Stand-level management of plantations to improve biodiversity values

As conservation reserves expand, the likelihood that they will capture areas degraded by previous land use increases. Ecological restoration of such areas will therefore play an increasing role in biodiversity conservation. On the New South Wales North Coast, recent expansion in the conservation estate has captured over 300 softwood and hardwood plantations, many with understoreys dominated by exotic weeds. Here we present an overview of the practices we have adopted in managing flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis) plantations infested with lantana (Lantana camara) to enhance their biodiversity value. Experiments designed to overcome barriers limiting regeneration of native forest in conjunction with measurement of soil and plant responses yielded insights into the management of former timber plantations for biodiversity. Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated that the level of canopy retention (or logging intensity) within sites consistently explained the greatest amount of variation in plant community composition (32–38% post-treatment). Thinning and burning stimulated regeneration of native species. Retained canopy cover was proportional to the richness or abundance of native woody shrubs, understorey trees and native perennial herbs, indicating that management intensity can be varied to promote a range of conservation values. A state-and-transition model summarising purported management actions and likely outcomes for these plantations is presented. This is the first time plantations have been managed solely for biodiversity. Logging income means that plantation restoration can be cost-neutral, and the positive influence of a cover crop of trees means that plantation management may generally be manipulated to promote biodiversity conservation.     

Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Decreasing Fat and Sugar Intake in Families at Risk for Childhood Obesity

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of a parent‐focused behavioral intervention on parent and child eating changes and on percentage of overweight changes in families that contain at least one obese parent and a non‐obese child. Research Methods and Procedures: Families with obese parents and non‐obese children were randomized to groups in which parents were provided a comprehensive behavioral weight‐control program and were encouraged to increase fruit and vegetable intake or decrease intake of high‐fat/high‐sugar foods. Child materials targeted the same dietary changes as their parents without caloric restriction. Results: Changes over 1 year showed that treatment influenced targeted parent and child fruit and vegetable intake and high‐fat/high‐sugar intake, with the Increase Fruit and Vegetable group also decreasing their consumption of high‐fat/high‐sugar foods. Parents in the increased fruit and vegetable group showed significantly greater decreases in percentage of overweight than parents in the decreased high‐fat/high‐sugar group. Discussion: These results suggest that focusing on increasing intake of healthy foods may be a useful approach for nutritional change in obese parents and their children.     

AccQ.Tag法中AccQ.Fluor试剂用量研究

在 0 .5 0 μmol/ml氨基酸标准溶液中 ,分别加入衍生剂 1 0 .0 ,1 2 .5 ,1 5 .0 ,1 7.5 μl进行衍生 ,并与标准方法的2 0 .0 μl进行对照 ,测定各种氨基酸的峰面积 ,方差分析表明 ,衍生剂加入量为 1 5 .0 μl和 1 7.5 μl时 ,峰面积与对照无显著差异 ,加入 1 0 .0 μl和 1 2 .5 μl时与对照有极显著差异 ,因此 ,在实际样品分析中 ,只加入 1 5 μl衍生剂 ,已完全能够满足常规分析的需要 ,而可以节省 1 /4的衍生剂用量     

西藏年楚河流域水土流失及生态重建研究

西藏著名粮仓年楚河流域位于北纬 2 8°10′～2 9°2 0′、东经 88°35′～ 90°15′ ,地处喜马拉雅地质构造区中段。年楚河全长 2 17ｋｍ ,平均坡降 0 .6 1% ,落差达 132 2ｍ ,大致呈东南 西北流向 ,于日喀则附近逆向汇入雅鲁藏布江。行政区划上包括康马、日喀则县大部和江孜、白朗县全部 ,总面积 6 311ｋｍ2 ,耕地面积 4 .70× 10 4 ｈａ ,农业人口 16 .5 9万人 ,分别占西藏自治区的 0 .9% ,13.5 %和 7.7% ,现为国家级农业综合开发区“一江两河”(雅鲁藏布江中游及其支流拉萨河、年楚河流域 )地区的重要组成部分。近年 ,水土流失对生态环…     

血链球菌在不同牙周状态下的分布及相关研究

目的：探讨口腔主要过氧化氢产生菌血链球菌和口腔链球菌在不同牙周健康状态下龈下菌群中的分布,及与牙周健康状态和牙龈卟啉单胞菌群中分布的相互关系。方法：纳入符合标准的受试者30人,受试位点86个,其中健康组11人,位点30个,龈炎组9人,位点29个,慢性牙周炎组10人,位点27个,检查记录牙周健康状态[包括牙龈指数（GI）和牙周袋深度（PD）],采集龈下菌斑标本,经厌氧菌培养基和AP-PCR及PCR鉴定后,将各受试组进行比较分析。结果：共获得草绿色链球菌523株,产黑色素菌241株。经AP-PCR及PCR鉴定后,得到血链球菌112株,口腔链球菌56株,牙龈卟啉单胞菌84株,健康组龈下菌斑中血链球菌,口腔链球菌和牙龈卟啉单胞菌构成比与牙周炎组相比有差异显著性;血链球菌和口腔链球菌与GI、PD呈负相关,牙龈卟啉菌与GI、PD呈正相关;血链球菌的构成与牙龈卟啉单胞菌的构成比呈负相关。结论：血链球菌等过氧化氢产生菌在龈下菌斑中比例的下降。可能是微生态失衡,致病菌过度增殖的重要机制。     

