Multi-scale assessment of habitats and stressors influencing stream fish assemblages in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin,USA

This study determined if a spatial hierarchy existed with respect to reach-scale habitat, subwatershed-scale, and watershed-scale geomorphology and land use stressors on fish assemblages in southeastern U.S. coastal plain streams. During May–October 2009–2012, fishes were sampled by seine, and habitat was assessed at 50 reaches in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin (USA). Using partial redundancy analysis (pRDA) a variance decomposition procedure was used to partial out influences of confounding covariables at each spatial scale. Reach-scale habitat had the strongest association with the assemblage. Stream width, depth, aquatic vegetation and human debris cover, rapid habitat assessment score, and large woody debris volume were the most important variables. At subwatershed and watershed scales, natural and anthropogenic characteristics were important, including elevation, gradient, watershed area, wetland cover, stream density, road, dam and oil/gas well densities. Six species were associated most strongly with the watershed variables, compared to reach- and subwatershed-scale variables. These species had more “r-selected” life-history strategies (e.g., smaller eggs, shorter life spans, multiple broods, longer spawning season, and trophic generalists). In contrast, most species that were associated strongest with reach-scale variables exhibited more “k-selected” life-history traits (e.g., larger eggs, longer life spans, shorter spawning season, single brood, and trophic specialists).     

Development of community metrics to evaluate recovery of Minnesota wetlands

Monitoring wetland recovery requires assessment tools that efficiently and reliably discern ecosystem changes in response to changes in land use. The biological indicator approach pioneered for rivers and streams that uses changes in species assemblages to interpret degradation levels may be a promising monitoring approach for wetlands. We explored how well metrics based on species assemblages related to land use patterns for eight kinds of wetlands in Minnesota. We evaluated land use on site and within 500 m,1000 m, 2500 m and 5000 m of riverine, littoral, and depressional wetlands (n = 116) in three ecoregions. Proportion of agriculture, urban, grassland, forest,and water were correlated with metrics developed from plant, bird, fish, invertebrate, and amphibian community data collected from field surveys. We found79 metrics that relate to land use, including five that may be useful for many wetlands: proportion of wetland birds, wetland bird richness, proportion of insectivorous birds, importance of Carex, importance of invasive perennials. Since very few metrics were significant for even one-half of the wetland types surveyed, our data suggest that monitoring recovery in wetlands with community indicators will likely require different metrics,depending on type and ecoregion. In addition, wetlands within extensively degraded ecoregions may be most problematic for indicator development because biotic degradation is historic and severe. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatio-temporal habitat assessment of the Gangetic floodplain in the Hastinapur wildlife sanctuary

Remote sensing provides multi-dimensional and multi-temporal information about habitat, insights into the significant drivers of change, and the key factors affecting landscape dynamics. Such information is crucial to provide perspective and a more profound understanding of ecological surveys. This study utilizes Google Earth Engine's capability to assess a riverine wetland grassland floodplain in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary (HWS) along the Ganga River, which is a critical habitat for wintering migratory birds, the critically endangered gharial, turtles, aquatic mammals such as otters and dolphins, and cervid species such as swamp deer. We have developed a framework for regular monitoring through rapid habitat assessment, which visualizes the spatio-temporal change in land cover, the seasonal dynamics in water and vegetation, changes due to anthropogenic influences on the landscape, and finally, how these factors affect the habitat availability of species of concern in the HWS. The results show a dynamic river system with high seasonal variations. The vegetation trend shows increasing greenness, indicative of the conversion of grassland, scrubland, and herbaceous cover to more permanent vegetation, which will adversely affect the riparian habitat structure. A habitat suitability index generated through geospatial analysis using the weighted overlay method suggests that 40.07% of the HWS, nearly 767.12 km², comprising mainly the riverscape, wetland, and riparian grasslands, is suitable habitat for aquatic and semi-aquatic species. However, only 9.93% of the sanctuary comprising 197.27 km², is available as a core habitat. Further, the area is threatened by encroachment evident from the rapidly increasing land-use intensity and night light pollution, which puts the grasslands sheltered to swamp deer and other wildlife at higher risk leaving almost 27.9% of the area comprising 533.63 km² unsuitable for wildlife. Urban and agricultural land use has taken over 67% of the sanctuary. An increase in minimum radiance value representing ALAN, from 0.41 to 0.73 W/m²-sr in just six years from 2015 to 2021, shows a reduction in nocturnal darkness, reducing safe niches for wildlife. The study results provide critical baseline information for ecological surveys and a rapid assessment platform for future sanctuary management. Constant monitoring of anthropogenic activities such as farming, settlements, and transport routes threatening the habitat is essential for informed conservation management decisions.     

