Inside Park Research Articles

Green spaces in highly urbanized tracts tied to lower prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases: A nationwide study across levels of urbanicity

Previous studies have found conflicting results between green space and respiratory diseases, possibly due to the use of generalized green space measures and the diverse urbanicity levels in which they were conducted. Few nationwide studies examined how urbanicity modifies the relationship between green spaces and respiratory diseases while considering the geospatial relation between green space and human population, population density, and accessibility.This study evaluates the relationships between population-weighted forest and open space exposure (inside and outside park), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma in the contiguous United States. The COPD and asthma data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The green space exposure within an 800 m buffer was computed using National Land-cover Dataset and WorldPop Global Population Data. The associations were estimated using spatial error models and adjusted for important covariates. We also performed stratified analyses by four urbanicity levels.Green spaces inside but not outside park were associated with a lower prevalence of COPD and asthma. We found that a 1 m2 increase in forest inside park was associated with a decrease of 3.57 and 2.97 cases per 100,000 population in COPD and asthma, and a 1 m2 increase in open space inside park was associated with a decrease of 4.82 and 7.66 cases per 100,000 population in COPD and asthma. A trend of an inverse relationship was observed across urbanicity: the beneficial associations occurred in highly urbanized tracts but not in the three less-urbanized tracts.Our results provide further evidence that nearby forests and open spaces inside park, particularly in urban areas, were tied to a lower prevalence of respiratory diseases in the US. The beneficial association suggests the necessity of ensuring access to nearby green spaces, especially those in parks, to promote respiratory health.

Green spaces, especially nearby forest, may reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate: A nationwide study in the United States

The coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing global crisis that has profoundly harmed public health. Although studies found exposure to green spaces can provide multiple health benefits, the relationship between exposure to green spaces and the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate is unclear. This is a critical knowledge gap for research and practice. In this study, we examined the relationship between total green space, seven types of green space, and a year of SARS-CoV-2 infection data across 3,108 counties in the contiguous United States, after controlling for spatial autocorrelation and multiple types of covariates. First, we examined the association between total green space and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Next, we examined the association between different types of green space and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Then, we examined forest–infection rate association across five time periods and five urbanicity levels. Lastly, we examined the association between infection rate and population-weighted exposure to forest at varying buffer distances (100 m to 4 km). We found that total green space was negative associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Furthermore, two forest variables (forest outside park and forest inside park) had the strongest negative association with the infection rate, while open space variables had mixed associations with the infection rate. Forest outside park was more effective than forest inside park. The optimal buffer distances associated with lowest infection rate are within 1,200 m for forest outside park and within 600 m for forest inside park. Altogether, the findings suggest that green spaces, especially nearby forest, may significantly mitigate risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Population-weighted exposure to green spaces tied to lower COVID-19 mortality rates: A nationwide dose-response study in the USA

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge loss of human life globally. However, few studies investigated the link between exposure to green space and risk of COVID-19 mortality rate, while also distinguishing the effects of various types of green space, considering the spatial distribution of human population and green space, and identifying the optimal buffer distances of nearby green space. It is critical and pressing to fill these significant knowledge gaps to protect and promote billions of people's health and life across the world.This study adopted a negative binomial generalized linear mixed-effects model to examine the association between the ratios of various types of green space, population-weighted exposure to those various types of green space, and COVID-19 mortality rates across 3025 counties in the USA, adjusted for sociodemographic, pre-existing chronic disease, policy and regulation, behavioral, and environmental factors.The findings show that greater exposure to forest was associated with lower COVID-19 mortality rates, while developed open space had mixed associations with COVID-19 mortality rates. Forest outside park had the largest effect size across all buffer distances, followed by forest inside park. The optimal exposure buffer distance was 1 km for forest outside park, with per one-unit of increase in exposure associated with a 9.9 % decrease in COVID-19 mortality rates (95 % confidence interval (CI): 6.9 %–12.8 %). The optimal exposure buffer distance of forest inside park was 400 m, with per one-unit of increase in exposure associated with a 4.7 % decrease in mortality rates (95 % CI: 2.4 %–6.9 %).The results suggest that greater exposure to green spaces, especially to nearby forests, may mitigate the risk of COVID-19 mortality. Although findings of an ecological study cannot be directly used to guide medical interventions, this study may pave a critical new way for future research and practice across multiple disciplines.

