Social and ecological facets of pest management in Honduran subsistence agriculture: implications for IPM extension and natural resource management

In subsistence farming systems of the developing world, adoption of resource-conserving practices such as integrated pest management (IPM) is often strikingly low. This has partially been ascribed to researchers’ limited understanding of how technologies develop at the interface of the systems’ social and ecological components. In Honduras (Central America), there exists concern about limited adoption and diffusion of IPM technologies in certain smallholder production systems. In this study, we determine social and ecological drivers of IPM adoption in subsistence maize production in the country’s hillside environment. Honduran small-scale maize production is typified by a key insect pest (the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda) being partly kept at bay through action of a diverse natural enemy complex, including ants, social wasps, carabid beetles, and spiders. Local agricultural landscapes, primarily shaped through shifting cultivation, provide key resources to maintain this natural enemy diversity. These local ecological conditions and related natural enemy abundance strongly influence farmers’ agroecological knowledge and pest management practices. In the meantime, farmer practices are also affected by local communication networks, which help validate and spread IPM concepts and technologies. Based on our findings, we advocate a holistic approach to improve IPM extension through mapping of agroecological opportunities, visualization of regional patterns in farmer knowledge, and associated priority setting. Local IPM capacity could be built through institutional strengthening and adaptive comanagement, while IPM training should be linked with natural resource management initiatives. These approaches may eventually improve the way IPM is delivered to small-scale farmers who operate in the ecologically diverse environments of the tropics.     

A detailed look at the three disciplines,environmental ethics,law and education to determine which plays the most critical role in environmental enhancement and protection

Campaigns to mitigate environmental degradation problems have failed in recent years due to not only the inability to identify the actual causes of the problems but also the approach followed in addressing these problems. This study gives a detailed consideration to the roles played by environmental education, ethics and law in environmental enhancement and protection with the aim of identifying the one that has made the most progress toward reducing the impact of environmental problems. Knowledge of this is necessary as it will help determine the starting point of any environmental sustainability campaign and direct efforts toward this. The findings of this study show that the importance of the three disciplines in environmental enhancement and protection cannot be over-looked, and it identifies environmental ethics as both an interconnector of the other two disciplines and the force that propels them into action.     

Drought frequency in the Volta Basin of West Africa

According to various reports, climate change is responsible for the change in rainfall amount and pattern accompanied by the various degrees of extreme events in Sahelian West Africa in recent years. Other reports also suggest that there has been a “recovery” of the rainy season (Nicholson 2005). In this study, temporal characteristics of meteorological droughts in the Volta basin, a semi-arid region in West Africa, are investigated in order to provide a guide for sustainable water resource management. For this purpose, drought intensity, areal extent and recurrence frequency is analysed using the standardised precipitation index (SPI) for a time series between 1961 and 2005 from 52 meteorology stations across the Volta basin. Using this analysis the severity of the historical droughts of 1961, 1970, 1983, 1992 and 2001 that occurred in the region are assessed and their intensity, areal extent and return periods are obtained. The drought intensity is lower than −2.0 over nearly 75% of the region, meaning that a major part of the region was under extreme drought conditions during this year. The drought of 1983/1984 has a probability of occurrence of up to 0.1 from records spanning 44 years. The areal extent of extreme drought conditions is about 90% during this drought period.     

Towards institutional analysis of sustainability science: a quantitative examination of the patterns of research collaboration

This paper examines quantitatively the patterns of collaboration over geographical boundaries in the emerging field of sustainability science by empirically analyzing the bibliometric data of scientific articles. The results indicate that an increasing number of countries are engaged in research on sustainability, with the proportion of articles published through international collaboration rising as well. The number of countries engaged in international collaboration on sustainability research has been increasing, and the diversity of countries engaged in research collaboration beyond national borders is also increasing. The geographical patterns of collaboration on sustainability show that research collaboration tends to be conducted between countries which are geographically located closely, suggesting that communication and information exchange might be limited within the regional clusters. The focused fields of research activities on sustainability are significantly different between countries, as each country has its focused fields of research related to sustainability. The specialization of research activities is also observed in international collaboration. While these patterns of international collaboration within regional clusters focusing on specific fields could be effective in promoting the creation, transmission, and sharing of knowledge on sustainability utilizing the already existing regional networks, they could pose a serious obstacle to collecting, exchanging, and integrating diverse types of knowledge, especially when it is necessary to deal with problems involving large-scale complex interactions with long-term implications, such as climate change. It would be of critical importance to establish inter-regional linkages by devising appropriate institutional arrangements for global research collaboration on sustainability science.     

