Quantitative Ethnobotany in an Atlantic Forest Fragment of Northeastern Brazil – Implications to Conservation

Two new methods for assessing temporal trends in stream-solute concentrations at specific streamflow ranges were applied to long (40 to 50-year) but sparse (bi-weekly to quarterly sampling) stream-water quality data collected at three forested mesoscale basins along an atmospheric deposition gradient in the northeastern United States (one in north-central Pennsylvania, one in southeastern New York, and one in eastern Maine). The three data sets span the period since the implementation of the Clean Air Act in 1970 and its subsequent amendments.Declining sulfate (O ₄ ^2-) trends since the mid 1960s were identified for all 3 rivers by one or more of the 4 methods of trend detection used. Flow-specific trends were assessed by segmenting the data sets into 3-year and 6-year blocks, then determining concentration-discharge relationships for each block. Declining sulfate (O ₄ ^2-) trends at median flow were similar to trends determined using a Seasonal Kendall Tau test and Sen slope estimator. The trend of declining O ₄ ^2- concentrations differed at high, median and low flow since the mid 1980s at YWC and NR, and at high and low flow at WR, but the trends leveled or reversed at high flow from 1999 through 2002. Trends for the period of record at high flows were similar to medium- and low-flow trends for Ca²⁺+ Mg²⁺ concentrations at WR, non-significant at YWC, and were more negative at low flow than at high flow at NR; trends in nitrate (NO₃ ^-), and alkalinity (ALK) concentrations were different at different flow conditions, and in ways that are consistent with the hydrology and deposition history at each watershed. Quarterly sampling is adequate for assessing average-flow trends in the chemical parameters assessed over long time periods (∼decades). However, with even a modest effort at sampling a range of flow conditions within each year, trends at specified flows for constituents with strong concentration-discharge relationships can be evaluated and may allow early detection of ecosystem response to climate change and pollution management strategies.     

Factors Affecting Participating Farmers’ Willingness-to-pay for the Tree Farming Fund: A Study in a Participatory Forest in Bangladesh

This paper examined the factors that might influence participating farmers’ willingness-to-pay for the Tree Farming Fund (TFF) established for sustainable development of participatory forest management (PFM). Information on willingness-to-pay, socioeconomic characteristics, and attitudes of participating farmers toward TFF were obtained from interviews with 581 participating farmers. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the dominant factors that might influence participating farmers’ willingness-to-pay for the TFF. The results showed that participating farmers’ willingness-to-pay was significantly affected by (i) family income; (ii) education level; (iii) confidence that his aspired benefits will be received; (iv) agreement with the statement that ‘PFM is sustainable under the present state of management’; (v) agreement with the statement that ‘PFM is a good strategy for forest conservation’; and (vi) knowledge of PFM strategies. Thus, participating farmers with a higher level of education, higher income and positive attitudes toward TFF tended to express more willingness-to-pay. Establishment of TFF could be an effective strategy in implementing sustainable PFM in Bangladesh. For this strategy to succeed, however, active partnership between the participating farmers and Forest Department is required. Participating farmers’ attitudes toward TFF should therefore be taken into consideration as should the results of this study, which are important indicators of participating farmers’ positive attitudes toward TFF.     

Heavy metal concentration in the moss Pleurozium schreberi in the Niepołomice Forest,Poland: changes during 20 years

The Niepoomice Forest is a large forestcomplex (110 km²) situated in southern Poland 10 to 30 kmto the east of the urban industrial Kraków agglomeration andsteelworks, which was built up on the outskirts of the city in1950. Due to prevailing westerly winds, the forest is affectedby pollutants emitted by both the steelworks and the city. Thelevel of heavy metal contamination in the Niepoomice Forestwas described using a sensitive bioindicator – the moss Pleurozium schreberi. Mean concentrations of metals in mosscollected in the Niepoomice Forest were Cd – 0.71, Cr – 2.4,Cu – 8.6, Fe – 673, Pb – 12.7, and Zn – 61 mg/kg.Concentrations of heavy metals in moss in the NiepoomiceForest decreased in time. As compared with the relatively cleanarea in north-eastern Poland (Puszcza Biaowieska), the concentration of Fe was 2–9 fold and Pb 4–6 fold higher in theNiepoomice Forest in 1975, while in 1998 4 fold and 2 fold,respectively. In both 1975 and 1998 the most polluted by heavymetals was the western part of the Niepoomice Forest (closestto the pollution sources) and the area along the roads insidethe forest complex.     

