Monitoring nature conservation in cultural habitats: A practical guide and case studies
Abstract
Over the past 50 years, changing management practices have led to large-scale habitat degradation and loss in Europe. Monitoring has an important role to play in restoring the conservation interest of these habitats, many of which have a history of cultural land use. This book highlights the need for effective communication between ecologists, conservationalists and land managers, and for well-informed conservation management decisions. Initially, it outlines the decision-making process involved in setting measurable conservation goals, and then describes how to develop efficient and reliable monitoring projects that feed back into management. The case study sites cover a variety of habitats and species, including several protected by Natura 2000 legislation, and conservation areas ranging from only a few hectares to many thousands of hectares. The same basic approach was used regardless of the habitat, species or size of area being monitored.
Chapters (35)
This book focuses primarily on the problems associated with monitoring nature conservation in cultural habitats, i.e. those habitats that are derived from human management activities; maintained by management activities; or impacted on by human activities. For practical conservation purposes, we should not differentiate between these.
This simple model of change provides us with a logical set of categories for informing basic conservation management decisions.
We can base then our monitoring on tests of whether our management aims are met or not. This is much simpler, and potentially
more efficient, than other forms of monitoring that try to distinguish trends or use experimental designs.
Elsewhere in this book are many examples of this approach being used across Europe for monitoring both habitats and species.
While the details of implementation may differ considerably, the underlying model is always the same.
Most sites of high conservation value will already have survey data available in one form or another. Often, enough site-specific
information will be available to make responsible management decisions. Therefore, before committing resources to collecting
additionalsurvey information, we should decide whether new information would make our management decisions any easier. We
should also consider whether the new survey information would be any more reliable than our existing data. If, ultimately,
we do decide to collect new survey data, the new survey should not attempt to be ‘all encompassing’, but should focus on filling
the critical gaps in our knowledge. Chapters 9, 10 and 11 suggest ways of doing this.
Think of some of the most celebrated ecological or conservation monitoring projects and what comes to mind? The Rothamsted Park Grass plots (Williams, 1978) perhaps, or maybe one of several national bird monitoring programmes, e.g. the UK's Common Bird Census1 (Marchant et al., 1990) or the North American Breeding Bird Survey, e.g. Cooke (2003). A search through the scientific literature will reveal many others.
Sampling is one of the most important aspects of any practical monitoring project. Only rarely can we make a complete record of a habitat or species population at a protected site. Unless it is conspicuous, small and confined within a small area, we must draw some conclusion about the condition of the whole feature from measurements made in a carefully chosen sample of habitat units or individuals. Even if complete recording is possible, sampling is usually quicker, cheaper, less damaging, and more accurate than a nearly completed census, because it is unbiased. When we find that sampling is impractical, we may have proven that, in this case, management cannot rely on monitoring to detect a significant decline (see Taylor and Gerodette, 1993).
Standard texts based on extensive research have provided us with the knowledge to recognise:
The groups of co-existing species that form habitats;
The likely direction of habitat succession in the absence of disturbance events;
How individual species are likely to respond to disturbance events;
How individual species are likely to respond to different environmental stresses;
The types of management most likely to be applied to different habitats.
This information makes it possible to identify small suites of co-existing species that can be monitored efficiently and give reliable results. The remaining chapters in this part of the book outline a process for developing site-specific habitat monitoring projects, and the case studies illustrate how this knowledge has been applied at a site-specific level in monitoring projects on sites of international conservation importance.
For monitoring purposes, we should think of our rare and threatened habitats and species as vulnerable patients exposed to a life threatening illness, and approach the problem with the same mindset as a doctor checking either for signs of ill health or for complications during recovery.
In this chapter we have discussed various forms of field assessment available for monitoring the quality of a habitat, concentrating on three principal components: vegetation cover, species composition, and vegetation height.
The results from multiple-observer sampling trials have indicated that the most reliable measures for monitoring habitats are presence and absence data; simple counts of abundance; and using a drop disc to record vegetation height.
As a general rule, we should try to avoid using estimates of vegetation cover in a monitoring project unless absolutely necessary. If we decide that it is essential, then we should monitor against cover targets. The results from sampling trials suggest that if we set up a monitoring project where the result can depend solely on estimates of vegetation cover, then the reliability of the monitoring result will be compromised by unacceptable levels of observer bias.
For this reason, we should think carefully about what we need to know about the vegetation that we are monitoring before deciding how to monitor it. If we consider, within any broad habitat type, which examples of a habitat we regard to be of high conservation interest, and why, we will probably begin to focus on those with a good representation of stress tolerating species (Chapter 8). These species will become scarcer as the more competitive species achieve dominance. This suggests that, in most cases at least, it is actually the presence of the stress tolerators (and associated species) that dictates the conservation value of the habitat, rather than the cover of the potentially dominant competitors. If we accept this, then the most efficient and reliable approach to monitoring the condition of a habitat is to focus on the frequency (or abundance) of the stress tolerating associate species, and not the cover of the dominants.
This chapter addresses the problem of how to define the management aims for a habitat in concise, unambiguous and measurable terms. This will ensure that a) the land manager is clear about what we want the management to achieve and b) we will be able to obtain a reliable monitoring result. If we get this right, then with a minimum of training, anyone should be able to look down at the vegetation at their feet and say a) whether they are standing in the key habitat, and if so, b) whether the habitat is in a state of high conservation value.
For all but the smallest areas of habitat, it is both impractical and inefficient to attempt to monitor all of the vegetation. Our alternatives are a) to take a random sample from across the whole habitat and use statistical inference to draw conclusions about its overall condition (Chapter 5) or b) to monitor in selected areas and use logic (or our knowledge of the inter-relationship between different parts of the habitat) to infer the condition elsewhere. This chapter outlines the factors that can guide our decisions on where to monitor if we choose the latter approach.
During the data collection phase of a monitoring project we have to make decisions relating to: • When to carry out the monitoring; • The size and shape of our monitoring plots; • How to collect the monitoring data; and • How to re-find the monitoring plots. The following sections draw attention to the issues that we need to consider during the course of making those decisions.
The importance of on-site photography is often understated in texts on surveillance and monitoring, perhaps because ecology courses tend not to promote the camera as a valid research tool. Consequently, there are relatively few historic photographs showing the structure or composition of habitats on sites of conservation interest. This is a problem, because we are not very perceptive when it comes to noticing the early signs of habitat succession; we tend not to notice it until a habitat has changed beyond recognition. Perhaps this is because, on the one hand, if we visit an area regularly we adjust to the changes as they happen (because the vegetation looks very much the same from one day to the next). While on the other hand, if our visits are infrequent, our memories fade and become unreliable.
