Ensemble models of habitat suitability relate chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) conservation to forest and landscape dynamics in Western Africa

Pan troglodytes verus is considered one of the most endangered primates in the world due to habitat loss or degradation, and it is considered extinct in several regions of West-Africa. This study aims at developing a model that predicts habitat suitability for chimpanzee under different land cover scenarios and supports a multi-temporal analysis of the recent habitat evolution in southern Guinea-Bissau. The model, built using a maximum entropy framework, is spatially explicit, uses eco-geographic variables derived from landscape compositional, structural and functional attributes, and is based on nest location data collected in the field. The results show that the developed model has good levels of reliability and the map produced through its application reveals a current extension of 752 km² of adequate habitat in a 2723 km² study area. Forest related EGVs (ecogeographical variables) had the higher importance for the model production. Habitat suitability maps produced for three dates in the last three decades show that there has been a marked decrease in habitat extension and in connectivity to neighbouring regions. We analyse the implications of these results in possible strategies for the conservation of chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissau.     

A tool for rapid assessment of erosion risk to support decision-making and policy development at the Ngenge watershed in Uganda

This study tests a rapid, user-friendly method for assessing changes in erosion risk, which yields information to aid policy development and decision-making for sustainable natural resources management. There is currently a lack of timely, up-to-date and current information to support policy development on sustainable natural resources management in Uganda. The study was carried out in the Ngenge watershed, a typical catchment in the Ugandan Highlands, characterised by deforestation in favour of subsistence agriculture without adequate soil and water conservation measures. The watershed is experiencing soil erosion, sedimentation and flooding problems which are threatening agricultural productivity and food security. Sustainable management of environmental resources is needed to ensure a livelihood for the rural population which is dependent on the land. Historical erosion risk was evaluated in three steps using multi-temporal satellite data. First, current erosion risk was assessed by combining slope and vegetation cover during periods of high intensity rainfall. The data used for the assessment was obtained from public (free) satellite images. Erosion risk was then linked to land use and finally to the change in vegetation cover over the years 1980-2000. The analysis of erosion risk using rainfall, slope and NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetative Index) as a proxy for vegetation cover gives an indication of the current erosion risk in the area. The results of historical vegetation cover change analysis indicate an overall increase in areas under erosion risk in the study area from 1980 to 2000. This method of erosion risk mapping provides a quick and straightforward means for identifying priority areas for interventions for soil and water resource management. Considering that resources are limited, the interventions to be appropriate have to be focused mainly on areas affected by degradation.     

Habitat fragmentation and the desiccation of forest canopies: A case study from eastern Amazonia

Across the deforestation frontier in eastern Amazonia, we examined the relationship between edge-related forest desiccation and deforestation patterns using remote-sensing techniques. Canopy-moisture levels were estimated over an eight-year period in three study sites that encompassed ∼100,000 km² in area. We found four main effects of deforestation on dry-season canopy desiccation. First, intact forests showed no detectable change in canopy water content whereas forests adjacent to clearings showed significant water loss. Second, the distance to which edge-related desiccation penetrated into forest interiors varied among landscapes with differing forest loss and fragmentation. In moderately fragmented landscapes (with 65% and 51% remaining forest cover), canopy desiccation extended 1-1.5 km into forest interiors, whereas in heavily fragmented landscapes (20% forest cover) desiccation penetrated up to 2.7 km into forests. Third, the magnitude of edge-related desiccation varied among landscapes with differing fragmentation. Moderately fragmented landscapes exhibited a greater magnitude of change in canopy-water loss over the first 1 km from an edge than did heavily fragmented landscapes. Finally, forest desiccation penetrated further into forests over time in the moderately fragmented landscapes, but not in the heavily fragmented landscape, where edge-related desiccation had evidently ‘saturated’ remaining forests. We conclude that protracted dry seasons will have far more serious effects on fragmented than intact rainforests, with the former becoming highly vulnerable to destructive fires. With ∼30,000 km of new forest edge being created annually in Brazilian Amazonia, these finding have serious implications for forest conservation.     

