Ants: Bio-indicators of minesite rehabilitation,land-use,and land conservation

In terms of their numerical abundance, size, and species richness, ants are a prominent taxonomic group in many terrestrial ecosystems This, and the fact that ants occupy higher trophic levels and often specialised niches, suggests that they may be good bio-indicators of various environmental parameters This paper develops the rationale for using ants as bio-indicators and reviews examples of their use Parameters which are considered include ant species richness, species density, Shannon's diversity index, evenness index, and Mountford's similarity index The possible use of indicator species or groups is also discussed although, in Australia, this is still in its exploratory stage The examples given in this paper suggest that a consideration of ant species richness and evenness and also the Mountford's similarity index provides significant insight into the composition of a habitat and of the degree of disturbance Some applications of the ant bio-indicator concept include providing of base-line data in pre-development situations; monitoring ecosystem recovery following land rehabilitation, monitoring degree of ecosystem degradation, and the understanding of faunal composition and status of conservation areas     

Dam Design can Impede Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows: A Case Study from the Opuha Dam, New Zealand

The Opuha Dam was designed for water storage, hydropower, and to augment summer low flows. Following its commissioning in 1999, algal blooms (dominated first by Phormidium and later Didymosphenia geminata) downstream of the dam were attributed to the reduced frequency and magnitude of high-flow events. In this study, we used a 20-year monitoring dataset to quantify changes associated with the dam. We also studied the effectiveness of flushing flows to remove periphyton from the river bed. Following the completion of the dam, daily maximum flows downstream have exceeded 100 m³ s^?1 only three times; two of these floods exceeded the pre-dam mean annual flood of 203 m³ s^?1 (compared to 19 times >100 m³ s^?1 and 6 times >203 m³ s^?1 in the 8 years of record before the dam). Other changes downstream included increases in water temperature, bed armoring, frequency of algal blooms, and changes to the aquatic invertebrate community. Seven experimental flushing flows resulted in limited periphyton reductions. Flood wave attenuation, bed armoring, and a shortage of surface sand and gravel, likely limited the effectiveness of these moderate floods. Floods similar to pre-dam levels may be effective for control of periphyton downstream; however, flushing flows of that magnitude are not possible with the existing dam infrastructure. These results highlight the need for dams to be planned and built with the capacity to provide the natural range of flows for adaptive management, particularly high flows.     

Forb,Insect, and Soil Response to Burning and Mowing Wyoming Big Sagebrush in Greater Sage-Grouse Breeding Habitat

Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis A. t. Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young) communities provide structure and forbs and insects needed by greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) for growth and survival. We evaluated forb, insect, and soil responses at six mowed and 19 prescribed burned sites compared to 25, paired and untreated reference sites. Sites were classified by treatment type, soil type, season, and decade of treatment (sites burned during 1990–1999 and sites burned or mowed during 2000–2006). Our objective was to evaluate differences in ten habitat attributes known to influence sage-grouse nesting and brood rearing to compare responses among treatment scenarios. Contrary to desired outcomes, treating Wyoming big sagebrush through prescribed burning or mowing may not stimulate cover or increase nutrition in food forbs, or increase insect abundance or indicators of soil quality compared with reference sites. In some cases, prescribed burning showed positive results compared with mowing such as greater forb crude protein content (%), ant (Hymenoptera; no./trap), beetle (Coleoptera/no./trap), and grasshopper abundance (Orthoptera; no./sweep), and total (%) soil carbon and nitrogen, but of these attributes, only grasshopper abundance was enhanced at burned sites compared with reference sites in 2008. Mowing did not promote a statistically significant increase in sage-grouse nesting or early brood-rearing habitat attributes such as cover or nutritional quality of food forbs, or counts of ants, beetles, or grasshoppers compared with reference sites.     

Walking to school: Community design and child and parent barriers

The roles of community design and parent and child perceptions of walkability to school are tested for associations with walking in three communities: a walkable new urbanist community, a mixed community (standard suburban community where the walk to school traversed part of the new urbanist community), and less walkable standard suburban community. Perceived environmental barriers to walking to school are measured and compared for fifth graders (n = 193) and their parents (n = 177). Results showed that children and parents often agreed on walking barriers, except an interaction showed that — in the less walkable community — parents perceived worse barriers than did their children. Perceptions of barriers increased from walkable, to mixed, to less walkable communities. Students walked more when they attended the school in the walkable community, they lived near school, parents and children perceived fewer barriers to walking, and children had lower BMI scores, net of demographic controls. Thus the walk to school is embedded within multiple types of supports, all of which should be addressed to encourage walking to school.     

