Community involvement in KPH Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta Forest Management Unit) land management: a case study of RPH Mangunan

The management of protection forests in KPH Yogyakarta has involved the surrounding community. Community involvement is expected to keep forest sustainability and contribute to the surrounding community’s income. Community engagement activities in the protection forest at RPH Mangunan have been developed long time before the KPH Yogyakarta was formed. Several social forestry activities was designed by utilizing forest land to involve the community in protection forests, especially in RPH Mangunan. Activities with the community on KPH land are permitted as long as the crops and trees are not disturbed. This paper aims to identify community involvement in RPH Mangunan and calculate the economic contribution of each land area used by the community. The research was conducted in July-August 2018. The collection of socio-economic data are obtained through household surveys of KPH land users, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) of parties involved in KPH land management. The income from managing the KPH land is still below the needs of one household based on Yogyakarta provincial minimum wage. Apart from carrying out agricultural activities, some community members have other sources of livelihood. To increase the community’s income and support forest sustainability, some strategies need to be implemented.

Can Land Consolidation Reduce the Soil Erosion of Agricultural Land in Hilly Areas? Evidence from Lishui District, Nanjing City

The hilly areas of China have experienced soil erosion and are also typical land consolidation (LC) regions. Using the RUSLE model and the multiple regression model, this study evaluated the soil erosion of agricultural land and assessed the effects of LC on soil erosion in Lishui District, a typical district in the Ning-Zhen-Yang hilly area. The soil erosion of agricultural land ranged from 0 to 385.77 t·ha−1·yr−1 with spatial heterogeneity due to the topography, land cover, and vegetation cover. Overall, carrying out LC reduced soil erosion due to the construction of protection forests, farmland shelterbelts, and different kinds of land engineering. Furthermore, the different types of LC had different impacts on soil erosion, where farmland consolidation resulted in more serious soil erosion than land development. Nevertheless, the potential risks brought by LC to soil erosion reduction could not be overlooked, and more attention should be paid to ecological environment protection during the process of LC. This study presents findings regarding the positive impacts and potential risks of LC for soil erosion reduction in agricultural land in hilly areas.

Nature-based solutions to mitigate the risk of shallow landslides: a global analysis

<p>Landslides claim many lives and cause high financial losses in mountainous regions around the world every year. Especially in high mountain regions, the landslide risk is likely to increase further in the coming years due to the thawing of permafrost soils and the associated activation of slope dynamics. However, a higher landslide risk is also expected regionally in tropical and subtropical mountainous regions, namely where an increase in extreme weather events is projected and at the same time, there is a higher socio-ecological vulnerability and exposure due to population growth, land use pressure and other factors.</p><p>To mitigate the risk to people and their assets, various hard and soft infrastructure measures are available. Especially in the European Alps, the concept of protection forests (<em>German: Schutzwälder</em>) in combination with hard infrastructure has been used for years as an ecosystem-based or hybrid measure. Based on a systematic global literature review (275 papers), we investigated which Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to mitigate the risk of shallow landslides are in place worldwide, in which countries and regions they were implemented, and which approaches under the NbS umbrella concept were applied (e.g. Green Infrastructure, Ecological Engineering, Eco-DRR, etc.). </p><p>As a result of this comprehensive analysis, we present a portfolio of measures to mitigate the risk of shallow landslides that are being applied in various (eco)regions and cultural contexts around the world and discuss the success of these measures as well as potential risks, uncertainties, and failures. We also emphasize the need for further research particularly on the effectiveness of ecosystem-based landslide risk reduction in different mountain ecosystems, as well as the cost-effectiveness of NbS compared to hard infrastructure. We conclude that despite a successful implementation in the Alps and few other mountain regions, the protection forest concept has hardly been applied so far, especially in the Global South. In addition, we emphasize the particular challenge of establishing protection forests due to the rapid climatic and ecological changes and related geomorphological process dynamics in mountain regions in the course of global climate change.</p>

Natural disturbances and protection forests: at the cutting edge of remote sensing technologies for a rapid assessment of a stand protective function

