Human impact on the landscape of small islands in the West-Estonian archipelago

Research on the development of the interrelationships between society and environment is crucial for the understanding of contemporary landscapes. The West-Estonian archipelago provides an opportunity for such investigations because of its small size, landscape diversity, and well-defined economic activities. The contemporary landscapes of the islands reflect environmental changes resulting from centuries of human activity. This paper describes both natural and human factors in the change in landscape of small Estonian islands during the last centuries. During the period 1850–1940, human activity diversified the landscape structure. During World War II, with the establishment of Soviet rule, the islets were depopulated; their landscape became more uniform and lost their economic and ecological vitality. The re-establishment of private ownership of land and a market economy is predicted to result in positive changes in the landscape of the islets.     

关于景观的保护问题

景观作为自然与人类相互作用的一个基本单位，目前正在发生剧烈的变化。许多传统的文化建筑和土地利用方式和格局正在走向衰亡，景观的多样性和丰富性受到前所未有的威胁，常常被千篇一律的大片单调的景色所代替。本文主要讨论下列三个问题：景观的基本含义及其保护，景观保护的主要任务；景观保护是区域发展的基础。     

Identifying 120 years of decline in ecosystem structure and maturity of Great South Bay, New York using the Ecopath modelling approach

Mass balanced models yield valuable information regarding ecological function and delivery of ecosystem services, but often rely on data collected well before many species were reduced to fractions of their original abundance. Lagoonal systems, such as Great South Bay (GSB), NY, sit on the interface of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and are prone to anthropogenic stressors but proximity to land also makes the presence of data regarding historic populations and structure more likely. To quantify over a century of ecosystem change, Ecopath models were developed for GSB at each of four time periods where commercial and scientific data exist: 1880s, 1930s, 1980s and 2000s. The results indicated that the GSB has experienced a decline in ecosystem maturity, loss of top keystone predators, a decline in connectivity to the ocean though the reduction of migratory species and increasing dominance of low trophic level organisms. These changes undermine the delivery of ecosystem services, increase conflicts over limited resources and suggest that present day restoration targets fail to recognize appropriate baselines. We discuss the role of stochastic events, which result in state changes that could be defined as regime shifts, and ecosystem connectivity to the long-term stability of lagoonal systems.     

滇池流域土地利用景观空间格局对水质的影响

选用综合水质评价方法,对滇池流域进行水质评价。选取斑块数量（NP）、斑块密度（PD）、最大斑块指数（LPI）、最大形状指数（LSI）,作为表征景观空间格局的参数,来分析流域优势斑块对水质的影响。对水质评价结果与景观指数进行相关性分析得出：居民点及工矿用地斑块数量越多、形状越不规则,有利于延缓水质状况的恶化;耕地斑块越大,越集中,本身产生的面源污染浓度就越高,而流经耕地的径流中的污染物浓度则会因大斑块的吸附过滤作用而降低;林地斑块密度越大,对污染物的截留纳污作用就越大,而斑块越大,可能产生局限性,导致未流经林地的污染物直接进入河流而影响水质。     

Impact of climate change on soil moisture dynamics in Brandenburg with a focus on nature conservation areas

Global warming impacts the water cycle not only by changing regional precipitation levels and temporal variability, but also by affecting water flows and soil moisture dynamics. In Brandenburg, increasing average annual temperature and decreasing precipitation in summer have already been observed. For this study, past trends and future effects of climate change on soil moisture dynamics in Brandenburg were investigated, considering regional and specific spatial impacts. Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) were focused on in particular. A decreasing trend in soil water content was shown for the past by analyzing simulation results from 1951 to 2003 using the integrated ecohydrological model SWIM [Krysanova, V., Müller-Wohlfeil, D.-I., Becker, A., 1998. Development and test of a spatially distributed hydrological/water quality model for mesoscale watersheds. Ecol. Model. 106, 261–289]. The trend was statistically significant for some areas, but not for the entire region. Simulated soil water content was particularly low in the extremely dry year 2003. Comparisons of simulated trends in soil moisture dynamics with trends in the average annual Palmer Drought Severity Index for the region showed largely congruent patterns, though the modeled soil moisture trends are characterized by a much higher spatial resolution. Regionally downscaled climate change projections representing the range between wetter and drier realizations were used to evaluate future trends of available soil water. A further decrease of average available soil water ranging from −4% to −15% was projected for all climate realizations up to the middle of the 21st century. An average decrease of more than 25 mm was simulated for 34% of the total area in the dry realization. Available soil water contents in SACs were generally higher and trends in soil moisture dynamics were lower mainly due to their favorable edaphic conditions. Stronger absolute and relative changes in the simulated trends for the past and future were shown for SACs within Brandenburg than for the state as a whole, indicating a high level of risk for many wetland areas. Nonetheless, soil water content in SACs is expected to remain higher than average under climate change conditions as well, and SACs therefore have an important buffer function under the projected climate change. They are thus essential for local climate and water regulation and their status as protected areas in Brandenburg should be preserved.     

