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An integrated work health intervention among cleaners in Denmark

Abstract Introduction Work-related diseases are increasing and considered a global health challenge. Meanwhile, work-related risk factors and diseases are not equally distributed across occupational groups. Previous work health interventions have not succeeded in reducing the prevalence of work-related diseases. Therefore, integrated approaches combining prevention of disease and promotion of health in work health interventions have been developed. The aim of the Integrated Approach to Health, Wellbeing, and Productivity at Work (ITASPA) intervention was to prevent work-related injuries and diseases and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of cleaners. Methods The ITASPA intervention was implemented at two Danish workplaces among cleaners. At each workplace a committee of employees was established to develop their own initiatives to promote the health of the workers. By use of the British Medical research Council’s framework, a process evaluation was conducted. Qualitative data (focus group interview and field notes) and quantitative data (questionnaires) of participants evaluated the implementation. Results A total of 91 cleaners participated in health checks, and three workshops were held at each workplace. The development and implementation of activities was affected by mechanisms, such as lack of information about the intervention, new power dynamics, and lack of motivation for behavior changes, and contextual factors, such as many replacements, time pressure and absence of managers. Conclusions Integrated approaches in work health interventions among employees with short or no education may positively impact employees’ health, wellbeing and safety if comprehensively implemented. However, attention should be drawn to interventions that adapt a participatory design, as unintended power dynamics may occur when employees are given the tasks of implementing behavior changes among colleagues. The role of managers to obtain successful implementation should be highlighted.

Misapplied management makes matters worse: Spatially explicit control leverages biotic interactions to slow invasion.

A wide range of approaches has been used to manage the spread of invasive species, yet invaders continue to be a challenge to control. In some cases, management actions have no effect or may even inadvertently benefit the targeted invader. Here, we use the mid-20th century management of the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta, in the US as a motivating case study to explore the conditions under which such wasted management effort may occur. Introduced in approximately 1940, the fire ant spread widely through the southeast USand became a problematic pest. Historically, fire ants were managed with broad-spectrum pesticides; unfortunately, these efforts were largely unsuccessful. One hypothesis suggests that, by also killing native ants, mass pesticide application reduced competitive burdens thereby enabling fire ants to invade more quickly than they would in the absence of management. We use a mechanistic competition model to demonstrate the landscape-level effects of such management. We explicitly model the extent and location of pesticide applications, showing that the same pesticide application can have a positive, neutral, or negative effect on the progress of an invasion, depending on where it is applied on the landscape with respect to the invasion front. When designing management, the target species is often considered alone; however, this work suggests that leveraging existing biotic interactions, specifically competition with native species, can increase the efficacy of management. Our model not only highlights the potential unintended consequences of ignoring biotic interactions, but also provides a framework for developing spatially explicit management strategies that take advantage of these biotic interactions to work smarter, not harder.

Fishing for oil and meat drives irreversible defaunation of deepwater sharks and rays.

The deep ocean is the last natural biodiversity refuge from the reach of human activities. Deepwater sharks and rays are among the most sensitive marine vertebrates to overexploitation. One-third of threatened deepwater sharks are targeted, and half the species targeted for the international liver-oil trade are threatened with extinction. Steep population declines cannot be easily reversed owing to long generation lengths, low recovery potentials, and the near absence of management. Depth and spatial limits to fishing activity could improve conservation when implemented alongside catch regulations, bycatch mitigation, and international trade regulation. Deepwater sharks and rays require immediate trade and fishing regulations to prevent irreversible defaunation and promote recovery of this threatened megafauna group.

