Utilisation and Management Changes in South Kyrgyzstan＇s Mountain Forests

Using political ecology as its conceptual framework, this paper focuses on the changes in forest utilisation and management of South Kyrgyzstan＇s walnut-fruit forests over the last century The aim of this study on human-environment interactions is to investigate the relationship between actors on the one side, their interests and demands, and the forests and forested lands on the other. Forest resource utilisation and management - and even the recognition of different forest products as resources - are connected with political and socioeconomic conditions that change with time. The walnut-fruit forests of South Kyrgyzstan are unique, characterised by high biodiversity and a multiplicity of usable products; and they have been utilised for a long time. Centralised and formal management of the forests started with the Russian occupation and was strengthened under Soviet rule, when the region became a part of the USSR. During this era, a state forest administration that was structured from Moscow all the way down to the local level drew up detailed plans and developed procedures for utilising the different forest products. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the socio-political and economic frame conditions have changed significantly, which has brought not only the sweeping changes in the managing institutions, but also the access rights and interests in the forest resources. At present, the region is suffering from a high unemployment rate, which has resulted in the forests＇ gaining considerable importance in the livelihood strategies of the local population. Political and economic liberalization, increased communication and transregional exchange relations have opened the door for international companies and agents interested in the valuable forest products. Today, walnut wood and burls, walnuts, wild apples and mushrooms are all exported to various countries in the world. Scientists and members of various international organisations stress the ecological value of the forests and are trying to establish nature conservation areas. Nevertheless, it is to fear that a multiplicity of interrelated factors - the present transformation and globalization processes, the appearance of new actors, the local population＇s insecure economic situation and the erosion of managing institutions - are all leading to an intensified and unregulated exploitation of the forests, resulting in their degradation.     

Alternative stable states in mountain forest ecosystems: the case of European larch(Larix decidua) forests in the western Alps

European larch(Larix decidua) forests of the western Alps form extensivecultural landscapes whose resilience to global changes is currently unknown. Resilience describes the capacity of ecological systems to maintain the same state, i.e., the same function, processes, structure, and composition despite disturbances, environmental changes and internal fluctuations. Our aim is to explore the resilience of larch forests to changes in climate and land use in the western Italian Alps.To do so, we examined whether larch forests can be described as an alternative stable state in mountain forest ecosystems. We used tree basal area data obtained from field forest inventories in combination with topography, forest structure, land use, and climate information. We applied three different probabilistic methods: frequency distributions, logistic regressions, and potential analyses to infer the resilience of larch forests relative to that of other forest types.We found patters indicative of alternative stable states: bimodality in the frequency distribution of the percent of larch basal area, and the presence of an unstable state, i.e., mixed larch forests, in the potential analyses. We also found:(1) high frequency ofpurelarchforestsathighelevation,(2)the probability of pure larch forests increased mostly with elevation, and(3) pure larch forests were a stable state in the upper montane and subalpine belts.Our study shows that the resilience of larch forests may increase with elevation, most likely due to the altitudinal effect on climate. Under the same climate conditions, land use seems to be the main factor governing the dominance of larch forests. In fact, subalpine larch forests may be more resilient, and natural succession after land abandonment, e.g., towards Pinuscembra forests, seems slower than in montane larch forests. In contrast, in the upper montane belt only intense land use regimes characterized by open canopies and forest grazing may maintain larch forests.We conclude that similar approaches could be applied in other forest ecosystems to infer the resilience of tree species.     

Assessing the invasion risk of botanical garden's exotic threatened collections to adjacent mountain forests: A case study of Cibodas Botanical Garden

A primary objective of botanical gardens is to conserve threatened plant species from different regions and countries. However, such ex-situ conservation practices for exotic plant species may pose a significant plant invasion risks. In this study, we predict the naturalization probability of exotic threatened plant species of Cibodas Botanical Garden(CBG) collections based on leaf trait(specific leaf area, SLA) or as a function of invasion risk assessment scoring system(Tropical Weed Risk Assessment Protocol, TWRAP). We found that SLA and TWRAP were positively correlated with naturalization probability. The TWRAP model produced higher predictive probabilities with larger uncertainty compared to SLA model. Parmentiera cereifera and Burretiodendron hsienmu are two species that have highest naturalization probability based on SLA model. Chamaedorea oblongata has the highest naturalization probability based on TWRAP model. From practical and management point of view, we recommend the simultaneous use of SLA-based and TWRAP-based invasive species risk assessment to estimate the naturalization risk of exotic threatened collections of botanical gardens to adjacent mountain forests. Finally, given the important conservation value of threatened exotic collection of botanical garden, we need to be aware with the invasion risks of these species. The threatened condition of a plant species is not only caused by its natural characteristics but also may be caused(in fact mostly confounding with) by external disturbance either natural catastrophic or human related activities. Thus, a threatened species may not necessarily a noninvasive species outside their natural distribution ranges.     

