bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Pastoral Road to Extinction: Competition Between Wildlife and Traditional Pastoralism in East Africa
Authors: Prins Herbert H.T.
Published: August 2009

In some developing countries there is a call to open-up protected areas and even National Parks for low-intensity use by the local population to alleviate the pressure of the rapidly increasing human population, or because conservationists have been able to ‘take’ too much land according to others. This conflict in land-use has been noted by conservation authorities, and proposals have been formulated to give way to such pressure. Moreover, it has been suggested that there can be a harmonious coexistence between wildlife and livestock, so that opening-up of protected areas would not necessarily be to the detriment of wildlife, and also that the indigenous populations were able to manage wildlife and their habitats in the past (so why not again in the future). The last point in the concerted attack on the status of the protected areas is that ‘conservation is an alien concept in Third World countries’.

In this paper is reviewed the question as to whether there ever has been such a harmonious coexistence between wildlife and pastoral Man in East Africa, and aerial census data from a number of districts in Tanzania and Kenya have been used to demonstrate that livestock outcompetes wildlife. At present ‘prestige overstocking’ is not the case any more, due to the fact that the human population outgrows the livestock population. Apparently, a very high rate of population growth is at the root of the call for more land, and even if, for example, the whole of the Serengeti were to be handed over to the local Masai, this enormous, relatively undisturbed ecocomplex could absorb the growth of the Masai population for only some forty years.

Finding the key to increased development should not be sought in an opening-up of protected areas but in payment of in absentia benefits by the rich western countries. This money should be used for developing programmes aimed at population limitation, increased income for the rural poor, and increased sustainable human densities in areas outside the protected areas.
Importance of Wild Animals and Their Parts in the Culture, Religious Festivals, and Traditional Medicine, of Nigeria
Authors: Adeola Moses Olanre
Published: August 2009

Utilization of animal wildlife and their by-products by farmers in Nigeria, as confirmed by this survey, is for cultural and religious ceremonies and traditional medicine. The pattern of consumption of wild animals depends on what species are available in different ecological zones. In traditional medicine, some wildlife by-products are acceptable nation-wide, while in religion, farmers are very selective — especially the Muslims. Culturally, utilization is largely by tribal and ethnic background. In the installation of traditional rulers and in performing traditional rites, some specific wild animals and their byproducts must be sacrificed.

Wild animals are so vital to the rural people that adequate consideration must be given to maintaining wildlife habitats when rural development projects are planned. This is especially important when these projects involve major land-use changes or modification of traditional agricultural practices. Much of the small mammal, bird, and reptile, habitat is comprised of small wild patches, marshes, or narrow riparian strips, which can easily be destroyed by short-sighted activities. This wildlife is a valuable renewable resource which can continue to produce benefits only if adequate habitats and protection are available.
The Wog Wog Habitat Fragmentation Experiment
Authors: Margules Christopher R.
Published: August 2009

An experiment to study the effects of habitat fragmentation on biological diversity was commenced in anEucalyptusforest, in February 1985, at Wog Wog in southeastern New South Wales, Australia. The two hypotheses which are being tested are (1) that habitat fragmentation reduces biological diversity, and (2) that the reduction in diversity is fragment-size dependent.

The experimental design consists of three fragment-sizes replicated six times. The sizes are 0.25 ha, 0.875 ha, and 3.062 ha, the two larger ones being progressivelyc.3.5 times the size of the smaller ones. Four replicates (12 fragments) were retained asEucalyptusforest when the surrounding land was cleared for a softwood (Pinus radiata) plantation. Two replicates (six fragments) are controls in an adjacent State Forest.

The sampling is stratified into slopes, drainage lines, and inner and outer zones, with samples replicated twice in each stratum. Thus, there are two outer slope and two outer drainage-line sample sites, and two inner slope and two inner drainage-line sample sites. This gives 144 permanent sample sites within theEucalyptusforest.

Following the experimental treatment, a further 44 permanent sample sites were established between the fragments. Aranae, Phalangida, Formicidae, Scorpionidae, Diplopoda, Coleoptera, and vascular plants, are the main groups of organisms involved in the experiment. Mosses and liverworts, breeding birds, small ground-mammals, skinks, and bats, are also being monitored.

