Assessing representativeness of places for conservation reservation and heritage listing

Problems arising from application of the representative criterion for conservation and natural heritage evaluation are discussed. An ecological basis to this criterion is suggested that focuses on those key environmental factors dominating biotic response. A methodology is proposed that utilizes computer-based methods of establishing and interrogating spatial data bases (geographic information systems), environmental modeling, and numeric analysis. An example is presented illustrating some of the advantages and limitations of classification and dimension reduction techniques in both defining bioenvironments and displaying their spatial distribution. The advantages of this method for representativeness evaluation are that it maximizes the utility of available data, is explicit and repeatable, and enables large areas to be analyzed at relatively fine scales.     

Carbon stocks,emissions, and aboveground productivity in restored secondary tropical peat swamp forests

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Tropical wetlands such as peat swamp forests (PSFs) have been known globally as one of the carbon (C)-rich ecosystems. However, there is...     

Forest age influences oak insect herbivore community structure, richness, and density.

Plant succession is one of many factors that may affect the composition and structure of herbivorous insect communities. However, few studies have examined the effect of forest age on the diversity and abundance of insect communities. If forest age influences insect diversity, then the schedule of timber harvest rotation may have consequent effects on biodiversity. The insect herbivore community on Quercus alba (white oak) in the Missouri Ozarks was sampled in a chronoseries, from recently harvested (2 yr) to old-growth (approximately 313 yr) forests. A total of nine sites and 39 stands within those sites were sampled in May and August 2003. Unique communities of plants and insects were found in the oldest forests (122-313 yr). Density and species richness of herbivores were positively correlated with increasing forest age in August but not in May. August insect density was negatively correlated with heat load index; in addition, insect density and richness increased over the chronoseries, but not on the sunniest slopes. Forest structural diversity (number of size classes) was positively correlated with forest age, but woody plant species richness was not. In sum, richness, density, and community structure of white oak insect herbivores are influenced by variation in forest age, forest structure, relative abundance of plant species, and abiotic conditions. These results suggest that time between harvests of large, long-lived, tree species such as white oak should be longer than current practice in order to maintain insect community diversity.