Sampling Broad Habitat change to assess biodiversity conservation action in Northern Ireland

A habitat monitoring programme, the Northern Ireland Countryside Survey, carried out by the University of Ulster for the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, is described. It was based on a random sample of quarter kilometer grid squares, stratified by multivariate land classification. Estimates of change in habitat area between 1987-1992 and 1998 are presented and used to assess policy-related priorities for biodiversity conservation action in widespread habitats in Northern Ireland (NI). The basis of the assessment is Broad Habitats, a classification developed as part of the United Kingdom (UK) Biodiversity Action Plan. Improved Grassland, Neutral Grassland and Bog Broad Habitats occupy the largest area of NI, which holds a large proportion of the UK Neutral Grassland and Fen Marsh and Swamp Broad Habitat resource. The greatest net area increases with time were in Improved Grassland (33%), Coniferous Woodland (12%) and Broadleaved, Mixed and Yew Woodland (9%). The greatest net area decreases were in Neutral Grassland (-32%), Arable and Horticulture (-25%), Fen, Marsh and Swamp (-19%), Bog (-8%) and Calcareous Grassland (-7%). These changes are a function of agriculture, public and private forestry, building construction and peat cutting for fuel. The Key biodiversity issue is seminatural Broad Habitat loss, in particular, Neutral Grassland and Fen, Marsh and Swamp, highlighting the lack of effective action for protecting biodiversity in the countryside as a whole. The extent to which current land use is shown to be driving change, indicates that biodiversity conservation action through implementing landscape-scale agri-environment measures could deliver major biodiversity gains. The reliable information on recent changes, provided by the Northern Ireland Countryside Survey, has been used to guide conservation planning. Future re-survey will allow the effectiveness of the conservation strategy as it applies to the countryside as a whole, to be determined. As decisions on land use increasingly have a strong European dimension, concerted action for protecting biodiversity in the countryside as a whole is needed. This would be promoted by a structured sampling approach, based on standard habitat mapping procedures.     

Modelling soil series data to facilitate targeted habitat restoration: a polytomous logistic regression approach

Habitat restoration at a landscape scale is becoming increasingly important in environmental management. In this context, geographical information systems are well suited as they can store and integrate many of the abiotic and biotic criteria used to assess the ecological worth of a site. However, this capacity can be limited by the availability or suitability of spatial data sets. A classic example of the latter case is the National Soil Map of England and Wales, which groups soils of a varied nature into associations. Consequently the national soil map has proved to be a poor predictor of habitat suitability. Using polytomous logistic regression we put forward a method for separating soil associations into their constituent soils within the Chilterns Natural Area. This approach used soil association, aspect, slope and relative height as variables for this analysis. Whilst the model's performance is likely to have been limited by the accuracy of the soil association data set, a predictive accuracy of between 47 and 65% is sufficient to facilitate better targeting of habitat restoration when combined with other abiotic factors such as climate and topography.     

Sulfate,chloride and fluoride retention in Andosols exposed to volcanic acid emissions

The continuous emissions of SO(2), HCl and HF by Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, represent a substantial source of atmospheric S-, Cl- and F-containing acid inputs for local ecosystems. We report on the effects of such acid depositions on the sulfate, chloride and fluoride contents in soils (0-40 cm) from two distinct transects located downwind from the volcano. The first transect corresponds to relatively undifferentiated Vitric Andosols, and the second transect to more weathered Eutric Andosols. These soils are exposed to various rates of volcanogenic acid addition, with the Vitric sites being generally more affected. Prolonged acid inputs have led to a general pH decrease and reduced exchangeable base cation concentrations in the Andosols. The concentrations of 0.5 M NH(4)F- and 0.016 M KH(2)PO(4)-extractable sulfate (NH(4)F-S and KH(2)PO(4)-S, respectively) indicate that volcanic S addition has increased the inorganic sulfate content of the Vitric and Eutric soils at all depths. In this process, the rate of sulfate accumulation is also dependent on soil allophane contents. For all soils, NH(4)F extracted systematically more (up to 40 times) sulfate than KH(2)PO(4). This difference suggests sulfate incorporation into an aluminum hydroxy sulfate phase, whose contribution to total inorganic sulfate in the Vitric and Eutric Andosols is estimated from approximately 34 to 95% and approximately 65 to 98%, respectively. The distribution of KH(2)PO(4)-extractable chloride in the Vitric and Eutric Andosols exposed to volcanic Cl inputs reveals that added chloride readily migrates through the soil profiles. In contrast, reaction of fluoride with Al and Fe oxyhydroxides and allophanes is an important sink mechanism in the Masaya Andosols exposed to airborne volcanic F. Fluoride dominates the anion distribution in all soil horizons, although F is the least concentrated element in the volcanic emissions and depositions. The soil anion distribution reflects preferential retention of fluoride over sulfate and chloride, and of sulfate over chloride. The primary acidifying agent of the Andosols subject to the volcanic acid inputs is HCl.     

