Integral Conservation Research Articles

Farm Households’ Adoption of Climate-smart Practices in Subsistence Agriculture: Evidence from Northern Togo

Climate change (CC) effects on agriculture development and households' vulnerability are widely recognized. Being aware of the induced effects of climatic risks, farmers have adopted adaptation strategies to build resilience. Analyzes the determinants of choice of adaptation strategies using binary models can lead to an estimation bias, since the number of adopted strategies may be correlated. This paper analyzes farm households' perception of CC, the determinants of choice of the number of adopted practices, and correlation between the most used climate-smart strategies in subsistence agriculture. Zero-inflated Poisson regression and multivariate analysis are employed using data collected from 704 farm households in Northern Togo. Households' minimum consumption needs, gender, land, access to credit and extension services are the main determinants of the choice of the number of adopted strategies. The use of resistance and high yielding varieties, crops and livestock integration, soil and water conservation practice, the use of organic fertilizer, and adjustment of sowing time are the most adopted farming practices. A strong complementarity between the adopted practices for agriculture development was found. Factors that influence households' choice of adaptation strategies include gender, household location, education level, family size, and allocated labor. Institutional factors including market access, access to credit, and extension services are also key determinants in promoting the use of climate-smart practices that are environmentally friendly.

Connectivity between lentic and lotic freshwater habitats identified as a conservation priority for coho salmon

Abstract Juvenile Pacific salmon exhibit diverse habitat use and migration strategies to navigate high environmental variability and predation risk during freshwater residency. Increasingly, urbanization and climate‐driven hydrological alterations are affecting the availability and quality of aquatic habitats in salmon catchments. Thus, conservation of freshwater habitat integrity has emerged as an important challenge in supporting salmon life‐history diversity as a buffer against continuing ecosystem changes. To inform catchment management for salmon, information on the distribution and movement dynamics of juvenile fish throughout the annual seasonal cycle is needed. A number of studies have assessed the ecology of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) during summer and autumn seasons; catchment use by this species throughout the annual cycle is less well characterized, particularly in high‐latitude systems. Here, n = 3,792 tagged juvenile coho salmon were tracked throughout two complete annual cycles to assess basin‐wide distribution and movement behaviour of this species in a subarctic, ice‐bearing catchment. Juvenile coho salmon in the Big Lake basin, Alaska, exhibited multiple habitat use and movement strategies across seasons; however, summer rearing in lotic mainstem environments followed by migration to lentic overwinter habitats was identified as a prominent behaviour, with two‐thirds of tracked fish migrating en masse to concentrate in a small subset of upper catchment lakes for the winter. In contrast, the most significant tributary overwintering site (8% of tracked fish) occurred below a culvert and dam, blocking juvenile fish passage to a headwater lake, indicating that these fish may have been restricted from reaching preferred lentic overwinter habitats. These findings emphasize the importance of maintaining aquatic connectivity to lentic habitats as a conservation priority for coho salmon during freshwater residency.

Parks and non-expropriated properties: a proposal for the practice of temporary and low impact activities / Os parques e os imóveis não desapropriados: uma proposta para a prática de atividades temporárias e de baixo impacto

Abstract This article intends to analyze the situation in which the administration issues a public utility decree for the creation of an integral protection conservation unit, a park, covering private properties. The issue of the mentioned decree entails a series of limitations on the property rights of its holders. It happens that the effective implantation of the park does not happen and the decree of public utility has expired. In spite of this, the owners of the affected properties are required to respect the environmental protection standards relating to the park, which are extremely restrictive. It is discussed in the text whether, in these cases, authorization by the public authority for the exercise of temporary and low-impact activities in the park would be possible, until the property is effectively expropriated and the compensation paid. The STJ's jurisprudence on indirect expropriation, the applicable legal provisions are analyzed and interests are weighed in the hypothesis, having as a guiding principle the principle of proportionality. Keywords: Park, Public utility, Integral protection conservation unit, Expropriation, Exercise of temporary activities. Resumo O presente artigo pretende analisar a situacao na qual a administracao edita decreto de utilidade publica para a criacao de uma unidade de conservacao de protecao integral, um parque, abrangendo imoveis privados. A edicao do referido decreto acarreta uma serie de limitacoes ao direito de propriedade de seus titulares. Ocorre que a efetiva implantacao do parque nao acontece e tem-se a caducidade do decreto de utilidade publica. Apesar disso, exige-se que os proprietarios dos imoveis atingidos respeitem as normas de protecao ambiental relativas ao parque, que sao extremamente restritivas. Discute-se no texto se, nesses casos, seria possivel a autorizacao pelo poder publico para o exercicio de atividades temporarias e de baixo impacto no parque, ate que seja o imovel efetivamente desapropriado e a indenizacao paga. Analisa-se a jurisprudencia do STJ sobre desapropriacao indireta, os dispositivos legais aplicaveis e procede-se a uma ponderacao de interesses na hipotese, tendo como fio condutor o principio da proporcionalidade. Palavras-chave: Parque, Utilidade publica, Unidade de conservacao de protecao integral, Desapropriacao, Exercicio de atividades temporarias.

