The effect of protected areas on forest disturbance in the Carpathian Mountains 1985–2010

Protected areas are a cornerstone for forest protection, but they are not always effective during times of socioeconomic and institutional crises. The Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe are an ecologically outstanding region, with widespread seminatural and old‐growth forest. Since 1990, Carpathian countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine) have experienced economic hardship and institutional changes, including the breakdown of socialism, European Union accession, and a rapid expansion of protected areas. The question is how protected‐area effectiveness has varied during these times across the Carpathians given these changes. We analyzed a satellite‐based data set of forest disturbance (i.e., forest loss due to harvesting or natural disturbances) from 1985 to 2010 and used matching statistics and a fixed‐effects estimator to quantify the effect of protection on forest disturbance. Protected areas in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Ukraine had significantly less deforestation inside protected areas than outside in some periods; the likelihood of disturbance was reduced by 1–5%. The effectiveness of protection increased over time in these countries, whereas the opposite was true in Romania. Older protected areas were most effective in Romania and Hungary, but newer protected areas were more effective in Czech Republic, and Poland. Strict protection (International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] protection category Ia‐II) was not more effective than landscape‐level protection (IUCN III‐VI). We suggest that the strength of institutions, the differences in forest privatization, forest management, prior distribution of protected areas, and when countries joined the European Union may provide explanations for the strikingly heterogeneous effectiveness patterns among countries. Our results highlight how different the effects of protected areas can be at broad scales, indicating that the effectiveness of protected areas is transitory over time and space and suggesting that generalizations about the effectiveness of protected areas can be misleading.     

The Quagga Mussel Crisis at Lake Mead National Recreation Area,Nevada (U.S.A.)

Abstract: Parks are cornerstones of conservation; and non‐native invasive species drive extensive changes to biological diversity in parks. Knowing this, national park staff at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in the southwestern United States had a program in place for early detection of the non‐native, invasive quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis). Upon finding the mussel in January 2007, managers moved quickly to access funding and the best available science to implement a response. Managers considered four options—doing nothing, closing the park, restricting movement on the lakes, and educating and enforcing park visitors—and decided to focus on education and enforcing existing laws. Nonetheless, quagga spread throughout the park and soon began to appear throughout the western United States. I examined why efforts to control the expansion failed and determined the general lessons to be learned from this case. Concentrating human visitation on the lakes through land‐use zoning opened a pathway for invasion, reduced management options, and led to the rapid spread of quagga. To reconcile competing mandates to protect nature and provide recreation, zoning in parks has become a common practice worldwide. It reduces stress on some areas of a park by restricting and thus concentrating human activity in particular areas. Concentrating the human activity in one area does three things: cements pathways that repeatedly import and export vectors of non‐native invasive species; creates the disturbed area necessary to enable non‐native invasive species to gain a foothold; and, establishes a source of invasions that, without appropriate controls, can quickly spread to a park's wilderness areas.     

Quantifying population declines based on presence‐only records for red‐list assessments

Accurate trend estimates are necessary for understanding which species are declining and which are most in need of conservation action. Imperfect species detection may result in unreliable trend estimates because this may lead to the overestimation of declines. Because many management decisions are based on population trend estimates, such biases could have severe consequences for conservation policy. We used an occupancy‐modeling framework to estimate detectability and calculate nationwide population trends for 14 Swiss amphibian species both accounting for and ignoring imperfect detection. Through the application of International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List criteria to the different trend estimates, we assessed whether ignoring imperfect detection could affect conservation policy. Imperfect detection occurred for all species and detection varied substantially among species, which led to the overestimation of population declines when detectability was ignored. Consequently, accounting for imperfect detection lowered the red‐list risk category for 5 of the 14 species assessed. We demonstrate that failing to consider species detectability can have serious consequences for species management and that occupancy modeling provides a flexible framework to account for observation bias and improve assessments of conservation status. A problem inherent to most historical records is that they contain presence‐only data from which only relative declines can be estimated. A move toward the routine recording of nonobservation and absence data is essential if conservation practitioners are to move beyond this toward accurate population trend estimation.     

