Cartographic-Environmental Analysis of the Landscape in Natural Protected Parks for His Management Using GIS.Application to the Natural Parks of the“Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia”and“Quilamas”(Central System,Spain)

In this work we report a methodological procedure with an integrated physical-perceptual approach that allows units of landscape in protected natural areas to be differentiated. First, indirect methods were applied by means of a mapping procedure, which identified the physical components of major relevance. We then generated maps of natural units, anlyzing the “printed” landscape of a territory. Secondly, we developed direct methods to identify and describe the reresentative elements of the landscape, analyzing the “perceived” landscape. The identification and delimitation of these landscape units with geographical information systems provide detailed maps facilitate the tasks of planning and management. The procedure was validated by means of its application in two protected natural spaces. The treatment used here considers landscape not only as an aesthetic element but also as something “live” elaborating maps that should be of use in land planning and management of natural areas.

Comprehensive Management and Protection of Lakes in Kaifeng

Through analysing pollution source and status quo of the main lakes in Kaifeng,such as Dragon Pavilion Lake and Baogong Lake,the conclusion is that Kaifeng＇s lake environment has been in a greater pollution condition. For lake pollution situation,we put forward comprehensive management and protection approaches of lakes,including the relocation of businesses around the lake,plugging the sewage outfall surrounding lakes,dredging and deeply digging to increase the water environment capacity of lake. By dredging the river,the lakes in urban district connect together. Controlling aquaculture scale of lakes,the ecological function of the lake is played. Constructing drainage network around the lake,integration of landscape and lake flood control is formed. Adding new water into lakes,stagnant water becomes flowing water. We sum up the experience of lake management and protection： strengthening protection awareness is the key; lake remediation is the fundamental; attention to ecological protection of the lake is the most important factor in the development of lakes; exploiting a variety of functions of the lakes including landscaping,tourism,recreation,aquaculture,public health is the goal.

Prison Management Works Hard to Bring Human Rights under Good Protection

EDITOR＇S NOTE： Human rights protection in prisons is an important part of China＇s National Human Rights Action Plan and the human rights conditions in prisons constitute an important hallmark of the human rights protection level of the country. In order to get to know more about human rights protection in this special area, this reporter paid a visit to the No. 4 Prison in Henan Province, central China.

Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation of Wetland Soil Quality Degradation:A Case Study on the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

Wetland soil quality degradation caused by large-scale agricultural reclamation on the Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China has been widely reported. A relative soil quality evaluation (RSQE) model and a projection pursuit evaluation (PPE) model based on real-coded accelerating genetic algorithm were introduced to evaluate quality variations in top layers of the main wetland soils on the Sanjiang Plain in 1999 and 2003, respectively. As soil quality degradation boundaries were vague, this study established two fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) models based on the original data and criteria used in the RSQE and PPE models. The outputs of the two FSE models were obtained by choosing two fuzzy composite operators M(∧, ∨) and M(·, ⊕). Statistical analysis showed that the results of the FSE, RSQE, and PPE models were correlated. In particular, outputs of the FSE model using M(·, ⊕) were significantly correlated with those of the RSQE model with r = 0.989 at P < 0.01. Compared with RSQE and PPE models, the FSE model may be more objective in showing soil quality variations and was closer to the natural situation, showing the feasibility and applicability of the FSE model in evaluating soil quality degradation. However, the choice of composite operator was of critical importance. The study of wetland soil quality degradation on the Sanjiang Plain was of scientific and practical significance for protection and management of soils and for sustainable development of agriculture in this area in the future.

Forest-based betel leaf and betel nut farming of the Khasia indigenous People in Bangladesh: approach to biodiversity conservation in Lawachara National Park(LNP)

An exploratory survey was conducted among the Khasia living in Lawachara National Parkt （LNP） to investigate their depend- ency on the protected area （PA） for livelihoods, betel leaf hill farming, traditional forest conservation and perceptions of the PA, Field data were collected by interviewing 48 household heads from two villages （punjis） located inside the LNP and visiting their farms.： The economy of the Khasia was forest-based. They were largely dependent on betel leaf hill farming in LNP and nearly 71% of their mean annual income was de- rived from this irrespective of farmer category. On average, about 14% of the incomes of the poorer farmers came from forest produce followed by 10% and 6% for medium and rich farmers respectively. Hills and forests were the foundations of their lives and livelihoods, and LNP was the life-blood of Khasia survival. As a sustainable production system, this farming practice plays a vital role in conserving biodiversity in LNP and might be replicated elsewhere.

