Cost‐Effectiveness of Translocation Options for a Threatened Waterbird

Abstract: Reintroduction of captive‐reared animals has become increasingly popular in recent decades as a conservation technique, but little is known of how demographic factors affect the success of reintroductions. We believe whether the increase in population persistence associated with reintroduction is sufficient to warrant the cost of rearing and relocating individuals should be considered as well. We examined the trade‐off between population persistence and financial cost of a reintroduction program for Crested Coots (Fulica cristata). This species was nearly extirpated from southern Europe due to unsustainable levels of hunting and reduction in amount and quality of habitat. We used a stochastic, stage‐based, single‐sex, metapopulation model with site‐specific parameters to examine the demographic effects of releasing juveniles or adults in each population for a range of durations. We parameterized the model with data from an unsuccessful reintroduction program in which juvenile captive‐bred Crested Coots were released between 2000 and 2009. Using economic data from the captive‐breeding program, we also determined whether the strategy that maximized abundance coincided with the least expensive strategy. Releasing adults resulted in slightly larger final abundance than the release of nonreproductive juveniles. Both strategies were equally poor in achieving a viable metapopulation, but releasing adults was 2–4 times more expensive than releasing juveniles. To obtain a metapopulation that would be viable for 30 years, fecundity in the wild would need to increase to the values observed in captivity and juvenile survival would need to increase to almost unity. We suggest that the most likely way to increase these vital rates is by increasing habitat quality at release sites.     

The Effectiveness of Iberian Protected Areas in Conserving Terrestrial Biodiversity

Abstract:  The Iberian Peninsula harbors about 50% of European plant and terrestrial vertebrate species and more than 30% of European endemic species. Despite the global recognition of its importance, the selection of protected areas has been ad hoc and the effectiveness of such choices has rarely been assessed. We compiled the most comprehensive distributional data set of Iberian terrestrial plant and vertebrate species available to date and used it to assess the degree of species representation within existing protected areas. Existing protected areas in Spain and Portugal reasonably represented the plant and animal species we considered (73–98%). Nevertheless, species of some groups (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and gymnosperms) did not accumulate in protected areas at a rate higher than expected by chance ( p > 0.05). We determined that to conserve all vertebrate and plant species in the Iberian Peninsula, at least 36 additional areas are needed. Selection of additional areas for conservation would be facilitated if such areas coincided with sites of community importance (SCI) designated under the European Commission Habitats Directive. Additional areas required for full representation of the selected plant and animal species all coincide with SCI in Spain. Nevertheless, the degree of coincidence varies between 0.3% and 74.6%, and there is a possibility that important areas for conservation occur outside the SCI. Our results support the view that current SCI can be used for prioritization of areas for conservation, but a systematic reevaluation of conservation priorities in Spain and Portugal would be necessary to ensure that effective conservation of one of European's most important biodiversity regions is achieved.     

Acknowledging Conservation Trade‐Offs and Embracing Complexity

Abstract: There is a growing recognition that conservation often entails trade‐offs. A focus on trade‐offs can open the way to more complete consideration of the variety of positive and negative effects associated with conservation initiatives. In analyzing and working through conservation trade‐offs, however, it is important to embrace the complexities inherent in the social context of conservation. In particular, it is important to recognize that the consequences of conservation activities are experienced, perceived, and understood differently from different perspectives, and that these perspectives are embedded in social systems and preexisting power relations. We illustrate the role of trade‐offs in conservation and the complexities involved in understanding them with recent debates surrounding REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), a global conservation policy designed to create incentives to reduce tropical deforestation. Often portrayed in terms of the multiple benefits it may provide: poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation, and climate‐change mitigation; REDD may involve substantial trade‐offs. The gains of REDD may be associated with a reduction in incentives for industrialized countries to decrease carbon emissions; relocation of deforestation to places unaffected by REDD; increased inequality in places where people who make their livelihood from forests have insecure land tenure; loss of biological and cultural diversity that does not directly align with REDD measurement schemes; and erosion of community‐based means of protecting forests. We believe it is important to acknowledge the potential trade‐offs involved in conservation initiatives such as REDD and to examine these trade‐offs in an open and integrative way that includes a variety of tools, methods, and points of view.     

The Near Extinction of Two Large European Predators: Super Specialists Pay a Price

Abstract:  Despite recovery plans, the Spanish Imperial Eagle ( Aquila adalberti ) and the Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) are in danger of extinction. These two flagship species tend to occur in pristine Mediterranean forests, and both prey preferentially on the rabbit ( Oryctologus cuniculus ). Spanish lynxes and eagles have sister species in continental Europe, the Eurasian lynx (  Lynx europaeus ) and the Eastern Imperial Eagle ( A. heliaca ), respectively. Recent genetic evidence indicates that these two pairs of species started to diverge from their ancestor species slightly less than 1 million years ago, when the longest-lasting Pleistocene glaciations covered Europe. We hypothesize that the Iberian lynx and the Spanish Imperial Eagle emerged as separate species in the Pleistocene refugia of southern Spain, where they hunted yet another locally evolved species, the rabbit, on which they have become dependent for survival. Two large predators that emerged at the same time may go extinct simultaneously because of their inability to shift to alternative prey. Many other relict species, including numerous species from oceanic islands, have naturally small populations because of evolutionary constraints and are permanently threatened with extinction. Recovery plans aimed at putting these species out of danger are unrealistic, as their populations are and have been chronically scarce. We suggest that what these species need are maintenance plans designed to buffer population declines due to either stochastic or human-induced events. A metaphor for this would be "emergency care units" for conservation.     