Push-pull factors in mountain resorts

The push-pull framework provides a useful approach for examining the tourist motivation. This paper takes the world heritage—Huangshan Mountain as a sample. From the two different aspects of pull and push factors, the underlying features of visitors’ motives to Huangshan Mountain are analyzed with the help of factor analysis. As a result, five push factors and four pull factors are identified. Further analyses investigate differences in the push and pull factors among different socio-demographic subgroups with one-way ANOVA analysis. The result of the study affords us useful references for development, protection and marketing expansion of mountain resorts. Foundation item: Under the auspices of the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 03BJY084) Biography: WANG De-gen (1973-), male, a native of Huangshan of Anhui Province, lecturer, specialized in tourist market and tourist planning. E-mail: dgwang73@263.net     

The state of mountain research in Canada

Nearly a quarter of Canada’s landmass is covered by mountainous terrain, making mountains an important aspect of the physical and human geography of the country. Mountain areas in Canada have motivated a great deal of research activity, yet the state of mountain research in the country has never been systematically characterized, precluding a detailed understanding of what is being studied, when, where, how, and by whom. In response, we conducted a systematic scoping review to rigorously identif...     

Omni-directional distribution patterns of montane coniferous forest in the Helan Mountains of China

Slope aspect has significant effect on the development and distribution of montane forest,especially in arid and semiarid regions.This paper,using SPOT5 images and 1:50,000 DEM,digitally extracts and analyzes the spatial information of montane coniferous forest(mainly Qinghai spruce),and thereby explores how the upper and lower limits and the altitudinal range of coniferous forest vary and how the area of coniferous forest is related with annual insolation with all aspects in the Helan Mountains.The results show that: 1) In the eastern flank,the lower limit of coniferous forest is between 1,600 m and 2,000 m a.s.l.,and the upper limit between 2,800 m and 3,000 m a.s.l.;in the western flank,the lower limit of coniferous forest is between 2,000 m and 2,300 m a.s.l.,and the upper limit between 2,800 m and 3,100 m a.s.l.2) The altitudinal ranges of coniferous forest are 806~1,435 m,438~1,140 m for eastern flank and western flank,respectively.3) The area of coniferous forest takes on a normal distribution with aspect,and it has a close relationship with annual insolation.This distribution model developed in this paper quantitatively reveals the significant effect of slope aspect on the distribution of coniferous forest in arid and semi-arid land.     

Degradation of High Mountain Ecosystems in Northern Europe

Data material of a long-term high mountain ecosystem research project was used to interpret the grazing impact of reindeers. In central Norway investigations were conducted to both, areas where reindeer grazing is excluded, and areas where intensive pasturing is present for a long period of time.The comparative analysis of grazing impact was based on similar environmental conditions. The results were transposed to northern Norway where dramatic overgrazing had been exceeding the carrying capacity. Using landscape ecological mappings, especially of vegetation and soils, the impact of reindeer grazing in different areas became obvious. Non-grazed lichen-dominated ecosystems of the snow-free locations functioned sensitively near the limit of organism survival. These localities were most influenced by grazing as they offer the winter forage to the reindeers. So, intensive grazing in central Norway led to landscape degradation by destruction of the vegetation and superinduced by soil erosion. Those features were comparable to the situation in northern Norway, where a broad-scale destruction of the environment combined with a depression of the altitudinal belts had occurred due to overgrazing. Functioning principles of intact high mountain systems were explained and used to interpret the environmental background for the understanding of degradation phenomena. Finally, the use of a new model calculating the carrying capacity of high mountain landscape was discussed.     