Component level strategies for exploiting the lifespan of steel in products

Approximately 40% of annual demand for steel worldwide is used to replace products that have failed. With this percentage set to rise, extending the lifespan of steel in products presents a significant opportunity to reduce demand and thus decrease carbon dioxide emissions from steel production.This article presents a new, simplified framework with which to analyse product failure. When applied to the products that dominate steel use, this framework reveals that they are often replaced because a component/sub-assembly becomes degraded, inferior, unsuitable or worthless. In light of this, four products, which are representative of high steel content products in general, are analysed at the component level, determining steel mass and cost profiles over the lifespan of each product. The results show that the majority of the steel components are underexploited – still functioning when the product is discarded; in particular, the potential lifespan of the steel-rich structure is typically much greater than its actual lifespan. Twelve case studies, in which product or component life has been increased, are then presented. The resulting evidence is used to tailor life-extension strategies to each reason for product failure and to identify the economic motivations for implementing these strategies. The results suggest that a product template in which the long-lived structure accounts for a relatively high share of costs while short-lived components can be easily replaced (offering profit to the producer and enhanced utility to owners) encourages product life extension.     

Conservation Biological Control and Pest Performance in Lawn Turf: Does Mowing Height Matter?

With >80 million United States households engaged in lawn and gardening activities, increasing sustainability of lawn care is important. Mowing height is an easily manipulated aspect of lawn management. We tested the hypothesis that elevated mowing of tall fescue lawn grass promotes a larger, more diverse community of arthropod natural enemies which in turn provides stronger biological control services, and the corollary hypothesis that doing so also renders the turf itself less suitable for growth of insect pests. Turf-type tall fescue was mowed low (6.4 cm) or high (10.2 cm) for two growing seasons, natural enemy populations were assessed by vacuum sampling, pitfall traps, and ant baits, and predation and parasitism were evaluated with sentinel prey caterpillars, grubs, and eggs. In addition, foliage-feeding caterpillars and root-feeding scarab grubs were confined in the turf to evaluate their performance. Although some predatory groups (e.g., rove beetles and spiders) were more abundant in high-mowed grass, predation rates were uniformly high because ants, the dominant predators, were similarly abundant regardless of mowing height. Lower canopy temperatures in high-mowed grass were associated with slower growth of grass-feeding caterpillars. Higher lawn mowing reduces fuel consumption and yard waste, and promotes a deep, robust root system that reduces need for water and chemical inputs. Although in this study elevated mowing height did not measurably increase the already-high levels of predation, it did suggest additional ways through which bottom-up effects on insect pest growth might interact with natural enemies to facilitate conservation biological control.     

Human Disturbance Threats the Red-Listed Macrolichen Seirophora villosa (Ach.) Frödén in Coastal Juniperus Habitats: Evidence From Western Peninsular Italy

In Europe, coastal dune systems with Juniperus spp. (Natura 2000 habitat code 2250) are a priority habitat for conservation according to the Natura 2000 policies. Currently, anthropogenic pressure is threatening the biodiversity of this habitat. While the impact of human pressure on animals and vascular plants is already documented, information is still scanty for other organisms such as epiphytic lichens. The main aim of this study is to test the effect of human disturbance on the occurrence and abundance of the red-listed macrolichen Seirophora villosa. We also tested the effect of human disturbance on the whole community of epiphytic lichens in terms of species richness and composition. The study was performed along the coast of Tuscany by comparing both disturbed and undisturbed Juniperus stands according to a stratified random sampling design. Our results provided evidence that in coastal systems the long-term conservation of the red-listed macrolichen S. villosa and its characteristic community composed by several Mediterranean species of conservation concern depends on the maintenance of undisturbed Juniperus habitats. Results also support the possibility of using S. villosa as an indicator species of habitat conservation importance and habitat integrity since its occurrence is predicted on nestedness in term of species composition, assemblages of species poor disturbed stands being subsets of those of richer undisturbed stands.     

Populations of domesticated cattle and buffalo in the Western Forest Complex of Thailand and their possible impacts on the wildlife community

The Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM) of Thailand is comprised of many protected areas and has one of the highest wildlife populations in the country. Populations of wildlife in the WEFCOM have decreased dramatically over recent years. Rapid economic development has resulted in the conversion of forest into agricultural and pastoral land, which has directly and indirectly impacted the wildlife community. This research aimed to evaluate populations of domesticated cattle (Bos indicus) and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in the WEFCOM and their possible impacts on the wildlife community. Domesticated cattle and buffalo keepers from 1561 (or 3.3%) of houses in and near WEFCOM were interviewed. The average number of animals per household was 15.6 cattle and 8.5 buffalo. Most villagers released domesticated cattle and buffalo to forage in the protected areas. This tended to have a high impact on the wildlife community in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary and Tungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. The least impacted areas were Luam Khlong Ngu National Park, Thong Pha Phum National Park and Chaleam Ratanakosin National Park. With a high risk to the wildlife community, law enforcement should be used in combination with a certain level of co-management with local communities.     

