Exploitation Of Wetlands Research Articles

Farmer Adaptation Strategies in Applying Agricultural Mechanization in Wetlands of Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatera

Increasing food production, which is currently difficult to do on productive land with an extensification pattern due to limited land availability, causes the exploitation of wetlands with the category of lebak land (marginal land) to be an option for expanding food crops to increase food production in South Sumatra which has a lot of wetlands. Technological engineering is an option in overcoming the constraints of processing lebak land, especially in the use of agricultural tools and machinery which are still low in interest and adoption rates among farmers. This study aims to; (1) formulate strategies so that farmers are interested in cultivating lebak land into productive land, (2) formulate farmer adaptation strategies in cultivating lebak land by applying relevant technology. The survey method was used in this study with two layers of samples (farmers who used Alsintan and farmers who worked on the land manually), as many as 50 respondents in each layer (a total of 100 respondents) were taken using a simple disproportionate random method. Primary and secondary data obtained, processed to calculate income, tested for differences using paired sample t tests, the results of which became the basis for strategies to increase farmers' interest. Formulation of adaptation strategies using the SWOT method with the results of the study: (1) farmers who apply mechanization technology in cultivating rice in lebak land can do their farming with IP 200, incur lower production costs, and higher production and income than farmers who cultivate it manually; (2) The use of mechanization technology is still not efficient in the use of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, so it must be optimized, (3) The adaptation strategy that must be carried out by farmers is an aggressive strategy because it is in quadrant I, which shows that rice farming in lebak land is in a strong position and has great opportunities to do. This strategy is the main strategy because the strength factors (S) and opportunities (O) owned by farmers in cultivating rice on lebak land have a value greater than the weakness factors (W) and threats (T) that will be encountered.

An estate at Zincirli? Land use and resource exploitation at the Middle Bronze Age monumental building Complex DD in Zincirli, Gaziantep Province of Turkey

Near Eastern monumental buildings once hosted institutions with a variety of economic and environmental footprints. In this article examining a Middle Bronze Age II (seventeenth century BC) building complex at Zincirli, Turkey, we integrate bioarchaeological remains with ceramic and artifactual evidence to evaluate whether this building was a specialized node in a broader network and centralized economy. Combining seed/fruit/chaff analysis with charcoal, phytolith, diatom, and spherulite investigations and zooarchaeology allows for a more holistic identification of the building’s environmental and economic catchments. The pronounced presence of conifer, probably related to the building’s architecture, suggests an elite function of the complex. A broad range of activities took place within the complex, such as the preparation, storage, and consumption of different food and drink products, alongside craft activities. There is evidence for centralized storage of diverse crops and production of wine and textiles. The building seems to have functioned as a kind of estate, possessing access to large areas of land. The bioarchaeological remains evidence the exploitation of the varied environments surrounding the site, where economically valuable resources were locally available and exploited, such as cedar, pine, grapes, and large hunting game. Complex DD provides evidence of wetland exploitation, agropastoral production, wood procurement, and hunting in the semi-steppe batha environments of the Islahiye plain and the woodland forests of the Amanus.

Centennial-scale study on the spatial-temporal evolution of riparian wetlands in the Yangtze River of China

• A classification system for riparian wetlands in the Yangtze River was build. • Spatial-temporal changes of riparian wetlands at centennial-scale was analyzed. • Riparian wetlands in the Yangtze River generally showed a decreasing trend. • Spatial-temporal changes of riparian wetlands can be divided into three stages. • Wetland protection policies have significant impacts, especially since 1998. Wetlands play a crucial role in maintaining the ecosystem function and ecological security of the Yangtze River. This study collected multi-source remote sensing image data, including historical topographic maps, Landsat, and Gaofen-2, and established a set of classification and interpretation standards for riparian wetlands in the Yangtze River. The artificial visual interpretation was used to reconstruct the spatial–temporal evolution process of riparian wetlands in the Yangtze River over the past century, clarified its characteristics, and analyzed the impact of climate change, damming, and land development and wetland policies. The results showed that: (1) Riparian wetlands in the Yangtze River generally showed a decreasing trend. Among them, those in the upper reaches showed a decreasing trend, those in the middle reaches increased during 1930–1980 s and decreased since the 1980 s, and those in the lower reaches fluctuated. (2) The spatial–temporal evolution can be divided into three characteristic areas. In the estuary (Shanghai and the coastal), riparian wetlands first decreased and then increased, and changed significantly. The three provinces in the downstream (Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi) and Chongqing showed a decreasing trend with great changes. The three provinces in the middle and upstream first increased and then decreased with little change. (3) The impact of wetland exploitation and protection policies can be divided into three stages: no wetland protection policies (before 1986), wetland protection policy development (1986–1998), and strict protection (1998–present). This study provides an important scientific foundation for the implementation of coordinated protection of the Yangtze River.

