Ecological Compensation to Address Environmental Externalities: Lessons from South American Case Studies

Large development projects commonly cause damage to ecosystems, even after measures have been taken to avoid and reduce impacts on site. Governments are increasingly seeking to offset losses through ecological compensation programs to maintain overall levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The key to successful programs are criteria that reduce uncertainty and transaction costs while enhancing ecological equivalency. In South America, the government of Brazil, and Colombia have implemented compensation programs, and Peru has recently published broad guidelines and is developing detailed rules. Brazil emphasizes regulatory simplicity, which mitigates cost uncertainty, over ecological equivalence. Colombia has sophisticated methods for establishing ecological equivalence, but has yet to develop institutions necessary to reduce transaction costs. These experiences suggest a trade-off between rules that rigorously compensate losses with ecologically equivalent areas, and simpler approaches that have low transaction costs but may fail to ensure specific biodiversity goals. The success of Peru’s system will depend on being practical enough to implement at scale and rigorous enough to deliver environmental benefits. We describe a series of mutually compatible recommendations to balance both needs. Ecological compensation is still a nascent effort in the neotropics and policy adjustments will be necessary as better information on success and failure becomes available.     

Extracts of Maqui ( Aristotelia chilensis ) and Murta ( Ugni molinae Turcz.): sources of antioxidant compounds and α-Glucosidase/α-Amylase inhibitors

The objective of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of crude, aqueous, and organic-aqueous extracts of maqui ( Aristotelia chilensis ) and murta ( Ugni molinae Turcz.), together with their inhibiting effect on enzymes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates. Radical scavenging activity, inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation in a micellar system, antihemolytic activity, and inhibition of α-amylases and α-glucosidases were analyzed. Crude extracts of maqui leaves and fruits were found to be important sources of polyphenolic compounds, showing 69.0 ± 0.9 and 45.7 ± 1.1 mg GAE/g dm, respectively. Polyphenols from maqui leaves were active as antioxidants and antihemolytic compounds (p < 0.05), showing a noncompetitive inhibiting effect on α-glucosidase. Flavan-3-ol polymers and glycosylated flavonols, such as quercetin glucoside and kaempferol glucoside, were tentatively identified in extracts. This preliminary observation provides the basis for further examination of the suitability of polyphenol-enriched extracts from maqui and murta as nutritional or medicinal supplements with potential human health benefits.     

Effects of a long distance transport and subsequent recovery in recently weaned crossbred beef calves in Southern Chile

In Chile, prolonged transport of cattle is an important issue due to geographical conditions. This study describes the variation of body weight and some blood constituents related to stress response during one long distance transport (63 h) of recently weaned calves for fattening in the Chilean Patagonia. Results concerning blood variables related to stress showed that the whole process of rounding up, weaning and transport was stressful for the calves and that animal welfare was impaired. Cortisol values were significantly lower after unloading (1.0±0.4 μg/dl), as compared to before loading (1.5±0.4 μg/dl). The significant body weight loss from before loading (240±26.9 kg) to after unloading (210±24.2 kg), and the long recovery time, adds economic losses to the producers at destiny. As transport period cannot be shortened due to the typical Chilean geography in the Patagonian region and the scarcity of proper routes, it is recommended that conditions of transported calves should be improved by using specialized livestock vehicles that can provide more comfort, as well as access to water and food during the journey.     

Investigating Root Density of Plum and Apple Trees Grafted on Low-Vigor Rootstocks to Improve Orchard Management

Plum and apple trees are the most widely spread fruit trees in south-eastern Europe. The main purpose of this paper is to characterize the spatial distribution of roots in medium and course textured soils to improve orchard management. ’Stanley’ plum cultivar grafted on Saint Julien A semi-dwarf rootstock and ’Topaz’ apple cultivar grafted on M.9 dwarf rootstock were studied in a temperate climate and medium and course textured soils. The trench technique was used. There was an intense concentration of roots near the trees and the roots did not occupy the whole soil space between tree rows. The finest tree roots in both species were prevalent. Root density was higher in tree rows versus inter-rows. Both the inter-row and in-row distances can be reduced to increase tree density if light penetration into canopy is sufficient. When a full irrigation regime is applied, a soil depth of 0.8?m would be sufficient for water application, and soil depths of 0.4 to 0.6?m would be recommended for deficit irrigation; water and fertilizers should only be applied over the surface area covering most of the roots. When a more strict control on root activity is desired, the tree roots could be cut vertically at 0.5–0.8?m distance from tree rows. The results could also be used in regions and countries with similar soil texture and climate conditions.     