Montane Meadow Plant Community Response to Livestock Grazing

We examined long-term (10 years) meadow plant community responses to (1) livestock grazing under riparian grazing utilization limits; (2) suspension of livestock grazing; and (3) meadow site wetness and precipitation on the Inyo National Forest, California. Observed trends in meadow plant species richness, diversity, and frequency of soil stabilizing species were not significantly different between grazed (N = 16) and non-grazed (N = 9) study sites (P > 0.12 in all cases). Modest increases in richness and diversity were observed over the study period, but frequency of soil stabilizing species was constant. These results suggest that riparian conservation grazing strategies implemented during the study period neither degraded nor hampered recovery of meadow plant community conditions relative to non-grazed conditions. Meadow site wetness was negatively correlated to richness (P < 0.01) and diversity (P < 0.01), but was positively correlated to soil stabilization (P = 0.02). Precipitation was not a significant predictor for plant community responses.     

Assessing Sediment Yield for Selected Watersheds in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin Under Future Agricultural Scenarios

In the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin (GLB), corn acreage has been expanding since 2005 in response to high demand for corn as an ethanol feedstock. This study integrated remote sensing-derived products and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) within a geographic information system (GIS) modeling environment to assess the impacts of cropland change on sediment yield within four selected watersheds in the GLB. The SWAT models were calibrated during a 6 year period (2000–2005), and predicted stream flows were validated. The R ² values were 0.76, 0.80, 0.72, and 0.81 for the St. Joseph River, the St. Mary River, the Peshtigo River, and the Cattaraugus Creek watersheds, respectively. The corresponding E (Nash and Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient) values ranged from 0.24 to 0.79. The average annual sediment yields (tons/ha/year) ranged from 0.12 to 4.44 for the baseline (2000 to 2008) condition. Sediment yields were predicted to increase for possible future cropland change scenarios. The first scenario was to convert all “other” agricultural row crop types (i.e., sorghum) to corn fields and switch the current/baseline crop rotation into continuous corn. The average annual sediment yields increased 7–42 % for different watersheds. The second scenario was to further expand the corn planting to hay/pasture fields. The average annual sediment yields increased 33–127 % compared with baseline conditions.     

Differential Effects of Legume Species on the Recovery of Soil Microbial Communities, and Carbon and Nitrogen Contents, in Abandoned Fields of the Loess Plateau, China

Plant–soil interactions are known to influence a wide range of ecosystem-level functions. Moreover, the recovery of these functions is of importance for the successful restoration of soils that have been degraded through intensive and/or inappropriate land use. Here, we assessed the effect of planting treatments commonly used to accelerate rates of grassland restoration, namely introduction of different legume species Medicago sativa, Astragalus adsurgens, Melilotus suaveolens, on the recovery of soil microbial communities and carbon and nitrogen contents in abandoned fields of the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed effects were species-specific, and either positive, neutral or negative depending on the measure and time-scale. All legumes increased basal respiration and metabolic quotient and had a positive effect on activity and functional diversity of the soil microbial community, measured using Biolog EcoPlate. However, soil under Astragalus adsurgens had the highest activity and functional diversity relative to the other treatments. Soil carbon and nitrogen content and microbial biomass were effectively restored in 3–5?years by introducing Medicago sativa and Astragalus adsurgens into early abandoned fields. Soil carbon and nitrogen content were retarded in 3–5?years and microbial biomass was retarded in the fifth year by introducing Melilotus suaveolens. Overall, the restoration practices of planting legumes can significantly affect soil carbon and nitrogen contents, and the biomass, activity, and functional diversity of soil microbial community. Therefore, we propose certain legume species could be used to accelerate ecological restoration of degraded soils, hence assist in the protection and preservation of the environment.     

Water resource management in Japan: Forest management or dam reservoirs?