Spectral trend of vegetation with rainfall in events of El Niño-Southern Oscillation for Atlantic Forest biome,Brazil

This study aimed to analyze the spectral trend of vegetation with rainfall in El Niño-Southern Oscillation events (ENSO) in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Monthly rainfall data were collected from 85 conventional meteorological stations (EMC), data from the Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 (EVI2) and ENSO events (El Niño, La Niña, and Neutral) in the period from 2001 to 2013. Afterwards, state cluster analysis was performed using the results of non-parametric tests. The Mann-Kendall (MK) non-parametric test did not identify a trend pattern in rainfall distribution in the Atlantic Forest. The results for EVI2 by state and region showed that the trend is decreasing in the Northeast Region, except for the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco. Southeast region showed an increasing trend of EVI2 (except for Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), while the South region showed a decreasing trend. In the Midwest, the trend was significantly decreasing. In the prognosis elaborated for the future, the regions with significant declines of the vegetation were the Northeast and Midwest. This study shows that the Atlantic Forest in some regions of Brazil has been suffering from the growing urbanization process and there is a trend of soil degradation.     

Are Nitrogen-Fertilized Forest Soils Sinks or Sources of Carbon?

We developed a simple conceptual model that tracks nitrogen and carbon jointly through an N fertilized forest ecosystem. The stimulation of growth increases the litterfall and imports substrate for soil microorganisms. Microbial biomass forms according to the supply of C and N. The formation of microbial biomass is accompanied by respiratory C losses. The quantity of CO₂ efflux depends on the C use efficiency of microbes. When excess N is available, the microbial activity is accelerated and the demand for substrate is high. Litterfall supplies an insufficient amount of C to the soil. In such a case, labile soil C is mineralized and the net effect of N fertilization is a loss of soil C. A strong N fertilization effect on the aboveground biomass can offset the soil C loss. In the case of a low N dosage or high N losses due to leaching or emission of nitrogen oxides, the soil C loss is small. The conceptual model was applied to a case study. The field data, collected over a time span of several decades, could not support sound conclusions on the temporal trend of soil C because the spatial and temporal variability of the chemical data was high. The conceptual model allowed to give an evaluation of the fertilization effect on soil C based on reproducible principles.     

The Accuracy of Forest Damage Assessments – Experiences from Sweden

In this article the consistency of forest damageassessments on conifer trees is analysed, by usingdifferent methods in estimating the accuracy inassessments of defoliation and discolouration. The dataoriginate from control surveys in the Swedish nationalforest damage survey, as well as from national andinternational training courses. Standard deviation ofdifferences in the assessment of defoliation on singletrees is found to be about 10% units for Norway spruceand 8.5% for Scots pine. Problems in correctly assessingdamaged Scots pine trees and discoloured Norway sprucetrees are revealed by measures of agreement (Kappastatistic). Results from several years of nationaltraining courses indicate that, on an average, theobserver teams do not significantly differ from a nationalstandard, but significant differences between observerteams are found. The presented estimates indicate asubstantial within observer error compared to the betweenobserver error. The results indicate that the long-termdevelopment of forest damage, rather than short-termfluctuations, is the most important information fromthese kinds of inventories.     

Are we headed towards the defaunation of the last large Atlantic Forest remnants? Poaching activities in one of the largest remnants of the Tabuleiro forests in southeastern Brazil

Hunting is a problem to animal conservation in different parts of the world and it has caused the local extinction of several species. The aim of this study was to characterize the poaching activities in one of the main tabuleiro forest remnants of Brazil, the Linhares-Sooretama Block (LSB). Poaching records from 2010 to 2013 were gathered from the agencies responsible for monitoring and combating environmental crimes in the LSB. A total of 693 records (mean = 173 events/year) were collected involving direct (hunted animals, firearms, handmade firearms, traps, poachers, and various hunting supplies) and indirect (tree stands, baits, and poacher signs) evidences of poaching. No differences in the monthly cumulative number of records were found among years, but the distribution of records differed according to the type of evidence. A total of 40 animal seizure events were recorded involving a total of at least 15 taxa directly affected by poaching (reptiles = 2, birds = 6, mammals = 7) and 75 individuals seized (19 individuals/year). Five of the poached species are threatened. Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca) and armadillos were the most poached mammals in the region. Most of the poachers conduct such activities for fun (entertainment) and/or professionally (commercial hunting). The collected data show an approximately 32% increase in the number of poaching events in the region compared with the historical data available for LSB. It may have resulted from a gradual decrease in protection, both in terms of the number of agents deployed and the levels of effort of the teams, which began in 2009. The data demonstrate that poaching is a significant threat to the conservation of the LSB fauna, as it is in other Atlantic Forest remnants and in other regions of the world. Protection activities must be intensified to effectively combat the impacts of poaching in the LSB region, thereby contributing to the conservation of species in one of the few Atlantic Forest remnants whose original species composition still remains intact.     

