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Valuing biodiversity benefits of pest and disease management: Three case studies
No full textDesigning economically efficient pest and disease management programmes requires a consideration of the benefits and costs of management implementation. While measurement of costs is relatively straightforward to obtain through observed market transactions, a lack of corresponding market transaction data makes valuing environmental outcomes in economic terms more difficult. In these situations, economists can utilise a suite of non-market valuation(NMV) method to generate values that can be consistently compared to costs. This presentation will describe the application of NMV to inform the extent of benefits in three case studies, with the objective of illustrating their flexibility in application to varying contexts demonstrating their usefulness to supporting management decisions.
The first example concerns management of bovine tuberculous in New Zealand(NZ). Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of cattle (and deer) that can also affect humans and was once a major threat to NZ’s dairy, beef and deer industries. However, intensive management of TB by testing and culling of farmed cattle and deer, and intensive control of Australian brushtail possums, the main wildlife host of the disease, have resulted in a >95% reduction in TB levels in livestock since 1994. Here we present an application of a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) used to quantify biodiversity benefits of the control programme to NZ residents.
The second example concerns Myrtle Rust incursion in NZ. Myrtle rust is a serious fungal disease that affects plants in the myrtle family. NZ is home to 350 susceptible tree and plant species including iconic species, like the native pōhutukawa, mānuka and rata, and popular introduced plants including feijoa, bottle brush and blue gum. Severe infestations can kill affected plants and have long-term impacts on flowering and reproduction, and the regeneration of young plants and seedlings. Here we present an application of a DCE used to identify and measure NZ residents preferences for outcomes of myrtle rust control management.
The third example concerns the biocontrol of European wasp in Australia. Established pests such as the European wasp (Vespula germanica) are often overlooked as candidates for management programmes because the use of traditional surveillance and control techniques over very large areas becomes uneconomic. Use of biological control agents that persist in the environment is usually the only economically feasible option. Here we present the application of Benefit Transfer method valuing environmental benefits as part of a decision analysis model evaluating the potential for biocontrol management options
Classifying garbage for improving well-being in rural People’s Republic of China
No full textThe amount of waste produced in the rural areas of many developing Asian countries has increased dramatically over the last 50 years. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) generates the most domestic waste (garbage) globally. Official data show that the quantity of garbage collected and transported in the PRC rose from 25.08 million tons in 1979 to 316.60 million tons in 2021 (MHURD 2022). More strikingly, historically known to generate relatively small amounts of garbage, rural areas are driving the PRC’s “garbage siege” (Zheng et al. 2022). In 2021, the total volume of rural garbage in the PRC reached an alarming 561 million tons (Insight and Info Consulting 2022), while only a relatively small fraction (around 40%–70%) of it was managed properly (Wang and Hao 2020)
Using drone technology for environmental compliance
No full textThis article looks at the views of farmers, rural professionals and regulators on drone use for environmental compliance purposes. It also discusses the benefits they see in this type of technology and their concerns
Irish Mormons: Reconciling Identity in Global Mormonism by Hazel O'Brien
No full textThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly called Mormonism, is not normally associated with Ireland. As a nation of tea drinkers, not being able to have a cup of tea does not seem Irish. However, Irish Mormons would claim they are Irish, albeit with different beliefs. Religion and its intersection with identity is at the core of this book
The marketing academic/practitioner gap in Australasia
No full textThis paper presents the findings of an exploratory study exploring qualitative perspectives on academic marketing research (AMR) by commercial marketing practitioners (CMP) in Australasia. The study found that CMPs have mixed understandings of what AMR is, and that use of AMR in practice is limited. AMR is sometimes used to justify practice, improve decision making or to keep abreast of the latest developments in marketing thought and practice, but CMPs are more likely to rely in quickly digestible sources with questionable credibility, like blogs. CMPs also face several utilitarian barriers to using AMR such as time and money. The results indicate there is an opportunity for marketing education to integrate use of AMR for practice better and for marketing scholars to rethink how they are disseminating AMR. Utilising basic marketing principles to increase the impact of AMR may be useful
Extreme weather events and credit demand
No full textAnthropogenic climate change has increased the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. The agricultural sector is especially vulnerable, with smallholder farmers often lacking the wherewithal to cope with weather shocks. Thus, providing farmers access to credit is vital for building financial resilience in rural communities. Accordingly, this chapter analyzes the linkages between extreme weather events and apple farmers’ demand for credit in six counties of China’s Shaanxi province using a double-hurdle model. The results show that extreme weather events are associated with both an increase in the likelihood of farmers borrowing and in the amount borrowed. However, the demand for credit in response to different categories of weather events varies. Droughts do not affect credit demand, but frosts are associated with a rise in the amount borrowed and the probability of farmers borrowing. We find differences in credit demand across the six counties. Furthermore, older farmers are less likely to borrow than younger ones, and self-reported health status is negatively associated with the likelihood of borrowing – farmers who perceive themselves as healthy are less likely to borrow than those who do not
New Zealand Wakatipu white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): past and future management : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy at Lincoln University
Get PDFI attempt to highlight the large gap in knowledge required to pursue New Zealand’s new approach to deer management. This approach requires identifying a complex array of species and site specific factors that potentially influence population success, impacts, value, and management for one of New Zealand’s smallest deer herds, the Wakatipu white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
White-tailed deer in North America (and in introduced populations around the world) have been researched extensively, providing an unparalleled base of knowledge to review factors that may affect Wakatipu white-tailed deer population dynamics, including habitat quality, disease, hunter harvest and interspecies competition. An overlapping spatial mosaic of limiting factors that may influence white-tailed deer population success across the Wakatipu range were identified. Further research to determine the impact these factors have on the Wakatipu white-tailed deer population, individually and collectively across the landscape, is requried to support this herd’s management.
