Threatened deer of the world: Conservation status

IUCN is launching a programme for the study and management of Cervidae threatened with extinction throughout their world range. The objectives are to improve the status of the deer by more effective management, and to stimulate and provide experience in sustained scientific and governmental involvement in threatened taxa. This paper reviews and analyses the conservation status of the threatened deer. It provides the basis for a second paper which it is hoped to publish shortly and which will described a research programme that has been designed to provide data to guide conservation practices.     

Application of GIS in plant conservation programmes in Portugal

A plant conservation programme is a complex process that requires several sets of studies. The relationships between plant location and its environment play an important role. Nowadays, the use of a GIS constitutes an essential complement for these studies that allows the incorporation of space and the analysis of these ecological interactions. GIS is being used at the Lisbon University Botanical Garden as a tool for conservation programmes on several plant groups and situations. Four case studies are presented in this work: (1) comparing ecological patterns between local and regional scale for the endangered bryophyte Bruchia vogesiaca Schwaegr.; (2) selecting protected areas according to habitat suitability—the case of endangered Portuguese bryophytes; (3) analysing the impact of the alien Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N. E. Br. on endemic plant species at the Berlengas Natural Reserve; and (4) ecogeographical survey for selection of sites for seed collection in order to guarantee a representative sample of the existing genetic diversity. Finally, this work discusses how the implementation of a GIS can help to optimise results and fieldwork effort.     

Amphibian ecology and conservation in the urbanising world: A review

Urbanisation currently threatens over one-third of the world’s known amphibian species. The main threats of urbanisation to amphibian populations are habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and isolation, and degradation of habitat quality. A complex array of interacting biotic and abiotic factors impact amphibians in urban and urbanising landscapes. These can lead to a decrease in species richness and the abundance of individual species towards the centre of cities and towns. The ability of amphibians to disperse can be significantly reduced in urban and suburban landscapes. However, different species exhibit markedly different responses to urbanisation. Amphibian species that are habitat generalists or have relatively low dispersal requirements appear to be better able to survive in urban and suburban landscapes. There is insufficient information on the ecology of amphibians in urban and suburban areas, particularly in the tropics and sub-tropics, despite worldwide declines reported over past decades. Future research of amphibians in urban and suburban landscapes would greatly benefit by using long-term studies at sites along urban-rural gradients, conducted at both local and landscape scales. Research needs to be directed to the developing world in the tropics and sub-tropics, which has the highest rates of urbanisation. Research into amphibian ecology and conservation in the urbanising world would be improved through experimental approaches to determine the proximate causes of species’ responses to human modification of the landscape. Maintaining viable populations of amphibians in urban and suburban landscapes will require conservation strategies that consider key urbanisation processes (i.e. habitat availability and habitat quality) and the key responses and adaptations to urbanisation (i.e. species availability and species response). Conservation strategies for amphibians in urban and suburban landscapes need to include actions to prevent further loss and degradation of both terrestrial and aquatic habitat, and to reconnect the landscape to facilitate dispersal and long-term regional persistence of amphibian populations and communities.     

水土保持方案落实阶段若干问题的探讨简

近年来,生产建设项目水土流失防治工作在方案编制、审查、批复环节已经形成了十分完善的体系,但在水土保持方案落实阶段,却存在着与前期完善的编制、审查、批复体系不相适应的现象.结合近年来水土保持方案落实及验收工作的实践,通过分析水土流失防治措施设计的衔接保障、水土保持方案落实的机制保障、水土保持措施落实的奖罚机制,对水土保持方案落实阶段存在的问题进行分析和归纳,并提出对策和建议.     

