Management Objectives (management + objective)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Life Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Beyond Reaping the First Harvest: Management Objectives for Timber Production in the Brazilian Amazon

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
DANIEL J. ZARIN
manejo de bosques; producción sostenida; sustentabilidad; tala de impacto reducido Abstract:,Millions of hectares of future timber concessions are slated to be implemented within large public forests under the forest law passed in 2006 by the Brazilian Congress. Additional millions of hectares of large, privately owned forests and smaller areas of community forests are certified as well managed by the Forest Stewardship Council, based on certification standards that will be reviewed in 2007. Forest size and ownership are two key factors that influence management objectives and the capacity of forest managers to achieve them. Current best ecological practices for timber production from Brazil's native Amazon forests are limited to reduced-impact logging (RIL) systems that minimize the environmental impacts of harvest operations and that obey legal restrictions regarding minimum diameters, rare species, retention of seed trees, maximum logging intensity, preservation of riparian buffers, fire protection, and wildlife conservation. Compared with conventional, predatory harvesting that constitutes >90% of the region's timber production, RIL dramatically reduces logging damage and helps maintain forest cover and the presence of rare tree species, but current RIL guidelines do not assure that the volume of timber removed can be sustained in future harvests. We believe it is counterproductive to expect smallholders to subscribe to additional harvest limitations beyond RIL, that larger private forested landholdings managed for timber production should be sustainable with respect to the total volume of timber harvested per unit area per cutting cycle, and that large public forests should sustain volume production of individual harvested species. These additional requirements would improve the ecological sustainability of forest management and help create a stable forest-based sector of the region's economy, but would involve costs associated with lengthened cutting cycles, reduced harvest intensities, and/or postharvest silviculture to promote adequate growth and regeneration. Resumen:,Bajo la nueva ley forestal aprobada en 2006 por el Congreso Brasileño, millones de hectáreas de bosques públicos están destinadas a constituir futuras concesiones madereras. Millones de hectáreas adicionales de extensos bosques privados y áreas reducidas de bosques comunitarios están certificadas por el Forest Stewardship Council por su buen manejo, con base en estándares de certificación que serán revisados en 2007. La extensión y tenencia del bosque son dos factores clave que influyen en los objetivos de manejo y en la capacidad de los manejadores para alcanzarlos. Las mejores prácticas ecológicas actuales para la producción de madera en los bosques de la Amazonía Brasileña están limitadas a sistemas de tala de impacto reducido (TIR) que minimizan los impactos ambientales de las operaciones de cosecha y que obedecen restricciones legales en relación con los diámetros mínimos, las especies raras, la retención de árboles semilla, la máxima intensidad de tala, la preservación de amortiguamientos ribereños, la protección del fuego y la conservación de vida silvestre. En comparación con la cosecha convencional, depredadora, mediante la cual se obtiene >90% de la producción de madera en la región, la TIR dramáticamente reduce el daño y ayuda a mantener la cobertura del bosque y la presencia de especies de árboles raras, pero los actuales lineamientos de TIR no aseguran que el volumen de madera removida pueda ser sostenido en futuras cosechas. Consideramos que es contraproducente esperar que los pequeños propietarios suscriban límites a la cosecha más allá de la TIR; que los bosques privados manejados para la producción de madera debieran ser sustentables respecto al volumen total de madera cosechada por unidad de área por ciclo de corte; y que los bosques públicos deberían sustentar el volumen de producción de especies individuales. Estos requerimientos adicionales mejorarían la sustentabilidad ecológica del manejo de bosques y ayudaría a crear un sector forestal estable en la economía regional, pero implicarían costos asociados con la prolongación de los ciclos de corte, la reducción de las intensidades de cosecha y/o la silvicultura postcosecha para promover el crecimiento adecuado y la regeneración. [source]


Comparative sediment quality guideline performance for predicting sediment toxicity in Southern California, USA

