Identification of Areas in Brazil that Optimize Conservation of Forest Carbon,Jaguars, and Biodiversity

A major question in global environmental policy is whether schemes to reduce carbon pollution through forest management, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), can also benefit biodiversity conservation in tropical countries. We identified municipalities in Brazil that are priorities for reducing rates of deforestation and thus preserving carbon stocks that are also conservation targets for the endangered jaguar (Panthera onca) and biodiversity in general. Preliminary statistical analysis showed that municipalities with high biodiversity were positively associated with high forest carbon stocks. We used a multicriteria decision analysis to identify municipalities that offered the best opportunities for the conservation of forest carbon stocks and biodiversity conservation under a range of scenarios with different rates of deforestation and carbon values. We further categorized these areas by their representativeness of the entire country (through measures such as percent forest cover) and an indirect measure of cost (number of municipalities). The municipalities that offered optimal co‐benefits for forest carbon stocks and conservation were termed REDDspots (n = 159), and their spatial distribution was compared with the distribution of current and proposed REDD projects (n = 135). We defined REDDspots as the municipalities that offer the best opportunities for co‐benefits between the conservation of forest carbon stocks, jaguars, and other wildlife. These areas coincided in 25% (n = 40) of municipalities. We identified a further 95 municipalities that may have the greatest potential to develop additional REDD+ projects while also targeting biodiversity conservation. We concluded that REDD+ strategies could be an efficient tool for biodiversity conservation in key locations, especially in Amazonian and Atlantic Forest biomes. Identificación de Áreas en Brasil que Optimizan la Conservación del Carbono del Bosque, Jaguares y la Biodiversidad.     

Bird Extinctions in Atlantic Forest Fragments of the Viçosa Region, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract:   We studied the conservation status of Atlantic forest birds in 43 forest fragments ranging in size from 1 to 384 ha in the Viçosa region of southeastern Brazil. We compared data from 15 years of field work with historical records from the region, mainly originating from specimens collected by João Moojen during the 1930s. We used published studies associated with museum data and current field work to assess the decline of forest birds during the last 70 years and to relate their disappearance to forest fragmentation and destruction. At least 28 bird species have become locally extinct, 43 are critically endangered, and 25 are vulnerable, representing 60.7% of the original forest bird community known to exist in the region. Vulnerability to fragmentation differed among guilds, forest strata, and endemicity status. Birds that feed on fruit and seeds, and those that feed on insects, were more threatened than omnivores and carnivores. Nectarivorous species were less threatened than other guilds. Moreover, terrestrial and understory birds or birds using only one forest stratum also were more likely to have been threatened. Finally, Atlantic forest endemics were more likely to have become extinct than nonendemic species. In general, sensitivity to environmental disturbance at the local level was similar to the predicted vulnerability to regional disturbance derived from the literature. Our results indicate that a serious decline of Atlantic forest birds is underway and that many other species of birds, not previously recognized as threatened, are of conservation concern .     

Lipophilic extractives in process waters during manufacturing of totally chlorine free kraft pulp from eucalypt wood

The chemical composition of lipophilic extractives from process waters throughout a totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching sequence after kraft pulping of eucalypt wood has been studied. These compounds are among the most problematic wood constituents for both TCF and zero liquid effluent (ZLE) processes, since they tend to accumulate in circuits resulting in the formation of the so-called pitch deposits causing serious problems in the pulp and paper industry. Pitch deposits collected at different parts of the pulp mill were also characterized and their composition compared with that of lipophilic compounds in process waters and Eucalyptus globulus wood. The identification of these compounds from process waters, wood and pitch deposits was performed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using short- and medium-length high temperature capillary columns. Sterols, sterol esters, steroid ketones and steroid hydrocarbons were the main compounds identified. These chemical species arise from eucalypt wood extractives that survive the pulping and are released from pulp into the process waters during the bleaching process. Finally, they can deposit in pulp and on different parts of the mill or remain suspended in process waters being discharged in effluents.     

Azinphos Methyl Residues in Shallow Groundwater from the Fruit Production Region of Northern Patagonia,Argentina

Groundwater samples were collected from monitoring wells along an area of intensive fruit production. Different types of correlations were investigated between soil physicochemical characteristics, depths and agricultural practices with pesticide detection frequency. In the three analyzed periods azinphos methyl, S-(3,4-diydro-4-oxobenzo[d]-[1,2,3]-triazin-3-ylmethyl)-O,O-dimethyl phosphorodithioate, showed a definite seasonal behavior related to the application pattern, increasing its concentration in the aquifer from October to November-December and then decreasing towards March. Samples obtained during the non-spraying season showed that azinphos methyl residues were lower than detection limit (LOD).

An inverse correlation was observed between azinphos methyl concentration and the time elapsed since the last pesticide application. Seasonal events such as rain and irrigation influence the chemical concentration in the well, while no correlation was obtained between soil characteristics and azinphos methyl concentration. The soil attenuation capacity was not enough to prevent the presence of azinphos methyl in the aquifer during the application season.     

