The role of social learning for soil conservation: the case of Amba Zuria land management,Ethiopia

Social learning plays key roles in sustainable natural resource management; however, studies on its role show mixed results. Even though most current studies highlight positive outcomes, there are also negative effects of social learning with respect to natural resource management. This paper explores the influence of social learning outcomes on the adoption of soil conservation practices in Amba Zuria, Ethiopia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, group discussions and in workshops. The interviews were transcribed and analysed with the qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. In addition, a review of pertinent documents and literature complements the analysis. We found that social learning results in positive outcomes in interactions among the actors, broader understanding on soil conservation, trust and mutual understanding, and the creation of opportunities to apply both indigenous and scientific knowledge. These outcomes, in turn, foster the adoption of stone terraces to conserve soils. No such positive results were found for farmers who were not involved in the learning process and who did not adopt stone terraces. The non-adoption can partly be explained by their exclusion from sharing the positive outcomes of social learning. The study also shows limitations related to the short duration of the learning platforms, insufficient representation of women and irregular patterns of learning schedules. Hence, Ethiopian soil conservation strategies should put emphasis on social learning in order to strengthen the collective processes of soil conservation measures.     

保护性耕作土壤线虫成熟度及区系分析

土壤线虫的生活史和功能多样性能够反映土壤健康质量和生态环境的演变,耕作措施的改变可能通过影响土壤环境进而影响土壤线虫的生活史和功能多样性,然而关于保护性耕作条件下土壤线虫成熟度及区系分析的研究,国内外尚鲜见报道。为了深入揭示土壤线虫对保护性耕作土壤生态环境变化的生物指示作用,以辽宁彰武县保护性耕作示范推广基地土壤为研究对象,通过实地调查和取样分析,对比研究了传统犁耕和6年保护性耕作（免耕秸秆覆盖）条件下的土壤线虫成熟度指数及区系分析。研究发现,与犁耕相比,保护性耕作显著降低了表层土壤自由生活线虫成熟指数MI、总成熟指数MMI、c-p值为2~5的自由生活线虫成熟指数MI2–5和总成熟指数MMI2–5,降低幅度分别为11%、9%、9%和10%,然而对植物寄生线虫成熟指数PPI以及PPI/MI比值的影响不明显。线虫区系分析结果表明,保护性耕作土壤线虫的富集指数EI和结构指数SI,比犁耕土壤分别显著降低56%和24%。保护性耕作造成的土壤pH降低和可能带来的土壤农药污染,可能是导致其上述影响的主要原因。简单相关分析和主成分分析结果证明,线虫成熟指数MI、MMI、MI2–5和MMI2–5以及结构指数SI与土壤pH关系密切。综上,土壤线虫生活史多样性和功能多样性对于揭示保护性耕作对土壤环境的影响具有良好的作用。     

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.     

Human perspectives and conservation of grizzly bears in Banff National Park, Canada

Some conservation initiatives provoke intense conflict among stakeholders. The need for action, the nature of the conservation measures, and the effects of these measures on human interests may be disputed. Tools are needed to depolarize such situations, foster understanding of the perspectives of people involved, and find common ground. We used Q methodology to explore stakeholders' perspectives on conservation and management of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in Banff National Park and the Bow River watershed of Alberta, Canada. Twenty-nine stakeholders participated in the study, including local residents, scientists, agency employees, and representatives of nongovernmental conservation organizations and other interest groups. Participants rank ordered a set of statements to express their opinions on the problems of grizzly bear management (I-IV) and a second set of statements on possible solutions to the problems (A-C). Factor analysis revealed that participants held 4 distinct views of the problems: individuals associated with factor I emphasized deficiencies in goals and plans; those associated with factor II believed that problems had been exaggerated; those associated with factor III blamed institutional flaws such as disjointed management and inadequate resources; and individuals associated with factor IV blamed politicized decision making. There were 3 distinct views about the best solutions to the problems: individuals associated with factor A called for increased conservation efforts; those associated with factor B wanted reforms in decision-making processes; and individuals associated with factor C supported active landscape management. We connected people's definitions of the problem with their preferred solutions to form 5 overall problem narratives espoused by groups in the study: the problem is deficient goals and plans, the solution is to prioritize conservation efforts (planning-oriented conservation advocates); the problem is flawed institutions, the solution is to prioritize conservation efforts (institutionally-oriented conservation advocates); the problems have been exaggerated, but there is a need to improve decision-making processes (optimistic decision-process reformers); the problems have been exaggerated, but managers should more actively manage the landscape (optimistic landscape managers); and the problem is politicized decision making, solutions vary (democratizers). Although these 5 groups differed on many issues, they agreed that the population of grizzly bears is vulnerable to extirpation, human use of the area should be designed around ecological constraints, and more inclusive decision-making processes are needed. We used our results to inform a series of workshops in which stakeholders developed and agreed on new management strategies that were implemented by Parks Canada. Our research demonstrates the usefulness of Q method to illuminate people's perspectives and identify common ground in settings where conservation is contested.     

Challenges to interdisciplinary research in ecosystem-based management

Despite its necessity, integration of natural and social sciences to inform conservation efforts has been difficult. We examined the views of 63 scientists and practitioners involved in marine management in Mexico's Gulf of California, the central California coast, and the western Pacific on the challenges associated with integrating social science into research efforts that support ecosystem-based management (EBM) in marine systems. We used a semistructured interview format. Questions focused on how EBM was developed for these sites and how contextual factors affected its development and outcomes. Many of the traditional challenges linked with interdisciplinary research were present in the EBM projects we studied. However, a number of contextual elements affected how mandates to include social science were interpreted and implemented as well as how easily challenges could be addressed. For example, a common challenge is that conservation organizations are often dominated by natural scientists, but for some projects it was easier to address this imbalance than for others. We also found that the management and institutional histories that came before EBM in specific cases were important features of local context. Because challenges differed among cases, we believe resolving challenges to interdisciplinary research should be context specific.     