In this part of the book, we have examined not only the requirements for developing an environmental monitoring project, but also a number of key case studies in the UK, Sweden, Finland and Germany. Several different layers of data were collected during the course of these monitoring projects, including one or more of field survey maps, remote images, surveillance quadrat data, species distribution data, Global Positioning System (GPS) point data, monitoring pass/fail data, monitoring plot co-ordinates, monitoring point co-ordinates and fixed-point photographs. The increasing availability of medium and high accuracy GPS and GIS has made it possible to develop projects that integrate these site-based data and make them available at the push of a button. Therefore we intend to draw these chapters to a fitting conclusion by discussing the integration of field data using modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
The book so far has focused on the problems associated with habitat monitoring and ways of overcoming them: the remainder of the book primarily comprises case studies that demonstrate the practical application of monitoring. The case study sites are distributed in five countries: England, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Wales, though most originate from Wales (Fig.16-1) and Sweden. In selecting the case studies, we have tried to cover as many broad habitat types and species groups as possible. The habitat case studies include arable land, neutral grassland, coastal heaths, broad-leaved woodland, coastal dunes, fens and coastal lagoons, while the species case studies cover large mammals, bats, birds, butterflies and snails. Most of the case studies are included in this part of the book, though the broad-leaved woodland case study is in Part V, and those for sand dunes, fens and coastal lagoons are in Part VI.
The Natura 2000 site at St David's covers more than 50 km of coastline in southwest Wales, from Strumble Head in the north to Cwm Mawr in the south (see Fig.16.1). The site also includes Ramsey Island, which is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and lies 1-2 km offshore from Whitesands Bay near St David's. Much of the site is under private ownership, with the rest mostly owned by the National Trust, though Pembroke Coast National Park leases the foreshore from the Crown Estate.
In contrast to most of the case studies in the book, this chapter describes a project designed to monitor the arable weed flora on a farm in the wider countryside, as opposed to within a protected area. The primary aim was to develop an efficient method for monitoring the effects of the management prescriptions on the conservation value of arable farms in agri-environment schemes, instead of simply monitoring compliance with management prescriptions. Although very few arable farms are designated for nature conservation, arable habitats cover large areas of land in Europe and are important for a wide range of animals and plants, many of which are in steep decline. Therefore, the need for efficient and effective monitoring in these cultural habitats is just as great as for semi-natural habitats protected in nature reserves.
If we know, from monitoring the key attributes in the critical period after management that a) our management strategy is
achieving its aims, b) the wood is not being invaded by non-native species, and c) the rare and threatened species are still
present, we can probably consider the wood to be in optimal condition.
This chapter focuses on the Western Taïga (Habitat 9010), with particular emphasis on the situation in Sweden. The Western Taïga, a priority Natura 2000 habitat, accounts for the vast majority of coniferous forest in the Boreal region and is widespread throughout it. In Sweden alone, almost one million hectares of Western Taïga are protected within the Natura 2000 network. It is a complex habitat dominated by old-growth coniferous forests, and takes in several sub-habitats, including secondary forest types such as the young broad-leaved forests that develop after large-scale disturbances.
Biskopstorp, situated in the nemoral region of SW Sweden, is an area of some 865 ha that, with the exception of some small lakes and bogs, has almost complete forest cover. Together with the neighbouring nature reserve Vapnö Mosse, a large bog including surrounding forests, it forms an area of almost 1100 ha. The area constitutes the single most important forested area for biodiversity in the county of Halland, and is one of the most important in southern Sweden. About 30% of Biskopstorp is deciduous broad-leaved forest, with Beech Fagus sylvatica dominating the central and eastern parts of the area, and Oaks Quercus spp. dominating the western and southern parts.
Mapping and monitoring habitats for nature conservation purposes has traditionally been undertaken using a mixture of ground based field survey techniques, often combined with aerial photography. The aerial photographs provide an overview of the whole site of interest, and allow field surveyors to direct their efforts on the ground by providing some knowledge of the location of the various habitats within a given site. Earth Observation (EO), through the use of aerial photography, is thus already a tool used by many conservation practitioners.
Before embarking on a remote sensing project, it is good practice to:
–
Have clearly stated, and carefully considered, aims for the project;
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Be familiar with the habitats and permanent features on your site before you let a contract;
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Use a DGPS to record the grid co-ordinates for a scatter of the permanent features that will be visible on the image;
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Provide unequivocal definitions for every distinct habitat and habitat state in the survey area;
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Take photographs of every distinct habitat and habitat state;
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Use a DGPS to record the location of several homogeneous stands of each distinct habitat and habitat state;
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Make sure that each DGPS point is situated within a stand of homogeneous vegetation that is at least larger than the width
of two pixels, and that some points in each habitat class are located within homogeneous stands more than three or four pixel
diameters in area; and
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Obtain DGPS co-ordinates from stands of habitat across as much of the survey area as possible.
Finally, we should ensure that we have access to remote sensing and GIS specialists from the outset.
Kenfig National Nature Reserve, a coastal dune system of ca. 600-ha, has been popular with local naturalists since the early 1900s, and is one of the best-studied nature reserves in Wales. The site, located in south-east Wales (Fig. 16-1), comprises a complex mosaic of vegetation types and is of international conservation importance for three habitats on Annex I of the EC Habitats Directive and for two species on Annex II.
At c. 243 ha, Cors Crymlyn is the largest area of lowland fen in Wales. It is situated on the outskirts of Swansea, the second largest city in Wales (Fig. 16-1), and is close to urban housing developments, industrial complexes, abandoned drift mines, and a large landfill refuse site. The site, part of which is a National Nature Reserve (NNR), is bisected by a disused canal, which was built to transfer materials from the mines to Swansea docks.
Since 2000, the West Finland Regional Environmental Centre, the Västerbotten County Administration in Sweden, and the Kvarken Council have cooperated in the EUproject "Kvarken Environment". One aim of the project is to find inter-regional bases for environmental monitoring and surveying in the Kvarken area. This paper describes a pilot study that was carried out in 2002-2003 as part of this project.
The approach recommended in this book makes full use of our existing knowledge to increase the efficiency of a monitoring
project. It is difficult to see how we could collect less information without compromising the monitoring result. Some might
argue that we are already collecting less information than we should, but that is open to debate.
For the purposes of conservation management, we simply need to know whether our management is achieving its aims. This is
not a statistical question. Farmers and foresters do not use complex statistics to assess whether the harvest has met their
expectations; they simply weigh it. This book has focused on describing, and illustrating, a similarly reliable and efficient
approach to monitoring nature conservation.
... One of the strategic goals for preserving natural diversity is the restoration of degraded natural habitats [1,2]. Restoring it in the framework of the integrative approach implies habitat management and monitoring linkages [3]. In other words, setting conservation priorities for the restored habitat with a logical set of categories -condition indicators and limits of restored habitat development phases is essential. ...
... The reasoning behind such decision was also that the types were easier to designate and monitor on the ground from the perspective of site managers, results in Table 6). It was done by following the methodology presented in [3]. ...
... As one of the original research results we have proposed distinct habitat development phases, as described in Table 7. Each one is defined using the set of indicator species, which reflect the site-specific expert opinion [3]. ...
