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Regional Assessment (regional + assessment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Regional assessment of the impact of climatic change on the distribution of a tropical conifer in the lowlands of South America

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 6 2007
Marie-Pierre Ledru
Abstract For decades, palynologists working in tropical South America are using the genus Podocarpus as a climate indicator although without referring to any modern data concerning its distribution and limiting factors. With the aim to characterize the modern and past distribution of the southern conifer Podocarpus in Brazil and to obtain new information on the distribution of the Atlantic rainforest during the Quaternary, we examined herbarium data to locate the populations of three Brazilian endemic Podocarpus species: P. sellowii, P. lambertii, and P. brasiliensis, and extracted DNA from fresh leaves from 26 populations. Our conclusions are drawn in the light of the combination of these three disciplines: botany, palynology, and genetics. We find that the modern distribution of endemic Podocarpus populations shows that they are widely dispersed in eastern Brazil, from north to south and reveals that the expansion of Podocarpus recorded in single Amazonian pollen records may have come from either western or eastern populations. Genetic analysis enabled us to delimit regional expansion: between 5° and 15° S grouping northern and central populations of P. sellowii expanded c. 16,000 years ago; between 15° and 23° S populations of either P. lambertii or sellowii expanded at different times since at least the last glaciation; and between 23° and 30° S, P. lambertii appeared during the recent expansion of the Araucaria forest. The combination of botany, pollen, and molecular analysis proved to be a rapid tool for inferring distribution borders for sparse populations and their regional evolution within tropical ecosystems. Today the refugia of rainforest communities we identified are crucial hotspots to allow the Atlantic forest to survive under unfavourable climatic conditions and, as such, offer the only possible opportunity for this type of forest to expand in the event of a future climate change. [source]

Contamination of fish in streams of the Mid-Atlantic Region: An approach to regional indicator selection and wildlife assessment

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2003
James M. Lazorchak
Abstract The extent of contamination of fish in the Mid-Atlantic Region was evaluated as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Monitoring and Assessment Program's regional assessment in 1993 through 1994. Fish assemblages from wadeable streams were dominated by small, short-lived fishes (e.g., minnows, darters, and sculpins) that were more widely distributed and abundant than large fishes typically chosen for tissue contaminant studies (e.g., trout, black bass, sunfish, common carp). Chemical concentrations in whole-fish homogenates exceeded detection limits for mercury, DDT, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in 75 to 100% of the stream length assessed using small fishes and 84 to 100% of the stream length assessed using large fishes. Wildlife values (WVs) representing a threshold for toxic effect were developed to allow examination of the spatial extent of potential risk to piscivorous wildlife. For mercury, DDT, dieldrin, and chlordane, estimates of the regional extent of streams where fish contaminant concentrations exceeded the WVs were greater when based on small fishes than on large fishes. However, within the distribution of stream lengths assessed using small and large fishes, the percentage of stream kilometers exceeding the WVs were quite similar. Our data demonstrate that the greater abundance and distribution of small, short-lived fishes provide greater estimates of regional extent of contamination for first- through third-order streams and can be used for regional assessments of potential exposure and effects in wildlife. [source]

Canopy leaching of cations in Central European forest ecosystems , a regional assessment

JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2003
Jens-Johann Langusch
Abstract The leaching of Ca, Mg, and K from canopies is a major pathway of these cations into forest soils. Our aim was to quantify rates of canopy leaching and to identify driving factors at the regional scale using annual fluxes of bulk precipitation and throughfall from 37 coniferous and deciduous forests of North and Central Europe. Total deposition of Ca, Mg, K, and H+ was estimated with Na as an index cation. The median canopy leaching increased in the order: Mg (0.11 kmolc ha,1 a,1) < Ca (0.31 kmolc ha,1 a,1) < K (0.39 kmolc ha,1 a,1). Canopy leaching of Ca and K was positively correlated with the calculated total H+ deposition and H+ buffered in the canopy, whereas canopy leaching of Mg was not. With contrasting effects, fluxes of SO4 -S and NH4 -N in throughfall explained to 64,% (P<0.001) of the Ca canopy leaching. Fluxes of NH4 -N and Ca were negatively correlated, suggesting that buffering of H+ by NH3 deposition reduced canopy leaching of Ca. Amount of bulk precipitation and SO4 -S in throughfall were identified as much weaker driving factors for canopy leaching of K (r2=0.28, P<0.01). Our results show that Ca is the dominant cation in buffering the H+ input in the canopy. At the regional and annual scale, canopy leaching of Mg appears to be unaffected by H+ deposition and H+ buffering in the canopy. Kronenauswaschung von Ca, Mg und K in mitteleuropäischen Waldökosystemen Die Kronenauswaschung von Ca, Mg und K mit dem Bestandesniederschlag stellt einen wichtigen Eintrag für die Waldböden dar. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, die Kronenauswaschung dieser Kationen auf der regionalen Skala zu quantifizieren und Faktoren zu identifizieren, welche die Kronenauswaschung beeinflussen. Hierzu wurden annuelle Flüsse aus Freiland- und Bestandesniederschlägen von 37 nord- und mitteleuropäischen Laub- und Nadelwäldern ausgewertet. Zur Bestimmung der Gesamtdeposition wurde Na als Leitelement benutzt. Der Median der Kronenauswaschung stieg in der Reihenfolge Mg (0,11 kmolc ha,1 a,1) < Ca (0,31 kmolc ha,1 a,1) < K (0,39 kmolc ha,1 a,1) an. Die Kronenauswaschung von Ca und K war positiv mit der berechneten H+ -Deposition und der gepufferten H+ -Menge im Kronenraum korreliert, während Mg keinen Zusammenhang zeigte. Die Kronenauswaschung von Ca ließ sich zu 64,% (P<0.001) mit den Flüssen von SO4 -S und NH4 -N im Bestandesniederschlag erklären, wobei die negative Korrelation zwischen NH4 -N und Ca auf eine Reduzierung der Ca-Kronenauswaschung mit steigender NH3 -Deposition hindeutet. Dagegen konnten nur 28,% der K-Auswaschung (P<0.01) mit dem Freilandniederschlag und dem SO4 -S-Fluss im Bestandesniederschlag als Indikatorvariablen erklärt werden. Unsere Studie zeigt, dass Calcium das dominante Kation bei der Kronenraumpufferung von H+ ist. Auf der regionalen und annuellen Skala scheint die Kronenauswaschung von Mg weder von der H+ -Deposition noch von der Menge im Kronenraum gepufferter H+ -Ionen abzuhängen. [source]

PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONAL ASSESSMIENT: THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE WATER RESOURCES OF TEE COLUMBIA RWER BASIN,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2000
Edward L. Miles
ABSTRACT: The Pacific Northwest (PNW) regional assessment is an integrated examination of the consequences of natural climate variability and projected future climate change for the natural and human systems of the region. The assessment currently focuses on four sectors: hydrology/water resources, forests and forestry, aquatic ecosystems, and coastal activities. The assessment begins by identifying and elucidating the natural patterns of climate vanability in the PNW on interannual to decadal timescales. The pathways through which these climate variations are manifested and the resultant impacts on the natural and human systems of the region are investigated. Knowledge of these pathways allows an analysis of the potential impacts of future climate change, as defined by IPCC climate change scenarios. In this paper, we examine the sensitivity, adaptability and vulnerability of hydrology and water resources to climate variability and change. We focus on the Columbia River Basin, which covers approximately 75 percent of the PNW and is the basis for the dominant water resources system of the PNW. The water resources system of the Columbia River is sensitive to climate variability, especially with respect to drought. Management inertia and the lack of a centralized authority coordinating all uses of the resource impede adaptability to drought and optimization of water distribution. Climate change projections suggest exacerbated conditions of conflict between users as a result of low summertime streamfiow conditions. An understanding of the patterns and consequences of regional climate variability is crucial to developing an adequate response to future changes in climate. [source]

Measuring the effectiveness of regional conservation assessments at representing biodiversity surrogates at a local scale: A case study in Réunion Island (Indian Ocean)

