated into light and heavy fractions using the density fractionation method, and their organic C concentration and (13C signature were analyzed to investigate the turnover of old vs. new SOC in the afforested soils. Surface layer (0-10 cm soil samples were collected from 14 paired plots of poplar (Populus × xiaozhuanica W. Y. Hsu & Liang plantations with different stand basal areas (the sum of the cross-sectional area of all live trees in a stand, ranging from 0.2 to 32.6 m(2 ha(-1, and reference maize (Zea mays L. croplands at the same sites as our previous study. Soil ΔC stocks (ΔC refers to the difference in SOC content between a poplar plantation and the paired cropland in bulk soil and light fraction were positively correlated with stand basal area (R (2 = 0.48, p<0.01 and R (2 = 0.40, p = 0.02, respectively, but not for the heavy fraction. SOCcrop (SOC derived from crops contents in the light and heavy fractions in poplar plantations were significantly lower as compared with SOC contents in croplands, but tree-derived C in bulk soil, light and heavy fraction pools increased gradually with increasing stand basal area after afforestation. Our study indicated that cropland afforestation could sequester new C derived from trees into surface mineral soil, but did not enhance the stability of SOC due to a fast turnover of SOC in this semi-arid region.

Monitoring and economic factors affecting the economic viability of afforestation for carbon sequestration projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, Kimberly; Loza-Balbuena, Isabel; Ford-Robertson, Justin

2004-01-01

The Kyoto Protocol is the first step towards achieving the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and aims among others to promote 'the protection and enhancement of carbon sinks and reservoirs'. To encourage afforestation for carbon sequestration a project must be economically viable. This study uses a model to analyse the impact on project viability of a range of carbon monitoring options, international carbon credit value and discount rate, applied to a Pinus radiata afforestation project in New Zealand. Monitoring carbon in conjunction with conventional forest inventory shows the highest return. Long-term average carbon accounting has lower accounting costs, compared to annual and 5 yearly accounting, as monitoring is only required every 5-10 years until the long-term average is attained. In this study we conclude that monitoring soil carbon stocks is not economically feasible using any of the accounting methods, when carbon is valued at US$ 10/t. This conclusion may be relevant to forest carbon sequestration projects elsewhere in the world and suggests care is needed in selecting the appropriate carbon monitoring options to avoid the risk that costs could be higher than any monetary benefits from terrestrial carbon sequestration. This would remove any commercial incentive to afforest for carbon sequestration reasons and severely limit the use of forest sinks as part of any package of measures addressing the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC

Modelling streamflow reductions resulting from commercial afforestation in South Africa: From research to application

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Gush, Mark B

2006-08-01

Full Text Available , in 1972, of legislation that required timber growers to apply for permits to establish commercial plantations. Applications to establish forestry plantations became mandatory, and were rejected if it was deemed that the afforestation would use...

Global consequences of afforestation and bioenergy cultivation on ecosystem service indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Andreas; Pugh, Thomas A. M.; Bayer, Anita D.; Doelman, Jonathan C.; Humpenöder, Florian; Anthoni, Peter; Olin, Stefan; Bodirsky, Benjamin L.; Popp, Alexander; Stehfest, Elke; Arneth, Almut

2017-11-01

Land management for carbon storage is discussed as being indispensable for climate change mitigation because of its large potential to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and to avoid further emissions from deforestation. However, the acceptance and feasibility of land-based mitigation projects depends on potential side effects on other important ecosystem functions and their services. Here, we use projections of future land use and land cover for different land-based mitigation options from two land-use models (IMAGE and MAgPIE) and evaluate their effects with a global dynamic vegetation model (LPJ-GUESS). In the land-use models, carbon removal was achieved either via growth of bioenergy crops combined with carbon capture and storage, via avoided deforestation and afforestation, or via a combination of both. We compare these scenarios to a reference scenario without land-based mitigation and analyse the LPJ-GUESS simulations with the aim of assessing synergies and trade-offs across a range of ecosystem service indicators: carbon storage, surface albedo, evapotranspiration, water runoff, crop production, nitrogen loss, and emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds. In our mitigation simulations cumulative carbon storage by year 2099 ranged between 55 and 89 GtC. Other ecosystem service indicators were influenced heterogeneously both positively and negatively, with large variability across regions and land-use scenarios. Avoided deforestation and afforestation led to an increase in evapotranspiration and enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds, and to a decrease in albedo, runoff, and nitrogen loss. Crop production could also decrease in the afforestation scenarios as a result of reduced crop area, especially for MAgPIE land-use patterns, if assumed increases in crop yields cannot be realized. Bioenergy-based climate change mitigation was projected to affect less area globally than in the forest expansion scenarios, and resulted in

Techniques for assessing the effects of afforestation on catchment hydrology: the South African experience

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Dye, PJ

2006-08-01

Full Text Available research into the effects of forest plantations on catchment hydrology. This paper provides a brief overview of some of the techniques employed by South African hydrological researchers to understand the link between afforestation and catchment water yields....

Preliminary empirical models to predict reductions in total and low flows resulting from afforestation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Scott, DF

1997-04-01

Full Text Available Mathematical models to predict runoff reductions due to afforestation are presented. The models are intended to aid decision-makers and planners who need to evaluate the water requirements of competing land uses at a district or regional scale. Five...

Carbon sequestration resulting from bottomland hardwood afforestation in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand F. Nero; Richard P. Maiers; Janet C. Dewey; Andrew J. Londo

2010-01-01

Increasing abandonment of marginal agricultural lands in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) and rising global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels create a need for better options of achieving rapid afforestation and enhancing both below and aboveground carbon sequestration. This study examines the responses of six mixtures of bottomland hardwood species...

The potential for reducing atmospheric carbon by large-scale afforestation in China and related cost/benefit analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deying Xu

1995-01-01

In this paper, the amount of carbon sequestered through large-scale afforestation and related costs and benefits are calculated, assuming that the forests are managed in perpetual rotations. Based on land availability for afforestation, 20 cases are identified in five suitable regions in China. The least expensive way of developing forests for the purpose of sequestering carbon emissions is the case of Pinus massoniana from the initial investment point of view, and then Spruce. The cases of open forest management are relatively less expensive options because of their low initial investment and long rotations, although their annual wood increments are low. Some less productive tree species have higher net costs for carbon sequestering. For most of the agroforestry systems the net costs are low, especially in the south, the southwest, and the north of China, though their initial investments are high. If the total land available is afforested, the net carbon sequestering will be about 9.7 billion tons under perpetual rotations, amounting to 16.3 times the total industrial carbon release in 1988 in China, and the total initial cost for such a programme is estimated at 19.3 billion US$. Some hindrances in developing forests in China are discussed. (Author)

[Dynamic changes of surface soil organic carbon and light-fraction organic carbon after mobile dune afforestation with Mongolian pine in Horqin Sandy Land].

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Wen; Li, Yu-qiang; Wang, Shao-kun; Feng, Jing; Su, Na

2011-08-01

This paper studied the dynamic changes of surface (0-15 cm) soil organic carbon (SOC) and light-fraction organic carbon (LFOC) in 25- and 35-year-old sand-fixing Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) plantations in Horqin Sandy Land, with a mobile dune as a comparison site. After the afforestation on mobile dune, the content of coarse sand in soil decreased, while that of fine sand and clay-silt increased significantly. The SOC and LFOC contents also increased significantly, but tended to decrease with increasing soil depth. Afforestation increased the storages of SOC and LFOC in surface soil, and the increment increased with plantation age. In the two plantations, the increment of surface soil LFOC storage was much higher than that of SOC storage, suggesting that mobile dune afforestation had a larger effect on surface soil LFOC than on SOC.

Urban Afforestation: Environmental Perception from the Surrounding Residentes of the Seedling Nersey of Teresina North, Piauí

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunamita Lima da Silva

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The need of urban afforestation is an evident reality in a tropical country with continental dimensions like Brazil. Due its geographic position. Based on that, this article analysed the afforestation project located in two place of seedling-nurseries distribution in north area through the “Teresina Mais Verde” program. In front of that scene, it aimed to analyze how is the owner view on environmental education. The search was accomplished from qualitative analysis records in two steps: bibliographic review and individual interview with the interested in acquiring the seedlings. The main reached results showed that the initiative is good.  Though the question is not only produce seedlings and delivery them to the population. There was a lack of specific strategy to reach the main aim.

Facilitating the afforestation of Mediterranean polluted soils by nurse shrubs.

Science.gov (United States)

Domínguez, María T; Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio M; Murillo, José M; Marañón, Teodoro

2015-09-15

The revegetation of polluted sites and abandoned agricultural soils is critical to reduce soil losses and to control the spread of soil pollution in the Mediterranean region, which is currently exposed to the greatest soil erosion risk in Europe. However, events of massive plant mortality usually occur during the first years after planting, mainly due to the adverse conditions of high irradiance and drought stress. Here, we evaluated the usefulness of considering the positive plant-plant interactions (facilitation effect) in the afforestation of polluted agricultural sites, using pre-existing shrubs as nurse plants. We used nurse shrubs as planting microsites for acorns of Quercus ilex (Holm oak) along a gradient of soil pollution in southwestern Spain, and monitored seedling growth, survival, and chemical composition during three consecutive years. Seedling survival greatly increased (from 20% to more than 50%) when acorns were sown under shrub, in comparison to the open, unprotected matrix. Facilitation of seedling growth by shrubs increased along the gradient of soil pollution, in agreement with the stress gradient hypothesis that predicts higher intensity of the facilitation effects with increasing abiotic stress. Although the accumulation of trace elements in seedling leaves was higher underneath shrub, the shading conditions provided by the shrub canopy allowed seedlings to cope with the toxicity provoked by the concurrence of low pH and high trace element concentrations in the most polluted sites. Our results show that the use of shrubs as nurse plants is a promising tool for the cost-effective afforestation of polluted lands under Mediterranean conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time-series analysis of the long-term hydrologic impacts of afforestation in the Águeda watershed of North-Central Portugal

Science.gov (United States)

Hawtree, D.; Nunes, J. P.; Keizer, J. J.; Jacinto, R.; Santos, J.; Rial-Rivas, M. E.; Boulet, A.-K.; Tavares-Wahren, F.; Feger, K.-H.

2014-11-01

The north-central region of Portugal has undergone significant afforestation of the species Pinus pinaster and Eucalyptus globulus since the early 1900s; however, the long-term hydrologic impacts of this land cover change are not fully understood. To contribute to a better understanding of the potential hydrologic impacts of this land cover change, this study examines the temporal trends in 7 years of data from the Águeda watershed (part of the Vouga Basin) over the period of 1936 to 2010. Meteorological and hydrological records were analysed using a combined Thiel-Sen/Mann-Kendall trend testing approach, to assess the magnitude and significance of patterns in the observed data. These trend tests indicated that there had been no significant reduction in streamflow yield over either the entire test period, or during sub-record periods, despite the large-scale afforestation which had taken place. This lack of change is attributed to both the characteristics of the watershed and the nature of the land cover change. By contrast, a number of significant trends were found for baseflow index, which showed positive trends in the early data record (primarily during Pinus pinaster afforestation), followed by a reversal to negative trends later in the data record (primarily during Eucalyptus globulus afforestation). These changes are attributed to vegetation impacts on streamflow generating processes, both due to the species differences and to alterations in soil properties (i.e. promoting water repellency of the topsoil). These results highlight the importance of considering both vegetation types/dynamics and watershed characteristic when assessing hydrologic impacts, in particular with respect to soil properties.

The application of zero-water discharge system in treating diffuse village wastewater and its benefits in community afforestation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Yonghong, E-mail: yhwu@issas.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 Beijing East Road, Nanjing 210008 (China); College of Resource and Environment, Graduate University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Xia Lizhong [State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 Beijing East Road, Nanjing 210008 (China); Hu Zhengyi [State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 Beijing East Road, Nanjing 210008 (China); College of Resource and Environment, Graduate University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Liu Shuzhi [Kunming Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kunming Environmental Protection Agency, Kunming 650000 (China); Liu, Hongbin [Institute of Agricultural Resource and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081 (China); Nath, Bibhash [School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Zhang Naiming [College of Resource and Environment, Yunnan Agriculture University, Kunming 650201 (China); Yang, Linzhang, E-mail: Lzyang@issas.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 Beijing East Road, Nanjing 210008 (China)

2011-10-15

The proposed on-site zero-water discharge system was comprised of four main components: anaerobic tank, aerobic bioreactor, activated soil filter and water-collecting well. The results demonstrate that at 350 m{sup 3} day{sup -1} of hydraulic load, the system can effectively remove pollutants from the wastewater, e.g., 86% removal of COD; 87% removal of SS; 80% removal of TP and 71% removal of TN. The growth states of the grasses, macrophytes and arbors in the activated soil filter were better than the control. The life of the activated soil filter was estimated to be {approx}12-15 yrs, based on the laboratory microcosm studies. However, humic acid contents and soil porosity have suggested that the activated soil filter was able to regenerate itself and thereby prolonging its life by reducing clogging of the pores. The results suggest that the zero-water discharge system was a promising bio-measure in treating diffuse village wastewater and benefiting community afforestation. - Highlights: > No wastewater discharges out of the zero-water discharge system during this system running. > The zero-water discharge system can efficiently remove COD, SS, TP, and TN from wastewater. > The zero-water discharge system can benefit the community afforestation. - A zero-water discharge system has proven highly-effective for removing COD, SS, TP, and TN from diffuse village wastewater and benefiting the community afforestation.

Development of Bioavailable Pools of Base Cations and P after Afforestation of Volcanic Soils in Iceland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ritter, Eva

2009-01-01

Few long-term studies have been conducted on changes in soil nutrients after afforestation in Iceland, a country with a young history of forest management. While fertilization was shown to improve survival of seedlings in the first years after planting on the nutrient limited soils, knowledge about...

Permanence of agricultural afforestation for carbon sequestration under stylized carbon markets in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

David Haim; Eric White; Ralph J. Alig

2014-01-01

This paper examines the permanence of agricultural land afforestation under stylized carbon markets at the regional level in the US. Attention is focused on Southern and Midwest regions which historically have experienced a relatively large amount of land-use change between the agriculture and forest sectors. The Forest and Agriculture Sector Optimization Model–...

Is forage productivity of meadows influenced by the afforestation of upstream hillsides? A study in NW Patagonia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weigandt, M.; Gyenge, J.; Fernandez, M. E.; Varela, S.; Schlichter, T.

2011-07-01

Meadows are important reserves of water, with a key role in the maintenance of the biodiversity and productivity of ecosystems. In Patagonia, Argentina, afforestation with fast-growing exotic conifers has slowly but continuously increased over recent decades; though unfortunately, knowledge of the effects of afforestation on water resources remains scarce, with no information at all related to its impact on water dynamics and productivity of meadows located down slope to it. The effects of Pinus ponderosa afforestation on water dynamics (soil moisture contents and groundwater level) and productivity (aboveground forage productivity) of Northwest Patagonia meadows under xeric and humid conditions were analyzed. In the humid meadow, gravimetric soil water content, groundwater level and forage productivity were similar down slope of forested and non-forested slopes, with a trend towards higher forage productivity on the forested slope. In the xeric meadow, gravimetric soil water content was always higher down slope of the non-forested slope, with no difference in groundwater level between treatments. Forage productivity was statistically similar between situations (down slope of forested and non-forested slopes), with a trend towards higher productivity in the zone with higher soil water content. The main difference in the latter was related to differences in soil texture between zones. These results suggest that coniferous plantations located upstream of this type of meadow do not produce a direct effect on its aboveground forage productivity. These systems have high complexity linked to precipitation, geomorphology and previous history of land use, which determine primarily soil water dynamics and consequently, forage productivity. (Author) 42 refs.

Land use change in a temperate grassland soil: Afforestation effects on chemical properties and their ecological and mineralogical implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Céspedes-Payret, Carlos; Piñeiro, Gustavo; Gutiérrez, Ofelia; Panario, Daniel

2012-01-01

The current change in land use of grassland in the temperate region of South America is a process associated with the worldwide expansion of annual crops and afforestation with fast growing exotic species. This last cultivation has particularly been the subject of numerous studies showing its negative effects on soil (acidification, loss of organic matter and base cations, among others). However its effects on the mineral fraction are not yet known, as it is generally considered as one of the slowest responses to changes. This stimulated the present study in order to assess whether the composition of clay minerals could be altered together with some of the physicochemical parameters affected by afforestation. This study compares the mineralogical composition of clays by X-ray diffraction (XRD) in a grassland soil (Argiudolls) under natural coverage and under Eucalyptus grandis cultivation implanted 25 years ago in a sector of the same grassland. The tendency of some physicochemical parameters, common to other studies was also compared. XRD results showed, as a most noticeable difference in A 11 and A 12 subhorizons (∼ 20 cm) under eucalyptus, the fall of the 10 Å spectrum minerals (illite-like minerals), which are the main reservoir of K in the soil. Meanwhile, the physicochemical parameters showed significant changes (p + by 34%; Ca 2+ by 44%, while the pH dropped to this level by half a point. Our results show that the exportation of some nutrients is not compensated due to the turnover of organic forestry debris; the process of soil acidification was not directly associated with the redistribution of cations, but with an incipient podzolization process; the loss of potassium together with soil acidification, leads to a drastic change in clay mineralogy, which would be irreversible. Highlights: ► Eucalyptus afforestation in a grassland soil causes a loss in fertility. ► Potassium capture by trees irreversibly affects the mineral structure of illites. �

Afforestation of Boreal Open Woodlands: Early Performance and Ecophysiology of Planted Black Spruce Seedlings

OpenAIRE

Tremblay, Pascal; Boucher, Jean-Francois; Tremblay, Marc; Lord, Daniel

2013-01-01

Open lichen woodlands (LWs) are degraded stands that lack the ability to regenerate naturally due to a succession of natural and/or anthropogenic disturbances. As they represent both interesting forest restoration and carbon sequestration opportunities, we tested disc scarification and planting of two sizes of containerized black spruce (Picea mariana Mill. (BSP)) seedlings for their afforestation. We compared treatment of unproductive LWs to reforestation of harvested, closed-crown black spr...

Local habitat and landscape influence predation of bird nests on afforested Mediterranean cropland

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Oliver, J. S.; Rey Benayas, J. M.; Carrascal, L. M.

2014-07-01

Afforestation programs such as the one promoted by the EU Common Agrarian Policy have contributed to spread tree plantations on former cropland. Nevertheless these afforestations may cause severe damage to open habitat species, especially birds of high conservation value. We investigated predation of artificial bird nests at young tree plantations and at the open farmland habitat adjacent to the tree plantations in central Spain. Predation rates were very high at both tree plantations (95.6%) and open farmland habitat (94.2%) after two and three week exposure. Plantation edge/area ratio and development of the tree canopy decreased predation rates and plantation area and magpie (Pica pica) abundance increased predation rates within tree plantations, which were also affected by land use types around plantations. The area of nearby tree plantations (positive effect), distance to the tree plantation edge (negative effect), and habitat type (mainly attributable to the location of nests in vineyards) explained predation rates at open farmland habitat. We conclude that predation rates on artificial nests were particularly high and rapid at or nearby large plantations, with high numbers of magpies and low tree development, and located in homogenous landscapes dominated by herbaceous crops and pastures with no remnants of semi-natural woody vegetation. Landscape planning should not favour tree plantations as the ones studied here in Mediterranean agricultural areas that are highly valuable for ground-nesting bird species.

[Phylogenetic analysis of CO I gene of Oncomelania snails from project of afforestation for schistosomiasis control in marshland endemic regions].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yu-Mei; Zhang, Shi-Qing; Zhu, Chuan-Gang

2012-04-01

To investigate the genetic difference of cytochrome oxidase I (CO I ) of Oncomelania snails from the project of afforestation for schistosomiasis control in marshland regions, so as to explore the effects of different ecological environments. The snails were collected from 3 different areas, Anqing, Tongling, Wuwei, i.e. the upstream, midstream and downstream regions along the Yangtz River in Anhui Province. Genomic DNA was extracted from the snails, and CO I gene fragments were amplified by PCR, then purified and sequenced. The sequences were edited by using Blast. The CO I genes of O. h. minima and Biomphalaria glabrata were used as the reference of exogenous gene. The genetic distances of the various regions were calculated by the Kimura method and phylogenetic trees were constructed with UPGMA and the NJ method of MEGA (3.1) software. The amplified CO I gene of the snail was a fragment about 700 bp including 2 primers in length. There were little genetic diversity among the different areas, the identities were higher than or equal to 98%. The genetic distances indicated that the distance between the projects of afforestation and woodland in Anqing was 0.003, while Tongling was 0.019, Wuwei was 0.007. The distances among the three projects of afforestation were 0.003-0.012. The two phylogenetic trees were constructed by the methods of UPGMA and NJ respectively, which took on very similar topo-structure in which isolates of Biomphalaria glabrata located in one clade and all the others in the other one. In the other one clade, O. H. minima located in one clade. There was little genetic diversity among Anqing, Tongling, Wuwei clusters. The afforestations of Anqing and Wuwei clustered into one group, while the woodlands of Anqing and Wuwei appeared as another group. There is a little genetic diversity of the snail cytochrome oxidase I (CO I ) in different ecological environments among the upstream, midstream and downstream regions along the Yangtz River in Anhui

Climate Change Sensitivity of Multi-Species Afforestation in Semi-Arid Benin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florent Noulèkoun

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The early growth stage is critical in the response of trees to climate change and variability. It is not clear, however, what climate metrics are best to define the early-growth sensitivity in assessing adaptation strategies of young forests to climate change. Using a combination of field experiments and modelling, we assessed the climate sensitivity of two promising afforestation species, Jatropha curcas L. and Moringa oleifera Lam., by analyzing their predicted climate–growth relationships in the initial two years after planting on degraded cropland in the semi-arid zone of Benin. The process-based WaNuLCAS model (version 4.3, World Agroforestry Centre, Bogor, Indonesia was used to simulate aboveground biomass growth for each year in the climate record (1981–2016, either as the first or as the second year of tree growth. Linear mixed models related the annual biomass growth to climate indicators, and climate sensitivity indices quantified climate–growth relationships. In the first year, the length of dry spells had the strongest effect on tree growth. In the following year, the annual water deficit and length of dry season became the strongest predictors. Simulated rooting depths greater than those observed in the experiments enhanced biomass growth under extreme dry conditions and reduced sapling sensitivity to drought. Projected increases in aridity implied significant growth reduction, but a multi-species approach to afforestation using species that are able to develop deep-penetrating roots should increase the resilience of young forests to climate change. The results illustrate that process-based modelling, combined with field experiments, can be effective in assessing the climate–growth relationships of tree species.

All-Russian Scientific Research Amelioration Institute – the Leader of the Russian Agroforestry Science: the Modern Concept of Protective Afforestation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kulik K.N.

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the activities of the All-Russian scientific-research agroforest reclamation institute and shows the importance of agroforestry as a science in control of extensive degradation processes: desertification, ravines formation, decrease in soil fertility. The paper gives the detail characteristics of main research of the institute: technology of landscape planning of adaptive forest ameliorative arrangement of eroded soils, ecological economical effectiveness of agrarian complexes on soils subjected to deflation, problems of forest amelioration of degraded pastures, and afforestation of sands, thematter of agrarian nature use on sloping soils, woody plants assortment for forest ameliorative complexes on degraded landscapes, system of integrated pest and disease control in agroforest ecosystems, and shows the importance of its introduction for protective afforestation development at the current period.

The importance of considering rainfall partitioning in afforestation initiatives in semiarid climates: A comparison of common planted tree species in Tehran, Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadeghi, Seyed Mohammad Moein; Attarod, Pedram; Van Stan, John Toland; Pypker, Thomas Grant

2016-01-01

As plantations become increasingly important sources of wood and fiber in arid/semiarid places, they have also become increasingly criticized for their hydrological impacts. An examination and comparison of gross rainfall (GR) partitioning across commonly-planted tree species (Pinus eldarica, Cupressus arizonica, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Fraxinus rotundifolia) in semiarid regions has great value for watershed and forest managers interested in managing canopy hydrological processes for societal benefit. Therefore, we performed a field study examining GR partitioning into throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), and rainfall interception (I) for these species in the semiarid Chitgar Forest Park, Tehran, Iran. An advantage to our study is that we explore the effects of forest structural differences in plantation forests experiencing similar climatic factors and storm conditions. As such, variability in GR partitioning due to different meteorological conditions is minimized, allowing comparison of structural attributes across plantations. Our results show that commonly-selected afforestation species experiencing the same climate produced differing stand structures that differentially partition GR into TF, SF, and I. P. eldarica might be the best of the four species to plant if the primary goal of afforestation is to limit erosion and stormwater runoff as it intercepted more rainfall than other species. However, the high SF generation from F. rotundifolia, and low GR necessary to initiate SF, could maximize retention of water in the soils since SF has been shown to infiltrate along root pathways and access groundwater. A consideration of GR partitioning should be considered when selecting a species for afforestation/reforestation in water-limited ecosystems. - Highlights: • Measured rain partitioning of four most common species used in semiarid afforestation • Species rain partitioning differences are important in a water management. • Recommendations provided to guide

The importance of considering rainfall partitioning in afforestation initiatives in semiarid climates: A comparison of common planted tree species in Tehran, Iran

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadeghi, Seyed Mohammad Moein, E-mail: moeinsadeghi@ut.ac.ir [Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Attarod, Pedram [Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Van Stan, John Toland [Department of Geology and Geography, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia (United States); Pypker, Thomas Grant [Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops (Canada)

2016-10-15

As plantations become increasingly important sources of wood and fiber in arid/semiarid places, they have also become increasingly criticized for their hydrological impacts. An examination and comparison of gross rainfall (GR) partitioning across commonly-planted tree species (Pinus eldarica, Cupressus arizonica, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Fraxinus rotundifolia) in semiarid regions has great value for watershed and forest managers interested in managing canopy hydrological processes for societal benefit. Therefore, we performed a field study examining GR partitioning into throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), and rainfall interception (I) for these species in the semiarid Chitgar Forest Park, Tehran, Iran. An advantage to our study is that we explore the effects of forest structural differences in plantation forests experiencing similar climatic factors and storm conditions. As such, variability in GR partitioning due to different meteorological conditions is minimized, allowing comparison of structural attributes across plantations. Our results show that commonly-selected afforestation species experiencing the same climate produced differing stand structures that differentially partition GR into TF, SF, and I. P. eldarica might be the best of the four species to plant if the primary goal of afforestation is to limit erosion and stormwater runoff as it intercepted more rainfall than other species. However, the high SF generation from F. rotundifolia, and low GR necessary to initiate SF, could maximize retention of water in the soils since SF has been shown to infiltrate along root pathways and access groundwater. A consideration of GR partitioning should be considered when selecting a species for afforestation/reforestation in water-limited ecosystems. - Highlights: • Measured rain partitioning of four most common species used in semiarid afforestation • Species rain partitioning differences are important in a water management. • Recommendations provided to guide

Modeling carbon sequestration in afforestation, agroforestry and forest management projects: the CO2FIX V.2 approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masera, O.R.; Garza-Caligaris, J.F.; Kanninen, M.; Karjalainen, T.; Liski, J.; Nabuurs, G.J.; Pussinen, A.; Jong de, B.H.J.; Mohren, G.M.J.

