39 research outputs found
Contrasting influences of inundation and land use on the rate of floodplain restoration
This study examined the assisted natural restoration of native vegetation in an Australian floodplain wetland where flows were reinstated and the river was reconnected to the floodplain, following cessation of agricultural cultivation.
Extant vegetation was surveyed three times during an inundation event at plots with different landâuse histories.
Restoration rate was more influenced by past land use than longâterm inundation frequency and success decreased with antecedent landâuse intensity. Prolonged landâuse history (>3 years cultivation) restricted restoration success. Sites with longer cultivation histories tended to have fewer aquatic species, more terrestrial species and exotic species. For example, amphibious responders with floating leaves were found only in reference plots and less frequently in farmed treatment plots. In this scenario, increased persistence of exotics and dryland species suggested alternative trajectories. Fields with a short landâuse history (1â3 years of clearing and cultivation) resembled undisturbed floodplain communities, consistent with a âfield of dreamsâ hypothesis.
Although riverâfloodplain reconnections can restore wetlands, legacy effects of past land use may limit the pace and outcomes of restoration.Australian Postgraduate AwardAustralian Research Council. Grant Number: DE120102221ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions Australian Research Council Linkage Project. Grant Number: LP088416
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Plant profit maximisation improves predictions of European forest responses to drought
- Knowledge of how water stress impacts the carbon and water cycles is a key uncertainty in terrestrial biosphere models.
- We tested a new profit maximisation model, where photosynthetic uptake of CO2 is optimally traded against plant hydraulic function, as an alternative to the empirical functions commonly used in models to regulate gas exchange during periods of water stress. We conducted a multi-site evaluation of this model at the ecosystem scale, before and during major droughts in Europe. Additionally, we asked whether the maximum hydraulic conductance in the soil-plant
continuum
Factors Influencing Adults' Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors and the Role of Environmental Schools in Influencing their Communities
The present study revisits a subfield of environmental education: significant
life experiences, which studies the influences that shape the development of
environmental stewardship. In the present study, we examine the effect of various
formative experiences on a group of adults and analyze the role of school,
as a formative influence on the parents of the students. By employing factor
analysis, we were able to differentiate between groups of variables influencing
attitudes and those influencing behavior. Cluster analysis enabled us to
differentiate between types of respondents in accordance to their responsiveness
to influencing experiences. The results draw attention to (a) the
different pathways by which environmental attitudes and behaviors are influenced;
(b) the important role of the inner self (âpersonalityâ) in organizing
and giving meaning to all other formative influences; and (c) the effectiveness
of environmental schools in urban communities in Israel, in influencing the
behavior of studentsâ parents