bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Protected Natural Areas and the Military
Authors: Westing Arthur H. 
Published: August 2009

Examined here is the impact exerted by the military sector of human society on national parks and other protected natural areas. Disruption during wartime, both by regular and by insurgent armed forces, results largely from the collateral effects of their operations and weapons as well as from illegal logging, hunting, fishing, and pillaging. Disruption during peacetime results largely from training exercises and poaching.A number of actions are suggested to mitigate the military impact on protected natural areas, among them: enhanced environmental education and training (in both the civil and military sectors), greater local participation in the management of protected natural areas, creation of greater respect for an expanded system of demilitarized World Natural Heritage Sites, and especially the nurturing among all peoples of a greater respect for Nature.
Environmental Impacts of Peat Mining in the United States: Documentation for Wetland Conservation
Authors: Winkler Marjorie G. , DeWitt Calvin B. 
Published: August 2009

In this paper we present documentation for the realistic assessment of the concept of peat as an energy alternative in the United States. A proposal to mine peat in north-central Florida provides the framework from which a community worksheet for the evaluation of a peat-mining proposal has been developed. Documentation is also given of crucial local and regional environmental impacts that would result from large-scale disturbance of peatlands and the subsequent removal of peat, among which are:1) toxic-metal release from peat,2) eutrophication of surface waters,3) increased runoff (including flooding and impacts on fisheries),4) release of organic pollutants,5) changes of salt and freshwater systems,6) changes in ground-water supply, and7) air pollution and fires.Other community concerns, such as zoning regulations, sewage disposal impacts, and disruption of stable industries, must also be considered.
Mortality Factors of Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) Wintering in Macedonia, Greece
Authors: Pyrovetsi Myrto , Papazahariadou Margarita 
Published: August 2009

A survey of dead Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) at Kerkini Lake, Greece, the major wintering site in Europe of this world-endangered species, was undertaken to investigate the causes of high mortality that occurred during 1991–93. In February 1991, 30% of the population wintering on the Lake (30 individuals) were found dead, the majority (85%) having died of natural causes. A loss of this magnitude does not reflect only locally or on the genetic stock of the species but is also a matter of grave concern relative to its conservation world-wide.Most mortality of the Pelicans coincided with subzero temperatures and the Lake freezing over — conditions that direct fish to deep waters, and make them unavailable to the Pelicans. Necropsies were carried out on the carcasses of 13 Pelicans, including stomach and gizzard, etc., contents' analysis, and gross pathological, bacteriological, toxicological, and parasitological, examinations. All the carcasses found at Lake Kerkini were dehydrated and emaciated. No food was found in the digestive system of the Pelicans, but there was a heavy parasite burden. Species of seven helminth genera were detected in the carcasses, three of them (Bolbophorus, Contracaecum, and Synhimantus) being reported for the first time in Greece. Contracaecum spp. in large numbers (up to 875 worms per bird), were found in the digestive system of all the carcasses. Most parasites were observed to penetrate the wall of the gizzard, causing haemorrhages and ulcers. No evidence of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination or bacterial infection was found. Mycotic lesions were detected in the air-sacs of one Dalmatian Pelican, which may have contributed to the death of that particular individual in connection with the parasite burden.
Measurements of Impact of Tourist Off-road Driving on Grasslands in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya: A Simulation Approach
Authors: Onyeanusi Augustine E. 
Published: August 2009

A quantitative measurement of tourist off-road driving was conducted in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Off-road driving was simulated in a grassland area of the Reserve that was heavily used by tourists. A mathematical model was employed to estimate the overall impact of tourist off-road driving on the Reserve's grassland communities.The results of off-road driving simulation experiments showed that damage increased with the number of vehicular passes. Off-road driving was more destructive to the vegetation at the loops than on the straight. The magnitude of the estimated loss due to extrapolation of the findings of the simulation experiments to the whole reserve was very small. The aesthetic quality of the reserve was, however, adversely affected by the off-road driving, as was, doubtless, the privacy of the animals.
An Experimental Approach to the Reclamation of a Limestone Quarry Floor: the Fourth to Seventh Years
Authors: Hambler David J. , Dixon Jean M. 
Published: August 2009

