Formulaic Expert Method to Integrate Evaluation and Valuation of Heritage Trees in Compact City

Urban trees serve important environmental, social and economic functions, but similar to other natural endowments they are not customarily depicted in monetary terms. The needs to augment protection, funding and community support for urban greening call for proper valuation. Heritage trees (HTs), the cream of urban-tree stock, deserve special attention. Existing assessment methods do not give justice to outstanding trees in compact cities deficient in high-caliber greenery, and to their social-cultural-historical importance. They artificially separate evaluation from valuation, which should be a natural progression from the former. Review of tree valuation methods suggested the formula approach to be more suitable than contingent valuation and hedonic pricing, and provided hints on their strengths and weaknesses. This study develops an alternative formulaic expert method (FEM) that integrates evaluation and valuation, maximizes objectivity, broadly encompasses the key tree, tree-environment and tree-human traits, and accords realistic monetary value to HTs. Six primary criteria (dimension, species, tree, condition, location, and outstanding consideration) branched into 45 secondary criteria, each allocated numerical marks. Each primary criterion was standardized to carry equal weight, and a tree's maximum aggregate score is capped at 100. A Monetary Assignment Factor (MAF) to consign dollar value to each score unit was derived from three-year average per m² sale price of medium-sized residential flats. The applicability of FEM was tested on selected HTs in compact Hong Kong. The aggregate score of a tree multiplied by MAF yielded monetary value, which was on average 66 times higher than the result from the commonly-adopted Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers method. The computed tree values could be publicized together with multiple tree benefits to raise understanding and awareness and rally support to protect HTs. The property-linked FEM could be flexibly applied to other cities, especially to assess HTs in compact developing cities.     

Floristics, performance and prognosis of historical trees in the urban forest of Guangzhou City (China)

Outstanding historical trees embedded in cities constitute pertinent environmental assets, yet they are widely threatened in third-world cities. Inadequate understanding of this valuable natural-cum-cultural heritage hinders proper conservation. A case study of Guangzhou in south China evaluated floristic composition, age profile and biomass structure of historical trees, assessed their performance in major habitats (institutional, park and roadside), and established a prognosis for future growth and management. The 348 historical trees examined belonged to only 25 species, vis-à -vis 254 trees in the entire urban forest, dominated by five species and native members. Roadside had more trees, followed by institutional and park, with merely the most common four species shared by all habitats. The limited commonality reflected tree-performance differentiation by habitats exerting selection pressure on species. The institutional growth-regime was more conducive to nurturing high-caliber specimens, whereas park is less capable. Individual species achievement by habitats, derived from tree-count ranking and relative-abundance indices, could inform species choice and tree conservation. Few trees exceeded 300 years of age in the millennium-old city, echoing a history of intense tree—city conflicts. Potential life-span, trunk and crown diameters indicated ample opportunities for further expansion of biomass and landscape impacts, which would be straitjacketed by the tightening urban fabric.     

Spontaneous Interspecific Hybridization and Patterns of Pollen Dispersal in Ex Situ Populations of a Tree Species (Sinojackia xylocarpa) that is Extinct in the Wild

Abstract:  For endangered plants interspecific hybridization occurring in ex situ collections may lead to failure of reintroduction actions. We used Sinojackia xylocarpa , a well documented Chinese endemic species that is extinct in the wild, as a model case to address this concern. We used paternity analyses to assess the spontaneous hybridization and patterns of pollen flow between S. xylocarpa and its congener species, S. rehderiana , in conserved populations in Wuhan Botanic Garden. Interspecific hybridization events were detected in seven out of eight maternal trees of S. xylocarpa , and an average of 32.7% seeds collected from maternal trees of S. xylocarpa were hybrids. The paternity of 93 out of 249 seedlings from S. xylocarpa assigned to S. rehderiana provided convincing evidence that spontaneous interspecific hybridization occurred extensively in the living garden collection we studied. Different patterns of pollen dispersal (predominantly short-distance vs. long-distance pollination) were observed between intra- and interspecific hybridization events in the garden. Pollen dispersal within the ex situ populations was not restricted by distance, as evidenced by a lack of significant correlations between the average effective pollen dispersal distance (δ) and the geographic distances (d1 and d2) between maternal and paternal trees. The interspecific pollen-dispersal distance ranged from 10 to 620.1 m (mean 294.4 m). Such extensive hybridization in ex situ collections could jeopardize the genetic integrity of endangered species and irrevocably contaminate the gene pool if such hybrids are used for reintroduction and restoration. We recommend strongly that measures be taken to minimize the genetic risks of this kind of hybridization, including establishing buffer zones in ex situ collections, manipulating flowering phenology, testing seed lots before use in reintroduction programs, and controlling pollination for seed purity.     

Formation of Two Xylem Frost Injuries in One Annual Ring in Siberian Spruce under Conditions of Western Siberian Forest-Tundra

The phenomenon of the formation of two damaged xylem layers in one frost ring is described in Siberian spruce grown in western Siberian forest-tundra. Temperature conditions providing for the formation of pathological cell and tissue structures are determined. The relationship between the formation of double frost injuries and cold periods is demonstrated.     

