The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 (FRA 2015) development began in June 2011 when the FRA Advisory Group discussed the FRA Long-Term Strategy and its implications for FRA 2015. The design process involved users, national correspondents and experts from a wide variety of technical backgrounds.

The Government of the UK and Norway have supported the production of an independent report to help inform the decision-making process on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) at the upcoming United Nations climate change negotiations in Doha in December 2012.

Continuing depletion of forest resources, particularly in tropical developing countries, has turned vast areas of intact ecosystems into urbanized and agricultural lands. The degree of degradation varies, but in most cases, the ecosystem functions and the ability to provide a variety of ecosystem services are severely impaired. In addition to many other challenges, successful forest restoration of these lands requires considerable resources and funding, but the ecological, economic and social benefits have the potential to outweigh the investment.

To meet growing population demands for food and other agricultural commodities, agricultural land-use intensification and extensification seems to be increasing in the Abbay (Upper Blue Nile) basin in Ethiopia. However, the amount, location and degree of suitability of the basin for agriculture seem not well studied and/or documented. From global data sources, literature review and field investigation, a number of agricultural land suitability evaluation criteria were identified.

The humid tropics are exposed to an unprecedented modernisation of agriculture involving rapid and mixed land-use changes with contrasted environmental impacts. Afforestation is often mentioned as an unambiguous solution for restoring ecosystem services and enhancing biodiversity. One consequence of afforestation is the alteration of streamflow variability which controls habitats, water resources, and flood risks. We demonstrate that afforestation by tree planting or by natural forest regeneration can induce opposite hydrological changes.

Soil erosion due to accelerating runoff in various land cover types pose a serious threat to the long term sustainability of the fragile Himalayan landscape characterized by subsistence farming. Delimitation of high runoff zones, fostering soil erosion in the agricultural dominated watersheds is thus a necessity for watershed managers, NGO’s, urban planners, policy makers, and municipal administrations. The approach is practical, SWAT is a straightforward modeling system using GIS information. The BMP is also a very practical approach to mitigation of runoff accumulation on sub basin.

Groundwater recharge remains almost totally unknown across the Mekong River Basin, hindering the evaluation of groundwater potential for irrigation. A regional regression model was developed to map groundwater recharge across the Lower Mekong Basin where agricultural water demand is increasing, especially during the dry season. The model was calibrated with baseflow computed with the local-minimum flow separation method applied to streamflow recorded in 65 unregulated sub-catchments since 1951.

This paper reports on an exercise in obtaining landform information from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and relating land cover information from satellite data to the landform classes and soil formation. The Beypazari area (northern Turkey) was chosen because of its varied landforms, land use and land cover. Soil samples, collected from forty-four soil pits were analysed and classified. Most of the soils were classified as Entisol and Inceptisol. In general, the effect of parent material on soil formation was dominated by landform.

Recent studies have indicated that conditions of surrounding landscape matrix around a habitat patch can influence avian community in the patch. This fact suggests the importance of the permeability of habitat boundaries for bird individuals. In this study species composition of birds in and around woodland patches and that of birds crossing over the woodland boundaries were surveyed in urban or suburban landscapes in central Japan. The results were as follows. 1) In suburban landscapes urban avoider species are not likely to cross woodland patch boundaries while urban adapter species are.

The studies were conducted in the Rostov region I 2009-2014. The object of research is black southern chernozems (zonal soils) and alkali fine soils, which make up integrated soil cover with more than 35% alkali. According to the scheme of the experiment, the effect of phosphogypsum (PG) applied in doses 5 and 10 t/ha on alkali and zonal soils properties at the background of deep tillage by application of accepted (overall application) and proposed (selective application) practices on soil complex has been studied.