This thesis investigates the effectiveness of agro-ecosystem based PES programs to provide ecosystem services and achieve poverty reduction. A case study from Tanzania known as the “equitable payments for watershed services (EPWS) program” piloted between 2008 and 2012 in Morogoro region has been used as the basis for an in-depth empirical study of an agro-ecosystem based PES program. The case-study approach has combined mixed methods quasi experimental research design and propensity score matching technique to prioritise attribution of the livelihood and environmental outcomes of the intervention, which remain under-utilized in evaluation of conservation interventions. The thesis findings provide insights that while the poor can participate in agro-ecosystem PES programs, their participation can be hindered by initial investment costs of inputs such as on manure, improved seeds, hoes and spades. Farm size, farmers’ access to information, participation in the design phase, and the change in farm management required by the program are significant determinants of program participation. Also, while PES payments contribute to local livelihoods, the indirect financial and non-financial benefits provide greatest contributions to livelihoods. In relation to additionality impact, program participation increases the number of sustainable land management practices and land under agro-forestry and reforestation amongst program participants. Furthermore, expected benefits such as crop yields from constructed terraces and manure, fire wood and timber products from agro-forestry and afforestation interventions are likely to increase the life span of the practices. The design of agro-ecosystem PES programs should include upfront payments in addition to other incentives which should be made timely in phases to ensure compliance. Local training and paraprofessional, external training and both enhancement of local formal and informal rules are essential to enhance the adoption of practices and to stop illegal activities such as forest reserve encroachment, illegal logging and fire.

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The regeneration of native Scots pine forest has become an important objective of conservation management within Scotland. Management practices are being employed to encourage regeneration by natural means, but quantitatively monitoring progress is difficult to achieve on the ground. The study explores the potential application of optical remote sensing to monitoring natural regeneration. However, there is currently a lack of understanding of the detailed spectral and spatial properties of such semi-natural landscapes. The study addresses this problem through detailed analysis of the spectral and spatial properties of regions of natural regeneration at Inshriach and Rothiemurcus in the Cairngorms National Nature Reserve, Scotland. High-spectral resolution field-spectroradiometeric data (400 - 2500 nm) were collected over the growing seasons of 1997 and 1998 over sample plots. A method was developed to measure Leaf Area Index (LAI) within the sample plots and correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship of both LAI and percentage cover (PC) with reflectance and first-derivative reflectance. LAI and PC correlated most strongly with reflectance indices involving red and NIR wavelengths, such as the Simple Ratio (SR), NDVI and <i>R₇₅₂</i>/<i>R₇₂₂</i>. Derivative indices involving the red-edge, (<i>D₇₃₀</i>/<i>D₇₀₀</i> and <i>D₇₁₈</i>/<i>D₇₀₃</i>), the green-edges (<i>D₅₂₀</i> and <i>D₅₇₀</i>), and the NIR at <i>D₁₁₅₀</i>, also correlated strongly with LAI and PC. Two peaks were identified on the derivatives red-edge feature (<i>D₇₁₉</i> and <i>D₇₀₃</i>), with <i>D₇₁₉</i> becoming more prominent with increasing LAI and PC. Red-edge position correlated more strongly with PC than with LAI, but a sudden switching of REP to longer wavelengths was identified with increasing sapling amount, rather than a smooth progression. These relationships were unaffected by seasonal changes in the heather understorey reflectance at the sites investigated. A hybrid geometric-optical canopy reflectance model (FLIGHT) was used to simulate the canopy reflectance of the sample plots. Model scenarios were run to account for changing LAI, PC and crown needle density.

No description available.

