Understanding farmland abandonment in the Polish Carpathians

For more than 100 years, forest cover in Europe has increased substantially due to afforestation and natural forest expansion. The latter, resulting typically from farmland abandonment and subsequent secondary forest succession, has played a major role in marginal mountain areas and possesses various highly important environmental and economic consequences. In the Polish Carpathians, farmland abandonment is a spatially dispersed, locally specific process because of small farm and land parcel sizes, and its extent in the entire region is not well known. This study aims therefore to map current farmland abandonment in the Polish Carpathians and to identify its spatial determinants. To map farmland abandonment we detected secondary forest succession on abandoned fields using Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) point clouds and topographic data in 230 sample areas (tiles) distributed throughout the Carpathian communes. To reveal the spatial determinants of current farmland abandonment, we investigated variables describing the accessibility and environmental, land cover, and socioeconomic conditions of communes, using best subset regression modelling. The results showed that 13.9% of agricultural land was abandoned and underwent secondary forest succession in recent decades. Topography (mainly slope gradients) and employment outside of agriculture were the two most important spatial determinants of farmland abandonment. Consequently, a substantial forest expansion may be observed in the coming decades throughout the Polish Carpathians if no counteractions are taken.     

天然林资源保护一期工程生态成效评估——以甘肃小陇山地区为例

天然林资源保护工程是在中国广泛开展的一项重要生态建设工程。本文在构建生态多元评估指标体系的基础上,评估工程实施的生态成效,对于其进一步决策与管理具有重要的科学意义。通过遥感、生态系统质量等多源数据融合,采用生态系统宏观格局、生态系统质量、生态系统服务等方面指标的现状和时空变化特征,评估小陇山地区天然林保护一期工程(2000-2010年)实施成效。结果表明：①工程实施后,小陇山地区落叶阔叶林、落叶阔叶灌木林、草地等生态系统类型的面积大幅度增加,生态系统宏观状况转好,其中黄河流域生态系统宏观状况转好趋势明显好于长江流域。②研究区叶面积指数(LAI)和最大植被覆盖度(FC)在2000-2010年期间的多年变化斜率分别为0.022和0.510,生态系统质量上升趋势明显。其中黄河流域改善程度高于长江流域。③2010年研究区固碳量为700.20 t/hm²,相比工程初期的2000年增加了4.69%;工程实施之后的10年间,研究区水源涵养量呈增长趋势,土壤保持量亦呈增长趋势;就流域而言,黄河流域的生态系统服务的提升程度均更为明显。     

Microcoring and dendrometer-detected intra-annual wood formation of Populus euphratica in the Ejina Oasis,northwestern China

Seasonal stem radial growth and wood formation of trees have become research hotspots because of their significance for dendroclimatological and dendroecological studies. However, until recently, these studies concentrated on coniferous tree species in high-altitude and high-latitude regions, while detailed information on arid-zone riparian forests is scarce. The main focus of this study is to monitor the intra-annual dynamics of radial growth and tree ring formation in a deciduous species, Populus euphratica. In 2013, we combined the dendrometer and microcoring methods to study this species in the riparian forest of the Ejina Oasis, in arid northwestern China. Vessel enlargement began in early May, and the maximum rate of cell production occurred in early June. The cell division then ceased from early to mid-July. The dendrometer method failed to reliably detect the date of growth initiation and cessation, but succeeded to detect the time of maximum growth rate just like the microcoring method did. We found that weekly stem radial increment data described xylem growth more accurately than daily datasets. Based on correlation analysis among climatic and hydrologic variables, and weekly stem radial increment, weekly ring width increase dataset, the depth to groundwater was the main factor that limited tree ring growth. From a practical perspective, such studies of intra-annual wood formation can provide empirical guidance for seasonal water allocations within a river basin.     

Mapping fine-scale population distributions at the building level by integrating multisource geospatial big data

Fine-scale population distribution data at the building level play an essential role in numerous fields, for example urban planning and disaster prevention. The rapid technological development of remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) in recent decades has benefited numerous population distribution mapping studies. However, most of these studies focused on global population and environmental changes; few considered fine-scale population mapping at the local scale, largely because of a lack of reliable data and models. As geospatial big data booms, Internet-collected volunteered geographic information (VGI) can now be used to solve this problem. This article establishes a novel framework to map urban population distributions at the building scale by integrating multisource geospatial big data, which is essential for the fine-scale mapping of population distributions. First, Baidu points-of-interest (POIs) and real-time Tencent user densities (RTUD) are analyzed by using a random forest algorithm to down-scale the street-level population distribution to the grid level. Then, we design an effective iterative building-population gravity model to map population distributions at the building level. Meanwhile, we introduce a densely inhabited index (DII), generated by the proposed gravity model, which can be used to estimate the degree of residential crowding. According to a comparison with official community-level census data and the results of previous population mapping methods, our method exhibits the best accuracy (Pearson R = .8615, RMSE = 663.3250, p < .0001). The produced fine-scale population map can offer a more thorough understanding of inner city population distributions, which can thus help policy makers optimize the allocation of resources.     