The role of digital data entry in participatory environmental monitoring

Many argue that monitoring conducted exclusively by scientists is insufficient to address ongoing environmental challenges. One solution entails the use of mobile digital devices in participatory monitoring (PM) programs. But how digital data entry affects programs with varying levels of stakeholder participation, from nonscientists collecting field data to nonscientists administering every step of a monitoring program, remains unclear. We reviewed the successes, in terms of management interventions and sustainability, of 107 monitoring programs described in the literature (hereafter programs) and compared these with case studies from our PM experiences in Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greenland, and Vietnam (hereafter cases). Our literature review showed that participatory programs were less likely to use digital devices, and 2 of our 3 more participatory cases were also slow to adopt digital data entry. Programs that were participatory and used digital devices were more likely to report management actions, which was consistent with cases in Ethiopia, Greenland, and Australia. Programs engaging volunteers were more frequently reported as ongoing, but those involving digital data entry were less often sustained when data collectors were volunteers. For the Vietnamese and Canadian cases, sustainability was undermined by a mismatch in stakeholder objectives. In the Ghanaian case, complex field protocols diminished monitoring sustainability. Innovative technologies attract interest, but the foundation of effective participatory adaptive monitoring depends more on collaboratively defined questions, objectives, conceptual models, and monitoring approaches. When this foundation is built through effective partnerships, digital data entry can enable the collection of more data of higher quality. Without this foundation, or when implemented ineffectively or unnecessarily, digital data entry can be an additional expense that distracts from core monitoring objectives and undermines project sustainability. The appropriate role of digital data entry in PM likely depends more on the context in which it is used and less on the technology itself.     

Assessing Sustainability at Multiple Scales in a Rotational Bushmeat Hunting System

Abstract: Results of many studies show unsustainable levels of bushmeat hunting across West/Central Africa. Nevertheless, these results are usually derived from snapshot sustainability indices in which critical parameters are often taken from the literature. Simple, more informative tools for assessing sustainability are needed. We evaluated the impact of bushmeat hunting across a range of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales in a comparison of different measures of sustainability. Over 15 months in 2002–2004 in and around a village close to Equatorial Guinea's Monte Alén National Park, we collected data via a village offtake survey, hunter‐camp bushmeat‐consumption diaries, hunter interviews, and following hunters during hunts. We compared 2003 data with a previous offtake survey (1998–1999) and interview reports back to 1990. In the past 14 years, average distance from the village at which hunters operated remained constant, with hunters switching back and forth between long‐established camps, although trapping effort increased. In the past 5 years, overall offtake and number of active hunters did not change substantially, although catch per unit effort (CPUE) decreased slightly. Although the proportion of the two most commonly trapped species (Cephalophus monticola and Atherurus africanus) and gun‐hunted primates increased in the offtake, species presumably less robust to trapping decreased slightly. Apparent sustainability in economic terms may be masking gradual local extirpation of more vulnerable species before and during this study. Our results suggest that changes in prey profiles and CPUE may be the most accurate indicators of actual sustainability; these indices can be monitored with simple village‐based offtake surveys and hunter interviews to improve community management of bushmeat hunting.     

Effectiveness of Scat‐Detection Dogs in Determining Species Presence in a Tropical Savanna Landscape

Abstract: Most protected areas are too small to sustain populations of wide‐ranging mammals; thus, identification and conservation of high‐quality habitat for those animals outside parks is often a high priority, particularly for regions where extensive land conversion is occurring. This is the case in the vicinity of Emas National Park, a small protected area in the Brazilian Cerrado. Over the last 40 years the native vegetation surrounding the park has been converted to agriculture, but the region still supports virtually all of the animals native to the area. We determined the effectiveness of scat‐detection dogs in detecting presence of five species of mammals threatened with extinction by habitat loss: maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), puma (Puma concolor), jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), and giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus). The probability of scat detection varied among the five species and among survey quadrats of different size, but was consistent across team, season, and year. The probability of occurrence, determined from the presence of scat, in a randomly selected site within the study area ranged from 0.14 for jaguars, which occur primarily in the forested areas of the park, to 0.91 for maned wolves, the most widely distributed species in our study area. Most occurrences of giant armadillos in the park were in open grasslands, but in the agricultural matrix they tended to occur in riparian woodlands. At least one target species occurred in every survey quadrat, and giant armadillos, jaguars, and maned wolves were more likely to be present in quadrats located inside than outside the park. The effort required for detection of scats was highest for the two felids. We were able to detect the presence for each of five wide‐ranging species inside and outside the park and to assign occurrence probabilities to specific survey sites. Thus, scat dogs provide an effective survey tool for rare species even when accurate detection likelihoods are required. We believe the way we used scat‐detection dogs to determine the presence of species can be applied to the detection of other mammalian species in other ecosystems.     