Within-site habitat configuration in reserve design: A case study with a peatland bird

This study assesses the effects of considering within-site habitat configuration when designing reserve networks. This attribute takes all its importance in situations where the long-term integrity of (within-site) habitat patches cannot be preserved without protecting their surrounding environment. We addressed this issue through the concrete problem of selecting a reserve network of natural peatlands in southern Québec, Canada. We used a reserve-selection algorithm that minimized the total number of peatlands to include within networks. The algorithm was constrained to include peatlands containing habitat patches that met specific size thresholds. Five habitat-clustering thresholds were used to set the eligibility of each site to the selection process. The resulting reserve networks were evaluated according to their representation efficiency and to the expected consequences for the Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum), an area and isolation-sensitive bird restricted to peatlands in southern Québec.Constraining the algorithm to include peatlands showing increasingly larger patches of habitats led to larger networks, both in terms of area and number of sites, and to networks composed of smaller sites. These effects increased with the representation target (i.e., the % of each habitat preserved). With respect to the Palm Warbler, selecting peatlands with larger patches of habitats had only an indirect effect on its site-occupancy pattern. Indeed, despite the fact that the probability of occurrence of the warbler was negatively correlated with the size of habitat patches, the habitat-clustering threshold influenced the incidence of the warbler mainly via its effect on the physical attributes of the selected networks - including the area, isolation level, and the number of selected sites. Because increasing the habitat-clustering threshold led indirectly to a greater regional availability of prime breeding habitats for the Palm Warbler, it mitigated the severe negative impact of an hypothetical alteration or destruction of non-selected peatlands. Our study thus emphasizes the importance of determining how the different factors describing within-site configuration are correlated with other intrinsic characteristics of the sites available to the selection process before opting for a site-selection strategy.     

农作物低温冷害监测评估及预报方法评述

对作物冷害指标、风险及损失评估、监测和预报,以及近年来业务化应用的研究成果进行总结和归纳,比较了这些领域新老研究方法的优缺点.重点介绍3S技术和作物模型在这些领域的应用.探讨了遥感温度反演与冷害监测相结合的可行途径,作物模型用于区域冷害损失评估所需的尺度转换及相应冷害模块添加等问题.明确了新技术与冷害研究相结合过程中需要重点考虑和解决的关键技术难题.可为冷害研究的技术革新提供参考.     

Microbial communities and their relevance for ecosystem models: Decomposition as a case study

Soil microbial communities are so vastly diverse that complex interactions, which alter ecosystem functions, may occur among microbial species and functional groups. In this review, we explore the empirical evidence for situations when shifts in the community structure of microbes would elicit a change in ecosystem process rates, specifically decomposition, even when microbial biomass remains constant. In particular, we are interested in a subset of these scenarios in which knowledge of microbial community structure would improve model predictions for ecosystem functions. Results from microcosm and field studies indicate that microbial species diversity, functional group diversity, and community composition can all influence ecosystem process rates. The underlying mechanisms that may elicit changes in ecosystem functions from shifts in microbial community structure include evolutionary constraints on microbial trait adaptation, trait correlations, dispersal limitation, and species interactions. The extent of microbial diversity in soils is not known, so it is presently not possible to model all scenarios of microbial community structure shifts. However, by incorporating documented patterns in functional groups that are relevant for a particular ecosystem process and potential relationships between microbial phylogeny and function, the predictive power of process models will be significantly improved. The inclusion of this information into process models is critical for predicting and understanding how ecosystem functions may shift in response to global change.     

北京郊区植被覆盖变化动态遥感监测——以怀柔区为例

植被覆盖度是一个十分重要的生态学参数,对于全球变化和监测研究具有重要意义。本文基于像元二分模型,利用归一化植被指数NDVI,对怀柔区1992年和2004年植被覆盖度进行了监测,并对十几年来的植被覆盖变化情况进行了统计分析。结果表明,全区植被覆盖整体呈上升趋势,但存在区域间的不平衡现象。     

A comparison of multiple phenology data sources for estimating seasonal transitions in deciduous forest carbon exchange

There are currently numerous data sources available for estimating the timing of recurrent plant phenology transitions. We compared measurements from several phenology data sources to understand the relationship between phenology metrics derived from these data sources and the timing of seasonal transitions in net ecosystem exchange (NEE). We identified the timing of start, peak, end and the duration of the carbon uptake season, as well as the timing of the transitions from sink to source and source to sink using 11 years of NEE data from the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). Using fitted logistic functions we identified proxy metrics for phenological transitions from the time series of Albedo, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR), Plant Area Index (PAI), and MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and leaf area index (LAI) products of various spatial representations. We found that no single source of phenological data was able to accurately describe annual patterns of flux phenology. However, for each transition in NEE (e.g., start of season, transition to net sink), the metrics from one or more data sources were significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with the timing of these recurring events. A marginally significant trend toward a longer NEE carbon uptake period over 11 years was not detected by any of the metrics, primarily because none of the metrics were available for the full duration of the NEE data, and NEE did not show significant and consistent trends during the sub-sets of the time when proxy data were available. The results of our study highlight the relative strengths and weaknesses of each phenology data source for directly estimating seasonal transitions and interannual trends in carbon flux phenology of a deciduous forest.     

