NONFARM EMPLOYMENT IN SMALL-SCALE FOREST-BASED ENTERPRISES: POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Employment and income from non-farm activities are of increasing importance in the rural economy of developing countries. Small forest-based enterprise activities constitute one of the largest sources of such income. They also account for a large part of the total harvest from forests in many areas. Many agriculturalists supplement their income through gathering and trading products such as forest foods, medicinal plants, and fuel wood. Small-scale manufacturing of items such as furniture, baskets, mats, and craft goods constitute substantial informal sector industries. Income from these activities tends to be particularly important during seasonal shortfalls in food and cash crop income and in periods of drought or other emergencies. Ease of access to forest raw materials means that forest-based activities are particularly important for the poor and for women. However, some of the simpler activities provide very low returns to labor, and may thus provide only minimal and short-lived livelihood contributions. Some of the most important saleable forest products face uncertain markets because of growing competition from industrial or synthetic alternatives or domesticated sources of the materials. As demand grows, some activities are also threatened by depletion of, or reduced access to, forest resources. In developing policies in support of sustainable activities, it is therefore important to be able to distinguish between those that have a potential to grow and those that do not. Policy issues include regulations that discriminate against the informal sector, policies that result in the shift from managed to uncontrolled open access use of forest resources, and restrictions on private production and sale of forest products that impede the development of farm-based sources of these products.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Floristic survey of Northern sandplains between Perth and Geraldton

A database of plant lists from over 2,500 sites was compiled from the the Northern Sandplains between Perth and Geraldton. Over 2,500 plant taxa were recorded from the area. Preliminary classification revealed in the order of 500 different floristic types. Analysis of these demonstrated strong regional patterns of floristic composition related to geology and soils. Consistencies in these patterns indicated a need to review the location of some of the botanical district boundaries

A Pedological Investigation of Soils of the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee

Soil formation depends on the unique interactions of influential soil forming factors. Soil parent material determines many of the properties exhibited by soil formed within that parent material. The Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee is a broad, uplifted, level-bedded, block of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age stratigraphy located from 83o40\u2700 W to 85o05\u2700 W latitude along the Kentucky border and 85o20\u2700 W to 86o15\u2700 W along the Alabama border. The Pennsylvanian stratigraphy is composed mainly of sandstone with some interbedded beds of shale. The geology of the Plateau is in many locations overlain by a deposit of silt-laden, eolian loess likely deposited in the early Holocene (~10,000-12,000 years ago) shortly after the last glacial maximum. Certain landforms such as ridge tops were conducive to loess deposition while side slope positions did not facilitate deposition. As a result, soils present on the Cumberland Plateau exhibit properties that reflect the inherent differences related to soil parent material. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of soil parent material and slope on soil genesis and morphology. An analysis of inherent soil properties will support determinations of soil parent material type and the degree of pedogenic alteration that has occurred within that soil parent material. Sites selected for this study have soils that represent the varied landform types present on the Plateau and the differing soils formed on those landforms. In areas that allowed for loess deposition soils exhibit a parent material sequence of loess over sandstone residuum while soils on side slopes formed from residuum. Pedons sampled from sites located on the Plateau Agricultural Experiment Station and Grassland Unit of the University of Tennessee were described and characterized through both field and laboratory investigation according to National Cooperative Soil Survey guidelines. Particle size analysis data proved useful in the examination and determination of soil parent material source. In pedons that exhibited a discontinuity a particle size analysis on a clay free basis was used to examine differences in soil parent material that would perhaps be masked by pedogenic alteration of clay minerals. The study pedons exhibit properties that seem primarily dependent on the influence of soil parent material and soil slope. Soils in upland areas that form from transported loess over residual sandstone contain fragic properties at the interface of the two contrasting parent materials. These soils are classified as Typic Fragiudults and Typic Hapludults based their individual morphology. Soils formed on side slopes do not contain loess. The sandstone on which these soils form is highly resistant to weathering and pedogenic alteration. As a result, soils formed on steeper slopes do not exhibit a high degree of pedogenesis. These soils are classified as Typic Dystrudepts

Floristic survey of remnant vegetation in the Dandaragan area, Western Australia

A study involving the documentation of the extent and floristic composition of patches of native vegetation left uncleared by agricultural development is described. Floristic regions were defined in the study area by detailed analysis of the floristic data. The concentration of the major conservation reserves in only a few of these regions left the floristic variation of most of these regions poorly represented conservation reserves. About 13 percent of the private property remains uncleared

Acoustic emission evaluation of FRP composite specimens in tension and bending

Fiber Reinforced Polymer composites are relatively new to the bridge construction industry. One of the challenges to greater usage is the lack of a nondestructive method to accurately evaluate them. Nondestructive evaluation of FRP composite structures using Acoustic Emissions was conducted. Seven tension specimens and fifteen bending specimens from three different FRP manufacturers were tested. The hand-laid tension specimens produced at WVU were tested following ASTM D3039. The bending specimens were tested according to ASTM D790.;AE parameters were analyzed, and connections were found between them and the loading quarter of the specimens along with the damage zone of the specimens. By concentrating the AE parameters\u27 patterns, Neural Networks were used to predict the loading quarter and damage zone of each specimen.;The connections between structural status and AE parameters found along with the NN prediction capabilities can be used to create a user-friendly, health monitoring system for on-site structures

Cockpit Ocular Recording System (CORS)

The overall goal was the development of a Cockpit Ocular Recording System (CORS). Four tasks were used: (1) the development of the system; (2) the experimentation and improvement of the system; (3) demonstrations of the working system; and (4) system documentation. Overall, the prototype represents a workable and flexibly designed CORS system. For the most part, the hardware use for the prototype system is off-the-shelf. All of the following software was developed specifically: (1) setup software that the user specifies the cockpit configuration and identifies possible areas in which the pilot will look; (2) sensing software which integrates the 60 Hz data from the oculometer and heat orientation sensing unit; (3) processing software which applies a spatiotemporal filter to the lookpoint data to determine fixation/dwell positions; (4) data recording output routines; and (5) playback software which allows the user to retrieve and analyze the data. Several experiments were performed to verify the system accuracy and quantify system deficiencies. These tests resulted in recommendations for any future system that might be constructed