Characterization Methods of Acellularized Tissue and Organs.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) of mammalian organs and tissues has been applied as a substitute scaffold to simplify the restoration and reconstruction of several tissues. Such scaffolds are prepared in various arrangements including sheets, powders, and hydrogels. One of the more applicable processes is using natural scaffolds, for this purpose discarded tissues or organs are naturally derived by processes that comprised decellularization of following tissues or organs. Protection of the complex structure and 3D (three dimensional) ultrastructure of the ECM is extremely necessary but it is predictable that all protocols of decellularization end in disruption of the architecture and potential loss of surface organization and configuration. Tissue decellularization with conservation of ECM bioactivity and integrity can be improved by providing well-designed protocols regarding the agents and decellularization techniques operated during processing. An overview of the characterization of decellularized scaffolds and the role of reagnets can validate the applied methods' efficacy.

Mediterranean rocky reefs in the Anthropocene: Present status and future concerns.

Global change is striking harder and faster in the Mediterranean Sea than elsewhere, where high levels of human pressure and proneness to climate change interact in modifying the structure and disrupting regulative mechanisms of marine ecosystems. Rocky reefs are particularly exposed to such environmental changes with ongoing trends of degradation being impressive. Due to the variety of habitat types and associated marine biodiversity, rocky reefs are critical for the functioning of marine ecosystems, and their decline could profoundly affect the provision of essential goods and services which human populations in coastal areas rely upon. Here, we provide an up-to-date overview of the status of rocky reefs, trends in human-driven changes undermining their integrity, and current and upcoming management and conservation strategies, attempting a projection on what could be the future of this essential component of Mediterranean marine ecosystems.

Social wasps fauna (Vespidae) of semideciduous seasonal forest in southern Brazil

Social wasps are insects that perform numerous environmental services, with emphasis on pollination and predation of agricultural pests. However, despite the increase in efforts to know the social wasps geographical distribution and richness, there are still many areas and ecosystems with few studies of this nature, such as the Paraná State, Southern Brazil. To collaborate with these efforts, this work aimed to carry out an inventory of social wasps in semideciduous forest in the Ilha Grande National Park, an integral conservation unit in the Paraná State. The Sampling took place from February to November 2019, totalizing 15 days and 60 hours, being carried out on six islands of the Paraná River, using the active search for species and colonies records. Fourteen species were registered, distributed in six genera. The study revealed a low species richness, which may be related to the area's usage history, as well as to other factors. This highlights the need for greater sampling efforts in other areas of this conservation unit.

Buffer zone delimitation of conservation units based on map algebra and AHP technique: A study from Atlantic Forest Biome (Brazil)

A buffer zone can be defined as the surroundings of a protected area, restricting human activities, such as irregular urban growth, hunting, logging, and unsustainable agriculture. The general objective of this research was to propose a methodology for the delimitation of a buffer zone surrounding a conservation unit within the Atlantic Forest Biome, integrating physical, biotic and socioeconomic aspects with the use of map algebra and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique. The study area, Rio Canoas State Park, is a unit of integral protection type conservation containing araucaria forest, which is of great environmental relevance as it is situated in the Atlantic Forest Biome containing several species of wild fauna and flora. Firstly, natural vulnerability to erosion of the surroundings of the park associated with basic territorial units with the aid of map algebra and AHP technique was elaborated. Secondly, insertion of special areas such as permanent preservation areas and areas consolidated by the Ministry of the Environment in the buffer zone was done. Finally, the buffer zone of the park delimited from the results acquired in the previous two stages was established. It was verified that the calculation of natural vulnerability to erosion and the parameters of special areas were effective and adequate for the delimitation of the buffer zone with a total area of approximately 37,888 ha. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of buffer zone delimitation using remote sensing and GIS techniques based on environmental conditions, including the invasion of exotic species, of the surrounding areas of the conservation units.

