Forests in the time of peace

ABSTRACT

The signing of Colombia’s peace agreement in 2016 signaled the end of a decades-long war between the government and the FARC (Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), but also an emerging assault against the country’s forests. This article aims to understand the interactions between forests and peace. In doing so, it traces landscape transformations of deforestation and possibilities for making landscapes livable in the midst of disturbance. Drawing on field research, including interviews and participant observation carried out in Colombia from 2016 to 2018, it reveals how deforestation is driven by ongoing colonization and land grabbing, mostly dedicated to extensive cattle ranching, coca cultivation, and campesinos’ transition to ‘licit’ agricultural alternatives. The article also shows how emerging coordination among farmers and forests following forest disturbance contributes to an interpretation of peace in which forests are integral. The article concludes with a call to incorporate forests in the construction of peace.     

Understanding the distribution of cattle production systems in the South American Chaco

ABSTRACT

Impacts of cattle production vary among different production systems, but data on their distribution is scarce for most world regions. In this work, we combine datasets on cattle vaccination locations and land cover in a regression framework to define and map major cattle production systems in the Argentinean Dry Chaco. We also explore how cattle occurrence relates to spatial determinants. Results indicate that the region harbors about 5.5 million heads. Cattle density was mainly described by the share of pasture (69.9%), cropland (28.1%) and aridity (23.8%). We identified 12-major cattle production systems: six cow-calf, three whole-cycle, and three fattening systems. Of these, four systems had high woodland cover (>85%). Data generated is available in a website. Understanding the distribution of cattle production systems is important to assess the environmental impacts of beef production at broad scales. Integrating vaccination data with land-cover information provides a promising avenue to identify livestock systems.     

Impacts of Livestock Grazing and Tree Clearing on Birds of Woodland and Riparian Habitats

Abstract:  We investigated the impact of pastoral management on birds in subtropical grassy eucalypt woodland in southeastern Queensland, Australia, where the patterns of land management have made it possible to disentangle the effects of livestock grazing from those of tree clearing. We recorded changes in bird species composition, density, and relative abundance across two woodland habitat types (riparian and nonriparian) and two levels of clearing (wooded and nonwooded) and three levels of livestock grazing (low, moderate, and high) replicated over space (1000 km²) and time (2001–2002). We predicted that species that depend on understory vegetation would be most negatively affected by livestock grazing. A Bayesian generalized linear model showed that the level of grazing had the greatest effect when trees were present. When trees were absent, the impact of grazing was overshadowed by the effects of a lack of trees. Over 65% of species responded to different levels of grazing, and the abundance of 42% of species varied markedly with habitat and grazing. The most common response to grazing was high species relative abundance under low levels of grazing (28% of species), species absence at high levels of grazing (20%), and an increase in abundance with increasing grazing (18%). Despite having similar bird assemblages, the effect of grazing was stronger in riparian habitat than in adjacent woodland habitat. Our results suggest that any level of commercial livestock grazing is detrimental to some woodland birds, particularly the understory-dependant species, as predicted. Nevertheless, provided trees are not cleared, a rich and abundant bird fauna can coexist with moderate levels of grazing. Habitats with high levels of grazing, on the other hand, resulted in a species-poor bird assemblage dominated by birds that are increasing in abundance nationally .     

