Management Legacy Research Articles

Advancing tunnelling: the Victorian engineering management legacy

Victorians are often held up as giants in civil engineering, able to build, span and tunnel in ways that had never been seen before, and still provide much of contemporary infrastructure. Their legacy can be easily seen in the railway networks of Great Britain, which demanded some of the most difficult and challenging civil engineering ever seen. As a consequence of such endeavours, the Victorian times also saw the emergence of the ‘celebrity’ engineers, stellar figures who first experienced the shift away from technical and site-based practices and moved instead towards the management and leadership of construction works, a professional legacy that arguably remains today. Such figures also served to anonymise further the construction workers or navvies, who were already working in dangerous and unhealthy conditions on projects where the loss of life was felt to be inevitable. Unpacking Victorian railway tunnelling operations not only duly acknowledges the spectacular feats of engineering that society inherited from them but also reveals how their legacy has contributed to the ways in which tunnelling operations are mobilised today. It is argued that such contributions should be recognised and consciously rebalanced if the next steps are to be taken to improve tunnelling operations within the profession of civil engineering today.

The Intensively Managed Landscape Critical Zone Observatory: A Scientific Testbed for Understanding Critical Zone Processes in Agroecosystems

Core Ideas IML‐CZO is structured to study system responses through event‐based monitoring. Management legacy has shaped critical zone processes. Management and weather affect landscape heterogeneity and surface–subsurface pathways. In intensively managed landscapes, interactions between surface (tillage) and subsurface (tile drainage) management with prevailing climate/weather alter landscape characteristics, transport pathways, and transformation rates of surface/subsurface water, soil/sediment, and particulate/dissolved nutrients. To capture the high spatial and temporal variability of constituent transport and residence times in the critical zone (between the bedrock and canopy) of these altered landscapes, both storm event and continuous measurements are needed. The Intensively Managed Landscapes Critical Zone Observatory (IML‐CZO) is comprised of three highly characterized, well instrumented, and representative watersheds (i.e., Clear Creek, Iowa; Upper Sangamon River, Illinois; and Minnesota River, Minnesota). It is organized to quantify the heterogeneity in structure and dynamic response of critical zone processes to human activities in the context of the glacial and management (anthropogenic) legacies. Observations of water, sediment, and nutrients are made at nested points of the landscape in the vertical and lateral directions during and between storm events (i.e., continuously). The measurements and corresponding observational strategy are organized as follows. First, reference measurements from surface soil and deep core extractions, geophysical surveys, lidar, and hyperspectral data, which are common across all Critical Zone Observatories, are available. The reference measurements include continuous quantification of energy, water, solutes, and sediment fluxes. The reference measurements are complemented with event‐based measurements unique to IML‐CZO. These measurements include water table fluctuations, enrichment ratios, and roughness as well as bank erosion, hysteresis, sediment sources, and lake/floodplain sedimentation. The coupling of reference and event‐based measurements support testing of the central hypothesis (i.e., system shifts from transformer to transporter in IML‐CZO due to the interplay between management and weather/climate). Data collected since 2014 are available through a data repository and through the Geodashboard interface, which can be used for process‐based model simulations.

Comparing the plant diversity of paired beech primeval and production forests: Management reduces cryptogam, but not vascular plant species richness

