The performance of community organisers in promotion of community forestry in Leyte Province, Phillipines

A study was conducted to assess the role and effectiveness of community organisers in supporting the development of people’s organisations in achieving community-based forest management objectives in Leyte Province Philippines. Community organisers were found to be effective in forming people’s organisations (POs), motivating people to participate in voluntary activities organised by POs and encouraging cohesiveness among PO members. Community organisers manage to raise the level of environmental awareness and knowledge of members of people’s organisations, develop leadership interest and skills, create various livelihood opportunities and provide direction and facilitate the establishment of large tree plantations. However, the short duration of community organisers’ contracts (typically two years) is insufficient to establish mature and cohesive POs prepared to assume management on their own, including the management of tree plantations. Further, lack of training and funding support, low wages, delayed payment of salaries and limited time to work with people’s organisations, as well as the pressure to produce tangible outputs such the establishment of large tree plantations, prevents them from placing greater emphasis on the development and empowerment of the people.

Natura 2000 erdők közgazdasági környezetének elemzése (Assessment of the economic environment of Natura 2000 forests)

Ebben a tanulmányban a Natura 2000 erdők közgazdasági kérdéseit jártuk körül az ökoszisztéma-szolgáltatások koncepciójának segítségével, nemzetközi és hazai szakirodalomra építve. Emellett a természetközeli erdőgazdálkodás fogalomkörét, s azon belül a folyamatos erdőborítást szolgáló erdőgazdálkodást vettük alapul. A következőkben néhány összegző megállapítást teszünk, és kijelölünk további kutatási irányokat. _____ This study has been prepared within the LIFEinFORESTS – Improved communication, cooperation and capacity building for preserving biodiversity in Natura 2000 forests (B2 action, LIFE13 INF/HU/001163) – project in the framework of LIFE+ Information and Communication under the contract signed with the Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate. The main aim of the study is to summarize the international and Hungarian economic and environmental economic literature related to the Natura 2000 forests, and serve as a background study for the communication with and training of forest owners and users operating at Natura 2000 sites. The concept of ecosystem services (ESs) is used as an overall framework for the study. In our opinion it is able to show all the benefits provided by forests and can also help to reveal that the benefits of nature-oriented, continuous cover forest management (CCF) can exceed the benefits of traditional rotation forest management (RFM). The definition and the classification of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, 2003, 2005) is used throughout the study, so provisioning, cultural, regulating and supporting services are distinguished.

The politics of negotiation and implementation: a reciprocal water access agreement in the Himalayan foothills, India

In this paper, we examine the on-the-ground realities of upstream-downstream negotiations and transactions over ecosystem services. We explore the engagement, negotiation, implementation, and postimplementation phases of a “reciprocal water access” (RWA) agreement between village communities and municipal water users at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India. We aim to highlight how external actors drove the payments for ecosystem services agenda through a series of facilitation and research engagements, which were pivotal to the RWA’s adoption, and how the agreement fared once external agents withdrew. In the postimplementation period, the RWA agreement continues to be upheld by upstream communities amidst evolving, competing land-use changes and claims. The introduction of cash payments for environmental services for forest-water relationships has given rise to multifaceted difficulties for the upstream hamlets, which has impeded the functionality of their forest management committee. Upstream communities’ formal rights and abilities to control and manage their resources are dynamic and need strengthening and assurance; these developments result in fluctuating transaction and opportunity costs not originally envisaged by the RWA agreement. The paper demonstrates the importance of an explicit understanding of the local politics of negotiation and implementation to determine the effectiveness of compensation-based mechanisms for the supply of ecosystem services.

From local scenarios to national maps: a participatory framework for envisioning the future of Tanzania

