Nature Conservation Importance Research Articles

CREATIVE PROJECTS IN THE TRAINING OF LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY TEACHERS

The article examines the didactic possibilities of the technology of processing textile materials when performing creative projects by students - future teachers of labor education and technology. In particular, the introduction defines the priorities of the educational policy in Ukraine, among which an important place belongs to environmentalization, which is aimed at achieving the goals of sustainable development and contributing to the prosperity and protection of life on the planet. The key to the implementation of this priority is the formation of the readiness of the participants in the educational process for ecological conservation activities since it is one of the main subject-transformative practices that are implemented in labor training lessons in basic school and technology lessons in high school. Ecodesign in general and upcycling technology in particular are determined to be relevant in the acquisition of professional competencies. The main part of the article outlines the essence of secondary use of materials, the history of its appearance, its importance for nature conservation, and compliance with the concept of the three R's: "consumption reduction - reuse - recycling". Active use by fashion designers is being updated. Emphasis is placed on the importance of using upcycling in educational projects. The experience of the Department of Technological and Vocational Education of the Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University named after Volodymyr Vinnichenko in the implementation of individual projects on the "upcycling" technology in the educational process in the preparation of future teachers of labor training and technology is presented. It is about the methodology of project activity from the choice of the project topic to the final result, during which students have the opportunity to independently choose the design object according to their capabilities, develop the design and manufacture the product, and prove the necessity of the existence of the finished product in the real world. The results of the study are convincing that the implementation of educational projects by future teachers of work training and technology contributes to the development of creative abilities, creativity, the search for non-standard solutions, and the responsibility of students. Each manufactured item is unique, has an innovative design because an individual approach and design vision of each individual student is used to create it. In addition, the issue of ecological impact on the environment is raised - the recycled item will have a "second life" and will not be thrown into the trash. It is obvious that in the conditions of ecologically transformative activities, the development of the ecological culture of students takes place, and the implementation of such projects contributes to the ecological activity of future specialists. Keywords: project activity, creative project, upcycling, ecological culture, teachers of labor training, and technology

TIN EXPLOITATION: AN ECOCRITICISM APPROACH IN ANDREA HIRATA’S RAINBOW TROOPS

This research was aimed at reflecting how Hirata reveals the tin exploitation in Belitung Island through his debut novel, Laskar Pelangi. It is significant and worthy research as it is an effort to raise awareness and understanding of human beings about the importance of nature and the environment, especially awareness for people who have the power to determine nature protection policies and the importance of nature conservation for the preservation of ecosystems for future generations. This research applied the theory of ecocriticism proposed by Gerrard supported by the theory offered by Gutti, Aji and Magaji. This research uses descriptive qualitative in which the data obtained from the novel are analyzed to reveal the process of tin exploitation in Belitung Island. The research results show that tin exploitation in Belitung Island is carried out both in traditional and modern ways. Traditional tools used to mine tin are phok, aichang, khaknai and kiaw to make water embankments and shovels to dig soil, while modern tools used to mine tin are machines in the forms of heavy equipment, such as dredgers and excavators. Traditional tin mining activities in Belitung which are carried out without a Mining Business Permit or Unlicensed Mining is also revealed in the novel.

The importance of ecological quality of public green and blue spaces for subjective well-being

Background and aim There is now considerable evidence that the natural environment provides health and well-being benefits in urban environments. However, little is understood about the role of ecological quality in maximising well-being gains. Methods We examine the relationship between the accessibility of public natural spaces of high ecological quality and two measures of subjective well-being for adults, using the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), a large, longitudinal panel dataset. We then compare this relationship with that found with all Public Open Spaces, regardless of their ecological quality. We use the designation of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) as an objective indication of high-quality green- or bluespace, and life satisfaction and mental distress as measures of well-being. We use the Areas of Deficiency dataset from Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL) to identify residential areas with more than a 1 km walk from a SINC, based on actual walking routes from known access points. Results Postcode-level analysis using regression modelling reveals that living beyond a 1 km walk of a SINC decreases an individual’s life satisfaction by 0.117 points on a scale of 1 to 7. No relationship is found for mental distress. We also do not find any significant relationship between either well-being measure and all Public Open Spaces. Conclusions These findings suggest that the ecological quality of publicly accessible open spaces is important for the well-being of residents in Greater London and highlights the need for improving the provision of, and access to, high-quality green- and bluespaces in urban areas. Keywords Biodiversity; Greenspace; Bluespace; Well-being; BHPS

