scholarly journals Populations state of selected communities of Juniperus communis(Common Juniper)in Vitosha Mt., Bulgaria

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aneta Lambevska-Hristova ◽  
Svetlana Bancheva
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Calcareous Grassland ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Juniperus Communis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Common Juniper

Juniperus communis L. formations on heaths or calcareous grassland are included in the Bulgarian Biological Diversity Act (code 5130) and some of them are covered by the European Ecological Network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria. Aim: The purpose of this work is to investigate the status of selected communities with the participation of J. communis in the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) "Vitosha" with an emphasis on the species richness of plants and fungi and the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors. Material and methods: The survey was conducted between May and September 2019. Habitat 5130 covers an area of 19.27 ha in the territory of SAC "Vitosha". For the purpose of this study is crawled throughout the mountain where it is registered. The route and stationary methods were used for selected objects. Reporting plots were installed in 5 places, each with an area of 100 sq.m. For the assessment of the state of J. communis’ communities and the influencing factors the appropriate Methodology used for the establishment of the national Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria was applied (Zingstra et al. 2009). Results: A remarkable species richness of plants and fungi was found in the selected communities of Common Juniper at SAC "Vitosha". A new lignicolous species for the Bulgarian mycota, Peniophora junipericola J. Erikss on single host J. communis, was found. The explored plant communities were in good condition and have not been established factors threatening their existence. Conclusion: The habitat occurs at various altitudes and includes species with various ecological characteristics. A tendency for restoration and increasing of the areas covered by the Common juniper has been observed recently as a result of abandonment of arable land.

Modern condition of biological diversity in near-shore zone of Crimea (the Black Sea sector)

2003 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Parasite Fauna ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Quantitative Composition ◽  
Shore Zone ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modern Condition

Monograph is prepared on the basis of the materials collected in near-shore waters of Crimea in 2003, and the retrospective data. Modern condition of biological diversity in near-shore zone of Crimea is shown on the basis of analysis of qualitative and quantitative composition of micro- and zooplankton, phyto- and zoobenthos, ichthyofauna and parasite fauna; the recommendations on conservation of biological diversity are given. Responses of biota on the appearance of new species in communities and on the impact of some anthropogenic factors are analyzed. Characteristics of the Black Sea plankton bioluminescents and the bioluminescence field forming by them in neritic zone of Crimea are shown. Lists of species of main groups of flora and fauna from the different regions of near-shore waters of Crimea are made.

scholarly journals Identifying conservation priorities in a defaunated tropical biodiversity hotspot

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Tilker ◽  
Jesse F. Abrams ◽  
An Nguyen ◽  
Lisa Hörig ◽  
Jan Axtner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Site Occupancy ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Species Responses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Conservation Interventions

AimUnsustainable hunting is leading to widespread defaunation across the tropics. To mitigate against this threat with limited conservation resources, stakeholders must make decisions on where to focus anti-poaching activities. Identifying priority areas in a robust way allows decision-makers to target areas of conservation importance, therefore maximizing the impact of conservation interventions.LocationAnnamite mountains, Vietnam and Laos.MethodsWe conducted systematic landscape-scale surveys across five study sites (four protected areas, one unprotected area) using camera-trapping and leech-derived environmental DNA. We analyzed detections within a Bayesian multi-species occupancy framework to evaluate species responses to environmental and anthropogenic influences. Species responses were then used to predict occurrence to unsampled regions. We used predicted species richness maps and occurrence of endemic species to identify areas of conservation importance for targeted conservation interventions.ResultsAnalyses showed that habitat-based covariates were uninformative. Our final model therefore incorporated three anthropogenic covariates as well as elevation, which reflects both ecological and anthropogenic factors. Conservation-priority species tended to found in areas that are more remote now or have been less accessible in the past, and at higher elevations. Predicted species richness was low and broadly similar across the sites, but slightly higher in the more remote site. Occupancy of the three endemic species showed a similar trend.Main conclusionIdentifying spatial patterns of biodiversity in heavily-defaunated landscapes may require novel methodological and analytical approaches. Our results indicate to build robust prediction maps it is beneficial to sample over large spatial scales, use multiple detection methods to increase detections for rare species, include anthropogenic covariates that capture different aspects of hunting pressure, and analyze data within a Bayesian multi-species framework. Our models further suggest that more remote areas should be prioritized for anti-poaching efforts to prevent the loss of rare and endemic species.

