1
|
Suarez-Rubio M, Bates PJ, Aung T, Hlaing NM, Oo SSL, Htun YKZ, Ohn Mar SM, Myint A, Wai TLL, Mo PM, Fehrmann L, Nölke N, Kleinn C, Renner SC. Bird diversity along an urban to rural gradient in large tropical cities peaks in mid-level urbanization. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16098. [PMID: 37842049 PMCID: PMC10569181 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The gradient from natural to urban areas strongly associates with the structure of avian communities over that gradient. Most research on urban birds is from temperate areas and knowledge from tropical Southeast Asia is lacking. We examined bird species diversity, relative abundance, and species composition along an urban to rural gradient in three Myanmar cities, and assessed potential environmental factors responsible for the changes. We counted birds within 40 point-count sites with 50-m fixed-radius in three large cities of Myanmar, namely Mandalay, Mawlamyine, and Myeik. We distinguished four urban habitat types (Downtown-urban, University Campus-suburban, Paddy Field-agriculture, Hill-forest). We classified all species into migrant or resident and into major feeding groups and related with several environmental parameters such as 'impervious surface'. We counted 5,423 individuals of 103 species with roughly equal species diversity between the three cities. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) was the most frequent species. The species composition differed significantly between the four major habitat types. Omnivores were more abundant in the city center than all other functional groups. Interestingly, insectivores were also predominant in the city center. In addition, more generalist' species occurred towards the city center compared to the periphery, indicating that the periphery has increased relevance for specialized birds. We found some marked differences in species composition between the three cities of Mandalay, Mawlamyine, and Myeik. Additionally to species composition, species diversity and relative abundance differed significantly between each of the four major habitat types in all three cities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Suarez-Rubio
- Institute of Zoology, Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Thein Aung
- Myanmar Bird and Nature Society, Yangon, Myanmar
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Lutz Fehrmann
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nils Nölke
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Kleinn
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Swen C. Renner
- Ornithology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liu WG, Zhang JQ, Yan Y, Beckschäfer P, Kleinn C, Dossa GG, Huai JJ, Zhai DL, Song L. Encouraging the reconversion of rubber plantations by developing a combined payment system. Glob Ecol Conserv 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
|
3
|
Neeff T, Steel EA, Kleinn C, Hung ND, Bien NN, Cerutti PO, Moutinho P. How forest data catalysed change in four successful case studies. J Environ Manage 2020; 271:110736. [PMID: 32778252 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This paper presents four case studies in which forest data catalysed shifts in public policy and corporate activities. Brazil greatly reduced deforestation during the period between 2005 and 2014; Cameroon introduced a structured forest concessions regime; Viet Nam achieved their forest transition; and corporate operations around the world invested in supply chain management to alleviate deforestation concerns. We break the problem-solving required for these achievements into four steps: problem recognition, proposal and choice of solution, putting the solution into effect, and monitoring results. At each of these steps, we consider the relevant forest data. Data helped place issues on policymaker agendas, supported reaching sound decisions and enabled quantitative targets. Policy instruments for implementing change were built around available data and forest monitoring helped evaluate progress. The details of these successes can be an inspiration to those interested in improving collection of data on forests that can effectively support decision-making and better policies. There have been impressive recent improvements to many developing countries' national forest monitoring capabilities. The successful examples of data application presented and evaluated here provide insight into how these new data can be effectively leveraged.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Till Neeff
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forestry Policy and Resources Division, Rome, Italy.
