The Influence of Landscape Patterns on the Bird Diversity of Four Urban Parks

In our study, we aimed to investigate the influence of landscape patterns on the diversity of birds in four urban parks. The parks are located in a region that has a high value of regional biodiversity and is also highly urbanized (Jundiai, state of São Paulo [SP], in Southeastern Brazil). Using a set of aerial photos, the surrounding landscape was divided into two regions (rings) and corresponding landscape metrics were calculated. The presence of bird species was recorded monthly over a one‐year period and classified according to selected ecological criteria. The land cover of the areas surrounding each park was primarily buildings and residences. Bird diversity was significantly correlated with the presence/proximity of water bodies. We state that the potential of the parks to harbor bird species is not negligible. Managing the area surrounding a park to increase the percentage of forested area and the size of forest fragments is as crucial as managing the core park area, especially for improving its attractiveness for new bird species.     

The Impact of Nature-Based Tourism on Bird Communities: A Case Study in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park

Nature-based tourism and recreation within and close to protected areas may have negative environmental impacts on biodiversity due to urban development, landscape fragmentation, and increased disturbance. We conducted a 3-year study of disturbances of birds induced by nature-based tourism over a recreational gradient in the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park and its surroundings in northern Finland. Bird assemblages were studied in highly disturbed areas close to the park (a ski resort, villages, and accommodation areas) and in campfire sites, along hiking routes (recreational areas) and in a forest (control area) within the park. Compared with the forest, the disturbed urbanized areas had higher abundances of human-associated species, corvid species, cavity and building nesters, and edge species. The abundances of managed forest species were higher in campfire sites than in the forest. Hiking trails and campfire sites did not have a negative impact on open-nesting bird species. The most likely reason for this outcome is that most campfire sites were situated at forest edges; this species group prefers managed forests and forest edge as a breeding habitat. The abundances of virgin forest species did not differ among the areas studied. The results of the study suggest that the current recreation pressure has not caused substantial changes in the forest bird communities within the National Park. We suggest that the abundances of urban exploiter species could be used as indicators to monitor the level and changes of urbanization and recreational pressure at tourist destinations.     

The implicit price of urban public parks and greenways: a spatial-contextual approach

This paper examines the value residents place on public parks in a mid-sized urban area. The analysis makes a direct contribution to the literature by examining the extent to which spatial and neighbourhood context is related to the house price premium or discount associated with public recreational opportunities, natural resource areas and urban greenways. The analysis shows that the value of public parks and greenways varies across space, neighbourhood context and park type. Community area fixed-effects are included to bolster the findings. The findings indicate that park and greenway investment should be planned and managed contextually in urban areas. Park planners can use these findings to inform public policy debates over park investment and, perhaps, support efforts focused on comprehensive neighbourhood planning.     

Science-Driven Management of Protected Areas: A Philippine Case Study

The lack of scientific baseline information hinders appropriate design and management of protected areas. To illustrate the value of science to management, we consider five scenarios for the 202.0 km² Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines: (1) closure to human activities, (2) and (3) two levels of increase in unplanned human activities, (4) creation of a forest corridor and (5) additional allocation of land for permanent or shifting agriculture. We then use habitat-specific bird density estimates to simulate the net effect of each scenario on 18 focal bird populations. Closure has significant benefits—populations of five species are predicted to increase by >50 % and nine by >25 %, but two secondary forest flycatchers, including the endemic and ‘Vulnerable’ Palawan flycatcher, decline dramatically, while the creation of a 4.0 km² forest corridor yields average increases across species of 2 ± 4 % (SD). In contrast, heavier unplanned park usage produces declines in all but a few species, while the negative effects of an extra 2.0 km² of shifting cultivation are 3–5 times higher than for a similar area of permanent agriculture and affect species whose densities are highest in primary habitats. Relatively small changes within the park, especially those associated with agricultural expansion, has serious predicted implications for local bird populations. Our models do not take into account the full complexities of bird ecology at a site, but they do provide park managers with an evidence base from which to make better decisions relating to biodiversity conservation obligations which their parks are intended to meet.     

Planning for environmental justice in an urban national park

Urban national parks were designed in the 1970s to bring nature and recreational opportunities to socio-economically disadvantaged communities in the USA. Using the theoretical frame of environmental justice, this paper discusses findings of a recent survey of visitors to Los Angeles' Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area – the United States' largest urban national park. Findings show park visitors were predominantly white, affluent, and lived nearby. People of colour travelled further, were significantly less likely to be return visitors, and were less inclined to use the park for active recreation. Seemingly, this park fails to meet the needs of the disadvantaged urban communities for whom it was created, a problem that may also affect other parks in the United States and potentially parks in other countries. Park planners and managers can take practical steps to increase accessibility to this park for people of colour and low-income earners, and should monitor other parks for patterns of ethno-racially differentiated access and utilisation.     

