Maintaining plant species richness by cattle grazing - mesic semi-natural grasslands as focal habitats

Semi-natural grasslands are the most important agricultural areas for biodiversity. The present study investigates the effects of traditional livestock grazing and mowing on plant species richness, the main emphasis being on cattle grazing in mesic semi-natural grasslands. The two reviews provide a thorough assessment of the multifaceted impacts and importance of grazing and mowing management to plant species richness. It is emphasized that livestock grazing and mowing have partially compensated the suppression of major natural disturbances by humans and mitigated the negative effects of eutrophication. This hypothesis has important consequences for nature conservation: A large proportion of European species originally adapted to natural disturbances may be at present dependent on livestock grazing and / or mowing. Furthermore, grazing and mowing are key management methods to mitigate effects of nutrient-enrichment. The species composition and richness in old (continuously grazed), new (grazing restarting 3-8 years ago) and abandoned (over 10 years) pastures differed consistently across a range of spatial scales, and was intermediate in new pastures compared to old and abandoned pastures. In mesic grasslands most plant species were shown to benefit from cattle grazing. Indicator species of biologically valuable grasslands and rare species were more abundant in grazed than in abandoned grasslands. Steep S-SW-facing slopes are the most suitable sites for many grassland plants and should be prioritized in grassland restoration. The proportion of species trait groups benefiting from grazing was higher in mesic semi-natural grasslands than in dry and wet grasslands. Consequently, species trait responses to grazing and the effectiveness of the natural factors limiting plant growth may be intimately linked High plant species richness of traditionally mowed and grazed areas is explained by numerous factors which operate on different spatial scales. Particularly important for maintaining large scale plant species richness are evolutionary and mitigation factors. Grazing and mowing cause a shift towards the conditions that have occurred during the evolutionary history of European plant species by modifying key ecological factors (nutrients, pH and light). The results of this Dissertation suggest that restoration of semi-natural grasslands by private farmers is potentially a useful method to manage biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. However, the quality of management is commonly improper, particularly due to financial constraints. For enhanced success of restoration, management regulations in the agri-environment scheme need to be defined more explicitly and the scheme should be revised to encourage management of biodiversity.

Conserving Biodiversity as If People Matter: A Case Study from India

India has rich traditions of nature conservation as well as a vigorous official program of protection of nature reserves developed over the last 40 years. However, the officialp rograms uffers fromt otal relianceo n authoritarianm anagement arrangements in which decisions are made centrally and coercion is used to implement them. At the same time, the state apparatus organises subsidized resource flows to the urbanindustrial- intensivea griculturalc omplex which promote inefficient,n on-sustainable resource-use patterns that are inimical to conservation of biodiversity. These processes are illustrated within the concrete setting of the district of Uttara Kannada in southern India. It is suggested that the interests of conservation would be served far better by an approach that withdraws the subsidies to the elite so that a much more efficient, sustainable and equitable pattern of resource use, compatible with conservation of biodiversity, can be instituted. In conjunction with this, the larger society should involve local people in working out detailed plans for conservation of biodiversity and offer them adequate authority as well as appropriate financial incentives to implement these plans. The paper goes on to illustrate how such an approach may be implemented in the case of Uttara Kannada.

The Frontiers of India's Biological Diversity

India has a long and rich history of tropical science. But here, as elsewhere in the tropical world, there are surprises to be discovered. One thinks immediately of the description, in December 2004, of a new species of macaque from India - the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala. I use the word description deliberately, because this species was long known to the local people, and the species name rightly reflects this knowledge. Mun zala means "deep-forest monkey" in the language of the Dirang Monpa people of Tawang and West Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, where this species lives. The new macaque was discovered by science during field trips to these areas by Indian scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation in Mysore, the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore, the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, and the International Snow Leopard Trust. In this habitat, the largely Buddhist local community abstains from killing wildlife for food or sport, although the monkey has been reportedly shot for crop raiding. This species, one of the world's highest-living primate species, lives at altitudes between 1,600 and 3,500m, and is thus a veritable yeti.

