Understanding pastoral mobility: the case of Senegalese Fulani

Based on a case study from Sahelian Senegal, this paper analyses how various actors perceive the importance of pastoral mobility and presents issues of importance for understanding the use of mobility among Fulani of Ferlo. One knowledge system is a scientific one, the 'new rangeland paradigm'. According to this, pastoral mobility is a means to balance variability in dryland resources; hence, 'nature' is the point of departure. Another knowledge system is local pastoral knowledge. For the pastoralists, the well-being of their animals is the point of departure and mobility is used to ensure that the livestock are in good condition. The paper shows that it is important to distinguish between mobility of pastoralists and of their herd; even though the pastoralists of northern Senegal have become semi-sedentary, their herds are still quite mobile. The pastoralists are willing to move around within a small territory, which they consider their place, but are unwilling to employ large-scale mobility themselves. Mobility is not of importance for their ethnic identity and some use paid herders to care for their livestock. By looking at both knowledge systems, we achieve a better understanding of pastoral mobility and how this may change in the future.     

Between a rock and a hard place: contested livelihoods in Qwaqwa National Park, South Africa

This paper examines rural livelihoods and the prospects for participatory conservation through a case study of Qwaqwa National Park (QNP) in South Africa. The park was established in 1992 in the context of South Africa's transition to democracy, growing ecotourism in the country and global movements towards conservation involving and benefiting local people. The paper argues that the protracted conflict between park residents and management led to new patterns of livelihood activities and household formation, and resulted in material and social differentiation amongst park households. The goals of park management, with a commitment to nature conservation and ecotourism, were at odds with the livelihood practices of park residents. Conflicts arose over stocking levels, overgrazing, wood-cutting and deforestation and over the use of other natural resources, including water and medicinal plants. The park was the site of a Rand Water project that employed many residents. Residents found themselves between a rock and a hard place as they resisted attempts by the management to reduce stocking levels and yet relied on management to gain access to sources of paid employment.     

Spatial conservation planning framework for assessing conservation opportunities in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Historic rates of habitat change and growing exploitation of natural resources threaten avian biodiversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot. We implemented a twostage framework for conservation planning in the Atlantic Forest. First, we used ecological niche modeling to predict the distributions of 23 endemic bird species using 19 climatic metrics and 12 spectral and radar remote sensing metrics. Second, we utilized the principle of complementarity to prioritize new sites to augment the Atlantic Forest's existing reserves. The best predictors of bird distributions were precipitation metrics (the seasonality of rainfall) and radar remote sensing metrics (QSCAT). The existing protected areas do not include 10% of the habitat of each of the 23 endemic species. We propose a more economical set of protected areas by reducing the extent to which new sites duplicate the biodiversity content of existing protected areas. There is a high concordance between the proposed conservation areas that we designed using computerized algorithms and Important Bird Areas prioritized by BirdLife International. Insofar as deforestation in the Atlantic Forest is similar to land conversion in other biodiversity hotspots, our methodology is applicable to conservation efforts elsewhere in the world.     

Land degradation is not a necessary outcome of communal pastoralism in arid Namibia

In Otjimbingwe, a region of arid south-central Namibia, human population densities are high and these communal pastoralists own large numbers of livestock. Such situations are commonly perceived to lead to the ‘tragedy of the commons'. This region lends itself to a comparison of the effects of communal and commercial farming (with private land ownership) because the communal area is completely surrounded by commercial farms. In spite of far higher stocking densities on the communal areas and the absence of an overall grazing strategy, we found no evidence of the ‘tragedy of the commons' on Otjimbingwe. Indeed, the communal areas did not differ in a number of soil and vegetation parameters from the commercial farms. These results point both to the resilience of arid environments to high stocking levels and the over-riding influence of abiotic variables on environmental quality.     

广东孔江湿地生物多样性保护与生态恢复工程

针对广东孔江国家湿地公园出现的库周村民生产生活污染、农业面源污染、植被群落单一等问题,开展湿地生物多样性保护与生态恢复工程,为湿地公园后期建设规划提供依据。     

Diversity and distribution of landscape trees in the compact Asian city of Taipei

The promotion and preservation of biodiversity in urban areas remains scant, especially in Asian cities. This study focuses on spatial pattern and diversity of landscape trees in compact Taipei. Aggregate species diversity of three urban habitats (streets, urban parks and riverside parks) exceeded the countryside's secondary forests. Urban parks with site heterogeneity and multiple functions accommodate the highest richness, and streets with acute site limitations the poorest represented by popular native species. More affinities exist between urban and riverside parks. Low diversity in riverside parks echoes natural site constraints and primary use for river discharge and flood control. The compact urban form has not stifled species diversity and spatial variability of urban forests. Development history and park area have no significant relationship with species diversity. Understanding species composition in urban ecosystems could frame conservation strategies to augment species richness, appropriate site selection, habit preservation and wildlife recruitment.     