A 10-month impact evaluation of a journal club among diagnostic radiographers in a single NHS Trust: A service evaluation study

IntroductionJournal clubs (JC) have emerged as a popular tool within medical and health professions to deliver outcomes such as promotion of evidence-based practice (EBP), improvement of critical appraisal skills, as well as stimulation of research interest among participating professionals. However, the delivery of these outcomes within the diagnostic radiography profession has not been evidenced and this is the aim of this service evaluation. MethodsThis evaluation adopted a pre- and post-evaluation survey design to explore the impact of a novel JC introduced among diagnostic radiographers in a UK NHS Trust. Impact was assessed based on four pre-determined outcomes such as Knowledge of EBP, Attitude to EBP, Critical Appraisal Skill and Research interest. Open ended questions in the post evaluation survey were also used to obtain participants feedback on JC activities attended. ResultsEvaluation of the four pre-determined outcomes indicated that JC activities participated by diagnostic radiographers resulted in positive changes across all evaluated categories. Attitude to EBP was the only outcome to show a statistically significant positive change across all participants, highlighting that the JC affected EBP attitudes positively for those that attended. Furthermore, thematic analysis of open-ended questions indicated that the collaboration experienced among JC members during critical appraisal of articles was a motivation for continued participation while factors such as high clinical workload and absence of management in meetings were identified as mitigating barriers. ConclusionParticipation in the JC showed positive improvements in all pre-determined categories. The collaborative nature of JC was motivating for staff, however barriers such as management absence in meetings, and high clinical workload did cause some challenges. Research is recommended to look at the longer-term impact of JC activities amongst diagnostic radiographers.

Climate change accelerates ecosystem restoration in the mountain forests of Central Europe

Abstract Restoring degraded forest ecosystems is an important element in the ongoing challenge to sustain the integrity and functioning of the biosphere. However, the evaluation of restoration success is hampered by long lead times of management measures in forests. Moreover, forest change is accelerating also in the absence of management because of ongoing climate change. Yet, because a counterfactual is frequently missing, it remains unclear whether restoration measures are aided or impeded by climate change. Here, we analysed the pace and success of forest restoration under climate change, combining field data and simulation modelling. We focused on the management zone of Berchtesgaden National Park (BGNP), Germany, where restoration aims to restore homogeneous Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests to structurally diverse mixed mountain forests. We evaluated three alternative restoration strategies: Two active strategies focused on planting the currently underrepresented silver fir (Abies alba) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica) but differing in the creation of gap‐cuts, and a third passive restoration strategy without interventions. Strategies were simulated with the forest landscape model iLand from 2020 to 2100 under different climate scenarios (historic, RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5). The forests of BGNP developed into structurally diverse and mixed forests under all evaluated management strategies, and differences between active and passive restoration were generally small. While restoration goals for forest structure were largely met by 2100, forest composition remained far from target in all strategies. Climate change aided restoration by significantly increasing the prevalence of silver fir and European beech (+104.2% to +258.6%). Field data on short‐term restoration effects were in line with simulated long‐term trajectories. Synthesis and applications: We here show that forest restoration efforts in Central European mountain forests will likely be accelerated by climate change. Nonetheless, the slow pace of restoration underscores the need for taking action. Our study highlights that active restoration measures such as tree planting can bring the system closer to restoration targets. However, it also demonstrates that passive restoration (no intervention) is a viable option for management, highlighting the need to evaluate restoration measures against the counterfactual of a no intervention strategy.

Associated Factors of Cholelithiasis among Younger Children with Sickle Cell Disease at the National Reference Center for Sickle Cell Disease in Brazzaville, Congo.

Chronic hemolysis predisposes sickle cell patients to the development of gallstones. Their frequency increases with age, but they may appear early in young children. In the absence of management, they expose the patient to complications that can hinder the quality of life and sometimes even death. This survey aimed to identify the associated factors of the occurrence of cholelithiasis. It was a case-control study carried out between January 2017 and June 2022 at the National Reference Center for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) "Antoinette Sassou N'guesso" in Brazzaville. It concerned 37 children with cholelithiasis. Sociodemographic (socioeconomic status and diet) and clinical (body mass index, frequency of vasoocclusive crises and hospitalization for vasoocclusive crises, number of blood transfusion, and chronic complications) as well as hematological examination (type of SCD and blood count in the intercritical period) and hydroxyurea treatment were compared with those of 74 children with no clinical and radiographic signs of cholelithiasis. The chi-squared statistical test and the odds ratio were used for the comparison (p < 0.05). The average age was 9.70 ± 1.73 years. The 10-12 age group was the most represented (22 cases or 59.45%), followed by 7- to 9-year-olds (12 cases or 32.43%). Three children (8.10%) were 6 years old. The sex ratio was 0.68 vs. 1.38. Factors associated with cholelithiasis were low socioeconomic status (83.78% vs. 45.95%; IC 95% 1.46-3.89; p ≤ 0.001), a higher number of blood transfusions (5.54 ± 1.22 vs. 2.46 ± 1.13; IC 95% 1.55-6.70; p ≤ 0.001), and irregular systematic monitoring (5.54 ± 1.22 vs. 2.46 ± 1.13; IC 95% 1.55-6.70; p ≤ 0.001). A national strategy to facilitate access to care for patients living with sickle cell disease is imperative. Moreover, emphasis should be placed on the prevention and early management of acute complications of SCD.

