scholarly journals Can Constructed Wetlands be Wildlife Refuges? A Review of Their Potential Biodiversity Conservation Value

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxiang Zhang ◽  
Li Wen ◽  
Yuyu Wang ◽  
Cunqi Liu ◽  
Yan Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Constructed Wetlands ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Agricultural Runoff ◽  
Ecological Trap ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Management Intervention

The degradation of wetland ecosystems is currently recognized as one of the main threats to global biodiversity. As a means of compensation, constructed wetlands (CWs), which are built to treat agricultural runoff and municipal wastewater, have become important for maintaining biodiversity. Here, we review studies on the relationships between CWs and their associated biodiversity published over the past three decades. In doing so, we provide an overview of how wildlife utilizes CWs, and the effects of biodiversity on pollutant transformation and removal. Beyond their primary aim (to purify various kinds of wastewater), CWs provide sub-optimal habitat for many species and, in turn, their purification function can be strongly influenced by the biodiversity that they support. However, there are some difficulties when using CWs to conserve biodiversity because some key characteristics of these engineered ecosystems vary from natural wetlands, including some fundamental ecological processes. Without proper management intervention, these features of CWs can promote biological invasion, as well as form an ‘ecological trap’ for native species. Management options, such as basin-wide integrative management and building in more natural wetland components, can partially offset these adverse impacts. Overall, the awareness of managers and the public regarding the potential value of CWs in biodiversity conservation remains superficial. More in-depth research, especially on how to balance different stakeholder values between wastewater managers and conservationists, is now required.

Simulation model for contraceptive management of the Assateague Island feral horse population using individual-based data

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Ballou ◽  
Kathy Traylor-Holzer ◽  
Allison Turner ◽  
Aurelio F. Malo ◽  
David Powell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Horse Population ◽  
Assateague Island

The National Park Service (NPS) manages a culturally significant population of feral horses (Equus caballus) inhabiting the Maryland portion of Assateague Island, a barrier island in the eastern United States. Rapid growth of this population over the past few decades from 28 to 166 horses negatively impacts native species and ecological processes on the island. Since 1994, contraception via porcine zona pellucida vaccine has been used to control horse numbers, although herd reduction has been slower than initially expected, leading NPS to consider other management options. An individual-based stochastic simulation model was developed using the Vortex software program to examine the effects of different management strategies on the population. Data from the managed population were used to populate the model parameters. Model projections over the next 50 years using current management practices show an average rate of population decline of 13% per year, suggesting that the population will reach the management target of 80–100 horses in 5–8 years. The effectiveness of contraception to reduce the herd and maintain it at various target sizes of 20–100 horses was also assessed. The accumulation of inbreeding at each target population size was also modelled.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Functional Zoning Concept under Climate Change to Expand the Portfolio of Adaptation Options

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 273
Author(s):  
Samuel Royer-Tardif ◽  
Jürgen Bauhus ◽  
Frédérik Doyon ◽  
Philippe Nolet ◽  
Nelson Thiffault ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Functional Zoning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Adaptation Options

Climate change is threatening our ability to manage forest ecosystems sustainably. Despite strong consensus on the need for a broad portfolio of options to face this challenge, diversified management options have yet to be widely implemented. Inspired by functional zoning, a concept aimed at optimizing biodiversity conservation and wood production in multiple-use forest landscapes, we present a portfolio of management options that intersects management objectives with forest vulnerability to better address the wide range of goals inherent to forest management under climate change. Using this approach, we illustrate how different adaptation options could be implemented when faced with impacts related to climate change and its uncertainty. These options range from establishing ecological reserves in climatic refuges, where self-organizing ecological processes can result in resilient forests, to intensive plantation silviculture that could ensure a stable wood supply in an uncertain future. While adaptation measures in forests that are less vulnerable correspond to the traditional functional zoning management objectives, forests with higher vulnerability might be candidates for transformative measures as they may be more susceptible to abrupt changes in structure and composition. To illustrate how this portfolio of management options could be applied, we present a theoretical case study for the eastern boreal forest of Canada. Even if these options are supported by solid evidence, their implementation across the landscape may present some challenges and will require good communication among stakeholders and with the public.

