Spatial analysis of the coincidence of rare vascular plants and landforms in the Carolinian zone of Canada: implications for protection

Assessing biodiversity in natural landscapes continues to be a focus of attention. While some researchers assess the value of predictive features, such as land‐form, others examine concentrations of rare species, seeking insight into their significance. In this paper I examine two inter‐related concepts. I explore the distributions of rare species on the landscape, assessing correlations between landform, numbers of rare species, and protected areas. I also examine the role of protected sites in maintaining biodiversity. Using records of rare plant collections for the south‐western portion of Ontario (the Carolinian zone) that were compiled as part of the Atlas of Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario project, and combining these with a) a map of the landforms of south‐western Ontario and b) the locations of protected areas within this region, an analysis was made of the spatial coincidence of rare vascular plants, landforms and protected areas. The findings here indicate that protected areas are critically aligned with the distribution of rare vascular plant species. While protected areas occupy less than 2 percent of the study region, approximately 20 percent of the 4379 unique rare plant records analyzed (representing 170 of the 293 rare species in the database or 68%) were collected from a protected site. In addition, while 42 percent of the rare vascular plant records occur on a single landform type, sand plains, sand plains occupy only 18 percent of the region. And while 24 percent of the study region is composed of till plains, less than 2 percent of the rare plant collections were found on this landform. Significantly, four land‐forms, representing 50 percent of the study region, support over 80 percent of all rare plant collections. L'évaluation de biodiversité dans les paysages naturels continue d'être un point de mire. Pendant que certains chercheurs estiment la valeur des caracteristiques prédictives, telles que des formes de relief, d'autres examinent les concentrations d'espèces rares pour comprendre leur signification. Dans cet exposé, j'examine deux concepts intereliés. J'explore les distributions d'espèces rares dans le paysage, évaluant les corrélations entre les formes de relief, les nombres d'espèces rares, et les sites protégés. J'examine aussi le rôle des sites protégés dans la conservation de biodiversité. La coïncidence spatiale des plantes vasculaires rares, formes de relief, et sites protégés a été analysée. L'analyse utilise, en partie, l'inventaire de collections de plantes rares pour une région dans le sud‐ouest de l'Ontario. Cet inventaire a été compilé pour le projet Atlas of Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario. L'analyse totale combine cet inventaire avec (a) une carte des formes de relief dans le sud‐ouest de l'Ontario et (b) les emplacements des sites protégés dans la même région. Les resultats indiquent que les sites protégés sont fortement alignés avec la distribution d'espèces rares. Alors que les sites protégés occupent mains que 2 pour cent de la region étudiée, environ 20 pour cent des 4379 plantes rares uniques analysées (représentant 7 70 des 293 espèces rares dans la banque de données ou 68%) se trouvent sur des sites protégés. De plus, alors que 42 pour cent des plantes rares se retrouvent sur un seul type de forme de relief (plaine de sable), ce type occupe seulement 18 pour cent de la région. Et alors que les plaines constituent 24 pour cent de la région, mains que 2 pour cent des plantes rares se retrouvent sur celles‐ci. Fait révélateur, quatre formes de relief constituent 50 pour cent la région étudiée mais elles soutiennent plus que 80 pour cent des plantes rares.     

The View from the Verandah: Prospect,Refuge and Leisure

The verandah, a characteristic feature of Australia architecture, is commonly found in many parts of the world. Introduced into Australia by the British at a time when verandahs were popular both in England and the colonies, these structures were not merely practical responses to climatic conditions. It is argued that beyond the functional considerations of comfort and convenience, verandahs and similar structures are a response to and an expression of landscape aesthetic preferences for which Appleton has offered an explanation in terms of prospect-refuge theory. The overlapping prospect-refuge and information processing theories are discussed in relation to the survival value of leisure to provide a possible explanation of the widespread popularity of verandahs.     

LITERATURE AND EVERYDAY LIFE*

The work of several authors (Adorno, Benjamin, Berger, Lukacs, and Sartre) who have Marxist-related approaches to literature is examined in order to present a review of the problems involved in the relationship between literature and everyday life. It is suggested that literature does not have to be “applied” or “realistic” to convey what is implicated in different literary forms and genres (novels, short stories, and poetry).     

Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the Eucharist: Review and Prospects

This article reviews the history of the important dialogue on the Eucharist by the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) underway since the second half of the twentieth century and continuing into the present. Agreed statements from the commission addressing the Eucharist and comments from various bodies of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church are critically reviewed. Prospects for future dialogue are assessed and suggestions made about areas that may be the subject of future dialogue.     