Stakeholder Management for Conservation Projects: A Case Study of Ream National Park, Cambodia1

The paper gives an account of the development and implementation of a stakeholder management framework at Ream National Park, Cambodia. Firstly, the concept of stakeholder is reviewed in management and in conservation literatures. Secondly, the context in which the stakeholder framework was implemented is described. Thirdly, a five-step methodological framework is suggested: (1) stakeholder analysis, (2) stakeholder mapping, (3) development of generic strategies and workplan, (4) presentation of the workplan to stakeholders, and (5) implementation of the workplan. This framework classifies stakeholders according to their level of influence on the project and their potential for the conservation of natural resources. In a situation characterized by conflicting claims on natural resources, park authorities were able to successfully develop specific strategies for the management of stakeholders. The conclusion discusses the implications of the Ream experience and the generalization of the framework to other protected areas.     

Benefits of Investing in Ecosystem Restoration

Measures aimed at conservation or restoration of ecosystems are often seen as net‐cost projects by governments and businesses because they are based on incomplete and often faulty cost‐benefit analyses. After screening over 200 studies, we examined the costs (94 studies) and benefits (225 studies) of ecosystem restoration projects that had sufficient reliable data in 9 different biomes ranging from coral reefs to tropical forests. Costs included capital investment and maintenance of the restoration project, and benefits were based on the monetary value of the total bundle of ecosystem services provided by the restored ecosystem. Assuming restoration is always imperfect and benefits attain only 75% of the maximum value of the reference systems over 20 years, we calculated the net present value at the social discount rates of 2% and 8%. We also conducted 2 threshold cum sensitivity analyses. Benefit‐cost ratios ranged from about 0.05:1 (coral reefs and coastal systems, worst‐case scenario) to as much as 35:1 (grasslands, best‐case scenario). Our results provide only partial estimates of benefits at one point in time and reflect the lower limit of the welfare benefits of ecosystem restoration because both scarcity of and demand for ecosystem services is increasing and new benefits of natural ecosystems and biological diversity are being discovered. Nonetheless, when accounting for even the incomplete range of known benefits through the use of static estimates that fail to capture rising values, the majority of the restoration projects we analyzed provided net benefits and should be considered not only as profitable but also as high‐yielding investments. Beneficios de Invertir en la Restauración de Ecosistemas     

Estrogenic and dioxin-like compounds in sediment from Zierikzee harbour identified with CALUX assay-directed fractionation combined with one and two dimensional gas chromatography analyses

The identity of compounds responsible for estrogenic and dioxin-like activities in sediment from the harbour of the small town Zierikzee in Zeeland, The Netherlands, was investigated using a bioassay directed fractionation approach with the in vitro estrogen and dioxin responsive reporter gene assays ER- and DR-CALUX. For identification of compounds exhibiting activity in the bioassays, either one or two-dimensional GC in combination with quadrupole (MSD), ion trap (ITD) or time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection (ToF-MS) was used, depending on the biological and chemical characteristics and the complexity of the fractions. The natural estrogenic hormone 17-β-estradiol and its metabolite estrone were identified with GC–ITD as the main contributors to the estrogenic activity. After successive rounds of fractionation, the dioxin-like activity could be explained by the presence of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons identified with GC–MSD and two-dimensional comprehensive GC × GC–ToF-MS. Some estrogenic activity of a relatively non-polar nature remained unidentified.     

A finite element method to solve a population dynamics stage-structured model of intertidal barnacles

Many marine organisms are fixed or highly sedentary as adults but the adult population may be strongly dependent on the oceanic transport of planktonic larvae. In order to assess interactions between oceanographic and biological processes that determine the population dynamics of marine organisms with a sessile adult phase restricted to the coastline and a planktonic larval phase, we present a stage-structured finite element model for the barnacle Balanus glandula that inhabits the rocky intertidal zone of central California, USA.     

Influence of Substrate on Bioaccumulation of 14C-Paraquat in Compost Worms Eisenia foetida

Contamination of soil with pesticides can be evaluated using toxicity tests with worms because their ecological niche makes them good bioindicators. Bioaccumulation in compost worms of [methyl- ¹⁴C] paraquat (1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride) was measured after three-month exposure in two substrates with differing physicochemical characteristics, in particular their organic matter and clay contents. The treatments were 1.2, 12, and 120 μg paraquat g^?1 substrate. The action of the worms did not influence the loss of ¹⁴C from the substrates, as the ¹⁴C-recovered was essentially quantitative at the end of the study in both the presence and absence of the worms. The organic matter and clay contents of the substrates determined the extent of the paraquat uptake by the worms; worms from the substrate with smaller amounts of clay and organic matter had the higher values of the bioconcentration factor (BCF), these being about 5 (fresh-weight basis) and independent of the application rate. The BCF values in the substrate containing more organic matter and clay were smaller but increased from 1.1 to 3.8 with the increasing rates of application. However, in both substrates the amounts of paraquat bioaccumulated in the worms was always less than 1% of that applied, indicating the very strong binding of paraquat to the substrates and hence low availability to the worms.