The effect of protected areas on forest disturbance in the Carpathian Mountains 1985–2010

Protected areas are a cornerstone for forest protection, but they are not always effective during times of socioeconomic and institutional crises. The Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe are an ecologically outstanding region, with widespread seminatural and old‐growth forest. Since 1990, Carpathian countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine) have experienced economic hardship and institutional changes, including the breakdown of socialism, European Union accession, and a rapid expansion of protected areas. The question is how protected‐area effectiveness has varied during these times across the Carpathians given these changes. We analyzed a satellite‐based data set of forest disturbance (i.e., forest loss due to harvesting or natural disturbances) from 1985 to 2010 and used matching statistics and a fixed‐effects estimator to quantify the effect of protection on forest disturbance. Protected areas in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Ukraine had significantly less deforestation inside protected areas than outside in some periods; the likelihood of disturbance was reduced by 1–5%. The effectiveness of protection increased over time in these countries, whereas the opposite was true in Romania. Older protected areas were most effective in Romania and Hungary, but newer protected areas were more effective in Czech Republic, and Poland. Strict protection (International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] protection category Ia‐II) was not more effective than landscape‐level protection (IUCN III‐VI). We suggest that the strength of institutions, the differences in forest privatization, forest management, prior distribution of protected areas, and when countries joined the European Union may provide explanations for the strikingly heterogeneous effectiveness patterns among countries. Our results highlight how different the effects of protected areas can be at broad scales, indicating that the effectiveness of protected areas is transitory over time and space and suggesting that generalizations about the effectiveness of protected areas can be misleading.     

Screening of organic halogens and identification of chlorinated benzoic acids in carbonaceous meteorites

The occurrence of halogenated organic compounds measured as a sum parameter and the evidence of chlorinated benzoic acids in four carbonaceous meteorites (Cold Bokkeveld, Murray, Murchison and Orgueil) from four independent fall events is reported. After AOX (Adsorbable organic halogen) and EOX (Extractable organic halogen) screening to quantify organically bound halogens, chlorinated organic compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography. AOX concentrations varying from 124 to 209 microg Cl/g d.w. were observed in carbonaceous meteorites. Ion chromatographic analysis of the distribution of organically bound halogens performed on the Cold Bokkeveld meteorite revealed that chlorinated and brominated organic compounds were extractable, up to 70%, whereas only trace amounts of organofluorines could be extracted. Chlorinated benzoic acids have been identified in carbonaceous meteorite extracts. Their presence and concentrations raise the question concerning the origin of halogenated, especially chlorinated, organic compounds in primitive planetary matter.     

Ten ways remote sensing can contribute to conservation

In an effort to increase conservation effectiveness through the use of Earth observation technologies, a group of remote sensing scientists affiliated with government and academic institutions and conservation organizations identified 10 questions in conservation for which the potential to be answered would be greatly increased by use of remotely sensed data and analyses of those data. Our goals were to increase conservation practitioners’ use of remote sensing to support their work, increase collaboration between the conservation science and remote sensing communities, identify and develop new and innovative uses of remote sensing for advancing conservation science, provide guidance to space agencies on how future satellite missions can support conservation science, and generate support from the public and private sector in the use of remote sensing data to address the 10 conservation questions. We identified a broad initial list of questions on the basis of an email chain‐referral survey. We then used a workshop‐based iterative and collaborative approach to whittle the list down to these final questions (which represent 10 major themes in conservation): How can global Earth observation data be used to model species distributions and abundances? How can remote sensing improve the understanding of animal movements? How can remotely sensed ecosystem variables be used to understand, monitor, and predict ecosystem response and resilience to multiple stressors? How can remote sensing be used to monitor the effects of climate on ecosystems? How can near real‐time ecosystem monitoring catalyze threat reduction, governance and regulation compliance, and resource management decisions? How can remote sensing inform configuration of protected area networks at spatial extents relevant to populations of target species and ecosystem services? How can remote sensing‐derived products be used to value and monitor changes in ecosystem services? How can remote sensing be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation efforts? How does the expansion and intensification of agriculture and aquaculture alter ecosystems and the services they provide? How can remote sensing be used to determine the degree to which ecosystems are being disturbed or degraded and the effects of these changes on species and ecosystem functions?     

