Mapping Change in Human Pressure Globally on Land and within Protected Areas

It is widely accepted that the main driver of the observed decline in biological diversity is increasing human pressure on Earth's ecosystems. However, the spatial patterns of change in human pressure and their relation to conservation efforts are less well known. We developed a spatially and temporally explicit map of global change in human pressure over 2 decades between 1990 and 2010 at a resolution of 10 km². We evaluated 22 spatial data sets representing different components of human pressure and used them to compile a temporal human pressure index (THPI) based on 3 data sets: human population density, land transformation, and electrical power infrastructure. We investigated how the THPI within protected areas was correlated to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories and the human development index (HDI) and how the THPI was correlated to cumulative pressure on the basis of the original human footprint index. Since the early 1990s, human pressure increased 64% of the terrestrial areas; the largest increases were in Southeast Asia. Protected areas also exhibited overall increases in human pressure, the degree of which varied with location and IUCN management category. Only wilderness areas and natural monuments (management categories Ib and III) exhibited decreases in pressure. Protected areas not assigned any category exhibited the greatest increases. High HDI values correlated with greater reductions in pressure across protected areas, while increasing age of the protected area correlated with increases in pressure. Our analysis is an initial step toward mapping changes in human pressure on the natural world over time. That only 3 data sets could be included in our spatio‐temporal global pressure map highlights the challenge to measuring pressure changes over time. Mapeo del Cambio en la Presión Humana Global en Tierra y Dentro de Áreas Protegidas     

湖北省珍稀濒危保护水禽物种多样性及种群数量

使用直接计数法和专项调查法于1996年5月～2003年7月对湖北省珍稀濒危保护水禽物种多样性和种群数量进行了研究。结果表明：湖北省珍稀濒危保护水禽有45种,隶属于6目9科24属;记录到34种,其中有黄嘴白鹭和小苇鳽2个新记录种。按区系型分,古北界种类占优势,有35种,东洋种8种,广布种2种;按季节型分,冬候鸟为主体,有30种,夏候鸟8种,旅鸟5种,留鸟2种;按生活型分,涉禽23种,游禽22种,种类几乎相等。种群数量为41.1796万只。在45种珍稀水禽中,IUC红皮书水禽23种,8 247只;中国红皮书水禽22种,3 615只;CITES濒危水禽23种,40.631 6万只;国家重点保护水禽24种,3 838只。角等11种水禽未发现,可能已绝迹或极度濒危。按水禽1 %地理种群数量的标准,洪湖、沉湖、龙感湖、梁子湖、网湖等湿地可以确定为国际重要湿地。     

Linking parks and people: Nepal's experience in resolving conflicts in parks and protected areas

SUMMARY

The search for innovative methods for improving relations between parks and people has led to various conservation and development projects around the world. Nepal's almost three decades of experience in park management in a variety of institutional settings offers valuable lessons in the challenges and opportunities for enlisting local support for conservation. Citing several macro and micro-level case studies from around the country, this paper provides a comparative perspective on the significance of tourism-focused conservation and community development activities in resolving conflicts between parks and local people.     

Perceptions of small-scale fishermen on the value of marine resources and protected areas: case of Claveria,Northern Philippines

Establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) helps to restore and sustain marine and fishery resources, but in the Philippines only 20% of total MPAs are achieving their management objectives. We conducted a case study of a small MPA in Northern Philippines to understand socio-economic status and livelihoods of the fishermen stakeholders, and examine their attitudes and perceptions on marine resource values and conservation. Using an ordered probit model, we also investigated factors affecting these perceptions. We found a lower fish income ratio in higher income quartiles, a small share of local non-fishery income, and an apparent lack of other livelihood opportunities within the rural economy. The majority of fishermen had positive perceptions of the non-market value of marine resources, agreed with the need for MPAs, and perceived positive potential income benefit from MPAs. Level of education and fishing income were consistent significant positive determinants of these perceptions. Policy implications suggest: involving likely-to-be-displaced reef fishers in the crafting of management plans; conducting intensive research on appropriate and feasible livelihood options, for example, marine culture technologies; and designing explicit strategies to increase the propensity of coastal households to invest in children's education as a strategy for long-term sustainability of resource management.     

Correlates of bushmeat hunting among remote rural households in Gabon, Central Africa

Hunted wild animals (i.e., bushmeat) are a main source of protein for many rural populations in the tropics, and the unsustainable harvest of these animals puts both human food security and ecosystem functioning at risk. To understand the correlates of bushmeat consumption, we surveyed 1219 households in 121 rural villages near three newly established national parks in Gabon. Through the surveys we gathered information on bushmeat consumption, income, and material assests. In addition, we quantified land cover in a 5-km radius around the village center and distance of the village center to the nearest park boundary. Bushmeat was not a source of income for most households, but it was the primary animal protein consumed. Ninety-seven percent of households consumed bushmeat at least once during a survey period of 12 days. Income or wealth, land cover, distance of village to the nearest park boundary, and level of education of the head of the household were among the factors that significantly related to the likelihood of consuming any of the 10 most commonly consumed species of bushmeat. Household size was the predictor most strongly associated with quantities of bushmeat consumed and was negatively related to consumption. Total bushmeat consumption per adult male equivalent increased as household wealth increased and decreased as distance of villages to park boundaries increased. Bushmeat consumption at the household level was not related to unit values (i.e., price estimates for a good that typically does not have a market value; estimates derived from willingness to sell or trade the good for items of known price) of bushmeat or the price of chicken and fish as potential substitutes. The median consumption of bushmeat at the village level, however, was negatively related to village mean unit values of bushmeat across all species. Our results suggest that a lack of alternative protein sources motivated even the wealthiest among surveyed households to consume bushmeat. Providing affordable, alternative protein sources to all households would likely reduce unsustainable levels of bushmeat consumption in rural Gabon.     