scholarly journals The changes in soil-biological processes and structure of microbial community of agrochernozems in conditions of different ways of soil cultivation

2018 ◽  
pp. 35-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. V. Kutovaya ◽  
A. M. Grebennikov ◽  
A. K. Tkhakakhova ◽  
V. A. Isaev ◽  
V. M. Garmashov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Voronezh Oblast ◽  
High Biological Activity ◽  
Soil Cultivation ◽  
Nitrogen Fixers ◽  
Fresh Organic Matter ◽  
Nitrate Reducers ◽  
The Impact

The impact of soil cultivation methods (tillage with soil overturning at a depth of 20-22 and 14-16 cm, beardless plowing and surface treatment respectively at a depth of 14-16 and 6-8 cm, and also zero or minimal tillage)) on biological activity of various ecology-trophic groups of microorganisms on agronochernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe (Voronezh oblast) using classical inoculation methods on elective media. It is shown that chernozems are highly resistant soils that are resistant to external impacts, preserving high biological activity even at the maximum mechanical treatment. Tillage with soil overturn leads to aeration of the arable horizon and the activity initiation of aerobic microorganisms of the carbon cycle, responsible for the mineralization of both complex and simple organic compounds of the soil. The contribution of microorganisms of the nitrogen cycle (nitrate-reducers and nitrogen fixers) to the overall biological activity of migratory-micellar chernozems of arable land and layland was minimal. The level of mechanical impact on the soil affects the quantitative indices and biological activity of microorganisms in the soil - the stronger the effect, the deeper layers are affected. The processes of entrance for fresh organic matter prevail over the processes of mineralization practically in all variants of the experiment, except for tillage with the soil overturn to a depth of 14-16 cm, as indicated by the values of the mineralization coefficients. The strongest humus-accumulative effect was observed in the variant with zero treatment, which is maximally approximated to such processes, occurred in a layland. Minimal soil cultivation will help to preserve the unique structure of chernozem soil, to increase the flow of fresh organic remains, to preserve the high biological diversity which is specific for natural biocenosises.

scholarly journals Analysis of water-ecological problems of Khmelnytsk region

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (92) ◽  
pp. 87-92
Author(s):  
B. M. Kalyn ◽  
S. A. Nepytaliuk
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Dominant Form ◽  
Return Water ◽  
The Impact

At the present stage, in the conditions of growing scale of anthropogenic impact on water resources, shortage of quality drinking water and climate change, priority measures should be their rational use and comprehensive conservation. The article analyzes the environmental problems of surface waters of river basins, analyzed the existing potential of water resources and the state of water use, qualitative and quantitative indicators of surface waters of river basins of the Dnieper, Southern Bug and Dniester within Khmelnytsky region. The main problems of water resources of the region are highlighted and proposals for their effective use are formulated. A feature of the Khmelnytsky region is its location in three river basins – the rivers Dniester, Southern Bug and Dnieper. The main share of water intake in the region comes from surface objects, and s unevenly distributed throughout its territory. The study shows that in the sectoral structure of general use of water in Khmelnytsky region, the largest consumer is industry (58.6 %), and among industries electricity sector is the main and largest consumer. The main environmental problem of the region is the pollution of surface water bodies with untreated and insufficiently treated return water. In the territory of Khmelnytsky region, 80 water users discharge return water into water bodies. The average annual concentrations of manganese (2–6 times), copper (4–7 times) and nitrites (2–5 times) were exceeded in all control samples from water bodies of Khmelnytsky region. There is also an increase in the total amount of discharges of pollutants, including petroleum products, suspended solids, sulfates, total iron, and copper. In addition to pollution, the problem is the current structure of land within river basins. Excessive plowing is one of the main negative factors that contributes to the deterioration of the water regime and leads to pollution of water bodies. Within the Khmelnytsky region, arable land is the dominant form of land use, their share is 50–70 %. Restoration of the quality of water bodies involves the implementation of measures to reduce the environmental risk of deterioration based on the analysis of the impact of anthropogenic factors and a set of water protection measures.