Assessment of Wetland Ecosystem Services in Tien Yen Estuary, Quang Ninh Province

Wetland ecosystems have provided high biological productivity, played an important role in the stability and development of coastal people. The wetland ecosystem service (WES) assessment is an effective tool for calculating direct and indirect benefits that humans obtained from these ecosystems based on monetary valuation. The value of WES in the Tien Yen estuary area has been assessed and calculated using a combination of different methods, including cost-benefit analysis, questionnaire survey, and remote sensing and GIS. The results showed the particular monetary values of 11 WES obtained from 10 wetland ecosystems and total WES value in the study area. The outcome can become the scientific basis to choose the suitable solutions for sustainable use of natural resources in the relationship between preservation and exploitation of wetlands in the future.
 

Producing landscapes of environmental justice: exploitation of woodlands and wetlands and deep historical geographies of justice on Gotland

ContextThe importance of justice is increasingly recognized in environmental policy making. Research on environmental justice offers an important perspective on landscape transformations, both natural and social.ObjectivesThis paper asks how current work on environmental justice might contribute to the development of socio-environmental knowledge of the biophysical landscape. The paper explores the relations between environmental justice thinking and the production of a distinctively capitalist landscape.MethodsThe paper builds on a review of environmental justice and landscape literature and, for the empirical part, on archival studies and secondary sources.ResultsThe paper shows that there remains a disjunction between landscape studies and the environmental justice literature. It provides a theoretically informed approach of bringing together environmental justice scholarship with the transformations of a contested and distinctively capitalist landscape. By studying changes in woodlands and wetlands on the island of Gotland, Sweden, it uncovers a process of the production of landscape that elicits “deep” historical geographies of environmental justice. The massive exploitation of wetlands and forests shows how an approach encompassing environmental justice in conjunction with forms of resource exploitation and conservation can help grasp changes in the landscape.

Impacts of Farming Activities on the Conservation of Sondu River Basin in Kericho County, Kenya

Governments and environmental conservationists agree that wetland resources need to be utilized sustainably to ensure the continued presence of wetlands and their ecological goods and services. Ideally, wetlands should be integrated into the national and local land use plans to ensure sustainable use and management of the resources. However, this is not the case as far as Kenya is concerned. Instead, there is rampant exploitation of wetlands by individuals, organizations and even government agencies with no regard for environmental conservation. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the impact of human activities on wetland conservation with a focus on the Sondu River Basin. The objective of the study was to establish the farming activities on the Conservation of Sondu River Basin Kericho County, Kenya. The study was grounded on the integrated water resource management theory. This study adopted a concurrent triangulation research design, which entailed a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population for the study was 164 respondents in which a sample of 144 respondents was selected using Slovin's formula. The sample was randomly selected with the inclusion criterion being that the chosen respondents were homogeneously engaged in human activities that affected wetland conservation. Intensive data cleaning exercise was carried out including checking for outliers, missing data imputation and variable transformation. The collected data were analyzed by use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and summation and presented in the form of tables and charts. The results of the study will inform policy and practice in the management and conservation of the Sondu River wetland area. The study established that human activities such as farming, logging, construction, drilling, building and construction and settlements have immensely hampered conservation of Sondu wetland. Further, it was noted that it is indeed possible to gain vital information about the human activities responsible for the degradation of wetlands.

