While many scientific assessments have been recommending general strategies for biodiversity conservation under climate change, translation of these recommendations into specific actions and practice has been limited. Focusing on two biomes, rainforest and wetlands in biodiverse South East Queensland, Australia, we demonstrate how general principles can be translated into specific actions for stakeholders and responsible agencies. We synthesize research that is contextualizing protection of refugia and habitat connectivity, establishing baseline data sets to detect change and developing strategic conservation planning scenarios to adjust reserve boundaries or situate new reserves. This has been achieved by coupling spatial information on biological assets (i.e. ecosystems and species) with future climate scenarios and process models to anticipate movement of critical habitats. Conservation planning software is also being used to prioritize investment to meet specific objectives. This approach is enabling us to identify at-risk biological assets, opportunities to ameliorate threats and obstacles to delivering regional adaptation actions. A larger total reserved area is needed, with proactive planning to capture areas further inland and along watercourses. Major obstacles include conflict between urbanization and priorities for habitat conservation and the need for greater levels of investment for monitoring programmes and to protect landward shifted wetlands on private land. 相似文献
This paper reports a reconnaissance survey of the concentrations of sterol compounds (as indicators of fecal contamination) in a large water supply system in southeast Australia comprising a network of rivers, channels, and drains. Levels of coprostanol and cholestanol were determined in surface water and bottom sediment using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis across 17 strategic sampling sites and over 12 months. Clear differences in the levels of fecal contamination were observed among sites. Four sites routinely contained high levels of the fecal indicator sterols indicated from surface water and sediment sample analysis. Coprostanol concentrations at each location varied from 0 ng/L at the reference site to 11,327 ng/L in a surface water sample of a drain directly downstream of a knackery. The majority of the sites contained coprostanol in the range of 500 to 800 ng/L. Since no fecal-associated sterol compounds were detected at the external reference sites, these were assumed to be free from fecal contamination. Sewage water discharge and/or substantial water runoff maybe the principal factors contributing to fecal contamination of the supply drains and channels. 相似文献
For more than a decade, anthropogenic sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition has been identified as a key pollutant in the
Arctic. In this study new critical loads of acidity (S and N) were estimated for terrestrial ecosystems north of 60° latitude
by applying the Simple Mass Balance (SMB) model using two critical chemical criteria (Al/Bc = 1 and ANCle = 0). Critical loads were exceeded in large areas of northern Europe and the Norilsk region in western Siberia during the
1990s, with the more stringent criterion (ANCle = 0) showing the larger area of exceedance. However, modeled deposition estimates indicate that mean concentrations of sulfur
oxides and total S deposition within the Arctic almost halved between 1990 and 2000. The modeled exceeded area is much reduced
when currently agreed emission reductions are applied, and almost disappears under the implementation of maximum technically
feasible reductions by 2020. In northern North America there was no exceedance under any of the deposition scenarios applied.
Modeled N deposition was less than 5 kg ha−1 y−1 almost across the entire study area for all scenarios; and therefore empirical critical loads for the eutrophying impact
of nitrogen are unlikely to be exceeded. The reduction in critical load exceedances is supported by observed improvements
in surface water quality, whereas the observed extensive damage of terrestrial vegetation around the mining and smelter complexes
in the area is mainly caused by direct impacts of air pollution and metals. 相似文献
In response to reduced sulphur emissions, there has been a large decrease in sulphate (; −0.97 μeq l−1 year−1) and hydrogen (−1.18 μeq l−1 year−1) ion concentration in bulk precipitation between 1980 and 2000 at Plastic Lake in central Ontario. The benefit of this large
reduction in deposition on stream water chemistry was assessed using the gauged outflow from a conifer-forested catchment (PC1; 23.3 ha),
which is influenced by a small wetland located immediately upstream of the outflow. Sulphate concentrations declined, but
not significantly due to large inter-annual variation in concentration. Between 1980 and 2000, there were significant increases in dissolved organic carbon, ammonium and potassium
concentration likely reflecting increased mineralisation in the wetland. Calcium concentrations in PC1 decreased during the
two decade period (−2.24 μeq l−1 year−1), as a consequence there was no improvement in stream pH and the Ca:Al ratio in PC1 continued to decline. A similar response
was noted in an upland-draining sub-catchment of PC1-08 that has been monitored since 1987. Despite large reductions in deposition and almost complete retention of nitrogen in soil, there has been no improvement (in terms of pH) in stream water
at PC1 due to a combination of soil acidification and climatic (droughts, increased mineralisation) perturbations. 相似文献