Due to the large-scale disappearance of grasslands there is an urgent need for revitalization. It calls for consistent and accessible monitoring and mapping plans, and an integrated management approach. However, revitalization efforts often focus solely on the vegetation component, and skip the link to other animal species that perform vital functions as ecosystem engineers and umbrella species. In this study, we combine an in-situ standard phytocoenological survey with an UAV-based technology in the effort to improve the monitoring and mapping of the sandy steppe habitat of the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus; EGS), undergoing revitalization in the northern Serbia. It is a model organism of an animal species that enables identifying habitat quality and quantity indicators to understand the broader implications of the ecosystem revitalization efforts on the wildlife populations. The proposed approach tested whether the commercially available RGB sensor and a relatively high flight height of the UAV have discriminative capacity to aid site managers by mapping identified steppe development stages (specific plant assemblages, reflecting different habitat types). Thus, a novel set of high-resolution image descriptors that are capable of discriminating plant mixtures corresponding to Fallow land, Forest steppe and shrubs, Young steppe I and II, was proposed. Despite high resolution imaging, the method solves a challenging problem of UAV vegetation mapping in the case of limited spectral and spatial information in the image (by using only RGB camera and multitemporal approach). Although the lack of visual information that would allow identification of individual plant parts and shapes prevented the use of usual object-based image analysis, proposed pixel-based descriptors and feature selection were able to provide the extent of the targeted areas and their compositional carriers. Presented holistic approach enables implementation of effective management strategies that support the entire ecological community.
... In the scientific literature, the vegetation has referred to as 'barbed wire vegetation' (Dutch: 'prikkeldraadvegetatie' (webref3)), 'barbed wire effect' (Dutch: 'prikkeldraadeffect' (Zwaenepoel, 1998)) and vegetation along the enclosure or the pasture border (Dutch: 'perceelsrandbegroeiingen'* (webref2)). Often, a long description has been provided without mentioning a specific definition of the vegetation (Hurford & Schneider, 2007;Smeding, 1994;Weeda, 2004). So far, only one article has been focused entirely on barbed wire fringe vegetations (webref3). ...
... Besides plants, different grassland fungi ("CHEG") of the clavarioid species (club and coral fungi), species of Hygrocybe and related genera (waxcaps), Entoloma species (pinkgills), and the geoglossoid fungi (earthtongues) are found in fringes (Hurford & Schneider, 2007). Grasslands with a rich assemblage of these families are called waxcap grasslands and are often found in short-sward, nutrient-poor, historical grasslands. ...
... Solitary bees can use the bare spots on the slope of the lynchet to make nests. In the UK, these barbed wire fringes are an important habitat for the nationally endangered shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) (Hurford & Schneider, 2007). ...
Semi-natural grasslands are among the most endangered vegetation types in Europe,
threatened by inadequate management, habitat fragmentation and excessive nitrogen
deposition. As a consequence, many of them have received a protection status as nature
reserves. Yet this protection applies almost exclusively to large contiguous areas whereas
small grasslands often do not receive the right protection status they deserve. This is especially
the case for the many historical unimproved grasslands which have now been reduced to road
verges and unimproved grassland margins and which often still contain relict populations of
valuable plant species. Given their small size and increased isolation, such populations have
become relict populations with expected extinctions as a result. However, these grassland
relicts are important for preserving high species diversity and ecosystem dynamics at the
landscape-scale, for instance as corridors and stepping stones or as microhabitats.
Vegetations at the fringes of the pastures, mainly under the barbed wire
(“prikkeldraadvegetaties”), are a specific example of such grassland relicts.
As a result of agricultural intensification, wooded edges were replaced by barbed wire as
enclosures. Although intensified grazing threatened the unique grassland vegetation through
trampling and defaecation, cattle acted as the desired nature managers along the fringes. By
grazing and trampling the border of the fringes, they create a high-quality microhabitat under
the barbed wire. Moreover, the microrelief, consisting of mounds and lynchets, allows the
small-scale biodiversity under the wire to increase.
Even though the concept of barbed wire vegetation is well established in botanical societies,
little is known about these vegetations in terms of their species richness and the drivers of their
plant species composition. Nevertheless, they have been shown to harbour higher plant
richness than adjacent pastures, which could make them a species resource pool for future
conservation projects. In this study, we want to investigate barbed wire fringe vegetations by
conducting a descriptive analysis (RQ1 + RQ2) and determining the environmental conditions
for high-quality barbed wire vegetations (RQ3 + RQ4), followed by establishing guidelines for
conservation and management of the fringes (RQ5).
In June 2021, we inventoried 40 fringe vegetations in the Hageland-Zuiderkempen region
(Belgium). We mapped the vegetation cover of plants in a 1 m * 2 m plot. We identified the
environmental parameters: ‘presence of mounds’, ‘presence of lynchet’, ‘presence of an
adjacent historical permanent grassland’, ‘grazing regime’ and ‘adjacent land use’. In addition,
we collected soil samples to analyse pH, organic matter, moisture, and Olsen-phosphorus. We
calculated land use intensity (LUI) of the fringe combining the LUI of the immediate
surroundings, the vegetation of the pasture and the grazing regime. Our dataset was
supplemented with Ellenberg-values for light, nitrogen, and mowing-tolerance as well as the
functional group and conservation status of each species (habitat specialists).
(RQ1 + RQ2) To describe the ecology of fringes, we divided sites into groups based on the
distinctive and indicator species of each fringe. We determined the associated plant community
and alliance of each group and tested in which of the abovementioned environmental
parameters they differed. Using multivariate analysis of variance, we determined which
variables explained the variation in the vegetation dataset. (RQ3) To evaluate which
environmental variables had a significant correlation with the habitat specialist richness and
Shannon index, we performed a full linear regression on the environmental variables followed
by model selection using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) to find the most parsimonious
model. To determine whether the biodiversity indices were highest at an intermediate land use,
we built a quadratic model using total LUI and its quadratic term as explanatory variables.
(RQ4) To uncover the specific mechanisms by which fringe dynamics improve the habitat
quality, we determined (1) the nitrogen/phosphorus levels at an intermediate LUI, (2)
differences in Olsen-phosphorus and soil moisture due to the presence of a lynchet, (3) the
effect of grazing on Olsen-phosphorus and habitat specialist richness and (4) the influence of
LUI on the cover of functional groups.
Fringe plant species benefit from the specific conditions under the barbed wire promoted by
intermediate grazing. They can escape from the negative effects of trampling and defaecation.
These plants can be classified into two groups dependent on the history (relict-species) and
abiotic conditions (grazing-avoiding species) of the vegetation. In our study, we first
investigated which plant communities the groups belonged to. We found four different plant
alliances (M1 – 4), three of which could be classified as the Molinio – Arrhenatherata
community, while fringes of group M2 belonged to the Koelerio – Corynepherata community.
Group M2 was considered as the vegetation group with the highest quality, having the highest
habitat specialist species richness, nitrogen-poorest conditions and intermediate LUI. The
fringes of M2 were located on sandy soils, typical of the Koelerio – Corynepherata community,
explaining lower nitrogen levels and pH values. Overall, variation in the vegetation could be
explained by all the environmental characteristics except the presence of an adjacent historical
permanent grassland. Soil pH was the most significant explanatory variable, but we attribute
the differences in soil type to geographical location.