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 12 2005
Doris E. Vidal
Abstract Several types of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) are used by multiple agencies in southern California (USA) to interpret sediment chemistry data, yet little information is available to identify the best approaches to use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive ability of five SQGs to predict the presence and absence of sediment toxicity in coastal southern California: the effects range-median quotient (ERMq), consensus moderate effect concentration (consensus MEC), mean sediment quality guideline quotient (SQGQ1), apparent effects threshold (AET), and equilibrium partitioning (EqP) for organics. Large differences in predictive ability among the SQGs were obtained when each approach was applied to the same southern California data set. Sediment quality guidelines that performed well in identifying nontoxic samples were not necessarily the best predictors of toxicity. In general, the mean ERMq, SQGQ1q, and consensus MECq approaches had a better overall predictive ability than the AET and EqP for organics approaches. In addition to evaluating the predictive ability of SQGs addressing chemical mixtures, the effect of an individual SQG value (DDT) was also evaluated for the mean ERMq with and without DDT. The mean ERMq without DDT had a better ability to predict toxic samples than the mean ERMq with DDT. Similarities in discriminatory ability between different approaches, variations in accuracy among SQG values for some chemicals, and the presence of complex mixtures of contaminants in most samples underscore the need to apply SQGs in combination, such as the mean quotient. Management objectives and SQG predictive ability using regional data should be determined beforehand so that the most appropriate SQG approach and critical values can be identified for specific applications. [source]


Paradoxes of Public Sector Customer Service

GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2001
Jane E. Fountain
The use of customer service ideas in government continues to be widespread, although the concept and its implications for public sector service production and delivery remain poorly developed. This paper presents a series of paradoxes related to customer service and its use in government. The central and most troubling paradox is that customer service techniques and tools applied to government may lead to increased political inequality even as some aspects of service are improved. The argument is structured by examination of the following: the predominant structural features of service management in theprivate sector, the assumption that customer satisfaction is a central objective of service firms, the understanding of customer service that informs current federal reform efforts, and the operational and political challenges of customer service as a public management objective. [source]


Excessive Phosphorus Loading to Dal Lake, India: Implications for Managing Shallow Eutrophic Lakes in Urbanized Watersheds

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
Sabah Ul Solim
Abstract Extensive watershed development has resulted in excessive total phosphorus (TP) loads to Dal Lake, a high altitude Himalayan lake known for its tourism and economic potential. External and internal TP loads of 5 and ,1 g m,2 yr,1, respectively, were estimated for the lake. These loading rates are high in relation to the lake's critical tolerance range of 0.1,0.2 g m,2 yr,1, and, over time, have resulted in severe eutrophication in view of extremely high macrophyte biomass (average = 3.2 kg m,2 -fresh weight) and bottom sediment enrichment (79 tons of TP reserves which contribute 88% of the annual TP budget). This study emphasizes the importance of external TP load reduction as a primary management objective to counteract internal TP loading and P storage within bottom sediments resulting from historic anthropogenic loads. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Good, bad or ,necessary evil'?

THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2006
Reinterpreting the colonial burning experiments in the savanna landscapes of West Africa
A simple ecological model underlies contemporary fire policy in many West African countries. The model holds that the timing (or seasonality) of annual savanna fires is a principal determinant of vegetation cover. The model's origin can be traced to the ideas held by influential colonial scientists who viewed anthropogenic fire as a prime force of regional environmental degradation. The main evidence in support of the model derives from the results of a series of long-term burning experiments carried out during last century. The experimental results have been repeatedly mapped onto fire policy often taking the form of a three-tiered model in which fire exclusion is considered the ultimate management objective, late dry-season fire is discouraged and early dry-season fire is allowed but only under specific, often state-controlled circumstances. This paper provides a critique of contemporary fire policy in the region and the fire ecology model on which it is based. Through an analysis of burn scars for the 2002,3 fire season generated from ETM+ imagery, the study documents the spatiotemporal pattern of burning for an area in southern Mali. It argues that current policy, which is informed by an a-spatial model, cannot adequately account for the critical pattern of burning that is characteristic of the region. A reinterpretation of the burning experiments is presented in light of four factors: empirical data; recent developments in patch-mosaic theory; historical evidence on the effects of fire suppression; and data on indigenous burning strategies, all of which suggest a need to reconsider current fire policy. [source]