Sleuthing with sound: Understanding vessel activity in marine protected areas using passive acoustic monitoring

Monitoring compliance and enforcing laws are integral to ensuring the success of marine protected areas (MPAs), but traditional monitoring techniques are costly and resource demanding. Three SoundTrap 300 recorders were deployed for one month between 1 July and September 12, 2018 to collect acoustic data in two marine parks off southeastern Australia: one recorder in Cod Grounds Marine Park (CGMP) and two in the Solitary Islands Marine Park National Park Zone (SIMP NPZ). Extractive activities such as fishing are not permitted in these zones. Raven Pro 2.0 was used to analyze data for vessel presence. Transmission loss equations for each site were generated using patrol boat GPS tracks and used to predict if acoustically recorded vessels were inside park boundaries based on received sound levels. In CGMP, 41 vessels were predicted within the park during the recording period; 34 vessels were predicted within the SIMP NPZ. Thursdays and Saturdays were identified as peak days for vessel presence in CGMP while Thursdays were the peak day in the SIMP NPZ. Most vessel activity at both locations took place between 06:00 and 17:00 AEST. Peak vessel presence in CGMP occurred at 09:00 AEST while the peak vessel presence in the SIMP NPZ occurred at 16:00 AEST. Approximately 12.7 h of vessel sounds were recorded within CGMP; approximately 3.8 h of vessel noise were recorded within the SIMP NPZ. Passive acoustic monitoring of vessel patterns in Australian Marine Parks has provided valuable insight to redirect compliance decisions on how to focus surveillance efforts.

A Study on the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design of Park - Focused on Children’s Park in Daejeon Metropolitan City -

본 연구는 공원 CPTED 원리를 가이드라인으로 하여 대전광역시 어린이공원 50곳을 현장조사한 후, 그 결과를 바탕으로 범죄로부터 안전한 공원을 위한 방안을 제시하였다. 현장조사 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 주･야간 약 50%로 사각지대 가 발생하고, 공원 주위에 주차된 차량으로 인해 시각 가림 현상이 일어나는 곳도 약 50% 정도였다. 조명은 전체적으로 밝고 높이가 적정하여 가시성을 확보할수 있었지만 설치위치가 부적당하여(60%) 추가 또는 이전 설치가 필요한 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 출입구는 1~3개로 적절했으며, 출입구 이외의 경계부는 철제, 관목을 주로 한 펜스로 이루어져 있어 공원 내･외부 영역을 명확하게 구분할 수 있었다. CCTV는 360°회전 가능한 구조로 98% 설치되어 있어 감시기능에는 문제 가 없었다. 공원 내 비상벨이 설치된 비율은 28%로 매우 낮았다. 셋째, 공원 내부 및 주위 이용 인원은 주･야간 모두 낮은 것으로 나타나 조사 대상 공원이 덜 활성화되어 있는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 넷째, 50%정도의 공원은 청결했지만 28%는 쓰레기 투기로 인해 불결한 편으로 나타났다. 이런 문제점을 개선하기 위해서는 사각지대에 대한 재정비, 양방향 자연적 감시의 어려움을 개선하기 위한 주･정차 차량 단속, 위급한 상황에 대처할 수 있는 비상벨의 설치, 지속적인 유지 관리 등이 필요할 것이다. 본 연구는 겨울철에 조사된 결과이므로 이용인원, 수목관리 상태 등 일부항목은 시기에 따라 다를 수 있기에 향후 계절별 조사를 더한 전반적인 연구가 필요할 것으로 본다.This study provided ways for safe parks from crime through field survey, based on the principle of park CPTED, of 50 children s parks in Daejeon Metropolitan City. The results of the field survey are as follows. First, about 50 percent of the park caused blind spots and 50 percent of the park was blocked one’s view by cars parked around the park. Although the lighting was generally bright and properly high enough to ensure visibility, it was found that the installation location was unsuitable (60%). Second, the gates were from one to three gates, and the boundaries consisted mainly of steel and shrubs so that the inside park from outside could be clearly identified. Since CCTV is installed with a 360° rotating structure, there were no problems with its monitoring function. The rate of emergency bells installed in the park was 28 percent, very low. Third, the number of people using the park was low, indicating that the park under investigation was less active. Fourth, about 50 percent of the parks were clean but 28 percent were unclean due to trash speculation. Improving these problems will require readjustment of blind spots, installation of emergency bells to cope with emergencies, and ongoing maintenance.

