Certification of sustainable palm oil as organised through the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil is based on a simplified understanding of the global palm oil value chain – according to which instructions about production practices can be directly translated from the palm oil mill to the primary producer. The reality of palm oil provision is much more complex than this as is shown in the case of Thailand. On the basis of qualitative field study in Southern Thailand this paper clarifies that intermediary stages, such as the collection of oil palm fruit bunches at the ramp, play a key role in the organisation of the chain. The fluidity and complexity of the palm oil flow at the local level complicates the promotion of sustainability through certification. Global and national stakeholders, such as processing and trading firms, non‐governmental organisations and national governments, should therefore open this black box of local dynamics to more effectively contribute to sustainability in palm oil supply. 相似文献
Due to a recruitment decline of more than 90% in 30 years, the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) has been classified by IUCN as critically endangered. Although the species has been studied intensively to obtain knowledge to improve management, studies about the resident yellow stage are relatively scarce. In this study, 52 large female yellow eels were tagged with acoustic transmitters in a Belgian polder system and tracked by a network of 23 automatic listening stations. We studied both circadian and seasonal movement patterns and the effect of environmental variables on these patterns. Large female yellow eels were most active at night in late summer and early autumn. A generalised linear mixed model showed that their movement is only slightly influenced by environmental variables. Moreover, as yellow eels show high site fidelity (i.e., the majority was detected only in the habitat type of their catch‐release location), they do not encounter many human‐induced connectivity problems in polder systems, which makes these systems highly suitable as eel growth habitat. These results can contribute to an effective eel management regarding habitat protection and restoration. 相似文献
The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool of the Northern Hemisphere contains about half of the global SOC stored in soils. As the Arctic is exceptionally sensitive to global warming, temperature rise and prolonged summer lead to deeper thawing of permafrost‐affected soils and might contribute to increasing greenhouse gas emissions progressively. To assess the overall feedback of soil organic carbon stocks (SOCS) to global warming in permafrost‐affected regions the spatial variation in SOCS at different environmental scales is of great interest. However, sparse and unequally distributed soil data sets at various scales in such regions result in highly uncertain estimations of SOCS of the Northern Hemisphere and here particularly in Greenland. The objectives of this study are to compare and evaluate three controlling factors for SOCS distribution (vegetation, landscape, aspect) at two different scales (local, regional). The regional scale reflects the different environmental conditions between the two study areas at the coast and the ice margin. On the local scale, characteristics of each controlling factor in form of defined units (vegetation units, landscape units, aspect units) are used to describe the variation in the SOCS over short distances within each study area, where the variation in SOCS is high. On a regional scale, we investigate the variation in SOCS by comparing the same units between the study areas. The results show for both study areas that SOCS are with 8 kg m?2 in the uppermost 25 cm and 16 kg m?2 in the first 100 cm of the soil, i.e., 3 to 6 kg m?2 (37.5%) higher than existing large scale estimations of SOCS in West Greenland. Our approach allows to rank the scale‐dependent importance of the controlling factors within and between the study areas. However, vegetation and aspect better explain variations in SOCS than landscape units. Therefore, we recommend vegetation and aspect for determining the variation in SOCS in West Greenland on both scales. 相似文献
Oxygen diffusion rate (ODR) and redox potential (EH) are quantitative indices representing oxygen availability and redox status in soils, which is valuable information for better understanding causes and effects of soil aeration. Because these indices are spatially and temporally highly variable, continuous measurements and adequate numbers of repetitions are essential for accurate in situ monitoring. Here, we present a new, fully automated recording system for in situ measurements where ODR and EH are measured at the same platinum electrode. The conflict between electrode polarization for ODR and the resulting biased EH readings is solved by reducing the polarization time and introducing a recovery interval between two consecutive measurement cycles. The shorter polarization time ensures accurate EH readings. It also results in moderately overestimated ODR readings, but this can be corrected before data analysis. The recovery interval restricts temporal resolution of the EH‐ODR data pairs to 8 h. We illustrate the use of the system with measurements in a field experiment in Zürich, Switzerland. ODR curves at different depths ran roughly parallel to the corresponding curves of O2 concentration in soil air but ODR was much more sensitive to precipitation. Low ODR was a necessary but not a sufficient condition for declining EH. EH ran parallel to O2 concentration in soil air rather than to ODR. The fully automated system allows for time series of replicate measurements in multifactorial field studies with reasonable labor requirements. It may be particularly suitable for studies examining the effects of soil tillage, compaction, and irrigation, where structure‐related soil properties such as porosity, gas permeability, and soil aeration play a dominant role. 相似文献
Aglime application can promote carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from acid soils. However, the controlling mechanisms are still poorly understood, particularly the role of fertiliser-ammonium oxidation. This study therefore assessed the effects of aglime on soil inorganic C (SIC)– and soil organic C (SOC)–derived CO2 emissions from acid soils amended with ammonium.