A NICMOS-3 based spectrograph for near infrared astronomy

We describe a design for a compact cooled spectrograph which incorporates two cameras and two collimators to achieve high throughput from 0.8 to 2.5m. The spectrograph utilizes multiple NICMOS 3 arrays, specially mounted to minimize their separation in the spectral dimension. This accommodates the broad wavelength range while providing extensive coverage in the spatial dimension.     

Numerical modelling of flow around coastal structures and scour prediction

The nearshore circulation and the wave characteristics are important parameters, which control coastline morphology. The interaction of nearshore circulation with coastal structures, modify the wave characteristics and seabed topography, often resulting in scour near the foundation of the structures. This paper deals with the numerical prediction of nearshore circulation induced due to wave setup in the nearshore region with and without the structure [(i) structure resting on seabed (ii) structure raised above the seabed]. It is also helps understand the deficiencies in studying the coastal characteristics by describing the flow field due to the wave velocity potential alone. Comparison of the results of both nearshore circulation and the wave potential model are discussed and the importance of the study and its prototype applications are highlighted.     

基于土壤水分和气象要素的林火预报研究——以广东省为例

基于国内现行的森林火险气象指数和单因子火险贡献度模型,以及逻辑回归模型和随机森林模型,在林火预报中引入微波遥感土壤水分信息,使用MCD14DL火点数据集和地面气象观测资料对广东省不同时间尺度的林火发生概率进行预测。结果表明：逻辑回归模型和随机森林模型构建的林火预测模型显著优于现行的森林火险气象指数和单因子火险贡献度模型,预测精度提升约20%。其中,随机森林模型对林火频数的解释程度最高（两者相关系数为0.476）。此外,加入微波土壤水分信息后,相较原有的基于气象要素的林火预测模型,2种机器学习模型的预测精度均略有提升,体现了表层土壤水分信息在林火预报中的重要性。研究可为高效提取对地观测信息,以改进华南地区不同时间尺度的林火预报工作提供参考。     

赤水林区旱季雾水对地表径流的水量贡献

为探明赤水林区旱季地表径流补给来源组成以及雾水对该地区的水量贡献,于2014年12月对区域内水量大、易进入的3条瀑布径流进行了采样,样品包括雾水、泉水和溪水。通过对水样进行D、18O同位素分析,并与遵义的降水同位素数据对比,发现赤水林区旱季雾水的D、18O明显比降水富集;泉水和溪水具有相似的氢氧同位素组成,都落在11月与12月的降水同位素之间,且都分布于遵义地区降水线附近。赤水林区旱季地表径流主要受地下水补给,地下水是前期间断性的降水与持续不断的雾水的混合。雾水间接补给地表径流,是旱季地表径流重要的水量来源。在四洞沟、十丈洞和燕子岩这几个区域的平均补给量达到了24.1%(D同位素的计算结果),18O同位素的计算结果为20.0%。     

The effectiveness of decentralisation reforms in the Philippines’s forestry sector

Decentralisation reforms and political conditions in the Philippines present an ideal environment for forest management by recognising the land entitlements of upland and indigenous communities and promoting the involvement of local government units. By assessing whether current conditions – policies, institutions, and programmes – are conducive to effective decentralisation, this study examines the present state of decentralisation in the forestry sector of the Philippines. By analysing case studies conducted in Nueva Vizcaya Province, it also attempts to answer a broader question: when is decentralisation a success and when is it a failure? A number of uncertainties are revealed, along with various issues that hamper decentralisation, and that are interrelated and reinforce one another in much the same way as they have done over the past decade. The study highlights the need for caution when increasing the involvement of government at different levels, as it affects the pace of decentralisation reforms. It also shows that a mix of site-specific interventions and community endeavours that focus on securing local livelihoods has led to some success. This is a strategy that helps decentralisation reforms.     

Comparative Study on Collective Forest Tenure Reform and Water Rights System Reform in China

Collective forest tenure reform and water rights system reform are two types of resource system reform initiated by the Chinese government since the implementation of the reform and opening policy of the 1980s. Forest tenure reform has been completed and water rights system reform is ongoing. This study analyzes key points and problems with collective forest tenure reform and summarizes four typical successful reform measures and lessons that will have implications for the developing water rights system: the collective forest-cutting quota system, collective forest tenure compensation, collective forest tenure confirmation, and collective forest tenure trading center. A flexible water permission index, compensation measures in water rights trade, water rights approval, and various forms of water rights trading platforms are proposed as reform measures. This study fills a gap in comparative studies between two important resource system reforms in China and provides a reference for further reform and development of water rights systems locally and abroad.