Benefits of mycorrhizal inoculation in reintroduction of endangered plant species under drought conditions

Numerous human activities constitute threats to biodiversity. The effects of climate change, including increasing drought in already arid lands, pose an additional layer of uncertainty in the fate of rare species. In the case of plants, reintroduction is becoming an important active management practice in species conservation. We hypothesized that even under extreme drought inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi would increase growth rates of an endangered plant in experimental reintroduction. We selected a plant species, Abronia macrocarpa, and conducted the experiment in Texas while the area was experiencing mild and extreme drought intensities. Treatment plots were planted with seed inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and control plots were planted with seed coated with autoclaved inoculant. We analyzed measurements of growth and development of germinated plants. Mean number of leaves was greater in treatment plants (P = 0.005) and mean aerial diameter was larger in treatment plants (P = 0.02) than in control plants. Significantly improved growth suggests that inoculation is a viable technique to increase reintroduction success in plant species especially during periods of drought.     

Predictive mapping of soil total nitrogen at a regional scale: A comparison between geographically weighted regression and cokriging

Accurately mapping the spatial distribution of soil total nitrogen is important to precision agriculture and environmental management. Geostatistical methods have been frequently used for predictive mapping of soil properties. Recently, a local regression method, geographically weighted regression (GWR), got the attention of environmentalists as an alternative in spatial modeling of environmental attributes, due to its capability of incorporating various auxiliary variables with spatially varied correlation coefficients. The objective of this study is to compare GWR and ordinary cokriging (OCK) in predictive mapping of soil total nitrogen (TN) using multiple environmental variables. 353 soil Samples within the surface horizon of 0–20 cm in a study area were collected, and their TN contents were measured for calibrating and validating the GWR and OCK interpolations. The environmental variables finally chosen as auxiliary data include elevation, land use types, and soil types. Results indicate that, although OCK is slightly better than GWR in global accuracy of soil TN prediction (the adjusted R² for GWR and OCK are 0.5746 and 0.6858, respectively), the soil TN map interpolated by GWR shows many details reflecting the spatial variations of major auxiliary variables while OCK smoothes out almost all local details. Geographically weighted regression could account for both the spatial trend and local variations, whilst OCK had difficulties to capture local variations. It is concluded that GWR is a more promising spatial interpolation method compared to OCK in predicting soil TN and potentially other soil properties, if a suitable set of auxiliary variables are available and selected.     

Climate-induced change of environmentally defined floristic domains: A conservation based vulnerability framework

Global climate change is having marked influences on species distributions, phenology and ecosystem composition and raises questions as to the effectiveness of current conservation strategies. Conservation planning has only recently begun to adequately account for dynamic threats such as climate change. We propose a method to incorporate climate-dynamic environmental domains, identified using specific environmental correlates of floristic composition, into conservation strategies, using the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as a case study. The environmental domains offer an approach to conservation that conserves diversity under current and future climates, recognising that the species constituting diversity may change through time. We mapped current locations of domains by identifying their positions in a multi-dimensional environmental space using a non-hierarchical iterative k-means clustering algorithm. Their future locations were explored using an ensemble of future climate scenarios. The HadCM2 and GFDL2.1 models represented the extreme ranges of the models. The magnitude of change in each environmental domain was calculated using Euclidean distances to determine areas of greatest and least stability for each future climate projection. Domains occurring in the savanna biome increase at the expense of domains occurring in the grassland biome, which has significant negative consequences for the species rich grasslands. The magnitude of change maps represents areas of changed climatic conditions or edaphic disjunctions. The HadCM2 model predicted the greatest overall magnitude of change across the province. Species with specific soil requirements may not be able to track changing climatic conditions. A vulnerability framework was developed that incorporated climatic stability and habitat intactness indices. The mean magnitude of change informed the potential speed of transition of domains between the vulnerability quadrants. The framework informs appropriate conservation actions to mitigate climate change impacts on biodiversity. The study explicitly links floristic pattern and climate variability and provides useful insights to facilitate conservation planning for climate change.     

