scholarly journals Impacts of land management on the resilience of Mediterranean dry forests to fire

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Jucker Riva ◽  
Gudrun Schwilch ◽  
Hanspeter Liniger ◽  
Alejandro Valdecantos
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Mediterranean Forests ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
Time Specific ◽  
The Impact

Wildfires have always been a part of the history of Mediterranean forests. However, forest regeneration after a wildfire is not certain. It depends on many factors, some of which may be influenced by land management activities. Failure of regeneration will cause a regime shift in the ecosystem, reducing the provision of ecosystem services and ultimately leading to desertification. How can we increase Mediterranean forests’ resilience to fire? To answer this question, we did a literature review, investigating chains of processes that allow forests to regenerate (which we label “regeneration mechanisms”), and assessed the impact of selected management practices documented in the WOCAT database on the regeneration mechanisms. We identified three distinct regeneration mechanisms that enable Mediterranean forests to recover, as well as the time frame before and after a fire in which they are at work, and factors that can hinder or support resilience. The three regeneration mechanisms enabling a forest to regenerate after a fire consist of regeneration (1) from a seed bank; (2) from resprouting individuals; and (3) from unburned plants that escaped the fire. Management practices were grouped into four categories: (1) fuel breaks, (2) fuel management, (3) afforestation, and (4) mulching. We assessed how and under what conditions land management modifies the ecosystem’s resilience. The results show that land management influences resilience by interacting with resilience mechanisms before and after the fire, and not just by modifying the fire regime. Our analysis demonstrates a need for adaptive – i.e. context- and time-specific – management strategies.

Burning the Bush: The Development of Australia’s Southwest Botanical Province

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Kost
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
The Past ◽  
Environmental Narratives ◽  
European Colonization ◽  
The Impact

Though early historical records frequently mention Aboriginal, or Noongar, firing in south-western Australia, little is known about how the Noongar people managed the vegetation with fire, or the impact this has had on the environment. This study uses interdisciplinary archaeology, with information from ethnographic data, historical records, and pollen records from the last 6,000 years to determine the actions of the Noongar people and demonstrate how the Southwest Botanical Province can be viewed as an artefact of Noongar land management. It is widely accepted that Aboriginal people have had an effect on some of Australia’s vegetation types through fire (Bowman 1998; Hallam 1975; Kershaw et al. 2002) although the extent of the influence of Aboriginal firing is debated (Mooney et al. 2007). However, pollen data and the study of fire indicators in Xanthorrhoea and Eucalyptus trunks have been used to demonstrate that the frequency of fire events in the south-west has decreased since European colonization (Atahan et al. 2004; Ward et al. 2001), resulting in the loss of fire-dependent vegetation species and changes in vegetation distribution patterns. This disruption of the vegetation communities has been compounded by the extensive clearing of land for farming and the displacement of the Noongar people (Dodson 2001). The impact that European colonization had on vegetation becomes more apparent as an understanding of the Noongar fire management practices is gained. There is increasing acknowledgement by researchers of the need to understand the influence of the past fire regime on vegetation patterns and to acknowledge traditional land management practices (Hopper and Gioia 2004), as well as the changes caused by European attempts to create a ‘natural’ regime, so that land management groups can take them into account when determining modern-day prescribed burning timetables. Archaeological studies such as this one can provide a unique insight into the past actions of people such as the Noongar, allowing us to determine how they shaped the landscape prior to European colonization (see Balée, Chapter 3 this volume for a more direct discussion of the ‘indigenous’ nature of pre-colonial landscapes; see Stump, Chapter 10 this volume for similar discussions of colonial and postcolonial environmental narratives).

