scholarly journals Lizard Activity and Abundance Greater in Burned Habitat of a Xeric Montane Forest

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin L. Fouts ◽  
Clinton T. Moore ◽  
Kristine D. Johnson ◽  
John C Maerz
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Habitat Modeling ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Sceloporus Undulatus ◽  
Great Smoky Mountains ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Resource Managers

Abstract Restoring the natural or historical state of ecosystems is a common objective among resource managers, but determining whether desired system responses to management actions are occurring is often protracted and challenging. For wildlife, the integration of mechanistic habitat modeling with population monitoring may provide expedited measures of management effectiveness and improve understanding of how management actions succeed or fail to recover populations. Southern Appalachia is a region of high biodiversity that has undergone dramatic change as a result of human activities such as historic logging, exotic invasions, and alteration of disturbance regimes—including reduction in application of fire. Contemporary efforts to restore fire-maintained ecosystems within southern Appalachian forests require tools to assess the effects of fire management practices on individual animal fitness and relate them to corresponding influences on species abundance. Using automated sensing equipment, we investigated the effects of burned forests on reptile habitat suitability within the western portion of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Specifically, we used microclimate measurements to model northern fence lizard Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus diurnal activity budgets in unburned and variable burn age (3–27-y) forest stands. We estimated northern fence lizard occurrence and abundance along transects through burned and unburned forests. Burned forest stands had microclimates that resulted in longer modeled daily activity periods under most conditions during summer. S. undulatus abundance was 4.75 times greater on burned stands compared to paired unburned stands, although the relationship between burn age and abundance was not well determined. Results suggest the more open habitat structure of burned areas within these xeric pine–oak forests may benefit S. undulatus.

scholarly journals Bird monitoring programs in Ontario: What have we got and what do we need?

2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles M Francis ◽  
Peter J Blancher ◽  
R. Dean Phoenix
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Bird Population ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Bird Monitoring

Bird population monitoring should be designed to enhance conservation of birds through informing policy decisions and management actions. Many different bird surveys are undertaken in Ontario ranging from province-wide multi-species programs such as the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas to single-species localized surveys for Species at Risk. Although most surveys provide some useful contributions towards understanding the status of bird populations, there remain significant gaps in both species and geographic coverages, especially in the northern half of the province, and few surveys are sufficient for evaluating the specific effects of current management practices on birds. Enhancing bird monitoring in the province should first involve clearly defining, quantitatively, the information required for management, conservation and decision-making, in the context of an adaptive management cycle, and then identifying the most cost-effective monitoring programs to obtain that information. This can most effectively be implemented through a cooperative effort involving all parties with an interest in bird monitoring data including federal and provincial government agencies, environmental non-government organizations, and industry. Key words: bird population monitoring, evaluation, adaptive management, decision-making

Strategies to improve implementation of adaptive management practices for restoration in coastal Louisiana

Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Tim Carruthers ◽  
Richard Raynie ◽  
Alyssa Dausman ◽  
Syed Khalil
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Agency ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Coastal Restoration ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Coastal Louisiana ◽  
Restoration Effort

Natural resources of coastal Louisiana support the economies of Louisiana and the whole of the United States. However, future conditions of coastal Louisiana are highly uncertain due to the dynamic processes of the Mississippi River delta, unpredictable storm events, subsidence, sea level rise, increasing temperatures, and extensive historic management actions that have altered natural coastal processes. To address these concerns, a centralized state agency was formed to coordinate coastal protection and restoration effort, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). This promoted knowledge centralization and supported informal adaptive management for restoration efforts, at that time mostly funded through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). Since the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 and the subsequent settlement, the majority of restoration funding for the next 15 years will come through one of the DWH mechanisms; Natural Resource and Damage Assessment (NRDA), the RESTORE Council, or National Fish and Wildlife Foundation –Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (NFWF-GEBF). This has greatly increased restoration effort and increased governance complexity associated with project funding, implementation, and reporting. As a result, there is enhanced impetus to formalize and unify adaptive management processes for coastal restoration in Louisiana. Through synthesis of input from local coastal managers, historical and current processes for project and programmatic implementation and adaptive management were summarized. Key gaps and needs to specifically increase implementation of adaptive management within the Louisiana coastal restoration community were identified and developed into eight tangible and specific recommendations. These were to streamline governance through increased coordination amongst implementing entities, develop a discoverable and practical lessons learned and decision database, coordinate ecosystem reporting, identify commonality of restoration goals, develop a common cross-agency adaptive management handbook for all personnel, improve communication (both in-reach and outreach), have a common repository and clearing house for numerical models used for restoration planning and assessment, and expand approaches for two-way stakeholder engagement throughout the restoration process. A common vision and maximizing synergies between entities can improve adaptive management implementation to maximize ecosystem and community benefits of restoration effort in coastal Louisiana. This work adds to current knowledge by providing specific strategies and recommendations, based upon extensive engagement with restoration practitioners from multiple state and federal agencies. Addressing these practitioner-identified gaps and needs will improve engagement in adaptive management in coastal Louisiana, a large geographic area with high restoration implementation within a complex governance framework.