Empirical models of rain-spells characteristics – A case study of a Mediterranean-arid climatic transect

Environmental (geomorphological, hydrological and ecological) processes are controlled by rainfall, particularly in the Mediterranean, semi-arid and arid regions. Rainfall was analyzed using the concept of rain-spells, i.e., a period of successive rain days preceded and followed by at least one day without rainfall. Daily data from 13 stations along a climatic transect extending from the Judean Mountains with a Mediterranean climate to the Dead Sea arid region in Israel were studied. Rain-spell characteristics (number, yield and duration), based on these data, are presented for different rainfall thresholds, which might be used for different environmental processes such as rock weathering, soil organic matter dynamics, landslides, overland flow and floods and soil erosion. Three estimation models have been developed in order to predict the mean annual Number of Rain-Spells (NRS), mean Rain-Spell Yield (RSY), and mean Rain-Spell Duration (RSD) for the mean annual rainfall and for any given rainfall threshold. These models can be used for current climatic conditions and for scenarios in which the rainfall total changes.     

Lessons learned from the 2013 Calgary flood: Assessing risk of drinking water well contamination

A devastating flood occurred in southern Alberta on June 19, 2013, from greater than normal snowfalls in the Rocky Mountains and excess precipitation during the early spring that left soils saturated and unable to absorb any additional precipitation. This flood was Canada's most costly natural disaster, with five to six billion Canadian dollars in damages. The first objective of this study was to determine if the flood caused an increase in private drinking water well contamination in the Calgary Health Zone by comparing contamination rates to previous years. The second objective was to determine which environmental factors were associated with contamination during this flood event. Test results of total coliforms (TC) and Escherichia coli (EC) of private water wells were used to determine contamination. A geographically weighted Poisson regression analysis suggested that TC contamination was not associated with this flood. The EC contamination is positively associated with floodways, flood fringe, farms, and negatively associated with intermittent water (sloughs). These results suggest that for the 2013 flood, individual well characteristics are more important than surrounding geographic features. Thus, it is recommended that homeowners who live in a high-risk area ensure their wells are properly maintained to reduce risk of water well contamination.     

Photosynthetic characteristics of sinking microalgae under the sea ice

The photosynthetic characteristics of sinking a microalgal community were studied to compare with the ice algal community in the sea ice and the phytoplankton community in the water column under the sea ice at the beginning of the light season in the first-year sea ice ecosystem on the Mackenzie Shelf, in the western Canadian Arctic. The phytoplankton community was collected using a water bottle, whereas the sinking algal community was collected using particle collectors, and the ice algal community was obtained by using an ice-core sampler from the bottom portion of ice core. Photosynthesis versus irradiance (P-E) incubation experiments were conducted on deck to obtain the initial slope (α^B) and the maximum photosynthetic rate (P_m^B) of the three algal communities. The α^B and the P_m^B of the light saturation curve, and chlorophyll a (Chl a) specific absorption coefficient (ā_ph*) between the sinking microalgal community and the ice algal community were similar and were distinctly different from the phytoplankton community. The significant linear relationship between α^B and P_m^B, which was obtained among the three groups, may suggest that a photo-acclimation strategy is common for all algal communities under the low light regime of the early season. Although the sinking algal community could be held for the entire duration of deployment at maximum, this community remained photosynthetically active once exposed to light. This response suggests that sinking algal communities can be the seed population, which results in a subsequent phytoplankton bloom under the sea ice or in a surface layer, as well as representing food for the higher trophic level consumers in the Arctic Ocean even before the receding of the sea ice.     

Linking pesticides and human health: A geographic information system (GIS) and Landsat remote sensing method to estimate agricultural pesticide exposure

Accurate pesticide exposure estimation is integral to epidemiologic studies elucidating the role of pesticides in human health. Humans can be exposed to pesticides via residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications (drift). We present an improved geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing method, the Landsat method, to estimate agricultural pesticide exposure through matching pesticide applications to crops classified from temporally concurrent Landsat satellite remote sensing images in California. The image classification method utilizes Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in a combined maximum likelihood classification and per-field (using segments) approach. Pesticide exposure is estimated according to pesticide-treated crop fields intersecting 500 m buffers around geocoded locations (e.g., residences) in a GIS. Study results demonstrate that the Landsat method can improve GIS-based pesticide exposure estimation by matching more pesticide applications to crops (especially temporary crops) classified using temporally concurrent Landsat images compared to the standard method that relies on infrequently updated land use survey (LUS) crop data. The Landsat method can be used in epidemiologic studies to reconstruct past individual-level exposure to specific pesticides according to where individuals are located.     

