Search Results (17)

The sustainable management of state-owned forest regions is significant for improving the nationally determined contribution and achieving carbon neutrality. The administrative area of key state-owned forest regions in northeast China and Inner Mongolia, hereafter referred to as forest regions, spans a forested area of 27.16 million hectares and a forest coverage rate of 82.97%. This represents China’s largest state-owned forest resource base, with extensive and concentrated forest areas. However, despite this vast forest coverage, the region’s forest stand density remains below the national and global average, underscoring the need for improved carbon sequestration performance. This study used the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) method to measure the carbon sequestration efficiency of key state-owned forest regions in northeast China and Inner Mongolia. A spatiotemporal Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression model (GTWR) was employed to reveal the spatiotemporal non-stationarity of the driving mechanism of carbon sequestration efficiency. Finally, the benchmarking management method was applied to predict the carbon sequestration potential. The results indicated that the carbon sequestration efficiency of forest regions exhibited an overall increasing trend over time, with significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity among forest industry enterprises (forest farms). Specifically, the carbon sequestration efficiency ranked from highest to lowest is as follows: Greater Khingan Forestry Group, Inner Mongolia Forestry Industry Group, Longjiang Forestry Industry Group, Changbai Mountain Forestry Industry Group, Jilin Forestry Industry Group, and Yichun Forestry Industry Group. Furthermore, carbon sequestration efficiency was driven by both natural and socioeconomic factors, but the effects of these factors were spatiotemporally non-stationary. Generally, enterprise output value, labor compensation, tending, and accumulated temperature had positive effects on carbon sequestration efficiency, while capital structure, altitude, and precipitation had negative effects. Finally, our findings revealed that the carbon sequestration potential of forest regions is substantial. If technical efficiency is improved, the carbon sequestration potential of forest regions could expand by 0.86 times the current basis, reaching 31.29 mtCO₂ by 2030. These results underscore the importance of respecting the differences and conditionality of forest development paths and promoting the sustainable management of key state-owned forest regions through scientific approaches, which is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality goals. Full article

Mitigating and avoiding social unrest caused by ecological forest restoration is a key factor in the coordinated development of forests and society. Forests, which are intricately linked with society, serve as a vital source of timber, non-timber forest products, and ecosystem services. Ecological forest restoration projects must carefully consider the relationship between forests and society to promote their coordinated development. As a key implementation area for the Natural Forest Resource Protection Project, the state-owned forest regions in Northeast China have experienced a crisis regarding harvestable resources and social unrest caused by protection policies and are currently innovating in policies and practices to mitigate social unrest. This study focuses on the history of natural forest resource conservation projects in China’s state-owned forest areas as a case study for empirical research, aiming to provide insights into ecological restoration models that foster harmony between forests and society. The empirical analyses reveal the following findings: (1) As a result of strict protection, natural forest resources on state-owned land have transitioned from providing timber to ecosystem services and non-timber products. (2) The strict logging ban policy has led to severe resource shortages; from 2000 to 2020, for every 10,000 cubic meter decrease in timber harvest, the per capita output in state-owned forest areas has dropped by more than CNY 500 (approximately USD 70). (3) Proactive ecological restoration can effectively alleviate social unrest; from 2000 to 2020, for every additional 10,000 hectares of forest tending, the average wage increased by more than CNY 900 (approximately USD 127). (4) Regional transformation can effectively generate a buffer effect to mitigate social unrest caused by strict forest protection policies and leverage the beneficial resources produced by ecological forest restoration to develop new drivers of economic growth. By systematically reviewing the comprehensive implementation of the NFPP, this paper’s findings provide insights into ecological restoration strategies that promote the harmonious development of forests and society. Full article

To protect forest land from loss and mitigate the global climate crisis, China has proposed a stringent natural forest protection plan, known as China’s natural forest logging ban (NFLB). This policy aims to halt the over-exploitation of natural forests, restore forest ecosystem functions, and promote regional green economic development. This study uses a regression discontinuity design (RDD) model to quantitatively and comprehensively assess the effectiveness of this policy in the key state-owned forest regions in Northeast China. Additionally, it analyzes the heterogeneity and structural characteristics of the policy’s effects on the internal composition of ecological and economic systems. The empirical results are as follows: (1) Ecological and economic impacts: The policy has successfully achieved its ecological objectives by significantly enhancing the quality and value of ecosystem services. However, it has also had a notable adverse impact on economic development, particularly in the timber supply sector, reducing the conversion efficiency of ecosystem service values into economic benefits. (2) Structural analysis: The logging ban effectively promoted the value of various ecosystem services, particularly enhancing regulatory and support functions, with a LATE estimate of approximately 8.47 units. The implementation of the policy caused a negative growth in the output value of supply-oriented ecological products, and the significance level was lower than 0.1. Conversely, the LATE estimates for different types of GDP indicate a negative growth in supply-type GDP due to the policy, with p < 0.1. (3) Heterogeneity: On the one hand, a simplistic and singular approach to logging prohibition may constrain the efficiency of enhancing ecosystem service values. On the other hand, although the policy disrupted the majority of traditional forest enterprise operations, business models focusing on quality and technology improvements were able to mitigate this impact. Full article

