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Correlates of long-term land-cover change and protected area performance at priority conservation sites in Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2017
ALISON E. BERESFORD ,
GRAEME M. BUCHANAN ,
BEN PHALAN ,
GEORGE W. ESHIAMWATA ,
ANDREW BALMFORD ,
ANDREAS B. BRINK ,
LINCOLN D.C. FISHPOOL and
PAUL F. DONALD
ALISON E. BERESFORD*
RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, 2 Lochside View, Edinburgh, EH12 9DH, UK
GRAEME M. BUCHANAN
BEN PHALAN
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
GEORGE W. ESHIAMWATA
BirdLife International – Africa Partnership Secretariat, PO Box 3502-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Department of Natural Resources, Egerton University, Kenya
ANDREW BALMFORD
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
ANDREAS B. BRINK
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Land Resource Management Unit, Ispra, Italy
LINCOLN D.C. FISHPOOL
BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK
*Correspondence: Alison E. Beresford email: alison.beresford@rspb.org.uk
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The loss of natural habitats is a major threat to biodiversity, and protected area designation is one of the standard responses to this threat. However, greater understanding of the drivers of habitat loss and of the circumstances under which protected areas succeed or fail is still needed. We use visual assessment of satellite images to quantify land-cover change over periods of up to 30 years in and around a matched sample of protected and unprotected Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Africa. We modelled the annual survival of forests and other natural land covers as a function of a range of environmental and anthropic predictors of plausible drivers. The best-supported model indicated that survival rates of natural land cover were highest in steeper areas, at higher altitudes, in areas with lower human population densities and in areas where the cover of natural habitats was already higher at the start of the period. Survival rates of natural land cover in protected areas were, on average, around twice those in unprotected areas, but the differences between them varied along different environmental gradients. The overall survival rates of both protected and unprotected forests were significantly lower than those of other natural land-cover types, but the net benefit of protection, in terms of the absolute difference in rates of loss between protected and unprotected sites, was higher in forests. Interaction terms indicated that as slope and altitude increased, the natural protection offered by topography increasingly nullified the additional benefits of legislative protection. Furthermore, protected area designation offered reduced additional benefits to the survival of natural land cover in areas where rates of conversion were higher at the start of the observation period. Variation in the impacts of protected area status along different environmental gradients indicates that targets to improve the world's protected area network, such as Aichi Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, need to look beyond simple area-based metrics. Our methods and results contribute to the development of a protocol for prioritizing places where protection is likely to have the greatest effect.
bird conservationdeforestationland-cover conversionhabitat lossCBDprotected areas
Non-Thematic Papers
Environmental Conservation , Volume 45 , Issue 1: Thematic section. Humans and Island Environments , March 2018 , pp. 49 - 57
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2017
Conversion of natural habitats is one of the biggest threats to global biodiversity (Pereira et al. Reference Pereira, Leadley, Proenca, Alkemade, Scharlemann, Fernandez-Manjarres, Araujo, Balvanera, Biggs, Cheung, Chini, Cooper, Gilman, Guenette, Hurtt, Huntington, Mace, Oberdorff, Revenga, Rodrigues, Scholes, Sumaila and Walpole2010), and designation of protected areas (PAs) is one of the most widespread approaches to mitigating this threat. It is now well established that PAs can be effective at reducing rates of loss of natural land cover (e.g. Andam et al. Reference Andam, Ferraro, Pfaff, Sanchez-Azofeifa and Robalino2008; Gaveau et al. Reference Gaveau, Epting, Lyne, Linkie, Kumara, Kanninen and Leader-Williams2009; Selig & Bruno Reference Selig and Bruno2010; Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013; Geldmann et al. Reference Geldmann, Barnes, Coad, Craigie, Hockings and Burgess2013; Butsic et al. Reference Butsic, Baumann, Shortland, Walker and Kuemmerle2015), but that they vary greatly in the extent to which they achieve this (Andam et al. Reference Andam, Ferraro, Pfaff, Sanchez-Azofeifa and Robalino2008; Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2011; Francoso et al. Reference Francoso, Brandao, Nogueira, Salmona, Machado and Colli2015; Paiva et al. Reference Paiva, Brites and Machado2015). Targets for expanding PA networks are often based largely or solely on the area covered. Aichi Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) sets targets for the coverage of land and sea by PAs, but then simply states that these need to be effectively managed. It does not set a target against which this effectiveness can be assessed. Thus, designation alone is an insufficient measure of the effectiveness of a PA network. Conservation also requires an understanding of the effectiveness of protection and how this varies between locations. Estimates of both extent and effectiveness are needed in order to develop effective networks of PAs capable of meeting conservation targets at local to global scales.
