Fishers’ knowledge as an indicator of spatial and temporal trends in abundance of commercial fish species: Megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) in the northern North Sea

The need for alternative strategies to assist in the monitoring and sustainable management of many commercially important fish stocks is widely recognized. In recent years, greater utilization of fishers’ knowledge has been advocated as a potentially valuable source of ecological data in the assessment and management process. In this study changes in the distribution and relative abundance of common megrim Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis in the North Sea were investigated by comparing three data sources: fishers’ knowledge collected through a structured questionnaire; a vessel’s haul-by-haul catch data from the personal diaries of a single skipper over a 10-year time-series, and catch rates from fishery-independent surveys (IBTS Q1 and Q3). Trends in the distribution and relative abundance of megrim were broadly comparable between the three data sources. The results of the study indicate that, in the northern North Sea, fishers’ knowledge and catch data can provide valid data sources which can contribute to the assessment and management process. A structured approach consisting of a formal agreement, full transparency and commitment between all stakeholders is needed to provide and utilize the necessary data required to provide the most effective and inclusive approach to resource management.     

The Retention,Revival, and Subjugation of Indigenous Fire Knowledge through Agency Fire Fighting in Eastern Australia and California

This article explores the potential impact of training and employment with wildfire management agencies on the retention of Indigenous fire knowledge. It focuses on the comparative knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Elders, cultural practitioners, and land stewards in connection with “modern” political constructs of fire in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, and California in the United States of America. This article emphasises the close link between cross-cultural acceptance, integration of Indigenous and agency fire cultures, and the ways in which knowledge types are shared or withheld. While agency fire fighting provides an opportunity for Indigenous people to connect and care for country, it simultaneously allows for the breaking of traditional rules surrounding what knowledge is shared with whom in the context of Indigenous cultural burning. By highlighting how privilege intersects with ethnicity, class, gender and age, this article demonstrates how greater cross-cultural acceptance could aid ongoing debates on how to coexist with wildfire today.     

The Social Nature of Participatory Ecological Monitoring

Participatory ecological monitoring brings together conservationists and members of the public to collect data about changes in nature. This article scrutinizes the “social nature” of such monitoring, considering not only its impacts for nature, but also society, and importantly the ways in which these interact. Drawing on the field of nature–society studies we present a framework with which to explore case studies from the community forests of Nepal. We document the importance of multiple knowledges of nature, including what is referred to as “local monitoring” and its relation to the scientific procedures promoted in participatory monitoring; the consequences of participatory monitoring as a situated and embodied practice, such that it may (re)produce social inequalities; and the place of monitoring within the wider socioecological regime, with regard to possible unintended consequences for both nature and society. This article thus expands our understanding of the complexities of this increasingly popular approach to conservation.     

Knowledge to Action: Investigating Implicit Knowledge Production Models Held Among Forest Science Researchers

Criticisms of conventional knowledge production systems target their inability to address complex issues involving natural resources. In response, several researchers have adopted participatory research methodologies, incorporating more holistic problem-solving approaches that greatly value the knowledge and abilities of stakeholders. This case study explores forest science researchers' engagement strategies with stakeholders and how researchers can incorporate alternative approaches to knowledge production. We conducted semistructured interviews with forest science researchers, asking direct questions about how they define and work with stakeholders. Analysis revealed a great awareness among researchers for the need to cooperate with stakeholders and to incorporate their knowledge and abilities into the research process, as well as lamentations over structural, institutional, and resource limitations inhibiting the adoption of these practices. Our results reveal both how forest science researchers and institutes work with stakeholders and how they can better incorporate these stakeholder engagement methodologies into their research practices.     

