scholarly journals Global areas of low human impact (‘Low Impact Areas’) and fragmentation of the natural world

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Jacobson ◽  
Jason Riggio ◽  
Alexander M. Tait ◽  
Jonathan E. M. Baillie
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Primary Response ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Critical Question

Abstract Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human activities is the leading cause of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Protected areas are the primary response to this challenge and are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation efforts. Roughly 15% of land is currently protected although there is momentum to dramatically raise protected area targets towards 50%. But, how much land remains in a natural state? We answer this critical question by using open-access, frequently updated data sets on terrestrial human impacts to create a new categorical map of global human influence (‘Low Impact Areas’) at a 1 km2 resolution. We found that 56% of the terrestrial surface, minus permanent ice and snow, currently has low human impact. This suggests that increased protected area targets could be met in areas minimally impacted by people, although there is substantial variation across ecoregions and biomes. While habitat loss is well documented, habitat fragmentation and differences in fragmentation rates between biomes has received little attention. Low Impact Areas uniquely enabled us to calculate global fragmentation rates across biomes, and we compared these to an idealized globe with no human-caused fragmentation. The land in Low Impact Areas is heavily fragmented, compromised by reduced patch size and core area, and exposed to edge effects. Tropical dry forests and temperate grasslands are the world’s most impacted biomes. We demonstrate that when habitat fragmentation is considered in addition to habitat loss, the world’s species, ecosystems and associated services are in worse condition than previously reported.

Defusing the Bomb: Ruth Ozeki’s All Over Creation and the Death of the Nuclear Family

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyna Ekoko-Kay
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Natural World ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Direct Threat

In Ruth Ozeki’s novel All Over Creation, complex, nontraditional familial structures are depicted and explored in conjunction with the human impact on the natural world. The paper examines Ozeki’s novel through an ecocritical, anti-capitalist lens, in order to interrogate how the novel deals with, conforms to, and subverts notions of the heteropatriarchal nuclear family. While many narrative threads in the text seem to naturalize the nuclear family as an ecological norm and a biological imperative, as opposed to a capitalist construction, I argue that the novel’s underlying themes and motifs assert a need for broader, non-biological familial networks as a means of countering the individualism and isolation fostered by capitalism. By linking family to the ecological world, and positioning capitalism and its tenets as a direct threat to both, the novel calls for a redefining and restructuring of family and community as a necessary tactic for disrupting environmental and social devastation, and healing both people and the natural world.

scholarly journals Identifying Human-Induced Spatial Differences of Soil Erosion Change in a Hilly Red Soil Region of Southern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3103
Author(s):  
Dong Huang ◽  
Xiaohuan Yang ◽  
Hongyan Cai ◽  
Zuolin Xiao ◽  
Dongrui Han
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Red Soil ◽  
Jiangxi Province ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Gravity Center ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Spatial Differences

Soil erosion (SE) processes are closely related to natural conditions and human activities, posing a threat to environment and society. Identifying the human impact on regional SE changes is increasingly essential for pertinent SE management. Jiangxi province is studied here as a representative area of hilly-red-soil regions within southern China. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the changing trend of SE within Jiangxi and identify human impacts on regional SE change from the perspective of spatial differences, through a new approach based on a gravity-center model. Our results showed that SE status presented an overall amelioration from 1990 to 2015, while the average soil erosion modulus (SEM) declined from 864 to 281 Mg/(km2·a). Compared to the situation under human and natural impacts, human-induced spatial differences of SE change demonstrated that the western and northwest regions showed stronger negative effects; the southern region shifted towards negative effects; the northeast region presented a much weaker negative effect. Our results indicated that 4 cities with strong negative effects need more attention in further SE management suited to their local conditions and development, and also suggested that the approach based on a gravity-center has potential for identifying the human impact on regional SE change from the perspective of spatial patterns.

scholarly journals The mismatch between location of protected areas and suitable habitat for the Vulnerable taruka Hippocamelus antisensis

Oryx ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 752-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Mata ◽  
Nicolás Fuentes-Allende ◽  
Juan E. Malo ◽  
André Vielma ◽  
Benito A. González
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Core Habitat ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
Educational Programmes

AbstractProtected areas help to decrease human impacts on threatened mammals but do not always include species’ core habitats. Here we focus on the Vulnerable taruka Hippocamelus antisensis near the Atacama Desert, Chile, a population that is mainly threatened by interactions with local human communities. We develop a species distribution model for taruka and assess the contribution of protected areas to safeguarding its preferred habitat. From sightings (collected during 2004–2015), absence records (collected in 2014), and environmental variables, we determined that taruka habitat is scarce, highly fragmented and limited to humid areas. Only 7.7–11.2% of the taruka's core habitat is under protection. We recommend the establishment of a protected area in the south of Arica-Parinacota district, an area without settlements that lies within the taruka's core habitat, along with educational programmes, fencing of crops, and inclusion of communities in decision-making in areas where farmer–taruka interactions are negative.

scholarly journals The Orthoptera fauna of the Stelvio National Park

2018 ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Daniele Baroni ◽  
Marco Bonifacino ◽  
Luca Cristiano ◽  
Roberta Rossi ◽  
Luca Pedrotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
National Park ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Geographic Differentiation ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Check List ◽  
Alpine Environment ◽  
High Conservation