<p><br>Protection forests can be severely affected by natural disturbances, whose consequences could greatly alter the fundamental ecosystem services they are providing. Assessing and monitoring the status of the protective function, particularly within disturbed stands, is therefore of vital importance, with timing being a critical issue. Remote sensing technologies (e.g. satellite images, LiDAR, UAV) are nowadays thoroughly available and can be usefully applied in order to quantify and monitor the protective role of Alpine forests, especially after abrupt changes in their cover and structure following the occurrence of a disturbance event. In this contribution, after a brief introduction on these technologies and their potential contribution to protection forest management, some specific case studies will be presented. In particular, we will focus on case studies involving protection forests affected by windthrows (the post-Vaia situation in the Eastern Italian Alps; Lidar and UAV surveys) and by forest fires in the Western Italian Alps (Fall 2017 fires; Sentinel-2 Images).</p>

A quantitative assessment of rockfall influence on forest structure in the Swiss Alps

Forests below rocky cliffs often play a very important role in protecting settlements against rockfall. The structure and development of these forests are expected to be substantially affected by the disturbance of the falling rocks. Knowing about this effect is important to predict the development of protection forests and consider potential effects of the falling blocks in management strategies. The goal of this study is to quantify differences in forest structure depending on rockfall activity in four different sites in the Swiss Alps. For this, we collected data on forest structure in zones of different rockfall activity and derived rockfall impact probabilities based on rockfall simulations. We assessed whether differences in forest structure and signs of rockfall disturbance could be observed between the rockfall zones. We additionally built mixed-effects models to identify the key variables explaining the forest characteristics described by diameter (DBH) and basal area (bA). The forest structure differs between the rockfall zones, however, with varying effects amongst the sites. DBH tends to decrease with increasing rockfall activity, whereas tree density appears to be little impacted by rockfall. For most sites, the number of deposited blocks and the simulated tree impact probability have a significant effect in the models along with the species, whereas for one site, hardly any effect of rockfall was found. Our results, obtained either from direct measurements or modelling, show that rockfall can locally influence the structure of forests, whereas the influence depends on the frequency and intensity of the rockfall disturbance. Impact probabilities obtained by simulations can serve as a good proxy for rockfall disturbances.

Kajian Bahaya Kebakaran Hutan di Kabupaten Nganjuk

ABSTRACTThe Nganjuk District is mostly planted by forests, both protection forests and production forests with a total area of 20 333.00 ha. Forest and land fires often occur in Nganjuk District, which causes economic and environmental losses. Forest and land fires often cause haze disasters that can disrupt the activities and health of surrounding communities. The forest and land fire hazard map is needed. Making a forest and land fire hazard map of Nganjuk District is carried out with consideration of various parameters, namely: rainfall, land use, altitude, and type of forest. The analysis was carried out using spatial analysis with a scoring system of influential parameters, and from the results of the analysis 3 (three) classifications of fire hazard-prone areas were determined, namely: high hazard, moderate hazard, and low hazard. The five (5) biggest sub-districts included in the forest and high land fire hazard zones in Nganjuk District are the sub-districts: Rejoso, Lengkong, Ngluyu, Gondang, and Jatikalen. Zoning maps of forest and land fire hazards in Nganjuk District are urgently needed in the framework of mitigation, adaptation and disaster management of forest and land fires, as well as sustainable development planning in Nganjuk District. Keywords: Nganjuk, forest and land fires, hazard zone map, mitigation. ABSTRAKKawasan Kabupaten Nganjuk hutan banyak ditumbuhi oleh hutan, baik hutan lindung maupun hutan produksi dengan luas total 20 333.00 ha. Kebakaran hutan dan lahan sering terjadi di Kabupaten Nganjuk, yang menyebabkan kerugian ekonomi dan lingkungan. Kebakaran hutan dan lahan seringkali menyebabkan bencana asap yang dapat mengganggu aktivitas dan kesehatan masyarakat sekitar. Peta zonasi bahaya kebakaran hutan dan lahan sangat diperlukan. Pembuatan peta bahaya kebakaran hutan dan lahan Kabupaten Nganjuk dilakukan dengan pertimbangan berbagai parameter, yaitu: curah hujan, tataguna lahan, ketinggian tempat, dan jenis hutan. Analisis dilakukan dengan menggunakan analisis spasial dengan sistem skoring dari parameter yang berpengaruh, dan dari hasil analisis akan ditetapkan 3 (tiga) klasifikasi daerah rawan bahaya kebakaran yaitu: bahaya tinggi, bahaya sedang, dan bahaya rendah. Lima (5) kecamatan terbesar yang termasuk zona bahaya kebakaran hutan dan lahan tinggi di Kabupaten Nganjuk adalah kecamatan-kecamatan: Rejoso, Lengkong, Ngluyu, Gondang, dan Jatikalen. Peta zonasi bahaya kebakaran hutan dan lahan di Kabupaten Nganjuk sangat diperlukan dalam rangka mitigasi, adaptasi dan penanggulangan bencana kebakaran hutan dan lahan, serta perencanaan pembangunan berkelanjutan di Kabupaten Nganjuk. Kata kunci: Nganjuk, kebakaran hutan dan lahan, peta zonasi bahaya, mitigasi.

