Shadow conservation and the persistence of sacred church forests in northern Ethiopia

Land‐use change threatens biodiversity and ecosystem function worldwide. These changes have impacts on weather patterns, carbon storage, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services from regional to local scales. Only 8 percent of tropical forests are formally recognized as conservation areas, however globally, there is a network of sites that are protected because they are sacred and as a result act as ‘shadow’ conservation for biodiversity. Unlike other types of protected sites (e.g., national parks), these sites are seats of religious ritual that anchor a community's cultural identity, while also conserving biological diversity and other ecosystem services. We studied the extent and status of sacred forests in northern Ethiopia, which are threatened because of their small size (~5 ha) and isolation, increasing their exposure to edge effects and human pressures. Using historical and modern imagery, we found that over the last 50 yr, sacred forests have increased in area, but decreased in crown closure. We also found that forest ecological status, via ground‐level investigation, had high mean human disturbance (e.g., trails, plantations, exotic planting; 37%); and that forests close to markets (e.g., cities) increased in area due to planting of Eucalyptus (exotic), indicating a potential threat to their persistence and value as shelters of the church.     

云南楚雄彝族的“神树林”与生物多样性保护

所述的“神树林”是广泛意义上的概念,包括多种因文化信仰而保护的各种森林块.这些森林块不仅有多种的生态功能,也是村社水平生物多样性相对集中的地方.通过对云南楚雄彝族的“神树林”进行了广泛调查,取样比较了自然保护区、村社集体林和“神树林”3种不同管理模式下的森林群落的植物物种多样性,结果表明“神树林”群落的物种总数(67)、样方特有种(17)、Shannon-Wiener物种多样性指数(2.96)都显著高于自然保护区群落(分别为44、8、2.17)和集体林群落(分别为34、4、2.39),表明云南楚雄彝族的“神树林”在当地生物多样性保护和管理中有着不可低估的作用.     

云南楚雄彝族的"神树林"与生物多样性保护

所述的“神树林”是广泛意义上的的概念,包括多种因文化信仰面保护的各种森林块,这些森林块不仅有多种的生态功能,也是村社水平生物多样性相对集中的地方,通过对云南楚雄彝族的“神树林”进行了广泛调查,取样比较了自然保护区,村社集体林和“神树林”３种不同管理模式下的森林群落的植物物种多样性,结果表明“神树林”群落的物种总数的植物物种多样性,结果表明“神树林”群落的物种总数（６７）、样方特有种（１７）、Ｓｈａ     

Variation in population structure and dynamics of montane forest tree species in Ethiopia guide priorities for conservation and research

The greatest extent of Afromontane environments in the world is found in Ethiopia. These areas support exceptional biodiversity, but forest cover and ecological integrity have declined sharply in recent decades. Conservation and management efforts are hampered in part by an inadequate understanding of the basic ecology of major tree species. We investigated population structure and inferred population dynamics from size frequency distributions of 22 forest tree species encountered in montane forests of Ethiopia. We collected new empirical data from four sites in the Bale Mountains, where some of the country's most extensive and least disturbed forests remain, and conducted a systematic review and analysis of all such studies that reported population structure for one or more of these species in Ethiopia. Thirteen widespread montane tree species showed a reverse‐J size distribution, indicating a relatively stable population structure. Six other species had size‐frequency distributions that indicate episodic recruitment and/or removal of certain size classes. Specific causes of these patterns are uncertain: they may involve timber harvesting, herbivory, fire, or natural disturbances, but patterns were inconsistent and locality dependent. For three other tree species, existing data are inadequate for any interpretation of population structure and dynamics. A species of particular conservation concern that emerged from this analysis was Hagenia abyssinica, which was found in all areas to consist only of larger individuals with no recent recruitment. For management and conservation purposes, the species in most urgent need of new research are those with inadequate or inconsistent data, and H. abyssinica.     

Ethnobotanical value and conservation of sacred groves of the Kpaa Mende in Sierra Leone

Sacred groves in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone were assessed for their value to local herbalists and traditional folk medicine practitioners of the Kpaa Mende people. Herbalists (tufablaa) collecting in 23 sacred groves were interviewed regarding their general knowledge of medicinal plants, and their perceptions regarding changes in the occurrence of medicinal plants. Over 75 medicinal plant remedies are currently in use among the Kpaa Mende, with some plants reported here for the first time in terms of their medicinal uses in Sierra Leone. A significant feature of Kpaa Mende ethnobotany is the employment of 2 or more kinds of plants in combination as a remedy for particular afflictions. The discovery of rare and uncommon plants in the groves and their medicinal uses are discussed in terms of the role of the sacred groves in medicinal plant conservation.     

