Conservation Management System Research Articles

Soil microbes from conservation agriculture systems reduce growth of Bt-resistant western corn rootworm larvae

Sustainable agricultural management practices aimed at improving soil health can alter the soil microbiome, which can influence plant health and defenses against insects. The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is a major belowground pest of corn. Pest management relies heavily on the planting of transgenic crops expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins. In this study, we ask how corn-WCR interactions via the soil microbiome are affected by a conservation management system (extended corn-soybean-wheat rotation with cover crops under no-till) compared with a conventional management system (corn-soybean rotation under mulch tillage and no cover crops) when combined with transgenic Bt corn. To do this, we applied soil microbes from the conservation and conventional management systems to two corn lines, one producing Bt and one non-Bt. We then reared Bt-resistant and Bt-susceptible WCR on inoculated seedlings to examine plant and insect changes in fitness. We found that Bt was effective against susceptible larvae in both soil treatments. Bt-resistant larvae were ~ 20% smaller when reared in the presence of soil microbes from the conservation management system. Thus, control of Bt-resistant WCR may be improved in a conservation system without sacrificing Bt effectiveness in susceptible insects. Comparing the microbial communities using 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that management practices influenced the microbiomes associated with the soil and the plant rhizosphere, but not WCR. Our findings suggest value for growers in utilizing conservation management practices, such as no-till and cover crops, in agricultural systems through bottom-up changes to plant–insect interactions via the soil microbiome.

Effects of management complexity on the composition, plant functional dominance relationships and physiognomy of high nature value grasslands

A significant proportion of Europe’s species-rich grasslands are semi-natural habitats. They have a long history of traditional management. Several studies have been carried out to conserve them, resulting in the establishment of subsidised conservation management schemes. On the other hand, many of these conservation management schemes have failed to provide locally adaptive solutions to maintain the diversity and functional status of species-rich grasslands. In addition, few studies have compared the conservation effectiveness of different levels of management complexity. The levels of management complexity in our study are based on how different management types (e.g. grazing and mowing etc.) and how different herbage removal intensities (e.g. lower and higher grazing intensities) are combined within and between years. To investigate this, we compared the overall effects of management complexity, herbage removal intensity and management type on plant diversity, plant functional type dominance relationships and plant physiognomy. Our field sampling was carried out in the sandy meso-xeric grasslands of the Turján Region of the Great Hungarian Plain (Central Hungary). We sampled nine 2 m × 2 m plots per grassland site (n = 12), recorded all the rooted plant species and estimated their percentage cover in each plot. High level of management complexity had significant positive effects on plant diversity, grazing had positive effects on plant diversity and phanerophyte density, while the studied levels of herbage removal intensity had no effect on diversity, plant functional types or plant physiognomy. In parallel, mowing and/or low levels of management complexity had some negative effects on conservation value (e.g. lower Shannon and Simpson diversity). In this landscape, the dominance of grazing and the more complex management is more optimal than relatively homogeneous mechanical mowing. The choice of management type and intensity is an important tool in the conservation management system of this landscape, but so too is its appropriate application in space and time. Through a detailed analysis of the effects of management complexity levels compared to management types and herbage removal intensity levels, we provide a new opportunity to make grassland management practices more effective for conserving biodiversity in this region, but it would be important to investigate these in different landscapes and conditions.

Retraction notice to "A novel architecture design for artificial intelligence-assisted culture conservation management system" [Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering 20(6) (2023) 9693-9711

Retraction notice to "A novel architecture design for artificial intelligence-assisted culture conservation management system" [Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering 20(6) (2023) 9693-9711

A Study on Utilization and Improvement through the Investigation of the Status of Preserved Remains in Jeollabuk Area

The decision on conservation measures for buried cultural properties is made by the Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration based on academic and historical value, but there are areas that need to be reexamined in terms of systematic preservation management, accessibility, and utilization after relocation and restoration. Accordingly, this study attempted to suggest ways to preserve and utilize, and areas that need to be improved, through a survey and inspection of the current status of 29 preserved ruins in the Jeollabuk-do region. As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that there were technical problems with the previous restoration method, problems with accessibility and usability, and the absence of a systematic management system. In order to improve this, new engineering studies on materials and protective angles used in restoration must be conducted, and accessibility and usability must be increased by relocating the variously distributed preserved remains to urban heritage exhibition halls or museums. There is. In addition, a country-centered conservation management system must be established, and a scientific and systematic conservation management system must be based on institutional improvements equivalent to designated and registered cultural properties. This can provide an opportunity to increase the value of preserved ruins and historical awareness.

