Phan Me is a midland-mountainous commune of Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam where the agricultural activities are predominant occupation. The investigation on the use of plant protection products in here showed that chemical pesticides have been commonly used in agricultural activities. Although some local people have a good attitude in using plant protection products, the status of using chemical pesticides that were not recommended (like Vofatox) has been quite popular due to the old cultivation customs. The local people have not applied any measures for wastewater treatment, or plant protection product package treatment. Besides, the use of plant protection products in higher concentration than recommendation for vegetables or crops caused the residues of toxics in agricultural products as well as in cultivation soil. The accumulation of toxic residues in the environment is a serious matter of concern because of their significant impact on the environment, agricultural ecosystem and human health. / Phấn Mễ là một xã trung du miền núi của huyện Phú Lương, tỉnh Thái Nguyên, Việt Nam với hoạt động sản xuất nông nghiệp là chủ yếu. Qua thực tế điều tra tình hình sử dụng thuốc bảo vệ thực vật (BVTV) tại đây cho thấy hầu hết các loại hình sản xuất nông nghiệp đều sử dụng thuốc BVTV. Một số người dân đã có ý thức trong việc sử dụng thuốc BVTV tuy nhiên do tập quán canh tác từ lâu đời nên việc sử dụng các loại thuốc bị khuyến cáo, chẳng hạn như Vofatox, vẫn còn khá phổ biến. Người dân chưa tiến hành các biện pháp để xử lý nước thải, bao bì, vỏ chai thuốc BVTV sau khi sử dụng. Bên canh đó, họ còn sử dụng thuốc BVTV không đúng liều lượng cho một số loại cây rau để lại dư lượng thuốc trên nông sản cũng như đất canh tác. Sự tích lũy dư lượng của những chất độc hại này trong môi trường là vấn đề đáng lo ngại do sự ảnh hưởng nghiêm trọng của chúng đối với môi trường sống, hệ sinh thái nông nghiệp và sức khỏe con người.

Maßnahme 5 der EU-Biodiversitätsstrategie sieht vor, dass die Mitgliedstaaten den Zustand der Ökosysteme und ihrer Leistungen (ÖSL) kartieren und bewerten sowie die Integration in die Berichtssysteme auf EU- und nationaler Ebene bis 2020 voranbringen. Im Rahmen eines aktuellen Forschungsprojektes werden von 2014 bis 2016 quantitative Werte für ausgewählte ÖSL bestimmt und kartiert. Ziel ist es, Methoden zur bundesweiten Erfassung und Bewertung von ÖSL weiter zu entwickeln und umzusetzen. Die Indikatoren zum flächendeckenden Monitoring von Ökosystemen und ihren Leistungen für das gesamte Bundesgebiet sollen spezifiziert und qualifiziert, auf Expertenbasis diskutiert und je nach Erfordernis und Realisierbarkeit berechnet, kartographisch und statistisch umgesetzt bewertet werden. In diesem Beitrag werden das zu erarbeitende Indikatorensystem umrissen sowie ausgewählte Indikatoren vorgestellt. Erste vorläufige Ergebnisse liegen für die Grünversorgung in Städten und den Holzvorrat vor.

Der Bedarf an Daten über die quantitative und qualitative Veränderung unserer Landschaft bzw. der Ökosysteme ist hoch, viele Erhebungen betrachten aber nur Teilaspekte oder sind nicht genau genug. Mit dem Ökosystem-Monitoring soll ein repräsentatives Langzeit-Beobachtungsnetz auf bundesweit repräsentativen Stichprobenflächen geschaffen werden, mit dem der Zustand und die Veränderungen der vorhandenen Strukturen und Ökosysteme der Gesamtlandschaft dokumentiert werden können. Auf Basis der Roten Liste der Biotoptypen wurde eine Kartieranleitung erstellt und mit flächendeckenden Erfassungen auf bundesweit repräsentativen Stichprobenflächen in größerem Umfang getestet. Neben den Biotoptypen wurden dabei auch charakteristische Zusatzmerkmale erhoben, welche Aussagen zur Qualität der Biotoptypen erlauben. Die Ergebnisse der Ersterfassungen wurden auf bundesweite Werte hochgerechnet, wobei Vergleiche mit bestehenden Daten eine gute Aussagekraft der Monitoring-Daten attestieren.