Understanding how deer populations utilise local habitat is a critical first step in designing deer management plans. I used GPS telemetry technology to identify habitat use of Wakatipu white-tailed deer. Initial disturbance to deer behaviour is commonly observed following capture and handling for collar placement. We compared the behaviour of ten deer; four resident and six translocated into a novel, geographically disjunct area, over 50 days following helicopter capture and GPS collar placement. I identified the point at which behaviour disturbed by the capture deer returned to a stable nature.
Habitat use by collared deer was patchy across the landscape and did not vary between resident and translocated groups. These results suggest the probability of habitat use could be mapped to predict the presence/absence of Wakatipu white-tailed deer across the wider landscape, thus informing those areas where management and monitoring of Wakatipu white-tailed deer and their impacts on the environment should be focused.
A factor limiting population success unique to New Zealand was identified. Intensive ground-based searches for white-tailed deer carcasses were conducted in the Dart Valley/Routeburn catchments following the aerial application of 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) containing cereal baits as part of a predator control program. Frequent predator control operations will likely affect the sustainable hunting of Wakatipu white-tailed deer and growth in their population.
The efficacy of two deer repellents for repelling captive white-tailed deer from consumption of nontoxic cereal baits was assessed. Both repellents significantly decreased bait consumption and I observed clear displays of aversion to repellent baits by captive deer. Ten GPS collared wild white-tailed deer were then monitored following a predator control operation using one of the deer repellents; EDR. One collared deer was poisoned following the operation confirming that EDR is not 100% effective. To support management for hunting, the most effective available deer repellent should be used in future predator control operations over the Wakatipu white-tailed deer range.
Deer management plan development requires an in-depth understanding of governing legislation, population management tools and monitoring techniques. I outlined the status of these pertaining to deer management in New Zealand and identify a range of opportunities and challenges within each for developing a management plan for the Wakatipu white-tailed deer herd. Many of these are related to policy development and strategic planning, funding, and implementation processes. Also, monitoring of the Wakatipu white-tailed deer population and its environment needs to be developed from scratch.
Overall, I highlight the significant research required to pursue New Zealand’s new approach to deer management. A question remains, who undertakes this work and who pays for it
‘You are absolutely indifferent to the call of your king’: Horse racing, war and politics in New Zealand, 1914–1918
No full textThis volume of wide-ranging essays by sport historians and sociologists examines the complex relations of war, peace and sport through a series of case studies from South and North America, Europe, North Africa, Asia and New Zealand
Riparian saltwater intrusion: implications, dynamics, and vulnerability under sea level rise : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
Get PDFSurface water bodies connected to the ocean, such as estuarine rivers, are crucial pathways for saltwater intrusion (SI, i.e., the displacement of freshwater by saltwater in an aquifer) far inland of the coast, presenting one of the most immediate challenges posed by relative sea level rise (SLR). However, SI from estuarine rivers (forthwith riparian SI) has received little attention compared to SI at the coast. Shallow groundwater salinisation can prematurely deteriorate co-existing municipal assets such as subsurface infrastructure and roads, salinize deeper wells under downward hydraulic gradients, impact wastewater treatment plant operations, and create unfavourable living environments for fresh groundwater-dependent species. This thesis aims to improve the understanding of riparian SI implications, dynamics, and vulnerability under SLR in an urban setting. This research was undertaken in the low-lying coastal city of Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, mostly built on drained swampland.
