Psychological factors and physical outcomes in patients with chronic diseases of lifestyle

INTRODUCTION: Chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL) are a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. Although CDL are largely preventable and treatable through adopting and maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours, CDL rehabilitation programmes remain an underutilised resource. Behaviour modification is thus complex, and requires a collaborative approach between psychologists and medical clinicians involved in the management of CDL. This thesis examined the role of psychological factors in the management of patients with CDL who participated in a comprehensive lifestyle intervention (CLI) programme. METHODS: An explanatory mixed methods design was used to describe the CLI experience. These included an initial clinical audit of 308 patients commencing and completing a twelve week CLI programme to test associations of psychological, demographic, medical and diagnostic factors with physical outcomes. Two qualitative studies were subsequently conducted to further understand patient experiences of CDL and CLI programmes. The first involved interviews of 14 patients at programme commencement and completion. The second consisted of a case study of a patient participating in the programme using human centred design principles as well as ethnography

The successional dynamics of Acacia nilotica (L.) savanna

Analysis of aerial photographs indicates that woody plant biomass has increased in Hluhluwe Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, over a relatively short period. Despite their slow growth rates, Eucleas and other broadleaf species are responsible for the majority of this increase. Nine sites were chosen to examine the recruitment patterns and sizeclass distributions of Euclea divinorum and E. racemosa. Analysis of the size-class distribution data suggests that recruitment of Eucleas is slightly higher below adult A. nilotica canopies than in adjacent interspaces. The number of seedlings is significantly higher below Acacia canopies than in open spaces. Size class data indicate that the largest Euclea individuals are found in open spaces and not below A. nilotica canopies. Because Eucleas have slower growth rates than A. nilotica, the large Eucleas may well have become established before the present A. nilotica stand. The data also indicate that A. karroo is replacing A. nilotica and that broadleaf species other than Eucleas are recruiting in both open and below canopy plots. I suggest A. nilotica adults only weakly facilitate the establishment of Eucleas and other broadleaved species, and that increase in woody vegetation is due to changes in the fire regime that allow suppressed broadleaf individuals to escape and become visible. This release may explain the rapid rate of encroachment by inherently slow growing species

The effects of habitat change on bird diversity and community structure in a mesic Savanna landscape

Bibliography: leaves 85-91.Many conservation areas are effectively islands in a sea of agricultural or urban development in which natural disturbance regimes have been altered or limited. Managers of such areas often need to artificially maintain disturbance regimes in order to control ecosystem processes such as vegetation succession (Richards ef al. 1999). The relationship between disturbance, succession, vegetation change and habitat heterogeneity is crucial to managers because together they can influence biodiversity. For example, a break in the disturbance regime could promote woody plant encroachment. Though this might lead to an increase in habitat heterogeneity, the effects on biodiversity could be positive or negative. Habitat heterogeneity, in this context, can refer to vegetation variability or complexity at a range of spatial scales

Experiences of psychosocial and programme-related barriers to recovery in lifestyle interventions for noncommunicable diseases

Background: The majority of global deaths are due to noncommunicable diseases, largely preventable and treatable utilising behavioural interventions.Objectives: The study investigated patients’ experiences of a lifestyle intervention programme for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and the influence that psychosocial and programme-related barriers had on patients’ ability to improve their well-being.Methods: Fourteen patients with NCDs were interviewed before and on completion of a 12-week lifestyle intervention programme at a sports and exercise medicine clinic. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyse interview data.Results: Patients described their experiences of NCDs diagnosis as traumatic, and their own relationship with their bodies and with the disorder(s) to be vulnerable and significantly challenging. Professional incompetence and unethical treatment were included as barriers to recovery. Barriers specifically relating to the programme included scheduling, as well as the online assessment component. Those reporting more premorbid psychosocial barriers were more likely to experience current complications, whether disease- or treatment-related, often emphasising the negative influence of programme and professional-related problems.Conclusion: Qualitative methodologies enabled the study to yield clinically relevant insights with respect to patients with NCDs. Accounting for the trauma and vulnerability experienced by this cohort may assist in the development of more patient-centred interventions and sustainable secondary prevention of NCDs.Keywords: chronic diseases of lifestyle; intervention evaluation; psychological risk factors; social support; professional conduc

Woody plant encroachment in arid and mesic South African savanna-grasslands: same picture, different story?