| | - E Ashley Steel
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forestry Policy and Resources Division, Rome, Italy
| | - Christoph Kleinn
- University of Göttingen, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Inventory and Remote Sensing, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nguyen Dinh Hung
- Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
| | - Nguyen Nghia Bien
- Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
| | | | - Paulo Moutinho
- Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), Belém, Pará, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Fehrmann L, Kukunda CB, Nölke N, Schnell S, Seidel D, Magnussen S, Kleinn C. A unified framework for land cover monitoring based on a discrete global sampling grid (GSG). Environ Monit Assess 2019; 191:46. [PMID: 30604049 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-018-7152-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Environmental monitoring and assessment of the extent and change of land uses and their renewable natural resources over time is a key element in many international processes and one crucial basis for sustainable management. Remote sensing plays an increasingly important role in these monitoring systems, especially if the interest is in large areas. Integration of remote sensing requires comprehensive and careful preprocessing and a high level of expertise which is not always at hand in all applications. However, easy-to-implement sampling techniques based on visual interpretation are an alternative approach for utilizing remote sensing imagery, including the evolving archives of georeferenced and preprocessed data provided by virtual globes like Google Earth, Bing, and others. The goal of this paper is to propose a simple unified framework that may be used in the context of sampling studies and environmental monitoring from local to global scale. Besides the definition of a sampling design, the observation or plot design, i.e., defining how observations are to be made and recorded, has a strong influence on the precision of estimates as well as the overall efficiency of a sampling exercise. As an example, we present a simulation study focusing on the estimation of forest cover in artificial landscapes with different coverage and degree of fragmentation. The sampling units we compare are point clusters with different configuration and spatial extent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lutz Fehrmann
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Collins B Kukunda
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nils Nölke
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Dominik Seidel
- Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steen Magnussen
- Pacific Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Christoph Kleinn
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Awuah KT, Nölke N, Freudenberg M, Diwakara B, Tewari V, Kleinn C. Spatial resolution and landscape structure along an urban-rural gradient: Do they relate to remote sensing classification accuracy? – A case study in the megacity of Bengaluru, India. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.rsase.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
6
|
Drescher J, Rembold K, Allen K, Beckschäfer P, Buchori D, Clough Y, Faust H, Fauzi AM, Gunawan D, Hertel D, Irawan B, Jaya INS, Klarner B, Kleinn C, Knohl A, Kotowska MM, Krashevska V, Krishna V, Leuschner C, Lorenz W, Meijide A, Melati D, Nomura M, Pérez-Cruzado C, Qaim M, Siregar IZ, Steinebach S, Tjoa A, Tscharntke T, Wick B, Wiegand K, Kreft H, Scheu S. Ecological and socio-economic functions across tropical land use systems after rainforest conversion. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0275. [PMID: 27114577 PMCID: PMC4843696 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical lowland rainforests are increasingly threatened by the expansion of agriculture and the extraction of natural resources. In Jambi Province, Indonesia, the interdisciplinary EFForTS project focuses on the ecological and socio-economic dimensions of rainforest conversion to jungle rubber agroforests and monoculture plantations of rubber and oil palm. Our data confirm that rainforest transformation and land use intensification lead to substantial losses in biodiversity and related ecosystem functions, such as decreased above- and below-ground carbon stocks. Owing to rapid step-wise transformation from forests to agroforests to monoculture plantations and renewal of each plantation type every few decades, the converted land use systems are continuously dynamic, thus hampering the adaptation of animal and plant communities. On the other hand, agricultural rainforest transformation systems provide increased income and access to education, especially for migrant smallholders. Jungle rubber and rubber monocultures are associated with higher financial land productivity but lower financial labour productivity compared to oil palm, which influences crop choice: smallholders that are labour-scarce would prefer oil palm while land-scarce smallholders would prefer rubber. Collecting long-term data in an interdisciplinary context enables us to provide decision-makers and stakeholders with scientific insights to facilitate the reconciliation between economic interests and ecological sustainability in tropical agricultural landscapes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jochen Drescher
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Katja Rembold
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Conservation Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kara Allen
- Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Büsgen Institute, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philip Beckschäfer