Monitoring the performance of wild-born and introduced lizards in a fragmented landscape: Implications for ex situ conservation programmes

Ex situ conservation of animal populations may benefit from captive-breeding programmes, but these are criticised because they are assumed to be difficult, time-consuming and expensive, while they do not guarantee success. However, such assumptions remain untested in most organisms; for example, introductions could be very useful for recovering populations of small-sized species with short generation time, no learned behaviours, and ease to rear in captivity. Here, we document an easy, cheap and successful reintroduction programme of the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus. Two captive-bred cohorts (178 juveniles in 2001 and 187 in 2002) were released in four woodland fragments (0.9-5.2 ha) at two localities (B and V); B housed a stable lizard population whereas V apparently lacked a viable population of lizards. We monitored introduced and native lizards during 2002 and 2003, and carried out a corroborative searching in 2006 which confirmed the existence of a lizard population at site V. Introduced lizards had higher activity and dispersed more frequently among woodland fragments than native ones. Survivorship and growth rates were similar for both groups, but introduced juveniles were about 25% larger than native ones, due to both early hatching and better rearing conditions. The whole procedure was easily implemented in our Faculty facilities (mean hatching and hatchling survival rates of 0.90 and 0.87), and cost less than 20,000 € (excluding salaries). Therefore, similar programmes may be of wide application in small animals and of practical importance for species with a meta-population structure living in fragmented landscapes.     

Landscape change and the science of biodiversity conservation in tropical forests: A view from the temperate world

Using a largely temperate forest perspective, this article briefly reviews four often inter-related types of landscape change which can have significant impacts on tropical and temperate forest biodiversity: logging, fire, forest clearing, and plantation expansion. There are many important similarities but also key differences in the kinds of work conducted on these four kinds of landscape change in tropical and temperate forests. For example, direct studies of the effects of forest conversion on biodiversity are relatively rare in both tropical and temperate ecosystems. Temperate forest research differs from tropical research in terms of relative amount of single species work, long-term studies, and research at scales spanning multiple landscapes. There are key areas for cross-fertilization of research in tropical and temperate forest biomes. These include: (1) the ability of species to persist in post-disturbed forest landscapes, including those perturbed by past clearing, logging or wildfire, (2) the impacts of plantation establishment on biodiversity, (3) the effectiveness of altered silvicultural systems on forest structure, vegetation composition, and biota, and (4) inter-relationships between forest logging and fire-proneness. Cross-learning about the impacts of drivers of landscape change between tropical and temperate forests is fundamental for speeding the progress of conservation efforts in both broad kinds of environments. However, some opportunities for cross-learning have not been taken because temperate and tropical forest research has often sometimes been isolated from one another. Some approaches to tackle this problem are briefly outlined.     

国内外固体基质研究概况

简介了国内外固体基质发展现状和发展趋势,并结合我国现代农业生产实际情况,综述了固体基质理化参数、栽培容器及营养液的研究与利用概况。     

A review of conservation threats on Gough Island: a case study for terrestrial conservation in the Southern Oceans

Gough Island is a remote Southern Ocean Island that, despite having no permanent human population, is under substantial conservation threat as a result of human activity. A considerable proportion of the flora and fauna has been accidentally introduced, and new data are presented showing that ca. 70% of the free-living pterygote insect species are introductions. We describe how endangered seabirds that breed on the island may suffer from human fisheries activities and present new evidence showing that local temperatures have risen significantly since 1963, threatening to alter the architecture and composition of species communities. These observations are an indication that the terrestrial ecosystems of other remote islands in the Southern Oceans may be under greater conservation threat than previously thought. In light of the threats described, we discuss conservation management priorities for Gough Island. To facilitate conservation of the indigenous biota, and that of similar islands elsewhere, we suggest that a combination of proactive measures designed to maintain the integrity of island communities, and monitoring programs designed rapidly to identify new conservation threats, should be implemented conscientiously.     