The importance of ecological quality of public green and blue spaces for subjective well-being

There is now considerable evidence that the natural environment provides health and well-being benefits in urban environments. However, little is understood about the role of ecological quality in maximising well-being gains. We examine the relationship between the accessibility of public natural spaces of high ecological quality and two measures of subjective well-being for adults, using the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), a large, longitudinal panel dataset. We then compare this relationship with that found with all Public Open Spaces, regardless of their ecological quality. We use the designation of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) as an objective indication of high-quality green- or bluespace, and life satisfaction and mental distress as measures of well-being. We use the Areas of Deficiency dataset from Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL) to identify residential areas with more than a 1 km walk from a SINC, based on actual walking routes from known access points. Postcode-level analysis using regression modelling reveals that living beyond a 1 km walk of a SINC decreases an individual’s life satisfaction by 0.117 points on a scale of 1 to 7. No relationship is found for mental distress. We also do not find any significant relationship between either well-being measure and all Public Open Spaces. These findings suggest that the ecological quality of publicly accessible open spaces is important for the well-being of residents in Greater London and highlights the need for improving the provision of high-quality green- and bluespaces in urban areas.

Strategi Pengembangan Ekowisata terhadap Ekonomi Lokal pada Desa Wisata Fatumnasi

The purpose of the research is the socio-economic conditions of the local community in the tourist village that can support the presence of tourists during their activities in the tourist area and apply a regional development strategy as an area with an ecotourism model to strengthen the existence of the Fanumasi tourist area as well as a source for tourism. The method used is qualitative descriptive by using SWOT analysis. The results obtained from this study are the need for the government to socialize the importance of nature conservation as the main tool of ecotourism and special training to attract youth around tourist attractions in marketing services

Diversity, risk and management feasibility of invasive alien plants in the border zone of Sicike-cike Nature Tourism Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract. Huda MK, Pasaribu N, Syamsuardi, Siregar ES. 2022. Diversity, risk and management feasibility of invasive alien plants in the border zone of Sicike-cike Nature Tourism Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 3156-3165. Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten native ecosystems and biota either directly or indirectly. Once colonizing, invasive plant species tend to dominate a landscape, hindering other native vegetation from growing. Thus, the invasion of alien plant species needs attention moreover in protected areas such as Nature Tourism Park (Taman Wisata Alam/TWA) Sicike-cike, Dairi District, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Besides its importance for nature conservation, TWA Sicike-cike is culturally essential for Pakpak Dairi ethnic community as well as economically for ecotourism. Yet, anecdotal evidence showed the presence of several invasive alien plants around the park. This study aimed to investigate the diversity and composition of invasive alien plants within the vegetation community in TWA Sicike-cike and to assess the risk value and management feasibility of the IAS. Purposive sampling using line transect method was conducted to collect data with a total of 120 observation plots established along 6 transects. Risk value was assessed based on invasiveness, impact and potential distribution. Management feasibility was assessed based on cost, current distribution and persistence. The results showed that Asteraceae was the most dominant family of invasive plants in the studied area with four species. At the species level, Imperata cylindrica was invasive alien plant species with the highest important value index (IVI) of 57.65% and a high-risk value of 235.8, followed by other species including Ageratum conyzoides, Chromolaena odorata, Clidemia hirta and Melastoma malabathricum. In terms of management feasibility, the existence of I. cylindrica is recommended for direct eradication, while other IAS management recommendations, included monitoring and area protection for further invasion by the species.

Content, forms and methods of building the environmental competence of education recipients on the basis of axiology