江苏灌河口湿地景观生态规划:可持续发展的方案

灌河是江苏省除长江外唯一的未在入海口建闸的河流,上通盐河、京杭运河和淮河,腹地广大,灌河河口段可满足万吨轮航运条件,有巨大的开发价值。在分析研究灌河口湿地资源、环境与景观生态特征的基础上,利用景观生态学中景观生态规划的方法和原理,提出了建立景观生态保护区,开发河海牧场、生态农业和生态旅游资源,加快中等港口群和临港产业区建设并举的景观生态规划方案,通过灌河口湿地一体化开发、保护和管理的示范作用,带动整个流域的经济与生态环境保护的协调发展。     

Impact of livestock management on water quality and streambank structure in a semi-arid,African ecosystem

Natural resource management may change local and regional ecosystems, especially in drought-prone environments. Livestock are commonly kept as a source of capital in agriculturally dominated communities in Southern Africa, but the mis-management of available forage and water resources has led to significant land and water degradation. In Northwest Zimbabwe, to reverse trends in environmental degradation a community-based conservation program was established that uses intensive Holistic Management Planned Grazing (HMPG) to restore lost habitat and re-establish natural vegetation. We examined riparian ecosystem structure and water quality to compare the environmental impact of this management to nearby communal lands during a drought. The results demonstrate that concentrating livestock on ephemeral stream standing pools results in reduced water quality and altered riparian ecosystem structure. These results were not significantly different from what was observed when wildlife utilized similar water resources without livestock influence. When water is scarce, as during extreme droughts, livestock usage of surface water resources must be weighted against community water needs. The long-term regional benefits of HMPG may prevail over short-term reductions in local water quality but more research is needed to assess all the consequences of such management.     

The Development of Wildlife Community Conservancies in Kenya: A Preliminary Review

The significance of biodiversity conservation has transformed from a concern for conservation of endangered species and landscapes into an increasingly diverse yet comprehensive set of conservation, social and economic development goals. Community conservancy, a powerful extension of the PA system, has great potential to support biodiversity conservation, poverty eradication and conflict mitigation. Based on its policy environment and development characteristics, Kenya has implemented community conservation practices, and established over 160 conservancies across the country in the past decades. This paper reviews the development and experiences of community conservancies, discusses how they have been implemented in Kenya, and looks at the management paradigm, efficacy and challenges to help better understand the community conservancy approach. The development trajectory and lessons these conservancies have to offer can contribute to the sustainable utilization of natural resources and the enhancement of community wellbeing in Kenya and other countries alike.     

A synthesis of sociological and biological perspectives on sustainable land use in Namaqualand

A transdisciplinary synthesis, grouped into four main themes, of the key papers in this Special Issue on Namaqualand is provided. Perspectives on current environmental, economic and social issues in the region are interpreted in the context of the past and are used to inform future trajectories of change and development needs within the region. Firstly, in terms of the climatic and biophysical environment, Namaqualand's rich biodiversity is not uniformly distributed and is explained in terms of the spatially heterogeneous geological, pedological and topographical gradients that characterize the region. Spatial and temporal variation in rainfall over long time frames would also have promoted speciation within isolated, poorly-dispersed, leaf succulent populations. Future climate models propose a decrease in rainfall across the region with an associated reduction in livestock production. The second theme provides an historical perspective on changing land use practices in Namaqualand over the last 2000 years. It suggests that they have frequently been influenced by events originating far from the region such as colonial expansion, apartheid legislation and globalization. Local people, particularly marginalised communal farmers have had to adapt to these outside influences within an increasingly confined landscape that has progressively eroded their mobility and restricted their ability to utilise the spatial and temporal variability inherent in semi-arid environments. The third theme shows how livelihood diversification has been one of the key ways in which local people from communal areas have adapted to change. While farming makes up a relatively small part of the income of most households it enhances the resilience of livelihoods in the region. The fourth theme is concerned with land reform, conservation and restoration in Namaqualand. While a significant amount of land has been transferred to previously-marginalised groups, equitable access to these resources is lacking. An exclusively commercial orientation within the extension and development programmes of the Department of Agriculture further hampers the effectiveness of land reform as a tool for reducing levels of poverty in the majority of households in the region. Conservation initiatives could enhance livelihood options in Namaqualand but are viewed by some as being in competition with the state's land reform programme and are too recent to reflect significant regional benefits at this stage. While restoration is possible in severely degraded lands, the costs and operational difficulties in these event-driven, semi-arid systems are emphasised. Finally, this synthesis suggests that the important exogenous drivers of change in the 21st century are likely to be climate, biodiversity conservation initiatives, land redistribution and continued processes of de-agrarianisation as a result of macro-economic change. A focus on building institutions, encouraging livestock mobility within a significantly expanded commons and supporting livelihood diversification are some of the approaches necessary to address the development needs of Namaqualand.     

