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Conservation planning plays an important role in the protection and development of historic villages. A conservation plan evaluation is helpful to discover problems that might exist in the work of ...

Groundwater has very rarely been included in modern systematic conservation planning methods that identify key areas for protection of aquatic organisms. Three conservation plans were developed for aquatic ecosystems in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia using the planning software Marxan: one model for rivers and wetlands and two that consider groundwater ecosystems. The first of these groundwater inclusive models included aquifers in the initial planning process; the second retrofitted groundwater onto an existing conservation plan. The results demonstrate that, if groundwater protection was included at the planning stage, the overall land that was needed only increased marginally. When included, groundwater protection led to an emphasis on groundwater recharge zones. A posteriori inclusion of GW protections, however, yielded a 30% increase in surface area needing protection. We conclude that groundwater can be included in conservation planning but it is much more efficient to do so at the beginning of the planning process. The next step is to refine the planning methods by including data on groundwater-dependent organisms, either by genetic means or novel statistical techniques, and hence using a direct biotic signal instead of environmental surrogates.

Long-lived avian scavengers are threatened worldwide and thus, are common targets of conservation plans. However, scientific evidence of both the factors limiting populations and effectiveness of management actions are greatly needed in order to develop more efficient and successful conservation strategies. We assessed the effectiveness of conservation actions applied within a LIFE-Nature project aimed at improving the long-term survival of the critically endangered Canarian Egyptian vulture: including education campaigns for public awareness and control of illegal poisoning and the modification of power lines to reduce the risk of accidents. We formulated a multievent capture–mark–recapture model to obtain estimates of survival for juvenile, subadult and adult birds accounting for probabilities of resight, recovery and losses of metal and colour rings. Models supported a substantial enhancement in survival for subadult and adult birds and a moderate improvement for juveniles after the implementation of LIFE actions. Ring loss probabilities became notably high in the middle to long term. Poisoning events became very rare after LIFE was implemented, suggesting a positive effect of environmental education and awareness campaigns. Entanglements and collisions in power lines were also efficiently mitigated. Instead, electrocutions became the most identified cause of death in the post-LIFE stage. Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight the improvement of survival in a threatened island vulture population after the implementation of a European LIFE conservation project. On small islands, with small human populations and few stakeholders, education and awareness campaigns can be especially effective for biodiversity conservation. We also demonstrate the need to complement conservation programmes with long-term monitoring, which is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of actions, especially for long-lived species.

Questions Species distribution models (SDMs) based on habitat suitability and niche quantification are powerful tools in vegetation science. Recent findings suggest that they could be applied at the landscape scale as vegetation conservation tools, but that some environmental dimensions (e.g., climate) need to be considered at larger scales. What is the importance of applying hierarchical SDMs combining information from different scales to ensure consistent local vegetation management decisions? Study Site Mainland Spain and Biosphere Reserve of Sierra del Rincon (central Spain). Methods We generated SDMs for five tree species at the regional scale (mainland Spain) using climatic variables plus presence/absence data from the Spanish National Forest Inventory; and at the landscape scale (Sierra del Rincon Biosphere Reserve) using local environmental variables plus locally gathered vegetation presence/absence data. Predictions of both regional and landscape models were combined at the landscape scale following two different hierarchical approaches. The four resulting predictions were compared with correlation coefficients and independently evaluated with the AUC statistic and data collected in the study area. Results The regional SDMs depict suitable climatic conditions for the tree species, while the landscape SDMs capture important local ecological drivers that influence habitat suitability at finer scales. Expectedly, the regional SDMs predict larger suitable areas than the landscape SDMs. The predictions from the hierarchical approaches are reliable and provide on average better results than non-hierarchical ones. Conclusions SDMs can be valuable tools for local plant conservation programs. We present examples of the applicability of a hierarchical modeling approach and conceptual and methodological solutions related to the use of these tools in local vegetation conservation programs. For example, we show that landscape SDMs could be used to determine the current distribution of endangered plant species, while a hierarchical approach would be better suited to define areas to re-vegetate within a local restoration program.

Gardens and horticulturists play an increasingly important role in plant conservation, both in situ and ex situ. Integrated research and conservation of species intends to work across fields to connect science to conservation practice by engaging actors from different sectors, including gardens. The case of integrated conservation of Quercus brandegeei, a microendemic oak species in Baja California Sur, Mexico, is presented as an example of a collaboration between gardens and academic researchers to create a species-specific conservation plan that incorporates horticultural knowledge.