We were able to establish that a fringe with an intermediate LUI of 4 (on a scale of 0 to 6), dry
soil and the presence of a lynchet was optimal. At an intermediate LUI, plant species richness
was highest and most nitrogen-avoiding species were present. An intermediate LUI is the
perfect balance between vegetation encroachment and overgrazing. The presence of a
lynchet could cause a run-off of phosphorus, although Olsen-P-levels were still too high for all
fringes except one. High phosphorus levels may lead to future habitat degradation and
extinction of vulnerable species, although some species may still persist for an unexpectedly
long time. Soil pH was significantly negatively correlated with species richness and Shannon
diversity, but again, geographical location was likely a confounding factor. Furthermore, we
expected that the soil maturity and the presence of ant mounds of Lasius flavus were important
as well, although we could not demonstrate their effect. High-quality barbed wire fringes can
harbor a rich biodiversity of remarkable plants. A total 37 habitat specialist were found in our
study, but 24 of which have disappeared over the past 30 years. The main reason for their
decline is believed to be the negative effects of small populations and excessive nitrogen and
phosphorus deposition.
Barbed wire fringe vegetations can substantially contribute to the landscape-scale biodiversity
by both increasing the available habitat and their connection between habitats, and as ex-situ
back-up of remnant rare plant populations. Although neglected in most conservation projects,
these vegetations are easy and inexpensive to conserve. Only an enclosure, which encloses
the livestock and allows their grazing underneath, is required. Possible management goals are
1) grassland restoration of the adjacent barbed wire fringe vegetation to allow grassland relict
species of the fringe to expand their territory and 2) preservation of their seeds for future
reintroductions. However, seed preservation is only possible if the plant populations are still
viable. An increase of fringes is not only beneficial for the biodiversity. Indeed, fringes produce
healthier food for the livestock, resulting in higher quality of dairy products and meat. This, in
turn, leads to healthier consumers. Conserving and establishing new barbed wire fringe
vegetations can therefore be important both for the welfare of animals and their consumers,
and for biodiversity in the agricultural landscape.
... The most common approaches for measuring cover are by using visual estimates (VE) in plots, line interception, point interception, or sub-plot frequency. For a detailed analysis where these methods are compared, see for example (Hurford, 2006) ( Brakenhielm et al., 1995) (Bonham, 1989). The point interception approach is considered to be the least biased and most objective, but also the most time consuming approach of the mentioned common cover measures. ...
... In Great Britain during a detailed phytosociological classification called the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) the Domin-Krajina system was used in favour of two mentioned and is the most used class system (Hill, 2005, p.203). The three class systems can be viewed in Appendix 1. Two problems have been identified concerning usage of class system scales (Hurford, 2006): Firstly, the accuracy of the observers initial cover estimate (made as a VE) varies because of observer bias. Secondly, if the initial cover estimate is near a boundary between two cover classes, then the observer has to decide if the initial cover estimate is above or below that boundary before a cover class can assigned. ...
The national railway administrations in Scandinavia, Germany, and Austria mainly resort to manual
inspections to control vegetation growth along railway embankments. Manually inspecting railways is slow
and time consuming. A more worrying aspect concerns the fact that human observers are often unable to
estimate the true cover of vegetation on railway embankments. Further human observers often tend to
disagree with each other when more than one observer is engaged for inspection. Lack of proper techniques
to identify the true cover of vegetation even result in the excess usage of herbicides; seriously harming the
environment and threating the ecology. Hence work in this study has investigated aspects relevant to human
variation and agreement to be able to report better inspection routines. This was studied by mainly carrying
out two separate yet relevant investigations.
First, thirteen observers were separately asked to estimate the vegetation cover in nine images acquired (in
nadir view) over the railway tracks. All such estimates were compared relatively and an analysis of variance
resulted in a significant difference on the observers’ cover estimates (p<0.05). Bearing in difference between
the observers, a second follow-up field-study on the railway tracks was initiated and properly investigated.
Two railway segments (strata) representing different levels of vegetation were carefully selected. Five sample
plots (each covering an area of one- by-one meter) were randomized from each stratum along the rails from
the aforementioned segments and ten images were acquired in nadir view. Further three observers (with
knowledge in the railway maintenance domain) were separately asked to estimate the plant cover by visually
examining the plots. Again an analysis of variance resulted in a significant difference on the observers’ cover
estimates (p<0.05) confirming the result from the first investigation.
The differences in observations are compared against a computer vision algorithm which detects the "true"
cover of vegetation in a given image. The true cover is defined as the amount of greenish pixels in each
image as detected by the computer vision algorithm.
Results achieved through comparison strongly indicate that inconsistency is prevalent among the estimates
reported by the observers. Hence, an automated approach reporting the use of computer vision is suggested, thus transferring the manual inspections into objective monitored inspections.
... Recovering from low populations and expanding into areas where they have been absent for very long times, carnivores are once again encountering humans, with a high risk for conflicts. These conflicts range from the tangible such as lethal encounters, livestock depredation, and competition for game, to the intangible, such as fear (Linnell et al., 1999; Swenson et al., 1999b; Røskaft et al., 2003; Schneider, 2006). Managing a bear population requires a general understanding of the species' ecology and behavior, which means that basic ecological research is needed. ...
... This has enabled us to survey most areas where bears reside, even remote ones, as this is accomplished in combination with recreational activities (hunting). The 29 costs for these surveys are mainly for administration and information in addition to genetic analysis (Schneider, 2006). It is unusual for management authorities to rely on volunteers for large carnivore surveys but see Kojola et al., (2006). ...
For society, there is a constant need for scientifically based information to successfully manage bear populations. In Sweden, the brown bear (Ursus arctos) population is increasing and expanding after that successful conservation measures was employed during the 20th century. Two important issues in management are to understand how bears use their habitat, at different spatial- and temporal scales, and to estimate size and trend of the population at various scales. The central aim of this thesis was to provide management authorities with knowledge and methods for monitoring and managing the Swedish brown bear population. We have used radio-marked bears to determine the use of habitats at two different spatial- and temporal scales. To obtain population trends we used bear observations and to estimate population size we identified individual bears from DNA in collected scats and calculated the total number of bears with Capture-Mark-Recapture methods. These data were obtained with the help of volunteers and covered, in principle, the total bear range in Sweden. We estimate the Swedish brown bear population to 3,298 (2,968-3,667) individuals in 2008, and the yearly increase in the bear population to be 4.5% during the period 1998 to 2007. We show that bears prefer forest habitat in rugged terrain >10 km from towns or resorts. Bears located within 10 km of human settlements are mainly younger individuals. Bears habitat selection differs between active and resting periods. They are more active during nocturnal and crepuscular hours and rest during the daytime. My results provide management authorities with information on distribution, population size and trends of the brown bear population in Sweden, at national as well as regional scales. We have introduced and verified a method for monitoring bears, the Large Carnivore Observation Index, based on effort corrected observations of bears during hunting. We show that the bears use habitats that are further away from humans and that their use differs between sex and age groups. I recommend that the monitoring and management of bears should be carried out from an adaptive management perspective, where methods and the effects of different decisions should be continuously evaluated. For the future management of bears in Sweden, managers need good information about bear ecology, demography, and the perception of the human dimension.