A novel architecture design for artificial intelligence-assisted culture conservation management system.

Native culture construction has been a prevalent issue in many countries, and its integration with intelligent technologies seems promising. In this work, we take the Chinese opera as the primary research object and propose a novel architecture design for an artificial intelligence-assisted culture conservation management system. This aims to address simple process flow and monotonous management functions provided by Java Business Process Management (JBPM). This aims to address simple process flow and monotonous management functions. On this basis, the dynamic nature of process design, management, and operation is also explored. We offer process solutions that align with cloud resource management through automated process map generation and dynamic audit management mechanisms. Several software performance testing works are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed culture management system. The testing results show that the design of such an artificial intelligence-based management system can work well for multiple scenarios of culture conservation affairs. This design has a robust system architecture for the protection and management platform building of non-heritage local operas, which has specific theoretical significance and practical reference value for promoting the protection and management platform building of non-heritage local operas and promoting the transmission and dissemination of traditional culture profoundly and effectively.

Development and characterization of 13 microsatellite markers of Chanodichthys mongolicus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) by RAD‐seq

This study developed and characterized 13 novel polymorphic microsatellite markers from Mongolian redfin Chanodichthys mongolicus by restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq). Variability was tested on 36 individuals randomly collected from Qiantang River, Zhejiang Province, China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 (MGB_1990, MGB_3456, MGB_6007, MGB_6539, MGB_7273, MGB_8632) to 9 (MGB_8632). Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 (MGB_7273) to 0.972 (MGB_5057), whereas the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.028 (MGB_6007) to 0.795 (MGB_4875). Polymorphism Information Content ranged from 0.027 (MGB_6007) to 0.755 (MGB_4875). Moreover, seven microsatellites were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Four pairwise tests in seven microsatellite loci (MGB_1498, MGB_1990, MGB_4875, MGB_5057, MGB_6539, MGB_7273, MGB_8632) indicated linkage disequilibrium among loci. These microsatellites can evaluate Mongolian redfin populations’ genetic parameters to provide precious information for a conservation management system.

Habitat suitability maps for juvenile tri-spine horseshoe crabs in Japanese intertidal zones: A model approach using unmanned aerial vehicles and the Structure from Motion technique.

The tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, is a threatened species that inhabits coastal areas from South to East Asia. A Conservation management system is urgently required for managing its nursery habitats, i.e., intertidal flats, especially in Japan. Habitat suitability maps are useful in drafting conservation plans; however, they have rarely been prepared for juvenile T. tridentatus. In this study, we examined the possibility of constructing robust habitat suitability models (HSMs) for juveniles based on topographical data acquired using unmanned aerial vehicles and the Structure from Motion (UAV-SfM) technique. The distribution data of the juveniles in the Tsuyazaki and Imazu intertidal flats from 2017 to 2019 were determined. The data were divided into a training dataset for HSM construction and three test datasets for model evaluation. High accuracy digital surface models were built for each region using the UAV-SfM technique. Normalized elevation was assessed by converting the topographical models that consider the tidal range in each region, and the slope was calculated based on these models. Using the training data, HSMs of the juveniles were constructed with normalized elevation and slope as the predictor variables. The HSMs were evaluated using the test data. The results showed that HSMs exhibited acceptable discrimination performance for each region. Habitat suitability maps were built for the juveniles in each region, and the suitable areas were estimated to be approximately 6.1 ha of the total 19.5 ha in Tuyazaki, and 3.7 ha of the total 7.9 ha area in Imazu. In conclusion, our findings support the usefulness of the UAV-SfM technique in constructing HSMs for juvenile T. tridentatus. The monitoring of suitable habitat areas for the juveniles using the UAV-SfM technique is expected to reduce survey costs, as it can be conducted with fewer investigators over vast intertidal zones within a short period of time.

