Tool For Management Of Natural Resources Research Articles

Forest Community Spatial Modeling Using Machine Learning and Remote Sensing Data

This study examines the application of unsupervised classification techniques in the mapping of forest vegetation, aiming to align vegetation cover with the Braun-Blanquet classification system through remote sensing. By leveraging Landsat 8 and 9 satellite imagery and advanced clustering algorithms, specifically the Weka X-Means, this research addresses the challenge of minimizing researcher subjectivity in vegetation mapping. The methodology incorporates a two-step clustering approach to accurately classify forest communities, utilizing a comprehensive set of vegetation indices to distinguish between different types of forest ecosystems. The validation of the classification model relied on a detailed analysis of over 17,000 relevés from the “Flora” database, ensuring a high degree of accuracy in matching satellite-derived vegetation classes with field observations. The study’s findings reveal the successful identification of 44 forest community types that was aggregated into seven classes of Braun-Blanquet classification system, demonstrating the efficacy of unsupervised classification in generating reliable vegetation maps. This work not only contributes to the advancement of remote sensing applications in ecological research, but also provides a valuable tool for natural resource management and conservation planning. The integration of unsupervised classification with the Braun-Blanquet system presents a novel approach to vegetation mapping, offering insights into ecological characteristics, and can be good starter point for sequestration potential of forest communities’ assessment in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Geomorphological regional mapping for environmental planning in developing countries

Developing countries usually lack environmental baseline information for territorial decision-making. Geomorphological maps constitute valuable tools for natural resource management due to the landforms permanence and dynamics creating interactions between biotic, abiotic, and anthropic unique characteristics worldwide. In this paper, we present an updated method to perform geomorphological regional units applied for developing countries. This region is highly populated and face particular and more challenging development issues. We used the Southern Pacific, or the Brunca region of Costa Rica, as a study site to apply the geomorphological regional unit approach. Our results show that this territory presents mountainous, volcanic, fluvial, and coastal landforms with a vast variety of soils, life zones, protected areas, and land uses in a culturally rich region. Moreover, we discuss and make proposals for land use planning implications, disaster risk conditions, and the ecological and tourism prospects of the region. This approach can be widely used in developing countries throughout the world for their territorial environmental assessment.

Toward a national eDNA strategy for the United States

AbstractEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) data make it possible to measure and monitor biodiversity at unprecedented resolution and scale. As use‐cases multiply and scientific consensus grows regarding the value of eDNA analysis, public agencies have an opportunity to decide how and where eDNA data fit into their mandates. Within the United States, many federal and state agencies are individually using eDNA data in various applications and developing relevant scientific expertise. A national strategy for eDNA implementation would capitalize on recent scientific developments, providing a common set of next‐generation tools for natural resource management and public health protection. Such a strategy would avoid patchwork and possibly inconsistent guidelines in different agencies, smoothing the way for efficient uptake of eDNA data in management. Because eDNA analysis is already in widespread use in both ocean and freshwater settings, we focus here on applications in these environments. However, we foresee the broad adoption of eDNA analysis to meet many resource management issues across the nation because the same tools have immediate terrestrial and aerial applications.

