Natural fire management in National Parks

An evolving understanding of ecological processes, together with ambiguities in National Park Service policy, have led to multiple interpretations of the role of management in our large natural area National Parks. National Park Service management policies must be dynamic and responsive to changes in scientific knowledge and societal values. We propose that the principal aim of NPS resource management in natural areas is the unimpeded interaction of native ecosystem processes and structural elements. The case of the changing role of natural fire management is used as an example in developing this rationale.     

SIDE EFFECTS OF 58 YEARS OF COPPER SULFATE TREATMENT OF THE FAIRMONT LAKES,MINNESOTA1

The shallow Fairmont Lakes in southern Minnesota have been treated with copper sulfate for 58 years to reduce excessive algal growth. Copper sulfate was applied to five lakes at cumulative rates upo to 1647 kg/ha (1470 1b/acre), totaling 1.5 million kilograms. Data collected since treatment of the Fairmont Lakes began in 1921 provide alarming insights into lake responses to sustained chemical treatment with copper sulfate. Short-term and long-term effects have occurred. Short-term effects include: a) the intended temporary killing of algae, b) dissolved oxygen depletion by decomposition of dead algae, c) accelerated phosphorus recycling from the lake bed and recovery of the algal population within 7 to 21 days, and d) occasional fish kills due to oxygen depletion or copper toxicity or both. Long-term effects are shown to include: a) copper accumulation in the sediments, b) tolerance adjustments of certain species of algae to higher copper sulfate dosages, c) shift of species from green to blue-green algae and from game fish to rough fish, d) disappearance of macrophytes, and e) reductions in benthic macroinvertebrates. The conclusion is that while copper sulfate treatments enjoy great popularity because they kill and remove algae almost instantaneously, other immediate or cumulative side effects can be harmful to many other aquatic organisms.     

Environmental equity in the vicinity of Amsterdam Airport: The interplay between market forces and government policy

This paper examines the impact of the interplay between market forces and government policy on environmental equity in the vicinity of Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands. Despite pressure on space and the presence of the international airport, exposure to the higher levels of traffic noise, NO₂ and external safety risks, and accumulation of traffic noise and NO₂ (‘bads’) was rather limited and generally distributed fairly equally among income categories, probably as a result of environmental regulations. However, lower-income categories had less access to lower levels of traffic noise, NO₂ and public green space (‘goods’) than higher-income categories, which may be explained by both historical processes and market forces. Policy makers seem to accept a higher environmental burden on the regional population because of the benefits for the national economy generated by Amsterdam Airport.     

Dynamic Control Switching Applied to Water Resource Management Simulation1

Abstract: Simulation of water resource management in hydrological numerical models is often limited to simple expressions such as rulecurves. More complex management requires additional layers of abstraction. Rulecurves tend to be simplistic, while abstraction implies expertise to convert management policies to a form which may not be recognizable by operators. The Regional Simulation Model (RSM) attempts to bridge this gap with the Management Simulation Engine (MSE). MSE allows dynamic switching of control algorithms facilitating hybrid control of modeled structures, even though the individual controllers are widely different. Use of hybrid controllers can simplify expression of complex management controls. This article details the architecture of the MSE that enables hybrid control. A model application is examined in which a set of tuned fuzzy controllers are dynamically switched with piecewise linear flood controllers to simulate a hybrid control scheme. The application models a Florida water conservation area and demonstrates effective flood control without sacrificing the tuned performance of the fuzzy controllers.     

Computer-assisted navigation and the acquisition of route and survey knowledge

The incidental acquisition of spatial orientation knowledge when using a pedestrian navigation assistance system for wayfinding was compared to incidental learning during map-based wayfinding. First-time visitors to a real environment (a zoo) took a guided tour. In the navigation assistance conditions, users were provided with direction information and view-based pictures of the current intersection at each decision point, presented on a hand-held computer. In the map-based condition, participants derived route segments from a map (each segment comprising three or four intersections), and then walked the partial routes from memory. After walking, unexpected tests on route memory and survey knowledge were administered. Navigation assistance users showed good route knowledge and poor survey knowledge. In contrast, map users showed better survey knowledge and nearly perfect route knowledge. Variations of information presentation within navigation assistance conditions (auditory vs. visual direction command, additional presentation of allocentric spatial information) was not effective. Results are explained with an active encoding principle. Only information that is actually encoded, transformed, and/or memorized during the primary wayfinding activity, is incidentally learned. Since navigation assistance systems do not require users to encode, transform, and memorize spatial information, the spatial orientation knowledge of navigation assistance users is poor.     

