Forest Conservation - Science topic

Remove all forest litter (dead branches from lower parts of trees). It provides the "fuel" for the next "wild" fire.

As much as possible, determining the provenance of seed sources to be used in reforestation should be supported by seed source movement trials. The evolution of different genetic variants of the same species from different regions occurs in response to a variety of factors, not just mean annual temperature differences. Depending on the driving climate factors in your region, genetic variants of the same species may develop different phenotypic traits based on a wide-range of climate variables that you may not be able to predict a priori: eg., growing season precipitation, mean hottest/coldest month temperatures, average number of growing season days with precipitation, etc. Your management goals should also inform your planting decisions. Are you managing for wood quality/timber production? Rapid growth? Drought resistance? By mixing provenances from different areas without prior testing you may guess correctly which variants may do well in an altered future climate or you may not. Variants you have planted may grow more quickly in a drier, warmer climate, for example, but may experience reductions in wood strength and stiffness that could impact their stability and or commercial value. Any large-scale forest restoration should be back by systematically designed and installed seed source movement trials that seek to identify genetic variants that display specific phenotypic responses to the specific climate scenarios you anticipate will unfold in your geographic region. If such trials are not in place for your species of interest and if it would take too long or be too expensive to implement them, it would make sense to look for seed source movement trials conducted for related species from areas with similar present and anticipated future climate. I also recommend reading the works of Harrington et al. from the northwestern United States for more information on this subject: (https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2017_harrington001.pdf).

Dear Sangram Sahoo . The best famous one is SPSS.

item 7: the present situation of mexican forestry - Fao.org

https://www.fao.org › ...

Deforestation in Mexico has been a collective misfortune caused by poverty, misconceived government policies, greed of some loggers, tree poaching,

Currently, it is estimated that the entire flora of the planet absorbs about 1/3 of the CO2 in the atmosphere. Therefore, the progressive deforestation of the remaining forest areas contributes to the increasingly faster greenhouse effect and thus to the acceleration of the global warming process. Therefore, since we already know this, the question arises why deforestation processes still prevail over aforestation and forest areas are rapidly decreasing year by year? It's good that some decisions were finally made on this matter. Well, during the COP26 Climate Summit, i.e. the UN-Ethical Climate Conference, which took place in the first half of November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland, the participating countries of the world took part in this Conference that the deforestation processes would be completed by 2030. If we know how important it is for the future of the planet's climate, why does humanity and the planet's biosphere have to wait so long for it? Of course, it can be said that it is better late than never. But it is late, taking into account the constantly accelerating process of global warming, the constantly increasing scale of negative effects of climate change and the growing risk of a global climate catastrophe in a few decades, it is very late.

Best wishes,

Dariusz

Please see this.

Yes ! awareness on forest conservation can bring down GHG level. Deforestation means that we now have less trees and forests and therefore less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and having more of it means that heat is more easily trapped by these greenhouse gases. This heat is radiated back to the Earth, causing it to heat up Abhijit Mitra

Drought may be termed as a hydro-climatic disaster and forest cover can be used as an indicator of drought vulnerability both from environment and socio-economic perspective. Drought vulnerability depends on various socio-economic and environmental indicators in concerned area.

No. They are different from each other.

Rachan

Thank you for the clarification

Make laws and adhere to them.

The ideas of environmentalists and the public to create a clean planet are clear in ideological terms, and of course we all strive for them.

However, the technical specifics of the plans and actions of "Net zero emission" raises many doubts.

Thus, the plans of companies to restore ecosystems and forests can lead to the purchase of land for free from poor farmers in developing countries.

Compensatory measures of enterprises (restoration of forests, land, carbon capture, etc.) may be minimal in comparison with the reduction of emissions at their own production facilities along all supply chains and in the process of consumption of released goods.

On the part of enterprises, various manipulations are possible with the withdrawal of operations with the highest level of emissions to companies and countries where there is no carbon regulation.

In this sense, "Net zero emission" is a slogan.

In order to turn the slogans of environmentalists into specifics, it is necessary to switch to clean production based on promising energy carriers. The transition to a new technological structure will completely prevent industrial emissions and there are plenty of specific technical opportunities.

One of the possibilities is to switch to electron-beam energy carriers:

Please include me. I am from India.

It is so sad to seem the word's richest biodiversity being sacrificed irreversibly, for monocrops with limited economic value.

As far as the traps concern I recommend using completely randomized block design in setting your traps.

