scholarly journals Transition of semi-natural grasslands and the significance of strategic grassland conservation in Ibaraki Prefecture

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 609-614
Author(s):  
Kazushige YAMAKI
Keyword(s):  
Grassland Conservation ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Ibaraki Prefecture

scholarly journals Social and Ecological Dimensions of Urban Conservation Grasslands and Their Management through Prescribed Burning and Woody Vegetation Removal

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Farrar ◽  
Dave Kendal ◽  
Kathryn J. H. Williams ◽  
Ben J. Zeeman
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Woody Plant Encroachment ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Grassland Conservation ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Eastern Australia

Natural grasslands are threatened globally. In south-eastern Australia, remnants of critically endangered natural grasslands are increasingly being isolated in urban areas. Urbanisation has led to reduced fire frequency and woody plant encroachment in some patches. Grasslands are currently being managed under the assumption that desirable management actions to address these threats (prescribed burning and removing woody vegetation) (1) lead to improved conservation outcomes and (2) are restricted by negative public attitudes. In this study, we tested these two assumptions in the context of native grassland conservation reserves in Melbourne, Australia. Firstly, we investigated differences in species and functional trait composition between patches that had been recently burnt, patches that were unburnt and patches subject to woody vegetation encroachment. We found that the functional traits of species converged in areas subject to woody plant encroachment and areas frequently disturbed by fire. Burning promoted native species, and patches of woody plants supressed the dominant grass, providing a wider range of habitat conditions. Secondly, we surveyed 477 residents living adjacent to these grassland conservation reserves to measure values, beliefs and attitudes and the acceptance of prescribed burning and removing woody vegetation. We found conflict in people’s attitudes to grasslands, with both strongly positive and strongly negative attitudes expressed. The majority of residents found prescribed burning an acceptable management practice (contrary to expectations) and removing trees and shrubs from grasslands to be unacceptable. Both cognitive factors (values and beliefs) and landscape features were important in influencing these opinions. This research provides some guidance for managing urban grassland reserves as a social–ecological system, showing that ecological management, community education and engagement and landscape design features can be integrated to influence social and ecological outcomes.

Analysis of the Social and Environmental Impact of Biodiesel Fuel Refined from Used Cooking Oil in Ibaraki Prefecture

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 749-762
Author(s):  
Hirokazu GOTO ◽  
Yuichi HATAYA ◽  
Yasuyuki YOKOTA ◽  
Takeshi MIZUNOYA ◽  
Yoshiro HIGANO
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Biodiesel Fuel ◽  
Cooking Oil ◽  
Used Cooking Oil ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ibaraki Prefecture

scholarly journals Nb-Ta minerals in a lithium pegmatite from Myokenzan, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 338-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi MATSUBARA ◽  
Akira KATO ◽  
Fumihiko MATSUYAMA
Keyword(s):  
Ibaraki Prefecture

scholarly journals Vegetation Response to Goats Grazing Intensity in Semiarid Hilly Grassland of the Loess Plateau, Lanzhou, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3569
Author(s):  
Hua Cheng ◽  
Baocheng Jin ◽  
Kai Luo ◽  
Jiuying Pei ◽  
Xueli Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Grazing Intensity ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Vegetation Community ◽  
Natural Grasslands

Quantitatively estimating the grazing intensity (GI) effects on vegetation in semiarid hilly grassland of the Loess Plateau can help to develop safe utilization levels for natural grasslands, which is a necessity of maintaining livestock production and sustainable development of grasslands. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), field vegetation data, and 181 days (one goat per day) of GPS tracking were combined to quantify the spatial pattern of GI, and its effects on the vegetation community structure. The spatial distribution of GI was uneven, with a mean value of 0.50 goats/ha, and 95% of the study area had less than 1.30 goats/ha. The areas with utilization rates of rangeland (July) lower than 45% and 20% made up about 95% and 60% of the study area, respectively. Grazing significantly reduced monthly aboveground biomass, but the grazing effects on plant growth rate were complex across the different plant growth stages. Grazing impaired plant growth in general, but the intermediate GI appeared to facilitate plant growth rate at the end of the growing seasons. Grazing had minimal relationship with vegetation community structure characteristics, though Importance Value of forbs increased with increasing GI. Flexibility in the number of goats and conservatively defining utilization rate, according to the inter-annual variation of utilization biomass, would be beneficial to achieve ecologically healthy and economically sustainable GI.

scholarly journals Reply to: “Results from a biodiversity experiment fail to represent economic performance of semi-natural grasslands”

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei Schaub ◽  
Robert Finger ◽  
Florian Leiber ◽  
Stefan Probst ◽  
Michael Kreuzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Natural Grasslands

scholarly journals Status of Phenological Research Using Sentinel-2 Data: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 2760
Author(s):  
Gourav Misra ◽  
Fiona Cawkwell ◽  
Astrid Wingler
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Short Wave ◽  
Current State ◽  
Red Edge ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Satellite Sensors ◽  
Sentinel 2

