Cyclones influence native plant diversity on 22 remote high islands of French Polynesia and Pitcairn (eastern Polynesia)

I examined the relative influence of eight spatial characteristics on native plant diversity in 22 volcanic high islands of eastern Polynesia. The characteristics used as potential predictors in this study included island area, highest elevation, distance to the nearest continent, distance to the nearest archipelago, distance to the nearest similar island, index of isolation, distance to the largest and highest island of Tahiti, and distance to the “cyclonic alley.” Among characteristics studied, native plant diversity (indigenous and endemic species) was primarily linked with the island area and highest elevation of the islands. Contemporary cyclones were an important predictor of indigenous plant diversity in the remote islands surveyed. In the study area, this result suggests that cyclones, moving from the west Pacific Ocean basin to the eastern Polynesian islands, have provided more indigenous species to the remote high islands located close to the cyclonic alley. Isolation did not appear as a significant predictor of native plant diversity in the high islands surveyed, possibly due to a stepping-stone-island effect and the proximity of the cyclonic alley. These findings suggest that isolation could be tempered by a cyclonic-transport-flow effect in the study area, thus reducing the effective distance of the remote islands from the mainland source pool for seed dispersal.     

The effect of terrestrial habitat fragmentation on fish populations in small streams: A case study from New Zealand

Habitat fragmentation edge effects on riverine fish could have implications for stream fish populations and their management. We examined effects of forest fragmentation on banded kokopu and longfin eels in New Zealand. Banded kokopu prefer small shaded streams with bouldery substrates and instream cover, whereas longfin eels are found in a variety of habitats. We hypothesized that the densities of banded kokopu would be higher in forested than grassland streams, and the densities would be lower around forest margins. We sampled pools in streams flowing from native podocarp/broad-leaf forests into grassland using Gee–Minnow traps. Pools were sampled longitudinally on each stream from >50 m into the forest to >50 m downstream from the forest margin in open grassland. Banded kokopu densities were higher in interior habitat ?50 m into forests than in grassland streams. Fish caught in grassland pools were smaller than in forested pools. Longfin eels were caught in all streams, but numbers and sizes were similar in habitats; thus not likely to generate the pattern observed for banded kokopu. We found that terrestrial habitat fragmentation can impact stream fish populations by decreasing their occupancy of habitats in the vicinity of the boundary between different terrestrial habitats.     

Satellite Passive Sensing of the Marine Atmosphere Associated With Cold‐Air Mesoscale Cyclones

Contemporary research into extratropical cloud systems optimizes the increase in resolution of visible (VIS) and thermal infra‐red (IR) sensors, and the ability to retrieve wind and atmospheric moisture variables at mesoscales using microwave radiometry. These passively‐acquired remote sensing data are used to develop synoptic climatological (conceptual and simple statistical) ‘models’ of mesoscale cyclones in cold‐air outbreaks (mesocyclones, ‘polar lows’) occurring over the otherwise data‐void southern oceans. Mesocyclones present a limitation to successful weather forecasting for New Zealand and coastal Chile, southern Australia and South Africa, during the cold season. The synoptic climatological analyses show that: 1) the patterns of mesocyclone cloud vortex origins, movement and dissipation (‘mesocyclone regimes’), exhibit spatial dependence and have associations with upper‐ocean conditions; 2) mesocyclone ‘outbreaks’ are embedded within characteristic larger‐scale anomaly fields of tropospheric pressure, height, and layer thickness (mean temperature); and 3) composite (statistical average) models of cloud system structure based on the microwave retrievals of marine weather reveal mesocyclones to be relatively dry in comparison with synoptic cyclones, yet very windy. These analyses should permit the development of methods to better predict these important cold‐season storms over southern middle latitudes, and a fuller assessment of their significance for the larger hydroclimatic system.     

