Restoring Forest Landscapes: Important Lessons Learnt

Forest restoration at large scales, or landscapes, is an approach that is increasingly relevant to the practice of environmental conservation. However, implementation remains a challenge; poor monitoring and lesson learning lead to similar mistakes being repeated. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization, recently took stock of its 10 years of implementation of forest landscape restoration. A significant body of knowledge has emerged from the work of the WWF and its partners in the different countries, which can be of use to the wider conservation community, but for this to happen, lessons need to be systematically collected and disseminated in a coherent manner to the broader conservation and development communities and, importantly, to policy makers. We use this review of the WWF’s experiences and compare and contrast it with other relevant and recent literature to highlight 11 important lessons for future large-scale forest restoration interventions. These lessons are presented using a stepwise approach to the restoration of forested landscapes. We identify the need for long-term commitment and funding, and a concerted and collaborative effort for successful forest landscape restoration. Our review highlights that monitoring impact within landscape-scale forest restoration remains inadequate. We conclude that forest restoration within landscapes is a challenging yet important proposition that has a real but undervalued place in environmental conservation in the twenty-first century.     

Relationship of soil test phosphorus and sampling depth to runoff phosphorus in calcareous and noncalcareous soils

A study was initiated to investigate the relationship between soil test P and depth of soil sampling with runoff losses of dissolved molybdate reactive phosphorus (DMRP). Rainfall simulations were conducted on two noncalcareous soils, a Windthorst sandy loam (fine, mixed, thermic Udic Paleustalf) and a Blanket clay loam (fine, mixed, thermic Pachic Argiustoll), and two calcareous soils, a Purves clay (clayey, smectitic, thermic Lithic Calciustoll) and a Houston Black clay (fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplustert). Soil (0- to 2.5-, 0- to 5-, and 0- to 15-cm depths) and runoff samples were collected from each of the four soils in permanent pasture exhibiting a wide range in soil test P levels (as determined by Mehlich III and distilled water extraction) due to prior manure applications. Simulated rain was used to produce runoff, which was collected for 30 min. Good regression equations were derived relating soil test P level to runoff DMRP for all four soil types, as indicated by relatively high r2 values (0.715 to 0.961, 0- to 5-cm depth). Differences were observed for the depth of sampling, with the most consistent results observed with the 0- to 5-cm sampling depth. Runoff DMRP losses as a function of the concentration of P in soil were lower in calcareous soils (maximum of 0.74 mg L(-1)) compared with noncalcareous soils (maximum of 1.73 mg L(-1)). The results indicate that a soil test for environmental P could be developed, but it would require establishing different soil test P level criteria for different soils or classes of soils.     

Nitrate movement in shallow ground water from swine-lagoon-effluent spray fields managed under current application regulations

Rapid increases in the swine (Sus scrofa domestica) population in the 1990s and associated potential for nitrate N pollution of surface waters led the state of North Carolina to adopt stringent waste management regulations in 1993. Our objectives were to characterize (i) nitrate N movement from waste application fields (WAFs) in shallow ground water, and (ii) soil, hydrologic, and biological factors influencing the amount of nitrate N in the adjacent stream. A ground water monitoring study was conducted for 36 mo on a swine farm managed under new regulations. Water table contours and lack of vertical gradients indicated horizontal flow over most of the site. Nitrate N concentrations in water from shallow wells in WAFs averaged 30 +/- 19 mg L(-1) and delta15N ratios for nitrate N were between +20 and +25 per mil. Nitrate N concentration decreased from field-edge to streamside wells by 22 to 99%. Measurement of delta18O and delta15N enrichment of nitrate in ground water throughout the WAF-riparian system indicated that denitrification has not caused significant 15N enrichment of nitrate. Over a 24-mo period, delta15N ratios for nitrate N in the stream approached delta15N ratios for nitrate N in ground water beneath WAFs indicating delivery of some waste-derived nitrate N to the stream in shallow ground water. Nitrate N concentrations in the stream were relatively low, averaging 1 mg L(-1). Dilution of high nitrate N water in shallow horizontal flow paths with low nitrate N water from deeper horizontal flow paths at or near the stream, some denitrification as ground water discharges through the stream bottom, and some denitrification in riparian zone contributed to this low nitrate N concentration.     

Implementation of the EU environmental noise directive: Lessons from the first phase of strategic noise mapping and action planning in Ireland

The first phase of noise mapping and action planning in Ireland, in accordance with EU Directive 2002/49/EC, is now complete. In total this included one agglomeration, one airport and approximately 600 km of major roads outside the agglomeration. These noise maps describe the level of noise exposure of approximately 1.25 million people. The first phase of noise mapping was dealt with by five noise mapping bodies while 26 action planning authorities were involved in the development of the associated action plans. The second phase of noise mapping, due to be completed in 2012, sees a reduction in the defined thresholds describing the required agglomerations, roads and railways that have to be mapped. This will have a significant impact on the extent of mapping required. In Ireland this will result in an increased number of local authorities being required to develop strategic noise maps for their area along with the further development of associated action plans. It is appropriate at this point to review the work process and results from the first phase of noise mapping in Ireland in order to establish areas that could be improved, throughout the noise mapping project. In this paper a review of the implementation procedures focussing on (dominant) road traffic noise is presented. It is identified that more standardisation is needed and this could be achieved by the establishment of a national expert steering group.     

Benefit–Cost Analysis of StormwaterQuality Improvements

The major purpose of this paper is to explore the potential value of benefit–cost evaluation for stormwater quality management decisions at a local level. A preliminary benefit–cost analysis (BCA) screening method is used for maximum extent practicable (MEP) analysis, identifying promising management practices, and identifying societal and economic tradeoffs for local stormwater problems. Ballona Creek, a major urban storm drain in Los Angeles, California, USA, is used to illustrate the practicality of the benefit–cost evaluation. The Ballona Creek example demonstrates the economic limits of stormwater management in an urban region and attests to the value of coordinated basinwide management compared to uncoordinated management by individual landowners. Evaluation results suggest that in urban areas, the benefit of stormwater quality improvements might be far greater if accompanied by comprehensive redesign of drainage networks and neighboring land uses. In this case, benefit–cost analysis is found to be useful for evaluating and understanding stormwater management alternatives despite the uncertainties in characterizing stormwater quality and the effects of stormwater management on improving receiving water quality.     

Influence of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on the micro-structural properties of spider dragline silk: X-ray microdiffraction results

The mechanical properties of spider dragline fibres are altered by CO₂ exposure under anaesthetizing conditions during the spinning process. In order to relate these macroscopic changes to a microscopic model, the extrusion of dragline silk was studied by synchrotron radiation microdiffraction. A brief exposure of a female Nephila senigalensis spider to CO₂ results after an incubation time of less than 7 min in the extrusion of a thread (two fibres) swollen with water. The data are interpreted for a model of crystalline -sheet domains containing nanofibrils, which reinforce a network of protein chains. The protein network absorbs water, leaving the nanofibrils unaffected. A continuous flow of CO₂ results in a co-extrusion of a dragline thread and an isotropic silk fraction, which probably has a glycine-rich sequence. Long CO₂ exposure reduces the axial alignment of nanofibrils, presumably due to a partial destruction of the amorphous network.