摘要 :
The construction of roads is one of the most widespread forms of natural landscape modification. Over the last 20 years, dozens of road constructions have been assessed in Slovakia, which makes it possible to talk about methodolog...
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The construction of roads is one of the most widespread forms of natural landscape modification. Over the last 20 years, dozens of road constructions have been assessed in Slovakia, which makes it possible to talk about methodological positives and negatives. A special feature of Slovakia is that many planned or renovated roads are located in-protected areas or are in contact with them (including Natura 2000 sites). Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of the roads' ecological impacts and find ways for their appropriate evaluation and incorporation into the Environmental Impact Assessment process. For this reason, the Ecological Impact Assessment methodology can be used as a basis for our research, which consists of three stages. In the first stage (scoping), a buffer circumventing the proposed road is created to determine the area for impact prediction and evaluation. Subsequently, the landscape structure and baseline landscape conditions are discussed, a map of current landscape structure is created and the current ecological status of the affected area is calculated. In the second stage (the evaluation of ecological resources), important ecological parts of the landscape are delineated. This step is based on the importance of previous information and its vulnerability, and leads to the mapping of the road ecological impact zone. In the third stage (impact assessment), important ecological parts are spatially correlated with the proposed road construction. Finally, the significance of ecological impacts of the activity is evaluated by applying specific criteria (duration, reversibility, magnitude, size and road ecological impact zone significance). A scale is proposed for each criterion to evaluate the total significance of impacts. In this way, detailed significant ecological impacts can be found which will help lead to proposed correct mitigation measures and a post-project analysis. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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摘要 :? Penerbit UMT.? Penerbit UMT. Most primates are threatened but studies that address their use of degraded habitats are scarce. Here, we report on activities, habitat use and diet of Trachypithecus obscurus in a human...
展开? Penerbit UMT.? Penerbit UMT. Most primates are threatened but studies that address their use of degraded habitats are scarce. Here, we report on activities, habitat use and diet of Trachypithecus obscurus in a human-impacted landscape in Penang Island. We studied the relationship of these primates with their habitat to facilitate conservation management plans. We used group scan sampling to assess activity budgets and recorded home range size, stratum use and food plant species and parts. The home range of the study group was 12.9 hectares, including secondary forest (61.2%), a nature park (23.9%) and beach (14.9%). Langurs mainly rested (43.5%) and fed (24.8%) and spent significantly more time resting and foraging in the secondary forest than elsewhere. They mainly fed on leaves (60.3%) and consumed 56 identified plant species from 32 families of wild and cultivated plants. Langurs behaved differently and ate different plant species in different habitat types and the group had to cross a busy motorway to reach the beach, thus, we also report on road crossing behaviour. These langurs have seemingly adapted well to disturbed habitat however, more comparative studies are needed to predict long-term effects of habitat degradation on the population of this species and to develop feasible conservation plans.Most primates are threatened but studies that address their use of degraded habitats are scarce. Here, we report on activities, habitat use and diet of Trachypithecus obscurus in a human-impacted landscape in Penang Island. We studied the relationship of these primates with their habitat to facilitate conservation management plans. We used group scan sampling to assess activity budgets and recorded home range size, stratum use and food plant species and parts. The home range of the study group was 12.9 hectares, including secondary forest (61.2%), a nature park (23.9%) and beach (14.9%). Langurs mainly rested (43.5%) and fed (24.8%) and spent significantly more time resting and foraging in the secondary forest than elsewhere. They mainly fed on leaves (60.3%) and consumed 56 identified plant species from 32 families of wild and cultivated plants. Langurs behaved differently and ate different plant species in different habitat types and the group had to cross a busy motorway to reach the beach, thus, we also report on road crossing behaviour. These langurs have seemingly adapted well to disturbed habitat however, more comparative studies are needed to predict long-term effects of habitat degradation on the population of this species and to develop feasible conservation plans.
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Roadkills are amongst the most significant biodiversity impacts, although little is known about the factors which influence the roadkill of neotropical birds. Hence, the objective was to evaluate differences in roadkill richness a...
