10,046 research outputs found
The village of Bombala [cartographic material] county of Wellesley, Maneroo /
No full textCadastral map of Bombala, N.S.W., with relief shown by hachures.; Map 70 from Ferguson Collection.; Signature "W. Meadows Brownrigg".; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-f70; Library copy hand coloured. On verso "B No. 47"
Collembola assemblages of fen meadows in the nature reserve Stroomdallandschap Drentsche Aa (Netherlands) – the preliminary study.
No full textDie Untersuchungen wurden auf Niedermoorwiesen im Naturschutzgebiet „Stroomdallandschap Drentsche Aa“ in den Niederlanden an fünf verschiedenen Stellen durchgeführt, an denen die Düngung eingestellt wurde (1, 5, 10, 25 und 32 Jahre). Es werden die vorläufigen Ergebnisse der Untersuchung der Springschwanz-Gesellschaften in diesen ausgemagerten Niedermoorwiesen dargestellt. Bei allen untersuchtenWiesen ist die Artendiversität, gemessen nach dem Shannon-Wiener-Index, sehr gering. Die Abundanzen und der Artenreichtum zeigen die Tendenz, während der ersten 25 Jahren nach Einstellen der Düngung anzusteigen, während sie nach 32 Jahren abfallen.The studies were carried out in fen meadows in the nature reserve Stroomdallandschap Drentsche Aa (Netherlands) at 5 sites differing in the period after cessation of fertilisation (1, 5, 10, 25 and 32 years). The preliminary analysis of changes in the Collembola assemblages in restored fen-meadows is presented. In all studied sites the species diversity measured by Shannon-Wiener index was very low. The abundance and species richness show the tendency to incerase with time during the first 25 years of restoration and to decline in meadows that had not been fertilised for 32 years
Bird communities and vegetation on Swedish wet meadows
No full textWet meadows in Sweden currently depend on management by grazing to maintain habitats for various breeding and migrating birds. However, due to ceased cattle farming management by mowing could be an option for restoration and conservation of wet meadows. The general aim of this thesis is to analyse effects of different management regimes (mowing and grazing), landscape composition and flooding on inland wet meadow bird fauna and flora. Five wet meadow areas in southern Sweden were used for a four-year survey of breeding birds and environmental variables. Habitat openness was the most important factor for bird community composition. Species preferring open meadows decreased strongly in abundance at small amounts of forest, suggesting that clearing of woodlands could be important. The bird community was also strongly related to the amount of flooding. Effects of management were weaker, but several species showed positive associations with swards of intermediate height (5-30 cm), which are correlated to mowing with late season grazing. In addition, measures for restoring water table variation also need to be considered. Conservation of species dependent on continuous management (yearly grazing, mowing and late season grazing) and short swards should be targeted to large open meadows. Corncrakes preferred unmanaged meadows with tall vegetation, suggesting that mowing at intervals of a few years could be appropriate. Yellow Wagtails are likely to have higher breeding success in mowed than in grazed sites due to lack of nest destruction by livestock. The main gradients affecting distribution of vascular plants correlated to soil fertility and moist. Bird species associated with weak or no management correlated positively to nutrient levels, soil reaction, sward height and litter depth. In contrast, the assembly of bird species associated with continuous management, showed fewer associations to the sward variables, although their abundance was positively associated with abundance of forbs. Different mowing regimes may be a useful tool for management of meadow sward heterogeneity
Recovery of donor meadows of posidonia sinuosa and posidonia australis contributes to sustainable seagrass transplantation
No full textDonor meadow recovery is important in deciding whether removal of material from natural seagrass meadows is a sustainable activity. Thus an investigation into meadow regrowth was undertaken as part of a large-scale seagrass rehabilitation effort in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Several plug extraction configurations were examined in Posidonia sinuosa and Posidonia australis meadows to monitor shoot growth into plug scars. No significant differences in shoot growth between extraction configurations were observed, and both species increased their shoot numbers over two years, with P. sinuosa showing a significantly better recovery rate than P. australis. P. sinuosa shoot recovery into extracted areas was 2.2 0.1 shoots over 24 months, similar to shoot changes in controls (2.3 shoots over the same period). P. australis shoot recovery for each configuration was 0.8 0.3 shoots in 24 months compared with 1.5 shoots in the controls. Based on the number of regrowing shoots, the predicted recovery time of a meadow is estimated at 4 years for P. sinuosa and three years for P. australis. Different plug extraction configurations do not appear to affect meadow recovery, and it can be concluded that established meadows of both species are sustainable providers of planting units for rehabilitation measures
Traditional versus sprinkler irrigation of mountain hay meadows in the Valais : consequences for biodiversity
No full textSemi-natural grasslands including hay meadows belong to the most species-rich habitats in central Europe and are therefore of high conservation value. The high biodiversity of these grasslands has been maintained for many centuries through the regular disturbance by traditional management practices. In the Valais, an arid mountain region of Switzerland, traditional management of hay meadows includes irrigation by open water channels. In the past decades, however, the traditional irrigation technique was increasingly replaced by more efficient sprinkler-irrigation systems or irrigation was stopped on marginal and poorly accessible areas. Within the scope of this thesis, four studies were conducted to investigate different aspects of these changes in meadow irrigation.