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Damayanti Buchori
- Department of Plant Protection, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
| | - Yann Clough
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Grisebachstrasse 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Heiko Faust
- Department of Human Geography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anas M Fauzi
- Department of Agroindustrial Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
| | - Dodo Gunawan
- Centre for Climate Change and Air Quality, Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), Jln Angkasa I No. 2, Jakarta 10720, Indonesia
| | - Dietrich Hertel
- Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bambang Irawan
- Faculty of Forestry, University of Jambi, Jln Raya Jambi-Muara Bulian km 15, Mendalo Darat, Jambi 36361, Indonesia
| | - I Nengah S Jaya
- Forest Resources Inventory and Remote Sensing, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
| | - Bernhard Klarner
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Kleinn
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Knohl
- Bioclimatology, Büsgen Institute, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martyna M Kotowska
- Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Valentyna Krashevska
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vijesh Krishna
- Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wolfram Lorenz
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ana Meijide
- Bioclimatology, Büsgen Institute, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dian Melati
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Miki Nomura
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tokohu University, Aroba 6-3, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-85478, Japan
| | - César Pérez-Cruzado
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Matin Qaim
- Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Iskandar Z Siregar
- Department of Silviculture, Bogor Agricultural University, Kampus IPB Darmaga, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
| | - Stefanie Steinebach
- Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Theaterplatz 15, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Aiyen Tjoa
- Agriculture Faculty of Tadulako University, Jln Soekarno Hatta km 09, Tondo, Palu 94118, Indonesia
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Grisebachstrasse 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Barbara Wick
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Wiegand
- Ecosystem Modelling, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Holger Kreft
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Conservation Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Scheu
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Chen H, Yi ZF, Schmidt-Vogt D, Ahrends A, Beckschäfer P, Kleinn C, Ranjitkar S, Xu J. Pushing the Limits: The Pattern and Dynamics of Rubber Monoculture Expansion in Xishuangbanna, SW China. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0150062. [PMID: 26907479 PMCID: PMC4764337 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The rapidly growing car industry in China has led to an equally rapid expansion of monoculture rubber in many regions of South East Asia. Xishuangbanna, the second largest rubber planting area in China, located in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, supplies about 37% of the domestic natural rubber production. There, high income possibilities from rubber drive a dramatic expansion of monoculture plantations which poses a threat to natural forests. For the first time we mapped rubber plantations in and outside protected areas and their net present value for the years 1988, 2002 (Landsat, 30 m resolution) and 2010 (RapidEye, 5 m resolution). The purpose of our study was to better understand the pattern and dynamics of the expansion of rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna, as well as its economic prospects and conservation impacts. We found that 1) the area of rubber plantations was 4.5% of the total area of Xishuangbanna in 1988, 9.9% in 2002, and 22.2% in 2010; 2) rubber monoculture expanded to higher elevations and onto steeper slopes between 1988 and 2010; 3) the proportion of rubber plantations with medium economic potential dropped from 57% between 1988 and 2002 to 47% in 2010, while the proportion of plantations with lower economic potential had increased from 30% to 40%; and 4) nearly 10% of the total area of nature reserves within Xishuangbanna has been converted to rubber monoculture by 2010. On the basis of our findings, we conclude that the rapid expansion of rubber plantations into higher elevations, steeper terrain, and into nature reserves (where most of the remaining forests of Xishuangbanna are located) poses a serious threat to biodiversity and environmental services while not producing the expected economic returns. Therefore, it is essential that local governments develop long-term land use strategies for balancing economic benefits with environmental sustainability, as well as for assisting farmers with the selection of land suitable for rubber production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huafang Chen
- Key laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) East and Central Asia, Kunming, China
| | - Zhuang-Fang Yi
- Key laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) East and Central Asia, Kunming, China
| | - Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt
- World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) East and Central Asia, Kunming, China
- Mountain Societies Research Institute, University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
