There is an extraordinary assortment of technical approaches to conserving carnivore populations, but the effectiveness of conservation activities is rarely evaluated. Accordingly, we initiated a study to assess the impact of several conservation interventions on the dynamics and persistence of a leopard (Panthera pardus) population in Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa. These included revisions of the statutory systems that regulate problem animal control and trophy hunting, and we instituted a program intended to reduce human-leopard conflict in the region.

Floodplains in Europe are heavily impacted by human intervention and often disconnected from the main river channel. Restoring lateral hydraulic connectivity between wetlands, fringe habitats and riparian land with the adjacent river channel is extremely important to maintain natural functioning of floodplain wetlands. However, there is no simple solution to restoring and rehabilitating rivers and their floodplains, particularly in terms of long-term sustainability.

To better engage Maine's family forest landowners our study used social network analysis: a computational social science method for identifying stakeholders, evaluating models of engagement, and targeting areas for enhanced partnerships. Interviews with researchers associated with a research center were conducted to identify how social network analysis could improve knowledge transfer in the researcher–stakeholder relationship. Analysis found a large network of family forest stakeholders and organizations in Maine.

In 1979 and 1980 predators were under control on sheep farms in the Ceres Karoo. At the time, a subsidised hunting club assisted landowners with predator control measures. A farm-level analysis of data from the Ceres hunting club's logbooks reveals that four out of five farms have experienced no predator damage whatsoever. For those reporting problems, the typical loss was in the region of one per cent of the estimated turnover. Lynx (caracal), leopards and feral dogs were responsible for most of the damage.

The economic and ecological damages caused by wildfires are alarming. Because such damages are expected to increase with changes in wildfire regimes, this calls for more effective wildfire mitigation and adaptation strategies. Wildfire adaptation options for forestland owners include purchasing wildfire insurance, which provides compensation to those insured if a wildfire damages their properties.

Significance Protected public lands are insufficient to halt the loss of global biodiversity. However, most commercial landowners need incentives to engage in conservation.

This study assessed family forest owner interest in formally committing to the types of land use and management practices that characterize good stewardship if compensated for doing so, using Minnesota's Sustainable Forest Incentives Act (SFIA) as a proxy measure of forest stewardship. The SFIA provides an annual payment in return for obtaining and using a forest management plan and adhering to Minnesota's timber harvesting and forest management guidelines, among other requirements.

In Bangladesh, extensive common pool fisheries exist in the wet season on private lands in the floodplains. This study investigated the trend in year-round enclosure of these seasonal commons for private aquaculture and the impacts of this practice. The floodplain area enclosed for aquaculture was found to be growing at 30–100% a year. Enclosures are organised by individual landowners, informal groups or companies that lease in land. Aquaculture in enclosures produces more fish than capture fisheries, but input costs are high.

In this article, we provide a synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature and state and federal policies focused on absentee landowners of forestland, rangeland, or farmland in the U.S. The synthesis indicates absentee owners, as compared to those living on the land, appear to be much more likely to live in urban areas, are less dependent financially upon the land and much more likely to own land for amenity reasons than production purposes.

Due to an aging landowner population, there will be an unprecedented ownership shift in land-based assets in the USA. Approximately 2.7 million family forest owners (FFOs) in the USA over the age of 55 years old, reflecting 80 % of all FFO-owned land, will be deciding the future ownership and use of their land, having significant implications for the landscapes and public benefits these forests provide. Little is known about how FFOs plan for the future ownership and use of their land.

In this research, we evaluated the intent of engaged private forest landowners to supply woody biomass for bioenergy production. The study was conducted in a U.S. state (Kentucky) where private individuals own a majority (78%) of the state's forest resources. Intent of family forest owners was measured using a mail-based survey. We used the Theory of Planned Behavior to model factors that affect landowner intention, and we tested the effect of educational materials on participates' reported intent.