云南省香格里拉大峡谷藏族神山在自然保护中的意义

位于云南省西北部迪庆藏族自治州境内的香格里拉大峡谷拥有独特的自然人文景观和丰富的生物多样性。藏族作为当地最重要的原住民族,他们的文化对当地的自然环境具有重要的影响。为了解藏族传统文化中的神山崇拜对香格里拉大峡谷地区自然环境的影响,本文应用民族生态学、植物生态学和文化人类学的研究方法,结合文献资料的分析,对香格里拉大峡谷的藏族神山进行了调查和研究,并对处于不同保护状态下（神山与非神山）的两个典型植物群落即高山松(Pinus densata)群落和云南黄果冷杉(Abies ernestii var. salouenensis)群落进行了比较。结果显示,在相同的样地面积内（20 m×20 m）,神山植物群落在物种数量（20,14）和群落盖度（100%,85%）方面都明显高于非神山植物群落（11,2;70%,60%）。结合入户调查资料,发现广泛分布于香格里拉大峡谷的藏族神山构成了一个“自下而上”的乡土保护体系,它不仅在保护生物多样性、维护当地脆弱的生态环境等方面发挥着重要的作用,而且还可以提供多种非林产品,实现多种生态功能。文章探讨了发挥乡土保护体系的保护功效及应用传统文化知识以促进自然保护的重要性,建议应当尊重和保护原住民的传统文化,发掘其中优秀的自然保护知识和经验,引导其发挥更加有效的自然保护功能,使民族传统保护体系成为现代自然保护体系的有力补充。     

一次性木筷与我国森林资源保护问题

在分析了一次性木筷生产和消费以及它对我国的森林资源保护和生态系统影响的基础上，提出了4点解决一次性木筷问题的途径，希望能解决一次性木筷在现实生活中存在的诸多问题。     

Nitrogen conservation in a tropical rain forest

Summary A series of plots in an Amazonian Rain Forest were trenched and treated with calcium to determine the effects of perturbation on numbers and activity of nitrifying bacteria. Although treatment resulted in between 2 and 26% of the nitrogen being lost from the humus layer, virtually all of it was in the NH ₄ ⁺ form. Numbers of nitrifying bacteria in the plots were relatively low. The low numbers and low activity of nitrifying bacteria is attributed to the low pH and high concentration of tannins in the root mat. It is hypothesized that the suppression of nitrifying bacteria results in nitrogen conservation in the rain forest.     

Newly discovered Bale monkey populations in forest fragments in southern Ethiopia: evidence of crop raiding, hybridization with grivets, and other conservation threats

Until recently, the Bale monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis), an arboreal primate endemic to the southern Ethiopian highlands, remained virtually unstudied, and its distribution pattern inadequately documented. To broaden our knowledge of the species' distribution and abundance, we carried out interviews with local people and total count surveys for Bale monkeys across 67 fragmented forest sites in human-dominated landscapes in the Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Regions, Ethiopia. From January 2010 to May 2011, we discovered 26 new Bale monkey populations inhabiting forest fragments at elevations ranging from 2,355 to 3,204 m asl. Across these populations, we recorded 37 groups ranging in size from 9 to 29 individuals (Mean = 19.5, SD = 4.5), for a total of 722 individuals. Black-and-white colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) were sympatric with Bale monkeys at all sites, while grivet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) were found only at sites where Bale monkeys did not occur. All of the newly discovered Bale monkey sites once contained bamboo forest, though at 35% of the sites bamboo forest had been eliminated during the past two decades. The persistence of Bale monkeys at fragmented sites lacking bamboo suggests greater habitat flexibility for the species than previously thought, though the long-term viability of populations both with and without bamboo remains uncertain. Human hunting in response to crop raiding, a behavior the monkeys engaged in at all sites, represents a major threat facing the newly discovered Bale monkey populations. Furthermore, despite their current lack of sympatry, apparently hybrid individuals between Bale monkeys and grivets were noted at three sites, posing yet another potential obstacle to Bale monkey conservation. Community conservation programs aimed at (1) protecting remaining habitat fragments, (2) planting bamboo and trees within and between fragments, and (3) reducing crop raiding represent the only hope for survival of the newly discovered Bale monkey populations.     