Can farm-management practices reduce the impact of house mouse populations on crops in an irrigated farming system?

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R. Brown ◽  
Micah J. Davies ◽  
Grant R. Singleton ◽  
J. David Croft
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Advisory Panel ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Winter Cereals ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

The impacts of a range of farm-management practices on house mouse (Mus domesticus) populations were tested in a large replicated field study in a complex irrigated farming system in southern New South Wales, Australia. An advisory panel, made up of farmers, extension officers, industry representatives and scientists developed a series of best-practice farm-management actions to minimise the impact of mice. Twelve experimental sites were split into six treated sites, where farmers were encouraged to conduct the recommended practices, and six untreated sites, where farmers conducted their normal farming practices. Mouse abundance was generally low to moderate for the 4-year project (5–60% adjusted trap success). We found significant reductions in population abundance of mice on treated sites when densities were moderate, but no differences when densities were low. Biomass of weeds and grasses around the perimeter of crops were significantly lower on treated sites because of applications of herbicide sprays and grazing by sheep. We could not detect any significant difference in mouse damage to crops between treated and untreated sites; however, levels of damage were low (<5%). Yields of winter cereals and rice crops were significantly higher on treated sites by up to 40%. An analysis of benefits and costs of conducting farming practices on treated sites compared with untreated sites showed a 2 : 1 benefit to cost ratio for winter cereals, 9 : 1 for rice and 4 : 1 for soybeans.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Curtailment: Evaluating Water Management Practices in the Context of Changing Runoff Regimes in a Snowmelt-Dominated Basin

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Steimke ◽  
Bangshuai Han ◽  
Jodi Brandt ◽  
Alejandro Flores
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Water Rights ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Hydrological Response ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Alternative Future ◽  
Annual Discharge ◽  
Semi Arid

Hydrologic scientists and water resource managers often focus on different facets of flow regimes in changing climates. The objective of this work is to examine potential hydrological changes in the Upper Boise River Basin, Idaho, USA in the context of biophysical variables and their impacts a key variable governing administration of water resources in the region in an integrated way. This snowmelt-dominated, mountainous watershed supplies water to a semi-arid, agriculturally intensive, but rapidly urbanizing, region. Using the Envision integrated modeling framework, we created a hydrological model to simulate hydrological response to the year 2100 using six alternative future climate trajectories. Annual discharge increased from historical values by 6–24% across all simulations (with an average 13% increase), reflecting an increase in precipitation in the climate projections. Discharge peaked 4–33 days earlier and streamflow center of timing occurred 4–17 days earlier by midcentury. Examining changes in the date junior water rights holders begin to be curtailed regionally (the Day of Allocation), we found that the it occurs at least 14 days earlier by 2100 across all simulations, with one suggesting it could occur over a month earlier. These results suggest that current methods and policies of water rights accounting and management may need to be revised moving into the future.

Bayes Nets as a method for analysing the influence of management actions in fire planning

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 909 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Penman ◽  
O. Price ◽  
R. A. Bradstock
Keyword(s):  
Process Model ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Relative Reduction ◽  
Holistic Model ◽  
Bayes Nets ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Fire Planning ◽  
In Fire

Wildfire can result in significant economic costs with inquiries following such events often recommending an increase in management effort to reduce the risk of future losses. Currently, there are no objective frameworks in which to assess the relative merits of management actions or the synergistic way in which the various combinations may act. We examine the value of Bayes Nets as a method for assessing the risk reduction from fire management practices using a case study from a forested landscape. Specifically, we consider the relative reduction in wildfire risk from investing in prescribed burning, initial or rapid attack and suppression. The Bayes Net was developed using existing datasets, a process model and expert opinion. We compared the results of the models with the recorded fire data for an 11-year period from 1997 to 2000 with the model successfully duplicating these data. Initial attack and suppression effort had the greatest effect on the distribution of the fire sizes for a season. Bayes Nets provide a holistic model for considering the effect of multiple fire management methods on the risk of wildfires. The methods could be further advanced by including the costs of management and conducting a formal decision analysis.

