Positive long-term effect of mulching on species and functional trait diversity in a nutrient-poor mountain meadow in Central Europe

Oligotrophic mountain meadows are threatened biodiversity hotspots throughout Europe. The traditional summer hay-making followed by autumn grazing is no longer economic and question is whether alternative managements can maintain both plant species and functional diversity typical of these habitats. In the Bohemian Forest Mts., we applied three treatments (mowing once a year - i.e., cutting and removing the biomass, mulching once a year - cutting and leaving the crushed biomass to decompose in situ, fallowing - no cutting) in order to assess temporal changes in meadow vegetation, plant trait composition and biomass production in a 13-year experiment. We recorded for each species twenty-five traits as to be most informative of plant strategies related to growth, resource acquisition and carbon-water economy. We compared different components of trait composition (community averages that mostly reflect traits of dominant species vs. the Rao index of functional diversity that reflects trait dissimilarity among species) and their impact on biomass production. We show that mulching promotes species and functional diversity by facilitating heliophilous forbs and legumes with more acquisitive strategies in resource use and release, e.g., higher foliar N and P content. This occurs at the expense of tall grasses (with resource-retentive strategies, e.g., high leaf dry matter content) which dominate the mown and fallow plots. The divergence in most quantitative traits indicates that niche complementarity is the dominant assembly process in mulched plots, which can prevent competitive exclusion and enable species coexistence. The divergent development was detected only after 5-6 years. This slow floristic and functional response is caused by acidity of soil and severe mountain climate that preclude rapid responses of vegetation to land-use changes. We conclude that mulching represents a good compromise maintaining both plant species and functional diversity as well as a relatively high biomass production. Mowing without grazing leads to gradual nutrient loss and thus reduces the productivity and diversity in these oligotrophic ecosystems. Fallowing causes gradual loss in diversity by increased grass competition and litter accumulation.     

Patterns of plant trait-environment relationships along a forest succession chronosequence

Land-use change due to socioeconomic factors leads to the abandonment of traditional intensive coppice management in large areas of the mountainous landscapes of the Apennines (Italy). In this study we explored the multivariate relationship between plant species traits, stage of forest succession and environmental gradients. We focused on community-level patterns in plant traits of the vegetation of beech forest understory along the regeneration chronosequence initiated after cessation of coppicing. We hypothesized that the correlations between the traits and environmental factors should increase with succession age due to the decreasing role of chance.Landscape-level heterogeneity, i.e. changing elevation, slope, exposition, bedrock and forest stand age was assessed using a stratified random sampling design. Sixty sites were sampled for stand structure and species composition. We focused on 14 plant traits related to persistence, growth and dispersal. The recently developed data-analytical method, Model-Based Recursive Partitioning, was used to disentangle the relationships between patterns of plant traits and environmental gradients.About half (seven) of the studied plant traits showed significant correlations with succession stand age, elevation, inclination, heat index and bedrock. Contrary to the low number of trait-environment correlations in early succession, eight traits showed significant relationships with one or more abiotic factors in older stages of the post-coppice development. Stand age had the highest independent explanatory power, explaining 40% of variance of SLA, more than 17% of variance of short-distance seed dispersal and more than 15% of variance of both long-term connection and extensive perennial root. Among the other abiotic factors, elevation explained 27% of variance of SLA, inclination explained 6-8% of variance of long-term connection, extensive perennial root, thickening and large bud bank.The observed trait-environmental relationship is assumed to be driven by various environmental factors operating at various levels of complexity. While forest succession in relatively homogeneous landscapes might be driven mainly by environmental factors related to forest succession itself and associated abiotic changes (such as changes in light and soil moisture patterns), in heterogeneous landscapes the succession pathways may be structured by landscape-level environmental factors such as inclination. However, in the present study, forest stand age had the highest explanatory power for most of the investigated traits, supporting the assumption of the overall strong impact of succession-driven environmental factors in trait-environment relationships.     

