Social-ecology

Hippos are selective nocturnal grazers that are capable of modifying the landscape by creating grazing lawns. Lawns occur as a consequence of intensified, consistent cropping of tall bunch grass species, the effect of which is to modify vegetation dynamics within the landscape, such that the plant diversity of the landscape is enhanced, forage quality is improved, soil nutrient availability is augmented, and fire regimes may be altered. However, there is much ambiguity as to whether factors such as water table depth contribute toward lawn formation in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park system, or, whether lawns can be created based solely on feedbacks between past grazing events and future ones. Sampling took place in July 2012, during the dry season. Data were collected along 30 linear transects; 20 located in grazed vegetation (lawn sites) and 10 in adjacent non-grazed vegetation (non-lawn sites), and species composition, vegetation height, depth to the water table, soil C% and the fire margin were measured. Here we show that hippos were the primary biological agents contributing toward lawn formation, as water table depth was not a significant predictor of vegetation height. However, changes in vegetation across the landscape may be accentuated by soil type, grazing intensity and topography. The implication for park management is that culling the local hippo population is likely to have substantial ramifications on forage availability for smaller herbivores, plant community composition, as well as fire dynamics. However, the abiotic components of the system cannot be overlooked, and monitoring the effect of rainfall on flooding and on forage biomass will become increasingly important in a changing climate.

Hippos are selective nocturnal grazers that are capable of modifying the landscape by creating grazing lawns. Lawns occur as a consequence of intensified, consistent cropping of tall bunch grass species, the effect of which is to modify vegetation dynamics within the landscape, such that the plant diversity of the landscape is enhanced, forage quality is improved, soil nutrient availability is augmented, and fire regimes may be altered. However, there is much ambiguity as to whether factors such as water table depth contribute toward lawn formation in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park system, or, whether lawns can be created based solely on feedbacks between past grazing events and future ones. Sampling took place in July 2012, during the dry season. Data were collected along 30 linear transects; 20 located in grazed vegetation (lawn sites) and 10 in adjacent non-grazed vegetation (non-lawn sites), and species composition, vegetation height, depth to the water table, soil C% and the fire margin were measured. Here we show that hippos were the primary biological agents contributing toward lawn formation, as water table depth was not a significant predictor of vegetation height. However, changes in vegetation across the landscape may be accentuated by soil type, grazing intensity and topography. The implication for park management is that culling the local hippo population is likely to have substantial ramifications on forage availability for smaller herbivores, plant community composition, as well as fire dynamics. However, the abiotic components of the system cannot be overlooked, and monitoring the effect of rainfall on flooding and on forage biomass will become increasingly important in a changing climate.

Hippos are selective nocturnal grazers that are capable of modifying the landscape by creating grazing lawns. Lawns occur as a consequence of intensified, consistent cropping of tall bunch grass species, the effect of which is to modify vegetation dynamics within the landscape, such that the plant diversity of the landscape is enhanced, forage quality is improved, soil nutrient availability is augmented, and fire regimes may be altered. However, there is much ambiguity as to whether factors such as water table depth contribute toward lawn formation in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park system, or, whether lawns can be created based solely on feedbacks between past grazing events and future ones. Sampling took place in July 2012, during the dry season. Data were collected along 30 linear transects; 20 located in grazed vegetation (lawn sites) and 10 in adjacent non-grazed vegetation (non-lawn sites), and species composition, vegetation height, depth to the water table, soil C% and the fire margin were measured. Here we show that hippos were the primary biological agents contributing toward lawn formation, as water table depth was not a significant predictor of vegetation height. However, changes in vegetation across the landscape may be accentuated by soil type, grazing intensity and topography. The implication for park management is that culling the local hippo population is likely to have substantial ramifications on forage availability for smaller herbivores, plant community composition, as well as fire dynamics. However, the abiotic components of the system cannot be overlooked, and monitoring the effect of rainfall on flooding and on forage biomass will become increasingly important in a changing climate.

1. Despite high levels of disturbance and habitat modification, urban ecosystems still host substantial levels of biodiversity. The processes that maintain existing levels of diversity, however, remain understudied. Identifying the links between urban ecological processes and patterns has, therefore, become a fundamental research goal to support urban biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. 2. We conducted a study to determine how the diversity and composition of urban plant communities is affected by spatially and temporally variable land use legacies. We constructed a chronosequence of vacant lot properties covering a range of 3-22 years since demolition, in an urban neighbourhood in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). Surveys of herbaceous plant species abundance were conducted during the summers of 2012 and 2013 in sections of each vacant lot where the building previously stood (the "building footprint") and sections of the lot that was previously a backyard or garden (the "remnant garden"). 3. We found divergent patterns in plant community composition between areas of vacant lots with varying land use histories. This includes significant shifts in the functional composition of biotically vectored seed dispersal strategies, as well as an increase in seed mass and terminal velocity trait values of plant communities in building footprints over time. In addition, we found that plant communities in different sections of the same vacant lot tended to become more functionally dissimilar in seed dispersal strategies over time. In contrast, we found no significant changes in taxonomic diversity over time for any of our measures. 4. Policy implications. Our study suggests that regional-scale patterns of seed dispersal interact with diverse land use legacies to structure the plant communities of urban vacant lots. Although it has been suggested that highly altered local environmental conditions and competition from introduced species limit native plant diversity in urban environments, we find seed dispersal to be a more significant driver of urban plant community assembly patterns. Implementing management strategies that focus on habitat connectivity and enhancing species pools via seeding may present an effective strategy for promoting more successful establishment of diverse plant communities in urban environments.