Brick production with dredged harbour sediments. An industrial-scale experiment

A volume of 600.000 m3 harbour sediments is annually dredged out of the harbour basin of Bremen to maintain a certain water depth. Because of its perpetual availability, homogeneity and mineralogical, petrographic and chemical composition, the sediment is regarded as a suitable raw material for brick production. A pilot experiment was conducted at a full-scale industrial brickworks. During production, the environmental standards concerning waste-water treatment and the quality of exhausted gas were sufficiently fulfilled. Bricks specified as "building bricks" were produced according to German industrial standards. The parameters pH-value and grain size were varied in leaching tests performed on the bricks as both parameters are likely to change in the course of the brick's life cycle. The leaching data showed that As was stabilised and heavy metals were immobilised in a way that the bricks were not (hazardous to soil or groundwater) neither by their use, for example, in masonry, nor afterwards, when they will be deposited as mineral demolition mass.     

The steroids of hexactinellid sponges

The Hexactinellida ('glass sponges') are commonly considered to be the most basic metazoans. Steroids of 20 species from different taxa were studied for chemotaxonomy and biosynthetic implications. All Hexactinellida contain cholest-5-en-3#-ol (cholesterol) and/or its saturated derivative 5!(H)-cholestan-3#-ol, along with their C-24-alkylated homologues. Where 5!(H)-stanols are present, they regularly co-occur with their 3-keto analogues. The steroid concentrations generally decrease with increasing carbon numbers, similar to sterol distributions typically found in marine sediments. These features argue against de novo sterol biosynthesis operating in hexactinellid sponges. Rather, we suggest a dietary uptake of (⁵-stenols and their stereoselective transformation via 3-keto intermediates to 5!(H)-stanols.     

Increasing concentrations of CO and O3 rising deforestation rates and increasing troposheric carbon monoxide and ozone in Amazonia

Increasing carbon monoxide and ozone concentrations have been observed in the lower troposphere of the Brazilian Amazon region in recent years (1989–1995). Carbon monoxide and ozone have been measured in the region continuously; from observations at a single site and many sporadic field missions, there is a clear indication that the chemical activity in the troposphere is growing, with increasing concentrations especially during the dry season. On the other hand, the most recent deforestation assessment by the Brazilian Government, performed by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) using Landsat data, shows yearly rates rising from the 11,130 km² year^?1 minimum of the 1990/91 survey, to 13,786 km² year^?1 for the 1991/92 period, and 14,896 km² year^?1 for the period 1992/94. It is argued that the increase in deforestation/biomass burning activities in “Amazonia” have produced larger carbon monoxide and ozone concentrations in the lower atmosphere.     

Road development, housing growth, and landscape fragmentation in northern Wisconsin: 1937-1999.

Roads remove habitat, alter adjacent areas, and interrupt and redirect ecological flows. They subdivide wildlife populations, foster invasive species spread, change the hydrologic network, and increase human use of adjacent areas. At broad scales, these impacts cumulate and define landscape patterns. The goal of this study was to improve our understanding of the dynamics of road networks over time, and their effects on landscape patterns, and identify significant relationships between road changes and other land-use changes. We mapped roads from aerial photographs from five dates between 1937 and 1999 in 17 townships in predominantly forested landscapes in northern Wisconsin, U.S.A. Patch-level landscape metrics were calculated on terrestrial area outside of a 15-m road-effect zone. We used generalized least-squares regression models to relate changes in road density and landscape pattern to concurrent changes in housing density. Rates of change and relationships were compared among three ecological regions. Our results showed substantial increases in both road density and landscape fragmentation during the study period. Road density more than doubled, and median, mean, and largest patch size were reduced by a factor of four, while patch shape became more regular. Increases in road density varied significantly among ecological subsections and were positively related to increases in housing density. Fragmentation was largely driven by increases in road density, but housing density had a significantly positive relationship with largest patch area and patch shape. Without protection of roadless areas, our results suggest road development is likely to continue in the future, even in areas where road construction is constrained by the physical environment. Recognizing the dynamic nature of road networks is important for understanding and predicting their ecological impacts over time and understanding where other types of development are likely to occur in the future. Historical perspectives of development can provide guidance in prioritizing management efforts to defragment landscapes and mitigate the ecological impacts of past road development.