区域水土保持生态修复模式及效果评价——以长江流域两当河上游为例

根据长江流域两当河上游的环境特点,提出了自然力与人工辅助相结合的水土保持生态修复技术及建设模式,包括退化林地修复模式、荒山荒坡修复模式、农地修复模式和生态辅助措施.并应用遥感技术和地面人工调查相结合的方法,对生态修复模式实施的效果进行评价.结果表明,两当河退化生态系统修复效果明显,农田退化系统恢复效果显著,植被盖度提高,种群数量增加,生态系统向良性演变.     

基于MODIS NDVI数据的复种指数监测--以环渤海地区为例

复种指数反映了耕地的实际利用强度,提高农田复种指数是区域粮食增产的重要途径之一,因此,监测和分析复种指数在时间和空间上的变化对粮食安全评估、农业发展规划科学决策有重要意义。NDVI的时间序列蕴涵着植被生长的年循环节律,耕地NDVI时间序列曲线的峰值个数和耕地的种植收割次数相对应,因此耕地的复种指数可通过分析NDVI时间序列曲线来获取。本研究以环渤海地区2000—2009年MODISNDVI时间序列数据为数据源,采用邻域比较法提取耕地NDVI年时间序列曲线的峰值频数,进而计算环渤海地区2000—2009年的复种指数,并对复种指数的时空变化及变化原因进行初步分析。结果显示,在环渤海地区,一年两熟的耕种模式主要分布在长城以南,长城以北基本上为一年1熟;环渤海地区各省份中,山东省具有最高的复种指数,辽宁省的复种指数最低;平原地区的复种指数远高于其他地形条件下的复种指数;区域复种指数存在明显的年际变化,主要是受耕地收益和农作物轮作的影响;混合像元的存在会影响复种指数提取结果。     

基于RS与GIS的生态用地评价——以辽宁省大洼县为例

生态用地评价是当前生态环境保护与土地利用规划领域重要的研究内容。本文根据研究区自然条件、社会经济状况、土地利用特点和生态保护要求, 借助RS和GIS技术, 在建立基于生态服务功能的生态用地分类体系的基础上, 从生态服务功能和生态敏感性2个方面选取合适的生态用地评价指标, 采用层次分析和专家咨询相结合的方法确定评价因子权重, 合理划分评价单元, 采用指数和法对辽宁省大洼县生态用地进行了定量评价。结果表明, 大洼县生态用地划分为禁止开发生态用地、限制开发生态用地和可适当开发生态用地3个类别。其中, 禁止开发生态用地面积为14 695.97 hm², 占生态用地总面积的27.13%; 限制开发生态用地面积为25 185.49 hm², 占生态用地总面积的46.50%; 可适当开发生态用地面积为14 281.84 hm², 占生态用地总面积的26.37%。这3种生态用地类型有其自身特点, 在土地利用开发过程中应采取相应的生态保护措施。研究结果将为区域生态用地保护、生态环境与人地关系的改善以及新一轮土地利用规划修编提供重要的数据参考与科学依据。     

An indicator species approach for result-orientated subsidies of ecological services in grasslands - A study in Northwestern Germany

Agri-environmental subsidies for grasslands of high conservation interest are usually associated with fairly strict management rules, but have not always been successful in terms of the preservation of species. A new approach now links the subsidies paid to the ecological value of a grassland site: the farmers are paid for keeping up a high plant species richness, and they can control the species richness of their sites by using vascular plants as indicator species. The method was tested in different grassland communities in six regions of Lower Saxony in Northwestern Germany, mainly addressing the question whether the number of selected indicator species was correlated with the total species richness of vascular plants and with the number of endangered species.Field work was carried out in 2004. Total species richness of vascular plants was recorded in all grassland sites, and the number of indicators was counted along two transects, usually being the diagonals of a rectangular site. Each transect was divided into three segments in which all indicators growing within 1 m distance from the transect line were recorded. In total 43 indicators were selected, mostly representing species that are fairly easy to recognise.The number of indicators was significantly positively correlated with the total number of species in all regions, also when correcting for autocorrelation (except in one region). When using grassland area as a co-variable, the same results were obtained, supporting the low significance of grassland size for the predictive ability of the method. In all regions but one, the mean number of indicators per segment was also significantly positively related to the number of red-listed and near-threatened species in the grasslands. Grassland size and transect length were found to be of minor importance for the application of the method.In conclusion, the study shows that the indicator approach is suitable for identifying those grassland sites that have a high plant species richness and a high number of endangered species. It may thus form the basis for result-orientated subsidies in grasslands.     