As there have been inconsistencies in the way that terms such as 'impact' and 'effectiveness' of PAs have been applied and interpreted across different studies, we identify three key elements determining the overall impact of a PA: (i) the conservation value of the site, which is a function of the biota it holds and its area; (ii) the degree of threat to the site; and (iii) the degree to which that threat is reduced by designation (i.e. the effectiveness of protection).
Analysis of the effectiveness of PAs is not as simple as comparing rates of change with surrounding areas or randomly chosen points due to the non-random distribution of PAs within the landscape (Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2009; Nelson & Chomitz Reference Nelson and Chomitz2011; Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2011; Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013; Pfaff et al. Reference Pfaff, Robalino, Sandoval and Herrera2015a) and to other effects, such as the potential 'leakage' of conversion from within to outside the PA boundary (Ewers & Rodrigues Reference Ewers and Rodrigues2008; Robalino et al. Reference Robalino, Pfaff and Villalobos2015). Consequently, it is necessary to match protected (treatment) and unprotected (control) sites in order to control for confounding effects that might drive the likelihood of both designation and conversion. Matching by appropriate characteristics that may influence these rates can effectively control for locational bias in the siting of PAs (Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2011; Nelson & Chomitz Reference Nelson and Chomitz2011; Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013).
A number of studies have been undertaken on regional to global scales in which sites have been matched by variables such as ecoregion, rainfall, agricultural suitability, elevation, slope and distance from roads and urban areas, with an consensus emerging that impacts in terms of avoided conversion are greatest on flatter land and at sites near to roads and cities (Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2011; Pfaff et al. Reference Pfaff, Robalino, Sandoval and Herrera2015a). The effectiveness of PAs in meeting their potential can be influenced by a range of factors, such the type of designation and the level and effectiveness of enforcement, as well as the siting and accessibility of the PA (Nelson & Chomitz Reference Nelson and Chomitz2011; Pfaff et al. Reference Pfaff, Robalino, Lima, Sandoval and Herrera2014; Pfaff et al. Reference Pfaff, Robalino, Herrera and Sandoval2015b).
Even in studies in which matching is used to assess more accurately PA impacts, it can still be difficult to disentangle the relative effects of different elements of impact, as there are often complex interactions between them (Geldmann et al. Reference Geldmann, Barnes, Coad, Craigie, Hockings and Burgess2013). In particular, there are often negative correlations between threat and effectiveness, with protection being more effective on sites with lower impact in terms of avoided conversion (e.g. Ahrends et al. Reference Ahrends, Burgess, Milledge, Bulling, Fisher, Smart, Clarke, Mhoro and Lewis2010; Boakes et al. Reference Boakes, Mace, McGowan and Fuller2010; Brun et al. Reference Brun, Cook, Lee, Wich, Koh and Carrasco2015). On the other hand, threat and conservation value are often positively correlated, with sites containing the most threatened habitats being considered to be those of highest conservation value.
These relationships are further complicated by the fact that a single variable such as slope, elevation or accessibility can often influence – or correlate with – more than one element of impact. For example, protected sites on steeper slopes may be more effective than those on flatter ground, but may have a lower impact in terms of avoided conversion if rates of conversion are already low because of the steeper ground (Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2011). Depending on how conservation value is measured, the tendency for low rates of conversion may mean that the site is considered of high conservation value (i.e. pristine condition) or of relatively low value (if low conversion rates result in it being relatively abundant in the landscape).
Much conservation effort is focused on the designation and management of PAs across the globe, so a better understanding of the factors influencing their effectiveness in reducing the conversion of natural land cover is needed in order to assess the relative benefits of existing PAs and to identify sites whose future protection would bring the greatest benefits. This is especially true given that they represent the mechanism through which so many conservation issues are tackled. Of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets set under the CBD, Target 11 relates directly to the designation of PAs. PA networks can also make a major contribution to other targets (e.g. Target 1, relating to the awareness of people of the values of biodiversity; Target 5, relating to loss of natural habitats; Target 12, on preventing the extinction of known threatened species; Target 14, on the preservation of ecosystem services; and Target 15, on carbon storage; Scharlemann et al. Reference Scharlemann, Kapos, Campbell, Lysenko, Burgess, Hansen, Gibbs, Dickson and Miles2010; Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Buchanan, Sanderson, Jefferson and Donald2016). They also have a recognized role to play in mitigating the impacts of climate change on people and biodiversity (Loarie et al. Reference Loarie, Duffy, Hamilton, Asner, Field and Ackerly2009; Thomas & Gillingham Reference Thomas and Gillingham2015).