The Pantanal is the most conserved biome in Brazil and among the last wild refuges in South America, but intensification of agriculture and other land use changes present challenges for protecting this exceptionally biodiverse wetland ecosystem. m. Recent studies have shed new light on the origins and biogeochemistry of a suite of >600 small saline-alkaline lakes in Nhecolândia, a floodplain setting located south ofthe Taquari River in south-central Pantanal. These soda lakes form a unique aquatic environment in Pantanal and nascent research on their geomicrobiology suggests that their biota may be analogous to early life, and extreme life in Earth?s deep biosphere. We argue that the conservation of the soda lakes in the lower Nhecolândia region should be an important strategic component of any conservation plan that aims to mitigate the advance of unsustainable land-use change in the Pantanal. Soda lake conservation has important implications for the carbon cycle, as these landforms sequester carbon dioxide and transmit considerably lower concentrations of methane in comparison to macrophyte-rich freshwater lakes in the region. Further, minerals precipitated in the saline-alkaline lakes are leveraged for cattle consumption, and therefore the continued presence of the lakes is critical for allowing pantaneiro ranchers to pursue certified organic, sustainable beef production systems. Beyond protecting soda lakes and their surrounding forests (mata de cordilheiras) for food systems security, the conservation strategy would also allow further research of little studied extremophile biodiversity and biogeochemistry, with potential for biotechnological innovations attendant to UN Sustainable Development Goals. Made available in DSpace on 2019-09-26T00:43:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ThesodalakesNhecolandia2019.pdf: 3939848 bytes, checksum: 11e2681e26fc1e0d00afe58641bff8b6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019

Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) commonly facilitate habitat conservation on private land in the United States, yet the effectiveness of individual HCPs is rarely evaluated. Here, we assess the effectiveness of a high-profile HCP created by a lumber company to protect old-growth forests used for breeding by Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) on private land. We used 17 years of HCP-monitoring data to compare trends in murrelet occupancy and inland counts between private HCP areas and public reference areas over time. Based on occupancy models applied to audio-visual survey data, average occupancy was higher in public reference areas (0.85; 85% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.79–0.90) than in private HCP areas (0.46; 85% CI: 0.38–0.54). Numerically, trends in occupancy were slightly positive in public areas (= 1.01; 85% CI: 0.94–1.08) and slightly negative in private areas (= 0.97; 85% CI: 0.87–1.06), but CI did not preclude stable occupancy on both ownerships. Based on generalized linear mixed models applied to inland radar survey data, murrelet counts in private HCP areas (least-squares [LS] mean = 8.7; 85% CI: 6.2–12.2) were lower than those in public reference areas (LS mean = 14.8; 85% CI: 10.1–21.7), but CI overlapped. Murrelet counts declined by 12–17% annually on both ownerships over the study period based on the top model, but a closely competing interactive model suggested more rapid declines in public reference (14–20%) than in private HCP (10–15%) areas. Both models indicated that murrelet counts were negatively related to sea surface temperature, suggesting that warm ocean conditions negatively affect murrelet breeding effort. Collectively, these results suggest that while HCP habitat may be lower quality than public reference areas, the HCP has likely not exacerbated ongoing declines of murrelets in the region. This work highlights the importance of including reference areas when evaluating conservation policies. LAY SUMMARY Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) are a common conservation tool used to protect habitat on private land in the United States, but the effectiveness of individual HCPs is rarely evaluated. We assessed the ability of 1 high-profile HCP to protect breeding habitat for a threatened seabird, the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), on land owned by a lumber company. To do this, we compared trends in murrelet occupancy and abundance between private HCP conservation areas and public reference areas. We found that habitat protected within public reference areas was higher quality, but lack of differences in trends between ownerships indicated that the HCP did not exacerbate ongoing declines of murrelet populations in our study area. Additionally, habitat in private HCP areas is likely to improve as forests continue to mature. We also found that the abundance of murrelets on both landownerships was declining rapidly over time, likely due to reduced breeding effort because of broad-scale environmental factors. Rigorous assessments of conservation policies are imperative for guiding future conservation initiatives and investments, especially on private land where species are most vulnerable to habitat loss.

Recent development and implementation of crop cryopreservation protocols has increased the capacity to maintain recalcitrant seeded germplasm collections via cryopreserved in vitro material. To preserve the greatest possible plant genetic resources globally for future food security and breeding programs, it is essential to integrate in situ and ex situ conservation methods into a cohesive conservation plan. In vitro storage using tissue culture and cryopreservation techniques offers promising complementary tools that can be used to promote this approach. These techniques can be employed for crops difficult or impossible to maintain in seed banks for long-term conservation. This includes woody perennial plants, recalcitrant seed crops or crops with no seeds at all and vegetatively or clonally propagated crops where seeds are not true-to-type. Many of the world’s most important crops for food, nutrition and livelihoods, are vegetatively propagated or have recalcitrant seeds. This review will look at ex situ conservation, namely field repositories and in vitro storage for some of these economically important crops, focusing on conservation strategies for avocado. To date, cultivar-specific multiplication protocols have been established for maintaining multiple avocado cultivars in tissue culture. Cryopreservation of avocado somatic embryos and somatic embryogenesis have been successful. In addition, a shoot-tip cryopreservation protocol has been developed for cryo-storage and regeneration of true-to-type clonal avocado plants.