Sex-specific predation on two lizard species by kestrels

Sex-biased predation is thought to have important implications for sexual selection, sex allocation, and population dynamics (Magnhagen, 1991; Le-Galliard et al., 2005 for an example in lizards). Most studies found that males are subjected to higher predation pressure than females during the reproductive season (Korpimäki, 1985; Lodé et al., 2004; Christe et al., 2006; Costantini et al., 2007). In that period, males are very mobile, emit acoustic signals and exhibit brilliant colourations, which are needed to attract females but may make them more visible to predators. With regard to lizards, a recent study provided the first evidence that males of a lizard species may be preyed on more than females (Costantini et al., 2007). In the present study, we investigated whether there is sex-biased predation on two small lacertid species, the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768) and the Italian wall lizard Podarcis sicula (Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810), by Eurasian kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) during the reproductive season. We also examined whether (1) the rate of predation differed between species and (2) the rate of predation differed across years or among hunting habitats for each species.     

Uranium in Kosovo’s drinking water

The results of this paper are an initiation to capture the drinking water and/or groundwater elemental situation in the youngest European country, Kosovo. We aim to present a clear picture of the natural uranium concentration in drinking water and/or groundwater as it is distributed to the population of Kosovo. Nine hundred and fifty-one (951) drinking water samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS). The results are the first countrywide interpretation of the uranium concentration in drinking water and/or groundwater, directly following the Kosovo war of 1999. More than 98% of the samples had uranium concentrations above 0.01 μg L⁻¹, which was also our limit of quantification. Concentrations up to 166 μg L⁻¹ were found with a mean of 5 μg L⁻¹ and median 1.6 μg L⁻¹ were found. Two point six percent (2.6%) of the analyzed samples exceeded the World Health Organization maximum acceptable concentration of 30 μg L⁻¹, and 44.2% of the samples exceeded the 2 μg L⁻¹ German maximum acceptable concentrations recommended for infant food preparations.     

Environment Simulation for Studying the Effects of Air Pollutants on Computers

This paper describes a study directed towards the laboratory simulation of parameters of the office environment related to air borne gaseous and particulate pollutants and initial operating experience of a particulate test chamber, instrumentation, and control techniques. Also discussed is the design of a simple gaseous test chamber being constructed. Gas dilution procedures, control and general operating approach are described.     

The Effects Of Ozone On Tobacco And Pinto Bean as Conditioned by Several Ecological Factors

The sensitivity of tobacco and/or pinto bean to ozone, as an air pollutant, is increased by growing plants in a shortened photoperiod under reduced light intensity and in a light potting mix. Sensitivity also is influenced by carbon dioxide concentration, time of day, and age of plant at time of exposure. Plants are more severely injured by a given dose under continuous exposure than when the exposure is split into two time periods. Tobacco shows cumulative development of injury when exposed to low concentrations intermittently over several days.     

Interactions of Environmental Factors on the Sensitivity of Plants to Air Pollution

Before potential damage to vegetation can be adequately forecast, even after an air pollution alert has been placed in effect, a clear understanding of the interactions of environment on plant sensitivity must be ascertained. This involves detailed study of single factors and then multiple factors using the phytotoxicants in question. Factors studied or suggested include light (quality, intensity, and duration), temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, humidity, wind, soil moisture, soil aeration, nutrient levels, and soil texture. This paper presents a review of the work relating plant injury to specific air pollutants as conditioned by several environmental conditions supported by research on the interactions of ozone with these environmental conditions.