Silvicultural intensification for tropical forest conservation

Minimizing the deleterious environmental impacts of logging and other silvicultural treatments is the primary conservation goal in tropical forests managed for timber production. While it is always environmentally beneficial to minimize unnecessary damage, more intensive silviculture should not be discouraged in tropical forests in which regeneration and growth of commercially valuable timber species requires such treatments. Failing to regenerate commercial species may render forests more susceptible to conversion to other, more lucrative land uses. Increasing the intensity of silviculture may also decrease the total area of forest exploited for timber, thereby reducing the impacts of over-hunting, timber theft, wildfires, colonization, and conversion, which are facilitated by the increased accessibility of logged areas.     

Species composition and diversity of small Afromontane forest fragments in northern Ethiopia

In the highlands of northern Ethiopia, remnants of the original Afromontane forest vegetation are largely restricted to church yards and other sacred groves in a matrix of cropland and semiarid degraded savanna. To assess the potential for natural forest regeneration, species composition and diversity of all forest fragments (10) in a study area of 13,000 ha were analyzed in relation to environmental and soil variables. Using a random design and a density of approximately one plot per 2 ha in all fragments, 31 20×20 m plots were sampled. Indicator species analysis and MRPP tests yielded five communities representing two forest types and one degraded savanna habitat. The forest fragments had a species-poor tree and shrub community in which plots were rather homogeneous and most species abundant. NMDS and analysis of variance indicated that a topographical gradient correlated to soil phosphorus, soil depth, stoniness and the proximity to the river system explained the major differences in species composition and separated moist and dry Afromontane forest communities. The grazing intensity further partitioned the habitats. Present communities and their environmental correlates indicate that the secondary climax forest in the area probably consisted of dry Afromontane forest interlaced by broad strips of moist Afromontane forest along rivers and streams and not a continuous, mono-dominant Juniperus forest as is often presumed. Negative effects of the degraded matrix on forest fragments increased with decreasing patch area and increasing shape irregularity. Nevertheless, all remaining fragments are important for their role in the landscape ecology of the region as refuges and species pools and should be protected and managed accordingly. If seed dispersal from forest fragments into exclosures and subsequent tree recruitment are both successful, the vegetation type most likely to establish is Afromontane savanna woodland, and if managed properly, eventually dry Afromontane forest may arise. Increasing the size of small patches and placing forest plantations and exclosures in the vicinity of small forest fragments is expected to yield the most immediate results. This approach may increase the likelihood of patch colonisation by frugivorous forest birds and thus foster the regeneration of native woody species.     

水土保持林效益评价研究综述

水土保持林是防护林的一个重要林种,具有生态效益、社会效益和经济效益．水土保持林综合效益的评价是当前的一个重要课题．效益评价的方法有多种,因效益种类的不同而有所不同．效益评价的过程是,首先要建立一套完整的指标体系,确定指标体系中各要素的权重;然后通过相应的数学方法进行效益的评价计算,并在此基础上,确立水土保持林综合效益评价的评估模型．文中还对几种有代表性的评价方法和评估模型做了点评,指出了在水土保持林效益评价研究中存在的问题和今后的发展趋势     

森林遗传资源保护研究进展

森林遗传资源的保护事关现代及后代的利益,已引起全球的极大关注,自70年代以来,就地保护与迁地保护作为主要的战略在森林遗传资源保护实践中使用。一般来说森林遗传资源的就地保护可以通过建立自然保护区来实现。迁地保护主要包括种子库、田间基因库、种子园及细胞或组织培养等技术。就地保护和迁地保护应当相互补充,两者结合使用是保存森林遗传多样性的有效方法。对森林遗传资源保护战略的选择以及因贸易而濒危的热带材用树及其保护问题也作了简要评述。     