The article contains the results of scientific research on the process of building ecological competence of schoolchildren on the basis of axiology. The analysis of the integrated educational process in general secondary and out-of-school education institutions through their transversal ecologization has been carried out. A number of social reasons that determine the urgency of these issues has been characterized. The definition of the term "environmental competence of students" has been defined as awareness of the ecological foundations of nature management, the need to protect nature, compliance with the rules of behavior in nature, economical use of natural resources, understanding of the context and relationship of economic activity and the importance of nature conservation to ensure the sustainable development of the society. The analysis of the legislative field on determining the axiological basis for building environmental competence of schoolchildren, particularly through the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Education" and the State Standard of Basic Secondary Education has been carried out. The formation of the concept of "value" in certain periods of development of educational process subjects has been studied. The axiological principles of building ecological competence of schoolchildren have been determined, the significance of upbringing as an integral part of the educational process has been revealed. The methodology of determining the content (environmental knowledge, skills, personal willpower), establishing forms (forms of general secondary education, forms of extracurricular education) and methods (organization and implementation of educational and cognitive activities, active learning, control and self-control, stimulating learning activities), building ecological competence of schoolchildren has been created. It has been proved, that the social effect of qualitative building of environmental competence of schoolchildren will be manifested in improving their nearest environment; upbringing conscious, ecologically competent citizens able to think critically and make competent decisions about the environment; actualizing socially significant functions of education; increasing social cohesion around environmental issues; promoting social formation of schoolchildren

Teaching ecosystem services: a pathway to improve students’ argumentation in favour of nature conservation and sustainable development?

ABSTRACT Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits people obtain from nature contributing to our well-being. Although this concept has high didactic potential, its presence in education literature is scarce. This article presents the ES framework as a new teaching principle that, taught together with the biodiversity concept, may help students develop competencies to make valid claims about the world and to think critically about humans’ role on Earth. To do so, we present an educational experience based on active teaching and learning strategies implemented with pre-service teachers (PSTs), which is adaptable and transferable to many educational contexts. Teaching ES through active teaching methodologies has proven to be useful and necessary to help PSTs understand and be able to defend the importance of nature conservation. As a result of teaching the ES concept, students improved their argumentation in favour of nature conservation and developed communication competencies to better transfer this knowledge to society. We conclude that teaching ES can make a large contribution to education for sustainable development, as teaching the ES concept contributes to acquiring knowledge, skills (e.g. argumentation capacity) and values that are necessary to shape a sustainable future. .

Методологічні засади формування екологічної компетентності школярів

The article substantiates the modern aspects of the formation of environmental competence of schoolchildren, represents its updated content and methods. The authors describe the definitions of «environmental competence of schoolchildren at the level of basic secondary education», «environmental values», «co-evolutionary values», «environmental culture of the individual».The purpose of the study is to substantiate the methodological foundations of the formation of environmental competence of schoolchildren, creating its updated content and methods of its formation. The authors used general and special research methods: (analysis, synthesis, systematization, classification, comparison, and generalization) to establish the degree of problem development, clarify the conceptual and categorical apparatus of research, develop a model of environmental competence of schoolchildren. The article emphasizes the importance of forming schoolchildren’ environmental competence as a key competence. It involves understanding the ecological foundations of nature, the need to protect nature, compliance with the rules of nature, conservation of natural resources, understanding the context and relationship of economic activity, and the importance of nature conservation for sustainable development.The model of the system with the realization of innovative forms and methods of the formation of ecological competence through value orientations of the person is developed and introduced. The model consists of three main blocks: target, semantic-axiological, operational-reflexive.The authors highlight the pedagogical conditions for educating the formation of schoolchildren’s environmental competence of, namely: ensuring the integrity of the end-to-end educational process, which forms values and competencies; integration of opportunities for general secondary and out-of-school education in the formation of environmental competence of schoolchildren. The model provides the effective formation of environmental competence of schoolchildren at the following stages: diagnostic-motivational (determination of the state of formation of schoolchildren’ environmental competence); cognitive-gnostic (system-consistent formation of environmental competence of schoolchildren using interactive technologies – problem-based, educational design, simulation-game, case-method); activity-technological (formation of schoolchildren’s abilities to analyze, evaluate, correct and forecast the results of environmentally sound activities).

Xeric grasslands of the inner-alpine dry valleys of Austria – new insights into syntaxonomy, diversity and ecology