Effectiveness of Africa's tropical protected areas for maintaining forest cover.

The effectiveness of parks for forest conservation is widely debated in Africa, where increasing human pressure, insufficient funding, and lack of management capacity frequently place significant demands on forests. Tropical forests house a substantial portion of the world's remaining biodiversity and are heavily affected by anthropogenic activity. We analyzed park effectiveness at the individual (224 parks) and national (23 countries) level across Africa by comparing the extent of forest loss (as a proxy for deforestation) inside parks to matched unprotected control sites. Although significant geographical variation existed among parks, the majority of African parks had significantly less forest loss within their boundaries (e.g., Mahale Park had 34 times less forest loss within its boundary) than control sites. Accessibility was a significant driver of forest loss. Relatively inaccessible areas had a higher probability (odds ratio >1, p<0.001) of forest loss but only in ineffective parks, and relatively accessible areas had a higher probability of forest loss but only in effective parks. Smaller parks less effectively prevented forest loss inside park boundaries than larger parks (T = -2.32, p<0.05), and older parks less effectively prevented forest loss inside park boundaries than younger parks (F2,154 = -4.11, p<0.001). Our analyses, the first individual and national assessment of park effectiveness across Africa, demonstrated the complexity of factors (such as geographical variation, accessibility, and park size and age) influencing the ability of a park to curb forest loss within its boundaries.

Managing visitors’ dining and retail experiences in South African national parks

In the light of the issue of declining government funding of South African National Parks (SANParks), as well as the negative influence of the poor service levels in shops, restaurants and eating facilities in these parks on visitor spending, SANParks needs to improve the retail and dining experiences at these facilities. This research attempts to provide guidelines for SANParks management in addressing these issues, by determining visitors’ retail and dining preferences and the relationship between these constructs. Quantitative research was conducted in 2011 using a web-based survey on the SANParks’ official website for two months (1st October – 30th November). This method resulted in obtaining 5 464 usable responses for the study. Factor analyses identified three relevant dining experience factors: Quality, Variety and value and Nature ambience and four retail experience factors: Goods and services, Pricing (consisting of two separate constructs: Expensive shops and Pay more inside Park) and Quality. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first time that research was conducted with regard to addressing visitors’ retail and dining preferences at any South African national park, thereby contributing significantly to literature regarding visitor experiences in a nature-based context.

Impacts of Madhupur National Park on Local Peoples’ Livelihood

In this study, the impact of Madhupur National Park on local peoples’ livelihoods was assessed. To find local peoples perception on collaborative natural resources management. This study was conducted from July, 2012 to December, 2012 on two villages named Talki and Sholakuri. Data collection was based on stratified random sample. Stratification was based on park proximity of respondent households that is (inside park) 0 km, 0.5 km distance, 1 km distance, 1.5 km distance and 2 km distance from Madhupur National Park boundary. The five strata were compared with respect to household’s natural resource dependency, household’s income, income diversification, income level, assets and perception on present management system. Present management system was also discussed to emphasize park management authority contribution on local livelihood. Based on analysis of collected data from two villages it was assumed that the nearest people were more dependent on natural resource of park than far people. The simple correlation coefficient for the distance of household with natural resource dependency was negatively significant. Household average monthly incomes in two villages were approximately same but Talki villagers were 79.25% depend on park related activity and this dependency decreased with increasing of distance. Present park management system plays an important role to reduce people and park animosity by providing aid and training to the local offensive persons and involve them into park conservation. A trend analysis of decreasing forest offences represented that, the present management system is better than past time and it could be able to reduce people park animosity.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v5i2.14603 J. Environ. Sci. &amp; Natural Resources, 5(2): 63-66 2012