Investigating the causes of fish community change in the Dahan River (Taiwan) using an autecology matrix

Recent work in river restoration and water resources management has seen the need to change the focus of analysis from reach to watershed scales to better define causes of watershed impairment. However, comprehensive investigations at a watershed scale are hindered by difficulties in using reach data that was collected for analysis at small spatial and short temporal scales. This is especially true for ecological and biological data. The approach assembles assessment and monitoring data and uses an autecology matrix to identify the changes in environmental and ecological conditions that may be associated with community change over spatial and temporal scales appropriate for ecosystem analysis in watersheds. The analysis uses a weight-of-evidence approach based on the percent of the community associated with a matrix factor. We have used the autecology matrix to examine historical fish community data from the Dahan River, Taiwan. The results show that the method provides an improved understanding of historical influences on fish community structure and supports a process-based analysis of community change over watershed scales and historic time periods. Further the method helps identify habitat requirements for the fish communities at each sampling site, supporting management and ecological restoration objectives.     

Automatization and evaluation of a remote sensing-based indicator for wetland health assessment in East Africa on national and local scales

To avoid wetland degradation and promote sustainable wetlands use, decision-makers and managing institutions need quantified and spatially explicit information on wetland ecosystem condition for policy development and wetland management. Remote sensing holds a significant potential for wetland mapping, inventorying, and monitoring. The Wetland Use Intensity (WUI) indicator, which is not specific to a particular crop and which requires little ancillary data, is based on the Mean Absolute Spectral Dynamics (MASD), which is a cumulative measure of reflectance change across a time series of optical satellite images. It is sensitive to the compound effects of land cover changes caused by different agricultural practices, flooding or burning. The more frequent and intrusive management practices are on the land cover, the stronger the WUI signal. WUI thus serves as a surrogate indicator to measure pressure on wetland ecosystems.We developed a new and automated approach for WUI calculation that is implemented in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing environment. Its automatic calculation, use of regular Sentinel-2 derived time series, and automatic cloud and cloud shadow masking renders WUI applicable for wetland management and produces high quality results with minimal user requirements, even under cloudy conditions. For the first time, we quantitatively tested the capacity of WUI to contribute to wetland health assessment in Rwanda on the national and local scale. On the national scale, we analyzed the discriminative power of WUI between different wetland management categories. On the local scale, we evaluated the possible contribution of WUI to a wetland ecosystem health scoring system. The results suggest that the adapted WUI indicator is informative, does not overlap with existing indicators, and is applicable for wetland management. The possibility to measure use intensity reliably and consistently over time with satellite data is useful to stakeholders in wetland management and wetland health monitoring, and can complement established field-based wetland health assessment frameworks.     

Developing an index of wetland condition from ecological data: An example using HGM functional variables from the Nanticoke watershed,USA