Die Leistung der Ökosysteme zur Erhaltung der biologischen Vielfalt soll als Teil der umweltökonomischen Gesamtrechnung erhoben, bewertet und messbar gemacht werden. Ein Monitoring räumlich expliziter Ökosystembilanzen ermöglicht politische und fachliche Schlussfolgerungen, die ggf. Qualitätsverluste anzeigen und Gegenmaßnahmen begründen können. Als Beobachtungsgröße zu Zustand und Leistungen der Ökosysteme wurde ein Biodiversitätsflächenindikator entwickelt, dessen Datengrundlagen in diesem Beitrag vorgestellt werden. Der Indikator verwendet ein hierarchisches System der Ökosystemklassifizierung und -zuordnung, deren Veränderungen regelmäßig bundesweit beobachtet werden. Dafür genutzt wird eine Kombination aus wiederholt aktualisierten, flächenhaften Landbedeckungsdaten mit nicht flächenkonkreten oder zeitlich bzw. räumlich diskontinuierlich verfügbaren Fachdaten zu den Eigenschaften der Ökosysteme. Diese Datenkombination erlaubt eine vergleichende Bewertung des bundesdeutschen Ökosysteminventars in Fläche und Qualität. Der vorgeschlagene Indikator nutzt kardinale Biotopwertpunkte der Bundeskompensationsverordnung. Die Biotoptypen werden abgeleitet aus dem Landbedeckungsmodell Deutschland und präzisiert durch Fachinformationen aus der Berichterstattung zur EU wie NATURA 2000, Wasserrahmenrichtlinie und landwirtschaftlich genutzten Flächen mit hohem Naturschutzwert sowie mithilfe statistischer Flächenerhebungen und der Bundeswaldinventur. Aufgrund der Anwendung von Biotopwertpunkten kann auch eine monetäre Bewertung durchgeführt werden, die auf durchschnittlichen Kosten zur Entwicklung von Biotopen basiert.

Climate change has created potential major threats to global biodiversity. The multiple components of climate change are projected to affect all pillars of biodiversity, from genes over species to biome level. Of particular concerns are "tipping points" where the exceedance of ecosystem thresholds will possibly lead to irreversible shifts of ecosystems and their functioning. As biodiversity underlies all goods and services provided by ecosystems that are crucial for human survival and wellbeing, this paper presents potential effects of climate change on biodiversity, its plausible impacts on human society as well as the setting in addressing a global crisis. Species affected by climate change may respond in three ways: change, move or die. Local species extinctions or a rapidly affected ecosystem as a whole respectively might move toward its particular "tipping point", thereby probably depriving its services to human society and ending up in a global crisis. Urgent and appropriate actions within various scenarios of climate change impacts on biodiversity, especially in tropical regions, are needed to be considered. Foremost a multisectoral approach on biodiversity issues with broader policies, stringent strategies and programs at international, national and local levels is essential to meet the challenges of climate change impacts on biodiversity.

Technical complexities and the high cost of satellite images have hindered the adoption of remote sensing technology and tools for nature conservation works in Ethiopia as in many developing countries. The terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Abijjata Shala Lakes National Park (ASLNP) and the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) around the park are considered to be one of the most important home ranges for birds. However, little is known about the effect of land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics, due to lack of technical know how and logistical problems. However, it has been shown in this study that sophisticated image management works are not always relevant. Instead a simple method of utilizing the thermal band has been demonstrated. A new approach of long-term dynamics analysis method has also been suggested. A successful classification of images was achieved after such simple enhancement tests. It has been discovered that, there were more active LULC change processes in the area in the first study period (1973 to 1986) than during the second study period (1986-2000). In the first period nearly half of the landscape underwent land cover change processes with more than 26% of the entire landscape experiencing forest or land degradation. In the second period the extent of the change process was limited to only 1/3 of the total area with a smaller amount of degradation processes than before. During the entire study period, agriculture was responsible for the loss of more than 4/5 of the total terrestrial productive ecosystem. More than 37.6% of the total park area has been experiencing this loss for the past 3 decades. Only 1/5 of this area has a chance to revive, the remaining has undergone a permanent degradation. Lake Abijjata lost half of its size during the past 30 years. In the Zeway-Awassa basin 750 km², 2428km² and 3575km² of terrestrial lands and water bodies are within a distance of 10km, 20km and 30km from IBAs respectively. There are ecologically important areas where two or more IBAs overlap. In areas where more than two to five IBAs overlap, up to 85km² of areas have been recently degraded. High livestock density is one of the reasons for degradation. Using a monthly MODIS data from 2000-2005 and a series of interpolation techniques, the productivity of the area as well as the standing biomass were estimated. Moreover, a new method of spatially accurate livestock density assessment was developed in this study. Only 0.3% of the park area is found to be suitable for productive livestock development but nearly all inhabitants think the area is suitable. Feed availability in ASLNP is scarce even during rainy seasons. Especially the open woodlands are subject to overgrazing. Such shortage forces the inhabitants to cut trees for charcoal making to buy animal feed and non-food consumables. While more than 95% of the inhabitants in the park expanded their agriculture lands, only 13.3% of the farmers managed to produce cereals for market. The application of low cost remote sensing and GIS methods provided ample information that enables to conclude that low productivity and household food insecurity are the main driving forces behind land cover changes that are negatively affecting the natural and semi-natural ecosystems in the central and southern Rift Valley of Ethiopia. The restoration of natural ecosystems or conservation of biodiversity can be achieved only if those driving forces are tackled sustainably.