Transboundary conservation is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining ecosystem integrity and halting biodiversity loss caused by anthropogenic activities. However, lack of information on species distributions in transboundary regions and understanding of the threats in these areas impairs conservation. We developed a spatial conservation plan for the transboundary areas between Yunnan province, southwestern China, and neighboring Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. To identify priority areas for conservation and restoration, we determined species distribution patterns and recent land-use changes and examined the spatiotemporal dynamics of the connected natural forest, which supports most species. We assessed connectivity with equivalent connected area (ECA), which is the amount of reachable habitat for a species. An ECA incorporates the presence of habitat in a patch and the amount of habitat in other patches within dispersal distance. We analyzed 197,845 locality records from specimen collections and monographs for 21,004 plant and vertebrate species. The region of Yunnan immediately adjacent to the international borders had the highest species richness, with 61% of recorded species and 56% of threatened vertebrates, which suggests high conservation value. Satellite imagery showed the area of natural forest in the border zone declined by 5.2% (13,255 kmPlaneación de la Conservación en las Fronteras de China con Myanmar, Laos y Vietnam Resumen La conservación transfronteriza cada vez juega un papel más importante en la preservación de la integridad del ecosistema y en el freno a la pérdida local de la biodiversidad causada por las actividades antropogénicas. Sin embargo, la falta de información sobre la distribución de las especies en las regiones transfronterizas y de la comprensión de las amenazas en estas áreas obstaculiza la conservación. Desarrollamos un plan de conservación espacial para las áreas transfronterizas entre la provincia de Yunnan, al suroeste de China, y los países vecinos Myanmar, Laos y Vietnam localizadas en el punto caliente de biodiversidad Indo-Burma. Para identificar las áreas prioritarias para la conservación y la restauración, determinamos los patrones de distribución de las especies y los recientes cambios en el uso de suelo y examinamos las dinámicas espaciotemporales del bosque natural conectado, el cual mantiene a la mayoría de las especies. Evaluamos la conectividad con el área equivalente conectada (AEC), que es la cantidad de hábitat accesible para una especie. Un AEC incorpora la presencia del hábitat en un fragmento y la cantidad de hábitat en otros fragmentos dentro de la distancia de dispersión. Analizamos 197,845 registros de localidades desde colecciones de especímenes y monografías para 21,004 especies de plantas y de vertebrados. La región de Yunnan inmediatamente adyacente a las fronteras internacionales tuvo la riqueza de especies más alta con el 61% de las especies registradas y el 56% de los vertebrados amenazados, lo que sugiere un elevado valor de conservación. Las imágenes satelitales mostraron que el área del bosque natural en la zona fronteriza declinó en un 5.2% (13,255 km跨境保护在维持生态系统完整和阻止人类活动引起的生物多样性丧失方面起着重要的作用。然而, 跨境区域的物种分布信息和所受威胁的认识都很匮乏, 这不利于进一步的保护。在印-缅生物多样性热点地区, 我们为中国云南省及其毗邻的缅甸, 老挝和越南的跨境区域提供了一个空间保护计划。通过分析物种分布格局, 近期土地利用变化以及为大多数物种提供了生境的天然林的连通性时空动态, 我们识别了该跨境区域的保护和恢复优先区。我们利用等同连接面积(ECA)指数来评估连通性。该指数可以测量一个物种在其扩散距离范围内可以到达的总的生境数量。我们从标本和专著中收集了21,004个植物和脊椎动物物种并分析了197,845条分布记录, 结果显示云南省边境地区具有最高的物种丰富度, 61%的已记录的物种和56%的受威胁脊椎动物分布在云南边境地区, 这表明边境地区具有高的保护价值。卫星影像分析显示, 从1995至2018年, 跨境区域天然林面积减少了5.2% (13,255 km2), 而单一种植的人工林面积增加了92.4%, 灌丛面积增加了10.1%, 农田面积增加了6.2%。由此引起的连通的天然林面积的下降减少了生境数量, 这对扩散能力较弱的森林特化物种的影响尤为明显。中-越边境上的连通性下降最为严重。许多优先区跨越了国界线, 这表明了建立跨境保护地的需求和潜力。我们的结果阐明了双边或多边合作保护生物多样性的重要性, 同时也为该跨境区域未来的保护规划和实践提供了指导。.

The Brazilian Palace of Congress designed by Oscar Niemeyer is a relevant cultural heritage in the scenario of modern Brazilian and South American architecture. Its 29-story towers coated with white marble are a representative example of the high-rise buildings. 60 years after the building inauguration, arises an urgent need to monitor the aging of the marble cladding system and plan its conservation. This article presents a study with an integrated approach, considering the cladding system related to the architecture and constructive solutions, with the aim to investigate how the building is aging. The documentary and field surveys made it possible to carry out statistical studies of the cladding system state of conservation, its damage, criticality and exposure conditions. The behavior of building in height was verified, which was aging evenly, given that the statistical tests showed no difference between the analyzed sections. Likewise, it was possible to prove how decisive is the solar orientation for the system degradation. When comparing the correlation maps of the two facades, the Northwest one showed a strong correlation between moist area and biological colonization by microorganisms, which in turn had an intense correlation also with efflorescence. The greater criticality of damage noticed on the Northwest gable indicated that this solar orientation is subject to the most severe exposure conditions. State of Conservation Scenarios pointed out that architectural solutions and construction practices favored the system's durability. As a future scenario, the importance of planned monitoring actions is highlighted, within the scope of a Conservation Plan.