1. Despite high levels of disturbance and habitat modification, urban ecosystems still host substantial levels of biodiversity. The processes that maintain existing levels of diversity, however, remain understudied. Identifying the links between urban ecological processes and patterns has, therefore, become a fundamental research goal to support urban biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. 2. We conducted a study to determine how the diversity and composition of urban plant communities is affected by spatially and temporally variable land use legacies. We constructed a chronosequence of vacant lot properties covering a range of 3-22 years since demolition, in an urban neighbourhood in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). Surveys of herbaceous plant species abundance were conducted during the summers of 2012 and 2013 in sections of each vacant lot where the building previously stood (the "building footprint") and sections of the lot that was previously a backyard or garden (the "remnant garden"). 3. We found divergent patterns in plant community composition between areas of vacant lots with varying land use histories. This includes significant shifts in the functional composition of biotically vectored seed dispersal strategies, as well as an increase in seed mass and terminal velocity trait values of plant communities in building footprints over time. In addition, we found that plant communities in different sections of the same vacant lot tended to become more functionally dissimilar in seed dispersal strategies over time. In contrast, we found no significant changes in taxonomic diversity over time for any of our measures. 4. Policy implications. Our study suggests that regional-scale patterns of seed dispersal interact with diverse land use legacies to structure the plant communities of urban vacant lots. Although it has been suggested that highly altered local environmental conditions and competition from introduced species limit native plant diversity in urban environments, we find seed dispersal to be a more significant driver of urban plant community assembly patterns. Implementing management strategies that focus on habitat connectivity and enhancing species pools via seeding may present an effective strategy for promoting more successful establishment of diverse plant communities in urban environments.

We argue here that public space research might benefit theoretically from the Southern Turn in urban studies. Our first objective is theoretical and methodological: unpack the idea of public space to make it suitable beyond its original location. Détienne’s work on Comparing the Incomparable, combined with Staeheli and Mitchell’s notion of “regimes of publicity” offer the theoretical tools for such a displacement. We end up thinking about public space as various, context-specific configurations of loosely structured, juridical, political, and social elements that take on new shapes and are prone to partial dislocation when dis-located. We test this model by displacing it to a piece of vacant land—Rondebosch Common in Cape Town. In so doing, we deal with our second objective: offering a detailed empirical analysis of the Occupy Rondebosch Common 2012 events, which relates to broader public space debates in contemporary, liminal, South Africa.

Congruence between plant and insect diversity is considered possibly useful in conservation planning, as the better known plants could be surrogates for the lesser known insects. There has been little quantification of congruence across space, especially in biodiversity rich areas. We compare here species richness, and turnover relationships between plants and flower-visiting insects across space (0.5–80 km) in natural areas of a biodiversity hotspot, the Greater Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. A total of 22,352 anthophile individuals in 198 species and 348 plant species were sampled. A comparison between the plants and anthophiles suggest significant concordance between the two assemblages. However, turnover was weaker in plants than in anthophiles. Plant turnover decreased with greater geographical distance between plot pairs. In contrast, insect turnover remained high with increasing geographical distance between plot pairs. These findings suggest that while patterns of plan...

South Africa, as a megadiverse country (±21 700 vascular plants, 4800 vertebrates and 68 900 invertebrates described), is presently engaged with an extended, modified Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). The country is fortunate in having a strong tradition of systematics research and, inter alia, houses several million preserved plant specimens (±1 million databased and georeferenced), allowing taxonomists and conservationists to track both the occurrence and distribution of indigenous and naturalized plant species. These rich local resources have been extensively drawn upon to deliver, with varying degrees of success, the 16 outcome-oriented GSPC 2010 Targets. The National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA, 2004), the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the National Biodiversity Framework (NBF) have provided a robust legislative, enabling and policy framework for making operational and advancing GSPC-related efforts. However, within an emerging economy, the conservation of biodiversity has competed for government resources with housing, sanitation, primary education, basic health care and crime prevention, delivery of which translates to the currency of politicians: votes. A key challenge identified by local (and global) biodiversity scientists for the current GSPC phase is broad-scale advocacy, communicating the changing state of nature, and the inter-relatedness of biodiversity and human well-being. The nature of meeting this challenge is explored.