This study is in two parts. The first part is concerned with the study of dormancy, after-ripening and germination in <i>Sorbus acuparia</i> L.(rowan) seeds. The second part deals with the development of a suitable micropropagation system from juvenile parts of the same species. Seeds of rowan possess both testa-imposed and embryo dormancy at maturity. They have a wide range of in the depth of dormancy and germinated in the cold (4<SUP>o</SUP>C) after different periods of after-ripening. After-ripening of intact seeds at 1<SUP>o</SUP>C was found to be superior to that at 4<SUP>o</SUP>C by having an earlier Intensive Germination Period (IGP) and of shorter IGP duration. However, Total Germination % (TG%) was not significantly different. Freshly collected seeds were found to be the best in their TG% (90%), with shortest duration and time arriving at IGP. Alternating warm (20<SUP>o</SUP>C) period (2 weeks) with a cold (4<SUP>o</SUP>C) period (26 weeks) improved its TG% and IGP duration greatly but lengthened the time to IGP. TG and IGP duration of stored seeds could be improved alternating warm and cold stratification. The stratification medium can modify dormancy breaking during the cold stratification of seeds. The highest percentage of germination after 10 weeks of stratification (4<SUP>o</SUP>C) was obtained in the order of sand> vermiculite> peat> polythene bag. A mixture of sand and peat was the best medium for stratification and post dormancy development of seedlings. Cytokinins in the testa, mesocarp and embryos were extracted at various stratification periods using TLC techniques. At least four cytokinins were identified and are the first reported in this species. Both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> application of 0.1 and 2 mg/1 of BAP respectively, were able to release embryo dormancy more rapidly. For these treated embryos the rate of cotyledon greening, growth of hypocotyl, roots, shoots and its germination percentage were determined after incubation at 20<SUP>o</SUP>C in continuous light for one month. A micropropagation system for rowan was successfully developed. This study demonstrated that BAP alone or in combination with IBA were successful in inducing shoot proliferation from nodal segments and shoot tips of 2 and 8-month old aseptically produced seedlings. The shoots produced could be further recycled, proliferating more shoots. The best levels of BAP that stimulated multiple shoots production were BAP 0.2 mg/1 in combination with either 0.01, or 0.02 mg/1 of IBA. Good rooting of these shoots were obtained by cutting individual explants measuring &60 1 cm and transferring them to a rooting medium supplemented with either 0.01, 0.05 or 0.10 mg/1 of IBA or IAA. However, <i>in vitro</i> produced shoots of rowan were found to be easier to root <i>in vivo</i> and produced a higher rooting percentage by using a commercial rooting powder; Seradix 3. It has several advantages as aseptic techniques are not required and more shoots could be rooted in the covered propagator trays in the green house making sure the atmosphere inside the propagators were humid enough to avoid dessication. Two weeks were needed for hardening.

This study assesses the capabilities of commercially available airborne short wavelength Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry (InSAR) for retrieving individual tree and forest and stand height. In this study, tree height is estimated by subtracting a ground surface elevation model (a UK Ordinance Survey DEM, OSDEM) from a Digital Surface Model, DSM (from commercial Intermap Technologies) and the results are then compared to field measurements of tree and stand heights. Subsequently, the use of two airborne InSAR data sets is assessed for top height retrieval as an operational product, as well as a precursor and supplement to satellite data. Firstly, X-band data from Intermap are used to retrieve homogenous plantation top height over four UK study sites using the difference between the DSM and OSDEM with mean underestimations of 33.48% (6.99m mean difference). Secondly, X-band data are also used to retrieve tree total height over two heterogeneous woodland areas of Belize and the UK. Relationships between radar retrieved height and forest parameters such as stocking density and tree height and radar dependent properties such as slope and edge effects are presented as possible explanation for variations across the collected data. Supporting work using a simple coherent interferometric scattering model is also used to characterise and explain the effects on tree height retrieval due to variations in slope, number density, stand height and forest edges. The results indicate that top height retrieval over homogenous forest stands is feasible with similar accuracies to those found with other remote sensing techniques and ground survey. Individual tree location assessment does not appear to be a suitable technique for assessing height retrieval in heterogeneous environments, and further investigations are required to determine a more suitable approach. This new data set therefore potentially allows a rapid and timely management tool for use in cost-effective sustainable forest management and related applications.

Light detection and ranging (lidar) systems are active sensors capable of creating a permanent three-dimensional (3D) record of forest canopy structure. This 3D characterisation can provide increased accuracy for aboveground biomass estimates in high-biomass ecosystems, where passive optical sensors only provide a two-dimensional (2D) perspective. The aim of this study was to test a quantitative, accurate, and repeatable method to obtain estimates of canopy biophysical properties and monitor seasonal variations in forests by using multi-temporal terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data. This research is one of the first detailed multi-temporal terrestrial lidar studies undertaken anywhere in the world. The study site chosen for this research was Delamere Forest, located in Cheshire, Northwest England. TLS data on vegetation structure were acquired for seven sampling plots, comprising two broad-leaf and five conifer stands, between March 2008 and April 2009. Canopy directional gap fractions were derived from the TLS datasets collected and compared with estimates derived from coincident hemispherical photographs. The comparison showed that TLS gap fractions estimates were consistently lower than those estimated from hemispherical photographs. To examine this apparent difference further the potential information available from the intensity values recorded by TLS were investigated. The use of this information in the computation of gap fractions led to a better agreement between estimates derived from both sources, as well as a better understanding of how intensity values are activated within forest canopies. Estimates of other biophysical properties were also computed from the TLS data, including leaf area index, average leaf angle distributions, and clumping index. The analysis of these estimates highlighted the repeatability and consistency of the TLS measurements in comparison with corresponding results derived from the hemispherical photographs. Analysis of the TLS datasets was conducted in order to improve the understanding of the interaction between lasers and vegetation canopies. The novelty of this research is in applying a ground-based lidar sensor to characterise the structure of a range of tree canopies using intensity corrected data, and assessing the utility of estimates of biophysical properties for monitoring temporal variations in forest canopies.