Report of A Survey of the State of the Environment in the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

In connection with the change in economic principles and disintegration of big industrial enterprises, the environmental pollution in Baltic States decreased considerably in 1991-1996. Although there are still many things waiting to be done, the improvement of the Baltic environmental situation during the years of independence gives us a cause to be optimistic.     

Assessment of the state of agroecosystem sustainability using landscape indicators: a comparative study of three rural areas in Greece

The research was based on a comparative study of three representative rural areas (Dovras, Larissa, and Messapia) in Greece. Remote sensing data were collected (maps, aerial photographs) for the landscape analysis and elaborated using GIS linked with economic and social parameters regarding land use. By using a selected core set of landscape indicators, this research aims at providing a useful tool for assessing agroecosystem management at territorial level and hopefully assist decision-making for the promotion of sustainability. The selected tool showed that the study area of Messapia presented the highest level of environmental sustainability, while the area of Dovras showed the best combination of agricultural productivity and landscape management. Results showed that the ecoregions of Dovras, Larissa, and Messapia presented a landscape composed of important ecological function areas in the percentages of 40%, 15%, and 70%, respectively, and of cultivated areas in the percentages of 55%, 71.19%, and 19.75%, respectively.     

The economic impact of the invasion of Acacia saligna in Israel

This paper illustrates the use of alternative, non-market valuation methods to estimate the economic value of ecological damage caused by the invasive plant Acacia saligna. We discuss the motivation to perform an economic valuation for bio-invasion in general and then examine the costs and benefits of conservation management programmes that reduce the risk of A. saligna invasion at the Nizzanim Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) nature reserve in Israel. The study found that the annual mean willingness to pay (WTP) for containment or eradication of A. saligna was US$8.41 and US$8.83, respectively. The value placed on conserving the nature reserve was then compared to the cost of containment or eradication of the species, enabling a standard economic benefit–cost analysis. The result of this analysis showed that, using the most conservative method of valuation of the nature reserve, eradication of A. saligna gave a net benefit.     

Demography, Hunting Ecology, and Pathogen Exposure of Domestic Dogs in the Isoso of Bolivia

Abstract:  Disease is increasingly recognized as a threat to the conservation of wildlife, and in many cases the source of disease outbreaks in wild carnivores is the domestic dog. For disease to spill over from a domestic to a wild population, three conditions must be satisfied: susceptibility of the wild species, presence of the disease agent in the domestic population, and contact between the two populations of interest. We investigated the potential for disease spillover from the domestic dog population to the wild carnivore population in the Isoso of Bolivia, an area of tropical dry forest contiguous with a national park. Using questionnaires and discussions with residents, we gathered data on the demography of dogs in the Isoso, including adult and neonatal mortality, litter size, and hunting frequency. We analyzed a large data set containing self-recorded information on hunting in various communities of the Isoso to determine the extent of dog participation in hunting and the duration of hunting trips. Finally, we took blood samples from dogs in the Isoso for a serosurvey of common canine pathogens. More than 95% of dogs had positive titers to canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus. There was also a high seroprevalence in dogs for other pathogens, a high population turnover of dogs (which may allow diseases to be maintained endemically), and frequent opportunities for contact between domestic and wild carnivores. Based on our results and the susceptibility of wild species previously reported in the literature, domestic dogs represent a disease risk for wildlife in the Bolivian Isoso.     

Effect of Human Disturbance on Bee Communities in a Forested Ecosystem

Abstract:  It is important for conservation biologists to understand how well species persist in human-dominated ecosystems because protected areas constitute a small fraction of the Earth's surface and because anthropogenic habitats may offer more opportunities for conservation than has been previously thought. We investigated how an important functional group, pollinators (bees; Hymenoptera: Apiformes), are affected by human land use at the landscape and local scales in southern New Jersey (U.S.A.). We established 40 sites that differed in surrounding landscape cover or local habitat type and collected 2551 bees of 130 species. The natural habitat in this ecosystem is a forested, ericaceous heath. Bee abundance and species richness within forest habitat decreased, not increased, with increasing forest cover in the surrounding landscape. Similarly, bee abundance was greater in agricultural fields and suburban and urban developments than in extensive forests, and the same trend was found for species richness. Particular species groups that might be expected to show greater sensitivity to habitat loss, such as floral specialists and bees of small or large body size, did not show strong positive associations with forest habitat. Nevertheless, 18 of the 130 bee species studied were positively associated with extensive forest. One of these species is a narrow endemic that was last seen in 1939. Our results suggest that at least in this system, moderate anthropogenic land use may be compatible with the conservation of many, but not all, bee species.     