Pearson MW. 2021. A pilot study into ecological burning in forests as part of a species conservation plan. Biodiversitas 22: 1296-1303. Fire management and the process of managing communities has become an increasingly topical subject due to recent events. The role of fire for fuel reduction with areas set aside for conservation may not be compatible as a seed recruitment tool for Allocasuarina robusta. Presently, fire as a recruitment tool on A. robusta is not well understood. The pilot study aims to examine the latent seedbank ability to contribute to the conservation of A. robusta when ecological burning is part of a fire management plan. The investigation examined the soil seed bank beneath A. robusta before and after an ecological burn as a greenhouse experiment. The experiment results demonstrated that a diverse range of species responds to a fire that may out-compete the seed recruitment from A. robusta. The results indicate that A. robusta may not be recruiting through seed. Competition appears to be a factor that may limit the ability of A. robusta to recruit from seed.

Systematic conservation planning identifies priority areas to cost‐effectively meet conservation targets. Yet, these tools rarely guide wholesale declaration of reserve systems in a single time step due to financial and implementation constraints. Rather, incremental scheduling of actions to progressively build reserve networks is required. To ensure this incremental action is guided by the original plan, and thus builds a reserve network that meets all conservation targets, strategic scheduling, and iterative planning is needed. We explore the issue of scheduling conservation actions using the national scale conservation plan for Papua New Guinea (PNG), commissioned by the PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority that identifies a comprehensive set of priority areas that meet conservation targets in both the land and sea. As part of the planning process a subset of areas were identified in collaboration as priorities for immediate action—termed areas of interest (AOIs). However, the extent to which targets are met if action stopped after implementing the AOIs is unknown. We test three possible implementation scenarios based on these priority areas to measure target achievement and shortfalls. We then consider how iterative planning would interact with scheduling actions to identify new long‐term priorities that will meet missing targets. Our results show that while a large number of conservation targets are met within the AOIs there are shortfalls for protecting threatened and range restricted endemic species. Meeting targets for these would require an updated set of national priorities and an additional 13% of land area compared with if all areas identified in the original assessment were protected in a single time step. This provides important insights into the benefits of strategic scheduling of implementation, as well as the need for capacity to monitor action and update priorities as implementation proceeds.

This work illustrates the contribution of flood risk assessment and adaptation to set up a conservation management plan for a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Case study is the iconic complex, internationally known as the National Art Schools of Cuba. It consists of five buildings built in the early 1960s within a park of Habana next to the Caribbean Sea. The path of the river (Rio Quibù) crossing the estate was modified to fit the landscape design. The complex has then been exposed to the risk of flooding. The School of Ballet, located in a narrow meander of the river, slightly upstream of a bridge and partially obstructing the flow, is particularly subject to frequent flash floods from the Rio Quibù, and it needs urgent restoration. Keeping ISA Modern is a project aimed at preserving the Schools complex. Based upon in situ surveys on the Rio Quibù and local area measurements during 2019, numerical modelling, and previous work by the Cuban National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, we pursued a flood risk analysis for the area, and a preliminary analysis of available risk reduction strategies. Using HEC-RAS 2D software for hydraulic modelling, we evaluated the flooded area and the hydraulic conditions (flow depth, velocity) for floods with given return periods. Our results show that SB is a building most subject to flooding, with high levels of risk. Defense strategies as designed by Cuban authorities may include a (new) wall around the School of Ballet and widening of the river channel, with high impact and cost, although not definitive. Temporary, light, permanent, and low cost/impact flood proofing structures may be used with similar effectiveness. We demonstrate that relatively little expensive hydraulic investigation may aid flood modelling and risk assessment in support of conservation projects for historically valuable sites. This may support brainstorming and the selection of (low to high cost) adaptation and risk reduction measures in the coastal areas of Cuba in response to ever increasing extreme storms and sea level rise controlling flood dynamics under transient climate change.

Sundarban, a single largest mangroves block in the world, shared by India and Bangladesh, has a rich biodiversity that provides staggering ecosystem services to local inhabitants for livelihood. Poor agriculture in one way and rich bio-resources in other have compelled local inhabitants to depend upon forest resources from time immortal. Mangroves are diverse and highly productive ecological communities, but the pristine Sundarban forest had been dwindled during the last two centuries because of committed destruction. The present study assesses the status of coastal communities who exclusively depend on the Sundarban forest for subsistence and livelihoods. For identifying the livelihood pattern of these communities a household survey (n = 1079) and in-depth interviewing (n = 157) were done in three villages of the Sundarban, such as Rajatjubille in Gosaba, Samsernagar in Hingalganj, and Kisorimohanpur in Kultali block. A Relative Livelihood Index (RLI) was developed among major occupant groups (n = 14), for assessing the degree of strength among primary occupations. The strength of fishing and crab collection as a major primary occupation is observed in Samsernagar and Rajatjubille, whereas in Kisorimohanpur agricultural labour dominates others. According to RLI, the primary occupation like honey collection, fishing, and carpentry scores negatives which justify these occupations were alone robust to support the occupants continuing livelihood. So the category of forest users and the type of resource collected from the forest should be considered as the main criteria for designing any conservation plan as well as a sustainable livelihood programme in Sundarban.