서울시 배수성 아스팔트 포장의 기능적 평가 연구

The functional evaluation of constructed permeable pavements was conducted in terms of water permeable performance and noise reduction measurements in Seoul city. The field measurements of noise was based on two methods such as pass-by and novel close proximity(NCPX). The pass-by test and NCPX method are related to noise propagation and tire/pavement interaction noise measurement, respectively. For the water permeable tests, five sections were chosen; furthermore, the measurements were conducted for both of wheel path and non-wheel path area. For the pass-by measurement, three sections were chosen; furthermore, two different locations, which were near measurement point to traffic noise and far measurement point inside park or hosing complex, were selected for each section. Finally, tire/pavement interaction noise measurements were carried out at four locations. The results show that the functional performance of water permeability and noise reduction was well remained within 2 or 3 years after permeable pavement construction.

Land Ownership and Property Rights in the Adirondack Park of New York, USA

Land ownership in the United States is understood as a bundle of sticks representing rights to sell, lease, bequeath, mine, subdivide, develop, and so forth. The right of exclusion allows owners to prevent others from exercising a right of access. Historically, access and then exclusion contributed to a sense of self-determination and personal freedom in the American landscape. Governing agencies reserve four rights for their use: condemnation, regulation, taxation, and escheat. Using these rights, as well as market purchases, the State of New York has established a Forest Preserve, created an Adirondack Park, and managed private land that remains inside park boundaries. Over the past 15 years, the State has also acquired easements to obtain some rights from private landowners. These transactions have grown increasingly complex, involving not only conservation easements, to prevent subdivision and development, but also easements for access, trespass, recreation, and harvest. Special interests have become involved in the acquisition process through legal requirements as well as the need for financial assistance and technical advice. The participation of multiple actors has shaped both easements obtained by the State and rights retained by private landowners, making ownership of land an expression of social values rather than an expression of liberty and individuality.

Effectiveness of Protected Areas in Mitigating Fire within Their Boundaries: Case Study of Chiapas, Mexico

Since the severe 1982-1983 El Niño drought, recurrent burning has been reported inside tropical protected areas (TPAs). Despite the key role of fire in habitat degradation, little is known about the effectiveness of TPAs in mitigating fire incidence and burned areas. We used a GPS fire database (1995-2005) (n=3590 forest fires) obtained from the National Forest Commission to compare fire incidence (number of fires) and burned areas inside TPAs and their surrounding adjacent buffer areas in Southern Mexico (Chiapas). Burned areas inside parks ranged from 2% (Palenque) to 45% (Lagunas de Montebello) of a park's area, and the amount burned was influenced by two severe El Niño events (1998 and 2003). These two years together resulted in 67% and 46% of the total area burned in TPAs and buffers, respectively during the period under analysis. Larger burned areas in TPAs than in their buffers were exclusively related to the extent of natural habitats (flammable area excluding agrarian and pasture lands). Higher fuel loads together with access and extinction difficulties were likely behind this trend. A higher incidence of fire in TPAs than in their buffers was exclusively related to anthropogenic factors such as higher road densities and agrarian extensions. Our results suggest that TPAs are failing to mitigate fire impacts, with both fire incidence and total burned areas being significantly higher in the reserves than in adjacent buffer areas. Management plans should consider those factors that facilitate fires in TPAs: anthropogenic origin of fires, sensitivity of TPAs to El Niñio-droughts, large fuel loads and fuel continuity inside parks, and limited financial resources. Consideration of these factors favors lines of action such as alternatives to the use of fire (e.g., mucuna-maize system), climatic prediction to follow the evolution of El Niño, fuel management strategies that favor extinction practices, and the strengthening of local communities and ecotourism.