Accumulation features of persistent organochlorines in resident and migratory birds from Asia

Concentrations of organochlorine contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were determined in the resident and migratory birds, which were collected from India, Japan, Philippines, Russia (Lake Baikal) and Vietnam. Accumulation patterns of organochlorine concentrations in resident birds suggested that the predominant contaminants of each country were as follows: Japan--PCBs Philippines--PCBs and CHLs, India--HCHs and DDTs, Vietnam--DDTs, and Lake Baikal--PCBs and DDTs. The migratory birds from Philippines and Vietnam retained mostly the highest concentrations of DDTs among the organochlorines analyzed, indicating the presence of stopover and breeding grounds of those birds in China and Russia. On the other hand, migratory birds from India and Lake Baikal showed different patterns of organochlorine residues, reflecting that each species has inherent migratory routes and thus has exposure to different contaminants. Species which have breeding grounds around the Red Sea and Persian Gulf showed high levels of PCBs, indicating the presence of areas heavily polluted by PCBs in the Middle East.     

Short-term effects of hydrogen fluoride on Nicotiana tabacum L

Data on the short-term effects of fumigation with hydrogen fluoride (HF) on the response behavior of the Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. St. Karabalar 6265 are being presented. Growth rate, fluoride accumulation in leaves and soils, and degradation in chlorophyll and nicotine contents of the plant species against the variations in two experimental factors, namely the exposure concentration and exposure time parameters, were investigated. Resulting data reveals that the variety selected for this study is not so tolerant to fluoride as generally reported in the literature, if only the individual effects of the pollutant is considered.     

Is microhabitat segregation between two cicada species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tibicina haematodes</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Cicada orni</Emphasis>) due to calling song propagation constraints?

The cicada species Tibicina haematodes and Cicada orni are two sympatric species often inhabiting vineyards. We show that they occupy two distinct levels: males of T. haematodes produce their calling songs from a high position in vine foliage while males of C. orni call from a low position near the ground on vine trunks. Experiments consisting of broadcasting and re-recording experimental signals in natural habitats from low and high positions show that signals are more and more modified as sender–receiver distance increases. T. haematodes would have an advantage when calling on trunks rather than on branches whereas C. orni would be able to call indiscriminately from both low and high positions. Thus, the microhabitat segregation observed between T. haematodes and C orni in vineyards does not seem to be related to calling song propagation constraints, but may be due to other ethological or ecological factors.     

Effect of prenatal exposure to hydroxyprogesterone on steroidogenic enzymes in male rats

Pregnant Wistar strain albino rats were administered hydroxyprogesterone and the steroidogenic potential of the testis was analysed in the next generation adult male rats. In utero exposure to supranormal levels (10 mg/kg body weight or 25 mg/kg body weight) of hydroxyprogesterone decreased the activity levels of marker steroidogenic enzymes (3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase) of adult (mature) rat testis. Hydroxyprogesterone mediation in the suppression of rat testicular steroidogenesis is suggested, which can be correlated to the observed decrease in male reproductive potential in mammals exposed to female hormones during embryonic development.     

Rainforest composition and histories of human disturbance in Solomon Islands

On the basis of a Solomon Islands case study, we report that tropical rainforests hitherto perceived as untouched, pristine, virgin, etc., are actually sites of former settlement, extensive forest clearance, and irrigated/swidden agriculture. An unusually wide range of sources--rainforest ecology, forest classification and mapping, ethnobotany, land-use history, oral traditions, ethnographic and archaeological observations--supports our conclusions. These observations have bearings for contemporary perspectives on scenarios for rainforest regeneration after logging. They also force a revision of certain assumptions concerning Melanesian prehistory and historical demography, and indicate that interdisciplinary links between botany, archaeology and social anthropology are needed to achieve a better appreciation of rainforest dynamics.     

Preparation and characteristics of high performance paper containing titanium dioxide photocatalyst supported on inorganic fiber matrix

A novel paper-based material containing titanium dioxide (TiO₂) photocatalyst was successfully prepared by a papermaking technique with the internal addition of inorganic fibers on which TiO₂ particles were supported. Photodegradation performance of acetaldehyde gas, an indoor pollutant, and the durability of the TiO₂-containing papers were investigated under UV irradiation. Ceramic fiber suspension and polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride as a cationic flocculant were mixed, followed by the addition of TiO₂ suspension and anionic polyacrylamide. Subsequently, the inorganic mixture was poured into a pulp suspension, and TiO₂ handsheets then prepared by a papermaking method. The tensile strength of TiO₂-containing paper without a ceramic carrier decreased by more than 30% after 240-h UV irradiation (2 mW/cm²), although the strength of the TiO₂ sheet with ceramic fibers remained reasonably stable. The efficiency of acetaldehyde decomposition by the TiO₂ paper containing an inorganic carrier was nearly equal to that of the carrier-free TiO₂ paper. Scanning electron microscopic observation suggested that most TiO₂ particles were predominantly supported on the inorganic fiber matrix, and were mostly out of contact with organic pulp fibers. The TiO₂ paper with an inorganic carrier demonstrated both excellent photocatalytic performance and durability, which before had been mutually incompatible for organic materials containing TiO₂ photocatalyst. The two-stage mixing procedure for TiO₂ sheet-making is promising for the simple manufacture of high performance paper with photocatalytic ability.