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"human land use"
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Interpreting variation to advance predictive restoration science
1. Ecological restoration is a global priority that holds great potential for benefiting natural ecosystems, but restoration outcomes are notoriously unpredictable. Resolving this unpredictability represents a major, but critical challenge to the science of restoration ecology. 2. In an effort to move restoration ecology toward a more predictive science, we consider the key issue of variability. Typically, restoration outcomes vary relative to goals (i.e. reference or desired future conditions) and with respect to the outcomes of other restoration efforts. The field of restoration ecology has largely considered only this first type of variation, often focusing on an oversimplified success vs. failure dichotomy. The causes of variation, particularly among restoration efforts, remain poorly understood for most systems. 3. Variation associated with restoration outcomes is a consequence of how, where and when restoration is conducted; variation is also influenced by how the outcome of restoration is measured. We propose that variation should decrease with the number of factors constraining restoration and increase with the specificity of the goal. When factors (e.g. harsh environmental conditions, limited species reintroductions) preclude most species, little variation will exist among restorations, particularly when goals are associated with metrics such as physical structure, where species may be broadly interchangeable. Conversely, when few constraints to species membership exist, substantial variation may result and this will be most pronounced when restoration is assessed by metrics such as taxonomic composition. 4. Synthesis and applications. The variability we observe during restoration results from both restoration context (how, where and when restoration is conducted) and how we evaluate restoration outcomes. To advance the predictive capacity of restoration, we outline a research agenda that considers metrics of restoration outcomes, the drivers of variation among existing restoration efforts, experiments to quantify and understand variation in restoration outcomes, and the development of models to organise, interpret and forecast restoration outcomes.
Journal Article
Atlas of the Irish rural landscape
\"The second edition of Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape is a magnificently illustrated, beautifully written, and thoroughly updated introduction to the hidden riches of the Irish landscape. Topics include archaeology, field and settlement patterns, houses, demesnes, villages and small towns, monuments, woodland, bogs, roads, canals, and a host of other features. The Atlas combines superbly chosen illustrations and cartography with a text amenable to a general reader. Hundreds of maps, diagrams, photographs, and paintings present accessible information suitable for any school, college, or home. New content in the contemporary section takes into account the Celtic Tiger and explores six fresh case studies - Tory Island (Donegal), the Wicklow Uplands, Inistiogue (County Kilkenny), Aughris (County Sligo), Clonfert (County Galway), and Point Lance in Newfoundland. This second edition of the award-winning Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape continues to increase the visibility of the landscape within national heritage while establishing a proper basis for conservation and planning\"--Publisher description.
Book
Patterns and correlates of claims for brown bear damage on a continental scale
1. Wildlife damage to human property threatens human-wildlife coexistence. Conflicts arising from wildlife damage in intensively managed landscapes often undermine conservation efforts, making damage mitigation and compensation of special concern for wildlife conservation. However, the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of damage and claims at large scales are still poorly understood. 2. Here, we investigated the patterns of damage caused by brown bears Ursus arctos and its ecological and socio-economic correlates at a continental scale. We compiled information about compensation schemes across 26 countries in Europe in 2005-2012 and analysed the variation in the number of compensated claims in relation to (i) bear abundance, (ii) forest availability, (iii) human land use, (iv) management practices and (v) indicators of economic wealth. 3. Most European countries have a posteriori compensation schemes based on damage verification, which, in many cases, have operated for more than 30 years. On average, over 3200 claims of bear damage were compensated annually in Europe. The majority of claims were for damage to livestock (59%), distributed throughout the bear range, followed by damage to apiaries (21%) and agriculture (17%), mainly in Mediterranean and eastern European countries. 4. The mean number of compensated claims per bear and year ranged from 0-1 in Estonia to 8-5 in Norway. This variation was not only due to the differences in compensation schemes; damage claims were less numerous in areas with supplementary feeding and with a high proportion of agricultural land. However, observed variation in compensated damage was not related to bear abundance. 5. Synthesis and applications. Compensation schemes, management practices and human land use influence the number of claims for brown bear damage, while bear abundance does not. Policies that ignore this complexity and focus on a single factor, such as bear population size, may not be effective in reducing claims. To be effective, policies should be based on integrative schemes that prioritize damage prevention and make it a condition of payment of compensation that preventive measures are applied. Such integrative schemes should focus mitigation efforts in areas or populations where damage claims are more likely to occur. Similar studies using different species and continents might further improve our understanding of conflicts arising from wildlife damage.