Hydrogeochemical Evaluation of Surface and Groundwater in Haditha Area, Al-Anbar Governorate, Western Iraq

This research deals with the study of the hydrochemical characteristics of surface water and groundwater to assess the quality of water and its suitability for different uses in the Haditha region. Thirty –Two samples were collected in July 2022,6 samples were taken from the Euphrates River and 17 samples from wells were analyzed. In this study, main cations ( Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+) and anions (Cl-, SO4, HCO3),Total dissolved Solids(TDS), pH, Electrical conductivity(EC), and Temperature(T) were studied. The results show that the water types are mainly earth-alkaline water with an increased portion of alkalis with prevailing SO4 and Cl according to Piper and Stiff diagram. The results of the water quality index (WQI) show that surface water are suitable for drinking while the groundwater is not suitable except for W1, W13, W15, W16 and W17. The classification of water for irrigation purposes according to the Sodium Adsorption Ratio and Residual sodium carbonate showed that the ground and surface water in this region is excellent and good quality according to Permeability Index. Irrigation water quality based on sodium ion percentage indicates that all samples belong to the permissible category for groundwater except for W1, W11, and W16, while Surface water is good quality for irrigation. Finally, the absence of management and low discharge, are the primary reasons for the continuous deterioration of water quality.

The Legal Position of the Interim Director of Company

The theory of the interim manager of joint stock companies is a jurisprudential theory reached by the judiciary, to find a solution to the crises or obstacles that threaten the continued survival of the company due to the inability of those in charge of its management to solve this crisis or the absence of management, and to maintain the continuity of the company's survival, the urgent judiciary when it is resorted to appoint a person who manages the company temporarily and preserve its assets and achieve the purpose for which it was established, therefore, this person must be experienced and specialized in the management of this company due to the different activities of the companies.

Community-Based Kambo Tourism Area Planning With a Participatory Planning Approach

At the end of 2021 Kambo was selected as the Top 100 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI) 2021 by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. This proves that Kambo has huge tourism potential. However, this potential has not been managed properly. This can be seen from the absence of management and governance of tourism activities carried out by the local community. Kambo also does not have planning documents related to tourism development, either in the form of an academic manuscript or a master plan. Even the things discussed and determined at the sub-district level musrembang have not accommodated these, while in fact, these documents are very important to be a guideline for planning and developing tourism. For this reason, the Palopo Urban Forum with Andi Djemma University took the initiative together with a number of volunteers from various communities, institutions and professions, taking a role to participate in assisting the residents of Kambo in identifying problems, mapping potential and designing places, through the Placemaking Workshop. The Placemaking Workshop is broadly a tourism planning with a participatory approach so as to provide space and opportunity for the people of Kambo to tell stories about their village, knitting history, describing the area, explaining existing problems, expressing hopes and aspirations, and making concepts and plans together. The people of Kambo are the holders of the right to the future of their own territory. Therefore, they are really in charge of the vision, planning, activities and efforts to control their own living space.

