scholarly journals Reasons for the Survival of Tropical Forest Fragments in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Qi Zhang ◽  
Christos Mammides ◽  
Richard T. Corlett
Keyword(s):  
Southwest China ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cash Crops ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Small Forest

Research Highlights: The reasons for persistence of forest fragments in human-dominated landscapes have rarely been examined, despite their importance in biodiversity and ecosystem services. We determined these reasons for forest fragments on collective land in Xishuangbanna prefecture, southwest China. Background and Objectives: Reconciling economic development with biodiversity conservation has been a major challenge in China’s small tropical land area, where local realities have often been in conflict with national policies. In Xishuangbanna, much of China’s most biodiverse forest area has been replaced by cash crops in recent decades, but numerous small forest fragments remain on collective land. Our objective was to find out why these fragments have not been cleared. Methods: We used a combination of semi-structured interviews with 600 households in 69 villages representing nine ethnic groups and information from key informants. Results: Overall, 64% of individual households retained forest fragments on the land allocated to them, and 93% of villages retained larger areas managed as a collective forest. Most (71%) interviewees said that fragments on their own land were on sites of low agricultural value and were retained as fuelwood sources. They were also often (33%) underplanted with crops and supplied other forest products. All interviewees attributed the retention of collective forests to policy restrictions on clearance, with most (96%) mentioning cultural and religious uses and many recognizing environmental benefits. Most were also used as sources of wild edible plants (61%) and other forest products. Many said these collective forests had shrunk over time, particularly in areas suitable for profitable cultivation. Conclusions: China’s new ecological redline policy will protect most larger patches of forest in Xishuangbanna, but the smaller fragments on land allocated to individual households are also of conservation value, particularly in areas with no other forest. Some form of compensation scheme is needed to encourage their continued retention.

scholarly journals Alternative Silvicultural Approaches to Managing Jack Pine Plantations for Endangered Species Habitat and Forest Products

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-220
Author(s):  
Daphna Gadoth-Goodman ◽  
David E Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Optimal Rotation ◽  
Rotation Age ◽  
Time Substitution ◽  
Endangered Species Habitat ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Since the early 1980s, ca 1,550 hectares (3,800 ac) of high-density jack pine (Pinus banksiana) plantations have been established annually in northern Lower Michigan to serve as habitat for the federally endangered Kirtland’s warbler (KW; Setophaga kirtlandii). Because these plantations do not appear capable of producing merchantable sawlogs by their planned 50-year harvest age, we investigated the potential to implement reduced rotation lengths in these stands to produce biomass and/or pulpwood. We used space-for-time substitution to assess biomass and volume accrual over time, using our own locally derived allometric biomass equations. The predicted optimal rotation age for biomass was 20 years, and the predicted optimal rotation age for pulpwood volume was 28 years. We compared the total land area required for management under these rotation scenarios to continue establishing 1,550 hectares (3,800 ac) of KW habitat annually. Management on the current 50-year cycle requires ca 77,500 hectares (191,500 ac). Management for pulpwood would reduce this to ca 43,400 hectares (107,250 ac), and management for biomass would require ca 31,000 hectares (76,600 ac). Our results suggest that rotation lengths in these plantations could be substantially reduced, allowing for reductions in the total land area dedicated to warbler habitat, allowing for diversification of management at the landscape scale.

scholarly journals Linking Conservation, Community Knowledge, and Adaptation to Extreme Climatic Events: A Case Study in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6478
Author(s):  
Amemarlita Matos ◽  
Laura Barraza ◽  
Isabel Ruiz-Mallén
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Extreme Climatic Events ◽  
Water Provision