... This is a single site study; however, Wytham Woods show many of the characteristics of other woods in the lowland England , so that this unique (for the UK) long-term study of floral change can provide insights into the results from multi-site national surveillance and conservation monitoring programmes (Goldsmith, 2012;Hurford and Schneider, 2006;Kirby et al., 2002Kirby et al., , 2005Natural England, 2012). ...
We explore how the ground flora of a temperate woodland (Wytham Woods, southern England) changed in terms of species-richness, cover and biomass over five decades; what the drivers of change were; and possible future change as a consequence of the decline in Fraxinus excelsior as a canopy dominant. Vascular plants were recorded from 164 permanent, 10x10 m plots, distributed as a 141 m grid, in 1974, 1991, 1999, 2012, and 2018. Species presence and frequency/abundance in each plot were estimated and used to model biomass changes. Changes in species-richness, vegetation composition and structure were analysed. Stands opened out by thinning or which became denser through tree growth gained or lost species respectively, particularly non-woodland species. Deer pressure favoured the spread of Brachypodium sylvaticum and reduced Rubus fruticosus. No obvious impacts of climate change, eutrophication or of invasive species were detected in the plot records although other signs suggest these are starting to affect the flora. Just 12 out of 235 species contributed 47% of all species occurrences, 82% of the vegetation cover and 87% of the modelled biomass. We conclude that the ground flora is highly variable over decadal timescales, but the patterns of change observed differ according to the measures used (species richness, cover, biomass, etc). Site level drivers in the short-term swamped effects of slower acting regional/global drivers. Legacy effects were seen in the greater richness of specialists in the older woodland. While some impacts can be mitigated by management, others are largely beyond control at the site level.
... This sampling technique can be effective in clustering mutually homogeneous but internally heterogeneous groups. It can be utilized to reduce the possibility of including extreme values by chance (Hurford & Schneider, 2007). Checco et al., (2017) applied taxonomy building followed by cluster sampling using crowdsourcing to analyze the fashion trends based on the history of items sales. ...
Image analysis, processing, classification, and segmentation have become pivotal in style prediction and fashion recommendation. Fashion retailers have shown an increasingly growing interest in adopting this branch of artificial intelligence in their supply chains. Computer scientists and engineers have published several scholarly works on this topic since the last decade. Based on the previous studies, this is the first academic paper that has presented comprehensive review on this topic. These scholarly articles are related to imagebased style prediction and online fashion recommendation. This is a form of method paper that illustrates research designs of the selected articles and research methods used by the researchers. Both style prediction and online fashion recommendation have been reviewed together in this paper, because study on recommendation system can facilitate an easy understanding of fashion style prediction and vice versa. Finally, the study will be helpful for fashion retailers and future researchers to understand the nature of style prediction and online fashion recommendation using image processing technique. The scientific contribution of this paper is that it has proposed a novel approach of reviewing research methods used in style prediction and fashion recommendation systems. Additionally, the article has also proposed a personalized recommendation model for the image-based fashion recommendation system.
... The foredunes showed widespread evidence of erosion with little or no sand accretion and development of embryo dunes, there was no new dune slack development within the hind dune area, and existing blowouts showed a tendency for decreasing size and mobility. Associated changes in vegetation communities included an increase in the extent of rank grassland, bracken and scrub (Shanmugam and Barnsley 2003;Hurford 2006;Zhang and Baas 2012). ...
The past few decades have seen a progressive reduction in the extent of mobile dune systems and early successional stage habitats in many parts of NW Europe. The evidence suggests that a number of factors have contributed to this process, but their relative importance remains uncertain. This paper examines the nature and possible causes of geomorphological and vegetation changes at Kenfig Burrows, South Wales, a site of European nature conservation importance. This dune system is interpreted to have evolved from a sand barrier system which formerly existed to seaward of the present shoreline and which moved landwards and broke down during the later Holocene, driven by rising sea level and periods of more frequent storms. Most of the inland sand invasion occurred during the Little Ice Age, and large-scale sand-blowing continued until the early twentieth century, by which time the shoreline in the area had reached a state of quasi-equilibrium and a trend towards stabilization began, encouraged by exhaustion of marine sand supply and a change towards warmer, wetter and less windy conditions. Stabilization after the 1940–50s was also favoured by other factors, including reduced grazing by livestock and rabbits, reduced physical disturbance, increased nitrogen deposition, and sand dune management measures. By the 1980s the dunes were almost entirely stabilized. Natural reactivation of the surface sand is unlikely given the existing balance between the factors which favour dune mobility (frequent occurrence of sand-moving winds and high sand supply), and those which encourage vegetation growth and dune stability (high precipitation, high temperatures, low wind speeds, high rates of nitrogen deposition and low grazing / disturbance pressure). Since 2012 trials have been underway to determine if it is possible to increase the mobility of the dune system through intervention measures, including turf stripping and creation of artificial ‘notches’ to increase local wind speeds and sand-transport, but it will be several years before the effectiveness of these measures is known.
... For a detailed analysis in which these methods are compared, see for example Hurford (2006), Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg (1974), Brakenhielm and Qinghong (1995), Bonham (1989) and Jonasson (1988), where the authors considered the point interception approach to be the least biased and most objective of the three basic cover measures. In order to calculate the accuracy of compared cover-measuring methods, manual image processing was used to measure the "true" value i.e., percentage coverage in images. ...
Vegetation growing on railway trackbeds and embankments present potential problems. The presence of vegetation threatens the safety of personnel inspecting the railway infrastructure. In addition vegetation growth clogs the ballast and results in inadequate track drainage which in turn could lead to the collapse of the railway embankment.
Assessing vegetation within the realm of railway maintenance is mainly carried out manually by making visual inspections along the track. This is done either on-site or by watching videos recorded by maintenance vehicles mainly operated by the national railway administrative body.
A need for the automated detection and characterisation of vegetation on railways (a subset of vegetation control/management) has been identified in collaboration with local railway maintenance subcontractors and Trafikverket, the Swedish Transport Administration (STA). The latter is responsible for long-term planning of the transport system for all types of traffic, as well as for the building, operation and maintenance of public roads and railways.
The purpose of this research project was to investigate how vegetation can be measured and quantified by human raters and how machine vision can automate the same process.
Data were acquired at railway trackbeds and embankments during field measurement experiments. All field data (such as images) in this thesis work was acquired on operational, lightly trafficked railway tracks, mostly trafficked by goods trains. Data were also generated by letting (human) raters conduct visual estimates of plant cover and/or count the number of plants, either on-site or in-house by making visual estimates of the images acquired from the field experiments. Later, the degree of reliability of(human) raters’ visual estimates were investigated and compared against machine vision algorithms.