Stakeholder perceptions of wildfire management strategies as nature-based solutions in two Iberian biosphere reserves

Increased large and high-intensity wildfires cause large socioeconomic and ecological impacts, which demand improved landscape management approaches in which both ecological and societal dimensions are integrated. Engaging society in fire management requires a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions of wildfires and landscape management. We analyze stakeholder perceptions about wildfire-landscape interactions in abandoned rural landscapes of southern Europe, and how fire and the land should be managed to reduce wildfire hazard and ensure the long-term supply of ecosystem services in these fire-prone regions. To do so, a structured online questionnaire was sent to the stakeholders of two transboundary biosphere reserves in Spain-Portugal. Our analysis also questioned to what extent fuel management strategies can be considered nature-based solutions (NbS) using the IUCN standard. Overall, stakeholders state that fire should be managed and support fire prevention in lieu of fire suppression policies. Rural abandonment is perceived as the main cause of large wildfires, with high-intensity fires impacting the study regions more than in the recent past, a trend which they expect to continue in the future in the absence of management. All the suggested fuel management strategies, except chemical treatments, were accepted by the stakeholders who perceive more positive than negative effects of fuel management on forest ecosystem services. Transboundary coordination was rated as inadequate or even nonexistent. We did not find differences among stakeholder sectors and biosphere reserves, indicating that in the study area, there is a general agreement on perceptions about wildfire and associated impacts at the landscape level. Finally, we showed that promoting agricultural and livestock uses, modifying forest species composition to increase fire resistance, and introducing large herbivores have the potential to become effective NbS in the regions. This study represents a first-step analysis representing a base for future co-design and implementation of NbS to improve fuel management, contributing to the understanding of the stakeholder support for their application in addressing the socioeconomic challenges in high fire-risk areas.

The native - exotic plant choice in green roof design: Using a multicriteria decision framework to select plant tolerant species that foster beneficial arthropods

Green roofs are considered key elements of the urban green infrastructure since they offer several environmental benefits, including habitat provision for arthropods. To achieve these benefits and ensure green roof success, an appropriate plant selection is an important step in the design of these infrastructures. So far, as green roofs begin to spread in South American cities, most technology comes from the northern hemisphere with little local information on native experiences. Moreover, decisions of using native or exotic plant species in green roofs had never been evaluated taking into account the plant ability to tolerate roof conditions together with their potential to foster beneficial arthropods. By applying an integrative multicriteria decision framework that combined the habitat template hypothesis with the potential of plants to attract floral visitors and natural enemies, we obtained a ranked set of candidate native and exotic plant species. Among the best-ranked candidate species, we further compared the performance of six native and six exotic species in 30 experimental green roofs installed in Córdoba city, Argentina. To evaluate plant success, the occurrence and cover of each species were recorded one year after establishment under two management conditions: regular watering and weeding of spontaneous plants, and no management (15 roofs each). In addition, we registered the number of interactions between selected plants and beneficial arthropods in half of the roofs, considering the influence of available flowers. Under watering and weeding, all selected species increased their vegetative cover one year after establishment. More interestingly, native plants with no management had an advantage over exotic plant species as they exhibited a significantly higher occurrence and a slightly higher cover than exotics. Native annuals were able to reseed the following the dry season even in the absence of management, thus highlighting the relative importance of lifespan as a useful plant trait for future studies in extensive green roof design. In addition, we showed that increasing flower availability in native plants promoted a higher number of interactions with pollinators and natural enemies; a response that was not observed for the exotic plant pool. Finally, by combining data on plants' cover and beneficial arthropods interactions we were able to validate the proposed ranking and selection procedure. Given that green roofs are one of the possible solutions to ameliorate the negative effects of urban habitat loss on arthropod diversity, the development of an integrative multicriteria decision framework that takes into account the potential of native and exotic plant species to tolerate roof conditions and promote beneficial arthropods would give a new twist in plant selection processes for green roofs.

Mapping the ecological resilience of Atlantic postglacial heathlands.