Effects of Human Settlements on the Conservation of Sondu River Basin, Kenya

Governments and environmental conservationists agree that wetland resources need to be utilized sustainably to ensure the continued presence of wetlands and their ecological goods and services. Ideally, wetlands should be integrated into the national and local land use plans to ensure sustainable use and management of the resources. However, this is not the case as far as Kenya is concerned. Instead, there is rampant exploitation of wetlands by individuals, organizations and even government agencies with no regard to environmental conservation. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the impact of human activities on wetland conservation with a focus on the Sondu River Basin. The objective of the study was to establish the effects of human settlements on the conservation of the Sondu River Basin. The study was grounded on the integrated water resource management theory. This study adopted a concurrent triangulation research design which entailed a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population for the study was 164 respondents in which a sample of 144 respondents was selected using Slovin’s formula. The sample was randomly selected with the inclusion criterion being that the chosen respondents were homogeneously engaged in human activities that affected wetland conservation. Intensive data cleaning exercise was carried out including checking for outliers, missing data imputation and variable transformation. The collected data were analysed by use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and summation and presented in the form of tables and charts. The results of the study will inform policy and practice in the management and conservation of the Sondu River wetland area. The study established that human activities such as farming, logging, construction, drilling, building and construction and settlements have immensely hampered conservation of Sondu wetland. Further, it was noted that it is indeed possible to gain vital information about the human activities responsible for the degradation of wetlands.

Focusing on rapid urbanization areas can control the rapid loss of migratory water bird habitats in China

Over 240 migratory water bird species depend on China's 18,000 km coastline as a vital stopover area. However, the rapid loss of natural wetlands has threatened this seasonal water bird migration over the last few decades. In the present study, to improve our understanding of the pattern and amount of habitat loss in key stopover areas (KSAs) and the spatial covariance between habitat loss and economic development, we conducted a spatially explicit evaluation of coastal habitat loss in KSAs and explored its relationship with social and economic dynamics along the China coast by integrating high-spatial resolution satellite imagery with an updated coastal water bird investigation data set. The remote sensing survey detected a habitat loss percentage of 19.4% in the KSAs during 2000 and 2010. Aquaculture, urbanization, and land reclamation were responsible for the most severe disturbances to coastal habitats. These results demonstrate that the losses of wetland habitats in the KSAs in Chinese coastal areas are more severe than those in other coastal areas even though more protective measures have been implemented in these areas. Risk-based analysis showed that the risk of habitat loss was greatest in undeveloped regions with rich natural wetland and large populations, thereby demonstrating the critical importance of shifting the focus of water bird conservation to these regions to ensure the conservation of migratory water birds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. These findings disagree with the hypothesis that more habitats are lost when the economy is more developed. Therefore, we suggest that focusing conservation decisions on areas undergoing urbanization might improve the effectiveness of conservation measures given the pressures due to various forms of wetland exploitation.

Differences in soil microbial response to anthropogenic disturbances in Sanjiang and Momoge Wetlands, China.

To understand the response of soil microbial communities in different types of wetlands to anthropogenic disturbances, this study focused on a freshwater wetland (Sanjiang Wetland) and a salt marsh (Momoge Wetland) and sampled cultivated, degraded, and natural soils in these wetlands. High-throughput sequencing was applied to characterize the soil microbial community composition, and physicochemical properties, including pH, total nitrogen, total carbon, and soil water content (SWC), were measured. The results revealed that the total nitrogen, total carbon, and SWC were significantly lower in disturbed soil in the freshwater wetland but higher in the salt marsh. Generally, under anthropogenic disturbances, microbial community diversity decreased in the freshwater wetland and increased in the salt marsh. The bacterial community structure in the salt marsh was more sensitive than that in the freshwater wetland, while the fungal community structure in the freshwater wetland was more susceptible than that in the salt marsh. The results of indicator value analyses revealed specific issues in two wetlands, such as methane generation and anoxic conditions. This study shows that soil microbiomes in two types of wetlands respond differently to human activities, which implies that the type of native wetlands should be considered in the exploitation of wetlands.