Influence of Elevation, Land Use, and Landscape Context on Patterns of Alien Plant Invasions along Roadsides in Protected Areas of South‐Central Chile

Abstract: Alien plant species are a growing concern in protected areas, yet little information is available on the role of roads as corridors for alien species and the effects of elevation, land use, and landscape context in these invasions. These concerns are of particular interest in temperate zones of South America, where protected areas have high concentrations of endemic species. We studied roadside alien plant communities and forest‐road edges in Villarrica and Huerquehue national parks in the Andean portion of south‐central Chile. We sampled alien species and their abundance along 21 km of roads inside parks and 22 km outside parks, using 500‐m roadside transects. We also sampled plant species and recorded their abundance in 15 transects located perpendicular to forest‐road edges in four forest types. Of the 66 alien species encountered along roadsides, 61 were present outside parks and 39 inside parks. Elevation and alien species richness along roadsides were significantly and negatively correlated (R2=−0.56, p &lt; 0.001). Elevation, land use, and their interaction explained 74% of the variation in alien species richness along roadsides (p &lt; 0.001). Transects located in pasture or disturbed secondary forests had significantly more alien species. We found no significant edge effect on native and alien species richness in any forest type. Few alien species have percolated into forest interiors. Native and alien diversity in edge plots were not related. Almost half the alien species belonged to three families and 85% were native to Eurasia. Our results suggest that alien species are moving into parks along road corridors and that elevation and land use of the matrix influence these invasion processes. Our findings corroborate the importance of early detection and control of invasive species in protected areas and highlight the importance of considering surrounding matrix land use in developing conservation strategies for reserves.

Tourism and Biodiversity in North and South

Biodiversity in Southern nations is a significant attraction for Northern tourism: reefs and rainforests, whales and wildflowers, big game and biological rarities. It is therefore in the interests of international tourism to help conserve international biodiversity. The role of tourism in biodiversity conservation is especially significant in Southern nations because many Southern nations have particularly rich biodiversity but weak legal land-use allocation and development control systems, and protected area agencies with few funds and little political power. Northern tourism can provide incentives to conserve biodiversity through foreign exchange and economic opportunities for Southern governments and local communities. They can also buy private land for tourism and conservation, and lobby against logging and land clearance and other high-impact land uses. Northern tourism also relies on Northern biodiversity. Currently, tourism growth is a significant threat to many Northern protected areas. As a high-value use, tourism should displace primary industries in public and private lands of high biodiversity outside the protected area system, rather than inside parks. For political reasons, however, this rarely happens at present.

Incentives, regulations, and sustainable land use in Costa Rica

Deforestation in Costa Rica has proceeded at a rapid pace. Of the remaining 2,700 km2 of virgin forests on privately-owned land, over 300 km2 are being deforested each year. Pressure on National Parks, which cover about 27 percent of Costa Rica is likely to increase in the future. Preliminary information indicates that, contrary to our expectations, most of the deforestation at present is not being done by squatters, but driven by profit and asset maximization motives of the timber industry, banana companies, and large cattle ranchers. Setting aside 27 percent of the country's land as parks and reserves was a major policy decision. Aside from the removal of some “perverse” incentives operating inside park areas, the main issue there is one of sound management, including protection from intruders, strengthening enforcement, and controlled “tourism”. On the remaining primary and secondary forest areas on privately-owned land outside the parks, a key question is whether public interests connected with external costs of deforestation warrant public intervention. The paper suggests that a differentiated approach to this and other questions is needed, depending on the costs and benefits involved, and it discusses incentives and regulations which influence land use, and makes proposals for reforms.