Changes in forest cover and carbon stocks of the coastal scarp forests of the Wild Coast, South Africa

Land-use intensification and declines in vegetative cover are considered pervasive threats to forests and biodiversity globally. The small extent and high biodiversity of indigenous forests in South Africa make them particularly important. Yet, relatively little is known about their rates of use and change. From analysis of past aerial photos we quantified rates of forest cover change in the Matiwane forests of the Wild Coast, South Africa, between 1942 and 2007, as well as quantified above- and belowground (to 0.5 m depth) carbon stocks based on a composite allometric equation derived for the area. Rates of forest conversion were spatially variable, with some areas showing no change and others more noticeable changes. Overall, the net reduction was 5.2% (0.08% p.a.) over the 65-year period. However, the rate of reduction has accelerated with time. Some of the reduction was balanced by natural reforestation into formerly cleared areas, but basal area, biomass and carbon stocks are still low in the reforested areas. The total carbon stock was highest in intact forests (311.7 ± 23.7 Mg C ha−1), followed by degraded forests (73.5 ± 12.3 Mg C ha−1) and least in regrowth forests (51.2 ± 6.2 Mg C ha−1). The greatest contribution to total carbon stocks was soil carbon, contributing 54% in intact forests, and 78% and 68% in degraded and regrowth forests, respectively. The Matiwane forests store 4.78 Tg C, with 4.7 Tg C in intact forests, 0.06 Tg C in degraded forests and 0.02 Tg C in regrowth forests. The decrease in carbon stocks within the forests as a result of the conversion of the forest area to agricultural fields was 0.19 Tg C and approximately 0.0003 Tg C was released through harvesting of firewood and building timber

Local people and conservation officials’ perceptions on relationships and conflicts in South African protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are often conflict-ridden, but conflict resolution mechanisms are often constrained by little appreciation of the perceptions of the principal agents (PA managers and local communities) about such conflicts. Getting local people’s support in PA management efforts is considered important for achieving conservation and livelihood goals. Using data from 13 nature reserves in South Africa, this study explores the perceptions of reserve managers and local communities about their relationships and the existence and underlying causes of conflicts. The findings showed sharp contrasts in perceptions between reserve managers and local communities. Reserve managers generally perceived that there were no conflicts with local communities and that their relationship with them was positive while local communities thought otherwise, claiming conflicts were centred around restricted access to PAs, lack of benefits from PAs and communication problems. These findings have profound implications for conservation, especially considering the importance of getting local people’s support in PA management

Natural archives of long-range transported contamination at the remote lake Letšeng-la Letsie, Maloti Mountains, Lesotho

Naturally accumulating archives, such as lake sediments and wetland peats, in remote areas may be used to identify the scale and rates of atmospherically deposited pollutant inputs to natural ecosystems. Co-located lake sediment and wetland cores were collected from Letšeng-la Letsie, a remote lake in the Maloti Mountains of southern Lesotho. The cores were radiometrically dated and analysed for a suite of contaminants including trace metals and metalloids (Hg, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn, As), fly-ash particles, stable nitrogen isotopes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated flame retardants (PBDEs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). While most trace metals showed no recent enrichment, mercury, fly-ash particles, high molecular weight PAHs and total PCBs showed low but increasing levels of contamination since c.1970, likely the result of long-range transport from coal combustion and other industrial sources in the Highveld region of South Africa. However, back-trajectory analysis revealed that atmospheric transport from this region to southern Lesotho is infrequent and the scale of contamination is low. To our knowledge, these data represent the first palaeolimnological records and the first trace contaminant data for Lesotho, and one of the first multi-pollutant historical records for southern Africa. They therefore provide a baseline for future regional assessments in the context of continued coal combustion in South Africa through to the mid-21st century

Social dynamics of values, taboos and perceived threats around sacred groves in Kurdistan, Iran

Gefördert durch den Publikationsfonds der Universität Kasse

Amphibian concentrations in desiccating mud may determine the breeding season of the white-shouldered ibis (pseudibis davisoni )

Abstract.-Many waterbirds reproduce seasonally in response to fluctuations in food supply. White-shouldered Ibises (Pseudibis davisoni) breed during the dry, water-drawdown season, but, unlike other waterbirds, they do not take advantage of prey concentrated in diminishing pools. To understand how this species successfully feeds and breeds at the driest time of year, we studied its habitat use and diet, and the habitat conditions that influence intake rates and prey density at waterholes. Foraging observations, prey sampling, and landscape-scale assessment of habitat availability were undertaken (at 7, 47, and 58 waterholes, respectively) over two breeding seasons. Although they rarely foraged in water, the birds used all exposed substrates, feeding on amphibians and small invertebrates. Amphibians were the most abundant prey in waterhole substrates and accounted for 81% of overall biomass intake. Both intake rates and density of amphibian prey biomass were greater in dry than in moist or saturated substrates. Intake rates and density of prey biomass changed little through the dry season, but exposed substrate extent increased by 74%. The White-shouldered Ibis's use of dry waterhole substrates to exploit seasonally concentrated prey is unusual among large waterbirds, and we suggest that its breeding season may be timed to coincide with receding water levels and increasing substrate exposure. Estimated prey requirements of a breeding pair over the nesting period were equivalent to nearly two-thirds of amphibian biomass found at large waterholes. Each pair may therefore require multiple waterholes to overcome prey depletion and breed successfully, which is consistent with the noncolonial dispersed distribution of nesting pairs