Monitoring commenced in February 1985. The experimental treatment,i.e.forest fragmentation, took place during 1987. Two years after the treatment there were still no experimental results, because of the inherent delays in sorting and identifying the arthropods, and in establishing and managing the very large database involved. However, the analysis of some pre-treatment data is used to assess the experimental design. This analysis demonstrates the importance of adequate replication in ecological field experiments.
Development and Implementation of the Biosphere Reserve Concept and Its Applicability to Coastal Regions
Authors: Batisse Michel
Published: August 2009

Generally speaking, the fragile and highly-coveted coastal regions of the world badly need integrated land-and water-use planning to reconcile their multiple functions, including that of terrestrial and marine conservation. Properly designed and managed, coastal Biosphere Reserves could constitute a most useful tool for this purpose. Ideally, they would pay equal attention to conservation requirements on the land side and on the marine side, keeping particularly in mind the impact of land-based activities on the marine side. On the land side, consideration should be given not only to the type of ecosystems to be included, but also to land-use in coastal plains and to coastal landscapes. On the marine side the precise place of traditional activities, such as various forms of fishing, will have to be appreciated. Fig. 5 suggests a very idealized zonation pattern for a hypothetical Biosphere Reserve where the above considerations have been kept in mind.
Population Change and Environment in Central and Eastern Kenya
Authors: Downing Thomas E. , Lezberg Sharon , Williams Cara , Berry Leonard
Published: August 2009

This analysis of population growth and environmental changes in Central and Eastern Kenya illustrates two models of the interactions of population and resources: (1) the classical neo-Malthusian model that relates population growth to conservation of natural resources but ultimate degradation, and (2) the proposition that population growth induces intensified agricultural production and environmental conservation.
Grazing and Cutting Pressures on Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan, India
Authors: Berkmüller Klaus , Mukherjee Sujit , Mishra Bidyut
Published: August 2009

The indicators and the sampling process worked out well at Ranthambhore, and they are probably appropriate for comparable areas elsewhere. However, significant human pressure is not always limited to cutting and grazing. Collecting of certain minor forest products may be a problem in some places, and a suitable indicator must then be found.
Agro-forestry and Fuel-wood in Java
Authors: Smiet Alfred C.
Published: August 2009

The issue of fuel-wood is often presented as problematical within the context of population pressures and poverty. However, the case of Java, noted for its extremely high human population density (830 people/km2) and its rural poverty, shows that agro-forestry-based fuel-wood production can sustainably meet the bulk of the annual demand of 90 million m3. Fuel-wood for household consumption is collected from gardens in or near the village of its use. Industrial users account for 10% of the demand and are supplied mainly by traders, the Javan Forest Service, and tree-crop estate managers.
Ageing and Environment: A Resource Approach
Authors: Boote Robert E.
Published: August 2009

Population pressures are major sources of environmental degradation. Population numbers, fertility rates, and the age composition of populations, interact with natural resources, ecological processes, and life-support systems.
Response of Seedlings of Tropical Trees to Cool Temperatures Predicted by ‘Nuclear Winter’ Scenarios
Authors: Bazzaz Fakhri A. , Lerdau Manuel T.
Published: August 2009

Mathematical models predict that a nuclear war could cause widespread reductions in light intensity and temperature. To assess the possible impact of these reductions on lowland tropical rain-forests, we exposed seedlings of three species of the family Moraceae to various combinations of day and night conditions under reduced light. The species represent three stages in tropical rain-forest succession: Cecropia obtusifolia is an early-successional pioneer, Trichospermum mexicanum is a mid-successional tree, and Brosimum alicastrum is a late-successional tree of mature-phase forests.
Etosha and the Kaokoveld: Problems of Conservation in Namibia
Authors: Cloudsley-Thompson John L.
Published: August 2009

The mountainous Kaokoveld of northwestern Namibia contains numerous endemic plants and animals whose ranges, in many cases, extend into the Etosha National Park, an area extremely rich in game. Etosha Pan, the most striking feature of the Park, is bordered on the South by natural springs and artificial waterholes. These provide drinking places for the animals which congregate in large numbers and cause overgrazing and browsing pressure in the area. Migration to regions beyond the Park boundary is prevented by an 850 km-long game-proof fence. The main factors affecting animal populations are anthrax and poaching. Even so, the culling of Elephants becomes necessary from time to time, and the sale of ivory and other products helps to finance the operation of the Park.
Environmental and Economic Dilemmas for Farm-households in Africa: When ‘Low-input Sustainable Agriculture’ Translates to ‘High-cost Unsustainable Livelihoods’
Authors: Low Allan R.C.
Published: August 2009

Calls for small-scale farmers to move away from the use of purchased inputs in order to make farming more environmentally sustainable are being increasingly voiced on the strength of ecological arguments. These arguments, backed up by technical information on natural resource-loss or degradation, and by descriptions of sustainable indigenous systems which use few external inputs, are often persuasive. However, they can also be simplistic and misleading.
Soil–Plant Relationships in Saline Wastelands: Vegetation, Soils, and Successional Changes, During Biological Amelioration
Authors: Mahmood Khalid , Malik Kauser A. , Lodhi M.A.K. , Sheikh Khalid Hamid
Published: August 2009