Shifting linguistic patterns in oyster restoration news articles surrounding the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Populations of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica are declining globally. With the loss of oysters, sustainable provision of natural resources and ecosystem services are also threatened. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill became the largest marine oil spill in history, imperiling coastal and marine habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Whereas ecological restoration serves as an important tool in natural resource management, its success depends on achieving ecological objectives and meeting public expectations. However, little is known about how the public perceives ecological restoration—even less in the context of disasters. It has long been understood that mass media messaging helps shape public understanding. Documenting patterned representation of oyster restoration in mass media texts can help set goals, improve stakeholder communication, and ensure required support for restoration activities. To address this goal, this study asks, does newspaper language on the topic of oyster reef restoration change in relation to an environmental disaster? If so, how? A 1.1 million-word Deepwater Horizon Oyster Restoration (DHORN) Corpus—a comprehensive body of newspaper articles about oyster restoration from 3 national and 18 gulf-state newspapers—was developed for the period April 2008–April 2014. The distribution and deployment of collocates of oyster* across three DHORN subcorpora delimited by time (pre-, during, and post-Deepwater Horizon oil spill) were compared through iterative quantitative and qualitative analysis. Examination of salient collocates in use over time indicated an increase in the representation of oysters as quantifiable entities during/post-DWH; at the same time, there was a decrease in the representation of the roles of oyster* in the Gulf ecosystem. Furthermore, multiple propositions associating oysters and oyster restoration activity with DWH and oil spills were introduced into language use by the disaster and persisted for years afterwards. This association was not present pre-DWH. Understanding shifts in linguistic patterns of oyster restoration in news articles before, during, and after Deepwater Horizon can be used to deliberately refine communication between the conservation community and both journalists and policymakers to promote conservation initiatives.

Pathways from the payment for ecosystem services program to ecological and socio-economic outcomes

As a new natural resource management tool based on financial incentives, payment for ecosystem services (PES) plays a vital role in balancing socio-economic development and ecological protection. China’s Sloping land conversion program (SLCP) is one of the most expensive PES programs in the world, and its implementation effectiveness has received much attention. However, the complex mechanism by which project implementation affects socio-economic development and ecosystem services remains elusive. To reveal the interaction pathways between PES programs, socio-economic development, and the natural environment, Loess Plateau, a key region for SLCP implementation in China, was selected as the subject of this study. Furthermore, the RUSLE model was adopted to evaluate the changes in soil conservation services between 2000 and 2015. Based on the Structural equation model (SEM), the links between SLCP, agricultural development, population transfer, urbanization, natural environment, and ecosystem services were investigated. The results showed that the soil conservation services in Loess Plateau were significantly improved after SLCP implementation, with a total increase of 13.88 × 108 t from 2000 to 2015. The long-term socio-economic impact of SLCP was not significant, except for the first stage of SLCP implementation where agricultural development was inhibited. The implementation of SLCP directly improved soil conservation services and improved soil conservation services through through its indirect effect on agricultural development. We also found that the different stages of SLCP implementation had different effects on the improvement of soil conservation services. The efficiency of the second stage was higher than that of the first stage. Socio-economic factors and natural environmental conditions had negative effects on soil conservation services. In addition, the socio-economic effects of SLCP implementation varied at different stages. Based on the study results, we suggest that the subsequent SLCP implementation should focus on maintaining the results, and the impact of different socio-economic factors should be considered. This study provides a framework for a better understanding of the complex mechanisms through which SLCP affects socio-economic, ecosystem services, and natural conditions.

Measurement of suction pressure dynamics of sea lampreys, Petromyzon marinus.

Species-specific monitoring activities represent fundamental tools for natural resource management and conservation but require techniques that target species-specific traits or markers. Sea lamprey, a destructive invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and conservation target in North America and Europe, is among very few fishes that possess and use oral suction, yet suction has not been exploited for sea lamprey control or conservation. Knowledge of specific characteristics of sea lamprey suction (e.g., amplitude, duration, and pattern of suction events; hereafter ‘suction dynamics’) may be useful to develop devices that detect, record, and respond to the presence of sea lamprey at a given place and time. Previous observations were limited to adult sea lampreys in static water. In this study, pressure sensing panels were constructed and used to measure oral suction pressures and describe suction dynamics of juvenile and adult sea lampreys at multiple locations within the mouth and in static and flowing water. Suction dynamics were largely consistent with previous descriptions, but more variation was observed. For adult sea lampreys, suction pressures ranged from –0.6 kPa to –26 kPa with 20 s to 200 s between pumps at rest, and increased to –8 kPa to –70 kPa when lampreys were manually disengaged. An array of sensors indicated that suction pressure distribution was largely uniform across the mouths of both juvenile and adult lampreys; but some apparent variation was attributed to obstruction of sensing portal holes by teeth. Suction pressure did not differ between static and flowing water when water velocity was lower than 0.45 m/s. Such information may inform design of new systems to monitor behavior, distribution and abundance of lampreys.

