The Environment Problems Related with Forest/Vegetation and Water Resources in China and Future Research Requirements

The water problems in China are serious, which limit the sustainable development of society and economy, such as the shortage of water resources, the uneven spatio-temporal distribution of water resources, water quality deterioration, water environment worsening, frequent drought and flood disasters, severe soil and water loss. Increasing the forest/vegetation coverage is an important approach for solving the water problems. Several large-scale ecological forestry programs are being carried out in China, and both theoretical and technical supports for the programs are urgently needed. However, the existing forest hydrological research results are not yet sufficient. The research contents are not enough integrated and systematic, the research scale is too small, the studied processes are in separate, there is a lack of knowledge about the water-stability of forest/vegetation, the regional forest hydrological influence can not be accurately predicted. The theory and technology to guide the regulation of forest-water relation and the watershed management are not yet fully developed. Therefore,the key points to be strengthened in future's research are suggested: encouraging the multi-section and multi-subject researches, the water consumption and water-stability of forest/vegetation, the mechanism and scale-effect of forest hydrological influences and their scale transformation, the prediction and evaluation of regional forest hydrological influences, the effect on water quality by forest/vegetation, the techniques of vegetation restoration/management as protection approach of water conservation district and watershed.