Sacred sites as habitats of culturally important plant species in an Indian megacity

Cultural ecosystem services related to urban green spaces contribute significantly to liveable cities. While previous studies highlight the intersection of cultural ecosystem services with societal values, spiritual or religious values associated with urban nature have received less attention. In India, as in other parts of the world, sacred sites are known for their biological richness, but analyses from urban sacred sites are largely missing. Based on a stratified random sampling approach, we analysed the cultivated and wild plant species assemblages of 69 sacred sites in the megacity of Bengaluru, India, in relation to biological and cultural features, and parameters related to the urban matrix and type of sacred sites (temple vs. katte). Unlike other urban studies, we found a dominance of native species in the cultivated and spontaneous species pools (121 species in total), with Ficus religiosa and Azadirachta indica as most frequently planted species. Culturally relevant species prevailed in the species pool (89%), with overlaps between religious (36%), medicinal (50%) and ornamental (62%) plants; only 11% of species were weeds. Urban matrix parameters (age of development, housing density) and size and type of sacred sites were related to differences in species assemblages. We identified key species for different classes of age and housing density, and for types of sacred sites. Our study demonstrates that urban sacred sites have an important potential in harbouring both native and culturally significant species that can support urban livelihoods in developing countries by a range of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services, including medicinal uses. As such sites are conserved by communities for spiritual or cultural beliefs, local biodiversity can be enhanced, e.g. by adapting management practices through community participation. This would strengthen the important contribution of sacred sites within the green infrastructure of rapidly growing megacities.     

Memory and resilience: A two-pronged approach to natural spaces in Colombia’s transition to a peaceful society

The analysis of spontaneous environmental initiatives undertaken by individuals and communities in cases of conflicts has led to a growing research field in social science, according to which the community-based stewardship of nature seems to conduce to the resilience of co-evolved social-ecological systems. In Colombia, where no such research exists so far, the conflict which officially ended in November 2016 has led to massive internal migration due to forced displacement, as well as to widespread degradation of the environment. Based on evidence provided by case studies of top-down and bottom-up living memorials and urban agriculture initiatives, the article explores the potential of urban greening in the process of memorialisation and in generating new social cohesion, as well as better living conditions in urban areas. It analyses cases both where the conflict has taken place and in the cities where refugees have settled, in order to explore avenues for public policies in post conflict Colombia. The author concludes that greening initiatives offer manifold, so far overlooked, opportunities to restoring social and ecological resilience in urban areas and thus contribute to a lasting peace in Colombia.     

Soil quality assessments in integrated crop–livestock–forest systems: A review

Integrated crop–livestock–forest is a promising strategy to improve soil quality. It comprises four different integrated farming systems: crop–livestock, crop–forest, forest–livestock and crop–livestock–forest. This work systematically reviewed studies about integrated crop–livestock–forest systems and soil quality. A total of 92 papers were retrieved from the Web of Science—Clarivate Analytics platform, and the following information was analysed: publication year, institution, region of the studied site, type of integrated system, soil type, tillage system, maximum soil depth and the soil quality indicators assessed. Most studies were published in the second half of the 2010s. Brazil is a prominent focus of research about soil quality and integrated crop–livestock–forest systems, with significant contribution from its central and southern regions. The Embrapa was the main publishing institution, present in over one‐third of the studies. Crop–livestock was the most common integrated system, Ferralsols was the most common soil group, and most of the studied soils were clayey. No tillage was the main tillage system. Most studies focused on the topsoil, assessing physical and/or chemical soil quality indicators. More emphasis on biological indicators of soil quality is required, as well as assessments integrating biological, physical and chemical indicators of soil quality. Future works should compare different integrated systems, including assessments deeper in the soil profile, especially in systems with the forest component, and also in sandy and silty soils. Soil quality indicators that have been rarely used should be further tested. Novel indicators should be added to better understand the promotion of soil quality by integrated crop–livestock–forest systems.     

论科技情报的信息媒介意义

科技情报作为一种重要的信息媒介。作者着重地阐述了其具备的宏观俯瞰,微观入里的导引功能。就其科技情报意义与林业科研及生产领域上的信息交流而言提出了自己的见解。     

浅论网络信息污染及其防治对策

简要阐述了网络信息污染的具体表现形式及其带来的危害作用，提出了防治信息污染的对策。     

电子政务环境下政府信息资源共享模式探索

电子政务环境下政府信息资源共享是多种社会动力共同作用的结果.构建信息公开发布、增值开发、公共数据中心和政务信息交换平台四种政府信息资源共享模式,破除阻碍我国电子政务环境下政府信息资源共享的各种因素,是贯彻落实党的十七大提出的构建和谐社会、以人为本,使全社会成员享受改革开放成果的执政理念的必然要求.     

古籍咨询工作中的新视角

本文讨论古籍咨询的服务创新问题,提出了内容咨询这一新概念。认为根据个人自身条件,有些咨询人员不妨可以对古籍的内容进行研究,这有利于与读者进行深入的交流,可以提高咨询水平的深度。     

国外绿色农业科技信息资源建设与启示

分别从绿色农业科技信息网站、数据库、多媒体服务平台、科技咨询、研究机构和专业协会合作组织等几个方面深入研究了国外绿色农业科技信息资源建设情况及成功经验,提出了对北京市相关工作的对策建议。     

复合图书馆的信息服务探讨

复合图书馆作为图书馆的一种发展形态，有其自身的特点和要求，有许多值得研究的内容。复合图书馆的读者服务工作是图书馆工作的出发点和各项业务工作的最终价值体现。文章分析了目前图书馆读者服务工作面临的形势，探讨了我们应采取的措施。     

农业院校图书馆学科导航系统建设探讨

农业院校图书馆有必要通过建设学科导航系统对网络农业信息资源进行搜集和整理。在学科导航系统建设中，资源分类要反映出本枝的学科特色，资源搜集可采用多种方法，资源筛选和描述、系统维护和更新是重要的工作环节。