Aims: We studied the syntaxonomic position, biodiversity, ecological features, nature conservation value and current status of dry grasslands investigated by Josias Braun-Blanquet more than 60 years ago. Study area: Inner-alpine valleys of Austria. Methods: We sampled 67 plots of 10 m2, following the standardized EDGG methodology. We subjected our plots to an unsupervised classification with the modified TWINSPAN algorithm and interpreted the branches of the dendrogram syntaxonomically. Biodiversity, structural and ecological characteristics of the resulting vegetation units at association and order level were compared by ANOVAs. Results: All the examined grasslands belong to the class Festuco-Brometea. From ten distinguished clusters, we could assign four clusters to validly published associations, while the remaining six clusters were named tentatively. We classified them into three orders: Stipo-Festucetalia pallentis (Armerio elongatae-Potentilletum arenariae, Phleo phleoidis-Pulsatilletum nigricantis, Medicago minima-Melica ciliata community, Koelerio pyramidatae-Teucrietum montani), Festucetalia valesiacae (Sempervivum tectorum-Festuca valesiaca community); Brachypodietalia pinnati (Astragalo onobrychidis-Brometum erecti, Agrostis capillaris-Avenula adsurgens community, Anthericum ramosum-Brachypodium pinnatum community, Ranunculus bulbosus-Festuca rubra community, Carduus defloratus-Brachypodium pinnatum community). Conclusions: The ten distinguished dry grassland communities of the Austrian inner-alpine valleys differ in their ecological affinities as well as their vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen diversity. We point out their high nature conservation importance, as each of them presents a unique habitat of high value. Taxonomic reference: Names of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens follow Fischer et al. (2008), Frahm and Frey (2004) and Nimis et al. (2018), respectively. Syntaxonomic reference: Names of orders and classes follow Mucina et al. (2016), references for associations and alliances are given in the text. Abbreviations: ANOVA = analysis of variance; DCA: detrended correspondence analyses; EDGG: Eurasian Dry Grassland Group; EIV: ecological indicator value; FL: Fließ; GR: Griffen; GU: Gulsen; KA: Kaunerberg; LA: Laudegg castle in Ladis; MA: Marin; NM: Neumarkt in der Steiermark; OM: Obermauern; PÖ: Pöls; PU: Puxer Loch; TWINSPAN = Two-way indicator species analysis; ZS: Zinizachspitze.

Leaders Inspiring the Next Generation of Citizen Scientists – An Analysis of the Predictors of Leadership in Birding

Citizen Science (CS) is a megatrend of the 21st century given its importance for nature conservation. CS projects dealing with birds often require knowledge and abilities to identify species. This knowledge is not easy to acquire and people often learn from leaders during field trips and lectures about birds. This emphasizes the need for leaders in ornithology. Although data of CS projects are increasing, less is known about people providing guidance and taking over leadership roles. In this study, leadership roles (leading field trips, giving lectures/presentations) are analyzed by studying demographic variables, birding specialization, and the social dimension of the involvement concept of serious leisure. Participants were recruited via many channels to cover a broad range of birdwatchers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland who participated in the online survey. A total of 1,518 participants were men, 1,390 were women (mean age 47.7). Mean years of birding were on average 24.5. 845 persons lead at least one field trip, and 671 gave on lecture (in combination 991). Mean number of field trips led during the last 5 years was 13.43, mean number of presentations was 8.21. Persons that gave presentations also led field trips (Phi = 0.593, p < 0.001). However, there are still people that preferred leading field trips over lecturing and vice versa. Men more than women took over leadership roles. A binary logistic regression showed an influence of age, gender, and university degree. Social relatedness was related to being a leader, also birding skill/competence as well as self-report behavior of birding were significant predictors for leadership roles. Years of birdwatching and both commitment scales were not significant. The data indicate that more diversity in leadership roles might be beneficial with more women and younger persons.

Nature Protect in is an Important Factor For Protecting the Future

This article focuses on the importance of nature conservation and appreciation of natural resources for humanity, the development of knowledge about nature conservation to future generations

The representation potential of raptors for globally important nature conservation areas