Life of a droplet: Buoyant vortex dynamics drives the fate of micro-particle expiratory ejecta.

We show that the dynamics of the expiratory cloud ejected during human respiratory events can be modeled by extending the theory of buoyant vortex rings with an initial momentum. We embed the integral conservation laws that govern the cloud’s motion into the model of an expanding vortex to determine the velocity field inside and outside the cloud. We then apply a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to calculate the trajectories of the mucosalivary droplets suspended within the cloud. Our results show very good agreement with the available experimental data. The vortex is shown to have a significant effect on suspending the droplets present in the cloud, increasing the time they remain airborne and extending their range further than predicted by the existing models. We also study the role that initial conditions have on the maximum streamwise range of the droplets, finding that decreasing the angle of projection can reduce the spread of the droplets by an order of meters. Finally, we discuss the importance of these findings in the context of informing public health policies and global information campaigns to slow down the spread of respiratory viruses.

Planos municipais de mata atlântica

O Bioma Mata Atlântica é reconhecido por seus inestimáveis valores culturais, ecológicos e econômicos, mas, ao mesmo tempo, se apresenta altamente reduzido e fragmentado. O desenvolvimento de estratégias para a gestão deste patrimônio é uma necessidade iminente, e o engajamento em âmbito municipal tem papel essencial na sua conservação. Esse artigo propõe sistematizar os principais aspectos legais, desafios e possibilidades de Planos Municipais de Mata Atlântica (PMMA), apresentando um panorama acerca do estado da arte referente à legislação, com aproximações e discussões relacionadas a planos elaborados e em fase de implementação em âmbito nacional e estadual. O procedimento metodológico adotado foi através de levantamento das bibliografias pertinentes a Planos Municipais de Mata Atlântica, obtidas em plataformas da Web, sites governamentais e não governamentais, periódicos e material impresso, focando na ação e estratégias abordadas pelos documentos aferidos. Por meio de um recorte de algumas propostas dos PMMA, foi observado que os municípios que se organizam em consórcios e convênios de caráter regional, tendem a vislumbrar melhores perspectivas de planejamento ambiental que vão além dos limites sociopolíticos. Embora a maior parte dos PMMA atenda ao mínimo de exigências da legislação para sua composição, poucos incluem medidas como a conservação pelo uso, ou alternativas de pagamento pelos serviços ambientais. Entre as ações de conservação integrativas propostas, é possível destacar a inovação da conservação pelo uso com base em Sistemas Agroflorestais e Extrativismo Sustentável da Flora Nativa. Tais aspectos têm sido viabilizados no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Todavia, em muitos estados brasileiros esta realidade ainda se encontra no âmbito dos debates conceituais relacionados à conservação e preservação ambiental.

Vulnerabilidade ambiental em áreas de caatingas na unidade de conservação parna do Catimbau, Pernambuco, semiárido brasileiro

O Parque Nacional do Catimbau é uma unidade de conservação integral muito importante na conservação da biodiversidade do bioma Caatinga. Estando situado na região semiárida de Pernambuco, na zona de transição entre o agreste e sertão, o parque comporta excessiva beleza de caatingas, monumentos esculpidos pela ação erosiva dos ventos em rocha arenítica e diversos sítios arqueológicos. Sabendo-se que o Parna do Catimbau constitui áreas de prioridade alta de conservação devido à susceptibilidade a desertificação, essa pesquisa teve como foco avaliar a vulnerabilidade das caatingas presentes nesta unidade de conservação. A metodologia utilizada contou com a aplicação do índice de vegetação ajustado ao solo (IVAS), sensoriamento remoto termal e visita em campo que permitiu a análise da espacialização das imagens orbitais, dos satélites Landsat 5 e 8 nos anos de 1995, 2006 e 2016. Os resultados mostraram aumento térmico nas áreas de caatingas e impactos ambientais ocasionados pela antropização de suas áreas. A antropização das caatingas no interior do Parna do Catimbau fere a Lei 9.985/00, que institui o Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação (SNUC) e define as atribuições de uma unidade de conservação de uso integral. Sendo necessário para essa UC o alinhamento de sua gestão com o SNUC e a implantação de espaços de aprendizagem para disseminação da educação ambiental à população dos municípios que a integram.