Demand for data on the ecological condition of wetlands is increasing as state and federal management programs recognize its value in reporting on the ambient condition of the resource, targeting restoration and protection efforts, evaluating the effects of mitigation and restoration practices, supporting regulatory decisions, and tracking the impact of land use decisions. We developed an approach for generating a single measure of wetland condition from ecological variables used in hydrogeomorphic (HGM) assessment. An Index of Wetland Condition (IWC) was developed from HGM field data collected to assess freshwater, non-tidal flat, riverine, and depression wetlands in the Nanticoke River watershed. The HGM variables were screened and scored based on a range check, responsiveness, and metric redundancy, employing a method used to develop indices of biotic integrity. Weights of the individual variables were adjusted to reflect our understanding of wetland ecology and to include variables that represented the vegetation, hydrology, and buffer of a wetland. The final IWC score discriminated high, medium, and low site disturbance classes in flat and riverine wetlands and high and low disturbance classes in depressions, one-way ANOVA F-values ranged from 44.5 to 79.1 (all p <0.0001). The combination of the IWC and HGM assessments provides a comprehensive evaluation of the wetland resource. HGM produces information on specific wetland functions. The IWC concisely conveys the ecological condition of the resource and maximizes the utility of the data collected in an HGM assessment.     

A Model to Assess Restoration of Abandoned Pasture in Costa Rica Based on Soil Hydrologic Features and Forest Structure

An ecological functional assessment (EFA) was used on 10 southwest Costa Rica sites representing a chronosequence of formerly pastured lands to undisturbed tropical wet forest. Ecological functional assessment is a tool designed to assess wetland functions in the United States that was adapted to upland forests. Models to indicate characteristic soil hydrologic features and soil structure and aboveground spatial structure of habitat were used to examine the degree to which selected sites within the chronosequence approach the undisturbed condition of the natural forest. An index of the functional model for the maintenance of characteristic soil hydrologic features (such as infiltration, bulk density, etc.) showed that the 20‐year‐old secondary forest was at approximately 60% of the condition of the undisturbed sites, whereas active pasture was evaluated at approximately 20% of the reference undisturbed forest; 4‐ and 10‐year‐old sites were intermediate. The spatial structure of habitat model showed that 20‐year‐old secondary forest was approximately 50% of reference forest, whereas active pasture was approximately 10% of the condition of undisturbed forest; 4‐year‐old sites were evaluated at approximately 20% and 10‐year‐old sites at approximately 60% of the reference state. Overall the functional assessment process indicated that degraded tropical wet forest sites have recovered almost 60% of their functional qualities 10 years following pasture abandonment. These results indicate that EFA can be a useful technique for monitoring restoration programs in the tropics.     

The ecological condition of geographically isolated wetlands in the southeastern United States: The relationship between landscape level assessments and macrophyte assemblages

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are common features of the Dougherty Plain physiographic region in southwestern Georgia. Due to lack of protection at the state and federal levels, these wetlands are threatened by intensive agricultural and silvicultural land uses common in the region. Recently, the ecological condition of such GIWs was assessed for the southeastern United States using the Landscape Development Intensity Index (LDI), a practical assessment tool that relies on remotely sensed land use and land cover (LULC) data surrounding isolated wetlands to rapidly predict wetland condition. However, no assessments have been attempted for GIWs in the Dougherty Plain specifically. Our goal was to develop a framework to guide and refine remote assessment of wetland condition within this agriculturally intense region of the southeastern USA. In this study, we characterized human disturbances associated with isolated wetlands in the Dougherty Plain, and paired the rapid assessment of GIWs using LDI with an intensive assessment of wetland plant communities. Specifically, we: (1) examined how macrophyte assemblages and vegetation metrics vary across a human disturbance gradient in the Dougherty Plain; (2) compared multiple condition assessment outcomes using variations of the LDI method that differed in spatial extent and resolution of LULC categories; and (3) determined the predicted condition of GIWs in the Dougherty Plain as indexed by LDI and compared with region-wide assessments of GIWs of the southeastern USA. Generally, the relationship between wetland plant communities and surrounding land use supported the assumptions of the LDI index in that wetlands surrounded by agricultural land use classes featured distinct plant communities relative to those surrounded by forested land use classes. Our results indicated that finer spatial resolution of LULC data improved the predictive ability of LDI. However, based on incongruence between wetland vegetation composition and LDI scores in some forested landscapes, this study identified limitations of the LDI assessment method, particularly when applied in regions in which prescribed fire is an important ecological driver of vegetation and habitat. Thus, we conclude that LDI may be biased toward an overestimation of reference condition GIWs, even though the habitat may be functionally degraded by the absence of natural processes such as fire. Regardless, relative to the assessment of the entire southeastern US, a greater proportion of total GIWs of the Dougherty Plain were identified as impaired due to the intensity of irrigated agricultural land use.     