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Roadkills are amongst the most significant biodiversity impacts, although little is known about the factors which influence the roadkill of neotropical birds. Hence, the objective was to evaluate differences in roadkill richness and rates for neotropical birds according to the seasons of the year and habitat types associated with roads. The data was collected along two federal highways, in southern Brazil. We identified 57 roadkilled species, for a mean roadkill rate of 0.06 ind./km/day (Min. = 0.009; Max. = 0.47). Our results demonstrate that richness and roadkill rates change according to seasonality and habitat types. Roadkills were concentrated in rice fields and wetlands, intensifying both in richness and rates during the summer and autumn. Nearby areas have similar roadkill rates, independent of habitat types. This probably occurs due to the movement of several species seeking food and shelter. Juvenile dispersion, harvest and grain transportation periods, as well as flight and foraging behaviors over road lanes seem to be related to the increasing roadkill occurrences and richness regarding more abundant species. However, given the elevated number of occasionally roadkilled species (more than 70% with N < 5), we believe that highway surface and traffic act as physical barriers which inhibit the movement of many species which either present occasional roadkills or none at all.
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What do roads have to do with ecology? With over 60 million kilometres of roads on Earth, roads have destroyed and fragmented ecosystems around the world. The science of road ecology seeks to better understand the threats that roa...
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What do roads have to do with ecology? With over 60 million kilometres of roads on Earth, roads have destroyed and fragmented ecosystems around the world. The science of road ecology seeks to better understand the threats that roads pose and provide solutions to those threats. This new book, Handbook of Road Ecology, is a multi-authored volume that summarizes current research in a variety of areas of road ecology.
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Stormwater ponds ("SWPs") are artificial roadside structures, conceived to retain and clean polluted runoff water, before its release to the environment. SWPs were not designed as suitable habitats for wildlife. However, SWPs in E...
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Stormwater ponds ("SWPs") are artificial roadside structures, conceived to retain and clean polluted runoff water, before its release to the environment. SWPs were not designed as suitable habitats for wildlife. However, SWPs in Europe are frequently used as breeding sites by amphibians, especially by the European green frog (Pelophylax sp.). Yet, the potential long-term effects of pollutants within SWPs on the populations of this species are unknown. In this study, we investigated the suitability of SWPs as a habitat for European green frogs living in Alsace, NE France, a region with a highly modified landscape that mainly consists of croplands with few natural wetlands remaining. We compared various biological indicators of individual health in 709 green frogs belonging to different life history stages, living in 9 semi-natural ponds (SNPs) and in 25 SWPs. There were no differences between these two pond types for most of the indicators investigated. However, juveniles had a lower body condition (-124%) in SWPs, while adults were 8.3% larger and 41.4% heavier in SWPs. Based on these results, we suggest that SWPs are not a suitable habitat for the development of European green frogs (i.e. juveniles), but may serve as a substitute habitat for adults in a highly modified landscape with few natural wetlands remaining. SWPs may especially act as relay sites, allowing frogs to colonize relict wetlands.
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The road-effect zone is a concept developed to describe the impact of influences such as noise, vibration, light and dust associated with roads and traffic on the surrounding area. Although many aspects associated with the road-ef...
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The road-effect zone is a concept developed to describe the impact of influences such as noise, vibration, light and dust associated with roads and traffic on the surrounding area. Although many aspects associated with the road-effect zone have been investigated, the influence of dust remains poorly understood. Gap Creek Road, a minor road traversing forest near Brisbane, Australia, was upgraded in 2010 by sealing and realignment. The present study compares pre- and post-construction dust levels within the forest, and the diversity and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals near (2-5 m) and far (80-100 m) from the road. Prior to the upgrade, dust levels were very high with deposition rates equivalent to a major daily dust storm. The key influence of the upgrade was the almost complete elimination of this dust production; hence, we predicted that species richness and abundance of small mammals near the road would increase significantly after the upgrade. Pre-upgrade surveys confirmed that the forest supported a diverse and abundant community of ground-dwelling mammal species with eight species detected, including in highly dust-affected sites near the road. Following the upgrade, there was little change in the abundance of species, though some were significantly more abundant away from the road. These results suggest that, in certain environments, dust may have far less impact on ground-dwelling mammals than expected.
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Over the past two decades, the effects of roads on wildlife have been extensively studied. Theoretically, railways cause similar effects as well, yet ecologists do not understand the magnitude of these effects. Despite the field o...