An ecological survey of undisturbed saline wastelands and adjacent fields of Kallar Grass (Leptochloa fusca) was undertaken to study species distribution in relation to soil conditions and changes in species composition during amelioration processes. Five plant communities, represented by Atriplex crassifolia C.A. Mey., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf, Suaeda fruticosa (L.) Forssk., and Eleusine flagellifera Nees, had colonized undisturbed areas. Soils of plant communities dominated by these species showed significant variations in salinity and sodicity. S. fruticosa was dominant on highly saline–sodic soil, Cynodon on slightly saline and moderately sodic soil, whereas D. bipinnata showed little variation in cover percentage with changes in salinity and sodicity of soil. These three species had wide ecological amplitude compared with E. flagellifera and A. crassifolia, which were restricted to non-saline and marginally saline–sodic soils, respectively.
Putting the Biosphere Reserve Concept into Practice: Some Evidence of Impacts in Rural Communities in the United States
Authors: Solecki William D.
Published: August 2009

This paper examines some of the impacts of Biosphere Reserve planning on the socio-economic conditions of rural communities in the United States. Through a review of the literature, it is argued that three broad types of problems can develop when Biosphere Reserve plans are put into effect. These include unexpected development shifts, shifts in the distribution of benefits and costs of economic development, and a loss of local governments' ability to provide public services. Though Biosphere Reserve planning has been cast as a strategy for experimentation in community and ecological sustainability, the planning and management process itself causes paradoxical local impacts.
Towards Valuation of Forest Conservation Benefits in Developing Countries
Authors: Richards Michael
Published: August 2009

This paper presents a review of the basic concepts underlying the economic evaluation of forest conservation benefits, summarizes major documented case-studies in which attempts have been made to apply valuation methods to forest-conserving land-uses, and discusses the applicability of the methods used according to the different types of benefit.
Rainforest Policies and United States NGOs: Targets and Tactics of Influence
Authors: bin Mohd Rusli , Laarman Jan G.
Published: August 2009

NGOs have started to feature prominently in the political landscape of many industrialized as well as developing nations, and their roles in global environmental governance are being increasingly recognized by governmental policymakers. The 1993 gathering at the Earth Summit in Rio, where NGOs were accorded a seat at the negotiating tables alongside of government representatives, bears testimony to this fact. Besides involving themselves in environmental policy negotiations, however, NGOs have used other strategies and tactics to influence global environmental policy decision-making.
Economic Analyses of ‘Crippling Losses’ of North American Waterfowl and Their Policy Implications for Management
Authors: Norton Michael R. , Thomas Vernon G.
Published: August 2009

Hunter ‘crippling losses’, or unretrieved kill, probably range from 20% to 40% of all ducks hit by gunfire. However, this major mortality factor in duck populations has been largely ignored by waterfowl policymakers and managers. An economic analysis of ‘crippling losses’ for prairie Canada and the USA was conducted, based on 1992 harvest statistics. The analysis is based on current levels of spending on habitat programmes designed to bolster declining North American duck populations, with reference to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
Hydroelectric Dams in the Brazilian Amazon as Sources of ‘Greenhouse’ Gases
Authors: Fearnside Philip M.
Published: August 2009

Existing hydroelectric dams in Brazilian Amazonia emitted about 0.26 million tons of methane and 38 million tons of carbon dioxide in 1990. The methane emissions represent an essentially permanent addition to gas fluxes from the region, rather than a one-time release. The total area of reservoirs planned in the region is about 20 times the area existing in 1990, implying a potential annual methane release of about 5.2 million tons. About 40% of this estimated release is from underwater decay of forest biomass, which is the most uncertain of the components in the calculation. Methane is also released in significant quantities from open water, macrophyte beds, and above-water decay of forest biomass.
Chance Discoveries and Germ-plasm Conservation in Tanzania: Some Observations on ‘Reserved’ Trees
Authors: Nshubemuki Ladi , Mugasha Ancelm G.
Published: August 2009

The concept of chance discoveries — serendipity — has been examined with respect to ex situ conservation of ‘reserved’ trees in Tanzania, where selection has little regard to climatic matching. Support for such departure from traditional practice is offered by the introduction, and subsequent growth, of Maesopsis eminii Engl. in the East Usambaras, and by the growth of the dry-savanna Acacia sieberiana DC. var. sieberiana and A. seyal Del. at Lushoto, in a wetter and cooler ecozone.
Ecological Engineering: Application of Ecosystem Principles
Authors: Shijun Ma
Published: August 2009

This paper introduces the concept of ‘ecological engineering’, which is based on two fundamental functions that play leading roles in the dynamic processes of ecosystems. These functions are maintaining ‘the general eco-balance resulting from the harmonization of well-coordinated structures with functions in the ecosystems’, and the transformation and regeneration ‘of substances based on the multi-layer trophic structures’ that are common to most ecosystems.
Tundra Disturbance Studies, III: Short-term Effects of Aeolian Sand and Dust, Yamal Region, Northwest Siberia
Authors: Forbes Bruce C.
Published: August 2009

This paper describes the short-term responses of tundra vegetation and soils to aeolian sand and dust emanating from anthropogenically-bared surfaces in the low-arctic region of northwestern Siberia. Such surfaces, including roads and quarries, are increasing substantially each year as the region undergoes massive gas- and oil-producing development. Data are presented which emphasize the ‘cumulative’ impacts of corridor construction, namely those effects which are measurable laterally, at some distance from the actual surfaces of roads and quarries, four years after their creation. In particular, changes in plant communities are documented, in addition to the chemistry and macronutrient status of mineral soils and dominant vascular plants and mosses, respectively, as affected by road-dust.