scholarly journals Local and landscape responses of biodiversity in calcareous grasslands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Loos ◽  
Jochen Krauss ◽  
Ashley Lyons ◽  
Stephanie Föst ◽  
Constanze Ohlendorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Fragment Size ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Habitat Connectivity ◽  
Calcareous Grassland ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Calcareous Grasslands

AbstractAcross Europe, calcareous grasslands become increasingly fragmented and their quality deteriorates through abandonment and land use intensification, both affecting biodiversity. Here, we investigated local and landscape effects on diversity patterns of several taxonomic groups in a landscape of highly fragmented calcareous grassland remnants. We surveyed 31 grassland fragments near Göttingen, Germany, in spring and summer 2017 for vascular plants, butterflies and birds, with sampling effort adapted to fragment area. Through regression modelling, we tested relationships between species richness and fragment size (from 314 to 51,395 m2), successional stage, habitat connectivity and the per cent cover of arable land in the landscape at several radii. We detected 283 plant species, 53 butterfly species and 70 bird species. Of these, 59 plant species, 19 butterfly species and 9 bird species were grassland specialists. Larger fragments supported twice the species richness of plants than small ones, and hosted more species of butterflies, but not of birds. Larger grassland fragments contained more grassland specialist plants, but not butterfly or bird specialists. Increasing amounts of arable land in the landscape from 20 to 90% was related to the loss of a third of species of plants, and less so, of butterflies, but not of birds. Per cent cover of arable land negatively correlated to richness of grassland specialist plants and butterflies, but positively to grassland specialist birds. We found no effect by successional stages and habitat connectivity. Our multi-taxa approach highlights the need for conservation management at the local scale, complemented by measures at the landscape scale.

scholarly journals Effect of mechanical disturbances on nematode communities in arable land

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Brmež ◽  
M. Ivezić ◽  
E. Raspudić
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Trophic Structure ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Soil Ecosystem ◽  
Nematode Communities ◽  
Plant Feeding ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mechanical Disturbances

AbstractNematode communities were used as bioindicators of changes in agroecosystems caused by anthropogenic factors. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of plowing and harrowing on nematode communities structure in comparison to “no tillage” treatments. The effects of mechanical disturbing of nematodes were determined on four soil treatments. Differences in nematode community structure were compared between two tillage regimes: standard tillage and no tillage. Research was conducted in 2000, in Kneževo near Osijek. Plowing had impact on increasing of bacterivorous nematodes and decreasing of fungivorous nematodes. Pratylenchus, Helicotylenchus and Tylenchus were dominant plant-feeding nematodes in no tillage treatments, while in plowing treatments Pratylenchus and Tylenchus were dominant. Abundance of Aphelenchoides decreased significantly after plowing. Tillage affected nematode communities in the soil ecosystem by changing the trophic structure and gave a decreasing, but not statistically significant, trend in MI.

scholarly journals Ecological assessment of the territorial complexes of Tatarbunars’kyi district of Odessa region

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Economic Structure ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Earth Remote Sensing ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
The Impact