Laying the foundation for a comprehensive program of restoration for wildlife habitat in a riparian floodplain

We analyzed the past and current distribution and abundance of vegetation and wildlife to develop a wildlife habitat restoration plan for the Sweetwater Regional Park, San Diego County, California. Overall, there has been a substantial loss of native amphibians and reptiles, including four amphibians, three lizards, and 11 snake species. The small-mammal community was depauperate and dominated by the exotic house mouse (Mus musculus) and the native western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis). It appeared that either house mice are exerting a negative influence on most native species or that they are responding positively to habitat degradation. There has apparently been a net loss of 13 mammal species, including nine insectivores and rodents, a rabbit, and three large mammals. Willow (Salix) cover and density and cottonwoods (Populus fremontii) had the highest number of positive correlations with bird abundance. There has been an overall net loss of 12 breeding bird species; this includes an absolute loss of 18 species and a gain of six species. A restoration plan is described that provides for creation and maintenance of willow riparian, riparian woodland, and coastal sage scrub vegetation types; guides for separation of human activities and wildlife habitats; and management of feral and exotic species of plants and animals.     

Evaluating the Environmental Performance of Urban Parks in Mediterranean Cities: An Example from the Barcelona Metropolitan Region

In a context of increasing urban sprawl and water scarcity common to other Mediterranean cities, this article focuses on the urban parks in the Region of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) to examine how these parks are distributed in this region and to assess whether their design and management follow criteria adapted to Mediterranean environmental conditions, especially in what concerns water use. In order to evaluate the environmental performance of these parks, we selected four factors possibly influencing the adoption of park management practices at the local scale: urban density, population size of the municipality, municipal income per capita, and political orientation of the city council. After determining the location and area of urban parks in the region, we correlated these four explanatory factors with several management tasks extracted from two different samples of parks (one of 315 parks and another of 125 parks) and a survey of 86 city councils. Results show that, in general, urban parks were more frequent in large, dense, and left/green municipalities but that environmentally sound practices were more common in small and low-density municipalities. We conclude that changes in certain practices (especially the substitution of high water demanding species) could improve significantly the environmental performance of public spaces in large urban areas with Mediterranean climates. Our observations may be pertinent for other cities interested in the provision of environmental public goods such as parks that necessitate water for irrigation.     

Maximizing Benefits from Riparian Revegetation Efforts: Local- and Landscape-Level Determinants of Avian Response

With limited financial resources available for habitat restoration, information that ensures and/or accelerates success is needed to economize effort and maximize benefit. In the Central Valley of California USA, riparian habitat has been lost or degraded, contributing to the decline of riparian-associated birds and other wildlife. Active restoration of riparian plant communities in this region has been demonstrated to increase local population sizes and species diversity of landbirds. To evaluate factors related to variation in the rate at which bird abundance increased after restoration, we examined bird abundance as a function of local (restoration design elements) and landscape (proportion of riparian vegetation in the landscape and riparian patch density) metrics at 17 restoration projects within five project areas along the Sacramento River. We developed a priori model sets for seven species of birds and used an information theoretic approach to identify factors associated with the rate at which bird abundance increased after restoration. For six of seven species investigated, the model with the most support contained a variable for the amount of riparian forest in the surrounding landscape. Three of seven bird species were positively correlated with the number of tree species planted and three of seven were positively correlated with the planting densities of particular tree species. Our results indicate that restoration success can be enhanced by selecting sites near existing riparian habitat and planting multiple tree species. Hence, given limited resources, efforts to restore riparian habitat for birds should focus on landscape-scale site selection in areas with high proportions of existing riparian vegetation.     

Involving indigenous peoples in protected area management: comparative perspectives from Nepal,Thailand, and China

Despite over two decades of efforts towards involving indigenous and traditional peoples in protected area management, there are few successful examples. Several international principles and guidelines on indigenous peoples' involvement in protected areas exist. However, because of the lack of evaluation of whether or not these principles and guidelines have been put into practice, there is hardly any information that indicates the actual involvement of indigenous peoples in protected areas. This paper attempts to compare efforts in partnership between indigenous peoples and protected area authority in three Asian countries: Nepal, Thailand, and China. It shows that the involvement of indigenous peoples is more successful where park planning is participatory and where political and socioeconomic reforms are underway. Indigenous peoples are in conflict with park authorities where park management is centralized and nonparticipatory. Unless concrete efforts are made to address livelihood issues of indigenous peoples living in and around protected areas, park management aimed to protect wildlife will rarely succeed. Participatory park management that involves indigenous peoples and that addresses livelihood issues of indigenous communities will ultimately succeed in its efforts toward wildlife conservation.     