This study is based on ethnographic research that analyzes how traditional knowledge and local beliefs on biodiversity conservation relates to the local ability to adapt and be resilient to climatic changes in two communities around Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique: Nhanfisse in the buffer zone and Muanandimae in the core area. A total of 78 semi-structured interviews with heads of households were conducted. We found that both communities carried out practices and held beliefs associated with conservation, such as protecting trees and animal species considered sacred or perceived as beneficial for human life in terms of water provision and agricultural production. In addition to traditional ceremonies that respond to extreme climatic events such as drought and flood, other adaptation strategies used by the communities include moving to neighboring areas in search of better living conditions and using forest products in times of scarcity. We discuss that the management of the park should be agreed on, in a shared way, between local communities and conservation agents to ensure that these areas continue to perform the ecological, subsistence, and spiritual functions required. Our research results contribute to a better understanding of local adaptation dynamics towards extreme climatic events and improvement of management strategies.

scholarly journals An intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses: a mixed methods study of acceptability and feasibility

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Brook ◽  
Leanne M. Aitken ◽  
Julie-Ann MacLaren ◽  
Debra Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Healthcare Organisation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Aims To understand the experiences of nursing students and academic staff of an intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses, in order to identify acceptability and feasibility in a single centre. Background Internationally, retention of nurses is a persistent challenge but there is a dearth of knowledge about the perspectives of stakeholders regarding the acceptability and feasibility of interventions to resolve the issue. This study reports an intervention comprising of mindfulness, psychological skills training and cognitive realignment to prepare participants for early careers as nurses. Methods This is an explanatory sequential mixed methods study, conducted by a UK university and healthcare organisation. Participants were final year pre-registration nursing students (n = 74) and academics (n = 7) involved in the implementation of the intervention. Pre and post measures of acceptability were taken using a questionnaire adapted from the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used to assess change in acceptability over time. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes were thematically analysed, adhering to COREQ guidelines. Data were collected February to December 2019. Results One hundred and five questionnaires, 12 interviews with students and 2 focus groups engaging 7 academic staff were completed. The intervention was perceived as generally acceptable with significant positive increases in acceptability scores over time. Student nurses perceived the intervention equipped them with skills and experience that offered enduring personal benefit. Challenges related to the practice environment and academic assessment pressures. Reported benefits align with known protective factors against burnout and leaving the profession. Conclusion Planning is needed to embed the intervention into curricula and maximise relationships with placement partners. Evaluating acceptability and feasibility offers new knowledge about the value of the intervention for increasing retention and decreasing burnout for early career nurses. Wider implementation is both feasible and recommended by participants.

History of forestry and forest management

1975 ◽  
Vol 271 (911) ◽  
pp. 69-80 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Private Landowners ◽  
Timber Production ◽  
Land Area ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

Britain possesses a forest area which is one of the smallest in Europe in relation to its population and land area. In the past, forests have been felled to make way for farming and to supply timber for ships, houses, fuel and metal smelting. Timber was a key to sea power, and repeatedly the availability of home timber supplies has proved crucial in time of war. The nation’s dwindling reserves of timber have been a source of anxiety since Tudor times and periodic surges of planting for timber production by private landowners took place until about 1850. Thereafter, interest faded with the advent of the iron ship, the Industrial Revolution and the availability of cheap timber imports. Govern­ ment activity was minimal until a national forest authority was formed in 1919 to create a strategic timber reserve. Since 1958 there have been frequent policy reviews to assess the changing needs of the nation for timber and the new values associated with the social and environmental benefits of forests.

Changes in commitment to change among leaders in home help services

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Westerberg ◽  
Susanne Tafvelin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Commitment To Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Meetings ◽  
Home Help ◽  
Home Help Services ◽  
One Year ◽  
Over Time

Purpose – The purpose of the this study was to explore the development of commitment to change among leaders in the home help services during organizational change and to study this development in relation to workload and stress. During organizational change initiatives, commitment to change among leaders is important to ensure the implementation of the change. However, little is known of development of commitment of change over time. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with ten leaders by the time an organizational change initiative was launched and follow-up one year later. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Findings – Commitment to change is not static, but seems to develop over time and during organizational change. At the first interview, leaders had a varied pattern reflecting different dimensions of commitment to change. One year later, the differences between leaders’ commitment to change was less obvious. Differences in commitment to change had no apparent relationship with workload or stress. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from one organization, and the number of participants were small which could affect the results on workload and stress in relation to commitment to change. Practical implications – It is important to support leaders during organizational change initiatives to maintain their commitment. One way to accomplish this is to use management team meetings to monitor how leaders perceive their situation. Originality/value – Qualitative, longitudinal and leader studies on commitment to change are all unusual, and taken together, this study shows new aspects of commitment.

