Managing Nordic boreal forest landscapes for biodiversity: ecological and economic perspectives

More conservation-oriented forest management practices have been implemented recently in the Nordic countries. The goal of this ecological forest landscape management is to reconcile the commercial harvesting of boreal forests with biodiversity conservation. Management aims at maintaining viable populations of the full array of naturally occurring species in an area while still keeping the timber flow as maximal as possible. Basic ecological tools of managing landscape for biodiversity are (1) to mimic natural disturbance regimes, (2) to set aside areas in permanent or temporary nature reserves, and (3) to enhance dispersal of organisms by creating habitat corridors and stepping stones. The ecological basis of this management system is not well founded, and much more empirical and theoretical research is needed to justify and further develop forest landscape management. It has also proved difficult to assess the economic consequences of more conservation-oriented forest management because the market economy largely fails to give value to forest products other than fibre. Considerable methodological development in the valuation of non-timber goods has occurred in recent years, but there is still much controversy over the justification of the valuation procedure in principle. It seems that both economic and moral approaches to the issue of valuation are inseparable from the choices and decisions we have to make about ecological systems. Perhaps the most fruitful outcome can be achieved by using moral and economic arguments in parallel.     

生物多样性丧失与保护的经济分析

在阐述生物多样性丧失现状的基础上,分析了生物多样性丧失的根源不在于物种和生境本身,而在于当今引导人们经济活动的经济体系,特别是其中的价格体系没有全面准确地反映出生物多样性的各种价值,致使人类社会无代价地滥用生物资源和破坏生态环境,提出了加强生物多样性保护的经济措施就在于运用生态经济规律对当今不完善的经济体系进行修正。     

退耕区域发展碳汇产业的生态经济学思考

碳汇产业,即利用植物吸收二氧化碳的潜力及规律,在人工适度干预下获得清洁空气、满足人们生产和生活对生态环境需求的产业,为原有相对均衡或稳定的农业产业-资源系统的优化升级提供突破口和新的增长点.退耕区域生态系统服务中,固碳释氧功能的经济显化、碳汇潜力的迅速提高,以及国内外碳汇交易与碳汇市场的兴起等,为碳汇产业的发展奠定了理论和现实基础.随着碳汇产业的发展,生产经营者必然以提高碳汇产出为核心,形成对碳源的控制及对碳贮量增加路径的开发,重新布局农业产业-资源结构,因而为退耕区域可持续发展带来新的活力;同时,也隐含了下一步需要研发的重点,即碳汇产业融入后的农业产业-资源的配置结构及良性耦合机制.     

不同类型城市快速扩张区域人工景观对自然景观的生态安全胁迫效应比较

城镇化进程中的建成区扩张会对区域自然生态安全格局造成胁迫效应.本文选取北京通州、河北正定、天津塘沽及福建厦门4个内陆和沿海城市为研究区,通过景观生态学原理构建区域景观胁迫分析指标,对比分析4个城市快速扩张区域在快速城镇化过程中表现出的景观格局特征,研究不同区域及城镇化背景下人工景观对耕地、绿/林地、水体和未利用地等自然景观生态安全格局的胁迫作用差异.结果表明: 2015年,通州、正定、塘沽和厦门4个城市扩张区的景观侵蚀指数分别为1.039、0.996、1.239和0.945,自然景观都表现出显著的被侵蚀程度;但不同城市区域的各类自然景观类型受威胁的程度不同,通州、正定和塘沽以未利用地和水域为主,厦门则以耕地和水域为主,4个城市水域威胁指数均超过0.743;内陆城市的水域和未利用地景观分离度指数均大于沿海城市,在空间上表现为沿海城市水体分布较内陆城市更聚集;相对于其他自然景观,未利用地和水域是受人工景观胁迫最大的两种自然景观.     