Dramatic changes in plant community composition and cover were evident up to 200 m downwind from a ‘typical’ sand quarry. Although a few species appeared to respond favourably to rapid sand deposition, the great majority that were beset with it have declined in status or disappeared altogether. The exceptions were those growth-forms having the ability to keep perennating buds at or above the surface of the deepening sand (e.g. Betula nana, Salix spp., and Polytrichum spp.). The most pronounced decreases recorded were among lichens, hepatics, Sphagnum spp., and pleurocarpous mosses. The decline in Sphagnum spp., which dominate the moss layer and contribute much of the hummock-hollow microtopography, is already having a profound impact on community structure by virtually eliminating surface heterogeneity.
Constraints and Opportunities in Planning for the Wise Use of Natural Resources in Developing Countries: Example of a Hydropower Project
Authors: Alam Mohammed K. , Mirza Muhammad R. , Maughan O. Eugene
Published: August 2009

The impacts of hydropower developments on local environment, ecology, and socio-economics, has influenced, and will continue to influence, the efficacy in decisionmaking and planning/design processes. Big dams have several disadvantages: (a) high costs, (b) possible collapse, (c) evaporation loss, (d) flooding of prime agricultural land, (e) siltation of reservoir, (f) salt-water intrusion in coastal areas, (g) deforestation and ‘greenhouse’ effect, and (h) destruction of habitat for rare species. We must refine our environmental understanding of how hydropower development affects species, both individually and in their interactions with each other. The utter dependence of organisms on appropriate environments is what frustrates most attempts to proceed with development and still protect ecosystems and wider ecocomplexes. Conservation objectives must be integrated with other objectives in formulating national and other policies, before they crystallize into projects and programmes. When ecological factors are considered only at the end of the process, they are liable to be viewed as obstructing development, which can be disastrously wrong. But if integrated at the basic level of decision-making, they can positively guide development most propitiously and beneficially. Translated to the global context, this is best served by holistic thinking.
Campesinos and Conservation in the Central Andes: Indigenous Herding and Conservation of the Vicuña
Authors: Bernhardson Wayne
Published: August 2009

Efforts to protect the wild Vicuña, an endangered relative of the domesticated Llama and Alpaca of the central Andes, and to increase the species' numbers, have been more successful in achieving technical wildlife management goals than in complementing agro-pastoral activities of the indigenous peoples of the region. In both Pampa Galeras National Reserve in Peru and in Lauca National Park in Chile, lack of consultation with native pastoralists, whose lands the reserves occupy, reflects weak commitment to broader social and economic goals on the part of national authorities, as well as the inadequacy of international technical assistance in involving local communities in such projects.

Specifically, those projects have neglected to consider the importance of local patterns of land tenure, which are only in small part communal, and of economic differentiation with those communities. At the same time, authorities have controlled or monitored access to such subsistence resources as pasture and fuel for local residents, while failing to offer short-term alternatives for economic opportunity. This is in contrast to the free hand enjoyed by energy and agricultural irrigation projects such as those which benefit Chile's Atacama port of Arica. Continuation of such policies jeopardizes long-term success of wildlife protection as well as the economic future of the region's human inhabitants.
Land Cover/Use Analysis of Prespa National Park, Greece
Authors: Karteris Michael A. , Pyrovetsi Myrto
Published: August 2009

Prespa National Park in Greece is an important breeding-area for rare and endangered waterbird species, but people living within the Park and using its resources create serious conservation problems. An environmental management plan which will regulate mainly the human activities within the Park is therefore necessary. Such a plan should be based on a land cover/use analysis of the area, for which much of the necessary information, in the form of a thematic map, has been collected by interpreting blackand-white aerial photographs. The procedure involved the development of a classification system, transferring the interpreted data onto a base-map, field-checking the results, and tabulating the area measurements with the pertinent errors.

Of the total Park area (25,690 ha), 66.5% is classified as terrestrial (forestland, rangeland, agricultural land whether irrigated, non-irrigated, or abandoned, wet meadows/marshland, barren and eroded land, and urban areas), and the remainder as aquatic (water, reedbeds). The most extensive category in the Park is forestland, much of which is seriously degraded. Rangeland provides forage for sheep and goats, being also degraded owing to uncontrolled grazing. Wet meadows/marshland are invaluable as waterbird breeding and feeding habitats, but the present use of this category as grazing fields, and its proximity to agricultural land and to the existing irrigation/drainage system, have all had negative impacts on the resource. Irrigated land is almost half of the cultivated area.