The paper presents the overall objectives of a funded research program for the development of a Conservation Plan (CP) for the two halls by Pier Luigi Nervi of the Turin Exhibition Center. The Turin Exhibition Center was conceived immediately after the Second World War to host primarily the annual Automobile Show, in connection with the presence in Turin of the FIAT motor company. The two main pavilions of the Center (Halls B and C) are outstanding examples of a pioneering use, of new advanced methods in reinforced concrete construction, combining innovative prefabrication procedures and the re-invention by Nervi of ferrocement, used to form extremely thin elements. The CP is expected to push and contribute to the preservation of the halls designed and built by Nervi, with special emphasis on structural and seismic vulnerability aspects, also due to concerns raised on the durability of concrete materials and technologies. Re-using these buildings entails the challenge to guarantee new extended service life to concrete structures built many decades ago and faces the need for a seismic assessment of these structures, in compliance to recent Italian standards.

International audience; Cultural heritage often brings to mind elements like sculptures, paintings, monuments, and buildings as well as archeological objects. Today, underwater heritage and its surrounding environment are also considered part of cultural heritage because communities identify themselves with the natural landscape. This study is focused on a shipwreck belonging to the second half of the 15th century that was discovered in 1998 by chance in the sediments of the Urdaibai estuary, in Urbieta (Gernika, Basque Country), at 4 m underground. A scientific study presented in this work was performed, as this archeological site was absolutely out of context and in need of a preservation and conservation procedure. Therefore, our aim was to shed light on the origin of the shipwreck and to assess the conservation state to develop a precise conservation plan. Pursuing this objective, a first analysis on three selected groups of iron nails was performed, looking at the raw materials and degradation patterns through the knowledge of the alteration compounds. By means of nondestructive analytical techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and X‐ray fluorescence, the presence of iron, zinc, and silicon was detected in the outer layer of the iron samples. The analysis of the nails and wood of the shipwreck confirmed that the presence of zinc in the pieces indicates an important impact of the contaminated sediments deposited in the last 80 years on the upper part of the burial in which the shipwreck was located.

Geoinformatics system is the decisive and efficient tool for monitoring, detecting, and evaluating the physical state of all buildings and infrastructures. Nowadays, numerous and diversified remote sensing data are available, various approaches are developed, techniques are designed, established, and reported for health monitoring of any kind of building. In the field of remote sensing, mechanism known as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry is getting popular these days to assess damages in physical infrastructure because of its several advantages over other platforms of photogrammetry, i.e., aerial photogrammetry, close-range photogrammetry, and terrestrial photogrammetry. UAV has fast data acquisition, real-time capability, and much flexible with its orientation which makes UAV more appropriate for health monitoring and health assessment of buildings, monuments, and all physical infrastructures. This paper is to present the monitoring and assessment of a cultural monument’s health by processing multiple UAV images and then analyzing its output. Assessing health of a cultural/heritage site is required to document, preserve, and conserve it which is as important as the significance of our heritage. Cultural heritage endows people a linking to certain convivial values, credence, religions, and levies. The ultimate requirement of any conservation plan for them is considerate the object and accumulating data about its corporeal condition before any act and intercession that might transform the object. In this paper, orthomosaic photo obtained through processing of UAV images is analyzed via textural and spectral classification to evaluate the physical health damage occurred to a cultural monument posterior a heavy earthquake.

[EN] Casa Batlló is a building focus of worldwide recognition due to its status as a work of the architect Antoni Gaudi. The Conservation Plan for Casa Batlló establishes this fact as fundamental to all the decisions that must be taken in order to establish the intervention criteria. The study not only of the actual building, but also of the documents led to define the criteria for the intervention of the restoration project. Thearticle shows the analysis of the building and its architectural spaces, that allowes to establish the clear limit between the previous building and the modifications, done after Gaudí’s project., [ES] La Casa Batlló es un edificio con reconocimiento mundial por ser una obra del arquitecto Antoni Gaudí. El Plan Director de la Casa Batlló establece este hecho como capital en el conjunto de las decisiones que deben adoptarse con el fin de establecer los criterios de intervención. El estudio no solo del edificio sino también de los documentos ha permitido establecer los criterios de intervención en el proyecto de restauración. El artículo recoge el análisis del edificio y sus espacios arquitectónicos resultantes, lo que permite establecer una frontera clara entre el edificio previo y las modificaciones posteriores al proyecto de Gaudí.

Forest is a renewable resource and an imperative part of the total environment. But in the last few decades, forest areas are being highly converted and depleted due to excessive anthropogenic stress particularly for modern societal development. The magnitude of deforestation has been exaggerated particularly in tropical and sub-tropical developing countries of the world. The main objective of the study is to identify the probable areas of deforestation along with the analysis of forest cover dynamics within Silabati watershed of India applying Binary Logistic Regression Model. The forest cover map (1998 and 2019) has been extracted with the help of satellite imageries which have been obtained from USGS. The remote sensing techniques coupled with multivariate statistical analysis (Binary Logistic Regression Model) have been used to prepare probable deforestation areas within the watershed. The statistical analysis also signifies the correlation among dependent and independent variables. The model shows that the middle and lower middle part of the watershed is highly vulnerable (approximate 24%) whereas the upper basin area is less vulnerable (approximate 48%). The current study reflects that high population density, road construction and initiation of cash crops are responsible principal factors behind probable deforestation. The model is validated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the Area Under Curve (AUC) method and it reflects around 80% overall accuracy of this model. This model is very rational and effective for policy makers and conservators before the execution of any sustainable forest conservation plan.