Researchers and journalists in Japan recently proposed forest management as an alternative to dam reservoir development for water resource management. To examine the validity of the proposal, we compared the potential low-flow increase due to forest clearcutting with the increase due to dam reservoir development. Here, we focused on forest clearcutting as an end member among various types of forest management. We first analyzed runoff data for five catchments and found a positive correlation between annual precipitation and the low-flow increase due to deforestation. We then examined the increase in low-flow rates due to dam reservoir development (dQ_d) using inflow and outflow data for 45 dam reservoirs across Japan. Using the relationship between annual precipitation and the low-flow increase due to deforestation, we estimated the potential increase in the low-flow rate for each dam reservoir watershed if forests in the watershed were clearcut (dQ_f). Only 6 of the 45 samples satisfied dQ_f > dQ_d, indicating that the potential increase in the low-flow rate due to forest clearcutting was less than the increase due to dam reservoir development in most cases. Twenty-five of the 45 samples satisfied dQ_f < 0.2 dQ_d, indicating the potential increase in the low-flow rate due to forest clearcutting was less than 20% of the increase due to dam reservoir development in more than half the cases. Therefore, forest management is far less effective for water resource management than dam reservoir development is in Japan.     

Effects of Stocking Rate on the Variability of Peak Standing Crop in a Desert Steppe of Eurasia Grassland

Proper grazing management practices can generate corresponding compensatory effects on plant community production, which may reduce inter-annual variability of productivity in some grassland ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how grazing influences plant community attributes and the variability of standing crop. We examined the effects of sheep grazing at four stocking rate treatments [control, 0 sheep ha^?1 month^?1; light (LG), 0.15 sheep ha^?1 month^?1; moderate (MG), 0.30 sheep ha^?1 month^?1; and heavy (HG), 0.45 sheep ha^?1 month^?1] on standing crop at the community level and partitioned by species and functional groups, in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized block design over a 9-year period. Standing crop was measured every August from 2004 to 2012. Peak standing crop decreased (P < 0.05) with increasing stocking rate; peak standing crop in the HG treatment decreased 40 % compared to the control. May–July precipitation explained at least 76 % of the variation in peak standing crop. MG and HG treatments resulted in a decrease (P < 0.05) in shrubs, semi-shrubs, and perennials forbs, and an increase (P < 0.05) in perennial bunchgrasses compared to the control. The coefficients of variation at plant functional group and species level in the LG and MG treatments were lower (P < 0.05) than in the control and HG treatments. Peak standing crop variability of the control and HG community were greatest, which suggested that LG and MG have greater ecosystem stability.     

Living with nuclear power: Sense of place,proximity, and risk perceptions in local host communities

Previous research notes that sense of place may intensify, and that levels of public risk perception may decrease with proximity to an established hazardous or stigmatised site. In addition, the literature suggests that sense of place may act either to mediate or moderate community perceptions of risk in such localities. This study comprised a major household survey (n = 1326) and an interview study (n = 39) and was conducted close to the nuclear power stations at Oldbury and Hinkley Point, both in the UK. It investigated the roles of perceptions of place and hazard proximity in considering (a) perceptions of risk and (b) public attitudes towards the building of a new nuclear power station in the nearby area. In addition, a novel scale was developed to measure the perceived contribution of the nearby nuclear power station to sense of place. The results suggest first, that sense of place mediates (but does not moderate) perceptions of risk in very proximate communities, and second, that public attitudes to new build in communities situated very close to established nuclear sites may be largely dependent on the extent to which the existing facility is perceived to contribute towards sense of place. The implications of these results for existing theory are discussed.     

Soils and vegetation of Santa Barbara Island,Channel Islands National Park,California, USA

The multifaceted development of an erosion surface on Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, has led to this study of the relationship between soils and vegetation. A dry Mediterranean climate and past attempts at farming and introductions of alien species have led to vegetative degradation accompanied by both gully and surface erosion. Soil and vegetation analyses show this erosion to be in a location of transition. The soils are Typic Chromoxererts (Vertisol Order) with high clay, salinity, and sodium contents. The vegetation is ecotonal in nature, grading from a principally alien annual grassland withAvena fatua andAtriplex semibaccata to a shrub community dominated by the nativeSuaeda californica. Management toward revegetation and stabilization of this island ecosystem will be difficult with high clay, saline-sodic soils and disturbed vegetation.     

