SELECTING HERB-RICH FOREST NETWORKS TO PROTECT DIFFERENT MEASURES OF BIODIVERSITY

Data on vascular plants of herb-rich forests in Finland were used to compare the efficiency of reserve selection methods in representing three measures of biodiversity: species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and restricted-range diversity. Comparisons of reserve selection methods were carried out both with and without consideration of the existing reserve system. Our results showed that the success of a reserve network of forests in representing different measures of biodiversity depends on the selection procedure, selection criteria, and data set used. Ad hoc selection was the worst option. A scoring procedure was generally more efficient than maximum random selection. Heuristic methods…

Food availability and the male's role in parental care in double-brooded TreecreepersCerthia familiaris

The aim of this work was to examine differences in paternal and maternal care in a double-brooded, monogamous species, the Treecreeper Certhia familiaris, in relation to food availability. As a measure of parental care, we recorded the hourly feeding activity of parents when the nestlings from their first and second breeding attempts were 7 and 12 days old. Feeding frequency of the first brood increased with the age of the nestlings and also with the brood size when 12 days old. While the feeding activities of the females were similar with respect to the first and second broods, the males were less active and failed to provide any food to their nestlings in 15 cases out of 28 second broods.…

Effects of male removal on female foraging behavior in the Eurasian treecreeper

In old, spruce-dominated forests of central Finland, Eurasian treecreepers Certhia familiaris divide their territories spatially during the breeding season. Females forage primarily on the upper parts of the tree trunks, while males use the lower parts of the tree trunks. In this study we removed males from eight territories in the early nestling period to see if the mate's absence would change the foraging patterns of the resident female. Widowed females foraged at lower heights, thus behaving more like paired males. These females also spent less time on each tree and on each foraging bout than did paired females. We conclude that male removal facilitated the change in a female's foraging …

The precautionary principle and management of uncertainties in EIAs – analysis of waste incineration cases in Finland

This article examines whether and how the practice of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) serves the idea of the precautionary principle. The article provides an empirical examination and description of how uncertainties and risks were dealt with in conclusive outputs of EIAs of chosen example cases of Finnish waste incineration projects. The analysis focuses on the time when several incineration projects were in the planning phase in Finland and the effects of this development were seen as being controversial. The findings of the analysis are evaluated against a legislative and theoretical framework. The challenges and strengths of the practice are identified. The article suggests that…

Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

Municipal solid waste management in Accra, Ghana, is at present delivered in an unsustainable manner. Due to uncontrolled urbanisation, large quantities of waste are generated daily in Accra, and this exerts much pressure on an over strained solid waste management system. Coupled with weak institutional capacity, and lack of resources, both human and capital, the city authorities face difficulties in ensuring that all the waste generated in the city is collected for disposal. Home collection of waste is limited to high and, some middle income areas while the poor are left to contend with the problem on their own. This leads to indiscriminate disposal of waste in surface drains, canals and s…

Deceptive pollination of Dactylorhiza incarnata: an experimental test of the magnet species hypothesis

Floral deception, which mainly appears in highly evolved families such as Orchidaceae, was studied in Central Finland. In nectarless Dactylorhiza incarnata, the deceptive pollination system has been considered to function best in remote habitats such as marshes, where flowering plants attractive to pollinators are rare (remote habitats hypothesis). In contrast, the magnet-species theory predicts that a nectarless plant benefits from growing in the vicinity of nectarcontaining species. We tested these hypotheses by adding attractive, nectar-containg violets (Viola x wittrockiana) to orchid populations. The percentage of fruit set in D. incarnata was adversely affected by the violets, probabl…

Anaerobically digested poultry slaughterhouse wastes as fertiliser in agriculture

Chemical and physical analysis, 27-d plant growth assays with carrot (Daucus carota) and Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris var. chinensis), and 5-d phytotoxicity assays with Chinese cabbage and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were used to investigate the suitability of anaerobically digested poultry slaughterhouse waste for fertiliser in agriculture and the effect of aerobic post-treatment on the properties of the digested material. The digested material appeared to be rich in nitrogen. In 27-d assays with digested material as nitrogen source, carrots grew almost as well as those fertilised with a commercial mineral fertiliser used as reference, whereas, the growth of Chinese cabbage…

