Large protected areas are often considered natural yet outside pressures may compromise ecological integrity. This paper points to a problem in assessing ecological baselines: what if species’ extirpations go undetected? I present a data set spanning 130 years that demonstrates the loss of white-tailed jack rabbits Lepus townsendii from two National Parks in the well studied 60,000 km Greater Y...

Ecological network analysis is used to evaluate the impact of pesticide use on ecological systems in the context of agricultural farmland environments. The aim is to provide support for the design of effective and minimally damaging pest control strategies. The ecological network analysis can identify species that are important to the integrity of the ecological network. The methodology can be ...

Density management decision-support systems (e.g., modular-based structural stand density management models (SSDMMs)), which are built upon the modeling platform used to develop stand density management diagrams, incorporate a number of functional relationships derived from forest production theory and quantitative ecology. Empirically, however, the ecological integrity of these systems has not...

A mosaic of protected areas, including indigenous lands, sustainable-use production forests and reserves and strictly protected forests is the cornerstone of conservation in the Amazon, with almost 50 per cent of the region now protected. However, recent research indicates that isolation from direct deforestation or degradation may not be sufficient to maintain the ecological integrity of Amazo...

I review the distribution of ant genera in cold biomes of the northern hemisphere, and discuss opportunities and challenges in using ants as environmental, ecological, and biodiversity indicators in these biomes. I present five propositions that, if supported with future research, would allow ants to be used as biological indicators in north-temperate cold biomes: (1) Distribution of individual...

The present paper argues that the operational conditions for Ecologically Sustainable Economic Development (ESED) may be described by a traditional welfare criterion: ESED refers to a process of economic processes that ensure the environmental prerequisites for an efficient evolution of intergenerational welfare. Under the premise of an unknown and unknowable structure of future generations’ we...

769 Humans have long been fascinated by the dynamism of free-flowing waters. Yet we have expended great effort to tame rivers for transportation, water supply, flood control, agriculture, and power generation. It is now recognized that harnessing of streams and rivers comes at great cost: Many rivers no longer support socially valued native species or sustain healthy ecosystems that provide imp...

Urban open spaces are invaluable assets in maintaining ecological health in a highly developed urban matrix. Unfortunately, habitat values and ecological quality of these areas are often challenged by consecutive urbanization. The assessment of changing structure and function of an urban open space system is crucial in maintaining livable cities. General characteristics and types of open spaces...