The Influence of Proximity to a National Forest on Emotions and Fire-Management Decisions

Because American national forests are managed for all citizens, it is important that researchers explore the differences and similarities between citizens living both near and far from publicly managed land. We surveyed residents living at various distances from nationally managed land to collect resident perceptions of different forest fire-management techniques, to determine public preferences for these techniques, and to examine the motivations behind these preferences. Participants both close to and far away from national forests tended to favor a multipronged approach to fire management by preferring the use of a combination of two or more fire-management techniques. There were no significant differences by proximity in participants’ self-rated emotions, types of fire-management techniques preferred, or the reasons and rationales for their preferred fire-management technique(s), indicating that the proximity variable may not be as significant as previously thought.     

DMS photochemistry during the Asian dust-storm period in the Spring of 2001: model simulations vs. field observations

This study examines the local/regional DMS oxidation chemistry on Jeju Island (33.17 degrees N, 126.10 degrees E) during the Asian dust-storm (ADS) period of April 2001. Three ADS events were observed during the periods of April 10-12, 13-14, and 25-26, respectively. For comparative purposes, a non-Asian-dust-storm (NADS) period was also considered in this study, which represents the entire measurement periods in April except the ADS events. The atmospheric concentrations of DMS and SO2 were measured at a ground station on Jeju Island, Korea, as part of the ACE-Asia intensive operation. DMS (means of 34-52 pptv) and SO2 (means of 0.96-1.14 ppbv) levels measured during the ADS period were higher than those (mean of 0.45 ppbv) during the NADS period. The enhanced DMS levels during the ADS period were likely due to the increase in DMS flux under reduced oxidant levels (OH and NO3). SO2 levels between the two contrasting periods were affected sensitively by some factors such as air mass origins. The diurnal variation patterns of DMS observed during the two periods were largely different from those seen in the background environment (e.g., the marine boundary layer (MBL)). In contrast to the MBL, the maximum DMS value during the ADS period was seen in the late afternoon at about sunset; this reversed pattern appears to be regulated by certain factors (e.g., enhanced NO3 oxidation). The sea-to-air fluxes of DMS between the ADS and NADS periods were calculated based on the mass-balance photochemical-modeling approach; their results were clearly distinguished with the values of 4.4 and 2.4 micromole m(-2) day(-1), respectively. This study confirmed that the contribution of DMS oxidation to observed SO2 levels on Jeju Island was not significant during our study period regardless of ADS or NADS periods.     

The European Union Solidarity Fund

This paper examines the legitimacy, viability and efficiency of the European Union Solidarity Fund by asking whether the Fund meets its stated purpose of providing solidarity within the EU, whether it is sufficiently capitalized and if it promotes disaster risk reduction in Europe. In examining these questions, we make use of ADAM models of disaster risks throughout Europe. We conclude that the Solidarity Fund falls short on all three counts, and we suggest possible alternatives. Most far-reaching, we explore whether the EUSF could support insurance systems in Europe by, among other possible activities, capitalizing national public-private insurance programs and providing support for government risk transfer. This would leverage the Fund’s capital and would overcome barriers to the provision of private and public sector insurance in uncertain catastrophe markets. It would also make insurance more affordable to Europe’s most vulnerable communities. Finally, it would reduce the disincentives for risk reduction inherent in post-disaster assistance.     

Accommodation space limits plant invasion: Ammophila arenaria survival on New Zealand beaches

Purpose

Ammophila arenaria (marram grass) may invade remote beach-dune systems by the marine dispersal of rhizomes. In New Zealand, and elsewhere, the conservation of the remaining dune systems of high conservation value would be advanced by predicting where this species might successfully establish and undertaking appropriate surveillance. This paper examines the ability of A. arenaria to sustain growth in the stressful back-beach environment.

Methods

Shoots developed from rhizomes were subjected to burial, depth, salt spray and desiccation treatments in the glasshouse. Plants were also subjected to salt water inundation. Two field populations of A. arenaria were surveyed for a period of almost 3 years, following rhizome stranding in July 2007.

Results

Shoots were able to emerge from depths of up to 40 cm. Rhizomes failed to produce shoots when the moisture content of rhizomes was less than 18.25 %, which occurred after 3 days of drought. The survival of buried plants was significantly reduced compared to non-buried plants when burial exceeded 80 % of the plant height. No plants survived when burial exceeded 100 % of the plant height. No tillers survived without water for more than 3 weeks. Exposure to salt spray had no effect on shoot survival. Immersion in seawater significantly reduced survival—exposure to seawater, equivalent to only one high tide immersion event, was sufficient to reduce plant survival in the glasshouse.

