Correlates of avifaunal diversity along the elevational gradient of Mardi Himal in Annapurna Conservation Area,Central Nepal

Background:Patterns of biological diversity and richness can vary along the elevational gradients among mountain systems making it difficult to conclude the general pattern.The drivers of such pattern are also poorly known in the southern flank of the Himalaya due to limited studies.Therefore,we assessed the species richness,seasonal patterns and drivers of avian diversity along an elevational gradient on Mardi Himal trekking trail,a newly open tourist route in Annapurna Conservation Area of the central Himalaya.Methods:Two surveys(winter and summer seasons of 2019)were conducted from the bank of Seti-Gandaki River confluence(1030 m above sea level,asl)up to the Low Camp(3050 m asl)of the Mardi Himal.The point count method was employed in every 100 m rise in the elevation.Diversity indices were calculated and bird abundance data on species,sites,seasons and environmental variables were analyzed.Generalized linear model,polynomial regression and ordinary least square regression were performed to examine the importance of environmental factors in shaping the avian richness pattern.Results:A total of 673 individuals of birds belonging to 112 species,of which 72 in winter and 80 in summer,were recorded.We observed a hump-shaped pattern of the overall species richness along the elevational gradient.The richness pattern remained consistent even when explored by season,for winter and summer separately.Diversity indices were found higher during the summer.Elevation and mean monthly temperature in both seasons showed non-linear relation with avian species richness.Precipitation exhibited positive association in summer whereas the same in winter was negatively correlated with avian species richness.Distance to the nearest water source and the nearest human settlement were negatively correlated with the richness of birds.Small-ranged and insectivorous birds were under the strong influence of gradients on climatic variables like temperature and precipitation.Conclusions:We conclude that the combined effects of multiple factors such as area,gradients of climate(i.e.temperature and precipitation),resource availability and disturbance play an important role in bird diversity and richness pattern along an elevational gradient of a montane environment in Mardi Himal.

Peoples’ Perception and Conservation of Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soóin Manaslu Conservation Area, Central Nepal

The present study analyzes the information and perception of the local community of Samagaun VDC, Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP) regarding Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soó (Orchidaceae). We assessed the local peoples’ perception on its population status, its availability, factors causing its decline and management practices of this terrestrial orchids. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to gather information targeting the age group between 25 and 60 years (n = 75, 45 male and 30 female). Most of the informants (76%) believe that the abundance of this orchid is declining. Over grazing of domestic animals, over harvesting and lack of awareness among the local community were determined to be the major causes of decline of D. hatagirea in the study area. Protection measures as prescribed by the informants were control grazing, raising awareness among the individuals and sustainable harvestings for the long-term conservation of the species. Systematic management plans that incorporate the participation of local individuals and prioritization of their views will be applicable for the proper conservation of the species.

Analysis of the Capacity of Wellspring Conservation in Limestone Areas of Jinan

Spring water in the city of Jinan conies from the limestone areas. Understanding the capacity of wellspring conservation is a critical point to resume the perennial spewing of the spring water. The vegetation, soil, and other natural and human aspects related to the conservation are studied by using the methods of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and field investigation. In the end, suggestions for administration and planning as well as countermeasures are put forward.

Spatial Analysis of Federal Protected Areas and Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation in Brazil

This study presents a spatial analysis of priority areas for biodiversity conservation (PABCs) in Brazil and their coverage by federal protected areas as an indicator of the level of protection afforded to biodiversity in the country and the convergence of environmental protection policies in the sphere of federal government. Georeferenced data were processed using a geographic information system, enabling the calculation of areas, analyses of superimpositions, localizations, and the obtainment of other information using spatial features manipulated in this system. A comparative analysis is done of the PABCs mapped in two periods (2003 and 2007) to ascertain the evolution of this public policy instrument in detecting environmental priorities in protected areas. The improved coverage of PABCs by protected areas in the more recent mapping indicates a good convergence of environmental policies, which are enhanced by technical improvements to mapping procedures and methods for identifying such areas. As a result, the priority areas for biodiversity conservation could become a protected area regulated and recognized by the federal government.

