Developing a vision for improved monitoring and reporting of riparian restoration projects

Representatives from agencies involved in natural resource management in the Murray‐Darling Basin gathered for a workshop in November 2010 to develop a vision for improved monitoring and reporting of riparian restoration projects. The resounding message from this workshop was that the effectiveness of riparian restoration depends on having sound, documented and agreed evidence on the ecological responses to restoration efforts. Improving our capacity to manage and restore riparian ecosystems is constrained by (i) a lack of ecological evidence on the effects of restoration efforts, and (ii) short‐termism in commitment to restoration efforts, in funding of monitoring and in expected time spans for ecosystem recovery. Restoration at the effective spatial scope will invariably require a long‐term commitment by researchers, funding agencies, management agencies and landholders. To address the knowledge gaps that constrain riparian restoration in the Basin, participants endorsed four major fields for future research: the importance of landscape context to restoration outcomes; spatio‐temporal scaling of restoration outcomes; functional effects of restoration efforts; and developing informative and effective indicators of restoration. To improve the monitoring and restoration of riparian zones throughout the Basin, participants advocated an integrated approach: a hierarchical adaptive management framework that incorporates long‐term ecological research.     

Landscape simplification increases vineyard pest outbreaks and insecticide use

Diversifying agricultural landscapes may mitigate biodiversity declines and improve pest management. Yet landscapes are rarely managed to suppress pests, in part because researchers seldom measure key variables related to pest outbreaks and insecticides that drive management decisions. We used a 13‐year government database to analyse landscape effects on European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) outbreaks and insecticides across c. 400 Spanish vineyards. At harvest, we found pest outbreaks increased four‐fold in simplified, vineyard‐dominated landscapes compared to complex landscapes in which vineyards are surrounded by semi‐natural habitats. Similarly, insecticide applications doubled in vineyard‐dominated landscapes but declined in vineyards surrounded by shrubland. Importantly, pest population stochasticity would have masked these large effects if numbers of study sites and years were reduced to typical levels in landscape pest‐control studies. Our results suggest increasing landscape complexity may mitigate pest populations and insecticide applications. Habitat conservation represents an economically and environmentally sound approach for achieving sustainable grape production.     

Phosphorus limitation of forest leaf area and net primary production on a highly weathered soil

We tested the hypothesis that P was the nutrient limiting net primary production of a nativeMetrosideros polymorpha forest on a highly weathered montane tropical soil in Hawaii. A factorial experiment used all combinations of three fertilizer treatments: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and a mix of other essential nutrients (OE), consisting primarily of mineral derived cations and excluding N and P. P addition, but not N or OE, increased leaf area index within 12 months, foliar P concentration measured at 18 months, and stem diameter increment within 18 months. Stem growth at 18 months was even greater when trees fertilized with P also received the OE treatment. N and P additions increased leaf litterfall and N and P in combination further increased litterfall. The sequence of responses suggests that increased available P promoted an increase in photosynthetic area which led to increased wood production. P was the essential element most limiting to primary production on old volcanic soil in contrast to the N limitation found on young volcanic soils.     

Grassland birds and rotational-grazing in the northeast: Breeding ecology,survival and management opportunities

We studied long-term (2002–2009) demographics of bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) breeding in rotationally grazed systems in the northeastern United States. Both nest success (6–44% bobolink; 7–48% savannah sparrow) and annual productivity (0.43–2.83 bobolink; 0.70–2.35 savannah sparrow) varied annually. Predation (48%) and trampling by cows (32%) accounted for most failed nests. Annual adult apparent survival ranged from 23% to 85% and showed substantial variation by species and sex. Although grazing resulted in substantial loss of vegetative cover, savannah sparrows responded similarly to predation and grazing-induced nest failure (time to renest, distance moved between nests) and generally remained in the same paddock to renest. Minimum paddock size to accommodate one female within this rotation was 70 m × 70 m (0.49 ha), allowing a female to stay within a paddock and move (approx. 50 m) between nesting attempts. To balance pasturing objectives and birds' needs in paddocks first grazed before 25 June, managers in the Northeast should rest that paddock 42–50 days before the second grazing. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Hierarchical structure of the Sicilian goats revealed by Bayesian analyses of microsatellite information