As for surveying the Lymantria dispar, my suggestion is to go for line transects.

As for burlap issue, I would suggest to go for some baits in parallel.

@ Gautam, as your soil pH value is low, at that pH soil bacteria may change the sulphur to sulphuric acid, resulted further lowering of soil pH.

Public private partnership (PPP) financing approach can be used for the protection of forests/natural ecosystems in developing countries.

Dear Antonio Luca Conte ,

if your question is still relevant, see our article, where various vegetation indices were compared (NDVI, NDMI, FMI, SR, TVI, wNDII) for long-term forest change detection in Slovakia and Czechia using Landsat data: (NDMI appeared to the best for evaluating the individual stages of disturbance - especially the bark beetle calamity)

and the paper dealing with comparison of vegetation indexes (NDVI and NDMI) and orthogonal indexes (TCG, TCW) to distinguish between healhty forests, forests after disturbane and in recovery phase using Sentinel-2 data: (using the NDMI we achieved the best results again)

All the best,

Daniel

As part of forest management, including the so-called In forest management, the principles of sustainable development should also be applied, which consist in increasing the scale of taking into account the issue of biodiversity of natural forest ecosystems referring to natural forests instead of forest monocultures, which were previously created as part of productive forest management. In the situation of forest management in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management based on the concept of a biodiverse forest ecosystem, the risk of pest infestation and diseases of many trees caused by microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi) is much lower compared to monocultures of the stand. Therefore, the use of chemical tree protection products is also smaller, which translates into a lower level of environmental pollution.

Best regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

We planted 3 sites in Jalgaon District(MS- India) by miyawaki method. Though its capital intensive with density of 3 plants in one sq.m., the results are promising. After 1 year we are getting more than 12 ft top canopy height. Exact statistics is being worked out.

We have published new research paper on this topic (see the attachment).

Just yesterday I have checked, observed and studied the uprooted trees for the super cyclone Amphan in 9 forest patches of Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests types in 3 districts of West Bengal that revealed the area, volume, and the mass of the root systems is more than 20 times less than that of the above ground portion of the trees of the heights ranging between 30 - 45 ft height, and DBH 1 ft to 12 feet, if it's possible to attached the photographs of those uprooted trees with the entire stem including branches and the complete exposed root systems attached to the stem, then it will be possible to check visually for all.

Thanks Dariusz Prokopowicz

for useful response. Yes forest ecosystems are important for the survival of living organisms.

Good luck!

With so many variables, it will overfit. According to my limited knowledge, you can perform Principal Component Analysis and decrease the number of variables.

Onyekachi, An answer to your question is certainly dependent how you are using measures of forest stand structure. Are you using measures of forest stand structure to understand some other system attribute? Perhaps how forest stand structure affects animal diversity, plant diversity, water yields, or some other ecosystem attribute. To a certain extent the novelty of your approach will be conditioned on what it is your are using forest stand structure for. I have been involved in work looking at how horizontal and vertical forest stand structure affects bird communities across broad geographic areas. I have attached a paper that attempts to evaluate the relative importance of horizontal and vertical forest stand structure attributes in explaining spatial variation in bird communities. I suspect that part of your question regarding novelty will be tied to the fact that the forest systems where you are working have not received as much empirical work as others. I have attached a couple of relevant papers that have focused on how bird communities are responding to spatial variation in forest stand structure. I hope these help provide some ideas that are useful to your particular situation.

Thank you Rajeev for your confirmation

Hello, You can use my photos. They are free of right. The only condition of use is to quote photo credits: B. Calmont.

Best Regards,

Benjamin

One of the main focuses of the forestry discipline is optimizing the felling age (rotation period).

There are similar age one species, mixed age one species and multiple species forest in both categories (it is a better description than natural or man made from productivity perspective.

The mixed age multiple species ('natural') forest productivity is the same for centuries. Even if you extract timber (up to a level) it remain the same. There is no more net carbon sequestration, the sequestered carbon and the released from decomposition are in balance.

In the case of single age forests, the growth curve is species specific, but usually start slow (from biomass perspective) accelerates and reach the full potential when all area is covered by the trees' crowns. From that point, until the trees health affected, the yearly growth is approximately the same. The highest economic value growth is somewhat later than the peak of the mass growth since higher diameter timber is more valuable. The thinning (earlier wood extraction from the forest) influences the growth curve (drop in mass the accelerating growth).

