Conflicting perspectives of forest management in Bastar, Central India

This article enters the debate on shifting cultivation and tropical forests, and the role of the State forest departments in managing these regions. The article focuses on the adivasi (indigenous) people and their use of forests in the Bastar region of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. It examines the different landscapes, resulting from human interaction, in order to observe the vegetative changes and progressions in their characteristics; in particular, the author challenges the view that adivasi forest use has been detrimental to the ecology of the forest. A botanical comparison is made between three sites that allow us to note specific characteristics of a fallow, a secondary forest and a primary sal (Shorea robusta) forest. The wider aspects of the adivasi manner of forest use are also discussed.
A major portion of the Bastar region is legally under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh State Forest Department. However, the official policies and laws, pertaining to the conservation of forests and the generation of revenue, are often insensitive to the adivasi perceptions and use of the various vegetative zones within the forest. The effect of a standardised form of demarcation, coupled with the State legislation, has overlooked the adivasi people's needs and their ecologically sound way of relating to the forest. The paper concludes with a few recommendations.     

A Short History of Food Ethics

Moral concern with food intake is as old asmorality itself. In the course of history, however,several ways of critically examining practices of foodproduction and food intake have been developed.Whereas ancient Greek food ethics concentrated on theproblem of temperance, and ancient Jewish ethics onthe distinction between legitimate and illicit foodproducts, early Christian morality simply refused toattach any moral significance to food intake. Yet,during the middle ages food became one of theprinciple objects of monastic programs for moralexercise (askesis). During the seventeenth andeighteenth century, food ethics was transformed interms of the increasing scientific interest in foodintake, while in the nineteenth century the socialdimension of food ethics was discovered, with theresult that more and more attention was given to theproduction and distribution of food products. Becauseof the increasing distance between the production andconsumption of food products ever since, theoutstanding feature of contemporary food ethics is itreliance and dependence on labeling practices.     

Chronic parasitic infection alters reproductive output in deer mice

Parasitized animals may alter their life histories to minimize the costs of parasitism. Organisms are predicted to decrease investment in current reproduction when parasitism has the greatest impact on current reproductive ability. In contrast, if parasitism decreases residual reproductive value, hosts should increase current reproductive investment, referred to as fecundity compensation or terminal investment. In mammalian hosts, parasitic infection most often leads to reductions in current host reproduction, perhaps attributable to the emphasis on parasites that are unlikely to impact the host’s residual reproductive value. In this study, the life history response of a rodent, Peromyscus maniculatus, to infection with a parasite that should strongly impact the residual reproductive value of its host (Schistosomatium douthitti, Trematoda) was examined. Infection decreased survival for hosts exposed to a high dose of parasites and was chronic in survivors, confirming that infection had strong impacts for the residual reproductive value of the host. As predicted, infected mice increased their reproductive output, producing litters of greater mass due to heavier offspring. However, this increased output was observed after a greater delay to begin breeding in infected mice and was not observed in animals that suffered early mortality. The deer mouse S. douthitti system may provide a rare example of fecundity compensation in mammals.     

Sex,food and conflicts: nutrition dependent nuptial feeding and pre-mating struggles in scorpionflies

Female and male reproductive interests often differ. In species in which matings are accompanied by a transfer of resources valuable for both participants, such as nuptial prey gifts, conflicts may readily occur. Scorpionflies may use alternative mating tactics. One is to offer a prey item (dead arthropod) to females in exchange for mating. This prey gift tactic includes a conflict because a male must decide on whether to offer the gift rather than to fight the female and consume the gift. The outcome may depend on the nutritional status of both males and females. Males may be more willing to give if they themselves are satiated and the condition of the females may influence the payoff from the males’ investment. Similarly, females may be more willing to accept food gifts if they are in poor nutritional condition. In this study of the scorpionfly Panorpa cognata, I experimentally manipulated the feeding history of both males and females. I observed the outcome of the direct interactions that followed when males that were holding prey were approached by females. I found that well-fed males offered the food gift sooner than males in poor nutritional condition that fed extensively on the food item before offering. Female condition had no significant influence on whether prey items were offered by males or accepted by females. I also found that well-fed males rarely searched for prey to pursue the prey gift tactic in courtship. Thus, the prey tactic does not seem to be the males’ first option.     