2003-01-01

The paper describes the Version 2 of the CO2FIX (CO2FIX V.2) model, a user-friendly tool for dynamically estimating the carbon sequestration potential of forest management, agroforesty and afforestation projects. CO2FIX V.2 is a multi-cohort ecosystem-level model based on carbon accounting of forest

Detecting of forest afforestation and deforestation in Hainan Jianfengling Forest Park (China) using yearly Landsat time-series images

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, Quanjun; Zhang, Xiao; Sun, Qi

2018-03-01

The availability of dense time series of Landsat images pro-vides a great chance to reconstruct forest disturbance and change history with high temporal resolution, medium spatial resolution and long period. This proposal aims to apply forest change detection method in Hainan Jianfengling Forest Park using yearly Landsat time-series images. A simple detection method from the dense time series Landsat NDVI images will be used to reconstruct forest change history (afforestation and deforestation). The mapping result showed a large decrease occurred in the extent of closed forest from 1980s to 1990s. From the beginning of the 21st century, we found an increase in forest areas with the implementation of forestry measures such as the prohibition of cutting and sealing in our study area. Our findings provide an effective approach for quickly detecting forest changes in tropical original forest, especially for afforestation and deforestation, and a comprehensive analysis tool for forest resource protection.

Habitat Characteristics of Bracken-Covered Areas Intended for Afforestation in Ličko Sredogorje

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zvonko Seletković

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Forest cultures in continental part of Croatia are mainly based on bracken-covered areas and moors on deserted agriculture soils and pastures. Successful afforestation i.e. establishment of forest cultures depends among other things on the understanding of habitats and ecology of forest trees. The choice of best species of forest trees for afforestation needs to be based on the research in soil and climate characteristics of target habitats. The aims of this research were to show mesoclimatic characteristics of Ličko sredogorje and microclimatic and pedological characteristics of Ličko polje. Also, based on habitat characteristics and ecology of forest trees, the aim was to determine species of forest trees suitable for afforestation of bracken-covered areas. Materials and Methods: Climate, microclimate, pedological and plant nutrition researches were done at the area of Lika highlands. Climate analysis was done according to air temperatures, amount of precipitation, relative air humidity and other climate elements and appearances. Composite soil samples were taken from the depth of 0-30 cm in order to determine plant nutrition potential. Samples were prepared for further analysis in the laboratory. Results: The highest average annual air temperature of 9.6 °C was found at weather station Gračac and the lowest at Korenica station (8.1 °C. Average amount of precipitation for this region was around 1500 mm. Monthly rain factors were ranging from arid to perhumid. Considering thermal character of the climate, the area has moderately warm climate. Average volumetric soil humidity is 14.2 %. Soil has strong acid reaction, is very humus, good to richly supplied with total nitrogen, content of physiologically active phosphorus and potassium is low, and C/N ration normal. Conclusions: According to habitat characteristics in the area of Ličko sredogorje and ecological demands of forest tree species, forest cultures of Common

Implications of albedo changes following afforestation on the benefits of forests as carbon sinks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. U. F. Kirschbaum

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Increased carbon storage with afforestation leads to a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and thus decreases radiative forcing and cools the Earth. However, afforestation also changes the reflective properties of the surface vegetation from more reflective pasture to relatively less reflective forest cover. This increase in radiation absorption by the forest constitutes an increase in radiative forcing, with a warming effect. The net effect of decreased albedo and carbon storage on radiative forcing depends on the relative magnitude of these two opposing processes.

We used data from an intensively studied site in New Zealand's Central North Island that has long-term, ground-based measurements of albedo over the full short-wave spectrum from a developing Pinus radiata forest. Data from this site were supplemented with satellite-derived albedo estimates from New Zealand pastures. The albedo of a well-established forest was measured as 13 % and pasture albedo as 20 %. We used these data to calculate the direct radiative forcing effect of changing albedo as the forest grew.

We calculated the radiative forcing resulting from the removal of carbon from the atmosphere as a decrease in radiative forcing of −104 GJ tC⁻¹ yr⁻¹. We also showed that the observed change in albedo constituted a direct radiative forcing of 2759 GJ ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Thus, following afforestation, 26.5 tC ha⁻¹ needs to be stored in a growing forest to balance the increase in radiative forcing resulting from the observed albedo change. Measurements of tree biomass and albedo were used to estimate the net change in radiative forcing as the newly planted forest grew. Albedo and carbon-storage effects were of similar magnitude for the first four to five years after tree planting, but as the stand grew older, the carbon storage effect increasingly dominated. Averaged over the whole

Water balance in afforestation chronosequences of common oak and Norway spruce on former arable land in Denmark and southern Sweden

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosenqvist, L.; Hansen, K.; Vesterdal, L.; Salm, van der C.

2010-01-01

Precipitation, throughfall and soil moisture were measured, and interception, transpiration and water recharge were estimated in four afforestation chronosequences on former arable land at two Danish locations (Vestskoven and Gejlvang) and at one southern Swedish location (Tonnersjoheden).

Effect of organic amendments on the afforestation performance of plant species on degraded semiarid conditions

OpenAIRE

Hueso Gonzalez, Paloma

2016-01-01

Vegetation plays a fundamental role in soil conservation, so it is common to consider an increase in vegetation cover as one of the techniques to mitigate the effects of desertification in Mediterranean forest environments. There are two factors limiting the establishment and growth of seedlings in dry environments: (i) an excessive radiation and, (ii) the limited availability of water during the summer drought. During an afforestation plan, soil p...

Afforestation impacts microbial biomass and its natural {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N abundance in soil aggregates in central China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Junjun; Zhang, Qian; Yang, Fan; Lei, Yao; Zhang, Quanfa; Cheng, Xiaoli, E-mail: xlcheng@fudan.edu.cn

2016-10-15

We investigated soil microbial biomass and its natural abundance of δ{sup 13}C and δ{sup 15}N in aggregates (> 2000 μm, 250–2000 μm, 53–250 μm and < 53 μm) of afforested (implementing woodland and shrubland plantations) soils, adjacent croplands and open area (i.e., control) in the Danjiangkou Reservoir area of central China. The afforested soils averaged higher microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) levels in all aggregates than in open area and cropland, with higher microbial biomass in micro-aggregates (< 250 μm) than in macro-aggregates (> 2000 μm). The δ{sup 13}C of soil microbial biomass was more enriched in woodland soils than in other land use types, while δ{sup 15}N of soil microbial biomass was more enriched compared with that of organic soil in all land use types. The δ{sup 13}C and δ{sup 15}N of microbial biomass were positively correlated with the δ{sup 13}C and δ{sup 15}N of organic soil across aggregates and land use types, whereas the {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N enrichment of microbial biomass exhibited linear decreases with the corresponding C:N ratio of organic soil. Our results suggest that shifts in the natural {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N abundance of microbial biomass reflect changes in the stabilization and turnover of soil organic matter (SOM) and thereby imply that afforestation can greatly impact SOM accumulation over the long-term. - Highlights: • Afforested soils averaged higher microbial biomass in all aggregates than cropland. • Microbial biomass was higher in micro-aggregates than in macro-aggregates. • δ{sup 13}C and δ{sup 15}N of microbe positively correlated with δ{sup 13}C and δ{sup 15}N of organic soil. • {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N enrichment of microbe was negatively related to with soil C:N ratio.

Did enhanced afforestation cause high severity peat burn in the Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire?

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, S. L.; Moore, P. A.; Flannigan, M. D.; Wotton, B. M.; Waddington, J. M.

2018-01-01

Climate change mediated drying of boreal peatlands is expected to enhance peatland afforestation and wildfire vulnerability. The water table depth-afforestation feedback represents a positive feedback that can enhance peat drying and consolidation and thereby increase peat burn severity; exacerbating the challenges and costs of wildfire suppression efforts and potentially shifting the peatland to a persistent source of atmospheric carbon. To address this wildfire management challenge, we examined burn severity across a gradient of drying in a black spruce dominated peatland that was partially drained in 1975-1980 and burned in the 2016 Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire. We found that post-drainage black spruce annual ring width increased substantially with intense drainage. Average (±SD) basal diameter was 2.6 ± 1.2 cm, 3.2 ± 2.0 cm and 7.9 ± 4.7 cm in undrained (UD), moderately drained (MD) and heavily drained (HD) treatments, respectively. Depth of burn was significantly different between treatments (p threshold will aid in developing effective adaptive management techniques and protecting boreal peatland carbon stocks.

A coevolutionary perspective on the adoption of sustainable land use practices: The case of afforestation on degraded croplands in Uzbekistan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boezeman, D.F.; Villamor, G.B.; Djanibekov, N.; Djanibekov, U.; Assche, K. van; Villamor, G.

2018-01-01

Cotton export substantially contributes to Uzbekistan's economy. To produce cotton, the state imposes output targets on farmers which results in intensified cotton production practices, and consequently in land degradation. Improving degraded croplands via afforestation is an option explored through

Afforestation contribution to Carbon and Nitrogen budgets of forest in a natural park in south Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Lozano-García, Beatriz; Parras-Alcántara, Luis

2015-04-01

Forests are important ecosystems because they provide wood products to society as well as many services (recreation, habitat functions, the regulation of water, erosion, and air quality). However, the society has recently focused its attention on forests for two reasons; sequestration of carbon, on the one hand, and provision of biomass for bioenergy, on the other, also illustrates the possible trade-off even within the theme of climate change mitigation. Due to this fact, the forest surface has increased in Spain, as well in Europe in the last decades. The area covered by forest represents 34% in Europe and 35.6% in Spain compared to the total surface. A powerful afforestation policy was carried out in Spain from the 40's decade in forward. The main objective was to increase the forest surface with trees. Two main actions were developed under these repopulations, the transformation of pasture land in forest, on the one hand, and the introduction of fast-growing tree species, on the second hand. Therefore, currently, there are a lot of forest areas in Spain in which the introduced species coexist with native. In addition, the spatial variation of soil properties is significantly influenced by some environmental factors such as topographic aspect that induced microclimate differences, topographic (landscape) positions, parent materials, and vegetation communities. Topographic aspect induces local variation in temperature and precipitation solar radiation and relative humidity, which along with chemical and physical composition of the substrate, are the main regulators of decomposition rates of organic matter. The aim of this study were, i) to evaluate the effect of afforestation policies on carbon and nitrogen budgets in a natural park in Spain and ii) to study the topographic aspect effect on the capacity of SOC and N storage. Our results show how the afforestated areas (in which there are simultaneously both, natural species and introduced species) had higher soil

The carbon-sequestration potential of a global afforestation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, S.; Schopfhauser, W.

1995-01-01

The authors analyzed the changes in the carbon cycle that could be achieved with a global large-scale afforestation program that is economically, politically and technically feasible. They estimated that of the areas regarded as suitable for large-scale plantations, only about 345 million ha would actually be available for plantations and agroforestry for the sole purpose of sequestering carbon. The maximum annual rate of carbon fixation (1.48 Gt/yr) would only be achieved 60 years after the establishment of the plantation - 1.14 Gt by above-ground biomass and 0.34 Gt by below-ground biomass. Over the periods from 1995 to 2095, a total of 104 Gt of carbon would be sequestered. This is substantially lower than the amount of carbon required to offset current carbon emissions (3.8 Gt/yr) in order to stabilize the carbon content of the atmosphere. 108 refs., 1 fig., 14 tabs

Land use change in a temperate grassland soil: Afforestation effects on chemical properties and their ecological and mineralogical implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cespedes-Payret, Carlos, E-mail: carlos.cespedespayret@gmail.com [UNCIEP, Instituto de Ecologia y Ciencias Ambientales (IECA), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Igua 4225, C.P. 11.400, Montevideo (Uruguay); Pineiro, Gustavo, E-mail: estudiosgeologicos@gmail.com [Departamento de Evolucion de Cuencas, Instituto de Ciencias Geologicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Igua 4225, C.P. 11.400, Montevideo (Uruguay); Gutierrez, Ofelia, E-mail: gutierrez.ofelia@gmail.com [UNCIEP, Instituto de Ecologia y Ciencias Ambientales (IECA), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Igua 4225, C.P. 11.400, Montevideo (Uruguay); Panario, Daniel, E-mail: daniel.panario@gmail.com [UNCIEP, Instituto de Ecologia y Ciencias Ambientales (IECA), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la Republica, Igua 4225, C.P. 11.400, Montevideo (Uruguay)

2012-11-01

The current change in land use of grassland in the temperate region of South America is a process associated with the worldwide expansion of annual crops and afforestation with fast growing exotic species. This last cultivation has particularly been the subject of numerous studies showing its negative effects on soil (acidification, loss of organic matter and base cations, among others). However its effects on the mineral fraction are not yet known, as it is generally considered as one of the slowest responses to changes. This stimulated the present study in order to assess whether the composition of clay minerals could be altered together with some of the physicochemical parameters affected by afforestation. This study compares the mineralogical composition of clays by X-ray diffraction (XRD) in a grassland soil (Argiudolls) under natural coverage and under Eucalyptus grandis cultivation implanted 25 years ago in a sector of the same grassland. The tendency of some physicochemical parameters, common to other studies was also compared. XRD results showed, as a most noticeable difference in A{sub 11} and A{sub 12} subhorizons ({approx} 20 cm) under eucalyptus, the fall of the 10 A spectrum minerals (illite-like minerals), which are the main reservoir of K in the soil. Meanwhile, the physicochemical parameters showed significant changes (p < 0.01) to highly significant ones under eucalyptus, particularly in these subhorizons, where on average soil organic matter decreased by 43%; K{sup +} by 34%; Ca{sup 2+} by 44%, while the pH dropped to this level by half a point. Our results show that the exportation of some nutrients is not compensated due to the turnover of organic forestry debris; the process of soil acidification was not directly associated with the redistribution of cations, but with an incipient podzolization process; the loss of potassium together with soil acidification, leads to a drastic change in clay mineralogy, which would be irreversible. Highlights

Streamflow responses to afforestation with Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus patula and to felling in the Mokobulaan experimental catchments, South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Scott, DF

1997-12-10

Full Text Available of the eucalypts are presented. Afforestation with eucalypts of an entire catchment with a virgin annual runoff of 236 mm caused a statistically significant decrease in streamflow in the third year after planting and the stream dried up completely in the ninth year...

Heterotrophic soil respiration in drained peatlands: Abiotic drivers, and changes after clearfelling and afforestation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maekiranta, P.

2012-07-01

Climate change is likely to affect the large carbon (C) stocks of northern peatlands. These C reservoirs may further be affected by human-induced forestry activities and changes in land use. Possible responses of peatland C storages to these changes have significant uncertainties mainly because of the difficulties in predicting peat decomposition rates in changing conditions. This study aims at revealing the effects of abiotic drivers, especially soil temperature and water table level (WL), on peat decomposition rate indicated by heterotrophic peat soil respiration (R{sub PEAT}) in drained forested peatlands. Furthermore it aims to describe the changes in R{sub PEAT} following clearfelling in forestry-drained peatlands and afforestation of former agricultural organic soil croplands. For this, R{sub PEAT} was estimated using chambers to measure CO{sub 2} efflux from trenched litter-free plots, at nine afforested organic soil cropland sites and one forestrydrained site with clearfelling treatment. This study revealed that within the studied sites soil temperature was the main driver of R{sub PEAT}. It was also apparent that the old peat storage in these sites was rather resistant to the short-term changes in WL conditions; i.e. fluctuations of WL caused only minor changes in R{sub PEAT}. The study also demonstrated that in low water level conditions there were mechanisms that could hinder R{sub PEAT}. Excessive WL drawdown (>61cm ) was observed to reduce R{sub PEAT} and furthermore, in low water level conditions the temperature sensitivity of R{sub PEAT} was reduced. These findings suggest that climate change and the associated increase in temperature would have the potential to substantially increase soil C release from drained peatlands. This C release may, however, be constrained, if warming is accompanied by changes in evapotranspiration, precipitation regimes, or the frequency of extreme events (e.g. droughts) that would severely affect WL and surface soil

The identification of suitable areas for afforestation in order to reduce the potential for surface runoff in the upper and middle sectors of Buzãu catchment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ROMULUS COSTACHE

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Deforestations, besides the global climate change, are the main cause of the intensification of f loods and flash - floods in the latest years. Since surface runoff is the main phenomenon leading to floods or flash - floods, afforestation is necessary, forest coverage being the element that retains most of the water from precipitation. The study area, repr esented by the upper and middle sectors of Buzau River basin, is one of the most affected regions of Romania by torrential phenomena. Also, the study area was chosen due to its considerable deforestation. This paper proposes a methodology created exclusive ly by GIS techniques in order to identify the areas suitable for afforestation. Thus, land cover and slope relief were taken into account when running the GIS model. Database processing and obtaining the final results were possible by implementing a workfl ow in Model Builder from ArcGIS 10.3, which can be later used as a tool for other study areas. The results of the study highlight Balaneasa, Bâsca Chiojdului and Sărăţel river basins, which record the highest shares of areas suitable for afforestation.

Time series analysis of the long-term hydrologic impacts of afforestation in the Águeda watershed of north-central Portugal

Science.gov (United States)

Hawtree, D.; Nunes, J. P.; Keizer, J. J.; Jacinto, R.; Santos, J.; Rial-Rivas, M. E.; Boulet, A.-K.; Tavares-Wahren, F.; Feger, K.-H.

2015-07-01

The north-central region of Portugal has undergone significant land cover change since the early 1900s, with large-scale replacement of natural vegetation types with plantation forests. This transition consisted of an initial conversion primarily to Pinus pinaster, followed by a secondary transition to Eucalyptus globulus. This land cover change is likely to have altered the hydrologic functioning of this region; however, these potential impacts are not fully understood. To contribute to a better understanding of the potential hydrologic impacts of this land cover change, this study examines the temporal trends in 75 years of data from the Águeda watershed (part of the Vouga Basin) over the period of 1936-2010. A number of hydrometeorological variables were analyzed using a combined Thiel-Sen/Mann-Kendall trend-testing approach, to assess the magnitude and significance of patterns in the observed data. These trend tests indicated that there have been no significant reductions in streamflow over either the entire test period, or during sub-record periods, despite the large-scale afforestation which has occurred. This lack of change in streamflow is attributed to the specific characteristics of the watershed and land cover change. By contrast, a number of significant trends were found for baseflow index, with positive trends in the early data record (primarily during Pinus pinaster afforestation), followed by negative trends later in the data record (primarily during Eucalyptus globulus afforestation). These trends are attributed to land use and vegetation impacts on streamflow generating processes, both due to species differences and to alterations in soil properties (i.e., infiltration capacity, soil water repellency). These results highlight the importance of considering both vegetation types/dynamics and watershed characteristic when assessing hydrologic impacts, in particular with respect to soil properties.

Measuring restoration progress using pore- and surface-water chemistry across a chronosequence of formerly afforested blanket bogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaffney, Paul P J; Hancock, Mark H; Taggart, Mark A; Andersen, Roxane

2018-08-01

During the restoration of degraded bogs and other peatlands, both habitat and functional recovery can be closely linked with nutrient cycling, which is reflected in pore- and surface-water chemistry. Several peatland restoration studies have shown that the time required for recovery of target conditions is slow (>10 years); for heavily-impacted, drained and afforested peatlands of northern Scotland, recovery time is unknown. We monitored pore- and surface-water chemistry across a chronosequence of formerly drained, afforested bog restoration sites spanning 0-17 years, using a space-for-time substitution, and compared them with open blanket bog control sites. Our aims were to measure rate of recovery towards bog conditions and to identify the best suite of water chemistry variables to indicate recovery. Our results show progress in recovery towards bog conditions over a 0-17 year period post-restoration. Elements scavenged by trees (Mg, Na, S) completely recovered within that period. Many water chemistry variables were affected by the restoration process itself, but recovered within 11 years, except ammonium (NH 4 + ), Zn and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) which remained elevated (when compared to control bogs) 17 years post restoration. Other variables did not completely recover (water table depth (WTD), pH), exhibiting what we term "legacy" effects of drainage and afforestation. Excess N and a lowered WTD are likely to slow the recovery of bog vegetation including key bog plants such as Sphagnum mosses. Over 17 years, we measured near-complete recovery in the chemistry of surface-water and deep pore-water but limited progress in shallow pore-water. Our results suggest that at least >17 years are required for complete recovery of water chemistry to bog conditions. However, we expect that newer restoration methods including conifer harvesting (stem plus brash) and the blocking of plough furrows (to increase the WTD) are likely to accelerate the restoration process

How much will afforestation of former cropland influence soil C stocks? A synthesis of paired sampling, chronosequence sampling and repeated sampling studies

Science.gov (United States)

Vesterdal, Lars; Hansen, K.; Stupak, I.; Don, Axel; Poeplau, C.; Leifeld, Jens; van Wesemael, Bas

2010-05-01

The need for documentation of land-use change effects on soil C is high on the agenda in most signatory countries to the Kyoto Protocol. Large land areas in Europe have experienced land-use change from cropland to forest since 1990 by direct afforestation as well as abandonment and regrowth of marginally productive cropland. Soil C dynamics following land-use change remain highly uncertain due to a limited number of available studies and due to influence of interacting factors such as land use history, soil type, and climate. Common approaches for estimation of potential soil C changes following land-use change are i) paired sampling of plots with a long legacy of different land uses, ii) chronosequence studies of land-use change, and lastly iii) repeated sampling of plots subject to changed land use. This paper will synthesize the quantitative effects of cropland afforestation on soil C sequestration based on all three approaches and will report on related work within Cost 639. Paired plots of forest and cropland were used to study the general differences between soil C stocks in the two land uses. At 27 sites in Denmark distributed among different regions and soil types forest floor and mineral soil were sampled in and around soil pits. Soil C stocks were higher in forest than cropland (mean difference 22 Mg C ha-1 to 1 m depth). This difference was caused solely by the presence of a forest floor in forests; mineral soil C stocks were similar (108 vs. 109 Mg C ha-1) in the two land uses regardless of soil type and the soil layers considered. The chronosequence approach was employed in the AFFOREST project for evaluation of C sequestration in biomass and soils following afforestation of cropland. Two oak (Quercus robur) and four Norway spruce (Picea abies) afforestation chronosequences (age range 1 to 90 years) were studied in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. Forest floor and mineral soil (0-25 cm) C contents were as a minimum unchanged and in most cases there

Analyzing the hydrological impact of afforestation and tree species in two catchments with contrasting soil properties using the spatially distributed model MIKE SHE SWET

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenborg, Torben Obel; Christiansen, Jesper Riis; Pang, Bo

2017-01-01

afforestation or forest conversion impacts the water resource at the catchment scale. We hypothesize that the groundwater formation and streamflow is increased when water consuming conifers are replaced with the less consumptive broadleaf tree species. To test this a distributed hydrological model...

Relationships between respiration, chemical and microbial properties of afforested mine soils with different soil texture and tree species: Does the time of incubation matter

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Józefowska, A.; Pietrzykowski, M.; Woś, B.; Cajthaml, T.; Frouz, Jan

2017-01-01

Roč. 80, May (2017), s. 102-109 ISSN 1164-5563 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : afforested mine soils * soil texture * tree species * chemical properties * microbial properties Subject RIV: DF - Soil Science OBOR OECD: Soil science Impact factor: 2.445, year: 2016

Effects of afforestation and deforestation on the deposition, cycling and leaching of elements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, L.

1998-01-01

forest, its input, cycling, turnover, and possible leaching is of crucial interest for forest management. The input of oxidised forms of nitrogen, together with sulphur, contributes to acidification of forest soils, but internal transformation processes, like nitrification, also contribute....... In parallel, changes in land use and management practice have contributed to changes in the cycling of elements and in soil conditions. Afforestation and deforestation can also change atmospheric dry deposition and the processes controlling the mobility of nutrients and acidifying substances. Different types...... of forest management such as choice of tree species, deforestation by clear-felling or selection forest, fertilization, liming, sludge and compost addition, etc. will influence the leaching of nutrients from forest ecosystems. Since nitrogen is assumed to be the most important macronutrient in European...

Simulating Catchment Scale Afforestation for Mitigating Flooding

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, M. S.; Bathurst, J. C.; Quinn, P. F.; Birkinshaw, S.

2016-12-01

After the 2013-14, and the more recent 2015-16, winter floods in the UK there were calls to 'forest the uplands' as a solution to reducing flood risk across the nation. However, the role of forests as a natural flood management practice remains highly controversial, due to a distinct lack of robust evidence into its effectiveness in reducing flood risk during extreme events. This project aims to improve the understanding of the impacts of upland afforestation on flood risk at the sub-catchment and full catchment scales. This will be achieved through an integrated fieldwork and modelling approach, with the use of a series of process based hydrological models to scale up and examine the effects forestry can have on flooding. Furthermore, there is a need to analyse the extent to which land management practices, catchment system engineering and the installation of runoff attenuation features (RAFs), such as engineered log jams, in headwater catchments can attenuate flood-wave movement, and potentially reduce downstream flood risk. Additionally, the proportion of a catchment or riparian reach that would need to be forested in order to achieve a significant impact on reducing downstream flooding will be defined. The consequential impacts of a corresponding reduction in agriculturally productive farmland and the potential decline of water resource availability will also be considered in order to safeguard the UK's food security and satisfy the global demand on water resources.

Aerial seeding technique for afforestation of degraded lands - an assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vedant, C.S.

1984-01-01

Seeds of Prosopis juliflora, Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo and Helloptelea integrifolia were dispersed from a fixed-wing aircraft over 863.5 hectares of heavily ravined and eroded land in the area of the Chambal R., Agra District, Uttar Pradesh, in June 1982. The area was divided into 6 blocks of 54-223 hectare. The results were assessed in May 1984 by counting and measuring seedlings established in 36 sample plots (50 x 2 m) over the area. The mean number of seedlings/hectare was 1038, with a range of 514-1780 over the 6 blocks. Reasons for the wide variation are discussed, and the data are analysed in terms of differential germination: 25% of the sown area was blank and 16.7% adequately germinated (more than 2000 seedlings/hectare); ravine tops were usually without seedings and ravine slopes more highly populated. Some 96% of the seedlings were P. juliflora and the remaining 4% A. nilotica. The cost of the sowing operation was Rs122.30/hectare, and it is concluded that it is an appropriate method for afforesting extensive tracts of denuded land.

Changes in Soil Microbial Community and Its Effect on Carbon Sequestration Following Afforestation on the Loess Plateau, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Yun; Cheng, Man; Huang, Yimei; An, Shaoshan; Darboux, Frédéric

2017-08-22

Afforestation plays an important role in soil protection and ecological restoration. The objective of this study is to understand the effect of afforestation on soil carbon and soil microbial communities in the Loess Plateau of China. We measured two chemically-separated carbon fractions (i.e., humic acid, HA, and fulvic acid, FA) and soil microbial communities within shrublands (18-year-old Caragana korshinskii Kom (shrubland I) and 28-year-old Caragana korshinskii Kom (shrubland II)) and cropland. The size and structure of the soil microbial community was measured by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. The analysis of C-fractions indicated that at a depth of 0-20 cm, FA-C concentration in shrubland I and shrubland II were 1.7 times that of cropland, while HA-C had similar values across all three sites. Total PLFAs, G⁺ (Gram positive) bacterial, G - (Gram negative) bacterial, and actinobacterial PLFAs were highest in shrubland II, followed by shrubland I and finally cropland. Fungal PLFAs were significantly higher in shrubland II compared to the other sites. Additionally, we found a high degree of synergy between main microbial groups (apart from fungi) with FA-C. We concluded that planting C. korshinskii in abandoned cropland could alter the size and structure of soil microbial community, with these changes being closely related to carbon sequestration and humus formation.

