scholarly journals A Dynamic Modeling Framework to Evaluate the Efficacy of Control Actions for a Woody Invasive Plant, Hakea sericea

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria C. Morais ◽  
Berta Gonçalves ◽  
João A. Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Modeling ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Fire Event ◽  
Control Actions ◽  
Practical Standpoint ◽  
Natura 2000 Site

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a significant component of global changes, causing severe economic and biodiversity damage. In this regard, Hakea sericea is one of the most widespread IAS throughout the Mediterranean region, including Portugal. The difficulty surrounding its management is exacerbated by post-fire situations, signifying a challenging task for managers. To assist in this effort, we used a system dynamic approach to model the population dynamics of Hakea sericea regarding the combinations of wildfire risk and control scenarios, which differ in periodicity, type of interventions, and cohort age. The ultimate goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness and costs of control efforts at reducing the abundance of this IAS. A Natura 2000 site Alvão/Marão (code PTCON0003) in northern Portugal, severely invaded by Hakea sericea, served as the study site. The modeling results demonstrate that Hakea sericea is likely to continue spreading if left uncontrolled. Although it may not be possible to ensure eradication of Hakea sericea from the study, repeated control actions aimed at the entire IAS population could be very effective in reducing its area. From a practical standpoint, removing all plants 24 months after each fire event followed by subsequent monitoring appears to be the most cost-effective strategy for managing Hakea sericea. Considering the modeling results, the dynamic modeling framework developed is a versatile, instructive tool that can support decision-making aimed at effective management of Hakea sericea.

scholarly journals A Thermal Analysis-Based Approach to Identify Different Waste Macroplastics in Beach Litter: The Case Study of Aquatina di Frigole NATURA 2000 Site (IT9150003, Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3186
Author(s):  
Mariaenrica Frigione ◽  
Gabriele Marini ◽  
Maurizio Pinna
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
Beach Recreation ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
Beach Litter ◽  
Natura 2000 Site

The dispersion of commercial plastics in the marine environments is a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services of the last decades. The lower density of the plastics with respect to marine water density determines their floating, transferring, and accumulation in sandy beaches. Sandy beaches represent a natural sink ecosystem for marine plastics, where the latter are fragmented and photo-degraded in relation to the kind of polymer. Here, we propose an accurate and cost-effective method, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), to identify different polymers from plastic samples collected on the Aquatina di Frigole beach (Apulia Region, Southeast of Italy), included in the NATURA 2000 Site coded as IT9150003. Our results reveal the exclusive presence of thermoplastic polymers in the beach plastic samples, mostly belonging to the polyolefin family. They appear to be remnants of larger plastic fragments, which could impact biodiversity and ecosystem services such as beach recreation activities and tourism.

scholarly journals Early Spring Flora of the Sub-Pannonic Steppic Grassland (NATURA 2000 Site) in Bilje, Northeast Croatia

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Žuna Pfeiffer ◽  
Dubravka Špoljarić Maronić ◽  
Vanda Zahirović ◽  
Filip Stević ◽  
Milorad Zjalić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Plant Life Forms ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Natura 2000 Site

Abstract The diversity of early spring vascular flora was studied in the Sub-Pannonic steppic grassland in the village of Bilje, north eastern Croatia. In all, 109 plant taxa within 35 families were found. The highest number of taxa belongs to the families Poaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae. Specific habitat conditions, characterized by moderately wet and moderately acidic soil with intermediate fertility and the effects of the continental climate favour the development of different plant life forms. Out of the total recorded plant taxa, hemicryptophytes make up 59.6%, followed by therophytes (22.0%) and geophytes (13.8%). Chorological analysis shows that the most numerous are plants of Eurasian (33.9%), Pontic-Central-Asian (21.1%) and Central European (21.1%) floral elements. According to their status in the Red List, three critically endangered (CR), one vulnerable (VU) and three nearly threatened (NT) plant species were found. Altogether, the steppe-like grassland in Bilje is a unique habitat rich in valuable plants of the Croatian flora, including the critically endangered Doronicum hungaricum, therefore it is of great importance to preserve it. Important management tools include mowing and controlling the spreading of cultivated and invasive plant species.

scholarly journals Occurrence of the Green Shield-Moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. in the Bieszczady Mountains of Poland

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
Piotr Brewczyński ◽  
Kamil Grałek ◽  
Piotr Bilański
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Moss Species ◽  
Microhabitat Preferences ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
Forest District