Stemming from a pervasive lack of knowledge on biodiversity, important areas for conservation are typically identified using a subset of well known species, commonly termed surrogate or indicator groups. Birds have been commonly used as biodiversity surrogates due to the good level of knowledge on their taxonomy, ecology and distribution. Raptors in particular have been often proposed as an effective surrogate for other biodiversity based on their dietary diversity, being at the top of the food chain, their preference for highly productive areas, their generally threatened status and high public appeal. However, so far the surrogacy effectiveness of raptors has been largely studied locally or using a narrow selection of surrogate and surrogated taxa.Here we use a spatial conservation planning tool to quantify the surrogacy performance of raptors, overall and by different raptor groups (hawks and eagles, falcons, vultures, owls) to represent important biodiversity areas (such as IUCN protected areas and key biodiversity areas), wilderness areas and the worlds ecoregions. We compared the above surrogacy performance with that of all other non-raptor avian species.We show that raptors perform marginally worse than all other avian species in representing important biodiversity areas and ecoregions. However, raptors representation for wilderness areas was similar or slightly better compared to that of using all non-raptor birds. We also report a large variation in the representation performance by the four raptor groups. Falcons had a particularly high potential in representing protected areas and wilderness areas, equaling or largely surpassing the representation potential provided by all raptors and all other non-raptor birds.Overall, the results suggest that raptors, and particularly falcons, can perform relatively well in representing some important areas for conservation, such as protected areas and wilderness areas, but are relatively poor surrogates for key biodiversity areas and ecoregions. These rather contrasting results call for caution on the use of raptors as global surrogates of wider biodiversity.

Modelling the hydrological interactions between a fissured granite aquifer and a valley mire in the Massif Central, France

Abstract. We developed a high-resolution MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 model of a 231.3 ha headwater catchment in the granitic uplands of the French Massif Central to estimate the contribution of groundwater upwelling to the water balance of the Dauges mire, an acidic valley mire of international importance for nature conservation. We estimated that groundwater upwelling from the underlying weathered granite formations – mostly an approximately 55 m deep fissured zone – provides 27.1 % of total long-term inflows to the mire. This contribution increases to 37.2 % in September when total inflows are small. Overland boundary inflow accounts for an average of 40.2 % of total inflows. However, most of this originates from groundwater seepage through mineral soils along the mire margins or in small non-channelised valleys upslope of the mire. A sensitivity analysis showed that model performance in terms of the simulation of mire groundwater levels was most sensitive to parameters describing the mineral soils and weathered granite formations rather than the overlying peat layer. Variation partitioning demonstrated that groundwater upwelling was the most important factor driving simulated monthly groundwater table depth within the mire. Sustained groundwater upwelling maintains the mire water table close to or at ground level for most of the year. As a result, precipitation and overland boundary inflows quickly leave the wetland as saturation-excess runoff. There was close agreement between the observed distribution of mire habitats and areas where the simulated long-term groundwater seepage rate was larger than zero in September. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to the assumed small contribution of groundwater to the hydrology of hard-rock regions, groundwater upwelling from underlying weathered formations can be a quantitatively important and functionally critical element of the water balance of valley mires in granitic headwater catchments. These results have important legal and management implications.

Lower COVID-19 mortality in Italian forested areas suggests immunoprotection by Mediterranean plants.

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced dramatic effects on the population of the industrialized north of Italy, whereas it has not heavily affected inhabitants of the southern regions. This might be explained in part by human exposure to high levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in the air of northern Italy, thus exacerbating the mortality. Since trees mitigate air pollution by intercepting PM onto plant surfaces and bolster the human immune system by emitting bioactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs), we hypothesize a protective role of evergreen forested areas in southern Italy. We compared the mortality rate due to COVID-19, the death number, the positivity rate and the forest coverage per capita in various Italian regions. Hectares of forest per capita and prevalence of deciduous versus evergreen forestal species were also estimated. In silico docking studies of potentially protective compounds found in Laurus nobilis L., a typical Mediterranean plant, were performed to search for potential antivirals. We found that the pandemic’s severity was generally lower in southern regions, especially those with more than 0.3 hectares of forest per capita. The lowest mortality rates were found in southern Italy, mainly in regions like Molise (0.007%) and Basilicata (0.005%) where the forest per capita ratio is higher than 0.5 Ha/person. Our findings suggest that evergreen Mediterranean forests and shrubland plants could have protected the southern population by emission of immuno-modulating VOCs and provision of dietary sources of bioactive compounds. Moreover, in silico studies revealed a potential anti-COVID-19 activity in laurusides, which are unexplored glycosides from bay laurel. Overall, our results highlight the importance of nature conservation and applications to the search for natural antivirals.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10311-020-01063-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ANALISIS PERUBAHAN TUTUPAN LAHAN PADA ZONASI PENGELOLAAN TAMAN NASIONAL BUKIT TIGA PULUH MENGGUNAKAN CITRA LANDSAT

Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park is one of the important Nature Conservation Areasin central Sumatra because it has a variety of protected flora and fauna. The aim of this research was to observe the rate of change of land cover in the period 2002-2016 in Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park. The research used remote sensing methods by utilizing satellite imagery data to generate land cover data. This study used the classification of supervised images, where the image classes are self-defined based on field data in the form of coordinate points marked with GPS. The study found that land cover has changed from 2002-2016, where thearea of primary forest has decreased 5.422,80 hectares or with average rate 387,34 hectares/year, secondary forest had an increase of 103,00 hectares or with average rate of 7.35 hectares / year, open land increased 2,243.13 hectares or at an average rate of 160.22 hectares / year, dryland agriculture increased 1,929.69 hectares with an average rate of 137, 83 hectares / year, dryland farming mixed with shrubs increased 641.32 hectares or with an average rate of 45.80 hectares / year, and shrubs increased 505.66 hectares or with an average rate of 36.11 hectares / year. The results of the classification in the management zone, the core zone is dominated by primary and secondary forests while in the jungle zone there is a closure other than forests such as agriculture, shrubs and open land as much as 0.05%.

Integration of SWOT Analysis with Remote Sensing Method as a Sustainable Planning and Management tool for Protected Areas

Protected areas are one the most important nature conservation landscapes and during the last few decades, the importance of natural areas have been considered as a priority for lifestyle preferences of people around the world. Karatepe Aslantaş National Park is one of the examples for these protected areas in Turkey, however; there have been limited studies focusing on the preservation and development of a socioeconomic plan for the aforementioned national park. Therefore, this study aims to develop planning and management priorities of Karatepe Aslantaş National Park and determine tourism potential towards future-oriented conservation. In this regard, a SWOT analysis was performed to develop sustainable planning and design proposals. To determine the historical transformation of a protected area and its surroundings, Land use/land cover-change (LUCC) detection was performed using Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat TIRS/OLI satellites images of the study area for the years 1990 and 2018. The results showed that in 1990, the mixed forest class dominated the study area (2376.6 ha), likewise, it was the most effective land cover class in 2018 (2178.14 ha). Agricultural land with natural vegetation class occupied the second largest area for both 1990 and 2018 with 1264.72 ha and 880.13 ha, respectively. A marked decrease was found for the transitional woodland/shrubs cover (565.8 ha in 1990 to 330.35 ha in 2018). Among the all land use classes, the highest percentage of change was found for broad-leaved forest cover at 200% between 1990 and 2018, while the lowest percentage of change occurred to water bodies with 8.82% in the same time frame. Regarding the findings, management proposals have been developed to conserve the protected area considering its tourism potential and archeological heritage values. Therefore, it is recommended that the lack of planning and management strategies needs to be fulfilled as a legal commitment by government agencies.

Can process-based modelling and economic valuation of ecosystem services inform land management policy at a catchment scale?

Land produces a range of benefits, from ecosystem services, but markets only incentivise the production of a small proportion of them. The Ecosystem Approach develops plans for moving towards a more optimal mix. This requires stakeholders to understand the value of ecosystem services and how these values change with land-use and management. We investigate whether process-based modelling and economic valuation can help stakeholders to do this. We do this by applying these tools to a plan to improve ecosystem services delivery in a catchment. To be used in decision-support, analytical approaches need to be relatively inexpensive and rapid, and our analysis was deliberately constrained in this way. Two 25-year future scenarios were developed and compared against a baseline scenario. The first Designated Site scenario was based on enhancing the condition of nationally important nature conservation sites. The second, Ecosystem Services scenario, represented implementing the ecosystem services delivery plan. We modelled the change between the scenarios with an internationally recognised process based ecosystem services toolkit (the Land Use Capability Indicator, LUCI tool) and used the model outputs to inform economic valuation methods. Our selection of which ecosystem services to model and value were initially identified through a participatory approach. However those we could quantify was limited by evidence and data availability. We assessed changes in water quality (phosphorus load), sediment generation, carbon storage and flood regulation. We were able to put economic values on only carbon sequestration and flood regulation. Both the modelling results and the experience of applying the linked modelling-valuation approach are examined in the discussion to consider the limitations to the current usefulness of linking process based modelling to economic valuation for informing land management policy. We explore the origin and nature of these limitations and the key bottlenecks that need to be overcome, applicable to its use in other sites, regions and countries. This includes the availability of suitable coefficients and/or underlying data/evidence to parameterise the model, and the compatibility of model outputs with available economic valuation evidence (for value transfer).

