Search results for "PROTECTED AREAS"
showing 10 items of 65 documents
Is Citizen Science a valid tool for monitoring alien species in Marine Protected Areas?
2020
We report on our experience of NIS monitoring within the Egadi Islands MPA and at Pianosa Island National Park of Tuscan Archipelago through Citizen Science projects The Projects Caea cdacea Egadi Islands and Aliens in the Sea allowed to gather useful information on the distribution and colonisation strategies of NIS and cryptogenic species within the Egadi Islands MPA The project Percorsi nel bluBlue Paths allowed to register the first record of two cryptogenic species, Aa dacea Rang, and Pec gbbe H Milne Edwards, , at Pianosa Island As in MPAs the protection does not hinder the introduction and spreading of NIS, we expect they are likely to continue to arrive and expand in the absence of …
Integrating natural capital assessment and marine spatial planning: A case study in the Mediterranean sea
2017
Abstract Marine and coastal ecosystems are among the most productive environments in the world and their stocks of natural capital offer a bundle of vital ecosystem services. Anthropogenic pressure seriously threatens health and long-term sustainability of marine environments. For these reasons, integrated approaches capable of combining ecological and socio-economic aspects are needed to achieve nature conservation and sustainability targets. In this study, the value of natural capital of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (EI-MPA) was assessed through a biophysical and trophodynamic environmental accounting model. The emergy value of both autotrophic and heterotrophic natural capital…
First record of the invasive crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards) at Pianosa Island: the second goal reached by the innovative Marine Citizen Scie…
2020
This study represents the second scientific goal reached by the operating Project Team and the first record of the cryptogenic species Pec gbbe H Milne Edwards, at Pianosa Island October During a Scuba survey, almost specimens of P gbbe were recorded up to a depth of m and analyzed, according to some indicators such as health state, sex, morphology, and parameters such as temperature, covering of algal species, type of rocky bottom This tropical Atlantic grapsid crab is considered as the most invasive decapod currently expanding its distribution in the Mediterranean Sea.
Stakeholders' Perceptions about Fire Impacts on Lithuanian Protected Areas
2016
The aim of this work is to study Lithuanian stakeholders' perceptions of fire impacts in protected areas. For this study, the stakeholders consisted of foresters, ecologists and farmers. A clear understanding of the opinions of stakeholders about fire effects on environmental, social and economic aspects of Lithuanian protected areas will allow an assessment of the stakeholders' reaction to fire policy, including government measures towards fire prevention, suppression and application of prescribed fire to landscape management. The results showed that stakeholders in general think that fire is not a threat to Lithuania and to the ecological processes in the protected areas. However, they ag…
A Territorial Contradiction
2014
Spatial planning and environmental restoration are essential corollaries to the management of protected natural areas; however, without a sound awareness of the evolutionary consistency of biocoenoses, the harmonious integration between human activities and ecosystem preservation remains an unattainable utopia. The theorisation of a balanced welfare, inspired by the universal tendency of ecosystems to reach a steady state, has to go along with the defection from any economic greed. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.
Forest accessibility, Madonie mountains (northern Sicily, Italy): implementing a GIS decision support system
2021
Valorisation and sustainable exploitation of woody biomass from cultivation interventions might be an important opportunity to track alternative development trails for rural communities in natural protected areas. The governance of Mediterranean protected areas is characterized by overlapping, sometimes conflicting institutions, stakeholders and regulations, causing negative impacts on decision-making processes. We present an open source GIS-based decision support system tool for mapping forest accessibility and optimizing woody biomass extraction. Two models were implemented to support forest managers during the decision-making process in designing and managing wood-energy supply chains. T…
ANALYSIS OF HOWECOTOURISMIN PROTECTED AREAS INFLUENCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES
2013
Tourism, which, by its specific, uses natural resources, is an important contribution to environmental damage. In this context, efforts to find and promote holiday forms that have a low environmentalimpact, forms known as ecotourism, ecological tourism, tourism in protected areas, green tourism. Tourism industry stakeholders have become increasingly sensitive to environmental issues and few are those who now believe commercial activities have nothing to do with the development of ecological actions. Also many tour operators believe that the natural resources have economic value only if they are reasonably valued.
A review of methods to assess connectivity and dispersal between fish populations in the Mediterranean Sea
2013
Fish populations are linked to each other via dispersal of individuals as eggs, larvae, juveniles or adults. The understanding of this process, known as connectivity, has a pivotal role for the management of overexploited fish stocks and the development of accurate conservation strategies. Knowledge on connectivity and fish movements is considered fundamental toward the correct design of marine protected area (MPA) networks for the achievement of the benefits of protection. Connectivity patterns are still largely unknown worldwide. A general lack of knowledge is particularly evident for the Mediterranean Sea where few studies dealing with this topic have been carried out and some methods, c…
More wood but less biodiversity in forests in Finland: a historical evaluation
2022
National forest inventories (NFI) in Finland provide empirical evidence for a marked increase in tree growth, total forest area, and total timber volume over the past century. Meanwhile, the assessments of threatened forest species and habitats indicate continuous degradation of biodiversity in Finnish forests. To shed light on this seeming paradox, we summarized the temporal patterns of forest characteristics (indicators) that have major influence on biodiversity, comparing the structure of current Finnish forests with natural and historical references. Using a variety of data sources, we estimated the proportion of area of old-growth forest and of deciduous-dominated forests, the density …