The abandoned agricultural land is interspersed within the forestland and is a result of the human population decline in the area, while barren and eroded land has resulted from prolonged land misuse. Twelve old villages are distributed over the Park, being visually unobtrusive. Lake Mikri Prespa is the main water-body and covers almost the entire nucleus of the Park. Extensive reedbeds are found along the lakeshores, which are the main breeding habitats of certain waterbirds. As land cover/use analysis of the Park has shown much serious environmental degradation, conservation measures should be undertaken urgently.
Urban-induced Increase in Length of the Freeze-free Season and Its Environmental Implications
Authors: Nkemdirim Lawrence C. , Venkatesan D.
Published: August 2009

There has been a systematic increase in the length of the freeze-free season in several Canadian cities since 1940. This increase is believed to be due mainly to urbanization. Although the rate of urbanization during the period 1940–70 was not significantly higher than the rates in the preceding decades, urban growth during those thirty years was accompanied by higher levels of fossil-fuel conversion, which produced higher temperatures in towns and cities than in surrounding rural areas, and a generally reinforced ‘greenhouse effect’. The higher temperatures in turn combined with other urban factors to enhance the length of the freeze-free season.

In a northern climate where the growing-season is already precariously short, a longer freeze-free season should have beneficial effects on agriculture and affect other aspects of the environment. There is general agreement among research workers that the energetics of solar variability are too small to affect tropospheric or stratospheric processes directly to any significant degree. This study reinforces belief in the importance of local factors; such influences tend to override any subtle connection between solar variability and the weather.
Trampling and Fire in a Subtropical Dry Sclerophyll Forest
Authors: Liddle Michael J. , Thyer N.C.
Published: August 2009

Experimental trampling was carried out in recently-burned and unburned areas of a dry sclerophyll forest. Percentage cover was greatly reduced by burning and trampling. Plant numbers were relatively unaffected by burning, and trampling had approximately the same effect on plant numbers in recently-burned and unburned areas.

The reduction of cover and plant numbers to 50% of their original value by fewer than 16 passages was near to that predicted on the basis of the low primary productivity of the ground-flora, and suggests that this type of vegetation is quite vulnerable to trampling.
Charcoal Production from Agricultural Burning in Central Panama and its Deposition in the Sediments of the Gulf of Panama
Authors: Suman Daniel O.
Published: August 2009

Widespread agricultural burning during the dry season in the Pacific watershed of Panama is an important ecological phenomenon. During that time over 10% of the land surface (woodlands and savannas) is burned annually, with the resulting production of large amounts of charcoal. The major portion of the charcoal remains on land, but 5% is mobilized by river runoff and winds to the sediments of the Gulf of Panama.

The aeolian transport of particulate charcoal by the north-easterly Trade Winds has been monitored by dry-deposition and aerosol paniculate collectors. During the burning-season, atmospheric charcoal concentrations in rural Panama can be similar to urban concentrations in North America or Europe. More than 60% of the charcoal aerosol mass was carried as fine particles (< 2 urn diameter), suggesting that long-range transport is possible.

Dry-deposition fluxes, which are positively correlated with the areal extent of land that is burned, are more than an order of magnitude less than the charcoal fluxes to the uppermost near-shore sedimentary deposits in the Gulf of Panama. This implies that aeolian transport is not the principal mechanism of charcoal mobilization to these sediments. The extremely high runoff per unit area in the Gulf of Panama watershed is probably responsible for the predominance of continental runoff as the charcoal transport mechanism in the region.

Being relatively indestructible, charcoal can also be used as a tracer for past burning activities. Sediment box-cores have been recovered from the Gulf of Panama, and Pb-210 geochronologies were utilized to determine sedimentation rates. The charcoal particles were isolated by chemical methods and their fluxes, size-distributions, and morphologies, were analysed. The relative uniformity of these measurements in the marine sediment geochronologies indicates stability of burning patterns in central Panama during the last two centuries.
Remotely-sensed Data for Natural Resource Models
Authors: Ritchie Jerry C. , Engman Edwin T.
Published: August 2009

Attempts to model ecosystems have increased in recent years through the application of systems theory and the improvement in computer capacity and speed. A major problem with these models is providing data for input or validation. A potential source of data is information collected by remote-sensing techniques. Remotely-sensed data can be used in natural resource simulation models to provide spatial and temporal measurements, data for model calibration or validation, and independent feedback to keep the model simulation on track with reality. Remote sensing can provide spatial and temporal measurements of many landscape parameters that could improve our ability to understand and model the spatial and temporal characteristics of landscapes.

The challenge for remote-sensing scientists, landscape ecologists, and natural resource modellers, is to determine the most effective way to interpret and use the data from remote sensors in natural resource management. Natural resource models that can fully utilize the spatial data which remote-sensing techniques can provide, will almost certainly improve our understanding of landscapes and our ability to simulate and manage them wisely.
Ecology and Development: An Attempt to Synthesize
Authors: Geerling Christiaan , Breman Henk , Bérczy Eva T.
Published: August 2009

In the context of ‘ecology’ and ‘development’, both these terms are usually ill-defined. Development, a finite process, is nevertheless conceived as sustainable, while ecology is only used in a qualitative way in this context. Development concerns resources—renewable and nonrenewable—both of which are finite in their exploitability. Ecology in land-use concerns the interference of Man as a biological species in ecological processes.

