Peizheng Xie

Light environments within plantation forests vary significantly with stand degradation. This study investigated how light-related factors change along degradation gradients in Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust) plantations and how these changes influence understory herbaceous vegetation and regeneration. An R. pseudoacacia plantation at the Zhongmu State-owned Forest Farm, ZhengZhou, China was studied across three degradation levels (least degraded, moderately degraded, and severely degraded). Integrated analyses were employed to assess light–vegetation relationships under different stand densities. The results indicated that canopy openness (CO), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and light transmittance increased significantly with increasing degradation severity, whereas the leaf area index (LAI) declined. Specifically, differences in LAI among degradation levels were observed in all density stands. CO, TDR, and PAR showed degradation-related differences in medium- and high-density stands, while other light variables varied under specific density–degradation combinations. Furthermore, herbaceous biomass declined, canopy cover showed a fluctuation trend, and species diversity increased. Significant correlations were observed between multiple light parameters and herbaceous attributes. Overall, variations in the light environment were closely associated with understory vegetation dynamics. Moderate degradation was linked to higher herbaceous diversity, whereas regeneration density exhibited a non-monotonic response across degradation levels, with the lowest value under moderate degradation rather than a continuous decline under severe degradation.

Forest tourism is a vital avenue for promoting green consumption and constitutes a significant part of ecotourism in China. Its development offers substantial economic, social, and ecological benefits. Balancing regional economic growth and ecological conservation requires analyzing its spatiotemporal evolutionary patterns and driving factors. This study established a comprehensive and dynamic index system to evaluate the forest tourism development level (FTDL) in 18 prefecture-level cities in Henan Province from 2018 to 2021. Exploratory spatial data analysis and the geographical detector model were employed to examine spatiotemporal evolution patterns and identify the underlying driving mechanisms. The key findings are as follows: (1) the temporal evolution of FTDL in Henan Province exhibited “stratified heterogeneity and small fluctuations”, while its spatial distribution followed a “high in the southwest and low in the east” pattern; (2) over time, the spatial autocorrelation of FTDL in Henan Province shifted from positive to negative, with a gradual decline in correlation strength; and (3) eight dominant drivers categorized into four groups were identified, revealing a shift in the driving forces of forest tourism in Henan Province from environmental to economic factors. This study supports the formulation of political strategies to harmonize ecological conservation and economic development.