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1.
A Disturbance Index for Karst Environments 总被引:13,自引:0,他引:13
Karst environments, unique from other environments, require their own disturbance index. Karst resources are increasingly disturbed by a variety of processes related to social, physical, and economic factors. Recent studies have begun to qualify and quantify these disturbances, yet their focus has been limited to one or two factors such as biotic, geomorphic, or economic impacts. A more holistic approach, addressing economic, scientific, and cultural factors, is needed, to effectively assess the threats to karst areas. Currently, there is no efficient method to measure, compare, and contrast the disturbance of karst environments. We propose a hierarchal and standardized environmental disturbance index as a tool to measure regional impacts and highlight the areas of the karst system that require more protection or study. Addressed categories of disturbance include cultural, biotic, atmospheric, hydrological, and geomorphologic impacts. 相似文献
2.
Managers and conservationists often need to prioritize which impacts from climate change to deal with from a long list of threats. However, data which allows comparison of the relative impact from climatic threats for decision-making is often unavailable. This is the case for the management of sea turtles in the face of climate change. The terrestrial life stages of sea turtles can be negatively impacted by various climatic processes, such as sea level rise, altered cyclonic activity, and increased sand temperatures. However, no study has systematically investigated the relative impact of each of these climatic processes, making it challenging for managers to prioritize their decisions and resources. To address this we offer a systematic method for eliciting expert knowledge to estimate the relative impact of climatic processes on sea turtles’ terrestrial reproductive phase. For this we used as an example the world’s largest population of green sea turtles and asked 22 scientists and managers to answer a paper based survey with a series of pair-wise comparison matrices that compared the anticipated impacts from each climatic process. Both scientists and managers agreed that increased sand temperature will likely cause the most threat to the reproductive output of the nGBR green turtle population followed by sea level rise, then altered cyclonic activity. The methodology used proved useful to determine the relative impact of the selected climatic processes on sea turtles’ reproductive output and provided valuable information for decision-making. Thus, the methodological approach can potentially be applied to other species and ecosystems of management concern. 相似文献
3.
Predicted increases in coral disease outbreaks associated with climate change have implications for coral reef ecosystems
and the people and industries that depend on them. It is critical that coral reef managers understand these implications and
have the ability to assess and reduce risk, detect and contain outbreaks, and monitor and minimise impacts. Here, we present
a coral disease response framework that has four core components: (1) an early warning system, (2) a tiered impact assessment
program, (3) scaled management actions and (4) a communication plan. The early warning system combines predictive tools that
monitor the risk of outbreaks of temperature-dependent coral diseases with in situ observations provided by a network of observers
who regularly report on coral health and reef state. Verified reports of an increase in disease prevalence trigger a tiered
response of more detailed impact assessment, targeted research and/or management actions. The response is scaled to the risk
posed by the outbreak, which is a function of the severity and spatial extent of the impacts. We review potential management
actions to mitigate coral disease impacts and facilitate recovery, considering emerging strategies unique to coral disease
and more established strategies to support reef resilience. We also describe approaches to communicating about coral disease
outbreaks that will address common misperceptions and raise awareness of the coral disease threat. By adopting this framework,
managers and researchers can establish a community of practice and can develop response plans for the management of coral
disease outbreaks based on local needs. The collaborations between managers and researchers we suggest will enable adaptive
management of disease impacts following evaluating the cost-effectiveness of emerging response actions and incrementally improving
our understanding of outbreak causation. 相似文献
4.
Evaluating sustainable forest management strategies with the Analytic Network Process in a Pressure-State-Response framework 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Nowadays forestry faces a complex management situation; the understanding of sustainable forest management (SFM) has gone far beyond the original meaning of sustainable yield of timber. SFM strategies should fulfil ecological, economic and social functions without causing damage to other ecosystems. In this understanding, forest management actions cannot be seen as isolated or mono-causal. In this case study, indicators for SFM are arranged in a Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework at forest management unit level. This framework links pressures on the environment caused by human activities with changes of environmental state (condition) parameters. Forest management also responds to these changes by instituting environmental and economic measures to reduce pressures and restore natural resources. The Analytic Network Process (ANP) is utilized to evaluate the performance of four management strategies with regard to the PSR framework on SFM. Priorities of indicators and alternatives are modelled with the ANP resulting from the interconnections to other indicators and their respective cumulative importance. The approach allows for more detailed information on the network of human influences and their impacts on forest ecosystems and goes beyond the limitations of flat-dimensioned indicator sets. 相似文献
5.