Range-wide analysis of wildlife habitat: Implications for conservation

The range-wide habitat status of many endangered species is unclear. We evaluated the status and spatial distribution of the habitat of the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) across its entire geographic range (i.e., six mountain regions located in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, China) by integrating field and remotely sensed data to develop a habitat distribution model. Results suggest that current suitable habitat corresponds to ca. 1/4 of the habitat baseline (i.e., maximum amount of habitat possible). The highest proportion of suitable habitat relative to the baseline is in the Qinling mountain region. Overall, around 40% of the suitable habitat is inside nature reserves, but the proportion of habitat inside them varied among different mountain regions, ranging from ca. 17% (Lesser Xiangling) to ca. 66% (Qinling). The habitat model also predicted the occurrence of potentially suitable habitat outside the currently accepted geographic range of the species, which should be further evaluated as potential panda reintroduction sites. Our approach is valuable for assessing the conservation status of the entire habitat of the species, for identifying areas with significant ecological roles (e.g., corridors), for identifying areas suitable for panda reintroductions, and for establishing specific conservation strategies in different parts of the giant panda geographic range. It might also prove useful for range-wide habitat analyses of many other endangered species around the world.     

Research needs in relation to the conservation of biodiversity in the UK

A number of key agreements and pieces of legislation within the UK have provided an important ‘framework' for the conservation of our national biological diversity. In this paper an overview of the framework is provided and the associated research requirements classified into three broad themes: autecology and synecology, populations and environment. Evidence, for a deficiency between research need and the provision of this information from dedicated research programmes is discussed in relation to four key factors: (1) inadequate public sector funding, (2) gaps in knowledge within the research community of the existence of a statutory conservation framework and associated research needs, (3) a poor perception of conservation-oriented research and internal organisational pressures, and (4) a lack of an integrated government approach resulting in conflicts between national biodiversity obligations and support for conservation-oriented research. The paper also suggests that the required research provides a wealth of new strategic opportunities for the research community, and discusses the need to embrace new research processes as part of this work.     

基于文献计量学分析的全球生物质炭研究进展

为了深入了解国内外生物质炭的研究现状与研究热点,为相关研究领域的科研工作者与决策者提供参考,该文以Web of Science核心数据库为数据源,采用文献计量学方法对2003—2020年间全球发表的生物质炭研究文献进行分析。全球生物质炭研究的发文量呈快速增长趋势,其中中国总发文量和总被引频次均位居世界首位。中国-美国是生物质炭研究最大的合作关系体。发文量最多的机构是中国科学院。中国有8名学者发文量进入世界前20名,上海交通大学曹心德的总发文量和总被引频次位列大陆学者榜首。发文量最大的学科方向是环境科学。中国在生物质炭研究方面发展快、成果产出多,但缺乏有国际影响力的核心成果,在研究创新性和发文质量上还有待提升。关键词分析表明,生物质炭在土壤改良和农业生产中的应用、利用生物质炭处理废水及修复污染土壤,以及生物质炭制备方法和工艺的创新是生物质炭的主要研究热点。而生物质炭制备材料与工艺的创新、各类功能型生物质炭纳米复合材料的开发,以及继续拓宽生物质炭在不同领域的高效利用可能成为今后的研究热点。     

Research effort allocation and the conservation of restricted-range island bird species

Knowledge gap analyses can be useful to highlight imbalances in research and to improve the distribution of conservation research efforts. We used ISI’s Web of Knowledge (WoK) and BirdLife International’s library catalogue (BLI) to examine the allocation of research effort amongst the extinction-prone island restricted-range birds (RRSs, n = 1321) and the island endemic bird areas and secondary areas (EBAs, n = 108; SAs, n = 58) previously identified by BirdLife International. We found that the distribution of research effort was very uneven across both species and areas. Half of the number of outputs obtained from WoK referred to 3.1% of the island restricted-range bird species and to 4.8% of the endemic bird areas and secondary areas, whereas 52.2% of the species and 34.3% of the areas had no output. The global distribution of research had a strong spatial component, with a limited number of places receiving most of the research efforts (Hawaii, New Zealand, Central America), while many species rich areas were very poorly studied (South East Asia, South Pacific, most Atlantic islands). Research amongst the most threatened RRSs tended to be less biased, with these species having a higher probability of having at least one output from WoK than less threatened species. Given that threats to the conservation of biodiversity are often highly context-dependent, we advocate prioriting the study of poorly known species and regions. Finally, we integrate the knowledge gaps we identify with previously established conservation priorities, in order to prioritize for future conservation research on RRS, EBAs and SAs.     