Surrogacy of bird species in systematic conservation planning and conservation assessments in Yunnan Province,China

Bird diversity is often used as surrogates for other species diversity,but there is a limited understanding of the extent of this surrogate in identifying representative priority conservation areas(PCAs).We used Yunnan Province in China as a case to measure the surrogacy of birds in systematic conservation planning.Here,we collected distribution records of mammals,amphibians,reptiles,and birds from public databases and literature,and applied systematic conservation planning methods to identify PCAs.We targeted four taxonomic groups at conservation targets of 17%,31%,and 50%of the total study area,and used the Jaccard similarity index to evaluate the surrogate extent of bird PCAs for the other three groups.Then,we overlapped different portfolios of PCAs with six categories of protected areas(PAs)in Yunnan,calculated the protection rates,and evaluated the effect of sustainable-use PAs on improving the protection rate of strict Nature Reserves.The results showed that bird PCAs generally had the highest surrogacy for representing PCAs of the other three taxa.At the 50%conservation target,the Jaccard indices between birds and the other taxa reached about 0.50.Moreover,amphibian PCAs had a good surrogacy for conserving reptiles,with a Jaccard index of 0.30,0.44 and 0.51 at the 17%,31%and 50%conservation targets,respectively.The existing PA system had quite low coverages for PCAs of these four taxa,and the average protection rates were 22.97%,19.78%and 16.52%at the three levels of conservation targets,respectively.The sustainable-use PAs can greatly complement the strict Nature Reserves by achieving average increased PA coverages of 10.00%,9.20%and 7.90%at the three conservation targets.Our findings provide a basis for surrogate-based conservation planning for areas with insufficient biodiversity information.

Tourism Development Models Based on Ecological Utilization and Protection of Water Conservancy Scenic Areas

In view of major confl icts between ecological conditions of scenic areas and tourism development, tourism development models and approaches of six major water conservancy scenic areas were summarized on the basis of investigating interaction mechanism, ecological utilization and protection of scenic areas, including reservoir development and construction model, wetland development and construction model, natural river and lake development and construction model, city river and lake development and construction model, irrigated area development and construction model, water and soil conservation development and construction model. The research fruits are of instructive signif icance for the management and development of scenic areas.

Spatial-temporal shifting patterns and in situ conservation of spotted seal(Phoca largha)populations in the Yellow Sea ecoregion

Understanding the habitat shifting pattern is a prerequisite for implementing in situ conservation of migratory species.Spotted seals(Phoca largha)inhabiting the Yellow Sea ecoregion(YSE)comprise a small population with independent genes and represent a charismatic flagship species in this region.However,this population has declined by 80%since the 1940s,and increased support from the countries around the YSE is urgently needed to address the potential local extinction risk.A time-series niche model and life-history weighted systematic conservation planning were designed on the basis of a satellite beacon tracking survey(2010–2020)of the YSE population.The results showed clustering and spreading shifting patterns during the breeding and migratory seasons,respectively.The closed-loop migration route formed in the YSE indicated that this population might be geographically isolated from populations in other breeding areas around the world.The conservation priority area(CPA),with an area of 19632 km^(2)(3.58%of the total YSE area),was the most effective response to the potential in situ risk.However,nearly 80%of the CPA was exposed outside the existing marine protected areas(MPAs).Future establishment of MPAs in China should strategically consider the conservation gap identified herein,and it is recommended for Korea’s closed fishing season to be spatially set in the western Korean Peninsula from May to August.This study also exemplified that the lack of temporal information would lead to the dislocation of niche modeling for migratory species represented by spotted seals.Attention should be paid to protecting small and migratory populations in marine biodiversity conservation planning.

Ecological Risk of Heavy Metals in Sediment Around Techeng Island Special Marine Reserves in Zhanjiang Bay

The concentrations of five metals(Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Hg) were measured in sediments obtained before and after the establishment of Techeng Island Special Marine Reserves(TCISMR) in Zhanjiang Bay to evaluate the ecological risk of heavy metals. The results showed that average values of potential ecological risk indexes of heavy metals at all stations increased slightly from 32.09 to 30.54 after establishment of TCISMR. Optimal semivariance simulation showed that the contents of five heavy metals have strong spatial correlations in August 2010(before), while this correlations weakened in April 2013(after establishment of TCISMR), suggesting that the main sources of heavy metals changed. The Hakanson Risk Index(HRI) values in Donghai levee, central and southern parts of Zhanjiang harbor were high up to 60.13 and 46.46, respectively. And Zhanjiang Bay Channel, the areas around special marine reserves, the artificial reef areas and mangrove areas at south of Techeng Island are the areas with low ecological risk and high ecological value, which should be treated as the prior ecological protection areas. Our study provided a priority control pattern of heavy metal pollution in TCISMR, which greatly benefits the sustainable development and resource protection in Zhanjiang Bay.