An ecological quality status assessment procedure for soft-sediment benthic habitats: Weighing alternative approaches

An assessment procedure for determining the ecological quality status of soft-sediment benthic habitats requires the following aspects: (1) habitat assignation of the samples (habitat approach), (2) reference or target conditions for the benthic parameters (reference approach), and (3) the selection of indicator tools to assess the relative quality status (indicator approach). For all these aspects, different approaches exist, and the indicator selection and reference approaches are largely documented. The aspect of the habitat approach is sometimes neglected, but is essential in determining the reference conditions per habitat type. Benthic habitats differ in structure and function, and as such will show wide variations in statistics or measures between habitats. A major problem, mainly in coastal soft-bottom systems, is to track the deviation lines within data of the different benthic habitat types. This study shows that both a classical community analysis and the use of habitat suitability maps seem to be appropriate tools, but further fine-tuning is necessary. For the second assessment step, an objective assessment of reference conditions is a challenge in areas lacking pristine or minimally disturbed sites, and areas of which historic data are not available. This can be remedied by using a dataset of the area with a good spatial and temporal coverage of the benthic data, thereby avoiding data originating from highly impacted areas. For the third aspect in the assessment procedure, we recommend the use of different indicators with different properties (parameters, algorithms) since it indicates their weaknesses and strengths in the local region.In general, this study showed us that it is valuable to test different existing approaches for EcoQ assessment in a local area, revealing strengths, weaknesses and shortcomings within the assessment regarding data, habitat identification, monitoring strategy, reference settings and indicator use. All these aspects need to be taken into account within an ecological quality status assessment of an area in order to improve its confidence.     

景观对河流生态系统的影响

从景观的视角研究河流生态系统,是目前河流生态学中受到广泛关注且发展迅速的内容之一。流域内多尺度景观强烈影响河流的理化及生物特征,已成为共识,但有关量度、整合景观与河流生态系统二者之间联系的理论体系与方法的建立尚处于起步阶段。对景观组成与空间格局影响河流生态系统的机制与途径进行了系统总结,提出了该领域研究中的主要难题,即如何识别景观中人为因素和自然因素的协变现象,如何衡量多空间尺度景观对河流生态系统的交互影响,如何理解景观阈值的不确定性。为克服当前研究面临的困难与挑战,填补已有知识的不足,提出今后研究的重点方向:河流景观分类系统的改进;更具代表性时空数据的采集;新型景观指标的开发与应用;微观尺度数据与宏观尺度数据的整合等。     

Remotely-sensed indicators for monitoring the general condition of “natural habitat” in watersheds: an application for Delaware’s Nanticoke River watershed

Over the past two decades there has been increasing interest in developing indicators to monitor environmental change. Remote sensing techniques have been primarily used to generate information on land use/land cover changes. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has used this technology to monitor wetland trends and recently developed a set of remotely-sensed indicators to characterize and assess trends in the integrity of natural habitat in watersheds. The indices largely focus on the extent of “natural” cover throughout a given watershed, with an emphasis on locations important to fish, wildlife, and water quality. Six indices address natural habitat extent and four deal with human-caused disturbance. A composite index of natural habitat integrity combining the habitat extent and habitat disturbance indices may be formulated to provide an overall numeric value for a watershed or subbasin. These indices facilitate comparison between watersheds (and subbasins) and assesssment of trends useful for environmental monitoring. This paper describes the indices and presents an example of their application for characterizing and assessing conditions of subbasins within Delaware’s Nanticoke River watershed.     