Developing a new regulatory paradigm to address the impacts of diffuse pollution attributable to agriculture

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan McNitt ◽  
Ron Kepford
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Pollution Abatement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Diffuse Pollution ◽  
Watershed Approach

To control pollution attributable to livestock operations, the statutory and regulatory scheme of the US Clean Water Act focuses on implementing structural controls to contain animal waste. While the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is empowered only to regulate point sources, existing authority may be extended to regulate diffuse runoff associated with certain livestock facilities. Current water pollution abatement programs, however, have not responded to the differences inherent in diffuse pollution and the land management strategies necessary to control and abate its impacts. The Planned Intervention Micro-watershed Approach (PIMA) recognizes this distinction, offering a method of refining land management strategies while keeping existing point source pollution regulation and enforcement mechanisms in place. Within a limited time frame, producers have flexibility to develop and implement cost-effective management practices that achieve environmental goals. Planned intervention is integrated with a micro-watershed approach to watershed management which uses small, hydrologically discrete areas to target diffuse pollution sources and direct intervention efforts. This approach utilizes local stakeholder input and participation to create a bottom-up, community-based institutional framework for addressing diffuse pollution from agricultural sources that satisfies water quality objectives.

scholarly journals Ecosystem Management of Eastern Canadian Boreal Forests: Potential Impacts on Wind Damage

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 578
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Ruel
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wind Damage ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Green Tree Retention ◽  
The Impact

Research Highlights: Windthrow can interfere significantly with ecosystem management practices. In some cases, their goal could still be reached but this may prove more complex in other cases, like the partial cutting of old-growth stands. In situations where windthrow is common without any human intervention, the use of partial cutting to maintain some stand structures may lead to a feedback loop leading to additional windthrow. Background and Objectives: Forest ecosystem management using natural disturbances as a template has become the management paradigm in many regions. Most of the time, the focus is on fire regime and effects. However, windthrow can be common in some places or can interfere with practices implemented in an ecosystem management strategy. This paper looks at interactions between ecosystem management and windthrow. Materials and Methods: The paper builds on three case studies looking at various elements that could be part of ecosystem management strategies. The first one looks at the impact of green tree retention, while the second one looks at the impact of reducing the size and dispersing clearcuts, and the last one examines the impact of a range of cutting practices in irregular old-growth stands. Results: Green tree retention leads to increased windthrow, especially when applied within mature even-aged stands. Reducing the size of clearcuts and dispersing them over the landscape also involves substantial windthrow along edges. Partial cutting in old-growth stands can lead to relatively high mortality, but part of it is not necessarily related to wind since it occurs as standing dead trees. Differences in the amount of damage with tree size and species have been found and could be used to reduce wind damage. Conclusions: Approaches to minimize wind damage in ecosystem management can be designed using existing knowledge. However, using windthrow as a template to design management strategies would prove more complex.

scholarly journals Analyzing Factors Affecting the Sustainability of Land Management Practices in Mecha Woreda, Northwestern Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7007
Author(s):  
Habtamu Nebere ◽  
Degefa Tolossa ◽  
Amare Bantider
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
The Impact

In Ethiopia, the practice of land management started three decades ago in order to address the problem of land degradation and to further boost agricultural production. However, the impact of land management practices in curbing land degradation problems and improving the productivity of the agricultural sector is insignificant. Various empirical works have previously identified the determinants of the adoption rate of land management practices. However, the sustainability of land management practices after adoption, and the various factors that control the sustainability of implemented land management practices, are not well addressed. This study analyzed the factors affecting the sustainability of land management practices after implementation in Mecha Woreda, northwestern Ethiopia. The study used 378 sample respondents, selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were qualitatively and concurrently analyzed with the quantitative data. The sustained supply of fodder from the implemented land management practices, as well as improved cattle breed, increases the sustainability of the implemented land management practices. While lack of agreement in the community, lack of enforcing community bylaws, open cattle grazing, lack of benefits of implemented land management practices, acting as barrier for farming practices, poor participation of household heads during planning and decision-making processes, as well as the lack of short-term benefits, reduce the sustainability of the implemented land management practices. Thus, it is better to allow for the full participation of household heads in planning and decision-making processes to bring practical and visible results in land management practices. In addition, recognizing short-term benefits to compensate the land lost in constructing land management structures must be the strategy in land management practices. Finally, reducing the number of cattle and practicing stall feeding is helpful both for the sustainability of land management practices and the productivity of cattle. In line with this, fast-growing fodder grass species have to be introduced for household heads to grow on land management structures and communal grazing fields for stall feeding.

