Understanding Effectiveness in its Broader Context: Assessing Case Study Methodologies for Evaluating Collaborative Conservation Governance

Abstract

Collaborative forms of governance are increasingly favored in conservation and potentially offer a range of practical and outcome-based benefits. However, tools for critically assessing whether and how collaboration enhances the attainment of conservation objectives are lagging behind the enthusiasm. We use a framework that considers effectiveness in relation to capacity of key actors and institutions to achieve outcomes and respond to emergent problems, robustness over time (i.e. adapting to changes while still achieving objectives), context-specific drivers of change, and the structure of networks and institutions to assess common approaches for evaluating effectiveness. Network analysis performs well in terms of structure, while action research and the diagnostic method offer deep insights into capacity and context. Scenario planning performs well in understanding robustness and context but performs better when combined with a diagnostic. The evaluation reveals important insights for approaching and standardizing investigations of collaborative governance regimes and their effectiveness.     

Beitrag zur feinstmahlung von industriemineralen

Industrial minerals of a high degree of fineness such as kaolinite, calcite and barite are used to an increasing extent in the chemical industries as filling material in the manu-facturing of paper, paints and plastics or as ingredients of ceramic products. Grains smaller than 5 μm can be produced by dry grinding in a jet mill or by wet grinding in drum mills. To avoid impurities due to wear, these mills are lined with rubber or plastic and ceramic balls are used as grinding bodies.Our investigations in a jet mill show that the fineness of the ground product depends on the feed rate and on the air volume. The grain sizes received in the drum mill are influenced by feed rate, pulp density, speed of rotation and by the grinding bodies (density, size).REM-photographs of mill discharge in the grain-size ranges 10-5 μm and below 5 μm indicate that in both the grains mainly show crystal planes as boundaries. After dry grinding the grains show smooth and clean faces; thus is traced back to the impact effect of the air streams. In wet grinding the fine grains are very prone to form agglomerates.     

Untersuchungen zur kreislaufmahlung in einer aufbereitung für komplexe sulfidische erze

Circuit grinding was investigated in the Rammelsberg ore dressing plant. From short-interval sampling it was possible to make a statement about the non-stationary and stationary state of grinding. The objective of these investigations was to establish the distribution curves of the quantitative flow, of the grain sizes and of the mineralogical components in the individual streams of the circuit grinding.     

Eddy fluxes of CO2, water vapor,and sensible heat over a deciduous forest

Fluxes of CO₂, latent heat and sensible heat were measured above a fully-leafed deciduous forest in eastern Tennessee with the eddy correlation technique. These are among the first reported observations over such a surface. The influences of solar radiation, vapor pressure deficit and the aerodynamic and canopy resistances on these mass and energy exchanges are examined. Following a concept introduced by McNaughton and Jarvis (1983), examination of our data suggest that the water vapor exchange of a deciduous forest is not as strongly coupled with net radiation as is that of agricultural crops. The degree of decoupling is smaller than in the case of a coniferous forest. This difference may be attributable in part to the greater aerodynamic resistance to water vapor transfer in a deciduous forest. It appears that the concept of decoupling may be extended to the CO₂ exchange of a deciduous forest as well.Published as Paper No. 7832, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Research Division. ATDD Contribution No. 85-17.     

TEQC multipath metrics in MATLAB

Knowledge of the local direction of multipath at a particular site is important for a number of reasons. For example, such information can be used to study site selections or during monument design for GPS installations. We present a MATLAB program for creating colorized polar maps of high-frequency multipath using TEQC report files of single-epoch data. The maps, although not necessarily indicating the actual local direction of multipath on the ground, give the orientation with respect to the geometry of the satellites in the sky. This information can aid the interpretation of ground multipath geometry at the site. We give an example of short-span data with ∼0.05 Hz multipath (i.e. repeat period ≈ 20 s) although the program can be modified for long-term measurements as well.     

Climate and irrigation scenario analyses using three-dimensional numerical modelling: a case study of the Nasia sub-basin in the White Volta Basin,Ghana

A groundwater resource characterisation and assessment model was developed for Nasia river sub-basin in the White Volta Basin, Ghana. The model is useful to policymakers for planning and sustainable management of groundwater resources in the basin for domestic and irrigation purposes. A conceptual model was constructed that characterized boundary conditions and hydrostratigraphy, and estimated recharge rates and hydraulic and storage parameters. From current understanding of the hydrogeological dynamics, three hydrostratigraphic layers were delineated. The conceptual model was converted to a three-dimensional steady-state groundwater flow model using MODFLOW. Recharge rates estimated from the base model indicate a minimum of 1.1% and maximum of 6.2% of the total rainfall. The hydraulic conductivity ranged between 0.20 and 15 m/day. Four possible scenarios were simulated: (1) increased population, (2) climate variations (reduced recharge), (3) increased abstraction for irrigation, and (4) worst-case scenario which is a combination of the first three scenarios. Results from scenarios 1 and 2 indicated that, under such conditions, the groundwater resources could be sustained and no significant effect on any of the water budget indicators was observed. For scenario 3, there was significant drop in hydraulic head in the central portions of the study area. The scenario 4 simulation indicated that there was significant reduction in groundwater levels and groundwater discharge into streams under these stressors. Such reduction can affect stream levels in the basin and, subsequently, the ecosystem. These findings are valid within the limits of uncertainty in the hydrogeological data that were used in this study.