基于频次分析法的污水处理厂在线监测预警技术研究

针对目前我国污染源监控数据缺乏深层次利用,监测数据对污染源不能有效预警的状况,以S市某污水处理厂为例,在全面分析2010年出水COD在线监测数据的变化规律的基础上,建立基于频次分析法的预警阈值确定方法,确定了污水处理厂排放不同警情的阈值范围.结果显示,污水处理厂全年出水浓度集中在40~60mg/L,16:00,20:00以及22:00排水COD较高,超标率大,应加强监控.污水厂正常、一般、不正常以及极不正常状态阈值范围分别可设为小于30%频次、20%频次、10%频次以及超过10%频次对应的浓度范围.对污水厂全年监测数据进行警情状态验证,结果显示全年正常、一般、不正常以及极不正常状态出现的比例分别为70.4%、9.9%、9.8%以及9.9%.     

间距对上保护层开采保护效果影响的相似模拟实验研究

为研究上保护层开采保护效果随层间距的变化规律,以南桐矿区作为实验背景,保持保护层倾向工作面开挖长度、煤层埋深、倾角、岩层物理力学性质相同,将层间多层岩层处理为复合岩层,分别进行近距离、远距离和超远距离上保护层开采相似模拟实验。综合分析被保护层卸压规律及基于被保护层垂直于层面的膨胀变形保护准则所得保护范围可知:上保护层开采被保护层卸压曲线呈“凸形”,且“凸形”中心线偏向下山方向。随层间距增加,“凸形”底部被保护层小于原岩应力的卸压范围与“凸形”顶部卸压曲线顶部较大卸压的范围均呈减小趋势;两者中心位置均向下山方向转移,且后者转移度大于前者;被保护层卸压曲线中卸压范围的卸压程度及应力集中范围的应力集中程度均呈减弱趋势;以垂直层面的膨胀变形量3‰确定的上下边界膨胀变形保护角均小于《防治煤与瓦斯突出规定》中相应条件的卸压角,因此以该方法确定的保护范围相对《防治煤与瓦斯突出规定》偏于安全,且随层间距增加保护范围长度呈加速减小趋势。     

Deriving state-and-transition models from an image series of grassland pattern dynamics

We present how state-and-transition models (STMs) may be derived from image data, providing a graphical means of understanding how ecological dynamics are driven by complex interactions among ecosystem events. A temporal sequence of imagery of fine scale vegetation patterning was acquired from close range photogrammetry (CRP) of 1 m quadrats, in a long term monitoring project of Themeda triandra (Forsskal) grasslands in north western Australia. A principal components scaling of image metrics calculated on the imagery defined the state space of the STM, and thereby characterised the different patterns found in the imagery. Using the state space, we were able to relate key events (i.e. fire and rainfall) to both the image data and aboveground biomass, and identified distinct ecological ‘phases’ and ‘transitions’ of the system. The methodology objectively constructs a STM from imagery and, in principle, may be applied to any temporal sequence of imagery captured in any event-driven system. Our approach, by integrating image data, addresses the labour constraint limiting the extensive use of STMs in managing vegetation change in arid and semiarid rangelands.     

Evaluating the ecological benefits of wildfire by integrating fire and ecosystem simulation models

Fire managers are now realizing that wildfires can be beneficial because they can reduce hazardous fuels and restore fire-dominated ecosystems. A software tool that assesses potential beneficial and detrimental ecological effects from wildfire would be helpful to fire management. This paper presents a simulation platform called FLEAT (Fire and Landscape Ecology Assessment Tool) that integrates several existing landscape- and stand-level simulation models to compute an ecologically based measure that describes if a wildfire is moving the burning landscape towards or away from the historical range and variation of vegetation composition. FLEAT uses a fire effects model to simulate fire severity, which is then used to predict vegetation development for 1, 10, and 100 years into the future using a landscape simulation model. The landscape is then simulated for 5000 years using parameters derived from historical data to create an historical time series that is compared to the predicted landscape composition at year 1, 10, and 100 to compute a metric that describes their similarity to the simulated historical conditions. This tool is designed to be used in operational wildfire management using the LANDFIRE spatial database so that fire managers can decide how aggressively to suppress wildfires. Validation of fire severity predictions using field data from six wildfires revealed that while accuracy is moderate (30-60%), it is mostly dictated by the quality of GIS layers input to FLEAT. Predicted 1-year landscape compositions were only 8% accurate but this was because the LANDFIRE mapped pre-fire composition accuracy was low (21%). This platform can be integrated into current readily available software products to produce an operational tool for balancing benefits of wildfire with potential dangers.