Assessment of the rangelands of southwestern Santiago del Estero, Argentina, for grazing management and research

Native rangelands of the southwest part of the province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, are a key source of forage for cow-calf operations. The objectives of this study were to delineate the ecosystem units of the area, to describe the associated plant communities and to interpret the role that physical factors and disturbances such as fire and grazing have had in the changes of the structure of these plant communities. This information is needed for developing recommendations for grazing management, for prescribing appropriate improvement practices (e.g. shrub control, prescribed fire) and as guidelines for future research. The ecosystem was divided into smaller units using a hierarchical method, the categories of practical importance being 'range unit' and 'range site'. They represent the catchment and hillslope scale of the water runoff-runon phenomenon, respectively. Vegetation was sampled using a block and cluster sampling design, registering tree, shrub, forb and grass species frequency, and the standing aerial biomass of the herbaceous layer in a sampling unit=1 ha. Environmental data (topographic position, fire frequency, current and past use, and tree and shrub cover) were also registered for each sampling unit. Indirect ordination of sampling units classified according to range units and range sites, and correlation with environmental variables were performed using multidimensional scaling (MDS) as well as the vector fitting technique. Standing forage and stocking rate were estimated from biomass data. Results indicate that 'range site' is the ecosystem unit that should be considered for management purposes since it correlates well with plant communities: tall, hardwood forests are located on upland sites, woodlands are located on midland sites and savannas are located on lowland sites. Dense shrub thickets dominate in areas rated in poor condition, irrespective of range site. Disturbances such as fire and current and past use have a significant positive and negative correlation with range condition, respectively, suggesting that a state and transition model would explain vegetation dynamics better than the succession model. The estimated stocking rate in lowland sites in good condition was 2 ha UG(-1), while in upland sites in poor condition the stocking rate was 90 ha UG(-1). Active (fire, mechanical treatments) rather than passive (grazing management) methods should be used for range improvement in order to achieve the full potential of the ecosystem.     

Lichens as an integrating tool for monitoring PAH atmospheric deposition: A comparison with soil, air and pine needles

The aim of this study was to validate lichens as biomonitors of PAH atmospheric deposition; for that, an inter-comparison between the PAH profile and concentrations intercepted in lichens with those of air, soil and pine needles was performed. The study was conducted in a petro-industrial area and the results showed that PAH profiles in lichens were similar to those of the air and pine needles, but completely different from those of soils. Lichens accumulated higher PAH concentrations when compared to the other environmental compartments and its concentrations were significantly and linearly correlated with concentrations of PAHs in soil; we showed that a translation of the lichen PAHs concentrations into regulatory standards is possible, fulfilling one of the most important requirements of using lichens as biomonitors. With lichens we were then able to characterize the air PAHs profile of urban, petro-industrial and background areas.     

Implicit beliefs about self and nature: Evidence from an IAT game

Recent psychological research has examined the beliefs that individuals hold about their relationship with the natural world. This article builds on the previous literature on connectedness with nature and we introduce a new game version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT), known as FlexiTwins. The game is intended to facilitate research using the IAT and provides a flexible platform for measuring implicit associations. In this paper, we report three studies in which we use the game to measure self-nature associations. Study 1 reports the development and validation of FlexiTwins with a college sample. Study 2 further validates the game using a known-groups sample of environmental activists. Finally, Study 3 examines the implicit connectedness of a sample of 30 grade school children. Across all three studies, we find good evidence for reliability, as well as theoretically meaningful results.     

Land Suitability Assessment in the Catchment Area of Four Southwestern Atlantic Coastal Lagoons: Multicriteria and Optimization Modeling

In the present study, a land suitability assessment was conducted in the basin of four Uruguayan coastal lagoons (Southwestern Atlantic) to analyze the productive development while minimizing eutrophication, biodiversity loss and conflicts among different land uses. Suitable land for agriculture, forest, livestock ranching, tourism and conservation sectors were initially established based on a multi-attribute model developed using a geographic information system. Experts were consulted to determine the requirements for each land use sector and the incompatibilities among land use types. The current and potential conflicts among incompatible land use sectors were analyzed by overlapping land suitability maps. We subsequently applied a multi-objective model where land (pixels) with similar suitability was clustered into "land suitability groups", using a two-phase cluster analysis and the Akaike Information Criterion. Finally, a linear programming optimization procedure was applied to allocate land use sectors into land suitable groups, maximizing total suitability and minimizing interference among sectors. Results indicated that current land use overlapped by 4.7?% with suitable land of other incompatible sectors. However, the suitable land of incompatible sectors overlapped in 20.3?% of the study area, indicating a high potential for the occurrence of future conflict. The highest competition was between agriculture and conservation, followed by forest and agriculture. We explored scenarios where livestock ranching and tourism intensified, and found that interference with conservation and agriculture notably increased. This methodology allowed us to analyze current and potential land use conflicts and to contribute to the strategic planning of the study area.     

Financing Marine Protected Areas Through Visitor Fees: Insights from Tourists Willingness to Pay in Chile

Tourism is a financing mechanism considered by many donor-funded marine conservation initiatives. Here we assess the potential role of visitor entry fees, in generating the necessary revenue to manage a marine protected area (MPA), established through a Global Environmental Facility Grant, in a temperate region of Chile. We assess tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for an entry fee associated to management and protection of the MPA. Results show 97 % of respondents were willing to pay an entrance fee. WTP predictors included the type of tourist, tourists’ sensitivity to crowding, education, and understanding of ecological benefits of the MPA. Nature-based tourists state median WTP values of US$ 4.38 and Sun-sea-sand tourists US$ 3.77. Overall, entry fees could account for 10–13 % of MPA running costs. In Chile, where funding for conservation runs among the weakest in the world, visitor entry fees are no panacea in the short term and other mechanisms, including direct state/government support, should be considered.