The 2015 reform of state-owned forest regions (SOFRs) in Northeast China required state-owned forest enterprises (SOFEs) to transfer their governmental and social roles to local authorities. This transition, however, created fragmented governance within forestry communities due to the absence of cooperative mechanisms between SOFEs and local governments. This study examines the economic effects of this governance fragmentation on SOFEs and explores the underlying mechanisms. The research combines new institutional economics and transaction cost theory to develop hypotheses and employs empirical analysis using fixed-effects models on data from 39 SOFEs, belonging to two forest industry groups from 2015 to 2022, collected through surveys and field investigations. The findings indicate that governance fragmentation has a significant negative impact on the economic performance of SOFEs. The high transaction costs incurred by SOFEs in achieving community co-governance with local governments are identified as a key mediating mechanism. These costs lead to resource dispersion and diminished trust between SOFEs and local governments. The economic impact of this governance fragmentation varies based on the economic conditions of the SOFEs, their operational scales, and the clarity of geographical management boundaries with local governments. To mitigate the adverse effects of governance fragmentation, the study suggests proactive institutional designs to reduce transaction costs. These findings offer new insights into the corporate social responsibilities of Chinese SOFEs and suggest improvements in the governance structures of forestry communities in SOFRs in Northeast China. Additionally, the study expands the application of transaction cost theory in public affairs governance and enhances quantitative research on the economic impact on enterprises. Full article

To achieve a sustainable development path that harmonizes ecological and economic considerations, China has advocated the “two mountains” concept: “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”. This idea posits that those who protect the environment can economically benefit by selling pristine landscapes and utilizing rich ecological resources. This paper use “the equivalence factor method” to calculate ecological benefits, introduces a technical measure—the conversion rate of ecosystem service value—and analyzes its temporal and spatial evolution from 2003 to 2020 in the operational areas of 87 state-owned forestry enterprises in Northeast China. The findings show: (1) a significant improvement in ecosystem-service quality, with its value increasing from 404.7 to 850.2 billion CNY between 2003 and 2020. The restoration of the ecological environment in China’s KSFR provides a foundation for economic and social development. (2) A decrease in the economic gains derived by operators from developing protected ecosystems, with the most significant decline observed in economic benefits generated from the supply product, including timber harvesting. However, the industrial structure in KSFR shifted from being dominated by timber production to diversified development, with non-timber forest resources becoming an important part of regional economic growth. (3) Significant potential for realizing the value of ecosystem services, evidenced by an increasing trend in the conversion rates of cultural, regulatory, and supporting services. These findings underscore the effectiveness of China’s natural forest protection and restoration policies in optimizing forest ecology and realizing the “two mountains” concept through appropriate market transactions and ecological compensation mechanisms. Full article

The Northeast State-owned Forest Areas comprise the largest region of resources in China. The transformation of the Northeast State-owned Forest Areas is due to various stimuli, such as policies, systems, and markets. In the context of ecological construction and the reform of the state-owned forest system in Northeast China, these have undergone a transformation in terms of economy, society, and ecology. However, a mismatch persists between employment and industrial structures, leading to hidden unemployment. This study employs the framework of hidden unemployment theory, utilizing the Cobb–Douglas production function to quantify the hidden unemployment rate, revealing the relationship between transformation and hidden unemployment. Through this analysis, the underlying causes of hidden unemployment in Northeast China’s state-owned forest regions are scrutinized. There is a bidirectional causal relationship between ecological transformation and hidden unemployment, while there is a unidirectional causal relationship between economic transformation and hidden unemployment. Variance decomposition analysis highlights the substantial contribution of social transformation, followed by economic transformation, with ecological transformation playing a comparatively smaller role. Based on the above research, this article proposes expediting the reforms within the forest industry groups, facilitating the separation of governmental and corporate interests. Additionally, it advocates for strategic forestry development planning to effectively absorb surplus labor, and proposes three policy directives aimed at supporting forest area employees, including provisions for job transfers and reemployment opportunities. Full article