Beyond Reaping the First Harvest: Management Objectives for Timber Production in the Brazilian Amazon

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
DANIEL J. ZARIN
manejo de bosques; producción sostenida; sustentabilidad; tala de impacto reducido Abstract:,Millions of hectares of future timber concessions are slated to be implemented within large public forests under the forest law passed in 2006 by the Brazilian Congress. Additional millions of hectares of large, privately owned forests and smaller areas of community forests are certified as well managed by the Forest Stewardship Council, based on certification standards that will be reviewed in 2007. Forest size and ownership are two key factors that influence management objectives and the capacity of forest managers to achieve them. Current best ecological practices for timber production from Brazil's native Amazon forests are limited to reduced-impact logging (RIL) systems that minimize the environmental impacts of harvest operations and that obey legal restrictions regarding minimum diameters, rare species, retention of seed trees, maximum logging intensity, preservation of riparian buffers, fire protection, and wildlife conservation. Compared with conventional, predatory harvesting that constitutes >90% of the region's timber production, RIL dramatically reduces logging damage and helps maintain forest cover and the presence of rare tree species, but current RIL guidelines do not assure that the volume of timber removed can be sustained in future harvests. We believe it is counterproductive to expect smallholders to subscribe to additional harvest limitations beyond RIL, that larger private forested landholdings managed for timber production should be sustainable with respect to the total volume of timber harvested per unit area per cutting cycle, and that large public forests should sustain volume production of individual harvested species. These additional requirements would improve the ecological sustainability of forest management and help create a stable forest-based sector of the region's economy, but would involve costs associated with lengthened cutting cycles, reduced harvest intensities, and/or postharvest silviculture to promote adequate growth and regeneration. Resumen:,Bajo la nueva ley forestal aprobada en 2006 por el Congreso Brasileño, millones de hectáreas de bosques públicos están destinadas a constituir futuras concesiones madereras. Millones de hectáreas adicionales de extensos bosques privados y áreas reducidas de bosques comunitarios están certificadas por el Forest Stewardship Council por su buen manejo, con base en estándares de certificación que serán revisados en 2007. La extensión y tenencia del bosque son dos factores clave que influyen en los objetivos de manejo y en la capacidad de los manejadores para alcanzarlos. Las mejores prácticas ecológicas actuales para la producción de madera en los bosques de la Amazonía Brasileña están limitadas a sistemas de tala de impacto reducido (TIR) que minimizan los impactos ambientales de las operaciones de cosecha y que obedecen restricciones legales en relación con los diámetros mínimos, las especies raras, la retención de árboles semilla, la máxima intensidad de tala, la preservación de amortiguamientos ribereños, la protección del fuego y la conservación de vida silvestre. En comparación con la cosecha convencional, depredadora, mediante la cual se obtiene >90% de la producción de madera en la región, la TIR dramáticamente reduce el daño y ayuda a mantener la cobertura del bosque y la presencia de especies de árboles raras, pero los actuales lineamientos de TIR no aseguran que el volumen de madera removida pueda ser sostenido en futuras cosechas. Consideramos que es contraproducente esperar que los pequeños propietarios suscriban límites a la cosecha más allá de la TIR; que los bosques privados manejados para la producción de madera debieran ser sustentables respecto al volumen total de madera cosechada por unidad de área por ciclo de corte; y que los bosques públicos deberían sustentar el volumen de producción de especies individuales. Estos requerimientos adicionales mejorarían la sustentabilidad ecológica del manejo de bosques y ayudaría a crear un sector forestal estable en la economía regional, pero implicarían costos asociados con la prolongación de los ciclos de corte, la reducción de las intensidades de cosecha y/o la silvicultura postcosecha para promover el crecimiento adecuado y la regeneración. [source]


