Wildlife trade and implications for law enforcement in Indonesia: a case study from North Sulawesi

Excessive hunting pressure, due in large part to commercialization, has reduced the populations of many tropical large mammal species. Wildlife over-exploitation is severe in Indonesia, especially on Sulawesi, where human resources and funding are inadequate to monitor the wildlife trade and enforce existing protection laws. In response, the Wildlife Crimes Unit program was established in December 2001 to: (i) monitor wildlife transportation into North Sulawesi and market sales; (ii) provide legal and technical support to law enforcement agencies; and (iii) promote public awareness of wildlife and protection laws. Over a two-year period, 6963 wild mammals en route to markets were encountered (∼8 individuals h⁻¹) and 96,586 wild mammals were documented during market surveys. The trade of some protected mammals declined significantly over this period, but overall trade in wild mammals increased by 30%. High volume of trade in non-protected animals such as the Sulawesi pig Sus celebensis and large flying foxes (Pteropodidae), raise concerns about the sustainability of current harvesting. To combat this problem, we recommend that: (1) efforts are continued to reduce trade in protected species; (2) protected status is extended to heavily traded but non-protected taxa, such as flying foxes; (3) the effects of hunting on rat and bat populations, as well as its impact on forest dynamics, are quantified; and (4) work is carried out with local communities to strengthen awareness, set sustainable limits on wild mammal harvesting, and establish practical mechanisms for enforcing these limits.     

The impacts of forest clearance on lizard, small mammal and bird communities in the arid spiny forest, southern Madagascar

Madagascar is a global biodiversity hotspot threatened by forest loss, degradation and fragmentation, all of which are detrimental to the future survival of forest-dwelling organisms. For conservation purposes it is essential to determine how species respond to habitat disturbance, specifically deforestation. In this study we investigated the impacts of deforestation on three vertebrate communities, lizards, small mammals and birds, in an area of spiny forest subjected to anthropogenic forest clearance. Spiny forest has high levels of endemism, but conservation in this unique ecosystem is hindered by the lack of research. We undertook standardised trapping, time-constrained and timed species searches to assess species richness, species abundance and community composition of lizards, small mammals and birds in six areas of ‘forest’ and six ‘cleared’ areas. From surveys and opportunistic sightings we recorded a total of 70 species of birds, 14 species of mammals and 38 species of reptiles and amphibians. We found forest clearing to have a negative effect on species richness and community structure of all groups and identified loss of canopy cover as a driving factor behind this. However, the response and sensitivity to clearing varied between groups and species. Lizards (50%) and small mammals (40%) had the greatest decline in species richness in response to clearing as compared to birds (26%), although birds showed the greatest shift in community structure. The community in cleared areas contained more generalist and introduced species that have wider geographic ranges and habitat preferences, than those unique to the spiny forest. We found the first suite of species to suffer from forest clearance were those of high conservation priority due to their restricted geographic range. Our findings are discussed in relation to future spiny forest conservation and management.     

Assessing the impacts of international trade on CITES-listed species: Current practices and opportunities for scientific research

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) came into effect in 1975 to protect certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade. Determining which trade is detrimental to the survival of species in the wild can be a major difficulty in the implementation of CITES by national authorities, partly due to limited knowledge and understanding of the species’ biology, management, and the impacts of harvesting. Some of this knowledge could be acquired through targeted scientific research. However, to date there exists no general overview of the current use of biological information in determining detriment in CITES to help scientists identify research priorities. For an international meeting in 2008, over 100 scientists and regulators compiled 60 case studies covering a wide range of CITES-listed taxa, outlining how information on the biology, harvesting and management might be used to determine whether international trade is detrimental. We used these case studies, workshop conclusions, and other published literature, to identify 10 potential research directions for the scientific community which, if addressed, could greatly assist in the making of Non-Detriment Findings. We hope that this will encourage more scientists to study CITES-listed species, and foster more collaboration between research scientists, CITES national authorities, CITES technical committees and local communities. The case studies highlight a general need for advice on how to identify and manage levels of risk involved when assessing possible detriment, and for advice on assessing detriment under complex harvesting scenarios such as when multiple species, or parts of individuals, are harvested. Broadly, they highlight an opportunity for scientists to further develop a body of scientific studies that propose, refine and adapt methods for assessing detrimental trade in CITES-listed taxa. Comparisons within life-form groups indicated the potential for the identification of practical advice that could apply to groups of taxa. The case studies highlighted a widespread need for more information gathering studies of CITES-listed taxa such as the broader impacts of harvesting on populations and ecosystems, and the potential long-term evolutionary impacts. The case studies also highlighted the need for practical advice on how to implement adaptive management programmes and for research into enterprises based on the harvesting of CITES-listed species from the wild.     