水土保持生态效应评价专家系统研发

水土保持生态效应评价已成为当前水土保持研究的热点.水土保持生态效应评价的目的是通过对水土保持各类单项或综合治理措施生态效应的评价,为政府部门决策提供依据.目前,亟需研发专门的水土保持生态效应评价专家系统对这一领域积累的大量的专家知识进行快速、智能评价.本文在收集整理大量领域专家知识的基础上,采用产生式规则构建了水土保持生态效应评价知识库,并利用可视化开发程序语言VC++将专家系统技术与地理信息系统技术相互集成,研制开发了一个界面友好、操作简单的水土保持生态效应评价专家系统,旨在为水土保持生态效应评价提供高效、智能的决策工具.     

The performance of procedures for selecting conservation areas: waterbirds in the UK

In recent years, much attention has been directed to the ways in which the most important areas for inclusion in reserve networks can be identified, and the most effective ways in which existing networks can be expanded. In contrast, rather little attention has been paid to the present and likely future performance of the approaches that have actually been employed. Using Wetland Bird Survey data, the effectiveness of the current Special Protection Area (SPA) network in the UK was assessed by comparing annual counts for 17 species of migratory waterbird on SPAs with the numbers supported by hypothetical site networks selected by five alternative site-selection methods. These analyses suggest that focusing on complementarity between component sites rather than applying criteria to each site individually improved the level of representation for each species, conserved a greater percentage of the national total across the 17 species and was robust over time.     

试论我国水土保持学科的性质与定位——川陕“长治工程”中期评估考察的思考

 以小流域为单元实施山、水、田、林、路、渠综合治理的理论与技术体系是在我国水土保持长期生产实践和科学研究中形成的具有中国特色的水土保持学科体系。通过川陕"长治工程"中期评估考察,分析"长治工程"小流域综合治理的特色与创新,并据此讨论我国水土保持学科的性质与定位。水土保持学科无论从法律地位还是学术地位,均应归属于资源保护与利用的范畴,与环境保护和生态学科的本质区别在于,水土保持更具有突出的生产功能。现阶段水土保持学科仍应首先赋予其防治水土流失,治理江河,提高农业生产综合能力,发展农村经济,改善农村基础设施及农民生活质量的内涵,并努力使之与农村生态建设结合,以不断深化和丰富其内涵,同时应在开发建设项目水土保持、饮用水水源地水土保持等方面拓展其学科外延。     

Caution with curves: Caveats for using the species-area relationship in conservation

Conservation biologists use the species-area relationship for a variety of purposes, including upscaling diversity from small plots to regions, predicting species loss, and for identifying biodiversity hotspots and prioritizing actions to protect them. Despite its widespread use, several complications that affect the accuracy of its application are often overlooked. First, interpretation of the species-area relationship is a function of the census design used to construct it. Nested census designs guarantee only that one individual each of a given number of species is within the sampled area, but we are almost always concerned with the loss or protection of more than one individual of each species. Census designs using non-contiguous plots are useful for sampling large regions, but their interpretation is not straightforward because species number is a function of the spatial extent of the landscape and the size of the sample units. Second, power function behavior is often assumed, even though the species-area relationship often displays curvilinearity on log-log plots across scale ranges pertinent to conservation. Finally, applications of the species-area relationship often assume that the area of interest is contiguous while in practice it seldom is, and so calculations using the species-area relationship need to account for beta diversity between disjunctive areas.     

