Environmental Management最新文献

Agencies monitoring aquatic ecosystems desire to accurately measure the similarity of species assemblages to undisturbed states to assess ecological "health". Over the past century, numerous fish-based indices have been developed to estimate the abstract property of stream health. The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) is the predominant technique used by state and federal agencies in the United States and has been widely used by these agencies following its inception over 40 years ago. However, biogeographic patterns can often confound the application of traditional IBI frameworks in highly speciose regions. While nearly all regional IBI versions are developed to suit particular geographic regions, few measure contemporary biogeographic changes (such as loss or maintenance of endemic species) even though these properties are critical components of "healthy" ecosystems in highly diverse regions. Quantitative analyses from recent decades have shown that the proportion of endemic fishes may decline, but that other taxonomically and ecologically similar widespread (albeit native) species may replace them. Herein, we summarize challenges using traditional trait-based fish IBIs in the southeastern United States-a region with unparalleled fish species richness and endemism within the temperate world. In our experience, complex biogeographic patterns and scant biological information for many fish species in this region often hinder the ability of traditional fish-based biotic integrity indices to measure stream health. Tailoring indices and metrics to better suit biogeographic patterns and incorporating traits such as species identity and endemism may help to further refine stream health indices in highly diverse regions.

Since its emergence in 2007, the global mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) has raised hopes of providing cost-effective solutions to climate change. However, the design and implementation of REDD+ projects in many developing countries, including Ghana, have faced complex governance challenges. In recent years, a collaborative governance approach has been increasingly recommended for effective REDD+ implementation, but the impact of the dynamics of developing countries' context on collaboration success remains unclear. Using Ghana's Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme (GCFRP) as a case study, this paper aims to increase our understanding of how the dynamics of developing countries' context affect the drivers shaping the initiation of REDD+ collaborative regimes for transforming cocoa forest landscapes. Through qualitative content analysis of document reviews and semi-structured interviews with national program stakeholder groups, the results indicate that Ghana's dynamic context facilitates collaboration on REDD+ implementation when stakeholders feel uncertain about the future availability of forest resources and recognize their interdependence in responding to such issues. Additionally, the findings of the study indicate that strong political will for change, along with strategic windows of opportunity created by REDD+ funding mechanisms, play a vital role in shaping consequential incentives essential for aligning stakeholder interests and fostering cross-sector leadership for initiating the REDD+ collaborative governance regime. While the applicability and limitations of the IFCG framework are discussed, further in-depth studies at project levels are crucial to understanding local stakeholders' perspectives on the key elements necessary for successful collaboration.

Anthropogenic disturbance has led to widespread vegetation clearing and geomorphic adjustment along most of the world's rivers. Over the past 50 years, riparian vegetation has been returning, unassisted, to rivers in eastern Australia that have been experiencing geomorphic river recovery. We used a novel rapid riparian assessment method to analyse vegetation condition on rivers undergoing geomorphic recovery. The rapid riparian assessment method incorporated vegetation cover, native species richness, the proportion of native to exotic species cover, and other features of vegetation health to produce a vegetation condition score that classifies sites as poor, moderate, or good. Vegetation condition was analysed along 36 river reaches in coastal catchments of New South Wales (NSW) in three different climatic regions (North, Mid and South coasts), covering three stages of geomorphic recovery (low, moderate and high) and for three geomorphic units (bars, benches and floodplains). Most reaches had a poor or moderate riparian vegetation condition, with only three sites assessed as being in good condition. Native species richness and proportion of native to exotic species cover were higher in the later stages of geomorphic recovery and on benches and floodplains, compared to bars. However, most of the riparian vegetation on recovering rivers consisted of a mixture of native and exotic species, highlighting that even in the later stages of recovery, novel communities are produced that do not resemble the pre-disturbance ecosystem. To improve vegetation quality at-scale (i.e. across catchments and regions) will require that vegetation management interventions are designed and adapted to work with these novel ecosystems, and that realistic rehabilitation targets and expectations are set to account for the geomorphic and vegetative recovery that is occurring along these rivers.

Ecological conservation and sustainable land management are vital endeavors in the face of rising anthropogenic pressures and habitat deterioration. Accurate and effective evaluation techniques are essential for identifying regions that are of ecological relevance and concern. The present research introduces an innovative approach using geospatial tools to detect natural hotspots and deficits within a landscape. The research incorporates six essential ecological parameters, namely spatial variability, vegetation health, road network connectivity, fragmentation, biological richness, and habitat areas, obtained from existing literature studies. These parameters indicate the overall health of ecosystems and the extent of biodiversity present, which are crucial for developing effective strategies for ecological planning. The research project aims to use geospatial applications to identify the "ecological rich", "ecological moderate" or "ecological deficit" areas in the study area and to establish a model framework for automating the geospatial analysis. The resulting map offers a comprehensive and practical depiction of the ecological condition of the landscape, facilitating decision-makers in strategically allocating resources for conservation and restoration initiatives. The importance of this research resides in its capacity to streamline and automate what was previously a time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure. This innovative approach empowers conservationists, land managers, and policymakers with a powerful tool "Eco-track' to identify and prioritize ecological hotspots and deficits, ultimately fostering more effective and targeted efforts in preserving the natural heritage.