北京市白河和潮河流域生态健康评价

选取北京市重要的饮用水源密云水库上游白河和潮河流域,结合北京山区流域生态现状,构建了涵盖水域生境结构、水生生物、生态压力和陆域生态格局与功能、生态压力5大类13项指标的评价指标体系,开展了流域生态健康评价。结果表明白河和潮河流域的健康状态整体处于良好等级,但水生生物和陆域生态格局状况相对较差。14个子流域的健康状况差异并不显著,琉璃河、白河下段、汤河上游的健康状况相对较好,潮河中下段和小汤河的健康状况相对较差。流域内不合理的畜禽养殖、岸边带种植及民俗旅游是导致流域生态健康退化的主要原因,建议加强污染负荷排放的控制和监管涉水活动对水生生境的干扰以改善流域健康状况,并重点关注可指示水生态系统早期退化的生物指数,以实现可持续性和适应性的流域管理,保障密云水库的水生态安全。     

River forcing at work: ecological modeling of prograding and regressive deltas

Two explicit landscape simulation models were used to investigate habitat shifts in coastal Louisiana due to varying river forcing and sea level rise scenarios. Wetland conversion to open water and yearly shifts of marsh habitats in two contrasting estuarine regions were examined; the Atchafalaya delta which is a prograding delta area with strong riverine input, and the Barataria Basin is a regressive delta with high wetland loss which is isolated from riverine input. The models linked several modules dynamically across spatial and temporal scales. Both models consisted of a vertically integrated hydrodynamic model coupled with process-based biological modules of above and below ground primary productivity and soil dynamics. The models explored future effects of possible sea level rise and river diversion plans for 30 and 70-year projections starting in 1988. Results showed that increased river forcing had large land preservation impacts, and indicated that healthy functioning of the Mississippi Delta depends largely on inputs of freshwater, nutrients, and sediments in river water. These types of models are useful for research and as management tools for predicting the effects of regional impacts on structural landscape level changes.     

Combining system dynamic model and CLUE-S model to improve land use scenario analyses at regional scale: A case study of Sangong watershed in Xinjiang,China

Uses of models of land use change are primary tools for analyzing the causes and consequences of land use changes, assessing the impacts of land use change on ecosystems and supporting land use planning and policy. However, no single model is able to capture all of key processes essential to explore land use change at different scales and make a full assessment of driving factors and impacts. Based on the multi-scale characteristics of land use change, combination and integration of currently existed models of land use change could be a feasible solution. Taken Sangong watershed as a case study, this paper describes an integrated methodology in which the conversion of land use and its effect model (CLUE), a spatially explicit land use change model, has been combined with a system dynamic model (SD) to analyze land use dynamics at different scales. A SD model is used to calculate area changes in demand for land types as a whole while a CLUE model is used to transfer these demands to land use patterns. Without the spatial consideration, the SD model ensures an appropriate treatment of macro-economic, demographic and technology developments, and changes in economic policies influencing the demand and supply for land use in a specific region. With CLUE model the land use change has been simulated at a high spatial resolution with the spatial consideration of land use suitability, spatial policies and restrictions to satisfy the balance between land use demand and supply. The application of the combination of SD and CLUE model in Sangong watershed suggests that this methodology have the ability to reflect the complex behaviors of land use system at different scales to some extent and be a useful tool for analysis of complex land use driving factors such as land use policies and assessment of its impacts on land use change. The established SD model was fitted or calibrated with the 1987–1998 data and validated with the 1998–2004 data; combining SD model with CLUE-S model, future land use scenarios were analyzed during 2004–2030. This work could be used for better understanding of the possible impacts of land use change on terrestrial ecosystem and provide scientific support for land use planning and managements of the watershed.     