Selecting networks of nature reserves: methods do affect the long-term outcome

Data on vascular plants of boreal lakes in Finland were used to compare the efficiency of reserve selection methods in representing four aspects of biodiversity over a 63 year period. These aspects included species richness, phylogenetic diversity, restricted range diversity and threatened species. Our results show that the efficiency of reserve selection methods depends on the selection criteria used and on the aspect of biodiversity under consideration. Heuristic methods and optimizing algorithms were nearly equally efficient in selecting lake networks over a small geographical range. In addition, a scoring procedure was observed to be efficient in maintaining different aspects of biodive…

The Influence of Solar Power Plants on Microclimatic Conditions and the Biotic Community in Chilean Desert Environments

The renewable energy sector is growing at a rapid pace in northern Chile and the solar energy potential is one of the best worldwide. Therefore, many types of solar power plant facilities are being built to take advantage of this renewable energy resource. Solar energy is considered a clean source of energy, but there are potential environmental effects of solar technology, such as landscape fragmentation, extinction of local biota, microclimate changes, among others. To be able to minimize environmental impacts of solar power plants, it is important to know what kind of environmental conditions solar power plants create. This study provides information about abiotic and biotic conditions i…

The rationale for and practice of EIA follow-up: an analysis of Finnish road projects

Follow-up is often considered to be a weak or even missing element in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Though it is recognized that follow-up practices could provide useful opportunities to learn from projects’ actual consequences, the practice is criticized for not achieving this goal. In this paper, we aim to clarify the relationship between the theoretical rationale for EIA follow-up and the actual practices carried out in a Finnish EIA context. An empirical analysis was performed with follow-up documents. The findings indicate that follow-ups focused on dealing with environmental impacts related to the physical environment, e.g., flora, fauna, and ground and surface waters. Social…

Thresholds in selection of breeding habitat by the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)

Abstract Assessment of habitat thresholds is a topical issue in ecology, both from theoretical and applied perspectives. We examined how forest structure influences selection of breeding habitat in the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris). It is an old-growth forest passerine, which can be considered an umbrella species. Habitat selection data, covering five breeding seasons, were collected from a study area across three spatial scales: (a) territory core scale (a radius of 30 m), (b) territory scale (a radius of 200 m) and (c) large scale (a radius of 500 m). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the radii of 30 and 200 m from the nest were the most important spatial scales for t…

Behavioural responses of Eurasian treecreepers, Certhia familiaris, to competition with ants

Competition for a specific resource that is essential for the survival of both the competitors may be intense even between very dissimilar taxa. However, the importance of the effects caused by such interspecific competition has seldom been emphasized. These effects can appear as differences in individual foraging behaviour during the breeding season, which can result in critical variation in fitness. In this study we examined the effects of wood ants (Formica rufa group) on the abundance of other invertebrates on tree trunks and on the foraging site selection of breeding Eurasian treecreepers, which use the same habitat as wood ants. Arthropods were scarcer on the trunks with ants present;…

Ecological assessment of developing carbon sequestration in Shenyang, China

Carbon sequestration in urban ecosystems is becoming an international climate change initiative for sustainable development. Drawing upon field work undertaken in the author's native Shenyang, China, this research reports upon the natural process of carbon sequestration from the atmosphere into urban ecosystems. The risks associated within carbon sequestration in urban ecosystems are investigated and utilised the analysis of ecological carbon cycle status and integrated climate policy with reference to the sustainable development of urban planning. The primary method of this paper is the ecologically–based life assessment of urban ecosystems relevant to tackling barriers for developing carb…

Impact of Busy Roads on Breeding Success in Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca

The impact of dense traffic on the breeding success in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) was studied using roadside nest-boxes. Nest site selection and breeding success of flycatchers were observed in relation to the distance from the road. The number of occupied territories was no higher closer to the road than it was deeper inside the forest. The distance to the road had no effect on the laying date, clutch size, or brood size. However, nests closer to the road were more likely to fail at the chick stage. The number of broods that were closer to roads and were lost completely was significantly higher than those further away. As a consequence, the number of fledglings per breeding atte…

Ranking of small scale proposals for water system repair using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM)

Abstract Environmental impacts of small scale projects are often assessed poorly, or not assessed at all. This paper examines the usability of the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) as a tool to prioritize project proposals for small scale water restoration projects in relation to proposals' potential to improve the environment. The RIAM scoring system was used to assess and rank the proposals based on their environmental impacts, the costs of the projects to repair the harmful impacts, and the size of human population living around the sites. A four-member assessment group (The expert panel) gave the RIAM-scores to the proposals. The assumed impacts of the studied projects at the Easter…