The overall results of the investigations involving human raters showed inconsistency in their estimates, and are therefore unreliable. As a result of the exploration of machine vision, computational methods and algorithms enabling automatic detection and characterisation of vegetation along railways were developed. The results achieved in the current work have shown that the use of image data for detecting vegetation is indeed possible and that such results could form the base for decisions regarding vegetation control. The performance of the machine vision algorithm which quantifies the vegetation cover was able to process 98% of the im-age data. Investigations of classifying plants from images were conducted in in order to recognise the specie. The classification rate accuracy was 95%.Objective measurements such as the ones proposed in thesis offers easy access to the measurements to all the involved parties and makes the subcontracting process easier i.e., both the subcontractors and the national railway administration are given the same reference framework concerning vegetation before signing a contract, which can then be crosschecked post maintenance.A very important issue which comes with an increasing ability to recognise species is the maintenance of biological diversity. Biological diversity along the trackbeds and embankments can be mapped, and maintained, through better and robust monitoring procedures. Continuously monitoring the state of vegetation along railways is highly recommended in order to identify a need for maintenance actions, and in addition to keep track of biodiversity. The computational methods or algorithms developed form the foundation of an automatic inspection system capable of objectively supporting manual inspections, or replacing manual inspections.
... Th e questionnaire also contained questions that are not analysed or reported here, but can be found in Johansson et al. 2012. Th e respondents were sampled from two areas in south-central Sweden with well-documented presence of wolf territories (Wabakken et al. 2009) and two areas somewhat more to the north, with well-documented resident brown bear populations (Schneider 2006). Th e respondents were 391 persons living in areas with either presence of brown bears (n ϭ 198) or wolves (n ϭ 193) in Sweden. ...
Previous research on human fear of large carnivores has mainly been based on self-reports in which individual survey items and the objects of fear are measured, so whether a person fears attacks on humans or livestock and pets has not been identified. The objectives of this study were to differentiate between the objects of fear as well as capturing attitudes towards implementation of management actions and the potential for conflict index (PCI). These concern the implementation of a limited number of management actions currently used or discussed in Sweden that are aimed at reducing human fear of brown bears/wolves. 391 persons living in areas with either brown bear (n = 198) or wolf (n = 193) in Sweden responded to a questionnaire. The degree of self-reported fear varied between residents in brown bear areas and residents in wolf areas. The fear of attacks on livestock and pets was stronger than fear of attacks on humans in both brown bear and wolf areas. In brown bear areas, fear was strongest for livestock, while in wolf areas fear was strongest for pets. The fear of attacks on livestock and pets was significantly stronger in wolf areas, while the fear of attacks on humans was strongest in brown bear areas. In both brown bear and wolf areas, there was little acceptance of implementation of management actions that would allow people to carry pepper spray or a gun outdoors. Management actions aimed at setting a population cap for bear/wolf populations, information on how to act when encountering a bear/wolf, and providing information on local presence of bear/wolf had relatively high acceptability. This was especially true for respondents expressing high fear of attacks on humans.
... Water depth was measured at each location using a weighted rope, and water clarity was measured on three of the sampling dates (June 2008, January 2009, and April 2009) with a Secchi disk. The relative abundance of each plant species in each sample of three grappling-hook throws was estimated using a DAFOR scale (Hurford 2006) with scoring modified as follows: 5 (dominant) ≥76% of the estimated biomass of a sample, 4 (abundant) = 51-75%, 3 (frequent) = 26-50%, 2 (occasional) = 5-25%, 1 (rare) = >0 and <5%, and 0 = absent. ...
Many procedures have been developed to assess seed bank characteristics, and most can be grouped into either of 2 categories: seedling emergence assays or seed separation from substrate. These procedures are particularly useful in predicting vegetation recurrence and determining need for restoration or control strategies through estimates of seed bank attributes (e.g., species composition, density, distribu-tion, and viability). However, due to the lack of a standard protocol for seed bank investigations, researchers must select appropriate methods based on knowledge of different tech-niques and their potential to accomplish research goals. Here, we review a range of procedures for aquatic/wetland seed bank assessment with regard to difficulty in use, test reli-ability and accuracy, and laboratory resource (time, space, and labor) requirements. Information to improve sample collection and analysis is provided, and research to enhance seed/seedling identification and knowledge of germination requirements is advised.
... Water depth was measured at each location using a weighted rope, and water clarity was measured on three of the sampling dates (June 2008, January 2009, and April 2009) with a Secchi disk. The relative abundance of each plant species in each sample of three grappling-hook throws was estimated using a DAFOR scale (Hurford 2006) with scoring modified as follows: 5 (dominant) ≥ 76% of the estimated biomass of a sample, 4 (abundant) = 51-75%, 3 (frequent) = 26-50%, 2 (occasional) = 5-25%, 1 (rare) = >0 and <5%, and 0 = absent. ...
A survey of floating-leafed and submersed aquatic plants was conducted in Lake Bisina, Uganda. Seven of the species collected were not previously reported from Lake Bisina, including Stuckenia pectinata (L.) Bôrner, Utricularia reflexa Oliv., Utricularia foliosa L., Caldesia parnasszfolia (L.) Pan., Wiesneria filzfolia Hook. f., Brasenia schreberiJ. F. Gmel., and a multicelluar algae, Chara sp. Examination of pairwise associations between plant species revealed that the Chara sp. was negatively associated with Najas horrida ex Magn., Nymphaea caerulea Savigny, and Utricularia refiexa Oliv., which was likely due to differences in habitat requirements. A strong, positive association between N. caerulea and U. reflexa may have been due to niche similarities, but may also indicate a commensal relationship with U reflexa performing well under shaded conditions provided by N. caerula. Hydrilla verticillata was the only species associated with water clarity, with abundance increasing as turbidity increased. This study provides new baseline information on the diversity, distribution, and interspecific associations of floating-leafed and submersed aquatic plants in Lake Bisina, Uganda, that will be useful for comparison with future biological studies.
... The final response rate was 53%. The respondents were sampled from two areas in south-central Sweden with well-documented presence of wolf territories (Wabakken et al., 2009) and two areas somewhat more to the north, with well-documented resident bear populations (Schneider, 2006). ...
This article analyzes people’s subjectively experienced fear in areas with presence of brown bear or wolf. Departing from the Human-Environment Interaction Model (Küller, 1991), a hypothetical model of environmental and individual antecedents of fear was tested using structural equation modeling of survey data (n = 391). In the model of fear of brown bear, the main predictor was the appraisal of the species as dangerous/uncontrollable and unpredictable. In the model of fear of wolf, the greater experience with the species and a stronger appraisal of wolf as dangerous, uncontrollable, and unpredictable led to low social trust and this, together with the appraisal of wolf as dangerous/uncontrollable and unpredictable, increased the likelihood of fear. Efforts to reduce human fear of wolves should focus on building trust between the public and authorities, whereas efforts to educe fear of brown bear should focus on the individual’s appraisal of the species.
... Among the bat species present in Măgurici Cave, Myotis myotis, Myotis blythii and Miniopterus schreibersii were recorded in mating and nursing colonies (Borda et al., 2004). The feeding range of bats is variable, but rarely passes 10 km from the roosts (Carrión et al., 2006; Leroy and Simms, 2006; Schneider and Hammer, 2006 ). In this range all vegetation types from the Răstoci area are represented. ...
... by any form of reporting. This management has had a mixed perception in the history of machair conservation, and the decision to include cultivation was taken on the grounds that the arable biodiversity had been included as an important element of the scientific interest of some of the SSSI. This matter is discussed in more detail by Angus (2009). Hurford & Guest (2006) accept a case for the monitoring of arable weeds, but their approach is not particularly applicable to machair (a habitat they do not address). Their recommendations illustrate the problems – and dangers -of applying national circumstances to the machair situation. They expect arable habitat to be " relatively homogenous, at least in te ...