Blindness and behavioural changes in the cat: common neurological causes

PRACTICAL RELEVANCE: Blindness and behavioural changes occur relatively commonly in cats, either separately or in combination, causing devastating consequences for the cat and owner. Blindness can be caused by primary ophthalmic, metabolic or intracranial disease. Similarly behavioural changes may be the primary result of intracranial or systemic disease, but also occur secondarily to visual deficits or changes in interaction with the external environment (ie, non-medical problems). The anatomical pathways involved in vision are very close to those involved in behavioural regulation. It is, therefore, likely that a brain lesion (especially a forebrain lesion) that causes blindness will also cause behavioural abnormalities. CLINICAL CHALLENGES: In cases of partial or unilateral blindness, obvious visual deficits may not be apparent to the owner or clinician. Rather, the visual impairment may manifest more subtly as changes in behaviour, reluctance to jump or unwillingness to go outside. Similarly, behavioural problems may be episodic and, hence, a cat presenting with behavioural disturbances may appear clinically normal on evaluation. Behavioural changes are unlikely to be noticed unless marked and associated with bilateral blindness or advanced systemic illness. AUDIENCE: This article discusses these two major disorders separately, with the aim of highlighting for the clinician some of the important aspects of the general clinical and neurological examination that can be performed to identify these challenging cases.     

The efficacy of Romania’s protected areas network in conserving biodiversity

Romania’s protected areas network currently covers 19.29% of the national territory, a significant increase from the 4.1% protected prior to 1989. The increase occurred over the past 20 years with the creation of 27 National and Natural Parks, and recently of 382 protected areas as part of the pan-European Natura 2000 network. Considering the recent increase in number and area of protected lands, we investigated two core topics critical to achieving conservation goals: (1) conservation value and (2) resources for conservation. The newly created Natura 2000 sites overlapped 96.19% of the existing protected areas network, generating up to three different protection statuses for some sites. Conservation goals were often unclear, as the focus switched to protecting species and habitats of European-level concern. Despite the fivefold increase in protected area, many ecoregions were poorly represented in the new system. Planning for conservation neither involved the local communities nor utilized principles for spatial prioritization. Over 80% of the species of European conservation concern were included in at least one protected area, but plants and invertebrates were underrepresented. Administrative bodies were generally under-staffed and poorly financed, conditions that were reflected in a poor enforcement and implementation of conservation goals. Overall, Romania shares many conservation concerns with other Eastern and Central European countries. A regional approach to conserving biodiversity based on spatial prioritization, rigorous scientific documentation, and social acceptance is needed for the Natura 2000 network to achieve its goals.     

Free and bound minor polar compounds in oats: Different extraction methods and analytical determinations

The extraction capacity of several solvent mixtures and comparison between alkaline and acid hydrolysis to extract free and bound minor polar compounds in oat samples were carried out. The extraction yield of each method was evaluated by correlating several spectrophotometric indices (absorption at 320 nm and total phenolic compounds by the Folin–Ciocalteu method) with HPLC-MS and the antioxidant activities of the oat extracts (DPPH radical method). The results showed that methanol and alkaline hydrolysis reported the highest recovery of polar compounds, and spectrophotometric indices overestimated the content of these compounds. Antioxidant compounds of five Romanian oat samples, named Comun, Jeremy, Mures, Lovrin 1, Lovrin 27-T were determined. Large intervarietal differences in phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activities among oat varieties were detected. Total minor polar contents content was in the range of 1179.47 and 1897.18 mg/kg of seed. According to the literature, we found that the majority of the minor polar compounds existed in bound form.