Forestry’s high-quality development is crucial for China’s sustainable ecological, economic, and social progress. To elevate the efficiency of carbon sequestration in forestry, continuously improve the increment of carbon sinks, and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality, it is crucial to accurately assess the level of carbon sequestration efficiency in China’s forestry and explore its long-term evolution trend. In this paper, a super-efficiency SBM model, which combines the SBM model with the super-efficiency method and considers the relaxation variables, was selected to evaluate the forestry carbon sequestration efficiency of 31 provinces in China; likewise, the temporal development features of the efficacy of Chinese forests in sequestering carbon were examined using the nuclear density estimation method. Secondly, the study constructed traditional and spatial Markov probability transfer matrices to further explore the spatiotemporal evolution of carbon sequestration efficiency within Chinese forestry. Finally, combined with the Markov chain infinite distribution matrix, the future trajectory of carbon sequestration efficiency in China’s forestry was scientifically forecasted. The findings indicate that: (1) The average carbon sequestration efficiency of forestry in China showed a stable increase with fluctuations and reached the optimal state in 2018. The carbon sequestration efficiency level of various forest regions was always portrayed as southwest forest region > southern forest region > northeast forest region > northern forest region. From 2003 to 2018, there were significant differences in forestry carbon sequestration efficiency among provinces. The distribution of forestry carbon sequestration efficiency exhibited a “three-pillar” distribution pattern with Xizang, Zhejiang, and Heilongjiang as the core, and the marginal regions continuously promoted the carbon sequestration efficiency to the inland. (2) The type of transfer of forestry carbon sequestration efficiency in China is stable, and it is difficult to achieve cross-stage transfer in the short term. Moreover, the forestry carbon sequestration efficiency of each province tended to converge to a high (low) level over time, showing a “bimodal distribution” of low efficiency and high efficiency, indicating the existence of the obvious “club convergence phenomenon”. (3) Forecasting from a long-term evolution trend perspective, the outlook for the future evolution of forestry carbon sequestration efficiency in China is optimistic, and the overall trend was concentrated in the high-value area. Therefore, future forestry development in China should contemplate both internal structure optimization and coordinated regional development. Attention should be placed on forestry carbon sequestration’s role while considering the distinctive endowments of each region and developing reasonable, differentiated, and collaborative forestry management strategies. Full article

This paper constructed a carbon footprint calculation model and analyzed the carbon footprint characteristics and impact mechanism of forestry enterprises in the Greater Khinggan Range, northeast China, based on the survey and statistical data during 2017–2021. The process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to calculate the total carbon footprint and carbon footprint intensity; then, a panel data model combined with ridge regression was used to explore the impacts of different factors on the carbon footprint of the forestry enterprises. Results showed that the forestry enterprises’ total carbon footprint and carbon footprint intensity showed a general trend of increasing first and then decreasing from 2017 to 2021. The average annual carbon footprint of the forestry enterprises ranged from 2354 t CO₂-eq to 24,354 t CO₂-eq, and the average annual carbon footprint intensity ranged from 3.48 kg CO₂-eq hm⁻² to 31.76 kg CO₂-eq hm⁻². Fire area, the number of hired labor, and vehicle usage intensity are significant driving factors of the carbon footprint in forestry enterprises. The study results can provide references for policy formulation in relation to carbon footprint control in forest regions. Full article

The invasive pest Dendroctonus valens has spread to northeast China, causing serious economic and ecological losses. Early detection and disposal of infested trees is critical to prevent its outbreaks. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based hyperspectral image for early detection of D. valens infestation at the individual tree level. We compared the spectral characteristics of Pinus tabuliformis in three states (healthy, infested and dead), and established classification models using three groups of features (reflectance, derivatives and spectral vegetation indices) and two algorithms (random forest and convolutional neural network). The spectral features of dead trees were clearly distinct from those of the other two classes, and all models identified them accurately. The spectral changes of infested trees occurred mainly in the visible region, but it was difficult to distinguish infested from healthy trees using random forest classification models based on reflectance and derivatives. The random forest model using spectral vegetation indices and the convolutional neural network model performed better, with an overall accuracy greater than 80% and a recall rate of infested trees reaching 70%. Our results demonstrated the great potential of hyperspectral imaging and deep learning for the early detection of D. valens infestation. The convolutional neural network proposed in this study can provide a reference for the automatic detection of early D. valens infestation using UAV-based multispectral or hyperspectral images in the future. Full article