In a previous study (Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013), we focused on measuring the impact of protection in terms of avoided conversion by comparing rates of loss of natural land cover between protected and unprotected sites of recognized conservation value (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs)) in Africa. IBAs are sites of global significance for the conservation of the world's birds, identified using semi-quantitative criteria (Fishpool & Evans Reference Fishpool and Evans2001), and are Key Biodiversity Areas (IUCN 2016). The most prevalent threats to African IBAs are associated with land-cover change (Buchanan et al. Reference Buchanan, Donald, Fishpool, Arinaitwe, Balman and Mayaux2009). Use of this set of sites eliminates from our study the influence of PAs of relatively low conservation value that were designated primarily because of their low opportunity cost and low likelihood of conversion.
We previously established that protection is effective at reducing – but not halting – land-cover change on protected IBAs compared to unprotected IBAs (Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013). Here, we develop this work by using the same database of spatially explicit information on land-cover change in and around African IBAs in order to identify the characteristics of points that were (and were not) converted during the study. In doing so, we hope to identify potential drivers of conversion and enable proactive conservation. This information could be used to better target monitoring of sites. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, we could identify areas most at risk from habitat loss and potentially increase the rapidity with which threats are tackled on the ground in these places. We produce statistical models of relationships (generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs)) and consider the interaction between correlate variables and whether or not the point is protected. By examining output-fitted relationships, we can determine whether the form of the relationship varies within and outside PAs. This allows differing conservation strategies to be developed within and outside PAs, if appropriate. By investigating changes on sites of objectively defined high conservation importance (IBAs), this is the first study to control for variation in potential impact in terms of conservation value, as well as avoided conversion, which we account for using site-level matching.
Protected and unprotected IBAs were matched at the site level to reduce the known problem of the non-random distributions of PAs, which are often designated in remote and inaccessible areas where the risk of damage is inherently lower than in more accessible areas (Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2009). Matching ensures that protected sites are compared with unprotected sites with a comparable risk of sustaining damage by controlling for some of the most likely correlates of environmental risk. Full details of the selection process are given in Beresford et al. (Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013). This selection process resulted in a set of 54 protected and 49 unprotected IBAs from the 793 IBAs in continental sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar for which digital boundaries were available. Our sample of 103 sites differs slightly from Beresford et al. (Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013) because we include IBAs from countries for which only a single site was selected by the matching process. We obtained site protection status by intersecting the boundaries of all IBAs with the boundaries of all 1580 nationally designated PAs in Africa from the World Database on Protected Areas (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories I to VI) that had digitized boundaries (IUCN & UNEP-WCMC 2010). We defined protected IBAs as those that fell wholly or mostly (>90%) within the boundaries of PAs that had been designated before 1985. Partially (<90%) protected sites and those whose protection status changed immediately before or during the assessment period were excluded from the selection process. We defined unprotected IBAs as those that did not overlap any PAs, irrespective of PA designation date. We excluded from our analysis all IBAs smaller than 10 km2, because the number of points at which we could have assessed land cover would have been small. We matched protected and unprotected IBAs using the command 'subclass' in the MatchIt package (Ho et al. Reference Ho, Imai, King and Ferrer2011) in R (R Development Core Team 2010). We matched sites on the basis of area, mean altitude (both from BirdLife International (2011)), mean distance from roads (National Imagery and Mapping Agency 2000), mean human population density (CIESIN & CIAT 2005) and the most extensive GLC2000 land-cover class in the IBA (Mayaux et al. Reference Mayaux, Bartholomé, Fritz and Belward2004). Site-level matching ensured that protected and unprotected IBAs were similar at the landscape level.
Assessment of land-cover change
We used visual interpretation of satellite imagery to assess dominant land cover within 300 × 300-m sample boxes ('points') in each IBA and in a surrounding 20-km buffer using a dedicated graphical user interface (Bastin et al. Reference Bastin, Buchanan, Beresford, Pekel and Dubois2013). Points were distributed on a regular grid and spaced 0.5 km apart in IBAs of <50 km2, 1.5 km apart in IBAs of >50 km2 and 3 km apart in the 20-km buffers. Excluding points where cloud-free images were unavailable for any one time period, this gave a total of 20,481 points assessed within IBAs and 17,870 points in their buffers. We recorded land cover at each point once in each of three time periods: 1981–1994, 1995–2004 and 2005–2009. The years of sampling varied according to the availability of high-quality, cloud-free images. Variation between sites in years of sampling was controlled in the analyses by modelling survival of natural land cover as a point-specific exposure period (see below).
