Effects of sheep and goat grazing on the species diversity in the alpine meadows of Western Himalaya

This paper deals with effects of sheep and goat grazing on plant species diversity, species richness and species composition in two important conservation areas of the Western Himalaya; the Valley of Flowers (VOF) National Park and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP). The VOF is a completely Protected Area as it is devoid of livestock grazing whereas, 20,000 sheep and goats annually graze in GHNP. Both the National Parks possess sub-alpine and alpine vegetation that is distributed in 13 major habitat types. Present investigations indicate that all the habitat types in VOF are higher in plant species diversity and richness compared to habitat types in GHNP. Similarly, all three eco-climatic zones in VOF are higher in species diversity and richness compared to GHNP. Species diversity also decreases with increasing altitude in both the National Parks. The findings of this study are discussed in the light of the management and conservation of alpine meadows of the Western Himalayas.     

Traditional knowledge and biodiversity conservation: a case study from Byans Valley in Kailash Sacred Landscape,India

Ethnobotanical knowledge plays a significant role in plant diversity conservation and the curing of various ailments in remote rural areas of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). A total of 53 plant species from 27 families have been documented from the Byans valley and are used traditionally for the treatment of various diseases. Valley inhabitants have maintained a symbiotic relationship between natural resources and their cultural belief system by developing sacred forests/groves which conserve the region's plant diversity pool. Information on sacred natural sites and traditional beliefs was documented in order to understand the environmental and conservationist implications of these rules and practices. The study provides comprehensive information about eroding traditional knowledge and biodiversity conservation practices. This study could be a pilot to strengthen the conservation practices and sustainable utilization of frequently used bioresources by understanding the traditional knowledge system and conservation ethics of tribal communities in the Himalayan region.     

Patterns of biodiversity and habitat sensitivity in agricultural landscapes

Design of landscape is the process of the arrangement of spatial features with the objective of sustaining ecosystem services, and maintaining ecological functionality to meet societal needs. Along a gradient of cultivation intensity, the functional quality of agricultural landscape was explored and the relationships between landscape metrics and functional quality were analyzed, in order to make effective recommendations for landscape design aimed at sustainable land use schemes. The functional quality of landscape was calculated using the InVest model for 20 farm landscapes (North-Eastern Italy) where biodiversity (plant taxa) and sensitivity to disturbance (hemeroby) were used as model inputs. Results highlighted the importance of specific habitat types such as meadows and woodlands rather than other habitats for improving the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes. A high proportion of these habitats enhanced the functional quality of the landscape when the habitats were organized in large and not isolated patches in heterogeneous landscapes.     

Agriculture in environmentally sensitive areas: implementing the ESA measure in Denmark

Implementation of the environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) measure in Denmark as part of the EC Structures Regulation is described. Immediate effects and the way the agreements are expected to influence landscape development are evaluated. Of the 915 designated ESAs, agreements have only been signed in two‐thirds of the areas. In those areas in which ground water protection is an objective, ‘agreement coverage has been particularly low, whereas relatively more agreements have been signed for coastal areas dominated by salt meadows. More than 3000 agreements have been made, most of them comprising existing grassland such as meadows, salt meadows and dry grasslands. Landscape protection is the most important function of the ESA measure. The effectiveness of the programme towards environmental protection and landscape improvement is evaluated as being limited. Even though a large proportion of the agreement areas, according to the farmers, would be managed in the same way without an agreement, it is not possible to make definite conclusions about the effect on landscape protection before the five‐year agreement period has ended.     

Diversity and distribution of riparian plant communities in relation to stream size and eutrophication

The present study was conducted in 47 different riparian areas distributed throughout Denmark to investigate diversity and distributional patterns of plant communities along a lowland stream size gradient (first to fifth order). The investigated areas were representative for Danish riparian areas not in use for agricultural production. We investigated plant community richness along a stream size gradient and the influence of eutrophication on the abundance of different plant communities. Vegetation analyses were performed in transects placed perpendicular to the stream channel, with a total of 1798 plots analyzed. Overall, we found a positive relationship between stream mean depth as a measure of stream size and the number of plant community types identified in the riparian areas. We also found that the abundance of the identified communities was positively correlated with their nutrient preference and negatively correlated with their moisture preference. The abundance of alkaline fens and Molinia meadows (protected community types) in riparian areas decreased with increasing size of the stream, whereas the abundance of humid meadows and wet herb fringes increased with increasing size of the stream. Based on our findings, we recommend that wide buffer zones be established along streams with protected habitat types in the associated riparian areas to reduce the direct impact from agriculture. Furthermore, we recommend that wide buffer zones be established along middle-sized and large streams because several community types may develop.     