The influence of uncertainty on conservation assessments: Australian frogs as a case study

We evaluated the influence of uncertainty, based on variation in expert opinion, on assessment of conservation status of Australian amphibians. We examined relationships between different biological variables and inferred relative extinction risk, the influence of uncertainty on resulting ranks, and regional patterns of extinction risk and uncertainty. Our results were in general agreement with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources but also reveal apparent high extinction risks among some taxa that the IUCN did not classify in any threatened category. These differences were exaggerated when the most conservative status assessments were taken from variation in expert opinion. Our assessments of relative extinction risk were strongly dependent on basic demographic variables, particularly population size, geographic distribution of populations and age at first reproduction. We identified regional hotspots of high relative extinction risk and poor knowledge of amphibians, leading to high uncertainty about the conservation status of species from those areas. Regional clustering of species with high relative extinction risk and high uncertainty may indicate higher levels of relative extinction risk than previously assessed. Our results highlight the influence of uncertainty on interpretation of conservation assessments of organism groups with large knowledge gaps. Uncertainty should be further incorporated into conservation planning as it not only highlights taxa with potentially underestimated extinction risk, but also facilitates identification of knowledge gaps informative of conservation status. Knowledge of regional patterns of extinction risk and uncertainty assists conservation planning through identification of regions of high extinction risk and/or large knowledge gaps.     

The utility of transient sensitivity for wildlife management and conservation: Bison as a case study

Developing effective management strategies is essential to conservation biology. Population models and sensitivity analyses on model parameters have provided a means to quantitatively compare different management strategies, allowing managers to objectively assess the resulting impacts. Inference from traditional sensitivity analyses (i.e., eigenvalue sensitivity methods) is only valid for a population at its stable age distribution, while more recent methods have relaxed this assumption and instead focused on transient population dynamics. However, very few case studies, especially in long-lived vertebrates where transient dynamics are potentially most relevant, have applied these transient sensitivity methods and compared them to eigenvalue sensitivity methods. We use bison (Bison bison) at Badlands National Park as a case study to demonstrate the benefits of transient methods in a practical management scenario involving culling strategies. Using an age and stage-structured population model that incorporates culling decisions, we find that culling strategies over short time-scales (e.g., 1–5 years) are driven largely by the standing population distribution. However, over longer time-scales (e.g., 25 years), culling strategies are governed by reproductive output. In addition, after 25 years, the strategies predicted by transient methods qualitatively coincide with those predicted by traditional eigenvalue sensitivity. Thus, transient sensitivity analyses provide managers with information over multiple time-scales in contrast to the long time-scales associated with eigenvalue sensitivity analyses. This flexibility is ideal for adaptive management schemes and allows managers to balance short-term goals with long-term viability.     