scholarly journals Stationary Forestry with Human Interference

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petri Kärenlampi
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Small Volume ◽  
Development Model ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Stand Development ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Human Interference ◽  
Return Rates ◽  
Appreciation Rate ◽  
Capital Return

Here, we present stationarity criteria for forest stands and establish ecological embodiments using an empirical stand development model. We introduced human interference in terms of diameter-limit cutting. Financial sustainability was investigated as a function of the cutting limit diameter. It was found that nonoperative capitalization along with its appreciation rate dictates the sustainability of management practices. In the absence of nonoperative capitalization, stationary forestry produces high capital return rates at a rather small volume of growing trees. In the case of large but constant nonoperative capitalization, a large operative capitalization resulting in a large harvesting yield provides the best capital returns. A high nonoperative appreciation rate requires a small volume of growing trees.

scholarly journals Introduced and cryptogenic species and their management in Paranaguá Bay, Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Somaio Neves ◽  
Rosana Moreira da Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Paranaguá Bay ◽  
Cryptogenic Species ◽  
Information Database ◽  
Hard Substrates ◽  
Underwater Structures

The aim of this work was to identify the introduced and cryptogenic species in encrusting and associated communities of hard substrates in Paranaguá Bay, Brazil, and to attempt to determine which of these species could negatively affect the local community to suggest management strategies for these species. At least four introduced species were found - a large number in comparison with other port surveys. These were the hydrozoan Garveia franciscana Torrey, 1902, the polychaete Polydora cornuta Bosc, 1902, the barnacles Amphibalanus reticulatus (Utinoni, 1967) and Striatobalanus amaryllis Darwin, 1854, all with potentially harmful impacts. Of the 33 cryptogenic species, four were also listed in the literature as causing negative effects. We propose the following management practices: periodic cleaning of all underwater structures, population monitoring of invasive species and potential substrates, an information database of potential sources of introduction.

scholarly journals Inferring invasive species abundance using removal data from management actions

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2339-2346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy J. Davis ◽  
Mevin B. Hooten ◽  
Ryan S. Miller ◽  
Matthew L. Farnsworth ◽  
Jesse Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Management Actions

What are the Environmental Consequences of Using Silviculturally Effective Forest Vegetation Management Treatments?

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (02) ◽  
pp. 201-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathie Swift ◽  
F. Wayne Bell
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Forest Vegetation ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Forest Vegetation Management

In this paper, we present examples of stand-level consequences of using forest vegetation management treatments in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems in Canada. Specifically, we address several selected indicators: air and water quality, soils and nutrients, plant diversity, and wildlife habitat. For each of these, we discuss direct and indirect effects of five broad categories of treatments: (1) silviculture and harvesting systems and (2) physical, (3) thermal, (4) cultural, and (5) chemical/biological treatments. Our emphasis is on forest vegetation management treatments that are currently used in Canada to manage conifers. By applying regulations and best management practices, conducting landscape-level analyses and developing longer-term monitoring programs resource managers can minimize the effects of FVM treatments on the environmental indicators presented in this paper.

scholarly journals Employers' perceptions of the Labour Contract Law: regulatory responses in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector in China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoheng Li ◽  
Christopher J. Rees
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Western China ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Employment Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Managers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore employers' perceptions of China's Labour Contract Law (LCL) and its influence on employment relations and human resource management practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts a qualitative approach based on 24 interviews with owners and human resource managers of 23 privately owned SMEs in eastern and western China.FindingsMixed levels of reported compliance with the provisions of the LCL legislation indicate that the regulatory adoptive behaviours of SME employers are partially explained by the coercive mechanism. Various strategies adopted by employers suggest that when under the pressure of law, SMEs are formalising their employment practices while simultaneously seeking to maintain a degree of informality in respect these practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe adopted qualitative approach may limit the findings to be explorative within broader national contexts.Practical implicationsThe move towards more formalised practices helps to address issues such as high turnover and widespread labour shortage in SMEs. The paper is likely to be of interest to policymakers seeking to gain insights into employers' perceptions as a means to develop more effective labour regulations.Originality/valueUnlike most of existing literature examining the general compliance to the LCL and workers' perspectives, this paper reports the views of SME employers; as such, it offers an original contribution to understanding of the role and behaviours of SME employers in regulatory responses in the studied context.

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