History Of Conservation Research Articles

Agricultural sustainability: Five midwestern row crop farmers share their views

In mid-July of 2016, I visited and interviewed five corn (Zea mays L.) farmers in central Michigan and southwestern Indiana, United States, to hear their thoughts about the sustainability of farming, through the lenses of their careers and operations. I was introduced to the farmers through their area Extension specialists. Each farmer had a history of conservation and had in some way cooperated with studies being conducted by USDA–National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funded Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agricultural Project. Their comments provide insight into the opportunities identified, questions asked, and challenges faced by farmers as they balance economic, environmental, and social concerns while running their farms.

A Dugout from the Don River Exhibited at the State Historical Museum, Moscow: Discovery and Dating

A rare archaeological specimen from the Middle Don River, a large dugout found in 1954, is described. The history of discovery, fieldwork, and conservation are outlined. The key role at all stages belonged to M.E. Voss, who did her best to unearth and preserve the specimen—the first prehistoric dugout to be found, restored, and exhibited in the USSR. She died before being able to describe the boat in detail. Its age is still problematic. Though it is exhibited among the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Chalcolithic fi nds and has been tentatively dated to the third or early second millennium BC, certain facts relating to the archaeological context contradict this date, and no radiocarbon analysis has been conducted. A brief review of purportedly Stone Age dugouts from Europe is provided with reference to discovery, restoration, and exhibiting. Most appear to be younger than the Stone Age.

Environmental Conservation and “Wise Use”: A History of Environmental Conservation in the United States

Environmental Conservation and “Wise Use”: A History of Environmental Conservation in the United States

A Brief History of Preventive Conservation and Scientific Research at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

A Brief History of Preventive Conservation and Scientific Research at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Conserving Atlantic salmon ‘after nature’ on Newfoundland's Gander river

AbstractThis paper examines the history of Atlantic salmon conservation in Eastern Canada, with a specific emphasis on Newfoundland's Gander river. Conservation efforts for this iconic species begin in the late 1800s and continue through to the contemporary period. Our work is framed by current debates on the Anthropocene and its implications for environmental conservation. We identify two different historical phases in salmon conservation associated with different socio-ecological assemblages, and different conceptualizations of nature. Drawing on oral histories, we also reveal a third human–salmon entanglement associated with what we call the ‘wilful salmon’. The wilful salmon fits uneasily with the idea of conservation, and in some ways it seems contrary to conservation efforts. It is, nonetheless, a legitimate fish that deserves to be considered and evaluated in a world ‘after nature’.

Baldovinetti at Sant'Ambrogio, Florence. Twentieth century conservation history of the Madonna with Child and Saints

Baldovinetti at Sant'Ambrogio, Florence. Twentieth century conservation history of the Madonna with Child and Saints

Privileging Consumptive Use: A Critique of Ideology, Power, and Discourse in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (NAMWC) defines the unique style of conservation in the North American continent which is comprised of equal and ethical public access to natural resources that are ostensibly held in trust for them by the state. Since the NAMWC was first articulated as a concept, many wildlife specialists and curriculum developers in North America have adopted the seven tenets of the model as a representation of conservation history and an important component of future management strategies. In an ideological critique of the model, we argue that its narrow stakeholder focus and ideological representation limits both a broader spectrum of citizen involvement in wildlife management decisions and the future applicability of the model due to changing values toward nature. We draw on discourse and hegemony theory to critique written descriptions of the tenets from Geist et al. (2001) and other academic and popular literature addressing the model. We found that the NAMWC focuses its rhetoric on hunters and wildlife management practitioners, but excludes or marginalises non-consumptive users, policy-makers and other conservation practitioners. We argue for a broadening of the philosophical model to accommodate a variety of ideologies and diffuse powerful interests that have built up around the model.

Leonard Cockayne's surveys of New Zealand's offshore islands, 1901–1908

This article examines a series of extended botanical surveys conducted by the botanist Leonard Cockayne on several of New Zealand's main offshore islands between 1901 and 1908 and considers their implications for the country's ecological and conservation history. Three dominant features arising from the surveys are discussed: (i) Cockayne's examination of the ecology of the islands visited and his identification of biogeographical connections between island, mainland and more distant ecosystems; (ii) his conspicuous reference to German‐language specialist literature; and (iii) his criticism of environmental damage on these offshore islands and his recommendations for their future conservation.

Staging the Silk Road Journey Abroad: The Case of Dunhuang Performative Arts

Staging the Silk Road Journey Abroad: The Case of Dunhuang Performative Arts

Is Non-destructive Provenancing of Pottery Possible With Just a Few Discriminative Trace Elements?