Luonnonsuojelu arjessa : Maanomistajien näkemyksiä ja kokemuksia yksityismaiden tilapäisestä luonnonsuojelusta ja sen uudistumisen prosessista

Nature conservation in everyday life: Private landowners perceptions of and experiences on temporary nature conservation and its renewing process This study explores the legitimacy of official nature conservation of private lands. It describes how temporary nature conservation became a part of Finnish nature conservation policy and how forest owners perceived this tool and its usage. In addition, the study analyses forest owners' attitudes on official nature conservation. The study combines individual and official perspectives, and presents a nature conservation politics of everyday life. The theoretical background of the study is learning processes of environmentally responsible participation, and especially empowerment. Main methods in gathering the material for the study have been interviews and a survey. In the 1990 s, Finnish landowners opposed the implementation of nature conservation, especially conservation of shores and the establishment of the European-wide network of conservation areas (Natura 2000). After negative experiences on these conservation efforts, some private landowners were disempowered and some even rejected conservation completely. The Nature Conservation Act of 1996 launched an option to conserve nature officially for fixed time-periods. Use of such a policy tool did not immediately become a widely-used and appreciated conservation practice. During the following decade, however, it attracted remarkable attention within Finnish nature conservation policy discussions. The perspective of landowners began to be emphasised when local and regional organisations for nature conservation and forestry together defined the ideas of natural values trading. Later, the national governance process of the committee defining the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland (METSO) institutionalised these ideas in one of its pilot projects. Landowners participated in the project of natural values trading by offering their forests for conservation, which reflects the increased acceptance and legitimacy of nature conservation on private forests. The central elements producing the legitimacy of natural values trading have been voluntariness, temporariness, and dialogue between nature conservation and forestry. Natural values trading analysed in the study is an example of new environmental policy instruments and its creation process represents governance in the implementation of nature conservation. It has increased the legitimacy of nature conservation policy of private forests in Finland. The results reveal the importance of participation and learning processes in the implementation of nature conservation policy, and the need to also pay attention to these processes in the future.

Topeliaaninen usko : Kirjailija Sakari Topelius uskontokasvattajana

ABSTRACT The author Zacharias Topelius as a religious educator The present study concerns the author Zacharias Topelius (1818-98) as a religious educator. The study´s main questions are as follows: What is the theological and pedagogical content of Topelius books and how is his religious instruction linked with the history of his time. The primary sources are his educational books Naturens bok (The Book of the Nature, 1856), Boken om vårt land (The Book of our Land, 1875) and Evangelium för Barnen (Gospel for Children, 1893), as well as his storybooks Läsning för barn I-VIII (Reading for Children I-VIII, 1865-96). The dissertation concerns the his-tory of religious education. Its primary method is background-based systematic analy-sis. In Topelius children s books the view of God is characterised both as an omnipresent spirit and as Providence, who guides world history according to his plan. In addition to Lutheranism this view is also influenced by Nationalism and Romanticism. The theological content of the books emphasises instruction in Christian life that is natural to normative children s books. Topelius strongly expresses the importance of a personal relationship to God, an idealistic Christian view of one s fellow man and of one s own nation as well as the value of nature conservation. The books of Topelius were some of the first educational works on nature preservation in Finland. The didactic quality of Topelius children s books was high for 19th century Finland. Their main emphasis in terms of educational goals is on civilisation (Bildung), self-awareness, national solidarity and living idealism. The pedagogical argumentation is mostly based on theological, historical, social and rational reasoning. The primary principles in Topelius teaching are Christian nationalism, idealistic harmony and the agrarian bourgeois. Christian nationalism is the main element of Topelius religious education. He considers the fatherland as a God-given project and the taking care of it as a part of holy service. Idealistic harmony is seen as the comprehensive development of one s character in the sense of romantic idealism. The agrarian bourgeois principle combines the Finnish peasant tradition with the values of 19th century modern bourgeois culture. I have named Topelius vision of religious education the Christian national project of civilisation (Bildung). Its main theses are home, religion and fatherland. The author himself strongly believed in this vision and never questioned it despite its national chauvinism and theological inconsistency. The religious ideology represented in Topelius educational works and storybooks was popular among pedagogues during the whole era of the Finnish folk school. It fit per-fectly with the Christian national discourse stemming from 19th century ideological ten-dencies. Due to their appropriate content combined with their practical language and pedagogical methods, the books were popular both at school and in the home for a long period of time. Therefore the books of Topelius aptly symbolise the religious education of their time and manifest their author s pedagogical talent as a national religious educator and as a populariser of Christian nationalism. Topelius books have had a lasting influence on Finnish religiosity. Key words: Topelius, theology, religion, education, nationalism and national project