Variation in low food access areas due to data source inaccuracies

Several spatial measures of community food access identifying so called “food deserts” have been developed based on geospatial information and commercially-available, secondary data listings of food retail outlets. It is not known how data inaccuracies influence the designation of Census tracts as areas of low access. This study replicated the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) food desert measure and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) non-healthier food retail tract measure in two secondary data sources (InfoUSA and Dun & Bradstreet) and reference data from an eight-county field census covering 169 Census tracts in South Carolina. For the USDA ERS food deserts measure accuracy statistics for secondary data sources were 94% concordance, 50–65% sensitivity, and 60–64% positive predictive value (PPV). Based on the CDC non-healthier food retail tracts both secondary data demonstrated 88–91% concordance, 80–86% sensitivity and 78–82% PPV. While inaccuracies in secondary data sources used to identify low food access areas may be acceptable for large-scale surveillance, verification with field work is advisable for local community efforts aimed at identifying and improving food access.     

A spatio-temporal analysis of academic performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination in Ghana

Over the last decade, Ghana has more than tripled investment in its basic education system. Consequently, the country has made huge educational gains, primarily in providing universal access to basic education. However, many stakeholders are worried that academic performance is lagging because of disproportional attention to accessing basic education. Discussion of these concerns is hampered by ongoing disagreement about the true trajectory of academic performance at the basic education level and the widespread nature of students' lagging academic performance. In part, this disagreement stems from the failure of empirical studies to comprehensively examine trends in academic performance standards at the basic education level by concurrently considering a geographical and longitudinal perspective. Thus, this study examines the spatio-temporal trends of academic performance at the junior high school level since 2009 by using multilevel growth curve modeling, spatial statistics, and district-level longitudinal data. Results reveal 3 statistically distinct trajectories of academic performance: erratic, accelerating, and decelerating changes. Results also show that rural–urban gaps explain 31% of the performance trajectories, a trend which is expected to persist in the long term. In addition, we find extreme variations in academic performance within rural areas. Given the varying trajectories and geographical variability in academic performance, we suggest a localized approach to addressing challenges of low academic achievement at the basic education level in Ghana.     

Spatially non-stationary relationships between urban residential land price and impact factors in Wuhan city,China

Land price plays an important role in guiding land resource allocation for urban planning and development, particularly in big cities of fast developing countries where infrastructures and populations change frequently. Therefore, detecting spatially implicit information in the spatial pattern of relationships between land price and related impact factors is critical. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis was conducted in this study for the purpose in Wuhan, China, by using a 10-year panel data set of residential land price. Based on twelve factors in three aspects (land attributes, location factors and neighborhood attributes), an evaluation index system of resident land price was established. The spatial distributions of estimated coefficients and pseudo t-values of three major explanatory variables (floor area ratio, distance to nearest center business district (CBD) and distance to nearest lake), obtained from GWR analysis, indicated that their relationships of the impact factors with land price are spatially non-stationary. The positive impact of floor area ratio on land price is more significant in highly developed areas than in less developed areas. Conversely, the negative impact of distance to nearest CBD on land price is larger in highly developed areas than in less developed areas. Moreover, wealthier dwellers may be willing to pay a higher price for a good lake view (especially views of small lakes), but infrastructure barriers (near some large lakes) cause negative effect. The outputs of this study, which provide detailed information on the relationships between land price and impact factors in local areas, are promising for urban planners to scientifically evaluate land price and make area-specific strategies.     