Study on a technology to afforest water level varying part of a reservoir; Chosuichi suii hendobu ryokuka gijutsu ni kansuru kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onodera, O.; Matsubara, K.; Koyama, S. [Hokkaido Electric Power Co. Inc., Sapporo (Japan)

1999-03-19

Equisetum was noted as a plant adaptable to stringent environment referred to as the water level varying part of a reservoir, and was used for afforestation trials. The afforestation trials were performed at the reservoir of Uryuu Dam No. 1 and the regulating reservoir of Moiwa Dam of Hokkaido Electric Power Company. Although the rate of water level variation is small at Uryuu Dam No. 1, it is necessary for Equisetum to withstand submergence and drought for an extended period of time. Moiwa Dam has high water level variation rate, but its water depth is small, and the reservoir is free of long-term submergence and drought. As a result of long-term observation from 1993 through 1997, Equisetum was found having grown well at lower altitude part with higher submergence frequency. It has grown favorably even in parts where submergence rate reaches about 80%. However, at higher altitude with submergence rate of 10% or lower, decrement trend was seen. At Moiwa Dam, Equisetum was all buried in accumulated sand and earth, revealing that such an environment is unsuitable for Equisetum as the one subject to effect of sand and earth that flow in during freshet. (NEDO)

Excessive Afforestation and Soil Drying on China's Loess Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shuilei; Yang, Dawen; Yang, Yuting; Piao, Shilong; Yang, Hanbo; Lei, Huimin; Fu, Bojie

2018-03-01

Afforestation and deforestation as human disturbances to vegetation have profound impacts on ecohydrological processes influencing both water and carbon cycles and ecosystem sustainability. Since 1999, large-scale revegetation activities such as "Grain-to-Green Program" have been implemented across China's Loess Plateau. However, negative ecohydrological consequences, including streamflow decline and soil drying have emerged. Here we estimate the equilibrium vegetation cover over the Loess Plateau based on an ecohydrological model and assess the water balance under the equilibrium and actual vegetation cover over the past decade. Results show that the current vegetation cover (0.48 on average) has already exceeded the climate-defined equilibrium vegetation cover (0.43 on average) in many parts of the Loess Plateau, especially in the middle-to-east regions. This indicates a widespread overplanting, which is found to primarily responsible for soil drying in the area. Additionally, both the equilibrium vegetation cover and soil moisture tend to decrease under future (i.e., 2011-2050) climate scenarios due to declined atmospheric water supply (i.e., precipitation) and increased atmospheric water demand (i.e., potential evapotranspiration). Our findings suggest that further revegetation on the Loess Plateau should be applied with caution. To maintain a sustainable ecohydrological environment in the region, a revegetation threshold is urgently needed to guide future revegetation activities.

Growth and Nutrient Status of Introduced Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) Afforestation in Arid and Semi Arid Areas of Iran

OpenAIRE

Moshki, A.; Lamersdorf, N. P.

2011-01-01

Under global climate change it is expected that many arid regions in the world will experience enhanced desertification in the next decades. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a one commonly used species for afforestation projects in arid regions of Iran due to its soil rehabilitation capabilities. This study aims to characterize how Robinia growth parameters and nutrient status interacted and were influenced soil properties. The experiment was conducted at three Robinia plantations in...

Aleppo pine afforestation in the Massis del Caroig, Eastern Spain. The impact on soil water repellency and infiltration rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerdà, Artemi; González Pelayo, Óscar; Jordán, Antonio; Mataix Solera, Jorge; Úbeda, Xavier

2015-04-01

Paloma Hueso and co-workers (2014; 2015) researched the impact of soil treatment on soil erosion and organic matter recovery in Mediterranean types ecosystems and they demonstrated that the surface wash and the soil quality is determined by the soil management. Afforestation and proper management with fertilizers, mulches and vegetation recovery, are common strategies to flight against soil erosion in Mediterranean type ecosystems García Orenes et al., 2010; Barbera et al., 2012; García Orenes et al., 2012; Mekuria and Aynekulu, 2013; Jiménez et al., 2015; Tengberg et al., 2015; Tesfaye et al., 2015). However, Hueso et al., (2014; 2015) did not paid attention to the impact that water repellency can trigger in the runoff generation and water repellency when soils increase the organic matter. In Eastern Spain, afforestation with Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) was very popular during the XX century, although little is know about his impact on soil hydrology. Many of the impacts of afforestation were found positive (García et al., 2000; Maestre et al., 2003; Bellot et al., 2004; Maestre and Cortina, 2004; Chirino et al., 2006; Querejeta et al., 2008; ). This research shows the impact of Pinus halepensis Mill. on soil water repellency, in comparison to the natural scrubland and the cover of Quercus ilex. Within the El Teularet-Sierra de Enguera Experimental Station five types of vegetation covers were selected: Pinus halepensis, Quercus Ilex, Quercus coccifera, Rosmarinus officinalis, Thymus vulgaris and Brachypodium retusum. The Water Drop Penetration Time method (Cerda and Doerr; 2007; 2008) was applied. A hundred drops were applied at the soil surface, 1, 2, 5 and 10 cm depth 5 times along the year 2013 under different soil moisture content. The results show that the water repllency of the soils is: Pinus Pinus halepensis > Quercus coccifera > Rosmarinus officinalis > Quercus ilex > Thymus vulgaris > Brachypodium retusum. This is related to the higher

Improving artificial forest biomass estimates using afforestation age information from time series Landsat stacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Liangyun; Peng, Dailiang; Wang, Zhihui; Hu, Yong

2014-11-01

China maintains the largest artificial forest area in the world. Studying the dynamic variation of forest biomass and carbon stock is important to the sustainable use of forest resources and understanding of the artificial forest carbon budget in China. In this study, we investigated the potential of Landsat time series stacks for aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation in Yulin District, a key region of the Three-North Shelter region of China. Firstly, the afforestation age was successfully retrieved from the Landsat time series stacks in the last 40 years (from 1974 to 2013) and shown to be consistent with the surveyed tree ages, with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) value of 4.32 years and a determination coefficient (R (2)) of 0.824. Then, the AGB regression models were successfully developed by integrating vegetation indices and tree age. The simple ratio vegetation index (SR) is the best candidate of the commonly used vegetation indices for estimating forest AGB, and the forest AGB model was significantly improved using the combination of SR and tree age, with R (2) values from 0.50 to 0.727. Finally, the forest AGB images were mapped at eight epochs from 1985 to 2013 using SR and afforestation age. The total forest AGB in seven counties of Yulin District increased by 20.8 G kg, from 5.8 G kg in 1986 to 26.6 G kg in 2013, a total increase of 360 %. For the persistent forest area since 1974, the forest AGB density increased from 15.72 t/ha in 1986 to 44.53 t/ha in 2013, with an annual rate of about 0.98 t/ha. For the artificial forest planted after 1974, the AGB density increased about 1.03 t/ha a year from 1974 to 2013. The results present a noticeable carbon increment for the planted artificial forest in Yulin District over the last four decades.

Use of exotic species in afforestation and facilitation for the establishment of biological invasion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliano Ricardo Fabricante

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to inventory the species used in landscaping the Campus of Agricultural Sciences of the Federal University of Paraíba, Areia, PB, Brazil and to rank them according to their origin and their invasive potential. Through walks throughout the study area (active search, we cataloged all the species used in local afforestation and classified them as native or exotic. Exotic plants were also classified as to their invasive potential. Altogether, we identified 76 species belonging to 67 genera and 25 families. Of these, only 26 species were native. The results of this study are worrisome because of the large number of exotic species used for planting at the study site (50 species, including known aggressive species: Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Azadirachta indica A. Juss. and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam. de Wit.

Impacts of afforestation and silviculture on the soil C balance of tropical tree plantations: belowground C allocation, soil CO2 efflux and C accretion (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Epron, D.; Koutika, L.; Mareschal, L.; Nouvellon, Y.

2013-12-01

Tropical forest plantations will provide a large part of the global wood supply which is anticipated to increase sharply in the next decades, becoming a valuable source of income in many countries, where they also contribute to land use changes that impact the global carbon (C) cycle. Tropical forest plantations established on previous grasslands are potential C sinks offsetting anthropogenic CO2 emissions. When they are managed on short rotations, the aboveground biomass is frequently removed and transformed into wood products with short lifetimes. The soil is thus the only compartment for durable C sequestration. The soil C budget results from the inputs of C from litterfall, root turnover and residues left at logging stage, balanced by C losses through heterotrophic respiration and leaching of organic C with water flow. Intensive researches have been conducted these last ten years in eucalypt plantations in the Congo on the effects of management options on soil fertility improvement and C sequestration. Our aim is to review important results regarding belowground C allocation, soil CO2 efflux and C accretion in relation to management options. We will specifically address (i) the soil C dynamics after afforestation of a tropical savannah, (ii) the impact of post-harvest residue management, and (iii) the beneficial effect of introducing nitrogen fixing species for C sequestration. Our results on afforestation of previous savannah showed that mechanical soil disturbance for site preparation had no effect on soil CO2 efflux and soil C balance. Soil C increased after afforestation despite a rapid disappearance of the labile savannah-derived C because a large fraction of savannah-derived C is stable and the aboveground litter layer is as the major source of CO2 contributing to soil CO2 efflux. We further demonstrated that the C stock in and on the soil slightly increased after each rotation when large amounts of residues are left at logging stage and that most of

Soil moisture decline due to afforestation across the Loess Plateau, China

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Xiaoxu; Shao, Ming'an; Zhu, Yuanjun; Luo, Yi

2017-03-01

The Loess Plateau of China is a region with one of the most severe cases of soil erosion in the world. Since the 1950s, there has been afforestation measure to control soil erosion and improve ecosystem services on the plateau. However, the introduction of exotic tree species (e.g., R. pseudoacacia, P. tabulaeformis and C. korshinskii) and high-density planting has had a negative effect on soil moisture content (SMC) in the region. Any decrease in SMC could worsen soil water shortage in both the top and deep soil layers, further endangering the sustainability of the fragile ecosystem. This study analyzed the variations in SMC following the conversion of croplands into forests in the Loess Plateau. SMC data within the 5-m soil profile were collected at 50 sites in the plateau region via field survey, long-term in-situ observations and documented literature. The study showed that for the 50 sites, the depth-averaged SMC was much lower under forest than under cropland. Based on in-situ measurements of SMC in agricultural plots and C. korshinskii plots in 2004-2014, SMC in the 0-4 m soil profile in both plots declined significantly (p resources demands in the Loess Plateau.

Large scale afforestation projects mitigate degradation and increase the stability of the karst ecosystems in southwest China

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Y.; Tong, X.; Wang, K.; Fensholt, R.; Brandt, M.

2017-12-01

With the aim to combat desertification and improve the ecological environment, mega-engineering afforestation projects have been launched in the karst regions of southwest China around the turn of the new millennium. A positive impact of these projects on vegetation cover has been shown, however, it remains unclear if conservation efforts have been able to effectively restore ecosystem properties and reduce the sensitivity of the karst ecosystem to climate variations at large scales. Here we use passive microwave and optical satellite time series data combined with the ecosystem model LPJ-GUESS and show widespread increase in vegetation cover with a clear demarcation at the Chinese national border contrasting the conditions of neighboring countries. We apply a breakpoint detection to identify permanent changes in vegetation time series and assess the vegetation's sensitivity against climate before and after the breakpoints. A majority (74%) of the breakpoints were detected between 2001 and 2004 and are remarkably in line with the implementation and spatial extent of the Grain to Green project. We stratify the counties of the study area into four groups according to the extent of Grain to Green conservation areas and find distinct differences between the groups. Vegetation trends are similar prior to afforestation activities (1982-2000), but clearly diverge at a later stage, following the spatial extent of conservation areas. Moreover, vegetation cover dynamics were increasingly decoupled from climatic influence in areas of high conservation efforts. Whereas both vegetation resilience and resistance were considerably improved in areas with large conservation efforts thereby showing an increase in ecosystem stability, ongoing degradation and an amplified sensitivity to climate variability was found in areas with limited project implementation. Our study concludes that large scale conservation projects can regionally contribute to a greening Earth and are able to

Shifts in composition of avian communities related to temperate-grassland afforestation in southeastern South America Alterações na composição de comunidades de aves relacionadas ao florestamento de campos temperados no sudeste da América do Sul

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Rafael A. Dias

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Afforestation of temperate grasslands with fast-growing trees for industrial pulpwood production is spreading in South America. Despite high afforestation rates resulting from governmental policies that stimulate pulpwood production in grasslands of southern Brazil and Uruguay, the impact of this activity on biodiversity remains to be properly assessed. We used an Impact-Reference study design to evaluate how grassland afforestation affects the composition of grassland bird assemblages. We sampled eucalyptus plantations and neighboring natural grasslands in southern Brazil from 2006-2009, and relied on nested sampling and analysis to separate the effects of afforestation from the natural variability of grasslands. We recorded a significant difference in composition between assemblages from grasslands and tree plantations. Species adapted to open, treeless areas tended to be negatively affected in relation to edge or forest birds in eucalyptus plantations. Afforestation is systematically replacing the bird assemblage of hilltop grasslands by a collection of common edge and forest species that occur in nearby riverine and hillside forests. Although most grassland birds negatively affected by tree plantations are common and widespread, observed and predicted afforestation rates in southeastern South America may result in regional population reductions in the near future.O florestamento de campos temperados com árvores de crescimento rápido para a produção industrial de celulose está aumentando na América do Sul. Apesar das elevadas taxas de florestamento resultantes de políticas governamentais que estimulam o plantio de árvores para celulose em campos do sul do Brasil e Uruguai, o impacto dessa atividade sobre a biodiversidade ainda carece de avaliação adequada. Utilizamos um delineamento experimental do tipo impacto-referência para avaliar como o florestamento dos campos afeta a composição da assembleia de aves campestres. Amostramos

[Effect of soil phenolic acids on soil microbe of coal-mining depressed land after afforestation restoration by different tree species].

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Ji, Li; Yang, Li Xue

2017-12-01

Phenolic acids are one of the most important factors that influence microbial community structure. Investigating the dynamic changes of phenolic acids and their relationship with the microbial community structure in plantation soils with different tree species could contribute to better understanding and revealing the mechanisms of microbial community changes under afforestation restoration in coal-mining subsidence areas. In this study, plantations of three conifer and one deciduous species (Pinus koraiensis, Larix gmelinii, Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, and Populus ussuriensis) were established on abandoned coal-mining subsidence areas in Baoshan District, Shuangyashan City. The contents of soil phenols, 11 types of phenolic acids, and microbial communities in all plots were determined. The results showed that the contents of soil complex phenol in plantations were significantly higher than that of abandoned land overall. Specifically, soils in larch and poplar plantations had higher contents of complex phenol, while soils in larch and Korean pine plantations had greater contents of total phenol. Moreover, soil in the P. koraiensis plantation had a higher content of water-soluble phenol compared with abandoned lands. The determination of 11 phenolic acids indicated that the contents of ferulic acid, abietic acid, β-sitosterol, oleanolic acid, shikimic acid, linoleic acid, and stearic acid were higher in plantation soils. Although soil phenol contents were not related with soil microbial biomass, the individual phenolic acids showed a significant relationship with soil microbes. Ferulic acid, abietic acid, and β-sitosterol showed significant promoting effects on soil microbial biomass, and they showed positive correlations with fungi and fungi/bacteria ratio. These three phenolic acids had higher contents in the poplar plantation, suggesting that poplar affo-restation had a beneficial effect on soil quality in coal-mining subsidence areas.

A ton is not always a ton: A road-test of landfill, manure, and afforestation/reforestation offset protocols in the U.S. carbon market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Carrie M.; Lazarus, Michael; Smith, Gordon R.; Todd, Kimberly; Weitz, Melissa

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Protocols are the foundation of an offset program. • Using sample projects, we “road test” landfill, manure and afforestation protocols from 5 programs. • For a given project, we find large variation in the volume of offsets generated. • Harmonization of protocols can increase the likelihood that “a ton is a ton”. • Harmonization can enhance prospects for linking emission trading systems. -- Abstract: The outcome of recent international climate negotiations suggests we are headed toward a more fragmented carbon market, with multiple emission trading and offset programs operating in parallel. To effectively harmonize and link across programs, it will be important to ensure that across offset programs and protocols that a “ton is a ton”. In this article, we consider how sample offsets projects in the U.S. carbon market are treated across protocols from five programs: the Clean Development Mechanism, Climate Action Reserve, Chicago Climate Exchange, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and the U.S. EPA's former program, Climate Leaders. We find that differences among protocols for landfill methane, manure management, and afforestation/reforestation project types in accounting boundary definitions, baseline setting methods, measurement rules, emission factors, and discounts lead to differences in offsets credited that are often significant (e.g. greater than 50%). We suggest opportunities for modification and harmonization of protocols that can improve offset quality and credibility and enhance prospects for future linking of trading units and systems

Soil organic carbon sequestration as affected by afforestation: the Darab Kola forest (north of Iran) case study.

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Kooch, Yahya; Hosseini, Seyed Mohsen; Zaccone, Claudio; Jalilvand, Hamid; Hojjati, Seyed Mohammad

2012-09-01

Following the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, afforestation of formerly arable lands and/or degraded areas has been acknowledged as a land-use change contributing to the mitigation of increasing atmospheric CO(2) concentration in the atmosphere. In the present work, we study the soil organic carbon sequestration (SOCS) in 21 year old stands of maple (Acer velutinum Bioss.), oak (Quercus castaneifolia C.A. Mey.), and red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) in the Darab Kola region, north of Iran. Soil samples were collected at four different depths (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, and 30-40 cm), and characterized with respect to bulk density, water content, electrical conductivity, pH, texture, lime content, total organic C, total N, and earthworm density and biomass. Data showed that afforested stands significantly affected soil characteristics, also raising SOCS phenomena, with values of 163.3, 120.6, and 102.1 Mg C ha(-1) for red pine, oak and maple stands, respectively, vs. 83.0 Mg C ha(-1) for the control region. Even if the dynamics of organic matter (OM) in soil is very complex and affected by several pedo-climatic factors, a stepwise regression method indicates that SOCS values in the studied area could be predicted using the following parameters, i.e., sand, clay, lime, and total N contents, and C/N ratio. In particular, although the chemical and physical stabilization capacity of organic C by soil is believed to be mainly governed by clay content, regression analysis showed a positive correlation between SOCS and sand (R = 0.86(**)), whereas a negative correlation with clay (R = -0.77(**)) was observed, thus suggesting that most of this organic C occurs as particulate OM instead of mineral-associated OM. Although the proposed models do not take into account possible changes due to natural and anthropogenic processes, they represent a simple way that could be used to evaluate and/or monitor the potential of each forest plantation in immobilizing organic C in soil (thus

Do agricultural terraces and forest fires recurrence in Mediterranean afforested micro-catchments alter soil quality and soil nutrient content?

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E Lucas-Borja, Manuel; Calsamiglia, Aleix; Fortesa, Josep; García-Comendador, Julián; Gago, Jorge; Estrany, Joan

2017-04-01

Bioclimatic characteristics and intense human pressure promote Mediterranean ecosystems to be fire-prone. Afforestation processes resulting from the progressive land abandonment during the last decades led to greater biomass availability increasing the risk of large forest fires. Likewise, the abandonment and lack of maintenance in the terraced lands constitute a risk of land degradation in terms of soil quantity and quality. Despite the effects of fire and the abandonment of terraced lands on soil loss and physico-chemical properties are identified, it is not clearly understood how wildfires and abandonment of terraces affect soil quality and nutrients content. Microbiological soil parameters and soil enzymes activities are biomarkers of the soil microbial communitýs functional ability, which potentially enables them as indicators of change, disturbance or stress within the soil community. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of terracing (abandoned and non-abandoned) on the soil enzyme activities, microbiological soil parameters and soil nutrients dynamics in three Mediterranean afforested micro-catchments (i.e., fire recurrence in the last 20 years; i.e., unburned areas, burned once and burned twice. The combination of the presence of terraces and the recurrence of forest fire, thirty-six plots of 25 m2 were sampled along the these three micro-catchments collecting four replicas at the corners of each plot. The results elucidated how non-terraced and unburned plots presented the highest values of soil respiration rate and extracellular soil enzymes. Differences between experimental plots with different forest fire recurrence or comparing terraced and unburned plots with burned plots were weaker in relation to biochemical and microbiological parameters. Soil nutrient content showed an opposite trend with higher values in terraced plots, although differences were weaker. We conclude that terraced landscapes present poorer soil quality

Distribution of chemical compartments of soil organic matter and c stocks of a cambisol from south Brazil as affected by Pinus afforestation

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Henrique Cesar Almeida

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Distribution and stocks of soil organic matter (SOM compartments after Pinus monoculture introduction in a native pasture area of a Cambisol, Santa Catarina, Brazil, were investigated. Pinus introduction increased soil acidity, content of exchangeable Al+3 and diminished soil nutrients. Nevertheless, soil C stock increased in all humic fractions of the 0-5 cm layer after Pinus afforestation. In the subsurface, the vegetation change only promoted SOM redistribution from the NaOH-extractable humic substances to a less hydrophobic humin fraction. Under Pinus, soil organo-mineral interactions were relevant up to a 15 cm depth, while in pasture environment, this mechanism occurred mainly in the surface layer.

Uses of Single Photon Lidar (SPL) in the Monitoring Reporting and Verification of afforestation and carbon offset projects

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Dolan, K. A.; DeCola, P.; Dubayah, R.; Huang, W.; Hurtt, G. C.; Tang, H.; Whitehurst, A.

2017-12-01

As societies move towards increased valuation of carbon through markets, regulations, and voluntary agreements the need to develop comprehensive, traceable and continuous, carbon monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems has risen in priority locally to globally. Future landuse decisions, to conserve, develop or reforest, rests on the perceived valuation of anthropogenic and ecological benefits, as well as our ability to measure, report, verify, and "project" those benefits. Two carbon markets in the US, the Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the California Cap and Trade, accept carbon credits or offsets from the forestry sector from avoided emissions through forest conservation, by the enhancement land carbon sequestration through improved forest management and through reforestation projects. These investments often go beyond state, and national boundaries. For example, Blue Source a leading investment firm in forest carbon credits invested in over 20,000 acres of Pennsylvania forests in collaboration with The Nature Conservatory (TNC) Forest Conservation Program. Further local to national governments are writing their own climate policies and regulations and are setting targets for forest carbon storage and sequestration as part of their climate action portfolios. Yet, often little resources or effort is left for monitoring the success of projects such as afforestation initiatives once they have been completed. While field data is critical to monitoring efforts, covering the vast areas needed and getting accurate structural information from field campaigns alone can be difficult and costly. The use of Lidar as a supplement to other developed forest monitoring techniques has advanced significantly over the last decade. Here we evaluate the use of single photon lidar (SPL) collected in the summer of 2015, developed for rapidly collecting high-density, three-dimensional data over a variety of terrain targets, to aid in carbon offset MRV on an

Natural regeneration of trees in three types of afforested stands in the Taihang Mountains, China.

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Xitian Yang

Full Text Available Natural regeneration is the natural process by which plants replace themselves. It is a cost-effective way to re-establish vegetation, and it helps to preserve genetic identity and diversity. In this study, we investigated the natural regeneration of trees in three types of afforested stands in the Taihang Mountains, China, which were dominated by Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust, Quercus variabilis (Chinese cork oak and Platycladus orientalis (Chinese arborvitae respectively. A consistent pattern was found among the three types of stands, being that the density of seedlings was positively correlated with the overstory canopy cover and negatively correlated with the covers of shrub, herb and litter layers. While a positive correlation between the density of seedlings and stand age was found for the conifer stands, negative correlations were found for the two types of broadleaf stands. Correlations between the density of saplings and the stand attributes were not consistent among the three types of stands. The two types of broadleaf stands had higher densities of seedlings and saplings than the conifer stands. While the broadleaf stands had adequate recruits for regeneration, the conifer stands did not have enough recruits. Our findings suggest that the overstory canopy should be prevented from being disturbed, any reduction of the canopy cover will decrease the recruits and affect the regeneration.

Effect on a long-term afforestation of pine in a beech domain in NE-Spain as reflected in soil C and N isotopic signature

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Girona García, Antonio; Badía-Villas, David; González-Pérez, José Antonio; Tomás Jiménez-Morillo, Nicasio; Martí-Dalmau, Clara

2015-04-01

The replacement of native beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) afforestation may exert changes in soil properties, particularly in soil organic matter (SOM) (Carceller and Vallejo, 1996). Stable isotopic signatures of light elements (d13C, d15N) in soils and plants are valuable proxies for the identification of biogeochemical processes and their rates in the pedosphere (Andreeva et al., 2013 and refs therein). In this work the C and N stable isotopic analysis is used as a proxy to detect changes in SOM surrogated to the effect of centennial replacement of beech by the Scots pinewood. Two acid soil profiles, developed on quartzites under a humid climate at an altitude of 1400-1500 masl, have been sampled in Moncayo (Iberian range, NE-Spain). For each soil profile three O-layers (litter: OL, fragmented litter OF and humified litter OH) and mineral soil horizons (Ah, E, Bhs and C) were sampled. Content and bulk isotopic signature of light elements (C and N) were analysed in a Flash 2000 elemental micro-analyser coupled via a ConFlo IV interface to a Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) (Thermo Scientific, Bremen, Germany). Isotopic ratios are reported as parts per thousand deviations from appropriate standards. The standard deviations of d13C and d15N were typically less than ± 0.05 per thousand, ± 0.2 per thousand, respectively. After 100 years since the pine afforestation, no differences on C content were observed in the O-layers, ranging from 30-47% in pine soils and 37-47 % in beech soils. Similarly, no differences on N content were observed in the O-layers, ranging from 1.24-1.86 % in pine soils and 1.70-1.71 % in beech soils. C and N contents decrease progressively in depth with the exception of E-horizons where the lowest C and N content values were found. C/N ratio is higher in pine soil (20.7-38.1) than in beech O soil horizons (21.8-27.5), showing similar behavior with soil depth. Pine biomass was slightly

Evaluating Carbon Sequestration and Solar Forcing Feedbacks Resulting from North American Afforestation

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Mykleby, P.; Snyder, P. K.; Twine, T. E.

2013-12-01

The planting of trees and forests has long been accepted as a practical and efficient method to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Assertive measures are now needed to ensure that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) do not continue to rise and cause additional planetary warming. However, recent studies have detected inadvertent biophysical feedbacks associated with land cover changes, especially in higher northern latitudes. The changes in surface reflectivity that occur when converting a lighter, more reflective surface, such as a grassland or bare soil, into a darker conifer forest, can result in surface warming due to the forest absorbing more shortwave radiation. This warming counteracts the cooling effect resulting from a reduction in atmospheric CO2 with increased vegetation productivity. This effect is further intensified in the higher northern latitudes where snow cover is prevalent during the long winter; the planting of trees can significantly decrease the reflectivity compared with white snow. The goal of this study is to determine whether the amount of carbon sequestered exceeds the carbon equivalent of the radiative forcing due to the change in surface reflectivity. This study uses the IBIS dynamic vegetation model with modified carbon dynamics for conifer forests validated with numerous Ameriflux and Fluxnet Canada field sites with varying stand ages and species compositions. We present results of model performance based on validation of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net radiation observations. Results from this study will be used to assess not only the net effect of conifer forest establishment on the long term carbon storage, but also the duration of time that a given location would remain a carbon sink during the lifetime of the forest. Only then, can policymakers begin to discuss the efficacy of afforestation as a sound climate mitigation strategy.

Stand growth 20 years after planting on Flakmossen - the significance of drainage and fertilization in an afforestation trial on a peat harvesting field in the province of Vaermland, West Central Sweden; Skogstillvaexten ca 20 aar efter plantering paa Flakmossen - dikningens och goedslingens betydelse vid beskogning paa en avslutad torvtaekt i Vaermland

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Lehto, Bjoern

2005-04-15

This study was performed in an afforestation experiment established 1982 on an abandoned peat harvesting area, Flakmossen, in the province of Vaermland, SW Sweden. The experimental design include planting with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), in combination with various drainage intensities (20, 30, and 40 m between ditches), and fertilizer doses 0, 100, and 200 g PK per seedling applied at the date of planting. The aim of this study was to achieve more knowledge about the conditions on afforestation of peat harvesting areas, especially regarding drainage intensity and fertilization requirements, by means of determining the stand growth and yield in the Flakmossen trial. The forest growth did not differ significantly between the drainage intensities tested when the same amount of phosphor and potassium fertilizer was added. Thus, shorter distances between ditches than 40 m can not be recommended. When no fertilization was carried out seedling survival was very low, and the growth of survived seedlings was poor. The largest diameter and height growth were observed in the areas where the highest dose of phosphorus and potassium (200 g/seedling) was given. The results indicate that the average site growth capacity during a rotation period is 7-8 m{sup 3}/ha/yr. This is about 40 % higher than the average for all forest land in the province. The results indicate that afforestation of peat harvesting areas should be considered as effective land use.