What makes segmentation good? A case study in boreal forest habitat mapping

Segmentation goodness evaluation is a set of approaches meant for deciding which segmentation is good. In this study, we tested different supervised segmentation evaluation measures and visual interpretation in the case of boreal forest habitat mapping in Southern Finland. The data used were WorldView-2 satellite imagery, a lidar digital elevation model (DEM), and a canopy height model (CHM) in 2 m resolution. The segmentation methods tested were the fractal net evolution approach (FNEA) and IDRISI watershed segmentation. Overall, 252 different segmentation methods, layers, and parameter combinations were tested. We also used eight different habitat delineations as reference polygons agains…

Developing the RIAM method (rapid impact assessment matrix) in the context of impact significance assessment

Abstract In this paper the applicability of the RIAM method (rapid impact assessment matrix) is evaluated in the context of impact significance assessment. The methodological issues considered in the study are: 1) to test the possibilities of enlarging the scoring system used in the method, and 2) to compare the significance classifications of RIAM and unaided decision-making to estimate the consistency between these methods. The data used consisted of projects for which funding had been applied for via the European Union's Regional Development Trust in the area of Central Finland. Cases were evaluated with respect to their environmental, social and economic impacts using an assessment pane…

Willingness of Student to Favour the Protection of Endangered Species in a Trade-off Conflict in Finland

Abstract This paper explores the willingness of Finnish students to favour protection of endangered species in a hypothetical trade-off conflict, where conservation would cause an increase in the household energy cost. The most striking result was the very distinct preference of species which the students felt worth protecting. The students favoured species which are well known, taxonomically close to man and actually endangered. Major differences occurred among students due to sex, educational institute, nature-related activity groups, as well as knowledge of nature and conservation issues.

Coupling high-resolution satellite imagery with ALS-based canopy height model and digital elevation model in object-based boreal forest habitat type classification

We developed a classification workflow for boreal forest habitat type mapping. In object-based image analysis framework, Fractal Net Evolution Approach segmentation was combined with random forest classification. High-resolution WorldView-2 imagery was coupled with ALS based canopy height model and digital terrain model. We calculated several features (e.g. spectral, textural and topographic) per image object from the used datasets. We tested different feature set alternatives; a classification accuracy of 78.0 % was obtained when all features were used. The highest classification accuracy (79.1 %) was obtained when the amount of features was reduced from the initial 328 to the 100 most imp…

Effects of undergrowth removal and edge proximity on ground beetles and vascular plants in urban boreal forests

Urban forests are regularly managed for human safety and esthetic reasons, but they are crucial habitat for many species. Removals of undergrowth occur commonly in these forests, yet the ecological consequences of these operations are poorly understood. We sampled ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and vascular plants along 20-m edge gradients in Finnish urban forests, in five stands treated 0.5–2.5 years earlier with undergrowth removal and in five untreated stands. We hypothesized that undergrowth removal and edge proximity would benefit opportunistic and open-habitat species, whereas shady-habitat species would be affected negatively. (1) Regarding carabids, diversity and evenness in…

Effects of undergrowth removal and edge proximity on ground beetles and vascular plants in urban boreal forests

REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF EURASIAN TREECREEPERS,CERTHIA FAMILIARIS,LOWER IN TERRITORIES WITH WOOD ANTS

Few studies have considered the effects of interspecific competition between distantly related taxa on the reproductive success of individuals. We compared the food supply, laying date, clutch size, and breeding success of a small double-brooded passerine bird, the Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) between territories with or without col- onies of red wood ants (Formica rufa group) during four years. Both the wood ants and Eurasian Treecreepers forage on tree trunks and utilize the same food resources. It has been shown that the wood ants are able to depress the available food supply for the treecreepers and interfere with their foraging behavior. We found that food abundance was lo…

Parent-Child Similarity in Environmental Attitudes: A Pairwise Comparison

Are adolescents’ environmental attitudes similar to their parents’ attitudes? The main objective of this study is to examine what quantitative associations, if any, exist in parent-child environmental attitudes within the family. The survey data was collected assessing attitudes toward the environment and nature from 15-year-old students (n = 237) and their parents (n = 212) in Finland. A significant positive correlation emerged in environmental attitudes between mothers and fathers. Interestingly, the results revealed some indicative evidence that girls’ environmental attitudes could relate more to their father's than mother's attitudes. Girls were as positive in their environmental attitu…

Recovery of plant communities after ecological restoration of forestry-drained peatlands