Across the grain: Multi-scale map comparison and land change assessment

Changes in the spatial distribution of land cover and land use can have significant impacts on ecological processes at multiple scales; estimating these changes provides critical data for both monitoring and understanding land-use effects on these processes. One approach to mapping landcover changes, particularly useful over longer periods of time, is comparison of existing landcover maps, (post-classification change analysis). The accuracy of these maps is often unknown and varies depending on data sources and interpretation techniques; therefore, separating change on the ground from differences attributable to sensors and methods is both critical and problematic. Through a novel map comparison method applying major axis regression at multiple spatial grains of analysis, this study partitioned accuracy into components of bias and precision in comparing maps, which aided selection of an optimal analytical grain size. Comparisons between contemporaneous maps showed the magnitude and distribution of error alone, while between-period analyses indicated both cumulative map error and change on the ground. These methods enable exploration of the nature of error and identification of differences between maps, while accounting for the imprecision and bias inherent in the source documents. Mapping landcover change delineates landscapes under recent disturbance pressure, and these measures are more effective as performance indicators for broad-scale evaluation of natural heritage policies and habitat restoration initiatives when error in the data is identified and accounted for.     

A rapid assessment of anthropogenic disturbances in East African wetlands

The use of East African freshwater wetlands for agriculture has increased in recent decades, raising concerns about potential impacts on wetlands and the long-term sustainability of such land use trends. WET-health is an indicator-based rapid wetland assessment approach developed in South Africa. It allows determining the conditions of wetlands in four assessment modules (hydrology, geomorphology, vegetation, and water quality) by observing the degree of deviation of a wetland from its anticipated natural reference state. We tested the transferability of the WET-health concept for East African inland valley swamps and floodplain wetlands based on 114 assessment units at four study sites. Due to large wetland areas and different environmental settings in East Africa, we modified the original approach using a random selection of assessment units and an assessment scheme based on disturbance types (Appendices A and B). Estimated WET-health impact scores were matched with biophysical and socioeconomic variables using a generalized linear mixed model. Land use included largely undisturbed wetland units occurring side by side with seasonally cropped or grazed units, and drained, permanently cultivated units. A strong differentiation of impact scores between the four assessment modules was apparent with highest scores for vegetation and lowest scores for geomorphology. Vegetation and water quality responded most sensitively to land use changes. The magnitude of wetland disturbance is predominantly determined by management factors such as land use intensity, soil tillage, drainage intensity, and the application of agrochemicals and influences vegetation attributes and the provision of ecosystem services. The proposed modification of WET-health enables users to assess large wetland areas during relatively short periods of time. While further studies will be required, WET-health appears to be a promising concept to be applied to wetlands in East Africa and possibly beyond.     

Influences of Multi-Scale Habitat on Metabolism in a Coastal Great Lakes Watershed

Spatial heterogeneity influences ecosystem structure and function across multiple habitat scales. Although primary production and respiration are fundamental to energy cycling in aquatic ecosystems, we know relatively little about how habitat scale influences metabolism. In this study, we adopted a multi-scale habitat approach to evaluate primary production and respiration in a coastal Great Lakes watershed that is experiencing pressure from past, present, and anticipated future human activities. We divided the watershed into five macrohabitats (stream, river, wetland, drowned-river mouth lake, and Great Lake), two mesohabitats (benthic and water column), and four microhabitats (periphytic substrates: sand/sediment, rock, wood, and plant) for evaluation of spatial patterns and synchrony in metabolism. Factors that influenced patterns of metabolism were scale dependent. Algal biomass strongly influenced spatial patterns in metabolism at the meso- and microhabitat scales; greater algal biomass translated to higher areal-specific and lower chlorophyll-specific metabolism at benthic mesohabitat and sand/sediment and rock microhabitats. Benthic metabolism overwhelmed water column metabolism, irrespective of location or time of year. Watershed position was important at the macrohabitat scale, with greater overall metabolism in macrohabitats located lower in the watershed. Average synchrony in metabolism rates was greatest at the macrohabitat scale, suggesting metabolic patterns that are evident at finer scales may become integrated at coarser scales. Our results (1) show that spatial and temporal patterns in metabolism are shaped by factors that are dependent upon habitat scale; (2) highlight the importance of benthic productivity across habitat and season; and (3) suggest that hydrologic connectivity strongly influences ecosystem processes, although physical factors can affect these responses as evidenced by the low levels of synchrony between Lake Michigan and the other macrohabitats.     