Anaerobic digestion of wetland biomass from conservation management for biogas production

In this study, we examined the biogas and methane production of wetland plants species harvested in the Narew River Valley protected as national park, NE Poland. In the experiment, we used the aboveground biomass of five species: reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), common reed (Phragmites australis), reed sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima), tufted sedge (Carex elata) and woollyfruit sedge (Carex lasiocarpa). The plants were harvested in three seasons of the year 2015: mid-summer, late summer, and early fall.The chemical composition of wetland plants was not beneficial for the anaerobic digestion, because of the sub-optimal C:N ratio. Consequently, the wetland species exhibited rather average methane production (102–221 NL kg−1 VS). These values were similar to that observed for grasses collected in extensive grasslands and wetlands by other researchers. They were, however, much lower than those obtained for species harvested in cultivated grasslands. Methane and gross energy yield differed significantly (p < 0.05) depending on the season of the biomass cut. The optimal period for the harvest of wetland biomass for biogas generation was the middle of summer, July–August.Phragmites australis appeared to be the most promising energy species. Despite the low methane yield per kg VS, common reed, due to its high aboveground biomass, achieved quite high methane production per area (1,16·106 NL CH4 ha−1). Our findings suggest that biomass of reed rushes can provide a substantial source of renewable energy used for biogas generation, which will make possible economic exploitation of wetlands combined with the conservation of their natural functions and services.

People and plant interaction at the Houli Culture Yuezhuang site in Shandong Province, China

Palaeoethnobotanical research at the Yuezhuang site, a Houli Culture settlement in Jinan, Shandong Province, China, dating to 8000–7700 cal. BP, documents human–environment interaction and the local subsistence economy soon after the initiation of food production in the region. This economy supported a sizeable community that occupied a kilometer stretch of floodplain along the Nandasha River. The research explores plant domestication, the extent to which the Yuezhuang population had developed a food production niche, and, to a lesser extent, the development of agriculture in the lower Yellow River valley. In order to do so, charred seeds from a variety of plant taxa were recovered by flotation of sediment from pits and cultural strata. Just over 30% of the seed assemblage is rice ( Oryza sativa), broomcorn/common millet ( Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet ( Setaria italica subsp. italica). The status of several other plants such as soybean ( Glycine max subsp. max or G. max subsp. soja), perilla ( Perilla sp.), and chenopod ( Chenopodium sp.) that are also cultivated in East Asia is also assessed. Most of the plant taxa are from open, sunlit, and anthropogenic, disrupted habitats. Diverse grasses similar to those found at later sites indicate that the farming niche documented at the late Neolithic Longshan Culture in Shandong Province was being established by 8000–7700 cal. BP. The plant remains assemblage is compared with three assemblages, two belonging to the Houli Culture and one from the late Neolithic Longshan Culture. Anthropogenic habitats and their formation, maintenance and use, wetland exploitation, cultivation, hunting–gathering–fishing, and animal management characterize the mature (late) Houli Culture niche.

Where Fanny Balbuk Walked: Re-imagining Perth’s Wetlands

Where Fanny Balbuk Walked: Re-imagining Perth’s Wetlands

Wetland Utilization and Environmental Implications on the North and Southern Slopes of Mount Cameroon

The need for a more rigorous fight against environmental degradation in general and wetland extinction in particular is important if we have to eradicate poverty and hunger by the year 2035. Wetlands in the north eastern and southern slopes of the Mount Cameroon region are plagued by two categories of threats (stressors) which are of natural and anthropogenic origin. Since April 2009, most of the inland wetlands environs are suffering from a severe plague that is causing the death of Colocasia esculenta − the main food crop cultivated in the inland wetlands in the region. Using questionnaires, interviews, topographic and climatic maps and physico-chemical analysis the paper examines the spatial assessment of wetland exploitation, and also examines the cause of the wilting of the crop (Colocasia esculenta) cultivated in inland wetlands in the region. The ecological implication reveals that the annual decrease in the total input of rainfall is causing a gradual decline of wetlands in the region, particularly as this decrease is accompanied by a commensurate increase in the rate of evapotranspiration. Laboratory analysis revealed that Pythium myriotylum, a fungus-like micro organism is a contributing factor that is causing the wilting of Colocasia esculenta. Invasive plant species therefore pose a major threat to biodiversity and the high degree of wetland degradation relates to the absence of wetland sensitization programmes by the government, Municipal Councils, Traditional Councils, Chiefs, Quarter Heads and Non-Governmental Organisations.