活性灭火剂(ACP)的发展和存在的问题

介绍了活性灭火剂(ACP)的历史发展、灭火原理、配方原则、对配方要求和使用场合。可使读者对ACP获得较全面的了解。     

污水土地处理水旱轮作条件下磷素在土层中迁移特征的模拟实验

为了解污水土地处理过程中不同土壤类型土壤溶液 P含量和迁移特征 ,在一种特殊的大型人工模拟土层和地下水实验装置中进行试验 .研究结果表明 :水田条件下 1.5m～ 0.5m土壤溶液 P含量极低 (≤ 0.02 mg/L ) ,但在旱地条件下 ,P含量上升至 0.045mg/L～ 0.628mg/L,P素随入渗污水向下迁移距离可达 1.1 m.在低水力负荷率和较长停留时间的运行条件下 ,1.3m以下土壤溶液和地下水的 P含量处于安全水平 .     

Is Ammophila arenaria (Marram grass) a threat to South African dune fields?

Ammophila arenaria (marram grass) was introduced to South Africa from Europe as a means of stabilizing the Cape Flats in the 1870s, but was only successfully established in the 1890s as it was found that seeds from the first introductions did not readily germinate. By the end of the last century, it was successfully used as a dune stabilizing grass. It is now widely used in stabilization projects along the Cape coastline, being established by planting cuttings or whole plants. Because of problems experienced of marram becoming invasive, especially on the west coast of North America, and the fact that we have many invasive species which threaten our indigenous dune fields, studies have been initiated on this plant in South Africa. Most work to date has involved investigating the methods used to establish the plant in stabilization sites, and very little has been done on the biology of the species in this country. Marram is generally thought not to seed in South Africa, and thus its spread has been limited. However, in the light of recent reports of successful germination of the seed, detailed studies on the phenology of seed production and establishment in natural areas will be undertaken. Studies on the natural control by fungal species and nematodes will be carried out in conjunction with work done in the Netherlands, so that a comparison of the biology of the species in South Africa can be made with that in Europe, where it is used extensively to stabilize dunes.     

河北省藁城市蔬菜种植区化肥施用与地下水硝酸盐污染研究

通过农户问卷调查和地下水田间取样分析 ,主要对河北省藁城市蔬菜种植区的化肥施用与地下水硝酸盐污染现状进行了研究。结果表明 :2 0 0 1年藁城市蔬菜种植区化肥施用纯量为 1 4 0 8.6kg·hm-2 ,其中氮肥施用纯量为 84 0 .8kg·hm-2 ;藁城市各蔬菜种植模式下氮肥施用量由高到低的顺序依次为大棚 >温室 >中棚 >小棚 >地膜 >露地 ;温室、中棚和露地蔬菜区地下水硝酸盐含量最高值出现在 8月 ,而地膜蔬菜区则在 1 1月 ;各蔬菜种植模式对地下水影响的大小顺序为地膜 >中棚 >温室 >露地 ,影响因素主要有密集度、种植模式、种植年限、氮肥施用量和土壤质地等。     

南岳自然保护区人文资源的调查研究

南岳自然保护区素为天下名山,层峦叠翠,风光旖旎,灵动俊秀的自然景观,源远流长的宗教文化,古朴神奇的历史遗迹,形成了博大精深的旅游资源.我国加入WTO后,随着世界旅游业的蓬勃发展,一个全新的旅游分支文化旅游正呈现出迅猛的发展势头.南岳作为素有文明奥区之称,进行文化资源的调查,构筑系统的旅游文化体系,开拓旅游市场,提升旅游品位,做好保护与利用旅游资源这篇文章有着重要意义.     

Forests in the time of peace

ABSTRACT

The signing of Colombia’s peace agreement in 2016 signaled the end of a decades-long war between the government and the FARC (Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), but also an emerging assault against the country’s forests. This article aims to understand the interactions between forests and peace. In doing so, it traces landscape transformations of deforestation and possibilities for making landscapes livable in the midst of disturbance. Drawing on field research, including interviews and participant observation carried out in Colombia from 2016 to 2018, it reveals how deforestation is driven by ongoing colonization and land grabbing, mostly dedicated to extensive cattle ranching, coca cultivation, and campesinos’ transition to ‘licit’ agricultural alternatives. The article also shows how emerging coordination among farmers and forests following forest disturbance contributes to an interpretation of peace in which forests are integral. The article concludes with a call to incorporate forests in the construction of peace.