There is growing evidence that the achievement of biodiversity conservation objectives at the regional scale will have to take into account not only habitats within reserves, but also the contribution of semi-natural habitats in production landscapes. This requires knowledge of the conditions that maintain or enhance biodiversity in these suboptimal habitats. I focused on a system of forest patches and hedgerows in an agricultural landscape as habitats for dispersal-limited native forest herbs to (1) identify species-specific traits that appear to either limit or facilitate survival or colonization of forest herbs in hedgerows compared to forest patches, and (2) to evaluate the relative contribution of landscape and local variables in explaining patterns of forest herb species richness, abundance, and diversity in hedgerows. A fourth-corner analysis revealed that traits such as early spring flowering, ant dispersal or a lack of vegetative propagation can reduce the likelihood of native forest species to benefit from hedgerows. Conditional autoregressive models showed that landscape variables, specifically hedgerow age and neighboring forest area, largely account for species diversity in hedgerows.

Avoiding the negative effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity is especially challenging when also the management institutions are spatially and administratively distributed. This doctoral thesis introduces five case studies that investigate ecological, social and social-ecological relations in fragmented landscapes. I present new approaches in which research and governance can detect and manage mismatches between landscape ecology and planning. The case studies include urban and forested landscapes where an intense land-use is limiting the connectivity, i.e., the potential for many species to disperse between the remaining patches of habitat. Graph-theoretic (network) models are applied to map connectivity patterns and to estimate the outcome for dispersing species at the patch level and for the whole study system. In particular, the network models are applied to evaluate the spatial complexity and the potential mismatches between ecological connectivity and geographically distributed management institutions like protected areas and municipalities. Interviews with municipal ecologists complement the spatial analysis; revealing some problems and ways forward regarding the communication and integration of ecological knowledge within local spatial-planning agencies. The results also show that network models are useful to identify and communicate critical ecological and social-ecological patterns that call for management attention. I suggest some developments of network models as to include interactions between species and across governance levels. Finally, I conclude that more effort is needed for network models to materialize into ecological learning and transformation in management processes. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript.</p>

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2002. / Thesis documentation sheet inserted. Appendix reprints five published papers and manuscripts, three co-authored with others. Includes bibliographical references. Also available electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format; online version lacks appendix.

Landscape management is often referred to as a holistic concept, which deals with large-scale processes and multidisciplinary manners in regards to natural resource use with ecological and livelihood considerations. Seen in this light, landscape transformation should be understood within the context of the human-nature relationship, viewing human activities and their institutions as an essential part of the system rather than as external agents. When it comes to the landscape planning and management related to cotton farming in Gujarat, there has been diversity of interest groups such as local communities, governments, corporations and non-governmental organisations. In the present study, I examine two case studies of cotton production pertaining to the Gujarat region in order to study the opportunities and challenges faced by local farmers in the process of developing agriculture. In the first case study on Cotton Improvement Program in the nineteenth century, I highlight the socioecological consequences of the colonial cotton project and how it relates to the social dynamics of networks and agricultural landscape management. The second case study examines current debates regarding the social, economic and environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) cotton on India’s social and natural landscape. This thesis emphasises that there are recursive motifs between the two case studies in terms of the local resistances, power relations and possible environmental effects, which can be explained through the state of ‘global core’ and ‘periphery’, and partly the framework of ecologically unequal exchange. The analysis of recurring patterns concludes that exploring the narratives of local experiences offers a number of significant details that show complex power dynamics manifested through constant struggles and resistances by ‘peripheral agent’.

The effect of tourism and different landscape management on beetle communities using pitfall trapping in the Šumava mountain area (National Park and Protected Landscape Area) was studied. The pitfall traps were arranged on left side plots of the Lipno dam with a different man-made pressure. The beetle communities of parking lots, dam shores and bushes were studied. The lowest number of species discovered by pitfall trapping was on plots strongly affected by man (parking lot). The highest number of species was found on plots of dam shores in consequence of ecoton effect. The community structure of the parking lots and dam shores was formed in 60 per cent by eurytopic species. Stenotopic species were dominant only on habitat of bushes. A regular and intensive management in the dam shores and the parking lots (mowing, herbicide application, fragmentation ) was the main factor affecting the epigeic beetle communities.

The analysis of management of sheep and goat breeding on the organic farm is the main aim of my thesis. The herd was examine at the Slunečná organic farm in the Šumava Mountains. The animals were monitored during grasing season by force of metod ethology monitoring. Sheep and goats were monitored and it was done four times for always 24 hours during a grazing period. The method of the direct monitoring was used and the base categories of the behaviour (food intaking, lying, standing and moving) were written down by an interval method - the interval took 10 minutes. The comfortable, mother's, social and sexual behaviour were writen down as well. Gained data from single sighting was expressed absolute and percentage share form total tables and graphs. The results were interpreted on the basis of the study of special literature and legislation about organic farming and animal ethology. The way of sheep and goats farming was according to an inborn biorhythm and gave the animal free and natural ways of behaviour. The physiological and ethological needs of animals are satisfactory. Sheep and goats have the possibility to graze freely on pastures and they effect positively on the landscape management. They keep grasslands without woody plants and weeds.