Tropical tree community shifts: Implications for wildlife conservation

In tropical forest systems tree community change after initial succession (approximately 50-100 years) is very difficult to detect because of the very slow pace of transformation. Since the mid 1980s, there has been an accumulation of evidence that many forests traditionally considered old growth or mature forests have been disturbed. Using 18 years of data on forest change in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we tested the following hypotheses. Species that frequently recruit only into areas of large-scale disturbance (e.g., conversion to agriculture) (1) have a more strongly negative annualized rate of population change (i.e., recruitment is less than mortality) than trees recruiting into the understory or canopy treefall gaps and (2) these species are declining in their average cumulative diameter at breast height (DBH). Both hypotheses were verified. We then examined relationships between forest change and diets of the five diurnal primates in Kibale. The emergent patterns suggest that forest change will lead to declines in some species, particularly the black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza). We concluded that what was considered mature forest in Kibale has actually been disturbed in the recent past, and we discuss how potential sources of disturbance (dry-periods, elephant population fluctuations, and human disturbance) may affect both forest change and animal populations. We assess how such information might be useful in forest management.     

Systematic conservation planning products for land-use planning: Interpretation for implementation

There is an obvious need to incorporate biodiversity concerns into the policies and practices of sectors that operate outside protected areas, especially given the widespread devolution of power to local (municipal) authorities regarding land-use decision-making. Consequently, it is essential that we develop systematic (target-driven) conservation planning products that are both user-friendly and user-useful for local government officials, their consultants and the elected decision makers. Here, we describe a systematic conservation planning assessment for South Africa’s Subtropical Thicket Biome that considered implementation opportunities and constraints from the outset by developing - with stakeholders - products (maps and guidelines) that could be readily used for local government land-use planning. The assessment, with concomitant stakeholder input, developed (i) Megaconservancy Networks, which are large-scale conservation corridors of multiple ownership that achieve targets principally for biodiversity processes; (ii) conservation status categories (critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, currently not vulnerable) for all biodiversity features, identified on the basis of available extant habitat to achieve conservation targets, and (iii) a conservation priority map which integrates (i) and (ii). This map was further interpreted for municipal-level decision-makers by way of corresponding guidelines for land-use in each of the conservation status categories. To improve general awareness of the value of biodiversity and its services, a handbook was compiled, which also introduced new and impending environmental legislation. Within 18 months of the production of these products, evidence of the effective integration, or mainstreaming, of the map and its guidelines into land-use planning has been encouraging. However, more effort on increasing awareness of the value of biodiversity and its services among many stakeholder groups is still required. Nonetheless, our approach of planning for implementation by considering the needs and obligations of end users has already yielded positive outcomes. We conclude by providing suggestions for further improving our approach.     

Knowledge and attitudes of children of the Rupununi: Implications for conservation in Guyana

Knowledge and attitudes of children towards wildlife and the environment were assessed through questionnaires given to 366 children in 9 schools in southwest Guyana. Children’s responses revealed that they had a general knowledge of wildlife but knew few details about specific species. Respondents thought that wildlife was important but were nonetheless tolerant of several forms of environmental exploitation. Visits by conservation organizations, Conservation International and Foster Parrots, were shown to increase appreciation of wildlife and the need to set up more protected areas, but unless programmes were concentrated and sustained they had little effect on attitudes towards environmental utilization and exploitation. Experience of the natural world in terms of owning a domestic animal or pet, having visited a zoo, or being a member of a wildlife club had little impact on children’s knowledge of wildlife and did not change attitudes to utilization and exploitation. Surprisingly, Guyanese children did not have particularly positive views about classic flagship species, such as jaguars, giant anteaters and tapirs, when compared to other species. Our findings suggest that zoos, wildlife clubs and conservation organizations could enhance the dissemination of their message through making more frequent and sustained visits, imparting more detailed knowledge, and exposing children to the potential dangers of utilization and exploitation; also that conservation organizations should reassess their use of standard flagship species in South America.