Use of innovative groundcovers in Mediterranean afforestations: aerial and belowground effects in hybrid walnut.

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Angelo Vitone

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Forest restoration in the Mediterranean area is particularly limited by water scarcity in summer and by weed competition, especially during the first years after establishment. The negative impact of these factors can be mitigated through environmentally friendly and cost-effective techniques which favour root development. This study describes the results of innovative weeding techniques in a reforestation carried out in a former agricultural field in Solsona, NE Spain, under Continental Mediterranean Sub-humid climate conditions. The tested weeding techniques included both novel groundcovers (based on prototypes built on a new biodegradable biopolymer, jute treated with resin and recycled rubber and reference techniques, i.e. herbicide application and polyethylene and commercial biofilm groundcovers. We studied the response of hybrid walnut (Juglans x intermedia to the application of these techniques during the first vegetative period in terms of survival, aerial growth and aboveground and belowground biomass allocation. The innovative groundcovers resulted generally in similar outcomes as the reference techniques with regard to tree survival and growth, and to better results in the case of belowground and, to a lesser extent, total tree biomass. Although preliminary, our results suggest that the tested novel groundcovers, notably the model based on treated jute, represent a promising alternative to plastic mulching and herbicide application in afforestation of agricultural lands in Mediterranean continental conditions. Besides these promising productive results, the novel groundcovers bring together relevant technical and environmental benefits, related to their use (not requiring removal or being reusable and composition, based on biodegradable or recycled materials.

The Landscape Ecological Impact of Afforestation on the British Uplands and Some Initiatives to Restore Native Woodland Cover

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Bunce Robert G. H.

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The majority of forest cover in the British Uplands had been lost by the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, because of felling followed by overgrazing by sheep and deer. The situation remained unchanged until a government policy of afforestation, mainly by exotic conifers, after the First World War up to the present day. This paper analyses the distribution of these predominantly coniferous plantations, and shows how they occupy specific parts of upland landscapes in different zones throughout Britain Whilst some landscapes are dominated by these new forests, elsewhere the blocks of trees are more localised. Although these forests virtually eliminate native ground vegetation, except in rides and unplanted land, the major negative impacts are at the landscape level. For example, drainage systems are altered and ancient cultural landscape patterns are destroyed. These impacts are summarised and possible ways of amelioration are discussed. By contrast, in recent years, a series of projects have been set up to restore native forest cover, as opposed to the extensive plantations of exotic species. Accordingly, the paper then provides three examples of such initiatives designed to restore native forests to otherwise bare landscapes, as well as setting them into a policy context. Whilst such projects cover a limited proportion of the British Uplands they nevertheless restore forest to landscapes at a local level.

Carbon and nitrogen pools in soil and vegetation at afforestation of a cutover peatland; Kol- och kvaevefoerraad i mark och vegetation vid beskogning av en avslutad torvtaekt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Torbjoern; Lundin, Lars

2006-02-15

There are a number of land-use alternatives for cutover peat areas after finished peat cutting. One land-use alternative is afforestation. In this investigation it was studied how drainage, soil treatments including fertilization, and plantation affected the carbon storage 20 years later. The studied area is located on the mire Flakmossen in the county of Vaermland, SW Sweden. Peat was harvested on 34 hectare of this mire up to 1945. The major part of the cutover area was abandoned until 1982 when after-use activities started. The depth of the remaining peat varied between a few decimeters up to about two meters. Prior to any soil measures, determination of peatland conditions was carried out. Important to this investigation was, a priori, the carbon store, i.e. remaining peat thickness was crucial. Therefore, peat depth was thoroughly investigated on 14 hectares of the cutover area in summer 1983. The remaining peat was also sampled at different depths within 18 plots of the whole cutover peat area. These samples were analyzed on i.a. concentrations of carbon and nitrogen. As bulk density also was determined, the amounts of carbon and nitrogen in the remaining peat could be estimated. A very good correlation was found between peat depth and the carbon pool in the peat. After-use activities included two afforestation projects that in the beginning of the 1980's were set up on the abandoned peat cutover area. One project was a conventional pine plantation on 19 hectares, where the effects of different drain spacings and PK-fertilizer doses were studied. The other project was an intensively managed forest experiment carried out on 14 hectares. This area was first drained and then fertilized with on average 23 tonnes of wood fly ash, 0.4 tonnes of raw phosphate and 0.25 tonnes of superphosphate per hectares. The applied fertilizers and the uppermost 30-40 cm of the peat were then mixed by a tractor-drawn rotovator in one meter wide strips. In these strips, on the

A young afforestation area in Iceland was a moderate sink to CO2 only a decade after scarification and establishment

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B. D. Sigurdsson

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This study reports on three years (2004–2006 of measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE over a young Siberian larch plantation in Iceland established on previously grazed heathland pasture that had been scarified prior to planting. The study evaluated the variation of NEE and its component fluxes, gross primary production (GPP and ecosystem respiration (Re, with the aim to clarify how climatic factors controlled the site's carbon balance. The young plantation acted as a relatively strong sink for CO2 during all of the three years, with an annual net sequestration of −102, −154, and −67 g C m−2 for 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. This variation was more related to variation in carbon efflux (Re than carbon uptake (GPP. The abiotic factors that showed the strongest correlation to Re were air temperature during the growing season and soil water potential. The GPP mostly followed the seasonal pattern in irradiance, except in 2005, when the plantation experienced severe spring frost damage that set the GPP back to zero. It was not expected that the rather slow-growing Siberian larch plantation would be such a strong sink for atmospheric CO2 only twelve years after site preparation and afforestation.

Organic Carbon Accumulation in Topsoil Following Afforestation with Willow: Emphasis on Leaf Litter Decomposition and Soil Organic Matter Quality

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Benoit Lafleur

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Short-rotation intensive cultures (SRICs of willows can potentially sequester carbon (C in soil. However, there is limited information regarding the factors governing soil organic C (Corg accumulation following afforestation. The objectives of this study were to: (i determine whether willow leads to Corg accumulation in the topsoil (0–10 cm two to six years after establishment in five SRICs located along a large climatic/productivity gradient in southern Quebec, and (ii assess the influence of leaf litter decomposition and soil organic matter (OM quality on Corg accumulation in the topsoil. Topsoil Corg concentrations and pools under SRICs were, on average, 25% greater than reference fields, and alkyls concentrations were higher under SRICs. On an annualized basis, Corg accumulation rates in the topsoil varied between 0.4 and 4.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Estimated annual litterfall C fluxes were in the same order of magnitude, suggesting that SRICs can accumulate Corg in the topsoil during early years due to high growth rates. Leaf litter decomposition was also related to Corg accumulation rates in the topsoil. It was positively correlated to growing season length, degree-days, and growing season average air and topsoil temperature (r > 0.70, and negatively correlated to topsoil volumetric water content (r = −0.55. Leaf litter decomposition likely occurred more quickly than that of plants in reference fields, and as it progressed, OM became more decay resistant, more stable and accumulated as Corg in the topsoil.

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lei; Wei, Wei; Chen, Liding; Mo, Baoru

2012-12-01

SummarySoil moisture is an effective water source for plant growth in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Characterizing the response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation is important for the sustainability of vegetation restoration in this region. In this paper, the dynamics of soil moisture were quantified to evaluate the effect of land use on soil moisture at a depth of 2 m. Specifically, the gravimetric soil moisture content was measured in the soil layer between 0 and 8 m for five land use types in the Longtan catchment of the western Loess Plateau. The land use types included traditional farmland, native grassland, and lands converted from traditional farmland (pasture grassland, shrubland and forestland). Results indicate that the deep soil moisture content decreased more than 35% after land use conversion, and a soil moisture deficit appeared in all types of land with introduced vegetation. The introduced vegetation decreased the soil moisture content to levels lower than the reference value representing no human impact in the entire 0-8 m soil profile. No significant differences appeared between different land use types and introduced vegetation covers, especially in deeper soil layers, regardless of which plant species were introduced. High planting density was found to be the main reason for the severe deficit of soil moisture. Landscape management activities such as tillage activities, micro-topography reconstruction, and fallowed farmland affected soil moisture in both shallow and deep soil layers. Tillage and micro-topography reconstruction can be used as effective countermeasures to reduce the soil moisture deficit due to their ability to increase soil moisture content. For sustainable vegetation restoration in a vulnerable semi-arid region, the plant density should be optimized with local soil moisture conditions and appropriate landscape management practices.

Calculation on the impacts of forestation, afforestation and reforestation on the C-sequestration potential in Belgian forests ecosystems. COST E21 Workshop. Contribution of forests and forestry to mitigate greenhouse effects. Joensuu (Finland. 28-30 Sep 2000

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Perrin D.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The Belgian climate policy is formulated at the federal level, requiring cooperation between regional and federal administrations. Around a fifth of the total area of Belgium is covered by forests. Around 80/ of the productive forests are in the Walloon region. Reported values for land use change and forestry categories give a potential of 2,057 kt eq. CO2 per year. Given the existing regional forest inventories (RFI: RFI1 for 1984 and RFI2 for 1999, an estimate has been made to consolidate reported data. Afforestation, deforestation and reforestation activities are calculated according the Intergovernemental Panel on Climate Change special report on land use, land use change and forestry.

Impact of Pinus Afforestation on Soil Chemical Attributes and Organic Matter in South Brazilian highlands

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Pinheiro Dick, D.; Benvenuti Leite, S.; Dalmolin, R.; Almeida, H.; Knicker, H.; Martinazzo, R.

2009-04-01

The region known as Campos de Cima da Serra, located at 800 to 1400 m above sea level in the northeas of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, is covered by a mosaic of natural grassland and Araucaria forest. Cattle raising, introduced by the first European settlers about 200 years ago, is the traditional economic activity in the region, occurring extensively and continuously on the natural pasture. In the last 30 years, while seeking for higher profits, local farmers have introduced agricultural crops and Pinus Taeda plantations in the original pasture lands. Pinus plantations are established in this area as dense monocultures and not as a sylvipastoral system, representing, thus, a severe threaten to the Campos' biodiversity. The soils are shallow, though very acidic (pH 4.2) and rich in exchangeable Al (28 to 47% of Al saturation), and present high contents of SOM in the surface layer (in general, higher than 4 %), which shows a low decomposition degree, as indicated by its high proportion of C-O alkyl groups (51 to 59 %). Considering that the biome sustainability of this region is being progressively affected by the change of land use and that systematic studies about exotic trees afforestation in that region are very scarce, our main objective was to investigate the impact of the introduction of Pinus on the SOM composition and chemical attributes of highland soils in 8 (Pi8) and 30 (Pi30) years old plantations, using as reference the original condition under native pasture (NP). In each studied Leptosol, soil samples were collected from three layers down to 15 cm ( 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-15 cm). Contents of exchangeable cations and of micronutrients and soil pH were determined. The SOM composition was investigated by means of elemental analyses, FTIR and fluorescence spectroscopy (three replicates). Prior to the spectroscopic analyses, samples were demineralized with 10% HF solution and organic matter loss was monitored. From the FTIR spectra, an aromaticity index

Available water modifications by topsoil treatments under mediterranean semiarid conditions: afforestation plan

Science.gov (United States)

Hueso Gonzalez, Paloma; Francisco Martinez Murillo, Juan; Damian Ruiz Sinoga, Jose

2016-04-01

During dry periods in the Mediterranean area, the lack of water entering the soil matrix reduces organic contributions to the soil. These processes lead to reduced soil fertility and soil vegetation recovery which creates a positive feedback process that can lead to desertification. Restoration of native vegetation is the most effective way to regenerate soil health, and control runoff and sediment yield. In Mediterranean areas, after a forestry proposal, it is highly common to register a significant number of losses for the saplings that have been introduced due to the lack of rainfall. When no vegetation is established, organic amendments can be used to rapidly protect the soil surface against the erosive forces of rain and runoff. In this study we investigated the hydrological effects of five soil treatments in relation to the temporal variability of the available water for plants. Five amendments were applied in an experimental set of plots: straw mulching; mulch with chipped branches of Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis L.); TerraCotten hydroabsobent polymers; sewage sludge; sheep manure and control. Plots were afforested following the same spatial pattern, and amendments were mixed with the soil at the rate 10 Mg ha-1. In control plots, during June, July, August and September, soils were registered below the wilting point, and therefore, in the area of water unusable by plants. These months were coinciding with the summer mediterranean drought. This fact justifies the high mortality found on plants after the seeding plan. Similarly, soils have never exceeded the field capacity value measured for control plots. Conversely, in the straw and pinus mulch, soils were above the wilting point during a longer time than in control plots. Thus, the soil moisture only has stayed below the 4.2 pF suction in July, July and August. Regarding the amount of water available was also higher, especially in the months of December, January and February. However, the field capacity

Pinus afforestation in South Brazilian highlands: soil chemical attributes and organic matter composition Florestamento com Pinus em solos de altitude do Sul do Brasil: atributos químicos e matéria orgânica do solo

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Deborah Pinheiro Dick

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In the last three decades, exotic tree species are being introduced in the natural pastures of the highlands located at the northeastern part of Rio Grande do Sul State (RS, Brazil. This alteration of land use may impart drastic changes in the soil attributes. In this context, this work aimed to evaluate the impact of Pinus taeda afforestation on soil chemical attributes and organic matter (SOM composition in Leptosols from Campos de Cima da Serra, RS. Soil samples under eight year old (Pi8 and 30 year old (Pi30 Pinus plantations and under native pasture (NP were studied. Contents of exchangeable cations and of micronutrients and soil pH were determined. The SOM composition was investigated by means of elemental analyses and FTIR spectroscopy. The soil under pasture had a higher content of nutrients and of SOM in comparison to Pinus soils, reflecting the higher input and decomposition rate of the below ground added residue in the grassland environment. The SOM in pasture soils showed a higher content of carbohydrate and of structures derived from microbial metabolism. Besides the depletion of nutrients and of SOM, Pinus afforestation affected the SOM quality: following afforestation, the proportion of chemically recalcitrant structures and of carboxylic groups increased, whereas N-containing groups decreased.Nas três últimas décadas, o cultivo de espécies exóticas vem sendo introduzido nas áreas de pastagem de solos de altitude localizados na região nordeste do Estado do rio Grande do Sul. Essa alteração de uso do solo pode causar mudanças drásticas nos atributos do solo. Avaliou-se o impacto do florestamento com Pinus Taeda nos atributos químicos e na composição da matéria orgânica (MOS de Neossolos Litólicos dos Campos de Cima da Serra, RS. Foram estudadas amostras de solo sob plantação de Pinus há oito (Pi8 e há 30 anos (Pi30 e sob pastagem natural (NP, sendo determinados os teores de cátions trocáveis e de

Afforestation, subsequent forest fires and provision of hydrological services: a model-based analysis for a Mediterranean mountainous catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, João Pedro; Naranjo Quintanilla, Paula; Santos, Juliana; Serpa, Dalila; Carvalho-Santos, Cláudia; Rocha, João; Keizer, Jan Jacob; Keesstra, Saskia

2017-04-01

Mediterranean landscapes have experienced extensive abandonment and reforestation in recent decades, which should have improved the provision of hydrological services, such as flood mitigation, soil erosion protection and water quality regulation. However, these forests are fire-prone, and the post-fire increase in runoff, erosion and sediment exports could negatively affect service provision. This issue was assessed using the SWAT model for a small mountain agroforestry catchment, which was monitored between 2010 and 2014 and where some eucalypt stands burned in 2011 and were subsequently plowed for replanting. The model was calibrated and validated for streamflow, sediment yield and erosion in agricultural fields and the burnt hillslopes, showing that it can be adapted for post-fire simulation. It was then used to perform a decadal assessment of surface runoff, erosion, and sediment exports between 2004 and 2014. Results show that the fire did not noticeably affect flood mitigation but that it increased erosion by 3 orders of magnitude, which subsequently increased sediment yield. Erosion in the burnt forest during this decade was one order of magnitude above that in agricultural fields. SWAT was also used to assess different fire and land-use scenarios during the same period. Results indicate that the impacts of fire were lower without post-fire soil management, and when the fire occurred in pine forests (i.e. before the 1990s) or in shrublands (i.e. before afforestation in the 1930s). These impacts were robust to changes in post-fire weather conditions and to a lower fire frequency (20-year intervals). The results suggest that, in the long term, fire-prone forests might not provide the anticipated soil protection and water quality regulation services in wet Mediterranean regions.

Alterations in soil microbial community composition and biomass following agricultural land use change.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qian; Wu, Junjun; Yang, Fan; Lei, Yao; Zhang, Quanfa; Cheng, Xiaoli

2016-11-04

The effect of agricultural land use change on soil microbial community composition and biomass remains a widely debated topic. Here, we investigated soil microbial community composition and biomass [e.g., bacteria (B), fungi (F), Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Actinomycete (ACT)] using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis, and basal microbial respiration in afforested, cropland and adjacent uncultivated soils in central China. We also investigated soil organic carbon and nitrogen (SOC and SON), labile carbon and nitrogen (LC and LN), recalcitrant carbon and nitrogen (RC and RN), pH, moisture, and temperature. Afforestation averaged higher microbial PLFA biomass compared with cropland and uncultivated soils with higher values in top soils than deep soils. The microbial PLFA biomass was strongly correlated with SON and LC. Higher SOC, SON, LC, LN, moisture and lower pH in afforested soils could be explained approximately 87.3% of total variation of higher total PLFAs. Afforestation also enhanced the F: B ratios compared with cropland. The basal microbial respiration was higher while the basal microbial respiration on a per-unit-PLFA basis was lower in afforested land than adjacent cropland and uncultivated land, suggesting afforestation may increase soil C utilization efficiency and decrease respiration loss in afforested soils.

Carbon sequestration by afforestation and revegetation as a means of limiting net-CO2 emissions in Iceland. COST E21 Workshop. Contribution of forests and forestry to mitigate greenhouse effects. Joensuu (Finland. 28-30 Sep 2000

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sigurdsson B.D.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Iceland has lost about 95/ of its woodlands and 50/ of its vegetative cover during the 1,100 years of human settlement. Efforts to reclaim lost woodlands and herbaceous ecosystems have been continuing since the early 20th century. It is emphasised that for Icelandic conditions, effective carbon sequestration can be achieved by restoring (reclaiming herbaceous ecosystems on carbon-poor soils. Since 1990, about 4,000 ha per year have been afforested or revegetated. In 1995, the estimated C-sequestration of those areas was 65,100 t CO2, or 2.9/ of the national emissions for that year. In 1999, the estimated sequestration was up in 127,600 t CO2, or 4.7/ of the predicted CO2 emissions for the year 2000.

Effects of Simulated Forest Cover Change on Projected Climate Change – a Case Study of Hungary

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GÁLOS, Borbála

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Climatic effects of forest cover change have been investigated for Hungary applying theregional climate model REMO. For the end of the 21st century (2071–2100 case studies have beenanalyzed assuming maximal afforestation (forests covering all vegetated area and completedeforestation (forests replaced by grasslands of the country. For 2021–2025, the climatic influence ofthe potential afforestation based on a detailed national survey has been assessed. The simulationresults indicate that maximal afforestation may reduce the projected climate change through coolerand moister conditions for the entire summer period. The magnitude of the simulated climate changemitigating effect of the forest cover increase differs among regions. The smallest climatic benefit wascalculated in the southwestern region, in the area with the potentially strongest climate change. Thestrongest effects of maximal afforestation are expected in the northeastern part of the country. Here,half of the projected precipitation decrease could be relieved and the probability of summer droughtscould be reduced. The potential afforestation has a very slight feedback on the regional climatecompared to the maximal afforestation scenario.

Greening China Naturally

Science.gov (United States)

Shixiong Cao; Ge Sun; Zhiqiang Zhang; Liding Che; Qi Feng; et. al.

2011-01-01

China leads the world in afforestation, and is one of the few countries whose forested area is increasing. However, this massive “greening” effort has been less effective than expected; afforestation has sometimes produced unintended environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic consequences, and has failed to achieve the desired ecological benefits. Where afforestation...

Impacts of afforestation on groundwater resources and quality

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Alistair; Chapman, Deborah

2001-07-01

Plans to double the proportion of land under forest cover in Ireland by the year 2035 have been initiated. The plan, primarily financially driven, ignores potential environmental impacts of forestry, particularly impacts on groundwater resources and quality. Since groundwater supplies almost 25% of Ireland's total potable water, these impacts are important. Field investigations indicate that afforestation leads to a reduction in runoff by as much as 20%, mainly due to interception of rainfall by forest canopies. Clearfelling has the opposite impact. Implications are that uncoordinated forestry practices can potentially exacerbate flooding. Groundwater recharge is affected by forestry, largely due to greater uptake of soil water by trees and to increased water-holding capacity of forest soils, arising from higher organic contents. Recharge rates under forests can be reduced to one tenth that under grass or heathland. Groundwater quality may be affected by enhanced acidification and nitrification under forests, due partly to scavenging of atmospheric pollutants by forest canopies, and partly to greater deposition of highly acid leaf litter. The slower recharge rates of groundwater under forests lead to significant delays in manifestation of deterioration in groundwater quality. Résumé. Des plans sont à l'étude pour doubler la proportion du couvert forestier en Irlande d'ici à 2035. Le plan, primitivement déterminé sur une base financière, ignore les impacts environnementaux potentiels de la foresterie, et particulièrement les impacts sur les ressources en eau souterraine et leur qualité. Du fait que les eaux souterraines satisfont presque 25% du total de l'eau potable de l'Irlande, ces impacts sont importants. Les études de terrain montrent que le reboisement conduit à une réduction du ruissellement d'au moins 20%, principalement à cause d'une interception de la pluie par le couvert forestier. Les coupes ont un impact contraire. Les implications sont

Reclamation of peat winning fields - a literature review with special reference to the establishment of forest stands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haanell, B.; Svensson, Johan; Magnusson, Tord.

1996-01-01

The aim of this study was to review existing knowledge on various methods for reclaiming peat winning fields, in order to assess the present and future potential of the afforestation alternative for Swedish fields. From this, a decision on the best use of an existing series of afforestation experiments established after peat winning in central and south Sweden should be made. The study deals with experiences from e.g. growing crops and energy forests, creating artificial lakes, pastures, and berry fields, wetland restoration, and afforestation by planting and by natural seeding from nearby forests. It was concluded that afforestation most likely will be one of the most common after-use alternatives in near future in Sweden, and that priority will be given to extensive afforestation methods. The studies in the afforestation experiments should therefore be focused on (1) the possibilities of natural establishment of seedlings by seeding from nearby forests, (2) the suitability of various tree species for planting, and (3) the need for plant nutrient amendments to secure sustainable site productivity and the possibilities to meet this need by using wood ash as fertilizer. 129 refs

Nitrogen Alters Initial Growth, Fine-Root Biomass and Soil Organic Matter Properties of a Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden Plantation in a Recently Afforested Grassland in Southern Brazil

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Gabriel W. D. Ferreira

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nitrogen (N fertilization effects on Eucalyptus growth and soil carbon (C stocks are still controversial. We set up an N fertilization experiment in southern Brazil to evaluate initial tree growth and changes in soil organic matter (SOM. Four N levels (24–Reference, 36, 48 and 108 kg ha−1 of N were tested and tree growth was assessed during the first two years. Afterwards, representative trees were chosen to evaluate fine-root biomass (FRB and its spatial distribution. Soil was sampled to a 40-cm depth and SOM was fractionated in Particulate (POM and Mineral-Associated Organic Matter (MAOM for C and N content, and δ13C determination. Positive N effect on tree growth was seen only for tree height. N addition resulted in higher FRB. Changes in SOM were more expressive in top-soil layers. Overall, afforestation had positive effects on soil C. Increasing reference N dose resulted in higher C and N content in both SOM fractions. C and N dynamics were tightly correlated, especially in MAOM. Eucalypt-derived C was on average three-fold higher in POM. In summary, we showed that N fertilization may have positive but limited effects on tree growth, nevertheless it enhances fine-root biomass and C and N accumulation in SOM pools.

Phased Restoration Plan for Degraded Land in North Korea by the Clustered Distribution Pattern of Suitable Afforestation Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S. G.; Lee, W. K.; Choi, H. A.; Yoo, H.; Song, C.; Son, Y.; Cha, S.; Bae, S. W.

2017-12-01

Degraded forest of North Korea (DPRK; The Democratic People's Republic of Koprea) is not only confined itself, it could cause serious problem in Korean Peninsula. The importance of restoration for degraded land has increased to improve an healthy ecosystem and solve a shortage of food in North Korea lately. On the other hand, although effort of North Korea government, degraded problem have consistently got worse. There are two main reasons it does not show effectively. The most critical one is absence of technique and information to restore, they concentrate urgent problem which is related to a poor food supply. The other problem is that they demand an efficiency plan in a short period. In these aspect, this study aims selecting suitable tree by spatial characteristics and establishing phased restoration plan to support policy decision about a degraded land in North Korea. The suitable tree for restoration is taken from references which involve natural plant distribution of North and South Korea (ROK; Republic of Korea). Optimal environmental predicted map is deducted from accumulated data of plant physiology whose endemic environmental optimal range individually. It is integrated a map by order of priorities that first is suitable tree species according to the region, and second is clustering distribution rate in a same species. The two types of priority is applied to weighting method. The research result shows that 23 afforestation species fit to restore, and lager distributed plants agree with the major species in Korean Peninsula. The integrated map considers weight of priorities, and it appears that Picea jezoensis is matched the widest. The integrated map shows a view of suitable restoration according to the space, but this is finespun to utilize in a policy. Therefore It provides 3 step plan to support policy decision by Block Statistics, as 12.5km (long-term general plan), 5km (medium-term detailed plan), 1km (short-term implementation plan).

Possibilities for carbon sequestration by the forestry sector in Hungary. COST E21 Workshop. Contribution of forests and forestry to mitigate greenhouse effects. Joensuu (Finland. 28-30 Sep 2000

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Somogyi Z.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available In Hungary, gross emissions of carbon amount to some 17.6 millions t C per year. Forestry, the only sector which can offset emissions, seems to be a net sink of 1.6 Mt C per year. Afforesting large areas could substantially increase the carbon fixing capacity of the Hungarian forests. To assess the possibilities of sequestering carbon by afforestation, the CASFOR model, an adaptation of the COMAP model, was developed for Hungarian conditions. The technical potential scenario showed that, by afforesting 773,000 ha of former agricultural land by 2050, some 46 millions t C could be sequestered. The specific costs of sequestering carbon by afforestation are pretty low.