After the harvest, you leave around the 50% of the extracted biomass in the soil. The decomposition cab be slower than the rotation period, so you accumulate soil carbon up to 3 rotation periods. If you use the extracted wood in durable products, you optimize the net sequestered carbon.

The decomposing trees are lost opportunities, you could use them for replacing fossil energy.

I do not want to refer an article, because it is an entire discipline.

Without doubt , communities must be made responsible for managing common lands converted into forests or grasslands or silvi - pastures . However continous motivation and capacity building of communities are requred before excuting any such programme. I have seen that in Bikaner district of Rajasthan , India where a huge moving sand dune was on the verge of engulfing whole village . Local folk were sensitized effectively to go for vegetative sand dunecstabilization programme and villagers did all the required activities for sand sune stabilizaton themselves . Today that dune is well stabilized , trees and grasses are flurishing like any thing , villagers have set definite rules to protect the vegetation of the said dune. Only grasses are taken by villagers though cut & carry System under a controlled regime .Now said village is completely safe since last 20 years .

There has been best practices in India where local communities have been benefited by Joint Forest Management. The success of JFM practices depends on the degree of community mobilisation at the level of local communities.

In the Bolivian Amazon the 2017 brazil nut harvest (from natural forests) showed really low volumes. This phenomenon has been linked to changes in precipitation linked to changing hydrology cycles due to climate change and regional deforestation and degradation. The following text (in Spanish I’m sorry) gives more information on this subject.

Vos. V.A. 2017. Propuesta para el componente productivo de los planes de mitigación de la crisis de la castaña de la Amazonía boliviana, Aporte técnico como insumo para los planes de emergencia. Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado Regional Norte Amazónico. Riberalta, Bolivia. Pp. 79. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316120830_Propuesta_para_el_componente_productivo_de_los_planes_de_mitigacion_de_la_crisis_de_la_castana_de_la_Amazonia_boliviana_-_aporte_tecnico_como_insumo_para_los_planes_de_emergencia

We’ve seen similar effects in many other products, including cacao. We’ve noticed the delay and unpredictable start of the rainy season causes the cacao trees to abort flowers and young fruits, while the relatively few fruits that do manage to grow tend to be small and still immature at the end of the rainy season. Many fruits thus mature incompletely affecting cacao quality. I’m afraid this information has not been documented well yet: so far it’s only been written down tentatively in project reports. But I’m currently trying to write down more details in a more scientific description of adaptations and practices to improve climate change resilience in regional cacao production. Please feel free to write me at vincentvosbolivia@gmail.com.

Thank you for sharing your photos!! It is very nice color. I hope you will be able to propagate this plant in one way or another. I am convinced it would be a success for home gardens and municipal green areas.

This is the reason , maximum plant diversity is observed unuunduunder mid-altitudes representing humid tropical/ subtropical climate..

The short answer is yes. There is a burgeoning literature on this. The big question is how does one do so most efficiently. Some papers in a Special Feature of Avian Conservation and Ecology cover this, and I know of several in review and in preparation that also address efficiency. The Special Feature of Avian Conservation and Ecology is freely accessible here: 

Dear Meena

Prior to this program of forest protection and dwellers rehabilitation I think It would be good to better sensitized local population on the importance to conserve this forest. Dwellers should be sensitized on services provided by the forest; in other words a participatory management approach is needed. Community-based ecotourism will just serve as an example among the max of activities able to generate high income to the forest dwellers. 

My recent article published on Environmental education and ecotourism using research outcomes on Termitaria (Available on my RG profile, also attached) can be useful to you. Moreover, many other articles quoted in this article can help.

Best wishes

Hubert

Spherical densiometer (SD) may be the helpful equipment for canopy coverage. 

On the edge of the Chinese tropics, Liu Jia-Jia found that fragmentation effects were small in recent (< 50 years old) fragments, presumably because trees mostly live longer than this (Liu, J. -J. & Slik, J. W. F. Forest fragment spatial distribution matters for tropical tree conservation. Biol. Conserv. 171, 99–106 (2014)). These fragments were not managed but I think you might get the same result, with management effects larger in younger fragments which have not yet had time for edge-related mortality and regeneration failures to have an impact.