中国地级区域创新产出的时空模式研究——基于ESDA的实证

以341个地级层面区域作为空间观测单元,以专利申请受理数作为衡量指标,对中国1997~2009年期间地级区域创新产出的时空特征进行了ESDA分析。结果表明:中国地级区域创新产出的地域性特征显著,首先表现为全局上的地理集聚和地带间的巨大差异;但不同于省级空间尺度下地带内部区域创新显著的极化特征,地级空间尺度区域创新却呈现多样化的局部空间依赖模式。整体上,创新产出在地级空间尺度上自然形成2个显著的空间集群,即东部沿海的H-H集群和西部内陆的L-L集群。东部H-H集群在考察期内由东北和华北地区逐渐向山东半岛、长三角和珠三角地区转移,西部L-L集群的空间发展则相对稳定;H-L型集群和L-H型集群主要分布在中部地区和东中西邻接地区,创新的空间过渡特征明显。最后在实证分析的基础上,提出了政策建议和未来研究的方向。     

Automated high resolution mapping of coffee in Rwanda using an expert Bayesian network

African highland agro-ecosystems are dominated by small-scale agricultural fields that often contain a mix of annual and perennial crops. This makes such systems difficult to map by remote sensing. We developed an expert Bayesian network model to extract the small-scale coffee fields of Rwanda from very high resolution data. The model was subsequently applied to aerial orthophotos covering more than 99% of Rwanda and on one QuickBird image for the remaining part. The method consists of a stepwise adjustment of pixel probabilities, which incorporates expert knowledge on size of coffee trees and fields, and on their location. The initial naive Bayesian network, which is a spectral-based classification, yielded a coffee map with an overall accuracy of around 50%. This confirms that standard spectral variables alone cannot accurately identify coffee fields from high resolution images. The combination of spectral and ancillary data (DEM and a forest map) allowed mapping of coffee fields and associated uncertainties with an overall accuracy of 87%. Aggregated to district units, the mapped coffee areas demonstrated a high correlation with the coffee areas reported in the detailed national coffee census of 2009 (R² = 0.92). Unlike the census data our map provides high spatial resolution of coffee area patterns of Rwanda. The proposed method has potential for mapping other perennial small scale cropping systems in the East African Highlands and elsewhere.     

空间认知驱动的自适应路径引导

为了生成符合人们认知习惯、反映用户空间知识并易于利用自然语言表达的路径引导, 提出了一个将路径抽象为一系列结构统一、具有时序性和多粒度性且可以被加工为指导用户沿路径前进的短语或句子的指示单元的表达框架,并说明了利用环境结构、路径特征、先验知识等上下文因素生成多粒度的指示单元, 从中选择最合适的指示单元, 进而实现自适应路径引导的方法。通过与传统的采用“Distance-to-Turn”模式的路径引导进行对比可以发现, 基于空间认知的自适应路径引导更加符合人们描述路径的方式, 能够降低用户的认知压力并提高导航的效率。     

信息时代地理信息服务方式的转变

分析了信息时代政府管理、行业应用、公众生活、知识传播对地理信息需求的变化和提高,提出了地理信息服务在数字化、多样化、系统性、开放性、集成化、智能化等方面的发展方向,论述了地理信息服务体系的建设重点,包括信息化的测绘生产体系、丰富的地理信息数据体系、科学的地理信息管理体系、完善的地理信息共享体系和高效的地理信息应用体系,...     

Knowing, farming and climate change adaptation in North-Central Namibia

The agro-ecological knowledge held by Ovambo farmers in North Central Namibia has, for centuries, given them resilience to high levels of climate variability and associated impacts. New research, conducted in North Central Namibia, suggests that knowledge co-production between farmers and agricultural extension workers may, in addition, strengthen adaptive capacity to future climate change. However, this useful kind of knowledge co-production is far from automatic, and indeed the conditions which make it more likely to happen are not well understood. This paper explores agro-ecological knowledge in North Central Namibia as adaptive capacity, and suggests avenues for better conceptualising and understanding the conditions for adaptive capacity-enhancing knowledge co-production.     

基于知识与规则的红树林遥感信息提取

针对难以将红树林同陆地植被,尤其是同水体与陆地植被混合像元有效识别的现象,结合TM影像提取了能有效反映红树林湿地特征的绿度指数和湿度指数,同其他常用的NDVI、TM3/TM5、TM5/TM4等指数相比:绿度指数和湿度指数更能有效地提高红树林同陆地植被,尤其是同水体与植被混合像元的可分性.采用知识与规则方法提取红树林遥感信息,与其他学者常采用的分类特征及分类方法相比,识别精度有明显提高,Kappa系数提高0.10,错分率降低16.1个百分点.