Humus horizon development during natural forest succession process in the Polish Carpathians

As a result of socio-economic changes and land abandonment,the main ecological driver of the Carpathian landscape is the progression of the natural forest succession process.Thus,aspects of this process have become worthy of attention,especially in the context of carbon sequestration and the management of protected areas.Soil processes,especially within the topsoil,are some of the most susceptible to change,due to the accumulation of organic matter during such land-use transformations.The purposes of this study were to investigate the differences in topsoil development using the A Horizon Development Index(ADI)and to study the composition of humic substances and advanced organic matter humification in different land-use areas in selected Carpathian national parks,i.e.Bieszczady,Magura and Pieniny National Parks in southern Poland.Additionally,a goal of this study was to compare the ADI and the spectroscopic coefficients of humic substances as indicators of the degree of humus horizon shaping as well as advanced organic matter humification.In total,ten transects were selected,each consisting of three different land-use areas:semi-natural meadow,successional forest and old-growth forest.Soil colour was determined in fresh and air-dried samples using the Munsell colour chart.In air-dried soil samples p H,soil texture,total organic carbon and total nitrogen were measured.Humic substances were extracted and further characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy.The ADI confirmed the influence of natural forest succession on soil colour darkening and the development of the uppermost soil layer.Spectroscopic analyses of humic substances showed two different patterns depending on soil depth.In the 0–10 cm layer,natural forest succession reduced the rate of the humification process and decreased the degree of maturity of fulvic acids;in the 10–20 cm layer,it led to an increase in the rate of the humification process and a decrease in the content of humic and fulvic acids at the beginning of the transformation.The comparison of two different indicators of soil development–the ADI and the spectroscopic coefficients of humic substances(Q_(4/6),Q_(2/4),Q_(2/3),Δlog K)–indicated that these indexes are based on different features of soil and cannot be used interchangeably.

中国湿地保护修复管理经验与未来研究趋势

Wetlands are important natural resources for humans and play an irreplaceable ecological function in the terrestrial ecosystem.To curb the continued loss of wetlands globally,international organizations and many countries have taken a series of major conservation and restoration measures.This work reviews these wetland conservation and restoration measures,interprets China’s wetland conservation and restoration management policies,and proposes that future research on wetland resources in China should be conducted from the aspects of international frontiers and national strategic plans,socioeconomics,and smart services.The results show that the 27 International Wetlands Days from 1997 to 2023 provided new goals and tasks for the protection and management of wetlands.The important topics and outcomes of the 14 Conferences of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands from 1980 to 2022 provided new directions and new challenges for wetland development.In the future,we should enhance wetland ecological functions,promote sustainable wetland development,and overcome the technical bottleneck of fragile wetland ecosystem restoration.From 1992 to 2022,China embarked on a new phase of wetland protection and restoration.The overall experience of wetland protection and restoration in China has been formed through national strategic deployment,legal policy establishment,and project planning and implementation.The needs to provide for and plan the long-term protection of wetlands at the national level,to innovate restoration and management techniques and application systems,and to effectively address the complex issues of wetland protection and restoration through collaborative division of labor among multiple departments were emphasized.Research on the future trends of wetlands should be directed towards the exploration and practice of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and several international conventions in support of sustainable wetland development.Wetland protection,restoration,and management services should be promoted for national strategic needs and local,high-quality social and economic development.In addition,research on cross-integration and academic innovation should be enhanced for disciplinary development,global supervision,comprehensive assessment,and smart decision making.

The impact of burning on lion Panthera leo habitat choice in an African savanna

Camivores play a central role in ecosystem processes by exerting top-down control, while fire exerts bottom-up con- trol in ecosystems throughout the world, yet, little is known about how fire affects short-term carnivore distributions across the landscape. Through the use of a long-term data set we investigated the distribution of lions, during the daytime, in relation to burned areas in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. We found that lions avoid burned areas despite the fact that herbivores, their prey, are attracted to burned areas. Prey attraction, however, likely results from the reduction in cover caused by burning, that may thereby decrease lion hunting success. Lions also do not preferentially utilize the edges of burned areas over unburned areas de- spite the possibility that edges would combine the benefit of cover with proximity to abundant prey. Despite the fact that lions avoid burned areas, lion territory size and reproductive success were not affected by the proportion of the territory burned each year. Therefore, burning does not seem to reduce lion fitness perhaps because of the heterogeneity of burned areas across the landscape or because it is possible that when hunting at night lions visit burned areas despite their daytime avoidance of these ar- eas .