Ecological restoration is expected to reverse the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Due to the low number of well-replicated field studies, the extent to which restoration recovers plant communities, and the factors underlying possible shortcomings, are not well understood even in medium term. We compared the plant community composition of 38 sites comprising pristine, forestry-drained, and 5 or 10 years ago restored peatlands in southern Finland, with special interest in understanding spatial variation within studied sites, as well as the development of the numbers and the abundances of target species. Our results indicated a recovery of community composition 5–10 years after re…

Risk of Local Extinction of Odonata Freshwater Habitat Generalists and Specialists

Understanding the risk of a local extinction in a single population relative to the habitat requirements of a species is important in both theoretical and applied ecology. Local extinction risk depends on several factors, such as habitat requirements, range size of species, and habitat quality. We studied the local extinctions among 31 dragonfly and damselfly species from 1930 to 1975 and from 1995 to 2003 in Central Finland. We tested whether habitat specialists had a higher local extinction rate than generalist species. Approximately 30% of the local dragonfly and damselfly populations were extirpated during the 2 study periods. The size of the geographical range of the species was negati…

Forest Fragmentation Increases Nest Predation in the Eurasian Treecreeper

We used long-term breeding data to monitor the influences of fragmentation and habitat composi- tion at different spatial scales on the reproductive success of Eurasian Treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) breeding in nest boxes. We collected data from the same forest patches (2.7-65.1 ha in size) during seven breeding sea- sons. Nest predation varied considerably over the years and was the primary cause of nesting failure (mean annual rate of 21.6 ± 12.8%). Nest predation explained most of the variation in fledgling production during the study period. Landscape-level fragmentation (radius of 500 m from territory center) affected nest predation more than did fragmentation on the territory scal…

Local Extinction of Dragonfly and Damselfly Populations in Low- and High-Quality Habitat Patches

Understanding the risk of extinction of a single population is an important problem in both theoretical and applied ecology. Local extinction risk depends on several factors, including population size, demographic or environmental stochasticity, natural catastrophe, or the loss of genetic diversity. The probability of local extinction may also be higher in low-quality sink habitats than in high-quality source habitats. We tested this hypothesis by comparing local extinction rates of 15 species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) between 1930-1975 and 1995-2003 in central Finland. Local extinction rates were higher in low-quality than in high-quality habitats. Nevertheless, for the thre…

Within territory abundance of red wood ants Formica rufa is associated with the body condition of nestlings in the Eurasian treecreeper Certhia familiaris

Studies on individual reproductive success in relation to interspecific competition between distantly related taxa are scarce. We studied whether the abundance of red wood ants Formica rufa -group is related to the breeding habitat selection, fecundity and offspring quality in the Eurasian treecreeper Certhia familiaris, an old-growth forest passerine. The nest-box occupancy data were gathered over a five-year study period, whereas the breeding performance analyses were based on a two-year data set. The abundance of wood ants, measured within 50 m around the nest-boxes, was not related to nest-box occupancy rate, fecundity or the physiological stress of nestlings. In contrast, the abundance…

Species immigration, extinction and turnover of vascular plants in boreal lakes

Dictated by limited resource availability for land acquisition, a central question in conservation biology is the ability of areas of different size to maintain species diversity. The selected reserves should not only be species rich at the moment, but should also maintain species diversity in the long run. We used two sets of data on vascular plant species in boreal lakes collected in 1933/34 and 1996 to test the relationships between lake area and the extinction, immigration and turnover rates of the species. Moreover, we investigated, whether the number of species in 1933/34 or water connection between lakes was related to extinction, immigration and turnover rates of species. We found t…

Quality of Environmental Impact Assessment: Finnish EISs and the opinions of EIA professionals

This article presents and compares findings of two EIA quality studies conducted in Finland. First a survey was targeted at competent authorities and environmental consultants to investigate their perceptions of the quality of Finnish EIAs. Second, 15 EISs were considered using the European Commission's guidance on review criteria. The results show that the EIA professionals generally consider the quality as good, though they also recognized that the quality varies and suggested certain areas for improvement. In the professionals' opinion the performance of Finnish EIAs could be enhanced, especially with more profound alternative considerations. Based on the results it is also suggested tha…

Reproductive success ofDactylorhiza incarnatassp.incarnata(Orchidaceae): the effects of population size and plant visibility

Reproduction of plants pollinated solely by flower-visiting animals depends on the ability of the population and each of its flowering member to attract pollinators. Factors affecting the pollination of nectarless species differ somewhat from those affecting the pollination of rewarding species due to the avoidance behaviour of pollinators after visiting empty flowers. We studied a non-mimic food-deceptive orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp. incarnata, in 16 populations in central Finland to examine if population properties and plant size affected reproductive success of plants. We found that the number of flowering plants increased total pollinia removal and seed production of the populati…

