Regional priorities for wetlands conservation in West Asia and North Africa

Though characterized by a scarcity of water, West Asia and North Africa region has a large number of wetlands of various types supporting a rich biodiversity. However, the government efforts to reverse the trend of wetlands degradation fall short of the policy goals due to various reasons. The paper outlines the priorities for wetlands conservation in the region.     

Prediction of lichen diversity in an UNESCO biosphere reserve – correlation of high resolution remote sensing data with field samples

The present study focuses on developing models to predict lichen species richness in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Swiss Pre-Alps following a gradient of land-use intensity combining remote sensing data and regression models. The predictive power of the models and the obtained r ranging from 0.5 for lichens on soil to 0.8 for lichens on trees can be regarded as satisfactory to good, respectively. The study revealed that a combination of airborne and spaceborne remote sensing data produced a variety of ecological meaningful variables.     

Holling's Figure-Eight Model: A Technical Reevaluation in Relation to Climate Change and Biodiversity

Holling proposed a four-phase conceptual model of ecosystem dynamics that includes exploitation, conservation, and destructive and renewal components to explain the failure of many natural resource management schemes. The model is drawn as a sideways figure-eight i.e. . There are two dimensions in this model, connectivity (abscissa) and the amount of capital stored in the system (ordinate). This conceptual model has been suggested as a guide to thinking about the impact of climate change on biodiversity, but the two dimensions are insufficient and the alignment of the figure-eight model is problematic when compared with actual data. Kay has adjusted the dimensions of the figure-eight model and renamed the abscissa as exergy stored and the ordinate as exergy consumed. We realign the original figure-eight model, labeling the abscissa as carbon stored and the ordinate as nutrients, such that the relative values of both axes are in qualitative agreement with data from four different studies. This new alignment is then shown to fit relatively well with Holling's original labels. This revision of the figure-eight model brings Holling's model into agreement with observations and provides insight into the linkages between biodiversity and climate change.     

Inorganic chemical composition of native trees of the Atlantic Forest

The Atlantic Forest with its exuberant vegetation of high level of biodiversity is classified as one hotspot of the world. Chemical composition of leaves from native trees and underlying soils was evaluated by INAA. The predominant species Euterpe edulis, Bathysa meridionalis, Hyeronima alchorneoides, Marlierea tomentosa, Gomidesia flagellaris, and Gomidesia spectabilis belonging to the diverse plant families were studied. Euterpe edulis, the most abundant understory specie, presented the lowest element concentrations except for Zn. Some variation in chemical composition was noted, however, the chemical specificity of tree species can be more predominant than the soil variability for the obtained leaf concentrations. Factor values obtained through the Monte-Carlo assisted factor analysis were used for species discrimination. The results indicate that chemical investigation of native trees is a quite promising tool for biodiversity studies in the Atlantic Forest.     

生物强化方式对生物转盘处理养殖废水效果及生物多样性的影响

畜禽养殖废水污染物浓度高、生物毒性大,导致传统生物处理工艺难以满足达标排放要求.为探究高效的畜禽养殖废水处理工艺,采用生物转盘作为主体工艺,利用异养硝化-好氧反硝化菌（简称"HN-AD菌"）为生物强化菌剂,对比了强化污泥挂膜和菌剂挂膜两种不同生物强化方式下该工艺在启动时间、碳耗、能耗、真实废水处理效果及微生物多样性方面的差异,以确定最佳生物强化方式.结果表明:①模拟废水试验中,菌剂挂膜反应器启动时间（19 d）明显短于强化污泥挂膜（33 d）,参数优化后发现,在相同处理效果下,前者碳耗、能耗较后者分别低48.22%、33.33%.②真实废水处理试验中,菌剂挂膜反应器的COD_Cr、NH₄+-N、TN平均去除率较后者分别高7.11%、26.97%、29.14%.③在微生物多样性方面,菌剂挂膜体系中Comamonas（丛毛单胞菌属）相对丰度是强化污泥挂膜体系的10倍左右,推测Comamonas可能是在异养硝化好氧反硝化过程中发挥关键作用的菌属.④SEM观察发现菌剂挂膜生物转盘盘片上的生物膜更薄,但HN-AD优势菌富集程度更高.研究显示,菌剂挂膜反应器对模拟废水、真实废水的处理效果均优于强化污泥挂膜反应器,且效果更稳定.      

山东省生物多样性保护进展

分析了山东省生物多样性现状及国家重点保护动植物物种保护状况,论述了自然保护区、森林公园和风景名胜区建设与管理特征,指出了外来物种入侵和生物多样性保护存在的问题。     

天全河珍稀鱼类自然保护区的生物多样性和可持续发展对策

天全河珍稀鱼类自然保护区是四川省珍稀鱼类和经济鱼类的重要保护区，保护区及其周边地区有高等植物100多种，脊椎动物200余种，其中鱼类5目8科26属39种。但目前保护区面临一系列的问题和困难，如保护区组织机构不健全，管理水平低下，滥捕偷捕现象突出，与社会矛盾较大，资金不足等等。本文针对这些问题，从可持续发展的角度提出了相应的对策，如完善保护区的管理机构，健全社区参与机制，发展生态旅游，适度利用保护区的相关自然资源等。     

《生态保护》教材建设的探索与实践

《生态保护》教材建设经历二十多年的探索与实践,其内容逐步丰富而完善,教材的特征有综合性、整体性、实用性三个方面,教材的重点由自然资源的保护转变为生物多样性的保护,其指导既包括生态科学的理论,方法与技术,还包括生态环境保护与建设的战略、方针、法规、政策等.     

黄山自然风景保护区种子植物多样性的开发利用

黄山自然风景保护区自然条件优越,森林植被垂直分布明显,种子植物丰富,有134科655属1483种,其中国家重点保护植物有31种.由于旅游的发展,种子植物多样性受到威胁,应加强种子植物的保护.     

Indicators of Biodiversity and Conservational Wildlife Quality on Danish Organic Farms for Use in Farm Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Indicator Development and Testing

Organic farming is expected to contribute to conserving national biodiversity on farms, especially remnant, old, and undisturbed small biotopes, forests, and permanent grassland. This objective cannot rely on the legislation of organic farming solely, and to succeed, farmers need to understand the goals behind it. A set of indicators with the purpose of facilitating dialogues between expert and farmer on wildlife quality has been developed and tested on eight organic farms. “Weed cover in cereal fields,” was used as an indicator of floral and faunal biodiversity in the cultivated land, and “uncultivated biotope area” on the farm was used as a general measure of wildlife habitats. Functional grouping of herbaceous plants (discriminating between “high conservation value” plant species and “competitive”/“ruderal” species) and low mobility butterflies were used as indicators of conservation value, especially focusing on the few sites left with considerable remnant conservation value. The dialog processes revealed that the organic farmers’ ideas and goals of conservation of wildlife quality were not necessarily the same as for biologists; the farmers expressed very different opinions on the biological rooted idea, that wildlife quality is related to the absence of agricultural impact. However, farmers also stated that the information given by the indicators and especially the dialogue with the biologist had influenced their perception and awareness of wildlife. We conclude that, combined with a dialogue process, using these indicators when mapping wildlife quality could be an important key component of a farm wildlife management advisory tool at farm level.