TRENDS IN THE ACCUMULATION OF PHYTOMASS BY SIBERIAN SPRUCE (PICEA OBOVATA LEDEB.) UNDERGROWTH DURING THE INITIAL STAGES OF ONTOGENY

The dynamics of the Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) during the initial stages of ontogeny in the territory of the water protection forests of the Ufa plateau have been studied. It has been shown that phytomass accumulation is slow. A sharp increase is observed in the age group 5-6 years, due to the beginning of the mass formation of the first lateral shoots. The difference between the minimum and maximum values of plants of the same age is 80 times.

Schutzwälder gegen Rutschungen: Ausscheidung und Pflege als Verbundaufgabe

Protection forests against landslides: delimitation and maintenance as a joint task Landslides are natural hazards that occur frequently and are decisively involved in water-relevant hazards such as debris flows, driftwood and overbank sedimentation. Protection against natural hazards is a joint task of the Confederation, the cantons and third parties. As a measure of integrated risk management, the cantons delimitate protection forests against shallow landslides based on principles developed jointly with the Confederation. In relation to the total area of protection forests in Switzerland, landslides are the most frequent natural hazard against which forests protect. The enforcement aid «Sustainability and Success Monitoring in Protection Forests (NaiS)» defines binding silvicultural targets for protection forests. In recent years, various research institutions have looked more closely at the impact of forests on slope movements. The «torrent, flood» requirement profile of NaiS is currently being revised at the Federal Office for the Environment. In the channel slopes, the goal is to shift the emphasis to protection against landslides. This requirement profile will be designed in accordance with the current state of knowledge. In doing so, no fundamental changes to the existing profile will be necessary. ProtectBio defines a procedure, which enables the assessment of risk reduction through protective forest for shallow landslides to be in compliance with risk reduction through technical protective measures.

A Framework for the Integration of Nature-Based Solutions into Environmental Risk Management Strategies

Mountainous areas are expected to face increasing societal pressure due to mass tourism and the rising intensity and frequency of natural hazards triggered by climate change. Therefore, the development of proper strategies for the management of environmental risks will be crucial to ensure their liveability. Against this backdrop, concepts such as territorial resilience and Social–Ecological Systems (SES) can support the prioritisation of protective efforts. This paper presents a conceptual framework to be applied to areas subject to natural hazards. Its aim is to support the integration of different measures, with a special focus on protection forests and other Nature-based Solutions, into current risk management strategies. The framework considers (i) the definition of SES boundaries; (ii) the identification of the main goals to be achieved; (iii) the quantification of the supply and demand of the ecosystem protection service; and (iv) the development of risk management strategies able to include the management of protection forests among the adopted solutions. This framework is intended as a tool to be adopted by local and regional decision-makers as a tool to identify the areas at risk, to recognise the potential role of protection forests, and to operationalise the concept of resilience through the deployment of “grey-green” strategies.