ALBERT

Description:    Dry grasslands are one of the most species rich and endangered types of vegetation in Europe. In the Czech Republic, dry grasslands are mainly of anthropogenic origin and were formed as a result of grazing after the clear-cutting of thermophilous oak woods. Gradual changes in the farming landscape throughout the 20th century, particularly in the 1960s, resulted in the abandonment of the relatively infertile habitats of dry grasslands. After abandonment, dry grasslands decline and degrade due to the gradual overgrowth of woody species and expansion of perennial tall grasses. In the year 2000, a grazing management program was introduced in the protected areas within the territory of Prague City to maintain the species diversity of dry grasslands. The responses of the expansive grass species, Arrhenatherum elatius L. and multiple woody species (especially, Prunus spinosa L.) to differences in grazing periods were monitored for over a decade . Grazing in spring through the end of June had the greatest impact on the reduction of A. elatius and woody species. Grazing in the height of summer through autumn did not reduce the cover of these plants, and may support the prosperity of both A. elatius and the woody species due to higher levels of nutrients. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-7 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9819-4 Authors Jiří Dostálek, Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, 252 43 Průhonice, Czech Republic Tomáš Frantík, Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 252 43 Průhonice, Czech Republic Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Eco-hydrological research in arid inland river basins has been a focus of geologists and ecologists as it is crucial for maintaining the sustainable development of socio-economy, particularly in ecologically vulnerable areas. Based on the research work carried out in the Tarim River basin of Xinjiang, northwestern China, this paper summarizes synthetically the climate change and associated responses of water resources in the mountainous area, land use and land cover in the oasis, and plants responding to environmental stresses in the desert area of the river basin. Research gaps, challenges, and future perspectives in the eco-hydrological studies of the Tarim River basin are also discussed. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9823-8 Authors Yaning Chen, State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China Changchun Xu, Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, School of Resources and Environmental Science, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China Yapeng Chen, State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China Yongbo Liu, Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada Weihong Li, State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Foreign and domestic government agencies and other international organizations pursue reforestation programs in rural upper watershed areas of Afghanistan over the past decade to alleviate poverty, combat the insurgency and rehabilitate a depleted forest resource base. Popular programs incorporate cash-for-work to conduct hillside terracing, check dam construction and tree-planting for nut production, fuel wood, timber, dune stabilization, and erosion abatement. Programmatic approaches have varied as a function of accessibility, security and local objectives. Uncertain land tenure and use rights, weak local environmental management capacity, and a focus on agricultural production to meet immediate needs limit interest, nationally and locally. Unreliable security, a lack of high quality tree planting stock, limited technical knowledge and coordination among government agencies, and poor security hamper program expansion. Reforestation success would be most likely where these issues are least acute. The Afghan government should focus on supporting community based natural resource management, developing and disseminating improved conservation tree nursery strategies, and promoting watershed management schemes that incorporate forestry, range management and agronomic production. Reforestation practitioners could benefit from the human and material resources now present as part of the international war effort. Successes and failures encountered in Afghanistan should be considered in order to address similar problems in insecure regions elsewhere when reforestation may help reverse environmental degradation and contribute to broader social stabilization efforts. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9817-6 Authors John W. Groninger, Department of Forestry, Southern Illinois University, Mailcode 4411, Carbondale, 62901-4411 IL, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Groundwater is an important source of water, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where surface water is scarce. Groundwater pollution in these regions is consequently a major concern, especially as pollution control and removal in these resources are not only expensive but at times impossible. It is, therefore, essential to prevent their contamination in the first place by properly identifying vulnerable zones. One method most commonly used for evaluating groundwater pollution is the DRASTIC method, in which the Boolean logic is used to rank and classify the parameters involved. Problems arise, however, in the application of the Boolean logic. In this paper, the fuzzy logic has been used to avoid the problems. For this purpose, three critical cases of minimum, maximum, and mean values have been considered for the net recharge parameter. The process has been performed on the Zayandehrood river basin aquifers. The fuzzy-DRASTIC vulnerability map thus obtained indicates that the western areas of the basin generally have the maximum pollution potential followed by the areas located in the east. The central parts of the study area are found to have a low pollution potential. Finally, two sensitivity analyses are performed to show the significance of each value of the net recharge parameter in the calculation of vulnerability index. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9960-0 Authors Farshad Rezaei, Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran Hamid R. Safavi, Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran Azadeh Ahmadi, Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    A dynamic water balance model is created to examine the effects of different water conservation policies and recycled water use on water demand and supply in a region faced with water shortages and significant population growth, the Las Vegas Valley (LVV). The model, developed using system dynamics approach, includes an unusual component of the water system, return flow credits, where credits are accrued for returning treated wastewater to the water supply source. In LVV, Lake Mead serves as, both the drinking water source and the receiving body for treated wastewater. LVV has a consumptive use allocation from Lake Mead but return flow credits allow the water agency to pull out additional water equal to the amount returned as treated wastewater. This backdrop results in a scenario in which conservation may cause a decline in the available water supply. Current water use in LVV is 945 lpcd (250 gpcd), which the water agency aims to reduce to 752 lpcd (199 gpcd) by 2035, mainly through water conservation. Different conservation policies focused on indoor and outdoor water use, along with different population growth scenarios, are modeled for their effects on the water demand and supply. Major contribution of this study is in highlighting the importance of outdoor water conservation and the effectiveness of reducing population growth rate in addressing the future water shortages. The water agency target to decrease consumption, if met completely through outdoor conservation, coupled with lower population growth rate, can potentially satisfy the Valley’s water demands through 2035. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9965-8 Authors Kamal Qaiser, Atkins, 10509 Professional Circle, Suite 102, Reno, NV 89521, USA Sajjad Ahmad, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, 4505 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA Walter Johnson, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, 4505 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA Jacimaria R. Batista, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, 4505 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Tree inventories are expensive to conduct and update, so every inventory carried out must be maximized. However, increasing the number of constituent parameters increases the cost of performing and updating the inventory, illustrating the need for careful parameter selection. This article reports the results of a systematic expert rating of tree inventories aiming to quantify the relative importance of each parameter. Using the Delphi method, panels comprising city officials, arborists, and academics rated a total of 148 parameters. The total mean score, the top ranking parameters, which can serve as a guide for decision-making at practical level and for standardization of tree inventories, were: Scientific name of the tree species and genera , Vitality , Coordinates , Hazard class , and Identification number. The study also examined whether the different responsibilities and usage of urban tree databases among organizations and people engaged in urban tree inventories affected their prioritization. The results revealed noticeable dissimilarities in the ranking of parameters between the panels, underlining the need for collaboration between the research community and those commissioning, administrating, and conducting inventories. Only by applying such a transdisciplinary approach to parameter selection can urban tree inventories be strengthened and made more relevant. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9973-8 Authors Johan Östberg, Department of Landscape Management, Design and Construction, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden Tim Delshammar, Department of Landscape Management, Design and Construction, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden Björn Wiström, Department of Landscape Management, Design and Construction, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden Anders Busse Nielsen, Department of Landscape Management, Design and Construction, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Many recreation impact studies have focused on summer activities, but the environmental impact of winter recreation is poorly characterized. This study characterizes the impact of snowshoe/cross-country ski compaction and snowmelt erosion on trails. Trail cross-sectional profiles were measured before and after the winter season to map changes in erosion due to winter recreation. Compacted snow on the trail was 30 % more dense than snowpack off the trail before spring melt out. Snow stayed on the trail 7 days longer. Soil and organic material was transported after spring snowmelt with −9.5 ± 2.4 cm 2 total erosion occurring on the trail transects and −3.8 ± 2.4 cm 2 total erosion occurring on the control transect ( P  = 0.046). More material was transported on the trail than on the control, 12.9± 2.4 versus 6.0 ± 2.4 cm 2 ( P  = 0.055), however, deposition levels remained similar on the trail and on the control. Snow compaction from snowshoers and cross-country skiers intensified erosion. Trail gradient was found to be significantly correlated to net changes in material on the trail ( R 2  = 0.89, ρ = −0.98, P  = 0.005). This study provides a baseline, showing that non-motorized winter recreation does impact soil erosion rates but more studies are needed. Trail managers should consider mitigation such as water bars, culverts and avoiding building trails with steep gradients, in order to reduce loss of soils on trails and subsequent sedimentation of streams. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-15 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9963-x Authors Holly Eagleston, Department of Resource Management, Central Washington University, 400 East University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA Charles Rubin, Department of Geological Sciences, Central Washington University, 400 East University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Soil analyses were conducted on home lawns across diverse ecoregions of the U.S. to determine the soil organic carbon (SOC) sink capacity of turfgrass soils. Establishment of lawns sequestered SOC over time. Due to variations in ecoregions, sequestration rates varied among sites from 0.9 Mg carbon (C) ha −1  year −1 to 5.4 Mg C ha −1  year −1 . Potential SOC sink capacity also varied among sites ranging from 20.8 ± 1.0–96.3 ± 6.0 Mg C ha −1 . Average sequestration rate and sink capacity for all sites sampled were 2.8 ± 0.3 Mg C ha −1  year −1 and 45.8 ± 3.5 Mg C ha −1 , respectively. Additionally, the hidden carbon costs (HCC) due to lawn mowing (189.7 kg Ce (carbon equivalent) ha −1  year −1 ) and fertilizer use (63.6 kg Ce ha −1  year −1 ) for all sites totaled 254.3 kg Ce ha −1  year −1 . Considering home lawn SOC sink capacity and HCC, mean home lawn sequestration was completely negated 184 years post establishment. The potential SOC sink capacity of home lawns in the U.S. was estimated at 496.3 Tg C, with HCC of between 2,504.1 Gg Ce year −1 under low management regimes and 7551.4 Gg Ce year −1 under high management. This leads to a carbon-positive system for between 66 and 199 years in U.S. home lawns. More efficient and reduction of C-intensive maintenance practices could increase the overall sequestration longevity of home lawns and improve their climate change mitigation potential. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9967-6 Authors Adam Selhorst, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, The Ohio State University, 422B Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Rattan Lal, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, The Ohio State University, 422B Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Landscape-level green infrastructure creates a network of natural and semi-natural areas that protects and enhances ecosystem services, regenerative capacities, and ecological dynamism over long timeframes. It can also enhance quality of life and certain economic activity. Highways create a network for moving goods and services efficiently, enabling commerce, and improving mobility. A fundamentally profound conflict exists between transportation planning and green infrastructure planning because they both seek to create connected, functioning networks across the same landscapes and regions, but transportation networks, especially in the form of highways, fragment and disconnect green infrastructure networks. A key opportunity has emerged in the United States during the last ten years with the promotion of measures to link transportation and environmental concerns. In this article we examined the potential benefits and challenges of linking landscape-level green infrastructure planning and implementation with integrated transportation planning and highway project development in the United States policy context. This was done by establishing a conceptual model that identified logical flow lines from planning to implementation as well as the potential interconnectors between green infrastructure and highway infrastructure. We analyzed the relationship of these activities through literature review, policy analysis, and a case study of a suburban Maryland, USA landscape. We found that regionally developed and adopted green infrastructure plans can be instrumental in creating more responsive regional transportation plans and streamlining the project environmental review process while enabling better outcomes by enabling more targeted mitigation. In order for benefits to occur, however, landscape-scale green infrastructure assessments and plans must be in place before integrated transportation planning and highway project development occurs. It is in the transportation community’s interests to actively facilitate green infrastructure planning because it creates a more predictable environmental review context. On the other hand, for landscape-level green infrastructure, transportation planning and development is much more established and better funded and can provide a means of supporting green infrastructure planning and implementation, thereby enhancing conservation of ecological function. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9966-7 Authors Daniel J. Marcucci, Department of Geography, East Carolina University, 213 A Brewster, Greenville, NC 27858, USA Lauren M. Jordan, Institute for Coastal Sciences and Policy, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    Conservation Area Management Committees (CAMCs)—the functional decision-making units consisting entirely of local villagers—are grassroots organizations legally established to manage the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in Nepal. These committees suffered due to the decade-long Maoist insurgency, but they survived. The paper attempts to test what factors contributed to their resiliency. For this, I surveyed 30 CAMCs during the summer of 2007 and conducted semi-structured interviews of 190 executive members of the CAMCs and 13 park officials who closely monitor the CAMCs. Regression results showed that the number of leaders ( b  = 0.44, t  = 2.38, P  = .027) was the most critical variable for building the resilience of CAMCs to the Maoist insurgency, i.e., retaining the same function, structure, and identity of the committees. As there were no reported conflicts among leaders and they were involved in negotiations and devising contingency plans, CAMCs actually benefited from having more leaders. Of the three diversity indices, the quadratic terms of age diversity ( b  = −5.42, t  = 1.95, P  = .064) and ethnic diversity ( b  = −4.05, t  = 1.78, P  = .075) had a negative impact on the CAMCs’ resilience. Skill diversity and organizational memory had no significant influence on the CAMCs’ resilience ( t  〈 1.48, P  〉 .10). These results have important implications for building resilience in community-based conservation. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9978-3 Authors Nabin Baral, Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X