An experiment to suggest a technique for rehabilitation of a hard-limestone quarry floor in northern England was carried into its seventh year (see also Dixon & Hambler, 1984). The stress-tolerant grass Festuca rubra var. fallax Hack, cultivar Cascade proved suitable as a primary colonist, especially when sown onto rubble treated with a powdery manure derived from sewage. The community so produced was composed mainly of F. rubra and mosses, their proportions varying reciprocally with time but remaining approximately stable in a series of summer estimates of percentage cover.The dry-weight per unit area of this vegetation, and that of other experimental sets, did not increase between the third and sixth years of the experiment. The organic content of the developing soil, however, increased considerably. Trifolium repens, where sown with the grass, had no obvious ecological impact, although its improved performance on Rabbit ‘middens’ indicated the general nutrient deficiency of the site.A net flow of immigrant flowering-plants into the experimental site slowed down by the seventh year. Limestone grassland species arrived but the most abundant species were ruderals. All of the potentially large ruderal species failed to attain their full competitive potential, as did F. rubra. The community dominated by F. rubra and mosses proved unfavourable for the establishment of both Poa annua and Epilobium angustifolium— the latter being regarded as a particularly undesirable weed in this context.The concept of visual acceptability was applied as a measure of the success of each sowing/treatment combination; the most successful might be recommended for rehabilitation of a worked-out limestone quarry.
Impacts from Mosquito Control-induced Sulphur Mobilization in a Cape Cod Estuary
Authors: Soukup Michael A. , Portnoy John W. 
Published: August 2009

Insect control programmes sometimes include environmental modification techniques such as diking and drainage. The impacts of such techniques are not often known or assessed. As a telling example having wide implications, we present an analysis of impacts in a small estuary which has been subjected to both diking and ditching—primarily for mosquito control.The major impacts stem from katteklei formation. Desiccated salt-marsh sediments produce acidified leachates which result from oxidation of pyrites. Lowered pH and high (acid-mobilized) aluminium concentrations both surpass levels that are known to be toxic to aquatic fauna. Fish and invertebrate communities in the basin are impoverished, and important commercial species such as American Eels and Alewives are heavily decimated. The acid-tolerant mosquito Aedes cantator thrives, however. Thus a natural system of substantial economic and aesthetic value has been inadvertently devastated through application of unnecessarily harsh as well as, in this case, ineffective mosquito control methods. Their use should be re-evaluated for similar impacts wherever such application has been carried out or is being contemplated.
A World Ecoregions Map for Resource Reporting
Authors: Bailey Robert G. , Hogg Howard C. 
Published: August 2009

An international project is proposed to create a map showing the world subdivided into macroecosystem regions within each of which ecological conditions are relatively uniform but which show certain natural potentials and limitations. The map should tend to supplement the Dasmann-Udvardy system of biogeographical provinces, being of higher resolution and greater ecological relevance. The primary purpose of the map will be to serve as a reporting structure for information about global resources and environment, though it will be based largely on published information.Maps based on classification of climatic types, vegetation formations, and soil groups, will be synthesized and generalized to delineate the areas to be shown on the ecoregion map. Its delineations will be refined through consultations with local experts, and through the interpretation of low-resolution remote-sensing imagery. The usefulness of the map is considered favourably in relation to national-level policy analysis, environmental monitoring, transfer of agricultural technology, compatibility with remote-sensing systems for monitoring environmental conditions, and agricultural activities, biomass estimation, macroreserve selection, and land management.
Sensitivity of the Arctic Climate: A Factor in Developing Planning Strategies for Our Arctic Heritage
Authors: LeDrew Ellsworth F. 
Published: August 2009

Studies have illustrated a sensitivity of the climate of the Arctic to natural and human-induced perturbations which greater than that in mid-latitudes or the tropics. This may be due, in part, to positive feedback linkages between the atmosphere and the cryosphere. We are only beginning understand the nature of the process linkages within the atmosphere-cryosphere-ocean-Biosphere system, however, and this is reflected in the discrepancies between various model simulations. This uncertainty increases our vulnerability to climatic change and variability. In the development of policy regarding management and development of our Arctic Heritage, we must attempt to reduce our vulnerability: we must be able to simulate the physical consequences of a perturbation with some veracity, and translate the results into the language of the policy analysts.Three areas of research are highlighted as being important contributions towards this objective. The first is the derivation of climatically significant parameters from remotely-sensed data. Our climatologies and model validations are based upon spatially-biased data which include undetermined errors. With remotely-sensed imagery, we have access to previously inaccessible regions as well as spatial consistency in the data. The second area of research the detailed study of micro- and mesoscale processes at climatic ‘oases’. We must understand processes at these scales, and their linkage to the macroscale, if we are to design realistic General Circulation Models to simulate new climate states. The third area is effective communication of our knowledge in a form amenable to policy analysis. Current research is directed towards evaluating the impact of climatic variation in terms of risk assessment, and consideration of the policy implications of possible future climatic regimes through scenario analysis.
Successful Control of the Floating Weed Salvinia molesta in Papua New Guinea: A Useful Biological Invasion Neutralizes a Disastrous One
Authors: Thomas Phillip A. , Room Peter M. 
Published: August 2009