Connectivity of bacterial assemblages along the Loa River in the Atacama Desert, Chile.

The Loa River is the only perennial artery that crosses the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It plays an important role in the ecological and economic development of the most water-stressed region, revealing the impact of the mining industry, which exacerbate regional water shortages for many organisms and ecological processes. Despite this, the river system has remained understudied. To our knowledge, this study provides the first effort to attempt to compare the microbial communities at spatial scale along the Loa River, as well as investigate the physicochemical factors that could modulate this important biological component that still remains largely unexplored. The analysis of the spatial bacterial distribution and their interconnections in the water column and sediment samples from eight sites located in three sections along the river catchment (upper, middle and lower) was conducted using 16S rRNA gene-based Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Among a total of 543 ASVs identified at the family level, over 40.5% were cosmopolitan in the river and distributed within a preference pattern by the sediment substrate with 162 unique ASVs, while only 87 were specific to the column water. Bacterial diversity gradually decreased from the headwaters, where the upper section had the largest number of unique families. Distinct groupings of bacterial communities often associated with anthropogenic disturbance, including Burkholderiaceae and Flavobacteriaceae families were predominant in the less-impacted upstream section. Members of the Arcobacteraceae and Marinomonadaceae were prominent in the agriculturally and mining-impacted middle sector while Rhodobacteraceae and Coxiellaceae were most abundant families in downstream sites. Such shifts in the community structure were also related to the influence of salinity, chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen and redox potential. Network analyses corroborated the strong connectivity and modular structure of bacterial communities across this desert river, shedding light on taxonomic relatedness of co-occurring species and highlighting the need for planning the integral conservation of this basin.

Exponential Cubic B-spline Collocation Method for Solving the One Dimensional Wave Equation Subject to an Integral Conservation Condition

In this paper, a collocation method is presented based on the exponential B-spline functions for the numerical solution of the one-dimensional wave equation subject to an integral conservation condition. The wave equation is fully-discretized by using the exponential cubic B-spline collocation for spatial discretization and the finite difference method for the time discretization. The difference scheme is analyzed to be unconditionally stable. The results of a numerical experiment show the stability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Hacia un marco para la conservación a largo plazo de paisajes en terrazas en Suiza: casos de estudio en antiguas terraza con cultivos y viñedos

Los paisajes de terrazas se encuentran entre los paisajes culturales más expresivos de Suiza con un alto valor ecológico, cultural, identificativo y recreativo. Pero en muchas regiones, estos paisajes están amenazados, porque los agricultores están abandonando las tierras agrícolas marginales y ya no mantienen las terrazas. En este artículo, proponemos un marco de condiciones básicas formales y de procedimiento que debe considerarse al desarrollar y operar en proyectos de conservación del paisaje, e ilustrarlos y validarlos con tres casos de estudio. Los resultados muestran que un organismo rector ampliamente aceptado (local y externamente) es decisivo para que el proyecto tenga éxito a largo plazo. Dicho organismo está en condiciones de abordar la complejidad de la gestión, la financiación, la coordinación del proyecto y cooperación, al tiempo que promueve la coherencia entre actores e integra a los actores externos locales e interesados en las estructuras comunales. Esto, a su vez, ayuda a mejorar otros factores de éxito, como la integración ecológica y la conservación del hábitat, la generación de fondos para cubrir los costes operativos y la inclusión del trabajo comunitario.