Within the Project “Animal Biodiversity Monitoring in the Alpine Environment” the Orthoptera fauna has been studied in a three-year period (2013-2015). The first check-list of the protected area, with ecological and biogeographical notes, is presented. We found 40 species (16 Ensifera, 24 Caelifera), corresponding to 11% of the Italian Orthoptera fauna. A geographic differentiation in species distribution among the three areas (Alto Adige - BZ, Trentino - TN and Lombardy - BS and SO) has been detected. The genus Barbitistes is represented by B. serricauda in Alto Adige and B. alpinus in Trentino and Lombardy. Kisella irena is restricted to Peio and Rabbi Valleys only, in connection with this species distribution in Trentino. Within the Park, Euthystira brachyptera is distributed only in Lombardy, despite its habitat is apparently extensively available also in Trentino and Alto Adige. We found Omocestus haemorrhoidalis and Chorthippus vagans only in Val Venosta (BZ). Only two species, previously reported for the study area, has not been detected during our surveys: Celes variabilis and Ruspolia nitidula. The first site of presence of Tettigonia caudata, rare in Italy, within the Park boundaries has been discovered near Martello (BZ). Two endangered taxa of high conservation value, Epacromius tergestinus ponticus and Crysochraon dispar, reported in the last Century just outside the Park boundaries, are probably extinct today due to habitat loss.

scholarly journals Towards Conservation of Genetic Variation of Tropical Tree Species With Differing Successional Status: The Case of Mansonia altissima A. Chev and Triplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 194008291986426
Author(s):  
Akin Akinnagbe ◽  
Oliver Gailing ◽  
Reiner Finkeldey ◽  
Amadu Lawal
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Genetic Erosion ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Timber Species ◽  
Pioneer Species ◽  
Forest Patch ◽  
Successional Status

Two important West African timber tree species with differing successional status, Mansonia altissima A. Chev and Triplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum were investigated in this study. Triplochiton scleroxylon is a pioneer species found in open forests, whereas Mansonia altissima is a nonpioneer light-demanding tree species occurring in closed forests. Amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were used to compare the genetic diversities of these two timber species in stands with different degrees of human impact (isolated forest patch, logged forest, farmland, plantation, and primary forest). Contrasting effects of human impact on genetic diversity were detected for these two timber species. The results suggested severe effects of human impact on the genetic diversity of Mansonia altissima, a nonpioneer species. However, no adverse effect was recorded in Triplochiton scleroxylon, a pioneer species. These findings indicate that nonpioneer tree species could be more prone to genetic erosion than pioneer tree species as a result of adverse human impacts. Therefore, conservation of genetic diversity in both pioneer and nonpioneer tree species populations would likely necessitate different measures.

Human impacts on hydrology in the Pantanal wetland of South America

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Ecological Structure ◽  
The Past ◽  
Influences Of Human Activities ◽  
And Function ◽  
Pantanal Wetland

Inundation patterns in the Pantanal remain in a relatively natural state, yet a number of significant human influences have occurred in the past, and there is potential for more severe human impacts as development of the region continues in the future. The objectives of this paper are 1) to briefly review the linkages between hydrology and ecological structure and function in the Pantanal; 2) to review some documented cases of historical influences of human activities on hydrology in the region; and 3) to consider potential future impacts, particularly in regard to the recently proposed navigation project known as the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway (or Hidrovía).

A qualitative approach to evaluating the impact of human interventions on the middle Charente River (West France)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie Duquesne ◽  
Christine Plumejeaud-Perreau ◽  
Jean-Michel Carozza
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
River Management ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Human Intervention ◽  
Impact Index ◽  
Human Interventions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

<p><span>Although many studies have analyzed the impact of human interventions on European rivers over decades or centuries, researchers have rarely evaluated the geomorphological effects of these anthropogenic pressures on fluvial systems. However, quantifying anthropogenic impacts is fundamental to understanding how rivers are affected by human interventions and to improving the river management and restoration. The aim of this study is to propose a new and original qualitative method to estimate the importance of human impacts on rivers over the last three centuries using the middle Charente River as a test case. The study area is an anastomosing, low-energy and little mobile river of the lowlands of Western France. It extends from the city of Angoulême (Charente) to the city of Saintes (Charente-Maritime), with a length of approximately 100 km. The study segment has been subjected to high anthropogenic pressure since the High Middle Ages, and it was enhanced during the 19th century to facilitate navigation and terrestrial transportation, to ensure the exploitation of the water's driving force (water mills and paper mills), to maintain the local people (fishing dams and agro-pastoral uses) and to allow for flood protection. To understand and estimate the anthropogenic heritage of the Charente River, this study employed a two-stage method: 1) an inventory of the human interventions on the fluvial system through the consultation of geo-historical data (textual archives, historical maps and iconography) dating from the end of the 17th century to the 2010s and 2) an evaluation of the human impact of each human intervention, sub-category and category of intervention based on the calculation of the Cumulative Human Impact Index. The Cumulative Human Impact Index is composed of several qualitative attributes graded by an evaluator. The results allow one 1) to generate a database and typology of the human interventions affecting the middle Charente River over the long term; 2) to map the cumulative impacts of human interventions on the study area; and 3) to analyze the unitary and overall impact of each human intervention, sub-category and category of intervention on the river landscape's heritage. Finally, this study concludes with 1) a discussion of the advantages of using a qualitative methodology for the estimation of anthropogenic impacts and 2) a reflection on the use of the maps of cumulative human impacts for Charente River management and restoration.</span></p>

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