Integration of ‘ecology’ in ‘development’ requires the following steps:

1. Quantify the resources, both renewable and non-renewable, to be developed in terms of carrying capacity and inputs available.

2. Determine the regulating ecological factors in both the natural ecosystem and the land-use system.

3. Assess the interventions needed to counter limiting factors, their effectiveness, and their (side-)effects.

4. Define measures to be taken in such a way that they can be integrated with cultural, social, and economic, data, in order to arrive at a balanced approach to development.
Effects of Oxidant Air-pollution on Needle Health and Annual-ring Width in a Ponderosa Pine Forest
Authors: Williams Wayne T. , Williams JoAnne Ackermann
Published: August 2009

More than 485,000 hectares of the Ponderosa Pine forests in the southern Sierra Nevada of California are diseased as a result of air pollution, while approximately 25% of the area of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park receives enough oxidant air-pollution to elicit symptoms of smog injury on Ponderosa Pine, the dominant mid-elevation tree.

In 1983 we re-examined four permanent study plots that had been established in 1974–75. Smog symptoms on current needles in 1983 occurred on 23.8% of the trees compared with 14.5% only in 1975. Second-year needles had 60.7% showing symptoms compared with 44.2% in 1975. Less than 0.5% of the trees retained 6-years-old needles, and 21% had only 2 years of needle retention. Mortality attributed to air pollution was observed.
The Human Dimension in Natural Resource Conservation: A Sahelian Example from Niger
Authors: Newby John E. , Grettenberger John F.
Published: August 2009

The Republic of Niger is establishing a vast national nature reserve in the Aïr Massif and Ténéré Desert. With its 77,360 km2, the reserve will cover a wide variety of arid-land habitats. Both rainfall and vegetation are sparse, but the area harbours a varied fauna that includes a number of threatened species. The Twareg inhabitants of the reserve subsist by raising livestock, by irrigating small gardens, and by caravanning. Their day-to-day existence relies heavily on natural resources, and their continued existence will depend on the conservation of those resources. Drought, desertification, and abusive use, are all responsible for the deterioration of those resources.

Although highly necessary, the rational management of the area's natural resources will conflict with current landuse practices. Examples of where this happens are presented, and some proposals are put forward for their solution. Ideally, a flexible management system needs to be elaborated that will satisfy both the aspirations of the zone's managers and the immediate needs of its residents. The Authors hope that work in Niger will find its application elsewhere in the Sahel, and meanwhile emphasize the need to reconcile conservation with development.
The Tanganyika Sardine in Lake Kivu: Another Ecodisaster for Africa?
Authors: Dumont Henri J.
Published: August 2009

The main pelagic ecosystem of Lake Kivu in Central Africa is about to fall victim of a manipulation that took place a quarter of a century ago.
Use of Geobotanical Maps and Automated Mapping Techniques to Examine Cumulative Impacts in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska
Authors: Walker Donald A. , Webber Patrick J. , Walker Marilyn D. , Lederer Nancy D. , Meehan Rosa H. , Nordstrand Earl A.
Published: August 2009

A comprehensive approach to the problem of examining impacts on tundra landscapes is presented, using the Prudhoe Bay oilfield as a model. Development of the oilfield is documented, utilizing a series of ‘historical’ disturbance maps for the period 1949–83. Cumulative development of the entire field was mapped at a scale of 1:24,000, and an intensely developed portion of the field was mapped at 1:6,000, using an integrated geobotanical and historical disturbance map (IGHDM). The IGHDM data were automated, and a series of maps was made which depict a variety of information—including geobotany of the area as of 1949, and the historical sequence of development from 1968 to 1983.
Conservation of Habitats for Shrubsteppe Birds
Authors: Schuler Carol A. , Rickard William H. , Sargeant Glen A.
Published: August 2009

Extending over a year, all the birds that could be detected were counted on two transects which together sampled an area of 1.39 km2. Only 37 species were recorded during 82 surveys. Total bird density during the spring (March–June) was 43.0 birds/km2, and the density for the entire year was 26.7 birds/km2. The characteristic nesting birds were Western Meadowlark, Sage Sparrow, Burrowing Owl, Mourning Dove, Horned Lark, Long-billed Curlew, Lark Sparrow, and Loggerhead Shrike. Western Meadow-larks and Sage Sparrows were the most abundant nesting birds, having an average density of 11.2 and 7.8 birds/km2, respectively. Seasonal distribution of birds varied with species, but most species were present only from March to September.

Sixty-three per cent of the habitat surveyed was dominated by Big Sagebrush, 26% was dominated by Cheatgrass, and the remaining 11% was dominated by Spiny Hopsage. Big Sagebrush habitat supported a greater total bird density than the Cheatgrass or Hopsage habitats. Sage Sparrows were closely associated with Sagebrush habitats, while Western Meadowlarks showed no strong habitat affinities.