A Multi-scale Spatial Analysis of Native and Exotic Plant Species Richness Within a Mixed-Disturbance Oak Savanna Landscape

Impacts of human land use pose an increasing threat to global biodiversity. Resource managers must respond rapidly to this threat by assessing existing natural areas and prioritizing conservation actions across multiple spatial scales. Plant species richness is a useful measure of biodiversity but typically can only be evaluated on small portions of a given landscape. Modeling relationships between spatial heterogeneity and species richness may allow conservation planners to make predictions of species richness patterns within unsampled areas. We utilized a combination of field data, remotely sensed data, and landscape pattern metrics to develop models of native and exotic plant species richness at two spatial extents (60- and 120-m windows) and at four ecological levels for northwestern Ohio’s Oak Openings region. Multiple regression models explained 37–77 % of the variation in plant species richness. These models consistently explained more variation in exotic richness than in native richness. Exotic richness was better explained at the 120-m extent while native richness was better explained at the 60-m extent. Land cover composition of the surrounding landscape was an important component of all models. We found that percentage of human-modified land cover (negatively correlated with native richness and positively correlated with exotic richness) was a particularly useful predictor of plant species richness and that human-caused disturbances exert a strong influence on species richness patterns within a mixed-disturbance oak savanna landscape. Our results emphasize the importance of using a multi-scale approach to examine the complex relationships between spatial heterogeneity and plant species richness.     

Economic growth,biodiversity loss and conservation effort

This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth, biodiversity loss and efforts to conserve biodiversity using a combination of panel and cross section data. If economic growth is a cause of biodiversity loss through habitat transformation and other means, then we would expect an inverse relationship. But if higher levels of income are associated with increasing real demand for biodiversity conservation, then investment to protect remaining diversity should grow and the rate of biodiversity loss should slow with growth. Initially, economic growth and biodiversity loss are examined within the framework of the environmental Kuznets hypothesis. Biodiversity is represented by predicted species richness, generated for tropical terrestrial biodiversity using a species-area relationship. The environmental Kuznets hypothesis is investigated with reference to comparison of fixed and random effects models to allow the relationship to vary for each country. It is concluded that an environmental Kuznets curve between income and rates of loss of habitat and species does not exist in this case. The role of conservation effort in addressing environmental problems is examined through state protection of land and the regulation of trade in endangered species, two important means of biodiversity conservation. This analysis shows that the extent of government environmental policy increases with economic development. We argue that, although the data are problematic, the implications of these models is that conservation effort can only ever result in a partial deceleration of biodiversity decline partly because protected areas serve multiple functions and are not necessarily designated to protect biodiversity. Nevertheless institutional and policy response components of the income biodiversity relationship are important but are not well captured through cross-country regression analysis.     

Investigating biodiversity trajectories using scenarios – Lessons from two contrasting agricultural landscapes

Agriculture is the major land use at a global scale. In addition to food production, multifunctionality of landscapes, including values and ecosystem services like biodiversity, recreation and culture, is now focus for management. This study explores how a scenario approach, involving different stakeholders, may help to improve landscape management for biodiversity conservation. Local farmers and executives at the County Administrative Board were invited to discuss rural development and conditions for farmland biodiversity in two Swedish landscapes. The potential biodiversity for three future land use scenarios for the two landscapes was discussed: nature conservation, outdoor recreation and energy production, and compared with current and historical landscapes in each region.Analyses of habitat areas, connectedness and landscape diversity suggested that the energy and recreation scenarios had a negative impact on farmland biodiversity, whereas the nature conservation scenario, the current and historically reconstructed landscapes had a higher potential for biodiversity. The farmers appreciated the nature conservation scenario, but also the energy production scenario and they highlighted the need of increased subsidies for management of biodiversity. The farmers in the high production area were less interested in nature quality per se. The executives had similar opinions as the farmers, but disagreed on the advantages with energy production, as this would be in conflict with the high biodiversity and recreational values. The local physical and socio-economical conditions differ between landscapes and potentially shaped the stakeholders emotional attachment to the local environment, their opinions and decisions on how to manage the land. We stress the importance of incorporating local knowledge, visions and regional prerequisites for different land uses in conservation, since site and landscape specific planning for biodiversity together with a flexible subsidy system are necessary to reach the conservation goals within EU.     