Flax seeds produced in the brazilian midwest: chemical and physical quality

Chemical and physical flaxseed properties can be altered by Brazilian edaphoclimatic and soil management conditions. The study aimed to evaluate the physical and chemical quality of reddish-brown and golden-yellow flaxseeds produced in a conservation management system (i.e., with low agricultural inputs) in Dourados, MS, Midwest region, Brazil. The experiment design was carried out in random blocks, with three repetitions. Significance in difference between two groups were tested by Student t test at 5%. The reddish-brown and golden-yellow flaxseed from Midwest, cultivated under a conservation management system, exhibited similar physical and chemical patterns. However, the reddish-brown flaxseed had a higher hundred seed mass, width, length, color parameters (luminosity, chromaticity, and color angle), neutral detergent fiber contents, phenolic compounds, and stearic and oleic acids than the golden-yellow flaxseed. The flaxseeds produced in the conservationist management system showed the same grain physical and chemical quality as the international and national grains produced in the conventional management system, described in the literature. Our results corroborate the future incentives for increasingly sustainable production while searching for greater eco-efficiency and food security. Thus, the flaxseed cultivated in a conservationist management system has potential to be an economical alternative for all farmers.

Productive Potency of the Endangered Taro White Cattle Population Reared Under Conservation Management System in Bali, Indonesia

Productive Potency of the Endangered Taro White Cattle Population Reared Under Conservation Management System in Bali, Indonesia

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access.

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.

RESEARCH ON THE FRAMEWORK OF THE SMART CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE HISTORIC CITY FUZHOU

Abstract. Historic cities, especially inhabited historic cities, are a special type of cultural heritage. Because of the expanding intension and extension of urban heritage, the rapid urbanization and the various stakeholders, the historic cities become much more complex nowadays. The need of GIS-based information systems for historic cities has never been greater. This paper introduces the research on the framework of the Smart Conservation Management System for the Historic City Fuzhou. It is an effort to explore an informatization way for historic cities. The needs of urban heritage itself, and the needs of different stakeholders should be respected. This system follows the principle of authenticity and integrity conservation, the coordination of conservation and sustainable development, the consideration of stakeholders, ease of use, extensibility, and security. The database should be fit for the construction of knowledge warehouse, be easy to collect and renew information. The module should be able to apply easily in everyday use situations, support smart decision making for the users. It is hoped that the research and the system will be referential for other historic cities.

Improvement of nature conservation management system

Management activities in the field of environmental protection are analyzed in the article taking into account the legislative framework of the Russian Federation. The way of further improvement of nature conservation management system is shown.

GIS-based approach for quantifying landscape connectivity of Javan Hawk-Eagle habitat

Javan Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi; JHE) is a law-protected endemic raptor which currently faced the decreased in number and size of habitat patches that will lead to patch isolation and species extinction. This study assessed the degree of connectivity between remnant habitat patches in central part of Java by utilizing Conefor Sensinode software as an additional tool for ArcGIS. The connectivity index was determined by three fractions which are infra, flux and connector. Using connectivity indices successfully identified 4 patches as core habitat, 9 patches as stepping-stone habitat and 6 patches as isolated habitat were derived from those connectivity indices. Those patches then being validated with land cover map derived from Landsat 8 of August 2014. 36% of core habitat covered by natural forest, meanwhile stepping stone habitat has 55% natural forest and isolated habitat covered by 59% natural forest. Isolated patches were caused by zero connectivity (PCcon = 0) and the patch size which too small to support viable JHE population. Yet, the condition of natural forest and the surrounding matrix landscape in isolated patches actually support the habitat need. Thus, it is very important to conduct the right conservation management system based on the condition of each patches.

Conservation Management of Historical Assets Through Community Involvement A Case Study of Kanazawa Machiya in Japan

Under the urban architecture paradigm for urban regeneration, the scope for research related to historical assets has broadened. Historical assets consist of private and public goods. The management responsibility of managing private goods is allocated to individuals, which has complicated the relationships among stakeholders and led to dissipation of assets and conflicts. To address this issue, this study focuses on community involvement in the conservation management of Kanazawa machiya, a Japanese traditional architecture style.This study was conducted in three phases. The first phase involved classification of the types of conservation management activities and the local actors related to Kanazawa machiya. In the second phase, the relationship between different stakeholders and the characteristics of conservation management activities were investigated using the DEMATEL method. Finally, it drew on the Power-Interest Grid to examine stakeholders′ performance capability.The case study of Kanazawa machiya indicates that the building-up of the conservation management system involves the local actors and development of their activities. It also shows an incremental shift away from a government-led system to one based on government-citizen cooperation. This study demonstrates the necessity of community involvement and civic activities for the conservation management of historical assets.

