Download or read book Impact of Fire on Tussock Grassland Invertebrate Populations written by Barbara I. P. Barratt and published by Publishing Team Department of Conservation. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The invertebrate fauna of tussock grassland in New Zealand has not been well studied, and the effect of burning on the biodiversity of the ecosystem is poorly understood by land managers. The impacts of burning on two tussock grassland invertebrate communities in Otago, New Zealand, were investigated between 1998 and 2006. At each site, three replicate 1-ha plots that were unburned (control), or burned in spring or summer were sampled. Pre- and post-burn sampling compared invertebrate densities and trophic group structure in inter-tussock (turf) and tussock samples, and recovery after treatment. Most groups were initially reduced in density post-burn. In the 1-2 year period following treatment, Thysanoptera and Hemiptera "rebounded" and reached significantly higher population densities than before the fires. By the end of the study, Amphipoda had not recovered to pre-burn densities. In general, herbivore population densities recovered over a 2-3 year period, and litter-dwelling invertebrate population densities were most negatively impacted. Season of treatment had no major impact on invertebrate responses. Coleoptera were chosen as a representative group for more detailed investigations of responses at species level. Coleoptera species richness was reduced by about 50% at 2-3 months post-burn, but recovered to pre-burn levels 3 years later. There was no evidence of a change in the density of exotic Coleoptera following the burning treatments. Invertebrate data from these sites should be considered as case studies, rather than applicable to tussock grassland in general. However, these findings have several implications for the management of tussock grassland: fire treatments that remove the litter layer are likely to reduce litter-dwelling invertebrate populations for 3 years or more; summer fires do not appear to be more detrimental to the invertebrate community than burning in spring, based upon the limited seasonal data available to us; and the exotic component of the fauna does not increase in response to fire in the first 3-4 years after burning.
Download or read book Grassland Invertebrate Interactions Plant Productivity Resilience and Community Dynamics written by Ivan Hiltpold and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2017-10-13 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural and anthropogenic grasslands such as prairies, meadows, rangelands, and pastures cover more than 40% of the planet’s surface and provide a wealth of ecological services. Grasslands alone store one third of the global carbon stocks and grass roots, through their specific architectures, ensure water cycling and prevent the erosion of fertile topsoil. In addition, grasslands are of vital importance for human food production as vast areas of rangelands and pastures provide feed for livestock. Pastoral legumes mobilize atmospheric nitrogen and improve fertility of arable soils. Not least, grasslands are an essential genetic resource. The three major crop species that feed half of the global population have been bred from wild grasses. Ancestors of our contemporary turf cultivars, common components of urban landscapes and recreation spaces, originated from wild grasslands. Although natural and managed grasslands represent pivotal ecosystems, many aspects of how they function are poorly understood. To date, most attention has focused on grassland primary producers (i.e. forage plants) and mammalian grazers but invertebrates are likely to play an equally, if not more important role in grassland ecosystem functioning. In Australian pastures, for example, the biomass of root-feeding scarab beetles can often exceed that of sheep and plant damage caused by invertebrates is sometimes equivalent to an average dairy cow’s grass consumption. Indeed, grasslands are one of the most densely populated ecosystems with invertebrates being probably the most important engineers that shape both plant communities and the grassland as a whole. In a rapidly changing world with increasing anthropogenic pressure on grasslands, this Research Topic focuses on: 1. How grassland habitats shape invertebrate biodiversity 2. Impacts of climate change on grassland-invertebrate interactions 3. Plant and invertebrate pest monitoring and management 4. Plant-mediated multitrophic interactions and biological control in grasslands 5. Land use and grassland invertebrates 6. Plant resistance to invertebrate pests Given the increasing demand for food and land for human habitation, unprecedented threats to grasslands are anticipated. Resilient to some extent, these key ecosystems need to be better comprehended to guarantee their sustainable management and ecosystem services.
