Impact of land use on plant biodiversity and measures for biodiversity conservation in the Loess Plateau in China – a case study in a hilly-gully region of the Northern Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is a special natural–cultural unit in northern China. Intensive land use in the past has had, and forestation and grass planting at present will have inevitable impacts on plant biodiversity in the Loess Plateau. Based on the analysis of floristic features within three sampling sites with different land use practices and analysis of species richness among different land use types, we discuss impacts of land use on species richness and floristic features in the Northern Loess Plateau. The results drawn from this case study are as follows: (1) It appears that forestation and grass planting have had a positive influence on the local species diversity, but they have contributed little to the native vegetation in terms of conserving its floristic features. (2) Caragana intermedia shrubland, Pinus tabulaeformis forestland, and natural grassland have made important contributions to supporting indigenous species and maintaining local plant biodiversity. (3) There is a significant positive correlation between land use diversity and species richness. These results imply that practicing biodiversity conservation in situ is feasible and the suitable choice for the Loess Plateau. Concrete measures for biodiversity conservation in the area can include setting up small nature reserves and diversifying land use patterns to maintain as much habitat as possible for native vegetation. The artificial Hippophae rhamnoides shrubland should not be further promoted, considering its negative influence on biodiversity conservation.     

Testing the higher-taxon approach: a case study of aquatic marcophytes in China’s northwest arid zone and its implications for conservation

Assessments of biodiversity are time-consuming and require a high level of expert knowledge. A reduced set of taxonomic ranks other than species has been proved to be useful for rapid and cost-effective assessment of biodiversity. However, few studies have examined how well this method performs for aquatic plant group that of enormous ecological importance. We studied the aquatic plant flora in the arid zone of China and examined whether the distribution of species α- and β-diversity could be predicted well from genus-, and family-levels. Analyses of 3 years field data showed that significant and positive relations exist between α-diversity of species and α-diversity of genera and family in both entire arid zone and five sub-zones. In contrast, β-diversity at species level is difficult to predict from β-diversity indexes at higher taxonomic level. The results indicate that higher-taxon α-diversity, especially at the generic level in our research, can be useful surrogates of species α-diversity for aquatic plants conservation.     

Integrating biodiversity conservation into land consolidation in hilly areas – A case study in southwest China

Based on the analysis of land consolidation engineering effects on biodiversity conservation in hilly areas, this study considers integrating biodiversity conservation into traditional land consolidation projects and integration biodiversity conservation measures into land consolidation engineering from the overall planning, land leveling engineering, farmland water conservancy engineering, roads and landscape construction engineering respectively. It aims to conserve biodiversity and improve eco-environment and arable land quality for increase yields of crops by integration biodiversity conservation ideas and measures into land consolidation activities in advance.     

Dead land walking: the value of continued conservation efforts in South Florida’s imperiled pine rocklands

Pine rocklands are deeply imperiled habitats restricted to South Florida and the Caribbean. In South Florida, more than 98% of pine rockland habitat has been destroyed in the past century (outside of Everglades National Park). Due to their proximity to human populations, management options in the remaining fragments are sometimes limited, and fires that are necessary to maintain healthy habitat structure are often excluded. Despite these pressures, conservation initiatives in pine rocklands have been surprisingly successful, and plant extinction has been avoided. In the coming decades, however, sea-level rise threatens to all but eliminate the pine rocklands, and efforts to preserve their many endemic species will likely fail. We synthesize the results of numerous ecological studies and review the successes and failures of conservation in South Florida’s pine rocklands. Further, we illustrate the value of continued conservation efforts, and provide direction in the light of the habitats long-term fate. We advocate the increased use of prescribed fire and, as the effects of climate change become more apparent, the translocation of some endemic species. Finally, we acclaim pine rocklands as a model system for studying how plant communities respond to environmental change. South Florida’s fragmented landscape, with shifting gradients of elevation, salinity, inundation and nutrient availability, should continue to inspire ecologists to address important questions, and better prepare the region, and the world, for the challenges of the coming decades.     