Tackling societal and environmental challenges requires new approaches that connect top-down global oversight with bottom-up subnational knowledge. We present a novel framework for participatory development of spatially explicit scenarios at national scale that model socioeconomic and environmental dynamics by reconciling local stakeholder perspectives and national spatial data. We illustrate results generated by this approach and evaluate its potential to contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between development pathways and sustainability. Using the lens of land use and land cover changes, and engaging 240 stakeholders representing subnational (seven forest management zones) and the national level, we applied the framework to assess alternative development strategies in the Tanzania mainland to the year 2025, under either a business as usual or a green development scenario. In the business as usual scenario, no productivity gain is expected, cultivated land expands by ~ 2% per year (up to 88,808 km²), with large impacts on woodlands and wetlands. Despite legal protection, encroachment of natural forest occurs along reserve borders. Additional wood demand leads to degradation, i.e., loss of tree cover and biomass, up to 80,426 km² of wooded land. The alternative green economy scenario envisages decreasing degradation and deforestation with increasing productivity (+10%) and implementation of payment for ecosystem service schemes. In this scenario, cropland expands by 44,132 km² and the additional degradation is limited to 35,778 km². This scenario development framework captures perspectives and knowledge across a diverse range of stakeholders and regions. Although further effort is required to extend its applicability, improve users’ equity, and reduce costs the resulting spatial outputs can be used to inform national level planning and policy implementation associated with sustainable development, especially the REDD+ climate mitigation strategy.

Evaluating, predicting and mapping belowground carbon stores in Kenyan mangroves.

Despite covering only approximately 138,000 km2, mangroves are globally important carbon sinks with carbon density values 3 to 4 times that of terrestrial forests. A key challenge in evaluating the carbon benefits from mangrove forest conservation is the lack of rigorous spatially resolved estimates of mangrove sediment carbon stocks; most mangrove carbon is stored belowground. Previous work has focused on detailed estimations of carbon stores over relatively small areas, which has obvious limitations in terms of generality and scope of application. Most studies have focused only on quantifying the top 1m of belowground carbon (BGC). Carbon stored at depths beyond 1m, and the effects of mangrove species, location and environmental context on these stores, is poorly studied. This study investigated these variables at two sites (Gazi and Vanga in the south of Kenya) and used the data to produce a country-specific BGC predictive model for Kenya and map BGC store estimates throughout Kenya at spatial scales relevant for climate change research, forest management and REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). The results revealed that mangrove species was the most reliable predictor of BGC; Rhizophora muronata had the highest mean BGC with 1485.5t C ha-1. Applying the species-based predictive model to a base map of species distribution in Kenya for the year 2010 with a 2.5m2 resolution, produced an estimate of 69.41 Mt C (± 9.15 95% C.I.) for BGC in Kenyan mangroves. When applied to a 1992 mangrove distribution map, the BGC estimate was 75.65 Mt C (± 12.21 95% C.I.); an 8.3% loss in BGC stores between 1992 and 2010 in Kenya. The country level mangrove map provides a valuable tool for assessing carbon stocks and visualising the distribution of BGC. Estimates at the 2.5m2 resolution provide sufficient detail for highlighting and prioritising areas for mangrove conservation and restoration.

FlorNExT®, a cloud computing application to estimate growth and yield of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) stands in Northeastern Portugal

Aim of the study: To introduce and describe FlorNExT®, a free cloud computing application to estimate growth and yield of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) even-aged stands in the Northeast of Portugal (NE Portugal). Area of study: NE Portugal. Material and methods: FlorNExT® implements a dynamic growth and yield modelling framework which integrates transition functions for dominant height (site index curves) and basal area, as well as output functions for tree and stand volume, biomass, and carbon content. Main results: FlorNExT® is freely available from any device with an Internet connection at: http://flornext.esa.ipb.pt/. Research highlights: This application has been designed to make it possible for any stakeholder to easily estimate standing volume, biomass, and carbon content in maritime pine stands from stand data, as well as to estimate growth and yield based on four stand variables: age, density, dominant height, and basal area. FlorNExT® allows planning thinning treatments. FlorNExT® is a fundamental tool to support forest mobilization at local and regional scales in NE Portugal. Material and methods: FlorNExT® implements a dynamic growth and yield modelling framework which integrates transition functions for dominant height (site index curves) and basal area, as well as output functions for tree and stand volume, biomass, and carbon content. Main results: FlorNExT® is freely available from any device with an Internet connection at: http://flornext.esa.ipb.pt/. Research highlights: This application has been designed to make it possible for any stakeholder to easily estimate standing volume, biomass, and carbon content in maritime pine stands from stand data, as well as to estimate growth and yield based on four stand variables: age, density, dominant height, and basal area. FlorNExT® allows planning thinning treatments. FlorNExT® is a fundamental tool to support forest mobilization at local and regional scales in NE Portugal.