Epilithic Community Metabolism as an Indicator of Impact and Recovery in Streams Affected by Acid Mine Drainage

We measured biomass and metabolism of epilithic communities on five dates in different seasons at four sites in a watershed that has received extensive restoration for acid mine drainage (AMD) through the construction of passive treatment systems. Chlorophyll a biomass and productivity directly corresponded to AMD stress from coal mining. The site downstream of extensive passive treatment had significantly greater biomass and gross primary productivity rates than the site receiving only untreated AMD, but values were below those for two reference sites, indicating incomplete recovery. The degree of difference in these metrics among sites varied seasonally, primarily related to differences in canopy cover changes, but the ranking of sites in terms of stress generally was consistent. Reference sites had a significantly greater chlorophyll a/pheophytin ratio than untreated and treated sites, also indicating AMD stressed the communities. Community respiration was less affected by AMD stress than productivity or chlorophyll a. Productivity measures are not widely used to assess AMD impacts, and have been shown to both increase and decrease with AMD stress. The elimination of herbivores in AMD-impacted streams can increase productivity in the benthic algal community. Our study found productivity decreased with increasing AMD stress. Although sites with AMD stress had reduced herbivore populations, light, nutrients and metal precipitates appear to have limited growth of AMD-tolerant algal taxa. Therefore, it appears changes in food web structure due to AMD stress had less of an effect on epilithic productivity than environmental conditions within the stream.     

Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) of Roxborough State Park, Colorado, USA: Baseline Inventory, Community Attributes, and Monitoring Plan

/ Roxborough State Park in Colorado's Front Range was established in 1975 following a history of cattle and sheep ranching by private ownership. Survey work conducted from 1979 to 1995 resulted in the documentation of 93 species of butterflies. A variety of factors are responsible for the composition of the butterfly community: (1) overgrazing and its effect on the presence or absence of specific butterfly host plants; (2) habitat differences resulting from topographical and geological features; and (3) ecological and historical biogeography. This study provides data on community sampling adequacy, along with estimates of effort needed to monitor trends in abundance by using a community self-similarity curve and power analysis. An annual monitoring plan is proposed to assess trends in community composition. The plan includes collection of presence/absence and abundance data for select butterflies based on natural history information.KEY WORDS: Butterfly communities; Grazing; Inventory; Monitoring; Natural history     

Creating sense of community: The role of public space

A strong sense of community has been associated with improved wellbeing, increased feelings of safety and security, participation in community affairs and civic responsibility. Although interest in how the broader built environment influences sense of community is gaining momentum, there is a dearth of empirical research examining the association between sense of community and the quality of public space. This study investigates the relationship between four public spaces – Public Open Space (POS), community centres, schools and shops – and sense of community in residents of new housing developments in the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia. Data was obtained from a cross-sectional survey (n = 911), a POS audit, and Geographical Information Systems, and analysed using linear regression. The perceived quality of neighbourhood POS and shops was significantly and positively associated with sense of community. This relationship appears to be unaffected by how frequently people use these spaces. High quality public spaces may be important settings for enhancing sense of community within residents of new housing developments.     

Estimation of annual CH4 and N2O emissions from fluidised bed combustion: An advanced measurement-based method and its application to Finland

The aim of this study was to develop and apply an advanced, measurement based method for the estimation of annual CH₄ and N₂O emissions and thus gain improved understanding on the actual greenhouse gas (GHG) balances of combustion of fossil fuels, peat, biofuels and REF. CH₄ and N₂O emissions depend strongly on combustion conditions, and therefore the emission factors used in the calculation of annual emissions contain significant uncertainties. Fluidised bed combustion (FBC) has many good properties for combustion of different types of fuels and fuels of varying quality, e.g., biofuels and wastes. Therefore, it is currently increasing its market share. In this study, long term measurements (up to 50 days) were carried out at seven FBC boilers representing different size classes, loadings and fuel mixes. Both decreasing load and increasing share of coal in fuel mix increased N₂O emissions. Measurement results from different loading levels were combined with the common loading curves of similar plants in Finland to estimate annual emissions. Based on the results, recommendations for emission factors for the Finnish GHG emission inventory are given. The role of FBC as a potential technology for the utilisation of biofuels and wastes with future GHG reduction requirements is discussed.     

The carbon neutral free for all

Businesses offering to make you or your company carbon neutral are proliferating on the Internet. The term carbon neutral is being defined by common usage. There are no standard ways of measuring your carbon emissions and so no standards for becoming carbon neutral. This paper examines eleven websites offering carbon neutrality. It compares online calculators, their results and the costs of offsetting calculated on the strength of those results. It traces two offset projects: one in Kenya, offering voluntary offsets and run by a not-for-profit organisation; one in India striving for UN Clean Development Mechanism status. The projects are traced from the online carbon offset retailer to the actual project on the ground in order to compare the online rhetoric with the time consuming and difficult work of developing community based projects in Third World countries. The paper offers a definition of carbon neutral based on the ways in which the term is being used. It also uncovers a range of issues for further discussion.