Historical plant records enlighten the conservation efforts of ferns and Lycophytes’ diversity in tropical China

Historical records, e.g., herbarium vouchers, contain information about species distribution since the early days of the scientific exploration of floras until today. These data provide crucial evidence to map the biodiversity of the area of interest and most importantly enable the evaluation of the conservation effectiveness for a given group of organisms. This study aimed to explore the ferns and lycophytes’ diversity of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in tropical China with special emphasis on conservation efforts provided by the currently established protected areas (PAs). Instead of relying exclusively on current observation, the database was compiled from digitalized herbarium vouchers and publications being explored with special attention on the temporal and spatial dimensions of collecting efforts. Utilizing the indices including species richness, weighed endemism, corrected weighted endemism, and beta diversity, hotspots of ferns and lycophytes’ diversity were identified. In turn, the proportion of hotspots located outside PAs was estimated as a measure of conservation gaps in Xishuangbanna. Our results revealed a long collecting history of ferns and lycophytes in Xishuangbanna and this prefecture accumulated a considerable number of historical records covering 20.2 % of Chinese and 3.6% of global fern diversity. The accumulation of historical records showed strong parallelism to the historical events shaping modern China. The spatial distribution of ferns and lycophytes in Xishuangbanna was characterized by a concentration of species richness in southern valleys and endemism in western and northern mountains. In terms of conservation, existing PAs showed higher effectiveness in the protection of species richness, whereas lower effectiveness was observed in the protection of endemism and beta diversity. Our research provided a key reference for understanding the diversity and conservation of ferns and lycophytes in Xishuangbanna, as well as highlighting the locality for future collecting and conservation efforts.     

Is the Natura 2000 network sufficient for conservation of butterfly diversity? A case study in Slovenia

Slovenia has one of the most extensive Natura 2000 networks in Europe with 259 SAC’s covering 31.4% of the country. To determine how well does the current network cover the areas of high butterfly diversity and/or aggregation of the butterfly species of conservation concern, the data from the recent survey for a distribution atlas were used. Altogether 99,423 records of 173 species collated after 1979 were used. The data distribution is slightly biased towards SAC’s, with 44.8% of localities within them, most likely due to sparsely sampled urban areas and intensive farmland areas which are found only outside SAC’s. The diversity and distribution of red listed species was evaluated at a 5 × 5 km grid square level. Additionally the importance of the size of the SAC’s was compared to their butterfly species diversity. In general the high diversity areas also hold the largest aggregation of red listed species with core areas concentrated in SW Slovenia. The SAC’s cover majority of areas with high diversity and the distribution of all but one threatened butterfly species. That species is Colias myrmidone, which is now considered extinct in Slovenia with no records after 1993. The most prominent areas with high conservation value in Slovenia not included in the SAC’s network are the Koro?ka region, Gori?ka Brda region, lower Sava River valley and Slovenske Gorice region. The butterfly diversity in small SAC’s is relatively high with increases in size only gradually increasing the species numbers, thus emphasizing the importance and conservation value of small SAC’s for sustaining high butterfly diversity in Slovenia.     

Australia’s vanishing fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera): a case study in methods for the assessment and conservation of threatened flea species

While invertebrate conservation is attracting increased funding and interest, research remains heavily skewed towards ‘flagship’ insect groups like bees and butterflies. This has resulted in a knowledge gap relating to less popular but equally imperilled groups like fleas. Methods for the risk assessment of host specific parasites were used to determine the conservation status of all host specific flea species distributed in Australia. The results indicated one species apparently extinct, two critically endangered, two endangered, and three vulnerable. Based on these results, novel methods for the conservation of threatened fleas are outlined, including the concepts of holistic conservation and the cryptic loss effect.     

Role of zinc and copper ions in the pathogenetic mechanisms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

Disbalance of zinc (Zn²⁺) and copper (Cu²⁺) ions in the central nervous system is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous neurodegenerative disorders such as multisystem atrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Wilson-Konovalov disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Among these, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are the most frequent age-related neurodegenerative pathologies with disorders in Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ homeostasis playing a pivotal role in the mechanisms of pathogenesis. In this review we generalized and systematized current literature data concerning this problem. The interactions of Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ with amyloid precursor protein (APP), β-amyloid (Abeta), tau-protein, metallothioneins, and GSK3β are considered, as well as the role of these interactions in the generation of free radicals in AD and PD. Analysis of the literature suggests that the main factors of AD and PD pathogenesis (oxidative stress, structural disorders and aggregation of proteins, mitochondrial dysfunction, energy deficiency) that initiate a cascade of events resulting finally in the dysfunction of neuronal networks are mediated by the disbalance of Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺.     