SAMUEL D. BRODY 《Journal of Environmental Planning and Management》2003,46(6):817-837
The protection of biological diversity (hereafter biodiversity) is considered one of the fundamental goals for the sustainable management of ecological systems. This paper examines how existing levels of biodiversity influence ecosystem capabilities at the local level. Specifically, it tests the effects of biodiversity and the degree of threat to biodiversity on the quality of local comprehensive plans in Florida as measured by the ability to manage ecosystems. Regression analysis indicates that high biodiversity does not stimulate planners to adopt higher quality plans. Instead, human disturbance or threats to existing levels of biodiversity are the most significant factors in driving ecosystem plan quality. Based on the results, the paper discusses implications for policy and suggests recommendations to improve proactive planning practices associated with managing ecological systems over the long term. 相似文献
6.
不规范的流域水环境模型应用增加了决策风险。从过程管理的角度来看,我国尚未针对流域水环境模型的评估与验证建立标准化的技术流程,模型标准化应用水平较低。在总结已有研究成果以及先进管理经验的基础上,本文构建了标准化的流域水环境模型评估验证技术框架,提出了对应用于流域水环境管理决策的模型开展评估验证的基本原则、工作流程和技术要求,并通过案例研究验证了技术框架的可行性。技术框架引入了结构合理性评估、参数识别与灵敏度分析、模拟效果评估、不确定性分析等模型评估验证的关键技术,结合不同的模型类型、决策功能等特征给出了原则性的技术要求和应用建议。研究成果充分考虑了我国的环境管理需求,与现阶段环境模拟技术要求、环境监测能力和数据条件相适应,在理论探讨和技术实现层面具备明确的可行性,将促进我国流域水环境模型的规范化、标准化和本地化应用。 相似文献
7.
Brian D. Keller Daniel F. Gleason Elizabeth McLeod Christa M. Woodley Satie Airamé Billy D. Causey Alan M. Friedlander Rikki Grober-Dunsmore Johanna E. Johnson Steven L. Miller Robert S. Steneck 《Environmental management》2009,44(6):1069-1088
Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide place-based management of marine ecosystems through various degrees and types of protective actions. Habitats such as coral reefs are especially susceptible to degradation resulting from climate change, as evidenced by mass bleaching events over the past two decades. Marine ecosystems are being altered by direct effects of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification, rising sea level, changing circulation patterns, increasing severity of storms, and changing freshwater influxes. As impacts of climate change strengthen they may exacerbate effects of existing stressors and require new or modified management approaches; MPA networks are generally accepted as an improvement over individual MPAs to address multiple threats to the marine environment. While MPA networks are considered a potentially effective management approach for conserving marine biodiversity, they should be established in conjunction with other management strategies, such as fisheries regulations and reductions of nutrients and other forms of land-based pollution. Information about interactions between climate change and more “traditional” stressors is limited. MPA managers are faced with high levels of uncertainty about likely outcomes of management actions because climate change impacts have strong interactions with existing stressors, such as land-based sources of pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, invasive species, and diseases. Management options include ameliorating existing stressors, protecting potentially resilient areas, developing networks of MPAs, and integrating climate change into MPA planning, management, and evaluation. 相似文献
8.
Crifasi RR 《Environmental management》2005,36(5):625-639
“A skyscraper is as natural as a bird’s nest” –Alan Watts
For millennia, people have altered freshwater ecosystems directly through water development and indirectly by global change
and surrounding land-use activities. In these altered ecosystems, human impacts can be subtle and are sometimes overlooked
by the people who manage them. This article provides two case studies near Boulder, Colorado that demonstrate how perceptions
regarding these ecosystems affect their management. These examples are typical of lakes and streams along the Front Range
of Colorado that are simultaneously natural and social in origin. Although natural, many of the region’s freshwater ecosystems
are affected by ongoing ecologic, hydrologic, chemical, and geomorphic modifications produced by human activity. People and
nature are both active participants in the production of these freshwater ecosystems. The concept of “hybridity,” borrowed
from geographers and social scientists, is useful for describing landscapes of natural and social origin. Hybrid freshwater
ecosystems are features of the humanized landscape and are derived from deliberate cultural activities, nonhuman physical
and biological processes, and incidental anthropogenic disturbance. Our perceptions of “natural” freshwater ecosystems and
what definitions we use to describe them influences our view of hybrid systems and, in turn, affects management decisions
regarding them. This work stresses the importance of understanding the underlying societal forces and cultural values responsible
for the creation of hybrid freshwater ecosystems as a central step in their conservation and management. 相似文献
9.