Application of SEDEA to evaluation of degree of harmony between water resources and economic development

This paper introduces the method of data envelopment analysis （DEA） for evaluation of the degree of harmony between water resources and economic development of the water conservancy area of China＇s South-to-North Water Diversion Project （SNWDP）. For this evaluation, a super-efficiency DEA （SEDEA） model was developed based on the super-efficiency method. To verify the applicability of the SEDEA model, both the SEDEA model and a normal-efficiency DEA （NEDEA） model were used to evaluate the degree of harmony between water resources and economic development of typical cities in the SNWDP water conservancy area. The results show that the SEDEA model ranks the degree of harmony of typical cities more efficiently than the NEDEA model, and thus can better evaluate the degree of harmony between water resources and economic development of different cities than the NEDEA model. Furthermore, the SEDEA model can be applied as an operational research tool in regional water resources management.

Identifying priority areas for conservation in the lower Yellow River basin from an ecological network perspective

Taking the lower Yellow River basin as the study area,this study aims to construct ecological networks to mitigate the negative impacts of rapid urbanization on the ecosystem.Ecological sources were identified based on morphological spatial pattern analysis(MSPA),habitat quality and landscape connectivity.The ecological resistance surface was constructed and corrected by integrating natural and anthropogenic factors.The spatial range of ecological corridors and some of their key nodes were identified based on circuit theory.The ecological network(EN)was finally optimized using a similarity search and cost connectivity modules.The results show that the optimized ecological network structure is more stable than before.The EN includes 23 ecological sources with a total area of 5464.8 km^(2)and 30 ecological corridor clusters with a total area of 2205.92 km^(2).Through the internal landscape heterogeneity of the corridor,28 ecological node areas and 75 barrier areas were identified as key protection and restoration areas,with a total area of 78.44 km^(2)and 372.79 km^(2),respectively.Through the construction and optimization of EN,this study identifies key areas for promoting ecological sustainability and provides a useful framework for coordinating regional ecological conservation and economic development.

Numerical Simulation of Free Surface by an Area-Preserving Level Set Method

We apply in this study an area preserving level set method to simulate gas/water interface flow.For the sake of accuracy,the spatial derivative terms in the equations of motion for an incompressible fluid flow are approximated by the fifthorder accurate upwinding combined compact difference(UCCD)scheme.This scheme development employs two coupled equations to calculate the first-and second-order derivative terms in the momentum equations.For accurately predicting the level set value,the interface tracking scheme is also developed to minimize phase error of the first-order derivative term shown in the pure advection equation.For the purpose of retaining the long-term accurate Hamiltonian in the advection equation for the level set function,the time derivative term is discretized by the sixth-order accurate symplectic Runge-Kutta scheme.Also,to keep as a distance function for ensuring the front having a finite thickness for all time,the re-initialization equation is used.For the verification of the optimized UCCD scheme for the pure advection equation,two benchmark problems have been chosen to investigate in this study.The level set method with excellent area conservation property proposed for capturing the interface in incompressible fluid flows is also verified by solving the dam-break,Rayleigh-Taylor instability,two-bubble rising in water,and droplet falling problems.

Separating the effects of two dimensions on ecosystem services:Environmental variables and net trade-offs

Spatial and temporal changes in ecosystem services(ESs)are driven by two types of factors:environmental factors and trade-offs/synergies between services.In the ecological conservation red line(ECRL)area,in which national ecological security and social sustainable development are guaranteed,it is particularly important to clarify the driving mechanism of ESs for the management of ecosystems.In this study,soil conservation,water yield,and carbon sequestration in Beijing’s ECRL area are quantified,and GeoDetector is used to identify the factors influencing the trade-offs/synergies between ESs.Moreover,partial correlation analysis is used to calculate the net trade-offs/synergies and compare them with the extent to which environmental variables contribute to ESs.The results are as follows:environmental variables and trade-offs/synergies have different effects on the changes in ESs,and their interactions can enhance the determinative power of the corresponding individual variable.The land use intensity is an extremely important factor affecting the trade-offs/synergies between the three services,indicating that rational land use planning in Beijing’s ECRL area is crucial for avoiding the negative impacts of trade-offs and enabling coordinated optimization of ESs.After the elimination of the cross-influence of environmental variables,the trade-offs/synergies change significantly,and the impact of environmental variables on ESs is compared with the net trade-offs/synergies.Environmental variables are the driving forces of the spatiotemporal changes in soil conservation.Precipitation and carbon sequestration have similar effects on water yield.Spatiotemporal changes in carbon sequestration are closely related to the other two services,with smaller influences from environmental variables.