江苏盐城滨海湿地研究进展

江苏盐城滨海湿地是我国重要的湿地之一,适宜的气候条件和优越的自然环境孕育了丰富的生物资源,在生物多样性保护方面占有举足轻重的地位。近年来,江苏滨海湿地正面临着大规模围垦、污染、资源过度利用、生物入侵等一系列生态环境问题,湿地系统功能退化日趋严重。总结近30年学者对盐城滨海湿地的海岸冲淤、环境演变、野生动物保护及外来物种对这一地区生态系统的影响等方面的研究成果,为湿地生态环境保护、修复及可持续发展提供科学依据。     

ROOST SITES AND COMMUNAL BEHAVIOR OF ANDEAN CONDORS IN CHILE*

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is an endangered species. Even southern Patagonia, home to the most stable and abundant populations of Andean condors, is witnessing increasing pressure from development and tourism. Taking the case of Torres del Paine National Park, in the Chilean Patagonia, we examine monitoring of condor populations at roosting sites and communal bird behavior in response to humans as an effective tool for bird conservation within protected areas. Based on field data collected throughout 2007, we identify new roosting places, explore activity patterns and population characteristics of free‐ranging and roosting Andean condors, examine bird behavior in response to humans, and analyze the current and likely future ecological impacts of tourism on the condor population and its habitat. Our results reveal that the impact of tourism is still low and that the Andean condors do not seem to be declining in numbers in the park but that the importance of roosts and animal behavior in response to humans must be considered for future monitoring, bird‐conservation planning, and ecotourism management.     

A comparison of the reactions to government taxation measures of twentieth century mining companies and nineteenth century pastoralists

This paper compares pastoralists in South Australia in the nineteenth century with Australian mining companies in the twentieth century as they resist the efforts of government to extract a greater proportion of the wealth created in the exploitation of natural resources. In effect, in both cases the struggle relates to the allocation of economic rent between private and corporate capital on the one hand, and the owners of the resources, the people of Australia, on the other. It is difficult not to be impressed by the similarities in the ideologies, objectives and strategies of these two groups of resource exploiters, separated though they are by over one hundred years.     

山西中条山东部野生植物资源

调查了山西省中条山东部野生植物种类及属种区系成分,对野生经济植物资源进行了评价,并提出了利用和保护的对策。     

江苏凤凰岛湿地公园主题旅游项目策划浅析

湿地保护和旅游需要共存共发展。凤凰岛湿地公园旅游项目策划充分考虑湿地的自然资源、人文历史优势、农业产业现状以及独特的区位优势,将湿地公园旅游策划为三大主题群,并将保护、恢复、宣传、教育等贯穿到旅游行为当中,使得湿地旅游质朴化,实现旅游与保护融合发展。     

National parks in Lithuania: Old environment in a new democracy

Despite a long tradition of nature and forestry management, conservation of nature has a relatively short history in Lithuania. Most aspects of environmental management are facing considerable challenges since Lithuania's recent freedom from the 50-year Soviet regime. New democracies tend to develop new and often unpredictable ramifications for environmental management, and there is an urgent need for developing national park concepts and planning models that are responsive to the local context. This paper discusses some of the challenges encountered in developing and adjusting national park concepts. Lithuanian parks, like protected areas in other parts of the world, are characterised by the interaction of diverse natural and socio-cultural factors. This more or less unique complexity is the essence of the national park identity. Sustainable management of integrated protected area resources demands a change from the former expert-based top-down Soviet management. New models of collaborative, adaptive management will need to consider multiple values and goals and be able to function within rapidly changing political and administrative contexts.     

