Spatial predictions of phylogenetic diversity in conservation decision making

Considering genetic relatedness among species has long been argued as an important step toward measuring biological diversity more accurately, rather than relying solely on species richness. Some researchers have correlated measures of phylogenetic diversity and species richness across a series of sites and suggest that values of phylogenetic diversity do not differ enough from those of species richness to justify their inclusion in conservation planning. We compared predictions of species richness and 10 measures of phylogenetic diversity by creating distribution models for 168 individual species of a species-rich plant family, the Cape Proteaceae. When we used average amounts of land set aside for conservation to compare areas selected on the basis of species richness with areas selected on the basis of phylogenetic diversity, correlations between species richness and different measures of phylogenetic diversity varied considerably. Correlations between species richness and measures that were based on the length of phylogenetic tree branches and tree shape were weaker than those that were based on tree shape alone. Elevation explained up to 31% of the segregation of species rich versus phylogenetically rich areas. Given these results, the increased availability of molecular data, and the known ecological effect of phylogenetically rich communities, consideration of phylogenetic diversity in conservation decision making may be feasible and informative.     

Stage‐Discharge Relationships for U‐, A‐, and W‐Weirs in Un‐submerged Flow Conditions1

Thornton, Christopher I., Anthony M. Meneghetti, Kent Collins, Steven R. Abt, and S. Michael Scurlock, 2011. Stage‐Discharge Relationships for U‐, A‐, and W‐Weirs in Un‐submerged Flow Conditions. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):169‐178. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00501.x Abstract: Instream rock weirs are routinely placed into stream systems to provide grade control, reduce streambank erosion, provide energy dissipation, and allow fish passage. However, design and performance criteria for site specific applications are often anecdotal or qualitative in nature, and based upon the experience of the design team. A study was conducted to develop generic state‐discharge relationships for U‐, A‐, and W‐weirs. A laboratory testing program was performed in which scaled, near‐prototype U‐, A‐, and W‐rock weir structures were constructed in 11 configurations. Each configuration encompassed a unique weir shape, bed material, and/or bed slope. Thirty‐one tests were conducted in which each structure was subjected to a sequence of predetermined discharges that minimally included the equivalent of 1/3 bankfull, 2/3 bankfull, and bankfull conditions. All tests were performed in subcritical, un‐submerged flow conditions. Stage‐discharge relationships were developed using multivariant, power regression techniques for each of the U‐, A‐, and W‐rock weirs as a function of the effective weir length, flow depth, mean weir height, rock size, and discharge coefficient. Unique coefficient expressions were developed for each weir shape, and a single discharge coefficient was proposed applicable to the weirs for determining the channel stage‐discharge rating.     

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Densu River Basin of Ghana

The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Densu River Basin in Ghana were measured using gas chromatograph. Surface water samples were collected from nine stations, namely, Potroase, Koforidua Intake, Suhyien, Mangoase, Asuboi, Nsawam Bridge, Afuaman, Ashalaga, and Weija Intake in the Densu Basin. Total PAH concentrations varied from 13.0 to 80.0 ??g/mL in the Densu River, with a mean value of 37.1 ??g/mL. The two- to three-ring PAHs (low-molecular-weight PAHs) were found to be dominant in the Densu River Basin. Total PAH concentrations showed the following pattern: Koforidua Intake (80.0 ??g/mL) > Asuboi (50.8 ??g/mL) > Afuaman (47.9 ??g/mL) > Weija Intake (45.0 ??g/mL) > Suhyien (27.6 ??g/mL) > Nsawam (23.5 ??g/mL) > Ashalaja (22.9 ??g/mL) > Potroase (23.3 ??g/mL) > Mangoase (13.0 ??g/mL). According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), background levels of PAHs in drinking water supplies in the USA range from 0.004 to 0.024 ??g/mL. PAH levels from all sites exceeded the range set by ATSDR. B[a]P contributed the highest carcinogenic exposure equivalent (0.3 ??g/mL), followed by B[a]A (0.132 ??g/mL) and B[b]F (0.08 ??g/mL), contributing 52.6%, 23.2%, and 4.6%, respectively, of the total carcinogenicity of surface water PAH in the Densu River Basin. The carcinogenic potency was estimated to be 0.57 ??g/mL. The presence of PAHs was an indication of the water sources being contaminated, with potential health implications.     