Wildfire is essential in altering land ecosystems’ structures, processes, and functions. As a critical disturbance in the China–Mongolia–Russia cross-border area, it is vital to understand the potential drivers of wildfires and predict where wildfires are more likely to occur. This study assessed factors affecting wildfire using the Random Forest (RF) model. No single factor played a decisive role in the incidence of wildfires. However, the climatic variables were most critical, dominating the occurrence of wildfires. The probability of wildfire occurrence was simulated and predicted using the Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The particle swarm optimization (PSO) model and genetic algorithm (GA) were used to optimize the ANFIS model. The hybrid ANFIS models performed better than single ANFIS for the training and validation datasets. The hybrid ANFIS models, such as PSO-ANFIS and GA-ANFIS, overcome the over-fitting problem of the single ANFIS model at the learning stage of the wildfire pattern. The high classification accuracy and good model performance suggest that PSO-ANFIS can be used to predict the probability of wildfire occurrence. The probability map illustrates that high-risk areas are mainly distributed in the northeast part of the study area, especially the grassland and forest area of Dornod Province of Mongolia, Buryatia, and Chita state of Russia, and the northeast part of Inner Mongolia, China. The findings can be used as reliable estimates of the relative likelihood of wildfire hazards for wildfire management in the region covered or vicinity. Full article

Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the southern boundary of the permafrost region in Northeast China, which is located at the southern edge of the permafrost area of Eurasia, has moved north, the surface temperature has increased, and the thickness of the frozen layer has decreased. At present, there is a lack of classification standards or a map of the thermal state of permafrost that can reflect the dynamic change characteristics of permafrost in Northeast China. A vegetation impact factor consisting of normalized difference vegetation index and forest canopy closure was introduced into MODIS LST products, in order to improve the applicability of products in Northeast China. Based on the improved MODIS LST data, this study analyzed the distribution and change of the mean annual surface temperature and the surface frost number (SFnc) from 2003 to 2019. SFnc was used as the standard to classify the thermal state of permafrost, and a map of the thermal state distribution and changes of permafrost in Northeast China, with a spatial resolution of 1 km, was produced. Compared with the observation data of meteorological stations and field monitoring data, the reliability of classification results was nearly 95%. The map showed that there was no area of extremely stable permafrost (SFnc ≥ 0.667), the area of stable permafrost (0.55 ≤ SFnc< 0.667) changed from 14.9 × 10⁴ km² to 6.5 × 10⁴ km², the SFnc reduced from 0.564 to 0.557, the area of semi-stable permafrost (0.51 < SFnc < 0.55) changed from 17.68 × 10⁴ km² to 17.77 × 10⁴ km², the SFNc reduced from 0.529 to 0.528, and the area of transitional or unstable permafrost (0.49 ≤ SFnc ≤ 0.51) changed from 8.67 × 10⁴ km² to 9.56 × 10⁴ km². The thermal state of permafrost decreased and the distribution of stable permafrost shrank, due to continuous rising air temperature. The overall change characteristics of the thermal state distribution of permafrost were that the southern boundary of the permafrost region moved northward, the regional permafrost thermal state decreased, and there was an increased region of semi-stable, transitional or unstable permafrost from the frozen soil thawed at the edge of the permafrost region with higher stability. The permafrost region in Northeast China has lush vegetation, and the continuous degradation of permafrost will change the vegetation growth environment and affect the global carbon cycle process. This work will provide important data support for climate change feedback, natural disaster process research, and an early warning and prevention of terrestrial ecosystem response in the permafrost region of Eurasia. Full article

China’s state-owned forest farms are the basic sectors of forestry production, and their carbon cycle functions, such as timber processing and forest carbon sequestration, are of great significance to the national emission reduction strategy. By three-stage DEA and Tobit models, this paper measures the carbon sequestration output efficiency of 3706 state-owned forest farms involved in China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration’s 2008–2018 survey. We figure out how the mechanism on the carbon sequestration impacts output efficiency of these forest farms and analyze the temporal trends and spatial distributions of their outputs in various regions. Our results indicate that the overall output efficiency of state-owned forest farms in China is relatively low compared with the international advanced level and show that distinctive north-south regional differences exist. Specifically, the carbon storage of the state-owned forest farms in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia occupies more than half of the carbon storage of total amounts, but their output efficiency is unsatisfactory. Conversely, the forest farms in Southwest China have a medium amount of carbon storage and the highest output efficiency. After improving the external environments of these farms, the efficiency value in each province appears as a significant increment. Moreover, the effects of afforestation, timber harvests, the under-forest economy, and other operating behaviors exhibit regional heterogeneity to some extent. Therefore, this paper advocates reforming the current forest cultivation strategy that emphasizes afforestation and neglects management, and relevant government departments are supposed to adjust operations according to local conditions to promote sustainable forest management. Full article

