What the soil reveals: Potential total ecosystem C stores of the Pacific Northwest region, USA

How much organic C can a region naturally store in its ecosystems? How can this be determined, when land management has altered the vegetation of the landscape substantially? The answers may lie in the soil: this study synthesized the spatial distribution of soil properties derived from the state soils geographic database with empirical measurements of old-growth forest ecosystem C to yield a regional distribution of potential maximum total-ecosystem organic C stores. The region under consideration is 179,000 square kilometers extending from the southern Oregon border to the northern Washington border, and from the Pacific Ocean to the east side of the Cascade Mountains. Total ecosystem organic C (TEC) was measured in 16 diverse old-growth forests encompassing 35 stands and 79 pedons to a depth of 100 cm. The TEC ranged between 185 and 1200 Mg C ha⁻¹. On an average, 63% of TEC was in the vegetation, 13% in woody detritus, 3% in the forest floor, 7% in the 0–20 cm mineral soil, and 13% in 20–100 cm mineral soil. The TEC was strongly related to soil organic C (SOC) in the 0–20 cm mineral soil, yielding a monotonically increasing, curvilinear relation. To apply this relation to estimate the TEC distribution throughout the region, 211 map units of the state soils geographic database (STATSGO) were used. The SOC in the 0–20 cm mineral soil of the map units was consistent with values from previously measured pedons distributed throughout the region. Resampling of 13 second-growth forests 25 years after initial sampling indicated no regional change in mineral SOC, and supported the use of a static state soils map. The SOC spatial distribution combined with the quantitative old-growth TEC–SOC relation yielded an estimate of potential TEC storage throughout the region under the hypothetical condition of old-growth forest coverage. The area-weighted TEC was 760 Mg C ha⁻¹. This is 100 Mg C ha⁻¹ more than a previous estimate based on a coarser resolution of six physiographic provinces, and 400 Mg C ha⁻¹ more than current regional stores. The map of potential TEC may be useful in forecasting regional C dynamics and in land-management decisions related to C sequestration.     

Effect of culture system on the nutrition and growth performance of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) fed different diets

Two 8-week feeding trials were conducted with juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) to compare the growth and performance of animals fed a series of experimental and commercial pelleted shrimp and fish feeds and dietary feeding regimes within an indoor running-water culture system and an outdoor zero-water-exchange culture system. The best overall shrimp growth performance was observed for animals fed the experimental shrimp diet and all-day feeding regime under outdoor zero-water-exchange culture conditions. Final body weight and average weekly growth rate under these conditions were 2.8 and 3.4 times greater, respectively, than animals of similar size fed with the same diet under indoor running-water culture conditions. Although direct comparison between indoor and outdoor culture systems is difficult because of the lower indoor water temperatures, and consequently lower mean daily feed intake of animals, it is believed that the higher growth and feed performance of animals reared under outdoor `green-water' culture conditions was primarily due to their ability to obtain additional nutrients from food organisms endogenously produced within the zero-water-exchange culture system. The most promising features of zero-water-exchange culture systems are that they offer increased biosecurity, reduced feed costs and water use for the farmer, and by doing so provide a potential avenue of moving the shrimp culture industry along a path of greater sustainability and environmental compatibility.     

Pacific Islanders

This paper examines some of the socio‐demographic changes which have occurred in the Pacific‐descent population in New Zealand in the last decade. It examines significant shifts which have occurred in the social and economic characteristics of overseas and locally‐born sub‐populations and identifies some of the factors which have produced these. The chapter points to the growing internal socio‐demographic diversity within the Pacific population and argues that we may need to think about this population in different ways in the near future.     

Women

In New Zealand while women dominate leadership positions in constitutional, political and business areas, gender inequality remains entrenched. Despite significant gains in rights (employment, pay equity, property), as a group women earn less and perform more family care and unpaid work than men. In part these disparities result from the economic restructuring of the last 15 years which saw a loss in unskilled manufacturing jobs, less social support and greater rewards to business and public sector elites. Maori and Pacific Island women are the most disadvantaged groups. Labour/Alliance government initiatives to reduce poverty particularly among Maori and Pacific Island peoples by strengthening access to health and education services and supporting and replicating successful community initiatives are also likely to benefit other low income women.     