Valokuvallistettu luonto : I. K. Inhan tuotanto luonnon merkityksellistäjänä

Photographized nature I. K. Inha s work as a signification of nature The dissertation examines, through the work of the Finnish photographer and writer I. K. Inha (formerly Konrad Into Nyström) (1865 1930), the different ways in which the signification of nature is achieved. The principal material consists of Inha s work from 1890 to 1925, from which a number of photographs and texts are considered and upon which the photographization of nature is contemplated. The dissertation addresses the issue of how nature is conceived and how the act of photographizing it can be defined. The methodical context of the study is composed of three thematic baskets that structure the material and which consist of narrations on Finnish national perception, nature conservation and understanding the world. In the first case nature is seen as the natural environment encompassing lakes, seashores, forests, and hills, which at the time were often perceived from a utilitarian viewpoint. By the photographization they generated a pictorial narrative that could be shared. The natural environment was thus turned into landscape by means of photography, following the global pictorial concepts picturesque and sublime, as well as the national canons that had been developed in literature and the visual arts. In the narrations concerning nature conservation, the photographization did not merely occur within the limits of presuppositions, but rather nature was given the opportunity to unfold itself. While the photograph was being established as a basis for supporting nature conservation or to highlight the destruction of nature at the hand of Man, an attempt was made to represent subjects that were difficult to convey in photographs, such as nature s power or the miracle of growth. The thesis suggests, that in the third case the concept of nature broke away from its strict interconnection with the natural environment and led to a contemplation of nature that is perceivable in a person. In this context the photograph and the photographization are interpreted as an attempt to understand a person and his or her very existence in the world, while this same existential wonder is seen as being embodied in Inha s portrait of a rune singer and in his photographs of forest interior and water. Further, the thesis asks whether photographing nature could be interpreted as an action similar to the idea of the phenomenological reduction as a means of bypassing the photographer s prevailing way of being.

India's biodiversity hotspot under anthropogenic pressure: A case study of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

This paper presents data on the impact of biotic pressure in terms of grazing by livestock and wood cutting by humans on the plant community in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of India. Grass, and herbaceous plant biomass, number of cattle dung piles, number of woody stems available and damaged by human activities and weed biomass were assessed at different proximity along transects radiating from village-forest boundary to forest interior to measure the ecological impact of livestock grazing and fire wood collection. The grass biomass was positively correlated to overgrazing indicating the adverse effect on natural vegetation by cattle. Woodcutting was intense along the forest boundary and significantly declined as distance increased. Similarly, weed biomass and number of thorny species declined positively with proximity from village-forest boundary and the weed biomass was significantly higher in the pastoral sites compared to residential sites. The results suggest that human impact adversely affects natural vegetation and promotes weed proliferation in forest areas adjoining human settlements in the ecologically important Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Continued anthropogenic pressure could cause reduction in fodder availability to large herbivores like elephants, which in turn leads to an increase in human-elephant conflict. (C) 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Socio-cultural protection of endemic trees in humanised landscape

Culturally protected forest patches or sacred groves have been the integral part of many traditional societies. This age old tradition is a classic instance of community driven nature conservation sheltering native biodiversity and supporting various ecosystem functions particularly hydrology. The current work in Central Western Ghats of Karnataka, India, highlights that even small sacred groves amidst humanised landscapes serve as tiny islands of biodiversity, especially of rare and endemic species. Temporal analysis of landuse dynamics reveals the changing pattern of the studied landscape. There is fast reduction of forest cover (15.14-11.02 %) in last 20 years to meet up the demand of agricultural land and plantation programs. A thorough survey and assessment of woody endemic species distribution in the 25 km(2) study area documented presence of 19 endemic species. The distribution of these species is highly skewed towards the culturally protected patches in comparison to other land use elements. It is found that, among the 19 woody endemic species, those with greater ecological amplitude are widely distributed in the studied landscape in groves as well as other land use forms whereas, natural population of the sensitive endemics are very much restricted in the sacred grove fragments. The recent degradation in the sacred grove system is perhaps, due to weakening of traditional belief systems and associated laxity in grove protection leading to biotic disturbances. Revitalisation of traditional practices related to conservation of sacred groves can go a long way in strengthening natural ecological systems of fragile humid tropical landscape.