High rates of forest clearance and fragmentation pre- and post-National Park establishment: The case of a Jamaican montane rainforest

The principal defense of tropical forests has been to designate them as protected areas, but few of these protected areas have been studied to determine their effectiveness at preventing forest clearance within their boundaries. We used remote sensing techniques to quantify three fundamental forest cover change processes: forest clearance, re-growth and fragmentation over a 19-year time period, in a National Park of Jamaica. Results show that forest clearance occurred at similar high levels prior and subsequent to the establishment of the area as a National Park in 1993: 1.50% yr⁻¹ (1983–1992) and 1.42% yr⁻¹ (1992–2002), respectively. Fragmentation continued post-establishment, and manifested itself in an increasing number of smaller more vulnerable fragments; the number of fragments increased by 60%, and the mean fragment size decreased by 40%. Core areas decreased with ensuing increases in edge lengths, and fragments became more isolated from one another. After designation as a National Park however, increased forest re-growth occurred, resulting in a 63% decline in the net deforestation rate from 0.80% yr⁻¹ (1983–1992) to 0.26% yr⁻¹ (1992–2002). Image classifications gave accuracies of 90–97% (Kappa 0.80–0.93). Although the decrease in net deforestation may indicate some level of success of this National Park, forest clearance and fragmentation, leading to species shifts and biodiversity loss were still present at pre-National Park levels. We then examined the preponderance of successful protected areas, and found that success may be an artifact of the most widely used method of assessment, which compares deforestation rates inside versus outside protected areas.     

红壤丘陵区生猪规模化养殖及其对土壤与水环境的影响——以江西省余江县为例

以南方红壤丘陵典型地区——江西省余江县为案例,研究了规模化养猪业发展现状及其对周边土壤和水环境的影响.结果表明,余江县2011年389家规模化养猪场出栏73.2万头,其中年出栏1 000～5 000头的猪场占规模化猪场总数50.6％.规模化猪场主要分布在中南部的低丘缓岗地带,尤其集中分布于320国道沿线.全县规模化养猪的粪、尿、污水年产生量分别约为2.96×105 t、4.64×105 t、1.09×106 t,COD、N、P、Cu、Zn污染物年排放量分别为1.96×104t、3.27 × 103t、1.25×103t、50 t和116 t.据估算全县110万头生猪养殖的粪、尿、污水年产生量分别约为4.47×105t、7.00×105 t和1.09×106t,COD、N、P、Cu、Zn污染物年排放量分别为2.96×104 t、4.94×103 t、1.89×103t、76 t和176 t.以总氮为指标,规模化猪场周边采样水体有90.9％山塘、66.6％水库、50％河流的水体水质属于劣Ⅴ类;土壤养分严重失衡,速效磷过量积累,重金属Cu、Zn在土壤中也有明显积累.因此,应加强区域生猪养殖业发展规划及规模养猪粪污无害化、资源化循环利用技术研究,以促进红壤丘陵区规模养殖业健康发展与生态环境保护.     

Deforestation and its driving forces: a case study of Riam Kanan watershed,Indonesia

Some driving forces of deforestation were studied in a watershed area where subsistence farming is the main land-use activity. A dam, constructed in 1972 resulted in the translocation of many people. Remote-sensing images were used to analyse the spatial aspects of land-cover changes. The pattern and dispersion of the village distribution, human population distribution and their dynamics, socio-economic aspects, as well as government policy on land status as possible driving forces were examined. The spatial pattern of deforestation appeared to be related to the village distribution pattern. The low level of population dynamics explained only part of the deforestation process. The low level of affluence, low level of technology, and low level of education also contributed to the modest level of deforestation. As the formal land status as Protection Forest conflicted with the perceptions of the local population, this may explain the little success of reforestation in the study area. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于遥感与GIS的土地用途转移分析——以洞庭湖区为例

采用遥感、GIS一体化技术，以1989～1990、1999～2000年获取的陆地资源卫星Landsat TM或ETM图像为主信息源，对洞庭湖区近10年土地用途的转移变化进行了检测，对驱动变化的主要因素进行了分析。结果表明，1990年以来的10年间，耕地减少0.9万hm²，占总面积的比重减少了0.32%；各类建设用地总计增加了0.75万hm²，比重增加0.26%；水域增加0.16万hm²，比重增加了0.06%。林地略有减少，草地、未利用地略有增加。流失的耕地中，绝大部分被退田还渔还湖，或被建设用地所占用。建设用地的扩张占地中，耕地被占74.08%，林地被占20.86%。土地利用、土地价格及税收等方面的政策、城市化与工业化、农业结构的调整、以及科技的进步对土地用途的转移有决定性的影响。     

