A Water Yield‐Oriented Practical Approach for Multifunctional Forest Management and its Application in Dryland Regions of China

Mountainous forest areas are vitally important for water supply in dryland regions which suffer from high erosion risk and severe water shortage. Massive afforestation, mainly for erosion control, may reduce the water yield and threaten local water supply security. Moreover, many over‐dense forests due to a strict logging ban policy have produced remarkably negative impacts for both forests (e.g., low timber quality, restricted natural regeneration, and high stand instability) and water yield. To satisfy the rapidly increasing demands on water supply and other services, a practical approach for managing forest stands in a multifunctional way, which particularly addresses water yielding, is urgently required. For this purpose, we integrated the existing knowledge and experience, designed an “ideal” stand structure to represent multifunctional forest (MFF) and determined its key parameters (a ground coverage of >0.7, a canopy density around 0.7, and an H/DBH ratio (tree height [m] to the diameter at breast height [cm]) of <0.7). Moreover, a decision process for MFF stand management was recommended as: (1) investigating the site quality; (2) identifying the site‐specific main forest functions; (3) quantifying the stand structure; (4) diagnosing the stand structure by comparing with the “ideal” one; and (5) arranging the functions/structure‐oriented management measures. In this way, the water‐yielding function can be improved and meanwhile other forest functions can be promoted.     

Prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use of wild species inferred from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Unsustainable exploitation of wild species represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to the livelihoods of local communities and Indigenous peoples. However, managed, sustainable use has the potential to forestall extinctions, aid recovery, and meet human needs. We analyzed species-level data for 30,923 species from 13 taxonomic groups on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species to investigate patterns of intentional biological resource use. Forty percent of species (10,098 of 25,009 species from 10 data-sufficient taxonomic groups) were used. The main purposes of use were pets, display animals, horticulture, and human consumption. Intentional use is currently contributing to elevated extinction risk for 28–29% of threatened or near threatened (NT) species (2752–2848 of 9753 species). Intentional use also affected 16% of all species used (1597–1631 of 10,098). However, 72% of used species (7291 of 10,098) were least concern, of which nearly half (3469) also had stable or improving population trends. The remainder were not documented as threatened by biological resource use, including at least 172 threatened or NT species with stable or improving populations. About one-third of species that had use documented as a threat had no targeted species management actions to directly address this threat. To improve use-related red-list data, we suggest small amendments to the relevant classification schemes and required supporting documentation. Our findings on the prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use, and variation across taxa, can inform international policy making, including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.     

Characteristics of Moose-vehicle Collisions in Anchorage, Alaska, 1991–1995

Moose have successfully adapted to Anchorage's urban environment, using greenbelt areas for shelter, forage, and protection from nearby predator populations. However, the proximity of moose to people poses unique hazards: a motor vehicle colliding a moose may cause significant injury and vehicle damage. The annual Moose Vehicle Collision (MVC) rate increased during the study period from 40 to 52 MVCs per 100,000 registered vehicles in Anchorage, a significant (X² = 7.8, p < 0.01) increase of 23%. Of 519 reported MVCs, 23% resulted in injury to 158 people, with no human fatalities. Collisions were 2.6 times more likely to have occurred in the dark (n = 375, [72%]) than during daylight hours. An MVC on a dry road was twice (95% CI: 1.29, 3.08) as likely to have resulted in an injury as an incident on a slick road. MVCs may be prevented by: reducing speed limits around greenbelt areas, brighter vehicle headlights, placement of street lights in known moose areas, underpasses for wildlife at known crossings, and snow removal to reduce berm height in areas of high moose concentrations. Published by National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd     

Status of Southeast Asia's marine sharks and rays

In Southeast Asia, elasmobranchs are particularly threatened. We synthesized knowledge from the peer-reviewed and gray literature on elasmobranchs in the region, including their fisheries, status, trade, biology, and management. We found that 59% of assessed species are threatened with extinction and 72.5% are in decline; rays were more threatened than sharks. Research and conservation is complicated by the socioeconomic contexts of the countries, geopolitical issues in the South China Sea, and the overcapacity and multispecies nature of fisheries that incidentally capture elasmobranchs. The general paucity of data, funds, personnel, and enforcement hinders management. Reduced capacity in the general fishery sector and marine protected areas of sufficient size (for elasmobranchs and local enforcement capabilities) are among recommendations to strengthen conservation.     

Measuring climate for work group innovation: development and validation of the team climate inventory

This paper reports the development and psychometric validation of a multi-dimensional measure of facet-specific climate for innovation within groups at work: the Team Climate Inventory (TCI). Brief reviews of the organizational climate and work group innovation literatures are presented initially, and the need for measures of facet-specific climate at the level of the proximal work group asserted. The four-factor theory of facet-specific climate for innovation, which was derived from these reviews, is described, and the procedures used to operationalize this model into the original version measure described. Data attesting to underlying factor structure, internal homogeneity, predictive validity and factor replicability across groups of the summarized measure are presented. An initial sample of 155 individuals from 27 hospital management teams provided data for the exploratory factor analysis of this measure. Responses from 121 further groups in four occupations (35 primary health care teams, 42 social services teams, 20 psychiatric teams and 24 oil company teams; total N=971) were used to apply confirmatory factor analysis techniques. This five-factor, 38-item summarized version demonstrates robust psychometric properties, with acceptable levels of reliability and validity. Potential applications of this measure are described and the implication of these findings for the measurement of proximal work group climate are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Less-invasive autopsy for early pregnancy loss

Autopsy investigations provide valuable information regarding fetal death that can assist in the parental bereavement process, and influence future pregnancies, but conventional autopsy is often declined by parents because of its invasive approach. This has led to the development of less-invasive autopsy investigations based on imaging technology to provide a more accessible and acceptable choice for parents when investigating their loss. Whilst the development and use of more conventional clinical imaging techniques (radiographs, CT, MRI, US) are well described in the literature for fetuses over 20 weeks of gestational age, these investigations have limited diagnostic accuracy in imaging smaller fetuses. Techniques such as ultra-high-field MRI (>3T) and micro-focus computed tomography have been shown to have higher diagnostic accuracy whilst still being acceptable to parents. By further developing and increasing the availability of these more innovative imaging techniques, parents will be provided with a greater choice of acceptable options to investigate their loss, which may in turn increase their uptake. We provide a narrative review focussing on the development of high-resolution, non-invasive imaging techniques to evaluate early gestational pregnancy loss.