Forest Fragmentation in the Humid Tropics: A Cross–National Analysis

While habitat destruction always causes species extinctions, the rate of extinction may be highest in those habitats which become the most fragmented as they decline in size. For this reason, knowledge about the patterns and origins of rain forest fragmentation in the tropics may prove useful in efforts to preserve biodiversity. This paper calculates the degree of fragmentation in the tropical rain forests of 51 nations containing 83 per cent of the world's tropical forests. By these measures, West Africa and Central America have the most fragmented tropical rain forests in the world. Not surprisingly, rain forests in the Amazon basin are the world's least fragmented. Some patterns of tropical deforestation appear to produce more fragmentation than others. A two-stage least squares analysis of these data suggest that deforestation driven by smallholders is most likely to produce highly fragmented forest habitats. The implications of these findings for policy and for further research are briefly discussed.     

CONTRASTING TREE‐RING GROWTH RESPONSE OF PICEA ABIES TO CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN WESTERN AND EASTERN ESTONIA

Climatic variations and changes regulate arboreal growth. In Estonia, the tree‐ring growth variability of coniferous and deciduous trees has been linked with various climatic variables in different parts of the country. However, the dendroclimatic signals of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H.Karst.) have not been explored across the region. Here we compare the growth variability of this species, growing under various site conditions in Estonia, with records of temperature, precipitation, and indices of the North Atlantic Oscillation over a period of 50 years (1956–2005). Western chronologies correlated positively and significantly (p<0.01) with early‐summer (June) precipitation, while eastern chronologies showed positive and significant (p<0.05) correlation with mid‐winter (January) precipitation. Moreover, the eastern chronologies correlated positively and significantly (p<0.05) with the North Atlantic Oscillation index in January. First, our results indicated that the previously established geobotanical division, rather than forest site types, most probably explains the spatial patterns in spruce growth variability. Second, our findings agreed with the late Quaternary pollen studies showing that the vigour of spruce is limited in the western forests by a combination of climatic (i.e. summer moisture) and edaphic factors. Third, our results complement those of previous investigations, suggesting that the impacts and threats the changing climate will pose on spruce may be different in western and eastern Estonia, with more severe effects envisaged in the western part of the region through drought‐induced physiological stress.     

The evolving agricultural landscape of post-plantation Hawai‘i

Hawai‘i's agricultural landscape was previously dominated by large monocrop plantations of sugar cane and pineapple, but following a sweeping series of plantation closures beginning at the end of the twentieth century, that era has concluded. The last spatial assessment of Hawai‘i's agricultural footprint was completed in 1980, during the active plantation period. Here we present the results of a 2015 statewide assessment of the commercial crop footprint for Hawai‘i, based on World-View 2 satellite imagery and supporting datasets. We analyzed changes relative to the 1980 baseline on both a statewide and regional basis, to better understand how Hawai‘i's agricultural system has evolved in the post-plantation era. Sugar cane and pineapple saw dramatic reductions during this period, collectively losing more acres (257,000) than were planted for all crops combined (152,000) in 2015. Idle plantation lands and past plantation-era investments in irrigation and other infrastructure have created opportunities for other types of agriculture, despite rising land values, new and existing tropical diseases, and other challenges. Seed crops, primarily for genetically modified corn trials, were the second largest crop in 2015 (24,000 acres) despite having no mapped footprint in 1980. Commercial forestry, also absent in 1980, covered 23,000 acres in 2015. Macadamia nut, coffee, and diversified agriculture also all saw significant gains in their footprints, with coffee plantings increasing >250% during this period. Despite these gains, the Hawaiian Islands continue to have an extremely low degree of self-reliance for food production. The Oahu plain, adjacent to the major population center of Honolulu, has the most potential for considerably increasing the production of local produce, but without changes in consumption patterns and significant efforts to protect agricultural land from development, any increases in local food production will continue to be incremental. The post-plantation agricultural landscape in Hawaii is smaller, more diversified, and more nimble than it was in 1980, reflecting inter-island geographic differences in land use, history, and ownership. Mapping and assessing spatial changes in agricultural activity over time can provide valuable insights for decision-makers and communities as they continue to define what agriculture should look like in the post-plantation era. Our results suggest that Hawai‘i's agricultural landscape and overall production capability will continue to contract without substantial changes in policy and practice.     

