Biodiversity Conservation of National Parks and Nature-Protected Areas in West Africa: The Case of Kainji National Park, Nigeria

Due to rising global warming and climate change, biodiversity protection has become a critical ecological concern. The rich biodiversity zones are under threat and are deteriorating, necessitating national, regional, and provincial efforts to safeguard these natural areas. The effective conservation of National Parks and Nature-protected Areas helps to improve biodiversity conservations, forest, and urban air quality. The continuous encroachment and abuse of these protected areas have degraded the ecosystem over time. While exploring the geophysical ecology and biodiversity conservation of these areas in West Africa, Kainji National Park was selected for this study because of its notable location, naturalness, rich habitat diversity, topographic uniqueness, and landmass. The conservation of national parks and nature-protected areas is a cornerstone of biodiversity conservation globally. This study is aimed at the target of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13, 2030- Climate Action, targeted at taking urgent action towards combating climate change and its impacts. The study captures both flora and fauna that are dominant in the study area. The 15 identified trees were randomly sampled within a stratum of 10x10km shared into 24 plots for proper analyses using i-Tree Eco v6.0.23 software. The following data were captured and analyzed; Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Rain/Precipitation, Temperature, Transpiration, Evaporation, Water Intercepted by trees, Avoided Runoff by trees, Potential Evaporation by trees, Isoprene and Monoterpene by trees. This study also further discusses the tree benefits of green, low carbon, and sustainable environment within the context of biodiversity conservation considering carbon storage, carbon sequestration, hydrology effects, pollution removal, oxygen production, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). There is a quick need for remotely-sensed information of the protected areas at regular intervals and government policies must be strict against illegal poaching and logging activities.

Distributional Issues in Natural Capital Accounting: An Application to Land Ownership and Ecosystem Services in Scotland

Accounting for ecosystems is increasingly central to natural capital accounting. What is missing from this, however, is an answer to questions about how natural capital is distributed. That is, who consumes ecosystem services and who owns or manages the underlying asset(s) that give rise to ecosystem services. In this paper, we examine the significance of the ownership of land on which ecosystem assets (or ecosystem types) is located in the context of natural capital accounting. We illustrate this in an empirical application to two ecosystem services and a range of ecosystem types and land ownership in Scotland, a context in which land reform debates are longstanding. Our results indicate the relative importance of private land in ecosystem service supply, rather than land held by the public sector. We find relative concentration of ownership for land providing comparatively high amounts of carbon sequestration. For air pollution removal, however, the role of smaller to medium sized, mostly privately owned, land holdings closer to urban settlements becomes more prominent. The contributions in this paper, we argue, represent important first steps in anticipating distributional impacts of natural capital (and related) policy in natural capital accounts as well as connecting these frameworks to broader concerns about wealth disparities across and within countries.

Evaluation of Regulating and Provisioning Services Provided by a Park Designed to Be Resilient to Climate Change in Bangkok, Thailand

Understanding the ecosystem services provided by urban green spaces, in terms of their environmental, economic, and social benefits, is essential for a better management of area. Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (CU 100) was established to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially flood prevention. This study focused on quantifying the ecosystem services provided by the trees in the park in terms of regulating and provisioning services. A publicly available tool, the i-Tree Eco international software, was used with data obtained from a local weather station as proxies to determine the accuracy of the analysis. Services, quantified in terms of monetary value, included avoided runoff, carbon storage, carbon sequestration, pollution removal, and timber price. The total monetary benefits, obtained from 697 trees (56 species, 49 genera, and 22 families), were estimated at USD 101,400. Of the total services, provisioning services contributed 75% to the total monetary value. Among all regulating services, the avoided runoff contributed about 60%, which was considered as the goal achieved by the park design. Azadirachta indica A. Juss (USD 518.75/tree−1/year−1), Shorea roxburghii G. Don (USD 417.17/tree−1/year−1) and Millettia leucantha Kurz (USD 414.87/tree−1/year−1) provided the greatest benefit, as indicated by a high value of provisioning services in terms of a high timber quality. These results can be used when planning the composition of trees to be planted in urban areas to increase both green spaces and maximize ecosystem services to improve the vitality of human well-being.

Use of phytoremediation for pollution removal of hexavalent chromium-contaminated acid agricultural soils

<p>Chromium is a common heavy metal pollutant found in industrial wastewaters which may pollute agricultural soils through groundwater and watering. Phytoremediation is an economical and highly applicable method for removal of pollutants from agricultural soils. This research was carried out for the removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) contamination from the soil with the phytoremediation method. For this purpose, only 30 mg kg-1 hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI) as Chromium CrO3, only 10 mL bacteria Rhodobacter capsulatus DSM1710 and chromium plus bacteria applied to the pots and Malabar spinach (Basella alba L.) grown in the pots. At the end of experiment the results showed that side branching, leaf width, plant dry weights were the highest agro-morphological traits when bacteria were applied to chromium polluted soil. Some macro and micro nutrient elements which are essential for plant nutrition were analyzed (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn). Among them, N, P, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn were found to be statistically significant at the level of 5%. The Cr content of Malabar spinach in control soil was 0.31mgkg-1, but it was 2.33mgkg-1 when the soil was contaminated with Cr at the end of experiment. Moreover, when bacteria were additionally applied the Cr content increased to 4.02 mgkg-1 of Malabar spinach. Chromium pollution antagonistically affected both some nutrient element (P, K, Ca; Mg) and some heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn) in the soil. This study shows that phytoremediation can be used to remove the soil pollution caused by containing high hexavalent chromium. For this reason, the nitrogen fixing bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus and the hyperaccumulator Malabar spinach plant can be used. It is the first study where Malabar spinach was used a hyperaccumulator plant for chromium pollution in the soils.</p>

