Background: Farming on sloping lands has historically led to forest loss and degradation in China, which coupled with unsustainable timber extraction activities, was deemed responsible for catastrophic flooding events in the late 1990s. These events led to the introduction of forest policies targeting ecological conservation and rural development in China, a process epitomized by the launch of the conversion of cropland to forest program (CCFP) in 1999. This systematic review responds to the question:What are the environmental and socioeconomic effects of China’s Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program after the first 15 years of implementation?Methods: Based on the published protocol, we searched for English language studies published between 1999 and 2014, and screened them for relevance and eligibility in two stages (titles and abstracts followed by full texts), after which they were further assessed for potential sources of bias before data extraction and analyses. Following initial screening of 879 titles and abstracts, 169 studies underwent full text screening, followed by 61 studies being subjected to quality assessment. Eighteen papers did not meet minimum quality criteria, while the remaining 43 papers were eligible and underwent data extraction and subsequent analyses. Among the final set of 43 studies were four national-level studies, seven regional-level studies, and 32 county-level (or below) studies. The majority of studies were published after 2009 and evaluated impacts within the first 5 years of CCFP implementation, such that the long-term impacts of the program remain open for further investigation.Results: A skewed temporal and geographic distribution of the examined studies limits the generalizability of the results, though the evidence base confirms a substantial increase in forest cover and associated carbon stocks linked to reallocation of sloping agricultural land to forest. To some degree, soil erosion has been controlled and flood risk reduced at local scales. Meanwhile household incomes have increased and rural employment has readjusted towards off-farm sectors. However, some studies also indicate instances of diminished food security and increasing social inequality. Finally, several studies indicate suboptimal regional or localized trade-offs among specific ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration vs. water discharge rates, flood control vs. riparian soil replacement, and forest productivity vs. biodiversity.Conclusions: Additional research on long-term environmental impacts and program effects in under-studied regions, particularly southern and western provinces, is necessary. In terms of recommendations for future research on the CCFP, there is a significant need to examine confounding factors, ideally through the selection of matching control groups to CCFP participants, and to ensure that sampling methodologies are more representative of selected study sites and the overall targeted area. There remain many opportunities to assess specific socioecological effects, upon which to base future policy decisions and more broadly inform ecological restoration and eco-compensation in both theory and practice.

During summer, plants often experience increased light inputs and high temperatures, two major environmental factors with contrasting effects on thermomorphological traits. The integration of light and temperature signaling to control thermomorphogenesis in plants is critical for their acclimation in such conditions, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. We found that heat shock transcription factor 1d (HSFA1d) and its homologs are necessary for plant thermomorphogenesis during the day. In response to warm daytime temperature, HSFA1s markedly accumulate and move into the nucleus where they interact with phytochrome-interacting factor 4 (PIF4) and stabilize PIF4 by interfering with phytochrome B–PIF4 interaction. Moreover, we found that the HSFA1d nuclear localization under warm daytime temperature is mediated by constitutive photomorphogenic 1–repressed GSK3-like kinase BIN2. These results support a regulatory mechanism for thermomorphogenesis in the daytime mediated by the HSFA1s-PIF4 module and uncover HSFA1s as critical regulators integrating light and temperature signaling for a better acclimation of plants to the summer high temperature.

Photoperiod is a crucial environmental cue for phenological responses, including growth cessation and winter dormancy in perennial woody plants. Two regulatory modules within the photoperiod pathway explain bud dormancy induction in poplar (Populus spp.): the circadian oscillator LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 2 (LHY2) and GIGANTEA-like genes (GIs) both regulate the key target for winter dormancy induction FLOWERING LOCUS T2 (FT2). However, modification of LHY2 and GIs cannot completely prevent growth cessation and bud set under short-day conditions, indicating that additional regulatory modules are likely involved. We identified PtoHY5a, an orthologs of the photomorphogenesis regulatory factor ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) in poplar (Populus tomentosa), that directly activates PtoFT2 expression and represses the circadian oscillation of LHY2, indirectly activating PtoFT2 expression. Thus, PtoHY5a suppresses short day-induced growth cessation and bud set. Accordingly, PtoHY5a knockout facilitates dormancy induction. PtoHY5a also inhibits bud-break in poplar by controlling gibberellic acid (GA) levels in apical buds. Additionally, PtoHY5a regulates the photoperiodic control of seasonal growth downstream of phytochrome PHYB2. Thus, PtoHY5a modulates seasonal growth in poplar by regulating the PtoPHYB2–PtoHY5a–PtoFT2 module to determine the onset of winter dormancy, and by fine-tuning GA levels to control bud-break.

Ruiz Pérez, M., L. Gutierrez Rodriguez, X. Yang, J. Xie, and M. Fu 2014. From basic raw material goods to cultural and environmental services: the Chinese bamboo sophistication path. Ecology and Society 19(4):3.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06701-190403

China has become one of the leading international tourism destinations, ranking third at a world level. A fast expanding domestic tourism offers new development opportunities to rural areas. Our results from Daxi Village of Anji County, a popular tourist destination in East China, show that farmers are seizing this opportunity that currently represents 27% of total household income. The better educated young generation is benefitting most, being particularly relevant for women that can develop off-farm activities around the family hostels (nongjiale) and tourist shops. Visitor’s general satisfaction is high, although there is some concern for environmental quality and overcrowding due to the very high number of tourists that come to the village. Our model suggests that tourism will keep growing at least for another decade, which will strain the area, posing potentially severe environmental problems and challenging the long term sustainability of the tourism development model.