scholarly journals Rural Roads Are Paving the Way for Land-Use Intensification in the Uplands of Laos

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Jean-Christophe Castella ◽  
Sonnasack Phaipasith
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Rural Roads ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Hybrid Maize ◽  
The Impact

Road expansion has played a prominent role in the agrarian transition that marked the integration of swidden-based farming systems into the market economy in Southeast Asia. Rural roads deeply altered the landscape and livelihood structures by allowing the penetration of boom crops such as hybrid maize in remote territories. In this article, we investigate the impact of rural road developments on livelihoods in northern Laos through a longitudinal study conducted over a period of 15 years in a forest frontier. We studied adaptive management strategies of local stakeholders through the combination of individual surveys, focus group discussions, participatory mapping and remote-sensing approaches. The study revealed the short-term benefits of the maize feeder roads on poverty alleviation and rural development, but also the negative long-term effects on agroecosystem health and agricultural productivity related to unsustainable land use. Lessons learnt about the mechanisms of agricultural intensification helped understanding the constraints faced by external interventions promoting sustainable land management practices. When negotiated by local communities for their own interest, roads may provide livelihood-enhancing opportunities through access to external resources, rather than undermining them.

scholarly journals Assessment of alternative land management practices using hydrological simulation and a decision support tool: Arborea agricultural region, Sardinia

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1811-1823 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Cau ◽  
C. Paniconi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Water Movement ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Hydrological Simulation ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Quantifying the impact of land use on water supply and quality is a primary focus of environmental management. In this work we apply a semidistributed hydrological model (SWAT) to predict the impact of different land management practices on water and agricultural chemical yield over a long period of time for a study site situated in the Arborea region of central Sardinia, Italy. The physical processes associated with water movement, crop growth, and nutrient cycling are directly modeled by SWAT. The model simulations are used to identify indicators that reflect critical processes related to the integrity and sustainability of the ecosystem. Specifically we focus on stream quality and quantity indicators associated with anthropogenic and natural sources of pollution. A multicriteria decision support system is then used to develop the analysis matrix where water quality and quantity indicators for the rivers, lagoons, and soil are combined with socio-economic variables. The DSS is used to assess four options involving alternative watersheds designated for intensive agriculture and dairy farming and the use or not of treated wastewater for irrigation. Our analysis suggests that of the four options, the most widely acceptable consists in the transfer of intensive agricultural practices to the larger watershed, which is less vulnerable, in tandem with wastewater reuse, which rates highly due to water scarcity in this region of the Mediterranean. More generally, the work demonstrates how both qualitative and quantitative methods and information can assist decision making in complex settings.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of a decision support algorithm to improve clinicians’ chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy assessment and management practices: a two-phase, longitudinal study

BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Knoerl ◽  
Emanuele Mazzola ◽  
Fangxin Hong ◽  
Elahe Salehi ◽  
Nadine McCleary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Peripheral Neuropathy ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Clinic Visit ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Assessment Index ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) negatively affects physical function and chemotherapy dosing, yet, clinicians infrequently document CIPN assessment and/or adhere to evidence-based CIPN management in practice. The primary aims of this two-phase, pre-posttest study were to explore the impact of a CIPN clinician decision support algorithm on clinicians’ frequency of CIPN assessment documentation and adherence to evidence-based management. Methods One hundred sixty-two patients receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy (e.g., taxanes, platinums, or bortezomib) answered patient-reported outcome measures on CIPN severity and interference prior to three clinic visits at breast, gastrointestinal, or multiple myeloma outpatient clinics (n = 81 usual care phase [UCP], n = 81 algorithm phase [AP]). During the AP, study staff delivered a copy of the CIPN assessment and management algorithm to clinicians (N = 53) prior to each clinic visit. Changes in clinicians’ CIPN assessment documentation (i.e., index of numbness, tingling, and/or CIPN pain documentation) and adherence to evidence-based management at the third clinic visit were compared between the AP and UCP using Pearson’s chi-squared test. Results Clinicians’ frequency of adherence to evidence-based CIPN management was higher in the AP (29/52 [56%]) than the UCP (20/46 [43%]), but the change was not statistically significant (p = 0.31). There were no improvements in clinicians’ CIPN assessment frequency during the AP (assessment index = 0.5440) in comparison to during the UCP (assessment index = 0.6468). Conclusions Implementation of a clinician-decision support algorithm did not significantly improve clinicians’ CIPN assessment documentation or adherence to evidence-based management. Further research is needed to develop theory-based implementation interventions to bolster the frequency of CIPN assessment and use of evidence-based management strategies in practice. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.Gov, NCT03514680. Registered 21 April 2018.