Thinking with relations in nature conservation? A case study of the Etosha National Park and Haiǁom

The area of the Etosha National Park in Namibia has been inhabited for many centuries by Haiǁom, a group of (now former) hunter-gatherers. In 1907, Etosha was proclaimed as a game reserve, although Haiǁom were still allowed to live in the area until they were expelled in the 1950s due to then-dominant ideas of fortress conservation. In recent years, Haiǁom have been provided with several resettlement farms by the Namibian government as a reaction to the colonial land dispossession. In this article, I explore the onto-epistemology of Haiǁom (i.e. their being in and knowing the Etosha area), focusing on their relations with the land and with human and beyond-the-human beings before their eviction. I argue that the eviction implies not only economic marginalization but also social deprivation, which is inadequately addressed with resettlement. I suggest that thinking with relations, illustrated with the Haiǁom case, would call for other solutions in the context of measures taken for past land dispossessions and would open new paths for Namibia's nature conservation initiatives.     

Life-cycle carbon emission assessment and permit allocation methods: A multi-region case study of China’s construction sector

China is making efforts to reduce carbon emissions from the building industry, and carrying out an allocation and trading system for building emissions. However, to date, methods for using existing statistical data to assess the emissions of the construction sector and to make decisions affecting permit allocation are still unclear. In this context, a process is proposed in this study to calculate the life-cycle emissions of regional construction sectors in China, and a multi-criteria Gini coefficient is introduced as an indicator for emission permit allocation. Statistical data of the construction sector for 2004–2013 were analyzed. The results indicated an overall trend of increased emissions from China’s construction sector, of which the production phase of buildings was shown to be the largest contributor. Various characteristics for different life-cycle sub-processes were also discussed at the provincial level. Finally, a case study of emissions from the construction sector was conducted on the basis of a multi-criteria Gini coefficient. Relevant analyses revealed the major regions in carbon reduction practices from a comprehensive view of efficiency and equality. In addition, suggestions were provided for allocating emissions for regional construction sectors. Overall, the present study would be helpful in the calculation, assessment, and allocation of emissions from China’s construction sector. It should also provide insight into decision-making about low-carbon development policy of the building industry.     

Environmental and economic issues arising from the pooling of SMEs’ supply chains: case study of the food industry in western France

Supply chains pooling is an emergent strategy for improving logistical performance. The pooling concept consists in transferring the effort of coordination for consolidating independent operators’ flows towards an ad hoc pooled system. This organisation results from a design of a pooled logistics network by merging different supply chains to share transport and logistics resources in order to improve logistics performance. In this case study, the pooling concept is applied to a collection of small and medium-sized western France food suppliers serving the same retail chain. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of the pooling, the existing transport organisation was compared to various pooling scenarios. The methodology consisted in accessing a current situation through a survey of the flow of goods at one of the main distribution centre of the studied supply network, then comparing this situation with three other pooling scenarios. Using supply network optimisation models, these scenarios were assessed considering cost and CO₂ emission levels. This study demonstrates the interest of transport pooling in the case independent shipping networks of Small and Medium Enterprises compared to the partially know existing strategies adopted by logistics service providers for less than truckload shipments. Moreover, it suggests that there is no dominant supply organisation and that transport pooling is a new stimulus for network design. These results also bring new research perspectives for generalisation of pooling and gain sharing within large coalitions.     

Should conservation of biodiversity involve private land? A Q methodological study in Poland to assess stakeholders’ attitude