Costa Rica's Payment for Environmental Services Program: Intention, Implementation, and Impact

Abstract:  We evaluated the intention, implementation, and impact of Costa Rica's program of payments for environmental services (PSA), which was established in the late 1990s. Payments are given to private landowners who own land in forest areas in recognition of the ecosystem services their land provides. To characterize the distribution of PSA in Costa Rica, we combined remote sensing with geographic information system databases and then used econometrics to explore the impacts of payments on deforestation. Payments were distributed broadly across ecological and socioeconomic gradients, but the 1997–2000 deforestation rate was not significantly lower in areas that received payments. Other successful Costa Rican conservation policies, including those prior to the PSA program, may explain the current reduction in deforestation rates. The PSA program is a major advance in the global institutionalization of ecosystem investments because few, if any, other countries have such a conservation history and because much can be learned from Costa Rica's experiences.     

Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Effects of European Union's Regional Development Plans in Doñana National Park (Spain)

The European Union's Structural Funds are implemented by means of Regional Development Plans (RDP), whose regionally scoped environmental assessment is required. We highlight the deficiencies faced by this approach when subregional areas with high conservation natural values are involved and illustrate it with the case of the RDP of Andalusia region on Doñana National Park area (Spain). Commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Andalusian RDP was carried out focusing on Doñana and its area of influence. This is a complex space where some of the most environmentally valuable features in the continent coexist with a surrounding intense and multi-sector economic activity, threatening its conservation. In the absence of an established sustainability framework in the Region, a “trickle-down” SEA approach evidenced the need to produce a set of environmental, economic and social guidelines for sustainable management of land, against which the RDP objectives were tested for coherence. An “incremental” SEA approach was also tested, which involved the identification of 79 measures and actions stemming from the RDP provisions and other concurrent planning documents reviewed and the qualitative assessment of their individual and cumulative potential impacts on Doñana environments. In the light of the results, a set of complementary mitigating measures was proposed for inclusion in tiered stages of the planning process. Measures to avoid, reduce, remedy and monitor the major types of impact were proposed, including provisions for public participation. SEA emerges as an instrument for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to carry out independent assessment of public development initiatives.     

春玉米产量、氮肥效率及土壤矿质氮对施氮的响应

为了提高氮肥增产效益,减少对环境的污染,通过田间试验研究了施氮量对春玉米产量、氮肥效率及土壤矿质氮的影响。结果表明,施氮量较低时,春玉米籽粒产量随施氮量增加显著增加,当施氮量高于180kg·hm2时,产量保持不变或有减少趋势。氮肥农学利用率、氮素吸收效率、氮素偏生产力和氮收获指数均随着施氮量增加显著降低,氮肥表观利用率和氮肥生理利用率均先增加后降低。从苗期到收获期,施氮处理0～60cm土层硝态氮含量呈现“上升一下降一上升一下降一稳定”的变化趋势,而60～120cm土层硝态氮在春玉米生长后期有增加的趋势。随着土层加深,土壤硝态氮含量呈波浪式下降,施氮量240kg·hm-2和300kg·hm-2处理在60～100cm土层硝态氮含量均显著高于其他处理。随着施氮量增加,0～120cm土层硝态氮累积量显著增加,当施氮量超过240kg·hm-2时,土层中累积的硝态氮存在着较大的淋溶风险。综合考虑产量、氮肥效率和环境效应,179—209kgN·hm。是本试验条件下春玉米的合理施氮量。     

盘锦地区稻田田面水氮素动态变化及化学氮肥投入阈值研究

以水稻为供试作物,水稻土为供试土壤,采用田间定位试验的方法,以施肥后田面水中的总氮（TN）、NH4^＋-N和NO3^--N浓度为指标,进行了施氮后田面水中氮素释放规律研究。结果表明,施肥后田面水中的总氮（TN）、NH4＋-N和NO3--N浓度随着施肥量的增加而增加,随着时间的推移三者的浓度呈先上升后下降的趋势,一周后趋于稳定;以氮素表观盈余率和植株吸氮量为指标,从环境安全角度研究水稻生产化学氮肥投入阈值,初步确定试验区环境安全化学氮肥投入阈值为189.22～218.98 kg·hm^-2;以水稻产量为指标,进行了粮食安全氮肥投入阈值研究,初步确定试验区水稻生产粮食安全化学氮肥投入阈值为202.24～288.89 kg·hm^-2。综合考虑粮食安全和环境安全,试验区化学氮肥投入阈值为202.24～218.98 kg·hm^-2。