To exploit or not to exploit: The structure and development of arguments over the use of wetlands

This paper considers the discourse surrounding the exploitation of wetlands (also called marshlands, bogs, mires and peatlands) in Finland. The focus of the paper is on the development of the arguments used in the discourse – thus the paper also gives an insight into how the legal regimes concerning wetlands have developed. The arguments are analysed using the dualistic and deconstructive model developed in Critical Legal Studies by Martti Koskenniemi. The hypothesis is that, to some extent, the model developed for international law can be adapted to fit national laws, but that significant problems may still arise. Throughout the history of discourse on wetlands, legal arguments have essentially dealt with the conflict between the conservation of wetlands or their exploitation for peat, which is a source of energy. Three arguments are discussed in this paper: 1) The ‘sovereignty argument’; 2) The ‘no harm argument’; and 3) The ‘climate change argument’. The sovereignty argument has been dominant from the beginning of the industrialised production of peat, but the no harm argument has been steadily gaining weight. Interestingly, the climate change argument lacks traction in the discourse even though the importance of wetlands in adaptation to climate change is common knowledge. This paper argues that regional and national authorities use legislation and the no harm argument in innovative ways. These innovations may be useful for the aims underlying the climate change argument.

Implications of hypoxia tolerance for wetland refugia use in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda

AbstractAquatic hypoxia can affect predator‐prey interactions by altering the success rate of the predator and/or the vulnerability of prey. For example, in the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa, native prey exploit hypoxic wetlands as refugia from predation by introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus). Here, it is predicted that species exploitation of wetlands depends on their hypoxia tolerance relative to the heterogeneity of wetland hypoxia. In this study, we compared the hypoxia tolerance of four fish taxa that differ in their use of hypoxic wetlands in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda: the cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae that inhabits the dense swamp interior; and three taxa that inhabit wetland ecotones including Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), L. niloticus and juvenile endemic haplochromine cichlids. We characterised hypoxia tolerance by exposing fish to progressive hypoxia and quantifying variation in aquatic surface respiration (ASR). The effect of body size on tolerance was explored in L. niloticus by quantifying ASR behaviour across a range of size classes. ASR behaviour was also compared between O. niloticus groups from wetland versus open‐water habitats to detect habitat‐associated intraspecific variation. The most tolerant taxon was the swamp specialist P. multicolor, indicated by its low ASR thresholds and small percentage of fish using ASR during the final sample interval. The other three taxa did not differ in ASR behaviour, and no differences were detected between O. niloticus groups. Body size effects were present for L. niloticus suggesting a lower tolerance to hypoxia in larger‐bodied individuals, thus limiting their ability to penetrate wetlands.

The transformation of urban waterscapes : documenting waterscape manipulation as an aspect of urban development in the Roman period

There have now been a number of important studies of wetland exploitation and transformation in Roman Western Europe. This process of landscape change further intensified in post-Roman times resulting in a very different landscape to that which existed in prehistory and the Roman periods. Landscape archaeology has demonstrated, for example, that in Roman Britain coastal wetlands were drained and the land reclaimed for agricultural purposes. Other wetlands such as the East Anglian Fenland, the largest wetland in Britain before modern drainage, were used partly for agriculture and partly as pasture for keeping cattle. Urban development in Western Europe, however, also resulted in considerable changes to the landscape including wetlands and other interconnected components of waterscapes including rivers and lakes. There has conventionally been an academic divide between the archaeological methodologies and interpretations of landscape archaeology (focusing on the countryside) and urban archaeology. Drawing on research undertaken as part of a larger project examining the relationship between Roman urban spaces and waterscapes, this paper will complement the important work of landscape archaeologists by investigating the theme of wetland change from the urban context. The paper will consider the way in which towns adapted to, controlled, exploited and transformed the landscapes in which they were situated paying particular attention to water. It will examine evidence of the drainage of wetlands, the reclamation of land and the redirection of rivers for the purposes of developing and expanding the towns. Rivers were also increasingly controlled through timber revetments, embankments and wharfs, representing growing command of the landscape.

