Search results for "Law"

Late Holocene seasonal temperature variability of the western Scottish shelf (St Kilda) recorded in fossil shells of the bivalve Glycymeris glycymeris

2021

Abstract The North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent shelf seas play a crucial role in global climate. To better constrain long-term natural variability and marine-terrestrial linkages in this region, a network of highly resolved marine archives from the open ocean and continental shelves is needed. In recent decades, bivalve sclerochronology has emerged as a field providing such records from the mid- to high latitudes. In May 2014, dead valves and young live specimens of the bivalve Glycymeris glycymeris were collected at St Kilda, Scotland. A floating chronology spanning 187 years was constructed with fossil shells and radiocarbon dated to 3910–3340 cal yr before present (BP), with a probabilit…

Do environmental diversity approaches lead to improved site selection? A comparison with the multi-species approach

2008

This paper suggests a new approach to select conservation areas cost-effectively according to the concept of complementarity and representation of focal natural features. The suggested environmental diversity (ED) site selection model maximizes ecological diversity, measured via ordination of the chosen taxa communities. Given their fundamental role in ecosystem functioning, vascular plants are chosen as the indicator taxa. We test the ED indicator model by contrasting it to the conventional site selection indicator (MS model), which maximizes the representation of species number in the indicator taxa. We demonstrate that the ED model is more cost-effective than the MS model. More important…

Conflicting objectives in production forests pose a challenge for forest management

2017

Conflicts among different ecosystem services have been shown to be common and potentially exacerbated by management interventions. In order to improve the sustainability of natural resource use, the occurrence of these conflicts and the effects that management actions have on them need to be understood. We studied the conflicts between ecosystem services and the potential to solve them by management choices in boreal production forests. Our study area consisted of nearly 30,000 forest stands which were simulated for 50 years into the future under alternative management scenarios. The study included four ecosystem services – timber production, bilberry production, carbon storage, and pest re…

Changes in the Spatial Structure of the Landscape of Isolated Forest Complexes in the 19th and 20th Centuries and Their Potential Effects on Supporti…

2020

This study assesses the changes in the spatial structure of the landscape between 1825 and 2019 in the isolated, protected forest complex of the Niemodlin Forests. Based on the analysis of changes in this structure, a change the supporting ecosystem services related to the protection of biodiversity was proposed. The landscape metrics were used separately for the analysis of the structure of the whole landscape, and individual types of ecosystems were used in the research. There were no major changes in the share of individual types of ecosystems during the period under review. At the same time, a very large increase in built-up areas and tree stands was found in 1825. Landscape metrics poi…

What are the effects of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on boreal forest biodiversity in Fennoscandia and European Russia? : A systematic…

2019

Abstract Background Biodiversity is vital for human well-being, but is threatened by human actions world-wide. In the boreal zone, harvesting and management of forests on an industrial scale is the most important factor driving habitat change and degradation. Over time different forest management regimes have been implemented but their impact on biodiversity at different spatial and temporal scales has not been systematically reviewed although non-systematic reviews on the topic exist. The aim of this article is to describe a protocol for a systematic review to synthesise and compare the impacts of two different forest management systems on biodiversity at different spatial and temporal sca…

Green areas in coastal cities – conflict of interests or stakeholders’ perspectives?

2017

Woodland key habitats in preserving polypore diversity in boreal forests: Effects of patch size, stand structure and microclimate

2016

Abstract Woodland key-habitats (WKHs) are set-asides in managed forests that are conceived to maintain specific aspects of forest biodiversity and they are widely used in Northern European countries. WKHs are often quite small (from 0.1 to a few hectares) and thus it is unclear if they can maintain biodiversity. We studied the effects of WKH size, microclimate and forest structure on species richness and composition of polypores, a group of wood-decaying fungi that has become threatened due to clear-cut forestry. The WKHs studied varied in size between 0.05 and 3.6 ha, and the control forests from 6.5 to 44.7 ha. Patch size and the volumes of logs and standing dead trees significantly affec…

Do small protected habitat patches within boreal production forests provide value for biodiversity conservation? : A systematic review protocol

2019

Background Forest harvesting is the main driver of habitat degradation and biodiversity loss in forests of the boreal zone. To mitigate harmful effects, small-scale habitats with high biodiversity values have been protected within production forests. These include woodland key habitats, and other small-scale habitat patches protected by voluntary conservation action. This article describes a protocol for a systematic review to synthesize the value of small habitat patches left within production landscapes for biodiversity. The topic for this systematic review arose from a discussion with the Finnish forestry sector and was further defined in a stakeholder workshop. Research question: Do sma…

A continuous multi-millennial record of surficial bivalve mollusk shells from the São Paulo Bight, Brazilian shelf

2014

AbstractTo evaluate the potential of using surficial shell accumulations for paleoenvironmental studies, an extensive time series of individually dated specimens of the marine infaunal bivalve mollusk Semele casali was assembled using amino acid racemization (AAR) ratios (n = 270) calibrated against radiocarbon ages (n = 32). The shells were collected from surface sediments at multiple sites across a sediment-starved shelf in the shallow sub-tropical São Paulo Bight (São Paulo State, Brazil). The resulting 14C-calibrated AAR time series, one of the largest AAR datasets compiled to date, ranges from modern to 10,307 cal yr BP, is right skewed, and represents a remarkably complete time series…

Hypothermic Stunning in Juvenile Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Uruguayan Coastal Waters: Learning for Future Events

2017

Abstract Chelonia mydas in temperate areas exhibits behavioral changes for adapting to sea temperature fluctuations; however, prolonged exposure to cold temperatures can lead to hypothermia and thus hypothermic stunning events. Here we report an unusual stranding event of 90 green turtles recorded in a 12-d period in July 2012 in southeastern Uruguay, analyzing the event in an oceanographic and meteorological context. Monitoring such events provides a unique opportunity to understand the impact of hypothermic stunning on juvenile green turtle stocks that spend the entire year in this temperate region of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.