Metsäojituksen ja ennallistamisen vaikutukset suokasvillisuuteen Seitsemisen kansallispuistossa

Tässä tutkimuksessa analysoitiin Seitsemisen kansallispuiston ennallistetuilta ja luonnontilaisilta soilta kerättyä kasvillisuusnäytealaseurannan aineistoa. Tavoitteena oli selvittää, minkälaisia vaikutuksia metsäojituksella on ollut soiden kasvillisuuteen ja onko ennallistamalla onnistuttu korjaamaan noin 30 vuoden ojituskauden aikana tapahtuneita muutoksia. Tutkimuksessa käytetty aineisto kerättiin 4:ltä luonnontilaisille sekä 14:ltä ojitetuille ja myöhemmin ennallistetuille soille sijoitetulta näytealalta. Ojitettujen soiden kenttä- ja pohjakerroksen kasvillisuus inventoitiin ensimmäisen kerran kunkin suon ennallistamisen aikoihin (noin 30 vuotta ojittamisen jälkeen) ja toisen kerran 1-1…

Testing the usability of the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method for comparison of EIA and SEA results

Abstract This study examines how the results of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) could be compared using the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method. There are many tools and techniques that have been developed for use in impact assessment processes, including scoping, checklists, matrices, qualitative and quantitative models, literature reviews, and decision-support systems. While impact assessment processes have become more technically complicated, it is recognized that approaches including simpler applications of available tools and techniques are also appropriate. The Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) is a tool for organizing, a…

Habitat-related nest predation effect on the breeding success of the Eurasian treecreeper

We studied the impact of habitat structure on the long-term breeding success of an old-growth forest passerine the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) assessed over a period of 7 years in the...

Consequences of forest landscape changes on the availability of winter pastures for reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) from 1953 to 2003 in Kuusamo, northeast Finland

Nutrient versus pollination limitation in Platanthera bifolia and Dactylorhiza incarnata (Orchidaceae)

Availability of resources and pollination services have been demonstrated to have impact on reproductive success in some orchid species, but to our knowledge no studies have examined the effects of nutrient application and pollination limitation in the same experiment. In this study, factors limiting reproductive success were studied with two terrestrial orchid species in Central Finland during 1996 and 1997. In a field experiment using a factorial design, plants of nectar-producing Platanthera bifolia and nectarless Dactylorhiza incarnata were treated with nutrient application and hand-pollination. Inflorescence size was considered as an indicator of attractiveness to pollinators as well a…

Comparing Conservation Value Maps and Mapping Methods in a Rural Landscape in Southern Finland

We tested to what extent conservation value maps are different if the valuation and mapping method is changed. We compared 66 different conservation value and 4 different ecosystem service maps. Using remote sensing and other georeferenced data, we produced 2 different habitat type maps, which were 50 % similar. We valued each mapped habitat type based on rarity corrected potential number of vascular plant species and naturalness using 6 different valuation alternatives. We mapped habitat type connectivity and complementarity using 2 main approaches. The habitat type valuation alternatives were quite similar, but if the habitat type naturalness was taken into account, differences were large…

The role of competition and rarity in the restoration of a dry grassland in Finland

Semi-natural grasslands have become scarce throughout Europe. Preservation of their plant species requires either the maintenance of the existing grasslands or the creation of new ones. To study the establishment and regeneration ability of plant species typical of dry grasslands we laid out an experiment on a former arable field in central Finland. We compared the success of 13 grassland species both in a theoretical situation with minimal competition and in competition with weeds. More than half of the species used were regionally rare. As a group, grassland plants reached the highest cover in the experimental plots in which outside competition was minimised by weeding. However, the total…

Optimization of photovoltaic solar power plant locations in northern Chile

The optimization of photovoltaic solar power plants location in Atacama Desert, Chile, is presented in this study. The study considers three objectives: (1) Find sites with the highest solar energy potential, (2) determine sites with the least impact on the environment, and (3) locate the areas which produce small social impact. To solve this task, multi-criteria decision analyses (MCDAs) such as analytical hierarchy process and ordered weighted averaging were applied in a GIS environment. In addition, survey results of social impacts were analyzed and included into the decision-making process, including landscape values. The most suitable sites for solar energy projects were found near roa…