HUMAN IMPACTS ON MACROPHYTE DIVERSITY, W ATER QUALITY AND SOME SOIL PROPERTIES IN THE MADIKANE AND DUFUYA WETLANDS OF LOWER GWERU, ZIMBABWE

This study investigated how the exploitation of wetlands, locally known as dambos, changes their vegetation composition, soil properties and how that in-turn affects the water quality. We therefore compared diversity and soil conditions between a protected (Madikane) and exploited (Dufuya) dambo impacted by communal agriculture and grazing in Lower Gweru, Zimbabwe. Species diversity was higher in Madikane (H' = 2.52) than Dufuya (H' = 2.14). Species that were present in Madikane indicated a permanent or semi-permanent wetness compared to species tolerant to arid conditions, reflecting disturbance in Dufuya. Dambo utilization also indicated a change in dominance from perennials to annuals and an increase in exotic species. There was no significant difference in the physical structure of the soil between the rather pristine and exploited sites (% clay and % silt, p > 0.05). A significant difference was recorded in the chemical properties of the soil (pH, phosphorus, nitrate-N, ammonium-N and organic carbon content). Water quality was good in the protected dambo than the exploited dambo as indicated by the differences in calcium ions and conductivity. The protection of wetlands is shown to be important in conserving biological diversity.

Vulnerability, livelihood assets and institutional dynamics in the management of wetlands in Lake Victoria watershed basin

This paper uses data from 600 households in the Lake Victoria watershed in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda to analyze the effects of vulnerabilities and shocks on the management and exploitation of wetlands within the context of agricultural activities and high poverty levels. A multinomial logit model is used to determine variables that influence the perception of wetlands degradation, while a tobit model is used to establish the determinants of willingness to pay for wetland conservation and the imputed value of wetland product extracts. The model results show that although the perception of wetland degradation is modest, it is influenced by attributes of social capital. Variables such as floods, diseases and droughts significantly influence the households’ willingness to pay for wetland conservation. Land size and ownership, education level and household size all influence households’ likelihood to actively engage in wetland resource exploitation and willingness to pay for its conservation. The implications of these results hinge on measures that would moderate the effects of shocks, mobilize collective action, and improve physical infrastructure within the context of sustainable wetland resource use.

Vegetation change during the Mesolithic and Neolithic on the Mizen Peninsula, Co. Cork, south-west Ireland

Despite being rich in later prehistoric and historic archaeology that includes megalithic monuments, Bronze age copper mines and medieval castles, the Mizen Peninsula, south-west Ireland, has revealed little about its stone age past. Evidence for a Mesolithic presence in SW Ireland is rare and, to date, all archaeological finds of this age in Co. Cork are further north and east of the Mizen Peninsula. However a recent palaeoecological study of pollen, non-pollen palynomorph, plant macrofossil and microscopic charcoal data from a peat bog located near Mount Gabriel has provided evidence for disturbances, characterised by fire disturbance of woodland and exploitation of wetlands, since ca. 8400 years b.p. Two working hypotheses are considered to explain these disturbances: human activity or natural agencies. If the human activity hypothesis is accepted, they represent the first possible evidence of a Mesolithic presence on the Mizen Peninsula.

Karstic Wetland Dwellers of Middle Palaeolithic Epirus, Greece

The coastal zone of western Greece from the Ambracian Gulf to the Albanian border is the, foreland of the great Pindos range. It is a complicated, actively rising landscape of limestone mountains and closed intra-montane basins. Archaeologically, this karst landscape is distinguished by numerous Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites embedded in the red sediments of the basins. In contrast,further inland, the river valleys of the western flank of the Pindos harbor only sparse cave and rockshelter sites of Upper Palaeolithic age. A land-use strategy in the Middle Palaeolithic focused on predictable and seasonally-dependable features of karstic origin. This long-term pattern of scheduled Neanderthal residential mobility took advantage of wetlands at fixed locations which provided essential resources such as flint, animals, and plants. As the climate deteriorated in the Upper Palaeolithic the exploitation of wetlands declined and humans turned to caves and rockshelters and the pursuit of game on the upland interfluves and in river gorges.