Anthropogenic disturbances in nature can be defined by energy and emergy terms. I studied four saline meadows with different protection status to see if they differ in species richness and plant biomass of halophytes and in the level of anthropogenic disturbance. The four studied meadows were located in the Kujawy region, the central part of Poland. The first study area was the reserve of halop...

We consider the signatures Σm = (0, 1,−,+, ·, ) of meadows and (Σm, s) of signed meadows. We give two complete axiomatizations of the equational theories of the real numbers with respect to these signatures. In the first case, we extend the axiomatization of zero-totalized fields by a single axiom scheme expressing formal realness; the second axiomatization presupposes an ordering. We apply the...

Seagrasses cover about 0.1–0.2% of the global ocean, and develop highly productive ecosystems which fulfil a key role in the coastal ecosystem. Widespread seagrass loss results from direct human impacts, including mechanical damage (by dredging, fishing, and anchoring), eutrophication, aquaculture, siltation, effects of coastal constructions, and food web alterations; and indirect human impacts...

The spatial distribution of sea bed covers and seagrass in coastal waters is of key importance in monitoring and managing Mediterranean shallow water environments often subject to both increasing anthropogenic impacts and climate change effects. In this context we present a methodology for effective monitoring and mapping of Posidonia oceanica (PO) meadows in turbid waters using remote sensing ...

This report contains the results of a 6-year project conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development on stream incision and meadow ecosystem degradation in the central Great Basin. The project included a coarse-scale assessment of 56 different meadows systems coupled wit...

Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are listed as vulnerable to extinction due to rapid population reductions caused in part by loss of seagrass feeding meadows. Understanding dugong feeding behaviour in tropical Australia, where the majority of dugongs live, will assist conservation strategies. We examined whether feeding patterns in intertidal seagrass meadows in tropical north-eastern Australia were rela...

Bees are a key component of biodiversity as they ensure a crucial ecosystem service: pollination. This ecosystem service is nowadays threatened, because bees suffer from agricultural intensification. Yet, bees rarely benefit from the measures established to promote biodiversity in farmland, such as agri-environment schemes (AES). We experimentally tested if the spatio-temporal modification of m...

When local resource users detect, understand, and respond to environmental change they can more effectively manage environmental resources. This article assesses these abilities among artisanal fishers in Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands. In a comparison of two villages, it documents local resource users' abilities to monitor long-term ecological change occurring to seagrass meadows near their c...