Use of avian and mammalian guilds as indicators of cumulative impacts in riparian-wetland areas

A new method of assessing cumulative effects of human activities on bird and mammal communities of riparian-wetland areas was developed by using response guilds to reflect how species theoretically respond to habitat disturbance on a landscape level. All bird and mammal species of Pennsylvania were assigned values for each response guild using documented information for each species, to reflect their sensitivity to disturbances; high guild scores corresponded to low tolerance toward habitat disturbance. We hypothesized that, given limited time and resources, determining how wildife communities change in response to environmental impacts can be done more efficiently with a response-guild approach than a single-species approach. To test the model, censuses of birds and mammals were conducted along wetland and riparian areas of a protected and a disturbed watershed in central Pennsylvania. The percent of bird species with high response-guild scores (i.e., species that had specific habitat requirements and/or were neotropical migrants) remained relatively stable through the protected watershed. As intensity of habitat alteration increased through the disturbed watershed, percentage of bird species with high response-guild scores decreased. Only 2%–3% of the neotropical migrants that had specific habitat requirements were breeding residents in disturbed habitats as compared to 17%–20% in reference areas. Species in the edge and exotic guild classifications (low guild scores) were found in greater percentages in the disturbed watershed. Composition of mammalian guilds showed no consistent pattern associated with habitat disturbance. Avian response guilds reflected habitat disturbance more predictively than mammalian response guilds.     

Characteristics of Urban Natural Areas Influencing Winter Bird Use in Southern Ontario,Canada

Characteristics of urban natural areas and surrounding landscapes were identified that best explain winter bird use for 28 urban natural areas in southern Ontario, Canada. The research confirms for winter birds the importance of area (size) and natural vegetation, rather than managed, horticultural parkland, within urban natural areas as well as percent urban land use and natural habitat in surrounding landscapes. Alien bird density and percent ground feeding species increased with percent surrounding urban land use. Higher percent forest cover was associated with higher percentages of forest, bark feeding, small (<20 g) and insectivorous species. Natural area size (ha) was related to higher species richness, lower evenness and higher percentages of insectivorous, forest interior, area-sensitive, upper canopy, bark feeding, and non-resident species. Higher number of habitat types within natural areas and percent natural habitat in surrounding landscapes were also associated with higher species richness. Common, resident bird species dominated small areas (<6.5 ha), while less common non-residents increased with area, indicative of a nested distribution. Areas at least 6.5 ha and more generally >20 ha start to support some area-sensitive species. Areas similar to rural forests had >25% insectivores, >25% forest interior species, >25% small species, and <5% alien species. Indicator species separated urban natural areas from rural habitats and ordination placed urban natural areas along a gradient between urban development and undisturbed, rural forests. More attention is needed on issues of winter bird conservation in urban landscapes.     

Attitudes towards the conservation of biological diversity—A case study in Kristianstad Municipality,Sweden

Human actions towards land, freshwater and oceans have already caused biodiversity to decline. This study aims to investigate attitudes towards the conservation of biological biodiversity among different groups in a Swedish city, Kristianstad. An inquiry including statements measuring attitudes towards the conservation of habitats, animals and plants, to the biological diversity within selected local areas, to global and national areas, and to societal issues, was replied to by 271 persons. Deciduous forests, birds and wild flowers were given highest priority. An area categorized as wetland including lakeshore meadows with a rich bird life was prioritized as most important for conservation while a forest area was chosen as best for recreation. The experts gave lower priority to arable land, urban parks, domestic animals, agricultural and garden plants and to conifer forests compared to the other groups. Knowledge about what people in general value as important could facilitate the future planning of nature areas in the city of Kristianstad.     