Eremophilus mutisii (Humboldt, 1805), is an endemic fish to the Cundiboyacense plain, currently classified as vulnerable. The national programme to the catfish conservation, was used as a source for implementing the conservation plan in the CAR Cundinamarca in 2018. The present study performed the conservation status diagnosis of E. mutisii in Cundinamarca region which provides the basis for this conservation plan. In accordance, catfish geographical distribution was investigated by accessing biological collection information and conducting fish surveys of both lentic and lotic systems in pre-selection sites identified by the CAR officials and the research team. E. mutisii presence was evaluated in the Suarez, Bogota (high basin), Ubate, Veraguas, Frio, Aguas Claras and Muna rivers, also in the Fuquene lagoon and the Neusa and Tomine reservoirs. An electric fishing technique and physicochemical parameters measurement were used as the fish sampling approach of this study. The catfish catch per unit effort was 0.054 and 0.044 individuals/hour for rivers and lagoons (or reservoirs), respectively. A total of 17 individuals were captured, 53% of them were adults, 41% juveniles and 6% small fry. The length-weight relationship found indicates that the species growth was positive allometric. It was confirmed that catfish is geographically distributed in an elevation range of 2540–3000 masl, although it was not reported in the Bogota, Veraguas, Ubate, Suarez and Frio rivers. The decline of E. mutisii populations is mainly due to anthropic factors, such as transformation and fragmentation of ecosystems, introduction of invasive species and water bodies contamination.

Micromeria rodriguezii es una especie endémica de las Islas Baleares (Mediterráneo occidental). Una población de esta especie se ha encontrado en la provincia de Castellón (España), en el margen de un camino forestal. Se proporciona un estudio de la morfología de las plantas de esta población, así como su estado de conservación en la Comunidad Valenciana. Debido a que esta es la única población ibérica conocida hasta el momento, se debe elaborar un plan de manejo y conservación para garantizar su conservación.

In this paper the conservation issues related to the reinforced concrete structure of the Stadio Flaminio in Rome, by Pier Luigi and Antonio Nervi, are addressed. A topical issue in protection processes concerning modern architecture heritage is represented by the treatment of decorative cement and concrete; the latter materials play indeed a key role for their historical, testimonial, artistic and functional. In this frame, safeguarding and restoring this heritage requires specific and innovative products, as well as methodological and operational approaches, different from the currently used ones in both traditional historical building and concrete structures restoration.

[EN] In accordance with Casa Batlló’s Conservation Plan, the initial project contemplated a minimal intervention of maintenance and conservation. Prior to the start of the intervention, studies and tests were carried out, to find out, check and determine the different methodologies and materials to be used. However, a careful inspection of the façade revealed pathological processes and undocumented findings about the construction techniques. These studies and the results of the tests allowed to agree upon the procedures and materials to be used., [ES] De acuerdo con el plan director, el proyecto inicial de restauración de la fachada de la casa Batlló del arquitecto Antoni Gaudí, contemplaba una mínima intervención de mantenimiento y conservación. Previamente al inicio de la restauración, se realizaron estudios y ensayos para conocer, testar y determinar las diferentes metodologías y materiales que se iban a utilizar. Desvelaron procesos patológicos y hallazgos hasta la fecha no documentados sobre las técnicas constructivas. El estudio organoléptico y los resultados de estos ensayos permitieron consensuarlos procedimientos y materiales a emplear.

The implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Poland requires the identification and landscape assessment in the form of a landscape audit made for each region (voivodeship), as enshrined in the Act on Spatial Planning and Land Development. The Act assumes that as part of landscape audit within regional parks priority landscapes as well as zones of landscape protection will be indicated. There are methodical tools prepared by the Ministry of the Environment to realize both main landscape audit elements – the instruction and the recommendations. Currently (at the end of 2018) no region of the audit is yet to be found, and the newly adopted conservation plans for regional parks enforce, in accordance with the Nature Conservation Act reference to both priority landscapes and zones. This article presents testing of the methodology proposed by the Ministry of the Environment for determining priority landscapes (the instruction) and landscape protection zones (the recommendations). The reference field was the conservation plan for Brudzeń Landscape Park (BLP) located in the Masovian Voivodeship. An attempt to implement particularly the Instructions and identify priority landscapes in the BLP conservation plan proved to be not fully possible. The analyzes carried out in the BLP call for the opinion that apart from the current landscape, it is necessary to take into account other than land use features of the environment that determine the specificity of the landscape – mainly terrain, additionally the catalog of current types of landscapes should be open. Tools prepared by the Ministry of the Environment – still need to be refined.