COMPOSIÇÃO FLORÍSTICA E CARACTERIZAÇÃO SUCESSIONAL COMO SUBSÍDIO PARA CONSERVAÇÃO E MANEJO DO PNMCBio, SOROCABA - SP

O trabalho foi realizado no Parque Natural Municipal Corredores da Biodiversidade (PNMCBio), em Sorocaba -SP, com o objetivo de avaliar a composição florística do componente arbóreo e o estágio sucessional de uma área de floresta nativa de aproximadamente 31 hectares. Para tanto, foram alocadas 64 parcelas de tamanho 10 x 10 m, distribuídas aleatoriamente na área, sendo coletados todos os indivíduos com CAP igual ou maior que 15 cm. Estimou-se a diversidade por meio do índice de diversidade de Shannon (H’) e a equabilidade por meio do índice de Pielou (J’). As espécies foram caracterizadas nos grupos sucessionais, síndrome de dispersão, categorias de ameaça, amplitude de distribuição e indicadoras do estágio de regeneração. Foram amostrados 1088 indivíduos, distribuídos em 79 espécies, 54 gêneros e 29 famílias, sendo o H’ estimado em 3,421 e o J’ em 0,78, valores próximos aos encontrados em outras áreas de formações vegetacionais similares. Foram identificadas quatro espécies ameaçadas de extinção, 11 espécies endêmicas da Mata Atlântica e duas espécies restritas à Floresta Estacional Semidecidual no domínio da Mata Atlântica. O fragmento encontra-se em estágio médio de regeneração, sendo de suma importância sua conservação e manejo para a manutenção da biodiversidade local e regional.

Gestão florestal e propriedade: A floresta, a (sua) propriedade e o alcance das políticas públicas

O trabalho pretende questionar se as necessidades da gestão da floresta e as interacções com o ambiente, justificam o repensar do conceito de propriedade privada, na definição de políticas florestais concretizadoras duma «mundividência ambiental». Estrutura-se em quatro partes: primeiro, procura-se dar uma perspectiva do direito de propriedade privada, a sua perenidade na nossa cultura, sobretudo na cultura jurídica; segundo, analisa-se a dinâmica da propriedade privada da floresta nos últimos séculos, e as soluções de políticas florestais- destacando-se a criação das zonas de intervenção florestal (ZIF); terceiro, estuda-se em concreto o regime de certificação florestal, como forma específica de gestão florestal; quarto, sublinham-se novos desafios ambientais à gestão das florestas, designadamente a identificação dos problemas que emergem em resultado das alterações climáticas, destacando-se o sequestro de carbono e a criação do mercado de carbono. Este estudo não é estanque, faz parte de um mesmo questionamento: é o ambiente um valor para a humanidade ou é um valor em si mesmo? ABSTRACT: The work intends to question if the private property of the forest, toward the necessities of management and interactions with the environment, justifies the rethink of the concept, in forest politics definition, producer of an interactive view of the environment. lt is structured in four parts: first, it intends to give a perspective of the right of private property, its longevity in our culture, the importance of legal quarrel; second, the dynamics of the private property of the forest, in the latest centuries, and the solutions of the implemented forest politics - being distinguished the creation of zones of forest intervention, the ZIF; third, the forest management ­ forest certification; fourth, the environmental source, the identification of problems that emerge in result of climatic alterations, being distinguished the kidnap of carbon and the creation of the carbon market. This study is not tight; it is part of the same reflection: of being the environment a value for the humanity or a value in itself exactly.