For the years from 1981 to 2002, we used freely available imagery from Landsat (http://www.landcover.org; Tucker et al. Reference Tucker, Grant and Dykstra2004). For the years 2003–2009, we used a combination of Landsat imagery (http://glovis.usgs.gov) and purchased Aster images. All images had a spatial resolution of 30 m. We excluded points for which no data were available (because of cloud, poor image quality or the failure of Landsat 7's scan line corrector after 2003) in one or more of the sampling periods. We also excluded the small number of points in some IBA buffers that overlapped other PAs or IBAs.
The dominant land cover at each point in each time period was allocated to one of 11 broad categories: closed tree cover; open tree cover; mosaic of natural and agricultural vegetation; shrub; herbaceous; tree and shrub crops; arable crops; open water; flooded shrub and herbaceous; urban; and bare (classification based on Di Gregorio & Jansen (Reference Di Gregorio and Jansen2000)). Of these categories, we considered four as 'non-natural' land covers: mosaic of natural and agricultural vegetation; tree and shrub crops; arable crops; and urban. The others were considered 'natural' land covers. For points at which the initial land cover was closed or open tree cover (forests), subsequent change to any other land cover was counted as conversion. For other natural land covers, only conversion to non-natural land covers was counted as conversion. Across all land-cover types, natural and non-natural land covers could be separated with an estimated accuracy of c. 94%; further details on interpretation and validation are given in Beresford et al. (Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013).
Correlates of land-cover change
In addition to the potential correlates of land-cover change used in the initial site matching (area, altitude, distance to roads, human population density and most extensive land cover), we obtained maps of market accessibility (Nelson Reference Nelson2008), elevation (Jenness et al. Reference Jenness, Dooley, Aguilar-Manjarrez and Riva2007), slope (USGS 2006), agricultural suitability (Fischer et al. Reference Fischer, van Velthuizen, Shah and Nachtergaele2002), cropland cover in 1990 (Ramankutty et al. Reference Ramankutty, Evan, Monfreda and Foley2008) and biome (Olson et al. Reference Olson, Dinerstein, Wikramanayake, Burgess, Powell, Underwood, D'amico, Itoua, Strand, Morrison, Colby, Allnutt, Ricketts, Kura, Lamoreux, Wettengel, Hedao and Kassem2001). We included a four-level 'class' factor denoting whether a point fell within a protected IBA or its buffer or an unprotected IBA or its buffer, and a covariate indicating the distance of each point from the edge of the IBA, with negative values indicating points within the IBA and positive values indicating points outside the IBA (Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013). A summary of the explanatory variables and their sources is given in Table 1. We included the initial land-cover category at each point as a categorical variable and calculated the proportions of other points within 5 km of each point that were already dominated by non-natural land cover in the initial time period (1981–1994). Spatial data manipulation and processing were undertaken in ArcGIS 10.1. Human population density, slope and altitude were log-transformed prior to analysis.
Table 1 Variables used to model land-cover change in and around 103 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Africa. Categorical variables are shown in bold. SRTM = Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
Land-cover conversion was modelled as a Bernoulli process in a generalized linear mixed model framework using the 'glmer' package in R (R Development Core Team 2010). The natural land cover at each point was considered to have survived (if it remained as natural land cover) or not (if it was converted to a non-natural land cover) during a point-specific exposure period, thus controlling for different periods of observation across points. Exposure in the case of points at which natural land cover was not converted was the number of years over which each point was observed (the period between the earliest and latest years of satellite imagery used for each point). For points at which land cover was converted between the first and second or between the second and third assessments, we assumed that loss occurred halfway between the first assessment at which conversion was first recorded and the previous assessment, and calculated the exposure period accordingly.
A binary survival/conversion variable was fitted as the dependent variable and the point-specific exposure period (in years) was fitted as a binomial denominator, allowing us to derive annual survival probabilities that were comparable across all points. Country and site (IBA code) were included in initial models as random effects, either in separate models or as a nested random effect in the same model. Once the best-supported set of random effects had been decided using the 'anova' command in 'glmer', the best combination of fixed effects was assessed.