Temporal changes of soil physic-chemical properties at different soil depths during larch afforestation by multivariate analysis of covariance.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hui-Mei; Wang, Wen-Jie; Chen, Huanfeng; Zhang, Zhonghua; Mao, Zijun; Zu, Yuan-Gang

2014-04-01

Soil physic-chemical properties differ at different depths; however, differences in afforestation-induced temporal changes at different soil depths are seldom reported. By examining 19 parameters, the temporal changes and their interactions with soil depth in a large chronosequence dataset (159 plots; 636 profiles; 2544 samples) of larch plantations were checked by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). No linear temporal changes were found in 9 parameters (N, K, N:P, available forms of N, P, K and ratios of N: available N, P: available P and K: available K), while marked linear changes were found in the rest 10 parameters. Four of them showed divergent temporal changes between surface and deep soils. At surface soils, changing rates were 262.1 g·kg(-1)·year(-1) for SOM, 438.9 mg·g(-1)·year(-1) for C:P, 5.3 mg·g(-1)·year(-1) for C:K, and -3.23 mg·cm(-3)·year(-1) for bulk density, while contrary tendencies were found in deeper soils. These divergences resulted in much moderated or no changes in the overall 80-cm soil profile. The other six parameters showed significant temporal changes for overall 0-80-cm soil profile (P: -4.10 mg·kg(-1)·year(-1); pH: -0.0061 unit·year(-1); C:N: 167.1 mg·g(-1)·year(-1); K:P: 371.5 mg·g(-1) year(-1); N:K: -0.242 mg·g(-1)·year(-1); EC: 0.169 μS·cm(-1)·year(-1)), but without significant differences at different soil depths (P > 0.05). Our findings highlight the importance of deep soils in studying physic-chemical changes of soil properties, and the temporal changes occurred in both surface and deep soils should be fully considered for forest management and soil nutrient balance.

How do soil properties and soil carbon stocks change after land abandonment in Mediterranean mountain areas?

Science.gov (United States)

Nadal Romero, Estela; Cammeraat, Erik; Pérez Cardiel, Estela; Lasanta, Teodoro

2016-04-01

Land abandonment and subsequent revegetation processes (due to secondary succession and afforestation practices) are global issues with important implications in Mediterranean mountain areas. Moreover, the effects of land use changes on soil carbon stocks are a matter of concern stated in international policy agendas on the mitigation of greenhouse emissions, and afforestation practices are increasingly viewed as an environmental restorative land use change prescription and are considered one of the most efficient carbon sequestration strategies currently available. The MED-AFFOREST project aims to gain more insight into the discussion by exploring the following central research questions: (i) what is the impact of land abandonment on soil properties? and (ii) how do soil organic carbon change after land abandonment? The main objective of this study is to assess the effects of land abandonment, land use change and afforestation practices on soil properties and soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. For this aim, five different land covers (bare soil, meadows, secondary succession, Pinus sylvestris (PS) and Pinus nigra (PN) afforestation), in the Central Spanish Pyrenees were analysed. Results showed that changes in soil properties after land abandonment were limited, even if afforestation practices were carried out and no differences were observed between natural succession and afforestation. The results on SOC dynamics showed that: (i) SOC contents were higher in the PN sites in the topsoil (10 cm), (ii) when all the profile was considered no significant differences were observed between meadows and PN, (iii) SOC accumulation under secondary succession is a slow process, and (iv) meadows should also be considered due to the relative importance in SOC stocks. The first step of SOC stabilization after afforestation is the formation of macro-aggregates promoted by large inputs of SOC, with a high contribution of labile organic matter. However, our respiration

Analysis of the carbon sequestration costs of afforestation and reforestation agroforestry practices and the use of cost curves to evaluate their potential for implementation of climate change mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torres, Arturo Balderas [Environment Department, University of York, YO10 5DD (United Kingdom); Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), Tlaquepaque CP (Mexico); Technology and Sustainable Development Section, Center for Clean Technology and Environmental Policy, University of Twente/CSTM, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Marchant, Rob; Smart, James C.R. [Environment Department, University of York, YO10 5DD (United Kingdom); Lovett, Jon C. [Environment Department, University of York, YO10 5DD (United Kingdom); Technology and Sustainable Development Section, Center for Clean Technology and Environmental Policy, University of Twente/CSTM, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Tipper, Richard [Ecometrica, Edinburgh, EH9 1PJ (United Kingdom)

2010-01-15

Carbon sequestration in forest sinks is an important strategy to remove greenhouse gases and to mitigate climate change; however its implementation has been limited under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol which has not created the incentives for widespread implementation. The objective of this paper is to analyze the sequestration costs of agroforestry afforestation and reforestation projects (ARPs) following a partial market equilibrium using average cost curves and economic break even analysis to identify the supply costs. The modelling done in this work contrasts the voluntary and clean development mechanism transaction costs. Data is based on the voluntary project, Scolel Te, being implemented in Mexico. Cost curves are developed for seven different sequestration options considering transaction and implementation costs; information from agricultural production in Chiapas Mexico is used to integrate opportunity costs of two agroforestry practices suggesting that sequestration costs may follow a 'U' shape, with an initial reduction due to economies of scale and a subsequent increase caused by high opportunity costs. The widespread implementation of agroforestry options not requiring complete land conversion (e.g. living fences and coffee under shade) might be cost effective strategies not generating high opportunity costs. Results also suggest that payments in the early years of the project and lower transaction costs favour the development of ARPs in the voluntary market especially in marginal rural areas with high discount rates. (author)

Joint implementation. Cost benefit analysis of global environmental care

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loon, M.A.P.C. van

1996-01-01

The strategy in SEP, the interconnected electricity supply undertaking of The Netherlands, for the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions is focussed on the implementation of cost-effective 'no regret' measures at home and abroad. Here, at present, SEP is concentrating on afforestation measures. Through a daughter organization called the FACE Foundation, SEP finances world-wide afforestation projects. FACE is able to take into account, forco-financing, the CO 2 absorption capacity of these forests. These re-afforestation projects have proved to be a very cost-effective way of levelling out CO 2 emissions in comparison with measures in The Netherlands. (orig.) [de

Trade-offs between ecosystem services. Water and carbon in a biodiversity hotspot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chisholm, Ryan A. [Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, NJ (United States)

2010-08-15

Carbon sequestration by afforestation can help mitigate global climate change but may have adverse environmental and economic impacts in some regions. For example, economic incentives for carbon sequestration may encourage the expansion of Pinus radiata timber plantations in the Fynbos biome of South Africa, with negative consequences for water supply and biodiversity. I built a dynamic ecological-economic model to investigate whether afforestation of a Fynbos catchment with Pinus radiata is economically viable when the potential benefits of carbon sequestration and timber production are balanced against the losses to water supply. I found that afforestation appears viable to the forestry industry under current water tariffs and current carbon accounting legislation, but would appear unviable if the forestry industry were to pay the true cost of water used by the plantations. I also found that under various plausible future economic scenarios, afforestation can be associated with either large future economic gains or losses, suggesting a need for future analyses based on branches of decision theory that deal with severe uncertainty. I conclude with a general recommendation that climate legislation should be explicit about the conditions under which afforestation for carbon sequestration of native vegetation is a legitimate climate mitigation strategy. (author)

Root-collar diameter and third-year survival of three bottomland hardwoods planted on former agricultural fields in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Science.gov (United States)

Emile S. Gardiner; Douglass F. Jacobs; Ronald P. Overton; George Hernandez

2009-01-01

Athough the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) has experienced substantial afforestation of former agricultural fields during the past 2 decades, seedling standards that support satisfactory outplanting performance of bottomland hardwood tree species are not available. A series of experimental plantations, established on three afforestation sites in the LMAV,...

FY 1996 annual report of investigation on biological fixation of carbon dioxide. 2; 1996 nendo seibutsuteki CO2 kotei ni kansuru chosa hokokusho. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

Various kinds of biological fixation processes of CO2 were evaluated from the various viewpoints. Afforestation of tropical and temperate areas, greening of desert, biomass energy production in these areas by energy plantation, coastal mangrove plantation, fertilization with nitrogen and phosphate to outer ocean and coastal, upwelling zone fertilization with iron, and coral reef expansion combined with OTEC (ocean thermal energy conversion) were comparatively investigated as the selected measures. As a result, the cost of CO2 fixation by cultivation of sea weed and plankton was much higher than that of afforestation. The iron fertilization method which was considered to be one of the high CO2 reduction potentials might be economical. However, its effect could not be quantitatively evaluated. The afforestation of tropical and temperate areas seemed to be most feasible in a short term from the viewpoints of economy and environment. It was suggested that the establishment of a systematic water management technology could make greening and afforestation of desert. 76 refs., 27 figs., 28 tabs.

Restoring bottomland hardwood forests: A comparison of four techniques

Science.gov (United States)

John A. Stanturf; Emile S. Cardiner; James P. Shepard; Callie J. Schweitzer; C. Jeffrey Portwood; Lamar Dorris

2004-01-01

Large-scale afforestation of former agricultural lands in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) is one of the largest forest restoration efforts in the world and continues to attract interest from landowners, policy makers, scientists, and managers. The decision by many landowners to afforest these lands has been aided in part by the increased availability of...

The conversion of grasslands to forests in Southern South America: Shifting evapotranspiration, stream flow and groundwater dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Jobbagy, E. G.; Nosetto, M. D.; Pineiro, G.; Farley, K. A.; Palmer, S. M.; Jackson, R. B.

2005-12-01

Vegetation changes, particularly those involving transitions between tree- and grass-dominated systems, often modify evaporation as a result of plant-mediated shifts in moisture access and demand. The establishment of tree plantations (fast growing eucalypts and pines) on native grasslands is emerging as a major land-use change, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, where cheap land and labor, public subsidies, and prospective C sequestration rewards provide converging incentives. What are the hydrological consequences of grassland afforestation? How are crucial ecosystem services such as fresh water supply and hydrological regulation being affected? We explore these questions focusing on a) evapotranspiration, b) stream flow, and c) groundwater recharge-discharge patterns across a network of paired stands and small watershed occupied by native grassland and tree plantation in Argentina and Uruguay. Radiometric information obtained from Landsat satellite images was used to estimate daily evapotranspiration in >100 tree plantations and grasslands stands in the humid plains of the Uruguay River (mean annual precipitation, MAP= 1350 mm). In spite of their lower albedo, tree plantations were 0.5 C° cooler than grasslands. Energy balance calculations suggested 80% higher evapotranspiration in afforested plots with relative differences becoming larger during dry periods. Seasonal stream flow measurements in twelve paired watershed (50-500 Ha) in the hills of Comechingones (MAP= 800 mm) and Minas (MAP= 1200 mm) showed declining water yields following afforestation. Preliminary data in Cordoba showed four-fold reductions of base flow in the dry season and two-fold reductions of peak flow after storms. A network of twenty paired grassland-plantation stands covering a broad range of sediment textures in the Pampas (MAP= 1000 mm, typical groundwater depth= 1-5 m) showed increased groundwater salinity in afforested stands (plantation:grassland salinity ratio = 1.2, 10, and

Effect of a long-term afforestation of pine in a beech domain in NE-Spain revealed by analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS)

Science.gov (United States)

Girona García, Antonio; Badía-Villas, David; Tomás Jiménez-Morillo, Nicasio; Martí-Dalmau, Clara; González-Pérez, José Antonio

2015-04-01

The replacement of native beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) afforestation may exert changes in soil properties, particularly in soil organic matter (SOM) [1]. It is known that the products generated by Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) pyrolysis of organic matter are related to their origin [2 and references therein]. Therefore this technique can be used to investigate said changes. In this work, Py-GC/MS is used to study changes in SOM quality surrogated to the effect of the centennial replacement of beech by Scots pine. The soils studied were two acid soil profiles developed on quartzites under a humid climate at an altitude of 1400-1500 masl from Moncayo (Iberian range, NE-Spain). For each soil profile three organic layers (litter: OL, fragmented litter OF and humified litter OH) and the mineral soil horizons (Ah, E, Bhs and C) were sampled. After 100 years since the pine afforestation, differences in the relative abundance of lipids released by pyrolysis were observed in the O-layers ranging from 3.82-7.20% in pine soils and 0.98-1.25% in beech soils. No differences were observed in mineral horizons with depth except for the C horizons where beech lipid content was much higher (21.25%) than in that under pine (1.07%). Both pine and beech soils show similar nitrogen compounds relative contents along the soil profile, increasing from OL to Ah (3.49-9.11% and 2.75-11.73% in beech and pine respectively) with a conspicuous reduction in the E horizon. It is remarkable the absence of nitrogen compounds in beech Bhs and C horizons. The relative content of aromatic compounds in O-layers show opposite trends for beech and pine; an enrichment in aromatic compounds is observed in beech OL layer (12.39%) decreasing to 4.11% in OH layer in contrast, whereas for pine O-layers the aromatic compounds relative abundance was higher in the OH (5.83%) than in the OL layer (2.8%). Mineral Ah and E horizons show similar values in

The contribution of China's Grain to Green Programto carbon and water cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, W.

2017-12-01

The Chinese government started implementation of the Grain for Green Project (GGP) in 1999, aiming to convert cropland to forestland to mitigate soil erosion problems in areas across the country. Although the project has generated substantial environmental benefits, such as erosion reduction, carbon sequestration and water quality improvements, the magnitude of these benefits has not yet been well quantified due to the lack of location specific data describing the afforestation efforts. Remote sensing is well suited to detect afforestation locations, a prerequisite for estimating the impacts of the project on carbon and water cycles. In this study, we first examined the practicability of using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover product to detect afforestation locations; however, the results showed that the MODIS product failed to distinguish the afforestation areas of GGP. Then, we used a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series analysis approach for detecting afforestation locations, applying statistical data to determine the NDVI threshold of converted croplands. The technique provided the necessary information for location of afforestation implemented under GGP, explaining 85% of conversion from cropland to forestlands across all provinces. Second, we estimated the changes in carbon fluxes and stocks caused by forests converted from croplands under the GGP using a process-based ecosystem model (i.e., IBIS). Our results showed that the converted areas from croplands to forests under the GGP program could sequester 110.45 Tg C by 2020, and 524.36 Tg C by the end of this century. The sequestration capacity showed substantial spatial variations with large sequestration in southern China. The economic benefits of carbon sequestration from the GGP were also estimated according to the current carbon price. The estimated economic benefits ranged from 8.84 to 44.20 billion from 2000 through 2100, which may exceed the

Spatial Aspects of the Provision of Forest Ecosystem Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anne Sofie Elberg

to the incorporation of spatial factors into cost and benefit evaluation of FES provision. Focus is on assessing where forest ecosystem provision should be undertaken, determinants of private stakeholder provision efforts and welfare consequences of changes in the provision level. Provision of carbon sequestration...... estimates for the U.S. counties of the cost of carbon sequestration from afforestation (conversion of non-forest land to forest), when afforestation is restricted by Holdridge zone climatic conditions. Aside from assessing the overall marginal cost schedule, the spatial distribution of these are examined......, to assess where afforestation should be undertaken for given carbon prices. The second paper investigates the determinants of landowner participation in a Danish voluntary conservation program. Combining contract data of landowners’ actual choices, GIS information on area specific characteristics...

Stand structure modulates the long-term vulnerability of Pinus halepensis to climatic drought in a semiarid Mediterranean ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno-Gutiérrez, Cristina; Battipaglia, Giovanna; Cherubini, Paolo; Saurer, Matthias; Nicolás, Emilio; Contreras, Sergio; Querejeta, José Ignacio

2012-06-01

We investigated whether stand structure modulates the long-term physiological performance and growth of Pinus halepensis Mill. in a semiarid Mediterranean ecosystem. Tree radial growth and carbon and oxygen stable isotope composition of latewood (δ(13)C(LW) and δ(18)O(LW), respectively) from 1967 to 2007 were measured in P. halepensis trees from two sharply contrasting stand types: open woodlands with widely scattered trees versus dense afforested stands. In both stand types, tree radial growth, δ(13)C(LW) and δ(18)O(LW) were strongly correlated with annual rainfall, thus indicating that tree performance in this semiarid environment is largely determined by inter-annual changes in water availability. However, trees in dense afforested stands showed consistently higher δ(18)O(LW) and similar δ(13)C(LW) values compared with those in neighbouring open woodlands, indicating lower stomatal conductance and photosynthesis rates in the former, but little difference in water use efficiency between stand types. Trees in dense afforested stands were more water stressed and showed lower radial growth, overall suggesting greater vulnerability to drought and climate aridification compared with trees in open woodlands. In this semiarid ecosystem, the negative impacts of intense inter-tree competition for water on P. halepensis performance clearly outweigh potential benefits derived from enhanced infiltration and reduced run-off losses in dense afforested stands. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

AVALIAÇÃO DO USO SUSTENTÁVEL DA ARBORIZAÇÃO URBANA NO MUNICÍPIO DE CAFEARA, PARANÁ

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João Karlos Locastro

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The proper study aims to assess sustainability conditions of afforestation in Cafeara streets, PR state, and recommend possible management techniques for vegetation in urban areas. Therefore, there was the development of a tree inventory associated with the practice of on-site interviews, allowing the diagnosis of species in the study area and verify the behavior of afforestation. Along with the preparation of the research, it was found that the city had development of sustainable vegetation, evidenced by planting native seedlings, preparation of environmental projects and maintenance management techniques. Despite the recognition of sustainable techniques performed by the trees, we observed that the studied municipality has the potential for significant progress on the proposed theme, thus reducing part of arboreal conflicts with public facilities and enhancing the benefits of vegetation. As an alternative for the resolution of the existing problems, it is recommended the stimulation of corrective measures, among them: planting tree species in places of intense sunstroke, waste disposal pruning as a form of fertilizer, crop species with floristic and/ or fruitful potential, besides the development of a municipal management plan for afforestation. For all the above, it was noted that although there is need for readjustments, the afforestation system has been effective as its functionality, acting sustainably due to the implementation of public management actions and citizen participation.

DYNAMICS OF POVERTY, DEFORESTATION AND BEEKEEPING IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: CONCERNS FOR POLICYMAKERS – Part I

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Muhammad Rabi’u JA'AFAR-FURO

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The study examines the role of beekeeping amidst condition of abject poverty among the majority of the populationin northern Nigeria, and the much popularised Afforestation Programmes of the public sector. Data were collectedboth from primary and secondary sources. The findings indicated that while the activities/livelihood of the peoplehad devastating effects on the environment (felling of trees of which massive adoption of low-technologybeekeeping would play immense role in reviving the situation, the attitude of the government towards promoting treeplanting campaign in the area has not been encouraging. Its concluded that the livelihoods of the poor majority ofthe people of northern Nigeria had devastating effects on the Afforestation efforts in the area, and beekeepingenterprise could be used as a bridge between the two (poverty and afforestation. It is therefore, stronglyrecommended that policymakers should address the dynamics between poverty, deforestation and beekeeping withthe hope of stabilising the economic situation of the people of northern Nigeria and by extension improves theirincomes and livelihoods

Plant and fungal biodiversity from metal mine wastes under remediation at Zimapan, Hidalgo, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega-Larrocea, María del Pilar; Xoconostle-Cázares, Beatriz; Maldonado-Mendoza, Ignacio E; Carrillo-González, Rogelio; Hernández-Hernández, Jani; Garduño, Margarita Díaz; López-Meyer, Melina; Gómez-Flores, Lydia; González-Chávez, Ma del Carmen A

2010-05-01

Plant establishment, presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and other rhizospheric fungi were studied in mine wastes from Zimapan, Hidalgo state, Mexico, using a holistic approach. Two long-term afforested and three non-afforested mine tailings were included in this research. Fifty-six plant species belonging to 29 families were successfully established on the afforested sites, while unmanaged tailings had only a few native plant species colonizing the surrounding soils. Almost all plant roots collected were associated to AMF in these sites. The genus Glomus was the most abundant AMF species found in their rhizosphere; however, the Acaulospora genus was also observed. Other rhizospheric fungi were identified by 18S rDNA sequencing analysis. Their role in these substrates, i.e. biocontrol, pollutant- and organic matter-degradation, and aides that increase plant metal tolerance is discussed. Our results advance the understanding of fungal diversity in sites polluted with metals and present alternative plants for remediation use. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Land use influences on acidification and recovery of freshwaters in Galloway, south-west Scotland

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R. C. Helliwell

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The long term response of surface waters to changes in sulphur deposition and afforestation is investigated for three upland river systems in the Galloway region of south-west Scotland. From 1984-1999, these rivers exhibited a statistically significant decline in non-marine sulphate concentrations in response to reduced acid deposition. This reduction in non-marine sulphate was, however, insufficient to induce a pH recovery over the period. A statistically significant increase in river pH was observed between 1956-1970 (0.05 yr-1 when subsidised agricultural lime payments were at a maximum. In 1976, this subsidy ceased and surface waters have progressively acidified. In addition, climatic change is found to influence long-term trends in pH. Mean annual pH was greatest during a dry period between 1969-1973 when total annual discharge was low. Thereafter, pH declined gradually in response to higher rainfall and increased total annual discharge. Overall, surface waters draining the afforested catchments of the Rivers Cree and Bladnoch are more acid than those draining the moorland catchment of the Luce. These results indicate that in afforested catchments, current reductions in sulphur emissions have not led to an observed improvement in the acid status of surface waters. Forestry, therefore, represents a confounding factor with regard to chemical recovery from acidification in this region. Keywords: acidification, afforestation, deposition, rivers, lochs, non-marine sulphate, pH

Estimating of the impact of land use changes using the conceptual hydrological model THESEUS??a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Wegehenkel, Martin

As a result of a new agricultural funding policy established in 1992 by the European Community, it was assumed that up to 15-20% of arable land would have been set aside in the next years in the new federal states of north-eastern Germany, for example, Brandenburg. As one potential land use option, afforestation of these set aside areas was discussed to obtain deciduous forests. Since the mean annual precipitation in north-eastern Germany, Brandenburg is relatively low (480-530 mm y -1), an increase in interception and evapotranspiration loss by forests compared to arable land would lead to a reduction in ground water recharge. Experimental evidence to determine effects of such land use changes are rarely available. Therefore, there is a need for indirect methods to estimate the impact of afforestation on the water balance of catchments. In this paper, a conceptual hydrological model was verified and calibrated in two steps using data from the Stobber-catchment located in Brandenburg. In the first step, model outputs like daily evapotranspiration rates and soil water contents were verified on the basis of experimental data sets from two test locations. One test site with the land use arable land was located within the Stobber-catchment. The other test site with pine forest was located near by the catchment. In the second step, the model was used to estimate the impact of afforestation on catchment water balance and discharge. For that purpose, the model was calibrated against daily discharge measurements for the period 1995-1997. For a simple afforestation scenario, it was assumed that the area of forest increases from 34% up to 80% of the catchment area. The impact of this change in forest cover proportion was analyzed using the calibrated model. In case of increasing the proportion of forest cover in the catchment due to the scenario afforestation, the model predicts a reduction in discharge and an increase in evapotranspiration.

Plant and fungal biodiversity from metal mine wastes under remediation at Zimapan, Hidalgo, Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega-Larrocea, Maria del Pilar [Departamento de Edafologia, Instituto de Geologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) (Mexico); Xoconostle-Cazares, Beatriz [Departamento de Biotecnologia y Bioingenieria, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Av. IPN 2508, Zacatenco 07360, D.F. (Mexico); Maldonado-Mendoza, Ignacio E. [Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigacion para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR)-Instituto Politecnico Nacional - Unidad Sinaloa, Blvd. Juan de Dios Batiz Paredes No. 250, Guasave, Sinaloa 81101 (Mexico); Carrillo-Gonzalez, Rogelio [Programa de Edafologia, Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agricolas, Campus Montecillo, Carretera Mexico-Texcoco, km 36.5, Texcoco, Estado de Mexico 56230 (Mexico); Hernandez-Hernandez, Jani [Departamento de Edafologia, Instituto de Geologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) (Mexico); Garduno, Margarita Diaz [Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Carretera Mexico-Texcoco, km 38.5, Chapingo, Estado de Mexico 56230 (Mexico); Lopez-Meyer, Melina [Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigacion para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR)-Instituto Politecnico Nacional - Unidad Sinaloa, Blvd. Juan de Dios Batiz Paredes No. 250, Guasave, Sinaloa 81101 (Mexico); Gomez-Flores, Lydia [Departamento de Biotecnologia y Bioingenieria, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Av. IPN 2508, Zacatenco 07360, D.F. (Mexico); Gonzalez-Chavez, Ma. del Carmen A., E-mail: carmeng@colpos.m [Programa de Edafologia, Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias Agricolas, Campus Montecillo, Carretera Mexico-Texcoco, km 36.5, Texcoco, Estado de Mexico 56230 (Mexico)

2010-05-15

Plant establishment, presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and other rhizospheric fungi were studied in mine wastes from Zimapan, Hidalgo state, Mexico, using a holistic approach. Two long-term afforested and three non-afforested mine tailings were included in this research. Fifty-six plant species belonging to 29 families were successfully established on the afforested sites, while unmanaged tailings had only a few native plant species colonizing the surrounding soils. Almost all plant roots collected were associated to AMF in these sites. The genus Glomus was the most abundant AMF species found in their rhizosphere; however, the Acaulospora genus was also observed. Other rhizospheric fungi were identified by 18S rDNA sequencing analysis. Their role in these substrates, i.e. biocontrol, pollutant- and organic matter-degradation, and aides that increase plant metal tolerance is discussed. Our results advance the understanding of fungal diversity in sites polluted with metals and present alternative plants for remediation use. - Rhizospheric fungi and organic matter encourage plant vegetation of tailings by pioneers and colonizing species.

Plant and fungal biodiversity from metal mine wastes under remediation at Zimapan, Hidalgo, Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortega-Larrocea, Maria del Pilar; Xoconostle-Cazares, Beatriz; Maldonado-Mendoza, Ignacio E.; Carrillo-Gonzalez, Rogelio; Hernandez-Hernandez, Jani; Garduno, Margarita Diaz; Lopez-Meyer, Melina; Gomez-Flores, Lydia; Gonzalez-Chavez, Ma. del Carmen A.

2010-01-01

Plant establishment, presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and other rhizospheric fungi were studied in mine wastes from Zimapan, Hidalgo state, Mexico, using a holistic approach. Two long-term afforested and three non-afforested mine tailings were included in this research. Fifty-six plant species belonging to 29 families were successfully established on the afforested sites, while unmanaged tailings had only a few native plant species colonizing the surrounding soils. Almost all plant roots collected were associated to AMF in these sites. The genus Glomus was the most abundant AMF species found in their rhizosphere; however, the Acaulospora genus was also observed. Other rhizospheric fungi were identified by 18S rDNA sequencing analysis. Their role in these substrates, i.e. biocontrol, pollutant- and organic matter-degradation, and aides that increase plant metal tolerance is discussed. Our results advance the understanding of fungal diversity in sites polluted with metals and present alternative plants for remediation use. - Rhizospheric fungi and organic matter encourage plant vegetation of tailings by pioneers and colonizing species.

[Variation of forest vegetation carbon storage and carbon sequestration rate in Liaoning Province, Northeast China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhen, Wei; Huang, Mei; Zhai, Yin-Li; Chen, Ke; Gong, Ya-Zhen

2014-05-01

The forest vegetation carbon stock and carbon sequestration rate in Liaoning Province, Northeast China, were predicted by using Canadian carbon balance model (CBM-CFS3) combining with the forest resource data. The future spatio-temporal distribution and trends of vegetation carbon storage, carbon density and carbon sequestration rate were projected, based on the two scenarios, i. e. with or without afforestation. The result suggested that the total forest vegetation carbon storage and carbon density in Liaoning Province in 2005 were 133.94 Tg and 25.08 t x hm(-2), respectively. The vegetation carbon storage in Quercus was the biggest, while in Robinia pseudoacacia was the least. Both Larix olgensis and broad-leaved forests had higher vegetation carbon densities than others, and the vegetation carbon densities of Pinus tabuliformis, Quercus and Robinia pseudoacacia were close to each other. The spatial distribution of forest vegetation carbon density in Liaoning Province showed a decrease trend from east to west. In the eastern forest area, the future increase of vegetation carbon density would be smaller than those in the northern forest area, because most of the forests in the former part were matured or over matured, while most of the forests in the later part were young. Under the scenario of no afforestation, the future increment of total forest vegetation carbon stock in Liaoning Province would increase gradually, and the total carbon sequestration rate would decrease, while they would both increase significantly under the afforestation scenario. Therefore, afforestation plays an important role in increasing vegetation carbon storage, carbon density and carbon sequestration rate.