Tracheobronchial Foreign Bodies: The Impact of a Postgraduate Educational Program on Diagnosis, Morbidity, and Treatment

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-98
Author(s):  
Marc Puterman ◽  
Rafael Gorodischer ◽  
Alberto Leiberman
Keyword(s):  
Educational Program ◽  
Foreign Bodies ◽  
Final Diagnosis ◽  
Physician Performance ◽  
Postgraduate Educational ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Hospital Days ◽  
The Impact

Aspirated foreign bodies (FBs) may remain undetected and cause serious complications. As part of a postgraduate educational program, results of a local survey were presented to the local medical staff in order to increase its awareness of this diagnostic possibility. The present study was carried out in order to evaluate the management of children with tracheobronchial FBs during two 2-year periods, before and after teaching sessions held in December 1976. In comparison with the previous two years during the 1977-1978 period, the percentage of cases in which a positive history of aspiration was obtained increased from 47.6% to 84.0%; the mean number of hospitalizations due to tracheobronchial FBs decreased from 1.9 to 1.04 per infant, and the mean number of hospital days required for final diagnosis decreased from 17.6 to 5.3. The postgraduate educational program had a positive effect on physician performance and patient care.

Covid-19 Crisis Management Responses of Small Tourism Firms in South Africa

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma Booyens ◽  
Christian M. Rogerson ◽  
Jayne M. Rogerson ◽  
Tom Baum
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Interview Survey ◽  
Tourism Enterprises ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Impact

Although the literature on COVID-19 is expanding, particularly in relation to crisis management responses pursued by large tourism enterprises, currently few studies exist on the responses of small tourism firms and more specifically of the crisis management practices of small and microaccom modation establishments. The aim in this study is to investigate the business management responses of small tourism firms to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and restrictions in South Africa. Themes of concern are whether enterprises have been able to sustain operations and adopt certain coping mechanisms or management strategies to mitigate the pandemic’s impact. The article reports on an interview survey of small and microenterprises engaged in accommodation services (N = 75) in South Africa under lockdown restrictions as a means of assessing the responses and coping strategies during an unprecedented crisis of this core component of the country’s tourism industry. Among key findings are that small and microlodging firms that have suffered severe financial losses because of the COVID-19 shock have few viable mechanisms to cope with the impact of the crisis and that government support to aid recovery has been insufficient in South Africa. This research contributes to the limited body of international scholarship that examines how small and microaccommodation firms, a major group and contributor of many economies, are navigating the unprecedented COVID-19 environment.

Reconstructing a History of Plantation Spaces at Betty’s Hope

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Cory Look
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Sugar Production ◽  
Ecological Constraints ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The Impact

Arguments have been made that the decline in Antigua’s sugar production was a byproduct of poor land management practices, depletion of soils, and outdated agricultural techniques and technology. Recent work at Betty’s Hope suggests that not all plantations were susceptible to poor decision-making and that some plantations may have superseded social-ecological constraints despite the sugar industry’s inevitable decline. This chapter by Cory Look focuses on key aspects of land-use and landscape change at Betty’s Hope, particularly during the eighteenth century, when the plantation experienced rapid growth and economic prosperity. Look discusses the impact on enslaved Africans through examination of changes to slave quarter spaces and provisioning grounds by managers of local resources. The analysis was possible through remote sensing and multiple surveys conducted over ten field seasons.

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