Tropical deforestation is one of the most important drivers of biodiversity loss and carbon emissions. This thesis seeks to analyse the dynamics of tropical deforestation and develop a probabilistic model that predicts land cover change (LCC) in the tropics. The main findings from the analysis of the Brazilian Amazon deforestation dynamics are that large clearings comprised progressively smaller amounts of total annual deforestation while the number of smaller clearings remained unchanged over time. These changes were coincident with the implementation of conservation policies by the government. The review of LCC models presented here showed that this modelling community would benefit from improving: the openness to share model inputs, code and outputs; model validations; and standardised frameworks to be used for model comparisons. The modelling framework developed aimed to tackle the limitations found before and two scenarios of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon were simulated. For both scenarios forest next to roads and areas already deforested were found to be more likely to be deforested. States in the south and east of the region showed high predicted probability of losing nearly all forest outside of protected areas by 2050. The release of carbon to the atmosphere is an important consequence of tropical deforestation. Even if deforestation had ended in 2010 there would still be large quantities of carbon to be released. The amount of carbon released immediately is higher than the one committed for future release in the first few years of analysis, but presently these accounted for at least two-thirds of total carbon emissions. Finally, the drivers of LCC were found to vary among transition types, but less so through time. The accuracy of the model predictions was heavily dependent on the year calibrated, suggesting that a widespread reliance on single calibration time period may be providing biased predictions of future LCC.

Most trees in temperate and boreal ecosystems form obligate associations with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, but environmental change may alter ECM communities, potentially having major impacts on forest ecosystem functioning. Understanding the potential consequences of environmental change requires knowledge about current ECM fungal distributions, both to provide a baseline against which to measure changes in communities, and to establish the effects of current broad-scale environmental gradients on mycorrhizal biogeography. This study aims to assess the feasibility of a continental-scale survey of ECM fungal communities across a network of long-term forest monitoring plots, and provide insights into the community ecology of these important organisms. Using a spatially hierarchical sampling strategy and molecular identification of the fungi forming ECM root tips, the ECM fungal communities within 12 plots in the UK and Germany were characterised. In combination with measurements of a range of environmental variables at the 12 plots, the data indicate that nitrogen availability is a potentially important determinant of ECM fungal composition and richness across large spatial scales, but that other environmental variables may also act at large scales to influence ECM fungal communities. Evidence is also found to support a role of interspecific competition structuring ECM fungal communities within, but not across, plots, and a complex interplay between environmental gradients, co-occurrence patterns and phylogenetic relatedness is revealed. Within plots, microsatellite analysis indicates that pine roots from adjacent trees overlap, and do not have exclusive below-ground territories. Re-sampling plots, and reciprocal transplantation of pine seedlings between plots, indicates that pine mycorrhizas are stable both over time and on transplanted seedlings. This work increases our knowledge of the belowground ecology of ECM fungi, and highlights the value of identifying mycorrhizal abundance and distribution patterns - effects of global environmental change may already be significantly altering communities of this functionally critical group.

In this project, a RAnge Management Decision Support System (RAMDSS) has been developed to assist the forest manager in improving day-to-day planning processes in a case study of the Banavasi Range of the Western Ghats, India. In this prototype, three major data types were collected namely, spatial data such as administrative boundaries, soil, contours, forest land use/cover, geology and geomorphology, non-spatial data such as socio-economic, and forestry inventory, and finally knowledge from the experts and other sources. In the prototype RAMDSS, all of this information was imported into a common platform using different techniques and technologies such as remote sensing, data base, GIS, Graphical User Interface (GUI) visualisation and KBS. The detailed development stages in the RAMDSS include assessment of user requirement, data collection, conceptual design, implementation and testing of the system were also discussed. The functionality of the system includes three major modules: Data management, Model management and Output. The first module allows the user to collect, edit, query and visualise the existing database. The customised user interface in the second module, which provides modeling capability, enables managers and end users to run different models, test the alternative scenarios and if necessary make the appropriate decisions for planning and management. The final module helps the user to view the output in the form of maps, tables, graphs and reports. The prototype developed in this project can assist the managers for effective forest planning in the study area.