Policies play a pivotal role in determining land change. Uruguay has been subject to first a rise and then decline in plantations of exotic trees as a result of internal Uruguayan government policies, and a recent substantial increase in soybean cultivation that may be attributed to Argentinean policies. To properly assess the relationship between land change and changes in land-use policies, vegetation change for Uruguay from 2001 to 2009 was mapped using MODIS imagery.

We have studied the relationship between landscape structure and black grouse density in Russian Karelia and compared it with East Finland. The spatial density distribution of the black grouse population is relatively even, especially in areas with a high proportion of forest land. Correlations between forest structure and black grouse abundance were generally low. We found three significant correlations for Russian Karelia: positive for clear cuts and young forests and negative for the proportion of old forests.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) is regarded by its proponents as one of the more efficient and cost effective ways to mitigate climate change. There was further progress toward the implementation of this mechanism at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP) in Cancun in December 2010. Many countries in southern African, including South Africa, have not been integrated (do not participate) into the UN-REDD+ programme, probably due to their low forest cover and national rates of deforestation.

A large-scale project – “The Stalin plan to transform nature" of 1948 changed the landscape of the Orenburg region. Inthe second half of the twentieth century in the region laid the foundations for the modern scheme of agroforestry frame. Thebasis of agroforestry frame of the Orenburg region became the State protective forest strip in the direction of the Vishnevayamountain – Chkalov – Uralsk – Caspian sea along the banks of the Ural river, a distance of about 1080 km. Treeless areas(less than 1%) mainly concentrated in the east region with average extent of forest cover of 0.5%.

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Annex I countries that are Parties to the Climate Change Convention provide annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory submissions including GHG data for the land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector. For many countries, carbon sequestration – especially in Forest Land-offsets a significant proportion of national emissions both an-nually and overtime.

Voting methods were used by Metsähallitus in a real strategic participatory planning case in a regional working group context. The general aim of the study was to find out whether learning and collaborative decision making could be adequately supported by using the voting methods in the regional stakeholder group.

Analyses the economics of alternative land-use allocations for a forested area that ensure a targeted viable population of a forest-dependent species, such as the orangutan.

Determining soil nutrient distribution is critical to identify sites which are at risk of N and P loading. Equally important are determining factors that influence such distribution (e.g. land use, land management, topography, etc.). In this research, soil nutrient distribution and its influencing factors were studied in a small-scaled watershed in the purple soil region of Sichuan Province, China. The watershed is 1.3km² with a complex land management system including agriculture and forestry.

Recent preoccupations regarding possible negative effects of pollution, inappropriate land management, climate change, desertification, erosion, compaction or over-exploitation on soils has led to initiatives for the survey of soils. One of them, EcoFINDERS, launched a pan-European survey in order to define normal operating ranges for soil biodiversity and quality, through the use of several methodologies.

We describe a model to predict regolith thickness in a 128,000ha study area in the central Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia. The term regolith encompasses soil (A and B horizons) and highly weathered bedrock (C horizon). The thickness of the regolith has a major control on water holding capacity for plant growth and movement of water through the landscape, and as such is important in hydropedological modelling and in evaluating land suitability, e.g. for forestry and agriculture. Thickness estimates also have direct application in mineral exploration and seismic risk assessment.

Turkey is expected to experience significant climate change, including increased temperatures and desertification. As these changes affect forestry, agriculture and animal husbandry, they threaten the livelihoods of forest communities across the country. In addition, other, institutional factors such as the property regime can act in tandem with physical stressors to increase communities’ overall vulnerability to climate change.