Beyond Biogeography: a Framework for Involving the Public in Planning of U.S. Marine Protected Areas

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2005
TRACEY MORIN DALTON
control de áreas marinas protegidas; intervención de usufructuarios; manejo basado en ecosistemas; participación del público Abstract:,Planning of marine protected areas (MPAs) is highlighted in the conservation literature but is not explored in much detail. Many researchers acknowledge the importance of involving the public in MPA planning, but there is limited guidance on how to do this in an effective manner. I present a framework for involving the public in planning of U.S. MPAs. Derived from empirically and theoretically based research on public participation in U.S. natural resource management, this framework is composed of factors that influence the success of participatory processes: active participant involvement, complete information exchange, fair decision making, efficient administration, and positive participant interactions. Processes incorporating these factors will produce decisions that are more likely to be supported by stakeholders, meet management objectives, and fulfill conservation goals. This framework contributes to the MPA social science literature and responds to calls in the conservation literature to increase the use of social science research to inform conservation decision making. Resumen:,La planificación de áreas marinas protegidas (AMP) resalta en la literatura de conservación pero no es explorada en mucho detalle. Muchos investigadores reconocen la importancia de involucrar al público en la planificación de AMP, pero las directrices para hacerlo de manera efectiva es limitada. Presento un marco para involucrar al público en la planificación de AMP en E.U.A. Este marco, derivado de investigación empírica y teórica de la participación del público en el manejo de recursos naturales en E.U.A., esta compuesto por factores que influyen en el éxito de procesos participativos: intervención activa de usufructuarios; intercambio completo de información; toma de decisiones justas; administración eficiente e interacciones positivas de participantes. Los procesos que incorporan estos factores producirán decisiones que tendrán más posibilidades de ser apoyadas por los usufructuarios, de alcanzar objetivos de manejo y cumplir metas de conservación. Este marco contribuye a la literatura de ciencias sociales de AMP y responde a llamados en la literatura de conservación para incrementar el uso de investigación de ciencias sociales para proporcionar información a la toma de decisiones de conservación. [source]


Elephants and water provision: what are the management links?

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 6 2007
I. P. J. Smit
ABSTRACT In a recent paper we demonstrated that elephant bull groups and mixed herds exhibited spatial and resource segregation across the Kruger National Park. It was found, inter alia, that both bull groups and mixed herds occurred more frequently closer to rivers than expected if they were randomly distributed, but that only bull groups occurred more frequently closer to the artificial waterholes. Although Chamaillé-Jammes et al. (2007) accepted these results, they disagreed with our interpretation regarding the potential effect that closure of artificial waterholes might have. Here we address some of the specific concerns expressed and provide a broader context regarding water provision and elephant management. Although water provision can influence elephant density and distribution, we argue that the effectiveness of surface-water manipulation as a management tool will depend on (1) natural surface-water availability, (2) forage quality, (3) elephant densities, (4) position of a population on its growth trajectory, and (5) management objectives. Even though elephants are water-dependent, the effectiveness of water provision as a management tool will therefore be area- and population-specific and will depend on management objectives. [source]


The importance of ecological research for ecosystem management: The case of browsing by swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) in commercially harvested native forests

ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION, Issue 1 2004
Julian Di Stefano
Summary Ecosystem management often proceeds within the context of sub-optimal relationships between ecologists and ecosystem managers, and management outcomes could be improved with greater collaboration between members of these disciplines. This paper identifies an ecosystem management problem resulting from the interaction between timber harvesting and browsing wallabies, and this case study is used to exemplify how ecological data and expertise can contribute to the process of ecosystem management. It is argued that appropriate use of existing ecological data, establishment of strategic new research and the implementation of management actions as experimental hypothesis tests can facilitate achievement of management objectives, but greater collaboration between ecologists and managers is required before this can occur. Reasons for sub-optimal relationships are outlined, and the potential for structural change within large State-run ecosystem management agencies to improve interactions between managers and ecologists is discussed. [source]


