Sahelian West Africa is a region that has high population densities and that has frequent severe ... more Sahelian West Africa is a region that has high population densities and that has frequent severe droughts and enormous pressure on natural resources. Because of these challenges, it is the place where the term desertification was originally coined. Recently, however, experts have identified large zones of greening where the amount of vegetation exceeds what one would expect based on rainfall alone. This pattern is well documented, but its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This research employs participatory mapping linked with high-resolution satellite imagery to better understand the human role behind regional vegetation trends. Through a case study of three communities in northern Burkina Faso, this paper presents a pilot methodology for explicitly mapping perceived areas of both land degradation and rehabilitation. Combining participatory mapping exercises with standard image classification techniques allows areas of land degradation and rehabilitation to be precisely located ...
... 1993) or that proposed by Saunders and Kriebel (1988 ... Another solution is to simply limit ... more ... 1993) or that proposed by Saunders and Kriebel (1988 ... Another solution is to simply limit input pixels to those measured from some middle portion of the across-track ... EOS, MODIS is planned as the primary sensor for monitoring terrestrial and oceanic processes on a global scale ...
ABSTRACT Conversion of lands to agriculture and development within remaining natural habitats hav... more ABSTRACT Conversion of lands to agriculture and development within remaining natural habitats have fragmented ecosystems and reduced wildlife populations. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has adopted an incentive-based conservation strategy known as the Safe Harbor Program (SHP) to reduce the vulnerability of federally protected species located on private properties. In addition to protecting populations, the SHP also strives to enhance species viability by devising strategies to (re)connect populations among habitat patches. We empirically evaluated the effectiveness of the initial Safe Harbor agreement, developed for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis, hereafter RCW) in the North Carolina Sandhills, in enhancing connectivity for that species. According to our results, breeding territories located on private properties enrolled in the SHP promoted dispersal of RCWs and enhanced overall population connectivity relative to otherwise similar territories located on non-SHP properties. Moreover, the SHP created extensive stepping-stone corridors throughout the region. Our analysis also showed that RCW connectivity will be negatively impacted directly and indirectly by encroaching urban growth. By combining an urban growth model with estimated connectivity, managers and conservation planners can identify which properties critical for connectivity are most threatened by urban encroachment. These results can help conservation planners develop strategic actions on private land based on the species specific movement ability, current landscapes and projected urban growth.
The Re-Greening of the West African Sahel has attracted great interdisciplinary interest since it... more The Re-Greening of the West African Sahel has attracted great interdisciplinary interest since it was originally detected in the mid-2000s. Studies have investigated vegetation patterns at regional scales using a time series of coarse resolution remote sensing analyses. Fewer have attempted to explain the processes behind these patterns at local scales. This research investigates bottom-up processes driving Sahelian greening in the northern Central Plateau of Burkina Faso—a region recognized as a greening hot spot. The objective was to understand the relationship between soil and water conservation (SWC) measures and the presence of trees through a comparative case study of three village terroirs, which have been the site of long-term human ecology fieldwork. Research specifically tests the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between SWC and tree cover. Methods include remote sensing of high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial photos; GIS procedures; and chi-square ...
The fast-paced conflicts in the Middle East can disrupt management and supply of water, particula... more The fast-paced conflicts in the Middle East can disrupt management and supply of water, particularly on dams and barrages along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that have experienced threats or changes in sovereignty. Water supply is also under pressure from upstream water management, drought, and structural decline. In this research, we used a satellite-based algorithm, the normalized difference water index (NDWI), to monitor changes in the extent of surface reservoirs (1985-present). We compared the timeline of reservoir fluctuations with the timeline of events related to conflicts, droughts, and dam management. Our results show that the most sudden changes in water supply occurred during events related to conflict, but conflict was not often a cause of the greatest absolute changes to reservoir area. Though not as precise as on-the-ground information, satellite data can give insights to water supply when conflict has disrupted the flow of information or restricted on-the-ground da...
ABSTRACT Background/Question/Methods An increasingly common strategy for protecting threatened sp... more ABSTRACT Background/Question/Methods An increasingly common strategy for protecting threatened species in fragmented landscapes is to conserve or restore habitat with the goal of increasing landscape connectivity between patches of breeding habitat. To identify key connections between habitats, planners often focus on areas important to the dispersal of large vertebrates. Focusing on these so-called “umbrella”, “flagship”, or “keystone” species, planners make the often untested assumption that improving connectivity for the surrogate species will also improve connectivity for a larger suite of species of conservation concern. We develop a framework to test the effectiveness of surrogate species for the conservation of landscape connectivity, and then apply this framework to a suite of threatened species in a fragmented, longleaf-pine dominated landscape in the vicinity of Ft. Bragg, NC. We first developed dispersal models for each species, and then evaluated whether the conservation of important dispersal habitats for one species would also conserve areas important to the dispersal of the others. Results/Conclusions We found that high-value dispersal habitat for all of our focal species overlapped significantly more than would be expected by chance alone. Much of this congruence, however, was due to the fact that nearly all the high-value dispersal habitat was located on lands currently managed for conservation. When only currently managed lands were considered, high-value dispersal habitats for each pair of species were spatially independent from one another. We also found that the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis), a flagship species for conservation in longleaf-pine dominated ecosystems, was not the best-performing surrogate species for conserving landscape connectivity. Overall, we conclude that there are no irreconcilable conflicts between the dispersal habitat needs of these particular species, and behaviorally-informed conservation, if done carefully, can preserve connectivity simultaneously for multiple threatened species with divergent habitat requirements and dispersal behaviors.
