From town to national park: Understanding the long-term effects of hunting and logging on tree communities in Central Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 499 ◽  
pp. 119571
Author(s):  
Vincent Maicher ◽  
Connie J. Clark ◽  
David J. Harris ◽  
Vincent P. Medjibe ◽  
John R. Poulsen
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Mampeta Wabasa Salomon

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the protectionist conservatism influenced by colonialism, which exploited African countries for the prosperity of the colonizing countries, still has a high visibility in the Salonga National Park (PNS). If, in theory, the Central Africans seem to free themselves from the colonial powers on their land, in practice they are still there. The hostility of settlers who have become neo-colonists to the development of Central Africa remains intact, he adds (Ndinga, 2003). This reflects a "logic from above" that has disregarded local values. Yet, in the era of sustainable development and globalization, African protected areas appear to be essential tools for States to reposition themselves in a complex set of actors with the aim of capturing and using the new environmental rent (Giraut, Guyot, & Houssay-Holzschuch, 2003). This is a "bottom-up logic", placing people at the heart of all activities and aiming to reorganize their long-term relationships with the environment. From these two logics, a third "logic from the other side" emerges, reflecting a collective awareness of the fragility of the planet. The restoration of the rights of Africans in the various national frameworks constitutes a major challenge for the contemporary management of African protected areas. Because the protected areas inherited from the different colonial systems must accompany the change in management methods and the redefinition of their functions in order to better serve the local community in the long-term.


Author(s):  
Teresa Tibbets

Invasive species are one of the top two threats to native biodiversity worldwide (Mack et al. 2000). A primary goal of invasion biology is to predict which introduced species become invasive, or reach pest status, and which systems are susceptible to invasion (Heger and Trepl 2003). In order to complete this goal, it is vital to understand long-term dynamics of invasive species populations and their interactions with native communities in their introduced range. Most studies of invasions by non-native species are not extensive enough to determine long-term effects on the native systems (Strayer 2010). The first objective of this study is to determine the long-term abundance and biomass of the New Zealand mud snail, (Potamopyrgus antipodarum), in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). The second objective is to analyze the long-term effects of P. antipodarum on the biomass, abundance, and taxon diversity of native benthic invertebrate assemblages in the GYA. The ten-year span of data available for P. antipodarum and the native macroinvertebrate communities at Lower Polecat Creek in Grand Teton National Park and the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers in Yellowstone National Park provide a unique opportunity to study the macroinvertebrate community succession over time. Data from the proposed macroinvertebrate community survey in the summer of 2011 will be compiled with previous surveys from 2001-2009 to evaluate the long-term changes in the macroinvertebrate community at Polecat Creek and the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda D. Smith ◽  
Brian W. van Wilgen ◽  
Catherine E. Burns ◽  
Navashni Govender ◽  
Andre L. F. Potgieter ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 542
Author(s):  
B. A. Wilson ◽  
K. Annett ◽  
W. S. Laidlaw ◽  
D. M. Cahill ◽  
M. J. Garkaklis ◽  
...  

The significant impacts of the introduced plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi on native Australian vegetation have been well documented, but there is less knowledge of long-term effects. We assessed long-term (26 years) disease progression and impacts on vegetation floristics and structure at a heathy woodland site in the Great Otway National Park, eastern section. Disease progressed dramatically between 1989 and 2005 and by 2015 only 0.08% of the site was non-diseased. There were significant declines in plant species richness and numbers of susceptible species; and increases in percentage cover of resistant sedges and grasses overall, and in cover of Leptospermum continentale (prickly tea-tree) in post-disease areas. There were significant declines of Xanthorrhoea australis (Austral grass-tree), a keystone species that contributes greatly to vegetation structure and fauna habitat. There is an urgent need to map the distribution of P. cinnamomi affected vegetation and identify floristically important non-diseased vegetation in the national park. It is imperative that quarantine of non-infested areas, phosphite application, track closures and vehicle wash-downs be implemented to reduce disease extension and protect the significant biodiversity of the region including species rich heathlands and nationally listed threatened plant and fauna species and their habitats.


Koedoe ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.W. Enslin ◽  
A.L.F. Potgieter ◽  
H.C. Biggs ◽  
R. Biggs

A lack of knowledge together with vacillating fire management approaches in the Kruger National Park until the mid 1950s, gave rise to a long term fire research experiment aimed at shedding light on savanna responses to various combinations of fire fre- quencies and seasons. This trial was laid out in 1954 in four of the six major vegetation zones of the park. With the future of the experiment now being reconsidered, full scale vegetation surveys have been conducted on all the plots and compared to the surveys done in 1954. This paper examines the woody vegetation responses to fourteen fire treatments in the Knobthorn/Marula savanna. Parameters of interest were woody species composition responses, together with tree & shrub density and structural changes. The results indicate that no significant changes in woody species had occurred for the peri- od 1954 vs 1998, while density decreased on biennial and increased on triennial treatments. The proportion of single stemmed plants increased over the period. Season of burn has a marked effect on structure, with April and August burns giving rise to the largest basal areas but the lowest heights. Environmental parameters such as climate, varying herbivory and differing soils, and their respective interactions on vegetation morphology, together with fire behaviour, further influenced results.


2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin A. Chapman ◽  
Sophia R. Balcomb ◽  
Thomas R. Gillespie ◽  
Joseph P. Skorupa ◽  
Thomas T. Struhsaker

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (18) ◽  
pp. 2863-2873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvino Castaño ◽  
Almudena de la Losa ◽  
Pedro Martínez-Santos ◽  
Rosa Mediavilla ◽  
Juan Ignacio Santisteban

Author(s):  
T. M. Seed ◽  
M. H. Sanderson ◽  
D. L. Gutzeit ◽  
T. E. Fritz ◽  
D. V. Tolle ◽  
...  

The developing mammalian fetus is thought to be highly sensitive to ionizing radiation. However, dose, dose-rate relationships are not well established, especially the long term effects of protracted, low-dose exposure. A previous report (1) has indicated that bred beagle bitches exposed to daily doses of 5 to 35 R 60Co gamma rays throughout gestation can produce viable, seemingly normal offspring. Puppies irradiated in utero are distinguishable from controls only by their smaller size, dental abnormalities, and, in adulthood, by their inability to bear young.We report here our preliminary microscopic evaluation of ovarian pathology in young pups continuously irradiated throughout gestation at daily (22 h/day) dose rates of either 0.4, 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0 R/day of gamma rays from an attenuated 60Co source. Pups from non-irradiated bitches served as controls. Experimental animals were evaluated clinically and hematologically (control + 5.0 R/day pups) at regular intervals.


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