Conclusions

Burial, desiccation and salt-spray may, on occasion, be responsible for either preventing the regeneration of A. arenaria rhizomes or limiting the survival of the resultant plants, but exposure to wave activity determines the viability of a population.     

Sovereign financial disaster risk management: The case of Mexico

In 2006, Mexico became the first transition country to transfer part of its public-sector natural catastrophe risk to the international reinsurance and capital markets. The Mexican case is of considerable interest to highly exposed transition and developing countries, many of which are considering similar transactions. Risk financing instruments can assure governments of sufficient post-disaster capital to provide emergency response, disaster relief to the affected population and repair public infrastructure. The costs of financial instruments, however, can greatly exceed expected losses, and for this reason it is important to closely examine their benefits and alternatives. This paper analyzes the Mexican case from the perspective of the risk cedent (the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit), which was informed by analyses provided by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The rationale for a government to insure its contingent liabilities is presented along with the fiscal, legal and institutional context of the Mexican transaction. Using publicly available data, the paper scrutinizes the choice the authorities faced between two different risk-transfer instruments: reinsurance and a catastrophe bond. Making use of IIASA's catastrophe simulation model (CATSIM), this financial risk management decision is analyzed within the context of a public investment decision.     

Business recovery: an assessment framework

This paper presents a Business Recovery Assessment Framework (BRAF) to help researchers and practitioners design robust, repeatable, and comparable studies of business recovery in various post‐disruption contexts. Studies assessing business recovery without adequately considering the research aims, recovery definitions, and indicators can produce misleading findings. The BRAF is composed of a series of steps that guide the decisions that researchers need to make to ensure: (i) that recovery is indeed being measured; (ii) that the indicators of recovery that are selected align with the objectives of the study and the definition of recovery; and, where necessary, (iii) that appropriate comparative control variables are in place. The paper draws on a large dataset of business surveys collected following the earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand, on 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 to demonstrate the varied conclusions that different recovery indicators can produce and to justify the need for a systematic approach to business recovery assessments.     

Learning sustainable water practices through participatory irrigation management in Thailand

Participatory irrigation management (PIM) was adopted in Thailand in 2004 to encourage the sustainable use of water in the agricultural sector. The research presented in this paper sought to understand the relationships between public participation, learning, and the implementation of more sustainable water practices through PIM in Thailand. Data was collected through document reviews, observation, informal meetings, and a total of 55 semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews of local irrigators from two case study regions around the Krasiew Reservoir. Results showed that participating in PIM activities facilitated both instrumental (e.g., water supply and demand data, benefits of on‐time water delivery) and communicative (e.g., reasons for past PIM failure, expectations of fellow farmers) learning among PIM participants. Findings also revealed that social action is fostered through the recognition of human dignity and compassionate communication that instils a sense of ownership and solidarity among irrigators. Sustainable water practices among local farmers were spurred further through learning that the reservoir is a finite water source.     

Lipid and protein utilisation during early development of yellowtail kingfish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Seriola lalandi</Emphasis>)

The pelagic yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi has become a target species for aquaculture in Asia and Australasia. Australasian production is reliant on larviculture from eggs of captive brood stock; however, knowledge regarding the nutritional requirements of larvae of this species is still scarce, particularly in relation to lipids. As a first step in establishing these requirements, eggs and larvae from captive S. lalandi brood stock were examined for differences in total protein, total lipid and lipid classes between individual spawning events, over the spawning season, and during larval development from fertilisation to 15 days post hatch. Results indicate that total protein egg⁻¹ varied significantly between individual spawning events within a season, but neither total lipid nor total protein egg⁻¹ varied significantly across the spawning season. Brood stock egg lipids were made up of approximately 60% phospholipid, 25% wax and/or sterol esters (WE), 15% triacylglycerol (TAG), and small amounts of sterols and free fatty acids. During the early larval period, both WE and TAG were utilised concurrently for energy. The larvae experienced very high mortality around 5–7 days post hatch, which coincided with very low levels of all neutral lipid classes. Although many other factors may also influence larval mortality, these results indicate that lipid provisioning may be an important factor in larval survival during the critical period around first-feeding in this species. Examination of ratios of TAG:ST, often used as a condition index in fish larvae, suggested that some of the larvae were suffering from starvation. However, as egg-derived WE appears to provide a significant source of energy during the early larval period in S. lalandi, it is suggested that WE should be included in any index of larval nutritional state.