Conflicting evidence of the impact of forest management on biodiversity exists, either decreasing or increasing species richness. Variable diversity responses may result from the adoption of different unmanaged reference systems, ranging from stands with management abandonment in the recent past to true primeval forests. We compared the species richness of epiphytic bryophytes and lichens and vascular forest floor plants in three primeval forest/production forest pairs of Fagus sylvatica in Slovakia, adopting a replicated design and a reference system without any management legacy. Mean number of bryophyte and lichen species per 500m2-plot tended to be higher in the primeval forests, while the mean α-diversity of vascular plants was higher in the production forests. In contrast, the β-diversity of the three plant groups as expressed by the Sørensen Dissimilarity Index was generally higher in the primeval forest plot sample, reflecting a higher heterogeneity of plant community composition and habitat diversity. Plotting cumulative species numbers against plot numbers suggests that the curves for bryophyte and lichen species richness may saturate at ca. 250 plots or ∼12.5ha in the primeval forests, but already at 30–60 plots (<3ha) in the more homogeneous production forests. Total bryophyte and lichen species numbers are estimated to be 30–100% larger in the primeval forests than the production forests. Contrary to general belief, vascular plant species richness was similarly high, or even higher, in the primeval forests when >50 plots (total area: 2.5ha) were investigated, evidencing the importance of natural disturbance regimes for maintaining high forest biodiversity. Our results show that Fagus sylvatica primeval forests are inhabited by a species-rich epiphyte flora despite the species poverty of the tree layer. This evidences the outstanding value of primeval forest reserves for the conservation of temperate forest biodiversity.

Restoration Implications of Land Management Legacy on Aboveground and Seed Bank Composition of North American Grasslands

Abstract A variety of nonprairie landscapes, including pastures, crop fields, and unmanaged seral ground, are being restored to native prairie on a yearly basis. Seldom is the seed bank associated with these nonprairie lands taken into account in the restoration process. We examine the seed bank potential of nonprairie lands and the relationship between aboveground vegetation and seed bank composition at the largest grassland restoration east of the Mississippi River, the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (U.S.A.), by surveying six land management histories: remnant prairie, restored prairie, new pasture, active pasture, old field, and crop field. Both aboveground vegetation and seed bank composition varied with land management history. However, species composition of aboveground vegetation differed significantly from the species composition of the seed bank irrespective of land management history. Aboveground vegetation carried a higher proportion of the seed bank flora than vice versa. In contrast to s...

Weed development in spring wheat after contrasting soil tillage and nitrogen management

Soil tillage and nitrogen (N) management effects on weed species composition were evaluated in 2013 and 2014 on a clayey soil after 5-years of organic management at the Royal Agricultural University's Harnhill Manor Farm, UK. Three tillage systems – Conventional Tillage (CT), and High and Low Intensity Non-inversion Tillage (HINiT & LINiT) – were compared at four N fertiliser rates of 0, 70, 140 and 210 kg N ha−1. Broad-spectrum herbicide was applied before soil operations across the site in both years. Previous organic management legacy of high weed biomass promoted greater weed prevalence in 2013 while 2-years of herbicide inclusion reduced weed biomass. Contrasting weather conditions across the seasons affected weed incidence. In the 2014 wet season, early weed dry weight (DM) was higher under HINiT than CT and LINiT, while no differences were observed in the 2013 dry year. At midseason, weed DM was higher under HINiT than CT and LINiT in both years, which was related to higher DM of the dominant weeds Stellaria media (L.) Vill. and Sinapis arvensis L. Grass weed DM was higher under non-inversion tillage than CT. N fertilisation increased midseason total weed DM and weed prevalence at harvest. Spring wheat yield was the highest under CT while LINiT produced 17% higher yields than HINiT. Despite higher but still tolerable weed prevalence under both non-inversion tillage systems and with the application of N, weeds alone was not the only yield-limiting factor. However, results show that CT is the most reliable option for weed control in changing weather, while N fertilisation rates needs to be considered.

Life after death: evidence of the Hoover Dam as a hero project that defends against mortality reminders