Geographical variation on cone and seed production of natural Pinus halepensis Mill. forests in Tunisia

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) is found in discontinuous bands along the Mediterranean Basin, usually at low elevations and in dry climates. This study was conducted to relate bioclimatic zones and geographic distribution with representative individual tree of populations for cone number and weight from the driest to the wettest Aleppo pine forest zones. Epidometric values were recorded in all sample stands in the monitoring plots set in 79 native populations from the Algerian border to the eastern coast of Tunisia, representing a wide range from each region in northern Africa. Simple and multiple regressions were performed on the data. Results showed that the canopy seed bank increased according to elevation, latitudinal and longitudinal gradients. The simple regression analysis showed a latitudinal effect positively relating increasing latitude to greater cone crop. Similarly, longitudinal and elevation variations were related to significant differences in cone dimensions. Higher average seed mass was related to populations located westwards or at higher elevation. The multiple regression analysis indicated that the longitudinal variations were the most determinant geo-positional factors in Aleppo pine cone dimensions and average seed mass in natural Aleppo pine forests in Tunisia.     

Relative vulnerability of the forests along southeastern African coasts to cyclones

The forests of southeastern Africa are vulnerable to damage imposed by tropical cyclones operating in the South Indian Ocean. We undertook a geographical analysis to determine the relative vulnerability of forests given tropical cyclones recorded during the 1959–2008 storm seasons. From this analysis, eastern coastal forests of Madagascar seem to be the most vulnerable, although return intervals for severe storms vary along the eastern coast, and are shorter (about 10 years) through the central portion of the country. Therefore, the central lowland to upper montane rainforests on the eastern coast seem to be more vulnerable to damage from tropical cyclones than others in the area. While not as extensive, western coastal forests of Madagascar are also as vulnerable in part due to the recurvature of storms in the Mozambique Channel. Though the coastal forests of Mozambique are all nearly equal in terms of vulnerability, the return interval for severe storms to this area is highly variable. The inland Miombo forests of southeast Africa are less vulnerable to damage from tropical cyclones; however, portions of western Mozambique and Zimbabwe have experienced strong tropical storms in the last 50 years. A number of caveats and limitations associated with the data and analyses are noted. Given the broad scale of the study, the relative vulnerability and the return intervals for severe storms should be considered general representations of these phenomena for the southeastern African coast and the island of Madagascar.     

Medium‐term fluvial island evolution in a disturbed gravel‐bed river (Piave River,Northeastern Italian Alps)

River islands are defined as discrete areas of woodland vegetation surrounded by either water‐filled channels or exposed gravel. They exhibit some stability and are not submerged during bank‐full flows. The aim of the study is to analyze the dynamics of established, building, and pioneer islands in a 30‐km‐long reach of the gravel‐bed Piave River, which has suffered from intense and multiple human impacts. Plan‐form changes of river features since 1960 were analyzed using aerial photographs, and a LiDAR was used to derive the maximum, minimum and mean elevation of island surfaces, and maximum and mean height of their vegetation. The results suggest that established islands lie at a higher elevation than building and pioneer islands, and have a thicker layer of fine sediments deposited on their surface after big floods. After the exceptional flood in 1966 (RI > 200 years) there was a moderate increase in island numbers and extension, followed by a further increase from 1991, due to a succession of flood events in 1993 and 2002 with RI > 10 years, as well as a change in the human management relating to the control of gravel‐mining activities. The narrowing trend (1960–1999) of the morphological plan form certainly enhanced the chance of islands becoming established and this explains the reduction of the active channel, the increase in established islands and reduction of pioneer islands.     