     

Analytical solutions for sequentially coupled one-dimensional reactive transport problems – Part II: Special cases,implementation and testing

This is Part-II of a two-part article that presents analytical solutions to multi-species reactive transport equations coupled through sorption and sequential first-order reactions. In Part-I, we provide the mathematical derivations and in this article we discuss the computational techniques for implementing these solutions. We adopt these techniques to develop a general computer code and use it to verify the solutions. We also simplify the general solutions for various special-case transport scenarios involving zero initial condition, identical retardation factors and zero advection. In addition to this, we derive specialized solution expressions for zero dispersion and steady-state conditions. Whereever possible, we compare these special-case solutions against previously published analytical solutions to establish the validity of the new solution. Finally, we test the new solution against other published analytical and semi-analytical solutions using a set of example problems.     

Scaling of adsorption reactions: U(VI) experiments and modeling

Iron-coated sands were prepared via two common protocols, a precipitation method, where Fe was precipitated directly onto the sand in a single step, and an adsorption method, where pure goethite was prepared in the first step and then adsorbed onto the sand in a second step. The coated sands from both the systems were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and selective Fe extraction. Although neither of the methods produced a completely crystalline Fe coating, the precipitation method produced sands with larger portions of amorphous Fe than the adsorption method, with the fraction of amorphous Fe decreasing with increasing Fe content. Uranium(VI) adsorption isotherms and pH adsorption edges were measured on three coated sands with Fe contents ranging from 0.04% to 0.3%. Experimentally, the adsorption of U(VI) onto the three sands was more comparable when normalized to surface area than when normalized to Fe content. A surface complexation model, although originally developed for U(VI) adsorption onto amorphous Fe oxide, captured the differences in adsorption when adjusted for the surface area of the coated sand. The findings indicate that surface area is a better scaling parameter than Fe content in predicting U(VI) adsorption to Fe-dominated media. These findings are significant because many common surface complexation models are parameterized on the basis of Fe content rather than specific surface area. Although the interactions of U(VI) and Fe-coated sands were used as representative adsorbate and adsorbent, the general principles may be applicable to other adsorbate–adsorbent systems as well.     

The densest meteorite collection area in hot deserts: The San Juan meteorite field (Atacama Desert,Chile)

Abstract– We describe the geological, morphological, and climatic setting of the San Juan meteorite collection area in the Central Depression of the Atacama Desert (Chile). Our recovery activities yielded 48 meteorites corresponding to a minimum of 36 different falls within a 3.88 km² area. The recovery density is in the range 9–12 falls km^?2 depending on pairing, making it the densest among meteorite collection areas in hot deserts. This high meteorite concentration is linked to the long‐standing hyperaridity of the area, the stability of the surface pebbles (> Ma), and very low erosion rates of surface pebbles (approximately 30 cm Ma^?1 maximum). The San Juan meteorite population is characterized by old terrestrial ages that range from zero to beyond 40 ka, and limited weathering compared with other dense collection areas in hot desert. Chemical weathering in San Juan is slow and mainly controlled by the initial porosity of meteorites. As in the Antarctic and other hot deserts, there is an overabundance of H chondrites and a shortage of LL chondrites compared with the modern falls population, suggesting a recent (< few ka) change in the composition of the meteorite flux to Earth.     

Role of dynamic vegetation in regional climate predictions over western Africa

This study examines the role of vegetation dynamics in regional predictions of future climate change in western Africa using a dynamic vegetation model asynchronously coupled to a regional climate model. Two experiments, one for present day and one for future, are conducted with the linked regional climate-vegetation model, and the third with the regional climate model standing alone that predicts future climate based on present-day vegetation. These simulations are so designed in order to tease out the impact of structural vegetation feedback on simulated climate and hydrological processes. According to future predictions by the regional climate-vegetation model, increase in LAI is widespread, with significant shift in vegetation type. Over the Guinean Coast in 2084–2093, evergreen tree coverage decreases by 49% compared to 1984–1993, while drought deciduous tree coverage increases by 56%. Over the Sahel region in the same period, grass cover increases by 31%. Such vegetation changes are accompanied by a decrease of JJA rainfall by 2% over the Guinean Coast and an increase by 23% over the Sahel. This rather small decrease or large increase of precipitation is largely attributable to the role of vegetation feedback. Without the feedback effect from vegetation, the regional climate model would have predicted a 5% decrease of JJA rainfall in both the Guinean Coast and the Sahel as a result of the radiative and physiological effects of higher atmospheric CO₂ concentration. These results demonstrate that climate- and CO₂-induced changes in vegetation structure modify hydrological processes and climate at magnitudes comparable to or even higher than the radiative and physiological effects, thus evincing the importance of including vegetation feedback in future climate predictions.