Combining XFEM and time integration by α-method for seismic analysis of dam-foundation-reservoir

Extended finite element method (XFEM) and time integration by α-method are coupled in the direct integration scheme to study the 2D dynamic fracture of concrete gravity dam-foundation-reservoir interaction. The advantages of XFEM for the strong displacement discontinuity description of a crack and α-method for the time integration in dynamic analysis to dissipate the shockwaves after crack growth are combined together. The proposed method can improve the computation efficiency and can avoid numerical instability to judge the crack propagation orientation of XFEM. Obtained results show by increasing the value of α in time integration, the shock waves after crack growth are decreased and the stability of numerical solution is increased. In addition the accuracy of the dynamic fracture simulation using the proposed method is investigated in comparison with other reported in the literature.To apply the interaction in finite element model, zero thickness six-nodal contact elements are used in which the dam, foundation and reservoir are formulated with Lagrangian approach. Also, to predict dynamic fracture behavior of a cracked dam, dynamic stress intensity factors (DSIFs) are used. The interaction integral (conservation integral) originally proposed to evaluate SIFs to incorporate dynamic effects is utilized to evaluate DSIFs. Effective parameters in problem-solving such as the contribution of each distinct term in the interaction integral, crack tip element, length of crack growth, integration radius, location of initial crack, angle of initial crack, internal damping ratio of the dam, and fracture energy based on proposed method are discussed.

Pressões ambientais sobre serviços ecossistêmicos hídricos em um manancial em Belém, Pará, Brasil

Serviços ecossistêmicos (SEs) são bens tangíveis e intangíveis produzidos pelos ecossistemas que são utilizados pela sociedade em busca do bem-estar humano. Os ecossistemas aquáticos prestam SEs cruciais, porém, ao sofrerem mudanças na qualidade e quantidade de água, os corpos hídricos podem alterar a oferta desses serviços. Desta forma, o presente estudo teve como objetivo classificar os SEs hídricos identificados em um manancial de água localizado em Belém-PA, avaliando como esses estes SEs são impactados pelas pressões ambientais que agem sobre esses recursos. O manancial objeto deste estudo é composto pelos lagos Água Preta e Bolonha, que está inserido dentro do Parque Estadual do Utinga (PEUt), uma Unidade de Conservação de Proteção Integral que, por sua vez, está inserido na Área de Proteção Ambiental Belém (APA Belém), e é responsável pelo abastecimento de água potável de aproximadamente 65% da população da Região Metropolitana de Belém (RMB). A metodologia da pesquisa teve como base a literatura científica para abordagem teórica dos SEs e posterior associação com as características ambientais locais. Foram abordados os serviços de abastecimento de água, regulação de água, autodepuração, recreativos e ecoturísticos e educacionais. As diversas pressões sobre o manancial estão relacionadas às mudanças no uso e cobertura do solo nas áreas adjacentes aos lagos que o compõe, principalmente por conta da expansão da urbanização, caracterizadas pelo despejo de esgoto sanitário e de sedimentos nos lagos, acarretando no surgimento de macrófitas, o que além de alterar a qualidade da água do manancial, pode contribuir para o seu assoreamento.

Optimized technique to extract and fix Olive ridley turtle hatchling retina for histological study

The efficient extraction and fixation of a tissue allows in preserving the cytoarchitecture, chemical composition and tissue organization, which is key in physiological and histopathological studies. The main goal of this study was to establish a microsurgery technique to obtain ocular tissue and provide an optimized immersion fixation protocol based on the 10 % formalin-intraocular injection on Olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings (Lepidochelys olivacea). To evaluate this optimized technique, a histological comparison between traditional immersion and intraocular/immersion protocols was done. The eyeball were processed into five protocols: Frozen eyes (Group 1), frozen eyes immersed in 10 % formalin (Group 2), fresh eyes immersed in 10 % formalin (Group 3), fresh eyes intraocularly injected with 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and then immersed in 10 % formalin (Group 4), and fresh eyes fixed by 10 % formalin-intraocular followed by 10 % formalin-immersion (Group 5). In comparison with all groups evaluated, the intraocular/immersion fixation protocol lead the conservation of eyeball shape, cell integrity and maintenance of the organization of the retina layers of sea turtle hatchlings. If this method will be the key in studying sea turtle, we suppose that this procedure, with minimal adjustments, could be useful in animals with similar eye anatomy.