The BG measurement system for hazardous substances (BGMG) and the exposure database of hazardous substances (MEGA).

German employers' liability insurance associations or Berufsgenossenschaften (BGs)--institutions for statutory accident insurance--maintain a measurement system for hazardous substances, the so-called BGMG. The aim of the BGMG is to determine and document valid results of measurements of exposure primarily for prevention purposes. The data are collected systematically, in parallel to the sampling in a company. Parameters which are supposed to have a visible effect on exposure levels are documented. The MEGA database (documentation of measurement data relating to workplace exposure to hazardous substances) holds 1,629 million measurement values, which have been compiled in since 1972. The database offers a host of selection possibilities for assessments depending on the evaluation strategy.     

Prey capture by Pisaster brevispinus (Asteroidea: Echinodermata) on soft substrate

Observations on the subtidal seastar Pisaster brevispinus (Stimpson) indicate that this predator can extend the central tube feet into sand-mud substrate for a distance roughly equal to the radius of the seastar. Field and laboratory evidence demonstrates the use of the elongated tube feet by the asteroid for the capture of burrowed prey items. A relationship between predator size and the size of juveniles of the deep-burrowing clam Tresus nuttallii taken as prey is a product of the ability of larger seastars to extend the tube feet further into the substrate and capture deeper prey. The role of P. brevispinus as an important subtidal predator along the Pacific Coast of North America is discussed.     

Projected Climate Change Effects on Winterkill in Shallow Lakes in the Northern United States

2 was obtained from the output of the Canadian Climate Center General Circulation Model. To illustrate the effect of projected climate change on lake DO characteristics, we present herein DO information simulated, respectively, with inputs of past climate conditions (1961–1979) and with a projected 2 × CO₂ climate scenario, as well as differences of those values. Specific parameters obtained were minimum under-ice and lake bottom DO concentration in winter, duration of under-ice anoxic conditions (<0.1 mg/liter) and low DO conditions (<3 mg/liter), and percentage of anoxic and low DO lake volumes during the ice cover period. Under current climate conditions winterkill occurs typically in shallow eutrophic lakes of the northern contiguous United States. Climate warming is projected to eliminate winterkill in these lakes. This would be a positive effect of climate warming. Fish species under ice may still experience periods of stress and zero growth due to low DO (<3 mg/liter) conditions under projected climate warming.     

Modelling impacts of alternative farming management practices on greenhouse gas emissions from a winter wheat–maize rotation system in China

Agricultural production plays an important role in affecting atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Field measurements were conducted in Quzhou County, Hebei Province in the North China Plains to quantify carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from a winter wheat–maize rotation field, a common cropping system across the Chinese agricultural regions. The observed flux data in conjunction with the local climate, soil and management information were utilized to test a process-based model, Denitrification–Decomposition or DNDC, for its applicability for the cropping system. The validated DNDC was then used for predicting impacts of three management alternatives (i.e., no-till, increased crop residue incorporation and reduced fertilizer application rate) on CO₂ and N₂O emissions from the target field. Results from the simulations indicated that (1) CO₂ emissions were significantly affected by temperature, initial SOC, tillage method, and quantity and quality of the organic matter added in the soils; (2) increases in temperature, initial SOC, total fertilizer N input, and manure amendment substantially increased N₂O emissions; and (3) temperature, initial SOC, tillage, and quantity and quality of the organic matter added in the soil all had significant effects on global warming. Finally, five 50-year scenarios were simulated with DNDC to predict their long-term impacts on crop yield, soil C dynamics, nitrate leaching losses, and N₂O emissions. The modelled results suggested that implementation of manure amendment or crop residue incorporation instead of increased fertilizer application rates would more efficiently mitigate GHG emissions from the tested agro-ecosystem. The multi-impacts provided a sound basis for comprehensive assessments on the management alternatives.