Biodiversity conservation relies heavily on protected areas (PAs). However, in locations that are desirable for agriculture, industry, or human habitation (e.g., lowland habitats on fertile soils, coastal zones), land is often privately owned and state-owned PAs tend to be under-represented. Despite the potentially disproportionate contribution that privately protected areas (PPAs) could make to representing biodiversity and supporting its persistence across regional PA estates, this contribution is poorly understood. We assessed the capacity of PPAs to contribute to the persistence of 38 large- and medium-sized mammals in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa, based on a previously published conservation plan that used species population requirements to identify areas of importance for mammal conservation. We hypothesized that, relative to state-owned PAs, PPAs would be disproportionately located in areas important to the regional persistence of the mammal assemblage, given: (a) historic biases in the distribution of private- and state-owned land across high and low productivity landscapes, respectively; (b) private landholders' recent focus on wildlife-orientated enterprises; and (c) the conservation trade-offs influencing expansions of the state-owned PA estate. As a result of the high numbers of PPAs and their bias towards areas of importance for mammal conservation, the potential mammal species diversity and richness that could persist within a PA increased more rapidly with PA size on PPAs than on state-owned PAs. These PPAs therefore have the potential to significantly increase both the regional-scale diversity of protected mammals and the number of viable populations. Furthermore, PPAs could make the greatest absolute contribution to the conservation of protected species when adjoining, and thus expanding, state-owned PAs (i.e., mixed-ownership PAs). Regional conservation targets for a quarter of the species were only met due to the inclusion of private- and/or mixed-ownership PAs in the estate. Policy implications. Our findings show that privately protected areas (PPAs) could play a substantial role in the long-term conservation of terrestrial megafauna within a multi-tenure protected area (PA) estate, due to their prevalence in high-productivity landscapes. The significant gains from augmenting state-owned PAs with PPAs emphasize the value of systematic conservation planning and implementation across tenure types.

The synergy between Mantua Diocese, Direzione Regionale per i beni culturali e paesaggistici della Lombardia and Politecnico di Milano enabled the elaboration of a strategic conservation plan for some Mantova buildings of great significance to the city and to the owners: the planning of monitoring activities necessary to the conservation has experienced a further development as regards the structural aspects, after the earthquake, to improve performances vis-a-vis the updated seismic risk level. The collaboration between stakeholder bodies made it possible to systematise the resources needed to access available funds for scheduled conservation and innovative diagnostics over the last decade. The aim is to bring about the necessary conditions for an in depth examination of case studies pretty much representative of local building materials and techniques, for which to identify the best practices for conservation. The networks the bodies belong to permit the dissemination of the results achieved to a vast number of observers, stakeholders, owners, and other local bodies. The paper relates to the diagnostics part, including the innovative techniques employed alongside the more traditional and standardised ones, with a view to drawing up a program of checks and a plan of preventive actions, despite of a limited number of interventions. The monitoring measures and the inspections aim to mitigate some risk factors, among them the (up to now) advanced state of decay of some elements in the oldest buildings, whose maintenance would aggravate the conservation conditions, especially as regards decorated surfaces. Out of the analysed buildings, the case study herein described concerns the Basilica Concattedrale di Sant’Andrea Apostolo in Mantova, a mankind architectural heritage and, obviously, a city monument.

Preventive conservation plans must include the collaboration of all the different departments within an institution to be able to diagnose the situation, provide proper maintenance, and allocate a ...

The American Woodcock Conservation Plan calls for halting and reversing declines of American woodcock (Scolopax minor) populations through creation and management of early successional forest (ESF). Counts of displaying male woodcock along routes of the American woodcock singing‐ground survey (SGS) are used to assess regional population status and trends, and there is a need to assess whether SGS routes represent the region. We assessed whether individual SGS routes (330‐m buffers) in the Boreal‐Hardwood and Prairie‐Hardwood Transitions of Minnesota, USA represented land covers within local landscapes, defined using simulated 10‐minute blocks, and whether the routes, in aggregate, represented land covers of our study region. Our land covers included non‐forest classes, age‐based ESF (≤20 years), and persisting classes for deciduous‐mixed and evergreen forests and woody wetlands. We found that the median value of mean absolute differences (MAD) between percentages for route buffer and block cover classes was 3.78 percentage points. Twenty‐two of 81 (27%) route buffers had MAD values ≥5 percentage points. Within Minnesota, more of these routes (19 of 22) occurred in the Boreal‐Hardwood Transition than in the Prairie‐Hardwood Transition. Relative to local landscapes, route buffers most frequently and strongly under‐represented open water, barren land, evergreen ESF, persisting woody wetlands, and woody wetland ESF and over‐represented developed land and grassland‐pasture. When we compared routes in aggregate to our study region, the magnitude of percentage point differences for individual covers did not exceed 5, except for open water. Given the relatively small differences we observed, we conclude that SGS routes well represent land covers within our study region.

Durante siglos, los pescadores practicaron de manera sostenible la pesca de tiburón en aguas costeras del Ecuador; aunque se dispone de poca información en cuanto a las capturas y estado de las especies, la presente investigación se planteó como objetivos determinar, a través del cálculo de la riqueza ecológica, las especies distribuidas en un área que abarca desde el norte de Manta en la provincia de Manabí (00059.92´S - 80053.93´W) hasta la frontera sur del Ecuador (03º23.10´S - 80027.60´W) y su relación espacial entre las capturas, mediante cruceros oceanográficos desde noviembre de 1994 hasta julio de 1999, utilizando redes de arrastre camaroneros en un recorrido por tres estratos de profundidad; el estrato I (10 a 30 m), el II (31 a 80 m) y el III (81 a 200m); cuyo fin fue determinar las variables de volúmenes de capturas y la incidencia de las redes de arrastre, como uno de los mayores problemas medioambientales que puede provocar afectaciones a la estructura y funcionamiento de los sistemas marinos y a sus poblaciones, a nivel de comunidades y de ecosistemas, agravadas por el incumplimiento de las medidas de control y ordenamiento. Los volúmenes de pesca por estratos, el Golfo de Guayaquil, fue el sitio con mayor número de especies recolectadas por los cruceros de exploración. Estos datos servirán de base para la elaboración y soporte del plan nacional de manejo y conservación de tiburones para aguas ecuatorianas.