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
KARINE PAYET
Abstract In a context of scarce financial and human resources, the allocation of conservation efforts needs to be optimized. Our analysis attempts to draw conclusions on the integration of regional and local conservation assessments, specifically, with regard to the acquisition of fine-scale data to complement the regional assessment. This study undertaken in Réunion Island (Indian Ocean) assessed how biodiversity surrogates targeted at a regional scale represented other biodiversity surrogates at a local scale. Biodiversity surrogates at both scales consisted of species, habitats and processes. Habitats and processes at regional scale were defined using a coarser scale of thematic resolution than at local scale. The surrogacy was tested in terms of incidental representation of local-scale features in the regional assessments, and correlation of irreplaceability values between scales. Near-minimum sets and irreplaceability values were generated using MARXAN software. Our results revealed that conservation targets for processes at local scale were never met incidentally, while threatened species and fragmented habitats were also usually under-represented. More specifically, requiring only 12% of the local planning domain, the application of species as surrogates at regional scale was the least effective option at representing biodiversity features at local scale. In contrast, habitats at a coarse scale of thematic resolution achieved a significant proportion of conservation targets incidentally (67%) and their irreplaceability values were well correlated with the irreplaceability values of surrogates at local scale. The results highlighted that all three types of biodiversity surrogates are complementary for assessing overall biodiversity. Because of the cost of data acquisition, we recommended that the most efficient strategy to develop nested regional/local conservation plans is to apply habitats and processes at a coarse scale of thematic resolution at regional scale, and threatened species and degraded habitats at local scale, with their fine-scale mapping limited to highly transformed areas. [source]

A Freshwater Classification Approach for Biodiversity Conservation Planning

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
JONATHAN V. HIGGINS
biodiversidad de agua dulce; clasificación; planificación de conservación; representativo Abstract:,Freshwater biodiversity is highly endangered and faces increasing threats worldwide. To be complete, regional plans that identify critical areas for conservation must capture representative components of freshwater biodiversity as well as rare and endangered species. We present a spatially hierarchical approach to classify freshwater systems to create a coarse filter to capture representative freshwater biodiversity in regional conservation plans. The classification framework has four levels that we described using abiotic factors within a zoogeographic context and mapped in a geographic information system. Methods to classify and map units are flexible and can be automated where high-quality spatial data exist, or can be manually developed where such data are not available. Products include a spatially comprehensive inventory of mapped and classified units that can be used remotely to characterize regional patterns of aquatic ecosystems. We provide examples of classification procedures in data-rich and data-poor regions from the Columbia River Basin in the Pacific Northwest of North America and the upper Paraguay River in central South America. The approach, which has been applied in North, Central, and South America, provides a relatively rapid and pragmatic way to account for representative freshwater biodiversity at scales appropriate to regional assessments. Resumen:,La biodiversidad de agua dulce está en peligro y enfrenta amenazas crecientes en todo el mundo. Para ser completos, los planes regionales que identifican áreas críticas para la conservación deben incluir componentes representativos de la biodiversidad de agua dulce así como especies raras y en peligro. Presentamos un método espacialmente jerárquico para clasificar sistemas de agua dulce para crear un filtro grueso que capte a la biodiversidad de agua dulce en los planes regionales de conservación. La estructura de la clasificación tiene cuatro niveles que describimos utilizando factores abióticos en un contexto zoogeográfico y localizamos en un sistema de información geográfico. Los métodos para clasificar y trazar mapas son flexibles y pueden ser automatizados, donde existen datos espaciales de alta calidad, o desarrollados manualmente cuando tales datos no están disponibles. Los productos incluyen un inventario completo de unidades mapeadas y clasificadas que pueden ser usadas remotamente para caracterizar patrones regionales de ecosistemas acuáticos. Proporcionamos ejemplos de procedimientos de clasificación en regiones ricas y pobres en datos en la cuenca del Río Columbia en el noroeste de Norte América y del Río Paraguay en Sudamérica central. El método, que ha sido aplicado en Norte, Centro y Sudamérica, proporciona una forma relativamente rápida y pragmática de contabilizar biodiversidad de agua dulce representativa en escalas adecuadas para evaluaciones regionales. [source]

Contamination of fish in streams of the Mid-Atlantic Region: An approach to regional indicator selection and wildlife assessment

Measuring the effectiveness of regional conservation assessments at representing biodiversity surrogates at a local scale: A case study in Réunion Island (Indian Ocean)