Anthropogenic heathlands are semi-natural ecosystems with a unique cultural and biodiversity value, considered worthy of preservation across most of the world. Their rate of loss, however, is alarming. Currently, we know little about the heathlands' actual span of resilience affordances and their association with abiotic and anthropogenic factors, including how much additional intervention they need to persist. Consequently, we are missing out on vital knowledge for conservation, management and the historical persistence of heathlands.This paper develops a method to assess the ecological resilience affordances of Atlantic postglacial heaths in the absence of human management. We use 12 existing cases of heathland succession to establish a four-step resilience grade for each site, which we regress onto a series of explaining factors and use it in predicting heath resilience across postglacial Atlantic Northern Europe.We find that temperature, humidity, elevation and sandiness have a positive correlation with high heathland resilience. Our predictive mapping shows an uneven distribution of ecological heath resilience across Atlantic Northern Europe within an area of 1,000 × 1,200 km of 5 × 5 km resolution.Historic heathland distributions far exceed areas that afford high heath resilience, suggesting that heath distribution and persistence depend on both abiotic and anthropogenic factors. Policy implications: The map predicting the ecological resilience of Atlantic postglacial heaths can be used by managers working towards heath preservation and restoration to prioritize conservation efforts and to plan management practices across Atlantic Northern Europe. Together with the predictive model, it provides an important initial screening tool to assess heathland resilience in the absence of management as well as the impact of atmospheric nitrogen. The results are equally relevant for scholars who are interested in humans' role in increasing and decreasing ecosystem resilience. Our predictive method can be applied in other regions across the world by adding regionally specific variables.

Managing Small Fish at Large Scales: The Emergence of Regional Policies for River Herring in the Eastern United States

Anadromous Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring A. aestivalis, collectively known as “river herring,” provide ecosystem services to coastal communities in the Eastern United States. Despite traditions of community‐based stewardship, many populations exhibit long‐term declines. Their name notwithstanding, river herring spend most of their lives at sea and stray among natal rivers. Therefore, absence of management above individual rivers can compromise population viability, local conservation investments, and ecosystem services. Large‐scale management in the USA was achieved for the first time during 2007–2015 by amending three Fishery Management Plans and creating a broader River Herring Conservation Plan following an Endangered Species Act petition. Concurrently, an international restoration plan for river herring in the St. Croix River on the USA–Canada border was adopted. A survey of stakeholder organizations in New England during this period revealed widespread concern for stressors managed at different scales, but that most action was directed locally. Stakeholder collaboration networks were clustered within states and around loose regional hubs, matching the scales of stakeholder concerns and actions. Unfortunately, river herring face growing threats linked to climate change, effects of which will be felt at local and regional scales, while effective mitigation will require actions at national and global scales.

VirToad: simulating the spatiotemporal population dynamics and management of a global invader

ContextThe cane toad (Rhinella marina) is one of the most globally significant and well-studied invasive alien species, and the detrimental impacts of its invasions warrant the design and application of decision support tools. While many models have been developed for guiding policies addressing cane toad invasions, none reliably predict the species’ population dynamics at scales relevant to on-the-ground management.ObjectivesWe describe virToad—an individual-based life-history simulator of the cane toad. We then illustrate virToad’s ability to forecast the cane toad’s spatiotemporal population dynamics at local- to landscape-scales, and its potential for improving management responses to cane toad invasions.MethodsWe designed virToad to make population dynamics an emergent consequence of the cane toad’s fitness-maximising behavioural responses to mechanistic constraints (e.g., water availability, kin selection), and to management actions. We used virToad to simulate cane toad population dynamics in the absence of management, and under alternative management strategies implemented across a spectrum of effort: hand-capturing and trapping of juveniles and adults, fencing waterbodies, and trapping and chemically suppressing tadpoles.ResultsvirToad produced plausible predictions of cane toad population densities, detection probabilities, distributions, and spatial segregation. Simulation experiments indicated that the efficacy of competing management actions varied significantly, and that only moderate to high effort hand-capturing and trapping of juveniles and adults had the potential to suppress invasions.ConclusionvirToad is an open-source, rigorous, and extensible decision support platform that will enable researchers and practitioners to defensibly forecast local- to landscape-scale cane toad spatiotemporal population dynamics and management outcomes.