English

Root system growth and soil structure are interdependent and the threshold of separation between both of them is complex. However, by the evaluation of soil pore space, it is possible to characterize the root system growth environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of conservation management system over time on pore distribution and on root system development of coffee plantation in Cerrado Oxisol, located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Two coffee plantation areas were sampled (3 or 6 years old). Trenches were dug lengthwise along the planting row to expose the root system and the vertical profiles were divided into 0.05 × 0.05 m grid cells (0.70 × 1.50 m grid), totaling 420 sample sites. Digital images were taken and using the computer software Safira, it was measured layers along the soil profile, which was spaced 0.10 m apart. Disturbed and undisturbed soil cores the length, the surface area and the volume of the root system were sampled at 0.20 to 0.34, 0.80 to 0.94, and 1.50 to 1.64 m depths layers, in order to determine particle size, total porosity, and pore size distribution. The 3-years coffee stand had the greatest volume of macropores and the largest number of absorbent roots, besides a noticeable root system growth below 1 m depth. The 6-years old coffee stand presented pores reconfiguration due to increase in the intermediate-sized pores and to the uniform root distribution in both horizontal and vertical directions up to 0.9 m depth. Key words: Gibbsitic Oxisol, pore system, 2D images, geostatistics, root system distribution.

Establishment of Conservation Management System and Application of Cultural Contents for Stone Sculptures in Gyeongbokgung Palace, Korea

The Conservation Management System (CMS) for stone sculptures in Gyeongbokgung Palace (hereafter referred to as the Palace) was developed after three years of surveying and researching on the works, compiling and classifying the research results and creating a database for managing the sculptures effectively and systematically. In addition, the system was constructed considering the prospect of linking with and expanding into other palaces. Along with this, development plans were presented for education and promotion contents that utilize the humanistic study archives. As part of this study, characters were designed by adopting as the subject matter the symbols and meanings of the statues of the ‘Seosu’ (Auspicious Beasts image) in platform of ‘Geunjeongjeon Hall’ in the Palace and the draft plans were also produced for the story telling animation that reflects study contents together with the audio tour guide contents that developed the story telling visit to the stone sculptures across the Palace.

Integrated conservation management using CMSi

CMSi (the Conservation Management System international) is a software suite of tools providing a dynamic site management system for important conservation areas. With a modular approach, CMSi enables all aspects of site management to be integrated, from management plans to asset inventories and land ownership transactions. CMSi is a very map-centric solution with integral mapping functionality based on open-source components, as well as offering integration with standard GIS packages: QGIS, ArcGIS and MapInfo.CMSi is owned by the Conservation Management System Consortium (CMSC), an international group of organisations working together to promote best practice in nature conservation and countryside management. The development and day-to-day management of the system is contracted to exeGesIS SDM Ltd — a specialist software development and environmental consultancy.This paper provides an insight into the early origins of CMS and then presents an overview of the system, describing how the key areas of functionality help support a site manager with the day-to-day tasks of planning and managing information. The paper includes particular reference to the spatial components of CMSi and the recently-developed species observations and vegetation mapping module and smartphone app. CMSi is unique in its approach to management planning and is the only system of its kind that integrates so many aspects of site management in a single suite of tools. It is now in use by more than 2000 staff in over 100 organisations to manage thousands of important conservation sites across several countries.