‘The global warming clock is ticking so see these places while you can’: Voyeuristic tourism and model environmental citizens on Tuvalu's disappearing islands

At a time when climate change is being defined and grappled with around the world as a looming large‐scale environmental crisis, low‐lying Pacific islands are being publicized in a range of practices as ‘disappearing islands’, and their inhabitants as future ‘climate refugees’. This paper is concerned with the disappearing island as a space in which new intersections between environmentalism and tourism can be explored. It analyzes specifically western representational practices associated with climate change imperatives on Tuvalu, an atoll state in the central Pacific. New phenomena are emerging there such as climate change tourism and the transformation of the islands into showcases of renewable energy. These phenomena are analyzed in order to understand how climate change meanings are being shaped by various participants in the debate. I argue that Pacific islanders are heroized as climate change saviours when environmentalists attempt to locate ethnocentric notions of environmentally harmonious, ‘traditional’ culture on disappearing islands. Further, islanders are objectified in the rhetoric of climate change tourism. Imagined destinies for atoll dwellers as climate saviours are sited uncomfortably alongside voyeuristic gazes turned towards inundated islands. Competing forces of compassion and voyeurism produced in the name of the Tuvaluan indigene are entrenching an iconic role for the Tuvaluan atoll dweller as climate change hero/victim.     

The Coyote Brush Invasion of Southern California Grasslands and the Legacy of Mechanical Disturbance

This study investigates the recent invasion of exotic grasslands by coyote brush in La Jolla Valley, California. We test the “event dependent” hypothesis that mechanical disturbances during the past century were a key cause. To examine the relationship between past mechanical disturbances and vegetation dynamics we first conducted a review of the historical literature on practices of shrub removal and documented disturbance history using historical imagery. We next analyzed vegetation‐cover change over time using remotely sensed imagery and a vegetation map to document the history of native shrub advancement into exotic grassland by species association. Finally, we determined the topographic characteristics associated with different phases of shrub advancement. We found that mechanical disturbances historically varied by topography with upper and steeper slopes being least intensively disturbed. We found that shrub advancement rates, following release from grazing, varied by slope, elevation, and time period, and that Baccharis pilularis (coyote brush) was the main species to invade the more intensively disturbed sites at lower elevations. Our results indicate that mechanical disturbances played an important role in modifying the original vegetation cover with long‐lasting consequences, including a facilitating role for the subsequent Baccharis pilularis invasion. We concluded that the practice of grazing often included exotic mechanical disturbances that had long‐lasting impacts on native plants.     

2008年春季中国南方冰雪冻害林木折损分析

An abrupt ice and snow storm disaster which occurred in the spring of 2008 se-verely destroyed forests over a surprisingly large portion of southern China.A transect crossing Jinggang Mountain-Jitai Basin-Yushan Mountain-Wuyi Mountain was selected as the study area.The authors integrated field data collected in two field surveys to analyze the impacts of the disturbance on forests.The following results were obtained.(1) The extent of damage to plantations along the transect decreased in the order of slash pine > masson pine > mixed plantation > Chinese fir.Slash pine is an introduced species from southern America which is characterized by fast growth,low wood quality and rich oleoresin,and showed a damage rate of 61.3% of samples,of which 70.4% cannot recover naturally.Masson pine is the native pioneer species of forests with harder wood,and 52.5% were damaged due to turpentine,of which 60.9% cannot recovery naturally.Chinese fir is a local tree species and samples showed a rate of 46% and a relative rate of 32.5%,lower than the mixed plantation.(2) From west to east along the transect,we can see that evergreen broad-leaved forest of the western transect on Jinggang Mountain showed the lightest damage extent,and a Cryp-tomeria plantation at an altitude of 700 m was severely destroyed while Chinese fir showed light damage below 700 m and relatively severe damage above 900 m.Masson pine and slash pine in the central transect in Jitai Basin were damaged severely due to turpentine ac-tivities,and closed natural secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest was damaged severely due to high ice and snow accumulation on intertwined shrubs.Masson pine aerial-seeding plantations below 400 m along the eastern transect in Xingguo and Ningdu counties were nearly undamaged for small tree sizes,and Chinese fir at 500-900 m altitude showed a lighter damage extent.However,masson pine which was distributed above 400 m and planted in the 1960s,was severely damaged due to turpentine.     