Evaluación de la política de Espacios Naturales Protegidos: una propuesta metodológica para la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

395 p.

Análise da Percepção ambiental de universitários na APA Petrópolis (RJ): estudo para uma proposta em educação ambiental para o Ensino Superior

Unidades de conservação da natureza sofrem historicamente de problemas envolvendo, por exemplo, administração pública e legitimação popular, o que reflete quadros de ineficiência e conflitos locais em vários níveis. Nesse contexto, a Área de Proteção Ambiental de Petrópolis (APA Petrópolis) é abordada, com o objetivo de se prover um quadro analítico sobre a sustentabilidade regional e a percepção popular acerca da proposta de da APA Petrópolis, usando métodos em percepção ambiental focada nos segmentos universitários. A tese se divide em três momentos analíticos: primeiramente, são apresentados os contextos históricos, sociais e políticos locais da paisagem, no âmbito da criação da APA Petrópolis e das contradições acerca do funcionamento do modelo, sob um referencial teórico que engloba políticas locais, manejo de unidades de conservação, conflitos ambientais e participação social. Em segundo lugar, analisou-se a percepção ambiental de 606 alunos universitários (por meio de questionários) e sete professores e gestores das universidades participantes (por meio de entrevistas) na APA Petrópolis, buscando fenômenos e características específicas das subjetividades inerentes a tais grupos. Por fim, apresenta-se concepções úteis para a organização de alternativas teóricas e práticas para uma educação ambiental emancipatória e transformadora voltada para a realidade dos segmentos universitários da APA Petrópolis. Os resultados envolvem a exposição de um complexo contexto histórico e político que traduz a parca funcionalidade deste modelo de conservação da paisagem. O planejamento territorial da cidade, o próprio contexto de criação da unidade e o cenário político regional são aspectos que contribuem para a baixa funcionalidade da APA. Os questionários evidenciam uma percepção superficial dos problemas ambientais de Petrópolis, assim como um baixo reconhecimento da APA. As entrevistas, de outra maneira, evidenciam dois fenômenos: a naturalização das questões sociais e a invisibilização das questões ambientais. As alternativas teóricas e metodológicas apresentadas para abordar as questões ambientais da APA Petrópolis para os universitários envolvem o conceito de alfabetização ecológica e a formação de sujeitos ecológicos, como diretrizes para uma educação voltada para a sustentabilidade regional.

Rostherne Mere water level management plan. Draft 1 November 1996

This is the Water Level Management Plan for the Rostherne Mere by the Environment Agency. The purpose of the Plan is to provide a formal basis for managing the land drainage system and water supply system of the area in order to provide a sustainable balance between the conservation and agricultural interest in the area. No changes are proposed to present water level management or maintenance practices unless and until such changes are agreed by all parties. The report contains sections on description of Site, water level management, maintenance, nature conservation, agriculture, fisheries, archaeology, water quality and water resources, development adjacent to watercourses, contingencies and objectives of the Water Level Management.

Ecoturismo e Inserção Comunitária em Unidades de Conservação: Uma análise comparativa entre as comunidades tradicionais do Núcleo Picinguaba do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM) Ubatuba, SP