Dynamic modeling of female neutering interventions for free-roaming dog population management in an urban setting of southeastern Iran

Understanding dynamics of free-roaming dog (FRD) population is critical for planning and implementation of dog population management programs. FRD population size estimation as well as dynamic modeling of dog population under different female dog neutering interventions were investigated in order to determine the most appropriate animal birth control approach. We performed population size estimate of dogs using sight-resight surveys by photography in a randomly selected 25 blocks of the city and all the suburbs of greater Kerman area. Main demographic features were characterized and the dog density distribution was mapped. A dynamic model was developed to predict free-roaming dog population variations after 5 and 10 years. Different scenarios based on 10, 30, 50, 60 and 70% female dog sterilization were considered to predict the effects of animal birth control measures. Free roaming dog population was estimated at 6781 dogs (65.3% males) in Kerman and suburbs with several major population hotspots. Analysis of the dog locations within the city showed that the largest proportion of the dogs were observed in the vacant lots (46.2%). Modeling predictions indicated that, in the absence of management, the free-roaming dog population could increase from a baseline of 6781 to 13,665 dogs (2.02 fold increase) in 5 years and to 19,376 dogs in 10 years (2.86 fold increase). Using a population dynamics model, we simulated five neutering coverages to explore the impact of female neutering on free-roaming dog population size. The 5-year projections of the model have shown that 50% annual female dog sterilization significantly reduced free-roaming dog population by 0.44 comparing to the baseline population. Findings of the present study improve our knowledge on the nature and extent of dog population dynamics in Iran. Effective population control and selection of the most appropriate neutering interventions require a comprehensive knowledge of the characteristics and dynamics of FRD population.

APLIKASI PENJUALAN DAN PEMBELIAN BARANG DENGAN MENGUNAKAN JAVA 2 STANDARD EDITION (J2SE) SEBAGAI COLLABORATIVE FULFILLMENT PADA SUPPLYCHAIN MANAGEMENT

Technological growth is increasing from year to year, this is indicated by the use of computers in all aspects, be it service companies, trade, or industry, ranging from small, large, to multi-national companies. KAMDATU is the procurement of office furniture. The supply chain process at CV. Kamdatu involves several external parties, namely suppliers, customers, shipping, and management. The problems faced by CV. Kamdatu is located in a sales and purchase processing system that is still manual (not yet computerized) so that it is prone to calculation errors, searching for item data, and delays in stock information, in addition to recapitulating reports takes a long time because employees have to recap data first this is because the absence of management in the purchase of goods and production The E-Supply Chain Management system that will be applied to CV Kamdatu focuses on the automation of information between companies, suppliers, consumers and delivery of goods. Inventory and fulfillment of customer orders are more controlled. Based on these problems the researcher uses a methodological method, namely the Unified Approach (UA) UA, which is an object-oriented development methodology that combines existing processes and methodologies with uses the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as the modeling standard. The result of this research is to produce an application that has features that support the processing of buying and selling transactions&#x0D; &#x0D;

Modelling management strategies for chronic disease in wildlife: Predictions for the control of respiratory disease in bighorn sheep

Abstract Controlling persistent infectious disease in wildlife populations is an ongoing challenge for wildlife managers and conservationists worldwide, and chronic diseases in particular remain a pernicious problem. Here, we develop a dynamic pathogen transmission model capturing key features of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae infection, a major cause of population declines in North American bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis. We explore the effects of model assumptions and parameter values on disease dynamics, including density‐ versus frequency‐dependent transmission, the inclusion of a carrier class versus a longer infectious period, host survival rates, disease‐induced mortality and recovery rates and the epidemic growth rate. Along the way, we estimate the basic reproductive ratio, R0, for M. ovipneumoniae in bighorn sheep to fall between approximately 1.36 and 1.74. We apply the model to compare efficacies across a suite of management actions following an epidemic, including test‐and‐remove, depopulation‐and‐reintroduction, range expansion, herd augmentation and density reduction. Our results suggest that test‐and‐remove, depopulation‐and‐reintroduction and range expansion could help persistently infected bighorn sheep herds recovery following an epidemic. By contrast, augmentation could lead to worse outcomes than those expected in the absence of management. Other management actions that improve host survival or reduce disease‐induced mortality are also likely to improve population size and persistence of chronically infected herds. Synthesis and applications. Dynamic transmission models like the one employed here offer a structured, logical approach for exploring hypotheses, planning field experiments and designing adaptive management. We find that management strategies that removed infected animals or isolated them within a structured metapopulation were most successful at facilitating herd recovery from a low‐prevalence, chronic pathogen. Ideally, models like ours should operate iteratively with field experiments to triangulate on better approaches for managing wildlife diseases.