Grasshopper assemblage response to a restored national park (Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa)

Twelve grassland sites were sampled inside and outside the Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP), South Africa to assess changes in grasshopper assemblages to grazing by indigenous mammals inside the park compared to grazing by domestic cattle outside. The MZNP has been restored from cattle-grazed farmland to indigenous mammal parkland for 62 years. The number of grasshopper species and families inside the park was not significantly different from outside the park, but the number of individuals inside the park was significantly higher. Multivariate statistics did not reveal any strong site groupings based on simple inside/outside comparisons, but there were clear groupings of sites based on vegetation characteristics and other environmental variables. The park boundary, therefore, does not significantly determine grasshopper assemblages, although intensity of grazing does. The indigenous mammals inside the park had the same effect on grasshoppers as the domestic cattle outside, and it was the level of defoliation and trampling that was important rather than the type of mammal. Intensive livestock grazing and trampling leads to bush encroachment and reduction in grass cover and/or disappearance of several grass species. In response to this pressure, grasshopper populations dropped, with localized extirpation of some species. Vegetation composition and structure, particularly grass height and percentage cover, had a significant effect on grasshopper assemblages. The MZNP is thus an area of localized, elevated grasshopper abundance in comparison with the surrounding farms, and presumably represents a situation prior to the current, intensive farming activities. Such elevated grasshopper abundances are important for maintaining soil quality and hence ecological integrity of this landscape which is poor in organics and nitrogen. The MZNP could be viewed as a centre where species with high mobility may seek refuge from anthropogenic pressures. The MZNP also serves as a reference illustrating the differences between restored-through-natural-succession and anthropogenically disturbed habitats, and compares desirable with undesirable ecosystem changes for herbivorous invertebrates such as grasshoppers.     

Selecting agri-environmental indicators for monitoring and assessment of environmental management in the example of landscape parks in Poland

The objective of this article is to assess the condition of and hazards to the natural environment in selected landscape parks in Poland with respect to the impact of agricultural management using the DPSIR method. Our proposed set of indicators, based on generally available and applicable data, shows at the local scale, in a simple way, the condition of functioning of the balance between the natural environment and agricultural management and it assesses the level of repair works in the context of the records of the environmental protection program. The highest negative impact of agricultural management in the areas studied is noticed in the soil environment as well as the contexts of biodiversity and landscape. On the other hand, the lowest influence of agricultural economy was noted in the cases of the atmosphere and hydrosphere. The results of the aggregated indicators also showed lower or higher dependencies between the coverage and the use of the area in landscape parks and the condition of particular elements of the environment and the landscape.     

Woody trees,green space and park size improve avian biodiversity in urban landscapes of Peninsular Malaysia

Rapid urbanization in major cities has adversely affected avian biodiversity in both developed and developing countries. Due to over-urbanization and little regard for nature conservation, such cities are usually characterized by poor biodiversity. In contrast to central business district areas, suburbs may support greater levels of biodiversity through an increase in green areas. We examined urban bird species richness, abundance, and composition in Klang Valley, Peninsular Malaysia. We surveyed 141 points for passerines across 80 parks grouped into two different urban zones, namely central business districts and suburbs. Our results revealed that bird richness did not differ significantly (p = 0.994) between central business districts and the suburbs. We found that the abundances of birds were significantly greater in the suburbs than in central business districts. However, species composition was similar between the central business districts and suburbs. We also found that bird richness increased significantly with an increase in size of green areas and park areas, as well as the number of woody trees in both zones. Evidence from this study suggests that creating urban parks and gardens, coupled with tree planting in central business districts, is able to support greater biodiversity, at least for birds in cities similar to those found in the suburbs.     

Contingent valuation and biodiversity: measuring the user surplus of Kenyan protected areas

The financial returns to Kenyan tourism demonstrate the importance of the country's tourist potential to its economic development. Protected areas and their inhabitants are the principal focus of the tourist industry, the nations's main foreign exchange earner, and a source of wonder and value for a global population of non-users. It might be expected that such assets would be accorded some degree of security with sufficient funding to safeguard current and potential economic benefits. Yet park use is haphazard, and there is frequently little coincidence between those that benefit and those that pay for the continued existence of such areas. Growing economic and demographic pressures which threaten to swamp protected areas only emphasize the implicit subsidy currently paid by Kenyans to support conservation for the benefit of the world at large. In this climate the case for conservation depends on the measurement and capture of economic benefits. Using a contingent valuation survey of expressed preference this study estimates the consumer surplus attached to current non-consumptive use of protected areas by foreign visitors at some $450 million per annum. This sum alone is more than double the best available estimate of opportunity cost and appears to justify current resource use. The estimate is additional to current financial returns from tourism and makes no allowance for other direct and indirect benefits and potential returns from consumptive uses. Measured consumer surplus contains some margin of willingness to pay that could be captured through the current fee structure. Moreover, park fees represent the most accessible market mechanism to finance revenue sharing and additional park investment before potential recourse to emerging global market institutions.     

Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster

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