Adatok a kétegyházi két török-halom tájtörténetéhez

Only a few ancient architectural monuments remain standing in the central region of the Hungarian Great Plain. However, the kurgans’ unique 5000-year-old treasures still exist in this area, with many landscape archaeological, archaeological topography, and landscape ecological survey prospects. Mounds can be found on the banks of no-longer exisiting rivers and at some points of higher altitude areas. The oral tradition of the Great Hungarian Plain marked the man-made, artificial, conical rises in the landscape that are associated with ancient, archaeological periods as mounds. According to their origin, kurgans can be classified as burial sites and sacred points of nomad people in prehistory. The two „Török-halom” kurgans are the biggest burial mounds of the kurgan field near Kétegyháza (Békés County, Hungary) in the Körös-Maros National Park (Kígyósi-puszta). Built by people of the Yamnaya Entity in the Late Copper Age (3000–2700 BC), the northern kurgan and its surface is intact without drastic disturbance, and in the vicinity there are natural sites, especially saline grasslands. Our research team worked on landscape archaeological, landscape historical, and GIS informatical investigations. We made a 3D field model of the kurgan, and created the landscape history and local changes of the last 300 years based on boundary charters, handmade and printed maps, archive, air and orto photos. Due to the botanical survey we made a complete list of the vascular plant species found on the surface of the original northern kurgan. The flora of the earth monument is species-rich. Most species have a generalist loess grassland or ruderal character, though there also occur some valuable species of botanical and nature conservation importance (e.g. Ranunculus illyricus, Rosa rubiginosa, Ononis spinosiformis subsp. semihircina, Stachys germanica, Carthamus lanatus). The southern Török-halom kurgan was mined by the local agricultural cooperative in 1967. Before the full mining of the site an archaeological excavation was carried out on the kurgan, during which the central burial site and three other burials were documented. After the mining only a little part of the bottom remained on the north-west side, which conserved original loess vegetation. In a large-scale project the southern kurgan was rebuilt by the Körös-Maros National Park Directorate in 2011, and its surface has reconstructed loess vegetation. Since no settlements of the nomadic Late Copper Age/Early Bronze Age Yamnaya communities have been discovered yet in the Carpathian Basin, the only way to collect more information on these people is through the analysis of their special graves, the burial mounds.

The principal threats to the peatlands habitats, in the continental bioregion of Central Europe – A case study of peatland conservation in Poland

This paper discusses resources of peatland habitat of high nature conservation importance as defined by the European Community, specifically in Poland, as a case study. The study covers eight habitat types distinguished in Natura 2000: raised bogs, mires, fen habitats (sphagnum acid bogs: 7110, 7120, 7140, 7150, calcareous fens: 7210, 7220, 7230 and bog woodlands: 91D0), occurring in 806 Special Areas of Conservation in Poland. The overall state of the habitat types, their threats, pressures, and activities, as well as their potential for restoration, was based on detailed analyses of data from Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) reports for the Natura 2000 network (N2000): Standard Data Forms, management plans, own verification in the terrain, and monitoring from the period 2006‒2018. Of the 2377 km2 total area of peatland habitat covered by N2000 in Poland, only 13.8 % represents favorable status (FV), while as much as 80.2 % was classified as of unfavorable inadequate (U1) or unfavorable bad status (U2). The most significant threats to bog habitats in the continental bioregion result from human-induced changes in hydraulic conditions that have modified whole natural systems. Based on multivariate analysis (PCA), we found that significant differences in the conservation status of the bog habitats resulted from a variety of threats, pressures, and activities, among which the most significant are pollution from agriculture (7220, 7230), decreased and unstable water resources (7110, 7120, 7140, 7150, 7210, 7220, 7230, 91D0), drying up (7120, 7150), peat extraction (7120), changes in plant species composition (7120, 7140, 7230), succession of invasive species (7150), problematic native species (91D0), and more intense visitor pressure (7140). The most impacted habitats are 7230 petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion). The examined habitats have potential for restoration. Our findings prove that successful conservation programs for peatland habitats of the continental bioregion should be undertaken to protect and preserve their direct and indirect surroundings. A list of recommendations for treatments to be included in habitat conservation programs is presented.