Transcriptional regulation os phenylalaline biosynthesis and utilization

Conifer trees divert large quantities of carbon into the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, particularly to generate lignin, an important constituent of wood. Since phenylalanine is the precursor for phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, the precise regulation of phenylalanine synthesis and utilization should occur simultaneously. This crucial pathway is finely regulated primarily at the transcriptional level. Transcriptome analyses indicate that the transcription factors (TFs) preferentially expressed during wood formation in plants belong to the MYB and NAC families. Craven-Bartle et al. (2013) have shown in conifers that Myb8 is a candidate regulator of key genes in phenylalanine biosynthesis involved in the supply of the phenylpropane carbon skeleton necessary for lignin biosynthesis. This TF is able to bind AC elements present in the promoter regions of these genes to activate transcription. Constitutive overexpression of Myb8 in white spruce increased secondary-wall thickening and led to ectopic lignin deposition (Bomal et al. 2008). In Arabidopsis, the transcriptional network controlling secondary cell wall involves NAC-domain regulators operating upstream Myb transcription factors. Functional orthologues of members of this network described have been identified in poplar and eucalyptus, but in conifers functional evidence had only been obtained for MYBs. We have identified in the P. pinaster genome 37 genes encoding NAC proteins, which 3 NAC proteins could be potential candidates to be involved in vascular development (Pascual et al. 2015). The understanding of the transcriptional regulatory network associated to phenylpropanoids and lignin biosynthesis in conifers is crucial for future applications in tree improvement and sustainable forest management. This work is supported by the projects BIO2012-33797, BIO2015-69285-R and BIO-474 References: Bomal C, et al. (2008) Involvement of Pinus taeda MYB1 and MYB8 in phenylpropanoid metabolism and secondary cell wall biogenesis: a comparative in planta analysis. J Exp Bot. 59: 3925-3939. Craven-Bartle B, et al. (2013) A Myb transcription factor regulates genes of the phenylalanine pathway in maritime pine. Plant J, 74: 755-766. Pascual MB, et al. (2015) The NAC transcription factor family in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster): molecular regulation of two genes involved in stress responses. BMC Plant Biol, 15: 254.

A viabilidade económica da gestão sustentável do montado de sobreiro. Caso de estudo - Aldeia das Amoreiras

Dissertação de Mestrado, Economia do Turismo e Desenvolvimento Regional, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2016

NAC-MYB basedtranscriptional networkinvolved in the regulation of phenylalanine biosynthesis in P. pinaster

P2-2 NAC-MYB-BASED TRANSCRIPCIONAL NETWORK INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF PHENYLALANINE BIOSYNTHESIS IN P. PINASTER Mª Belén Pascual, Rafael A. Cañas, Blanca Craven-Bartle, Francisco M. Cánovas and Concepción Ávila Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica. Facultad de Ciencias. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de teatinos s/n, Málaga, Spain Email: cavila@uma.es Conifer trees divert large quantities of carbon into the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids, particularly to generate lignin, an important constituent of wood. Since phenylalanine is the precursor for phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, the precise regulation of phenylalanine synthesis and use should occur simultaneously. This crucial pathway is finely regulated primarily at the transcriptional level. Transcriptome analyses indicate that the transcription factors (TFs) preferentially expressed during wood formation in plants belong to the MYB and NAC families. Craven-Bartle et al. (2013) have shown that Myb8 is a candidate regulator of key genes in phenylalanine biosynthesis involved in the supply of the phenylpropane carbon skeleton necessary for lignin biosynthesis. This TF is able to bind AC elements present in the promoter regions of these genes to activate transcription. In Arabidopsis, the transcriptional network controlling secondary cell wall involves NAC-domain regulators operating upstream Myb transcription factors. We have identified in the P. pinaster genome three NAC proteins as potential candidates to be involved in vascular development. One of them, PpNAC1 is expressed both in xylem and compression wood from adult trees and has been thoroughly characterized. Its role upstream the transcriptional network involving Myb8 will be discussed. The understanding of the transcriptional regulatory network associated to phenylpropanoids and lignin biosynthesis in conifers is crucial for future applications in tree improvement and sustainable forest management.

Dinâmica de uma floresta tropical manejada na Amazônia oriental

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, 2016.

Dinâmica do carbono em uma floresta manejada comercialmente no Amazonas.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos do sistema silvicultural policíclico na dinâmica de carbono de uma floresta manejada comercialmente no Amazonas.

Wildfire Assessment Using FARSITE Fire Modeling: A Case Study in the Chihuahua Desert of Mexico

The Chihuahua desert is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world, but suffers serious degradation because of changes in fire regimes resulting in large catastrophic fires. My study was conducted in the Sierra La Mojonera (SLM) natural protected area in Mexico. The purpose of this study was to implement the use of FARSITE fire modeling as a fire management tool to develop an integrated fire management plan at SLM. Firebreaks proved to detain 100% of wildfire outbreaks. The rosetophilous scrub experienced the fastest rate of fire spread and lowland creosote bush scrub experienced the slowest rate of fire spread. March experienced the fastest rate of fire spread, while September experienced the slowest rate of fire spread. The results of my study provide a tool for wildfire management through the use geospatial technologies and, in particular, FARSITE fire modeling in SLM and Mexico.

Fiscal Year 2015-16 Accountability Report

Each year the South Carolina Forestry Commission produces an annual accountability report. This report includes an executive summary, appropriations and expenditures, and a strategic plan.