Analysis of a rural water supply project in three communities in Mali: Participation and sustainability

This paper presents a qualitative assessment of the participatory water management strategies implemented at the community level in rural Mali through a water supply project — The West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) — coordinated by World Vision International, a non‐governmental and humanitarian organization. Data for the study were generated through a combination of primary and secondary sources in three villages. Results of the study indicate that while community‐based rural water supply is a positive step in responding to the needs of rural Malians, the installation of boreholes with hand pumps informed merely by consultative participatory approaches and limited extension involvement will not necessarily proffer sustainable rural water supply in the region. A “platform” approach to rural water supply management that can mobilize the assets and insights of different social actors to influence decision making at all stages, including the design and choice‐of‐technology stages, in water supply interventions is instead advocated.     

社会发展综合实验区生态建设及科技引导途径

本文提出了社会发展综合实验区建设的实质就是协调好人口、资源与环境间的生态关系，为了促进社会—经济—自然复合生态系统的持续发展，探讨了科技引导实验区生态建设的途径。     

A Scottish approach to training for the unemployed: work‐start Ltd., Dundee

This article discusses the structure and performance of Work‐Start Ltd., a company located in Dundee and providing training for the unemployed. The company has attracted national and international attention by its innovative approach. Set up to meet the specific problems of peripheral housing estates, it is now responding to rapid changes in the local labour market.     

The recovery of schools from earthquake effects: Lessons from Mexico City

Much work has been done to prepare schools and institutions for the immediate effects of earthquakes and other disasters. This paper looks at the preparation needed for medium to long term recovery from the physical and psychological effects of earthquakes. Colegio Madrid, a school of 3,000 students that suffered major damage in the September 1985 Mexico City earthquake serves as the focus of this study. The experiences and actions of faculty, staff, students and parents at this school provide lessons for not only schools, but all institutions and communities which may face the prospect of reconstructing themselves following a disaster.     

Informal coal mining in Eastern India: Evidence from the Raniganj Coalbelt

Unauthorized mines are not uncommon in mineral-rich regions of poorer countries, and India is no exception. Whether they constitute merely a law and order problem including safety issues, or there are important social and economic questions involved has yet to be thrashed out. The mining industry, at regional, national and international levels, is ambivalent towards such mining, tending to draw attention away from their informal nature to the size factor.
This article looks into the problem of such informal mining in the light of empirical surveys in eastern Indian collieries. These are called peoples' mines and they serve a significant purpose in local economies. The article's thesis is that peasant communities are trying to claim back a portion of the local resources lost to them through appropriation by mining companies thus re-asserting their traditional rights to local mineral resources. In conclusion, the need for a new moral economy for mining regions is stressed: an economy in which local communities will play a powerful role.     

Information, power and environmental justice in Botany: the role of community information systems

In the environmental conflict that surrounds the sighting of hazardous waste facilities there is usually a volatile mix of disparities in power, expertise and information access as well as differing views on risk, which are all played out amidst commercial arrangements and environmental justice concerns. In recent times, the volatility of this mix has been further compounded by the growing climate of public concern and distrust surrounding scientific developments and technology. While there is no 'quick fix' to the complex conflict that this entails, community information systems (CISs) based on participatory models can help address the outstanding issues of capacity, information access, power inequities and environmental justice. CISs are an effective response to the five crucial elements of a toxic dispute, that is, the dialogue, capacity building, information access, evaluation of hazards and risk, and expertise. This paper will review the role of community accessible information systems in the dispute in Botany over the management and destruction of Orica Australia's stockpile of the persistent organic pollutant, hexachlorobenzene (HCB). It will focus on the role of CIS in responding to the challenges for expert information delivery, and in addressing the disparity of informational power within the toxic dispute.     

The extraction and utilization of local and scientific geospatial knowledge within the Bluff oyster fishery, New Zealand

This paper assesses the Bluff oyster fishery in New Zealand as a case study in common pool resource management. It discusses ways in which modern information technology, augmented by low-tech data gathering strategies and community ethnography, can be used to produce an integrated scientific and local knowledge-inspired fishery database that lends itself to fostering collaboration in resource management and planning. The specific context and state of the oyster fishery in Bluff are described. Issues regarding undocumented and ephemeral intergenerational knowledge, much of which is geospatial in nature, on the fishery, the current crisis that many see in the future of the fishery, and a lack of cohesion or common sense of purpose between the stakeholder groups are discussed. It is argued that the digital resource that results from the integration of local and scientific knowledge and the potential community building processes that can ensue from collaboration and dialogue around this centrepiece are of central importance in developing an oyster fishery management plan that is holistic in concept and sustainable in purpose.