Wilson K Pressey RL Newton A Burgman M Possingham H Weston C 《Environmental management》2005,35(5):527-543
Conservation planning is the process of locating and designing conservation areas to promote the persistence of biodiversity in situ. To do this, conservation areas must be able to mitigate at least some of the proximate threats to biodiversity. Information on threatening processes and the relative vulnerability of areas and natural features to these processes is therefore crucial for effective conservation planning. However, measuring and incorporating vulnerability into conservation planning have been problematic. We develop a conceptual framework of the role of vulnerability assessments in conservation planning and propose a definition of vulnerability that incorporates three dimensions: exposure, intensity, and impact. We review and categorize methods for assessing the vulnerability of areas and the features they contain and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of each broad approach. Our review highlights the need for further development and evaluation of approaches to assess vulnerability and for comparisons of their relative effectiveness. 相似文献
10.
Jean-Paul A. Zagarola Christopher B. Anderson James R. Veteto 《Environmental management》2014,53(4):769-782
Research on human dimensions of ecosystems through the ecosystem services (ES) concept has proliferated over recent decades but has largely focused on monetary value of ecosystems while excluding other community-based values. We conducted 312 surveys of general community members and regional researchers and decision-makers (specialists) to understand local perceptions and values of watershed ES and natural resource management in South America’s southern Patagonian ecoregion. Results indicated that specialists shared many similar values of ES with community members, but at the same time their mentalities did not capture the diversity of values that existed within the broader community. The supporting services were most highly valued by both groups, but generally poorly understood by the community. Many services that are not easily captured in monetary terms, particularly cultural services, were highly valued by community members and specialists. Both groups perceived a lack of communication and access to basic scientific information in current management approaches and differed slightly in their perspective on potential threats to ES. We recommend that a community-based approach be integrated into the natural resource management framework that better embodies the diversity of values that exist in these communities, while enhancing the science-society dialog and thereby encouraging the application of multiple forms of ecological knowledge in place-based environmental management. 相似文献
11.
Formulating an ecosystem approach to environmental protection 总被引:2,自引:1,他引:1
Otto J. Gonzalez 《Environmental management》1996,20(5):597-605
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has embraced a new strategy of environmental protection that is place-driven rather than program-driven. This new approach focuses on the protection of entire ecosystems. To develop an effective strategy of ecosystem protection, however, EPA will need to: (1) determine how to define and delineate ecosystems and (2) categorize threats to individual ecosystems and priority rank ecosystems at risk. Current definitions of ecosystem in use at EPA are inadequate for meaningful use in a management or regulatory context. A landscape-based definition that describes an ecosystem as a volumetric unit delineated by climatic and landscape features is suggested. Following this definition, ecosystems are organized hierarchically, from megaecosystems, which exist on a continental scale (e.g., Great Lakes), to small local ecosystems.Threats to ecosystems can generally be categorized as: (1) ecosystem degradation (occurs mainly through pollution) (2) ecosystem alteration (physical changes such as water diversion), and (3) ecosystem removal (e.g., conversion of wetlands or forest to urban or agricultural lands). Level of threat (i.e., how imminent), and distance from desired future condition are also important in evaluating threats to ecosystems. Category of threat, level of threat, and distance from desired future condition can be combined into a three-dimensional ranking system for ecosystems at risk. The purpose of the proposed ranking system is to suggest a preliminary framework for agencies such as EPA to prioritize responses to ecosystems at risk. 相似文献
12.
Conservation planning aims to protect biodiversity by sustainng the natural physical, chemical, and biological processes within
representative ecosystems. Often data to measure these components are inadequate or unavailable. The impact of human activities
on ecosystem processes complicates integrity assessments and might alter ecosystem organization at multiple spatial scales.
