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Globally, animals that are range-restricted are frequently becoming species of conservation concern, in part due to competitive exclusion by phylogenetically and ecologically similar species that are more tolerant of human disturbance. However, climate and land use changes to natural landscapes can create pockets of refugia for range-restricted species. Western gray squirrels (Sciurus griseus) are native to the west coast of North America, principally California and western Oregon. Over the past several decades, Western Gray Squirrel populations have declined in human-dominated areas, with increased competition from introduced congeneric species native to eastern North America cited as a primary driver. Despite declines in their established range west of the Pacific Crest in western North America, western gray squirrels are extending their range into the Great Basin, where they were not historically found. Using a network of remote camera traps deployed across the Sierra Nevada–Great Basin ecotone in northwestern Nevada, we detected western gray squirrels across 16 of 100 camera-trapping sites. The majority of detections were located in piñon–juniper woodland, a land cover type not previously occupied by this species. Occupancy modeling revealed that western gray squirrels were equally likely to occur in piñon–juniper woodland compared to mature pine forest that they occupy elsewhere in their range. A species distribution model parameterized with historical gray squirrel observations (pre-1950), indicated increased climatic suitability for the species on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in recent decades, which may have facilitated this range expansion. Our findings reveal the potential for species declining in their historical range to colonize novel habitats that become increasingly suitable as a result of human-driven changes to ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest discourses help identify forest-related issues. They aim to aid policy and decision-makers in understanding forest-related challenges and opportunities better so that they may initiate possible strategies and tactics to tackle them. Ideally, information requirements for the forest discourses would be translated into measurable variables, being the basis for collecting, analysing, and reporting data and information. Our study examined the connection between major international forest reporting processes and forest discourses. We analysed summaries and key findings for policy makers of five recent major forest reports. We compared their focus with forest discourses on climate change, forest conservation, deforestation, forest decline, illegal logging, industrial forestry/bioeconomy, traditional knowledge, woody biomass production, and innovative wood-based biofuels. The paper explores how the forest discourses are reflected in the surveyed documents and closely examines the specific focus areas in the summaries for policy makers. The results show that most forest discourses are generally well-represented, albeit with different foci. The discourse on illegal logging could not be identified in any investigated documents, even though it remains a significant concern for international forest policy. Keywords related to traditional knowledge and woody biomass production could not be found in two of the analysed findings. All analysed summaries and key findings mention issues related to the climate change discourse topic. However, they lack information on emissions from deforestation, carbon dioxide emissions and carbon budgets, which are high in political discussions. The paper highlights how discourse issues have gained in complexity both topic-wise and regarding the reporting obligations, as policy and decisionmakers require more timely and comprehensive information about the status' and trends of forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background--Ecological industrialization takes ecological resources as the main research subject and realizes the economic value of ecological products and services by means of socialized production and market-oriented operation. (2) Methods--The weights of each index in the evaluation index system of ecological industrialization development level were determined according to entropy weight method, and the development level of ecological industrialization was measured by entropy weight TOP SIS model. (3) Results--First, the overall development level of ecological industrialization of the state-owned forest areas in Heilongjiang Province was low from 2001 to 2008, and the development index of other system levels was low except for the high development index of ecological environment quality. Due to the implementation of a series of ecological projects, the development index of ecological industrialization from 2009 to 2018 began to improve, and the development index of the four system levels also began to increase. Affected by the system transformation of Yichun Forest Industry Group and the COVID-19 pandemic, the development index of ecological industrialization from 2019 to 2021 began to decline. In addition to the continuous increase in the ecological environment quality level, the development index of the other three system levels declined. Second, the obstacle degree of each system level of ecological industrialization of the state-owned forest areas in Heilongjiang Province showed a trend of fluctuation decline from 2001 to 2018. Except for ecological environment quality level, the obstacle degree of the other system levels increased from 2019 to 2021. There were 17 obstacle factors affecting the development level of ecological industrialization, among which the average obstacle degree of forest resource index, pollution management index, industrial structure index and output value of pillar industry was the highest. (4) Conclusions and Discussions--First, the development level of ecological industrialization of the state-owned forest areas in Heilongjiang Province showed a fluctuating upward trend from 2001 to 2021, and the development level of ecological industrialization was constantly improving. Second, the change trend of the development level of the system level of ecological industrialization was different. The development level of the ecological environment quality continued to rise, while the development level of the other three system levels fluctuated first and then continued to decline. Third, the change of system level obstacle degree affecting the development of ecological industrialization had phases. The obstacle degree of ecological environment quality was the largest from 2001 to 2018, and the pillar industry level became the new main obstacle factor from 2018 