Given the large number of explanatory variables and the many plausible interactions between them, we adopted a pragmatic approach to model selection. First, we fitted all possible combinations of up to a maximum of five explanatory variables (excluding the selected random effects, which remained in all models, and without interactions) using the 'dredge' function of the R package 'MuMIn' (Bartoń Reference Bartoń2012). These models were ranked by the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and that with the lowest AIC was used as a base from which to assess support for more heavily parameterized models. To the five-or-fewer-variable model selected, we next added the quadratic terms of any covariates in that model; these were retained if they significantly improved the model (reflected in an AIC of 2 or more units lower than the model without the quadratic term(s)). We then added and removed each remaining explanatory variable in turn to select the best-supported model and compared each of these to the previous model using the AIC and likelihood ratio tests in order to assess whether fitting an extra variable to the previous model improved the fit. The process was repeated until the addition of any further variable could not reduce the AIC by at least 2. We then fitted a number of plausible interactions to the model and compared the resulting candidate models using the AIC and likelihood ratio tests. Finally, we assessed whether any simplification of the final model was justified by comparing the AIC of the final model with the AICs of all subsets of that model that lacked each explanatory variable in turn. The relative importance of each predictor was also assessed from this comparison. Once a final model was adopted, we assessed its goodness of fit using the method of Nakagawa and Schielzeth (Reference Nakagawa and Schielzeth2013) with the 'r.squaredGLMM' command in 'MuMIn'.
When accounting for the random effect of IBA, the overall annual survival rate across all natural habitats was 0.996, equating to an overall survival rate of 88.7% over 30 years. The best-supported model of five or fewer variables contained slope, human population density, the four-level protection class, initial land-cover type and the extent of already converted land within 5 km at the start of the observation period (Table 2). This model carried an AIC weight relative to the other competing models of 1, and all other candidate models of five or fewer variables had ΔAIC >37.5 with respect to this model. Likelihood ratio tests supported simplification of this model by reducing the four-level protection class variable to a binary classification in which unprotected IBAs and the buffers of both protected and unprotected IBAs were all classed as 'unprotected', and protected IBAs were classed as 'protected'. A model in which the quadratic term of slope was fitted received greater support than a model without this term, but the same was not true for the quadratic terms of human population density or the proportion of points within 5 km that had been converted to non-natural habitats by the start of the exposure period (Table 2). The addition of altitude and its quadratic term further improved the model (Table 2). The best-supported model was that which also included interactions between protected status and slope, protected status and altitude, protected status and initial conversion and protected status and initial land-cover type (Table 2). Removal of each variable in turn from this model confirmed that no simpler model received greater support, although a model that lacked the interaction between protected status and altitude was within 2 AIC units. The marginal R 2 of the final model (i.e. the variation explained only by the fixed effects) was 0.265, and the conditional R 2 (fixed + random effects) was 0.382. This model indicated that the survival rate of natural land cover increased with increasing slope and altitude and with decreasing human population density, that it was higher in PAs then in unprotected sites, that it varied between major land-cover classes and that it was lower in already heavily converted areas. The interactions indicated that the effects on survival rates of slope, altitude, initial conversion and land-cover types varied between protected and unprotected areas.
Table 2 Model selection table showing the relative support for the null model (random effects only), the best-supported model of five or fewer variables ('best-5-var'), the same model with quadratic terms fitted for one or more of the covariates decided using the Akaike information criterion (AIC; 'best-5-var-quad'), the best-supported model that added an extra variable to the previous model ('best-6-var'), the same model with quadratic terms fitted for the covariate added in the previous step ('best-6-var-quad') and the same model with the best-supported combination of interactions assessed by ΔAIC ('best-6-var-quad-i'). No model with seven or more variables received as much support from the data as the best-supported six-variable models. Important Bird and Biodiversity Area was fitted as a random effect in all models and is not shown. S = slope; A = altitude; H = human population density; I = initial land-cover type; P = protected area status; C = proportion of surrounding points already converted to non-natural land-cover types by start of exposure period; K = number of parameters estimated. Asterisks indicate interactions between variables whose main effects were also included in the model.
Predicted values were generated for each parameter included in the final model by holding each of the other variables in the model, except the binary variable relating to protected status, at its mean or, in the case of factors, at its reference level. This revealed that PAs had lower rates of loss than unprotected areas, but the interactions in the model indicated that this pattern varied across the range of values of other parameters (Fig. 1). Survival of natural habitats increased with increasing slope and altitude, and at high values of both there was little difference between protected and unprotected areas. Survival declined with increasing human population density and with the amount of adjacent land that had already been converted by the start of the observation period. There was little effect of protected status on subsequent rates of loss of natural land cover where land conversion of nearby cells was already high at the start of the exposure period (Fig. 1). Survival varied by major land-cover type, as did the relative benefits of protected status within land-cover types; closed and open forest suffered the greatest overall rates of loss, but the difference between rates of loss in protected and unprotected IBAs was greater in these habitats than was the case in other habitats, indicating a greater impact of PAs in terms of avoided conversion (Fig. 2).