Research on IGBT junction temperature overload algorithm of servo driver

As the core of industrial control, servo drives have become evident in small volume, multi-spindle integration, acclimatization and energy conservation in recent years. The main domestic and foreign servo drives adopt module temperature detection, thermal accumulation - heat dissipation model or inverse time overload algorithm. The overload multiple and time are relatively fixed, and cannot further improve overload capacity according to the environment temperature or load condition. Due to the low utilization rate of the radiator, the servo drive selection usually amplifies the first gear and increases the cost of the electrical system. Without adding energy feedback cells or capacitors, it’s not efficient to recycle the energy produced by braking. This paper mainly studies the overload algorithm which based on junction temperature prediction. The overloading algorithm can increase the overload capacity by 40%. Fanless design can be realized to meet the application of negative conditions such as conductive dust, cutting fluid and cotton. In general, the overload algorithm which based on junction temperature prediction is suit for the application of printing, packaging, semiconductor silicon, forging, laser cutting machines.

Effectiveness of a conservation energy model for febrile neutropenia in children with cancer.

Febrile neutropenia is a complication of chemotherapy that occurs in children with cancer. This paper aimed to provide an overview of the application of the Levine Energy Conservation Model for treating fever neutropenia in children with cancer. The method involved a case study of five children with cancer treated for febrile neutropenia using the nursing process approach. The nursing process, according to the Levine Energy Conservation Model, focuses on increasing the body’s adaptability through four forms of conservation, namely, the conservation of energy, personal integrity, structural integrity, and social integrity. Trophicognosis in the five cases under management identified hyperthermia and the risk of infection transmission. Other nursing problems were nutritional imbalances that were less than the body’s needs and the risk of bleeding. These problems can hinder the process of adapting children with cancer to the challenges of disease and the treatment of side effects in achieving self-integrity.

An integrative conservation planning framework for aquatic landscapes fragmented by road-stream crossings

Road-stream crossings represent a significant source of habitat fragmentation for global aquatic ecosystems, yet integrative conservation planning frameworks are lacking for most regions. We describe a connectivity conservation planning framework that draws on recent advances in the fields of surveying, modelling, and optimizing removal of crossings that block aquatic organism passage. We demonstrate this framework with a case study involving 1200 crossings surveyed in Florida, USA in which barrier severity was quantified on a continuous scale from 0 (complete barrier) to 1 (no barrier). Using field surveys, we built a boosted regression tree (BRT) model that linked barrier severity to 44 landscape variables representing natural (e.g., stream size) and anthropogenic (e.g., land use) stream conditions. We used a recently developed optimization routine to conduct two scenarios, including (1) surveyed crossings only and (2) surveyed crossings plus crossings modelled at 5545 unsurveyed locations. The BRT model explained 54% of variation in barrier severity scores and showed that the most severe barriers occurred on small, high-elevation streams draining urban and agricultural catchments. Estimates of connectivity gains following remediation were 5.3-times lower when unsurveyed locations were included in the optimization, suggesting inclusion of unsurveyed sites is critical for conservation planning. Results from this framework can be used over short (e.g., planning immediate barrier mitigation) and long (e.g., planning future field surveys) time horizons to benefit aquatic connectivity conservation. The survey protocol and modelling methods used here, combined with global datasets on stream conditions, can be applied to benefit connectivity planning in other regions.

Integrated conservation for Parakmeria omeiensis (Magnoliaceae), a Critically Endangered plant species endemic to south-west China

AbstractParakmeria omeiensis is a Critically Endangered tree species in the family Magnoliaceae, endemic to south-west China. The tree is functionally dioecious, but little is known about the species’ status in the wild. We investigated the range, population size, age structure, habitat characteristics and threats to P. omeiensis. We located a total of 74 individuals in two populations on the steep slopes of Mount Emei, Sichuan province, growing under the canopy of evergreen broadleaved forest in well-drained gravel soil. A male-biased sex ratio, lack of effective pollinating insects, and habitat destruction result in low seed set and poor seedling survival in the wild. We have adopted an integrated conservation approach, including strengthening in situ conservation, cultivation of saplings, ex situ conservation and reintroduction, to protect this species. The successful conservation of P. omeiensis has important implications for the conservation of the genus Parakmeria and the family Magnoliaceae.