scholarly journals A Habitat-Based Framework for Communicating Natural Resource Condition

ISRN Ecology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim J. B. Carruthers ◽  
Shawn L. Carter ◽  
Todd R. Lookingbill ◽  
Lisa N. Florkowski ◽  
Jane M. Hawkey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
General Audience ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Resource Condition ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Forest Habitats

Progress in achieving desired environmental outcomes needs to be rigorously measured and reported for effective environmental management. Two major challenges in achieving this are, firstly, how to synthesize monitoring data in a meaningful way at appropriate temporal and spatial scales and, secondly, how to present results in a framework that allows for effective communication to resource managers and scientists as well as a broader general audience. This paper presents a habitat framework, developed to assess the natural resource condition of the urban Rock Creek Park (Washington, DC, USA), providing insight on how to improve future assessments. Vegetation and stream GIS layers were used to classify three dominant habitat types, Forest, Wetland, and Artificial-terrestrial. Within Rock Creek Park, Forest habitats were assessed as being in good condition (67% threshold attainment of desired condition), Wetland habitats to be in fair condition (49% attainment), and Artificial-terrestrial habitats to be in degraded condition (26% attainment), resulting in an assessed fair/good condition (60% attainment; weighted by habitat area) for all natural resources in Rock Creek Park. This approach has potential to provide assessment of resource condition for diverse ecosystems and provides a basis for addressing management questions across multiple spatial scales.

scholarly journals Microclimate and resource quality determine resource use in a range-expanding herbivore

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 20210175
Author(s):  
James E. Stewart ◽  
Ilya M. D. Maclean ◽  
Alice J. Edney ◽  
Jon Bridle ◽  
Robert J. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Resource Condition ◽  
Range Dynamics

The consequences of climate change for biogeographic range dynamics depend on the spatial scales at which climate influences focal species directly and indirectly via biotic interactions. An overlooked question concerns the extent to which microclimates modify specialist biotic interactions, with emergent properties for communities and range dynamics. Here, we use an in-field experiment to assess egg-laying behaviour of a range-expanding herbivore across a range of natural microclimatic conditions. We show that variation in microclimate, resource condition and individual fecundity can generate differences in egg-laying rates of almost two orders of magnitude in an exemplar species, the brown argus butterfly ( Aricia agestis ). This within-site variation in fecundity dwarfs variation resulting from differences in average ambient temperatures among populations. Although higher temperatures did not reduce female selection for host plants in good condition, the thermal sensitivities of egg-laying behaviours have the potential to accelerate climate-driven range expansion by increasing egg-laying encounters with novel hosts in increasingly suitable microclimates. Understanding the sensitivity of specialist biotic interactions to microclimatic variation is, therefore, critical to predict the outcomes of climate change across species' geographical ranges, and the resilience of ecological communities.

The system of natural resources' digital cartographic models as a means to support environmental management

2017 ◽  
Vol 920 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
O.N. Nikolaeva
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Geospatial Modeling ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
First Case ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Resource Condition ◽  
Natural Resource Managers ◽  
Sustainable Usage ◽  
Data Transforming

The use of digital cartographic items for natural resources management is considered in the article. A brief characteristic of a system of natural resources’ digital cartographic models as a new instrument for geospatial modeling of natural resources data is given. It is pointed out that the federal subject of Russia is regarded as a region in this case. Natural resource managers are determined as the intended audience for the system of natural resources’ digital cartographic models of region. The conceptual scheme of the system of natural resources’ digital cartographic models, presented in the article, illustrates its purpose, source data and used methods of data transforming. The two versions of presentation of the modeling results are described. In the first case the user gets the set of indexes of natural resource condition to make his own conclusions. In the second case the user gets a recommendation of sustainable usage of natural resource. Both versions of presentation are illustrated with cartographic models of forest resources of Novosibisk region.

Integration of Human/Social Dimensions into the Traditional European Model of Natural Resource Education and Management

2005 ◽  
Vol 156 (8) ◽  
pp. 264-268
Author(s):  
James J. Kennedy ◽  
Niels Elers Koch
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Western World ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Natural Resource Managers ◽  
Rural Ecosystem ◽  
Professional Roles And Responsibilities

The increasing diversity, complexity and dynamics of ecosystem values and uses over the last 50 years requires new ways for natural resource managers (foresters, wildlife biologists, etc.)to understand and relate to their professional roles and responsibilities in accommodating urban and rural ecosystem users, and managing the complimentary and conflicting interactions between them. Three stages in Western-world natural resources management are identified and analyzed, beginning with the (1) Traditional stage: natural resources first, foremost and forever, to (2) Transitional stage: natural resource management,for better or worse, involves people, to (3) Relationship stage: managing natural resources for valued people and ecosystem relationships. The impacts of these three perspectives on how natural resource managers view and respond to ecosystems,people and other life-forms is basic and can be profound.

