Long-term monitoring of soil quality and trace elements to evaluate land use effects and temporal change in the Wellington region, New Zealand

Background: Welwitschia mirabilis is highly specialised to survive the harsh climate of the Namib Desert. Changes in land use, such as the expansion of mining activities, may endanger their survival.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand the photosynthetic potential of W. mirabilis plants to provide a baseline for future long-term monitoring, and for future comparison to determine plant health status after the onset of mining operations.Methods: The study was conducted in a population of W. mirabilis on the Welwitschia Plains. Chlorophyll a fluorescence data were used to measure plant photochemical potential and analysed using the JIP-test.Results: Significant differences in the photosynthetic potential was observed for W. mirabilis plants located in different catchments. The partial parameters of the PIABS values were also significantly lower, which indicated that all aspects of photosynthesis were influenced.Conclusion: PIABS values can serve as a baseline for future long-term monitoring studies to detect any changes in the health status of W. mirabilis that might result from land use change.

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Trends in water quality of five dairy farming streams in response to adoption of best practice and benefits of long-term monitoring at the catchment scale

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf12155 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 64 (5) ◽

pp. 401 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Robert J. Wilcock ◽

Ross M. Monaghan ◽

John M. Quinn ◽

M. S. Srinivasan ◽

David J. Houlbrooke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Best Management Practices ◽

Management Practices ◽

Stream Water ◽

Dairy Farming ◽

E Coli ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Term Monitoring

Five streams in catchments with pastoral dairy farming as the dominant land use were monitored for periods of 7–16 years to detect changes in response to adoption of best management practices (BMPs). Stream water quality was degraded at the start with respect to N, P, suspended solids (SS) and E. coli concentrations, and was typical of catchments with intensive pastoral agriculture land use. Trend analysis showed a decrease in SS concentration for all streams, generally increasing water clarity, and lower E. coli concentrations in three of the streams. These are attributed to improved stream fencing (cattle exclusion) and greater use of irrigation for treated effluent disposal with less reliance on pond systems discharging to streams. Linkages between water quality and farm actions based on survey data were used to develop BMPs that were discussed at stakeholder workshops. Generic and specific BMPs were developed for the five catchments. The 3–7 year periodicity of major climate cycles, as well as market forces and a slow rate of farmer adoption of simple BMPs mean that monitoring programs in New Zealand need to be much longer than 10 years to detect changes caused by farmer actions. Long-term monitoring is also needed to detect responses to newly legislated requirements for improved water quality.

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Long-term monitoring and characterization of non-point source pollution from various land-use types in Korea

10.5004/dwt.2021.26956 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 219 ◽

pp. 369-378

Author(s):

Jiyeon Choi ◽

Jichul Ryu ◽

Jinsun Kim ◽

Jaehong Park ◽

Dongseok Shin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Point Source ◽

Point Source Pollution ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Term Monitoring ◽

Non Point Source Pollution

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Designing Multifunctional and Resilient Agricultural Landscapes: Lessons from Long-Term Monitoring of Biodiversity and Land Use

The Changing Status of Arable Habitats in Europe ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-59875-4_14 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 203-224

Author(s):

Sabrina Gaba ◽

Vincent Bretagnolle

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Monitoring Of Biodiversity ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Term Monitoring

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Using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes to Monitor Landscape Scale Soil Water Content in Mixed Land Use Agricultural Systems

Applied and Environmental Soil Science ◽

10.1155/2016/4323742 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Trenton E. Franz ◽

Ammar Wahbi ◽

Mariette Vreugdenhil ◽

Georg Weltin ◽

Lee Heng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Cosmic Ray ◽

Management Decisions ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Term Monitoring

With an ever-increasing demand for natural resources and the societal need to understand and predict natural disasters, soil water content (SWC) observations remain a critical variable to monitor in order to optimally allocate resources, establish early warning systems, and improve weather forecasts. However, routine agricultural production practices of soil cultivation, planting, and harvest make the operation and maintenance of direct contact point sensors for long-term monitoring challenging. In this work, we explore the use of the newly established Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probe (CRNP) and method to monitor landscape average SWC in a mixed agricultural land use system in northeast Austria. The calibrated CRNP landscape SWC values compare well against an independentin situSWC probe network (MAE = 0.0286 m3/m3) given the challenge of continuousin situmonitoring from probes across a heterogeneous agricultural landscape. The ability of the CRNP to provide real-time and accurate landscape SWC measurements makes it an ideal method for establishing long-term monitoring sites in agricultural ecosystems to aid in agricultural water and nutrient management decisions at the small tract of land scale as well as aiding in management decisions at larger scales.

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Analysis of temporal change in delivery of ecosystem services over 20 years at long term monitoring sites of the UK Environmental Change Network

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.021 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 68 ◽

pp. 115-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

J. Dick ◽

C. Andrews ◽

D.A. Beaumont ◽

S. Benham ◽

N. Dodd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Change ◽

Temporal Change ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Environmental Change Network ◽

The Uk ◽

Term Monitoring

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Monitoring the State of Nature in Israel

Stepping in the Same River Twice ◽

10.12987/yale/9780300209549.003.0007 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Ron Drori ◽

Naama Berg ◽

Avi Perevolotsky

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Mediterranean Ecosystem ◽

Current State ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Intensive Land Use ◽

Term Monitoring

This chapter presents a case study of the Israeli National Biodiversity Monitoring Program (IBM) that encompasses a diverse set of ecosystems. Israel is located at a crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe. It sits at the southeastern tip of the Mediterranean ecosystem, bordering the vast Saharo-Arabian desert belt to its south and connected via the Rift Valley to the heights of Southeast Asia and the dry tropical ecosystems of East Africa. This combination of geography and ecology provides habitats for a remarkably high number of species, but the high densities of Israel's population and its rapid development, intensive land use, and climatic change threaten this biodiversity. A key component of a strategy to conserve biodiversity is a monitoring program that can identify the current state and trends—stable, declining, or thriving—of biodiversity in a country. The case study discusses the goals and implementation of the IBM, with particular attention to the challenges of replication and repeatability in this long-term monitoring program.

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