Ecological State Assessment Tool (ESAT): a cross-cultural natural resource management tool from Aotearoa, New Zealand

A cross-cultural approach to conservation and natural resource management will enable resource managers to access the full potential of dual knowledge epistemologies and facilitate genuine co-management. To achieve this epistemological convergence in Aotearoa, New Zealand, a framework and an ecological assessment tool are required that can employ indicators from both neoclassical ecological science and indigenous science, in particular mātauranga Māori. The Ecological State Assessment Tool (ESAT) was developed to assess quantitative scientific data using Māori ecological indicators. ESAT models population or social data weighted according to an applied Māori ecological perspective. ESAT may be applied to any conservation project to integrate Māori ecological knowledge in resource management. We illustrate the utility of ESAT in a case study of how different conservation management practices affect the ecological health of a short-tailed bat colony (Mystacina tuberculata), Pekapeka O Puketītī-Piopio. Applying ESAT shows that although pest control programs were achieving management targets, social engagement had a significant effect on ecological health outcomes for the bats. ESAT may assist territorial authorities and the Crown to meet their resource management obligations to Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi, value mātauranga and provide a way for Māori and ecologists to conceptualise and understand each other’s epistemology. Furthermore, ESAT can be adapted to include any cultural or ecological indicators, enabling its application internationally.

Ore Mineralogy, Trace Element Geochemistry and Geochronological Constraints at the Mollehuaca and San Juan de Chorunga Au-Ag Vein Deposits in the Nazca-Ocoña Metallogenic Belt, Arequipa, Peru

The Mollehuaca and San Juan de Chorunga deposits are hosted in the poorly explored gold and copper trends of the Nazca-Ocoña metallogenic belt in Arequipa, Perú, which extends from Trujillo (9 °S) to Nazca-Ocoña (14 °S). The aim of this study is to characterize the age, occurrence, and distribution of quartz vein-hosted Au-Ag mineralization and associated trace elements (e.g., Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Bi) in these deposits. Here, we present geological mapping, geochemical whole rock inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS data of the veins, petrographic observations, backscattered electron images, quantitative SEM-based automated mineralogy, and electron microprobe analyses (EMPA). Despite the fact that there are numerous small-scale gold mines in the Nazca-Ocoña metallogenic belt, there have been few studies that document the origin and geological evolution of these deposits or the implications for decision-making in exploration, metallurgical processing, and environmental management. In this research, we document the host rock age of the mineralized veins (129.2 ± 1.0 Ma; U-Pb in zircon), the mineralization age (95.86 ± 0.05 Ma; 40Ar/39Ar in secondary biotite), the occurrence and distribution of Au-Ag in the veins, the mineral zonation present in the vein system, and the zircon geochemistry, in order to provide tools for natural resource management in the metallogenic belt.

Co-management of protected areas: a property rights point of view

Co-management is an increasinglyused tool in natural resource management around the world, in situations where the protection of natural resources has to ensure the livelihoods of local people who have traditionally relied upon these resources. It is a mechanism of sharing power in decision-making and sharing the benefits of natural resources between stakeholders (usually governments and local communities). In Vietnam, several governmental pilot projects on comanagement of PAs were launched over the past decade, with the purpose of eventually scaling up as a national policy. Nationwide, co-management initiatives have been implemented for protected areas (PAs). Therefore, a full assessment of the PAs co-management paradigm is needed. This paper aims to increase the understaing of the ''state-of-the-art" of the management that exist within PAs and to direct attention to the issues associated with property rights in conservation. It assesses the comanagement of PAs in terms of concepts, practices and implications that relate to indigenous peoples and community land and resource rights. The paper begins with a theoretical discussion about comanagement of PAs and property rights. Next, it analyzes a wide range of biodiversity-rich countries that have different time schedules for applying comanagement in PAs. The analysis also focusses on various types of PAs such as forests, game reserves, pastureland reserves, marine PAs, etc. It then encompasses experienced cases of community based forest management in Vietnam that may be applicable to co-managed PAs. This paper reveals that co-management could be an effective tool for PAs management as long as the property rights of local communities and their members are defined clearly and satisfactorily. Among them, land ownership/land-use rights have the most influence on the nature of the co-management agreements. The co-management of PAs officially acknowledges the rights of locals who live in and around forests, to enter, use and manage PAs. These management rights of communities are collective rights rather than individual rights, while ultimately management rights belong to governments. Governments retain the rights to control forest resources; to make decisions about forest products with high value; and to approve policies related to the PA management plan, exploitation license, development of forest management guidelines. In conclusion, governments usually do not empower local communities regarding their exclusion and alienation rights.