On scientists' discomfort in fisheries advisory science: the example of simulation-based fisheries management-strategy evaluations

FISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 2 2010
Sarah B M Kraak
Abstract Scientists feel discomfort when they are asked to create certainty, where none exists, for use as an alibi in policy-making. Recently, the scientific literature has drawn attention to some pitfalls of simulation-based fisheries management-strategy evaluation (MSE). For example, while estimates concerning central tendencies of distributions of simulation outcomes are usually fairly robust because they are conditioned on ample data, estimates concerning the tails of distributions (such as the probability of falling below a critical biomass) are usually conditional on few data and thus often rely on assumptions that have no strong knowledge base. The clients of scientific advice, such as the European Commission, are embracing the mechanization of the evaluation of proposed Harvest Control Rules against the precautionary principle and management objectives. Where the fisheries management institutions aim for simple answers from the scientists, giving ,green/red light' to a proposed management strategy, the scientists are forced into a split position between satisfying the demands of their advisory role and living up to the standards of scientific rigour. We argue against the mechanization of scientific advice that aims to incorporate all relevant processes into one big model algorithm that, after construction, can be run without circumspection. We rather encourage that fisheries advice should be a dynamic process of expert judgement, incorporating separate parallel concurrent, lines of scientific evidence, from quantitative and qualitative modelling exercises and factual knowledge of the biology and the fishery dynamics. This process can be formalized to a certain degree and can easily accommodate stakeholder viewpoints. [source]


Does MPA mean ,Major Problem for Assessments'?

FISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 4 2006
Considering the consequences of place-based management systems
Abstract Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been increasingly proposed, evaluated and implemented as management tools for achieving both fisheries and conservation objectives in aquatic ecosystems. However, there is a challenge associated with the application of MPAs in marine resource management with respect to the consequences to traditional systems of monitoring and managing fisheries resources. The place-based paradigm of MPAs can complicate the population-based paradigm of most fisheries stock assessments. In this review, we identify the potential complications that could result from both existing and future MPAs to the science and management systems currently in place for meeting conventional fisheries management objectives. The intent is not to evaluate the effects of implementing MPAs on fisheries yields, or even to consider the extent to which MPAs may achieve conservation oriented objectives, but rather to evaluate the consequences of MPA implementation on the ability to monitor and assess fishery resources consistent with existing methods and legislative mandates. Although examples are drawn primarily from groundfish fisheries on the West Coast of the USA, the lessons are broadly applicable to management systems worldwide, particularly those in which there exists the institutional infrastructure for managing resources based on quantitative assessments of resource status and productivity. [source]


Policy analysis for tropical marine reserves: challenges and directions

FISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 1 2003
Murray A Rudd
Abstract Marine reserves are considered to be a central tool for marine ecosystem-based management in tropical inshore fisheries. The arguments supporting marine reserves are often based on both the nonmarket values of ecological amenities marine reserves provide and the pragmatic cost-saving advantages relating to reserve monitoring and enforcement. Marine reserves are, however, only one of a suite of possible policy options that might be used to achieve conservation and fisheries management objectives, and have rarely been the focus of rigorous policy analyses that consider a full range of economic costs and benefits, including the transaction costs of management. If credible analyses are not undertaken, there is a danger that current enthusiasm for marine reserves may wane as economic performance fails to meet presumed potential. Fully accounting for the value of ecological services flowing from marine reserves requires consideration of increased size and abundance of focal species within reserve boundaries, emigration of target species from reserves to adjacent fishing grounds, changes in ecological resilience, and behavioural responses of fishers to spatially explicit closures. Expanding policy assessments beyond standard cost,benefit analysis (CBA) also requires considering the impact of social capital on the costs of managing fisheries. In the short term, the amount of social capital that communities possess and the capacity of the state to support the rights of individuals and communities will affect the relative efficiency of marine reserves. Reserves may be the most efficient policy option when both community and state capacity is high, but may not be when one and/or the other is weak. In the longer term, the level of social capital that a society possesses and the level of uncertainty in ecological and social systems will also impact the appropriate level of devolution or decentralization of fisheries governance. Determining the proper balance of the state and the community in tropical fisheries governance will require broad comparative studies of marine reserves and alternative policy tools. [source]