Integrating landscape connectivity into the evaluation of ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation and its implications for landscape planning

This paper examines the integration of landscape connectivity and ecosystem services. It is based on the assumption that if a habitat within a landscape has a more significant role in connecting with other habitats, it would have a higher ecosystem services value for biodiversity conservation. The Shenzhen River watershed, a cross-border region shared by the city of Shenzhen and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in China, was used as a case study. An area-based functional connectivity index, known as the possibility of connectivity (PC), was implemented to examine the temporal and spatial dynamics of the value of ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation over the period from 1988 to 2008. To evaluate the effectiveness of the PC index, a comparison was made between the conventional assessment method for ecosystem services and the proposed method. Results suggest that our proposed method can identify significant reduction of ecosystem services that was not only due to the decrease of habitat size, but also caused by the damage of connectivity among habitat patches. Also, it can identify sites which should have a high priority in restoring the ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation. In conclusion, this study provides a way to consider landscape connectivity in the evaluation of ecosystem services which is essential for landscape planning and nature conservation.     

中国景观生态学与生物多样性的交叉研究进展（英文）

The spatiotemporal landscape heterogeneity implies multiple biodiversity mechanisms across scales, and the cross-disciplinary studies between landscape ecology and biodiversity are becoming a new research field in China. This paper briefly reviews the development of the field by comparing papers published in international journals and Chinese journals;then it investigates the differences in the trends and focuses between international and Chinese studies. We also introduce several study areas that have emerged over the last 10 years in this field, including metacommunity assembly, landscape genetics, biodiversity and ecosystem service relationship, and landscape planning for biodiversity conservation. The major advances emerging in this field in China over the past 5 years can be classified into six subject areas: 1) effects of urban landscape and urbanization on biodiversity;2) altitudinal patterns of biodiversity in mountain landscapes;3) effects of topographic heterogeneity on plant community assembly and species coexistence;4) impacts of landscape patterns and processes on animal behaviors;5) forest fires and spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation responses;and 6) landscape ecology applications in natural conservation planning and design. In an attempt to promote cross-field studies between geography and ecology, this special issue collected 10 research articles, involving multiple landscape types and biological assemblages, in order to explore the interaction between landscape features and biodiversity. We anticipate that the future development of this active front will be primarily driven by the application of novel information techniques and the realistic demands of sustainability issues, in addition to answering scientific questions cross scales.     

Biodiversity,productivity, and temporal stability in a natural grassland ecosystem of China

Understanding the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem function is critical to promoting the sustainability of ecosystems and species conservation in natural ecosystems. We observed species composition, species richness and aboveground biomass,and simulated the competitive assemblages in a natural grassland ecosystem of China, aiming to test some assumptions and predictions about biodiversity–stability relationships. Our results show that aboveground productivity and temporal stability increased significantly with increasing species richness, and via a combination of overyielding, species asynchrony, and portfolio effects. Species interactions resulted in overyielding caused by trait-independent complementarity, and were not offset by a negative dominance effect and trait-dependent complementarity effect. Therefore, the mechanisms underlying the biodiversity effect shifted from the selection effect to the complementarity effect as diversity increased, and both effects were coexisted but the complementarity effect represent a mechanism that facilitates long term species coexistence in a natural grassland ecosystem of China.     

Scenarios for Community-based Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation: a case study from the Wet Tropics,Queensland, Australia

Natural resource management approaches that deliver biodiversity conservation remain elusive, with evidence of a persistent implementation gap between biodiversity science and conservation projects. Scenarios have been identified as potentially useful in addressing the complex issues underlying this implementation gap, but have been infrequently applied to biodiversity conservation. Our paper reports on action co-research to develop, apply and assess the efficacy of scenarios within a community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach to biodiversity conservation at Mission Beach, a key site within the globally significant Wet Tropics bioregion. We focused on the capacity of scenarios to address the issues of contested interests and uncertainty, aiming specifically to engage the community to build a cohesive vision. The scenarios' headline messages included a projected substantial loss of habitat in coastal vegetation communities that are highly valued by all stakeholders. Our assessment identified that the use of scenarios fulfilled the intended aims, resulting in a vision for biodiversity conservation that has substantial community support. Three factors contributed to this efficacy of the scenarios: (1) the focus on threat; (2) biodiversity science integration; and (3) simplicity in presentation. Further investigation of the potential of scenarios as tools to overcome the implementation gap in biodiversity conservation is recommended.