Dams have historically been constructed as a supply management strategy to control water despite increasingly recognized sociocultural, environmental and financial costs. Current water management strategies continue to depend on technology-based solutions despite these costs. We used a transdisciplinary approach to link water history and social psychology to examine the underlying influences on water decisions such as the construction of large-scale water infrastructure. Specifically, we used indicators from terror management theory—a social psychology framework to understand how humans’ efforts to repress their death awareness influences motivation and behaviour. We focus on symbolic immortality as a powerful way by which people overcome their death fears in a highly individualistic Western and secular society. In this research three interrelated questions. First, was there evidence of mortality salience indicators in discussions of the Hoover Dam? Using the Hoover Dam as a historic case, we identified mortality salience evidence in the public statements during the dam’s pre-construction, construction, and post-construction phases. We found abundant mortality salience in the public statements about the Hoover Dam during all phases. Second, could the Hoover Dam be classified as a legacy project or “hero project” as defined by Ernest Becker and subsequent research through terror management theory? The evidence suggested that the Hoover Dam—as a representative example of the large scale, water infrastructure that dominates our contemporary supply-management regime—might have served as a hero project for those involved in its installation. And third, could the Hoover Dam, and possibly other large dams, be a means to overcompensate for mortality-fears for those involved in their installations, contributing to an environmentally unsustainable but historical water management legacy? Characterising the Hoover dam as not only a water supply infrastructure project but also as a hero project intended to alleviate mortality-fears, offers complementary explanations as to why unsustainable water management decisions were made in the American West.

Management legacy in the understory of North American mixed boreal regenerating stands

In the global context of planted forest expansion, the ability of artificially regenerated forests to stand-in for natural forests has become a central question for forest managers. Although few studies have examined their conservation potential, extensive planted forests cover a significant portion of North-American mixed boreal forests. We study the composition, functional assemblage, and vertical structure of understory communities in even-aged, mid-rotation, planted and naturally regenerated mixed boreal stands typical of extensive management (Québec, Canada). Our results show that more than 20years after harvest, species composition and functional assemblage still differ between stand types while understory structure does not. Planted stands exhibit a higher prevalence of traits and species typically associated with younger stands. Sensitive species such as Oxalis acetosella ssp. montana and Monotropa uniflora occurred less often in planted stands while the reverse was true for a portion of species with the potential to form a recalcitrant layer. This suggests that the understory of planted sites may require more time before reaching compositional and functional attributes comparable to those of naturally regenerated stands. This delayed maturation has implications for forest management, particularly under increased management intensity scenarios.

Community assembly and functional diversity along succession post‐management

Summary Despite extensive development of successional theory, few empirical studies have evaluated whether existing models are applicable to human‐modified landscapes. Seasonally dry tropical forests are experiencing widespread transformation, and represent a critical system to assess in a successional framework to infer the mechanisms that shape assembly of secondary forests post‐management. We used a functional trait‐based approach to assess changes in community assembly mechanisms along a successional gradient in secondary dry forests of varying stages following abandonment of cattle activity. Nearby old‐growth forests served as an undisturbed comparison. We evaluated whether re‐assembly proceeded consistent with existing theory, in early successional stages via habitat filtering, leading to reduced trait range, and via competitive exclusion in later stages, leading to increased trait evenness. Using three orthogonal traits and two functional diversity indices we tested for evidence of assembly mechanisms along resource axes that may be particularly important to dry forest systems, dynamic changes in habitat filtering and competitive exclusion, and potential legacy effects of management. We found little support of a progression from habitat filtering to competitive exclusion, with the exception of dispersion patterns for specific leaf area and multi‐variate functional richness. Water availability may underlie species sorting in most stages, as evidenced by range reduction in wood density, and might be a resource particularly important to dry forest assembly. Early successional stages displayed an unexpected pattern of low evenness, which may be due to initial stand composition including remnants and resprouts, a regeneration strategy typical to dry forest species. Beyond influencing initial conditions, management legacy was apparent in advanced secondary forests, which differed in range, even dispersion, and functional richness from old‐growth forests, suggesting the operation of different assembly mechanisms. The departures from expectations suggest the need to re‐assess successional models to include effects of management legacies on the operation of community assembly mechanisms in human‐modified landscapes, as well as characteristics that distinguish wet and dry forest dynamics.

Tree-rings mirror management legacy: dramatic response of standard oaks to past coppicing in Central Europe.