Indicator species of essential forest tree species in the Burdur district.

Science.gov (United States)

Negiz, Mehmet Güvenç; Eser, Yunus; Kuzugüdenll, Emre; Izkan, Kürşad

2015-01-01

The forests of Burdur district for long have been subjected to over grazing and individual selection. As a result of this, majority of the forest areas in the district were degraded. In the district, afforestation efforts included majority of forestry implementations. It is well known that selecting suitable species plays an important role for achieving afforestation efforts. In this context, knowing the indicator species among the target species would be used in afforestation efforts, studies on the interrelationships between environmental factors and target species distribution is vital for selecting suitable species for a given area. In this study, Anatolian Black pine (Pinus nigra), Red pine (Pinus brutia), Crimean juniper (Juniperus excelsa) and Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani), essential tree species, were considered as target species. The data taken from 100 sample plots in Burdur district was used. Interspecific correlation analysis was performed to determine the positive and negative indicator species among each of the target species. As a result of ICA, 2 positive (Berberis crataegina, Juniperus oxycedrus), 2 negative (Phillyrea latifolia, Quercus coccifera) for Crimean Juniper, I positive (Juniperus oxycedrus), 3 negative (Onopordium acanthium, Fraxinus ornus, Phillyrea latifolia) for Anatolian black pine, 3 positive (Paliurus spina-christi, Quercus coccifer, Crataegus orientalis), 2 negative (Berberis crataegina, Astragalus nanus) for Red pine and 3 positive (Berberis crataegina, Rhamnus oleoides, Astragalus prusianus) 2 negative (Paliurus spina-christi, Quercus cerris) for Taurus cedarwere defined as indicator plant species. In this way, practical information was obtained for selecting the most suitable species, among the target species, for afforestation efforts in Burdur district.

Role and Variation of the Amount and Composition of Glomalin in Soil Properties in Farmland and Adjacent Plantations with Reference to a Primary Forest in North-Eastern China.

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Qiong Wang

Full Text Available The glycoprotein known as glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP is abundantly produced on the hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF in soil and roots. Few studies have focused on its amount, composition and associations with soil properties and possible land-use influences, although the data hints at soil rehabilitation. By choosing a primary forest soil as a non-degraded reference, it is possible to explore whether afforestation can improve degraded farmland soil by altering GRSP. In this paper, close correlations were found between various soil properties (soil organic carbon, nitrogen, pH, electrical conductivity (EC, and bulk density and the GRSP amount, between various soil properties and GRSP composition (main functional groups, fluorescent substances, and elements. Afforestation on farmland decreased the EC and bulk density (p < 0.05. The primary forest had a 2.35-2.56-fold higher GRSP amount than those in the plantation forest and farmland, and GRSP composition (tryptophan-like and fulvic acid-like fluorescence; functional groups of C-H, C-O, and O-H; elements of Al, O, Si, C, Ca, and N in primary forest differed from those in plantation forest and farmland (p < 0.05. However, no evident differences in GRSP amount and composition were observed between the farmland and the plantation forest. Our finding highlights that 30 years poplar afforestation on degraded farmland is not enough to change GRSP-related properties. A longer period of afforestation with close-to-nature managements may favor the AMF-related underground recovery processes.

Fiscal 1997 report on the survey of biological CO2 fixation using arid land and oligotrophic waters; 1997 nendo chosa hokokusho (kansochi, hin`eiyo kaiiki wo riyoshita seibutsuteki CO2 kotei ni kansuru chosa)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

This survey is aimed to investigate various measures to be taken for biological CO2 fixation, to synthetically study feasibilities of the measures from various aspects of CO2 fixation mechanism, scale, speed, and environmental effects and technical problems in case of introducing those, and to assess the measures quantitatively. In this fiscal year, a study was proceeded with of possibilities of carbon fixation by afforestation and that by fertilization into ocean. The paper defined significance of afforestation in arid land, and especially advantages in conducting researches in West Australia. Relationships were examined among afforestation, precipitation and topography. The result of the survey was described of water- and salt-transfer simulation methods. Studies of arid land were made in terms of photosynthetic speed, transpiration speed, soil characteristics, measuring methods for precipitation and vaporization amount, and the examples. Seven places of Leonora where water source and water quality were examined were selected, and the measuring results were described. The paper summed up the state of utilization of biomass energy obtained from forest and commented on a scenario on tree-planting. Finally, a possibility was stated of the carbon fixation by fermentation into ocean. 178 refs., 121 figs., 53 tabs.

Joint implementation. Cost benefit analysis of global environmental care; Joint Implementation. Kosten-Nutzen-Ueberlegungen globaler Umweltvorsorge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loon, M.A.P.C. van [N.V. Samenwerkende Elektriciteits-Produktiebedrijven (Sep), Arnheim (Netherlands)

1996-01-01

The strategy in SEP, the interconnected electricity supply undertaking of The Netherlands, for the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions is focussed on the implementation of cost-effective `no regret` measures at home and abroad. Here, at present, SEP is concentrating on afforestation measures. Through a daughter organization called the FACE Foundation, SEP finances world-wide afforestation projects. FACE is able to take into account, forco-financing, the CO{sub 2} absorption capacity of these forests. These re-afforestation projects have proved to be a very cost-effective way of levelling out CO{sub 2} emissions in comparison with measures in The Netherlands. (orig.) [Deutsch] Die Strategie der in der Sep zusammengeschlossenen niederlaendischen Elektrizitaetswirtschaft zur Begrenzung von Treibhausgasemissionen konzentriert sich auf die Umsetzung kosteneffektiver `No-regret`-Massnahmen im In- und Ausland. Dort konzentriert sich Sep gegenwaertig auf Aufforstungsmassnahmen. Durch eine Tochterorganisation, die FACE-Stiftung, finanziert Sep weltweit Aufforstungsprojekte mit. Fuer die Mitfinanzierung laesst sich FACE die CO{sub 2}-Bindungskapzitaet dieser Waelder anrechnen. Diese Wiederaufforstungsprojekte haben sich als ein sehr kosteneffektiver Weg zum Ausgleich von CO{sub 2}-Emissionen im Vergleich zu Massnahmen in den Niederlanden herausgestellt. (orig.)

Primary immigration and succession of soil organisms on reclaimed opencast coal mining areas in eastern Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wanner, M.; Dunger, W. [Staatliches Museum Naturkunde, Gorlitz (Germany)

2002-07-01

Immigration to and colonisation of recultivated opencast coal mining areas by soil organisms were investigated in eastern Germany during the period 1996-1998 in freshly exposed substrates (immigration test) and two up to 46-year-old afforested mine soils (stage-dependent succession). The results indicate that immigration by air is characteristic for protists, soil microarthropods and spiders, while active locomotion is more important for the soil macrofauna. Testate amoebae assemblages showed no evident differences between 30-37-year-old Tertiary afforestations (ash-ameliorated, pyrite-rich, low soil pH) and 46-year-old Pleistocene sites (liming, low pyrite content, moderate soil pH), while comparisons in soil animals revealed pronounced differences in abundance, biomass and species composition. Generally, all investigated soil animal groups indicated taxon-specific immigration and colonisation strategies with pronounced site preferences, dependent on substrate quality, age and afforestation. Within 40 years, a consistent trend is visible from an open pioneer to a woodland community. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that long-term investigations as well as numerous taxa of different trophic levels are essential for a comprehensive evaluation of recultivated mine dumps.

Combating Climate Change: What Will China's Forestry Industry Do?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiaohui Yang (Inst. of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Silvicultural Lab of State Forestry Administration, Yiheyuanhou, Haidian District, Beijing (China)); Xiaoping Wang (Beijing Forestry Carbon Administration, Shuangquan Building, Xicheng District, Beijing (China)); Nuyun Li (Forestry Carbon Management Office, State Forestry Administration, Hepingli, Dongcheng District, Beijing (China))

2010-07-15

China's afforestation and reforestation activities have, to an extent, offset the negative impacts of deforestation in the world. In China, between 1980 and 2005, approximately 3.06 billion tons of CO{sub 2} was sequestered by afforestation activities, 1.62 tons of CO{sub 2} was sequestered by forest management, and CO{sub 2} emissions were reduced by 0.43 ton due to a decrease in deforestation. China's forestry industry has started to implement the development strategy to mitigate climate change. It is expected that with appropriate forestry management China can contribute to a 40 to 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity by 2020

Correlations between some physiographic factors and diameter, height and cone characteristics in stone pine (Pinus pinea L. afforestation areas in Balıkesir-Burhaniye region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Ömer Üçler

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, effects of some physiographic factors (aspect, slope and elevation on breast diameter, height and cone properties (cone weight, number of cones, cone width and cone length in stone pine (Pinus pinea L. afforestation areas in Balıkesir-Burhaniye region were investigated. To determine to effects of physiographic conditions, study area is separated according to aspect, slope and elevation groups. Aspect is separated two groups which are shady aspect (B1 and sunny aspect (B2. Slope is separated two groups which are small from 36 percent (E1 and big from 36 percent (E2. Elevation also is separated two groups which are under 400 meters (Y1 and over 400 meters (Y2. Sample areas were scattering to land classifications by using Stratified Sampling Method. Thus, each aspect, slope and elevation classifications were obtained from sample area where are provided from 32 different areas. Tree heights, the diameter at breast height and cone number were measured on saplings. In addition, in each sample area five Pinus pinea trees were selected. It was measured cone diameter, cone height and air-dries weight values of cones which are picked from selecting trees. According to statistical analysis results, aspect effects to tree heights, cone number and cone weight; slope effects the diameter at breast height, cone number and cone diameter; elevation effects the diameter at breast height, tree height, cone number and cone weight. In terms of tree height and diameter values; the highest average breast height diameter was found in the B1E1Y1 with 13.6 cm, and the highest average height value was found in the B2E2Y2 by interaction. In terms of cone characteristics; with the highest average cone number of 8.5 in B1E1Y1, the highest mean cone weight in B1E1Y1 with 232 gr and the highest cone diameter in B2E2Y1 with 5.4 cm. According to the results of correlation analysis; it was determined that slope and elevation factors have positive effect on breast

Diagnóstico da arborização nas praças públicas de Cajazeiras-PB: interferência no mobiliário urbano

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Dafi Irenice Abreu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Environmental quality in cities is linked to the way building and wooded spaces are related. The disorderly growth of the cities highlights the lack of planning that reconciles the harmonious coexistence between these two spaces. The consequence is that green areas are incompatible with adequate planting and maintenance criteria, resulting in damage to the population. In this sense, the objective of this project was to analyze the afforestation in Cajazeiras - PB and its impacts to the local community, having as object of research the public squares, pointing out the local effects that the squares observed provide to the physical equipment of this city. For this purpose, a simple afforestation guide was developed to assist in the collection and treatment of data obtained from field visits. The aspects observed in the squares were: quantization of the arboreal species; location between trees and in relation to urban equipment. The existence of conflicts between the trees and the urban components was verified: 72.2% have irregular distances of buildings; 39% do not meet the requirements of planting in sidewalk, 15.25% of this total are causing damages; Concerning trees near the electrical wiring, 33.33% cause interference in the electrical network. It was observed that out of the total of trees in the squares, 41.8% did not meet the minimum distance limit suggested. These results suggest that the planting of trees in the squares was carried out without criteria, and that due attention was not given to the damages that this fact might entail. In this sense, it seems clear that the importance of this work is to provide diagnosis of afforestation in the public squares of Cajazeiras, opening a discussion, mainly with the public administration, on the risks of unplanned afforestation

Lateglacial landscape and vegetation change and the younger dryas climatic oscillation in New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

McGlone, M. S.

Lateglacial sequences in New Zealand show progressive afforestation and landscape stabilization reflecting a warming climate. Between 14,500 BP and 11,500 BP, afforestation and landscape stability was achieved throughout most of the North Island and the northwest sector of the South Island. In the South Island, scrub and tree ferns were replacing previous grasslands in the east by 11,000 BP, and broadleaved forest was spreading in the west. No significant reversals of these trends occurred and afforestation was complete by 9500 BP. Glaciers of the high central part of the Southern Alps made a series of advances between 14,000 and 9000 BP Most of these advances are poorly dated but two moraines are of Younger Dryas age. Glacial advances in the face of the general Lateglacial warming trend may have been driven by stronger westerly winds increasing snowfall on high altitude névés, and by reduced ablation as a consequence of moist, cloudy, low insolation summers. The cause of the northern hemisphere Younger Dryas cooling is still uncertain, and expected Southern Hemisphere responses may differ according to the mechanism proposed for the cooling. Poor chronological resolution and apparent conflict between the various types of evidence for climatic change make detection of an unambiguous Younger Dryas in New Zealand problematical.

Actual state of plant decline phenomena due to acid rain and others

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshitake, Takashi

1992-01-01

In the national forest at the foot of Mount Tarumae which is located in the northwestern part of Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, large scale artificial afforestation of larch, spruce, white fir and other trees was carried out in the area damaged by the typhoon in 1954. However, the afforested ground suffered deadly damage by freezing and frost and the spread of disease and insect harms. Since 1960s, pines storobus which is strong to coldness and grows quickly has been planted in the area of about 2000 ha. At first its growth was good, but since 1967, the abnormal leaf falling due to unknown cause and the obstruction of growth became to be observed. At the point of time when the damage spread to several hundreds ha of the afforested ground, the causes of the potassium shortage in soil nutriment, the harms due to cold wind, salt wind and atmospheric pollution and so on were discussed. Of those, the strongest hypothesis was the obstruction of growth due to the potassium shortage in the unripe soil with the composition of volcanic released substances from Mount Tarumae. The environment in the area where abnormal leaf falling occurred, the features of the damage, the analysis of rainwater, and the mechanism of the decline are reported. (K.I.)

Leaching and retention of nutrients and trace elements in peat nineteen years after wood ash application and afforestation of a terminated peat cutover area; Utlakning och retention av naeringsaemnen och spaaraemnen i torv nitton aar efter vedasktillfoersel och beskogning paa en avslutad torvtaekt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Torbjoern; Lundin, Lars (Dept. of Forest Soils, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7001, SE-750 07 Uppsala (Sweden))

2008-04-15

Ash application on peatlands for improved biomass production attracts great interest. On drained peatlands in forestry use, application of wood ash would increase the forest production. Before such activities starts on a large-scale, the existing knowledge in this field should be compiled, with the aim to illustrate positive and negative effects of such a measure and to suggest recommendations for wood ash application to drained and afforested peatlands. The aim of this project was to investigate how much of different nutrients and trace elements that was still left in the peat, 19 years after application of 23 tonnes of wood fly ash, 0.6 tonnes of raw phosphate and 0.25 tonnes of superphosphate per hectare to 14 hectares of a terminated peat cutover area. This area was located on a mire, Flakmossen, in west-central Sweden. As it was nearly 40 years since peat harvesting had terminated on this mire, the area was drained before the application of wood ash and phosphorus fertilizer. A tractor-driven cultivator mixed the applied fertilizers with the upper 30-40 cm of the remaining peat and afterwards different tree species were planted in the cultivated peat. Peat sampling, down to 80 cm depth, was carried out before soil treatment, one year after, three years after and 19 years after the soil treatment. Analyses of these peat samples showed that: - After the soil treatments an initial increase of pH in the upper peat layers (0-40 cm depth) was observed, but 19 years after the soil treatments pH had decreased to levels that were lower than before the treatments. This decrease in pH was probably due to an oxidation of sulphur compounds in the peat, which was a result of the drainage. This acidification of the peat could not be buffered by the large dose of applied wood ash. However, it should be observed that the main part of the peat in this field study consists of reed peat, that has a considerable higher sulphur content than other peat types. - Nineteen years after

Soil macrofauna in wooded pasture with legume trees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lusimar Lamarte Gonzaga Galindo da Silva

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Grasslands afforestation aims at adding different soil uses in a way they become profitable for their owners. As such handling aims at minimizing impacts, the current study had as its goal the use of soil macrofauna in order to evaluate legume afforestation effects on the soil, regardless the depth. Thus, nitrogen fixing species were inserted onto grassland areas and the macrofauna collection was performed 6 years after their planting in the 0-10cm, 10-20cm and 20.30cm layers, in winter and summer. Leguminous influence was different between depths and times of the year. It mostly favors communities under "Mimosa" Genus treetops. Besides, the effects from climatic seasonal variations on invertebrates were mitigated by the implementation of such legume trees

Soil organic carbon dynamics of black locust plantations in the middle Loess Plateau area of China

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, N.; Liski, J.; Chang, R. Y.; Akujärvi, A.; Wu, X.; Jin, T. T.; Wang, Y. F.; Fu, B. J.

2013-11-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool and sensitive to land use and cover change; its dynamics are critical for carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this study, we combined a modeling approach and field measurements to examine the temporal dynamics of SOC following afforestation (Robinia pseudoacacia) of former arable land at six sites under different climatic conditions in the Loess Plateau during 1980-2010, where the annual mean precipitation ranging from 450 mm to 600 mm. The results showed that the measured mean SOC increased to levels higher than before afforestation when taking the last measurements (i.e., at age 25 to 30 yr) at all the sites, although it decreased at the wetter sites in the first few years. The accumulation rates of SOC were 1.58 to 6.22% yr-1 in the upper 20 cm and 1.62 to 5.15% yr-1in the upper 40 cm of soil. The simulations reproduced the basic characteristics of measured SOC dynamics, suggesting that litter input and climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) were the major causes for SOC dynamics and the differences among the sites. They explained 88-96, 48-86 and 57-74% of the variations in annual SOC changes at the soil depths of 0-20, 0-40, and 0-100 cm, respectively. Notably, the simulated SOC decreased during the first few years at all the sites, although the magnitudes of decreases were smaller at the drier sites. This suggested that the modeling may be advantageous in capturing SOC changes at finer timescale. The discrepancy between the simulation and measurement was a result of uncertainties in model structure, data input, and sampling design. Our findings indicated that afforestation promoted soil carbon sequestration at the study sites during 1980-2010. Afforestation activities should decrease soil disturbances to reduce carbon release in the early stage. The long-term strategy for carbon fixation capability of the plantations should also consider the climate and site

To what extent are genetic resources considered in environmental service provision?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roshetko, Jens M.; Dawson, Ian K.; Urquiola, Joan

2018-01-01

in the choice, sourcing and delivery of tree planting material, we undertook a desk review of 38 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) afforestation/reforestation project design documents (PDDs) from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Detailed examination indicated most PDDs identified for planting species that could......Planting trees to sequester carbon dioxide mitigates climate change, but it has been contended that insufficient attention is given to the quality of the germplasm established in afforestation/reforestation programmes, limiting sequestration opportunities. To understand current practices...... supported the hypothesis that many PDDs pay insufficient attention to the choice, sourcing and delivery of planting material, which is likely to impact on the quality of the trees planted. Moving forward, it is clear that greater attention to available sources, more local testing of germplasm and working...

Management of mangroves for energy needs

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Untawale, A.G.

Utilization of mangroves for firewood and fodder is quite common along the Indian coast. In order to maintain the supply of different beneficial products, conservation and management practices with large scale afforestation of mangroves have been...

Forest evaporation models: Relationships between stand growth and evaporation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Le Maitre, David C

1997-06-01

Full Text Available The relationships between forest stand structure, growth and evaporation were analysed to determine whether forest evaporation can be estimated from stand growth data. This approach permits rapid assessment of the potential impacts of afforestation...

Bottomland oak afforestation in the lower Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Emile S. Gardiner; Brian Roy Lockhard

2007-01-01

The 11 million hectare Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), which is the geologic floodplain of the lower Mississippi River, is a prominent physiographic region in the southern United States. Seven states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missis- 1 sippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, and Tennessee) border the lower stretch of the II River, and have a portion of their land...

Factors determining community participation in afforestation projects ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

If you would like more information about how to print, save, and work with PDFs, Highwire Press provides a helpful Frequently Asked Questions about PDFs. Alternatively, you can download the PDF file directly to your computer, from where it can be opened using a PDF reader. To download the PDF, click the Download link ...

Factors determining community participation in afforestation projects ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-12-06

Dec 6, 2010 ... 2School of Environment and Natural Resources Management, South Eastern University College ..... Development: Case Studies in Runia and Central Asia. ... Participation of Local Women's Associations in Rural Community.

Spatial impact of mineral quarrying versus afforestation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ike, Paul

1997-01-01

If alternative and secondary raw materials are used, the demand for the aggregates - coarse sand, gravel and limestone - will decrease. The opinion has been voiced more and more to turn to wood for building, particularly because wood is a renewable raw material. Besides, the Dutch climate is very

Report on a survey in fiscal 1999. Part 3. Survey on biological CO2 fixation utilizing arid regions and oligotrophic sea areas; 1999 nendo kansochi, hin'eiyokaiiki wo riyoshita seibutsuteki CO{sub 2} kotei ni kansuru chosa. 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

With objectives to elucidate whether CO2 fixation quantity can be increased by utilizing the features of ecological systems, and know what degree the increasing possibility is at, surveys were performed on (1) the 'possibility of carbon fixation by means of afforestation in arid regions', and (2) the possibility of carbon fixation by applying fertilizers into oceans'. With respect to the (1) afforestation in arid regions, surveys were performed mainly in the West Australian Province to elucidate the current status of carbon fixation quantity, its possibility for increase, water balance, importance of soil structures, and effects of salts (including nutritious salt) on vegetation. Regarding the (2) fertilizer application into oceans, elucidation was made on circulation of organic matters in oceans, effects of applying ferrous fertilizers on the carbon fixation, and the importance of supplying inorganic nitrogen during the fertilizer application. The material cost for scattering irons at this time was calculated as two dollars per ton of carbon fixation quantity. Surveys were also carried out on processes of decomposition of particulate organic matters, and the change in the C/N ratio during the processes. Proposals were presented on preparing the platform that can calculate the carbon fixation quantity when water, soil, nutritious salt, afforestation, and climate are changed, and on preparing the scenario that can increase the carbon fixation quantity in the order of 1Gt-C/y. (NEDO)

Restoration Plan for Degraded Forest in The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Considering Suitable Tree Species and Spatial Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sle-gee Lee

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The ecosystem across the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK is threatened by deforestation. However, there is very little attention being given to government efforts for afforestation and rehabilitation plan. The most significant barriers to addressing this problem are technique limitations, availability of information, and lack of a stepwise forest management plan. This study identifies spatially suitable tree species, and establishes a stepwise restoration plan to support decision making for restoring degraded forest in the DPRK throughout a suitable restoration map. First off, target species were chosen from reference data, and spatial distribution maps for each tree species were prepared based on social needs as well as natural conditions in the DPRK. The suitable restoration map was calculated by two priorities in a weighting method; suitable priority, and distributional clustering level. Finally, the 23 afforestation species were selected for the suitable restoration map, including 11 coniferous and 12 deciduous tree species. We introduced a stepwise afforestation/restoration plan of degraded forest in the DPRK; general (long-term, detailed (medium-term, implementation (short-term plans. Maps with different spatial resolutions were prepared for each of the plans. A restoration map with 12.5 km spatial resolution can be used for the general plan at the national level, and maps with 5 km and 1 km spatial resolutions can be used for detailed plan at the local level and implementation plan at the site level, respectively.

Early field performance of drought-stressed scots pine (pinus sylvestris l.) seedlings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulac, S.; Clcek, E.; Tasdemir, U.

2015-01-01

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) has a large natural distribution throughout the world, including semi-arid areas of Turkey, where it is being used for afforestation. Determining the drought resistance of Scots pine provenances can increase the success of afforestation efforts in semi-arid regions. In the first stage of this study, water-stress treatments were applied to ten provenances of one-year-old Scots pine seedlings in their second vegetation period (between April and November). The diameter and height of the seedlings were evaluated in the nursery in order to determine their morphology. The four drought-stress treatments consisted of once-weekly irrigation (IR1), twice-weekly irrigation (IR2-Control), biweekly irrigation (IR3) and open field conditions (IR4). Later, the water-stressed seedlings were planted in a semi-arid district in Bayburt, Turkey, and their survival and growth performances were evaluated over a five-year period. The nursery study showed that drought stress and provenance as well as the interaction of the two significantly affected the morphological characteristics of the seedlings. Under water-stress conditions, the best growth performance was found in the Dokurcun, Degirmendere and Dirgine provenance seedlings. Water-stress and provenance factors and their interaction also affected the open field performance of the seedlings, where the Degirmendere, Dirgine and Dokurcun provenances again exhibited the best performance. Consequently, these Scots pine provenances can be recommended for afforestation sites having conditions similar to those of the study site. (author)

Quantifying and Comparing Effects of Climate Engineering Methods on the Earth System

Science.gov (United States)

Sonntag, Sebastian; Ferrer González, Miriam; Ilyina, Tatiana; Kracher, Daniela; Nabel, Julia E. M. S.; Niemeier, Ulrike; Pongratz, Julia; Reick, Christian H.; Schmidt, Hauke

2018-02-01

To contribute to a quantitative comparison of climate engineering (CE) methods, we assess atmosphere-, ocean-, and land-based CE measures with respect to Earth system effects consistently within one comprehensive model. We use the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) with prognostic carbon cycle to compare solar radiation management (SRM) by stratospheric sulfur injection and two carbon dioxide removal methods: afforestation and ocean alkalinization. The CE model experiments are designed to offset the effect of fossil-fuel burning on global mean surface air temperature under the RCP8.5 scenario to follow or get closer to the RCP4.5 scenario. Our results show the importance of feedbacks in the CE effects. For example, as a response to SRM the land carbon uptake is enhanced by 92 Gt by the year 2100 compared to the reference RCP8.5 scenario due to reduced soil respiration thus reducing atmospheric CO2. Furthermore, we show that normalizations allow for a better comparability of different CE methods. For example, we find that due to compensating processes such as biogeophysical effects of afforestation more carbon needs to be removed from the atmosphere by afforestation than by alkalinization to reach the same global warming reduction. Overall, we illustrate how different CE methods affect the components of the Earth system; we identify challenges arising in a CE comparison, and thereby contribute to developing a framework for a comparative assessment of CE.

Carbon budgets and carbon sequestration potential of Indian forests

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaul, M.

2010-01-01

Keywords: Carbon uptake, Forest biomass, Bioenergy, Land use change, Indian forests, Deforestation, Afforestation, Rotation length, Trees outside forests.

Global climate change is a widespread and growing concern that has led to extensive international discussions and negotiations.

Validation of land use / land cover changes for Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levin, Gregor; Johannsen, Vivian Kvist; Caspersen, Ole Hjort

2018-01-01

This report presents applied methods and results for a validation of land use and land cover changes for 1990 and 2014-2016. Results indicate that generally, accuracies of land use and land cover. However, afforestation and particularly deforestation are significantly overestimated....

General history of the South African forest industry : 1975 to 1990 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The development of the industry is described under the following headings: forest policy and industry organisations, ownership and commercialisation, afforestation, economics, outsourcing, protection, research, education and training, promotion of the industry, and associations. Southern African Forestry Journal No.200 ...

Deforestation since independence: A quantitative assessment of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Deforestation since independence: A quantitative assessment of four decades of land-cover change in Malawi. ... pressure and demographic factors are important predictors of deforestation rate within our study area. Keywords: afforestation, Africa, deforestation, drivers, land-use change, reforestation, rural, urban ...

Longer-term effects of pine and eucalypt plantations on streamflow

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Scott, DF

2008-10-01

Full Text Available The longer-term effects of afforestation with Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus grandis on streamflows were analyzed using data from two paired-catchment experiments in South Africa. The experiments are rare in that they have been maintained over longer...

Invasive alien plants and water resources in South Africa: current understanding, predictive ability and research challenges

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Gorgens, AHM

2004-01-01

Full Text Available were made by combining the results of hydrological experiments, conducted to assess the effects of afforestation with alien trees on water resources, with an ecological understanding of the spread and establishment of invasive trees. The forecasts were...