This study outlines how to perform a fully non-destructive compositional analysis of pottery, but with the limited number of discriminative elements quantifiable by pXRF. The spectrometer was calibrated with fired clay samples spiked with Ti, Fe, Ga, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr and Nb. Methodological outliers resulting from surface modifications and paste heterogeneity were identified by multiple spot analysis per fragment and sorted out. From ten late medieval/early modern potting centres located all over Germany 75 to 360 waster sherds were analysed, resembling plain earthenware, proto-stoneware and glazed stoneware. The 90% quantiles of the assemblages could be distinguished by simple bi- and trivariate scattergrams of the trace elements, although the overall compositional difference was low. As a general trend paste group distinction of similar wares got less pronounced with decreasing geographic distance of the production sites. With the limited total spread of elemental concentrations, the n≤15 dimensional space of discriminative elements is too small to separate hundreds of paste recipes generated over centuries in a densely populated territory. Thus a restriction to the anthropologically reasonable context is required when compositional provenancing of unknown pottery is undertaken, and the successful resolution of production sites needs to be confirmed on a case by case basis. Statement of significance Apart from cultural heritage and art historical conservation aspects, non-destructive XRF analysis allows for high, though non-automatized throughput of even very small ceramic fragments, which strongly improves the significance and validity of location, ware and style specific reference groups. However, pottery also provides considerable methodological constraints to true non-destructive compositional analysis, and the difference in chemical pattern between production centres is generally small. Diligent instrument calibration and a stringent protocol are therefore prerequisites for distinguishing geographically neighbouring pottery produces, and assemblages with adjacent and partially overlapping chemical composition in general.

American Indians and National Forests. By Theodore Catton

American Indians and National Forests. By Theodore Catton. Foreword by Joel D. Holtrop. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2016. x + 374 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $39.95; ebook.) This book was commissioned by the US Forest Service (USFS) and is important scholarship on USFS-tribal relationships and Indian forestry. The first part of the book brings together secondary sources to highlight conservation history and the development of the USFS-tribal relationships. These relationships changed through the major eras of US tribal policy: treaty, removal, Indian New Deal, allotment, termination, and self-determination. The establishment of National Forests co-occurred with the loss of Indian land and Catton argues Indian forestry developed in part to stop “further diminishment of the Indian estate” … mdockry{at}fs.fed.us

Non-destructive and micro-invasive testing techniques for characterizing materials, structures and restoration problems in mural paintings

In this paper, chemical and structural studies of medieval wall paintings in Ocre (L’Aquila, Italy) are presented. During the latest restoration campaign, non-destructive (Near-Infrared Reflectography and Infrared Thermography) and micro-invasive (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, μ-Raman, Scanning Electron Microscopy with X-ray Microanalysis, X-Ray Diffraction, X-Ray Fluorescence, Optical Microscopy, Mass Spectrometry, Thermogravimetry) analyses were performed in order to determine the detachments of wall surfaces and the characterization of original and restoration materials. Data integration allowed to reconstruct the conservative history, the execution techniques and the conservation problems of the artefact, as well as to assess the effectiveness of restoration activities adopted. The combined use of physical and micro-chemical techniques proved to be effective for an in-depth study of materials stratification of paintings.

A history of conservation of built heritage sites of the Swahili Coast in Tanzania

ABSTRACTThe interaction between the Swahili Coast of the present-day Tanzanian coast and other parts of the Indian Ocean world dates back to the first millennium AD. This commercial communication resulted in the rise of several coastal city-states (stonebuilt towns), some of which date back to the tenth century. Unfortunately, some of these states started to collapse during the second half of the second millennium and the majority of them is in a ruinous state. These material remains, which according to the Tanzania’s Antiquities Act of 1964 deserve legal protection, have not been studied comprehensively mainly to establish their conservation history. The current article addresses this problem, and by analysing documents, it establishes the conservation history of monuments and historic buildings of the Swahili Coast in Tanzania. Research results indicate that some built heritage sites started decaying during the fourteenth century AD. Because of recognising the importance of these built heritage sites, communities of the region embarked on strategies to care these built heritage sites. This observation contradicts the European conventional wisdom maintaining that, in Africa, conservation of built heritage sites such as monuments and historic buildings began in the nineteenth century and was propagated by European colonialists.

The Conservation History, Problems and the Rehabilitation of Lithuanian Medieval Castles

The paper discusses the conservation practices and methods of the Lithuanian medieval castles. Since 19th century there was a lot of attention for the medieval castles in Lithuania, which later transformed into the search for the identity. As a result, in the middle of the 20th century, medieval castles and their parts began to be restored and rebuilt. But the Vilnius Upper Castle has escaped these trends, thanks to the difficult geological conditions in its area. The conservation works of the Vilnius Upper Castle were gradual and included small reconstructions of its walls and other architectural elements. Referring to the history of the Vilnius Upper Castle, this paper examines the evolution and challenges of the medieval heritage conservation and rehabilitation works, namely of the objects constructed from stone- and/or brick-walls’.