崇义客家梯田生态系统服务功能

开展崇义客家梯田系统生态服务功能价值评估,有助于人们更好地了解梯田系统对崇义客家社会的重要贡献,为当地政府保护客家梯田系统提供重要依据.本研究基于崇义客家梯田系统及其所处区域的社会经济特征,构建了相应的生态服务功能价值评估指标体系;运用定性分析法对客家梯田系统的生态服务功能机理及其重要性作了识别;以2014年统计数据为基础,采用物质量和价值量相结合的定量评价方法,对客家梯田系统的9项生态服务指标进行评估.结果表明: 在评估的9项指标中,土壤保持的物质量和价值量同居各指标之首,分别为76457 kg·hm^-2和105033 元·hm^-2,相应地占梯田系统总物质量和总价质量的72.2%和30.0%.文化传承和景观体现了客家梯田系统独特的生态服务功能,价值量分别为100000和46333元·hm^-2,位居9项指标的2、3位.产品供给是客家梯田系统提供给崇义客家人的重要福祉,但其物质量和价值量只占梯田系统生态服务总物质量和总价值量的6.1%与10.4%,因此仅考虑产品供给将严重低估梯田系统的生态服务功能.直观的经济数字反映了客家梯田系统对社会的巨大贡献,不仅有利于提高管理者和公众保护农业文化遗产的意识,也为政府制定客家梯田系统生态补偿标准提供了数据支撑.     

Identifying ecologically valuable and sensitive areas: a case study analysis from China

The expansion of artificial constructs with the rapid economic development in China has led to ecological and environmental emergencies. The extent of the decline in natural resources and environmental conditions has recently been recognized. Identifying “ecological protection redlines”, i.e. ecological limits, to guarantee ecological baselines for natural resources and ecosystem service functions would therefore help to coordinate economic development and to protect ecological resources in the coming years. We used remotely sensed and climatic data to delimit the ecological protection redlines for Zibo, a typical and important city in Shandong province, as an example to illustrate the principles and methodology of ecological protection redlines. The area of the ecological protection redlines for Zibo encompassed 1132.26 km², accounting for 18.98% of the total area of Zibo, were mainly distributed in the southern regions of the municipality, and consisted of extremely important areas of ecosystem service functions, including water conservation, both soil and water conservation, windbreaks and sand fixation, and the conservation of biodiversity. This area is extremely sensitive, and development is forbidden. Strict measures of management and control should be implemented to protect the long-term effectiveness of ecological protection redlines.     

Generalized Linear Dynamics of a Plant-Parasitic Nematode Population and the Economic Evaluation of Crop Rotations

In 1-year experiments, the final population density of nematodes is usually modeled as a function of initial density. Often, estimation of the parameters is precarious because nematode measurements, although laborious and expensive, are imprecise and the range in initial densities may be small. The estimation procedure can be improved by using orthogonal regression with a parameter for initial density on each experimental unit. In multi-year experiments parameters of a dynamic model can be estimated with optimization techniques like simulated annealing or Bayesian methods such as Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). With these algorithms information from different experiments can be combined. In multi-year dynamic models, the stability of the steady states is an important issue. With chaotic dynamics, prediction of densities and associated economic loss will be possible only on a short timescale. In this study, a generic model was developed that describes population dynamics in crop rotations. Mathematical analysis showed stable steady states do exist for this dynamic model. Using the Metropolis algorithm, the model was fitted to data from a multi-year experiment on Pratylenchus penetrans dynamics with treatments that varied between years. For three crops, parameters for a yield loss assessment model were available and gross margin of the six possible rotations comprising these three crops and a fallow year were compared at the steady state of nematode density. Sensitivity of mean gross margin to changes in the parameter estimates was investigated. We discuss the general applicability of the dynamic rotation model and the opportunities arising from combination of the model with Bayesian calibration techniques for more efficient utilization and collection of data relevant for economic evaluation of crop rotations.     

Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide

Worldwide decomposition rates depend both on climate and the legacy of plant functional traits as litter quality. To quantify the degree to which functional differentiation among species affects their litter decomposition rates, we brought together leaf trait and litter mass loss data for 818 species from 66 decomposition experiments on six continents. We show that: (i) the magnitude of species-driven differences is much larger than previously thought and greater than climate-driven variation; (ii) the decomposability of a species' litter is consistently correlated with that species' ecological strategy within different ecosystems globally, representing a new connection between whole plant carbon strategy and biogeochemical cycling. This connection between plant strategies and decomposability is crucial for both understanding vegetation-soil feedbacks, and for improving forecasts of the global carbon cycle.