A new species of Andean golden poison frog (Andinobates, Dendrobatidae) from the Eastern Andes of Colombia

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5047 (5) ◽  
pp. 531-546
Author(s):  
GIOVANNI A. CHAVES-PORTILLA ◽  
ERIKA NATHALIA SALAZAR ◽  
JOSÉ GIL-ACERO ◽  
ADRIANA DORADO-CORREA ◽  
ROBERTO MÁRQUEZ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Mitochondrial Markers ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Small Forest

A new species of Andinobates (Dendrobatidae) is described from the East Andes of Colombia, just 37 km away from the Colombian capital, Bogotá. Andinobates supata sp. nov., represents the second known species of yellow Andinobates, and can be distinguished from the other, Andinobates tolimensis, by an unique combination of ventral and dorsal color patterns. Our phylogenetic analyses, based on ≈ 1120 bp from two mitochondrial markers (16S rRNA and cytochrome b) showed that this new taxon is sister to a clade formed by A. cassidyhornae, A. bombetes, A. opisthomelas, A. tolimensis and A. virolinensis. The new species appears to be restricted to a handful of small forest fragments (<10 ha) distributed in no more than 5 km2, between 1800–2000 m elevation, where the human activity is high. In addition, more than 90% of the original forest has been logged at the type locality, and its watersheds receive considerable agrochemical discharges. Altogether, the evidence suggests that this new species should be listed as Critically Endangered and should receive immediate attention regarding basic research and urgent conservation measures.  

Residents’ attitudes toward tourism development at Al-Juhfa, Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ahmad Algassim ◽  
Akhmad Saufi ◽  
Diswandi Diswandi ◽  
Noel Scott
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Residents Attitudes

Purpose Al-Juhfa is a small village located near Rabigh City, between Makkah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia, with significant archaeological and religious resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine residents’ attitudes toward tourism development at Al-Juhfa. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative study uses purposive interviewing to recruit informants. Data was collected using semi-structured interview and open-ended questions. Eight semi-structured interviews were made and a list of open-ended questions was distributed to 134 informants. All data were analysed and no new codes were found after the answer of the first 49 informants analysed. Findings The results show that residents’ attitudes toward tourism development in general were positive with residents expecting to receive economic, social and environmental benefits. Residents were aware of potential positive and negative impacts of tourism development and appeared to balance these in developing their attitudes. Tourism was seen to empower residents and the religiosity of the community influenced their perception of tourism development. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by supporting the use of social exchange theory in this context and by recommending the inclusion of religiosity in further studies.

scholarly journals The persistence of ant-following birds in small amazonian forest fragments

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (0) ◽  
pp. 249-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee H. Harper
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Amazonian Forest ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Introduced Birds ◽  
Small Forest

SUMMARYMist-net captures of army ant-following bird were monitored during the isolation of central Amazonian forest fragments of 1 ha (n = 5), 10 ha (n = 4) and 100 ha (n = 1). Post-isolation captures of the three obligate ant-following birds Dendrocinela merula, Pithys albifrons, and Gymnopithys rufigula decreased significantly in all fragments. post-isolation captures of four facultative ant-following species were not significantly different in forest fragments of 1 ha and 10 ha, although two species decreased significantly in the 100 ha fragment. Experimental introductions of obligate species into small forest fragments in the absence and presence of introduced Eciton burchelli army ant colonies resulted in significantly greater recaptures of introduced birds when active army ant colonies were present. Of the 105 birds introduced, 58 ' 55%) crossed 100-320 m od dedorested area an were recaptured in continuous forest.