Figure 1 Variation in modelled values (±1 SE) of annual survival rate of natural habitats with slope, altitude, human population density and the amount of conversion that had already taken place by the start of the observation period. Grey = unprotected sites; black = protected areas. Curves were generated using the best-supported model in Table 2 fitted to data in which all variables except the covariate of interest and protected area status were constrained to their mean or reference values.
Figure 2 Estimates of annual survival of each of seven broad natural land-cover classes and of all land-cover types combined (±1 SE). Grey = unprotected sites; black = protected sites. Estimates were derived using the best-supported model in Table 2 fitted to data in which all variables except land-cover class and protected area status (or just protected area status in the case of 'All') were constrained to their mean or reference values.
Our analyses identify a number of environmental and anthropic correlates of natural land-cover conversion, which have additive and sometimes interactive effects. Slope, altitude, human population density and initial adjacent conversion prior to the exposure period were all retained in the final model. In addition, as shown by Beresford et al. (Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013), rates of conversion differed significantly between land-cover types.
Our results also confirm many previous assessments (e.g. Andam et al. Reference Andam, Ferraro, Pfaff, Sanchez-Azofeifa and Robalino2008; Gaveau et al. Reference Gaveau, Epting, Lyne, Linkie, Kumara, Kanninen and Leader-Williams2009; Selig & Bruno Reference Selig and Bruno2010; Geldmann et al. Reference Geldmann, Barnes, Coad, Craigie, Hockings and Burgess2013; Butsic et al. Reference Butsic, Baumann, Shortland, Walker and Kuemmerle2015), including our own analysis of these data (Beresford et al. Reference Beresford, Eshiamwata, Donald, Balmford, Bertzky, Brink, Fishpool, Mayaux, Phalan, Simonetti and Buchanan2013), in showing that protection significantly reduces conversion. Rates of conversion in PAs were less than half those in unprotected areas, even when accounting for a range of covariates. However, the beneficial effects of PAs are not universal (e.g. Western et al. Reference Western, Russell and Cuthill2009; Brun et al. Reference Brun, Cook, Lee, Wich, Koh and Carrasco2015; Wendland et al. Reference Wendland, Baumann, Lewis, Sieber and Radeloff2015), and the extent to which protection yields net conservation gains varies greatly, even within relatively small regions (Paiva et al. Reference Paiva, Brites and Machado2015).
We found that the net impact of protection, in terms of the difference in land-cover conversion rates between protected and unprotected areas (i.e. avoided conversion), declined with both slope and altitude (Fig. 1), such that on steeper slopes and at higher altitudes, the annual survival rates of natural land cover in protected and unprotected sites converged. This was presumably because the increased natural protection offered by topography increased survival rates in unprotected areas to a level close to that recorded in PAs, and confirms that the over-representation of PAs in high and steep areas (Joppa & Pfaff Reference Joppa and Pfaff2009) reduces the potential impact of the PA network as a whole.
Furthermore, by considering the interaction between protection and proximity of converted points, we found that PA designation did little to halt the loss of natural cover when sites were already heavily degraded. This is consistent with previous findings that protection is least effective in areas where the threat of conversion is greatest and supports suggestions that degradation is a contagious process (e.g. Ahrends et al. Reference Ahrends, Burgess, Milledge, Bulling, Fisher, Smart, Clarke, Mhoro and Lewis2010; Boakes et al. Reference Boakes, Mace, McGowan and Fuller2010; Brun et al. Reference Brun, Cook, Lee, Wich, Koh and Carrasco2015). The lack of statistical support for an interaction between PA status and human population density suggests – perhaps unexpectedly – that PAs are as effective in heavily populated areas as in areas with low human populations. This result supports the assertion of Fisher (Reference Fisher2010), who suggested that population growth and urbanization alone do not explain deforestation in Africa as they do in other parts of the developing world.