Biodiversity conservation is gradually shifting its dependency on public protected areas to take a more holistic ecosystem and landscape approach that includes private lands in addition to public lands. However, effective practice of biodiversity conservation on private land also depends on landowners’ attitude and their willingness to participate and cooperate. This study focuses on Poland where conservation on private land is a relatively new concept but it is slowly gaining recognition, especially after its accession into the European Union. It investigates and classifies the diverse attitudes among stakeholder groups in Poland toward biodiversity conservation on private land that are part of protected areas. Four primary stakeholder groups were considered: conservation and park authorities, local administrative officials, local conservation based NGOs and private landowners. The study was conducted across three sites that represented three different forms of protected areas in Poland: a national park, a landscape park and a Natura 2000 site. Q methodology, a research method from psychology and other social sciences, was used to classify human subjectivity in stakeholders’ attitude in a more systematic manner. The analysis yielded three predominant factors which highlighted the diversity in attitudes among the stakeholder groups based on their knowledge, concerns and experience in the subject. Additionally, it underlined the common recognition among all stakeholder groups for better policy support, stronger collaboration among stakeholder and more financial or compensatory support for landowners to make private land conservation more feasible. Understanding the differences in attitudes will help bridge the gap between conservation priority and conservation opportunity—a current challenge in the field of biodiversity conservation.     

Implications of land cover change on ecosystems services and people’s dependency: A case study from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve,Nepal

Protected areas, a corestone of biodiversity conservation, provide a vast array of ecosystem services to support livelihoods of people. However, protected areas, especially freshwater, are under threat with overexploitation of resources changing the land covers and degrading their capacity to supply services. Information on land cover changes and its implications on ecosystems, its services and people, especially in developing countries at a local scale, is largely absent. This study, therefore, seeks to understand people's dependency on ecosystem services and implications of land cover change on ecosystem services and people, with a case study in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve of Nepal. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, our findings show high dependency of the locals on a vast array of ecosystem services provided by the reserve. More than half of the sampled households were found to directly derive income from ecosystem services of the reserve. However, land cover changes especially declines in forest (16%), swamps/marshes (4%), rivers (14%) and other ecosystems over a period of 34-years impacted the provision of ecosystem services and people’s dependency notably. The services from forests declined by about 94%, swamps services by 36% and services from river by 57% which were reported to be the high service suppliers. People's dependency, as perceived by the locals, was reduced by 67% over the last ten years. The study highlighting the supply, demand and implications on ecosystem services and people helped to better understand the complex interaction between humans and ecosystems. These results can be used to develop holistic approaches to restore, conserve and manage the ecosystems, and its services by balancing equal supply and demand of ecosystem services required for a self-sustaining human-environment system. It can also contribute to development of important environmental policies and programs in the area.     

Are important bird areas and special protected areas enough for conservation?: the case of Bonelli’s eagle in a Mediterranean area

The Bonelli’s eagle (BE) is considered by the European Union as a high-priority species for conservation in the Valencian Community (East of Spain). However, in 2006 the European Union opened a legal procedure against the Spanish Kingdom, accused of lacking of an adequate network of special protected areas (SPAs) to preserve the BE in the region. Here we evaluate whether important bird areas (IBAs) and SPAs network is enough to preserve this species, on the basis of a thorough analysis of habitat preferences. A GAP analysis is performed to conduct a revision of current SPAs and BirdLife proposed IBAs. Our results suggest that the current network of SPAs becomes insufficient to protect the BE. The IBAs network, although improves the current network of SPAs, increasing the percentage of BE potential habitat included, also results inadequate. We propose a new SPAs network according to the potential suitable habitat for the species. Given the trade-off between financial investment and the conservation of biodiversity, we propose to maximize the surface of potential habitat included in the protected network minimizing the surface of the region that would be necessary to protect, thus avoiding an unnecessary expense and otherwise unrealistic results.     

Is use of translocation for the conservation of subpopulations of oribi Ourebia ourebi (Zimmermann) effective? A case study

In South Africa, the oribi, Ourebia ourebi is an endangered small antelope that requires conservation management and intervention to prevent their extinction. Use of translocation for the conservation of subpopulations facing local extinction in the wild has been proposed. In this study, fifteen oribi from threatened populations were captured and released (November 2004) on a private game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Radio telemetry was used to monitor the dispersal and survival of translocated oribi. Only one death occurred during that period. All other released oribi survived, and most remained in close proximity of the release site for more than a year postrelease. Reproduction also occurred. This suggests that, translocation could be a viable option for conserving wild populations of oribi, assuming that other factors, such as availability of suitable grassland habitat and that poaching has been curtailed, are met.     