Boundary-based analysis for the assessment of coastal dune landscape integrity over time

Coastal dunes are transitional systems which offer manifold ecosystem services, including material and intangible benefits, whose relevance for human society has been little investigated to date. In order to plan a sustainable use of these threatened ecosystems, proper indicators to quantify ecological services and functions over time should be provided. Since the functionality of coastal dunes is affected by the specific contiguity among different dune habitat patches, in this paper we propose the use of landscape integrity, expressed by the number and length of boundary types among the aforementioned habitats, as an ecosystem functionality indicator. In particular, we aim at properly expressing the trend of coastal dune mosaic integrity in two Italian LTER sites over the last sixty years by applying a generalized diversity function on the number and length of boundary types. Such functions, unlike a traditional diversity index, allow a complete summarization of landscape diversity and structure. The proposed method has proved to be effective in the considered context, because it has adequately underlined the different landscape integrity trend recorded in the two sites. In particular, generalized diversity functions showed to efficiently express both rough and moderate anthropogenic transformations, which affected spatial heterogeneity and functionality of the considered coastal dune mosaic. Further applications at different scales and across different ecosystems are encouraged.     

Modelling collective Yawuru values along the foreshore of Roebuck Bay,Western Australia using fuzzy logic

The cadastral model has played a key role in Indigenous dispossession in settler states. Yet, the recognition of Indigenous land rights, which has increased globally since the 1960s, frequently requires Indigenous communities to directly engage with this spatial model. In Australia, native title claimants must use entity-based models of space to delineate their traditional territories during the claim process. They must also engage with planning and development documents which use the cadastral model of space to assert and defend their rights following native title recognition. This is often problematic as Indigenous spatial ontologies emphasise complexity and continuity which is inimical to the ‘crisp’ representations of cadastral space.This study explores the potential of a fuzzy index modelling approach to represent cultural values using a case study from Broome, Western Australia. Sketch mapping, fuzzy index modelling and combinatory techniques were used to produce a model of several cultural values held by the Yawuru community for the in-town foreshore of Roebuck Bay. This model was overlaid on local planning documents to provide the Yawuru community with strategic intelligence for post native title governance. The experience of co-producing this model suggests that such techniques may assist Indigenous communities to engage with settler structures. This implies that policies which fail to extend analytical capacity to interested native title groups as part of programmes of spatial enablement continue to perpetuate historical processes of colonial domination.     

A comparison of techniques for generating forest ownership spatial products

To fully understand forest resources, it is imperative to understand the social context in which the forests exist. A pivotal part of that context is the forest ownership. It is the owners, operating within biophysical and social constraints, who ultimately decide if the land will remain forested, how the resources will be used, and by whom. Forest ownership patterns vary substantially across the United States. These distributions are traditionally represented with tabular statistics that fail to capture the spatial patterns of ownership. Existing spatial products are not sufficient for many strategic-level planning needs because they are not electronically available for large areas (e.g., parcels maps) or do not provide detailed ownership categories (e.g., only depict private versus public ownership). Thiessen polygon, multinomial logit, and classification tree methods were tested for producing a forest ownership spatial dataset across four states with divergent ownership patterns: Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, and Oregon. Over 17,000 sample points with classified forest ownership, collected as part of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, were divided into two datasets, one used as the dependent variable across all of the models and 10 percent of the points were retained for validation across the models. Additional model inputs included a polygon coverage of public lands from the Conservation Biology Institute’s Protected Areas Database (PAD) and data representing human population pressures, road densities, forest characteristics, land cover, and other attributes. The Thiessen polygon approach predicted ownership patterns based on proximity to the sample points in the model dataset and subsequent combining with the PAD ownership data layer. The multinomial logit and classification tree approaches predicted the ownership at the validation points based on the PAD ownership information and data representing human population, road, forest, land cover, and other attributes. The percentage of validation points across the four states correctly predicted ranged from 76.3 to 78.9 among the methods with corresponding weighted kappa values ranging from 0.73 to 0.76. Different methods performed slightly, but statistically significantly, better in different states Overall, the Thiessen polygon method was deemed preferable because: it has a lower bias towards dominant ownership categories; requires fewer inputs; and is simpler to implement.     