ECOLOGICAL SERIES OF SOIL ANIMALS IN DARLIDAI MOUNTAIN

The ecological series of soil animals under the broad-leaved and pine mixed forest in Darlidai Mountainwas studied. Seven sample plots were selected according to different altitude gradients, which belong to different vegeta-tion types. By investigating and analyzing soil animals in every sample plot it is found that there are 45 groups and 1956individuals, which axe involved in 3 phylums, 7 classes, 16 orders, respectively. The altitude is a key factor which af-fects ecological series of soil animals. Both the groups and individuals of soil animals increase with altitude increasingunder certain conditions, which contrastes with ordinary cases, resulting from special micro-climate in studied area. Thegroups and individuls of soil animals are the most under the broad-leaved and pine forest on the top of the mountain, andthe least under Picea-Abies forest in the foot of the mountain.     

龙门山北段天井山构造特征及成因模拟

根据地震资料、钻井和野外调查等研究,认为天井山构造带广泛发育重力滑动构造、断层转折褶皱、倒转背斜和双重构造等构造样式.天井山构造带变形具有垂向分层特点:上部构造主要为断层转折褶皱,02tjs10测线附近变形强度最大,向两端变形逐步减弱;下部构造为多个逆冲岩片叠置所构成的双重构造.通过构造物理模拟实验,证实天井山构造带在北西—南东向挤压应力作用下变形序列为前展式逆冲叠瓦式构造组合;天井山构造带存在多个滑脱层系,才会形成分层变形、垂向叠置的不协调收缩构造变形.该研究可以为天井山构造带乃至龙门山油气勘探提供指导.     

Vegetation recovery after fire in mountain grasslands of Argentina

Fire is a natural disturbance occurring every few years in many grasslands ecosystems. However, since European colonization, fire has been highly reduced or even suppressed in Argentinean grasslands, fostering ignitable material accumulation. This has led to occasional catastrophic controldemanding fire events, extended for larger areas. The aims of this work are to study vegetation recovery and change after a non-natural fire event in mountain grasslands. The study area is located in the Ventania mountain system, mid-eastern Argentina. We studied vegetation recovery after fire(January 2014) in two different communities: grass-steppes(grasslands) and shrub-steppes(open low shrublands). We measured vegetation cover, species richness and bare ground percentage in burned and unburned areas 1, 4, 8, 11 and 23 months after fire. Vegetation surveys were also performed at the end of the growing season(December) 11 and 23 months after fire. Data were analyzed using regression analysis, ANOVA and multivariate analysis(NMS, PERMANOVA). Both communities increased their vegetation cover at the same rate, without differences between burned and unburned areas after two years. Species richness was higher in shrublands and their recovery was alsofaster than in grasslands. Considering functional composition, besides transient changes during the first year after fire, there were no differences in abundance of different functional vegetation groups two years after fire. At the same time, shrublands showed no differences in species composition, while grasslands had a different species composition in burned and unburned plots. Also, burned grassland showed a higher species richness than unburned grassland. Data shown mountain vegetation in Pampas grassland is adapted to fire, recovering cover and richness rapidly after fire and thus reducing soil erosion risks. Vegetation in mountain Pampas seems to be well adapted to fire, but in grasslands species composition has changed due to fire. Nonetheless, these changes seem to be not permanent since prefire species are still present in the area.     

Alternative stable states in mountain forest ecosystems: the case of European larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix decidua</Emphasis>) forests in the western Alps

European larch (Larix decidua) forests of the western Alps form extensive cultural landscapes whose resilience to global changes is currently unknown. Resilience describes the capacity of ecological systems to maintain the same state, i.e., the same function, processes, structure, and composition despite disturbances, environmental changes and internal fluctuations. Our aim is to explore the resilience of larch forests to changes in climate and land use in the western Italian Alps. To do so, we examined whether larch forests can be described as an alternative stable state in mountain forest ecosystems. We used tree basal area data obtained from field forest inventories in combination with topography, forest structure, land use, and climate information. We applied three different probabilistic methods: frequency distributions, logistic regressions, and potential analyses to infer the resilience of larch forests relative to that of other forest types. We found patters indicative of alternative stable states: bimodality in the frequency distribution of the percent of larch basal area, and the presence of an unstable state, i.e., mixed larch forests, in the potential analyses. We also found: (1) high frequency of pure larch forests at high elevation, (2) the probability of pure larch forests increased mostly with elevation, and (3) pure larch forests were a stable state in the upper montane and subalpine belts. Our study shows that the resilience of larch forests may increase with elevation, most likely due to the altitudinal effect on climate. Under the same climate conditions, land use seems to be the main factor governing the dominance of larch forests. In fact, subalpine larch forests may be more resilient, and natural succession after land abandonment, e.g., towards Pinus cembra forests, seems slower than in montane larch forests. In contrast, in the upper montane belt only intense land use regimes characterized by open canopies and forest grazing may maintain larch forests. We conclude that similar approaches could be applied in other forest ecosystems to infer the resilience of tree species.     