Conservation needs exposed by variability in common-pool governance principles.

Common-pool governance principles are becoming increasingly important tools for natural resource management with communities and comanagement arrangements. Effectiveness of these principles depends on variability in agreements, trust, and adherence to institutional norms. We evaluated heterogeneity in governance principles by asking 449 people in 30 fishing communities in 4 East African countries to rate their effectiveness. The influences of individuals, their membership and role in stakeholder community groups, leadership, community, and country were tested. The membership and role of people were not the main influence on their perceptions of the effectiveness of governance principles. Therefore, drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of specific principles would be difficult to make independent of the individuals asked. More critical were individuals' nationalities and their associations with the shared perceptions of a response-group's effectiveness of each principle. Perceptions of effectiveness differed strongly by country, and respondents from poor nations (Madagascar and Mozambique) were more cohesiveness but had fewer and weaker between-community conflict-resolution mechanisms. Overall, group identity, group autonomy, decision-making process, and conflict resolution principles were perceived to be most effective and likely to be enforced by repeated low-cost intragroup activities. Graduated sanctions, cost-benefit sharing, and monitoring resource users, fisheries, and ecology were the least scaled principles and less affordable via local control. We suggest these 2 groups of principles form independently and, as economies develop and natural resources become limiting, sustainability increasingly depends on the later principles. Therefore, management effectiveness in resource-limited situations depends on distributing power, skills, and costs beyond fishing communities to insure conservation needs are met.

Adaptive Management: a key tool for natural resource management

Adaptive Management: a key tool for natural resource management

INFLUENCE OF LAND USE CHANGE ON SEDIMENT YIELD: A CASE STUDY OF THE SUB-MIDDLE OF THE SÃO Francisco River Basin

ABTSRACT Erosion risk mapping and assessment are important for planning of natural resource management tool. The objective of this study was to simulate different scenarios of land use in the Sub-Middle of the São Francisco River Basin using the Soil and Water Assessment (SWAT) model to analyze the effects of changes in sediment yield, making comparisons with the present land use classification. The scenario analysis was (i) vegetation type characteristic of the semiarid region, (ii) growing corn and (iii) bare soil. For calibration procedure, the first three years of time series from 1993 to 1994 were validated using data from 1995 to 2004. The SWAT model employs the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) to compute soil erosion data. The results of simulations for different land uses allowed the identification of areas with a high potential for erosion by water. The major impact produced by sediment inflow was in the bare soil scenario, corresponding to an increase of 93.7% over the current land use. The landscape management in river basins using SWAT model can help identify areas particularly susceptible to erosion process.

Integrating natural capital into system of national accounts for policy analysis: An application of a computable general equilibrium model

Natural capital is an asset that provides natural resource inputs and environmental services for economic production. Regional patterns of production and consumption have direct and indirect effects on sustainability of its natural capital. Traditional gross domestic product (GDP) estimates fail to explicitly and fully account for natural capital in system of national accounts (SNA). To address this gap, this study builds on United Nation's System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) and provides a methodological framework to integrate natural capital into system of national accounts, in input-output table. It further illustrates how natural capital-integrated system of national accounts in input-output table can be used as an effective tool for natural resource management and policy analysis in computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling framework. Results indicate that, without natural capital accounting and integration into system of national accounts, GDP estimates may give misleading signals as a measure of a region's economic performance, where economic growth could be at the expense of natural capital depletion.

