Community perceptions of REDD+: a case study from Papua New Guinea

REDD projects have received considerable attention for their potential to mitigate the effects of climatic change. However, the existing literature has been slow to assess the impacts of proposed REDD projects on the livelihoods of forest communities in the developing world, or the implications of these local realities for the success of REDD+ initiatives in general. This study presents ethnographic research conducted with communities within the April-Salomei pilot REDD+ Project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Several cases of institutional biases and uneven power relationships have been exploited by local elites to prevent landowners from making free and informed choices about their involvement in the project, although landowners and local communities are well positioned to capture forthcoming project benefits. By underestimating the scale and impact of traditional shifting cultivation practices, the credibility of the REDD+ project design and the value of any future carbon credits are critically undermined. Based on the actual practices found in PNG, the authors' radical proposal is to call for a halt on REDD development in PNG while institutional enabling conditions are improved, comprehensive landowner consultations conducted, and detailed mapping and genealogical surveys of landowners completed. Without these developments, future REDD+ projects in PNG are unlikely to benefit either the global climate or local development.     

Experimental study of the zooplankton impact on the trophic structure of phytoplankton and the microbial assemblages in a temperate wetland (Argentina)

An experimental study using mesocosms was conducted in the main shallow lake of a temperate wetland (Otamendi Natural Reserve, Argentina) to analyse the impact of zooplankton on phytoplankton and the microbial assemblages. The lake is characterised by the presence of a fluctuating cover of floating macrophytes, whose shading effects shape the phytoplakton community and the ecosystem functioning, which was absent during the study period. The experiment was run in situ using polyethylene bags, comparing treatments with and without zooplankton. The cascade effect of zooplankton on phytoplankton and the lower levels of the microbial food web (ciliates, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and picoplankton) were analysed.A significant zooplankton grazing on the nano-phytoplankton fraction (3–30 μm) was observed. Conversely, large algae (filamentous cyanobacteria, colonial chlorophytes and large diatoms) increased in all mesocosms until day 10, suggesting that they were not actively grazed by zooplankton during this period. However, from day 10 until day 17 this fraction decreased in the enclosures with mesozooplankton, probably due to an increase in the abundance of large herbivores.The results of the experiment would also indicate a trophic cascade effect on the lower levels of the microbial community. In the treatment where zooplankton was removed, the abundance of ciliates followed the same increasing pattern as the abundance of HNF, but with a time lag in its response. In the enclosures without zooplankton, HNF remained relatively constant throughout the experiment, whereas ciliates strongly decrease during the last week. Total picoplankton abundance increased in the enclosures with mesozooplankton, thus supporting the existence of a four-link trophic cascade (copepods–microzooplankton–HNF–picoplankton). Zooplankton composition changed significantly from the beginning until the end of the experiment; cyclopoid nauplii and rotifers were notoriously dominant at t₀, whereas 10 days later the community showed a more equitable proportion of cyclopoids, calanoids, nauplii, cladocerans and rotifers.     

The Effects of Industrial Pollution on the Development and Succession of Marine Fouling Communities II. Multivariate Analysis of Succession

Abstract. The successional stages of fouling communities from 3 sites located along a pollution gradient within Port Kembla Harbour (Australia) were compared quantitatively with those from Wollongong Harbour, a relatively unpolluted area located close by.
A multivariate classification of the data showed that the development of fouling communities in Port Kembla Harbour was very different from that in Wollongong Harbour, involving different types of species. In addition, the classification identified a secondary pattern in the data which showed that the species composition of the Port Kembla Harbour communities changed with time, independently of any seasonal effects.
A principal coordinate analysis of the data was able to further expand on these findings. It demonstrated that the succession of fouling communities in Port Kembla Harbour involved a process whereby one group of species (ascidians) was gradually replaced through time by a second group of different species (bivalves). In contrast, the communities in Wollongong Harbour were dominated by inhibitory interactions. The succession in this area mainly involved species (particularly bryozoans) which colonised during the initial stages of development and remained in the communities as they continued to develop.
Changes in the succession of fouling communities from Port Kembla Harbour were thought to be due to the loss of pollution sensitive species, such as bryozoans, from the environment. This was not attributed to the acute, toxic effects of the pollutants, but rather to more subtle and indirect effects.     

Chemotaxonomic investigation of phytoplankton in the shelf ecosystem of the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa

Phytoplankton community structure was elucidated during summer and winter in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight using pigment and CHEMTAX analyses. The surface pattern in January 2010 indicated that diatoms, haptophytes and prasinophytes tended to be the most prominent groups inshore and in the southern sector of the bight, whereas Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus were more dominant in the north and towards the offshore region. At the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), diatoms were dominant in the inner bight and in the south, with prasinophytes being the prominent flagellates, but this changed to Prochlorococcus and pelagophytes being the important groups in the northern sector and outer part of the bight. A different pattern was observed at the surface in July 2010, where diatoms, haptophytes, prasinophytes and cryptophytes in varying proportions comprised most of the community in the inner half of the bight, whereas Synechococcus and haptophytes were the main groups in the outer sector. A similar pattern occurred at the DCM, except that Synechococcus was less prominent and pelagophytes were distributed across the bight in both the inshore and offshore zones. Observations and relationships between phytoplankton groups and environmental parameters indicated that the groups were most closely related to temperature, accounting for 24–64% of the deviance. The influence of nutrients on phytoplankton was less clear but nitrate and silicate seemed to account for some of the patchy distribution patterns.     