Hi Jay  

There are many theoretical and practical applications for the behaviour change programs for wildlife conservation and species protection, yet we have to examined practical validity of those application specially in the developing context.   Barrett, C. B., & Arcese, P (1995) have done research about “sustainability of integrated conservation-development projects (ICDPs). On the conservation of large mammals in sub-Saharan Africa”. As they explained “Initiatives to link rural development and species conservation, known as integrated conservation-development projects (ICDPs), have been launched with considerable fanfare and funding around the world. Although ICDPs hold appeal as broader ecological efforts than the conservation and development strategies that preceded them, they also suffer conceptual flaws that may limit their appropriateness and potential sustainability, at least when applied to the protection of large African mammals”. I am sending that research paper for your need, herewith as an attachments

Regards

Dr. Kumara 

Good question. This is closely related to the concept of population genetics known as Hardy-Weinberg Law. The population size should of concern in that small size can give rise to genetic drift. Genetic drift is a change in gene frequency due to chance deviation from expected genotypic frequencies.

The loss of alleles via genetic drift has two effects: (1) it increases homozygosity i.e., an effect similar to that seen for inbreeding. The combined effect of increased inbreeding and loss of alleles via genetic drift as a result of a decrease in Ne (effective breeding number) can cause severe genetic problems. (2) The loss of alleles reduces genetic variance which is the raw material with which selection works. Lack of genetic variance makes selection difficult or impractical since there will be no heritable differences and hence, selection cannot improve a phenotype.

As you know, natural populations need broad gene pools (i.e., genetic variance as high as possible), because it is impossible to predict what genotypes and what alleles will be needed to ensure survival, particularly as we have to face changing climates, environments. Populations with narrow genetic bases are less likely to survive in the long term. We have observed this first hand in rural areas where, with increased human population densities and subsequent reduction in farm sizes, Ne for some crop species decreased drastically with as consequent reduced yield in some crop species, and complete failure in others.

hi

I could find out some information about Tetraclinis articulata invasiveness. Just follow papers and link that I am sending herewith as an attachments 

Botanical gardens act as a way of conserving some of the useful and endangered plant species. In so doing the land cover controls soil erosion in addition to conserving some of the highly valued but threatened species

Another organization to try is the Utopia project, based in Colombia.

It is an innovative educational program that trains young people in sustainable development.

Hello, You could use the fractal methodology to study tropical forest.

Very difficult to draw conclusion whether good or bad! But, it depends on the choice of species, species-site match, biological interference,and end uses. I ask a number of eucalyptus growers why they chose the species? Advantages- short rotation, fast growth,free from grazing animals and required less space. But long run this species needs vary careful and judicious plantation programs because exotics may not be the substitute for native species for long run. I have book "Eucalyptus Dilemma in Bangladesh" where I want to draw all the positive and negative effects. Thanks.

I have no literature to support my statement. I hope I had seen the Monograph by D N Tiwari. I add the following for information:

Tectona L.f., Suppl. Pl. 151.1782 (LAMIACEAE  earlier in Verbenaceae) has only 3 species known so far.

1.Tectona grandis L.f., Suppl. Pl. 151.1782 (India, Indonesia, Malaysia,  Myanmar also cultivated and naturalised  in China, countries of Africa, Madgascar, Pakistan, Taiwan)

2.Tectona hamiltoniana Wall., Pl. Asiat. Rar. 3: 68.1832 (Myanmar (Irrawady and Prome), introduced in India mostly in Botanical gardens)

3.Tectona philippinensis Benth. & Hook.f., Gen. Pl. 2: 1152.1876(The Philippines (Islands of Luzon and Iling)

D.Brandis, Indian Trees 1906 (India=British India) gives the following:

 

The Teak tree is indigenous in both Peninsulas of India, in the north-eastern drier part of Java and in other islands of the Indian Archipelago. In Western India it attains its northern limit in the Western Aravallis at 24° 42' N. Lat. (-A. E. Lowrie). In Central India its northernmost point is the Jhansi district at 25° 33' and from that xooint the line of northern limit continues in a south-easterly direction to the Mahanadi river in the Central Provinces. In Upper Burma it extends to lat. 25° 30', and ascends to 3,000 ft. Teak, however, is not uniformly distributed over this large area, for there are many districts where it is entirely absent. It is cultivated in Bengal and Assam, and in Northern India as far as Dehra Dun.

Teak grows on a great variety of soils, but requires perfect drainage. It thrives equally well on the sandstone of the Pegu Yoma, on the granite of the eastern Sitang and the North Kanara Forests, on limestone in the Thaungyeen forests of Tenasserim, and on basaltic rocks in the Khandeish Dangs, and the Satpura range. On alluvial soil the stems generally are fluted and irregularly shaped.