Local people's attitudes towards conservation and wildlife tourism around Sariska Tiger Reserve, India

Conservationists in the recent years view local peoples' support for protected areas management as an important element of biodiversity conservation. This is often linked to the direct benefits, which local communities get from the protected areas. These benefits could be in the form of biomass resources, park funds diverted to local villages by state agencies and revenue from wildlife tourism. There are a very few studies which have attempted to study the direct relationship between benefits from wildlife tourism and local support for conservation. In India, wildlife tourism is restricted, and mostly controlled by state and private agencies. Wildlife conservation policy does not view tourism in protected areas as a source of revenue for the local communities. The present study examines the local people's attitudes towards wildlife tourism and the impact of benefits from tourism on the local support for Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), India. STR is a flagship for tourism where protected areas are increasingly being visited and where local support for wildlife tourism has not been studied adequately. Results indicate that two-thirds of the respondents were positive towards tourism and support for conservation. The respondents were aware that more tourism benefits are possible from a well-conserved protected area. There appears to be correlation between benefits obtained by local people from wildlife tourism and other sources, and support for protected area existence, suggesting that benefits impact people's attitudes towards conservation. Some of the main problems are the unequal distribution of tourism benefits, lack of locals' involvement in tourism and development. There is a need to clearly address these issues, so that protected areas may get the support of local people, which may lead to sustainable development.     

Wildlife conservation in Nigeria: Problems and strategies

Summary This paper draws the attention to the major threats to nature conservation in Nigeria, and reviews critically the measures adopted for the protection of wildlife. The major problems include habitat degradation (through uncontrolled logging, agricultural projects, industrial plantations, highway and urban development, and exploitation for fuelwood), over-hunting and poachingSteps taken so far to protect wildlife include the creation of one national park and eighteen game reserves, enactment of wildlife laws, signing of international treaties, and manpower development. These measures have however failed to produce the desired effect owing largely to public apathy, low level of funding, inadequate game laws and weak enforcement of existing legal provisions.It is suggested that the Federal Government should intervene more positively in favour of conservation by creating more national parks and assuming joint responsibility with the states for formulating wildlife laws. Furthermore, the role of non-governmental organizations in influencing conservation policies and mobilizing public opinion will be crucial in the difficult years ahead.Dr. P. A. Anadu, although recently on secondment to the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK; is currently on the staff of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Benin.     

Perceptions and Behaviors of Indigenous Populations Regarding Illegal Use of Protected Area Resources in East Africa’s Mountain Gorilla Landscape

Illegal activities and use of park resources are the main challenges facing mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) conservation and the protection of their habitats in the East Africa’s Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape (GVTL). Indigenous residents around GVTL are considered the primary illegal users of park resources. Despite this, there is limited understanding of the current and past perceptions of indigenous residents living in communities adjacent to two GVTL parks; Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Equally, there is also limited understanding regarding the actual incidences of illegal activities inside both parks. This paper addresses these gaps. Perception data were collected from indigenous residents living adjacent to both parks. Further, Ranger-based Monitoring (RbM) data from both parks were analyzed to determine actual numbers and types of illegal activities over the 9-year period. Interestingly, findings indicated that residents perceived the prevalence of illegal activities to be decreasing across GVTL. To the contrary, RbM findings indicated that the number of actual illegal activities was increasing significantly, particularly in Volcanoes National Park. The discrepancy found between the two perspectives provides for a discussion of the social biases potentially present in these data, and their implications for management. Results also illuminated the subsistence-related nature of most illegal behaviors and suggest that to reduce illegal activities and local dependency on park resources, park management must work with communities and support them in tapping into alternative livelihoods and finding ways to address community household subsistence needs.     

Changes in interacting species with disturbance

Human-influenced changes in the diversity and abundance of native wildlife in a southern boreal forest area, which became a national park in 1975, are used to develop working hypotheses for predicting and subsequently measuring the effects of disturbance or restoration programs on groups of interacting species. Changes from presettlement conditions began with early 1900 hunting, which eliminated woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and elk (Cervus elaphus), and reduced moose (Alces alces) to the low numbers which still persist. Increases in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), as these other cervid species became less abundant or absent, provided enough alternative food to sustain the system's carnivores until plant succession on previously burned or logged areas also caused deer to decline. With increased competition for reduced food, carnivore species also became less abundant or absent and overexploited some prey populations. The abilities of interacting species to maintain dynamically stable populations or persist varied with their different capacities to compensate for increased exploitation or competition. These relationships suggested a possible solution to the problem of predicting the stability of populations in disturbed systems. For the 1976–1985 period, a hypothesis that the increased protection of wildlife from exploitation in a national park would restore a more diverse, abundant, and productive fauna had to be rejected.     

Natural Resource Assessment: An Approach to Science Based Planning in National Parks

We conducted a natural resource assessment at two national parks, New River Gorge National River and Shenandoah National Park, to help meet the goals of the Natural Resource Challenge—a program to help strengthen natural resource management at national parks. We met this challenge by synthesizing and interpreting natural resource information for planning purposes and we identified information gaps and natural significance of resources. We identified a variety of natural resources at both parks as being globally and/or nationally significant, including large expanses of unfragmented, mixed-mesophytic forests that qualify for wilderness protection, rare plant communities, diverse assemblages of neotropical migratory birds and salamanders, and outstanding aquatic recreational resources. In addition, these parks function, in part, as ecological reserves for plants in and wildlife. With these significant natural resources in mind, we also developed a suite of natural resource management recommendations in light of increasing threats from within and outside park boundaries. We hope that our approach can provide a blueprint for natural resource conservation at publically owned lands.     