Machair is a complex habitat and also a complex of habitats. The results of the first cycle of Scottish Natural Heritage's Site Condition Monitoring are presented and reviewed. Issues relating to the cultivated machair plain and its associated fallows in the islands of the Uists are addressed in more detail. There, socio-economic changes have led to land use changes that have resulted in variable losses of crop and fallow plant diversity. The problems of assessing this loss and the relevance of the loss are discussed, and possible causes reviewed, but it is clear that scientists require more detailed, long-term information on land use and its implications, in close consultation with land managers, if this issue is to be effectively addressed. Isolated 'snapshot' analyses may deliver misleading conclusions. INTRODUCTION The UK is obliged by the terms of The EC Habitats and Species Directive to report on the conservation status of Annex I habitats and Special Areas of Conservation. A range of reporting systems are used to meet this obligation, in addition to input made in respect of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The competent authority for WFD reporting in Scotland is the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and attempts are being made to rationalise SNH and SEPA reporting. There are four different mechanisms used for coastal biodiversity reporting, all largely reliant (in Scotland) on SNH's Site Condition Monitoring (SCM), so that all are based on interpretation of one field visit. SCM is fully compliant with UK Common Standards Monitoring (CSM) but is more detailed, delivering considerably more information and context. Because it is fully compliant, no further interpretation of SCM results is required to meet CSM obligations, which are met by the delivery of SCM results to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) by SNH. UK coastal Common Standards have been agreed by specialists from all the UK country agencies and endorsed by all their Chief Scientists.
... BBNs can also help communicate results to decision-makers by simplifying complex problems. For example, the changes in abundance of different plant species recorded in Case 2 could be combined into a single overall node representing favourable condition, enabling information to be provided in a way consistent with indicators used by standard approaches to monitoring (Hurford & Schneider, 2006). ...
Effective conservation management is dependent on accessing and integrating different forms of evidence regarding the potential impacts of management interventions. Here, we explore the application of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN), which are graphical models that incorporate probabilistic relationships among variables of interest, to evidence-based conservation management. We consider four case studies, namely: (i) impacts of deer grazing on saltmarsh vegetation; (ii) impacts of burning on upland bog vegetation; (iii) control of the invasive exotic plant Rhododendron ponticum; and (iv) management of lowland heathland by burning. Each of these themes is currently a significant conservation issue in the UK, and yet the potential outcomes of management interventions are poorly understood. Through these examples, we demonstrate that BBNs can be used to integrate and explore evidence from a variety of sources, including expert opinion and quantitative results from research investigations. Incorporation of such information in BBNs enables different sources of evidence to be compared, the potential impacts of management interventions to be explored and management trade-offs to be identified. BBNs also offer a highly visual tool for communicating the uncertainty associated with potential management outcomes to conservation practitioners, and they can also be readily updated as new evidence becomes available. Based on these features, we suggest that BBNs have outstanding potential for supporting evidence-based approaches to conservation management.
... Robust interpretation of the phase II habitat data is complex primarily because the differences between stock types are small and inferential judgments must be made to interpret vegetation height in terms of grazing intensity. It should also be borne in mind that although the original data is of high quality, the previous land-use history of the sites is unknown and the intensity of sampling effort is insufficient to assume that individual samples are representative of management units as a whole (Hurford & Schneider, 2006;Legg & Nagy, 2006). Lack of detailed knowledge regarding previous land-use history is especially problematic given the lack of long-term experimentation or monitoring. ...
Unimproved neutral grasslands have declined in extent throughout Europe, especially in Britain. Some of the surviving fragments are managed as pasture but the grazing regime required to maintain their relict flora is unproven. We conducted a systematic review and analysed available data to ascertain the impact of grazing on species richness and the abundance of important plant species. We found the evidence base to be poor but with some potential for meaningful integration of existing datasets. Analyses of complementary datasets from Welsh mesotrophic grassland demonstrates that livestock type and vegetation height significantly impact on the plant community composition. However, the differences in species richness and forb abundance between livestock types are not ecologically significant, and grazing intensity appears to be more important than species of grazer. Managers must balance changes in bryophyte abundance, forb diversity and plant species richness to achieve tradeoffs appropriate to their conservation objectives. The poor evidence base necessitates flexible, site-based management and rigorous monitoring where grazing of important mesotrophic pastures is undertaken. Further evidence regarding interactions between grazing intensity and livestock type is noticeably lacking, precluding prediction regarding livestock type impacts at given stocking intensities. Lack of detailed knowledge of land-use history is a major impediment and there is little information regarding taxa other than vascular plants.
In this article, we describe two restoration efforts (raising and lowering the water table) in a transitional mire and use vegetation survey data (from 1987, 1999, and 2015) to evaluate restoration success. We used historical and current vegetation relevés and vegetation maps to identify target plant communities and track changes in vegetation over time. Ordination plot (NMDS) and the Sankey diagram were used to detect changes in plant community composition and overall vegetation. The first restoration (1993) was not planned according to the standards and was unsuccessful because of a very rapid rise in the water level. It caused the destruction of bog and mire plant communities and the emergence of new wetland stands. Subsequent restoration (in 2000), with a gradual lowering of the water table, allowed natural restoration of mire communities, but certain species remain absent. Our study demonstrated the importance of careful restoration planning, selection of target plant communities, and the importance of vegetation survey for monitoring.
Review of ecological indicators used to assess the functions of wetlands.
Numerous approaches have been developed to quantify forest structure modules. A variety has measured each as part of stand attributes. This study was carried out in managed mixed stands in northern Iran. The objective was to quantify stand structure and its variation before and after tree marking through the Gini index and structural triangle method. A full sampling inventory was taken in 2004 and 2014 at the beginning and end of a period, before and after tree marking operations in five stands. The results indicate that the Gini index was 39.5, 62.2, 43.0, 82.0 and 74.0% for I, II, III, IV and V stands respectively. Furthermore, approximate structural diameters were determined as a large category for I, III, IV and V stands while stand II had an intermediate-large class pre-tree marking to an intermediate-small class post-tree marking. The paired t-test results were not significant for tree numbers and growing stock changes for all species, and for beech, hornbeam, and velvet maple before and after tree harvesting in the whole stand. Therefore, the Gini index and the structural triangle method can be used for natural stand modeling, structural diversity designation, and for management practices in nature-oriented forestry strategies. © 2018 Northeast Forestry University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Coastal sand dune systems across temperate Europe are presently characterized by a high level of ecological stabilization and a subsequent loss of biological diversity. The use of continuous monitoring within these systems is vital to the preservation of species richness, particularly with regard to the persistence of early stage pioneer species dependent on a strong sediment supply. Linear spectral unmixing was applied to archived Landsat data (1975-2014) and historical aerial photography (1941-1962) for monitoring bare sand (BS) cover dynamics as a proxy for ecological dune stabilization. Using this approach, a time series of change was calculated for Kenfig Burrows, a 6-km² stabilized dune system in South Wales, during 1941-2014. The time series indicated that a rapid level of stabilization had occurred within the study area over a period of 75 years. Accuracy assessment of the data indicated the suitability of medium-resolution imagery with an RMSE of <10% across all images and a difference of <3% between observed and predicted BS area. Temporal resolution was found to be a significant factor in the representation of BS cover with fluctuations occurring on a sub-decadal scale, outside of the margin of error introduced through the use of medium-resolution Landsat imagery. This study demonstrates a tractable approach for mapping and monitoring ecologically sensitive regions at a sub-Landsat pixel level.