Processes affecting genetic structure and conservation: a case study of wild and cultivated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica rapa</Emphasis>

When planning optimal conservation strategies for wild and cultivated types of a plant species, a number of influencing biological and environmental factors should be considered from the outset. In the present study Brassica rapa was used to illustrate this: to develop Scandinavian conservation strategies for wild and cultivated B. rapa, DNA-marker analysis was performed on 15 cultivated and 17 wild accessions of B. rapa plus 8 accessions of the cross compatible B. napus. The B. rapa cultivars were bred in Sweden and Finland in 1944–1997 and the wild B. rapa material was collected from Denmark, Sweden and United Kingdom. The B. napus accessions were bred within the last 20 years in the Scandinavian countries. Results were based on scoring of 131 polymorphic ISSR markers in the total plant material. A Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach implemented in NewHybrids demonstrated a clear distinction of B. rapa and B. napus individuals except for three individuals that seemed to be backcrosses. The backcrossed hybrids descended from two Swedish populations, one wild and one escaped. The overall pattern of genetic variation and structure in B. rapa showed that cultivated and wild B. rapa accessions formed two almost separated clusters. Geographical origin and breeding history of cultivars were reflected in these genetic relationships. In addition, wild populations from Denmark and Sweden seemed to be closely related, except for a Swedish population, which seemingly was an escaped cultivar. The study point to that many processes, e.g. spontaneous introgression, naturalisation, breeding and agricultural practise affected the genetic structure of wild and cultivated B. rapa populations.     

Beyond parks and reserves: The ethics and politics of conservation with a case study from Perú

This paper elaborates, analyzes, and partly defends the normative and empirical foundations of a “social ecology” model for natural habitat and resource management. This model treats human societies as being irreducibly integrated with the natural systems in which they are embedded. It argues that any concept of biodiversity necessarily embodies cultural values for it to be operationalized for conservation decisions. It accepts the legitimacy of tradeoffs between biodiversity conservation and other values including human resource development. It prioritizes local control of decisions in regions which are often targeted by Northern conservationists: areas of the South, where cultural choices have led to the persistence of high biodiversity. This model is used to analyze an ongoing dispute over biodiversity conservation and natural resource control in Perú: the conflict over Kandozi territory in the Abanico del Pastaza. What the Kandozi want is more than just a rejection of what has been criticized as the national park/fortress model of conservation. It consists of an assertion of local institutionalized control over traditional lands which goes well beyond the purview of the usual alternative of the fortress model: the biosphere reserve model of external and internal joint control of natural resources. To the remarkable extent that Kandozi resource management practices have succeeded in maintaining biotic richness and variety in spite of multiple encroachments, the empirical evidence demands that today’s conservationists pay adequate attention to these practices and the social institutions in which they are embedded. But, beyond such prudential concerns, the social ecology model of habitat conservation accepts the normative claims that resident communities should have control over their lands and livelihoods and that they should be allowed to maintain their habitats as cultural landscapes of their choice.     

Assessing risks of disease transmission between wildlife and livestock: The Saiga antelope as a case study

Disease transmission between wildlife and livestock can undermine conservation efforts, either by challenging the viability of threatened populations, or by eroding public tolerance of actual or potential wildlife disease reservoirs. This paper describes the use of transmission models to assess the risk of disease transfer across the wildlife-livestock boundary, and to target control strategies appropriately. We focus on pathogens of the Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) and domestic ruminants in Central Asia. For both foot and mouth disease and gastrointestinal nematodes, the main risk is associated with infection of saigas from livestock, and subsequent geographical dissemination of infection through saiga migration. The chance of this occurring for foot and mouth disease is predicted to be highly dependent on saiga population size and on the time of viral introduction. For nematodes, the level of risk and predicted direction of transmission are affected by key parasite life history traits, such that prolonged off-host survival of Marshallagia in autumn enables infection of saigas and transfer northwards in spring. Field estimates of parasite abundance provide qualitative support for model predictions. The application of models as tools for the early evaluation of disease transmission between wildlife and livestock is discussed.     