Smallholder participation in large forestry programs: The camellia program in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, J.; Bluemling, B.; Dries, L.K.E.; Feng, S.

2014-01-01

In recent years, many forestry projects have been implemented in developing countries. In China, a variety of large-scale afforestation and reforestation programmes have been carried out with multiple objectives, such as livelihood improvement and carbon sequestration. As in many developing

Developing woody crops for the enhancement of ecosystem services under changing climates in the north central United States

Science.gov (United States)

Ronald S. Zalesny; William L. Headlee

2015-01-01

Short rotation woody crops belonging to the genera Populus L., Salix L., Pinus L., and Eucalyptus LHer. have provided broad economic and ecological benefits throughout the world, including afforestation and reforestation along urban to rural gradients. Within the genus Populus...

Going beyond the stationary flux towers to assess the interactions of land use and climate

Science.gov (United States)

Yakir, Dan; Rohatyn, shani; Ramati, Efrat; Tatrinov, Fedor; Rotenberg, Eyal

2017-04-01

Networks of permanent, stationary flux towers that allows continuous canopy-scale measurements over annual time-scales have revolutionized the study of the contemporary carbon cycle over the past two decades. However, this approach is limited in addressing questions related to dynamic changes in land use, vegetation types, disturbance, and their interactions with variations in environmental conditions. Using mobile laboratory for measuring CO2, water, energy, COS, and VOC fluxes, permitted us to extend our stationary flux tower measurements across many sites, but also limited measurements to short-time campaigns (days to weeks). To overcome this limitation, we adopted an empirical approach (often used in remote sensing) and used state of the art campaign-based ecosystem flux measurements to 'calibrate' local meteorological data available on continuous basis, to estimate annual-scale carbon, water, and energy budgets. Using this approach, we investigated the interactions of land use change (afforestation) and climate (humid Mediterranean to semi-arid, 730 to 300 mm in annual precipitation) on the ecosystem fluxes. The results showed that across this climatic range, afforestation increased ET markedly more in the wet (+200 mm yr-1 or 30% of P) than in the dry end (+58 mm yr-1 or 19% of P). Similarly, increase in carbon sequestration (NEE) associated with forestation was greater in the wet sites (+460 gC m-2 yr-1) than in the dry sites (+30 gC m-2 yr-1). In contrast, ecosystem net-radiation (Rn) and sensible heat flux (H) increased due to afforestation much more in the dry sites than in the wet sites ( 47 vs. 27 and 49 vs. 17 Wm-2, respectively). COS and VOC fluxes were also measured but reported separately. The results provided quantitative assessment of shifts in the tradeoffs associated with afforestation in this region, between the hydrological and energy-budget 'costs', vs. carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services, (e.g, surface cooling, erosion

FOREST DISTRIBUTION ON THE CENTRAL RUSSIAN UPLAND: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria V. Arkhipova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We studied the change of forestland in the Central Russian Upland within the deciduous forest, forest-steppe, and steppe zones using old maps (XVIII-XX cc. and current satellite images. The forest distribution within the Central Russian Upland has been relatively stable during the last 220 years. On average, the decrease in the forested area was small. However, we identified significant changes in certain regions. In the southern part of CRU, the significant increase of the forested land is caused by the forest protection of abatis woodland and afforestation. During the last 100 years, reforestation took place mainly in the Oka basin due to both afforestation and natural reforestation. New forests appeared generally in ravines within all zones. The analysis of the abatis forests changes from the XVIII to XX cc. allowed us to identify forested area within the Central Russian Upland prior to active development.

Getting to the root of the matter: Landscape implications of plant-fungal interactions for tree migration in Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, R. E.; Bennett, A.; Breen, A. L.; Hollingsworth, T. N.; Taylor, D. L.; Chapin, T.; Rupp, S. T.

2015-12-01

Forecasting change in forest cover across Alaska tundra is critical to predicting regional ecosystem services, including climate feedbacks such as carbon storage. Controls over seedling establishment govern forest development and migration potential. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), obligate symbionts of all Alaskan tree species, are particularly important to seedling establishment, yet their significance to landscape vegetation change is largely unknown. We used ALFRESCO, a landscape model of wildfire and vegetation dynamics, to explore whether EMF inoculum potential influences patterns of tundra afforestation and associated flammability. Using two downscaled CMIP3 General Circulation Models (ECHAM5 and CCCMA) and a mid-range emissions scenario (A1B) at a 1 km2 resolution, we compared simulated tundra afforestation rates and flammability from four parameterizations of EMF effects on seedling establishment and growth from 2000-2100. Modeling predicted an 8.8-18.2% increase in forest cover from 2000 to 2100. Simulations that explicitly represented landscape variability in EMF inoculum potential showed up to a 2.8% reduction in afforestation due to low inoculum potential limiting seedling growth. This reduction limited fuel availability and thus, cumulative area burned. Regardless of inclusion of EMF effects in simulations, landscape flammability was lower for simulations driven by the wetter and cooler CCCMA model than the warmer and drier ECHAM5 model, while tundra conversion to forest was greater. Results suggest abiotic factors are the primary driver of tree migration. Simulations including EMF effects, a biotic factor, yielded more conservative estimates of landcover change across Alaska that better-matched empirical estimates from the previous century.

General history of the South African Forest Industry: 2003 to 2006 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These and other main events in the general history of the forest industry are presented in this paper under: forest law and policy, privatisation of State forests, afforestation, economics, outsourcing, protection, environmental matters, research, education and training and professionalism. Keywords: Forest industry history, ...

Pinus halepensis M. versus Quercus ilex subsp. Rotundifolia L. runoff and soil erosion at pedon scale under natural rainfall in Eastern Spain three decades after a forest fire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cerdà, Artemi; Lucas Borja, Manuel Esteban; Úbeda, Xavier; Martínez-Murillo, Juan Francisco; Keesstra, Saskia

2017-01-01

Afforestation aims to recover the vegetation cover, and restore natural ecosystems. The plant species selected for restoration will determine species richness and the fate of the ecosystem. Research focussing on the impact of vegetation recovery on soil quality are abundant, especially on fire

Artificial regeneration of major oak (Quercus) species in the eastern United States - a review of the literature

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel C. Dey; Douglass Jacobs; Ken McNabb; Gary W. Miller; V. Baldwin; G. Foster

2008-01-01

Although natural regeneration is often the best method for establishing new oak (Quercus spp.) stands, there are increasingly more situations in which high potential for oak regeneration failure dictates the use of artificial regeneration including direct seeding and planting seedlings. Additionally, afforestation planting programs frequently...

Environmental impact of constructions made of acetylated wood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Lugt, P.; Bongers, F; Vogtländer, J.G.; Eberhardsteiner, J.; Winter, W.; Fadai, A.; Poll, M.

2016-01-01

In the global climate agreements made during COP 21 in Paris, the role of forests and wood products have gained more attention considering their important impact – both negative and positive – through deforestation, forest conservation, afforestation and increasing application of wood in durable

Essays on the economics of forestry-based carbon mitigation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benítez-Ponce, P.C.

2005-01-01

Keywords:climate change, carbon costs, afforestation, risk, secondary forests, conservation payments, ecosystem services

This thesis is a collection of articles that deal with the economics of carbon sequestration in forests. It pays

Emissions from land use change and forestry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochanda, N.

1998-01-01

This inventory focuses on net input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of land use change and forestry. The report shows the importance of dynamics of the afforestation and defforestation processes in determining the presence of carbon dioxide in the air

Not so pristine – characterising the physico-chemical conditions of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-08-15

Aug 15, 2013 ... Salinity stratification and hypoxic conditions (dissolved oxygen (DO) < 3 mg∙ℓ-1) were ... However high nutrient concentrations were measured in the middle and upper .... 9% irrigation, 78% commercial afforestation and 13% uptake ...... ROBERTSON HA and FUNNELL EP (2012) Aquatic plant dynamics.

General history of the South African forest industry: 1991 to 2002 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These and other main events in the history of the forest industry are presented in this paper under: forest law and policy, privatisation of State forests, afforestation, economics, outsourcing, protection, environmental matters, research, education and training and professionalism. Key Words: Forest industry history, 1991 to ...

Assessing inter- and intraspecific variability of xylem vulnerability to embolism in oaks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lobo, Albin; Torres-Ruiz, José M.; Burlett, Regis

2018-01-01

for future afforestation. However, the presence of long vessels makes it difficult to assess xylem vulnerability to embolism in these species. Thanks to the development of a flow centrifuge equipped with a large rotor, we quantified (i) the between species variability of embolism resistance in four native...

Biotrade1: international trade in renewable energy from biomass

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agterberg, A.E.; Faaij, A.P.C.

1998-01-01

This paper discusses international trade in renewable energy from biomass. Main objective is to compare options for international trade in energy from biomass and to compare these options with non-trade options like domestic use of biomass and afforestation. Aspects that are taken into account are

Gaining forests but losing ground: A GIS evaluation in a Himalayan watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Schreier, Hans; Brown, Sandra; Schmidt, Margaret; Shah, Pravakar; Shrestha, Bubhan; Nakarmi, Gopal; Subba, Khagendra; Wymann, Susanne

1994-01-01

GIS overlay techniques were used to provide a quantitative historic documentation of deforestation and land-use dynamics in the Middle Mountains of Nepal between 1947 and 1990. Deforestation was most critical in the 1960s, but active afforestation programs in the 1980s have reversed the process. In spite of these trends, the degradation problem is more complex. The GIS evaluation showed that 86% of the recently afforested land is now under pine plantations located primarily at lower elevations and moderately steep slopes. In contrast, rainfed agricultural expansion is most pronounced on acidic soils and steeper, upper elevation sites, suggesting marginalization of agriculture. Agricultural expansion coupled with major losses of grazing land to pine forests are the key processes pointing towards major animal feed deficits. An alternative animal feed source is suggested through GIS using a topographically based microclimatic classification to generate a tree-planting map where the optimum ecological conditions for selective native fodder tree species are identified.

Comparison of erosion and erosion control works in Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Blinkov

2013-12-01

Natural conditions in the Balkan countries contribute to the appearance of various erosion forms and the intensity of the erosion processes. Over the history of these countries, people who settled this region used the available natural resources to fill their needs (tree cutting, incorrect plugging, overgrazing, which contributed to soil erosion. Organized erosion control works in the Balkans started in the beginning of the 20th century (1905 in Bulgaria. The highest intensity of erosion control works were carried out during the period 1945 – 1990. Various erosion control works were launched. Bulgaria had a large anti-erosion afforestation, almost 1 million ha. Bulgaria's ecological river restoration approach has been in use for almost 50 years. Serbia contributed significant erosion and torrent control works on hilly agricultural areas. Specific screen barrages and afforestation on extremely dry areas are characteristic in Macedonia. A common characteristic for all countries is a high decrease in erosion control works in the last 20 years.

Factors of Reclamation Success at the Lignite Strip-Mined Land in Northern Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Panagopoulos

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The adverse ecological conditions at the lignite mines of Ptolemaida make the landscape reclamation difficult. The naturally established vegetation and soil properties were studied prior to reclamation. Various forest species were planted to assess the afforestation potential. The natural vegetation was heterogeneous but can be used for the analysis of the site. The soil of the spoil heaps was heterogeneous with unfavourable physicochemical properties. Surface soil temperature was still 24º C higher in bare soil than in soil covered with vegetation. The most successful species of the afforestation trial were Robinia pseudoacacia and Cedrus atlantica. Covering of fly ash spoils with topsoil presented poor results, while sewage sludge gave a favorable amelioration response in areas with high fly ash content. Topsoil from older stands was the suggested method to establish Robinia pseudoacacia. Reclamation success was dependent on appropriate planning; thus, the new landscape had to be designed in harmony with the surrounding landscape before the start of the mining activity.

CO2 sequestration. World CO2 emission reduction by forest plantations on agricultural land up to 2050

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dameron, V.; Barbier, C.; Riedacker, A.

2005-01-01

The main objective of this study was to determine the possible contribution on CO 2 emission reductions of new forest plantations on agricultural land which may become available in the world from now to 2050. Emission reductions have been calculated by taking into account potential changes in carbon stocks on afforested land (in biomass and soil) and replacement with biomass of fossil fuel and material such as steel, aluminium or concrete. Increase of carbon stocks in wood as building material and final conversion of wood recycled from buildings into energy to replace fossil fuel have also been taken into account. CO 2 emission reductions (or carbon benefits) from afforested agricultural land become significant only after 2030 or 2050, and even at a later stage with long rotations. In the case of the latter, about 100 years are needed to get the full benefits. Forest plantations can therefore only be considered as long term options

Japan's System of Official Development Assistance

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... is a founding principle of the “IDRC approach” to development assistance. ...... Given the structure and practices of the Government of Japan, it is very difficult to ...... The recipient country must provide their housing and tax exemptions on ...... involving 11 Japanese corporations for the afforestation of land in Malaysia.

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Rainfall is one such parameter governing the hydrological processes crucial to agriculture planning, afforestation and eco-system management. Therefore, it is essential to understand rainfall distribution and its variation in relevance to such activities. The present study is an attempt to gain in-depth understanding in this ...

How to estimate carbon sequestration on small forest tracts estimate carbon sequestration on small forest tracts

Science.gov (United States)

Coeli M. Hoover; Richard A. Birdsey; Linda S. Heath; Susan L. Stout

2000-01-01

International climate change agreements may allow carbon stored as a result of afforestation and reforestation to be used to offset CO2 emissions. Monitoring the carbon sequestered or released through forest management activities thus becomes important. Estimating forest carbon storage is feasible even for nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF)...

Metal concentrations in Clarias gariepinus and Labeo umbratus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The upper catchment of the Olifants River, from its origin near Bethal to its confluence with the Wilge River, north of Witbank, and its tributaries are being subjected to increasing afforestation, mining, power generation, irrigation, domestic and industrial activities. These activities have a profound effect on the water quality.

Germination and early seedling growth of Pinus densata Mast. provenances

Science.gov (United States)

Yulan Xu; Nianhui Cai; Bin He; Ruili Zhang; Wei Zhao; Jianfeng Mao; Anan Duan; Yue Li; Keith Woeste

2016-01-01

We studied seed germination and early seedling growth of Pinus densata to explore the range of variability within the species and to inform afforestation practices. Phenotypes were evaluated at a forest tree nursery under conditions that support Pinus yunnanensis, one of the presumed parental species of P. densata...

Modeling hydrologic responses to deforestation/forestation and climate change at multiple scales in the Southern US and China

Science.gov (United States)

Ge Sun; Steven McNulty; Jianbiao Lu; James Vose; Devendra Amayta; Guoyi Zhou; Zhiqiang Zhang

2006-01-01

Watershed management and restoration practices require a clear understanding of the basic eco-hydrologic processes and ecosystem responses to disturbances at multiple scales (Bruijnzeel, 2004; Scott et al., 2005). Worldwide century-long forest hydrologic research has documented that deforestation and forestation (i.e. reforestation and afforestation) can have variable...

The development of savanna afforestation in northern Nigeria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadeba, O. (Forestry Research Institute, Ibadan (Nigeria))

1978-06-01

The savanna woodland which covers over 80% of the land area of Nigeria is not capable of meeting the requirements of its population for wood and wood products. Since its inception in 1964, the Savanna Forestry Research Project has been concerned mainly with the problems of wood production in this region. The major constraints to tree planting, which include seasonal deficiencies of soil and atmospheric moisture, low levels of soil fertility, selection of suitable exotic tree species and competition in the early stages of tree growth with grasses, have been identified. References are made to some of the major problems that have been solved and those that are being tackled. Some species of exotic trees have proven adaptive to the savanna conditions and are known to be superior to the native savanna trees in terms of growth rates, yields and utility values. The exotic trees which can grown well in the different savanna climatic zones include several species of Eucalyptus and Pinus in addition to teak (Tectona grandis), Gmelina arborea, and neem (Azadirachta indica).

Changes in wind erosion over a 25-year restoration chronosequence on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China: implications for preventing desertification.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Quanlin; Fehmi, Jeffrey S; Zhang, Dekui; Fan, Baoli; Chen, Fang

2017-08-23

Wind erosion is a primary cause of desertification as well as being a serious ecological problem in arid and semi-arid areas across the world. To determine mechanisms for restoring desertified lands, an unrestored shifting sand dune and three formerly shifting sand dunes (desertified lands) that had been enclosed and afforested for 5, 15, and 25 years were selected for evaluation on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China. Based on sampling heights between 0.2 and 3 m, the critical threshold average wind speed was 6.5 m s -1 at 2 m where the sand transport rate was reduced from 285.9 kg m -2  h -1 on the unrestored dunes to 9.1 and 1.8 kg m -2  h -1 on the sites afforested and enclosed for 5 and 15 years, respectively. The percentage of wind eroded area was reduced from 99.9% on the unrestored dune to 94.5, 9.0, and 0.5% on the sites afforested and enclosed for 5, 15, and 25 years, respectively. Wind erosion was effectively reduced after 15 years. Although there were different driving factors for wind erosion mitigation on the different restoration stages, an increase in the vegetation cover, surface roughness, soil shear strength, soil clay content, organic matter, and reduction in the near-surface wind speed were the primary variables associated with the restoration chronosequence. We conclude that reducing the wind speed and developing a biological crust through vegetation restoration were the critical components for restoration of desertified land.

Assessment of fly ash-aided phytostabilisation of highly contaminated soils after an 8-year field trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopareva-Pohu, Alena [Universite Lille Nord de France, Lille (France); Groupe ISA, Equipe Sols et Environnement, Laboratoire Genie Civil et geoEnvironnement Lille Nord de France EA 4515, 48 boulevard Vauban, 59046 Lille Cedex (France); Universite du Littoral-Cote d' Opale, Unite de Chimie Environnementale et Interactions sur le Vivant (UCEIV), EA4492, Maison de la Recherche en Environnement Industriel de Dunkerque 2, Avenue Maurice Schumann, 59140 Dunkerque (France); Pourrut, Bertrand; Waterlot, Christophe [Universite Lille Nord de France, Lille (France); Groupe ISA, Equipe Sols et Environnement, Laboratoire Genie Civil et geoEnvironnement Lille Nord de France EA 4515, 48 boulevard Vauban, 59046 Lille Cedex (France); Garcon, Guillaume [Universite Lille Nord de France, Lille (France); Universite du Littoral-Cote d' Opale, Unite de Chimie Environnementale et Interactions sur le Vivant (UCEIV), EA4492, Maison de la Recherche en Environnement Industriel de Dunkerque 2, Avenue Maurice Schumann, 59140 Dunkerque (France); Bidar, Geraldine; Pruvot, Christelle [Universite Lille Nord de France, Lille (France); Groupe ISA, Equipe Sols et Environnement, Laboratoire Genie Civil et geoEnvironnement Lille Nord de France EA 4515, 48 boulevard Vauban, 59046 Lille Cedex (France); Shirali, Pirouz [Universite Lille Nord de France, Lille (France); Universite du Littoral-Cote d' Opale, Unite de Chimie Environnementale et Interactions sur le Vivant (UCEIV), EA4492, Maison de la Recherche en Environnement Industriel de Dunkerque 2, Avenue Maurice Schumann, 59140 Dunkerque (France); Douay, Francis, E-mail: f.douay@isa-lille.fr [Universite Lille Nord de France, Lille (France); Groupe ISA, Equipe Sols et Environnement, Laboratoire Genie Civil et geoEnvironnement Lille Nord de France EA 4515, 48 boulevard Vauban, 59046 Lille Cedex (France)

2011-01-01

Sustainable management of large surface areas contaminated with trace elements is a real challenge, since currently applied remediation techniques are too expensive for these areas. Aided phytostabilisation appears to be a cost efficient technique to reduce metal mobility in contaminated soils and contaminated particle spread. In this context, this study aimed at evaluating the long-term efficiency of aided phytostabilisation on former agricultural soils highly contaminated with trace elements. The influence of afforestation and fly ash amendments to reduce metal mobility was investigated. Before being planted with a tree mix, the study site was divided into three plots: a reference plot with no amendment, the second amended with silico-aluminous fly ash and the third with sulfo-calcic fly ash. After eight years, some soil physico-chemical parameters, including cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) extractability were modified. In particular, pH decreased on the whole site while organic carbon content increased. The alteration of these parameters influencing trace element mobility is explained by afforestation. Over time, concentrations of CaCl{sub 2}-extractable metals increased and were correlated with the soil pH decrease. In the amended soils, extractable Cd, Pb and Zn concentrations were lower than in the reference soil. The results indicated that the two fly ashes buffered natural soil acidification due to vegetation development and limited trace element mobility and thus could limit their bioavailability. For long-term phytostabilisation, special attention should be focused on the soil pH, metal mobility and phytoavailability analysis. - Research Highlights: {yields} Afforestation leads to soil pH decrease and organic carbon content increase. {yields} Fly ashes buffered natural soil acidification. {yields} Fly ashes limited metal mobility.

Assessment of fly ash-aided phytostabilisation of highly contaminated soils after an 8-year field trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopareva-Pohu, Alena; Pourrut, Bertrand; Waterlot, Christophe; Garcon, Guillaume; Bidar, Geraldine; Pruvot, Christelle; Shirali, Pirouz; Douay, Francis

2011-01-01

Sustainable management of large surface areas contaminated with trace elements is a real challenge, since currently applied remediation techniques are too expensive for these areas. Aided phytostabilisation appears to be a cost efficient technique to reduce metal mobility in contaminated soils and contaminated particle spread. In this context, this study aimed at evaluating the long-term efficiency of aided phytostabilisation on former agricultural soils highly contaminated with trace elements. The influence of afforestation and fly ash amendments to reduce metal mobility was investigated. Before being planted with a tree mix, the study site was divided into three plots: a reference plot with no amendment, the second amended with silico-aluminous fly ash and the third with sulfo-calcic fly ash. After eight years, some soil physico-chemical parameters, including cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) extractability were modified. In particular, pH decreased on the whole site while organic carbon content increased. The alteration of these parameters influencing trace element mobility is explained by afforestation. Over time, concentrations of CaCl 2 -extractable metals increased and were correlated with the soil pH decrease. In the amended soils, extractable Cd, Pb and Zn concentrations were lower than in the reference soil. The results indicated that the two fly ashes buffered natural soil acidification due to vegetation development and limited trace element mobility and thus could limit their bioavailability. For long-term phytostabilisation, special attention should be focused on the soil pH, metal mobility and phytoavailability analysis. - Research Highlights: → Afforestation leads to soil pH decrease and organic carbon content increase. → Fly ashes buffered natural soil acidification. → Fly ashes limited metal mobility.

The suitability evaluation of lignocellulosic substrate as growing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The use of peat moss (PM) as a growing media is decreasing due to high costs and environmental considerations. Therefore, diverse waste products are being used as organic amendments in certain soils before afforestation. The main objective of this work was to identify and evaluate possible substrate alternatives or ...

Revised

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannsen, Vivian Kvist; Nord-Larsen, Thomas; Riis-Nielsen, Torben

This report is a revised analysis of the Danish data on CO2 emissions from forest, afforestation and deforestation for the period 1990 - 2008 and a prognosis for the period until 2020. Revision have included measurements from 2009 in the estimations. The report is funded by the Ministry of Climate...

Early growth and survival of Acacia galpinii after planting in a semi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Foliage transparency was in excess of 80% for all age groups while crown dieback and stem damage was below 5%. A. galpinii was found to be suitable for dry-zone afforestation. Key Words: Indigenous tree planting; Acacia galpinii; Growth rate; Survival rate; Tree health. Southern African Forestry Journal Issue 202 2004: ...

Monitoring the vegetation recovery in Østerild Plantage 2013. Part 1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wind, Peter

The trees in a part of Østerild Plantage have been cut down to give room for a national test center. Before the afforestation DCE has performed a baseline monitoring in the summer of 2011. DCE has in late summer 2013 re-monitored the recovery of the vegetation cover in the northernmost part...

Container volume and growing density influence western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) seedling development during nursery culture and establishment

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew M. Aghai; Jeremiah R. Pinto; Anthony S. Davis

2014-01-01

Larch tree species (Larix Mill.) are both ecologically and commercially valuable in their native range and are the focus of many restoration, afforestation, and commercial reforestation efforts in the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere. Land use change, shifting climate, and poor natural regeneration are making it increasingly difficult to establish the species...

U.S. landowner behavior, land use and land cover changes, and climate change mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ralph J. Alig

2003-01-01

Landowner behavior is a major determinant of land use and land cover changes. an important consideration for policy analysts concerned with global change. Study of landowner behavior aids in designing more effective incentives for inducing land use and land cover changes to help mitigate climate change by reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. Afforestation,...

Restoration of degraded drylands in northern Chile: The need of local stakeholders' participation to prevent and combat desertification

Science.gov (United States)

Jorquera-Jaramillo, Carmen; Yáñez-Acevedo, Marcia; Gutiérrez, Julio R.; Cortés-Bugueño, José Luis; Pastén-Marambio, Víctor; Barraza-Cepeda, Claudia

2015-04-01

Desertification is one of the main factors determining poverty, long-term socio-economic problems, natural resources depletion and disturbances in rural communities living at the Coquimbo Region drylands (North-Central Chile). The Chilean State, along with private initiatives, have invested 473.6 Million dollars (1976 to 2008) to recover degraded areas through afforestation and soil management of 1,373,758 hectares. However, there is no information about the impact of the practices and changes experienced by the local stakeholders. Therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive evaluation considering both socioeconomic and biophysical aspects. To this end, a Protocol on Integrated Assessment (IAPro, PRACTICE project) was applied in two rural communities, involving communal afforested sites and their adjacent degraded drylands: El Sauce (ES, Limarí province) and Las Cañas (LC, Choapa province), Coquimbo Region. Participatory afforestation and soil conservation projects were implemented at both sites by the Chilean National Forestry Service (CONAF) in agreement with each local community (Jiménez y Tapia Agricultural Community at ES and Las Cañas de Choapa Peasant's Community at LC). The protocol involved 7 steps: (1) Stakeholder platform identification and engagement; (2) Baseline assessment and selection of site-specific indicators; (3) Integration and weighting of common and site-specific indicators; (4) Data collection; (5) Integrating and perspectives on a MCDA (Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis); (6) Collective Integrated assessment and knowledge sharing; (7) Dissemination. Interviews involved local and institutional stakeholders related to both sites' implementation, administration and/or local impacts. For the ES site, 5 actions were defined and assessed: No action (control); fences; mechanic and biological practices (soil stabilization, runoff control on slopes); runoff control in micro-basins, gullies and ravines; and footpath for educational and

Is Forest Restoration in the Southwest China Karst Promoted Mainly by Climate Change or Human-Induced Factors?

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, H.

2017-12-01

The Southwest China Karst, the largest continuous karst zone in the world, has suffered serious rock desertification due to the large population pressure in the area. Recent trend analyses have indicated general greening trends in this region. The region has experienced mild climate change, and yet significant land use changes, such as afforestation and reforestation. In addition, out-migration has occurred. Whether climate change or human-induced factors, i.e., ecological afforestation projects and out-migration have primarily promoted forest restoration in this region was investigated in this study, using Guizhou Province as the study area. Based on Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data, we found general greening trends of the forest from 2000 to 2010. About 89% of the forests have experienced an increase in the annual NDVI, and among which, about 41% is statistically significant. For the summer season, more than 65% of the forests have increases in summer NDVI, and about 16% of the increases are significant. The strongest greening trends mainly occurred in the karst areas. Meanwhile, annual average and summer average temperature in this region have increased and the precipitation in most of the region has decreased, although most of these changes were not statistically significant (p > 0.1). A site-based regression analysis using 19 climate stations with minimum land use changes showed that a warming climate coupled with a decrease in precipitation explained some of the changes in the forest NDVI, but the results were not conclusive. The major changes were attributed to human-induced factors, especially in the karst areas. The implications of an ecological afforestation project and out-migration for forest restoration were also discussed, and the need for further investigations at the household level to better understand the out-migration-environment relationship was identified.