城市滨江地区生态空间质量快速评价——以长江南京段为例

生态空间质量能够反映自然环境的优劣程度及其生态服务对人类社会的适宜能力。基于国土空间高质量发展理念,结合湿地生态健康快速评价法,从生境自然性、景观稳定性、环境适宜性和管理调控度等维度构建了适用于城市滨江地区的生态空间质量评价的指标体系,通过现场打分和主成分分析等方法,对长江南京段生态空间质量进行诊断。结果表明：总体上,南京滨江生态空间综合质量处于中等水平,生态斑块在土地利用类型和空间分布上具有显著差异,这与人类活动干扰密切相关。其中,生境自然性的数量等级分布均衡,斑块间具有明显的空间自相关性;景观稳定性的数量等级具有“两头高、中间低”的态势,且呈现距长江越近指标越优的分布格局;环境适宜性与管理调控度表现优良,城市化水平越高的区域,生态空间的管控水平越高。研究结果对国土空间规划和长江岸线生态廊道建设具有一定的理论与实践价值。     

Rapid biodiversity assessment and monitoring method for highly diverse benthic communities: a case study of mediterranean coralligenous outcrops

Increasing anthropogenic pressures urge enhanced knowledge and understanding of the current state of marine biodiversity. This baseline information is pivotal to explore present trends, detect future modifications and propose adequate management actions for marine ecosystems. Coralligenous outcrops are a highly diverse and structurally complex deep-water habitat faced with major threats in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite its ecological, aesthetic and economic value, coralligenous biodiversity patterns are still poorly understood. There is currently no single sampling method that has been demonstrated to be sufficiently representative to ensure adequate community assessment and monitoring in this habitat. Therefore, we propose a rapid non-destructive protocol for biodiversity assessment and monitoring of coralligenous outcrops providing good estimates of its structure and species composition, based on photographic sampling and the determination of presence/absence of macrobenthic species. We used an extensive photographic survey, covering several spatial scales (100s of m to 100s of km) within the NW Mediterranean and including 2 different coralligenous assemblages: Paramuricea clavata (PCA) and Corallium rubrum assemblage (CRA). This approach allowed us to determine the minimal sampling area for each assemblage (5000 cm(2) for PCA and 2500 cm(2) for CRA). In addition, we conclude that 3 replicates provide an optimal sampling effort in order to maximize the species number and to assess the main biodiversity patterns of studied assemblages in variability studies requiring replicates. We contend that the proposed sampling approach provides a valuable tool for management and conservation planning, monitoring and research programs focused on coralligenous outcrops, potentially also applicable in other benthic ecosystems.     

Field-based assessment of wetland condition,wetland extent,and the National Wetlands Inventory in Kentucky,USA

The economic and ecological importance of wetlands is well documented, but there are few studies that have assessed wetland condition and extent for the United States. Many states, including Kentucky, have had no statewide field evaluation of wetlands of any kind. The National Wetland Inventory (NWI) is the largest database for mapped wetlands in the United States and the most comprehensive source of wetland information for Kentucky, but its value for determining wetland condition is limited. Therefore, our objectives were to document wetland extent and condition and assess the agreement between the NWI and field-based wetland characteristics in Kentucky. We conducted field and remote-sensing based assessments of 352 wetlands across the state. NWI-mapped and field-assessed wetlands had similar large-scale patterns; however, for individual wetlands, classification often disagreed. Based on our wetland assessment method, wetlands appear to be of moderate condition, although we found differences among basins, dominant vegetation types, and landscape positions and much variation as many sites scored very low and high. Our findings support previous work showing that rapid assessments are valuable for determining wetland condition for ambient monitoring and other applications. Also, our results provide the foundation for future status and trends studies and suggest an urgent need to update the NWI in Kentucky and elsewhere. We suggest that the NWI could be improved by using newer technology that increases wetland mapping accuracy and including predictions of wetland condition using the enhanced NWI approach.