Human Impacts on Drainages of the Mesa Central, Mexico, and Its Genetic Effects on an Endangered Fish, Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis

Abstract:  The Mesa Central of Mexico is of special conservation interest due to its high richness of freshwater fish species, of which the goodeines are one of the most representative groups. Through an integrated approach, we determined conservation priorities for goodeine populations. We based our recommendations on the genetic diversity (variation in five microsatellite DNA loci) in 10 populations of Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis and on an analysis of ecological (e.g., presence of exotic species), social (e.g., political situation), and environmental (e.g., pollution) information for 52 historical occurrence points for species in the genus Zoogoneticus . Patterns of genetic erosion and genetic diversity indices were closely associated with human impact. Recent bottleneck events were most evident in the populations from remnants of the lakes drained at the beginning of the twentieth century. We identified seven operational conservation units (OCUs), all of which should be conserved because they contain unique portions of the total variation of the species. Special attention needs to be given to increase genetic variability, recover population sizes, and reestablish contact among populations within OCUs. It is imperative to create an integrative and effective approach for the recovery and conservation of the freshwater fish diversity of Central Mexico that is based on social and natural sciences.     

Influence of Representation Targets on the Total Area of Conservation-Area Networks

Abstract:  Systematic conservation planning typically requires specification of quantitative representation targets for biodiversity surrogates such as species, vegetation types, and environmental parameters. Targets are usually specified either as the minimum total area in a conservation-area network in which a surrogate must be present or as the proportion of a surrogate's existing spatial distribution required to be in the network. Because the biological basis for setting targets is often unclear, a better understanding of how targets affect selection of conservation areas is needed. We studied how the total area of conservation-area networks depends on percentage targets ranging from 5% to 95%. We analyzed 12 data sets of different surrogate distributions from 5 regions: Korea, Mexico, Québec, Queensland, and West Virginia. To assess the effect of spatial resolution on the target-area relationship, we also analyzed each data set at 7 spatial resolutions ranging from 0.01°× 0.01° to 0.10°× 0.10°. Most of the data sets showed a linear relationship between representation targets and total area of conservation-area networks that was invariant across changes in spatial resolution. The slope of this relationship indicated how total area increased with target level, and our results suggest that greater surrogate representation requires significantly more area. One data set exhibited a highly nonlinear relationship. The results for this data set suggest a new method for setting targets on the basis of the functional form of target-area relationships. In particular, the method shows how the target-area relationship can provide a rationale for setting targets solely on the basis of distributional information about surrogates.     

Mapping Human and Social Dimensions of Conservation Opportunity for the Scheduling of Conservation Action on Private Land

Abstract Spatial prioritization techniques are applied in conservation‐planning initiatives to allocate conservation resources. Although typically they are based on ecological data (e.g., species, habitats, ecological processes), increasingly they also include nonecological data, mostly on the vulnerability of valued features and economic costs of implementation. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of conservation actions implemented through conservation‐planning initiatives is a function of the human and social dimensions of social‐ecological systems, such as stakeholders’ willingness and capacity to participate. We assessed human and social factors hypothesized to define opportunities for implementing effective conservation action by individual land managers (those responsible for making day‐to‐day decisions on land use) and mapped these to schedule implementation of a private land conservation program. We surveyed 48 land managers who owned 301 land parcels in the Makana Municipality of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. Psychometric statistical and cluster analyses were applied to the interview data so as to map human and social factors of conservation opportunity across a landscape of regional conservation importance. Four groups of landowners were identified, in rank order, for a phased implementation process. Furthermore, using psychometric statistical techniques, we reduced the number of interview questions from 165 to 45, which is a preliminary step toward developing surrogates for human and social factors that can be developed rapidly and complemented with measures of conservation value, vulnerability, and economic cost to more‐effectively schedule conservation actions. This work provides conservation and land management professionals direction on where and how implementation of local‐scale conservation should be undertaken to ensure it is feasible.     