施用牛粪对As污染稻田水稻As吸收的影响

为探究牛粪施肥对污染稻田水稻As吸收的影响,采用盆栽培养试验研究了施加牛粪对土壤Fe和As的活性、水稻根表铁膜形成及籽粒As含量的影响。实验所用受高As矿山废水污染土壤(As:92. 3 mg/kg)施加10%～30%的牛粪,土壤溶解性有机碳含量增加8. 41～24. 5 mg/kg,土壤孔隙水pH提高0. 14～0. 59,土壤氧化还原电位降低93. 5～174 m V,与背景土(As:18. 1 mg/kg)变化趋势相同;施用牛粪还会活化土壤中的Fe和As,污染土壤Fe(II)、AO-Fe和HCl-As含量分别增加13. 5%～149%、35. 9%～90. 9%和70. 1%～181%,分别为背景土壤的0. 86～1. 66倍、1. 17～2. 15倍、4. 29～8. 91倍;施加牛粪能促进根表铁膜的形成,拔节期污染土壤和背景土壤水稻根表Fe分别是其对照的1. 56～1. 96倍和2. 09～3. 07倍,根表吸附As含量是其对照的3. 04～5. 18、3. 82～4. 08倍,根表附着Fe随牛粪的增加先增加后降低,至成熟期污染土壤水稻根表吸附Fe和As分别是背景土壤的1. 35～2. 91和8. 45～16. 6倍,根表As和Fe的物质量比为污染区(3. 49×10~(-3)～3. 55×10~(-3))背景区(4. 41×10~(-4)～6. 17×10~(-4));背景土壤施加牛粪后水稻籽粒As含量降低,最大降低36. 4%,而污染土壤水稻籽粒As含量增加,最大增加127%。牛粪对土壤As、Fe的活性及根表铁膜的形成都具有重要影响,会提高污染稻田籽粒中As的含量,含As矿山废水污染稻田应当谨慎施用牛粪。     

Topical application of synthetic pyrethroids to cattle as a source of persistent environmental contamination

Abstract

Following the application of permethrin or cyhalothrin to cattle for the control of ectoparasites, the occurrence and persistence of these chemicals was assessed on the animals and in their environment. The release of permethrin from ear tags containing 1g of the drug on cattle was followed for 65 days and lead to concentrations of 5 to 35 μg of permethrin per gram of hair on the shoulders. On the flanks of the animals, the corresponding values were 10 times lower. Across the 1.5 acre pasture, high concentrations of permethiin were measured at various locations and long after treatment: 6 μg/g on bark of a birch after one week, 5 μg/g on a pole of the fence after two weeks, 1 μg/g in grass from a resting site of the animal after six weeks, and 0.5 μg/g in bark of a pine tree after three month and two weeks after the animals had left the pasture. In similar assays, cyhalothrin applied to milk cows as a pour‐on preparation was monitored. One week following treatment with 0.2 g/animal, hair cut from the shoulders contained 5 μg/g of the insecticide, which disappeared with a half‐life of 12 days. Dust collected two weeks after the pour‐on treatment from the milk barn where the cows were milked twice daily contained 47 μg/g of cyhalothrin, which disappeared with a half‐life of 44 days. These results show that synthetic pyrethroids used on farm animals can be the source of widespread and persistent contamination.     

Biodiversity versus emergencies: the impact of restocking on Animal Genetic Resources after disaster

Restocking is a favoured option in supporting livelihoods after a disaster. With the depletion of local livestock populations, the introduction of new species and breeds will clearly affect biodiversity. Nevertheless, the impact of restocking on Animal Genetic Resources has been largely ignored. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to examine the consequences of restocking on biodiversity via a simple model. Utilising a hypothetical project based on cattle, the model demonstrates that more than one-third of the population was related to the original restocked animals after three generations. Under conditions of random breed selection, the figure declined to 20 per cent. The tool was then applied to a donor-led restocking project implemented in Bosnia-Herzegovina. By restocking primarily with Simmental cattle, the model demonstrated that the implementation of a single restocking project is likely to have accelerated the decline of the indigenous Buşa breed by a further nine per cent. Thus, greater awareness of the long-term implications of restocking on biodiversity is required.     