The role of landscape, topography, and geodiversity in explaining vascular plant species richness in a fragmented landscape

We explained vascular plant species richness patterns in a 286 km(2) fragmented landscape with a notable human influence. The objective of this study was two-fold: to test the relative importance of landscape, topography and geodiversity measures, and to compare three different landscape-type variables in species richness modeling. Moreover, we tested if results differ when only native species are considered. We used generalized linear modeling based variation partitioning and generalized additive models with different explanatory variable sets. Landscape and topography explained the majority of the variation but the relative importance of topography and geodiversity was higher in explainin…

Factors affecting the choice of cooking fuel, cooking place and respiratory health in the Accra metropolitan area, Ghana.

Indoor air pollution resulting from the combustion of solid fuels has been identified as a major health threat in the developing world. This study examines how the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and behavioural risk factors affect respiratory health infections in Accra, Ghana. About 65·3% of respondents use charcoal and 4·2% use unprocessed wood. A total of 241 (25·4%) respondents who cook had had respiratory health symptoms in the two weeks preceding the study. Household socioeconomic status and educational attainment of respondents were found to have a significant impact on respiratory health through their particular influence on the choice of cooking fuel. Households that use w…

Population Persistence and Offspring Fitness in the Rare Bellflower Campanula Cervicaria in Relation to Population Size and Habitat Quality

Data from several animal species and a few plant species indicate that small populations face an elevated risk of extinction. Plants are still underrepresented in these studies concerning the relation between population size and persistence. We studied the effect of population size on persistence among natural popu- lations of the rare bellflower Campanula cervicaria in Finland. We monitored 52 bellflower populations for 8 years and found that the mean population size decreased from 24 to 14 during this period. Small popula- tions with # 5 individuals were more prone to losing all fertile plants than were larger ones. Reduction in population size was nevertheless unrelated to the degree of …

Conservation of vascular plants in single large and several small mires: species richness, rarity and taxonomic diversity

1. This study on vascular plant species of boreal spruce and pine mires concentrated on two geometrical principles: whether single large or several small (SLOSS) reserves contain more species and whether patch shape should be as nearly circular as possible. 2. SLOSS and patch shape have usually been tested by using species richness. Only a few studies have taken the rarity of species into account, and taxonomic diversity has never been used. In our study, all three of these factors were used. 3. Our results showed that the number of species was not related to the spruce mire size, but it increased in relation to the pine mire size. In contrast, the rarity score increased in relation to the …

Can grassland plant communities be preserved on road and railway verges?

Semi-natural grasslands are a threatened biotope type in many countries. Typical grassland plant species are adapted to continuous grazing or mowing that keeps the envi- ronment open. With the decline in grassland area, these spe- cies are ever more reliant on alternative habitats such as road verges. To find out whether plant communities comparable to those of semi-natural grasslands can be maintained on modern road and railway sides, the vegetation of 92 grasslands and 90 road and railway verges was studied. These biotope types were compared with each other according to their community structure, total number of species, number of grassland species and restricted-range diversity. Further …

Environment, wealth, inequality and the burden of disease in the Accra metropolitan area, Ghana

The study examines environmental problems and adverse impacts on the health of urban households in the Accra metropolitan area, Ghana. Accra is faced with severe inadequacy of urban infrastructure in the face of rapid population growth in the metropolis. More than half of the city's population do not have access to solid waste collection services. Only 39.8% of households have indoor pipe and over 35.0% of households depend on unsanitary public latrines whilst 2.5% do not have access to toilet facilities. Human excrement, garbage and wastewater are usually deposited in surface drains, open spaces and streams in poor neighbourhoods. The resultant poor sanitation has serious health impacts as…

Data from: Effects of undergrowth removal and edge proximity on ground beetles and vascular plants in urban boreal forests

Urban forests are regularly managed for human safety and aesthetic reasons, but they are crucial habitat for many species. Removals of undergrowth occur commonly in these forests, yet the ecological consequences of these operations are poorly understood. We sampled ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and vascular plants along 20-m edge gradients in Finnish urban forests, in five stands treated 0.5−2.5 years earlier with undergrowth removal and in five untreated stands. We hypothesized that undergrowth removal and edge proximity would benefit opportunistic and open-habitat species, whereas shady-habitat species would be affected negatively. (1) Regarding carabids, diversity and evenness i…

Appendix A. Phylogenetic classification of vascular plants in boreal herb-rich forests.

Phylogenetic classification of vascular plants in boreal herb-rich forests.