- * E-mail: (JX); (DSV)
| | - Antje Ahrends
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Philip Beckschäfer
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Kleinn
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sailesh Ranjitkar
- Key laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) East and Central Asia, Kunming, China
| | - Jianchu Xu
- Key laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) East and Central Asia, Kunming, China
- * E-mail: (JX); (DSV)
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Abstract
Trees outside forests (TOFs) are an important natural resource that contributes substantially to national biomass and carbon stocks and to the livelihood of people in many regions. Over the last decades, decision makers have become increasingly aware of the importance of TOF, and as a consequence, this tree resource is nowadays often considered in forest monitoring systems. Our review shows that in many cases, TOF are included in national forest inventories, applying traditional methodologies with relatively sparse networks of field sample plots. Only in some countries, such as India, the design of the inventories has considered the special features of how TOFs occur in the landscape. Several research studies utilising remote sensing for monitoring TOF have been conducted lately, but very few studies include comparative studies to optimise sampling strategies for TOF. Our review indicates that methods combining remote sensing and field surveys appear to be very promising, especially when remote sensing techniques that assess both the horizontal and vertical structures of tree resources are applied. For example, two-phase sampling strategies with laser scanning in the first phase and a field survey in the second phase appear to be effective for assessing TOF resources. However, TOFs often exhibit different characteristics than forest trees. Thus, to improve TOF monitoring, there is often a need to develop models, e.g. for biomass assessment, that are specifically adapted to this tree resource. Alternatively, field-based remote sensing methods that provide structural information about individual trees, notably terrestrial laser scanning, could be further developed for TOF monitoring applications. This also would have a potential to reduce the problem of accessing TOF during field surveys, which is a problem, for example, in countries where TOF are present on intensively utilised private grounds like gardens and agricultural fields.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schnell
- Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd, 90183, Umeå, Sweden,
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Schnell S, Altrell D, Ståhl G, Kleinn C. The contribution of trees outside forests to national tree biomass and carbon stocks--a comparative study across three continents. Environ Monit Assess 2015; 187:4197. [PMID: 25514855 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-014-4197-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Accepted: 12/01/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In contrast to forest trees, trees outside forests (TOF) often are not included in the national monitoring of tree resources. Consequently, data about this particular resource is rare, and available information is typically fragmented across the different institutions and stakeholders that deal with one or more of the various TOF types. Thus, even if information is available, it is difficult to aggregate data into overall national statistics. However, the National Forest Monitoring and Assessment (NFMA) programme of FAO offers a unique possibility to study TOF resources because TOF are integrated by default into the NFMA inventory design. We have analysed NFMA data from 11 countries across three continents. For six countries, we found that more than 10% of the national above-ground tree biomass was actually accumulated outside forests. The highest value (73%) was observed for Bangladesh (total forest cover 8.1%, average biomass per hectare in forest 33.4 t ha(-1)) and the lowest (3%) was observed for Zambia (total forest cover 63.9%, average biomass per hectare in forest 32 t ha(-1)). Average TOF biomass stocks were estimated to be smaller than 10 t ha(-1). However, given the large extent of non-forest areas, these stocks sum up to considerable quantities in many countries. There are good reasons to overcome sectoral boundaries and to extend national forest monitoring programmes on a more systematic basis that includes TOF. Such an approach, for example, would generate a more complete picture of the national tree biomass. In the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation, international climate mitigation programmes (e.g. Clean Development Mechanism and Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Degradation) focus on forest trees without considering the impact of TOF, a consideration this study finds crucial if accurate measurements of national tree biomass and carbon pools are required.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schnell
- Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd, 90183, Umeå, Sweden,