Download or read book Insects Fire and Conservation written by Tim R. New and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-09-03 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A global synthesis of the impacts of wildfires and controlled burning on insects, bringing together much hitherto scattered information to provide a guide to improved conservation management practice. The great variety of responses by insect species and assemblages demonstrates the often subtle balance between fire being a severe threat and a vital management component. Examples from many parts of the world and from diverse biotopes and production systems display the increasingly detailed appreciation of fire impacts on insects in terrestrial and freshwater environments and the ways in which prescribed burning may be tailored to reduce harmful ecological impacts and incorporated into protocols for threatened species and wider insect conservation benefits.
Download or read book The Ethics of Eating Animals written by Bob Fischer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intensive animal agriculture wrongs many, many animals. Philosophers have argued, on this basis, that most people in wealthy Western contexts are morally obligated to avoid animal products. This book explains why the author thinks that’s mistaken. He reaches this negative conclusion by contending that the major arguments for veganism fail: they don’t establish the right sort of connection between producing and eating animal-based foods. Moreover, if they didn’t have this problem, then they would have other ones: we wouldn’t be obliged to abstain from all animal products, but to eat strange things instead—e.g., roadkill, insects, and things left in dumpsters. On his view, although we have a collective obligation not to farm animals, there is no specific diet that most individuals ought to have. Nevertheless, he does think that some people are obligated to be vegans, but that’s because they’ve joined a movement, or formed a practical identity, that requires that sacrifice. This book argues that there are good reasons to make such a move, albeit not ones strong enough to show that everyone must do likewise.
Download or read book Wildlife and Invertebrate Response to Fuel Reduction Treatments in Dry Coniferous Forests of the Western United States written by David S. Pilliod and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper synthesizes available information on the effects of hazardous fuel reduction treatments on terrestrial wildlife and invertebrates in dry coniferous forest types in the West. We focused on thinning and/or prescribed fire studies in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and dry-type Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), and mixed coniferous forests. Overall, there are tremendous gaps in information needed to evaluate the effects of fuel reduction on the majority of species found in our focal area. Differences among studies in location, fuel treatment type and size, and pre- and post-treatment habitat conditions resulted in variability in species responses. In other words, a species may respond positively to fuel reduction in one situation and negatively in another. Despite these issues, a few patterns did emerge from this synthesis. In general, fire-dependent species, species preferring open habitats, and species that are associated with early successional vegetation or that consume seeds and fruit appear to benefit from fuel reduction activities. In contrast, species that prefer closed-canopy forests or dense understory, and species that are closely associated with those habitat elements that may be removed or consumed by fuel reductions, will likely be negatively affected by fuel reductions. Some habitat loss may persist for only a few months or a few years, such as understory vegetation and litter that recover quickly. The loss of large-diameter snags and down wood, which are important habitat elements for many wildlife and invertebrate species, may take decades to recover and thus represent some of the most important habitat elements to conserve during fuel reduction treatments. Management activities that consider the retention of habitat structures (such as snags, down wood, and refugia of untreated stands) may increase habitat heterogeneity and may benefit the greatest number of species in the long run.
Download or read book Butterfly Conservation in South Eastern Australia Progress and Prospects written by Tim R. New and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-10-17 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of the development and practice of butterfly conservation in south east Australia, tracing evolution of the science through a series of cases from focus on single subspecies through increasing levels of ecological complexity to critical biotopes and communities. The book summarises much previously scattered information, and provides access to much regional information of considerable interest to practitioners elsewhere.
Download or read book Grassland Invertebrates written by Jim P. Curry and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1993-11-30 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grasslands comprise more than a quarter of the Earth's land surface. In addition to supporting a wide range of vertebrates such as domestic livestock and a variety of games species, grassland is the natural habitat for a wide range of invertebrate species, and this book considers those which occur in grassland and their impact on soil fertility and herbage growth. It describes grassland as a habitat for invertebrates, the groups which occur there and their abudance. An extensive literature on grassland invertebrates scattered through numerous scientific journals and reports is drawn on in an attempt to develop an overview. In the opening chapter the major grassland types are considered and the features which influence the distribution and abudance of the invertebrates which inhabit them are discussed. Next the major taxonomic groups are reviewed in turn, with a brief account of their biology and ecology and of their ecosystem role. Some general features of grassland invertebrate communities are then described and teh factors which influence th epopulation densities of their constituent species are considered. Particular attentionm is given to the ways in which populations are influenced by management practices. The final and largest chapterdeals with the various ways in which invertebrates influence important grassland processes through ingestion of organic matter, interaction with injurious species is considered, with particular emphasis on the potential for achieving this through manipulating grassland management practices.