Local food networks are often defined as presenting a variety of alternative food production, consumption, and distribution practices to the conventional food system such as community-supported-agriculture, farmers markets, and community gardens. Local food initiatives are commonly proposed as a model for the future of sustainable agriculture, and in the region of Portland, Oregon the abundance of such alternative venues results from the area's natural surroundings and smart planning. The region is host to 39 farmers markets and Portland is often hailed as one of the country's most sustainable cities. This study examines the role of local food networks in preserving agricultural land uses and livelihoods in Washington County, Oregon, a rapidly growing county adjacent to the city of Portland. I focus on small-scale agricultural landscapes where the producer sells at farmers markets or through community supported agriculture (CSAs). I explore farmers' concerns about urbanization and farmland preservation, their relationship to urban markets, motives to become a farmer, engagement with the surrounding environment, and their difficulties participating in local food networks. In addition, I explore farmers market managers' insights into the development of local food networks and how they see their markets supporting small-scale farmers. In a survey of consumers I examine consumer motives to `buy local' and consumer concerns about farmland preservation. The research is qualitative and explores: 1) the processes shaping the development of local food networks; 2) how particular ideas and images of nature and the countryside inform both consumer desires to purchase from farmers selling locally and; 3) how those same images of nature and the countryside inform and motivate people to become farmers participating in local food networks. In so doing, I argue that the networks that sustain urban and rural systems are important in understanding the development of local food networks, and that the preservation of economically and culturally important agricultural lands in Washington County depends on a diversity of opinions and rural narratives in order to preserve small-scale sustainable farmlands close-in to cities. The conclusion is that local food sold through alternative venues can be used as a means to preserve and develop specific and manageable farm sites and agricultural land uses but the impact is limited. Large scale impacts on agricultural land uses and livelihoods will depend on planners and advocates agreeing on policies that encompass a diversity of opinions, land uses, and land managers, while understanding the array of networks beyond the city that sustain both urban and rural systems.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The transfer of nutrients from US Midwest croplands into surface waters causes eutrophication and a decline in water quality. Temporary retention of nutrient-rich runoff in constructed wetlands can help mitigate these negative impacts through physical entrapment and biological transformation of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). However, with the expectation that wet-dry periods will be more frequent in the region, there is a need to better understand the mechanisms that control nutrient retention and release in US Midwest wetlands constructed on former croplands. In this study, soil cores (30 cm long, 20 cm diam) were collected from two constructed wetlands (4 and 8-yr old), and the surface (0-20 cm) and subsurface (40-60 cm) layers of a cropland where a constructed wetland will be constructed in the future. Soil cores were subjected to either a moist or a dry treatment for 5 weeks, and then flooded with stream water (water depth 6 cm). The flux of nutrients, N2O, cations, and variation in floodwater chemistry (pH and ORP) were monitored for another 5 week period. Porewater was tested during the final 3 weeks of the experiment. Nitrate (0.1-130 mg N m-2 d-1) and inorganic P (Pi) fluxes (0.09-2.9 mg P m-2 d-1) were significantly higher in the dry treatment cores. Regardless of site, the dry treatment also resulted in higher floodwater NO3- concentrations suggesting organic matter mineralization and mineral N build up during the drying phase. However, this initial NO3- release was rapidly denitrified as indicated by the sharp increase in N2O production during that period. In contrast to N, the release of Pi was significantly higher in cores from the cropland. Soil at these sites had higher water extractable Pi and total P. Contrary to the study hypothesis and the results of previous studies, Pi concentration in floodwater and porewater was not correlated with dissolved Fe suggesting that reductive dissolution was not the dominant process controlling P release in US Midwest mineral soils developed from calcareous glacial till. Rather, variation in Ca2+ concentration and its relationship with Pi suggest that dissolution of Ca-containing minerals may be more important and should be the focus of future studies examining the geochemistry of P in these constructed wetlands.

[pt] A área de proteção ambiental (APA) é uma categoria de unidade de conservação (UC) que possui o desafio de conciliar em um mesmo território a conservação da biodiversidade e dos ecossistemas com a ocupação humana e a utilização dos recursos naturais. A gestão de muitas dessas áreas necessita de um processo participativo com foco no envolvimento de atores que possuem diferentes interesses, crenças e poderes de tomada de decisão para que os objetivos da unidade sejam alcançados. Este trabalho buscou contribuir com esse processo na APA Estadual das Águas Vertentes (APAEAV), em Minas Gerais, através de estudos bibliográficos e pesquisa de campo para realizar o levantamento e a análise de um conjunto importante de atores: as associações e cooperativas de comunidades locais e de grupos de pessoas que desenvolvem atividades no seu território. O levantamento encontrou 35 organizações, descreveu as suas principais características e apresentou caminhos e limitações na colaboração entre a gestão da APAEAV e as entidades. A agricultura familiar, os empreendimentos minerários e o crescimento urbano são temas que têm potencial de alavancar essa relação, que enfrenta algumas dificuldades em se estabelecer, como a carência de recursos humanos e materiais da UC. A pesquisa também conheceu o relacionamento entre a APAEAV e as UCs próximas a ela, situadas no Mosaico de Áreas Protegidas do Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral, além da relação dessas unidades com as associações locais. / [en] The environmental protection area (APA) is a Brazilian category of protected area (PA) that has the challenge of reconciling at the same territory the conservationof biodiversity and ecosystems with human occupation and the use of natural resources. The management of these areas requires a participatory process with focus on the involvement of actors with different interests, beliefs, and decision-making capabilities so that the protected area s goals are achieved. This work sought to contribute to this process in the Águas Vertentes Environmental Protection Area (APAEAV), in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, through literature reviewand field research to identify and analyze a relevant set of actors: the associations and cooperatives of local communities and groups of people who develop activities in their territory. The survey gathered 35 organizations, described their main characteristics, and presented pathways and limitations in the collaboration among the APAEAV s management and the entities. Family farming, mining projects, and urban growth are themes that have potential to leverage this relationship, which faces some difficulties in establishing itself, such as the lack of human and material resources of the PA. The research also learned about the relationship among APAEAV and the other PAs near it, located in the Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral Protected Areas Mosaic, in addition to the relationship of these areas with local associations.