Salvinia molesta, an aquatic weed native of Brazil, entered the floodplain of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s. It caused great distress to the local people by increasing exponentially to form thick mats covering many lakes and channels. A beetle from Brazil, Cyrtobagous salviniae, was established in one lagoon in 1982 and over the next 2 years 900,000 adults were redistributed manually among another 130 lagoons and lakes. Rates of beetle population increase (r) were close to 0.042 adult per adult per day in most lagoons. Local dispersal occurred when population densities reached 15 adults per kg of the Salvinia, damaging between 70% and 90% of Salvinia buds. Feeding by adults and larvae of the beetle caused entire mats of Salvinia to turn brown, die, and sink, but no deleterious changes in water quality were observed.The time taken for beetles to spread throughout a lagoon and for the weed to be controlled was generally 12–18 months, depending on the area of the Salvinia mat, its thickness, and its mobility when blown by the wind. Herbicide was used to aid establishment of the beetle at one site by thinning a thick mat which had been colonized by sudd vegetation. An equilibrium appeared to be reached with the Salvinia present at < 1% of its former populationdensity.
Incentives for Private Forestry: The Case of the Republic of Ireland
Authors: Gairdner Gillian 
Published: August 2009

Forest decline in the tropical zone of the world has provoked an enormous amount of concern but, so far, few if any panaceas. Leaving aside the pervasive impact of clearance for agriculture to focus for the time being exclusively on the role of timber extraction in the moist tropics, it appears that, in present circumstances at least, commercial logging is effectively incompatible with sustainable forest use. For this reason there is a developing interest in the potential which private-sector plantation forestry may have, in these areas, for significantly contributing to both local and export timber needs and so relieving pressure on the remaining area of natural forest. The peculiarly long-term character of investment in trees, and the capital-poor nature of the countries concerned mean, however, that financial incentives will almost certainly be necessary if plantations are to have real consequence.It is in this context that the recent history of the forest programme in Ireland, the country with the lowest overall proportion of forest cover and the highest percentage of state (as opposed to private) forestry in the EC, may be relevant. Forestry incentives introduced in 1980, and aimed at landowners in the agriculturally disadvantaged western region, were initially ineffective, despite the region's comparative advantages for timber-growing. However, major additions to the level and range of support in the second half of the 1980s, led to an exponential increase in grant-uptake.The very success of the above scheme in recent years has caused it to be critized for the loss of large areas of bogland which have considerable environmental value but low potential for timber production in any normal investment sense. In addition, plantations in all parts of the region are overwhelmingly coniferous. More generous, country-wide incentives for environmentally desirable broadleafed planting are too new for it to be known what effect they will have on the afforestation of the better land. It seems almost certain, however, that attempts to reconcile productive and environmental aims in private forestryprogrammes inevitably increase their complexity and cost: this has undesirable implications for the possible transfer of such schemes to developing countries in the tropics.
Wildlife and Reclamation Ecology: Rabbit Middens on Seeded Limestone Quarry-spoil
Authors: Dixon Jean M. , Hambler David J. 
Published: August 2009

Middens (i.e. persistent ‘dung-heaps’) produced by Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on a limestone quarry-spoil bank in the process of reclamation were small areas of enhanced biological activity, initiated and maintained by Rabbits, that were probably beneficial, through recycling of nutrients, to those same Rabbits.The soil of the middens, at a depth of 0–5 cm, was moister, richer in nutrients, of lower pH, and more humic, than elsewhere on the spoil. It probably owed these characteristics to the Rabbits' urine as well as dung.Middens were ‘beneficial’ to the pioneer vegetation through the resultant of increased fertility and grazing; sown grasses were stimulated to produce local patches of sward on the spoil. The plants themselves were more intensely green, and richer in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, than those in the surrounding area.Associated with the soil surface of the middens was a rich invertebrate fauna, some members of which must be directly and entirely dependent on the dung. Overall the Rabbits were judged beneficial to the reclamation.
A Strategy for Conserving the Biodiversity of the Uttara Kannada District in South India
Authors: Daniels R. J. Ranjit , Chandran M. D. Subash , Gadgil Madhav 
Published: August 2009