Geographical genetics and the conservation of forest trees

Trees are key ecosystem engineers. Many analyses of the genetic diversity of forest trees over substantial parts of their distributional ranges are appearing. These studies are of relevance for forest and landscape management, the inventory of botanical genetic resources and the conservation biology of rare, endemic, relictual, and endangered tree species. This review focuses on (i) recent investigations of the influence of human disturbances, (ii) comparative analyses of closely related and hybridizing species, (iii) reconstructions of refugia and of the spread of tree populations during the postglacial, (iv) studies of both range-wide and range-edge genetic patterns, and (v) assessments of the role of tree genetic diversity in the face of future climate warming. There is a need to include more tropical and austral trees in genetic analyses, as most studies have dealt with the relatively species-poor Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. Further studies are also needed on the role of tree genetic diversity in variations in phenology, resistance to insect defoliators and fungal pathogens, reactions to increased CO₂ and ozone concentrations, growth, mortality rates and other traits. Most macroecological and scaling patterns of species richness still need to be studied for genetic diversity. Open research questions in this rapidly evolving field involve invasion biology, island biogeography, and urban ecology. There is a need for more knowledge transfer from the many studies of tree genetic diversity to the day-to-day management of trees and forests.     

滇西北藏区自然圣境与传统文化驱动下的生物多样性保护

本研究旨在将滇西北藏区传统生态文化应用于社区生物多样性保护之中, 以推动社区参与式生物多样性保护和森林生态系统的修复。应用民族植物学和民族生态学的方法, 调查了位于白马雪山国家级自然保护区及周边地区的3个藏族村寨(巴珠、柯功、追达)的自然圣境与生物多样性分布状况及其生态服务功能等, 应用SWOT分析法和社区参与式保护途径, 开展了生物多样性保护示范活动。本研究结果表明, 社区保护生物多样性的主要驱动力来源于民族传统文化, 社区生计依赖于生物多样性, 保护自然圣境是社区水平保护生物与文化多样性及社区发展的重要途径。藏族自然圣境是基于传统信仰文化并经过长期实践建立和发展起来的有利于生物多样性保护的社区保护形式, 藏民社区长期遵从和实践自然圣境对生物多样性保护做出了重要贡献。     

Isozymes and DNA markers in gene conservation of forest trees

For long-lived plants that have to cope with high temporal and spatial environmental heterogeneity, genetic diversity is of prime importance for species persistence. Detrimental anthropogenic impact on the gene pool of forest trees calls for conservation of genetic resources. Potentials and limitations of isozymes and DNA markers in forest genetic conservation are reviewed. These markers can contribute to conservation with respect to the delimitations of species and hybrid zones, as well as the assessment of genetic diversity within and among populations. Markers are valuable to identify resource populations, since today‘s genetic diversity in forest trees is predominantly the result of plant history (e.g. glacial refuges, migration). Several suggestions have been put forward to optimize sampling of in situ or ex situ populations on the grounds of marker data. Restraint in this area is recommended. Different types of genetic markers (terpenes, isozymes, nuclear and extrachromosomal DNA polymorphisms) and quantitative traits yield different information about genetic diversity and population differentiation. Hence identification of resource populations should not solely be based upon a certain marker type or on quantitative traits alone. The capability of available markers to predict or assess adaptive potentials in forest tree populations is still very limited. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Retraction Note to: Distribution and ecological impact of exotic woody plant species inside sacred groves of Northwestern Ethiopia

Biodiversity and Conservation - This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02197-5     

Local community attitudes towards mangrove forest conservation

Local communities have preferences and expectations regarding mangrove ecosystems that are typically underrepresented in valuation studies. Therefore, this study identifies how the local community of Mahahual (Mexico) perceives the ecosystem services provided by the mangrove forest and how these preferences differ between households. A survey was designed by one of the authors and local stakeholders building on previous knowledge and experts (local environmental research centre and non-governmental organisation Takata and its experts in biology and coastal conservation, ecotourism businesses’ owners, and the mayor of the village). The survey is used to cover a wide range of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, recreation and cultural activities as well as improved connectivity with local seagrass beds and coral reefs. Ecosystem services were specifically chosen by biologists and ecologists of the local NGO to perfectly reflect the local mangroves ecosystem. The small land area of the village, its low population and its rapid expansion offer a unique context, aiming at preserving the natural environment while keeping in mind that the main economy is based on tourism. While mangroves are greatly appreciated for the local protective services they provide such as coastal protection, local inhabitants also care about services that have a wider impact such as biodiversity and carbon sequestration. We find that the educational background of local inhabitants plays an important role in determining the importance of local ecosystem services and that information provision can help to counterbalance this effect. We also observe that preferences for specific ecosystem services differ based on how close residents live to the mangroves and to the coast, which accentuates the different needs and ideas of the households based on their local neighbourhood.