Area-based speciation kinetic analysis of the multipollutant removal in Constructed Wetlands to enhance its treatment efficiency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Rajesh Singh
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Kinetic Analysis ◽  
Constructed Wetlands ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Zero Order ◽  
Pollutant Removal ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Treatment Efficiency ◽  
First Order ◽  
Present Study Area

In the present study area-based, pollutant removal kinetic analysis was considered using the Zero-order, first-order decay and efficiency loss (EL) models in the constructed wetlands (CWs) for municipal wastewater treatment....

scholarly journals Management Options Supporting a Dual Discharge Strategy for a Major Municipal Wastewater Effluent

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel K. Rucinski ◽  
Martin T. Auer ◽  
David W. Watkins, Jr. ◽  
Steven W. Effler ◽  
Rakesh K. Gelda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Effluent ◽  
Management Options

BPA and NP removal from municipal wastewater by tropical horizontal subsurface constructed wetlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 542 ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.F. Toro-Vélez ◽  
C.A. Madera-Parra ◽  
M.R. Peña-Varón ◽  
W.Y. Lee ◽  
J.C. Bezares- Cruz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Constructed Wetlands ◽  
Municipal Wastewater

scholarly journals Diet composition of the invasive red-whiskered bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus in Mauritius

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannie Fries Linnebjerg ◽  
Dennis M. Hansen ◽  
Nancy Bunbury ◽  
Jens M. Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Introduced Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Invasional Meltdown ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
The Impact

Disruption of ecosystems is one of the biggest threats posed by invasive species (Mack et al. 2000). Thus, one of the most important challenges is to understand the impact of exotic species on native species and habitats (e.g. Jones 2008). The probability that entire ‘invasive communities’ will develop increases as more species establish in new areas (Bourgeois et al. 2005). For example, introduced species may act in concert, facilitating one another's invasion, and increasing the likelihood of successful establishment, spread and impact. Simberloff & Von Holle (1999) introduced the term ‘invasional meltdown’ for this process, which has received widespread attention since (e.g. O'Dowd 2003, Richardson et al. 2000, Simberloff 2006). Positive interactions among introduced species are relatively common, but few have been studied in detail (Traveset & Richardson 2006). Examples include introduced insects and birds that pollinate and disperse exotic plants, thereby facilitating the spread of these species into non-invaded habitats (Goulson 2003, Mandon-Dalger et al. 2004, Simberloff & Von Holle 1999). From a more general ecological perspective, the study of interactions involving introduced and invasive species can contribute to our knowledge of ecological processes – for example, community assembly and indirect interactions.

Managing Alien Plants for Biodiversity Outcomes—the Need for Triage

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul O. Downey ◽  
Moira C. Williams ◽  
Leonie K. Whiffen ◽  
Bruce A. Auld ◽  
Mark A. Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Plant Management ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Triage System

AbstractRecognition that alien plants pose a significant threat to biodiversity has not always translated into effective management strategies, policy reforms, and systems to establish priorities. Thus, many alien plant management decisions for the protection of biodiversity occur with limited knowledge of what needs to be protected (other than biodiversity in a generalized sense) or the urgency of actions. To rectify this, we have developed a triage system that enables alien plant management decisions to be made based on (1) the urgency of control relative to the degree of threat posed to biodiversity, compared with (2) the likelihood of achieving a successful conservation outcome as a result of alien plant control. This triage system is underpinned by a two-step approach, which identifies the biodiversity at risk and assesses sites to determine priorities for control. This triage system was initially developed to manage the threat posed by bitou bush to native species in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It has subsequently been improved with the national assessment of lantana in Australia, and the adaptation from a single to multiple alien plant species approach on a regional scale. This triage system identifies nine levels of priority for alien plant management aimed at biodiversity conservation, ranging from immediate, targeted action to limited or no action. The development of this approach has enabled long-term management priorities to be set for widespread alien plants that are unlikely to be eradicated. It also enables control to occur in a coordinated manner for biodiversity conservation at a landscape scale, rather than as a series of individual unconnected short-term actions.

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