Some land-cover types were more susceptible to conversion than others, with both open and closed forest sustaining higher than average rates of decline (Fig. 2). This supports previous suggestions that forest is a particularly threatened habitat in Africa, with multiple threats existing that include clearance for agricultural land (including temporary rotational agriculture), small-scale collection of firewood and commercial logging (Buchanan et al. Reference Buchanan, Donald, Fishpool, Arinaitwe, Balman and Mayaux2009). However, the difference between rates of loss in protected and unprotected forests, and therefore their impact in terms of avoided conversion, was greater than for other natural land-cover types. Protection was more effective in closed compared to open forests. This may reflect an inability to distinguish between forest types with naturally more open canopies and areas of degraded forest that would naturally have closed canopies using our methods and Landsat and Aster imagery. If so, the observed difference in effectiveness between open and closed forest would further support the negative correlation between threat and effectiveness.
Our results support the assertions of (among others) Andam et al. (Reference Andam, Ferraro, Pfaff, Sanchez-Azofeifa and Robalino2008) and Paiva et al. (Reference Paiva, Brites and Machado2015) in showing that the effectiveness of PAs can vary greatly along different environmental gradients and between land-cover types. As PA networks are further developed, it is essential that all aspects of their impacts are considered: the species and habitats they contain; the ecosystem services they could conserve; the probable losses in the absence of protection; and how likely legal designation is to prevent those losses in practice. The variation in the effectiveness of protection shows the need to have objective, measurable targets on the effectiveness of PAs, in addition to targets on the extent of their coverage (Woodley et al. Reference Woodley, Bertzky, Crawhall, Dudley, Londoño, MacKinnon, Redford and Sandwith2012). Ideally, these would extend beyond assessment of land-cover retention and conversion and include a range of metrics of effectiveness.
We thank Adam Butler (Biostatistics Scotland) and Philip Platts for statistical advice. This work was partly supported by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative Collaborative Fund, through the generosity of Arcadia (grant CCI 09/09 009) and by King's College Cambridge (B. Phalan, Zukerman Junior Research Fellowship). We are grateful to the editor and to three anonymous referees for helpful comments.
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ALISON E. BERESFORD (a1), GRAEME M. BUCHANAN (a1), BEN PHALAN (a2) (a3), GEORGE W. ESHIAMWATA (a4) (a5), ANDREW BALMFORD (a2), ANDREAS B. BRINK (a6), LINCOLN D.C. FISHPOOL (a7) and PAUL F. DONALD (a2) (a7) (a8)


I love receiving emails from folks who came to Lakeshore years ago and still remember their experience. "Timmy P." sent me this in the middle of the night. I praise the Lord when I hear someone speak of their time in Lakeshore, over a decade ago now, as the most humble, proud, and fulfilling moments" of their life. May God receive the glory.
I have zero idea what compelled me to write this or even start researching lakeshore as I was trying to sleep (failing miserably at that obviously)… I came with Mike Deese and the group from Crosspointe Community Church in Roswell Georgia, just minutes outside of Atlanta. I remember so many details vividly. That Thanksgiving was our first of two trips (Christmas was trip 2) . It was such an amazing time for us as volunteers, to be able to give in any way we could. The bonding that took place I know I'll never forget and can never be taken away from me. As we got closer we knew what lied ahead of us, but nothing could prepare us for how bad it really was. The drive down the freeway and seeing cars 20 feet in the air up in the trees. Boats and houses as well. It was so unbelievable, it was almost like we were in a dream.
But crossing that hump (maybe railroad tracks?) and once the truck crested and came over that little hill there was a little excitement. The kids knew we we were close to the ocean so they wanted to see the water, but ALL we saw was foundation slabs where houses once laid. All the way down to the shoreline slab slab and more slabs. I don't remember how many houses or portions of were left. Just trailers here and there and then your makeshift church, with sleeping quarters near.
I remember meeting you and you were excited and energetic about helping and even sort of happy. You were so focused on rebuilding the church and giving the local people, your friends and family, a place to return to for fellowship, worship, and providing hope.
I remember the sadness over a lot of folks. Myself included… Seeing the markings on houses that we knew meant deceased. When we were at the school giving out food and clothing, and people asking for two of something instead of one because they were helpless, hopeless, and scared. The time I spent there was personally the most humble, proud, and fulfilling moments of my life. 37 years old and it still holds true today.
I've cc:ed Mike Deese on this as well, but I just came across my old camcorder (remember those? When was the last time you saw one of those? Our phones are now our cameras.) with pics and videos of him, his family, and the one he will remember the most, because I betcha he still has a pretty scar on his knee. A utility truck hit a lower power cable and a transformer fell to the ground with an awful light show. Mike took a spill and gave himself a nice gash. Everyone headed back to Atlanta. We headed to the hospital. (I just chuckled a little) . Mike wasn't gonna miss out though. He had his wife pick up some soft shelled crab and smuggle them in, and I got chick FIL A. And I'm rambling. . . Ill forward the Pics tomorrow.