Reference values for acetyl and butyrylcholinesterases in cattle under actual management conditions,hepatic and renal function by application of chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos is an anticholinesterase organophosphate insecticide widely used in Argentina in the production of food derived from animal, fruit and horticultural origin and is reported as a residue within these products. Local reference values for acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase were determined in Aberdeen Angus bovine and cross bred cattle (n = 25), a requirement to be able to evaluate toxicity of commercial organophosphate and carbamate formulations. The activity of cholinesterase enzymes presented an overall mean of 2,183.00 ± 485.6 IU L^?1 for erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase and 203.1 ± 42.06 IU L^?1 for plasma butyrylcholinesterase, which are used as reference values for meat steers within a system of intensive production in a semi-arid region. The toxic potential of chlorpyrifos in steers of the same breeds (n = 12) was assessed applying chlorpyrifos 15.00% Tipertox® in a single therapeutic dose of 7.50 mg kg^?1 by topical route. Prior to application and then on day 1 and day 21 post-application, both blood cholinesterases, serum chlorpyrifos concentration by ultra-high resolution liquid chromatography with mass detector, analysis of blood counts, total proteins, liver enzymes, urea and creatinine were evaluated. The mean plasma concentration of chlorpyrifos was 27.90 ug L^?1 at 24 h. The findings indicate that the therapeutic treatment of castrated male bovines treated with chlorpyrifos, applied by pour-on according to the manufacturer's instructions, does not cause changes in the variables evaluated.     

牛眼虹膜定位算法研究及其在肉食品追溯系统中的应用

为实现动物个体的精确鉴别,提高肉食品的安全性,将动物虹膜识别技术引入到肉食品供应链中,构建了基于虹膜识别的肉食品安全可追溯系统业务流程,实现了肉食品"从农场到餐桌"的安全保障;并以牛眼虹膜为例,根据其非同心椭圆的结构特征和图像仿射变换不变特征的原理,提出了一种牛眼虹膜快速定位方法。将牛眼虹膜内、外边界分别转化为圆形,对内边界采用灰度均值法粗定位与"三点定圆"精定位相结合的方法实现,对外边界设计了一种逐点扫描分层圆环算法来精确拟合。实验结果表明:该方法避免了虹膜信息丢失,减少了空间参数的选择运算。     

内蒙古典型草原羊粪和牛粪的分解特征

为了解畜粪的分解特征及对半干旱典型草原养分循环的影响,于2008年6月~2009年10月采用人为控制的野外实验,研究了羊粪和牛粪对内蒙古典型草原草地的输入量,分解过程中的重量损失、有机物和氮(N)、磷(P)浓度变化.结果表明,羊粪和牛粪的年输入量分别约为(17.8±13.8)kg hm-2和(365.6±495.9)kg hm-2.分解450 d后,残留粪样中有机物浓度较鲜粪减少约14.46%(羊粪)和48.78%(牛粪),即羊粪的分解速率较牛粪显著缓慢,2种粪的残留粪块在草地中堆置时间至少可达2个生长季以上.两种粪中,N素以有机态为主,矿化和释放速度均较慢;P素以无机态为主,释放速度较快;春季冻融变化可以显著促进两种粪中N和P的矿化速率;实验结束时,残留粪样中的全N浓度较鲜粪分别降低了25.89%(羊粪)和16.07%(牛粪),全P分别降低了30.73%和27.21%.埋入地下处理,可以消除风蚀对羊粪块失重的影响,使残留粪样保持较高湿度,促进有机质分解,并改变淋溶作用对粪块中养分含量的影响;但对牛粪分解无明显影响.从研究结果可以看出,家畜粪在半干旱草地环境中分解较慢,堆积过程中对草地的养分循环有重要影响.     

赤子爱胜蚓处理鲜牛粪的适宜条件研究

文章以鲜牛粪为饵料,通过培养试验研究不同乙酸添加量、湿度、温度、接种密度和添加EM菌对赤子爱胜蚓(Eisenia foetida)生长繁殖的影响,从而为蚯蚓处理畜禽粪便筛选最适宜的生长条件。结果表明:蚯蚓生长最适宜的条件为,每90g(干重)饵料接种8条蚯蚓,加1mL10%的乙酸溶液,含水率控制在65%～70%;温度控制在20～25℃,并接种EM菌促进蚯蚓的生长繁殖。