Freshwater conservation targets, such as populations and communities, are influenced by both intrinsic aquatic properties
and the surrounding landscape, and locally collected data might not accurately reflect potential impacts. We suggest that
changes in five major biotic drivers—energy sources, physical habitat, flow regime, water quality, and biotic interactions—might
be used as surrogates to inform conservation planners of the ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems. Threats to freshwater
systems might be evaluated based on their impact to these drivers to provide an overview of potential risk to conservation
targets. We developed a risk-based protocol, the Ecological Risk Index (ERI), to identify watersheds with least/most risk
to conservation targets. Our protocol combines risk-based components, specifically the frequency and severity of human-induced
stressors, with biotic drivers and mappable land- and water-use data to provide a summary of relative risk to watersheds.
We illustrate application of our protocol with a case study of the upper Tennessee River basin, USA. Differences in risk patterns
among the major drainages in the basin reflect dominant land uses, such as mining and agriculture. A principal components
analysis showed that localized, moderately severe threats accounted for most of the threat composition differences among our
watersheds. We also found that the relative importance of threats is sensitive to the spatial grain of the analysis. Our case
study demonstrates that the ERI is useful for evaluating the frequency and severity of ecosystemwide risk, which can inform
local and regional conservation planning. 相似文献
13.
14.
Mingshi Li Lijun Mao Chunguo Zhou James E. Vogelmann Zhiliang Zhu 《Journal of environmental management》2010,91(12):2572-2580
Forest loss and fragmentation are of major concern to the international community, in large part because they impact so many important environmental processes. The main objective of this study was to assess the differences in forest fragmentation patterns and drivers between China and the conterminous United States (USA). Using the latest 300-m resolution global land cover product, Globcover v2.2, a comparative analysis of forest fragmentation patterns and drivers was made. The fragmentation patterns were characterized by using a forest fragmentation model built on the sliding window analysis technique in association with landscape indices. Results showed that China’s forests were substantially more fragmented than those of the USA. This was evidenced by a large difference in the amount of interior forest area share, with China having 48% interior forest versus the 66% for the USA. China’s forest fragmentation was primarily attributed to anthropogenic disturbances, driven particularly by agricultural expansion from an increasing and large population, as well as poor forest management practices. In contrast, USA forests were principally fragmented by natural land cover types. However, USA urban sprawl contributed more to forest fragmentation than in China. This is closely tied to the USA’s economy, lifestyle and institutional processes. Fragmentation maps were generated from this study, which provide valuable insights and implications regarding habitat planning for rare and endangered species. Such maps enable development of strategic plans for sustainable forest management by identifying areas with high amounts of human-induced fragmentation, which improve risk assessments and enable better targeting for protection and remediation efforts. Because forest fragmentation is a long-term, complex process that is highly related to political, institutional, economic and philosophical arenas, both nations need to take effective and comprehensive measures to mitigate the negative effects of forest loss and fragmentation on the existing forest ecosystems. 相似文献
15.
Robert Stottlemyer 《Environmental management》1987,11(1):87-89
Activities beyond national park boundaries are now the principal source of threats to park natural resource integrity. Assessing the full impact of major threats as air and water pollution requires a long-term ecosystem-level approach in research design and execution, and park management. Failure to take such an approach renders most existing park data bases useless in the documentation of external threats. While the concept of managing national parks as ecosystems is not new, Park Service research and its organization have not provided the information necessary for such a basis of management. Quantifying the impacts on park resources due to external hydrologic regulation and air pollution is a good example of the need to employ an ecosystem approach in research. However, implementing such a program will require a fundamental change in research administration, priority setting, and conceptual approach.The first four of the articles in this special section arise from an AAAS symposium onExternal Threats to Ecosystems of the National Parks in the USA, which was convened in 1982. The articles have been revised to reflect subsequent developments in this field. The first article, by Dr. Stottlemyer, the symposium organizer, serves as an introduction to the topic. The fifth article in this special section was submitted separately, but included because it also is related to this particular topic. 相似文献
16.
Integrating Stressor and Response Monitoring into a Resource-Based Water-Quality Assessment Framework 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Dirk J. Roux Phillip L. Kempster Cornelius J. Kleynhans Henk R. Van Vliet Hein H. Du Preez 《Environmental management》1999,23(1):15-30
Following a global trend, the new policy goals emphasize the need to protect rather than to use the ability of ecosystems
to recover from disturbances. This necessitates the adoption of response measurements to quantify ecological condition and
monitor ecological change. Response monitoring focuses on properties that are essential to the sustainability of the ecosystem.