A decade of monitoring at Swiss Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF) sites: can we observe trends in atmospheric acid deposition and in soil solution acidity?

Trends in atmospheric acid deposition and in soil solution acidity from 1995 or later until 2007 were investigated at several forest sites throughout Switzerland to assess the effects of air pollution abatements on deposition and the response of the soil solution chemistry. Deposition of the major elements was estimated from throughfall and bulk deposition measurements at nine sites of the Swiss Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research network (LWF) since 1995 or later. Soil solution was measured at seven plots at four soil depths since 1998 or later. Trends in the molar ratio of base cations to aluminum (BC/Al) in soil solutions and in concentrations and fluxes of inorganic N (NO(3)-N + NH(4)-N), sulfate (SO(4)-S), and base cations (BC) were used to detect changes in soil solution chemistry. Acid deposition significantly decreased at three out of the nine study sites due to a decrease in total N deposition. Total SO(4)-S deposition decreased at the nine sites, but due to the relatively low amount of SO(4)-S load compared to N deposition, it did not contribute to decrease acid deposition significantly. No trend in total BC deposition was detected. In the soil solution, no trend in concentrations and fluxes of BC, SO(4)-S, and inorganic N were found at most soil depths at five out of the seven sites. This suggests that the soil solution reacted very little to the changes in atmospheric deposition. A stronger reduction in base cations compared to aluminum was detected at two sites, which might indicate that acidification of the soil solution was proceeding faster at these sites.     

Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Program – Monitoring Effectiveness of Sustainable Forest Management Planning

A conceptual model of sustainable forest management is described based on three connected and necessary components: Policy/Strategic Planning, Operational Planning, and EffectivenessMonitoring/Science.Alberta’s proposed Forest Management Planning Standard is described as an example of operational planning. The standard utilizes coarse and fine filter approaches to conserving biodiversity and sets requirements for implementation monitoring.The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Program (ABMP) is described as an example of effectiveness monitoring supporting Operational Planning. The ABMP is a rigorous science-based initiative that is being developed to monitor and report on biodiversity status and trends throughout the province of Alberta, Canada. The basic survey design consists of 1656 sites, 20 km apart, evenly spaced on a grid pattern across Alberta. Sites will be sampled over a five-year period at a rate of 350 sites/year. Standardized sampling protocols will be used to cover a broad range of species and habitat elements within terrestrial and aquatic environments, as well as broader landscape-level features.Trends and associations detected by ABMP products will be validated through cause-effect research. ABMP focuses research on critical issues and informs both operational planning and the development of policy and strategic-level plans. The Alberta Forest Management Planning Standard and the ABMP are described as key components to implementing resource planning based on ecosystem management principles.     

Multi-stand Forest Management under a Climatic Risk: Do Time and Risk Preferences Matter?

We propose a stochastic dynamic programming framework to model the management of a multi-stand forest under climate risk (strong wind occurrence). The preferences of the forest-owner are specified by a non-expected utility in order to separately analyze intertemporal substitution and risk aversion effects. A numerical method is developed to characterize the optimal forest management policies and the optimal consumption-saving strategy. The stochastic dynamic programming framework is applied to a non-industrial private forest-owner located in North-East of France. We show that the optimal decisions both depend upon risk and time preferences. The authors would like to thank participants at the international conference on Economics of Sustainable Forest Management in Toronto, at the PARIS 1 seminar on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, at the 2004 Applied Microeconomics Conference in Lille and at the 13th annual conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists at Budapest.     

A Preliminary Assessment of Montréal Process Indicators of Forest Fragmentation for the United States

As part of the U.S. 2003 National Report on Sustainable Forests, four metrics of forest fragmentation--patch size, edge amount, inter-patch distance, and patch contrast--were measured within 137744 non-overlapping 5625 ha analysis units on land-cover maps derived from satellite imagery for the 48 conterminous States. The perimeter of a typical forest patch is about 100 m from the perimeter of its nearest neighbor, except when there is not much forest, in which case that distance is 200 to 300 m. A typical analysis unit has from 10 to 40% as much forest edge as it could possibly have, given the amount of forest present. Most analysis units contain a large number of patches that are less than one hectare in size, and about 10% contain one or more 2000 to 5000 ha patches. Forest often defines the background landscape, and patch contrast is generally either very high or very low in eastern regions and intermediate in western regions. Many research needs were identified by this experimental analysis of available data and metrics.     

Is Diversification a Suitable Option to Reduce Drought-Induced Risk of Forest Dieback? An Economic Approach Focused on Carbon Accounting

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Extreme or recurrent drought events are the principal source of stress on forests, impairing their overall health. They result in financial losses for...     