Little urban ecological research has been done in South Africa. The papers in the Ecology and Society special feature Urban Ecological and Social-Ecological Research in the City of Cape Town make, therefore, an important contribution to the development of urban ecology locally and globally. Different approaches have been used in the study of urban ecology of different urban areas in South Africa. Cape Town is situated in a biodiversity hotspot and is the only South African city which includes a national park. As a result the urban ecological studies were mainly driven by urban nature conservation concerns. In other cities such as Durban, open space planning and environmental management were the major issues which focused ecological studies on urban areas whereas other studies of urban areas in the Eastern Cape and NorthWest provinces included private and public open spaces and man-made habitats. We reflect on the Cape Town studies in a South African context and highlight conservation of biodiversity, protection of ecosystem services, management of control measures, and the conflict between humans and nature. A brief synthesis has also been given of South African urban ecological research in general.

Current forest restoration practices for New York City's (NYC) MillionTreesNYC Initiative on public parkland include site preparation with extensive invasive species removal and tree and shrub planting with the goal of creating new multi-layered forests. We have launched a longterm investigation of these sites in order to understand the primary physical, chemical, and biological responses of urban ecosystems to MillionTreesNYC forest restoration practices. This research will examine high and low diversity tree and understory planting combinations in permanent experimental forest restoration plots across NYC. The study assesses how the interactions between soil heterogeneity, plant population dynamics, and forest restoration management strategies drive urban forest ecosystem structure and functioning. Working in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) and the MillionTreesNYC tree planting campaign, we are examining different restoration strategies to assess how restoration practices affect the ecological development trajectories of newly established forests in NYC.

Parks and private and public gardens do not exist in isolation, but form part of the urban fabric, contribut- ing to ecological functioning. There is growing interest in how civil society shapes urban ecologies and vegetation patterns. This paper explores the ecological outcomes of a series of indigenous plant greening interventions in Cape Town. The six different sites were sampled: two civic-led intervention sites, one expert-led rehabilitation site, two conservation sites and one abandoned site. These sites are compared in terms of their plant and insect diversity and then discussed in relation to their contingent management arrangements and in relation to conservation and abandoned land. Plant and insect diversity measured at the civic-led greening intervention sites suggest these sites are similar to adjacent conservation sites, while floristic composition differs. The inclusion of a vacant lot with poor species and growth form diver- sity shows the significant role of intervention in the ecological reformation of urban green space. By emphasizing the ecological outcomes, this study highlights the importance of civil society in linking con- servation goals to more broad-based notions of quality of life and the ‘good and just city’. Our results indicate that civic-led efforts warrant attention in keeping with those of experts, both in relation to meeting indigenous conservation targets, as well as supporting functional groups and wider ecological processes, with the acknowledged exception of fire. How to integrate such civic-led interventions into urban biodiversity management planning is still an open question.

Current forest restoration practices for New York City's (NYC) MillionTreesNYC Initiative on public parkland include site preparation with extensive invasive species removal and tree and shrub planting with the goal of creating new multi-layered forests. We have launched a longterm investigation of these sites in order to understand the primary physical, chemical, and biological responses of urban ecosystems to MillionTreesNYC forest restoration practices. This research will examine high and low diversity tree and understory planting combinations in permanent experimental forest restoration plots across NYC. The study assesses how the interactions between soil heterogeneity, plant population dynamics, and forest restoration management strategies drive urban forest ecosystem structure and functioning. Working in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) and the MillionTreesNYC tree planting campaign, we are examining different restoration strategies to assess how restoration practices affect the ecological development trajectories of newly established forests in NYC.

Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind is certainly one of the worst books ever written on the subject of education. Yet, despite its theoretical naiveté and its vast historical ignorance, it has been taken seriously. It has been perceived by many as a grave and trenchant indictment of American higher education, even by some otherwise intelligent people. One might dismiss this reaction, assuming that the book has merely fulfilled an ideological need that has nothing to do with the book's merits or demerits. Yet, I think that there is more basis for its notoriety than this. What Bloom exploited on behalf of his reactionary, know-nothing position is the profound intuition that American higher education has lost its sense of direction, or at least, that it has lost its sense of direction qua education. It has no philosophical or spiritual rationale. It is adrift, carried along by strong currents over which it seemingly has no control. What Bloom ignored in his self-satisfied oblivion was the major cause of this directionlessness. According to his strange mixture of elitist conspiracy theory and pop sociology, the destruction of higher education is the work of such noxious forces as black liberation movements, feminism, and, most ominously, German philosophy. As he explains it, the hapless American student, deluged by skepticism, historicism, and cultural relativism, is robbed of the firmly held set of traditional values that God and Nature ordained from all eternity for the well-educated young American.