Pollinator behavioural responses to grazing intensity

It has been suggested that intensive grazing management, aimed at maintaining plant diversity, might not be the optimal choice to preserve diversity of insects in semi-natural pastures. In the present study the behaviour of flower visiting insects was studied in two semi-natural pastures in central Sweden. Two grazing treatments were established with one grazed from mid-May, “continuous”, and one grazed from mid-July, “late”. Flower visitors were followed for 9 weeks in summer 2003 in 7 pairs of 5 × 5 m plots on two sides of a fence dividing the two grazing treatments. Visitor behaviour was studied on three decision levels between: (1) habitats, (2) flowers and (3) activities on flowers. The pattern varied between decision levels: More species and individual visitors chose to forage in the late grazing treatment. Visitation rate and flower constancy did not differ between treatments and was related, to a large extent, to plant species richness. In relation to flowers, insects utilized a broader diversity of activities in the late grazing treatment. All patterns were consistent across sites and during the whole study period. The differences in pollinator abundance and activities on flowers were best explained by the higher abundance of flowers. It is suggested that studies of insect behaviour may be a useful tool when deciding on management recommendations. Late grazing is recommended as a useful management regime and might potentially function as a substitute for mowing in the future.     

Regeneration patterns in a Central European dry heathland: effects of burning,sod-cutting and cutting

Vegetation development in dry heathlands was studied during a six-year period following experimental burning, sod-cutting and cutting in a continental area in the southern part of the Czech Republic (Podyjí National Park). Calluna vulgaris-dominated heathlands in the area were composed of uneven-aged stands and had been unmanaged for several decades. The aim of the study was testing the applicability of Western European management systems to nature conservation in a continental area. Species composition was recorded in 8 permanent plots using 25×25 cm grids, and vegetation recovery following different treatments was analysed. Calluna recovered successfully after burning. Burning dense heathlands, which contained a large amount of woody fuel, resulted in a medium-intensity fire that destroyed moss mats and litter and exposed patches of bare ground to facilitate Calluna regeneration by seed, in addition to vegetative regrowth. On the contrary, in open heathlands with patches of herbaceous vegetation, low-intensity fires which failed to expose mineral soil were more typical. Almost all Calluna regeneration was vegetative in this case, and regrowth was slower. Heathland recovery after sod-cutting to mineral soil depended on whether or not Calluna seed germination occurred in the plot. With germination, the community developed towards heathland; without towards grassland. Cutting promoted a striking increase in grass cover, which was followed by the slow recovery of Calluna. The experiments suggest that of these management systems, burning is perhaps the most appropriate in the study area. A nature conservation management system is proposed, based on sheep grazing combined with rotational burning of restricted patches.     

河南省藓类植物新报

报道了最近在河南省宝天曼自然保护区所采１４号藓类植物标本中,经研究,其中包括１个新变种,即：苏氏牛舌藓河南变种Ａｎｏｍｏｄｏｎ ｓｏｌｏｖｊｏｖｉｉ Ｌａｚａｒｅｎｋｏ ｖａｒ．ｈｅｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓ Ｔａｎ,Ｂｏｕｆｆｏｒｄ ｅｆ Ｙｉｎｇ,ｖａｒ．ｎｏｖ．另外有８种为河南省新纪录。     

Nature conservation on decommissioned military training areas – German approaches and experiences

Military training areas (MTAs) host high numbers of endangered habitats and species due to their large area, generally low fertilizer and biocide exposure, and a high dynamic of disturbances caused by military training activities. Since the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, thousands of former military properties have been closed due to international disarmament agreements. Based on a literature review, we present the importance of decommissioned MTAs in Germany for nature conservation, their number, area, and status, as well as the German approaches and experiences managing these sites. More than 119,000 ha of former military areas of high conservation value were transferred by the Federal Government to German Federal States, the German Federal Environmental Foundation, and other nature conservation organizations as part of the so-called National Nature Heritage (NNH), and an additional 60,000 ha were saved in other ways. It is a big challenge in nature conservation to establish appropriate management systems to maintain the endangered habitats and species on these sites, most of which are contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO). Several projects have been implemented in Germany to develop strategies to deal with UXO contamination. We discuss management options, from prescribed burning on UXO contaminated sites to the establishment of wilderness, in the light of the requirements of the European Union’s Natura 2000 network of protected areas.     