The small-sized gametophytes and sporophytes of the green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis (Moug.) Brid. make it difficult to study. However, in Europe, there has been increasing interest in this species in the past few years, mostly as a result of the implementation of the Natura 2000 network. In Poland, B. viridis has only been reported in isolated studies that have been limited in terms of area and the number of participating workers. One of the Polish regions where B. viridis was recently recorded is the Bieszczady Mountains, but there have been no large-scale surveys of that region to date. The objective of the current work was to describe the B. viridis population in the Bieszczady Mountains in terms of its spatial distribution and abundance, investigate its selected microhabitat preferences, and evaluate the conservation status of this moss species within the Natura 2000 site Bieszczady PLC180001. The studied region encompassed 93,490.44 ha, including 69,056.23 ha of managed forests and 24,434.21 ha of forests belonging to the Bieszczady National Park. A preliminary survey was conducted in the Cisna Forest District (forest area of 19,555.82 ha) on 15–17 November 2017, while the main survey was performed in selected forest subcompartments of four forest districts—Baligród, Komańcza, Lutowiska, and Stuposiany—as well as the Bieszczady National Park from 5 to 16 November 2018. The field work consisted of searching for B. viridis sporophytes and setae and recording selected population and locality characteristics. The study led to the discovery of 353 new B. viridis localities in 202 study areas, with 9197 diploid individuals (sporophytes or setae only) growing in 545 microhabitats. The number of B. viridis localities discovered in the Bieszczady Mountains during 17 days of survey in 2017 and 2018 was two times higher than the combined number of localities previously found in Poland over more than 150 years (159 localities). Additionally, the number of sporophytes and setae identified was two times greater than their overall number in previous records. In addition, this study provides information about selected microhabitat preferences and the conservation status of this moss in the Bieszczady Natura 2000 site.

scholarly journals Natura 2000 sites and fisheries in German offshore waters

2008 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Anker Pedersen ◽  
Heino Fock ◽  
Jochen Krause ◽  
Christian Pusch ◽  
Anne L. Sell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Favourable Conservation Status ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
Environmentally Sound ◽  
Fishing Impacts

Abstract Pedersen, S. A., Fock, H., Krause, J., Pusch, C., Sell, A. L., Böttcher, U., Rogers, S. I., Sköld, M., Skov, H., Podolska, M., Piet, G. J., and Rice, J. C. 2009. Natura 2000 sites and fisheries in German offshore waters.–ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 155–169. The principal objective of sites selected as part of Natura 2000 is to achieve or maintain a favourable conservation status of habitats and species named in the EU Birds and Habitats directives. In the German exclusive economic zone, the habitat types protected by this legislation are sandbanks and reefs; protected species include marine mammals, seabirds, and specific migratory fish species. The ICES project Environmentally Sound Fishery Management in Protected Areas (EMPAS) aims to answer two questions: (i) To what extent do specific fishing activities significantly threaten attainment of the conservation objectives of the Natura 2000 sites? (ii) What management measures would reduce these conflicts and how effective would they be at helping to ensure the favourable condition of these sites? Assessments of fishing impacts on Natura 2000 sites require basic data on the conservation status of individual habitats and species, as well as data for fine-scale distributions of ongoing fishing activities. This paper describes and discusses the process used by the EMPAS project in developing fishery-management plans for each Natura 2000 site in German offshore waters.

scholarly journals The effects of global changes upon regional ozone pollution in the United States

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1125-1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Chen ◽  
J. Avise ◽  
B. Lamb ◽  
E. Salathé ◽  
C. Mass ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Ozone Pollution ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Voc Emissions ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Case

Abstract. A comprehensive numerical modeling framework was developed to estimate the effects of collective global changes upon ozone pollution in the US in 2050. The framework consists of the global climate and chemistry models, PCM (Parallel Climate Model) and MOZART-2 (Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers v.2), coupled with regional meteorology and chemistry models, MM5 (Mesoscale Meteorological model) and CMAQ (Community Multi-scale Air Quality model). The modeling system was applied for two 10-year simulations: 1990–1999 as a present-day base case and 2045–2054 as a future case. For the current decade, the daily maximum 8-h moving average (DM8H) ozone mixing ratio distributions for spring, summer and fall showed good agreement with observations. The future case simulation followed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A2 scenario together with business-as-usual US emission projections and projected alterations in land use, land cover (LULC) due to urban expansion and changes in vegetation. For these projections, US anthropogenic NOx (NO+NO2) and VOC (volatile organic carbon) emissions increased by approximately 6% and 50%, respectively, while biogenic VOC emissions decreased, in spite of warmer temperatures, due to decreases in forested lands and expansion of croplands, grasslands and urban areas. A stochastic model for wildfire emissions was applied that projected 25% higher VOC emissions in the future. For the global and US emission projection used here, regional ozone pollution becomes worse in the 2045–2054 period for all months. Annually, the mean DM8H ozone was projected to increase by 9.6 ppbv (22%). The changes were higher in the spring and winter (25%) and smaller in the summer (17%). The area affected by elevated ozone within the US continent was projected to increase; areas with levels exceeding the 75 ppbv ozone standard at least once a year increased by 38%. In addition, the length of the ozone season was projected to increase with more pollution episodes in the spring and fall. For selected urban areas, the system projected a higher number of pollution events per year and these events had more consecutive days when DM8H ozone exceed 75 ppbv.