Nitrogen and metals in two regions in Central Europe: Significant differences in accumulation in mosses due to land use?

The study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the regional variability of nitrogen (N) and metal accumulations in terrestrial ecosystems are due to historical and recent ways of landuse. To this end, two regions of Central Europe were selected for investigation: the Weser-Ems Region (WER) and the Euro Region Nissa (ERN). They were assumed to have land use-specific accumulation profiles. Thus, the metal and N accumulations in both regions were examined by means of geostatistically based comparative moss analysis. The sampling and chemical analysis of mosses were conducted in accordance with the convenient guidelines and methods, respectively. The spatial representativity of the sampling sites was computed by means of a land classification which was calculated for Europe by means of classification trees and GIS-techniques. The differences of deposition loads were tested for statistical significance with regard to time and space. The measurement values corroborated the decline of metal accumulation observed since the beginning of the European Metals in Mosses Surveys in 1990. The metal loads of the mosses in the ERN exceeded those in the WER significantly. The opposite holds true for the N concentrations: those in the WER were significantly higher than those in the ERN. The reduction of emissions from power plants, factories and houses was strongly correlated with the decline of deposition and bioaccumulation of metals. As proved by the European Metals in Mosses Surveys, this tendency is due to successful environmental policies. But no such success could be verified by monitoring the accumulation of N in mosses.     

Lead in grass in the Scottish uplands: deposition or uptake?

If it is assumed that the Pb collected in grass samples is derived mainly from atmospheric deposition then grass samples can be used as a convenient and easily analysed monitor for Pb deposition, in particular to establish the isotopic composition of current deposition in remote locations. As some studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between soil and grass Pb concentrations, it was considered important to establish the proportion of soil Pb in the grasses used to monitor atmospheric deposition at upland locations in Scotland. Consideration of earlier studies provided evidence that very little, if any, Pb in grass was derived from soil. Lead isotope analysis, by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry, of grasses grown on soils spiked with enriched (207)Pb in the field situation allowed the relative contribution of atmospheric deposition and soil to the grass Pb to be calculated. In most cases, >80% of Pb in grass was derived from atmospheric deposition and in recent years this value was >90%. Recalculation of the (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratio in grass samples showed that there was very little error in the results, published previously, which were based on the assumption that all the Pb collected with grass was derived from the atmosphere. The trends established by measuring the (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratio in grasses were confirmed and remain valid.     

Confronting reality in strategic environmental assessment in Slovenia — Costs and benefits

We enlarge on the viewpoint published in the Environmental Impact Assessment Review in 2012 — A viewpoint on the approval context of strategic environmental assessments. Additional alerts concerning the procedural ineffectiveness of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) process from the cost–benefit point of view are advanced. The major contribution to the long lasting, costly SEA processes, comes from ultraistic treatment of Natura 2000.The case study deals with a plan for constructing a traffic bypass around Škofljica, a town near Ljubljana. Based on their conclusions the authors propose that the following elements of the SEA procedure should be improved and optimised:

• –CBA for SEA should become a regular component when measuring its effectiveness.
• –Concretisation of expected SEA inputs to the plan should clarify its role at the earliest stage of the process.
• –SEA should contribute interactively to the optimisation of alternatives; cost–benefit analysis of the SEA process could support this process.
• –Nature protection interest should be confronted and balanced with wider development interests as formulated in the plan and should not be applied in absolute terms (e.g. Natura 2000).

     

Determination of Heavy Metals in Honey in Kahramanmaraş City, Turkey

Heavy metals in honey are of interest not only for quality control, but also for determination environmental contamination. The objective of this work was to determine distribution of the levels of selected heavy metals. Levels of copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg) and nickel (Ni) in honey samples (21) in Kahramanmaraş region were determined by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). The mean values for Cu, Cd, Mn, Fe, and Mg were 0.01, 0.32, 0.03, 0.36 and 10.45 ppm, respectively. Nickel was not detected in honey samples. Kahramanmaraş honey samples were not free of heavy metals but the levels of them were found well below the permitted levels. The results suggested that honey may be useful for assessing the presence of environmental contaminants.     

Physicochemical methods for monitoring seasonal variations in Cl–, F–, and Fe++ in underground water in Unnao District in Uttar Pradesh (India)

The variations of Cl^???, F^???, and Fe^?+?+? in the underground water during pre- and post-monsoon periods for 2003 have been examined, for two places in Unnao district, by argentrometric titration method (Sodic Land Reclamation Project Uttar Pradesh 1998) and atomic absorption spectrometry (Sodic Land Reclamation Project Uttar Pradesh 1998). The concentration of these ions falls outside the limits prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO 1984).