Timing of predation by rainbow trout controls Daphnia demography and the trophic status of a Minnesota lake

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
LEIF K. HEMBRE
Summary 1. Stocking of lakes with rainbow trout is a common practice that presents a potential conflict for lake managers who must balance the interests of anglers with those concerned that zooplanktivory by trout may trigger a trophic cascade and result in decreased water clarity. 2. This study examined how the timing of trout stocking (autumn versus spring) in a Minnesota (U.S.A.) lake affected (i) the population dynamics of their zooplankton food supply (Daphnia pulicaria), (ii) phytoplankton biomass and water clarity and (iii) trout survival. Sizes of both Daphnia and trout populations were estimated acoustically with high-frequency (192 kHz) sonar. 3. Daphnia were nearly eliminated from the lake during winters after trout were stocked in autumn. In both of these years (1996 and 1997), the Daphnia population was small in the spring, and grew during the summer and into the autumn as the trout population diminished. 4. The lake was then stocked in spring for 2 years (1998 and 1999). This fisheries manipulation alleviated predation over the winter, but increased predation on D. pulicaria during the spring, summer and autumn. However, the high mortality caused by the spring-stocked trout was offset by even higher rates of reproduction by the relatively large populations of fecund Daphnia that survived the winter in 1998 and 1999. 5. Grazing by these dense populations of Daphnia produced clear-water phases during May and June that were inhibited in autumn stocking years. In addition, the large Daphnia populations present during the spring and early summer of 1998 and 1999 provided abundant forage for trout. 6. This fisheries manipulation achieved seemingly mutually exclusive management objectives: a robust planktivorous sport fishery, and clear water for other forms of recreation. [source]


From renewable energy to fire risk reduction: a synthesis of biomass harvesting and utilization case studies in US forests

GCB BIOENERGY, Issue 3 2009
A. M. EVANS
Abstract The volatile costs of fossil fuels, concerns about the associated greenhouse gas emissions from these fuels, and the threat of catastrophic wildfires in western North America have resulted in increased interest and activity in the removal and use of woody biomass from forests. However, significant economic and logistical challenges lie between the forests and the consumers of woody biomass. In this study, we provide a current snapshot of how biomass is being removed from forests and used across the United States to demonstrate the wide variety of successful strategies, funding sources, harvesting operations, utilization outlets, and silvicultural prescriptions. Through an analysis of 45 case studies, we identified three themes that consistently frame each biomass removal and utilization operation: management objectives, ecology, and economics. The variety and combination of project objectives exemplified by the case studies means biomass removals are complex and difficult to categorize for analysis. However, the combination of objectives allows projects to take advantage of unique opportunities such as multiple funding sources and multiparty collaboration. The case studies also provide insight into the importance of ecological considerations in biomass removal both because of the opportunity for forest restoration and the risk of site degradation. The national view of the economic aspects of biomass removal provided by this wide variety of case studies includes price and cost ranges. This study is an important first step that helps define woody biomass removals which are becoming an essential part of forestry in the 21st century. [source]


Private equity and HRM in the British business system

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007
Ian Clark
Who owns the firm? Do changes in owner matter? Will change affect the operational and strategic role of the HR function? For some, the answer will be no precisely because mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, buyouts and privatisations are central activities for a British-based business where short-term value for shareholders and financial engineering are key management objectives that structure and inform the work of HR professionals. For other readers, the answer may well be yes; ownership and owner strategies do matter, particularly if a firm is acquired by a relatively new actor in the market for corporate control , the private equity firm. [source]