scholarly journals The contribution of agent-based simulations to conservation management on a Natura 2000 site

2016 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Dupont ◽  
Françoise Gourmelon ◽  
Mathias Rouan ◽  
Isabelle Le Viol ◽  
Christian Kerbiriou
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Management ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Agent Based Simulations ◽  
Natura 2000 Site

System Level Dynamic Modeling Framework Being Developed at Clemson University’s Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Schkoda ◽  
Konstantin Bulgakov ◽  
Kalyan Chakravarthy Addepalli ◽  
Imtiaz Haque
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Dynamic Modeling ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Model Development ◽  
System Level ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Testing Facility ◽  
Simulation Strategy ◽  
North Charleston

This paper describes the system level, dynamic modeling and simulation strategy being developed at the Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility (WTDTF) at Clemson University’s Restoration Institute in North Charleston, SC, USA. An extensible framework that allows various workflows has been constructed and used to conduct preliminary analysis of one of the facility’s test benches. The framework dictates that component and subsystem models be developed according to a list of identified needs and modeled in software best suited for the particular task. Models are then integrated according to the desired execution target. This approach allows for compartmentalized model development which is well suited for collaborative work. The framework has been applied to one of the test benches and has allowed researches to begin characterizing its behavior in the time and frequency domain.

scholarly journals Awifauna wodno-błotna środkowej Wisły w okresie lęgowym: wpływ działalności człowieka na rozmieszczenie, liczebność i bogactwo gatunkowe

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Bukaciński ◽  
Monika Bukacińska ◽  
Arkadiusz Buczyński
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
River Channel ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
Breeding Habitats ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
River Bottom

The inventory of birds was conducted in the years 2005-2010 on the Vistula River section between Dęblin (388 km of the river) and Podwierzbie (435 km of the river). The study area includes a southern section of the European Ecological Natura 2000 Site in Poland PLB140004 „Middle Vistula River Valley” (IBA, PL083). In most areas the Vistula flows here within unregulated or relatively little modified riverbed, having features of natural, lowland, braided river. Sandy islands and braid bars within the main channel, steep banks, and old riparian afforestation create the unique breeding habitats of the Vistula River Valley. Especially the river channel habitats provide suitable breeding sites for many rare bird species, constituting some of them the key-breeding sites. There are, however, fragments of several kilometers, where people transformed the Vistula River in a more visible way (Table 1). These are, among others: an urban section within Dęblin boundaries (km 388-393 of the river), a fragment adjacent to Kozienice Power Plant (km 421-426), and the area, where since 2007 gravel for the industry has been mining from the river bottom (km 426-431). The aim of this inventory was the comparison of richness and abundance of breeding bird species associated directly with the river channel on fragments mentioned above. It will allow us to estimate soberly how very the intensity of human utilization of the river affects the distribution of avifauna of the Vistula, determining the richness and abundance of valuable and/or endangered species breeding in a given area.

Parques eólicos, red Natura 2000 e impacto ambiental. Comentario a la sentencia del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del País Vasco de 18 de febrero de 2011 (proyecto de parque eólico de Ordunte)

2011 ◽  
pp. 233-256
Author(s):  
Agustín GARCÍA URETA ◽  
Iñigo LAZCANO BROTÓNS
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Government ◽  
Natura 2000 Site ◽  
La Red ◽  
Pais Vasco

LABURPENA: Iruzkinak 2011ko otsailaren 18ko epaiarekin zerikusia du. Honetan Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko Justizia Auzitegi Nagusiak, bere egunean euskal Administrazioak Ordunten eraiki beharreko parke eolikoari buruz egindako ingurumenaren gaineko eraginaren aurkako aitorpena Zuzenbidearekin bat ez zetorrela ondorioztatu zuen. Erabilitako arrazoien artean, Auzitegiaren ustetan, Eusko Jaurlaritzak ez zituen Natura 2000 sareko gune batean egin beharreko proiektuak planteatutako eragin kritikoak modu egokian arrazoitu. RESUMEN: El comentario tiene que ver con una sentencia de 18 de febrero de 2011, en la que el Tribunal Superior de Justicia del País Vasco (TSJ) llegó a la conclusión de que la declaración de impacto ambiental (DIA) desfavorable, que dictó en su día la Administración autonómica en relación con la construcción de un parque eólico en Ordunte, no era conforme a Derecho. Entre otras razones, el Tribunal indicó que el Gobierno Vasco no había motivado de manera suficiente los impactos críticos que, en su opinión, planteaba el proyecto en una zona de la red Natura 2000. ABSTRACT: The comment concerns a judgment of the High Court of the Basque Country of 18 February 2001 that held that the unfavorable environmental declaration issued by the Basque Government regarding a wind farm was not consistent with applicable laws. The Court held, inter alia, that the Government had not provided sufficient reasons to sustain the assumption that the project embraced critical environmental impacts on a Natura 2000 site.

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