Approach to Mountain Hazards in Tibet, China

Tibet is located at the southwest boundary of China. It is the main body of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest and the youngest plateau in the world. Owing to complicated geology, Neo-tectonic movements, geomorphology, climate and plateau environment, various mountain hazards, such as debris flow, flash flood, landslide, collapse, snow avalanche and snow drifts, are widely distributed along the Jinsha River (the upper reaches of the Yangtze River), the Nu River and the Lancang River in the east, and the Yarlungzangbo River, the Pumqu River and the Poiqu River in the south and southeast of Tibet. The distribution area of mountain hazards in Tibet is about 589,000 km^2, 49.3% of its total territory. In comparison to other mountain regions in China, mountain hazards in Tibet break out unexpectedly with tremendously large scale and endanger the traffic lines, cities and towns, farmland, grassland, mountain environment, and make more dangers to the neighboring countries, such as Nepal, India, Myanmar and Bhutan. To mitigate mountain hazards, some suggestions are proposed in this paper, such as strengthening scientific research, enhancing joint studies, hazards mitigation planning, hazards warning and forecasting, controlling the most disastrous hazards and forbidding unreasonable human exploring activities in mountain areas.     

Biomass carbon sequestration by planted forests in China

The planted forest area and carbon sequestration have increased significantly in China, because of large-scale reforestation and afforestation in the past decades. In this study, we developed an age-based volume-to-biomass method to estimate the carbon storage by planted forests in China in the period of 1973–2003 based on the data from 1209 field plots and national forest inventories. The results show that the total carbon storage of planted forests was 0.7743 Pg C in 1999–2003, increased by 3.08 times since the early 1970s. The carbon density of planted forests varied from 10.6594 Mg/ha to 23.9760 Mg/ha and increased by 13.3166 Mg/ha from 1973–1976 to 1999–2003. Since the early 1970s, the planted forests in China have been always a carbon sink, and the annual rate of carbon sequestration was 0.0217 Pg C/yr. The carbon storage and densities of planted forests varied greatly in space and time. The carbon storage of Middle South China was in the lead in all regions, which accounted for 23%–36% of national carbon storage. While higher C densities (from 17.79 Mg/ha to 26.05 Mg/ha) were usually found in Northeast China. The planted forests in China potentially have a high carbon sequestration since a large part of them are becoming mature and afforestation continues to grow.     

Application of sediment traps in global change research in mountain lakes

Representativity of biota in the biosphere also have similar significance in the lithosphere after their death. Recently, taphonomic representation of biota in the lithosphere has been widely used for minimizing the biases in palaeo-environmental reconstructions including global climate change. In September 2001, a sediment trap was installed at the central area of the Loch Coire Fionnaraich （LCFR）, a small, oligotrophic mountain loch in northwest Scotland for a taphonomic study of cladoceran zooplankton. The trap was emptied on a seasonal basis, where an average 0.14 g dry material was recovered in each season, January, May and August 2002 respectively. A sediment core was also taken from near the sediment trap location. The top 0.5 cm section, the ＇core＇ was used for a comparative study with the trap sediment samples. The planktonic Cladocera consisted of Bosmina coregoni and appeared to have excellent preservation in the trap assemblages. Moreover, some common littoral Cladocera such as Alonella excisa and Aloha guttata appear to be less well preserved in the fossil assemblages. Large littoral taxa such as Eurycercus lamellatus and Aloha quadrangularis were rare in the trap but relatively common and well preserved in the sediment-water interface. It is suggested that taphonomic processes play a dominant role on deposition of fossil remains of Cladocera and caution should be taken while inferring the past environmental changes whilst using fossil assemblages recovered from the lake centre as a representation of the entire cladoceran community in the lake.     

