Screening risk areas for sediment and phosphorus losses to improve placement of mitigation measures

Identification of vulnerable arable areas to phosphorus (P) losses is needed to effectively implement mitigation measures. Indicators for source (soil test P, STP), potential mobilization by erosion (soil dispersion), and transport (unit-stream power length-slope, LS) risks were used to screen the vulnerability to suspended solids (SS) and P losses in two contrasting catchments regarding topography, soil textural distribution, and STP. Soils in the first catchment ranged from loamy sand to clay loam, while clay soils were dominant in the second catchment. Long-term SS and total P losses were higher in the second catchment in spite of significantly lower topsoil STP. A higher proportion of areas in the second catchment were identified with higher risk due to the significantly higher risk of overland flow generation (LS) and a significantly higher mobilization risk in the soil dispersion laboratory tests. A simple screening method was presented to improve the placement of mitigation measures.     

Priority areas for conservation of and research focused on terrestrial vertebrates

Effective conservation policies require comprehensive knowledge of biodiversity. However, knowledge shortfalls still remain, hindering possibilities to improve decision making and built such policies. During the last 2 decades, conservationists have made great efforts to allocate resources as efficiently as possible but have rarely considered the idea that if research investments are also strategically allocated, it would likely fill knowledge gaps while simultaneously improving conservation actions. Therefore, prioritizing areas where both conservation and research actions could be conducted becomes a critical endeavor that can further maximize return on investment. We used Zonation, a conservation planning tool and geographical distributions of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles to suggest and compare priority areas for conservation and research of terrestrial vertebrates worldwide. We also evaluated the degree of human disturbance in both types of priority areas by describing the value of the human footprint index within such areas. The spatial concordance between priority conservation and research areas was low: 0.36% of the world's land area. In these areas, we found it would be possible to protect almost half of the currently threatened species and to gather information on nearly 42% of data-deficient (DD) species. We also found that 6199 protected areas worldwide are located in such places, although only 35% of them have strict conservation purposes. Areas of consensus between conservation and research areas represent an opportunity for simultaneously conserving and acquiring knowledge of threatened and DD species of vertebrates. Although the picture is not the most encouraging, joint conservation and research efforts are possible and should be fostered to save vertebrate species from our own ignorance and extinction.     

我国自然保护区级别划分标准的研究

本文在总结国内外自然保护区级别划分背景的基础上,根据我国自然保护区建设和管理的现状,提出保护区级别划分应遵循的原则,如以定性方法为主,与现行行政体制相一致等。根据这些原则,研究制定了我国自然保护区级别划分的标准。该标准将自然保护区划分为国家级、省级、市级和县级。并对其标准进行了详细描述和定义。此外,本文还对保护区级别划分的依据和确定保护区重要性的评价指标进行了阐述和讨论。此标准的研究对于当前我国自然保护区的建设和规范化管理具有重要的意义。     

Inhibition of Amazon Deforestation and Fire by Parks and Indigenous Lands

Abstract:  Conservation scientists generally agree that many types of protected areas will be needed to protect tropical forests. But little is known of the comparative performance of inhabited and uninhabited reserves in slowing the most extreme form of forest disturbance: conversion to agriculture. We used satellite-based maps of land cover and fire occurrence in the Brazilian Amazon to compare the performance of large (>10,000 ha) uninhabited (parks) and inhabited (indigenous lands, extractive reserves, and national forests) reserves. Reserves significantly reduced both deforestation and fire. Deforestation was 1.7 (extractive reserves) to 20 (parks) times higher along the outside versus the inside of the reserve perimeters and fire occurrence was 4 (indigenous lands) to 9 (national forests) times higher. No strong difference in the inhibition of deforestation ( p = 0.11) or fire ( p = 0.34) was found between parks and indigenous lands. However, uninhabited reserves tended to be located away from areas of high deforestation and burning rates. In contrast, indigenous lands were often created in response to frontier expansion, and many prevented deforestation completely despite high rates of deforestation along their boundaries. The inhibitory effect of indigenous lands on deforestation was strong after centuries of contact with the national society and was not correlated with indigenous population density. Indigenous lands occupy one-fifth of the Brazilian Amazon—five times the area under protection in parks—and are currently the most important barrier to Amazon deforestation. As the protected-area network expands from 36% to 41% of the Brazilian Amazon over the coming years, the greatest challenge will be successful reserve implementation in high-risk areas of frontier expansion as indigenous lands are strengthened. This success will depend on a broad base of political support.     