The challenge of combining variable retention and prescribed burning in Finland

Historically,wildfires have played an important role in forest dynamics in Fennoscandia.In Finland,the annually burned area has diminished in recent decades.This has led to a decline of fire-adapted habitat types and species,many of which have become red-listed.In Fennoscandia,there is a long tradition of silvicultural burnings to enhance tree regeneration.Recently,prescribed burnings have been modified for biodiversity goals following the recommendations that have emerged from ecological research.Prominent biodiversity gains can be obtained by combining sufficient retention levels with burnings.Consequently,burning and retention have been recommended by recent national red-list assessments,strategies,and forest-management guidelines,and they have been adopted in forest-certification standards in Finland.Contrary to these recommendations,the opposite development has taken place:(1)the ecological efficiency of the criterion concerning prescribed burning in the PEFC forestcertification standard has been impaired,(2)state funding to encourage private forest owners to apply prescribed burning was reduced significantly,and(3)prescribed burnings have been abandoned altogether in commercial state-owned forests.Traditional burnings with variable retention have also been partially replaced with burning of small retention-tree groups.This new method is less risky and cheaper,but its ecological benefits are questionable because small-sized fires produce much smaller areas of burned forest soil with less fire-affected wood than traditional silvicultural burnings.Generally,the widely accepted goal to increase burnings with retention appears difficult to achieve and would require stronger political will and economic support from the government.We identified several actions that could improve the weakened situation of fire-dependent biodiversity and recommend the following:(1)setting a clear goal and ensuring sufficient funding for the burnings—including restoration burnings in conservation areas—and targeting these to specific fire-continuum areas with sufficient retention to ensure the continuity of fire-affected habitats at landscape level;(2)renewing the current subsidizing policies to encourage private landowners to perform prescribed burnings in regeneration areas after final fellings,and to safeguard accidental forest-fire areas as set-asides;(3)renewing the current prescribed-burning criterion of the Finnish PEFC forest-certification standard with more ambitious ecological goals;and(4)re-introducing prescribed burnings in commercial state forests where management targets are under political steering.

A spatially distributed,deterministic approach to modeling Typha domingensis(cattail)in an Everglades wetland

Introduction:The emergent wetland species Typha domingensis(cattail)is a native Florida Everglades monocotyledonous macrophyte.It has become invasive due to anthropogenic disturbances and is out-competing other vegetation in the region,especially in areas historically dominated by Cladium jamaicense(sawgrass).There is a need for a quantitative,deterministic model in order to accurately simulate the regional-scale cattail dynamics in the Everglades.Methods:The Regional Simulation Model(RSM),combined with the Transport and Reaction Simulation Engine(TARSE),was adapted to simulate ecology.This provides a framework for user-defineable equations and relationships and enables multiple theories with different levels of complexity to be tested simultaneously.Five models,or levels,of increasing complexity were used to simulate cattail dynamics across Water Conservation Area 2A(WCA2A),which is located just south of Lake Okeechobee,in Florida,USA.These levels of complexity were formulated to correspond with five hypotheses regarding the growth and spread of cattail.The first level of complexity assumed a logistic growth pattern to test whether cattail growth is density dependent.The second level of complexity built on the first and included a Habitat Suitability Index(HSI)factor influenced by water depth to test whether this might be an important factor for cattail expansion.The third level of complexity built on the second and included an HSI factor influenced by soil phosphorus concentration to test whether this is a contributing factor for cattail expansion.The fourth level of complexity built on the third and included an HSI factor influenced by(a level 1–simulated)sawgrass density to determine whether sawgrass density impacted the rate of cattail expansion.The fifth level of complexity built on the fourth and included a feedback mechanism whereby the cattail densities influenced the sawgrass densities to determine the impact of inter-species interactions on the cattail dynamics.Results:All the simulation results from the different levels of complexity were compared to observed data for the years 1995 and 2003.Their performance was analyzed using a number of different statistics that each represent a different perspective on the ecological dynamics of the system.These statistics include box-plots,abundance-area curves,Moran’s I,and classified difference.The statistics were summarized using the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient.The results from all of these comparisons indicate that the more complex level 4 and level 5 models were able to simulate the observed data with a reasonable degree of accuracy.Conclusions:A user-defineable,quantitative,deterministic modeling framework was introduced and tested against various hypotheses.It was determined that the more complex models(levels 4 and 5)were able to adequately simulate the observed patterns of cattail densities within the WCA2A region.These models require testing for uncertainty and sensitivity of their various parameters in order to better understand them but could eventually be used to provide insight for management decisions concerning the WCA2A region and the Everglades in general.