Temperature regime of mountain permafrost in the Russian Altai Mountains

This study presents the long-term temperature monitoring in the Russian Altai Mountains.In contrast to the Mongolian and Chinese parts,the modem temperature reg...     

Topographic correction-based retrieval of leaf area index in mountain areas

Leaf Area Index(LAI)is a key parameter in vegetation analysis and management,especially for mountain areas.The accurate retrieval of LAI based on remote sensing data is very necessary.In a study at the Dayekou forest center in Heihe watershed of Gansu Province,we determined the LAI based on topographic corrections of a SPOT-5.The large variation in the mountain terrain required preprocessing of the SPOT-5 image,except when orthorectification, radiation calibration and atmospheric correction were used.These required acquisition of surface reflectance and several vegetation indexes and linkage to field measured LAI values.Statistical regression models were used to link LAI and vegetation indexes.The quadratic polynomial model between LAI and SAVI (L=0.35)was determined as the optimal model considering the R and R2 value.A second group of LAI data were reserved to validate the retrieval result.The model was applied to create a distribution map of LAI in the area.Comparison with an uncorrected SPOT-5 image showed that topographic correction is necessary for determination of LAI in mountain areas.     

Interaction analyses between tunnel and landslide in mountain area

This paper focuses on the analytical derivation and the numerical simulation analyses to predict the interaction influences between a landslide and a new tunnel in mountain areas. Based on the slip-line theory, the disturbance range induced by tunneling and the minimum safe distance between the tunnel vault and the sliding belt are obtained in consideration of the mechanical analyses of relaxed rocks over the tunnel opening. The influence factors for the minimum safe crossing distance are conducted, including the tunnel radius, the friction angle of surrounding rocks, the inclination angle of sliding belt, and the friction coefficient of surrounding rocks. Secondly, taking account of the compressive zone and relaxed rocks caused by tunneling, the Sarma method is employed to calculate the safety factor of landslide. Finally, the analytical solutions for interaction between the tunnel and the landslide are compared with a series of numerical simulations, considering the cases for different perpendicular distances between the tunnel vault and the sliding belt. Results show that the distance between the tunnel vault and the slip zone has significant influence on the rock stress and strain. For the case of the minimum crossing distance, a plastic zone in the landslide traversed by tunneling would be formed with rather large range, which seriously threatens the stability of landslide. This work demonstrates that the minimum safe crossing distance obtained from numerical simulation is in a good agreement with that calculated by the proposed analytical solutions.     

Channel response to gravel mining activities in mountain rivers

The removal of bed material from active river channels usually affects the bed profile of the streambed, causing progressive degradation upstream and downstream of the extraction site. These effects can extend for kilometers affecting hydraulic structures located in the vicinity of the river reach. In this paper, the geomorphic effects of gravel mining are reviewed and summarized. Some cases in Venezuelan streams are presented to illustrate the problem. To describe the processes of erosion and sedimentation in a gravel extraction pit, a recent developed mathematical model for the simulation of flow and sediment transport in gravel-cobble bed streams is applied to a hypothetical case of gravel mining in a river channel. A simple rectangular dredge pit is imposed as initial condition in the channel bed, and changes in bed elevations and grain size distribution of bed material are calculated by using the numerical model. The process of deposition within the pit, and the downstream and upstream migration of the erosion wave are well simulated by the model and closely resemble the phenomena observed in laboratory experiments. The response of the friction coefficient to the changes in flow and bed elevations shows the importance in modeling adequately flow resistance and sediment transport in gravel-cobble bed streams.     

Study on dynamic numerical simulation of mountain system in tibet plateau

Tibet Plateau in mountain system is becoming one of the focuses of global technique research, because its crust is marvelous thick, which is twice of the normal thickness of mountain system in lithosphere, and its rapid raise from the Quaternary.By using a finite element analysis software ABAQUS,the numeric analysis has been carried out and presented in this paper for the lithosphere stress field.It is the first time to use the displacement loading in the simulation of Tibet Plateau. During the analysis,the deformed elements are used to simulate the structure band, and friction mechanism is used to model the fracture band. The boundary conditions are given according to the boundary displacements around the Plateau. The stress and displacement distributions are obtained for the geological evolution of the plateau, which are consistent with P axial orientations of the seismic origin mechanism and the measures principle stress orientations. The analysis is also given for the dynamic lithosphere evolution of the Mountain System in the Tibet Plateau.