Formulation of the problem. The Tatarbunars’kyi District is located in the southwestern part of Odessa region and reflects the main features of the landscape-economic structure of the region: water, agricultural, resort and environmental areas. On the other hand, the form of land use is characterized by widespread plowing of land with degradation and erosion of soil cover. Land structure and use patterns have a complex negative impact on ecological and economic processes and cannot ensure the sustainable development of the region, in particular it is antagonistic to the unique transitional wetland ecosystems of international importance located within the area. To solve the issues of balanced environmental management and zoning of the landscape and economic structure of the region, Earth remote sensing (ERS) data can be used - spectrozonal satellite imagery and geographic information systems (GIS), which can simultaneously cover the research area as a whole, carry out regular monitoring and significantly reduce costs by expensive expeditionary work. Using space monitoring data allows you to get a large array of characteristics of the state of the territorial complexes of the region. Purpose of the work is: assessment of the ecological state of the landscape economic structure and development of recommendations for the protection of natural and territorial complexes of the Tatarbunar’skyi District of Odessa region based on the use of GIS and remote sensing data. Methods. Landsat8 satellite images with OLI and TIRS sensors, digital terrain models (SRTM) with a spatial resolution of 30 m were used as initial data. The spatial distribution of the population was carried out on the basis of OpenStreetMap data using automatic interpolation using the IDW method. Spatial analysis and data processing were carried out in the QGIS v3.4.6 software package. To quantify the vegetation cover, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI was calculated. Waterlog distribution was estimated using a modified normalized differential moisture index (NDMI). The analysis of the structure of land use and anthropogenic load was carried out on the basis of ranking of territorial objects into homogeneous groups to calculate geoecological coefficients. Results. The article discusses the possibilities of using Earth remote sensing data for a functional assessment of land changes as a result of anthropogenic activities, primarily arable land, analyzes the ecological and economic equilibrium of the region based on geoecological coefficients, identifies areas that are primarily exposed to environmental risks, exogenous processes and the impact anthropogenic factors. Measures are proposed to increase the environmental sustainability of agrolandscapes and the landscape-anthropogenic structure of the region’s lands. A detailed hydrological and morphometric analysis of the catchment basin was carried out. Karachaus within the boundaries of the District. For the catchment estuary, remediation and nature conservation measures based on GIS are proposed and designed.

scholarly journals Environment and Wellbeing: Eco-psychiatry in Sundarban Delta, India

2019 ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Arabinda N Chowdhury ◽  
Arabinda Brahma
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Recurrent Event ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
The People ◽  
Ecological Resources ◽  
The Impact

<p>Wellbeing is a multidimensional practical concept that captures a mix of people’s life circumstances. Categorically wellbeing may be divided into three divisions: physical, mental and social wellbeing. As a construct, it may also be perceived as objective wellbeing (relates to material attributes like the amount of wealth, provision of education and health care and social infrastructure) and subjective wellbeing (how people think and feel about their quality of life). In both, the dimension Environment, more specifically the natural environment plays an important key role- both negative and positive. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), [1] postulates the ecosystem approach as a means of understanding the roles played by land, water and living resources of the environment (ecological resources) in the life of people as well as integrated management of cultural and biological diversity of the land and the people. Ecosystems are defined as the functional units that are in continual dynamic and complex interaction among plants, animals, water bodies, forest, climate and all other non-living issues in the environment. Ecosystem services are the benefits that people are supposed to or actually obtain from the ecosystem. These inter-phase interactional dynamics is the guiding principle of Ecopsychiatry - where environmental issues influence positively or negatively on the mental health of the people (individual) and the community (collective).  Or in other words the impact of environmental specificity (of normal or abnormal state) on the mental health and wellbeing (as also physical and spiritual) of the community or individual. </p><p>The following inter-connected Eco-psychiatric issues that negatively impacted human wellbeing (both physical and mental) are discussed:</p><ol><li>Anthropogenic factors and its impact on population density, land distribution, agricultural production, food insecurity and poverty.</li><li>Attempts to enhance the crop production in a climatic uncertainty and saline field by pesticide over/incorrect -use - resultant in a high incidence of mortality and morbidity (accidental and deliberate self-harm/suicide) of human and pesticide contamination of the environment.</li><li>Nutritional deficiency, animal health and livestock: salinization of water impacted the availability of freshwater fish species, and thus depriving the poor of their protein food source and adversely impacting the income and family integrity.</li><li>Risk factors in human-animal conflicts (tiger/ crocodile/snake attacks) and resultant mortality and morbidity: forest exploration for livelihood measures (fishing, timber-honey-crab-collection) leading to death, family disruption, poverty and overuse of eco-resources.</li><li>Sea-level change and its impact on environment and wellbeing: the health of human, animals, mangrove vegetation, repeated storm and flood, inundation of salt water in agricultural field (high salinity), flood and destruction of life and property is a recurrent event.</li><li>Land erosion and destruction of islands and internal and external migration and displacement of population.</li><li>Climate change and its impact on agriculture, food production, eco-resources and health and emergence of vector-born and water-borne diseases.  Cyclone related disaster and it's public/ animal (tiger) health effects on the environment and population health.</li></ol>