Current and future effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network for protecting plant species in Sardinia: a nice and complex strategy in its raw state?

Sardinia hosts 186 endemic plant species and represents an important centre for Mediterranean biodiversity. In view of the threats facing its flora, 27 terrestrial vascular plants have been listed in international regulations and 124 sites designated for species and habitat conservation. This study analyses gaps in the Natura 2000 network and the current and future distribution of four representative plants. Each plant population was georeferenced and the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network was compared according to conservation status and distribution. Future species distributions were modelled by considering current climatic conditions and future scenarios. In apparent discordance with other results, we found that the Natura 2000 network represents most plant species well. This research shows a forward-looking survey on the regional effectiveness of protection measures which led us to confirm the need to enhance the current state of the Natura 2000 network by implementing local legislation and regulations.     

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.     

Indicators of Biodiversity and Conservational Wildlife Quality on Danish Organic Farms for Use in Farm Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Indicator Development and Testing

Organic farming is expected to contribute to conserving national biodiversity on farms, especially remnant, old, and undisturbed small biotopes, forests, and permanent grassland. This objective cannot rely on the legislation of organic farming solely, and to succeed, farmers need to understand the goals behind it. A set of indicators with the purpose of facilitating dialogues between expert and farmer on wildlife quality has been developed and tested on eight organic farms. “Weed cover in cereal fields,” was used as an indicator of floral and faunal biodiversity in the cultivated land, and “uncultivated biotope area” on the farm was used as a general measure of wildlife habitats. Functional grouping of herbaceous plants (discriminating between “high conservation value” plant species and “competitive”/“ruderal” species) and low mobility butterflies were used as indicators of conservation value, especially focusing on the few sites left with considerable remnant conservation value. The dialog processes revealed that the organic farmers’ ideas and goals of conservation of wildlife quality were not necessarily the same as for biologists; the farmers expressed very different opinions on the biological rooted idea, that wildlife quality is related to the absence of agricultural impact. However, farmers also stated that the information given by the indicators and especially the dialogue with the biologist had influenced their perception and awareness of wildlife. We conclude that, combined with a dialogue process, using these indicators when mapping wildlife quality could be an important key component of a farm wildlife management advisory tool at farm level.     

An Integrated Sampling and Analysis Approach for Improved Biodiversity Monitoring

Successful biodiversity conservation requires high quality monitoring data and analyses to ensure scientifically defensible policy, legislation, and management. Although monitoring is a critical component in assessing population status and trends, many governmental and non-governmental organizations struggle to develop and implement effective sampling protocols and statistical analyses because of the magnitude and diversity of species in conservation concern. In this article we describe a practical and sophisticated data collection and analysis framework for developing a comprehensive wildlife monitoring program that includes multi-species inventory techniques and community-level hierarchical modeling. Compared to monitoring many species individually, the multi-species approach allows for improved estimates of individual species occurrences, including rare species, and an increased understanding of the aggregated response of a community to landscape and habitat heterogeneity. We demonstrate the benefits and practicality of this approach to address challenges associated with monitoring in the context of US state agencies that are legislatively required to monitor and protect species in greatest conservation need. We believe this approach will be useful to regional, national, and international organizations interested in assessing the status of both common and rare species.     

Combining Landscape-Level Conservation Planning and Biodiversity Offset Programs: A Case Study

Habitat loss is major factor in the endangerment and extinction of species around the world. One promising strategy to balance continued habitat loss and biodiversity conservation is that of biodiversity offsets. However, a major concern with offset programs is their consistency with landscape-level conservation goals. While merging offset polices and landscape-level conservation planning is thought to provide advantages over a traditional disconnected approach, few such landscape-level conservation-offset plans have been designed and implemented, so the effectiveness of such a strategy remains uncertain. In this study, we quantitatively assess the conservation impact of combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs by comparing regions of San Diego County, USA with the combined approach to regions with only an offset program. This comparison is generally very difficult due to a variety of complicating factors. We overcome these complications and quantify the benefits to rare and threatened species of implementing a combined approach by assessing the amount of each species’ predicted distribution, and the number of documented locations, conserved in comparison to the same metric for areas with an offset policy alone. We found that adoption of the combined approach has increased conservation for many rare species, often 5–10 times more than in the comparison area, and that conservation has been focused in the areas most important for these species. The level of conservation achieved reduces uncertainty that these species will persist in the region into the future. This San Diego County example demonstrates the potential benefits of combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs.     

FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECIES COMPOSITION IN RIPARIAN PLANT COMMUNITIES1

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the spatial patterns of plant species richness observed in 1989 and in 1999 alongside the Adour River (Southwest France), focussing on: (1) upstream‐to‐down‐stream changes, (2) mid‐term changes, and (3) differences in observed patterns among various plant functional groups. The purpose of the research was to analyze how the proportions of invading species and/or ruderal species within riparian corridors can be related to regional environmental settings. About half of native and exotic species were ruderals. However, the proportion of competitors was higher within the native pool. No correlation was found between exotic and native functional groups. The longitudinal distribution of native and exotic ruderal species were correlated together, but they were not correlated with the total species richness. Converse to observations at the local scale in other studies, these patterns seem to be driven more by factors co‐varying with the size of the river and by climatic factors than by hydrological disturbance‐related factors. The role of the various plant groups studied and potential consequences on ecosystem function are discussed in the context of an increasing susceptibility of our ripanan corridors to invasions by nonriparian species. Management perspectives are discussed for the purpose of biodiversity conservation.     

Fit-for-Purpose Institutions? An Evaluation of Biodiversity Conservation in the Agricultural Landscape of the Tasmanian Midlands,Australia

Biodiversity loss is a globally significant problem. Institutional failure to halt this loss suggests current arrangements are not fit for the purpose of conserving biodiversity. The objective of this paper is to diagnose institutional fitness for conserving biodiversity in the Tasmanian Midlands of Australia, a highly modified agricultural landscape with critically endangered biodiversity values. This paper presents and applies a novel diagnostic framework that adopts a broad view of institutional fit, drawing on concepts from adaptive governance, institutional theory, and public administration, and finds four areas of poor fit that can guide reform efforts. The first is a narrow framing of biodiversity objectives, leading to neglect of key social and ecological concerns. Second, the interplay of current arrangements fails to buffer key economic and political drivers, and compromises adaptive capacity. Third, limited government authority and embedded power relations raise questions about the effectiveness and fairness of current approaches. Finally, the reluctance of governments to devolve authority and decision-making powers to self-organizing networks constrains adaptation. This suite of fit problems constrains achievement of biodiversity conservation, particularly in dealing with landscape multifunctionality, the need to balance private landholder rights and responsibilities, and the need to consider how to respond to emerging novel and hybrid ecosystems.     

Evaluation of a forage allocation model for Theodore Roosevelt National Park

We developed a forage allocation model using a deterministic, linear optimization module in a commercially available spreadsheet package to help resource managers in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), North Dakota determine optimum numbers of four ungulate species, bison (Bison bison), elk (Cervus elaphus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and feral horses, in the Park. TRNP staff actively managed bison, elk, and feral horse numbers within bounds suggested by our model from 1983 to 1996. During this period, we measured vegetation at 8 grassland and 12 wooded sites at 1-3 year intervals to determine if model solutions were appropriate for maintaining stable conditions in important plant communities in the Park. The data we recorded at these sites indicated minimal change in plant communities from 1983 to 1996. Changes in most vegetation categories that we expected when animal numbers exceeded model optimums for short periods (decreases in coverage/stem numbers of palatable plant species, increases in bare ground or unpalatable plant species) did not occur consistently under high or low precipitation conditions. The lack of sensitivity of our model to decreases in overall production of palatable plant species that occurred due to drought, fire, expansion of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies, and the spread of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) in areas of the Park where we did not have monitoring sites suggested that the model under-estimated the total number of ungulates that the Park could support. Management for population levels of ungulates defined by the model probably led to over protection of common plant communities and insufficient protection of rare plant communities. Detecting changes in rare plant communities could have been accomplished by re-designing our vegetation monitoring program, but changing emphasis to protection of rare plants would have likely promoted under use of grazing-tolerant habitat types, dissatisfaction in tourists visiting the Park to see large mammals, and large increases in cost and intrusiveness of management activities such as fencing and control of ungulate populations. The model was a flawed representation of grazing dynamics in TRNP, but we believe it succeeded in making management personnel aware of the biological constraints they face when making management decisions.     