Cumulative effects assessments are often expected to include an analysis of environmental and social effects despite a relative lack of clarity around how include a broad spectrum of social and cultural impacts. In Canda, these expectations are evolving in part in response to the need to consider the impacts of development on Indigenous communities, and the emergence of Indigenous-led Led Impact Assessment. Led by a team from the Tŝilhqot'in National Government and the University of British Columbia's Centre for Environmental Assessment Research, this project explored how to improve processes for assessing cumulative effects drawing from an Indigenous-led approach. We identify six guiding principles, and discuss how they are integrated in the Tŝilhqot'in Nation's evolving Impact Assessment and Cumulative Effects Assessment processes.

The present paper identifies environmental consciousness and institutional trust as determinants of French households' recycling behavior. Based on Schwartz's altruistic behavior model, the study considers environmental consciousness as a multidimensional construct that would bring a richer explanation of household recycling behavior concept. Therefore, it considers the cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral dimensions as key predictors to reflect individuals' perceptions towards recycling. We provide an empirical illustration of the institutional trust role in the association between environmental consciousness and household recycling behavior. Based on the PLS-SEM modeling, we perform a survey among 1408 French respondents. The findings show a significant impact of the attitudinal and the behavioral dimensions on household recycling behavior. These outcomes extend the existing French households' recycling behavior determinants' literature. Also, institutional trust showed a significant positive direct and indirect effect (moderation) on household recycling behavior. The insignificance of the cognitive dimension has retracted some contextual insights into promoting the households' recycling behavior in France.

The crowding effect of individual behavior motivation is a focal point in various disciplines, such as economics and social psychology. Understanding the motivation crowding effect in the context of pro-environmental behavior of farmers is crucial for formulating agricultural environmental policies. However, there is limited knowledge about the motivation crowding effect on farmers' land quality protection behavior, especially in developing countries. This study employs stratified regression models, propensity score matching models, seemingly unrelated regression models, and simple slope analysis methods to analyze the impact of extrinsic motivations (external incentives such as increasing farming income and production yield) and intrinsic motivations (internal drives such as personal satisfaction and responsibility) on farmers' land quality protection behavior, as well as the motivation crowding effect between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. The analysis is based on survey data from 1064 smallholder farmers in five provinces in China: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. The results indicate that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations have a positive impact on farmers' land quality protection behavior. Notably, extrinsic motivation exhibits a crowding-out effect on intrinsic motivation, suggesting a motivation crowding effect. While promoting farmers' land quality protection behavior through economic incentives is a feasible short-term solution, it may not effectively foster the long-term formation of such behaviors. Given the current context of severe land pollution, alleviating this issue through economic incentives represents a short-term policy approach. Thus, transitioning from short-term to long-term solutions by enhancing farmers' intrinsic motivation to promote farmers' land quality protection behavior is essential for the government to consider in future land protection policy formulation.

Supplementary sugar-water feeding offers nectarivorous birds a source of spatially concentrated food, as opposed to the dispersed food available in flowers. This could impact bird visits to native flowers and alter plant-bird mutualisms, particularly in young post-fire vegetation. This study examined the effects of sugar-water feeders on nectarivorous birds and their plant mutualists in young (burned 18 months previously) and transitional vegetation (burned 5 years previously). A supplementary feeding experiment was conducted at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, using sugar-water feeders when floral abundance was low (winter) and high (spring). We compared bird abundance and visitation rates to flowers before, during, and after feeder presence in both seasons. The use of sugar-water feeders by nectarivorous birds was inversely related to floral abundance, with 679 bird visits (6.94 ± 1.40 bird visitation rate per hour) to feeders in winter and only 90 visits (0.41 ± 0.16 visitation rate per hour) during spring. Bird visits were higher at flowers than at sugar-water feeders, in both seasons. Sugar-water feeders did not influence the visitation rate of sunbirds to flowers in both seasons, contrasting with findings from areas abutting suburbia, suggesting that feeder influence on bird visitation rate may not be apparent in areas with no history of sugar-water feeders. We find that low numbers of feeders do not necessarily compete with natural nectar resources but may instead provide birds with an additional food source, particularly when floral resources are low.

The present study aimed to investigate the environmental consequences of mining activities in boke bauxite mining areas and the Kerouane iron mining project in Guinea using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data. A reference matrix was used to evaluate the impact of the mining activities, classifying them as negligible, moderate, or significant. Data were collected from October 2022 to January 2023 by assessing their impact on water pollution, soil, noise, air quality, vegetation, fauna, and flora. These findings indicate concerns regarding the water pH, electrical conductivity, and turbidity in both the Boke and Kerouane regions. The soil composition analysis revealed the presence of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn in both the Boke and Kerouane project areas. Noise levels exceeded the guideline levels and substantial amounts of particulate matter (PM) were detected, with high levels of PM10 in mining operations. The Kerouane Iron Project resulted in the direct loss of 2929 ha of natural habitats and 466 ha of modified habitats, with the extraction of approximately 1.291 billion tons of ore anticipated over a 22-year mine lifespan. This study proposes an environmental threat assessment framework that integrates technical and human activity data to evaluate the environmental impacts of mining activities comprehensively. To promote sustainable development and minimize the negative impacts of mining, an integrated index of economic and environmental performance in the mining sector is recommended, along with collaboration between researchers and policymakers to develop effective climate-change mitigation strategies.