No description available.

The approach of conceptualizing biodiversity and ecosystems as goods and services to be represented by monetary values in policy is being championed not just by economists, but also by ecologists and conservation biologists. This new environmental pragmatism is now being pushed forward internationally under the guise of hardwiring biodiversity and ecosystems services into finance. This conflicts with the realisation that biodiversity and ecosystems have multiple incommensurable values. The current trend is to narrowly define a set of instrumental aspects of ecosystems and biodiversity to be associated with ad hoc money numbers. We argue that ecosystem science has more to offer the policy debate than pseudo-economic numbers based on assumptions that do not reflect ecological or social complexity. Re-establishing the ecological discourse in biodiversity policy implies a crucial role for biophysical indicators as policy targets e.g., the Nature Index for Norway. Yet there is a recognisable need to go beyond the traditional ecological approach to create a social ecological economic discourse. This requires reviving and relating to a range of alternative ecologically informed discourses (e.g. intrinsic values, deep ecology, ecofeminism) in order to transform the increasingly dominant and destructive relationship of humans separated from and domineering over Nature. (author's abstract) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Theory suggests that plant interactions at the neighbourhood scale play a fundamental role in regulating biodiversity–productivity relationships (BPRs) in tree communities. However, empirical evidence of this prediction is rare, as little is known about how neighbourhood interactions scale up to influence community BPRs. Here, using a biodiversity–ecosystem functioning experiment, we provide insights into processes underlying BPRs by demonstrating that diversity-mediated interactions among local neighbours are a strong regulator of productivity in species mixtures. Our results show that local neighbourhood interactions explain over half of the variation in observed community productivity along a diversity gradient. Overall, individual tree growth increased with neighbourhood species richness, leading to a positive BPR at the community scale. The importance of local-scale neighbourhood effects for regulating community productivity, however, distinctly increased with increasing community species richness. Preserving tree species diversity at the local neighbourhood scale, thus seems to be a promising way for promoting forest productivity.

Die mit dem Sommer 2018 einsetzende Grundwasserdürre in Sachsen führte zum Trockenfallen von Brunnen und Quellen, aber gleichzeitig auch zu einer steigenden Nachfrage an der Nutzung der Grundwasserressource. Weiterhin projizieren Klima- und Wasserhaushaltsmodelle für Sachsen regional-spezifische Rückgänge der mittleren Grundwasserneubildung. Um die langfristigen Planungen der Wasserversorgung sowie die nachhaltige Bewirtschaftung des Grundwassers zu qualifizieren, wurden Anforderungen und methodische Grundlagen zur Erstellung von Dargebotsnachweisen für Grundwasserentnahmen aktualisiert. Leitfadenbestandteile zur Auswertung und Darstellung beobachteter und modellierter Wasserhaushaltsdaten sollen Antragstellern von Grundwasserentnahmen und wasserrechtlichen Vollzugsbehörden bei der Abschätzung prognostischer Grundwasserdargebote unterstützen. Redaktionsschluss: 18.08.2021