国外流域水土保持综合治理的法律制度与管理体制评述

水是生命之源，土是生存之本，水土资源是人类生存和发展的基本条件，是不可替代的基础资源。纵观世界主要国家和地区水土资源治理及其立法和实践，大都将流域综合治理作为其核心内容之一，并侧重于从流域整体层面维护河流健康、公平公道利用水土资源。由于流域水土资源开发、利用和保护与当地的社会、经济、文化等因素关系密切，因此各国和地区流域综合治理的制度表现形式亦有所不同。美国和日本在流域综合治理方面都是起步比较早的国家，有着丰富的经验，他们的一些先进技术，法律制度，管理体制等值得很多国家学习。本文通过对美国、日本水土保持相关法律制度与管理体制的综合评述，结合美国甜水河小流域综合治理和日本山洪灾害及水土流失治理的砂防工程的成功经验，分析了两国在流域水土保持综合治理的法律制度与管理体制方面的优势，为我国流域水土保持综合治理提供借鉴与参考。 Water is the source of life; soil is the root of survival, water and soil resources as the basic conditions for human survival and development are not be replaced. Throughout the world’s major countries and regions soil and water resources management and legislation and practice, most of them regard the watershed management as one of its core content, and focus on maintaining the health of the river from the overall level, fair and reasonable utilization of water and soil resources. Since the basin soil and water resources development, utilization and protection are closely related with the local social, economic, cultural and other factors, the form of integrated watershed management system in different countries and regions is not the same. The United States and Japan in terms of watershed management started relatively early and have a rich experience in integrated watershed management; some of their advanced technology, legal system, management system are worth learning for many countries. In this paper, based on the comprehensive review on Soil and Water Conservation legal system and management system of United States and Japan, combined with successful experiences of American Sweetwater River comprehensive management and Japanese Soil Conservation for mountain torrents and soil erosion governance, we analyzed the advantages in legal and management system of comprehensive harness of watershed soil and water conservation of the two countries to provide a reference for our country of the comprehensive management of watershed.

Spatial variability of pores in oxidic latosol under a conservation management system with different gypsium doses

Soil structure is modify when subjected to the agricultural process, i.e., a new spatial organization of the pores system is formed, with relation to the physical quality of it. Thus the aim of this work was to visualize and quantify, through X-ray CT scan, the pores distribution in an oxidic Latosol submitted to a conservation management system with different gypsum doses. Three random trenches were dug lengthwise along the plant row in a very clayey gibbsitic dystrophic Red Latosol, subjected to the following gypsum levels: G0: absence of gypsum; G7: 7 Mg ha-1 and G28: 28 Mg ha-1 of additional gypsum, applied to the surface of the plant row. Undisturbed soil samples were collected in plexiglass tubes at depths of 0.20-0.34, 0.80-0.94 and 1.50-1.64 m after six years of coffee cultivation for quantification of 3D pores obtained by X-ray CT scan. The spatial variability of the soil structure was evaluated by semivariograms generated by 3D images in grayscale. Distribution of the detectable pore diameter was conducted by data mining. Statistical analyzes employed packages 'geoR' to semivariogram and 'randomForest' for data mining in R language. A greater spatial continuity of the pores occurred in the G7 at the three depths. The combined effects of the management system promoted a greater spatial variability of the soil structure in the G28 treatment. Based on geostatistical analyses, it can be infer that the adoption of the system under study promoted changes in the pore network in all directions (X, Y and Z), however with better pores continuity in the vertical direction(Z).

Effects of Set-aside Conservation Practices on Bird Community Structure within an Intensive Agricultural Landscape

Creating and restoring patches of noncrop early-succession vegetation within agricultural landscapes may mitigate grassland bird population declines caused by agricultural land use and intensification. Achieving this goal requires an ability to balance avian benefits with agronomics, which may be facilitated by understanding how bird communities respond to various conservation practices. We evaluated bird richness, abundance, Shannon diversity, and Total Avian Conservation Value in 20 replicates of four Conservation Reserve Program practices in an intensive rowcrop agricultural landscape in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley from May–Jul., 2005–2007. Conservation practices included: (1) large blocks of structurally-diverse early-succession vegetation (6–8 y old trees) and three buffer types; (2) 30 m wide monotypic filter strips with tall dense switchgrass (Panicum virgatum); (3) 30 m wide diverse filter strips with a forb-native warm season grass mixture; and (4) 60 m wide early-succession riparian forest buffers (1–3 y old trees). The breeding bird community was dominated by red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus; 43% of total) and dickcissels (Spiza americana; 42% of total) but commonly included eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea), mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), and northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). We observed ≥1.8 × more dickcissels in large blocks and diverse filter strips than other buffers and greater Shannon diversity in large blocks than any buffers (P < 0.05). Diverse filter strips had ≥1.6 × greater overall bird density (7.2 birds/0.6 ha), on average, than all other practices. Based on these data, we conclude that buffers are attractive to farmland breeding birds and may provide important ecological benefits to supplement a conservation management system founded on large blocks of early-succession vegetation.