纸坊沟流域黄土丘陵区土地生产力变化与生态环境改善

该文以黄土丘陵区纸坊沟为研究区,系统分析了该流域土地利用变化及其对生态环境变化的影响,并深入探讨了土地生产力变化与生态环境改善间的关系及政策在其中的作用。结果表明,由于林草植被在控制水土流失方面的特殊作用,林灌草用地与农耕地间的相互转化,是导致流域生态环境发生变化的直接原因。在1958年,由于植被的彻底破坏,流域不仅土壤侵蚀剧烈,而且土地生产力也为历史最低水平,生态环境极度恶化。随着林草植被的恢复,尤其是随着退耕还林（草）工程的实施,流域生态环境得到明显改善。流域生态环境的变化与土地生产力的变化切相关。土地生产力的提高,可以有效地降低人均最小耕地面积,大大缓减了由于人口增长而引起的农耕地的扩张,间接促进农耕地向林草等生态用地的转移,有效地促进了生态环境的改善。政策可以通过新技术的推广等提高土地生产力进而促进生态环境的改善,但政策也可以通过直接的实物补贴等对土地利用结构产生影响,如退耕补贴。政策途径的选择与特定的社会经济条件有关。     

The cost of soil lost from fields due to removal on harvested sugarbeet: a case study in Turkey

Abstract. Soil removed on sugarbeet ( Beta vulgaris L .) at harvest may be an important factor in soil degradation causing significant decline in soil productivity. This study evaluated soil losses on sugarbeet and estimated the cost of plant nutrients lost by this process. The losses were calculated using data from the agricultural reports published by the General Directorate of the Turkish Sugar Industry. Organic matter and plant available nutrient contents of soils removed from sugarbeet fields were determined. It was estimated that approximately 30 000 t of soil is lost annually in Erzurum, and 1.2 million t in the whole of Turkey. The cost of N, P and K losses is approximately 60 000 US$ annually for the study area.     

The importance of inorganic carbon in soil carbon databases and stock estimates: a case study from England

Many national and regional databases of soil properties and associated estimates of soil carbon stock consider organic, but not inorganic carbon (IC). Any future change in soil carbon stock resulting from the formation of pedogenic carbonates will be difficult to set in context because historical measurements or estimates of IC concentration and stock may not be available. In their article describing a database of soil carbon for the United Kingdom published in this journal, Bradley et al. [Soil Use and Management (2005) vol. 21, 363–369] only consider data for organic carbon (OC), despite the occurrence of IC‐bearing calcareous soils across a substantial part of southern England. Robust techniques are required for establishing IC concentrations and stocks based on available data. We present linear regression models (R² between 0.8 and 0.88) to estimate IC in topsoil based on total Ca and Al concentrations for soils over two groups of primary, carbonate‐bearing parent materials across parts of southern and eastern England. By applying the regression models to geochemical survey data across the entire area (18 165 km²), we estimate IC concentrations on a regular 500‐m grid by ordinary kriging. Using bulk density data from across the region, we estimate the total IC stock of soil (0–30 cm depth) in this area to be 186 MtC. This represents 15.5 and 5.5% of the estimated total soil carbon stock (OC plus IC) across England and the UK, respectively, based on the data presented by Bradley et al. [Soil Use and Management (2005) vol. 21, 363–369]. Soil geochemical data could be useful for estimating primary IC stocks in other parts of the world.     

干旱区灌溉农田“石油农业”现状及其环境影响因子探析——以河西走廊地区为例

阐述了河西走廊干旱区灌溉农田“石油农业”现状及其环境影响因子,并提出其发展对策。