Materials and methods
Ammonium at three N rates [0% (A0), 0.005% (A1), and 0.2% (A2) w/w] and labelled aglime (Ca13CO3,13C 5.94% aa) at three rates [0% (L1), 0.067% (L1), and 0.392% (L2) w/w] were applied to two contrasting acid soils (Nariva series, Mollic Fluvaquents; and Piarco series, Typic Kanhaplaquults) and incubated in 1-l media bottles for 23 days. A calcareous soil (Princes Town series, Aquentic Eutrudepts, carbonate δ13C of ??4.79‰) was included as a control that only received ammonium at the three rates.
Results and discussion
The application of ammonium at the A2 rate significantly (p?<?0.05) increased cumulative SIC-CO2 emissions by 15.8 and 27.1% in comparison to the A0 rate for the Nariva and Piarco soils, respectively, when they were limed at the L2 rate. The lower rate of ammonium (A1), however, had no effect on these emissions, which suggests that enough acidity may not have been generated at this rate to significantly enhance the release of SIC-CO2. Furthermore, no effect of ammonium rates was observed on SIC-CO2 emissions from the calcareous soil, which refutes the hypothesis that this amendment plays a greater role in regulating these emissions from calcareous soils compared with acid soils. Also, in contradiction to another hypothesis, the aglime-induced priming effect on SOC decomposition was more apparent in the low-C Piarco soil. This effect was also significantly (p?<?0.05) greater at the L2 rate (above the lime requirement for Piarco), which demonstrates the negative impact that over-liming could have on the sequestration of C in this soil. Our results also showed that ammonium addition may also help to reduce the magnitude of the aglime-induced priming effect in the Piarco soil when it is not over-limed.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings of this study suggest that ammonium fertiliser broadcast at conventional rates may not serve as a significant regulator of SIC-CO2 emissions from highly to moderately acidic soils amended with aglime. Our findings also indicate a need to consider nitrogen management as an important factor regulating the effects of aglime on SOC-CO2 emissions.
Landscape Ecology - The increasing availability of lidar data and structure from motion processing techniques is moving pattern metric research toward the development of three-dimensional (3D)... 相似文献
To examine the role of longitudinal connectivity on the spatial and temporal dynamics of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), we quantified movement and population dynamics following installation of the Landsburg Dam fishway, Cedar River, WA, USA. Mountain whitefish is widely distributed, poorly studied and not the focus of restoration. Before the fishway, mountain whitefish were not observed above the dam. Here, we focus on snorkel counts collected at reach and mesohabitat (e.g. pools) scales over 11 summers on the 20‐km above‐dam segment following restoration. A camera within the ladder provided number, size and movement timing, thereby informing on behaviour and recolonisation. Segment‐scale abundance increased following fish passage reaching an asymptote in 7 years, and mountain whitefish were detected throughout the main stem in 10 years. Annual movement through the ladder increased over time and was positively correlated with instream abundance and discharge, but negatively correlated with water temperature. About 60% of fish movements occurred in spring and early summer, potentially for foraging opportunities. Reach‐scale abundance peaked between 7 and 10 km from the dam; deep, cool (~10.6 to 11.6°C) conditions characterised these reaches. At the mesohabitat scale, mountain whitefish detection increased with depth and velocity after accounting for distance from the dam. Our results show how restoring longitudinal connectivity allowed this nontarget species to colonise newly available habitat. Their response supports the critical roles of longitudinal connectivity and environmental conditions, that manifest at different spatial scales, in dictating how freshwater fish respond to habitat disturbance. 相似文献