These monitoring tools can be used to establish natural ranges of ecological change within ecosystems, as well as to quantify
conceptually acceptable and unacceptable ranges of change. Through a framework of biological criteria and biological impairment
standards, the results of response monitoring can become an integral part of future water resource management strategies in
South Africa. 相似文献
17.
Luis Antonio Bojórquez-Tapia Peter F. Ffolliott D. Phillip Guertin 《Environmental management》1990,14(3):317-324
The current Mexican environmental law provides the legal basis for comprehensive land-use planning. Under the law, development
of natural ecosystems must combine goals, policies, and practices towards the sustainable use of natural resources and the
protection of biological diversity. Thus, ecosystem manipulation must be able to counter fragmentation of natural ecosystems
and isolation of natural reserves, while providing for human needs. Assessment of the potential of natural ecosystems and
management impacts are required. Multiple-resource simulation is an assessment and land-use planning tool that permits managers
and decision makers to comply with the law, providing a flexible, user-oriented system that can meet the needs of managers,
conservationists, and researchers. A multiple-resource model and an example of how it can be applied to meet planning needs
is presented for discussion. 相似文献
18.
This study adopts and modifies the WWF Rapid assessment and prioritization of protected areas management methodology (RAPPAM) to evaluate the management effectiveness of five protected areas in Taiwan. The results indicate that, unlike the situation in most developing countries, the threats and pressures faced by protected areas in Taiwan come mainly from the outside-with pollution as the most common pressure and threat, and difficult for their management authorities to deal with effectively. The categories and extent of these pressures and threats are related to remoteness and geographic location of the protected areas. All five cases under study reveal a similar management approach, clear management goals, adequate basic infrastructure and clear management decision-making; on the down side, however, all of them suffer from the lack of an effective comprehensive management plan, inadequate or poor quality human resources and insufficient funding. The present study suggests that first priority should be given to strengthening management planning in order to improve management effectiveness of protected areas in Taiwan. The adjustment made to RAPPAM in this study was to amend and take the format of the management plan as the basis for evaluation material preparations and open the discussion to encourage stakeholders' participation to open the dialogue among them. The results indicate that, although the system evaluation design still has some constraints, the quality of information collected is improved and can respond more directly to the specific demands of the respective areas. 相似文献
19.
Disturbance regimes,resilience, and recovery of animal communities and habitats in lotic ecosystems 总被引:6,自引:0,他引:6
Disturbance regime is a critical organizing feature of stream communities and ecosystems. The position of a given reach in
the river basin and the sediment type within that reach are two key determinants of the frequency and intensity of flow-induced
disturbances. We distinguish between predictable and unpredictable events and suggest that predictable discharge events are
not disturbances.
We relate the dynamics of recovery from disturbance (i.e., resilience) to disturbance regime (i.e., the disturbance history
of the site). The most frequently and predictably disturbed sites can be expected to demonstrate the highest resilience.
Spatial scale is an important dimension of community structure, dynamics, and recovery from disturbance. We compare the effects
on small patches (⩽1 m2) to the effects of large reaches at the river basin level. At small scales, sediment movements and scour are major factors
affecting the distribution of populations of aquatic insects or algae. At larger scales, we must deal with channel formation,
bank erosion, and interactions with the riparian zone that will affect all taxa and processes.
Our understanding of stream ecosystem recovery rests on our grasp of the historical, spatial, and temporal background of contemporary
disturbance events. 相似文献
20.
Ecological disturbances of forests by insects have a complex array of associated human dimensions presenting complications
for natural resource decision making and relationships between stakeholders and managers. This article discusses the human
context of forest disturbances by insects by reviewing four cases of bark beetle forest disturbance from British Columbia
in Canada, Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany, the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, and the north central region of Colorado.
Findings and lessons learned from these studies are outlined along with their implications for managing forest disturbances
by insects in general. Conclusions focus on the need to assess the broad array of impacts and risks perceived by local residents
and the capacity for local action and involvement in managing forest disturbances. Communication and interaction between resource
managers and local stakeholders can facilitate the identification of management priorities and potentially reduce some of
the risks associated with forest disturbances by insects. 相似文献