Cerdas, Bijak, Strategis Sikapi REDD

Berangkat dari komitmen bersama mengenai pembahasan mengenai perubahan iklim kelas dunia "Protokol Kyoto" yang dilaksanaakan tahun 1997 lalu di Kyoto Jepang,  meminta para negara maju yang dikatagorikan sebagai negara Annex 1 agar mengurangi emisi gas buang sebesar 5 persen dari level emisi tahun 1990. Selama kurun waktu yang berdekade ini evolusi industri dinegara maju secara telak menghasilkan gas buang yang kini semakin hari semakin dirasakan dampak buruknya terhadap lingkungan. Pertemuan ini menerangkan lebih lanjut mengenai kewajiban menunkan emisi gas buang  diberi rentang waktu selama periode 2008-2012. Hingga sekarang kesepakan itu belumlah tercapai targetnya.

Pertemuan pembahasan mengenai perubahan iklim ini tidak berhenti sampai disitu saja melainkan baru-baru ini telah terjadi pertemuan lanjutan membahas strategi dari hasil pertemuan ikim Kopenhagen, yaitu di Tianjin, China (Oktober 2010). Pada pertemuan Tianjin ini pun belum ditemukannya mekanisme yang tepat bagaimana cara menurunkan suhu global. Alih-alih dari kesepakan Protokol Kyoto yang menekan para negara maju ini untuk mengurangi emisi gas buangnya atau sering kita menyebut mitigasi, terjadi perkembangan pemikiran adanya kerjasanma antar negara maju dengan negara berkembang dengan dalih sebagian besar negara berkembang masih mempunyai luasan hutan yang besar dan dalam katagori perekonomian yang berkembang, agar melestarikan hutan sebagai bentuk kompensasi kewajiban mitigasi. Kerjasama ini kini diimplementasikan sebagai mekanisme REDD (Reducing Emisions from Deforestation and Land degradation). Mekanisme ini menawarkan kompensasi uang kepada negara berkembang dengan timbal balik melindungi hutan tropis yang vital.

Wariskan Anak Cucu Kita Mata Air Jangan Air Mata!!

Banjir, longsor, cuaca ekstrim dan lain lain merupakan bagian kecil dari dampak yang kita rasakan bersama akibat hutan kita yang rusak. Sadar atau tidak sadar hutan adalah sumber daya alam anugrah dari tuhan yang sepatutnya kita jaga tapi karena ulah manusia yang terlalu "tamak", sekarang menjadi berkurang jumlahnya bahkan mungkin suatu ketika nanti keberadaan fungsi hutan yang begitu penting ini tidak lagi kita rasakan.

Teringat wejangan seorang dosen saya ketika pertama kali mengikuti orientasi mahasiswa pertama di Institut Pertanian Bogor "Wariskan Anak Cucu Kita Mata Air Jangan Air Mata". Bagi saya ini merupakan cambuk sekaligus tamparan bagi kita bahwa apa yang kita lakukan sekarang baik langsung ataupun tidak langsung telah membahayakan generasi yang akan datang. Manajemen pengelolaan yang kurang bijak dalam menyikapi sumber daya alam ini hendaknya mulai ditata lagi. Data di departemen kehutanan menyebutkan bahwa luasan hutan yang dirambah akibat pemukiman mencapai 34.005,46 ha, dan kehilangan 14.787 batang yang dinilai sebagai kerusakan di hutan kita. Sehingga tidak mengherankan ketika musim penghujan banyakny berita menyebutkan peristiwa erosi, banjir bandang dan ekstrimnya, di musim kemarau banyak daerah yang mengalami kekeringan. Hutan ini tidak lagi bisa melaksanakan fungsin sebagaimana mestinya disaat musim hujan akar-akar pepohonan tidak bisa menyimpannya sebagai cadangan air yang pada saat musim kering dikeluarkannya melalui mata air sebagai air cadangan tanah.

Wahai insan manusia yang dikatakan sebagai khalifah dimuka bumi ini, manusia yang memiliki hati dan akal bayangkan ketika kelak di akhirat nanti generasi kita menuntut kita atas apa yang kita lakukan sekarang sehingga mereka 'Menangis!! pada saatnya nanti kehausan bahkan tak lagi dapat menghirup udara segar. Berkontribusilah kita dalam upaya penyelamatan hutan meski dengan hanya menghemat kertas misalnya atau hanya dengan bibit tanaman yang kita tanam dipekarangan rumah. Hal kecil ini akan menjadi besar bila dilakukan bersama-sama. Saya yakin sesuatu tidak ada kata terlambat jika kita memulainya dari sekarang. Marilah KITA WARISKAN MATA AIR UNTUK ANAK CUCU KITA!!!!