Potential of the Conservation Reserve Program to control agricultural surface water pollution

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), initiated by the Conservation Title of the Food Security Act of 1985, is the primary federal program to control nonpointsource pollution in agricultural watersheds of the United States. However, the program is designed primarily to reduce soil erosion rather than to retire croplands in a manner optimal for controlling runoff of sediment and associated pollutants. This study estimates potential enrollment of streamside and floodplain croplands in this ten-year retirement program in order to gauge the potential of the CRP as a water-quality improvement policy. A contingent choice survey design was employed in Fayette County, Illinois, to demonstrate that there is substantial potential for retirement of streamside and floodplain croplands in the CRP. Enrollments in each program climb from less than 6% to over 83% of eligible croplands as the annual rental rate is increased from $20 to $200/acre. Potential retirement of streamside and floodplain croplands declines, however, if tree planting, drainage removal, or a 20-year contract are required. The potential of a CRP-based water-quality program to improve water quality and aquatic ecosystems in agricultural watersheds is thus substantial but constrained by the economic trade-offs that farmers make between crop production and conservation incentives in determining the use of their riparian lands.     

Managing Radioactively Contaminated Land: Implications for Habitat Diversity

Radioactive contamination of agricultural land may necessitate long-term changes in food production systems, through application of selected countermeasures, in order to reduce the accumulation of radionuclides in food. We quantified the impact of selected countermeasures on habitat diversity, using the hypothetical case of two agricultural areas in Finland. The management scenarios studied were conversions from grassland to cereal production and from grassland and crop production to afforestation. The two study sites differed with respect to present agricultural production: one being predominantly cereal production and seminatural grasslands, while the other was dominated by intensive grass and dairy production. Some of the management scenarios are expected to affect landscape structures and habitat diversity. These potential changes were assessed using a spatial pattern analysis program in connection with geographic information systems. The studied landscape changes resulted in a more monotonous landscape structure compared to the present management, by increasing the mean habitat patch size, reducing the total habitat edge length and reducing the overall habitat diversity calculated by the Shannon diversity index. The degree of change was dependent on the present agricultural management practice in the case study sites. Where dairy production was predominant, the landscape structure changes were mostly due to conversion of intensive pastures and grasslands to cereal production. In the area dominated by cereal production and seminatural grasslands, the greatest predicted impacts resulted from afforestation of meadows and pastures. The studied management changes are predicted to reduce biodiversity at the species level as well as diminishing species-rich habitats. This study has predicted prominent side effects in habitat diversity resulting from application of management scenarios. These potential long-term impacts should be considered by decision-makers when planning future strategies in the event of radionuclide deposition.     

A Quantitative Analysis of Biodiversity and the Recreational Value of Potential National Parks in Denmark

Denmark has committed itself to the European 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity. Currently, Denmark is in the process of designating larger areas as national parks, and 7 areas (of a possible 32 larger nature areas) have been selected for pilot projects to test the feasibility of establishing national parks. In this article, we first evaluate the effectiveness of the a priori network of national parks proposed through expert and political consensus versus a network chosen specifically for biodiversity through quantitative analysis. Second, we analyze the potential synergy between preserving biodiversity in terms of species representation and recreational values in selecting a network of national parks. We use the actual distribution of 973 species within these 32 areas and 4 quantitative measures of recreational value. Our results show that the 7 pilot project areas are not significantly more effective in representing species than expected by chance and that considerably more efficient networks can be selected. Moreover, it is possible to select more-effective networks of areas that combine high representation of species with high ranking in terms of recreational values. Therefore, our findings suggest possible synergies between outdoor recreation and biodiversity conservation when selecting networks of national parks. Overall, this Danish case illustrates that data-driven analysis can not only provide valuable information to guide the decision-making process of designating national parks, but it can also be a means to identify solutions that simultaneously fulfill several goals (biodiversity preservation and recreational values).     

Barn Owls,Bumble Bees and Beetles: UK Agriculture,Biodiversity and Biodiversity Action Planning

Agriculture is a key land user implicated in the causes of, and solutions to, the problem of biodiversity decline. The development, in the late 1990s, of farm biodiversity action plans (farm BAPs) represents an important step towards achieving greater farmer involvement in biodiversity and is the first specific attempt to devise a practical mechanism for meeting biodiversity targets at the farm level. In this paper the processes surrounding the design and implementation of farm BAPs are used to explore how farmers are responding to the biodiversity issue and to highlight challenges and opportunities being faced by the organizations delivering biodiversity to the farming community. It describes the formulation and operation of farm BAPs, and then moves on to present two conceptual domains, governance and ecological modernization, which provide a framework for interpreting the emergence of farm BAPs. Following a brief elaboration of methodology, the paper presents and discusses selected findings from empirical research into farm BAPs across the UK.