The United Kingdom’s recently updated approach to sustainable drainage enhanced biodiversity and amenity objectives by incorporating the ecosystem approach and the ecosystem services concept. However, cost-effective and reliable methods to appraise the biodiversity and amenity values of potential sustainable drainage system (SuDS) sites and their surrounding areas are still lacking, as is a method to enable designers to distinguish and link the amenity and biodiversity benefits that SuDS schemes can offer. In this paper, therefore, the authors propose two ecosystem services- and disservices-based methods (i.e. vegetation structure cover-abundance examination and cultural ecosystem services and disservices variables appraisal) to aid SuDS designers to distinguish and link amenity and biodiversity benefits, and allow initial site assessments to be performed in a cost-effective and reliable fashion. Forty-nine representative sites within Greater Manchester were selected to test the two methods. Amenity and biodiversity were successfully assessed and habitat for species, carbon sequestration, recreation and education ecosystem services scores were produced, which will support SuDS retrofit design decision-making. Large vegetated SuDS sites with permanent aquatic features were found to be most capable of enhancing biodiversity- and amenity-related ecosystem services. Habitat for species and recreation ecosystem services were also found to be positively linked to each other. Finally, waste bins on site were found to help reduce dog faeces and litter coverage. Overall, the findings presented here enable future SuDS retrofit designs to be more wildlife friendly and socially inclusive.
The processes for making decisions on objectives and management actions were identified in nine easily available management planning guides, all aimed at UK protected sites (Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Natura 2000, Ramsar, etc), and compared. They varied considerably between guides, to the extent that no two guides recommend identical processes. Processes were sometimes entirely absent, and usually incomplete. Poor guidance on decision-making may result in plans that are ineffective or damaging to the conservation of sites. The reasons for inconsistency are explored, suggestions are made for improving and testing of management planning guidance, and questions are raised about best practice and the value of a standard approach in planning the management of sites.
The interactions between wind-blown sand transport, pioneer vegetation and succession vegetation in coastal dune fields play an important role in landform development and determine the balance between stabilization and re-activation of these aeolian landscapes. High-resolution mapping of vegetation communities across a dune field - in particular, the mixture of different functional plant types such as pioneer versus succession species - is critical for the calculation of landscape metrics that enable a rigorous and quantitative testing of numerical simulation models, as well as for informing targeted land management actions that maintain biodiversity and ecological functions. This article presents a method of using maximum likelihood classification (MLC) to inform linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) for quantifying sub-pixel abundance of sand, pioneer and succession vegetation in a coastal dune area in Wales, from archived imagery obtained from the Compact Airborne Spectral Imager (CASI) in 1997. LSMA is first applied to derive sub-pixel fractional abundances of soil, green vegetation (GV) and non-GV elements. An MLC is developed separately for automatically identifying pixels believed to contain a mixture of the two functional vegetation types, and this then serves as a basis for applying a transform that interprets the LSMA results in terms of sand and pioneer and succession vegetation communities. Very high resolution (0.1 m pixels) colour aerial photography, taken simultaneously with the CASI data, and field survey data from both 1997 and 2009 were used to aid the MLC and the transform algorithm and were also used for a limited validation exercise. The LSMA abundance maps achieved an overall accuracy of 82.7% (kappa coefficient kappa = 0.78). The reduced MLC vegetation maps (four classes) achieved an overall accuracy of 98.2% (kappa coefficient kappa = 0.96). Although it was not possible to validate the final pioneer and succession vegetation abundance maps quantitatively, a qualitative review of the results for selected locations within the dune field indicates the viability of applying MLC to help direct a transformation of LSMA abundance maps into functional vegetation abundance data.
In the broad field of monitoring, this chapter highlights two specific approaches: long-term ecosystem observation and success
control. Different target settings in nature protection determine very strictly the concrete monitoring programmes as demonstrated
by two topical examples. As the first example, the ‘Long-term observation of ecosystems in the biosphere reserves of Brandenburg’
is operating for more than 10 years now. It comprises a broad variety of areas while observing all components relevant to
the respective ecosystem. The fundamental approach of this concept is introduced. Criteria used for the definition of ecosystem
types in combination with utilization forms and for the selection of observation areas are described. A closer look at the
aims and programmes of fens exemplifies the approach of the project. In order to outline the differences between long-term
observations and success control, the second example depicts a success control programme for the rewetting of peatlands in
forests.
KeywordsBiosphere reserves-Monitoring of mires-Nature conservation management-Observation goals-Success control programme for rewetting peatlands
Central European lakeshores suffer from intense human use. Extensive sections of shore line are degradated by land fills, bank reinforcements, construction and dredging so that habitats and biocoenoses are no longer in a natural state (Chap. 1). The present ecological status should be improved by the restoration of morphologically degraded shore sections. This report concisely summarises the basics of, and new approaches to, lake shore restoration, and gives an overview of experience to date in Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH) and eastern France. In order to perform restoration works in a target-oriented way, a conceptual model (reference) of the nature (Chap. 2, 4.1) and the specific degradations (Chap. 3) of a given shore section are required. In practice, the means by which restoration works are carried out are determined by a legal framework (i. e. laws regarding nature conservation, water protection and flood prevention) which varies between the countries concerned (DE, AT and CH) (Chap. 4.2). The planning process should support a check-up and assessment, so that even after a number of years, comparisons can be made between the original and present state. This report gives a detailed description of such an improved planning process, from a definition of planning and effective perimeters and the shore-type specific reference, through to the survey of the initial state, the analysis of ecological deficits and the restoration potential. The report also includes suggestions regarding implementation planning, ecological surveillance of construction, and management plans (Chap. 4.3). The operation methods used to date include extensification of uses and management of visitor flows, prevention of bank erosion, reduction of silting and accumulation of drifting matter, planting and establishment of wetland plants, and the re-shaping of a near-natural shore profile (Chap. 5). Special approaches are needed in the case of artificial and heavily modified standing water bodies (e. g. reservoirs, open pit lakes, navigation canals) (Chap. 5.6). The advantages associated with an accompanying ecological surveillance (i. e. preliminary investigation, ecological surveillance of the works, function checking) have often been neglected, although it is helpful in optimising efficiency and effectiveness of shore restoration projects (e. g. introduction of target species, re-establishing ecological functions) (Chap. 6). To this end, a number of rules must be abided by, which also contain elements of sampling planning, statistical testing of results, and quality assurance. The final chapter summarises the experience gained so far in relation to lake shore restoration projects in DE, AT, CH, and eastern France. Unfortunately, the transboundary exchange of concepts and methods has not been very intense (Chap. 7). A glossary of terms and a detailed list of literature, laws and standards round the report off.
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