Book reviews

Behavioural biology of killer whales. Editors: C. Kirkevold and J. S. Lockard. Zoo Biology Monographs, Volume 1. Alan Liss Inc., New York, 1986. 457 p. ISBN 0–8451–3100–1. Price: US$79.50.

Aquaculture of Cyprinids. Editors: R. Billard and J. Marcel. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 1986. 504 p. Price FF150.00. Available from INRA Publications, Route de St Cyr, 78000 Versailles, France.

The Peruvian anchoveta and its upwelling ecosystem: three decades of change. Editors: D. Pauly and I. Tsukayama. Institute) del Mar del Peru (IMARPE); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ); International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) 1987.351 p. ISBN 971–1022–34–6, ISSN 0115–4389. Price US$17.50 surface; US$36 airmail. Available from ICLARM, MCP.O. 1501, Makati, Metro Manilla, Philippines.

The freshwater planktonic blue‐greens (Cyanophyta/Cyanobacteria) of New Zealand: a taxonomic guide. By M. K. Etheredge and R. D. Pridmore. Published for the National Water and Soil Conservation Authority, 1987. 122 p, including 93 figures. ISSN0110–4705. Price $38.50. Available from DSIR Publishing, P.O. Box 9741, Wellington, New Zealand.     

古尔班通古特沙漠灌丛雾凇的生态水文学效应

对生长于古尔班通古特沙漠东南边缘的梭梭和白梭梭两种植物的小枝与灌丛雾凇量进行了观测, 并结合植被调查估算这两种植物对群落雾凇量的贡献量, 探讨群落雾凇量与气象要素之间的关系.研究结果表明: 在小枝水平上, 白梭梭雾凇量是梭梭的1.5倍, 但是在灌丛和群落尺度上, 梭梭却是白梭梭的1.5和3.6倍.小枝粗细及其生长位置、 灌丛形态结构和相对种群密度的差别共同造成两种植物雾淞量不同水平的差异.积雪、 低风速、 逆温和高湿是形成雾凇的最主要原因, 日最高气温(T_ma)与群落雾凇量(Rime)相关性最显著, 它与日最小比湿(q_mi)组成的二元线性方程可以解释Rime 98.50%的变异.在观测期, 当T_ma>-11.48 ℃时, Rime随T_ma的变化率较大, 当T_ma < -11.48 ℃时, Rime随T_ma的变化率较小, 前者是后者的3.59倍.总之, 雾凇能部分补偿雪面蒸发造成的积雪量减少, 间接地保护了浅薄的地表积雪, 是古尔班通古特沙漠冬季极重要的生态水文学过程.     

Gram Stain Index (GSI) of Bacterial and Archaeal Cells in the Natural Microbial Communities of Slightly and Extremely Saline Environments

The use of GSI (Gram Stain Index) was studied for natural microbial cells in slightly and extremely saline environments. The GSI spectra of archaeal cells in an extremely saline environment showed unique profiles, different from those of Bacteria. These profiles can be applied for structural analysis of the microbial communities in aquatic environments.     

九华山东西坡不同垂直带谱土壤动物群落

对亚热带山体（九华山）东西坡土壤动物进行对比研究，共获得土壤动物４５３７个，隶属５门１１纲２９类（目）其中大型土壤动物优势类群为等翅类（白蚁），中小型土壤动物优势类群为蜡类、线虫类和弹尾类。另外，九华山东西坡土壤动物的垂直分布无论在个体数、类群数、土壤动物密度和Ｈ，Ｒ，Ｃ等几个重要指标上都存在很大差异，表明了坡向和垂直高度对于土壤动物的影响。     

Reflections on use of participatory research for disaster risk reduction

Participatory research approaches are increasingly popular with academic researchers and development organisations working to facilitate change in collaboration with local communities. This paper contributes to recent debates over the use of participatory approaches by examining the use of participatory research within disaster risk reduction. Drawing on research in Papua New Guinea in which participatory techniques were used with indigenous communities to determine strategies for dealing with environmental hazards, the value of such techniques is critiqued. Finally the significance of participatory research as a research methodology is discussed as is its possible contribution to disaster risk reduction policy.     

均匀配置的两种仿真灌木林防风效应野外观测

建立灌木林是一种有效的防风固沙方法,灌木林空间配置是防护林体系研究与建设取得最佳效益的关键.应用两种仿真固沙灌木,建立株行距相等的均匀配置灌木林,观测林内与林前不同风速,比较其防风效能.结果表明:在风速为4.6～10.7 m·s^-1时,侧影面积为0.25 m²的无叶仿真灌木林比侧影面积为0.39 m²的有叶仿真灌木林防风效能低10%～20%.仿真固沙灌木林风速与高度变化关系呈指数函数关系,但在风沙流中拟合系数更高.仿真固沙灌木林空气动力粗糙度平均值是流沙地的5倍多,但不同风速下的粗糙度值差异较大.对相同配置的防风固沙林,调节灌丛结构可以提高其防风固沙效能.