Woody plant encroachment in South Africa’s savanna-grasslands has been considered a rangeland management problem since the early 1900s. This phenomenon, which has been observed globally, is particularly important in Africa given the extent of tropical grassy biomes on the continent and their importance for rural livelihoods. In this study, local and regional scale approaches were used to investigate woody cover change in South Africa across the important savanna-grassland rainfall threshold of 650 mm mean annual precipitation (MAP). The aim was to test this threshold using remote sensing and demographic surveys in order to better understand the patterns, mechanisms and drivers of encroachment. Rates of encroachment and population demographics of Vachelia karroo were compared at arid and mesic savanna sites in the Eastern Cape, using time-series analysis of historical aerial photographs in conjunction with field surveys. Changes in the extent of woodland vs. grassland were then quantified at a national scale (1990-2013) by combining optical and synthetic aperture radar remote sensing data. This produced the first map of woodland- grassland shifts for South Africa and provided the basis for a spatially explicit investigation of the key drivers of change. The local studies revealed higher rates of encroachment at mesic sites than at arid sites, with a correlation between drought and rate of encroachment at the arid site. Vachelia karroo seedlings and stunted saplings were more prevalent at mesic sites than at arid sites and the growth form of adult trees differed significantly between sites. The national remote sensing investigation showed that woodland replaced grassland in over 5% of South Africa’s savanna- grasslands between 1990 and 2014, at rates consistent with other global and regional studies. Spatially explicit models showed a pattern of incremental expansion of woodland along a ‘tree front’ and complex relationships between woodland increase and fire, rainfall, terrain ruggedness and temperature. Overall, the local and regional scale findings of this work highlight the importance of the savanna rainfall threshold (~650 mm MAP) and the presence / absence of fire in understanding savanna dynamics and woody cover change in the context of global drivers such as elevated atmospheric CO2

Can vegetation be discretely classified in species-poor environments? Testing plant community concepts for vegetation monitoring on sub-Antarctic Marion Island

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Floristic plot data used in this manuscript is available on figshare at https://DOI.org/10.6084/m9.figsh are.21776477.The updating and rethinking of vegetation classifications is important for ecosystem monitoring in a rapidly changing world, where the distribution of vegetation is changing. The general assumption that discrete and persistent plant communities exist that can be monitored efficiently, is rarely tested before undertaking a classification. Marion Island (MI) is comprised of species-poor vegetation undergoing rapid environmental change. It presents a unique opportunity to test the ability to discretely classify species-poor vegetation with recently developed objective classification techniques and relate it to previous classifications. We classified vascular species data of 476 plots sampled across MI, using Ward hierarchical clustering, divisive analysis clustering, non-hierarchical kmeans and partitioning around medoids. Internal cluster validation was performed using silhouette widths, Dunn index, connectivity of clusters and gap statistic. Indicator species analyses were also conducted on the best performing clustering methods. We evaluated the outputs against previously classified units. Ward clustering performed the best, with the highest average silhouette width and Dunn index, as well as the lowest connectivity. The number of clusters differed amongst the clustering methods, but most validation measures, including for Ward clustering, indicated that two and three clusters are the best fit for the data. However, all classification methods produced weakly separated, highly connected clusters with low compactness and low fidelity and specificity to clusters. There was no particularly robust and effective classification outcome that could group plots into previously suggested vegetation units based on species composition alone. The relatively recent age (c. 450,000 years B.P.), glaciation history (last glacial maximum 34,500 years B.P.) and isolation of the sub-Antarctic islands may have hindered the development of strong vascular plant species assemblages with discrete boundaries. Discrete classification at the community-level using species composition may not be suitable in such species-poor environments. Species-level, rather than community-level, monitoring may thus be more appropriate in species-poor environments, aligning with continuum theory rather than community theory.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20457758am2024Plant Production and Soil ScienceSDG-15:Life on lan