History of Conservation of Shish Mahal in Lahore-Pakistan

History of Conservation of Shish Mahal in Lahore-Pakistan

History of conservation and research activities of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in the Voronezhsky Nature Reserve

History of conservation and research activities of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in the Voronezhsky Nature Reserve

HEIGHT STRUCTURE AND SPATIAL PATTERN OF FIVE TROPICAL TREE SPECIES IN TWO SEASONAL SEMIDECIDUOUS FOREST FRAGMENTS WITH DIFFERENT CONSERVATION HISTORIES

ABSTRACT Anthropogenic disturbances in forests modify survival conditions and development of plants, which has direct effect on the height and spatial structure of tree populations. This study aimed to compare the height structure and spatial pattern of five tree species in two distinct fragments of seasonal semideciduous forest with different histories of conservation. We studied shade-intolerant (Astronium graveolens Jacq., Gallesia integrifolia (Spreng.) Harms) and shade-tolerant species (Chrysophyllum gonocarpum (Mart. & Eichler ex Miq.) Engl., Euterpe edulis Mart. and Holocalyx balansae Micheli). Sixty plots of 100 m2 (10 m x 10 m) were allocated, being 30 contiguous plots in each fragment. All individuals of five species were marked, assessed for total height data and mapped using Cartesian coordinates. We observed differences in height structure between fragments. All populations had a random spatial pattern, except to H. balansae in the less conserved fragment and E. edulis in the conserved fragment that showed a clumped spatial pattern. There were evidences of forest regeneration due to the establishment of shade-tolerant species in less conserved fragment and coexistence of functional groups in both fragments. The height structure and spatial pattern analyses indicating that anthropogenic exploitation changed the environment and population structure in the less conserved area when compared to conserved area. The anthropic exploitation was ceased few years ago, so it is expected that the less conserved fragment reach the stability of an old-growth forest.

Historic City Center Urban Regeneration: Case of Malaga and Kemeraltı, Izmir

In Turkey, cities grew very fast after 1950's because of the job opportunities and industrial development, which caused a high migration from the rural areas to the cities. Due to the rapid city development, infrastructure, green space and urban facilities could not catch up with the process and resulted in unplanned, inadequate cities. Another result of this is the challenges the historic city centers in a social, environmental and economical way, urbanization damages their characteristic urban identity besides the physical deterioration and economic decay of such centers. Since historic city centers inhabit an important amount of cultural and historical identity, they should be handled very delicately in urban regeneration projects. In order to achieve a sustainable project, such public spaces in historic city centers should be given new functions and the quality should be improved for the citizens to embrace the project and to strengthen the urban identity of the city. This study investigates the urban regeneration project of Malaga, Spain historic city center and further discusses the similarities with Kemeraltı historic center in İzmir and tries to make suggestions for Kemeraltı. The strong releationship between urban regeneration and historic conservation is identified and the importance of citizens’ participation along with the local authorities’ approach is emphasized.

Conservation Plan for Twenty-Five Beijing Old City Historical and Cultural Conservation Areas

Conservation Plan for Twenty-Five Beijing Old City Historical and Cultural Conservation Areas

Interpreting sedimentation dynamics at Longxi catchment in the Three Gorges Area, China, using Cs-137 activity, particle size and rainfall erosivity

Reservoir sedimentation dynamics were interpreted using Cs-137 activity, particle size and rainfall erosivity analysis in conjunction with sediment profile coring. Two sediment cores were retrieved from the Changshou reservoir of Chongqing, which was dammed in 1956 at the outlet of Longxi catchment in the Three Gorges Area using a gravity corer equipped with an acrylic tube with an inner diameter of 6 cm. The extracted cores were sectioned at 2 cm intervals. All sediment core samples were dried, sieved (< 2 mm) and weighed. Cs-137 activity was measured by gamma-ray spectrometry. The particle size of the core samples was measured using laser particle size granulometry. Rainfall erosivity was calculated using daily rainfall data from meteorological records and information on soil conservation history was collated to help interpret temporal sedimentation trends. The peak fallout of Cs-137 in 1963 appeared at a depth of 84 cm in core A and 56 cm in core B. The peaks of sand contents were related to the peaks of rainfall erosivity which were recorded in 1982, 1989, 1998 and 2005, respectively. Sedimentation rates were calculated according to the sediment profile chronological controls of 1956, 1963, 1982, 1989, 1998 and 2005. The highest sedimentation rate was around 2.0 cma (TM) a(-1) between 1982 and 1988 when the Chinese national reform and the Household Responsibility System were implemented, leading to accelerated soil erosion in the Longxi catchment. Since 1990s, and particularly since 2005, sedimentation rates clearly decreased, since a number of soil conservation programs have been carried out in the catchment. The combined use of Cs-137 chronology, particle size and rainfall erosivity provided a simple basis for reconstructing reservoir sedimentation dynamics in the context of both physical processes and soil restoration. Its advantages include avoiding the need for full blown sediment yield reconstruction and the concomitant consideration of core correlation and corrections for autochthonous inputs and reservoir trap efficiency.