Binghui He

Forest Landscape Restoration in China

During the past 20 years, China has increasingly invested in ecological restoration programs that addressed protection of its existing natural forests and restoration of its degraded lands. Since the late 1990s, China has launched several nationwide programs that aimed both at solving regional environmental problems and improving domestic ecological conditions and rural livelihoods. Remarkable progress has been made in achieving the program goals. Overall, those programs have profoundly and positively impacted China’s environment, economy and society. However, restoring China’s severely degraded forests remains a great challenge: resolving the conflicts among people’s basic livelihoods, economic growth, protection of natural forests, and restoration of degraded forests. Careful evaluation of the effectiveness and long-term impacts of these programs is needed, in light of pending policy and technical issues. In this chapter, we provide a synthesis of China’s recent forest restoration efforts and progress, including information on six major nationwide programs and we identify major ecological and social challenges and key scientific issues. We examine how China’s evolving forestry strategy and policy reform benefit both forest protection and restoration. To be sustainable in these endeavors, China must adopt a more balanced and comprehensive approach. Such an approach would include promoting sustainable forestry, adopting integrated management, increasing effectiveness through land ownership reform, more effective collaborations among central government, state and local people, expanding research to improve forestry understanding, and enhancing technical training and forest restoration education.

Challenges to Sustainable Development in China: A Review of Six Large-Scale Forest Restoration and Land Conservation Programs

Six national programs—including the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP), Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP), Desertification Combating Program around Beijing and Tianjin (DCBT), Shelterbelt Network Development Program (SNDP), Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Protection Program (WCNR), and Industrial Timberland Plantation Program (ITPP)—were adopted as means to achieve the Chinese Government sustainable development national policy. While the programs have made promising progress circa 10 yr at the national level, problems exist at the regional and locals levels. This article, therefore, reviews the achievements and problems associated with the programs and their implementations, and provides recommendations for the full realization of the goals of the programs. We recommend a comprehensive strategy for future activities—including promotion of sustainability science, reformation of rigid policies and regulations, adoption of sustainable forestry practices, integrated ecosystem management approach, and formation of new international collaborations.

Effects of land disturbance on runoff and sediment yield after natural rainfall events in southwestern China

Severe soil erosion occurs in southwestern China owing to the large expanses of urbanization and sloping land. This field monitoring study was conducted to record the rainfall events, runoff, and sediment yield in 20-, 40-, and 60-m plots under conditions of artificial disturbance or natural restoration in the purple soil area of southwestern China. The study took place during the rainy season, and the plots were situated on a 15° slope. The results showed that rainstorms and heavy rainstorms generated runoff and sediment yield. Rainfall intensity had a significantly positive power relationship with runoff rate and sediment yield rate in artificially disturbed plots but not in naturally restored plots. Plot length had a significant effect on runoff rate under artificial disturbance but not natural restoration. Within the same land disturbance category, there was no significant effect of plot length on sediment yield rate but there was a significant effect on sediment concentration. Overall, runoff rate, sediment yield rate, and sediment concentration showed remarkable effects of land disturbance across all plot lengths: naturally restored plots had 62.8–77.5% less runoff, 95.1–96.3% less sediment yield, and 63.1–73.5% lower sediment concentration than artificially disturbed plots. The relationship between runoff rate and sediment rate under the different land disturbances could be described by an exponential function. The results not only demonstrate the effectiveness of natural restoration for controlling runoff and sediment yield but also provide useful information for the design of field studies, taking into consideration the complexity of terrestrial systems.

Soil nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry under different tree-cropping systems in a purple hillslope in southwestern China

ABSTRACT Agroforestry systems strongly impact soil properties, yet their effects on the stoichiometry of soil nutrients remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the tree-cropping systems effects on soil C, N, P and K concentrations and their stoichiometry in 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths in a purple hillslope of southwestern China. Five typical agroforestry systems, including Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck system (CO), CO and Ipomoea batatas (L.) system (CI), CO and Arachis hypogaea (L.) system (CA), CO and Zea mays (L.) system (CZ), and CO and Solanum melongena (L.) system (CS), were investigated. Tree-cropping systems (i.e. CI, CA, CZ and CS) showed significantly higher soil C, N, P and K concentrations and clay percentage, and lower bulk density than CO system. Nutrient ratios altered inconsistently among five agroforestry systems. Soil depth differed N concentration, N:K ratio, bulk density and total porosity. Soil nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry showed significant correlations with physical properties. N:P ratio was 69.78 and 78.55% lower than the Chinese and World averages in the 0–10 cm soil depth, indicating that severe N limitation occurred in the agroforestry systems. Rational N fertilization and allocation of tree-cropping systems are urgently needed for sustainable development of agroforestry.