We studied the Noel KempffMercado Climate Action Project (NKMCAP),Bolivia, to assess whether forestprotection carbon (C) projects cansignificantly benefit local people. Wehypothesized that forest protection canonly securely deliver C if significantstakeholders are meaningfully andtransparently involved, traditional orcustomary rights are recognized and theirloss compensated for, and there are directlinkages between conservation anddevelopment objective. Our researchfocused on 53 members of the communities ofFlorida, Porvenir and Piso Firme and 36secondary stakeholders. In each of thevillages we held half-day meetings withcommunity leaders, complemented bysemi-structured one-hour interviews with 5,10, and 7 families, representing 20%, 10%and 8% of each community. The long-termimpact of the NKMCAP on the localcommunities may well be positive. However,in the short run, certain sections of thelocal communities are financially poorer. Forest protection projects clearly have thepotential to sequester C, protectbiodiversity and simultaneously contributeto sustainable rural development, but ifthey really are to improve rurallivelihoods, they must be designed andimplemented carefully and participatively. 相似文献
We document a facultative Bartonella-like Rhizobiales bacterium in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata. In a lowland tropical rainforest in Costa Rica, 59 colonies were assayed for the prevalence of the Bartonella-like bacterium (BLB), 14 of which were positive. We addressed three questions: First, how does the prevalence of BLB within colonies vary with environmental conditions? Second, how does diet affect the prevalence of BLB in P. clavata? Third, how does the distribution of BLB among colonies reflect ambient differences in food resources and foraging habits? A variety of environmental variables that may be predictive of the presence of BLB were measured, and diet manipulations were conducted to test whether the prevalence of BLB responded to supplemental carbohydrate or prey. The ambient frequency of BLB is much higher in young secondary forests, but is nearly absent from older secondary forests. The prevalence of BLB inside field colonies increased over the duration of a 2-week carbohydrate supplementation; however, water and prey supplementation did not alter the prevalence of BLB. The diets of the colonies located in young secondary forest, compared to other habitats, have a diet richer in carbohydrates and lower in prey. The abundance of carbohydrate, or the relative lack of N, in a colony’s diet influences the occurrence of the BLB microbe in P. clavata. As experimental diet manipulations can affect the facultative presence of an N-cycling microbe, a consistent diet shift in diet may facilitate the emergence of tighter symbioses. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The total cultivated area in Brazil reached to 62 million ha in 2018, with the predominance of genetically modified soybean and corn (36 and 17... 相似文献
San Vicente Bay is a coastal shallow embayment in Central Chile with multiple uses, one of which is receiving wastewater from
industrial fisheries, steel mill effluents, and domestic sewage. A simulation model was developed and applied to dissolved
oxygen consumption by organic residues released into this embayment. Three compartments were established as function of: depth,
circulation and outfall location. The model compartments had different volumes, and their oxygen saturation value was used
as baseline. The parameters: (a) BOD5 of the industrial and urban effluents, (b) oxygen demand by organic sediments, (c) respiration, (d) photosynthesis and (e)
re-aeration were included in the model. Iteration results of the model showed severe alterations in Compartment 1, with a
decrease of 65% in the oxygen below saturation. Compartment 2 showed a small decline (10%) and compartment 3 did not show
apparent changes in oxygen values. Measures recommended for remediation were to decrease the BOD5 loading by 30% in the affected sector. Iteration of the model for 200 h following recommendations derived from the preceding
results produced an increase in saturation of 60% (5 ml O2 L−1), which suggested an improvement of the environmental conditions. 相似文献
We evaluated the effect of ultrasound radiation on lipase activity. The experiments were conducted using a low‐cost crude enzyme extract. We then used this lipase to treat dairy effluent. The results of our study presented an increase of approximately 430% in the concentration of free fatty acids. 相似文献
Agricultural change has transformed large areas of traditional farming landscapes, leading to important changes in the species
community assemblages in most European countries. We suspect that the drastic changes in land-use that have occurred in Andalusia
(southern Spain) over recent decades, may have affected the distribution and abundance of game species in this region. This
article compares the distribution of the main game species in Andalusia during the 1960s and 1990s, using data from maps available
from the Mainland Spanish Fish, Game and National Parks Service and from recent datasets on hunting yield distributions, respectively.
Big-game and small-game species were significantly segregated in southern Spain during the 1990s, as two clearly independent
chorotypes (groups of species whose abundances are similarly distributed) were obtained from the classification analysis.