to 2021. Fourth, the distribution of indexes restricting the development of ecological industrialization of the state-owned forest areas in Heilongjiang province was uneven in each system level. Forest resources, pollution management, industrial structure and output value of pillar industries were the main obstacle factors. According to the above research conclusions, the following policy recommendations are put forward: First, give priority to protection and improve the quality of the ecological environment. Second, optimize the industrial layout and improve the regional economic level. Third, extend the industrial chain and improve the level of pillar industries. Fourth, expand financing channels and increase capital investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in Algeria is causing significant problems, such as the emergence of unplanned neighborhoods, and local authorities need to apply modern tools like geomatics to monitor and update spatial planning databases to support sustainable development. More to the point, these tools—geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) are of assistance to update the spatial planning and development database so as to support the decision-making. In fact, for understanding the purpose of the process of urban growth in the region of the interior high plateaus, we chose the city of Setif as it represents an urban and economic pole in the region. Besides, economic activities exacerbate the phenomenon of rapid and unplanned urban growth alongside the environmental impact thereof. In the light of the obtained results, there exists a significant increase in urban lands and a significant decline in forests and agricultural lands, as the urban area has tripled from 10.4% in 1985 to 20.3 in 2003 and to 29.7% in 2021. At the same time, the agricultural area has then shrunk from 76.4% in 1985 to 65.8 in 2003 and to 55.5% in 2021, while the forest areas have decreased from 5.04% in 1985 to 4.4 in 2003 and to 2.3% in 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate change on insect pests is an emerging topic in forestry and forest science. This study investigates the relationships between two broadleaved forest pests – spongy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) and brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea L.) – and oaks (Quercus sp.) as their hosts. Oak forests cover almost one-third of the total forest area of Serbia and are ecologicallyvery valuable, but at the same time vulnerable, as being affected in adverse ways by several primary pests and pathogens. Since 1862, Serbia experienced several extremely large outbreaks of spongy moth with more than a hundred thousand hectares completely defoliated each time, while brown-tail moth occurred periodically with a much lower spatial extent. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of UV radiation (UVR) and air temperature on spongy moth and brown-tail moth in Serbian forests. We used simulations of the coupled regional climate model EBU-POM (Eta Belgrade University-Princeton Ocean Model) for the A1B scenario for the period 2001-2030 as main input and different statistical methods to explore relationships between observations of pest spread and climate change impacts. Our results suggest (i) increasing the areas affected by spongy moth due to its sensitivity on UVR in May, and (ii) altitudinal spreading of brown-tail moth population up to 800 – 1000 m. This research indicates that in situ forest observations in Serbia are not only affected by climate change, but also by the combined effect of climate on forest pests. For further research, we recommend exploring other forest stressors or dieback phenomena in European forests by applying the same or similar regional climate model dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last half-century, North American forest birds have experienced staggering declines, while at the same time, many metrics indicate that North American forest health has improved. While the United States has been recognised for global leadership in innovation and research in forestry, the negative impacts of high-severity harvesting methods and forest fragmentation are sometimes overlooked, and a dearth of research studies exist that assess the impacts of lower-severity forestry practices on birds. Globally, some regions are pursuing markedly different forestry practices, and one example is Europe's Close-To-Nature Forestry (CTNF) that protects forest canopies. Historically, CTNF methods have not been promoted to help avian abundance or diversity; however, forest bird populations in Europe have increased 7% over the last two decades, and we posit whether similar forest management approaches in the eastern USA could benefit North American birds. Therefore, we sought to 1) assess the effects of forest structural characteristics on avian species richness in a CTNFmanaged forest in the eastern USA; 2) compare our results to county-level eBird data to identify the challenges of assessing the impacts of forestry practices on birds at landscape scales; 3) highlight the ambiguities in current forest management guidelines for improving avian habitats in the USA and 4) suggest long-term direction for evaluating the impacts of alternative forest management practices on birds. Our case study provides preliminary evidence that CTNF-managed forests may support diverse birds of high conservation value that are normally drawn to different forest management extremes. We also provide recommendations for utilising eBird data to assess alternative forest management strategies at landscape scales and a synthesised look at the forest management guidelines provided by many of the major players in American ornithology. While there may be multiple reasons for forest bird declines noted in the past 50 years in North America, long-standing forest management practices and policies should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to escalating worldwide groundwater dependence amid climate change, accurate estimation of sustainable groundwater yield becomes crucial. This study investigated the impact of groundwater abstraction on tree mortality in Namibia. We compared tree mortality around production boreholes with monitoring boreholes and we correlated groundwater decline rates with tree mortality, establishing a model from which we derived a groundwater decline rate range limit. Ana tree mortality was significantly higher (P = 0.01) around production boreholes (13.3%) than around monitoring boreholes (0%). In the dammed Swakop River, Ana tree mortality correlated with decline rates (r S = 0.64, P < 0.01). The study suggests that decline rates of above 0.2–0.23 cm day−1 may cause elevated mortality (3–7%) and should not be