Co-Partnership in Forest Management: The Gwira-Banso Joint Forest Management Project in Ghana

The involvement of local communities, as well as the private sector and the government in forest management is now an important principle of tropical forestry policy and practice and a major component of most international forestry aid programmes. This paper present an analysis on the Joint Forest Management Project initiated by two timber companies (Ghana Primewood Products Ltd and Dalhoff Larsen & Horneman) in collaboration with local people in Gwira-Banso of Ghana. Conditions required for enhancing responsibility for and commitment to local forest management, and for an effective local participatory process were also analysed. The study began with the premise that incentives and good communication will enhance participation in joint forest management.The assumption was valid and the results from the survey showed that five broad issues prioritised by respondents to be essential for co-partnership in forest management are communication, financial support, tree planting, multiple land use and benefit sharing. The Project enjoys a great deal of support from the local community, but a number of factors make the continued support of local people a challenging task, including questions of immediate livelihood sources and tenure arrangements. Although this participatory forest management has been implemented over a relatively short period, there is evidence that government and private sectors can successfully involve local people in sustainable management of the forests.     

基于参与式社区评估法的泾河流域景观管理问题分析

参与式社区评估法既兼顾了景观管理中的地理变量,同时还将社会经济因素纳入了考虑范畴,是深入进行问题分析客观有效的方法之一。本文采用参与式社区评估法,运用问题矩阵和问题树分析,对泾河流域景观管理中存在的问题和利益相关者的认知进行了分析。研究发现,绝大多数利益相关者认为土壤侵蚀已成为第一严重的问题,其次是土地生产力低下、自然灾害、植被破坏等。尽管当地公众已经认识到了土壤侵蚀的严重危害,但在安排土地利用方式时,却很少考虑土壤侵蚀带来的危害,仍然从事着自给自足的粮食生产活动。     

Structural-functional organization of lower vegetation layers in tree communities of the upper timberline ecotone in the Polar Urals

Typologically identical (dwarf birch-herb-dwarf shrub-moss) open and closed larch forests growing on the same altitudinal transect have proved to differ in the structural-functional organization of lower vegetation layers. Coverage, general species composition, and species richness of the herb-dwarf shrub layer are higher in the open forest than in the closed forest. Correlations between individual species of vascular plants weaken upon transition from the open to the closed forest. Conversely, the coverage of the lichen-moss layer increases in the closed forest, which contributes to its role as a factor of selection of vascular plant species against the background of the prevailing influence of the tree layer.     

青藏工程走廊(昆仑山口-清水湖段)地质灾害隐患点成因调查

通过野外实地调查发现,青藏工程走廊昆仑山口-清水河段发育的主要地质灾害隐患点有活断层儒移引起路基位错;活断裂作为导水通道,使冰丘穿刺路基;河岸坍塌导致铁路桥墩外露;铁路工程排水沟渗漏,铁路路基两侧水动力条件发生变化,导致铁路路基发生管涌;冻土冬季冻胀,夏季融沉导致路基裂缝、道路翻浆、管道变形;风力堆积作用导致青藏铁路护坡局部沙淤;风力吹蚀导致格拉输油管线外露。综合分析认为,青藏工程走廊昆仑山口-清水河段环境地质问题的产生是自然和人为因素复合作用的结果,应点、线、面结合考虑,综合治理。     

基于可靠性理论的区域大气环境质量风险评价模型探讨

为了用可靠性理论进行区域大气环境质量风险评价．从理论上研究了几个需要解决的基本问题。包括：明确区域环境质量风险评价的研究对象．确定区域环境质量可靠性的内涵,提出区域环境系统的“应力-强度-失效”假说．分析环境系统净化环节闻的串、并联关系。因此．从可靠性的视角,对区域环境质量的复杂性和不确定性进行新的探讨．构建环境科学与可靠性理论联系的桥梁。在理论分析的基础上．对福建省泉港区石化工业基地大气环境质量风险评价问题进行研究。从大气环境污染的主要问题出发。研究区域环境系统对大气污染物的净化环节及其串并联关系。在此基础上．构建区域大气环境污染的故障树,并以区域环境质量的可靠性作为评价指标对区域环境风险问题进行具体评价。这是一种以概率为基础的、新的区域环境质量风险评价模型．对于研究污染型工业系统的环境质量风险具有重要意义。     

滑坡灾害危险性评价模型比较

通过对庆元地区滑坡灾害的详细研究，比较讨论了单变量评价、决策树评价与逻辑回归法等3种滑坡危险性评价模型在实际应用中的效果。单变量模型最为简单，计算方便，得到的结果也具有较高的准确性，当收集到的滑坡因素越多，对滑坡发育的刻画越精确，则最终评价结果也越可信；决策树算法能迅速从大量样本中归纳出一般规则，并具有较高的精度，但其结果也受到训练样本数量大小和样本维数即参与评价的因素集数量的影响；逻辑回归模型具有计算方法简单、评价结果物理意义明确等突出优点，但需要有大量样本数据的支持才能取得较好的效果。