湖南烟区烤烟锌含量与土壤有效锌的分布特点及关系分析

采用野外调查和室内分析相结合的方法,研究了湖南烟区烤烟锌含量与土壤有效锌含量的分布特点及关系。结果表明,(1)湖南烟叶锌含量总体适宜,平均为(36.30±14.05)mg·kg-1,变幅为10.50~100.50mg·kg-1;调查区域内有92.58%的烟叶样本锌含量落在20.00~80.00mg·kg-1区间内;不同等级烟叶锌含量的规律是:B2F>C3F>X2F。(2)湖南植烟土壤有效锌含量适中,平均为(2.27±3.74)mg·kg-1,变幅为0.13~62.59mg·kg-1,变异系数高达155.09%;有22.41%的土壤样本在不同程度上缺锌(≤1.00mg·kg-1),有7.36%的样本的有效锌含量超过4.00mg·kg-1,满足优质烟生长的土壤样本达到70.23%;不同土壤类型有效锌含量的变化规律是:鸭屎泥>黄泥田>黄灰土>黄壤土。(3)烟叶锌含量与土壤有效锌含量呈极显著正相关,相关系数为0.312;与土壤有效铜、有效铁和有效硫均呈极显著正相关,与土壤pH值、有效钾和水溶性氯均呈显著负相关。(4)在土壤有效锌含量分组后,不同等级烟叶锌含量均随着土壤有效锌含量的增加,而呈现先增加后下降的趋势,且各等级烟叶锌含量在组间差异达到5%的显著水平。     

Assessment of Effectiveness of Protection Strategies in Tanzania Based on a Decade of Survey Data for Large Herbivores

Abstract:  Considerable controversy surrounds the effectiveness of strictly protected areas that prohibit consumptive resource use. For Tanzania we compared temporal changes in densities of large herbivores among heavily protected national parks and game reserves, partially protected game-controlled areas, and areas with little or no protection. Comparisons based on surveys conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s versus the late 1990s and early 2000s showed three consistent patterns across the country. First, significant declines in the densities of large herbivores between these two snapshots in time overwhelmingly outnumbered significant increases in all protection categories. Second, more species fared well (increased significantly or showed no significant change) in strictly protected national parks than in areas with partial or no protection and in heavily protected game reserves relative to areas with no protection. Third, significantly more species fared poorly (densities declined or were too low to detect a decline) than fared well in areas with partial or no protection. Our results show that although heavy protection was generally more effective in maintaining large herbivore populations than partial or no protection, continued long-term monitoring is needed in Tanzania to inform managers whether large herbivores are experiencing declining population trends even within heavily protected areas .     

Contribution of the Natura 2000 Network to Biodiversity Conservation in Italy

Abstract:  The Natura 2000 network is the most important conservation effort being implemented in Europe. Nevertheless, no comprehensive and systematic region—or nationwide evaluation of the effectiveness of the network has been conducted. We used habitat suitability models and extent of occurrence of 468 species of vertebrates to evaluate the contribution of the Natura 2000 network to biodiversity conservation in Italy. We also estimated the population size of 101 species inside the Natura 2000 network to assess its capacity to maintain or improve the population status of listed species. In general the Italian Natura 2000 did not seem to integrate existing protected areas well. The Natura 2000 network increased from 11% to 20% the area devoted to conservation in Italy and the coverage provided to areas with high biodiversity. Nevertheless, some areas with high numbers of species were devoid of conservation areas, and more than 50% of the highly irreplaceable areas were not considered in the system. Moreover, the Natura 2000 network cannot maintain 44–80% (depending on the taxa considered) of the species in a "favorable conservation status" under World Conservation Union Red List criteria. The Natura 2000 network is probably stronger than the results of our analyses suggest. The system is based on a site-specific expert-based strategy and is driven by direct and detailed knowledge of local diversity. Nevertheless, if Natura 2000 is taken to represent the final point of all the EU conservation policies, it will inevitably fail. Its role in conservation could be enhanced by integrating the Natura 2000 system into a more general strategy that considers natural processes and the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying these processes.     

西南岩溶山区景观生态特征与景观生态建设

探讨了西南岩溶山区景观生态结构与功能以及景观生态过程的不同于其他区域的基本特征，尝试从景观角度认识西南岩溶区生态空间特性与演化过程。受地质地貌和土地利用的影响。西南岩溶山区景观基质脆弱、景观格局分异明显，具破碎化与景观结构粗粒化、景观动态变化范围大且速度快、整体退化明显的特点，以石漠化为特征的景观演化削弱了岩溶生态系统的生态服务功能。岩溶山区的景观生态建设须充分认识岩溶山区资源环境优势，充分利用当地的适生植物资源，协调生态效应和水文效应，促进水土资源的有效保持向高效利用发展，形成新的高效、和谐的人工自然景观。今后应把景观格局与生态过程结合起来、与人文因子和地学背景结合起来，加强小尺度的景观变化研究。