Improved biodiversity from food to energy: Meta-analysis of land-use change to dedicated bioenergy crops

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caspar Donnison ◽  
Robert Holland ◽  
Zoe Harris ◽  
Felix Eigenbrod ◽  
Gail Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Bioenergy Crops ◽  
Amenity Value ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Whilst dedicated bioenergy crops with non-food uses are currently sparsely deployed across the world, most future energy pathways necessitate a sizeable scale-up of 100-500 million ha of land converted to these crops to provide both energy substitutes for fossil fuels and negative emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). In the face of expected bioenergy expansion, understanding the environmental and societal impact of this land-use change is important in determining where and how bioenergy crops should be deployed, and the trade-offs and co-benefits to the environment and society. Here we review the existing literature on two difficult to measure impacts which could prove critical to the future wide-scale acceptability of global bioenergy cropping in the temperate environment: biodiversity and amenity value. We focus on agricultural landscapes, since this is where large-scale bioenergy planting may be required. A meta-analysis of 42 studies on the biodiversity impacts of land-use change from either arable and grassland to bioenergy crops found strong benefits for bird abundance (+ 109 % &amp;#177; 24 %), bird species richness (+ 100 % &amp;#177; 31 %), arthropod abundance (+ 299 % &amp;#177; 76 %), microbial biomass (+ 77 % &amp;#177; 24 %), and plant species richness (+ 25 % &amp;#177; 22 %) and a non-significant upward trend in earthworm abundance. Land-use change from arable land led to particularly strong benefits, providing an insight into how future land-use change to bioenergy crops could support biodiversity. Evidence concerning the impact of bioenergy crops on landscape amenity value highlighted the importance of landscape context, planting strategies, and landowner motivations in determining amenity values, with few generalizable conclusions. In this first meta-analysis to quanitfy the impacts of land-use change to bioenergy on on biodiversity and amenity, &amp;#160;we have demonsrated &amp;#160;improved farm-scale biodiversity on agricultural land but also demonstrated the lack of knowledge concerning public response to bioenergy crops which could prove crucial to the political feasibility of bioenergy policies such as BECCS.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Land-use change from food to energy: meta-analysis unravels effects of bioenergy on biodiversity and amenity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caspar Donnison ◽  
Robert A Holland ◽  
Zoe M Harris ◽  
Felix Eigenbrod ◽  
Gail Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Bioenergy Crops ◽  
Amenity Value ◽  
The Impact

Most decarbonization scenarios of energy systems necessitate more than 500 Mha of land converted to non-food bioenergy crops to provide both energy substitutes for fossil fuels and negative emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Understanding the environmental and societal impact of this significant land-use change (LUC) is important in determining where and how bioenergy crops should be deployed, and the trade-offs and co-benefits to the environment and society. Here, we use two systematic reviews and a meta-analysis to assess the existing literature on impacts that are likely to have an important effect on public perceptions of the acceptability of such land use change: biodiversity and amenity value. We focus on the impact of LUC to non-food bioenergy crops on agricultural landscapes, where large-scale bioenergy planting may be required. Our meta-analysis finds strong benefits for biodiversity overall (up 75 % ± 13 %), with particular benefits for bird abundance (+ 81 % ± 32 %), bird species richness (+ 100 % ± 31 %), arthropod abundance (+ 52 % ± 36 %), microbial biomass (+ 77 % ± 24 %), and plant species richness (+ 25 % ± 22 %), when land moves out of either arable crops or grassland to bioenergy production. Conversions from arable land to energy trees led to particularly strong benefits, providing an insight into how future LUC to bioenergy crops could support biodiversity. There were inadequate data to complete a meta-analysis on the effects of bioenergy crops on landscape amenity value, and few generalizable conclusions from systematic review of the literature, however, findings highlight the importance of landscape context and planting strategies in determining amenity values. Our findings demonstrate improved farm-scale biodiversity on agricultural land with bioenergy crops, but also limited knowledge concerning public response to this land use change which could prove crucial to the effective deployment of bioenergy.

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