Environmental problems from practicing agriculture in Prespa National Park,Greece

Summary Prespa National Park is situated at the northwestern corner of Greece bordering Yugoslavia and Albania and covers 25,690 ha of which 8,114 ha are lake. The remaining area is forest, rangeland and arable land in the vicinity of twelve villages. The objectives of the park authority are to preserve the wetland with its special fauna of rare bird species, its flora, the geomorphological formations of the lake and the natural environment. The nucleus of the park is comprised by Lake Mikri Prespa and the surrounding wetland. It is in this wetland that an exceptional assemblage of rare and endangered species breed. However, the park is recently undergoing rapid development of its agroecosystems in terms both of higher subsidiary energy inputs, notably irrigation, and of acreage, i.e. of substituting some of the wetland for cropland. The objective of this study was to assess the potential environmental hazards from practicing agriculture in the park and to propose measures of abatement. Assessment was based on field surveys, administration documents and interviews. Cropland is not intensively used at present. Two thirds is covered by winter cereals and the remaining by other row crops (beans and potatoes). There are no deciduous orchards. Practices are carried out without regard for environmental conservation. Farmers' attitudes towards the wildlife range from indifference to hostility because they attribute the lag in their economic development to the past restrictions imposed by the National Park Administration. The main environmental consequences from the ongoing agricultural development in Prespa are assessed to be a dramatic increase of nonpoint agricultural pollution of the lake, with phosphorus and pesticides as the primary pollutants. Moreover, accidents in the use of pesticides may lead to immediate deterioration of the nucleus wildlife habitats. Since irrigated agroecosystems are there to stay and grow in subsidiary energy, measures are needed to prevent harmful consequences. Such measures are the alleviation of the land ownership problem, adoption of cultural practices to limit soil erosion, rational use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and education of farmers. It is concluded that the internationally invaluable natural ecosystems of the park are definitely threatened by the development of the irrigated agroecosystems. The measures proposed will limit this threat and at the same time will help to perpetuate the productivity of the agroecosystems themselves.Mrs. M. D. Pyrovetsi is a lecturer in the Department of Biology and Professor P. A. Gerakis is Head of the Department of Agriculture; both are within the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.     

Disparities in the provision of public parks in neighbourhoods with varied Latino composition in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area

ABSTRACT

This article examines the provision of public parks in Latino and non-Latino neighbourhoods in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Though previous research has examined the socio-spatial distribution of urban parks, few have analysed both accessibility and variations in park features associated with the Latino composition of neighbourhoods. In this study, geographical information systems were employed to assess the availability and accessibility of neighbourhood parks, and Google Earth was used to audit their natural and built environmental features. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Games-Howell post hoc test was applied to examine the hypothesis that park resources are not equitably distributed across neighbourhoods, and that Latino places are disproportionally affected by a suboptimal provision of park space and services. The analysis points to invariance across neighbourhoods in terms of quantity and features of public parks, so the expected systemic pattern of inequality affecting Latino neighbourhoods in Phoenix Metro was not found. The study suggests, however, some areas wherein cities in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area could act to improve the allocation of public park resources and engage the diversity of local populations.     

The Park Made of Oil: Towards a Historical Political Ecology of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area

Within the park-deprived inner-city landscapes of Los Angeles, an unprecedented change is underway. Long considered to be the epitome of anti-nature, Los Angeles is witnessing a boom in park development and ecological restoration. Derelict, blighted and contaminated inner-city brownfield sites are being converted to greenspaces, nature parks and wildlife refuges. Indeed, Los Angeles has been the recent recipient of hitherto unimaginable political and fiscal support to ameliorate the dearth of parks in its neglected urban core. This paper situates the current round of park development within its historical context, by focusing on a very particular local site—the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. Applying the theoretical lens of political ecology, the authors trace some of the political, economic, ecological and institutional factors from the late 1920s onwards, which engendered the creation of a park atop an oilfield. In so doing, the authors deepen the understanding of how local greenspace allocation, poverty, race and political power are oftentimes complexly entangled. Precursor to a much larger project currently in the planning and development stages, the creation of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area reveals some of the ways that the Southern California oil industry has shaped nature spaces in Los Angeles.