Determining the drivers of population structure in a highly urbanized landscape to inform conservation planning

Understanding the environmental contributors to population structure is of paramount importance for conservation in urbanized environments. We used spatially explicit models to determine genetic population structure under current and future environmental conditions across a highly fragmented, human‐dominated environment in Southern California to assess the effects of natural ecological variation and urbanization. We focused on 7 common species with diverse habitat requirements, home‐range sizes, and dispersal abilities. We quantified the relative roles of potential barriers, including natural environmental characteristics and an anthropogenic barrier created by a major highway, in shaping genetic variation. The ability to predict genetic variation in our models differed among species: 11–81% of intraspecific genetic variation was explained by environmental variables. Although an anthropogenically induced barrier (a major highway) severely restricted gene flow and movement at broad scales for some species, genetic variation seemed to be primarily driven by natural environmental heterogeneity at a local level. Our results show how assessing environmentally associated variation for multiple species under current and future climate conditions can help identify priority regions for maximizing population persistence under environmental change in urbanized regions.     

生态建筑设计理论与实践研究

发展生态建筑已经成为当今社会发展的主题,同时也是顺应建筑全球化潮流,提升人居环境健康性和舒适性的迫切需要.必须不断转变建筑在设计和建设方面的思维方式,才能逐步缓解资源紧缺和环境污染的现状.该文对生态建筑定义以及设计原则两方面进行研究,通过对台湾水滴塔和新加坡展览塔楼这两座典型生态建筑案例进行了分析,再从生态建筑材料和生态建筑节能技术两方面予以阐述,得出生态建筑作为当今社会的发展趋势,其还有很多方面需要通过实践去探索.     

Past,present, and future of a freshwater fish metapopulation in a threatened landscape

It is well documented that hydropower plants can affect the dynamics of fish populations through landscape alterations and the creation of new barriers. Less emphasis has been placed on the examination of the genetic consequences for fish populations of the construction of dams. The relatively few studies that focus on genetics often do not consider colonization history and even fewer tend to use this information for conservation purposes. As a case study, we used a 3‐pronged approach to study the influence of historical processes, contemporary landscape features, and potential future anthropogenic changes in landscape on the genetic diversity of a fish metapopulation. Our goal was to identify the metapopulation's main attributes, detect priority areas for conservation, and assess the consequences of the construction of hydropower plants for the persistence of the metapopulation. We used microsatellite markers and coalescent approaches to examine historical colonization processes, traditional population genetics, and simulations of future populations under alternate scenarios of population size reduction and gene flow. Historical gene flow appeared to have declined relatively recently and contemporary populations appeared highly susceptible to changes in landscape. Gene flow is critical for population persistence. We found that hydropower plants could lead to a rapid reduction in number of alleles and to population extirpation 50–80 years after their construction. More generally, our 3‐pronged approach for the analyses of empirical genetic data can provide policy makers with information on the potential impacts of landscape changes and thus lead to more robust conservation efforts.     

江苏泗洪洪泽湖湿地自然保护区生态服务功能价值评估

在野外实际调查基础上,运用市场价值、影子工程、旅行费用等方法对江苏泗洪洪泽湖湿地自然保护区生态服务功能进行价值评估.结果显示,该保护区生态服务功能年均总价值约为13.97亿元,占泗洪县2005年国民生产总值的20.82%.重要物种栖息地、水分调节以及大气调节生态服务功能价值分别占总价值的27.49%、25.27%、19.33%,是该保护区的主要核心服务功能.泗洪湿地单位面积生态服务功能价值为28 299元·hm-2·a-1,分别为全球和中国湿地平均单位价值的4.09倍、4.85倍.在发展当地经济过程中,必须从该保护区湿地生态系统的基本特征出发,科学合理地保护、开发湿地资源.     

基于景观格局的辽河三角洲湿地生态安全分析

以1990年和2005年遥感影像为基本信息源,在GIS技术支持下,在对辽河三角洲湿地景观格局分析的基础上,采用破碎度、分离度、优势度等景观格局指数和景观类型脆弱度为评价指标研究辽河三角洲湿地景观生态安全。20世纪90年代以来大规模的资源开发,加剧了辽河三角洲湿地景观的破碎化程度,使景观优势度增高,多样性下降。从1990-2005年,研究区主要湿地景观类型水稻田、苇田、滩涂的干扰程度有所增加,生态安全度均有所下降,表明人类对自然湿地生态系统的干扰越来越明显。总体来说,15年来研究区整体景观生态安全度呈现下降趋势。以往湿地生态安全的研究主要集中在环境脆弱性和保护策略方面,研究层次着重在生态系统层面,而从景观格局角度对湿地景观生态安全的研究涉及较少,文章涉及的是景观生态学可持续发展研究的一个新领域,所提出的内容实质上是景观生态安全定量表征的方法探讨。应用景观生态学方法研究生态安全,揭示景观结构与功能关系并进一步分析区域生态环境的变化趋势及其内在因素,不但为辽河三角洲湿地及其生物多样性的保护和资源开发提供了科学依据,而且丰富和发展了我国生态安全研究的理论与方法。