Taking the various values ascribed to biodiversity as its point of departure rather many years ago, the present study aims at deriving a conservation strategy for Uttara Kannada. This hilly district, with the highest proportion of its area under forests in South India, is divided into five ecological zones: coastal, northern evergreen, southern evergreen, moist deciduous, and dry deciduous. The heavily-populated coastal zone includes mangrove forests and estuarine wetlands. The evergreen forests are particularly rich in the diversity of plant species which they support — including wild relatives of a number of cultivated plants. They also serve a vital function in watershed conservation. The moist deciduous forests are rich in bird species; both moist and dry deciduous forests include a number of freshwater ponds and lakes that support a high diversity of aquatic birds.Reviewing the overall distribution of biodiversity, we identify specific localities — including estuaries, evergreen forests, and moist deciduous forests — which should be set aside as Nature reserves. These larger reserves must be complemented by a network of traditionally-protected sacred groves and sacred trees that are distributed throughout the district and that protect today, for instance, the finest surviving stand of dipterocarp trees.We also spell out the necessary policy-changes in overall development strategy that should stem the ongoing decimation of biodiversity. These include (1) revitalizing community-based systems of sustainable management of village forests and protection of sacred groves and trees; (2) reorienting the usage-pattern of reserve forests from production of a limited variety of timber and softwood species for industrial consumers, to production of a larger diversity of non-wood forest produce of commercial value to support the rural economy; (3) utilizing marginal lands under private ownership for generating industrial wood supplies; and (4) provision of incentives for in situ maintenance of land-races of cultivated plants — especially evergreen, fruit-yielding trees — by the local people.It is proposed that this broad framework be now taken to the local communities, and that an action-plan be developed on the basis of inputs provided — and initiatives taken — by them.
Recreational Use, Valuation, and Management, of Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) on Canada's Pacific Coast
Authors: Duffus David A. , Dearden Philip 
Published: August 2009

The management of many ocean wildlife species is left in an institutional void, yet certain species command considerable public attention and have burgeoning management problems. In this paper the non-consumptive recreational use of Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) on Canada's Pacific Ocean coast is used as an example of management difficulties that are associated with oceanic species. Problems associated with jurisdiction and institutional arrangements are coupled to significant levels of biological uncertainty and restricted management options, as well as to management concerns associated with the human domain. The case is conceptualized as an interaction between the human and more general ecological spheres, mediated by the history of the relationship between humans and the species in question. Two routes to regulation are presented, dealing respectively with the human and ecological aspects. Of particular significance is the idea that both types of information are necessary to maximize utility to both the human user and the Whales.Results from an ongoing study of recreational use are presented to indicate some of the variables that have emerged. These are to be interpreted within current resource management infrastructure to create a tenuous situation. The unfortunate logic that results from this study is that if Killer Whales (a high-profile species) in Canada (a well-endowed nation) have not warranted more substantial protection, then the outlook for less well-known marine species in areas of the world where resource management priorities involve more direct survival concerns, is not optimistic.
Struggling to Save Malaysia's Endau–Rompin Rain Forest, 1972–92
Authors: Aiken S. Robert 
Published: August 2009

The protracted dispute over the fate of the Endau-Rompin rain-forest in southern Peninsular Malaysia is outlined. Attention is focused on why a proposal to create an Endau-Rompin national park was eventually abandoned, on what has been done of late to protect the wilderness region, and on what has been learned from the dispute. The main points are as follows:1. Endau-Rompin is one of the last-remaining extensive tracts of largely undisturbed rain-forest in southern Peninsular Malaysia.2. TheThird Malaysia Plan 1976–1980incorporated an earlier proposal to create a national park in the Endau-Rompin region.3. A controversy erupted in 1977 when the state govern ment of Pahang approved a logging concession in the core area of the proposed park.4. Logging ceased in 1978, but in spite of the preparation of a preliminary management plan and the passage of theNational Parks Act(both in 1980), a national park was not created.5. The 1985–6 ‘Malaysian Heritage and Scientific Expedition’ to Endau—Rompin focused a great deal of public attention on the wilderness region, but still a national park was not created.6. In mid-1987 it was announced that there would be two adjoining state parks, not a national park, in the Endau-Rompin region.7. The proposal to create a national park came to nothing because Pahang and Johor were unwilling to surrender their jurisdiction over their respective components of the required land to the Federal Government, and because the latter made no attempt to acquire the land in the national interest.8. A state park has been established in the Johor part of the wilderness region, but the promised adjoining state park in Pahang has yet to be established. It would appear that the two parts of the protected area will be managed separately, with eco-tourism as an important focus.9. For more than fifteen years the Malayan Nature Society has played a key role in the struggle to save the wilderness region.10. The Endau-Rompin dispute revealed that NGOs such as the Malayan Nature Society can play a key role in the environmental arena, that ever-increasing competition for scarce natural resources makes it increasingly unlikely that new protected areas will be established, and that the protection and management of Malaysia's natural heritage is greatly confounded by the constitutional division of powers between the Federal and state governments.