Extensive habitat modifications induced by more than a century of agriculture and livestock grazing have greatly depleted native Shrubsteppe habitat in the Columbia Basin. Over the past 40 years, the Hanford Site has served as a refugium for Shrubsteppe habitat that supports populations of native Shrubsteppe birds. The concept of the Hanford Site as a refugium for native Shrubsteppe habitat and Shrubsteppe nesting birds is favourably discussed.
The Silver Jubilee of MAB and Its Revival
Authors: Batisse Michel
Published: August 2009

The Biosphere Conference was organized by UNESCO and took place in September 1968, which was the first time that the word Biosphere became part of common, non-scientific language, and was the first intergovernmental conference on environmental problems. It sought to combine, effectively, conservation and the wise use of natural resources — thus advocating for the first time publicly the concept of ‘sustainable development’.
Warfare, National Sovereignty, and the Environment
Authors: Shaw R. Paul
Published: August 2009

Not only the direct effects of wars harm the planet. Also devastating can be the covert, indirect and often legitimized, actions of nations in securing their national sovereignty — silent-war actions ranging from secret nuclear installations, storage of chemical and biological weapons, militarized economic policy, biases in development expenditures, and ranging up to ethnocide and genocide. New ways of looking at warfare, national sovereignty, and the environment, take on urgency if only because the relationship between war-proneness, nation-building, and national sovereignty, appears to be an enduring one.
Role of Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park in Meeting the Grazing and Fodder Needs of Local People
Authors: Sharma Uday R. , Shaw William W.
Published: August 2009

It has been increasingly accepted that park management policies in some countries should allow for limited access to park resources by the local people to meet their subsistence and cultural needs. However, too much access to the natural resources of a park may simply cause people to rely on the park resource and manage their own lands less intensively than hitherto.

The issue of illegal livestock-grazing and fodder-cutting in Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) by local people is examined. The study area was comprised of 16 village units having an estimated population of 148, 404 people in 21, 621 households. Despite the presence of a large number of armed guards, the data from interviews with farmers indicated that illegal livestock-grazing and fodder-cutting in RCNP were prevalent. In the spring season, grazing intensity on the Park was higher than in other seasons, whereas cutting of fodder was intense in both winter and spring seasons.

The actual monitoring of 11 patches (totalling 365 ha) of grasslands or savanna for a calendar year inside the Park but near its boundary, indicated that illegal grazing averaged 4.1 head per ha (3.0 cattle, 0.9 buffalo, and 0.2 sheep/goats). In addition, the livestock biomass was found to be increasing by 2.36% per annum in Park-adjoining villages. There is some evidence that villagers adapt their livestock practices in response to the availability (illegal) of grazing in, and fodder-removal from, the Park.

The pressures for illegal access to park resources will continue to grow and eventually will exceed the capacity of the resource to recover from harvest. The best approach to resolve this illegal livestock grazing issue is neither strict protection nor widely-expanded access. The Park should consistently work to induce a gradual behavioural change, on the part of the farmers, to stall-feed livestock from fodder originating from their own farms and/or from community plantation.
Using syndromic surveillance systems to detect pneumonic plague
Authors: BABIN S. M.
Published: August 2009

Because syndromic surveillance systems use pre-diagnostic data for early detection of disease outbreaks, it is important to know how the earliest signs and symptoms of a disease might appear in these systems. The available medical literature describing the sequence of signs and symptoms of pneumonic plague reveals that, during the earliest stages, patients will most likely present with certain gastrointestinal and minimal, if any, respiratory signs. Without this knowledge, early evidence of pneumonic plague in syndromic surveillance systems may be missed until the respiratory signs become prevalent. Because plague is a zoonotic disease, new syndromic surveillance systems that use animal data from park rangers and veterinarians may provide useful evidence. This paper shows how a review of both human and animal literature can be used to design queries for syndromic surveillance systems.
The algebraic lambda calculus
Authors: VAUX LIONEL
Published: August 2009

We introduce an extension of the pure lambda calculus by endowing the set of terms with the structure of a vector space, or, more generally, of a module, over a fixed set of scalars. Moreover, terms are subject to identities similar to the usual pointwise definition of linear combinations of functions with values in a vector space. We then study a natural extension of beta reduction in this setting: we prove it is confluent, then discuss consistency and conservativity over the ordinary lambda calculus. We also provide normalisation results for a simple type system.
The on-line application of binding Principle A in English as a second language
Authors: FELSER CLAUDIA , SATO MIKAKO , BERTENSHAW NICHOLAS
Published: August 2009

