Rigorous and cost-effective methods are essential to efficiently assess wildlife populations and obtain accurate data to inform conservation and management decisions. In the UK, available data on terrestrial mammal species are distinctly lacking, many populations are in decline and survey methods are technically demanding and labour-intensive. There is, therefore, much need to investigate alternative methodologies to ensure that resource use is efficient and data are reliable. Camera-trapping presents a relatively new approach for surveying mammals, though in the UK, the extent to which camera traps have been used has not been quantified and their performance has not yet been compared relative to existing methods. This study uses biological parameters and economic and logistic costs to assess the efficiency and reliability of camera-trapping and transect-sampling during winter field trials. Tracks and sign surveys and sightings surveys were conducted simultaneously and where appropriate, investigated independently. In addition, a nationally-distributed questionnaire was used to investigate surveyor competence and identify temporal trends in method use in the UK. Field trials concluded that camera-trapping was the most labour-efficient method for producing a species inventory, and frequently recorded more species per sampling site than did transect-sampling. However, when the total sampling period was limited, species were encountered at a faster rate by the detection of tracks and signs than by the alternative methods investigated. The single density estimate derived from camera trap data was higher than that from transect-sampling, and no differences were observed within the three alpha diversity index estimates derived by each survey method. The questionnaire suggests that the reliability of species presence/absence data derived from tracks and signs surveys is probably compromised by surveyor confidence of species identification. A multi-evidence approach is, therefore, recommended for less-competent surveyors. Despite greater initial economic costs, it is advocated that camera-trapping may be an efficient, rigorous and cost-effective method for large-scale long-term monitoring programmes. Furthermore, data suggest that camera trap use will become increasingly frequent in the UK. More research is required to investigate the relationships between method efficiency and season, species density and habitat, and to assess the accuracy of species density estimates.

The nocturnal activities of predators and prey are influenced by several factors, including physiological adaptations, habitat quality and, we suspect, corresponds to changes in brightness of moonlight according to moon phase. In this study, we used a dataset from 102 camera traps to explore which factors are related to the activity pattern of North China leopards (Panthera pardus japonensis) in Shanxi Tieqiaoshan Provincial Nature Reserve (TPNR), China. We found that nocturnal activities of leopards were irregular during four different lunar phases, and while not strictly lunar philic or lunar phobic, their temporal activity was highest during the brighter moon phases (especially the last quarter) and lower during the new moon phase. On the contrary, roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) exhibited lunar philic activity, while wild boar (Sus scrofa) and tolai hare (Lepus tolai) were evidently lunar phobic, with high and low temporal activity during the full moon, respectively. In terms of temporal overlap, there was positive overlap between leopards and their prey species, including roe deer and tolai hare, while leopard activity did not dip to the same low level of wild boar during the full moon phase. Human activities also more influenced the temporal activity of leopards and wild boar than other species investigated. Generally, our results suggested that besides moonlight risk index (MRI), cloud cover and season have diverse effects on leopard and prey nocturnal activity. Finally, distinct daytime and nighttime habitats were identified, with leopards, wild boar, and tolai hare all using lower elevations at night and higher elevations during the day, while leopards and roe deer were closer to secondary roads during the day than at night.

Forest ecosystems are essential to the global carbon cycle because they are the biggest terrestrial carbon reserves. In the management of forests, thinning is a commonly employed strategy, impacting the respiration and biomass loss of trees, thereby modifying forest carbon dynamics. However, there is a lack of scientific research to confirm the impacts of thinning intensities on carbon storage in trees, soil layers, shrubs, and ground vegetation layers as well as its impact on wood production and growth rate. The goal of this study was to find the optimal thinning levels for increasing carbon sequestration during the growth stage of the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) middle-aged plantations in Northeast China. In this study, thinning intensity (0, 10, 11, 16, 18, and 22%) affected the carbon storage of trees, tree growth, volume, and, we suspected, soil layer, shrubs, and vegetation (herbs, litter, and grass) also. Specifically, after four years of thinning, the 18% treatment significantly increased total carbon storage, individual organ storage, growth, and tree volume (p < 0.05). These results give us abundant information about how thinning affects the dynamics of carbon storage, wood production, and the interactions between soil and plants in P. koraiensis plantations, contributing to multi-objective management strategies for optimizing carbon sequestration, wood production, and ecosystem health.