sustained for extended periods. Rates exceeding 0.5 cm day−1 should be avoided, while monitoring is recommended for rates between 0.23 and 0.5 cm day−1. Woodlands in rivers with altered flood frequencies may be more sensitive to groundwater abstraction than previously thought. The study's methods offer a universal framework for refining sustainable yield calculations worldwide. • Riparian trees are likely more sensitive to groundwater abstraction than expected. • Pumping rates should not exceed 0.23 cm day−1 to avoid excessive tree mortality. • Abstraction rates of 0.5 cm day−1 and above should be avoided altogether. • Regular tree health and groundwater monitoring are essential. • Our method modifies the sustainable yield to prevent human-induced tree mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although forest areas have been growing in Europe, some forest types have been declining regionally. Since the 1980 s, there have been reports of defoliation and mortality in evergreen oak woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula. However, long-term and large-scale trends of Iberian oak decline are still poorly understood. We quantified trends in canopy cover for cork oak (Quercus suber) and holm oak (Q. rotundifolia) woodlands in mainland Portugal for a 50 year period (1965 to 2015). We considered loss of canopy cover a proxy of forest degradation and asked how it changed over time, in association with human activity and climate. Between 1965 and 2015, both cork oak and holm oak canopy cover showed declining trends (57.9% and 71.1% of sampling points, respectively). Canopy cover dynamics, however, differed across time. Between 1965 and 1990, canopy cover gains (over 35% of sampling points) prevailed over losses (under 20%), with larger differences for cork oak than holm oak. Between 1990 and 2015, canopy cover losses (over 70% of sampling points) were much higher than gains (under 9%). Oak canopy cover decrease was associated with flatter areas (usually having more intensive land use) for both oak species, higher cattle numbers (holm oak only) and higher mean temperature (cork oak only). Contrastingly, loss of holm oak canopy cover seems to have occurred in less hot and dry regions that enable more intensive land uses. Active restoration is urgently needed to reverse the current decline in canopy cover in Mediterranean evergreen oak woodlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities have drastically reshaped global forest ecosystems in recent decades. However, identifying the origins, magnitude, and primary effects of these actions, especially in East Asia (EA), with a long history of human activity, remains challenging. Crucially, unraveling the early anthropogenic impacts on forest ecosystems has substantial implications for characterizing the Anthropocene. In this study, we collated and synthesized Holocene arboreal pollen (AP) sequences from 61 EA lake basins, which demonstrated an overall expansion of forest vegetation during the early to middle Holocene, followed by a retreat from 5 cal. ka BP. The cooling and drying climate during the mid- and late Holocene proved inimical to forest proliferation across EA. Survival imperatives are likely to drive humans to adopt grazing and farming, causing a transformation from forest land to agro-pastoral land. This change further accelerated forest ecosystem degradation. By dividing EA into five subregions, we observed asynchronous declines in forest vegetation from 8 cal. ka BP to 3 cal. ka BP. This trend is primarily attributed to human impacts, given the pronounced coincidence between forest reduction and emergence and prosperity of Neolithic agriculture in each region. Significantly, the positive feedback loop between population growth and agricultural expansion can amplify human impacts. Coupled with climatic effects, these factors resulted in EA's forest vegetation plummeting to its lowest level since 10 cal. ka BP at 2.1 cal. ka BP. Furthermore, the anthropogenic influences on EA forest vegetation mirror land use, soil erosion, and vegetation variability observed globally in terms of timeline. These alterations are driven by human activities, almost coinciding with shifts in atmospheric greenhouse gas levels away from their natural trajectory. We, therefore, argue that the Anthropocene definition should consider the aggregate environmental impact of human activities over millennia, rather than restricting to the most recent centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are a major natural resource of the state of California, where over a third of the land is forested, and provide a wide range of environmental, economic, and social benefits. Over the past decade, unprecedented drought, insect outbreaks and wildfires have resulted in large-scale tree mortality that greatly affects the forest ecosystem and poses significant threat to human health and welfare and to the environment. Forest thinning and management is considered imperative to improve forest health and resilience. Forest resources including dead and dying trees as well as the residues produced from forest thinning and timber harvesting operations could potentially be used to a greater degree than at present to generate electricity and other renewable energy to meet the increasing demand for more sustainable supplies and mitigate the risk of wildfires. However, efforts to construct new electricity generation capacity in the state at any scale over the last several decades have faced both economic and environmental challenges. As needs for alternative management approaches have become clear, opportunities have emerged for new bioenergy projects. These projects need to be effectively planned and potential economic and environmental performance carefully evaluated. Toward this purpose, an integrated framework model for lifecycle and technoeconomic assessment was developed to quantify environmental and economic impacts, initially for generating electricity using forest resources and with associated web services developed for an online application (forestdss.ucdavis.edu) that allows potential users to quickly estimate the economic and environmental performance of a potential facility at specified locations. • Tree mortality, past fire suppression practices, and high fuel loadings threaten forests and human health and welfare. • Forest resources including dead and dying trees as well as residues can be used for greater renewable energy production. • Bioenergy projects need to be effectively planned and potential economic and environmental performance carefully evaluated. • An integrated spatial framework model was developed to aid in decision making related to new project investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]