In contrast, big-game and small-game species were not significantly segregated several decades ago, when there was only one
chorotype consisting of small-game species and wild boar. The other three ungulates did not constitute a significant chorotype,
as they showed positive correlations with some species in the group mentioned above. These changes seem to be a consequence
of the transformations that have occurred in the Iberian Mediterranean landscape over the last few decades. The abandoning
of traditional activities, and the consequent formation of dense scrubland and woodland, has led to an expansion of big-game
species, and a decrease of small-game species in mountain areas. Moreover, agricultural intensification has apparently depleted
small-game species populations in some agricultural areas. On the other hand, the increasingly intensive hunting management
could be artificially boosting this segregation between small-game and big-game species. Our results suggest that the conservation
and regeneration of traditional agricultural landscapes (like those predominating in the 1960s) should be a priority for the
conservation of small-game species. 相似文献
Soil microbial populations can fluctuate in response to environmental changes and, therefore, are often used as biological
indicators of soil quality. Soil chemical and physical parameters can also be used as indicators because they can vary in
response to different management strategies. A long-term field trial was conducted to study the effects of different tillage
systems (NT: no tillage, DH: disc harrow, and MP: moldboard plough), P fertilization (diammonium phosphate), and cattle grazing
(in terms of crop residue consumption) in maize (Zea mays L.), sunflower (Heliantus annuus L.), and soybean (Glycine max L.) on soil biological, chemical, and physical parameters. The field trial was conducted for four crop years (2000/2001,
2001/2002, 2002/2003, and 2003/2004). Soil populations of Actinomycetes, Trichoderma spp., and Gliocladium spp. were 49% higher under conservation tillage systems, in soil amended with diammonium phosphate (DAP) and not previously
grazed. Management practices also influenced soil chemical parameters, especially organic matter content and total N, which
were 10% and 55% higher under NT than under MP. Aggregate stability was 61% higher in NT than in MP, 15% higher in P-fertilized
soil, and also 9% higher in not grazed strips, bulk density being 12% lower in NT systems compared with MP. DAP application
and the absence of grazing also reduced bulk density (3%). Using conservation tillage systems, fertilizing crops with DAP,
and avoiding grazing contribute to soil health preservation and enhanced crop production. 相似文献
Yearly, huge amounts of sock refuse are discarded into the environment. Socks contain many molecules, and worn ones, which are rich in smell-causing bacteria, have a strong influence on animals’ behaviors. But the impacts of sock odor on the oviposition behavior of dengue vectors are unknown. We assessed whether Aedes albopictus changes its oviposition activity in response to the presence of used socks extract (USEx) in potential breeding grounds, using choice and no-choice bioassays (NCB). When furnished even chances to oviposit in two sites holding USEx and two others containing water (control), Ae. albopictus deposited significantly less eggs in USEx than in water sites. A similar pattern of oviposition preference was also observed when there were more oviposition options in water. When there were greater oviposition opportunities in USEx sites, Ae. albopictus oviposited preferentially in water. Females laid significantly more eggs during the NCB involving water than USEx. Also, significantly more mature eggs were retained by females in the NCB with USEx than in that with water. These observations strongly suggest the presence of molecules with either repellent or deterrent activities against Ae. albopictus females and provide an impetus to advocate the integration of used socks in dengue control programs. Such applications could be a realistic end-of-life recourse to reroute this waste from landfills.
Waite, Ian R., Jonathan G. Kennen, Jason T. May, Larry R. Brown, Thomas F. Cuffney, Kimberly A. Jones, and James L. Orlando, 2012. Comparison of Stream Invertebrate Response Models for Bioassessment Metrics. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 570-583. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00632.x Abstract: We aggregated invertebrate data from various sources to assemble data for modeling in two ecoregions in Oregon and one in California. Our goal was to compare the performance of models developed using multiple linear regression (MLR) techniques with models developed using three relatively new techniques: classification and regression trees (CART), random forest (RF), and boosted regression trees (BRT). We used tolerance of taxa based on richness (RICHTOL) and ratio of observed to expected taxa (O/E) as response variables and land use/land cover as explanatory variables. Responses were generally linear; therefore, there was little improvement to the MLR models when compared to models using CART and RF. In general, the four modeling techniques (MLR, CART, RF, and BRT) consistently selected the same primary explanatory variables for each region. However, results from the BRT models showed significant improvement over the MLR models for each region; increases in R2 from 0.09 to 0.20. The O/E metric that was derived from models specifically calibrated for Oregon consistently had lower R2 values than RICHTOL for the two regions tested. Modeled O/E R2 values were between 0.06 and 0.10 lower for each of the four modeling methods applied in the Willamette Valley and were between 0.19 and 0.36 points lower for the Blue Mountains. As a result, BRT models may indeed represent a good alternative to MLR for modeling species distribution relative to environmental variables. 相似文献