全球温带地区的森林生态系统大多数正受到各种各样的人为干扰的影响，并逐渐产生了不同程度的森林退化，甚至消失。如何恢复它们以前的生态系统服务功能，保障森林生态系统的完整，实现其可持续的利用与发展是当前研究的一大热点。就目前而言，如何界定森林可持续发展的定义和尺度，准确量化分析各种森林恢复措施对于森林生态系统的不同影响，始终是研究学者和森林管理部门研究讨论的焦点，尚未形成一致的结论和研究方法。
中科院地理科学与资源研究所张扬建与合作者通过利用森林景观干扰和演替模型模拟各种林地管理手段的结果，利用历史上记录的人类大范围干扰之前的森林生态系统指标状态作为参照，从地文分类学角度，通过比较两个世纪以来，六种具有相互替代性的森林管理手段对选取物种的种群构成与年龄结构的不同影响结果，从中发现，有计划的实施林木采伐、严格控制森林用火，能够较好的减缓森林生态系统功能的退化。从而进一步通过模拟预测提出，今后若干年如果按照林木生产周期制定科学的森林采伐规划，加强森林保护措施的力度，就能够逐步恢复森林生态系统功能，获得较好的经济价值和生态价值。
该研究成果有助于推动大尺度森林景观干扰和演替模拟分析理论和手段的发展，相关分析方法和研究结果可为森林的可持续性经营和管理提供参考依据，也为如何应对全球变化和城市扩张影响下的生态系统平衡维持提供了较好的理论根据和建议途径。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011) 1618-1627
Evaluating the effects of alternative forest management plans under various physiographic settings using historical records as a reference
Yangjian Zhang*, Hong S. He, Stephen R. Shifley , Jian Yang , Brian J. Palik
abstract
Using historical General Land Office record as a reference, this study employed a landscape-scale disturbance and succession model to estimate the future cumulative effects of six alternative management plans on the tree species composition for various physiographic settings for the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. The results indicate that over a 200-year horizon, the relative abundance of black oak and pine species groups will decrease and the relative abundance of the white oak species group will increase, regardless of management strategy. General Land Office witness tree records provide a measure of tree species composition in the period from 1800 to 1850, prior to the large-scale influx of European settlers. Compared to the tree species composition described in the General Land Office records, the six contemporary management alternatives considered all would lead to a lower abundance of pine species, a higher abundance of red/black oak species, and a slightly higher abundance of white oak species after 200 years.
Impacts of management on tree species composition varied with physiographic settings. The projected relative abundance of pine differed significantly across the five physiographic classes over the first 40 years of the simulation. In the medium term (simulation years 41e100) the projected relative pine abundance differed significantly among only four physiographic classes. In the long term (simulation years 100e200) the projected relative pine abundance differed for only one physiographic class. In contrast, differences among physiographic classes in the relative abundance of black oaks and white oaks increased over time. In general, the expected long-term differences in relative tree species abundance among six proposed alternative management plans are small compared to shifts in tree species composition that have occurred from 1850 to the present.
