Many land managers are faced with trying to optimize management of invasive plant species based on budget constraints and lack of knowledge of the true potential of the species. Generally, “early detection rapid response” (EDRR) is the assumed best management strategy and tends to drive management regardless of the invasion stage or possible variation in the invasion potential of the population. We created a simulation model to evaluate the optimal management strategy to reduce the rate of invasion of nonindigenous plant species.

The volcano rabbit Romerolagus diazi is an Endangered species endemic to Mexico, with a range of

Horqin Sandy Land is a seriously desertified and an ecologically fragile region of China. Soil degradation and desertification in this region are the result of several decades of overgrazing, non-manure cropping with short fallow, and arbitrary land use and management. We investigated whether the afforestation of active sand dunes with Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv.) enhances the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storages and the overall soil quality.

Willows (Salix) are important riparian plants and often used to indicate riparian condition. Many herbivores feed on willows, but there is limited information about willow browsing by wildlife except in national parks. This study was conducted to estimate wild ungulate herbivory of willow on two US Forest Service allotments in northern Wyoming and to compare these values to published estimates for national parks. We also compared total annual and seasonal willow utilization by wildlife between sites dominated by willows of different heights.

En este artículo se aborda la caracterización ecológica del paisaje de dos Parques Naturales fronterizos: Arribes del Duero (Salamanca, España) y Douro Internacional (Portugal). El trabajo se basa en el método de análisis desarrollado en SISPARES (Sistema de Monitorización de los Paisajes Rurales Españoles) tratándose de una aplicación específica al estudio de espacios fronterizos. Mediante tecnología SIG se fotointerpretaron los tipos de uso y cubierta de unas cuadrículas territoriales previamente seleccionadas.

Water treatment residuals (WTRs) and biosolids are byproducts from municipal water treatment processes. Both byproducts have been studied separately for land application benefits. There are possible environmental benefits of WTRs and biosolids co-application but these studies are limited. Our objectives were to determine relative long-term (13–15 yr) effects of a single and short-term (2–4 yr) effects of repeated WTR-biosolids co-applications on soil chemistry, microbiology, and plant community structure in a Colorado semiarid grassland.

Grazing is known to affect the spatial patterning of soil resources through biologically-mediated processes such as the removal of plant biomass and deposition of dung. In dense shrublands, grazing is thought to reinforce the concentration of resources around shrubs (fertile island effect) by enhancing the movement of resources from the interspace to the shrub hummocks. Shrub removal practices such as ploughing, which is commonly used to manage dense shrub patches, has unknown impacts on the distribution of soil properties.

Conversion of native prairie land for agricultural production has resulted in significant loss and redistribution of soil organic matter (SOM) in the soil profile ultimately leading to declining soil fertility in a low-productivity semiarid agroecosystem. Improved understanding of such losses can lead to development of sustainable land management practices that maintain soil fertility and enhance soil quality. This study was conducted to determine whether conservation practices impact soil profile carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) accumulation in central High Plains.

Highly managed biotic systems, such as agricultural crops and managed turf, often require multiple applications of pesticides that may be transported with runoff to areas beyond the intended target site. Pesticides have been detected in surface waters of rural and urban watersheds raising questions concerning their source, potential environmental effects and a need for strategies to reduce their inputs.

This paper aims to demonstrate the potential value of combining sediment source tracing techniques with traditional monitoring approaches, when documenting the impact of improved land management on catchment sediment yields. It reports the results of an investigation undertaken in a small (1.19km²) agricultural catchment in southern Brazil, which was monitored before and after the implementation of improved land management practices.