We report the results from two experiments investigating proficient Japanese-speaking learners' processing of reflexive object pronouns in English as a second language (L2). Experiment 1 used a timed grammaticality judgement task to assess learners' sensitivity to binding Principle A under processing pressure, and Experiment 2 investigated the time-course of reflexive anaphor resolution during L2 reading using the eye-movement monitoring technique. Taken together, our results show that despite having demonstrated native-like knowledge of reflexive binding in corresponding untimed tasks, the learners processed English reflexives differently from native speakers in that they took into consideration a matching discourse-prominent but binding-theoretically inappropriate antecedent when first encountering a reflexive. This suggests that unlike what has been reported in corresponding monolingual processing research (Sturt, 2003), initial antecedent search in L2 English is not constrained by binding Principle A.
Is there a promising market ‘in between’ organic and conventional food? Analysis of consumer preferences
Authors: Janssen Meike , Heid Astrid , Hamm Ulrich
Published: August 2009

Various products incorporating single aspects of organic production systems such as lower inputs of pesticides, food additives or concentrated animal feed are found on the food market (referred to as low-input products hereafter). In our study, we analyzed how consumers react to low-input products in a purchase simulation with certified organic, conventional and low-input products. In the purchase simulations, each participant was asked to make three consecutive purchase decisions, one each for milk, yogurt and apples. The results of a cluster analysis revealed one cluster with a high preference for organic products and three clusters that featured considerable shares of low-input purchases. The latter clusters, however, were not characterized by a clear preference for low-input products. Rather, they bought mixed baskets of goods, i.e., low-input products in combination with either organic or conventional products. The low-input products in the categories milk, yogurt and apples did thus not necessarily attract the same groups of people. Interestingly, we found that most consumers who chose low-input products in the simulations usually buy those particular products in conventional quality. We conclude that in our study, we found a heterogeneous group of low-input buyers. For the organic sector, communicating the various aspects of organic production might be a promising strategy for gaining new customers. The low-input products in the purchase simulation only featured one special attribute, whereas organic products incorporate several.
A technique for assessing environmental impact risks of agricultural systems
Authors: Sydorovych Olha , Raczkowski Charles W. , Wossink Ada , Mueller J. Paul , Creamer Nancy G. , Hu Shuijin , Bell Melissa , Tu Cong
Published: August 2009

Conventional agriculture often aims to achieve high returns without allowing for sustainable natural resource management. To prevent environmental degradation, agricultural systems must be assessed and environmental standards need to be developed. This study used a multi-factor approach to assess the potential environmental impact risk of six diverse systems: five production systems and a successional system or abandoned agronomic field. Assessment factors were soil quality status, amount of pesticide and fertilizer applied and tillage intensity. The assessment identified the best management practices (BMP)–conventional tillage system as a high-risk system mostly because of extensive tillage. The certified organic system was also extensively tilled and was characterized by P build-up in the soil, but performed well based on other assessment factors. Conversely, the BMP–no tillage and the crop–animal integrated system were characterized as low risk mainly because of reduced tillage. The paper discusses assessment strengths and weaknesses, ways to improve indicators used, and the need for additional indicators. We concluded that with further development the technique will become a resourceful tool to promote agricultural sustainability and environmental stewardship and assist policy-making processes.
Predicting monthly streamflow using data‐driven models coupled with data‐preprocessing techniques
Authors: Wu C. L. , Chau K. W. , Li Y. S.
Published: August 2009

In this paper, the accuracy performance of monthly streamflow forecasts is discussed when using data‐driven modeling techniques on the streamflow series. A crisp distributed support vectors regression (CDSVR) model was proposed for monthly streamflow prediction in comparison with four other models: autoregressive moving average (ARMA), K‐nearest neighbors (KNN), artificial neural networks (ANNs), and crisp distributed artificial neural networks (CDANN). With respect to distributed models of CDSVR and CDANN, the fuzzy C‐means (FCM) clustering technique first split the flow data into three subsets (low, medium, and high levels) according to the magnitudes of the data, and then three single SVRs (or ANNs) were fitted to three subsets. This paper gives a detailed analysis on reconstruction of dynamics that was used to identify the configuration of all models except for ARMA. To improve the model performance, the data‐preprocessing techniques of singular spectrum analysis (SSA) and/or moving average (MA) were coupled with all five models. Some discussions were presented (1) on the number of neighbors in KNN; (2) on the configuration of ANN; and (3) on the investigation of effects of MA and SSA. Two streamflow series from different locations in China (Xiangjiaba and Danjiangkou) were applied for the analysis of forecasting. Forecasts were conducted at four different horizons (1‐, 3‐, 6‐, and 12‐month‐ahead forecasts). The results showed that models fed by preprocessed data performed better than models fed by original data, and CDSVR outperformed other models except for at a 6‐month‐ahead horizon for Danjiangkou. For the perspective of streamflow series, the SSA exhibited better effects on Danjingkou data because its raw discharge series was more complex than the discharge of Xiangjiaba. The MA considerably improved the performance of ANN, CDANN, and CDSVR by adjusting the correlation relationship between input components and output of models. It was also found that the performance of CDSVR deteriorated with the increase of the forecast horizon.