It is not gregarious, though on deep alluvial soil small patches of nearly pure Teak forest are occasionally found (Beeling, Domdamee in Martaban. Banks of the Godavari [Gamble]). A large area of pure Teak is in the Katu forest (Katha district) of Upper Burma. Woods in which Teak, mostly stunted, preponderates, also occur here and there on dry rocky ground. Its associates are, besides Bamboos, the trees of the deciduous forest.

In dry and hot situations Teak loses its leaves in November, December or early in January. Where the ground is moist, the tree often remains green until March. The new foliage comes out in May. It flowers during the rains in July and August, and ripens its seed between November and January. In summer it is readily recognized at a considerable distance by 'the flower panicles, which overtop the green foliage, and in winter the feathery erect fruit panicles distinguish it from all other trees.

On good soil and in a suitable climate Teak has an exceedingly rapid growth while young. It coppices well. It demands much light and in this respect its requirements are- similar to those of Quercus sessiliflora and Pinus sylvestris in Europe. Its strong point is the vigorous terminal shoot, which enables it, like Fraxinus excelsior, to pierce through dense brushwood, provided there is sufficient light overhead, to stimulate its growth. The white mineral deposit found in cavities in the wood, as far as known,  mainly consists of Calcium Phosphates.

2. Tectona Hamiltoniana Wall. Pl. As. Rar. t. 294 ; Kurz P. Fl. ii. 259.

Vern. Dahat, Burm.

A middle-sized tree, branchlets 6-8-angular. Leaves mostly in whorls of 3, sometimes opposite or in whorls of 4, ovate, blade 4-8, petiole § in. long. Fl. greenish-white, corolla very hairy in the throat. Pr. tightly enclosed in the flask shaped calyx. Dry country of the Irawadi valley, from Prome upwards. Fl. March-May, with the young foliage.

Although all publications consider Teak is native in India (See Flora of British India, Indian Trees, etc). I am doubtful about its nativity in India because nowhere (I know of) populations of teak known in virgin or undisturbed forests. I will be happy to learn about this from others

Dear Luis,

You can find very useful information in the book (available in the WEB) "El papel de los bosques españoles en la mitigación del cambio climático" Bravo, F. (ed). It is a scientific book for general people with very valuable information for you.

Sincerely,

Stella.

Pitting is not the only thing in planting. You have to determine the distance of planting for each kind of species you are choosing. There are small excavators which can be employed without high cost when compared to manual pitting. Planting trees is a much elaborate process, don't think pitting is the most important part.

In any case contiguous signatures, only can be derived from spectroradiometer handheld/satellite based. If you have handheld spectroradiometer data it is nice, but if you don't have, you can generate signature for a pure patch of single species of size about/more than 30*30 meters using Hyperion based hyperspectral data freely available on earth explorer. The patch size may vary depending upon spatial resolution of the hyperspectral data (space borne/ air borne). 

Ah, Emmanuel, one of the challenges of our age. If we want to conserve natural resources, or manage them in such a way that most if not all are conserved, the simplest solution is to find a Doug Tompkins who acquired enough Chilean rainforest between the Pacific and Argentine border to divide the country (in more ways than one) and buy the lot. Have you called on Mo Ibrahim?

More seriously and as you have concluded, in most cases one needs to reconcile both community and state interests, striving to involve each side as partner in a team effort. Such collaboration can be essential both to garner enough political will and public funding at first to get an idea off the ground and, afterwards, to ensure its sustainability.

A few of us face a similar challenge in Portugal where we hope to create a major reserve. While individual donors and companies are certainly in our sights, most support is likely to come from Brussels which will require not just some endorsement from national and local authorities but also community and other stakeholder participation.

Our task, probably unlike yours, is simplified by the decline of small-scale agriculture and migration from the land, an increasingly common phenomenon here and elsewhere. Nevertheless, we aim to win over a government indifferent to conservation and opposed to incurring any such costs, a largely apathetic community and, perhaps, even persuade some hostile eucalyptus plantations by proposing various strategies. Among them:

- employ the unemployed, much as a visionary Theodore Roosevelt did during the Great Depression, in restoration work;

- promote the area's considerable ecotourism potential;

- make a compelling case for the region as a climate change refuge;

- document and stress its outstanding surviving biodiversity;

- encourage extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as cork;

- offer an opportunity to cellulose companies to improve their reputations.