Is Forest Restoration in the Southwest China Karst Promoted Mainly by Climate Change or Human-Induced Factors?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongyan Cai

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The Southwest China Karst, the largest continuous karst zone in the world, has suffered serious rock desertification due to the large population pressure in the area. Recent trend analyses have indicated general greening trends in this region. The region has experienced mild climate change, and yet significant land use changes, such as afforestation and reforestation. In addition, out-migration has occurred. Whether climate change or human-induced factors, i.e., ecological afforestation projects and out-migration have primarily promoted forest restoration in this region was investigated in this study, using Guizhou Province as the study area. Based on Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI data, we found general greening trends of the forest from 2000 to 2010. About 89% of the forests have experienced an increase in the annual NDVI, and among which, about 41% is statistically significant. For the summer season, more than 65% of the forests have increases in summer NDVI, and about 16% of the increases are significant. The strongest greening trends mainly occurred in the karst areas. Meanwhile, annual average and summer average temperature in this region have increased and the precipitation in most of the region has decreased, although most of these changes were not statistically significant (p > 0.1. A site-based regression analysis using 19 climate stations with minimum land use changes showed that a warming climate coupled with a decrease in precipitation explained some of the changes in the forest NDVI, but the results were not conclusive. The major changes were attributed to human-induced factors, especially in the karst areas. The implications of an ecological afforestation project and out-migration for forest restoration were also discussed, and the need for further investigations at the household level to better understand the out-migration–environment relationship was identified.

The role of novel forest ecosystems in the conservation of wood-inhabiting fungi in boreal broadleaved forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Juutilainen, Katja; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Kotiranta, Heikki; Halme, Panu

2016-10-01

The increasing human impact on the earth's biosphere is inflicting changes at all spatial scales. As well as deterioration and fragmentation of natural biological systems, these changes also led to other, unprecedented effects and emergence of novel habitats. In boreal zone, intensive forest management has negatively impacted a multitude of deadwood-associated species. This is especially alarming given the important role wood-inhabiting fungi have in the natural decay processes. In the boreal zone, natural broad-leaved-dominated, herb-rich forests are threatened habitats which have high wood-inhabiting fungal species richness. Fungal diversity in other broadleaved forest habitat types is poorly known. Traditional wood pastures and man-made afforested fields are novel habitats that could potentially be important for wood-inhabiting fungi. This study compares species richness and fungal community composition across the aforementioned habitat types, based on data collected for wood-inhabiting fungi occupying all deadwood diameter fractions. Corticioid and polyporoid fungi were surveyed from 67 130 deadwood particles in four natural herb-rich forests, four birch-dominated wood pastures, and four birch-dominated afforested field sites in central Finland. As predicted, natural herb-rich forests were the most species-rich habitat. However, afforested fields also had considerably higher overall species richness than wood pastures. Many rare or rarely collected species were detected in each forest type. Finally, fungal community composition showed some divergence not only among the different habitat types, but also among deadwood diameter fractions. Synthesis and applications : In order to maintain biodiversity at both local and regional scales, conserving threatened natural habitat types and managing traditional landscapes is essential. Man-made secondary woody habitats could provide the necessary resources and serve as surrogate habitats for many broadleaved deadwood

Does Forest Continuity Enhance the Resilience of Trees to Environmental Change?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goddert von Oheimb

Full Text Available There is ample evidence that continuously existing forests and afforestations on previously agricultural land differ with regard to ecosystem functions and services such as carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. However, no studies have so far been conducted on possible long-term (>100 years impacts on tree growth caused by differences in the ecological continuity of forest stands. In the present study we analysed the variation in tree-ring width of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt. Liebl. trees (mean age 115-136 years due to different land-use histories (continuously existing forests, afforestations both on arable land and on heathland. We also analysed the relation of growth patterns to soil nutrient stores and to climatic parameters (temperature, precipitation. Tree rings formed between 1896 and 2005 were widest in trees afforested on arable land. This can be attributed to higher nitrogen and phosphorous availability and indicates that former fertilisation may continue to affect the nutritional status of forest soils for more than one century after those activities have ceased. Moreover, these trees responded more strongly to environmental changes - as shown by a higher mean sensitivity of the tree-ring widths - than trees of continuously existing forests. However, the impact of climatic parameters on the variability in tree-ring width was generally small, but trees on former arable land showed the highest susceptibility to annually changing climatic conditions. We assume that incompletely developed humus horizons as well as differences in the edaphon are responsible for the more sensitive response of oak trees of recent forests (former arable land and former heathland to variation in environmental conditions. We conclude that forests characterised by a long ecological continuity may be better adapted to global change than recent forest ecosystems.

Forest and water relationships: hydrologic implications of forestation campaigns in China

Science.gov (United States)

Ge Sun; Guoyi Zhou; Zhiqiang Zhang; Xiaohua Wei; Steven G. McNulty; James Vose

2005-01-01

Reforestation and afforestation (referred to forestation thereafter) campaigns in the past two decades have resulted in great increases in both forest land area and forest ecosystem productivity in China. Although the ecological benefits of forests are well accepted, the hydrologic consequences of man-made forests by forestation are unclear. Debate and confusion on the...

A synthesis of current knowledge on forests and carbon storage in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan C. McKinley; Michael G. Ryan; Richard A. Birdsey; Christian P. Giardina; Mark E. Harmon; Linda S. Heath; Richard A. Houghton; Robert B. Jackson; James F. Morrison; Brian C. Murray; Diane E. Pataki; Kenneth E. Skog

2011-01-01

Using forests to mitigate climate change has gained much interest in science and policy discussions. We examine the evidence for carbon benefits, environmental and monetary costs, risks and trade-offs for a variety of activities in three general strategies: (1) land use change to increase forest area (afforestation) and avoid deforestation; (2) carbon management in...

Post-classification approaches to estimating change in forest area using remotely sense auxiliary data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronald E. McRoberts

2014-01-01

Multiple remote sensing-based approaches to estimating gross afforestation, gross deforestation, and net deforestation are possible. However, many of these approaches have severe data requirements in the form of long time series of remotely sensed data and/or large numbers of observations of land cover change to train classifiers and assess the accuracy of...

Regional impacts of a program for private forest carbon offset sales

Science.gov (United States)

Darius M. Adams; Ralph Alig; Greg Latta; Eric M. White

2011-01-01

Policymakers are examining wide range of alternatives for climate change mitigation, including carbon offset sales programs, to enhance sequestration in the forest sector. Under an offset sales program, on-the-ground forestry could change as result of both afforestation and modifications in the management of existing forests. These effects could vary markedly by region...

The effects of different pot length and growing media on seedling ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study was to determine appropriate pot length and growing medium for Crimean Juniper seedlings (Juniperus excelsa Bieb.), which will be used for afforestation of extreme areas. For this purpose, polyethylene pots of 11 cm width and 20, 25 and 30 cm lengths were used. As growing medium, 13 different ...

Responses of Eucalyptus species to fertilizer applications made at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Early research trials in South Africa have shown that Eucalyptus species generally respond positively to the addition of nutrients at planting. However, as most of these research trials were located in KwaZulu-Natal, it was important to investigate the nature of the response in other afforested regions of the country where this ...

Effects Of Drought Stress on Germination in Fourteen Provenances of Pinus Brutia Ten. Seeds in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakan Şevik

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Pinus brutia Ten., Red pine, known to be tough drought resistant pine specie, could effectively be used for afforestation of disturbed areas. It is of great interest for the afforestation in arid zones. Appropriate seed sources for the specific areas guarantees reforestation success. Away from its native areas Pinus brutia Ten. is planted for its ornamental value and timber production purposes. Selection of drought resistant provenances can very well increase the survival success. In this study, the effects of water potential on germination were studied in fourteen provenances of Pinus brutia Ten. from Turkey. Water potentials between 0 and -8 bars were obtained using polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG-6000 solutions. Seeds were kept for 35 day at 20 ± 0.5°C. A decrease in water potential produced a marked reduction in germination percentage and germination value. As a result, significant variations between the provenances were found. It was determined that, under a -8 bar water stress, Isparta-Bucak and Mersin-Silifke, respectively corresponding to 58% and 57% of the control group, were the least water stress affected provenances.

Land-atmosphere-aerosol coupling in North China during 2000­-2013

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, J.; Jin, Q.; Yang, Z. L.; Zhou, L.

2017-12-01

North China is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. To its west, north, and northwest, the world's largest afforestation project has been going on for decades. At the same time, North China has been suffering from air pollution because of its large fossil fuel consumption. Here we show that the changes in land cover and aerosol concentration are coupled with the variations of land surface temperature, cloud cover, and surface solar radiation during the summer 2000-2013. Model experiments show that the interannual variation of aerosol concentration in North China is mainly a result of the varying atmospheric circulation. The increasing vegetation cover due to afforestation has enhanced surface evapotranspiration (ET) and cooled the local surface, and precipitation is observed to be increasing with ET. The model with prescribed increasing vegetation cover can simulate the increasing ET but cannot reproduce the increasing precipitation. Although this may be caused by model biases, the lack of aerosol processes in the model could also be a potential cause.

Results of growing relatively smoke resistant types of trees and their practical use. [German Democratic Republic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tzschacksch, O.

1985-01-01

Achievements in cultivating sulfur dioxide resistant conifers in the German Democratic Republic are summarized. These conifers will be planted in afforestation programs in smoke damage zones I, i.e. in conifer forests at high elevations with maximum pollution damage. Nurseries with the most promising tree types have been established for harvesting seeds for propagation. Cultivation of cuttings and tree grafting is carried out in experimental nurseries along with laboratory gas treatment tests. Smoke resistant varieties of the common spruce Picae abies (L.) show vigorous growth in smoke damage zone I. Other spruce types suitable for cultivation are Picea pungens Engelm., Picea omorica (Panc.) Purk. with the highest vitality in 15 to 20 year old trial plantings in smoke damage zone I extreme, and Picea glanca, rubens and orientalis. Suitable pines are Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. (Murray pine), Pinus mugo Turra, and others; resistant larches are Larix decidua and Larix leptolepis. Deciduous trees being cultivated for afforestation are aspens (Populus tremula L.) and mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia L.). 11 references.

Assessing Vegetation Cover Dynamics Induced by Policy-Driven Ecological Restoration and Implication to Soil Erosion in Southern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jien; Wang, Tianming; Ge, Jianping

2015-01-01

In the aftermath of the severe droughts and floods at the end of the 20th century, the Chinese government launched several ecological restoration projects, including the Natural Forest Protection Program in 1998 and the Grain-for-Green Program in 1999, to promote afforestation and reforestation to reduce surface runoff and consequent soil erosion nationwide. However, it is still unclear how vegetation has changed in southern China since the launch of these programs. In this study, we used the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) to analyze the vegetation cover dynamics in southern China from 2000 to 2009 and evaluate the resulting effects of controlling soil erosion. Our observations indicate that 5.3% of the study area significantly increased and 0.98% significantly decreased in EVI value (p soil erosion based upon monitoring sediment yields at hydrologic stations in the Yangtze River. This study displays the spatial patterns of trend in vegetation growth since the beginning of the 21st century in southern China and highlights the important role of China's afforestation program.

Changes in forest biomass and linkage to climate and forest disturbances over Northeastern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuzhen; Liang, Shunlin

2014-08-01

The forests of northeastern China store nearly half of the country's total biomass carbon stocks. In this study, we investigated the changes in forest biomass by using satellite observations and found that a significant increase in forest biomass took place between 2001 and 2010. To determine the possible reasons for this change, several statistical methods were used to analyze the correlations between forest biomass dynamics and forest disturbances (i.e. fires, insect damage, logging, and afforestation and reforestation), climatic factors, and forest development. Results showed that forest development was the most important contributor to the increasing trend of forest biomass from 2001 to 2010, and climate controls were the secondary important factor. Among the four types of forest disturbance considered in this study, forest recovery from fires, and afforestation and reforestation during the past few decades played an important role in short-term biomass dynamics. This study provided observational evidence and valuable information for the relationships between forest biomass and climate as well as forest disturbances. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Carbon stocks and sinks in forestry for the unitéd Kingdom greenhouse gas inventory. COST E21 Workshop. Contribution of forests and forestry to mitigate greenhouse effects. Joensuu (Finland. 28-30 Sep 2000

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milne R.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Afforestation in the UK has been significant and continuing since 1920 (up to 30,000 ha per year. Planting data is used to drive a dynamic process-based carbon accounting model (C-Flow to estimate removals of atmospheric CO2 to these forests. It is assumed that the afforestation can be represented by the characteristics of Sitka spruce for conifers and beech for broadleaves. The present area of forest considered for these estimates is 1.6 millions ha. In 1990 the uptake to trees, litter, soil and products was 2.6 terragramme C, rising to 2.8 terragramme C in 1998. Deforestation is believed to be small. Supporting measurements show that the model predicts long term uptake by conifers well but that losses from planted peat shortly after establishment need further consideration. Process modelling of beech growth suggests that it is primarily dependant on atmospheric CO2 concentration and not on stomatal control per se. UK research priorities relevant to preparation of GHG (greenhouse gas Inventories are presented.

Projecting large-scale area changes in land use and land cover for terrestrial carbon analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ralph J. Alig; Brett J. Butler

2004-01-01

One of the largest changes in US forest type areas over the last half-century has involved pine types in the South. The area of planted pine has increased more than 10-fold since 1950, mostly on private lands. Private landowners have responded to market incentives and government programs, including subsidized afforestation on marginal agricultural land. Timber harvest...

Implications of policies and prevent climate change for future food security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, N.J.; Scott, M.J.

1993-07-01

Measures to reduce the use of fossil fuels, suppression of on-farm emissions of methane (CH{sub 4}) and nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O), afforestation, and geoengineering ``fixes`` have been proposed to mitigate or eliminate greenhouse-forced climate change. These measures will impact agriculture and other sectors of the economy. this report discusses the above impacts.

Seeding and planting upland oaks

Science.gov (United States)

1989-01-01

Oaks can be planted or seeded in uplands to: (1) afforest old fields, strip-mined areas, or other areas devoid of trees, and (2) supplement natural reproduction within existing forests. Planting is usually more successful than direct seeding. But even under good conditions survival and growth of planted oak has been considerably poorer than with conifers and other...

Land use change effects on forest carbon cycling throughout the southern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Peter B. Woodbury; Linda S. Heath; James E. Smith

2006-01-01

We modeled the effects of afforestation and deforestation on carbon cycling in forest floor and soil from 1900 to 2050 throughout 13 states in the southern United States. The model uses historical data on gross (two-way) transitions between forest, pasture, plowed agriculture, and urban lands along with equations describing changes in carbon over many decades for each...

Accelerating Planted Green Ash Establishment on an Abandoned Soybean Field

Science.gov (United States)

John W. Groninger; Didier A. Babassana

2002-01-01

Planted green ash seedlings exhibit high survival rates on most bottomland sites that have recently come out of row crop production, making this species a popular choice for afforestation. Sub-optimal growth of planted hardwood tree species, including green ash, often delays the realization of many of the economic and environmental benefits that are used to justify the...

Plan climate 2003 Group Agriculture - Forest - By-products, 12 propositions to fight against the climatic change in the agriculture sector; Plan climat 2003 Groupe Agriculture - Foret - Produits derives, 12 propositions pour lutter contre le changement climatique dans le secteur de l'agriculture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Couturier, Ch.; Bochu, J.L.; Pointereau, Ph.; Doublet, S.

2003-07-01

These propositions have been elaborated by the Salengro association in the framework of the Plan Climate 2003, at the ADEME request. These measures aims to fight against the climatic change in the agriculture domain: tractors fuels, energy mastery, renewable energies in fossil fuels substitution, wood buildings, hedges and linear afforestation, nitrogen balance equilibrium, agriculture policy. (A.L.B.)

Evaluating land-use and private forest management responses to a potential forest carbon offset sales program in western Oregon (USA)

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory S. Latta; Darius M. Adams; Kathleen P. Bell; Jeff Kline

2016-01-01

We describe the use of linked land-use and forest sector models to simulate the effects of carbon offset sales on private forest owners' land-use and forest management decisions inwestern Oregon (USA). Our work focuses on forest management decisions rather than afforestation, allows full forest sector price adjustment to land-use changes, and incorporates time-...

Analysis of riparian afforestation methods in the Missouri Ozarks

Science.gov (United States)

Kyle L. Steele; John M. Kabrick; Randy G. Jensen; Michael J. Wallendorf; Daniel C. Dey

2008-01-01

We evaluated the first-year survival and growth of 13 bottomland species in several different management treatments replicated at three sites in the Missouri Ozarks. Treatments were: 1) Roundup® site preparation only; and Roundup® site preparation plus a: 2) growing season application of Poast Plus® (a grass-selective herbicide); 3) redtop...

Effects of rainwater harvesting and afforestation on soil properties ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

Arid Forest Research Institute, Division of Forest Ecology, New Pali Road, Jodhpur-342005 (Rajasthan), India. Accepted 30 ... ancient mountain chain of north western peninsular India, mark the site of .... in complete randomized block design.

Modeling of afforestation possibilities on one part of Hungary

Science.gov (United States)

Bozsik, Éva; Riczu, Péter; Tamás, János; Burriel, Charles; Helilmeier, Hermann

2015-04-01

Agroforestry systems are part of the history of the European Union rural landscapes, but the regional increase of size of agricultural parcels had a significant effect on European land use in the 20th century, thereby it has radically reduced the coverage of natural forest. However, this cause conflicts between interest of agricultural and forestry sectors. The agroforestry land uses could be a solution of this conflict management. One real - ecological - problem with the remnant forests and new forest plantation is the partly missing of network function without connecting ecological green corridors, the other problem is verifiability for the agroforestry payment system, monitoring the arable lands and plantations. Remote sensing methods are currently used to supervise European Union payments. Nowadays, next to use satellite imagery the airborne hyperspectral and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) remote sensing technologies are becoming more widespread use for nature, environmental, forest, agriculture protection, conservation and monitoring and it is an effective tool for monitoring biomass production. In this Hungarian case study we made a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to create agroforestry site selection model. The aim of model building was to ensure the continuity of ecological green corridors, maintain the appropriate land use of regional endowments. The investigation tool was the more widely used hyperspectral and airborne LiDAR remote sensing technologies which can provide appropriate data acquisition and data processing tools to build a decision support system

Afforestation, Subsequent Forest Fires and Provision of Hydrological Services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nunes, João Pedro; Naranjo Quintanilla, Paula; Santos, Juliana Marisa; Serpa, Dalila; Carvalho-Santos, Cláudia; Rocha, João; Keizer, Jan Jacob; Keesstra, Saskia Deborah

2018-01-01

Mediterranean landscapes have experienced extensive abandonment and reforestation in recent decades, which should have improved the provision of hydrological services such as flood mitigation, soil erosion protection and water quality regulation. However, these forests are fire-prone, and the

A meteorological study of parks and timbered areas in the western yellow-pine forests of Arizona and New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

G. A. Pearson

1913-01-01

The object of the study, the results of which are presented here, was to determine the influence of the forest cover upon climate locally in the Southwest, in so far as this influence might be of importance in the management of timberlands and the possible afforestation of parks and denuded areas. Since the bearing upon forestry rather than upon meteorology is the...

Water quality in New Zealand's planted forests: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Brenda R. Baillie; Daniel G. Neary

2015-01-01

This paper reviewed the key physical, chemical and biological water quality attributes of surface waters in New Zealand’s planted forests. The purpose was to: a) assess the changes in water quality throughout the planted forestry cycle from afforestation through to harvesting; b) compare water quality from planted forests with other land uses in New Zealand; and c)...

UM ESTUDO SOBRE A INFLUÊNCIA DA ARBORIZAÇÃO NA PRAÇA DA AVENIDA NS15 DA QUADRA 307 NORTE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Heerdt

2017-02-01

Full Text Available An adequate afforestation contributes to the discomfort reduction generated by heat. The present study was conducted in a residential block of mixed use in the northern region of the Palmascity. The aim of this work was to evaluate the vegetation influence, mainly cerrado trees, in the climate of the public square of the NS 15 avenue in 307 north.With the region trees inventory, the proper choice of the tree species was conducted. The measurements performed were: ambient, air and globe temperature, surface temperature, relative air humidity, luminosity, temperature and wind speed. With these variables, we were able to verify the behavior of the factors that make up the climate and thermal comfort in each situation. In addition, an open ground was used for comparison purposes.Computational simulations were carried out through the Envi-Met program, detecting afforestation influence zones in the studied area and its surroundings. Therefore, we highlight the vegetation relevance to get a thermally comfortable environment, once it collaborates with the microclimate stability, direct insolation reduction,lower winds speed, playing an important role in the cities environmental condition improvement and life quality.

Erosion control works and the intensity of soil erosion in the upper part of the river Toplica drainage basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostadinov, S; Dragovic, N; Zlatic, M; Todosijevic, M

2008-01-01

Aiming at the protection of the future storage 'Selova' against erosion and sediment, and also to protect the settlements and roads in the drainage basin against torrential floods, erosion control works in the upper part of the river Toplica basin, upstream of the storage 'Selova', started in 1947. The works included building-technical works (check dams) and biological works (afforestation and grassing of bare lands and other erosion risk areas). Within the period 1947-2006, the following erosion control works were executed: afforestation of bare lands on the slopes 2,257.00 ha, grassing of bare lands 1,520.00 ha, and altogether 54 dams were constructed in the river Toplica tributaries. This caused the decrease of sediment transport in the main flow of the river Toplica. This paper, based on the field research conducted in two time periods: 1988 and in the period 2004-2007, presents the state of erosion in the basin before erosion control works; type and scope of erosion control works and their effect on the intensity of erosion in the river Toplica basin upstream of the future storage 'Selova'.

Information Service System For Small Forestowners

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shaochen; Li, Yun

Individual owned forests have boomed in the last decade in China. Hundreds of millions of private forest owners have emerged since years of afforestation practice and collective forest ownership reform. Most of those private forest owners are former peasants living in afforestation areas. They thirst for forestry information, such as technique knowledge, forestry policies, finance, marketing, etc. Unfortunately the ways they could get certain information are very limit. Before internet time, Local governments are the main channel they search helps for useful information and technique supports. State and local governments have paid much attention to provide necessary forestry technique supports to those small forest owners and provided varies training projects, issued official forestry information through their websites. While, as state government expands household contract system in the management of collective forestry land, the number of individual forest owners is bumping up in future 5 years. There is still a gap between supplying ability and requirement of forestry information. To construct an effective forestry information service system in next 3-5 year can bridge the gap. This paper discusses the framework of such an information service system.

Lithological control on phytolith carbon sequestration in moso bamboo forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Beilei; Song, Zhaoliang; Wang, Hailong; Li, Zimin; Jiang, Peikun; Zhou, Guomo

2014-06-11

Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is a stable carbon (C) fraction that has effects on long-term global C balance. Here, we report the phytolith and PhytOC accumulation in moso bamboo leaves developed on four types of parent materials. The results show that PhytOC content of moso bamboo varies with parent material in the order of granodiorite (2.0 g kg(-1)) > granite (1.6 g kg(-1)) > basalt (1.3 g kg(-1)) > shale (0.7 g kg(-1)). PhytOC production flux of moso bamboo on four types of parent materials varies significantly from 1.0 to 64.8 kg CO₂ ha(-1) yr(-1), thus a net 4.7 × 10(6) -310.8 × 10(6) kg CO₂ yr(-1) would be sequestered by moso bamboo phytoliths in China. The phytolith C sequestration rate in moso bamboo of China will continue to increase in the following decades due to nationwide bamboo afforestation/reforestation, demonstrating the potential of bamboo in regulating terrestrial C balance. Management practices such as afforestation of bamboo in granodiorite area and granodiorite powder amendment may further enhance phytolith C sequestration through bamboo plants.

Planting trees, indulgence or solution? Probing the support for climate forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dieperink, K.

2008-01-01

Buffering CO2 in forests is one of the options to realize the Dutch climate targets. This options seems to have many advantages, but it is not entirely unchallenged. The question rises how the Dutch population feels about afforestation. Indicative research by a group of first year students of Environmental Sciences shows that there is societal support among the Dutch population, but not unconditionally. [mk] [nl

Greening of wastelands. Proceedings of the national workshop on utilisation of wastelands for bio-energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hegde, N G; Abhiyankar, P D [eds.

1986-01-01

After eight introductory and concluding papers, there are 48 short papers by various authors on topics including legal and social aspects, the afforestation of saline and alkaline soils, tree species selection, subabul (Leucaena leucocephala) production and economics, biomass production for fuel, cultivation of fruit trees, use of fertilizers and irrigation, and projects in Madhya Pradesh, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Una aplicación didáctica en "Cartografía Ambiental y Ecológica": propuesta de reforestación con criterios ambientales

OpenAIRE

García-Abad Alonso, J. J.; Moreno Sanz, F.

1996-01-01

Making, using and interpreting maps is necessary in Environmental and Earth's Sciences. This paper shows the foundations and methodology to realize an exercise proposed to universitary students of the matter «Environmental and Ecological Mapping» (Studies of Sanitary and Environmental Biology. University of Alcalá de Henares. Spain). The aim of the exercise is the hypothetical afforestation on Trijueque Area (Province of Guadalajara. Central Spain)

Characterizing governance and benefits of payments for watershed services in Europe

OpenAIRE

Leonardi, Alessandro

2015-01-01

Globally, Payments for Watershed Services (PWS) make-up the largest ecosystem service market (Bennett et al., 2014b). Driven by the negative impacts of climate change and economic development for water quantity and quality provision, hydrological services are assuming a leading priority among forest and agriculture-based ecosystems. Indeed, afforestation and sustainable agriculture tend to be among the most rewarded management practices under contracts aiming to achieve additionality in upstr...

The biodiversity cost of carbon sequestration in tropical savanna

OpenAIRE

Abreu, Rodolfo C. R.; Hoffmann, William A.; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L.; Pilon, Natashi A.; Rossatto, Davi R.; Durigan, Giselda

2017-01-01

Tropical savannas have been increasingly viewed as an opportunity for carbon sequestration through fire suppression and afforestation, but insufficient attention has been given to the consequences for biodiversity. To evaluate the biodiversity costs of increasing carbon sequestration, we quantified changes in ecosystem carbon stocks and the associated changes in communities of plants and ants resulting from fire suppression in savannas of the Brazilian Cerrado, a global biodiversity hotspot. ...

China Report Economic Affairs

Science.gov (United States)

1985-02-22

n?ti0n in Prawn catches, but also supplies the world’s more costly items, such as scallops, sea cucumbers and abalone. There is an area of more...cotton, meat , aquatic products, afforested area, steel, pig iron, coal, natural gas, electricity, financial revenue, and retail sales. [Summary...in shallow waters of the sea and expanding the export of marine products; third, energetically developing the processing of imported materials, with

Energy planning in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venu, S.

1982-01-01

A review is presented of India's planning for energy requirements in coal, oil, gas and nuclear power and in the fields of solar energy and the extension of forest areas to provide firewood. Coal and natural gas supplies will be increased to reduce oil demand. There will be an accelerated programme of development of bio-gas, an exploration of solar energy potential and extensive afforestation to provide additional energy sources. (author)

Miombo trees and mycorrhizae : ecological strategies, a basis for afforestation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munyanziza, E.

1994-01-01

This project has covered one or several aspects of the life cycle of the main miombo tree species, namely Afzelia quanzensis ,Brachystegia microphylla, Brachystegia spiciformis