Reproductive and recruitment traits as indicators of the invasive potential of Kalanchoe daigremontiana (Crassulaceae) and Stapelia gigantea (Apocynaceae) in a Neotropical arid zone

Populations of two ornamental exotic species, Kalanchoe daigremontiana and Stapelia gigantea, have been recently detected inside a protected area containing arid ecosystems in Venezuela. We indirectly tested their invasive potential by characterizing their reproductive biology and recruitment patterns and comparing our estimates against Baker's Law and reproductive profiles reported for invasive plants. K. daigremontiana is autogamous, produces >16,000 seeds per plant and also reproduces clonally. Despite low seed viability (17.9%) and germination rates (11.9%), seeds were present in the seed bank. Plantlets of asexual origin showed high survival (75–100%) compared to seedlings of sexual origin (10%). S. gigantea is self-incompatible, xenogamous and produces close to 1500 seeds per m² of plant tissue. Seed viability (77%) and germination rates (62%) were high, but this species is not represented in the seed bank. It has a vegetative growth. A combination of reproductive and recruitment attributes, which match those considered in Baker's Law and others reported for invasive plants, confer K. daigremontiana and S. gigantea the potential to invade Neotropical arid zones; the former mainly through selfing and production of numerous asexual plantlets, and the latter through an association with a locally abundant pollinator and production of wind dispersed seeds.     

Pre- and post-dispersal seed loss and soil seed dynamics of the dominant Bulnesia retama (Zygophyllaceae) shrub in a sandy Monte desert of western Argentina

In deserts and semi-deserts dominant plants seldom rely on a persistent seed bank to ensure their recruitment from sexual reproduction, which is generally based on the seeds produced in the last reproductive event. We studied pre- and post-dispersal seed loss of Bulnesia retama, a dominant shrub of the sandy Monte deserts (western Argentina). We hypothesised that pre- and post-dispersal seed depletion in B. retama regulate soil seed density and in turn decrease soil seed reserves. We also hypothesised that spatial patches induced by standing vegetation and other microsites additionally affect post-dispersal seed loss and soil seed density.We observed that as much as half the total seed production was lost due to pre-dispersal seed predation. Seed dispersal plus predation showed a negative exponential function with 61% of seeds falling during the first 28 days, and 99% after 90 days, when 34% of the seeds remained inside excluded branches. A significant patch effect was observed on soil seed density and seed dynamics, with a greater number of seeds and increased seed depletion rates below B. retama shrubs. However, spatial patches did not affect seed germination although they increased with burial time, from 22% to 70% after 75 and 276 days, respectively. Likewise, a similar trend was found in potential seed germination; seeds collected directly from mother plants had a low germination rate (less than 25%), which increased to 75% after 276 days of soil burial. About 15% of the dispersed seeds should persist to the next rainy season, thus contributing to a low-density but persistent seed bank.The delay in seed germination and temporal decrease in soil seed density that we observed for B. retama suggest that a set of mechanisms have been developed promoting germination events whenever soil water is available, at any moment of the year.     

Seasonal variation of the seed bank of Medicago minima and Erodium cicutarium as related to grazing history and presence of shrubs in central Argentina

Medicago minima (L.) Grufberg and Erodium cicutarium (L.) L'Herit are very abundant on the rangelands of central semi-arid Argentina, especially on wet springs. Available information on these species deals with their ecophysiology, demographic response to grazing, nutritive value, etc., but no information within the region has been detected on their seed bank dynamics and dormant status of buried seeds. The main objective of this work was to study the seasonal variation of the seed bank of these species as related to shrub and grazing influence. Dormancy states and viability of buried seeds were also studied. Results indicate that the seed bank is abundant, especially in the case of M. minima, and it seems to be more abundant in the grazed area than in the ungrazed area. The seed bank showed low seasonal variation and shrubs seem to have only minor effects. Two simultaneous dormancy states were detected in both species and all seeds tested for dormancy resulted viable.     