100 years of change: examining agricultural trends, habitat change and stakeholder perceptions through the 20th century

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
Martin Dallimer
Summary 1The 20th century has witnessed substantial increases in the intensity of agricultural land management, much of which has been driven by policies to enhance food security and production. The knock-on effects in agriculturally dominated landscapes include habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. We examine long-term patterns of agricultural and habitat change at a regional scale, using the Peak District of northern England as a case study. As stakeholders are central to the implementation of successful land-use policy, we also assess their perceptions of historical changes. 2In the period 1900 to 2000, there was a fivefold rise in sheep density, along with higher cattle density. We found a reduction in the number of farms, evidence of a shift in land ownership patterns, and increased agricultural specialization, including the virtual disappearance of upland arable production. 3Despite previous studies showing a substantial loss in heather cover, we found that there had been no overall change in the proportion of land covered by dwarf shrub moor. Nonetheless, turnover rates were high, with only 55% of sampled sites maintaining dwarf shrub moor coverage between 1913 and 2000. 4Stakeholders identified many of the changes revealed by the historical data, such as increased sheep numbers, fewer farms and greater specialization. However, other land-use changes were not properly described. For instance, although there had been no overall change in the proportion of dwarf shrub moor and the size of the rural labour force had not fallen, stakeholders reported a decline in both. Spatial heterogeneity of the changes, shifting baselines and problems with historical data sources might account for some of these discrepancies. 5Synthesis and applications. A marked increase in sheep numbers, combined with general agricultural intensification, have been the dominant land-use processes in the Peak District during the 20th century. Stakeholders only correctly perceived some land-use changes. Policy and management objectives should therefore be based primarily on actual historical evidence. However, understanding stakeholder perceptions and how they differ from, or agree with, the available evidence will contribute to the successful uptake of land management policies and partly determine the costs of policy implementation. [source]


INTEGRATED MODELING FOR WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES AND SPATIAL EFFECTS,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2002
Stephen C. Newbold
ABSTRACT: This paper presents an optimization framework for prioritizing sites for wetlands restoration on a watershed or landscape scale. The framework is designed for analyzing the potential environmental impacts of alternative management strategies while accounting for economic constraints, thereby aiding decision makers in explicitly considering multiple management objectives. The modeling strategy consists of two phases. First, relationships between the configuration of land use types in a watershed and valued ecosystem services are specified mathematically. Second, those functions are incorporated into a spatial optimization model that allows comparisons of the expected environmental impacts and economic costs of management strategies that change the configuration of land use in the watershed. By way of a stylized example, this paper develops the general structure of the framework, presents simulation results based on two production functions for ecosystem services, and discusses the potential utility of the methodology for watershed management. [source]


Environmental knowledge and small-scale rural landholding in south-west England

THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010
CAROL MORRIS
This paper explores the environmental knowledge of small-scale rural landholders and comments on the implications of this for environmental policy. The paper draws on conceptualisations of knowledge as ,know what', ,know why', ,know how' and ,know who', recognises a distinction between tacit and codified environmental knowledges and highlights the need to consider the politics of knowledge surrounding environmental issues. Both quantitative and qualitative data are reported, and are derived from structured interviews with 30 small-scale landholders who were participants in a nature and landscape conservation initiative , the Landscape Heritage Scheme , within South Devon, England. These data are used to explore the place of environmental concerns within the land management objectives of respondents; the nature and extent of their environmental knowledge; how a range of factors alongside their environmental knowledge shaped the environmental practices of respondents; and the politics of knowledge associated with the Landscape Heritage Scheme. The paper suggests that small-scale landholders should be of interest to environmental policy, prioritising environmental objectives in their land management, being relatively knowledgeable about the environment and highly responsive to environmental advice and financial incentives that support environmental management. A case is made for developing research in this area, given ongoing processes of rural demographic change and the rising importance within this of an increasingly diverse landholding population. [source]