The aim of the first study was to examine whether land-use abandonment resulting from the cessation of irrigation influenced the biodiversity of hay meadows in the Valais. For this purpose, plant and gastropod surveys were conducted in three serial stages of succession (hay meadows, early abandoned meadows and young forests). Meadow abandonment resulted in an increase in gastropod species richness and a loss of plant and gastropod species characteristic for open grassland habitats. Furthermore, functional traits of plants (plant height, the start of seed shedding and the type of reproduction) and gastropods (shell size) were affected by abandonment.
Traditional meadow irrigation is assumed to distribute the water more heterogeneously than sprinkler irrigation, which might affect meadow biodiversity as well as the distribution of plants in a small scale. The aim of the second study was to examine whether the change from traditional to sprinkler irrigation affected the local biodiversity (plants and gastropods) of hay meadows in the Valais. A high plant species richness was found in the hay meadows investigated. The diversity and composition of plant and gastropod species did not differ between traditionally and sprinkler-irrigated meadows. However, the installation of sprinkler systems resulted in an increase in the grass-to-forb ratio and affected the leaf distribution and the start of seed shedding in plants.
The third study aimed to investigate whether the change in irrigation technique affected the small-scale distribution of plants and soil characteristics in these hay meadows. Three sampling plots consisting of 13 subplots of increasing size were installed in traditionally and sprinkler-irrigated meadows to assess plant species richness and soil characteristics within subplots. The type of irrigation technique did not affect the shape of the plant species-area relationship. Furthermore, spatial autocorrelation in the soil characteristics examined was low and their small-scale distributions were mostly not influenced by the irrigation technique. These findings indicate a pronounced small-scale heterogeneity in the distribution of plant species and soil characteristics in the hay meadows investigated. Therefore, as practiced in our study areas, the distribution of water by sprinklers might be less homogenous than commonly assumed.
The abandonment of traditional management practices of semi-natural grasslands is suggested to result in a reduced landscape heterogeneity, which in turn might contribute to the loss of local plant diversity. The fourth study aimed to investigate whether the change from traditional to sprinkler irrigation resulted in alterations in the surrounding landscape of species-rich hay meadows. Furthermore, we asked if plant diversity of differently irrigated meadows is influenced by landscape composition and the heterogeneity of the surrounding landscape. Landscape composition was more diverse for traditionally than for sprinkler-irrigated meadows, but did not differ prior to the installation of sprinklers. A diverse small-scale landscape composition in the close surroundings of hay meadows had a positive effect on the number of generalists but not on total plant species richness or the number of specialists. Finally, sprinkler-irrigated meadows had an increased number of generalist plant species.
The findings of this thesis suggest that the installation of sprinklers did not affect the local species richness of plants and gastropods in the hay meadows investigated. Nevertheless, the change in irrigation technique influenced functional aspects of plant diversity (plant traits, grass-to-forb ratio and generalist species). Furthermore, the installation of sprinklers was associated with a homogenization of the landscape, which may eventually result in an intensification of land use. For the conservation of the biodiversity of these hay meadows it is recommended to maintain the relatively extensive irrigation and management practices
BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR TOOLS TO MONITOR Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile MEADOWS
No full textPosidonia oceanica (L.) Delile is the dominant endemic seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea, where it forms highly productive meadows. Worldwide seagrass monitoring is an issue of increasing interest in research, management and policies, due to the ecological role of these ecosystems, their global decline and their ecological indicator characteristics. The choice and combination of measurable, sensitive and integrative descriptors that adequately reflect the environmental alterations is a challenge for the whole scientific community.