The use of ecological traits in extinction risk assessments: A case study on geometrid moths

Identifying ecological traits that make some species more vulnerable than others is vital for predictive conservation science. By identifying these predisposing traits we can predict which species are most prone to decline and gain an understanding of the reasons behind the decline. The aim of this study was to determine the ecological traits that best predict extinction risk and distribution change in Finnish geometrid moths and to develop an understanding of the biological connections between these traits and threats. We found that larval specificity, overwintering stage and flight period length predicted distribution change and extinction risk. There was also an interaction effect between larval specificity and body size on both distribution change and extinction risk. In monophagous species the host plant distribution predicted extinction risk. Even though ecological traits are known to be important determinants of extinction risk, the IUCN red list categorization system is exclusively based on quantitative measures of populations and ignores the ecological traits. Here, we propose that taxon specific ecological data should also be used to predict extinction risk at least on a regional scale to improve the accuracy of the IUCN extinction risk classification.     

不同土地利用结构生态系统服务功能价值的变化研究——以内蒙古自治区伊金霍洛旗为例

生态系统服务功能价值理论可定量估算各类生态系统为人类提供服务的经济价值。阐述了生态系统服务功能价值理论定量评价土地资源的作用 ,并应用和修正生态系统服务单价方法估算内蒙古自治区伊金霍洛旗1990～ 2 0 0 0年土地利用的生态效益 ,结果表明 10年内该旗生态系统服务价值减少 2 2 6 96亿元 ,证明人类经济发展对生态环境的影响巨大 ,且一旦生态环境遭到破坏则很难恢复。     

A fuzzy logic approach for assessment and mapping of groundwater irrigation quality: a case study of Marvdasht aquifer,Iran

Two shortcomings of the non-numeric United States Soil Laboratory (USSL) water quality designation process are, first, the uncertainty involved with assigning samples to the bordering discrete classes is not considered and, secondly, it is difficult to map. One solution to these may lie in the use of a Mamdani fuzzy inference system (MFIS). The main aims of this study were (1) to compare the MFIS and USSL approach to classifying groundwater quality for irrigation and (2) to explore the spatial variability of groundwater quality for irrigation in the Marvdasht aquifer using the MFIS output. For this purpose, 49 agricultural wells were sampled and their sodium adsorption ratio and electrical conductivity were determined. In 81% of cases, the MFIS led to the same class as USSL and in 92.8% of cases agreed with USSL classification. In only 2 out of 49 samples did the MFIS and USSL strongly disagree. The comparison showed that the MFIS method is more acceptable, reliable, and logical in the classification of water quality for irrigation purposes than other methods. The output map of the MFIS scores indicates that the upper part of Marvdasht aquifer has better quality water for irrigation.     

渭北旱塬县域土地利用时空演变规律研究* ——以合阳县为例

为探讨渭北旱塬区土地利用时空变化规律,本研究以陕西渭北合阳县为研究区,在GIS与RS等技术支持下,以1990年、2000年Landsat TM影像以及2010年SPOT影像为数据源,运用地学信息图谱及土地利用转移矩阵的方法,对1990—2000年、2000—2010年2个不同时段土地利用数量变化及类型的空间转换特征进行了分析。结果表明:(1)20 a间合阳县耕地面积减少了31.25 km2,耕地主要转化为草地、林地、建设用地、水域。园地面积增加了21.26 km2,增幅达146.6%,主要由耕地、草地及林地转化而来。(2)研究区土地利用变化图谱以稳定型图谱和后变型图谱为主。稳定型图谱占全区总面积的86.66%,后变型图谱占全区总面积的7.32%。说明研究区土地利用类型图谱变化总体比较平稳,部分变化也主要发生在2000—2010年间。(3)研究区20 a间土地利用格局呈现一定的层次性。耕地、建设用地和水域主要分布在地形变化不大或地势较低的区域;草地及林地主要集中分布于中高地形梯度内;林地和未利用地在高地形梯度内呈现优势分布。地形与人类活动是该区土地利用/覆盖变化(LUCC)的主要因素,政策导向与市场经济需求对LUCC也有较大的影响。该研究结果为区域土地利用空间格局的优化配置提供科学依据,为生态建设规划提供决策支持。     