Genetic structure and relationship amongst the main goat populations in Sicily (Girgentana, Derivata di Siria, Maltese and Messinese) were analysed using information from 19 microsatellite markers genotyped on 173 individuals. A posterior Bayesian approach implemented in the program STRUCTURE revealed a hierarchical structure with two clusters at the first level (Girgentana vs. Messinese, Derivata di Siria and Maltese), explaining 4.8% of variation (amova Ф_ST estimate). Seven clusters nested within these first two clusters (further differentiations of Girgentana, Derivata di Siria and Maltese), explaining 8.5% of variation (amova Ф_SC estimate). The analyses and methods applied in this study indicate their power to detect subtle population structure.     

A Dated Phylogeny Complements Macroecological Analysis to Explain the Diversity Patterns in Geonoma (Arecaceae)

Integrating phylogenetic data into macroecological studies of biodiversity patterns may complement the information provided by present‐day spatial patterns. In the present study, we used range map data for all Geonoma (Arecaceae) species to assess whether Geonoma species composition forms spatially coherent floristic clusters. We then evaluated the extent to which the spatial variation in species composition reflects present‐day environmental variation vs. nonenvironmental spatial effects, as expected if the pattern reflects historical biogeography. We also examined the degree of geographic structure in the Geonoma phylogeny. Finally, we used a dated phylogeny to assess whether species richness within the floristic clusters was constrained by a specific historical biogeographic driver, namely time‐for‐diversification. A cluster analysis identified six spatially coherent floristic clusters, four of which were used to reveal a significant geographic phylogenetic structure. Variation partitioning analysis showed that 56 percent of the variation in species composition could be explained by spatial variables alone, consistent with historical factors having played a major role in generating the Geonoma diversity pattern. To test for a time‐for‐diversification effect, we correlated four different species richness measures with the diversification time of the earliest large lineage that is characteristic of each cluster. In support of this hypothesis, we found that geographic areas with higher richness contained older radiations. We conclude that current geographic diversity patterns in Geonoma reflect the present‐day climate, but to a larger extent are related to nonenvironmental spatial constraints linked to colonization time, dispersal limitation, and geological history, followed by within‐area evolutionary diversification. Abstract in Spanish is available at http://www.blackwell‐synergy.com/loi/btp .     

Genetic Improvement and Crop Management Strategies to Minimize Yield Losses in Warm Non-traditional Wheat Growing Areas due to Spot Blotch Pathogen Cochliobolus sativus

Spot blotch caused by Cochliobolus sativus emerged as a major threat to wheat production in the warmer non-traditional wheat growing areas in the late 1980s. This foliar disease causes significant yield losses annually (15–20% on average in South Asia) endangering the livelihoods of millions of small farmers. Effective measures in the field are needed to mitigate the impact of spot blotch on food security in affected areas. This review summarizes the global knowledge on genetic improvement and crop management strategies to minimize yield losses based on latest field research. Recent studies have shown that spot blotch severity is highly influenced by stress factors affecting crop physiology which in turn affects host tolerance and resistance to the pathogen. Soil nutrient and water stress aggravate spot blotch-induced grain yield losses. Heat stress which is gradually increasing in Asia causes higher levels of disease damage. Genetic improvement is the cornerstone of a sustainable control of spot blotch in all affected regions. Resistance is essentially based on Chinese and South American sources and inter-specific crosses with broadly adapted semi-dwarf germplasm. A list of genotypes consistently reported in the last 10 years to harbor at least partial resistance to spot blotch, along with their inheritance of resistance, has been compiled to help breeding programmes. As the fungus is aggressive under conditions of high relative humidity and heat which in turn influences plant susceptibility, a synthesis of the different tools for scoring disease severity is given. Because resistance is incomplete, the ultimate goal is the accumulation of minor genes of resistance in adapted high yielding genotypes. This paper shows how the use of resistant varieties, timely seeding, adequate fertilization, crop rotation, and the judicious use of fungicides can be part of an integrated management strategy for controlling yield losses due to spot blotch.