Social Aspects of Livestock Waste Management in Cyprus

This work examined the social perception of the population towards the management of livestock waste in Cyprus. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to population residing relatively close to livestock waste production and management facilities. The responses showed that the greatest problems as perceived by the population are odour issues, health issues and the adverse impact on property values. The participants in the survey assessed traffic and noise as minor problems.The majority of people (73%) replied that land spreading of livestock waste is the dominant livestock waste management practice currently implemented in Cyprus. Only a small part reported not to be at all informed concerning livestock waste management. The participants in the survey believe that livestock waste management activities cannot significantly improve the employment level in Cyprus

Spatially explicit competition in a mixed planting of Araucaria cunninghamii and Flindersia brayleyana

• Context: A 20-year-old Nelder wheel planted with hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D.Don) and Queensland maple (Flindersia brayleyana F.Muell.) in 18 spokes and 8 rings represents nominal point densities of 3,580, 2,150, 1,140, 595, 305, 158, 82, and 42 stems/ha and offers an opportunity to examine competition and spatial interaction between these two species. • Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the intraspecific and interspecific competition between two contrasting tree species and to determine the distance over which competition can be observed. • Methods: Competition was estimated using Hegyi's index, implemented using the Simile visual modeling environment, and calibrated using nonlinear least squares with PEST. • Results: Interactions were detected between pairs of stems closer than D < 40(d + d ) where D is distance (in centimeters) and d is stem diameter (in centimeters diameter at breast height). F. brayleyana trees surrounded by A. cunninghamii trees experience negligible competition, whereas A. cunninghamii surrounded by F. brayleyana trees suffer strong competition. • Conclusion: Forty times diameter offers a useful guide to the extent of competition in even-aged stands planted with these species. Competition can be observed empirically when pairs of trees are closer than 40 times the sum of their diameters, but the intensity of the competition may vary considerably with species

‘Relationships between relationships’ in forest stands: intercepts and exponents analyses

Relationships between diameter at breast height (dbh) versus stand density, and tree height versus dbh (height curve) were explored with the aim to find if there were functional links between correspondent parameters of the relationships, exponents and intercepts of their power functions. A geometric model of a forest stand using a conic approximation suggested that there should be interrelations between correspondent exponents and intercepts of the relationships. It is equivalent to a type of ‘relationship between relationships’ that might exist in a forest stand undergoing self-thinning, and means that parameters of one relationship may be predicted from parameters of another. The predictions of the model were tested with data on forest stand structure from published databases that involved a number of trees species and site quality levels. It was found that the correspondent exponents and intercepts may be directly recalculated from one another for the simplest case when the total stem surface area was independent of stand density. For cases where total stem surface area changes with the drop of density, it is possible to develop a generalization of the model in which the interrelationships between correspondent parameters (exponents and intercepts) may be still established

On the use of socioeconomic typologies for improved integrated management of data-poor regions: explorations from the Australian north

Managers operating in data-poor environments are often required to use data from one region to draw inferences about another. The quality of decisions made using this 'typology' approach will depend, at least in part, upon the degree of similarity between the two regions. Using data from a variety of sources relating to several different domains in 55 separate catchments in northern Australia, this paper uses statistical clustering techniques to test if it is possible to identify socioeconomically 'similar' catchments. It finds that regions which are socioeconomically 'similar' are not always adjacent, and that assessment of 'similarity' depends upon the type of data used. Evidently, the typology approach offers itself as a useful framework for management, but still requires reliable baseline data with which to construct the typologies

Cyclone Effects on the Structure and Production of a Tropical Upland Rainforest: Implications for Life-History Tradeoffs

14 page(s

Customer Response to Carbon Labelling of Groceries

Carbon label, Ecological footprint, Emissions reduction, Green consumers, Consumer environmental purchasing behaviour,