Remote sensing of plant phenology as an indicator of climate change and for mapping land cover has received significant scientific interest in the past two decades. The advancing of spring events, the lengthening of the growing season, the shifting of tree lines, the decreasing sensitivity to warming and the uniformity of spring across elevations are a few of the important indicators of trends in phenology. The Sentinel-2 satellite sensors launched in June 2015 (A) and March 2017 (B), with their high temporal frequency and spatial resolution for improved land mapping missions, have contributed significantly to knowledge on vegetation over the last three years. However, despite the additional red-edge and short wave infra-red (SWIR) bands available on the Sentinel-2 multispectral instruments, with improved vegetation species detection capabilities, there has been very little research on their efficacy to track vegetation cover and its phenology. For example, out of approximately every four papers that analyse normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) or enhanced vegetation index (EVI) derived from Sentinel-2 imagery, only one mentions either SWIR or the red-edge bands. Despite the short duration that the Sentinel-2 platforms have been operational, they have proved their potential in a wide range of phenological studies of crops, forests, natural grasslands, and other vegetated areas, and in particular through fusion of the data with those from other sensors, e.g., Sentinel-1, Landsat and MODIS. This review paper discusses the current state of vegetation phenology studies based on the first five years of Sentinel-2, their advantages, limitations, and the scope for future developments.

scholarly journals Minor Treatments Can Play a Significant Role in Preserving Natural Habitats and Protected Species on the Shore of a Central European Lake

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1540
Author(s):  
Bence Fülöp ◽  
Bálint Pacsai ◽  
Judit Bódis
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Lake Balaton ◽  
Protected Species ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Tourism Potential

Semi-natural grasslands were previously established through traditional land use and maintained by active management, but their extension nowadays is declining rapidly, particularly in areas that also have tourism potential. In parallel, the conservation value of the remaining areas is increasing. The shore of Lake Balaton is a particularly good example, as Lake Balaton is an area highly affected by tourism, yet there have been valuable habitats able to survive and provide refuge for many vulnerable, protected species. Fortunately, we have reliable information about the vegetation of the area from two decades ago. Comparing these data with our recent surveys we investigated the changes in habitats and the distribution of protected plant species in connection with the active conservation treatments such as grazing or cutting. Our results show that in areas where treatments are still ongoing, protected plant species are more likely to survive, or even other species can appear, which is in clear contrast with conditions experienced in abandoned areas, where at least seven protected species have disappeared. According to our results, minor, but appropriately chosen and well-executed management interventions, can help in the long-term maintenance of species-rich habitats and improving the conservation status of threatened species.

Taxonomic revision of the genus Panca Evans, 1955 (Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae: Hesperiini: Moncina) with the description of two new species

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4830 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-543
Author(s):  
ADALBERTO DANTAS DE MEDEIROS ◽  
DIEGO RODRIGO DOLIBAINA ◽  
EDUARDO CARNEIRO ◽  
OLAF HERMANN HENDRIK MIELKE ◽  
MIRNA MARTINS CASAGRANDE
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Taxonomic Revision ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
South American ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Distrito Federal ◽  
Respective Species

The South American genus Panca Evans, 1955 and its respective species are revised. Previous to this study, the genus included solely its type species, Lerodea subpunctuli Hayward, 1934, until Panca moseri Dolibaina, Carneiro & O. Mielke, 2017 was described recently. However, as a result of a broader morphological study including closely related genera, we here propose that Panca assembles 12 species, most of which inhabit open environments such as the Cerrado biome and the natural grasslands of the Atlantic Forest biome. Eight species formerly included among other genera of Moncina are here combined with Panca: Panca satyr (Evans, 1955) comb. nov., Panca tobiasi (Mielke, 1992) comb. nov., Panca trogon (Evans, 1955) comb. nov., Panca steinhauseri (Dolibaina & A. Warren, 2015) comb. nov., Panca acroleuca (Plötz, 1884) comb. nov., and Panca mirnae (O. Mielke, Dolibaina, Carneiro & A. Warren, 2015) comb. nov. (all formerly in Artines Godman, 1901), Panca paulo (Bell, 1932) comb. nov. (formerly in Eutocus Godman, 1901), and Panca mictra (Evans, 1955) comb. nov. (formerly in Vidius Evans, 1955). Additionally, two new species are described from Brazil: Panca puri Medeiros, O. Mielke & Casagrande sp. nov. (from Pará, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Paraná) and Panca xavante Medeiros, O. Mielke & Dolibaina sp. nov. (from Mato Grosso, Goiás, Distrito Federal and Minas Gerais). A neotype for Apaustus acroleuca Plötz, 1884 is designated. Illustrations of the male and female genitalia and distribution maps are presented for all the species of Panca and an identification key is provided for both sexes. 

Microhabitat use of different age groups of snake-eyed skink and Eastern green lizard

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dániel Kovács ◽  
István Kiss
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Management ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Environmental Niche ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Lacerta Viridis ◽  
First Time

Although Ablepharus kitaibelii and its subspecies are wide-spread, being distributed from the Carpathian Basin through the Balkans to Iraq, their habitat and environmental niche is poorly known. Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri is almost entirely limited to the Carpathian Basin, and is amongst the most strictly protected and least known reptiles of Central and Eastern Europe. The main aim of our study was to determine habitat use preferences of different age groups of A. kitaibelii fitzingeri and Lacerta viridis. The occurrence of green lizard was determined by the abundance of refugia rather than by the naturalness of grasslands. The snake-eyed skink prefers semi-natural grasslands with abundant tussock-forming grass or sedge species, avoiding densely shrubby places. For the first time, we show that woodland mosaics lacking shrubs and temporary grasslands next to forest edges are important for the species. Microhabitat use by snake-eyed skink varies with age group; adults preferring shady edge zones rich in leaf litter and shadier grassland spots provided by woodland mosaics, whereas juveniles were found in natural, more open grasslands far from forest edges and in woodland mosaics with dense shrubby understory. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the ecological needs of A. kitaibelii fitzingeri. Our methodology could be adapted to other species and subspecies of Ablepharus. Based on our results, it is important to reconsider habitat management activities, which should not be limited to shrub control: the main goal should be the development of a diverse habitat structure.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document