Journal Article
Zoonotic malaria transmission and land use change in Southeast Asia: what is known about the vectors
Zoonotic
Plasmodium
infections in humans in many Southeast Asian countries have been increasing, including in countries approaching elimination of human-only malaria transmission. Most simian malarias in humans are caused by
Plasmodium knowlesi
, but recent research shows that humans are at risk of many different simian
Plasmodium
species. In Southeast Asia, simian
Plasmodium
species are mainly transmitted by mosquitoes in the
Anopheles leucosphyrus
and
Anopheles dirus
complexes. Although there is some evidence of species outside the Leucosphyrus Group transmitting simian
Plasmodium
species, these await confirmation of transmission to humans. The vectors of monkey malarias are mostly found in forests and forest fringes, where they readily bite long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques (the natural reservoir hosts) and humans. How changing land-uses influence zoonotic malaria vectors is still poorly understood. Fragmentation of forests from logging, agriculture and other human activities is associated with increased zoonotic
Plasmodium
vector exposure. This is thought to occur through altered macaque and mosquito distributions and behaviours, and importantly, increased proximity of humans, macaques, and mosquito vectors. Underlying the increase in vector densities is the issue that the land-use change and human activities create more oviposition sites and, in correlation, increases availably of human blood hosts. The current understanding of zoonotic malaria vector species is largely based on a small number of studies in geographically restricted areas. What is known about the vectors is limited: the data is strongest for distribution and density with only weak evidence for a limited number of species in the Leucosphyrus Group for resting habits, insecticide resistance, blood feeding habits and larval habitats. More data are needed on vector diversity and bionomics in additional geographic areas to understand both the impacts on transmission of anthropogenic land-use change and how this significant disease in humans might be controlled.
Journal Article
Changing planet : what is the environmental impact of human migration and settlement?
Discusses the history of human migration and examines how natural areas are being changed by human movement and urbanization, including information on deforestation, emergency migration, and solutions for the future.
Book
Climate Change and CO2 Fertilization Have Played Important Roles in the Recent Decadal Vegetation Greening Trend on the Chinese Loess Plateau
Vegetation greening has been widely occurring on the Chinese Loess Plateau, and the contributions of human land-use management have been well-understood. However, the influences of climatic change and CO2 fertilization on reported vegetation variations remain difficult to determine. Therefore, we quantified the impacts of multiple factors on vegetation changes for the Chinese Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2019 by integrating satellite-based leaf area index (LAI) and simulated LAI from dynamic global vegetation models. More than 96% of the vegetated areas of the Loess Plateau exhibited greening trends, with an annually averaged satellite-based LAI rate of 0.037 ± 0.006 m2 m−2 a−1 (P < 0.01). Human land-use management and environmental change have jointly accelerated vegetation growth, explaining 54% and 46% of the overall greening trend, respectively. CO2 fertilization and climate change explain 55% and 45% of the greening trend due to environmental change, respectively; solar radiation and precipitation were the main driving factors for climate-induced vegetation greenness (P < 0.05). Spatially, the eastern part of the Loess Plateau was dominated by CO2 fertilization, while the western part was mainly affected by climate change. Furthermore, solar radiation was the key limiting factor affecting LAI variations in the relatively humid area, while precipitation was the major influencing factor in relatively arid areas. This study highlights the important roles that climate change and CO2 fertilization have played in vegetation greenness in recent decades of the Loess Plateau, despite strong influences of anthropogenic footprint.
Journal Article
The role of people, parks and precipitation on the frequency and timing of fires in a sub-Saharan savanna ecosystem
BackgroundThe Lupande Game Management Area (GMA) and the adjacent South Luangwa National Park (NP) in Zambia allow comparison of fire regimes in African savannas with different human densities.AimsTo investigate humans’ effects on fire regimes within a sub-Saharan savanna ecosystem.MethodsWe delineated burned areas for the Lupande GMA and South Luangwa NP using 156 Landsat images from 1989 to 2017. We performed comparisons of fire regimes between the Lupande GMA and South Luangwa NP using various burned area variables and assessed their association with precipitation.Key resultsOverall, and compared with the South Luangwa NP, the Lupande GMA had a greater extent of burned area and a higher frequency of repeat burns. The Lupande GMA experienced fires earlier in the fire season, which are typically less damaging to woody vegetation. We observed a significant positive relationship between precipitation and burned area trends in South Luangwa NP but not in the Lupande GMA, suggesting that precipitation increases burned area in South Luangwa NP.ConclusionsResults support the theory that human fire management mitigates climate’s effect, particularly rainfall, on interannual burned area variation.ImplicationsThis study shows that human-dominated fire regimes in savannas can alter the influence of precipitation.
Journal Article