You might also want to consider the strategy used in Guatemala's Petén, a situation which may be closer to yours: http://www.cifor.org/acm/download/pub/grassroot/Peten%20guatemala_eng%20All.pdf

Finally, several NGOs - CI for example (http://www.conservation.org/where/pages/sub-saharan-africa.aspx) - have undertaken similar initiatives in various parts of the world.  And UNEP in Nairobi (http://web.unep.org/regions/roa/) should also provide ideas and case studies.

Shirin,

As others have indicated, sadly it is not only Q. brantii that is vulnerable. You might want to put your question also to the International Oak Society, www.internationaloaksociety.org/ .

Good luck.

Hi Dr. Rice,

I studied in lions in Gir and also wondered about Dr. Joslin's current location. I got this lead and hope this helps

There needs to be an assessment of why the human caused fires.  Are they accidents or purposeful?  The US has a long history of fires and the costs of fighting fires.  I was loaned the book The Big Burn by Timothy Egan.  It discusses the early stages of development and organization of fire fighters in the early US Forest Service.  I think it has some stories to tell, and the commitment that fire fighters have when they face wildfires.  Your mention of pine is something we deal with, and most pine needles and stems have more resin making them more flammable than hardwoods.  The US Forest Service has much experience in the various aspects of pine and fire management and has dealt with both natural and human caused fires, and there are certainly some mitigation measures that can be implemented to reduce their frequency and severity that might be considered.  I would suggest you get on the US Forest Service website and look over what might be available.  In addition, the USFS has various research stations and one or more of them might be in a habitat with some similarities to your situation that you might review. Forest fire research and management are still ongoing subjects of interest.  Over the years, the USFS has developed various things to help reduce accidental fires such as fire rings at campsites, signs along highways to be careful with fire, training sessions for children, increased detection and response, attention to vegetation management, incident emergency response, and use of properly designed prescribed burning as examples.  I no longer officially represent the USFS and my firefighting days were decades ago, but throughout my career, the USFS has always been willing to transfer information and help when asked. 

Dear Mehdi, N.B. my interest is to a large extent as a conservation campaigner. A key to avoiding serious deforestation, assuming that it is otherwise unavoidable, is to be clear about what forest exists and what its benefits currently are in environmental, conservation and local/domestic socio-economic terms. Planning cannot be carried out without thorough assessment, and if a baseline is not established then it is hard to call a halt to logging if it is going too far because good evidence of what has already been lost does not exist. Bearing in mind that deforestation is often driven by a nation's need for foreign exchange, strong evidence of the potential for economic, environmental and social harm is needed to bring about a reasonable compromise between domestic and internationally driven interests.

Many mangroves in the world are rich in biodiversity. The dense mangrove forest can protect the human habitation and lives from extreme weather events resulted from climate change. So, deforestation of mangrove trees for making charcoal  is not desirable which will bring negetive impact on tree density in the forest. We should keep intact mangrove forests for a good habitation of wild animals, birds and fishes.

Deforestation and degradation are caused by various factors. Its well known that the climate change curtail the DD effect. Invasion of exotic plant species is also worth considering for studying DD effect. The most important about DD study is topography, physiography of a particular area. Based on the landscape, combating DD may differ. Mahabharat/Siwalik is fragile, vulnerable and young, so massive plantation and cover of dense vegetation may outweigh the capacity of hills to afford. Second, the most areas of Nepal have long been inhabitated by people for their livelihood and forestry/livelihood are inseparble at the outset of civilization. Participatory conservation considering soil factors and biological invasion and use of secondary resources with caution may complement the management initiatives of DD. Since we are at the era transformation (climate, socio-cultural, land-use), the use of secondary resources is gaining ground as old-growth forests become overexploited, indigenous species declined and traditional knowledge effaced. In this context, it is worthwhile to state Burnett (1911): “At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done. Then they begin to hope it can be done. They see it can be done. Then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago (Burnett 1911, The Secret Garden)”. 

Not aware of anything from the Ghats (not my region) but these may help:

Balch, J.K., D.C. Nepstad, L.M. Curran, P.M. Brando, O. Portelab, P. Guilhermeg, J.D. Reuning-Scherera, and O. de Carvalho Jr. 2011. Size, species, and fire behaviour predict tree and liana mortality from experimental burns in the Brazilian Amazon. Forest Ecology and Management 261: 68–77.

Cochrane, M.A. 2003. Fire science for rainforests. Nature 421: 913-919.