Factors controlling the regenerative cycle of Thymus funkii subsp. funkii in a semi-arid gypsum steppe: A seed bank dynamics perspective

We researched the soil seed bank dynamics of Thymus funkii subsp. funkii, a gypsovag shrub endemic to the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, to determine possible reasons for low recruitment in isolated populations growing on crusted gypsum soils. Recruitment-restriction hypotheses involving main factors in the seed bank dynamics were analysed, and a diagrammatic dynamics model drafted from a population perspective. Viable seed production averaged 362 per plant. Seed shadows resulting from primary dispersal were concentrated under the mother plant. There were two thyme-seed predators: coleopteran larvae (pre-dispersal phase) and Messor bouvieri ants (pre- and post-dispersal phases), which predated 16.4% and 3.8% of population yield, respectively. However, ants may simultaneously contribute to the spatial secondary dispersal, since they lost a small fraction of seeds they harvested. Seeds showed innate physiological dormancy to high summer temperatures, although this disappeared rapidly. The response of germination to other temperature × light conditions was wide and rapid. No permanent seed bank was detected in the soil. Seeds buried in the upper soil layer (2 cm) germinated highly and fast. In contrast, a significant fraction of seeds buried deeply (8 cm) remained viable for over one year. Germination in the field accounted for only 1.0% of the seed output, and seed death due to pathogen attack and aging was also low (3.0%). Seedling emergence was confined to autumn and showed a high correlation with total plant cover, irrespective of plant species. Seedling survival was very low. The small spatial correspondence between primary dispersal and seedling emergence patterns may reflect the importance of secondary dispersal in T. funkii seed bank dynamics. Hypotheses and consequences of such horizontal seed movements for conservation management are discussed.     

Seasonal variation of the soil seed bank of grasses in central Argentina as related to grazing and shrub cover

The objectives of this research were to (a) study seasonal variation of the seed bank of grasses in two areas with different grazing history, (b) analyse the effect of the presence of shrubs on the seed bank and (c) study seed viability and dormancy in buried seeds of Piptochaetium napostaense and Stipa tenuis. The seed density of grasses was in general low and showed seasonal variation. Most of the grasses showed maximum seed density in December when seed dispersal occurs. Shrub cover did not show a marked influence in seed accumulation. The relatively high number of damaged seeds suggests that predation may be an important factor in seed bank dynamics in the Caldenal. Seeds of dominant perennial forage grasses showed dormancy that could explain, at least in part, persistence of these species in spite of periodical disturbance.     

Passage time, viability, and germination of seeds ingested by foxes

Seed passage through the gut of vertebrates is critical for endozoochorus seed dispersal because it may influence seed viability and germination capacity. Foxes are important fruit-eaters and presumed seed dispersers in the Chaco ecoregion. We experimentally assessed the seed passage time (SPT) and its effect on seed viability and germination in two fox species (Pseudalopex gymnocercus and Cerdocyon thous) that occur in the Chaco. Passage time was measured using both artificial seeds of three sizes and wild seeds of four native fleshy-fruit species commonly consumed by foxes (Ziziphus mistol, Acacia aroma, Celtis tala, and Syagrus romanzoffiana). The average SPT was 6.8 h for the Pampa fox and 7.7 h for the crab-eating fox. Passage time did not differ either among seeds of different sizes or between fox species. Passage through digestive tract of both fox species did not affect seed survival, whereas germination rate was slightly improved. Our data suggest that both fox species are legitimate seed dispersers of the four species studied, having a positive effect on both germination rate and dispersal distance from the parent plant.     

Seed predation and moisture limit germination of recalcitrant Dobera glabra (Salvadoraceae) seeds in the Afar rangelands, Ethiopia

We studied current recruitment failure of Dobera glabra, an important famine-food throughout the dryland parts of the Horn of Africa. The species has previously been found to have recalcitrant seeds, a strategy not common for plants in dryland areas. We experimentally tested (1) how germination capacity of D. glabra is affected by seed form, storage period and moisture under nursery conditions, and (2) how seed predation by vertebrate herbivore and seed exposure at germination site affect germination under field conditions in northern Afar rangelands, Ethiopia. D. glabra seeds that received either mulching or supplementary watering (3 days/week) had a higher germination success than controls. The seeds are probably desiccation sensitive since stored seeds had poor germination performance compared to fresh seeds. Seeds in the rangeland plots protected from herbivores had significantly higher germination success compared to open plots. Our findings demonstrate that seed predation and moisture limitation highly reduced the germinability of the recalcitrant D. glabra seeds, indicating that the species might have persisted due to past wetter periods and low herbivore density in dry environments.