The role of macrofungi in environmental conservation

Abstract

The motives for the conservation of fungi are briefly outlined. The data and methods needed for successful use of fungi in environmental conservation are mentioned. A survey is given of the main habitats of threatened fungi in Western and Central Europe, including data on the significance of their mycoflora, the causes of decrease and possible measures to improve the situation. The value of macrofungi as bio-indicators for environmental quality is discussed and demonstrated with three examples: the indicator value of wood-inhabiting fungi for undisturbed forest sites; of ectomycorrhizal fungi for air pollution stress in forests and of saprotrophic fungi for the duration of undisturbed grassland use. Lists of indicator species with different indicator values for air pollution stress and grassland use are provided.     

Decreasing deposition will reduce costs for nature management

In this paper, we present a method to estimate the additional costs made by nature reserve managers to mitigate the effects of atmospheric deposition. Theoretically, these extra costs may be saved when deposition levels drop. The costs were calculated per Nature Target Type (NTT) and management intensity for both the current (high) and reduced deposition levels. The resulting ecological quality was estimated in both cases. We calculated the difference in costs based on the management intensities required to maintain ecological quality at the current and reduced nitrogen deposition levels. For the NTTs within the clusters grassland, reed and rough land, and heathland we used dynamic simulation models. For forests and moorland pools we used expert knowledge to estimate the reduction in management costs due to a decrease in deposition. The total amount of money that may be saved because of the reduction of deposition rates is estimated at 42 million euro per year for the period from 2000 to 2020 for the assessed NTTs. The highest savings can be made in grasslands; 28 million euro. On average the savings were 80 €/ha/yr, which ranged from 5 €/ha/yr for forest to 299 €/ha/yr for reed and rough land.     

自然保护区生态旅游存在的问题及其管理对策

自然保护区内开展生态旅游,可提高公众的环保意识,增加保护区的经济收入,但也会对保护区的生态平衡和动植物资源造成一定的负面影响。如何处理好自然保护与旅游开发的关系日益引起人们的关注,该文对国内外开展生态旅游的自然保护区进行了调查分析,结论认为,在自然保护区内开展生态旅游,必须采取切实有效的管理措施,进行科学规划,完善管理制度和监测体系,以达到不破坏生态环境和旅游资源永续利用的目的。     

森林草地转换对景观视觉效果的影响

基于景观保护的视点,定量研究了森林草地转换对景观视觉效果的影响．结果表明,中景域的可视区域比近景域和远景域大,草地建设对中景域景观视觉效果的影响也最大,因此,中景域是重要的景观保护对象．对草地内林地的可视量分析可知,各景域的可视林地多分布在400～600m高海拔上。25°以上的坡度范围内分布偏少．并探讨了草地建成后应采取的景观管理和保护对策,以增加草地景观的视觉效果．     

关于IUCN和WWF联合植物保护研究计划工作的成就和今后的任务

植物是人类和动物生活所必需,由于缺乏长远规划的目标,无计划的滥用已导致许多植物灭绝或陷入濒临灭绝的境地。为此,IUCN—WWF联合建立了“植物保护研究计划”,并把其列入他们各自工作的重点。主要工作内容有下列各项:1)传播信息宣传群众;2)建立必要的植物保护的工作条件:3)植物遗传资源的保护:4)野生经济植物的保护:5)加强植物园开展植物保护的工作条件:6)促进植物丰富的国家开展植物保护工作。     

Do national parks protect natural landscapes?

Establishing national parks should result from a desire to protect natural or near natural landscapes with the lowest degree of anthropogenic transformation. This paper tries to ascertain whether national parks in Poland protect the most natural landscapes and how far they have been affected by humans. The level of anthropogenic transformation of natural landscapes was assessed based on an analysis of the percentage of natural, semi-natural and anthropogenic land cover. The vast majority of national parks in Poland (21 out of 23) protect landscapes which have been minimally transformed by humans (RAT_TNP ranges from 1.01 to 1.16). Only two kinds of natural landscapes, those that are the most transformed by humans, are not represented within the set of the Polish national parks. Hence, the distribution of national parks reflects the degree of anthropogenic landscape transformation. The proposed method could be applied to any type of spatial unit and thus be the basis for designating areas that should be protected.