Remote sensing technology for mapping and monitoring vegetation cover (Case study: Semirom-Isfahan, Iran)

To determine the suitable indices for vegetation cover and production assessment based on the remote sensing data, simultaneous digital data with field data belonging to the spring rangeland of the Semirom-Isfahan province were analyzed. During two years of monitoring the annual, grass, forb, and shrub vegetation cover and the total production data from 86 were collected. The Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to measure the coordinates of plots and transects. Geometric correction and histogram equalization were applied in image processing, and image digital numbers were converted to reflectance numbers. In the next stage, all vegetation indices were calculated from the Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) image data and compared with the vegetation cover estimates, at monitoring points, made during field assessments. A linear regression model was used to select suitable vegetation indices. The results showed that there were significant relationships between the satellite data and the vegetative characteristics. Among the indices, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) consistently showed significant relationships with the vegetation cover. The estimation of the vegetation cover with the NDVI vegetation index was more accurately predicted within rangeland systems. Using the produced model from the NDVI index vegetation crown cover, percentage maps were produced in three class percentages for each image. Generally introduced indices provided accurate quantitative estimation of the parameters. Therefore, it was possible to estimate cover and production as important factors for range monitoring using the AWiFS data. The Remote sensing data and the Geographic Information System are the most effective tools in natural resource management.

Discretization of continuous predictor variables in Bayesian networks: An ecological threshold approach

Bayesian networks (BNs) are a popular tool in natural resource management but are limited when dealing with ecological assemblage data and when discretizing continuous variables. We present a method that addresses these challenges using a BN model developed for the Upper Murrumbidgee River Catchment (south-eastern Australia). A selection process was conducted to choose the taxa from the whole macroinvertebrate assemblage that were incorporated in the BN as endpoints. Furthermore, two different approaches to the discretization of continuous predictor variables for the BN were compared. One approach used Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN) which estimates the thresholds based on the biological community. The other approach used was the expert opinion. The TITAN-based discretizations provided comparable predictions to expert opinion-based discretizations but in combining statistical rigor and ecological relevance, offer a novel and objective approach to the discretization. The TITAN-based method may be used together with expert opinion.

Research Articles: Case Study: Collaborative Governance as a Tool for Natural Resource Management in China and the United States

This case study considers the applicability of collaborative governance to natural resource management challenges in China, particularly when compared with its use in the United States (US). The specific case in point centers on a June 2012 workshop in Beijing co-organized by the China Environmental Law Project of the Beijing Representative Office of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Beijing Zhonglin Union Forestry Consulting Company, Ltd. The case study is based on participant observation, literature review, and policy analysis. The critical distinction between the applicability of collaborative governance in China and in the US relates to the incentives to collaborate, which differ in China and in the US. The authors suggest eight possible next steps encompassing research, practice, and education.

Traditional beliefs and conservation of natural resources: evidences from selected communities in Delta State, Nigeria.

The role of traditional beliefs systems in the conservation of natural resources in some selected communities in Delta State, Nigeria, have been studied. Methodology of study involves the use of personal interview, literature review, group discussion, and site visitation carried out by the authors between April 2011 and March 2012. Findings show that traditional natural resources management in the selected communities are classified into the following categories: protection of particular ecosystems or habitats (such as sacred groves and sacred rivers/pond); and protection of particular animals or plant species (such as totem and tabooed species). The practices concerned relate to trees, forests, wildlife and marine organisms. The environmental wisdom and ethics expressed through these religious beliefs are very useful tools in natural resource management. Using the classification of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the plants and animals species in the study scared groves and forest can be described as an environment with widespread and abundant taxonomy and are not at risk or endangered. Key words: Forest, sacred groves, traditional beliefs, biodiversity conservation, natural resources management, totems.