BackgroundCoppicing was one of the most important forest management systems in Europe documented in prehistory as well as in the Middle Ages. However, coppicing was gradually abandoned by the mid-20th century, which has altered the ecosystem structure, diversity and function of coppice woods.Methodology/Principal FindingsOur aim was to disentangle factors shaping the historical growth dynamics of oak standards (i.e. mature trees growing through several coppice cycles) in a former coppice-with-standards in Central Europe. Specifically, we tried to detect historical coppicing events from tree-rings of oak standards, to link coppicing events with the recruitment of mature oaks, and to determine the effects of neighbouring trees on the stem increment of oak standards. Large peaks in radial growth found for the periods 1895–1899 and 1935–1939 matched with historical records of coppice harvests. After coppicing, the number of newly recruited oak standards markedly grew in comparison with the preceding or following periods. The last significant recruitment of oak standards was after the 1930s following the last regular coppicing event. The diameter increment of oak standards from 1953 to 2003 was negatively correlated with competition indices, suggesting that neighbouring trees (mainly resprouting coppiced Tilia platyphyllos) partly suppressed the growth of oak standards. Our results showed that improved light conditions following historical coppicing events caused significant increase in pulses of radial growth and most probably maintained oak recruitment.Conclusions/SignificanceOur historical perspective carries important implications for oak management in Central Europe and elsewhere. Relatively intense cutting creating open canopy woodlands, either as in the coppicing system or in the form of selective cutting, is needed to achieve significant radial growth in mature oaks. It is also critical for the successful regeneration and long-term maintenance of oak populations.

John Curtin's Forgotten Media Legacy: The Impact of a Wartime Prime Minister on News Management Techniques, 1941–45

As Australia’s wartime leader, John Curtin generated international headlines for his “breaking news” broadcasts, candid media conferences and electoral success. Yet there has been a lack of studies on Curtin’s impact as a media communicator. To evaluate his legacy for government-journalist relations, this article conducts a multi-method approach, including analyses of rarely viewed archives about Curtin’s use of the media and the newspaper coverage of his major wartime speeches. The research indicates that Curtin expanded the ways that the prime minister communicated with public audiences through press interviews, the radio, films and television during World War II. Through his extraordinarily frequent media discussions, he opened up more opportunities for citizens to interact with political leaders, the government and parliament. Arguably, modern political communicators still borrow from Curtin’s news management legacy through the use of question-and-answer media conferences, news briefings, occasional off-the-record talks and use of the most advanced audio-visual technological innovations to communicate with voters.

Understanding spatial variability of soil properties: a key step in establishing field‐ to farm‐scale agro‐ecosystem experiments

The spatial variability of soil properties is poorly understood, despite its importance in designing appropriate experimental sampling strategies. As preparation for a farm-scale agro-ecosystem services monitoring project, the 'North Wyke Farm Platform', there was a need to assess the spatial variability of key soil chemical and physical properties. The field-scale spatial variability of soil chemical (total N, total C, soil organic matter), soil physical properties (bulk density and particle size distribution) and stable isotope ratios (δ(13) C and δ(15) N values) was studied using geostatistical approaches in an intensively managed grassland. The scales over which stable isotopes vary (ranges: 212-258 m) were larger than those of the total nutrients, soil organic matter and bulk density (ranges: 84-170 m). Two visually and statistically distinct areas of Great Field (north and south) were identified in terms of co-occurring high/low values of several soil properties. The resulting patterns of spatial variability suggest lower spatial variability of stable isotopes than that of total nutrients, soil organic matter and bulk density. Future sampling regimes should be conducted in a grid with <85 m distance between sampling locations to sufficiently capture the spatial variability of the measured soil properties on the 'North Wyke Farm Platform'. Consultation of the management histories of the sampled field revealed that it had previously comprised two fields with contrasting management histories, suggesting an effect of management legacy (>5 years) on the patterns of spatial variability.