The number of Amur tigers living in protected regions is increasing, and China has achieved significant progress in this regard, especially at the Sino‐Russia border region around Hunchun where most of the Amur tigers are found in China. However, there is a need to increase the dispersal of Amur tigers further from the border as the region is not large enough to support the sustainable survival of the population. In the winter of 2012–2015 and January 2022, we tracked 38 Amur tiger snow traces and performed line transect and camera trap surveys in Hunchun to assess Amur tiger movements in response to the landscape and its permeability at fine scales. Our results showed that towns, shrubs, and forest roads are the main factors influencing Amur tiger movements. Furthermore, tiger paths were characterized by lower tortuosity in preferred habitats. This provides information for small‐scale habitat modification to increase landscape permeability and facilitate dispersal.

Indonesian forestry challenges in attributional land-use conflicts of overlapping villages and state forests have affected community livelihoods and forest sustainability for decades. This empirical research uncovers the socio-economic attributes of villages in order to gain a better understanding of people−forest relationships in order to guide improved forest management and governance for long-term sustainability. Data were obtained from 69 villages located in the forest management unit of Lakitan Bukit Cogong in South Sumatra Province. Spatially-explicit quantitative measurements and qualitative approaches were employed to explore the interrelationships between human footprint, village development, and conflict resolution strategies over two decades. The results confirmed that utilization of forest areas as part of the village territory (such as for building settlements, public/social infrastructure facilities, plantations and agricultural fields) has long been administered without permits, destabilizing forest functions. Moreover, aspects such as human population size, proximity of villages to the national road and sub-district capital, and the transmigration settlement units have an impact on the Human Footprint Index and Village Development Index. Furthermore, our analyses identified three distinctive forms of conflict based on village type: (1) villages which are administratively included in the forest area; (2) villages for transmigration settlement; and (3) villages adjacent to company management concession areas. In these villages, the clarity of land/forest boundaries and property rights are predominant conflict issues. Several recommendations are proposed to support sustainable forest development; namely, controlling human activities in the forest, improving village management governance, and resolving associated conflicts.

Community forestry, a participatory forest management system, encourages forest conservation, enhances carbon sequestration, and advances the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by increasing community ownership of resource management. Community forestry, in terms of policies and practices, directly supports SDG-1, SDG-13, and SDG-15 by promoting community ownership and empowerment as well as ecosystem health. It provides immediate benefits to local livelihoods by enhancing access to ecosystem services such as fuelwood, fodder, and non-timber forest products. Here, we assess the forest regeneration and conservation value of a community forest in Nepal by recording seedlings, saplings, and mature trees in randomly sampled plots. The plots were structurally complex with rich tree diversity; most plots showed high diameter at breast height (DBH) differentiation and diversity. Most tree species followed an abundance distribution of seedlings > saplings > adults, suggesting "good" regeneration. Tree carbon stock was 137.6 tons per hectare and was positively associated with tree density and diversity and negatively with altitude. An increase of one standard deviation in the diversity index ~0.39 was associated with an 11.7% higher tree carbon stock per hectare. Plot-level tree height was positively related to diversity at lower tree heights. Overall, community forestry successfully transformed a degraded forest into one of quality regeneration and conservation value within two decades, outperforming the regional average forest carbon stock and diversity. Thus, community forests can act as an effective model for sustainable forest management and are essential tools for policymakers to promote regeneration, structural diversity, carbon storage, tree growth, and sustainable resource utilization.