Green Spaces Trends in the City of Port Elizabeth from 1990 to 2000 using Remote Sensing

Given the critical role played by urban green spaces and the emergence of remote sensing as avaluable natural resource management tool, this study sought to identify trends in green spaces within thecontext of South Africa’s transition period (1990 - 2000). Using the city of Port Elizabeth as a case study, threesets of Landsat - 5 Thematic Mapper images (1990, 1995 and 2000) were geo-processed, classified intovegetation density categories and verified using respective aerial photographs. There was a steady decline inareas covered by Very sparse vegetation, Sparse vegetation and Dense vegetation classes. However, areascovered by Very dense vegetation showed a steady increase during the study period. Using remote sensingapplications, this study provides an insight into trends in green spaces in the city of Port Elizabeth during thetransition period. This study further shows the importance of remote sensing as a mapping tool that can beused to provide information for physical, social and ecological planning to achieve urban socio-ecologicalsustainability in rapidly changing urban environments.

NEW HORIZONS FOR MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT: A REVIEW OF COUPLED SOCIAL‐ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS MODELING

AbstractConventional approaches to natural resource management are increasingly challenged by environmental problems that are embedded in highly complex systems with profound uncertainties. These so‐called social‐ecological systems (SESs) are characterized by strong links between the social and the ecological system and multiple interactions across spatial and temporal scales. New approaches are needed to manage those tightly coupled systems; however, basic understanding of their nonlinear behavior is still missing. Modeling is a traditional tool in natural resource management to study complex, dynamic systems. There is a long tradition of SES modeling, but the approach is now being more widely recognized in other fields, such as ecological and economic modeling, where issues such as nonlinear ecological dynamics and complex human decision making are receiving more attention. SES modeling is maturing as a discipline in its own right, incorporating ideas from other interdisciplinary fields such as resilience or complex systems research. In this paper, we provide an overview of the emergence and state of the art of this cross‐cutting field. Our analysis reveals the substantial potential of SES models to address issues that are of utmost importance for managing complex human‐environment relationships, such as: (i) the implications of ecological and social structure for resource management, (ii) uncertainty in natural and social systems and ways to address it, (iii) the role of coevolutionary processes in the dynamics of SESs, and (iv) the implications of microscale human decision making for sustainable resource management and conservation. The complexity of SESs and the lack of a common analytical framework, however, also pose significant challenges for this emerging field. There are clear research needs with respect to: (i) approaches that go beyond rather simple specifications of human decision making, (ii) development of coping strategies to deal with (irreducible) uncertainties, (iii) more explicit modeling of feedbacks between the social and ecological systems, and (iv) a conceptual and methodological framework for analyzing and modeling SESs. We provide ideas for tackling some of these challenges and indicate potential key focal areas for SES modeling in the future.

Impacts of Aquaculture Development Projects in Western Cameroon

To measure the impact of past projects on the sustained adoption and development of aquaculture, and to assess the potential for future growth, a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) based on the Research Tool for Natural Resource Management, Monitoring and Evaluation (RESTORE) of 100 farmers (62 with fishponds, 38 without) was undertaken between January and August 2001 in the Noun Division of Western Province, Cameroon. The average household of 14 persons possessed 5.5 ha of land. Educational level is low (less then 35% above primary, 24% illiterate). Most fish producers were small-scale farmers (79%). Of the 360 fish farmers possessing 445 fish ponds (250 m2 average surface area), only 23% were active. Production is primarily based on earthen ponds stocked with mixed-sex tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) grown alone (42%) or in polyculture (54%) with the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Most ponds are poorly managed, containing underfed fish despite the availability of large quantities of agricultural by-products that could be used as pond inputs. Average annual yield is 1,263 kg/ha. Despite a number of aquaculture development projects over 30 years, there were no significant differences (P < 0.05) in household economics and farming systems between fish farming and non-fish farming families. According to active fish farmers, the major constraints to increasing aquaculture production to make it economically interesting are: lack of technical assistance (46%) and lack of good fingerlings (30%). Recent political and economic changes have altered the outlook for aquaculture in Cameroon, and a development strategy based on new rural development policies is discussed.