How did nurses cope with the fast, comprehensive organisational changes at Danish hospital wards during the COVID-19 pandemic? An interview study based on nurses’ experiences

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has influenced hospital work and healthcare workers all over the world. We explored how Danish nurses coped with the fast, comprehensive organisational changes in their workplace and...

Ten-year trends reveal declining quality of seeded pollinator habitat on reclaimed mines regardless of seed mix diversity.

Plant-pollinator interactions represent a crucial ecosystem function threatened by anthropogenic landscape changes. Disturbances that reduce plant diversity are associated with floral resource and pollinator declines. Establishing wildflower plantings is a major conservation strategy targeting pollinators, the success of which depends on long-term persistence of seeded floral communities. However, most pollinator-oriented seeding projects are monitored for a few years, making it difficult to evaluate the longevity of such interventions. Selecting plant species to provide pollinators diverse arrays of floral resources throughout their activity season is often limited by budgetary constraints and other conservation priorities. To evaluate the long-term persistence of prairie vegetation seeded to support pollinators, we sowed wildflower seed mixes into plots on a degraded reclaimed strip-mine landscape in central Ohio, USA. We examined how pollinator habitat quality, measured as floral abundance and diversity, changed over 10 years (2009-2019) in the absence of management, over the course of the blooming season within each year, and across three seed mixes containing different numbers and combinations of flowering plant species. Seeded species floral abundance declined by more than 75% over the study, with the largest decline occurring between the fifth and seventh summers. Native and non-native adventive flowering plants quickly colonized the plots and represented >50% of floral community abundances on average. Floral richness remained relatively constant throughout the study, with a small peak one year after plot establishment. Plots seeded with High-Diversity Mixes averaged two or three more species per plot compared with a Low-Diversity Mix, despite having been seeded with twice as many plant species. Within years, the abundance and diversity of seeded species were lowest early in the blooming season and increased monotonically from June to August. Adventive species exhibited the opposite trend, such that complementary abundance patterns of seeded and adventive species blooms resulted in a relatively constant floral abundance across the growing season. Seeded plant communities followed classic successional patterns in which annual species quickly established and flowered but were replaced by perennial species after the first few summers. Long-term data on establishment and persistence of flower species can guide species selection for future-oriented pollinator habitat restorations.

Grubbing and biological control strategies for Nassella trichotoma evaluated using a matrix population model

AbstractA stage‐structured matrix population model for the invasive perennial grass Nassella trichotoma (nassella tussock) was used to compare a wide range of hypothetical grubbing and biocontrol management options in a population of 19 visible plants ha−1 on a typical sheep and beef cattle‐grazed farm in North Canterbury, New Zealand. The model has two soil seed banks (ephemeral and persistent), five plant size classes, seed production and ground cover‐dependent population growth reaching a carrying capacity of 35,000 plants ha−1 (80% ground cover) in the absence of management. Elasticity analyses showed that population growth (λ) was most sensitive to plant size class transitions and relatively insensitive to the soil seed bank transitions, seedling recruitment and seed production, implying management targeting the growth and/or survival of plants will be most effective. This conclusion was supported by population trajectory simulations which revealed that a biological control agent attacking seeds or seedlings would need to be 99.8% effective to achieve the population stability achieved under current management where 34.4% of the plants are grubbed annually. By contrast, a biological control agent attacking tillers and reducing plant transitions (growth) across all size classes by 30% annually gave a population trajectory equivalent to that achieved by annual grubbing. In the presence of annual grubbing, a combination of seed‐ and tiller‐feeding agents giving 10% reductions in fecundity and plant growth, respectively, reduced the population density by 60%. Overall, the modelling shows that relaxing the current practice of annual grubbing (by reducing the rate or frequency of grubbing) whether in spring or autumn will result in the growth of N. trichotoma populations in North Canterbury. It also indicates that a biocontrol agent that impedes tiller production in N. trichotoma plants could potentially be an effective replacement for, or adjunct to, annual grubbing.