Effects of forest management legacies on spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) outbreaks

The “silvicultural hypothesis” of spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) dynamics postulates that increasing severity of spruce budworm outbreaks over the last century resulted from forest conditions created by past management activities. Yet, definitive tests of the hypothesis remain elusive. We examined spruce budworm outbreak dynamics (synchrony, periodicity, and intensity) in the 20th century using historical reconstruction from tree-ring chronologies sampled within 19 sites in a large ecoregion located on the border of Minnesota and Ontario. The study encompassed three areas affected by contrasting management legacies: a fine-grained area (Minnesota, six sites, average cut size = 17 ha), a coarse-grained area (Ontario, six sites, average cut size 10 times that of Minnesota), and a conservation zone (seven sites) with little recent harvest activity overlapping the border. Results suggest important differences in outbreak dynamics between the forest management zones that cannot be explained by differences in climate among sample sites. Budworm outbreaks within the conservation zone were more synchronous, with more trees per site affected and less frequent outbreaks than sites sampled within fine-scale managed areas. Outbreak dynamics within forests managed at coarser scales suggest a mixture of the conservation and fine-scale management zone outbreak patterns. Potential factors affecting differences in the observed outbreak patterns include forest pattern, composition, and age. Our study generally supports the silvicultural hypothesis and emphasizes that management legacy effects on spruce budworm dynamics should be observable at landscape scales, as well as at local scales.

Enterprisewide Spatial Data Integration of Legacy Systems for Asset Management: The Case of the Illinois Department of Transportation

This paper describes the spatial information system infrastructure implemented by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to enable delivery of information to management decision makers in asset management applications. This spatial data warehouse infrastructure makes extensive use of geographic information system (GIS) technologies to integrate information from a variety of database structures and formats. GIS products and tools have been developed to portray and analyze these data in useful combinations focused on practitioner needs. In June 1999 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued Statement 34 requiring governments to have a systematic approach to managing their Digital Object Identifier: 10.1188/06.ONF. assets. As a result, transportation agencies have placed an increased emphasis on developing mechanisms to integrate information from disparate management information systems and legacy databases. IDOT has used GIS to develop a spatial data warehouse to enable integration. A val...

Enterprisewide Spatial Data Integration of Legacy Systems for Asset Management

This paper describes the spatial information system infrastructure implemented by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to enable delivery of information to management decision makers in asset management applications. This spatial data warehouse infrastructure makes extensive use of geographic information system (GIS) technologies to integrate information from a variety of database structures and formats. GIS products and tools have been developed to portray and analyze these data in useful combinations focused on practitioner needs. In June 1999 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued Statement 34 requiring governments to have a systematic approach to managing their assets. As a result, transportation agencies have placed an increased emphasis on developing mechanisms to integrate information from disparate management information systems and legacy databases. IDOT has used GIS to develop a spatial data warehouse to enable integration. A valuable characteristic of the department's information systems infrastructure is the embedding of the underlying link–node structure into roadway inventory databases to enable the direct linkage of data through various system identifiers, including differing milepost referencing and project numbering schemes. This direct linkage enables the complex integration of asset management–related data files across the enterprise and provides access to historical asset information. Changes to route referencing systems are readily accommodated, without loss of integrative capabilities. Outputs include a variety of user-developed analyses and output products with accessibility through networks, intranets, and the Internet.

The Influence of Sub-Watershed Plans on the Ontario Planning Process

Ontario’s water management legacy is committed to utilizing natural systems, rather than addressing only political boundaries. While watershed and sub-watershed planning takes place independently from municipal planning, the successful implementation of many watershed plan recommendations are dependent largely upon their inclusion into municipal Official Plans. In this paper we examine the influence of watershed and sub-watershed plans on official plans and other land management issues in five municipalities. Content analysis revealed that the key elements of greenspaces, surface water protection and groundwater protection are reflected in official plans to varying degrees. Interviews confirmed these results and identified additional influences of watershed and sub-watershed planning such as utilization in environmental impact assessments and environmental management. Although it is premature to gauge the total impact of watershed planning in Ontario, the experience appears to offer beneficial outcomes.

ESTABLISHING WATERSHED MANAGEMENT IN LAW: NEW ZEALAND'S EXPERIENCE1

ABSTRACT: New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to enshrine the concept of watershed management in law, through institutional arrangements and the Resource Management Act of 1991 ‐ a law constructed on a watershed management legacy begun in 1941. This paper outlines the development of New Zealand's Resource Management Act (as it applies to water management) and the lessons that have been learned in its implementation.