Download or read book Rangeland Ecology Management written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Grasses and Grassland Ecology written by David J. Gibson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the most up to date and thorough account of the natural history of the plants that comprise the most important food crop on Earth, the grasses and grasslands.
Download or read book New Zealand Journal of Ecology written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 1012 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Australian Journal of Agricultural Research written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trends in Acarology written by Maurice W. Sabelis and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-11-16 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mites and ticks are everywhere and acarologists go after them – some explore their bewildering diversity, others try to understand their how and why. For the past 50 years, the International Congress of Acarology has been the forum for worldwide communication on the knowledge of Acari, helping researchers and students to look beyond their disciplines. Many mites and ticks are economic factors as they are pests of agricultural, veterinary and medical importance, and several species have become model organisms in modern biology. The 96 contributions to Trends in Acarology – reflecting fields as molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, pathology, ecology, evolutionary biology, systematic biology, soil biology, plant protection, pest control and epidemiology – have been reviewed and carefully edited. This volume contains a wealth of new information, that may stimulate research for many years to come.
Download or read book Invertebrates of the Columbia River Basin Assessment Area written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions written by Dr. Daniel Simberloff and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2011-01-02 with total page 1580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pioneering encyclopedia illuminates a topic at the forefront of global ecology—biological invasions, or organisms that come to live in the wrong place. Written by leading scientists from around the world, Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions addresses all aspects of this subject at a global level—including invasions by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria—in succinct, alphabetically arranged articles. Scientifically uncompromising, yet clearly written and free of jargon, the volume encompasses fields of study including biology, demography, geography, ecology, evolution, sociology, and natural history. Featuring many cross-references, suggestions for further reading, illustrations, an appendix of the world’s worst 100 invasive species, a glossary, and more, this is an essential reference for anyone who needs up-to-date information on this important topic. Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions features articles on: • Well-known invasive species such the zebra mussel, chestnut blight, cheatgrass, gypsy moth, Nile perch, giant African snail, and Norway rat • Regions with especially large numbers of introduced species including the Great Lakes, Mediterranean Sea, Hawaiian Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. • Conservation, ecological, economic, and human and animal health impacts of invasions around the world • The processes and pathways involved in invasion • Management of introduced species
Download or read book Climate Change 2022 Impacts Adaptation and Vulnerability written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-06-22 with total page 3070 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a comprehensive assessment of the scientific literature relevant to climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. The report recognizes the interactions of climate, ecosystems and biodiversity, and human societies, and integrates across the natural, ecological, social and economic sciences. It emphasizes how efforts in adaptation and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions can come together in a process called climate resilient development, which enables a liveable future for biodiversity and humankind. The IPCC is the leading body for assessing climate change science. IPCC reports are produced in comprehensive, objective and transparent ways, ensuring they reflect the full range of views in the scientific literature. Novel elements include focused topical assessments, and an atlas presenting observed climate change impacts and future risks from global to regional scales. Available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of the World s Biomes written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2020-06-26 with total page 3542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes is a unique, five volume reference that provides a global synthesis of biomes, including the latest science. All of the book's chapters follow a common thematic order that spans biodiversity importance, principal anthropogenic stressors and trends, changing climatic conditions, and conservation strategies for maintaining biomes in an increasingly human-dominated world. This work is a one-stop shop that gives users access to up-to-date, informative articles that go deeper in content than any currently available publication. Offers students and researchers a one-stop shop for information currently only available in scattered or non-technical sources Authored and edited by top scientists in the field Concisely written to guide the reader though the topic Includes meaningful illustrations and suggests further reading for those needing more specific information
Download or read book General Technical Report PNW GTR written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 908 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