Cochrane, M.A., and M.D. Schulze. 1999. Fire as a recurrent event in tropical forests of the eastern Amazon: effects on forest structure, biomass, and species composition. Biotropica 31: 2–16.

Kinnaird, M.F., and T.G. O’Brien. 1998. Ecological effects of wildfire on lowland rainforest in Sumatra. Conservation Biology 12: 954-956.

Uhl, C., and J.B. Kauffman. 1990. Deforestation, fire susceptibility, and potential tree responses to fire in the eastern Amazon. Ecology 71: 437–449.

I would be keen to hear if you find anything more relevant.

gracias por el articulo Cristian!! cuidate y buena suerte en tu proyecto! 

I do not think there is seperate sampling method for endangered species. And even if there is,  geographical variations interms of species distribution matters alot. You must understand the area you studying first, it's ecology before you begin to think of how you can sampling what. Find Kent and Coker ( 1992) for further information.  Good luck

Rattans are monocotyledons close to bamboo and other grasses has role as pioneer species in serial ecological succession. they are colonizers in early serial stage in humid / sub-humid climate.

In virgin forest ecosystem all the life forms are intersts. in soil and on soil

it must be very interest to focus the reasearch about the small organisms especially insects and microorganisms.

These last determine the imprtance and the really role of this kind of complex  ecosystem especiallyin there is no far a destroyed areas by fire which are very interest to comare the biological activity of micro species and the speed of the nutrints recycle ...

Yes such situation is very much common in Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, but such falling is common manly in mature tree stand, not in young tree or pole. Also, if you look to the stem it looks like a humepipe. Though no specific cause is reported yet, I think, it might be due to heartwood borer (as said by Sreejith Ashtomoorthy) or maybe some age-related phenomenon or root affecting organism or maybe all. So, more research is needed in this field. 

Good question: you are correct that there are clearer are more widely applied guidelines on tree health metrics for larger trees (for example in an urban forestry context).

The most common health metrics used for saplings are essentially based on growth as an integrated measure of tree health, with non-destructive measures commonly based on root collar diameter and height (and sometimes leaf area).  Annual extension growth quantified by terminal leader length is also useful, particularly in temperate or boreal trees with annual internode production.  One can also utilize either sequential harvests or allometric estimates to derive "growth analysis" metrics (i.e., relative growth rate, leaf area ratio, unit leaf rate (= net assimilation rate), leaf mass fraction, etc.) that have been commonly used in the agronomic literature (Hunt et al. 2002 give a helpful overview).

Depending on the context (and available instrumentation) additional useful metrics would include leaf survivorship, leader loss, leaf chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (especially Fv/Fm), and photosynthetic gas-exchange parameters.  There is of course a large plant stress physiology literature and many other techniques that could in theory be used (membrane leakage, antioxidant content, analysis of xanthophylll cycle pigments come to mind), but most likely these measurements are mainly useful if you are seeking to understand physiological mechanisms involved.

I've attached a study from my lab as an example that includes parallel work on canopy trees and saplings.

Reference:

Hunt, R., Causton, D. R., Shipley, B., & Askew, A. P. (2002). A modern tool for classical plant growth analysis. Annals of Botany, 90(4), 485-488.

What if the first question we collectively ask is, Who is the master?

If domination and the illusion is the master, we create many unintended consequences along the way.

If Nature is the master and we treat her with reverence and respect in all ways, then her 4.5 billion years of evolutionary ways will continue undaunted.

Which side are you on????

There is no model better than others. Which model to use depends on the spatial and temporal scales in which you are interested, in the type of ecosystem, the information that you have available and your specific question. If you don´t know these before starting your work, you may end up using models that are not adequeate to your needs. I suggest starting by reading the different reviws on forest models that have been published in the last years, where comparisons and descriptions of diferent models are provided.

Hello Franco,

I think you have received some fine answers already.  Still, you may also want to consult the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (2007) 'Where the Land is Greener: Case Studies and Analysis of Soil and Water Conservation Initiatives Worldwide'. Editors: Liniger H & Critchley W, co-published by CTA, FAO, UNEP and CDE.

Some comments on a few of the plants mentioned. As Bernhard notes, invasive exotics can at least mitigate a bad situation and in a few cases, a colonising pioneer sp can be introduced, allowed to do its job of slope stabilisation, shade provision for more delicate natives, etc., but ultimately dispensed with by introducing another alien, a species-specific parasite which first eliminates the plant and then itself. One example: Acacia longifolia - http://invasoras.pt/en/gallery/acacia-longifolia-en/

- Vetiver (or Chrysopogon) zizanioides can indeed be a Mercedes (or BMW?) solution in steep tropical milieux. But apart from possible cost - some governments furnish it free - the sterile plant is a slow grower in subtropical dryer conditions.