Impacts of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems on conservation policy and practice

In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature adopted the Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) criteria as the global standard for assessing risks to terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. Five years on, it is timely to ask what impact this new initiative has had on ecosystem management and conservation. In this policy perspective, we use an impact evaluation framework to distinguish the outputs, outcomes, and impacts of the RLE since its inception. To date, 2,821 ecosystems in 100 countries have been assessed following the RLE protocol. Systematic assessments are complete or underway in 21 countries and two continental regions (the Americas and Europe). Countries with established ecosystem policy infrastructure have already used the RLE to inform legislation, land-use planning, protected area management, monitoring and reporting, and ecosystem management. Impacts are still emerging due to varying pace and commitment to implementation across different countries. In the future, RLE indices based on systematic assessments have high potential to inform global biodiversity reporting. Expanding the coverage of RLE assessments, building capacity and political will to undertake them, and establishing stronger policy instruments to manage red-listed ecosystems will be key to maximizing conservation impacts over the coming decades

Patterns of ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) colonization in mountain grasslands: the importance of management practices

International audienceWoody colonization of grasslands is often associated with changes in abiotic or biotic conditions or a combination of both. Widely used as fodder and litter in the past traditional agro-pastoral system, ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) has now become a colonizing species of mountain grasslands in the French Pyrenees. Its present distribution is dependent on past human activities and it is locally controlled by propagule pressure and abiotic conditions. However, even when all favourable conditions are met, all the potentially colonizable grasslands are not invaded. We hypothesize that management practices should play a crucial role in the control of ash colonization. From empirical field surveys we have compared the botanical composition of a set of grasslands (present and former) differing in management practices and level of ash colonization. We have displayed a kind of successional gradient positively linked to both ash cover and height but not to the age of trees. We have tested the relationships between ash presence in grassland and management types i.e. cutting and/or grazing, management intensity and some grassland communities' features i.e. total and local specific richness and species heterogeneity. Mixed use (cutting and grazing) is negatively linked to ash presence in grassland whereas grazing alone positively. Mixed use and high grazing intensity are directly preventing ash seedlings establishment, when low grazing intensity is allowing ash seedlings establishment indirectly through herbaceous vegetation neglected by livestock. Our results show the existence of a limit between grasslands with and without established ashes corresponding to a threshold in the intensity of use. Under this threshold, when ash is established, the colonization process seems to become irreversible. Ash possesses the ability of compensatory growth and therefore under a high grazing intensity develops a subterranean vegetative reproduction. However the question remains at which stage of seedling development and grazing intensity these strategies could occur

Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa

The world is firmly cemented in a notitian age (Latin: notitia, meaning data) – drowning in data, yet thirsty for information and the synthesis of knowledge into understanding. As concerns over biodiversity declines escalate, the volume, diversity and speed at which new environmental and ecological data are generated has increased exponentially. Data availability primes the research and discovery engine driving biodiversity conservation. South Africa (SA) is poised to become a world leader in biodiversity conservation. However, continent-wide resource limitations hamper the establishment of inclusive technologies and robust platforms and tools for biodiversity informatics. In this perspectives piece, we bring together the opinions of 37 co-authors from 20 different departments, across 10 SA universities, 7 national and provincial conservation research agencies, and various institutes and private conservation, research and management bodies, to develop a way forward for biodiversity informatics in SA. We propose the development of a SA Biodiversity Informatics Hub and describe the essential components necessary for its design, implementation and sustainability. We emphasise the importance of developing a culture of cooperation, collaboration and interoperability among custodians of biodiversity data to establish operational workflows for data synthesis. However, our biggest challenges are misgivings around data sharing and multidisciplinary collaboration