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Over the past two decades, the effects of roads on wildlife have been extensively studied. Theoretically, railways cause similar effects as well, yet ecologists do not understand the magnitude of these effects. Despite the field of road ecology rapidly expanding and the large footprint created by railways, there is a prominent lack of research related to railways and their effects on wildlife. To emphasize gaps between road and railway wildlife studies, we performed a thorough systematic review of twelve peer-reviewed journals in which ecologists and conservation biologists commonly publish. We found a clear underrepresentation of railway studies despite the potential negative ecological effects associated with this important anthropogenic feature. We found 259 road-wildlife articles and only 17 railway-wildlife articles in the journals we assessed with the majority of road studies focused in North America and the majority of railway studies in Europe. Although road-wildlife studies have increased through time, railway-wildlife studies have remained stagnant. In our opinion, the development of research pertaining to 'Railway Ecology' is long overdue. (C) 2016 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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Roadkill estimates can be heavily biased due to variable carcass persistence time. If not adequately considered, this bias may lead to incorrect management actions. We designed an experiment aimed to provide an accurate assessment...
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Roadkill estimates can be heavily biased due to variable carcass persistence time. If not adequately considered, this bias may lead to incorrect management actions. We designed an experiment aimed to provide an accurate assessment of carcass persistence time according to road type and position on the road along 114km of roads (24 in dirt roads, 74 two-lane roads, and 16 in four-lane roads). We used two types of rodent of different body size to perform the experiment: mice (30 +/- 8g) were placed on the road shoulders and road lanes every 1000m, and rats (400 +/- 55g) were placed only on road shoulders every 2000m. Carcasses were monitored for up to five consecutive days. The persistence times of mice and rats were in general similar, with an estimated median time of 1day. However, we found considerable differences according to road type and position on the road: the estimated median persistence time was substantially longer for carcasses on the four-lane roads, and longer on the road shoulders compared to the traffic lanes. Overall, we estimated an annual mortality of small animals to be higher than 100.000 individuals in Federal District, of which ca. 10% in dirt roads. Our results confirm that a great proportion of carcasses are likely to be undetected in roadkill surveys, particularly small body sized animals, and that such errors are also related to the type of road and the position of carcasses on the road. We highlight that the impact of dirt and two-lane roads on wildlife may be greatly underestimated.
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The construction of roads is currently well spread in many parts of our world and impacts strongly on wildlife distribution. Some bird species avoid, while other prefer to be in the vicinity of these human structures. However, stu...
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The construction of roads is currently well spread in many parts of our world and impacts strongly on wildlife distribution. Some bird species avoid, while other prefer to be in the vicinity of these human structures. However, studies on roads effects on birds, in terms of strength or direction of these effects, are scarce. Therefore, in a study carried out in Central Italy we tested the responses of different bird species to roads at a local spatial scale, using generalized linear models (GLM). Analysis were conducted on a large dataset (more than 1400 sampled sites, mainly on rural environments).
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Transportation infrastructure has a wide range of effects on ecological processes, which result in both positive and negative impacts for biodiversity. However, the treatment of biodiversity in planning and environmental assessmen...
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Transportation infrastructure has a wide range of effects on ecological processes, which result in both positive and negative impacts for biodiversity. However, the treatment of biodiversity in planning and environmental assessment have been criticized, especially regarding habitat loss and fragmentation effects, the low use of quantitative methods and that of assessments being descriptive rather than analytical and predictive. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of the Swedish road network by spatial modelling of road effects, to explore potential impacts of fragmentation and disturbance effects of roads on habitat networks for selected ecological profiles, and to discuss the utility of applying quantitative methods for environmental assessment purposes. Habitat and landcover data was used for creating habitat networks for six ecological profiles. Fragmentation and disturbance effects were modelled in GIS and FRAGSTATS was used to quantify ecologically important landscape metrics on habitat amount and connectivity. The results showed that natural grasslands and southern broadleaved forest were substantially more exposed to road effects in Sweden, compared to old coniferous and trivial broadleaved forest. Furthermore, habitat loss was a main consequence of road effects, and forest species with high area demands were most prone to be adversely impacted. Suggestions on method development in order to increase the quality of the analysis methods for environmental assessment are discussed. The potential is seen as high for use of quantitative ecological methods to generate baseline environmental information as well as coarse predictions on likely consequences of development options, useful for environmental assessment. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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