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Fehrmann L, Seidel D, Krause B, Kleinn C. Sampling for landscape elements--a case study from Lower Saxony, Germany. Environ Monit Assess 2014; 186:1421-1430. [PMID: 24132560 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3464-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2013] [Accepted: 10/01/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The estimation of coverage, i.e., the proportion of the total area in a study region covered by a given target class, is essential to many aspects of environmental monitoring. We analyze and compare the efficiency of different sample-based approaches for the estimation of coverage of different land cover classes from aerial imagery in a case study in Lower Saxony, Germany on the basis of the estimated standard errors. A complete delineation of vegetation classes in n = 279 aerial photo plots of 400 × 400 m thrown onto the study region of 1,117.7 km(2) in accordance with a systematic grid is compared to different configurations of line intercept sampling and clusters of points. The observation designs under study are characterized by different complexity and total size of the observation units and therefore also to the efforts related to yield a single observation. Especially for those classes that cover a relatively large proportion of the sampling frame, our results show that difference in performance between the different designs are negligible. A cluster of four transects of 200 m each allows estimating the area of land cover classes with high coverage with nearly similar precision as a complete mapping of fixed area plots of 16 ha each. Clusters of points show unexpected high precision for the estimated coverage of land cover classes with relatively high coverage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lutz Fehrmann
- Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Forest Science and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany,
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Magdon P, Kleinn C. Uncertainties of forest area estimates caused by the minimum crown cover criterion--a scale issue relevant to forest cover monitoring. Environ Monit Assess 2013; 185:5345-5360. [PMID: 23142874 PMCID: PMC3641301 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2950-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2012] [Accepted: 10/08/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Defining "forest land" is a complex issue and has been discussed for decades. Today, a confusing multitude of definitions of forest land are in use making comparison of forest area figures difficult. But currently, comparability is receiving much attention when it comes to install market mechanisms for ecosystem services. Minimum crown cover is among the most frequently employed criteria of forest definitions. However, the size of the reference area on which the crown cover percent is to be measured is usually not defined. But how does a change of the size of the reference area affect the derived forest cover? In this study, we analyze the interactions of the crown cover threshold and the size of the reference area. We start with analyzing the interactions using a simple geometric model of the forest edge. Then, we extend the analysis by simulating artificial landscapes where we study how the interaction is affected by different degrees of forest fragmentation, crown cover proportion, and spatial resolution of the data source used. The simulation showed that large differences in forest cover (>50 %) may result for a fixed crown cover threshold value, just by changing the size of the reference area, where the magnitude of this effect is a function of the chosen threshold value and the spatial configuration of the crowns. As a consequence of the findings, we see an urgent need to complete forest definitions by defining a reference area in order to reduce uncertainties of forest cover estimates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul Magdon
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Burckhardt-Institute, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, Göttingen, 37077 Germany
| | - Christoph Kleinn
- Chair of Forest Inventory and Remote Sensing, Burckhardt-Institute, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, Göttingen, 37077 Germany
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Lam TY, Kleinn C, Coenradie B. Double sampling for stratification for the monitoring of sparse tree populations: the example of Populus euphratica Oliv. forests at the lower reaches of Tarim River, Southern Xinjiang, China. Environ Monit Assess 2011; 175:45-61. [PMID: 20480391 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-010-1492-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2009] [Accepted: 04/21/2010] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Desertification is a pressing issue in the dry Tarim River basin, which is under anthropogenic stresses. In this study, double sampling for stratification (DSS) is employed to inventory Populus euphratica Oliv. forests in the lower reaches of the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang, China. The two objectives were evaluating DSS as a sampling technique for monitoring desertification and generating baseline information for permanent observation. Here, DSS consists of two phases: in phase 1, crown cover is observed on a large sample of plots on a high resolution satellite image, and these photo-plots are stratified into five crown cover strata. Phase 2 is a stratified random sample from these photo-plots and the sampled plots are field observed. Approximately 32% of the study area is without P. euphratica trees. As expected, estimated mean poplar tree density and basal area increase with crown cover. DSS takes advantages of stratification (fieldwork efficiency and statistical precision) without the need for a priori strata delineation. It proves feasible for inventory the sparse poplar population and holds promise for the assessment of trees outside the forest, where density varies considerably and pre-stratification is intractable. It can be integrated into permanent observation systems for monitoring vegetation changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tzeng Yih Lam
- Burckhardt-Institute, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|