Estimating Air Pollution Removal and Monetary Value for Urban Green Infrastructure Strategies Using Web-Based Applications

More communities around the world are recognizing the benefits of green infrastructure (GI) and are planting millions of trees to improve air quality and overall well-being in cities. However, there is a need for accurate tools that can measure and value these benefits whilst also informing the community and city managers. In recent years, several online tools have been developed to assess ecosystem services. However, the reliability of such tools depends on the incorporation of local or regional data and site-specific inputs. In this communication, we have reviewed two of the freely available tools (i.e., i-Tree Canopy and the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics) using Bristol City Centre as an example. We have also discussed strengths and weaknesses for their use and, as tree planting strategy tools, explored further developments of such tools in a European context. Results show that both tools can easily calculate ecosystem services such as air pollutant removal and monetary values and at the same time be used to support GI strategies in compact cities. These tools, however, can only be partially utilized for tree planting design as they do not consider soil and root space, nor do they include drawing and painting futures. Our evaluation also highlights major gaps in the current tools, suggesting areas where more research is needed.

Study on the Ecosystem Services of Urban Forests: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation in the Case of Adama City of Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia

Background this study was conducted to explore the ecosystem services of urban forests in Adama city, central Ethiopia. Attempts were made to quantify the carbon storage and sequestration, air pollution removal and hydrological benefits of urban trees. The urban forest structure and composition of the city was surveyed and analyzed. The i-Tree Eco Model was employed to analyze the ecosystem services based on the current urban forests structure of the city. Results the result revealed that the urban trees of the Adama city stored a total of 116,000 tons of carbon. The tree species identified with higher CO2 sequestration per year were Melia azedarach (15%), Eucalyptusglobulus (8%), Carica papaya (7%), and Delonix regia (6%). In addition, 22%, 12%, 10% and 4% of carbon were stored by Eucalyptus globulus, Melia azedarach, Carica papaya and Delonix regia tree species respectively. Moreover, trees and shrubs species in the city removed about 188 thousand tons of air pollutants caused by O3, CO, NO2, PM2.5 and SO2 per year. In Adama, 35% of the urban trees’ volatile organic compaound emissions were from Eucalyptus cinerea and Eucalyptus globulus. The monetary value of Adama urban forest in terms of carbon storage, carbon sequestration, and pollution removal was estimated to 43,781, 3,121 yr− 1 and 320,915,596 USD yr− 1, respectively. Conclusions it was concluded that significant quantity of CO2 and air pollutants were found being removed by the exotic tree and shrub species. However, every plant species found in the city does not mean ecologically important due their VOC emitting nature. Thus, the results of the study are valuable in increasing the awareness of the decision making bodies, the public and any stakeholders of the eco-benefits of urban trees in the mitigation of climate changes.

A wireless real-time monitoring system on intelligent underwater pollution cleaning robot

Intelligent underwater pollution cleaning robot is used to release microbial solution which can dissolve into water slowly into polluted river, so that the solution can react fully with pollutants, so as to achieve the purpose of river pollution control. The research of robot wireless monitoring system is based on the comprehensive application of wireless communication technology and intelligent control technology, in order to achieve real-time monitoring and centralized remote control of underwater pollution removal. Through the three-dimensional structure modeling of the intelligent underwater pollution cleaning robot, the overall scheme design and debugging test of the wireless monitoring system, it is proved that the intelligent underwater pollution cleaning robot is feasible in the intelligent and efficient underwater cleaning operation, and it is a research method worthy of reference and promotion.

Forecasting Agroforestry Ecosystem Services Provision in Urban Regeneration Projects: Experiences and Perspectives from Milan

The expansion of urban agglomerates is causing significant environmental changes, while the demand and need for sustainability keep on growing. In this context, urban and peri-urban agriculture can play a crucial role, mainly if associated with an agroecological approach. Indeed, the extensive use of living fences and tree rows can improve the environmental quality, assuring ecosystem services (ES), developing a sustainable urban food system and increasing local productions and the related socio-economic improvements. This study aims to assess the benefits of an agroecological requalification of a dismissed peri-urban area in the South Milan Agricultural Regional Park (Italy), by evaluating two possible scenarios, both involving planting trees and shrubs in that area. The software I-Tree Eco simulates the ecosystem services provision of planting new hedgerows, evaluating the benefits over 30 years. The study underlines the difference between the two scenarios and how the planted area becomes an essential supplier of regulating ecosystem services for the neighbourhoods, increasing carbon storage and air pollution removal. Results were then analysed with a treemap, to better investigate and understand the relationship between the different ecosystem services, showing a notable increase in carbon sequestration at the end of the simulation (at year 30). The study shows a replicable example of a methodology and techniques that can be used to assess the ES in urban and peri-urban environments.