An aggregated farm-level index, the Agri-environmental Footprint Index (AFI), based on multiple criteria methods and representing a harmonised approach to evaluation of EU agri-environmental schemes is described. The Index uses a common framework for the design and evaluation of policy that can be customised to locally relevant agri-environmental issues and circumstances. Evaluation can be strictly policy-focused, or broader and more holistic in that context-relevant assessment criteria that are not necessarily considered in the evaluated policy can nevertheless be incorporated. The Index structure is flexible, and can respond to diverse local needs. The process of Index construction is interactive, engaging farmers and other relevant stakeholders in a transparent decision-making process that can ensure acceptance of the outcome, help to forge an improved understanding of local agri-environmental priorities and potentially increase awareness of the critical role of farmers in environmental management. The structure of the AFI facilitates post-evaluation analysis of relative performance in different dimensions of the agri-environment, permitting identification of current strengths and weaknesses, and enabling future improvement in policy design. Quantification of the environmental impact of agriculture beyond the stated aims of policy using an ‘unweighted’ form of the AFI has potential as the basis of an ongoing system of environmental audit within a specified agricultural context. 相似文献
The distribution and population structure of the eurybathic gorgonian Corallium rubrum were studied off Cap de Creus (Costa Brava, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea). Red coral is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea
and the adjacent NE Atlantic coast, where it has been over exploited for centuries. This study presents, the first quantitative
data on the spatial distribution and structure of a population extending between 50 (common SCUBA limits) and 230 m depth,
and compared it with shallow populations previously studied in the same area. Different remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and
two methodological approaches were employed during four cruises between 2002 and 2006: 1-Extensive surveys: sea to coast transects
in which red coral density and patch frequency were recorded; 2-Intensive surveys, in which parameters describing colony morphology
were recorded. Most of the hard substrate between 50 and 85 m depth was inhabited by red coral colonies, showing a patch frequency
of 8.3 ± 7.9 SD patches per 100 m-transect (total transect area: 34 m2), and within-patch colony densities of 16–376 colonies m−2 (mean of 43 ± 53 colonies m−2). Below 120 m depth red coral was less abundant, and rather than forming dense patches as in shallow water, isolated colonies
were more common. The population structure differed between sites that are easily accessible to red coral fishermen, and remote
ones (both at similar depth, 60–80 m), as colonies in easily accessible locations were smaller in height and diameter, and
showed a less developed branching pattern. At shallower locations (10–50 m depth) the population structure was significantly
different from those at deeper locations, due to the heavy harvesting pressure they are exposed to in the shallows. Twenty-five
to forty-six percentage of the deeper colonies were taller than 6 cm, while only 7–16% of the shallow water colonies exceeded
6 cm colony height. Forty-six to seventy-nine percentage of the colonies in deeper waters were large enough to be legally
harvested, while only 9–20% of the shallow water colonies met the 7 mm legal basal diameter to be collected. The branching
pattern was also better developed in deeper colonies, as up to 16% of the colonies showed fourth order branches, compared
to less than 1% of the shallow water colonies (of which 96% consisted of only one single branch). The results thus confirm
that C. rubrum populations above 50 m depth are exposed to a higher harvesting intensity than deeper populations in the same area. 相似文献
Rice (Oriza sativa) feeds nearly half of the world’s population. Regional and national studies in Asia suggest that rice production will suffer under climate change, but researchers conducted few studies for other parts of the world. This research identifies suitable areas for cultivating irrigated rice in Colombia under current climates and for the 2050s, according to the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. The methodology uses known locations of the crop, environmental variables, and maximum entropy and probabilistic methods to develop niche-based models for estimating the potential geographic distribution of irrigated rice. Results indicate that future climate change in Colombia could reduce the area that is suitable for rice production by 60%, from 4.4 to 1.8 million hectares. Low-lying rice production regions could be the most susceptible to changing environmental conditions, while mid-altitude valleys could see improvements in rice-growing conditions. In contrast to a country like China where rice production can move to higher latitudes, rice adaptation in tropical Colombia will favor higher elevations. These results suggest adaptation strategies for the Colombian rice sector. Farmers can adopt climate-resilient varieties or change water and agronomic management practices, or both. Other farmers may consider abandoning rice production for some other crop or activity.