1. INTRODUCTION

Why were mid‐nineteenth‐century Hispanic populations so small in what is now the American Southwest, after centuries of colonization? A brilliant new literature provides a model of explanation in the authority of formidable indigenous polities, especially that great power that Pekka Hämäläinen reveals to us in his book The Comanche Empire. ¹ 1 Pekka Hämäläinen, The Comanche Empire (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008).
Employing an exercise in cartographic history, centered on the Pecos River Valley, we can confirm a hypothesis drawn from that theoretical model: Comanche sway was so great that European mapmakers appear to have lost knowledge about that geographical region. This new historical model deserves close attention from scholars. In this forum, four leading historians, drawn from different fields, assess the contribution of The Comanche Empire.     

Lake Nuga Nuga: a Levee‐dammed Lake in Central Queensland,Australia

Lake Nuga Nuga is a levee‐dammed lake in the dry sub‐humid tropics of the Fitzroy Basin in Central Queensland, Australia, that has expanded significantly since it was first mapped in 1866. ²¹⁰Pb dating of a sediment core from the lake indicates that the rate of sedimentation has been constant for the past 67 years at 3 mm yr^?1 despite widespread clearing and land use intensification in the catchment during that time. Pollen analysis confirms this and shows that there was little change in vegetation during the early settlement period (1863–1962), but the intensification of land use that started in the early 1960s brought about a dramatic change in the vegetation communities. This study demonstrates that while sediment production may be significantly impacted by land‐use activities, sediment delivery is primarily controlled by topography.     

Civil risk and landscapes of marginality in Canada: a pluralist approach to social justice

The geographies of civil risk, human rights and social justice in relation to a pluralist notion of justice lie at the heart of this paper. We define civil risk as a failure of human rights, brought about by institutional processes constructed over time, space and place, which create disadvantages for marginalized social groups. Geography is integral both to civil risk and social justice because marginalization is a spatial process articulated through the deployment of institutional power across space to create socially constructed differences between dominant and subordinate groups. In this respect, we emphasize that rights are constructed in relation to dominant interests, and not according to the conditions of risk that give rise to marginalized individuals and groups. Drawing on research in social theory that emphasizes the importance of positionality and social difference, the paper argues that a principle of risk rather than rights must motivate social justice. We examine distinct forms of marginalization in Canada ‐ gender, sexual orientation, ‘race’ and aboriginal status ‐ to illustrate the importance of the historico‐geographical context of marginalization and the paradoxical nature of the relationship between risk and rights. In considering these forms of marginality and their landscapes, we argue the need for a pluralist notion of justice that will explicitly take positionality into account in achieving equality rights, reducing civil risk and mediating shared spaces. Les géographies du risque civil, des droits de la personne et de la justice sociale en relation avec une conception pluraliste de la justice sont au coeur de cet article. Nous définissons le risque civil comme un échec des droits de la personne créé par des processus institutionnels qui sont eux‐mêmes construits à travers le temps, l'espace et le lieu. Ces processus, et leur expression géographique, créent des désavantages pour les groupes marginaux dans notre société. La géographie est impliquée dans le risque civil et la justice sociale parce que la marginalisation est un processus spatial qui s'articule par le déploiement du pouvoir institutionnel à travers l'espace pour créer les différences socialement construites entre les groupes dominants et subordonnés. En ce sens, nous soutenons que les droits sont construits en relation aux intérêts dominants, mais pas en accord aux conditions de risque qui créent les individus et les groupes marginalisés. Utilisant des études en théorie sociale qui mettent un accent sur l'importance de la ‘positionnalité’ et la différence sociale, nous suggérons que le principe de risque plutôt que les droits doit motiver la justice sociale. Nous examinons quelques formes distinctes de marginalisation au Canada ‐ les rapports sociaux entre les sexes, l'orientation sexuelle, la ‘race’ et le statut autochtone ‐ pour illustrer l'importance du contexte historico‐géographique de la marginalisation et le caractère paradoxal de la relation entre le risque et les droits. En considérant ces formes de marginalité et leurs paysages, nous argumentons pour la nécessité d'avoir une notion pluraliste de justice qui considérera explicitement la ‘positionnalité’ dans tous ses efforts de réaliser les droits d'égalité, la réduction du risque civil et la médiation des espaces partagés.