Using Florida Keys Reference Sites As a Standard for Restoration of Forest Structure in Everglades Tree Islands

Michael S. Ross,1,2 Danielle E. Ogurcak,2 Jay P. Sah,1 and Pablo L. Ruiz1
1Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL  33199, USA
2Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL  33199, USA

Abstract

In south Florida, tropical hardwood forests (hammocks) occur in Everglades tree islands and as more extensive forests in coastal settings in the nearby Florida Keys. Keys hammocks have been less disturbed by humans, and many qualify as “old-growth,” while Everglades hammocks have received much heavier use. With improvement of tree island condition an important element in Everglades restoration efforts, we examined stand structure in 23 Keys hammocks and 69 Everglades tree islands. Based on Stand Density Index and tree diameter distributions, many Everglades hammocks were characterized by low stocking and under-representation in the smaller size classes. In contrast, most Keys forests had the dense canopies and open understories usually associated with old-growth hardwood hammocks. Subject to the same caveats that apply to off-site references elsewhere, structural information from mature Keys hammocks can be helpful in planning and implementing forest restoration in Everglades tree islands. In many of these islands, such restoration might involve supplementing tree stocking by planting native trees to produce more complete site utilization and a more open understory.

1. Introduction 

The best developed tree islands in the Florida Everglades play many roles in the landscape: as forest refugia for wide-ranging animals and tropical hardwoods; as raised features that focus surface water flow into deeper channels; as habitat for rare ferns, epiphytes, and other shade-loving plants; as seed sources for the establishment of new islands; as carbon sinks; as attractants and sinks for nutrients, especially phosphorus, whose deficiency characterizes the surrounding marsh ecosystems [1, 2].  Having served for centuries as oases for humans as well as animals that passed through the vast and inhospitable wetland [3], their structure today carries a long legacy of human use.  At the same time, natural disturbance agents play a continuing role in shaping stand structure.  Their disturbance regime includes infrequent wildfires, which may kill aboveground vegetation and consume organic soils, and more frequent tropical storms and hurricanes, which topple and severely prune the exposed emergent trees in the forest canopy [4].  In many cases, the complex interaction of human and natural disturbance agents has led to open, slow-to-recover canopies that encourage the encroachment of widely dispersed vines, weedy herbs, and nonnative trees and shrubs, and may interfere with tree island function in the landscape. With tree island condition an important concern of recent efforts to restore full ecological function to the Everglades, embodied in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan [5], the ability to assess stand structure and its effects on other functions of these poorly understood forests is sorely needed. 

Applying Hotspot Detection Methods in Forestry: A Case Study of Chestnut Oak Regeneration

Songlin Fei
Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky,  204 T.P. Cooper Bldg., Lexington, KY 40546-0073, USA

Abstract
Hotspot detection has been widely adopted in health sciences for disease surveillance, but rarely in natural resource disciplines. In this paper, two spatial scan statistics (SaTScan and ClusterSeer) and a nonspatial classification and regression trees method were evaluated as techniques for identifying chestnut oak (Quercus Montana) regeneration hotspots among 50 mixed-oak stands in the central Appalachian region of the eastern United States. Hotspots defined by the three methods had a moderate level of conformity and revealed similar chestnut oak regeneration site affinity. Chestnut oak regeneration hotspots were positively associated with the abundance of chestnut oak trees in the overstory and a moderate cover of heather species (Vaccinium and Gaylussacia spp.) but were negatively associated with the abundance of hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) and mountain laurel (Kalmia latiforia). In general, hotspot detection is a viable tool for assisting natural resource managers with identifying areas possessing significantly high or low tree regeneration.

1. Introduction
A hotspot can mean an unusual phenomenon, anomaly, aberration, outbreak, elevated cluster, or critical area [1].  Spatial scan statistics have been widely adopted in health sciences in detecting hotspots for disease surveillance [2], and they also have wide application in critical issues, such as homeland security, public health, and disaster management.  Identifying hotspots can provide early warning of disease outbreaks or other emerging issues.  With innovative modifications, hotspot analysis can be used in any field [1].  Yet, applications of hotspot detection methods in forestry and other natural resource related disciplines are rare.  By identifying areas with unusual high (hotspot) or low (cold-spot) measures of interested issues or events, natural resource managers can allocate limited resources to those areas that desire more attention.  In this study, oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration was used to illustrate the feasibility of applying hotspot detection methods in forestry.

Oak regeneration is one of the critical issues in forest health throughout eastern North America.  Oaks are the most prevalent forest species in the eastern deciduous forests.  However, as a common problem throughout eastern North America, natural regeneration of oaks is often difficult to obtain [3].  The reasons for the lack of oak regeneration presumably involve large-scale, exogenous, and unprecedented factors such as new disturbance regimes, fire suppression, invasion of exotic species, climate change, and/or modern wildlife and forest management practices [4].  The precise causes are unclear and likely include a complex interaction of factors.  Decline in oak can cause detrimental effects both economically and ecologically because oaks are the major timber species in the eastern U.S. and their seeds are a key part of the diet for many vertebrate species. The increasing interest in hardwood regeneration, particularly in mixed-oak stands, has underscored the importance of understanding the relationship between the abundance of tree seedling and site conditions.  Knowledge of the relationships between regeneration abundance and biotic and abiotic factors can help resource managers to maintain a healthy, diverse, and compositionally stable forest ecosystem.  Similar to health related surveillances that identify areas with abnormally high rates of disease, hotspot detection may help natural resource managers locate areas with high or low abundance of oak regeneration.