黄河岸边土壤中类二(口恶)英类多氯联苯污染现状及风险

研究了全黄河范围内40个国家重点控制断面岸边土壤样品中类二噁英类多氯联苯(dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls,DL-PCBs)的污染现状,并利用毒性当量法和健康风险评价模型定量描述黄河岸边土壤中DL-PCBs对沿岸居民的毒性风险、致癌风险和非致癌风险.结果表明,黄河岸边土壤中各采样断面岸边土壤中ΣDL-PCBs的含量(以dw计,下同)范围为:0.37~7.17 ng·g~(-1),均值为0.38 ng·g~(-1).毒性风险计算表明,黄河岸边土壤中DL-PCBs的毒性当量范围为:0.00~30.31 pg·g~(-1),均值是13.63 pg·g~(-1),基本不会对沿岸居民产生毒性风险;健康风险模型计算表明,黄河岸边土壤中DL-PCBs对儿童和成人的致癌风险、非致癌风险均未超过美国EPA规定的限值,基本不会产生明显的健康风险.相比而言,黄河中游沿岸居民更易受到DL-PCBs危害.     

黄河口湿地土壤中正构烷烃分子指标及物源指示意义

对黄河口湿地表层土壤中的总有机碳、正构烷烃等进行了分析,计算了正构烷烃分子指标,探讨了其物源指示意义,并对不同采样区域和采样时间的结果进行了比较.结果表明,黄河口湿地土壤中正构烷烃以高碳奇数烷烃(C25～C33)为主,说明土壤中有机质主要来自于陆地高等植物,而样品中未分离混合物的存在表明土壤可能受到了油类污染.土壤中总的正构烷烃含量有明显的时间和区域差异,总的变化范围在0.57～3.90μg.g-1.在2009年4月(枯水期)总的正构烷烃含量相对6月(调水调沙期间)要高,以黄河口湿地核心恢复区最高,其次是黄河入海前最后一个浮桥下方的黄河北岸,最后是黄河故道区域,而6月的变化趋势与此相反.这一变化趋势与总有机碳是一致的,而与中值粒径的变化趋势相反,反映了两个不同的采样时间水环境条件的差异.基于正构烷烃的分子指标,如平均链长ACL、奇偶优势度OEP、烷烃指数AI、碳优势指数CPI和陆海比TAR等表明黄河口湿地土壤的有机质的成熟度较低,有较强的陆源高等植物输入优势,且主要来自于草本植物.与其他指标相比,陆海比指标TAR更好地反映了水环境条件的变化.     

黄河下游滩区开封段土壤重金属分布特征及其潜在风险评价

按照土壤采样规范,对开封段黄河滩区及滩外土壤采样,表层0～20 cm样品48个,垂直剖面采样100 cm,2个;并按照土壤化学分析方法,对Pb、Cr、Hg、As和Cd这5种重金属进行分析;最后,按照国家土壤一级标准,采用单因子污染指数、内梅罗综合污染指数和Hkanson潜在生态危害指数法对开封市黄河滩区土壤重金属分布特征、污染状况和潜在生态危害进行了分析.结果表明:①开封市黄河滩区土壤Pb、Cr、Hg、As和Cd这5种重金属含量就平均值而言,Cr的平均含量最大,Pb、Hg的平均含量最小.除Hg之外,其它重金属元素的变异系数均较小,说明重金属Hg存在较大差异;滩区土壤的主要污染元素为Hg、As、Pb,其中Pb的污染为普遍性污染.Cr和Cd在各村间变化不大,且含量均在国家一级标准(自然保护区)以下.②土壤各重金属元素的空间分布特征研究区内上下段之间分异明显,上段呈清洁状态,中段有少量污染,下段表现出明显富集的分布状态;③以黄河大堤为界,滩区内外重金属分异与居民点分布密切相关,在滩区上段(西南部)居民集中,土壤各重金属浓度较高,表现为沿河区<大堤外,中下游段(滩区东北部)重金属含量大于大堤外土地,下游段东北趋向于污染富集.④以重金属平均单项潜在生态风险指数(Eri)评价表明,开封市黄河滩区土壤Hg的潜在生态风险达到强烈水平,Pb在重金属综合潜在生态风险的贡献率高达50.5%,是最主要的生态风险重金属,各个重金属的污染程度为Hg>Pb>As>Cd>Cr.⑤各重金属生态危害的次序为Hg>Cd>As>Pb>Cr.由RI值对应的潜在生态风险等级可知,开封市黄河滩区土壤存在中等级别重金属潜在生态危害.     

黄河宁蒙河段突发性水污染事件中应急监测探讨

介绍了黄河宁蒙河段近几年突发性水污染事件应急监测基本情况,总结了应急监测的特点、作用,对突发性水污染事件中应急监测中存在的问题进行了重点分析,提出了解决的对策。