Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China.
Environ Manage. 2011 Dec;48(6):1122-35. doi: 10.1007/s00267-011-9633-4. Epub 2011 Feb 25.
Studies of the history and current status of forest resources in Northeast China have become important in discussions of sustainable forest management in the region. Prior to 1998, excessive logging and neglected cultivation led to a series of problems that left exploitable forest reserves in the region almost exhausted. A substantial decrease in the area of natural forests was accompanied by severe disruption of stand structure and serious degradation of overall forest quality and function. In 1998, China shifted the primary focus of forest management in the country from wood production to ecological sustainability, adopting ecological restoration and protection as key foci of management. In the process, China launched the Natural Forest Conversion Program and implemented a new system of Classification-based Forest Management. Since then, timber harvesting levels in Northeast China have decreased, and forest area and stocking levels have slowly increased. At present, the large area of low quality secondary forest lands, along with high levels of timber production, present researchers and government agencies in China with major challenges in deciding on management models and strategies that will best protect, restore and manage so large an area of secondary forest lands. This paper synthesizes information from a number of sources on forest area, stand characteristics and stocking levels, and forest policy changes in Northeastern China. Following a brief historical overview of forest harvesting and ecological research in Northeast China, the paper discusses the current state of forest resources and related problems in forest management in the region, concluding with key challenges in need of attention in order to meet the demands for multi-purpose forest sustainability and management in the future.
对中国东北地区森林资源的历史和现状进行研究，已成为该地区可持续森林管理讨论的重要内容。1998 年以前，过量采伐和疏于经营导致该地区可采森林资源几乎枯竭，出现了一系列问题。天然林面积大幅减少，林分结构严重破坏，整体森林质量和功能严重退化。1998 年，中国将全国森林管理的重点从木材生产转向生态可持续性，将生态恢复和保护作为管理的重点。在此过程中，中国启动了天然林转换计划，并实施了新的分类森林管理系统。此后，中国东北地区的木材采伐量减少，森林面积和蓄积量缓慢增加。目前，大面积低质量的次生林和高木材产量给中国的研究人员和政府机构带来了重大挑战，需要确定最佳的管理模式和策略，以更好地保护、恢复和管理如此大面积的次生林。本文综合了中国东北地区森林面积、林分特征和蓄积水平以及森林政策变化等多方面的信息。在简要回顾中国东北地区森林采伐和生态研究的历史之后，本文讨论了该地区当前的森林资源状况及森林管理中存在的问题，并总结了需要关注的关键挑战，以满足未来多用途森林可持续性和管理的需求。