Assessment of multifunctional landscapes dynamics in the mountainous basin of the Mo River (Togo,West Africa)

In this study, historical landscape dynamics were investigated to (i) map the land use/cover types for the years 1972, 1987, 2000 and 2014; (ii) determine the types and processes of landscape dynamics; and (iii) assess the landscape fragmentation and habitat loss over time. Supervised classification of multi-temporal Landsat images was used through a pixel-based approach. Post–classification methods included systematic and random change detection, trajectories analysis and landscape fragmentation assessment. The overall accuracies (and Kappa statistics) were of 68.86% (0.63), 91.32% (0.79), 90.66% (0.88) and 91.88% (0.89) for 1972, 1987, 2000 and 2014, respectively. The spatio-temporal analyses indicated that forests, woodlands and savannahs dominated the landscapes during the four dates, though constant areal decreases were observed. The most important dynamic process was the decline of woodlands with an average annual net loss rate of–2%. Meanwhile, the most important land transformation occurred during the transition 2000–2014, due to anthropogenic pressures. Though the most important loss of vegetation greenness occurred in the unprotected areas, the overall analyses of change indicated a declining trend of land cover quality and an increasing landscape fragmentation. Sustainable conservation strategies should be promoted while focusing restoration attention on degraded lands and fragmented ecosystems in order to support rural livelihood and biodiversity conservation.     

Decentring poverty studies: Middle class alliances and the social construction of poverty

Editors' Note: The following is the tenth in the Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography Lecture Series. It is based on the plenary presentation of 13 April at the AAG held in Seattle in 2011. In this essay I explore relational poverty analysis to take seriously the spatially varied intersections of political‐economic, social ordering and cultural‐political processes in shaping understandings of poverty. My work as part of the Middle Class Poverty Politics Research Group employs a relational comparative methodology to theorize where, when and under what circumstances those framed as ‘middle class’ act in opposition to or in solidarity with those named as ‘poor’. Our approach focuses on the exploitative effects of capital accumulation, processes of unequal sociospatial categorization and political and discursive systems that limit or exclude the poor. Our research focuses on places experiencing capitalist crisis because intense periods of restructuring highlight material and discursive struggles over poverty. We conclude by identifying a research agenda focused on the ways in which poverty politics are constituted by the nonpoor through place and in the articulation of places with processes of political economy, governance and cultural politics.     

‘Here,we don't just trade goods,we also “sell” people's lives’: Sari‐sari stores as nodes of partial surveillance in a Philippine fishing community

Home‐based neighbourhood stores (locally known in the Philippines as sari‐sari stores) are a ubiquitous feature of most Philippine communities. They are small to medium‐size trade stores not unlike convenience stores in the West where people buy goods in small quantities. In the Philippines, these stores play a vital role in providing everyday economic sustenance to low‐income communities. But more than an economic hub, sari‐sari stores also function as a social hub that connects people and acts as eyes and ears of the community through the people who make use of their services. In a sense, sari‐sari stores are the community's ‘myopticon’ where people's day‐to‐day dealings with everyone in the community and its environs are reported and discursively brought under the gaze of the ‘entire community’. Being myopticon as opposed to Foucault's panopticon, surveillance in sari‐sari stores is partial, non‐hierarchicalized and could be resisted by people in the community. Nonetheless, regardless of the ‘myoptic’ features of sari‐sari stores, their presence in the community ‘interpellates’ everyone's daily existence and instantiates a discursive space from which a structure of informal social control is enacted among community members. Sari‐sari stores then are an important reminder of how our built environment is also about contestation and negotiation of everyday life as we make use of space and as the architectonics of space both constrain and empower our manoeuvring in places.     

长江口北支湿地分类及生境特征

长江口北支湿地可以划分为海岸潮滩湿地生境、河口湿地生境和人工湿地生境3大类,生境类型丰富。分析了每类湿地生境的特征,最后指出由于人类的高强度干扰,生境破碎化严重,生物多样性降低,湿地生态服务功能减弱。     

