Trees for the Yangtze River: Watershed management and ecosystem rehabilitation in Sichuan Province, China (WAMEC)

Collaborating partners and advisors:
University of Helsinki
• Dept. of Forest Ecology / VITRI, coordinator (Prof. Olavi Luukkanen)
• Dept. of Forest Resources Management (Prof. Timo Tokola)
• Dept. of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology (Dr Kristina Lindström)
China
• Chinese Academy of Sciences/Chengdu Institute of Biology (Director, Prof. Chunyang Li)
• Sichuan Agricultural University, Yaan (Prof. Xiaoping Zhang)
• Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF)/Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Beijing (RIFEEP; Institute Director Prof. Shirong Liu)
• Beijing Forestry University (Prof. Jijue Li)

Aims: The overall aim was to analyze the processes of land degradation and rehabilitation of the Minjiang river watershed of the upper Yangtze River system in Sichuan province (which provides the irrigation water for the whole central Sichuan rice cultivation plains), and to provide new management tools based on scientific research especially related to the role of trees in watershed conservation and management and in farmland rehabilitation. Another aim was to model the ecological processes, particularly the woody plant succession, of fragmented forest ecosystems at different stages of degradation and rehabilitation over altitudinal and soil type gradients; the emphasis was on the middle and lower altitudes, and special attention was given to rehabilitation of lands degraded because of overgrazing. Land-use policies in China which encourage resettlement of farmer communities from fragile watershed areas were discussed, and recommendations were made for cost-efficient rehabilitation of degraded lands.