Livestock husbandry as a tool for carnivore conservation in Africa’s community rangelands: a case–control study

Conflict between people and wildlife is a major issue in both wildlife conservation and rural development. In African rangelands, species such as African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) may kill livestock and are therefore themselves killed by local pastoralists. Such conflict has led to the extirpation of these species from many areas, and also impacts the livelihoods of local livestock farmers. To investigate the possibilities for coexistence of people, livestock, and large predators in community rangelands, we measured the effectiveness of traditional livestock husbandry in reducing depredation by wild carnivores, using a case–control approach. Different measures were effective against different predator species but, overall, the risk of predator attack by day was lowest for small herds, accompanied by herd dogs as well as human herders, grazing in open habitat. By night, the risk of attack was lowest for herds held in enclosures (‘bomas’) with dense walls, pierced by few gates, where both men and domestic dogs were present. Unexpectedly, the presence of scarecrows increased the risks of attack on bomas. Our findings suggest that improvements to livestock husbandry can contribute to the conservation and recovery of large carnivores in community rangelands, although other measures such as prey conservation and control of domestic dog diseases are also likely to be necessary for some species.     

The Neurobiology of LRRK2 and its Role in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a large, widely expressed protein of largely unknown function. Mutations in the gene encoding LRRK2 have been linked to multiple diseases, including a prominent association with familial and sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD), as well as inflammatory bowel disorders such as Crohn’s disease. The LRRK2 protein possesses both kinase and GTPase signaling domains, as well as multiple protein interaction domains. Experimental studies in both cellular and in vivo models of mutant LRRK2-induced neurodegeneration have given clues to potential function(s) of LRRK2, yet much remains unknown. For example, while it is known that intact kinase and GTPase activity are required for mutant forms of the protein to trigger cell death, the specific targets of these enzymatic activities that mediate the death of neurons are not known. In this review, we discuss the evidence linking LRRK2 to various cellular/neuronal activities such as extrinsic death and inflammatory signaling, lysosomal protein degradation, the cytoskeletal system and neurite outgrowth, vesicle trafficking, mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as multiple points of interaction with several other genes linked to the pathogenesis of PD. In order for more effective therapeutic strategies to be envisioned and implemented, the mechanisms underlying LRRK2-mediated neurodegeneration need to be better characterized. Furthermore, insights into LRRK2-associated PD pathogenesis can potentially advance our understanding of the more common sporadic forms of PD.     

METAPOP—A software for the management and analysis of subdivided populations in conservation programs

We introduce a computer program for the dynamic and flexible management of conserved subdivided populations. Using molecular marker data or pedigree information, the software determines the optimal contributions (i.e., number of offspring) of each individual, the number of migrants, and the particular subpopulations involved in the exchange of individuals in order to maintain the largest level of gene diversity in the whole population with a desired control in the rate of inbreeding. Restrictions can be introduced for the total number of migrants, and the mating of particular pairs and their contribution. A full genetic diversity analysis of the population is carried out. The optimal contribution from each subpopulation to a pool of maximal gene diversity is also provided by the program.     

Air pollution and green consumption of consumers in China’s urban areas: a norm activation perspective

Abstract

This study aims to explore how consumers’ psychological factors affect their pro-environment purchasing behavior in a smog-ridden city. Based on the Protective Action Decision Model and Heuristic–Systematic Model, this study proposed a model to investigate consumers’ decision-making process in purchasing green anti-smog products. It also provided new empirical evidence for the role of personal norms on consumers’ green consumption behavior by examining the differences between two groups of consumers (i.e., green and non-green) through a multi-group path analysis. The predictions were tested using a questionnaire survey of 1,124 participants living in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China. Results indicated that product knowledge, smog knowledge, risk perception, and systematic processing positively affected consumers’ purchase intention. In addition, the significant differences of consumers with various personal norms in purchase decision-making were found in the current study. In the green group, product knowledge positively affected consumers’ risk perceptions and systematic processing intentions. Information seeking increased their purchase intentions. However, these relationships were not significant in the non-green group. This study contributes to the existing literature by linking consumers’ protective behaviors with green consumption and providing a comprehensive model for predicting consumers’ purchase decisions.     

A Novel Pharmacological Protective Role for Safranal in an Animal Model of Huntington’s Disease

Neurochemical Research - Huntington’s disease (HD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative and inherited disease and recent years have witnessed the understanding of the cellular and molecular...