Natural resource condition assessment: Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Jones ◽  
Roy Cook ◽  
John Sovell ◽  
Matt Ley ◽  
Hannah Shepler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource ◽  
Condition Assessment ◽  
Resource Condition

Larval Feeding: Mechanisms, Rates, and Performance in Nature

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Larval Feeding ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Feeding Mechanism ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Bioenergetics Models ◽  
Many Particles

Larvae of many marine invertebrates must capture and ingest particulate food in order to develop to metamorphosis. These larvae use only a few physical processes to capture particles, but implement these processes using diverse morphologies and behaviors. Detailed understanding of larval feeding mechanism permits investigators to make predictions about feeding performance, including the size spectrum of particles larvae can capture and the rates at which they can capture them. In nature, larvae are immersed in complex mixtures of edible particles of varying size, density, flavor, and nutritional quality, as well as many particles that are too large to ingest. Concentrations of all of these components vary on fine temporal and spatial scales. Mechanistic models linking larval feeding mechanism to performance can be combined with data on food availability in nature and integrated into broader bioenergetics models to yield increased understanding of the biology of larvae in complex natural habitats.

Humans and the Environment

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Environmental Archaeology ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

The environment has always been a central concept for archaeologists and, although it has been conceived in many ways, its role in archaeological explanation has fluctuated from a mere backdrop to human action, to a primary factor in the understanding of society and social change. Archaeology also has a unique position as its base of interest places it temporally between geological and ethnographic timescales, spatially between global and local dimensions, and epistemologically between empirical studies of environmental change and more heuristic studies of cultural practice. Drawing on data from across the globe at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, this volume resituates the way in which archaeologists use and apply the concept of the environment. Each chapter critically explores the potential for archaeological data and practice to contribute to modern environmental issues, including problems of climate change and environmental degradation. Overall the volume covers four basic themes: archaeological approaches to the way in which both scientists and locals conceive of the relationship between humans and their environment, applied environmental archaeology, the archaeology of disaster, and new interdisciplinary directions.The volume will be of interest to students and established archaeologists, as well as practitioners from a range of applied disciplines.

scholarly journals Soil Degradation and Socioeconomic Systems’ Complexity: Uncovering the Latent Nexus

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Filippo Gambella ◽  
Giovanni Quaranta ◽  
Nathan Morrow ◽  
Renata Vcelakova ◽  
Luca Salvati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Local System ◽  
Local Systems ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Socioeconomic Dimension ◽  
External Signals

Understanding Soil Degradation Processes (SDPs) is a fundamental issue for humankind. Soil degradation involves complex processes that are influenced by a multifaceted ensemble of socioeconomic and ecological factors at vastly different spatial scales. Desertification risk (the ultimate outcome of soil degradation, seen as an irreversible process of natural resource destruction) and socioeconomic trends have been recently analyzed assuming “resilience thinking” as an appropriate interpretative paradigm. In a purely socioeconomic dimension, resilience is defined as the ability of a local system to react to external signals and to promote future development. This ability is intrinsically bonded with the socio-ecological dynamics characteristic of environmentally homogeneous districts. However, an evaluation of the relationship between SDPs and socioeconomic resilience in local systems is missing in mainstream literature. Our commentary formulates an exploratory framework for the assessment of soil degradation, intended as a dynamic process of natural resource depletion, and the level of socioeconomic resilience in local systems. Such a framework is intended to provide a suitable background to sustainability science and regional policies at the base of truly resilient local systems.

scholarly journals 8-Day and Daily Maximum and Minimum Air Temperature Estimation via Machine Learning Method on a Climate Zone to Global Scale

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2355
Author(s):  
Linglin Zeng ◽  
Yuchao Hu ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Xiang Zhang ◽  
Guozhang Peng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Validation Dataset ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Climate Zone ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Air temperature (Ta) is a required input in a wide range of applications, e.g., agriculture. Land Surface Temperature (LST) products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are widely used to estimate Ta. Previous studies of these products in Ta estimation, however, were generally applied in small areas and with a small number of meteorological stations. This study designed both temporal and spatial experiments to estimate 8-day and daily maximum and minimum Ta (Tmax and Tmin) on three spatial scales: climate zone, continental and global scales from 2009 to 2018, using the Random Forest (RF) method based on MODIS LST products and other auxiliary data. Factors contributing to the relation between LST and Ta were determined based on physical models and equations. Temporal and spatial experiments were defined by the rules of dividing the training and validation datasets for the RF method, in which the stations selected in the training dataset were all included or not in the validation dataset. The RF model was first trained and validated on each spatial scale, respectively. On a global scale, model accuracy with a determination coefficient (R2) > 0.96 and root mean square error (RMSE) < 1.96 °C and R2 > 0.95 and RMSE < 2.55 °C was achieved for 8-day and daily Ta estimations, respectively, in both temporal and spatial experiments. Then the model was trained and cross-validated on each spatial scale. The results showed that the data size and station distribution of the study area were the main factors influencing the model performance at different spatial scales. Finally, the spatial patterns of the model performance and variable importance were analyzed. Both daytime and nighttime LST had a significant contribution in the 8-day Tmax estimation on all the three spatial scales; while their contribution in daily Tmax estimation varied over different continents or climate zones. This study was expected to improve our understanding of Ta estimation in terms of accuracy variations and influencing variables on different spatial and temporal scales. The future work mainly includes identifying underlying mechanisms of estimation errors and the uncertainty sources of Ta estimation from a local to a global scale.

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