Purpose The paper will present the case study of preventive and planned conservation applied to the Royal Villa and Park of Monza, which is one of the pilot projects within the general framework of Monza and Brianza Cultural District. Starting from an in-depth analysis of the Royal Villa, which represents a recent conservation and valorisation intervention developed by both public and private subjects, the purpose of this paper is to define an operative model for the management of complex properties, at communicating good practices for the maintenance of the built heritage and at identifying the priorities for the interventions. Design/methodology/approach The research project foresaw a first collection of data and information related to the previous conservation activities executed upon the case study, the design of a conservation plan in all its parts (technical handbook, conservation programme, economic budget, user handbook) through an information system dedicated to the conservation of built cultural heritage, and its fulfilment. In the meantime, a context analysis of the Royal Villa and Park of Monza was developed, with a specific attention to the diversified historical buildings located in the park. Findings The action research carried out has been evaluated in the framework of upstream perspective theories. This enabled to highlight the importance of an integrated approach; of the need of sharing the collection of data in order to set up evidence-based policies; and of the need to enhance the skills of involved professionals and decision makers. Originality/value A progress in protection measures, the understanding of conservation and valorisation as preventive activities, effectiveness of private business models for maintenance, dissemination of good practices, and creation of a network of local stakeholders.

Samraoui (J Insect Conserv. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-017-9966-2 , 2017) claims that he shows evidence that our conservation plan of Urothemis edwardsii has failed and that natural dispersal was the only cause of the recent rapid range expansion of the species in Northeast Algeria. Here, we show that his analysis is biased, many of his arguments are erroneous and strongly contradictory, many key studies are dismissed, and the few data used as evidence to refute our conclusions rather confirm them. We also provide data to prove that our conservation plan did not cause any harm to the source population by comparing exuviae-based estimation of population size in 2012 and 2016. We discuss the need for future monitoring and management and highlight that the recommendations of Samraoui (J Insect Conserv, 2017) are misleading, and thus are unlikely to bring us closer to an effective long-term conservation of the species in the region. Beyond our criticism, we explain why we should not dismiss the direct and indirect implications of final instar larvae translocation in successful colonization of odonates in particular, which could also be applied to aquatic insects in general.

Conservation management is of increasing importance in ecology as most ecosystems nowadays are essentially managed ecosystems. Conservation managers work within a political-ecological system when they develop and attempt to implement a conservation plan that is designed to meet particular conservation goals. In this article, we develop a decision support tool that can identify a conservation policy for a managed wildlife population that is both sustainable and politically feasible. Part of our tool consists of a simulation model composed of interacting influence diagrams. We build, fit, and use our tool on the case of rhino horn trafficking between South Africa and Asia. Using these diagrams, we show how a rhino poacher's belief system can be modified by such a policy and locate it in a perceived risks-benefits space before and after policy implementation. We statistically fit our model to observations on group actions and rhino abundance. We then use this fitted model to compute a politically feasible conservation policy.

Climate change and human activities cause uncertain changes to species biodiversity by altering their habitat. The uncertainty of climate change requires planners to balance the benefit and cost of making conservation plan. Here optimal protection approach for Lesser White-fronted Goose (LWfG) by coupling Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and Marxan selection were proposed. MPT was used to provide suggested weights of investment for protected area (PA) and reduce the influence of climatic uncertainty, while Marxan was utilized to choose a series of specific locations for PA. We argued that through combining these two commonly used techniques with the conservation plan, including assets allocation and PA chosing, the efficiency of rare bird’s protection would be enhanced. In MPT analyses, the uncertainty of conservation-outcome can be reduced while conservation effort was allocated in Hunan, Jiangxi and Yangtze River delta. In Marxan model, the optimal location for habitat restorations based on existing nature reserve was identified. Clear priorities for the location and allocation of assets could be provided based on this research, and it could help decision makers to build conservation strategy for LWfG.

Mountaintop rupestrian grasslands or campos rupestres are unique ecosystems with high plant biodiversity. The southern Espinhaco mountains in Brazil are particularly important because they currently harbor 255 threatened plant species at risk of extinction owing to overspread farming, mining and uncontrolled fire in the region. Using the best available data on the distribution of these threatened species, distribution of farming and mining activities, and up-to-date data on fire frequency, here we developed a systematic conservation plan for all these species and pinpointed priority regions for taking different conservation actions. We found that it is possible to protect, on average, more than 25% of the threatened species ranges, avoiding sites with extensive use for farming and mining and favoring areas with intensive fire frequency while constraining the management to a relatively small area of only 17% of the region. The analysis accounts for what is already protected within protected areas in the region and is, therefore, complementary to the work already held by the actors and environmental organizations of the region. We offer maps of priority areas with their respective level of protection and suggest conservation actions at different levels of engagement to be implemented in the priority areas. These priority areas are part of a national species recovery plan for the region in Brazil and will likely support stakeholders and decision makers in its application in the forthcoming years.