Combining pedometrics,remote sensing and field observations for assessing soil loss in challenging drylands: A case study of Northwestern Somalia

Soil loss is a major concern for land managers due to its influence on biomass production, surface water quality and landscape beauty. In Somalia, the risk of soil loss is accelerated by the removal of vegetation, bad land use practices and negative impacts of urbanization. The political upheavals and consequent insecurity in the country are major limitations for detailed database and research in soil loss. This study tested opportunities in pedometrics, remote sensing, limited field data collection and the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) to model the risk of soil loss in northwestern Somalia. The approach successfully predicted the risk of soil loss with accuracy of 79 per cent. It also showed that RUSLE is only relatively accurate and stable in identifying areas with low risk of soil loss and therefore is useful in modelling early warning signs of erosion. About 24 per cent of northwestern Somalia was depicted to have no significant human‐induced soil loss while 68 per cent of the region is in threat of soil loss if no action is taken against the removal of vegetation, land use practices and policies on land tenure systems. About 8 per cent of the area is at high risk of soil loss due to negative effects of urbanization and lack of proper management of steep slopes. It is anticipated that this approach can be integrated in the assessment of soil erosion in areas with poor database. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of human-modified habitat in protecting specialist species: A case study in the threatened Florida Scrub-Jay

Habitat specialists are especially vulnerable to habitat alterations in vegetation structure and composition, making them difficult to protect and restore amidst agricultural landscapes. Protection strategies in such cases require information on species’ ability to survive and reproduce on marginal and modified habitat. We examined reproductive success, survival, and foraging efficiency of the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), an extreme habitat specialist, in a human-modified habitat - regenerating pasture - along a pasture-native scrub interface. From 1985 to 2003, Florida Scrub-Jays were equally successful at producing young in regenerating pasture and native scrub. Production of eggs, nestlings, fledglings, independent young, and yearlings were not statistically different between territories containing pasture and those containing only scrub. Similar trends were observed for nest success and survival. When in pasture, individual jays were significantly more efficient at capturing small prey items, but significantly less efficient at capturing medium and large prey items. Availability of small prey items was significantly higher in pasture than in scrub; availability of medium and large prey items was not significantly different between habitat types. We conclude that regenerating pasture provides suitable supplemental habitat for Florida Scrub-Jays when in close proximity to native scrub, suggesting a novel conservation strategy for maintaining and potentially increasing local populations in fragmented agricultural settings. This case study illustrates how a broadened definition of ‘suitable habitat’ may augment existing conservation strategies for specialist species facing substantial and rapid modification of their native habitat.     

基于植被遥感信息的作物蒸散量估算模型--以华北平原冬小麦为例

本文基于作物系数法并结合植被遥感信息(MODIS/NDVI),提出一种能反映作物空间分布和土壤供水差异信息的作物蒸散量估算模型。利用该模型得到2000—2013年华北平原冬小麦的蒸散量,模拟结果与遥感蒸散产品吻合度较高(R2=0.952,RMSE=1.3×107 m3),并分析了冬小麦蒸散量和灌溉耗水量的时空变化。结果表明:1华北平原冬小麦蒸散量呈南高北低的格局。基于250 m空间分辨率上来看,山东省、河南省的黄河灌区以及太行山前平原的冬小麦蒸散量可达400 mm以上,中部平原区冬小麦蒸散量350 mm,滨海一带蒸散量200 mm。2冬小麦灌溉耗水量与其蒸散量格局相一致。在太行山前平原、河南省和山东省的引黄灌区,灌溉耗水量可达250 mm以上;河北平原北部由于冬小麦种植比例较低,灌溉耗水量100 mm。3近14年河北平原北部冬小麦播种面积下降明显,区域灌溉耗水量减少,地下水位下降趋势得到明显缓解。本文提出的作物蒸散量估算模型能够较好地用于确定较大区域作物蒸散耗水量,并可应用于区域作物灌溉量的评估与管理中。