Woodlot management and livelihoods in a tropical conservation landscape

In biodiversity hotspots, there is often tension between human needs and conservation, exacerbated when protected areas prevent access to natural resources. Forest-dependent people may compensate for exclusion by managing unprotected forests or cultivating planted woodlots. Outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, household wood product needs are high and population growth puts pressure on the environment. We investigated the role of privately and collectively managed woodlots in provisioning wood products and supporting local livelihoods. We found that households relied heavily on woodlots for daily needs and as resources during time of need. We also found that locally relevant social institutions, called stretcher groups, played a role in the management of woodlots, providing shared community resources. Privately and collectively owned woodlots support local livelihoods and wood product needs in the region. Long-term management of forests in Uganda should consider the value of woodlots and the mechanisms required to support them.     

Quantifying Outdoor Water Consumption of Urban Land Use/Land Cover: Sensitivity to Drought

Outdoor water use is a key component in arid city water systems for achieving sustainable water use and ensuring water security. Using evapotranspiration (ET) calculations as a proxy for outdoor water consumption, the objectives of this research are to quantify outdoor water consumption of different land use and land cover types, and compare the spatio-temporal variation in water consumption between drought and wet years. An energy balance model was applied to Landsat 5 TM time series images to estimate daily and seasonal ET for the Central Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research region (CAP-LTER). Modeled ET estimations were correlated with water use data in 49 parks within CAP-LTER and showed good agreement (r ² = 0.77), indicating model effectiveness to capture the variations across park water consumption. Seasonally, active agriculture shows high ET (>500 mm) for both wet and dry conditions, while the desert and urban land cover types experienced lower ET during drought (<300 mm). Within urban locales of CAP-LTER, xeric neighborhoods show significant differences from year to year, while mesic neighborhoods retain their ET values (400–500 mm) during drought, implying considerable use of irrigation to sustain their greenness. Considering the potentially limiting water availability of this region in the future due to large population increases and the threat of a warming and drying climate, maintaining large water-consuming, irrigated landscapes challenges sustainable practices of water conservation and the need to provide amenities of this desert area for enhancing quality of life.     

Simulating the influences of various fire regimes on caribou winter habitat.

Caribou are an integral component of high-latitude ecosystems and represent a major subsistence food source for many northern people. The availability and quality of winter habitat is critical to sustain these caribou populations. Caribou commonly use older spruce woodlands with adequate terrestrial lichen, a preferred winter forage, in the understory. Changes in climate and fire regime pose a significant threat to the long-term sustainability of this important winter habitat. Computer simulations performed with a spatially explicit vegetation succession model (ALFRESCO) indicate that changes in the frequency and extent of fire in interior Alaska may substantially impact the abundance and quality of winter habitat for caribou. We modeled four different fire scenarios and tracked the frequency, extent, and spatial distribution of the simulated fires and associated changes to vegetation composition and distribution. Our results suggest that shorter fire frequencies (i.e., less time between recurring fires) on the winter range of the Nelchina caribou herd in eastern interior Alaska will result in large decreases of available winter habitat, relative to that currently available, in both the short and long term. A 30% shortening of the fire frequency resulted in a 3.5-fold increase in the area burned annually and an associated 41% decrease in the amount of spruce-lichen forest found on the landscape. More importantly, simulations with more frequent fires produced a relatively immature forest age structure, compared to that which currently exists, with few stands older than 100 years. This age structure is at the lower limits of stand age classes preferred by caribou from the Nelchina herd. Projected changes in fire regime due to climate warming and/or additional prescribed burning could substantially alter the winter habitat of caribou in interior Alaska and lead to changes in winter range use and/or population dynamics.     

Introduction to the special issue on Advances in Life-Cycle Approachesto Business and Resource Management in the Asia-Pacific Region

This special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production was initiated as a result of the 5th and 6th meetings of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP), which were held in Melbourne, Australia and Hanoi, Vietnam, respectively. A need identified at those meetings was to create another means of communicating the best ideas and papers being presented, to a wider audience. The Asia Pacific region has special development needs given its rapid emergence as a global production hub, but coupled to that are also the rapid social adjustments and shifts in patterns of consumption and production which aren't positive for the environment. This special issue contains eight papers covering the implementation of cleaner production and life cycle principles at the systems and regional planning level. These articles cover urban development, corporate CP programs, supply chain management, eco-industrial networks, and industrial parks, recycling, and understanding the role of human factors in bringing about environmental change.