- Pennisetum spp will be much more drought and cold resistant but taller ones such as P. setaceum (which may be native to parts of Swaziland) will spread rapidly if allowed to seed and, if not grazed by cattle, will become inflammable.  As Alan warns, Kikuyu (P. clandestinum) can run amok in moist conditions and is difficult to erradicate physically.

- Euphorbia tirucalli is certainly tough and fire-resistant but its latex, as I know from personal experience, is extremely irritating to eyes.

- Aptenia cordifolia from South Africa may also be worth considering.  Being a succulent, it won't pose a fire hazard.

Much success with whatever strategies you select.

Antonio

Dear Arun,

Here the pro's and con's of both projections.

The LCC Projection

A Lambert conformal conic projection (LCC) is a conic map projection used for aeronautical charts, portions of the State Plane Coordinate System, and many national and regional mapping systems. It is one of seven projections introduced by Johann Heinrich Lambert in his 1772 publication Anmerkungen und Zusätze zur Entwerfung der Land- und Himmelscharten (German: Notes and additions for creating ground and aerial charts).

Conceptually, the projection seats a cone over the sphere of the Earth and projects the surface conform onto the cone. The cone is unrolled, and the parallel that was touching the sphere is assigned unit scale. That parallel is called the reference parallel or standard parallel.

By scaling the resulting map, two parallels can be assigned unit scale, with scale decreasing between the two parallels and increasing outside them. This gives the map two standard parallels. In this way, deviation from unit scale can be minimized within a region of interest that lies largely between the two standard parallels. Unlike other conic projections, no true secant form of the projection exists because using a secant cone does not yield the same scale along both standard parallels.

Lambert conformal conic projection with standard parallels at 20°N and 50°N. Projection extends toward infinity southward and so has been cut off at 30°S.

 Pilots use aeronautical charts based on LCC because a straight line drawn on a Lambert conformal conic projection approximates a great-circle route between endpoints for typical flight distances. The US systems of VFR (visual flight rules) sectional charts and terminal area charts are drafted on the LCC with standard parallels at 33°N and 45°N.

The European Environment Agency and the INSPIRE specification for coordinate systems recommends using this projection (also named ETRS89-LCC) for conformal pan-European mapping at scales smaller or equal to 1:500,000. In Metropolitan France, the official projection is Lambert-93, a Lambert conic projection using RGF93 geodetic system and defined by references parallels that are 44°N and 49°N.

The National Spatial Framework for India uses Datum WGS84 with a LCC projection and is a recommended NNRMS standard. Each state has its own set of reference parameters given in the standard.

The U.S. National Geodetic Survey's "State Plane Coordinate System of 1983" uses the Lambert conformal conic projection to define the grid-coordinate systems used in several states, primarily those that are elongated west to east such as Tennessee. The Lambert projection is relatively easy to use: conversions from geodetic (latitude/longitude) to State Plane Grid coordinates involve trigonometric equations that are fairly straightforward and which can be solved on most scientific calculators, especially programmable models. The projection as used in CCS83 yields maps in which scale errors are limited to 1 part in 10,000. The Lambert conformal conic is one of several map projection systems developed by Johann Heinrich Lambert, an 18th-century Swiss mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and astronomer.

The Albers projection

The Albers equal-area conic projection, or Albers projection (named after Heinrich C. Albers), is a conic, equal area map projection that uses two standard parallels. Although scale and shape are not preserved, distortion is minimal between the standard parallels.

The Albers projection is one of the standard projections for British Columbia, and is the sole standard projection used by the government of Yukon. It is also used by the United States Geological Survey and the United States Census Bureau.

Snyder describes generating formulae for the projection, as well as the projection's characteristics. Coordinates from a spherical datum can be transformed into Albers equal-area conic projection coordinates with the following formulas, where λ is the longitude, λ0 the reference longitude, φ the latitude, φ0 the reference latitude and φ1 and φ2 the standard parallels:

An Albers projection shows areas accurately, but distorts shapes.

Conclusion

The Albers projection distorts shapes and hence shape and surface area are not conserved. This is not the case for the LCC projection. Hence use the LCC projection especially i GIS applications.

See the pdf attachment for illustrations and formulae.