Savanna burning methodology for fire management and emissions reduction: a critical review of influencing factors

Savanna fire is a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In Australia, savanna fire contributes about 3% of annual GHG emissions reportable to the Kyoto Protocol. In order to reduce GHG emissions from savanna burning, the Australian government has developed and approved a Kyoto compliant savanna controlled burning methodology—the first legal instrument of this kind at a global level—under its Emission Reduction Fund. However, this approved methodology is currently only applicable to nine vegetation fuel types across northern parts of Australia in areas which receive on average over 600 mm rainfall annually, covering only 15.4% of the total land area in Australia.Savanna ecosystems extend across a large proportion of mainland Australia. This paper provides a critical review often key factors that need to be considered in developing a savanna burning methodology applicable to the other parts of Australia. It will also inform discussion in other countries intent on developing similar emissions reduction strategies

The Role of the Clean Development Mechanism in Achieving China’s Goal of a Resource Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Society

This paper examines the impact of the clean development mechanism (CDM) on China’s progress in building a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly society, referred to as a dual-goal society. It presents China’s CDM activities from the perspective of policy directions, administrative arrangements and capacity building as well as outlines the regional trends and distribution of CDM projects across China’s 30 provinces. Based on regression analysis of 2006–2009 panel data, the research was able to provide estimates at provincial level of the impacts of CDM activities on China’s CO2 emission intensity, SO2 emission intensity and industrial dust emission intensity. The study concludes that the active CDM projects are mainly located in the less-developed central and west China where they have provided increased opportunities for sustainable development. Furthermore, the successful implementation of CDM projects across the country has significantly decreased the emission intensity of CO2, SO2 and industrial dust, which means that these activities have enhanced China’s ability to build the desired dual-goal society

Estimation of taper rates and volume of smaller-sized logs in spotted gum saw timber plantations in Southeast Queensland, Australia

Spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata) is a popular tree species for hardwood saw timber plantations in Southeast Queensland (SEQ), Australia. In many parts of the world, logs up to 10cm top diameter are considered to be merchantable logs and acceptable at sawmills. However, due to the higher handling costs of smaller-sized logs, sawmills in SEQ are only buying logs with a top diameter of 25cm and larger. This necessitates the determination of the volume of logs with top diameters between 10 and 25cm. This paper compares the taper rates of different sizes of spotted gum logs and estimates the stem volume of spotted gum logs between 10 and 24.94cm diameter. Analysis showed that there is a statistically significant difference between the mean taper rates of bottom (30.5–64.2cm diameter) and top parts of stems (10–24.94cm diameter) at harvesting age. Using only the average taper rate of large diameter logs would underestimate the log volume of smaller-diameter logs. The average length of spotted gum logs between 10 and 24.94cm was found to be 19.27m. Therefore, by the sawmill declining to use 10–24.94cm diameter logs, approximately 0.55m3 of log volume per tree at harvesting age would be lost. Keywords: merchantable wood volume, Southeast Queensland, spotted gum, taperSouthern Hemisphere Forestry Journal 2007, 69(3): 169–17

Selection of non-timber forest species for community and private plantations in the high and low altitude areas of Makawanpur District, Nepal

The domestication of non-timber forest species (NTFS) is receiving increasing attention from developing economies. However, little is known about the selection of NTFS in Nepal for commercial uses. Sixteen selection criteria were developed and NTFS were ranked for community and private plantations in both low altitude and high altitude areas of Makawanpur district, Nepal, by workshops of multiple NTFS stakeholders. The rigorous scoring of 12 ecologically screened NTFS against the 16 selection criteria revealed that kurilo and sarpagandh are highly preferred NTFS for low altitude areas whereas chiraito and jatamanshi are highly preferred for high altitude. This finding coincides with the general perception of participants and contemporary literature. These are the species being rapidly depleted from the natural forests. Rapid decline of valuable species creates strong motivation from stakeholders for planting them on community and private lan

Applying landscape-level principles to koala management in Australia: A comparative analysis

We provide a comparative analysis of two koala management plans for populations in two Australian municipalities, based on principles of landscape management: Ballarat (Victoria) and Bellingen (New South Wales). A landscape-based approach is required to protect the species, but evaluation of landscape management is limited. We present an assessment framework for evaluating local koala management plans. The plans are evaluated against a common set of principles and criteria, despite very different approaches stemming from context-specific factors. Interestingly, despite a variation in the number of indicators in the plans, the overall results of the evaluation demonstrate a similar level of performance against the criteria, and common strengths and weaknesses. In the absence of consistent standards for the protection of the koala across Australia, the species will continue to decline, and management practices will fail to protect the koala from extinction, as is currently predicted