Effects Of Anthropogenic Pressures Research Articles

Resource utilization and anthropogenic pressure in a part of Submontane forest of outer Himalaya, Uttarakhand

Forests and wild life are essential for ecological balance of an area. Forests are important components of our environment and economy. Present study was conducted in a part of submontane forest of Kumaun, Outer Himalaya adjacent to Kashipur, at (29º 14-43.6)–(29º 19-50.5) N latitude and (79º 03-22.6)–(79º 04-23.2) E longitude at an elevation of 253.4–265.5 meter above the sea level, within the districts of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar to check the various resources and effect of anthropogenic pressure in forest ecosystem.

THE POTENTIAL OF ZOOPLANKTON COMMUNITIES FOR ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF LAKES: REDUNDANT CONCEPT OR POLITICAL OVERSIGHT?

Zooplankton communities are an important component of the pelagic food web, but they are absent from the list of biotic elements to be considered for the assessment of ecological status in Annex V of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). We report here on an assessment of zooplankton populations across 32 lakes that represent a gradient of alkalinity and anthropo genic impact, primarily owing to nutrients and/or acidity. Acidic and oligotrophic lakes were typified by a high relative abundance of cladocerans, but with some key taxa groups absent from the most acidified lakes. Zooplankton total abundance increased across the trophic gradient. This interplay between acidity and productivity provides the potential to assess effects of anthropo genic pressure on zooplankton communities. Incorporation of ecological function, as opposed to structure, can additionally be evaluated through community attributes, particularly fecundity and size distribution. The assessment of the zooplankton can be cost-effective and related to refer ence conditions. Reasons for this omission from the requirements of monitoring under the Water Framework Directive are unclear, but this should not preclude the use of zooplankton communi ties if they can provide a valuable component for ecological assessment.

Integrated Assessment of the Dynamics, Stability and Resilience of the Inner Mongolian Grazing Ecosystems

Abstract This paper presents results from an ecological assessment of land use and climate change in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Using a combination of fieldwork, rangeland monitoring, and simulation analyses, this study tackles the socio-economic issues faced by pastoralists in this region, focusing on linkages between climate, land use and human welfare. Employing a systems approach, we use the SAVANNA ecosystem simulation model to examine the long-term effects of anthropogenic pressures on the biophysical system. Our model demonstrates that in order to maintain grassland sustainability, climate variations must be considered by land managers making decisions on grazing. Our model indicates that traditional ways of nomadic herding, where nomads were able to move their herds in response to changing distributions of available forage, would be more adaptive in spatially and temporally variable climate and foraging conditions. In contrast, increased sedentarisation and restrictions on grazing movements imposed by political boundaries or fenced croplands may endanger sustainability by reducing options for adaptive grazing tactics. We suggest that new grazing systems must be developed to mitigate these changes in land use and land tenure.