Nostalgia, the Fleeting, and the Rare in Chilean Relationships to Nature and Nonhuman Species

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 560-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Root-Bernstein
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
The Public ◽  
Dominant Discourse ◽  
Mediterranean Habitat ◽  
Nonhuman Species ◽  
Over Time

Semi-structured interviews and participant observation were used to understand how urban Chileans form relationships with nature and nonhuman species in central Chile. Most informants expressed dislike of the typical mediterranean-habitat landscape, characterizing it as dry, poor, and empty. Yet many people expressed nostalgic attachment to specific places, species, and activities that they had experienced, often as children. Most of the reminisced-about interactions were fleeting or had been lost over time. In the dominant discourse, nature in the mediterranean zone of Chile is closely associated with poverty, and it is considered to lack beauty, biodiversity, culture, and history. Appeals to personal nostalgia may break through this discourse to form private assemblages of value. Chileans also attributed social value to interactions with species who are rare or who are found “exclusively” in Chile. Appeals to nostalgia, rarity, and exclusivity help to draw these private discourses into the public realm.

Industry Peer Networks (IPNs)

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Leung ◽  
Huimin Xu ◽  
Gavin Jiayun Wu ◽  
Kyle W. Luthans
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Peer Networks ◽  
Operating Efficiency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industry Trends ◽  
Over Time

Purpose This paper aims to examine a type of interorganizational learning called Industry Peer Networks (IPNs), in which a network of non-competing small businesses cooperates to improve their skills and to stay abreast of the industry trends, so that the firms remain competitive in the local and regional markets. The key characteristic of an IPN is the regular gathering of peers in small groups (typically 20 or fewer carefully selected members) in an atmosphere of significant trust, guided by a facilitator, to participate in a series of formal and informal activities through established guidelines, to share knowledge about management and marketing, exchange information about industry trends beyond their core markets, discuss issues related to company performance and provide constructive criticism about peer companies. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research on the context included visits to 13 peer meetings, three workshops for peer members, seven semi-structured interviews with members and many communications with the founder, chairman, committee chairpersons and several facilitators of peer meetings that spanned across five years. Data collection and analysis followed grounded theory building techniques. Findings The authors identified both cooperative and competitive learning practices that a small business could carry out to grow from a novice to an expert IPN peer member. The cooperative elements such as peer discussions, disclosure of financial data and exposure to various business models allow member firms to learn vicariously through the successes and/or failure of their peers. At the same time, the competitive elements such as service delivery critiques, business performance benchmarking and firm ranking also prompt the members to focus on execution, to emphasize accountability and to strive for status in the network. The IPN in this research has also built network legitimacy over time, and it has sustained a viable administrative entity that has a recognizable form and structure, whose functions are to strategically manage network activities and network growth to attract like-minded new members. Research limitations/implications First, because this research focused on fleshing out the transformative practices engaged by IPN peers, it necessarily neglected other types of network relationships that affect the small businesses, including local competitors, vendors and customers. Second, the small employment size of these firms and the personal nature of network ties in the IPN may provide an especially fertile ground for network learning that might not exist for larger firms. Third, the technology-intensive and quality-sensitive nature of IT firms may make technological trend sensitization and operating efficiency more competitive advantages in this industry than in others. Finally, although participation in IPN is associated with higher level of perceived learning, the relationship between learning and business performance is not yet articulated empirically. Practical implications The study contributes to the understanding of cooperative/competitive transformative practices in the IPN by highlighting the defining features at each transformation stage, from firms being isolated entities which react to market forces to connected peers which proactively drive the markets. IPNs are most effective for business owners who are at their early growth stage, in which they are positioned to grow further. Nevertheless, the authors also present the paradoxical capacity of IPNs to propel firms along trajectories of empowerment or disengagement. Social implications As 78.5 per cent of the US firms are small businesses having fewer than 10 employees, the knowledge of firm and IPN transformation is important for both researchers and advocates of small businesses to understand the roots of success or failure of firms and the IPNs in which they are embedded. Originality/value Earlier research has not explored the network-level effects as part of a full array of outcomes. Instead, research involving IPNs has focused primarily on the motivation and immediate firm-level outcomes of IPNs. Research to this point has also failed to examine IPNs from a developmental perspective, how the firms and the IPN as a network transform over time.

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