In the second chapter, shallow groundwater salinity was measured at high resolution, mapped, and interpolated across the city. Areas with the highest groundwater salinity were centred on a spit of dunes between an estuary and the ocean and inside the meander of an estuarine river. The municipal assets located within brackish groundwater areas were highlighted, including: (i) stormwater and wastewater pipes made of steel-reinforced concrete that are vulnerable to premature damage when exposed to chloride, particularly under wetting-drying cycles and (ii) 41 parks and reserves totalling 236 ha, where salt intolerant species that are exposed to groundwater can be at risk. Additionally, the salinity and chloride concentration of wastewater have not been regularly monitored in the city’s wastewater treatment plant, thus presenting a vulnerability. The vertical hydraulic gradient between the shallow aquifer and the gravel aquifer underneath was upward at two locations near brackish groundwater zones. Therefore, the deeper aquifer used for water supply was not at risk of downward salinisation during the period assessed. This chapter contributes to the literature by linking shallow groundwater salinisation to its implications on municipal assets, which can become increasingly vulnerable under climate change and intensifying anthropogenic pressure.
The third chapter investigates riparian SI dynamics in the field via time series measurements of river and groundwater freshwater head and specific conductance (SC) at two transects perpendicular to an estuarine river, focused on a dry summer period. Discrete Fourier transform confirmed the tidal influence in the river and groundwater freshwater head and SC, with the most saline bore showing the strongest tidal signal. Cross-correlation analysis of river and groundwater freshwater heads showed very strong relationships with varying time lags across sites. River-aquifer freshwater head gradients fluctuated with tides, resulting in a cycle of SI (increase in groundwater SC) and saltwater retreat (decrease in groundwater SC) with various time delays, which can be driven by cyclic flow processes. Steeper river-aquifer freshwater head gradients and fresher groundwater were found on the outside of the river meander compared to the inside. Future climatic and anthropogenic stresses can increase the occurrence of negative freshwater head gradients, which can result in more groundwater salinisation.
The fourth chapter mapped riparian SI vulnerability by creating a new SI vulnerability tier system based on surface water salinity, surface water-groundwater freshwater head gradients, and the physically-based analytic solutions of Strack (1976). This new approach was applied in a Geographic Information System framework along 70 km of ocean, estuary, and river margins under current sea level and SLR scenarios. Then, the method was compared to GALDIT-SUSI; a weighted indexing approach that considers surface water bodies as salinity sources but is highly subjective. The main benefit of the SI vulnerability tiers is that it accounts for surface water conditions, e.g., increased river salinity further upstream under SLR, exposing new stretches of the aquifer to saltwater, and increasing SI vulnerability upstream. In comparison, GALDIT-SUSI does not consider surface water behaviour and regarded elevation and groundwater level as the main factors contributing to SI vulnerability. The SI vulnerability tiers approach is more theoretically robust than GALDIT-SUSI. It provides a physically-based, large-scale, relatively low-budget, and rapid screening tool to categorize SI vulnerability from brackish and saline surface water bodies under current and future conditions for further monitoring and management—a gap of national and international relevance
Community type and disturbance type interact to determine disturbance response: Implications for extending the environmental filter metaphor
Get PDFEcological disturbances act as environmental filters by removing species with particular characteristics, resulting in community types associated with different disturbance histories. However, studies to date on community responses to disturbance have neglected the potential for different community assemblages to display different responses. Using lotic invertebrate communities as a study system, this study investigated the influence of community composition on disturbance response. We undertook a 26-h stream channel experiment to test how distinct invertebrate community types (an undisturbed spring community, flood-disturbed community, and agriculture-disturbed community), shaped by specific disturbance histories and characterised by different species with particular functional groups, responded to additional disturbance of varying types and combinations (an undisturbed control, high-flow, nutrients, sediment, and a combined sediment and nutrients treatment). Invertebrate drift was used as a diagnostic tool to assess community responses. Significant three-way interactions were identified for total invertebrate drift, drift of typically sensitive taxa (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) and drift of cased organisms between community type, disturbance type and time, indicating that disturbance history and corresponding community type influenced community response to disturbance. Differing responses to disturbance between community types were often characterised by specific taxa, likely driven by adaptive traits, but also by phenotypic plasticity and altered biotic interactions. Community responses to the multiple disturbance scenario suggested potential for interactive effects, with differing responses potentially driven by species co-tolerance mechanisms. When determining the impacts of disturbance, our results suggest there is insight to be gained from a broader perspective incorporating multiple community types into future research. This approach could also improve management outcomes, facilitating tailored restoration and conservation strategies