Long-term continuous cropping in the Pacific Northwest: Tillage and fertilizer effects on winter wheat, spring wheat, and spring barley production

Conventional tillage winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) (WW)–summer fallow reduces soil productivity and increases soil erosion. Conservation tillage management, together with intensive cropping may have the potential to reverse these sustainability concerns. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems on grain yield of long-term annual cropping of monoculture WW, spring wheat (SW), and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) (SB) grown with or without fertilizer, in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. In unfertilized crops, grain yield of WW, SW, and SB was 15%, 25%, and 50% higher, respectively, in CT than in NT plots, an indication of the involvement of yield limiting factors under the NT cropping system. When fertilized, there were no significant differences in grain yield of WW. Yields of SW and SB, however, remained 21% and 15% higher, respectively, in CT than in NT, an indication that factors other than fertility were involved. These results suggest that in order for NT management to be widely adopted by area growers, the yield-limiting factors need to be addressed.     

Using ecological niche modelling to identify diversity hotspots for the herpetofauna of Pacific lowlands and adjacent interior valleys of Mexico

This article documents the conservation status of the herpetofauna in the Pacific lowlands and adjacent Balsas Basin and Chiapas Depression regions and the presents the results of modelling species spatial distributional patterns through GARP analysis, to identify hotspots of species richness, endemic and geographically restricted species in the study area. It also compares the distribution of these hotspots with the distribution of protected areas and intact seasonally tropical dry tropical forests, the dominant vegetation type in the study area and experiencing high deforestation rates. A total of 301 reptiles and amphibian species occur in the study area accounting for a third of the Mexican herpetofauna, and recording high levels of endemism and endangerment. Hotspots of species richness and endemism were located in coastal Jalisco, a considerable portion of the Colima state, as well as scattered areas in Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. These areas should receive highest priority for protection. Unfortunately, there was a minimum correspondence when comparing the distribution of actually and proposed protected areas with hotspots identified. Fortunately, areas of high species richness, endemism and restricted species coincided with those where intact seasonally tropical dry tropical forests still exists. These areas should receive high priority in future plans for seasonally tropical dry tropical forests protected areas. It is hoped that this paper will call attention to the need for establishing a network of protected areas in the study area, as has been proposed by previous studies.     

Occupational health and safety of merchant seafarers from Kiribati and Tuvalu

Intensifying international competition in the shipping industry in response to global pressures makes seafarers' jobs increasingly difficult. Challenging conditions in ship employment are problematic, particularly in a development context where home communities' dependence on seafarers' income is high and social protection is low. Qualitative fieldwork revealed that seafarers from Kiribati and Tuvalu endure exceptionally lengthy work periods at sea to remain competitive. Absence from home while working in constrained and mobile spaces with multinational crews, frequent security controls and speedy turnarounds impacting on sleep deprivation and decreased shore time have implications for physical and emotional health and can become safety matters. Hence, there is a growing need to address mechanisms to protect seafarers from the physical and emotional effects of global demands in the shipping industry.     

Export quality: representing Fijian bodies and the economy of war

Fijian bodies have become a valuable commodity in the economy of war. Remittances from workers overseas are Fiji's largest income – exceeding that of tourism and sugar export. This essay examines historical and contemporary representations of the black male body that perpetuate the exploitation of Fijians by inscribing the Fijian male body as warrior, criminal and protector. Taking a multidisciplinary approach informed by sociology, cultural theory, Pacific studies, visual culture, feminist and post-colonial theory, my practice is the vehicle through which I address issues of neocolonial commodification of Fijian bodies. Through an analysis of my own staged photographs and vernacular images taken by Fijians working for private security military companies and British and US armies, I hope to challenge audiences to consider their own perceptions of Fijian agency and subjectivity. By theorising the politicisation of the black body and interrogating colonial representations of blackness, I argue that we can begin to create links between the historical and contemporary exploitation of Fijians and that at the essence of both is an underlying racial hierarchy and economic requirement for cheap and, arguably, expendable labour.     

东太平洋金枪鱼延绳钓兼捕鲨鱼种类及其渔获量分析

2003年7月-11月份期间,对东太平洋公海海域(03°S~17°S,96°W~146°W)的超低温金枪鱼延绳钓兼捕鲨鱼进行调查。发现共兼捕到9种鲨鱼,分别是尖吻鲭鲨、长鳍鲭鲨、鳄鲨、人眼长尾鲨、路氏双鲨、长鳍真鲨、镰状真鲨、大青鲨和黑异鳞鲨,隶属于3目6科。共钓获鲨鱼24 711 kg,其中大青鲨是优势种类,占鲨鱼渔获尾数的50.4%,占鲨鱼渔获总重量的76.5%,平均个体重量达到64.9 kg。调查获得9种大洋性鲨鱼的渔获率,其中以大青鲨的最高,达到0.964尾数/千钩,鳄鲨次之为0.497尾数/千钩,其它鲨鱼的CPUE均在0.200尾数/千钩以下,此外估计了东太平洋海域金枪鱼延绳钓兼捕鲨鱼总渔获量,约在4.0~5.9万吨。