Inadvertent advocacy

Policy advocacy is an issue regularly debated among conservation scientists. These debates have focused on intentional policy advocacy by scientists, but advocacy can also be unintentional. I define inadvertent policy advocacy as the act of unintentionally expressing personal policy preferences or ethical judgments in a way that is nearly indistinguishable from scientific judgments. A scientist may be well intentioned and intellectually honest but still inadvertently engage in policy advocacy. There are two ways to inadvertently engage in policy advocacy. First, a scientist expresses an opinion that she or he believes is a scientific judgment but it is actually an ethical judgment or personal policy preference. Second, a scientist expresses an opinion that he or she knows is an ethical judgment or personal policy preference but inadvertently fails to effectively communicate the nature of the opinion to policy makers or the public. I illustrate inadvertent advocacy with three examples: recovery criteria in recovery plans for species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, a scientific peer review of a recovery plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature's definition of threatened. In each example, scientists expressed ethical judgments or policy preferences, but their value judgments were not identified as such, and, hence, their value judgments were opaque to policy makers and the public. Circumstances suggest their advocacy was inadvertent. I believe conservation scientists must become acutely aware of the line between science and policy and avoid inadvertent policy advocacy because it is professional negligence, erodes trust in scientists and science, and perpetuates an ethical vacuum that undermines the rational political discourse necessary for the evolution of society's values. The principal remedy for inadvertent advocacy is education of conservation scientists in an effort to help them understand how science and values interact to fulfill the mission of conservation science.     

威海荣成鹿角菜野生种群遗传多样性及资源保护策略

利用随机扩增多态性DNA（RAPD）方法对威海荣成地区鹿角菜（Silvetiasiliquosa）野生种群共30个个体的遗传多样性水平及遗传结构进行研究。结果表明,利用21条随机引物共检测到112个多态性位点,多态性位点百分率为93．75％,Nei基因多样性指数为0．3515±0．1352,Shannon多样性指数为0．5046±0．1126。通过聚类分析而划为一类的3个亚种群间的遗传分化指数为0．1349～0．2189,基因流为1．7793。研究结果表明威海荣成地区的鹿角菜种群遗传多样性较高,种群内存在较为明显的遗传分化,种群遗传资源不受遗传漂变的影响。针对当地鹿角菜遗传资源的现状,应加强现存种群的就地保护,恢复种群规模;进行取样养殖保护时则需避免因近交而造成种群资源退化。     

基于土壤动态蓄水的森林水源涵养能力计量及其空间差异

水源涵养是森林提供的重要生态服务之一,而森林土壤对降水的拦蓄和调节起着主要作用。采用土壤动态蓄水能力法,以太湖流域安吉县森林资源二类调查和雨量站逐日降水量数据为基础,评估了森林的水源涵养能力,并将土壤水源涵养能力参数和降水数据进行空间栅格处理和相应的栅格运算,从而揭示了水源涵养的空间差异。结果表明:安吉县森林生态系统年涵养水源能力为19.66×10⁸ t,单位面积森林年涵养水源能力为14 788 t/hm²;从空间分布上看,森林水源涵养量沿西苕溪由上游向下游呈减少的趋势;从不同森林类型来看,竹林的水源涵养贡献率最大,达52.26%。     

突发事件应急预案的评估研究

对突发事件应急预案进行有效地评估,是提高应急预案实效性,保证预案能够发挥其理想效果的关键环节。目前国内应急预案的评估多为模板式评估研究,评估的依据和内容有待完善,文章探究对照法在应急预案评估中的应用,以提升应急准备能力为目的,重点对预案的充分性、可行性、完整性、可接受性、符合性这5方面进行评估,提出预案修订建议,并以真实应急预案为例具体描述评估过程。     

Community structure and biotic integrity of aquatic plants along the North Canal in Beijing北大核心CSCD

Aquatic plants along the North Canal in Beijing were studied to identify the community structure of aquatic plants and vegetation index of biotic integrity (VIBI), and to provide scientific basis for the management and protection of urban rivers. Aquatic plants from 49 sampling sites along the North Canal were investigated during June 2015. Based on the field data, distributing range analysis, discriminatory power analysis, and correlation analysis were used stepwise to select core metrics from candidate metrics to establish the VIBI assessment system. The VIBI value of each sampling site was calculated as the average of the scaled values of all core metrics. Thirty-six aquatic plant species, including 14 hygrophytes, 13 emergent species, 6 submergent species, 2 floating-leaved species, and 1 floating species were collected. Species diversity was low in the North Canal, and no aquatic plants were recorded in 28 sampling sites, of which 9 sampling sites were dried up. Five sites were in excellent condition (VIBI > 0.60), 5 were good (0.60 > VIBI > 0.38), 7 were fair (0.38 > VIBI > 0.23), and 4 were poor (VIBI < 0.23). Based on the distribution of VIBI, Shahe River and Wenyu River upstream, and Fenghe River located in suburbs had a higher VIBI. Downstream tributaries, such as Qinghe River, Bahe River, and Liangshui River, had a lower VIBI. Correlation analysis showed that habitat quality, habitat complexity, and vegetation diversity along riparian zones were the important factors affecting VIBI along the North Canal, Beijing. Aquatic plants along the North Canal showed low species diversity owing to human disturbance. VIBI along tributaries with limited disturbance from human activities was higher; however, VIBI along tributaries disturbed by frequent human activities was lower. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.