This work has been devoted to the identification and development of different generation of "diagnostic" tools to be used in monitoring of the seagrass meadows conservation status. These tools are based on biochemical and molecular approaches that can provide early and reliable information on the ecophysiological status of plants (e.g. phenol determination, proteomics, RAPD genetic analysis, oxidative stress markers, etc.)
Results provide evidences of their convenient application as markers of the health status of P. oceanica and/or other seagrass meadows; some of them are early-warning indicators of plant stress responses. Furthermore, the proposed tools are standardizable, provide detailed information about physiological status of the plants and can be integrated to the traditional methods of investigation.
The approach proposed by this research project makes available several tools to establish the linkage between stressor and seagrass response and to better understand the effects of complex disturbances
Meadows Museum Celebrating 50 Years Panel Discussion
No full textA conversation moderated by Lee Cullum, host of KERA\u27s CEO, about the history of the Meadows Museum, featuring important figures instrumental to the formation and growth of the institution over its fifty-year history. Panelists include William B. Jordan, Founding Director from 1967-1981; Irene Martín, Director ad interim from 1981-1984; Pamela Patton, Adjunct Curator from 1994-2000; John Lunsford, Director from 1996-2001; Mark Roglán, former Senior Curator and currently the Linda P. and William A. Custard Director since 2006; and Robert Meadows, sone of the Museum\u27s founder, Algur H. Meadows.https://scholar.smu.edu/meadowsmuseum_program/1006/thumbnail.jp
Amphibian diversity in Amazonian flooded forests of Peru
No full textGlobal biodiversity is currently facing the sixth mass extinction, with extinction rates at least 100 times higher than background levels. The Amazon Basin has the richest amphibian fauna in South America, but there remain significant gaps in our knowledge of the drivers of diversity in this region and how amphibian assemblages are responding to environmental change.
Surveys were conducted in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve (PSNR) in Amazonian Peru, with a view to (1) comparing assemblage structure on floating meadows and adjacent terrestrial habitats; (2) determining the predictors of diversity in these habitats; and (3) exploring the effects of disturbance and seasonal flooding on diversity measures. Eighty-one species of amphibians have been recorded in these habitats since 1996 representing 11 families and three orders. In 2012-2013 22 anuran species used the floating meadow habitat, of which 10 were floating meadow specialists. These specialists were predominantly hylids which breed on floating meadows all the year round. Floating meadows therefore host an assemblage of species which is different to that found in adjacent terrestrial areas which are subject to seasonal flooding. Floating meadows enhance the amphibian diversity of the region, and rafts of vegetation that break away and disperse frogs downstream may explain the wide distribution of hylids within the Amazon Basin.
Fourteen different reproductive modes were represented within the 54 anuran species observed. The number of reproductive modes present was influenced by localised disturbance and seasonal flooding. Diversity increased in the low water period, with hylids breeding in temporary pools. When the forest is inundated most species disperse away from the flood waters.
Disturbance, habitat change, emerging diseases and climate change would likely lead to changes in species composition and assemblage structure rather than wholescale extinctions. However, further studies are needed to evaluate long-term consequences of synergistic environmental change
Wooded meadows of Estonia: conservation efforts for agricultural landscape
No full textWe provide an overview of the amount and ecological condition of wooded meadows throughout Estonia after significant changes in agriculture in the second part of 20th century. We also present the first attempt to estimate the success of recent conservation efforts for wooded meadows. Our analysis is based on recent exhaustive inventories. We found that Estonia, despite a decrease of the area in wooded meadows by two orders of magnitude during the 20th century, still has about 8400 ha remaining of which approximately 5800 ha are meadows with, at the least, an intermediate conservation value. The latter is directly dependent on mowing regime. Efforts to preserve wooded meadows include establishment of protected areas and financial support for mowing. The national conservation subsidy has been useful and supportive for wooded meadows, however the total amount of this subsidy has been small compared to the area that could be supported. The much larger funds of agri-environmental subsidies have largely not been available for wooded meadows. Moreover, there has been no record keeping about subsidisation of semi-natural grasslands using agricultural support schemes. Although the preservation of some good examples of wooded meadows in Estonia seems guaranteed, further degradation of this valuable habitat type on a national scale is very probable.vo
R. B. Meadows, Jr. and Ross Barnett
No full textGulfport Mayor R. B. Meadows, Jr. (left) awards Governor Ross Barnett a ship\u27s wheel as a symbol of the formal transfer of the Port of Gulfport to state ownership, 1961.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mss-rand-papers/1225/thumbnail.jp
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