Seeking knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices to inform regional bushfire management

ABSTRACT

A transdisciplinary review of the current academic knowledge of Indigenous traditional fire management is presented for the Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia. For a long time, the roles of Indigenous management of the landscape have either been overlooked or discounted within environmental studies. That situation is beginning to change in many parts of Australia. However, this review of knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices specifically for the Mt Lofty Ranges suggests that there is very little formalised, academic knowledge available that could be utilised to inform prescribed burning practices in the region. Perhaps Indigenous peoples’ use of fire was strongly governed by individual choices, or perhaps established regimes demarcated roles across groups; perhaps some areas were burnt regularly and others were left unaltered – there is still no clear evidence from the academic literature to provide even limited understandings of such elements of pre-colonial fire regimes. That gap in knowledge will become increasingly problematic as the need for appropriate, sophisticated burning practices to respond to risk in peri-urban Adelaide increases with a changing climate. To learn from traditional Indigenous land management: (a) formal knowledge needs to be generated on past regional burning practices; and (b) understanding needs to be developed as to whether past burning practices could lead to effective hazard management and biodiversity outcomes within contemporary landscapes. Such an integration of Indigenous knowledge for effective environmental management will only be possible if the injustices of past exclusions of the importance of Indigenous biocultural practices are recognised.     

Closing the knowledge-action gap in conservation with open science

The knowledge-action gap in conservation science and practice occurs when research outputs do not result in actions to protect or restore biodiversity. Among the diverse and complex reasons for this gap, three barriers are fundamental: knowledge is often unavailable to practitioners and challenging to interpret or difficult to use or both. Problems of availability, interpretability, and useability are solvable with open science practices. We considered the benefits and challenges of three open science practices for use by conservation scientists and practitioners. First, open access publishing makes the scientific literature available to all. Second, open materials (detailed methods, data, code, and software) increase the transparency and use of research findings. Third, open education resources allow conservation scientists and practitioners to acquire the skills needed to use research outputs. The long-term adoption of open science practices would help researchers and practitioners achieve conservation goals more quickly and efficiently and reduce inequities in information sharing. However, short-term costs for individual researchers (insufficient institutional incentives to engage in open science and knowledge mobilization) remain a challenge. We caution against a passive approach to sharing that simply involves making information available. We advocate a proactive stance toward transparency, communication, collaboration, and capacity building that involves seeking out and engaging with potential users to maximize the environmental and societal impact of conservation science.     

铬(Ⅵ)土著还原菌筛选及初步鉴定实验研究

以重铬酸钾为供试物,用固体平板法和还原实验对铬(Ⅵ)土著还原菌进行筛选,用载片培养法、革兰氏染色法、鞭毛染色法、芽孢染色法对还原菌做初步的鉴定,共筛选出16株铬(Ⅵ)土著还原菌,并挑选出还原率相对较高的Z2(35.2%)、Z3(45.2%)、Z4(38.6%)、X8(30.4%)、X10(29.4%)作为铬(Ⅵ)的优势还原菌株。经初步鉴定,土著真菌Z2为黑曲霉(Aspergillusniger),Z3、Z4为镰刀菌属(Fusariumsp.),土著细菌X8、X10为芽孢杆菌(Bacillussp.)。实验的方法和成果将为铬(Ⅵ)污染土壤微生物治理技术的推广应用提供技术支持。     

基于Landsat 8 OLI数据的树种类型分布提取

树种分布是林业调查工作中的关键环节,遥感影像中对树种信息的提取具有重要意义。论文以福建省长汀县为研究区,收集2016年3月美国陆地卫星影像(Landsat 8 OLI)数据,提出基于知识库的图像膨胀分类方法,结合不同树种类型分布点的影像像元灰度与影像不同波段的重新排列,对杉类、松类、竹类与阔叶树类4个类型提取分布信息,结合地面验证坐标点进行精度评价,同时与专家知识分类法比较。结果显示图像膨胀法结合了地物分布特征与光谱信息,在Landsat 8 OLI影像中是可行的,并提高了精度,整体精度为83.01%,Kappa系数为0.77,与专家知识分类法相比分别提高了8.25%、0.11。该研究为快速精确地使用Landsat 8 OLI影像提取树种分布信息具有一定参考。     