O desenvolvimento do ecoturismo em Unidades de Conservação tem sido considerado uma alternativa para a diminuição dos impactos sobre a biodiversidade, a potencialização da conservação da natureza e a oportunidade de inclusão das populações locais. Nesse sentido, a presente dissertação teve como objetivo geral analisar comparativamente o desenvolvimento das atividades turísticas em três comunidades tradicionais do Núcleo Picinguaba do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, localizado no município de Ubatuba (SP), buscando compreender de que forma as populações tradicionais de cada comunidade estão inseridas nessas atividades e qual das três encontra-se mais articulada para o desenvolvimento do ecoturismo. Para obter parâmetros de comparação das comunidades estudadas, foram criados Indicadores de Avaliação do Desenvolvimento do (Eco)turismo, definidos de acordo com algumas premissas básicas de desenvolvimento do ecoturismo e avaliados a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas com atores locais e observações de campo. Concluiu-se que a comunidade mais bem estruturada para o desenvolvimento do ecoturismo é o Quilombo da Fazenda, apesar de grande parte dos moradores entrevistados não serem contemplados com os benefícios da atividade. A atuação do Parque é mais restrita aos trabalhos realizados pelos monitores ambientais, que atuam principalmente na Praia da Fazenda e Sertão da Fazenda. Dessa forma, é necessário haver medidas voltadas para a melhoria das condições de vida das populações tradicionais do NP, afetadas pela criação da unidade de conservação, que alterou profundamente seu modo de vida, através da proibição de suas atividades. O desenvolvimento do ecoturismo no NP deve ser capaz de gerar empregos e renda para a população local de forma mais abrangente, promovendo o desenvolvimento sustentável e a valorização da cultura local.

Condicionantes Geomorfológicos e Análise Geoecológica em Unidades de Conservação: Estudo de caso no Parque Natural Municipal Montanhas de Teresópolis

A emergência da temática ambiental no cenário nacional, com repercussões locais, levou a criação de inúmeras Unidades de Conservação nas últimas décadas, com o intuito de preservar seu espaço territorial e seus recursos ambientais. Entretanto, ao se delimitar uma área de conservação, é necessária a compreensão acerca das relações homemmeio, visto que ambos estão integrados dentro do mesmo sistema ambiental, e por isso, suscetíveis a mesma dinâmica de funcionamento. Neste contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo realizar uma análise geoecológica, com ênfase na geomorfologia, da área do Parque Natural Municipal Montanhas de Teresópolis. Para isto, serão analisados alguns parâmetros morfométricos das bacias hidrográficas da região na qual o parque está inserido, tal como o seu entorno. Localizado na região serrana do estado do Rio de Janeiro, durante a delimitação da área deste parque, separouse o homem da natureza, desconsiderando a integração de ambos em um só sistema. Nesse sentido, a partir de um histórico sobre a visão do homem em relação a natureza, pautamos nossa analise nas perspectivas dos Geossistemas e da Geoecologia da Paisagem. Considerando o sistema como o conjunto de elementos que se encontram em relação entre si, e que formam uma determinada integridade, a forma como este processo ocorreu evidencia as consequências de distúrbios no equilíbrio dos seus componentes, quando estes sofrem interferências humanas de maneira equivocada. Esse desequilíbrio no sistema ambiental no qual o PNMMT está inserido ficou evidente durante os eventos catastróficos que ocorreram na região em janeiro de 2011, no qual mais de 390 pessoas morreram apenas em Teresópolis. Nesse evento, o sistema ambiental da área do parque foi atingido, tanto áreas protegidas quanto áreas de ocupação urbana, negligenciadas por politicas habitacionais ao longo da historia do município, e também, durante a delimitação da área do parque, Evidencia-se assim, o quão prejudicial podem ser as intervenções humanas, quando realizadas de maneira equivocada. Através da presente análise, pretendemos diagnosticar possíveis falhas durante a delimitação desta área. Por meio das análises morfométricas, realizadas com o auxílio de ferramentas do geoprocessamento, observamos que a maior parte da área do PNMMT está inserida no domínio montanhoso e, a medida que há uma atuação deste em conjunto com outros fatores hidrológicos, a área como um todo, assim como sua zona de amortecimento, torna-se mais susceptível à processos erosivos. Deste modo, serão sugeridas medidas que busquem tanto uma conservação mais efetiva dos remanescentes da Mata Atlântica da região, quanto locais menos susceptíveis a eventos tais como os de 2011, para a implantação de politicas habitacionais. Uma vez que, diante dos resultados encontrados, fica evidente que existem uma área maior a ser conservada e, que esta não é compatível com moradias.

Socioeconomic effects of intensive cage culture

The paper discusses the socioeconomic effects of intensive aquaculture which is in conflict with other forms of coastal development, such as industrial development, natural fisheries, tourism and recreation, and nature conservation.

É possível conciliar desenvolvimento agrícola com preservação ambiental?

2001