Forest landscape restoration and ecosystem of Loess Plateau have enhanced prominently, since the policy implementation (1999) of the Grain for Green Project in China. Land ecological security (LES) performs an extremely critical function for protecting vulnerable land resources and sustaining forest ecosystem stability. Predecessors’ studies substantially concentrate on biophysical and meteorologic variables using numerous grounded methodologies, little research has been launched on systematic natural-socio-economic-ecological relationships and how these contributions and regulations for LES evaluation. Here, pressure-state-response (PSR) model was used to establish the evaluation system of LES in regional-scale, and LES was classified into five levels measured by ecological security index (S), including high (S ≥ 0.75), medium−high (0.65 ≤ S < 0.75), medium (0.55 ≤ S < 0.65), medium−low (0.45 ≤ S < 0.55), and low (S < 0.45) level, for systematically analyzing its spatiotemporal distribution characteristic and response mechanism to explanatory variables in Yan’an, northwest China, from 2000 to 2018. The results demonstrated that: (1) LES status was mainly characterized by medium−high level and medium level, and maintained profound stability. (2) zone with medium−high LES level was mainly concentrated in western and southern regions, continuously expanding to northeast regions, and possessed the largest territorial area, accounting for 37.22–46.27% of the total area in Yan’an. (3) LES was primarily susceptible to normalized differential vegetation index, vegetation coverage, and land surface temperature with their optimal impacting thresholds of 0.20–0.64, 0.20–0.55, and 11.20–13.00 °C, respectively. (4) Normalized differential vegetation index and vegetation coverage had a significant synergistic effect upon LES based on their interactive explanation rate of 31% and had significant variation consistency (positive and negative) with LES, which were powerfully suggested to signal the intensification of the regional eco-security level in the persistent eco-greening process. Full article

The temperate forests in Northeast China are an important ecological barrier. However, the way in which temperate forests regulate the regional temperature and water cycling remains unclear. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the role that temperate forests play in the regulation of the regional temperature and precipitation by combining remote sensing observations with a state-of-the-art regional climate model. Our results indicated that the forest ecosystem could slightly warm the annual air temperature by 0.04 ± 0.02 °C and bring more rainfall (17.49 ± 3.88 mm) over Northeast China. The temperature and precipitation modification function of forests varies across the seasons. If the trees were not there, our model suggests that the temperature across Northeast China would become much colder in the winter and spring, and much hotter in the summer than the observed climate. Interestingly, the temperature regulation from the forest ecosystem was detected in both forested regions and the adjacent agricultural areas, suggesting that the temperate forests in Northeast China cushion the air temperature by increasing the temperature in the winter and spring, and decreasing the temperature in the summer over the whole region. Our study also highlights the capacity of temperate forests to regulate regional water cycling in Northeast China. With high evapotranspiration, the forests could transfer sufficient moisture to the atmosphere. Combined with the associated moisture convergence, the temperate forests in Northeast China brought more rainfall in both forest and agricultural ecosystems. The increased rainfall was mainly concentrated in the spring and summer; these seasons accounted for 93.82% of the total increase in rainfall. These results imply that temperate forests make outstanding contributions to the maintainance of the sustainable development of agriculture in Northeast China. Full article

Forest ecological security is an important component of ecological security and national security, and it is a requirement for the sustainable development of the forestry economy. In this study, based on the pressure–state–response (PSR) model, an evaluation index system of forest ecological security was constructed regarding three aspects: the pressure on the forest ecosystem caused by human activities, the state of the forest ecosystem, and the response measures taken by humans to protect the forest ecosystem. The forest ecological security and its pressure, state, and response in 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in China from 2004 to 2018 were evaluated. Furthermore, with the help of a mediating effect model, the Moran index, and a spatial econometric model, the interaction relationship, spatial correlation effect, and spatial spillover effect of the pressure–state–response of forest ecological security were analyzed. The results showed the following: First, during the study period, the forest ecological security of most provinces was at sensitive and critical safety levels, and the forest ecological security level in Northeast and Southwest China was generally higher than that in Northwest and East China. Second, regarding the pressure, state, and response of forest ecological security, the pressure was generally low but with an increasing trend, the state was relatively good with continuous improvement, and the response was clearly insufficient and showed a fluctuating downward trend. Third, there were six different transmission mechanisms between pressure, state, and response of forest ecological security, among which there were significant transmission barriers between pressure and response. Given these findings, we propose suggestions to promote the improvement of forest ecological security in China. Full article