The soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions are good indicators of soil quality and environmental stability. Among the factors affecting SOC pool and fluxes in a watershed, land use changes and soil erosion are factors of importance. The differences in SOC and its fractions among different land uses can help understand the process of soil carbon dynamics.

We present the different facets of close to nature forestry and the reasons for its practical success. They lie in using free natural processes, the so-called biorationalisation, to achieve multi- purpose aims. This vision is fully in line with promoting good governance, achieving optimal habitat conditions and thus to improve biodiversity.

Indonesia has set the target that by the year 2020 its emissions of greenhouse gases will be reduced by 26 per cent relative to business-as-usual conditions. This article analyses the effectiveness of a subsidy to the use of land in forestry as a means of achieving this goal.

In this paper we examine the issue of permanence in the context of sequestering carbon through afforestation. We develop a dynamic nested optimal control model of carbon sequestration associated with the decision to afforest a tract of land given there are uncertainties associated with fire and insect/disease hazards.

The expansion of built environments and agriculture land in the Nan watershed, Thailand, to support the rapid increase of the national population has resulted in deforestation, thus affecting the ecological balance. This deforestation, especially in high mountainous areas, has led to serious environmental degradation. Recent reports reveal an increasing soil-erosion problem in the watershed.

This article presents a system dynamics (SD) method to examine the problem of forest degradation. The model developed takes a system-oriented view of forest management, embracing both social and biophysical factors affecting deforestation. Social factors examined are socio-economic variables or elements that influence behaviour and decision-making choices at the household level.

This work compares the effects of neoliberal and post-neoliberal land-use policies on forest cover along the Corredor Bioceánico of southeastern Bolivia to determine if rates of agriculturally driven forest clearance have changed since the Morales’ administration came to office in 2005.

Changes in soil morphological, physical and chemical properties as a result of establishing forest on agricultural lands were studied using as an example the lands naturally overgrowing in different periods of time by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) and aspen (Populus tremula L.).

This paper analyzes carbon leakage due to reduced emissions from deforestation (RED). We find that leakage with RED is good because the policy induces afforestation that contributes to a further carbon sequestration.

This paper explores the impact of the re-introduction of access restrictions to forests in Tanzania, through participatory forest management (PFM), that have excluded villagers from forests to which they have traditionally, albeit illegally, had access to collect non-timber forest products (NTFPs).

Since the 1950s, with national policy changes and socio-economic development, the habitat of the giant pandas has altered accordingly. This can also be inferred from the population changes of the giant pandas as reported in three national surveys. Thus, monitoring the changes in giant panda habitat and then taking appropriate action would be a valuable contribution to giant panda protection.

The productivity of semi-arid rangelands on the Arabian Peninsula is spatially and temporally highly variable, and increasing grazing pressure as well as the likely effects of climatic change further threatens vegetation resources.