Convergences and divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge contribute to inform carnivore conservation

There is increasing recognition that diverse knowledge systems can work in mutually enriching ways and that Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) can enhance biodiversity conservation. However, studies using scientific knowledge and ILK in a complementary manner, and acknowledging convergent and especially divergent insights have remained limited. In this study, we contrasted proxies of abundances and trends of threatened and conflict-prone carnivores (caracal, cheetah, jackal, lion, leopard, spotted hyaena, striped hyaena) derived separately from scientific knowledge and ILK. We conducted camera trapping, track surveys and semi-structured interviews with local pastoralists from northern Kenya. We found convergences highlighting the need for conservation action and divergences suggesting scientific ecological sampling limitations or underlying socio-psychological phenomena. Overall, our study shows that complementing scientific knowledge and ILK as separate sources of information and opening up space for discrepancies can enrich our understanding of the status and trends of carnivores, as well as recognizing human-carnivore relationships.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01443-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Fishers’ knowledge detects ecological decay in the Mediterranean Sea

The Northern Adriatic Sea (NAS) is one of the most overexploited marine ecosystems in Europe. Given the gaps in scientific knowledge regarding the NAS, this study sought Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge (FEK) to determine NAS’ historical baselines for conservation. By interviewing 53 fishers in three ports of northern Italy, estimates of the catch rates of four commercial demersal species were generated over a 60-year period, and perceptions of target and non-target species’ diversity and benthic diversity were analysed in three groups of fishers (i.e. novices, experienced and veterans). Results showed a significant decline in perceived abundance of sole (Solea solea), common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and mantis shrimp (Squilla mantis), and evidence was found of a Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS) among novices. Given FEK’s ability to complement scientific knowledge, fishers’ participation in marine management policies and intergenerational communication should be enhanced, to improve the status of marine ecosystems and hinder SBS.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01452-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The loss of an indigenous constructed landscape following British invasion of Australia: An insight into the deep human imprint on the Australian landscape

Indigenous people play an integral role in shaping natural environments, and the disruption to Indigenous land management practices has profound effects on the biosphere. Here, we use pollen, charcoal and dendrochronological analyses to demonstrate that the Australian landscape at the time of British invasion in the 18th century was a heavily constructed one—the product of millennia of active maintenance by Aboriginal Australians. Focusing on the Surrey Hills, Tasmania, our results reveal how the removal of Indigenous burning regimes following British invasion instigated a process of ecological succession and the encroachment of cool temperate rainforest (i.e. later-stage vegetation communities) into grasslands of conservation significance. This research provides empirical evidence to challenge the long-standing portrayal of Indigenous Australians as low-impact ‘hunter-gatherers’ and highlights the relevance and critical value of Indigenous fire management in this era of heightened bushfire risk and biodiversity loss.     

基于知识图谱的土壤重金属快速监测技术进展

为了解当前国际土壤重金属快速监测研究现状及趋势，以Web of science数据库为基础，以X射线荧光光谱法（XRF）为例利用CiteSpace进行知识图谱可视化分析，并在此基础上对国际土壤重金属快速监测进行研究综述.结果表明，从Web of science数据库资料来看，当前对土壤重金属快速监测的研究机构以中国科学院和西班牙国家科学研究委员会发文量最多，而发文从属国家以美国为最多，中国和德国居其次；研究热点主要集中于快速监测仪器的技术开发、实际应用、定量化监测影响因素的识别及校正等方面；针对土壤重金属污染快速监测的未来研究趋势主要集中于监测仪器的小型化智能化研发、农田土壤重金属快速监测、区域土壤重金属空间分布监测等方面.认清和了解当前国际土壤重金属快速监测研究状况，可为国内相关研究提供参考.     

多媒体数据库的知识发现

介绍了多媒体知识挖掘的基本结构,说明了不同类型多媒体数据挖掘的基本方法和技术,包括文本数据、图形图像音频数据、以及因特网上数据.