2008年春季中国南方冰雪冻害林木折损分析

An abrupt ice and snow storm disaster which occurred in the spring of 2008 severely destroyed forests over a surprisingly large portion of southern China. A transect crossing Jinggang Mountain-Jitai Basin-Yushan Mountain-Wuyi Mountain was selected as the study area. The authors integrated field data collected in two field surveys to analyze the impacts of the disturbance on forests. The following results were obtained. (1) The extent of damage to plantations along the transect decreased in the order of slash pine > masson pine > mixed plantation > Chinese fir. Slash pine is an introduced species from southern America which is characterized by fast growth, low wood quality and rich oleoresin, and showed a damage rate of 61.3% of samples, of which 70.4% cannot recover naturally. Masson pine is the native pioneer species of forests with harder wood, and 52.5% were damaged due to turpentine, of which 60.9% cannot recovery naturally. Chinese fir is a local tree species and samples showed a rate of 46% and a relative rate of 32.5%, lower than the mixed plantation. (2) From west to east along the transect, we can see that evergreen broad-leaved forest of the western transect on Jinggang Mountain showed the lightest damage extent, and a Cryptomeria plantation at an altitude of 700 m was severely destroyed while Chinese fir showed light damage below 700 m and relatively severe damage above 900 m. Masson pine and slash pine in the central transect in Jitai Basin were damaged severely due to turpentine activities, and closed natural secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest was damaged severely due to high ice and snow accumulation on intertwined shrubs. Masson pine aerial-seeding plantations below 400 m along the eastern transect in Xingguo and Ningdu counties were nearly undamaged for small tree sizes, and Chinese fir at 500-900 m altitude showed a lighter damage extent. However, masson pine which was distributed above 400 m and planted in the 1960s, was severely damaged due to turpentine.     

ONE LAST STAND? FORESTS AND CHANGE ON ECUADOR'S EASTERN CORDILLERA

ABSTRACT. Tropical montane forests are known for their ecological importance. Most montane forests in Ecuador have been converted to agriculture, and those that remain are concentrated on the eastern cordillera. Understanding of land‐use‐land‐cover change in this ecological zone is inadequate. Using remote sensing (Landsat tm, spot ) and fieldwork, we document land‐use‐land‐cover change in two watersheds on Ecuador's eastern cordillera (Cañar Province). During the 1990s the region experienced a 0.58 percent annual rate of deforestation, but two areas within it show active signs of re/afforestation. Although conversion of forest to pasture for cattle grazing continues, human migration to the United States is likely to affect the trajectory of future land‐use‐land‐cover change.     

Do perceptions of the Red‐tailed Hawk indicate a human‐wildlife conflict on the island of La Gonave,Haiti?

The Caribbean subspecies of the Red‐tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis solitudinus or B.j. jamaicensis) is the largest native carnivore on the island of La Gonave, Haiti, and the island's apex predator. On other Caribbean islands, raptors have been persecuted by local people typically because of their depredation of livestock. In addition to possible persecution from humans, Red‐tailed Hawks on La Gonave face challenges from island‐wide timber overharvest and rapid land‐cover changes. To better understand the human‐apex predator relationship on La Gonave, we surveyed islanders about their perceptions of, and interactions with, the Red‐tailed Hawk. According to 121 respondents from 10 villages, La Gonavans do not hunt, kill, or consume Red‐tailed Hawks. Our study revealed a notable absence of negative perceptions of the hawk by respondents despite intense hawk depredation of domestic chickens. While the chicken depredation may lead outside observers to consider the human‐hawk relationship on La Gonave as representative of a human‐wildlife conflict, our interview data do not support that conception. Our findings reflect an important conversation in related contemporary scientific literature about what constitutes human‐wildlife conflicts across various cultures. Despite tolerance by residents, Red‐tailed Hawks on La Gonave remain threatened by habitat degradation.     

我国落叶松林生产力的空间变化特征

落叶松林在我国有着广泛的分布。其空间差异也比较大。采用地统计学方法对我国落叶松林生产力的空间特征进行了分析。结果表明。落叶松种群和群落地理替代作用明显；落叶松林生产力空间异质性较大。其变化与空间尺度密切相关；地理位置、海拔高度等是影响落叶松林生产力的重要因素；在天然落叶松林的管理和保护以及人工落叶松林的发展上应考虑其空间特征。