Sahelian West Africa is a region that has high population densities and that has frequent severe ... more Sahelian West Africa is a region that has high population densities and that has frequent severe droughts and enormous pressure on natural resources. Because of these challenges, it is the place where the term desertification was originally coined. Recently, however, experts have identified large zones of greening where the amount of vegetation exceeds what one would expect based on rainfall alone. This pattern is well documented, but its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This research employs participatory mapping linked with high-resolution satellite imagery to better understand the human role behind regional vegetation trends. Through a case study of three communities in northern Burkina Faso, this paper presents a pilot methodology for explicitly mapping perceived areas of both land degradation and rehabilitation. Combining participatory mapping exercises with standard image classification techniques allows areas of land degradation and rehabilitation to be precisely located ...
... 1993) or that proposed by Saunders and Kriebel (1988 ... Another solution is to simply limit ... more ... 1993) or that proposed by Saunders and Kriebel (1988 ... Another solution is to simply limit input pixels to those measured from some middle portion of the across-track ... EOS, MODIS is planned as the primary sensor for monitoring terrestrial and oceanic processes on a global scale ...
ABSTRACT Conversion of lands to agriculture and development within remaining natural habitats hav... more ABSTRACT Conversion of lands to agriculture and development within remaining natural habitats have fragmented ecosystems and reduced wildlife populations. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has adopted an incentive-based conservation strategy known as the Safe Harbor Program (SHP) to reduce the vulnerability of federally protected species located on private properties. In addition to protecting populations, the SHP also strives to enhance species viability by devising strategies to (re)connect populations among habitat patches. We empirically evaluated the effectiveness of the initial Safe Harbor agreement, developed for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis, hereafter RCW) in the North Carolina Sandhills, in enhancing connectivity for that species. According to our results, breeding territories located on private properties enrolled in the SHP promoted dispersal of RCWs and enhanced overall population connectivity relative to otherwise similar territories located on non-SHP properties. Moreover, the SHP created extensive stepping-stone corridors throughout the region. Our analysis also showed that RCW connectivity will be negatively impacted directly and indirectly by encroaching urban growth. By combining an urban growth model with estimated connectivity, managers and conservation planners can identify which properties critical for connectivity are most threatened by urban encroachment. These results can help conservation planners develop strategic actions on private land based on the species specific movement ability, current landscapes and projected urban growth.
The Re-Greening of the West African Sahel has attracted great interdisciplinary interest since it... more The Re-Greening of the West African Sahel has attracted great interdisciplinary interest since it was originally detected in the mid-2000s. Studies have investigated vegetation patterns at regional scales using a time series of coarse resolution remote sensing analyses. Fewer have attempted to explain the processes behind these patterns at local scales. This research investigates bottom-up processes driving Sahelian greening in the northern Central Plateau of Burkina Faso—a region recognized as a greening hot spot. The objective was to understand the relationship between soil and water conservation (SWC) measures and the presence of trees through a comparative case study of three village terroirs, which have been the site of long-term human ecology fieldwork. Research specifically tests the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between SWC and tree cover. Methods include remote sensing of high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial photos; GIS procedures; and chi-square ...
The fast-paced conflicts in the Middle East can disrupt management and supply of water, particula... more The fast-paced conflicts in the Middle East can disrupt management and supply of water, particularly on dams and barrages along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that have experienced threats or changes in sovereignty. Water supply is also under pressure from upstream water management, drought, and structural decline. In this research, we used a satellite-based algorithm, the normalized difference water index (NDWI), to monitor changes in the extent of surface reservoirs (1985-present). We compared the timeline of reservoir fluctuations with the timeline of events related to conflicts, droughts, and dam management. Our results show that the most sudden changes in water supply occurred during events related to conflict, but conflict was not often a cause of the greatest absolute changes to reservoir area. Though not as precise as on-the-ground information, satellite data can give insights to water supply when conflict has disrupted the flow of information or restricted on-the-ground da...
ABSTRACT Background/Question/Methods An increasingly common strategy for protecting threatened sp... more ABSTRACT Background/Question/Methods An increasingly common strategy for protecting threatened species in fragmented landscapes is to conserve or restore habitat with the goal of increasing landscape connectivity between patches of breeding habitat. To identify key connections between habitats, planners often focus on areas important to the dispersal of large vertebrates. Focusing on these so-called “umbrella”, “flagship”, or “keystone” species, planners make the often untested assumption that improving connectivity for the surrogate species will also improve connectivity for a larger suite of species of conservation concern. We develop a framework to test the effectiveness of surrogate species for the conservation of landscape connectivity, and then apply this framework to a suite of threatened species in a fragmented, longleaf-pine dominated landscape in the vicinity of Ft. Bragg, NC. We first developed dispersal models for each species, and then evaluated whether the conservation of important dispersal habitats for one species would also conserve areas important to the dispersal of the others. Results/Conclusions We found that high-value dispersal habitat for all of our focal species overlapped significantly more than would be expected by chance alone. Much of this congruence, however, was due to the fact that nearly all the high-value dispersal habitat was located on lands currently managed for conservation. When only currently managed lands were considered, high-value dispersal habitats for each pair of species were spatially independent from one another. We also found that the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis), a flagship species for conservation in longleaf-pine dominated ecosystems, was not the best-performing surrogate species for conserving landscape connectivity. Overall, we conclude that there are no irreconcilable conflicts between the dispersal habitat needs of these particular species, and behaviorally-informed conservation, if done carefully, can preserve connectivity simultaneously for multiple threatened species with divergent habitat requirements and dispersal behaviors.
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