Trees, Forests and People最新文献

Many rural forest dependents are still poor and exposed to food insecurity. Hence, this paper aims to study the linkage between forests and household food security by analysing factors that determine participation in forest activities and by examining differences between participants and non-participants in respect of the food-security outcome. The study was conducted in rural areas of the Shinyanga Region in Tanzania using cross-sectional data on a sample of 303 rural households. Marginal effects predicted that distance to the forest concerned, illness or death of a household member, and off-farm activities determined participation in forest activities. Propensity score matching revealed that those who participated in forest activities were less food secure than non-participants with comparable characteristics were, which supports the contention that rural forest dependents are prone to food insecurity. Government policy should, therefore, aim at enhancing alternative sources of income as well as food storage facilities and food production for rural households.

Wildfires are not only natural disasters but also political events. Media plays an important role in the power-laden process of meaning-making and responsibility-assigning that can significantly shape how societies understand and response to wildfires. To shed light on the role of media in the political ecology of wildfire, we conducted a framing analysis of 241 news articles on the Evros wildfires in Greece. We discovered five narratives of blame: migrant activities, government mismanagement, climate change, arson, and war. We argued that the politics of blame in the Greek context is deeply intertwined with the rise of national populism and xenophobic attitudes as a response to the European refugee crisis. This is evidenced by a dominant narrative that blamed transnational migrants as culprits. The blame politics of wildfires in Greece is also shaped by the political economy of the media that enhances state control over media narratives.

Urban vegetation is essential to develop sustainable, habitable, and healthy cities. Urbanization in large cities may be detrimental to urban vegetation when urban planning is scarce. Tegucigalpa, Honduras's capital city, had an atypical 8-year period of intensive urbanization, which may have modified urban vegetation. Excessive tree removal and reduced urban greenness reports became abundant in local media. This paper aimed to determine if urbanization indeed modified Tegucigalpa's urban greenness to a detrimental level. A Landsat-8 imagery survey was conducted to assess Tegucigalpa's urban vegetation dynamics via the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for the 2013–2021 dry and rainy seasons. The results revealed a stable trend for the dry seasons NDVI remaining in constant proximity to 0.11 while increasing steadily to around 0.17 during the rainy seasons due to precipitation watering vegetation. Negligible fluctuations (<0.1) occurred throughout the study period, suggesting urbanization most likely did not shrink urban vegetation to the extreme extent stated by Honduran media. The NDVI provided a scientific basis for assessing Tegucigalpa's vegetation changes, preventing potential environmental conflicts. Although most researchers have reported that urbanization decreases NDVI in large cities, others found that urbanization does not always produce vegetation degradation and suggested that climatic variables are significant factors determining vegetation growth. Nevertheless, the steadily low NDVI in Tegucigalpa suggests the absence of sustainable urban planning to increase urban vegetation. Urban trees are central to sustainable urban planning; therefore, afforestation policies should be considered by Tegucigalpa's government and policymakers.

Alabama is comprised of 23 million acres of forestland, of which family forest landowners (FFLs) own 56 % of that acreage. Therefore, FFLs are vital to maintaining the quality and diversity of Alabama's forests. However, FFLs possess varying attitudes towards management, value their land for different reasons, and have differing management objectives. In addition, FFLs are comprised of diverse backgrounds, own vastly different acreages, and fall within differing income brackets, all of which have been shown to affect management usage. This research aims to assess consulting foresters and FFLs in Alabama to learn why FFLs are hesitant to use consulting foresters for land management. It also aims to educate FFLs and consulting foresters in Alabama on better communicating their needs, services, and benefits. To study these two groups, a set of interviews and two surveys were used to collect perceptions, experiences, and needs. While consulting foresters are willing to work with smaller acreage, there are still constraints preventing management, and cost was mentioned by both groups. Still, FFLs are interested in consulting foresters' services, but many do not actively market FFLs. As a result, FFLs are unaware of the different types of forestry professionals, causing competition for consulting foresters who must be registered. Both consulting foresters and FFLs need to become more active in organizations, and consulting foresters need to adopt newer marketing techniques, while FFLs should seek more educational opportunities and opportunities to interact with consulting foresters directly.