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.     

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。     

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。     

深化馆系资料室共建-扬馆系所长

本文分析了系部资料室在服务教学科研工作中的特殊地位与优势，同时分析了系部资料室建设存在的一些问题，提出系部资料室信息深化服务的建议。     

Landscape and habitat factors affecting cabot's tragopan Tragopan caboti occurrence in habitat fragments.

Cabot's tragopan Tragopan caboti is an endemic and endangered pheasant of the lower montane forests of southeastern China. The typical habitats of the tragopan have been seriously fragmented because of forest management for timber production and farmland reclamation in recent years. The effects of the fragment size and isolation on the distribution of the cabot's tragopan were studied in Wuyanling Natural Reserve. Thirty one habitat fragments (2.5-48.5 ha) surrounded by non-habitat sapling coniferous forests, in an intensively managed forested landscape, were surveyed over four seasons for the occurrence of cabot's tragopan. Five of the 31 fragments were occupied in all four seasons and nine were not occupied. Both landscape and habitat factors affected the occurrence of cabot's tragopan, with landscape factors having the greatest effect. Large and less isolated habitat fragments containing a larger amount of the tree Daphniphyllum macropodum were occupied significantly more often than small, isolated fragments. The appearance of cabot's tragopan in the habitat fragments was best explained by the size of the fragments, the distance to the nearest suitable habitat and the amount of macropdous daphniphyllum trees. Our results could be used to improve the management of the forests where Cabot's tragopan occurs in southeastern China.     

超级居群：连接生境多样性和生物多样性之桥

在达尔文（1859）看来,新物种只有通过竞争或者自然选择的方式淘汰原有物种才能进入由其他物种占据的生境并成功定居下来。然而,新物种进入生境并成功定居还有另外一个途径,那就是由于超级居群能在全球尺度上改变整个地球环境,从而能在原有环境中创造出一些全新的微环境来,正是这些全新的微环境使新物种避开了和原有定居者的剧烈竞争,很容易地进入了一直由其他物种占据的生境中并成功地定居下来。换句话说,超级居群导致了全球环境的分化,导致了全球尺度上的生境多样性。同时,超级居群通过环境的异质化为新物种准备好了很多全新的微环境,新物种在全新的微环境中的成功定居实现了新物种和原有定居者的长期共存。而这种长期共存导致了整个生物圈的生物多样性的增加。超级居群是地球上很多新环境的创造者,是生境多样性和生物多样性之间的桥梁,据此就能很容易地解释新物种为什么不时能和原有定居者共存甚至依赖于原有定居者,从而导致二者间剧烈竞争缺失的现象。     

The influence of sampling scheme and interpolation method on the power to detect spatial effects of forest birds in Ontario (Canada)

Spatial ecology is becoming an increasingly important component of resource management, and the general monitoring of how human activities affect the distribution and abundance of wildlife. Yet most work on the reliability of sampling strategies is based on a non-spatial analysis of variance paradigm, and little work has been done assessing the power of alternative spatial methods for creating reliable maps of animal abundance. Such a map forms a critical response variable for multiple scale studies relating landscape structure to biotic function. The power to reconstruct patterns of distribution and abundance is influenced by sample placement strategy and density, the nature of spatial auto-correlation among points, and by the technique used to extrapolate points into an animal abundance map. Faced with uncertainty concerning the influence of these factors, we chose to first synthesize a model reference system of known properties and then evaluate the relative performance of alternative sampling and mapping procedures using it. We used published habitat associations of tree nesting boreal neo-tropical birds, a classified habitat map from the Manitou Lakes area of northwestern Ontario, and point count means and variances determined from field studies in boreal Canada to create 4 simulated models of avian abundance to function as reference maps. Four point sampling strategies were evaluated by 4 spatial mapping methods. We found mixed-cluster sampling to be an effective point sampling strategy, particularly when high habitat fragmentation was avoided by restricting samples to habitat patches >10 ha in size. We also found that of the 4 mapping methods, only stratified ordinary point kriging (OPK) was able to generate maps that reproduced an embedded landscape-scale spatial effect that reduced nesting bird abundance in areas of higher forest age-class fragmentation. Global OPK was effective only for detecting broader, regional-scale differences. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of land ownership and landscape-level factors on rare-species richness in natural areas of southern Ontario,Canada

Surprisingly few studies have considered the extent to which the nature of the ownership of land is associated with differences in biodiversity. We analysed ownership and other landscape-level effects on rare-species richness for both globally- and regionally-rare biota (including birds, herpetofauna, butterflies, mammals, and plants) in 289 designated natural areas (NAs) in southern Ontario, Canada. Information about each NA −including area, number of plant communities, ownership status and details of species diversity were collected from published sources. Length of perimeter of NA, relative isolation, and an estimate of fragmentation were measured using image analysis and GIS techniques. NAs were in general relatively small, with mean area of 158 ha (median 85 ha, range from 0.9 to 1278 ha) for private NAs; public NAs had mean area of 132 ha (median 16 ha, range from 0.1 to 1481 ha). Mean number of plant communities was 4.6 (median 4, range 1- 13) at private NAs and 3.8 (median 3, range 1-16) at public NAs. Our results show that, of several landscape-level factors, area had the greatest effects on rare-species richness and other biotic indices. Effects of area were followed by effects of plant community diversity, however this was itself significantly affected by area and the extent of perimeter of the NA. Both these factors were followed by effects of ownership of the NA and by effects of isolation of the NA (represented by minimum distance to nearest NA and by number of NAs in 10 km radius). Other landscape- level factors did not appear to have overall significant effects. Variation in area accounted for 0.1% to 29% of variation in number of rare species, with lower values for globally-rare, than for regionally-rare taxa. For all biotic groups, public ownership of NAs was associated with significantly greater rare-species richness compared to private ownership, even after other factors such as area were controlled. For all globally-rare biota except butterflies, area of NA had greater effects on rare-species richness than did ownership. Richness of regionally- rare birds was more affected by plant community diversity than by area of NA. Number of recorded plant communities accounted from 2.1% of variation in number of globally-rare plant species to as high as 31% of variation in regionally-rare butterflies. The diversity of plant communities was itself influenced by total site area (accounting for 45% of variation), extent of elongation of the NA, and both external- and interior- edge perimeters. Public NAs had greatest numbers of rare biota and so should be a significant focus for conservation programs. Smaller, privately-owned patches of natural area dominate (by number and area) in this densely populated region and their significance should not be overlooked. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.