But I've read about the complications with your eye site. And the Gulf oil spill. And there you are still not giving up and making the best out of things and you are still preaching. It's amazing, sir. I look up to you for that. I feel like you have a lot more facial hair than you did back then though.
Christmas was a second trip and we brought 8, I believe, prefabbed staircases for people who couldn't easily get in and out of their FEMA trailers. I remember how grateful everyone was both trips. Truly amazing.
Again, I don't know why I started typing, but I'm glad I did. Keep on doing what you do sir. It's motivation for someone who never lost all that you have, and again and again. And still move forward, positive, with your head high. . .
Thanks for listening to me. Take care gentlemen. Keep on doing what you do.


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O cajueiro (nome científico Anacardium occidentale) é uma planta  da família Anacardiaceae originária da região nordeste do Brasil, com arquitetura de copa tortuosa e de diferentes portes. Na natureza existem dois tipos: o comum (ou gigante) e o anão. O tipo comum pode atingir entre 5 e 12 metros de altura, mas em condições muito propícias pode chegar a 20 metros. O tipo anão possui altura média de 4 metros.

Seu fruto, a castanha de caju, tem uma forma semelhante a um rim humano; a amêndoa contida no interior da castanha, quando seca e torrada, é popularmente conhecida como castanha-de-caju. Prologando-se ao fruto, existe um pedúnculo (seu pseudofruto) maior, macio, piriforme, também comestível, de cor alaranjada ou avermelhada; é geralmente confundido como fruto. Designado como pedúnculo ou pseudofruto, esta estrutura amadurece colorido em amarelo e/ou vermelho e varia entre o tamanho de uma ameixa e o de uma pêra (5–11 cm). Tem, ainda, os nomes científicos de Anacardium microcarpum e Cassuvium pomiverum.

Além do fruto, a casca da árvore é também utilizada como adstringente e tônico.

O tronco do cajueiro produz uma resina amarela, conhecida por goma do cajueiro que pode substituir a goma arábica, e que é usada na indústria do papel até a indústria farmacêutica.

Sua madeira, durável e de coloração rosada é também apreciada. As flores são especialmente melíferas e têm propriedades tônicas, já que contêm anacardina. Da seiva produz-se tinta. A raiz tem propriedades purgativas.

Suas folhas são obovadas (isto é, têm a forma de um ovo invertido), apresentando-se coriáceas e subcoriáceas. As flores dispõem-se em panículas.

Características morfológicas
Copa com ramos terminais piloso.
Caule tortuoso, com ritidoma cinza e fissurados com placas.
Folhas simples, coriáceas ou semicoriáceas, concolores, glabras, alternas, espiraladas ovadas e obovadas, com ápices arredondados e bases agudas; as margens são inteiras e nervação broquidódroma.
Nervuras salientes na parte abaxial e domáceas nas axilas das nervuras secundárias pecíoladas ou sésseis, sem estípula.
Flores de cinco pétalas livres, de cor rosa.
Frutos são nozes de até 3 centímetros de cor cinza, pseudofruto vermelho ou amarelado suculento e carnoso.

Etimologia
O nome Anacardium deriva do greco kardia = "coração", devido à forma da fruta.
Também é conhecido pelos nomes derivados do original da língua tupi (acayu): acaju, acajaíba, acajuíba, caju-comum, cajueiro-comum, cajuil, caju-manso, cajuzeiro e ocaju. A origem está na palavra Acaiú (a- fruto + ´ác- que trava + aiú- fibroso, lit. fruto que trava fibroso). Em Moçambique é ainda conhecido como mecaju e mepoto.

O nome inglês cashew é derivado da palavra portuguesa de pronúncia similar, caju, que por sua vez provém da palavra indígena acaju. Na Venezuela o cajueiro é denominado merey, mas em outros países da América Latina é chamado marañón, provavelmente devido ao nome da região onde foi visto pela primeira vez, o estado do Maranhão.

Fenologia
Floração: junho a novembro. Maturação dos frutos de setembro até janeiro.

Obtenção de sementes
Os frutos completos (pedúnculo e castanha) devem ser colhidos diretamente da árvore, separando-se as castanhas (verdadeiro fruto) da parte suculenta (pseudofruto). A castanha assim preparada está pronta para ser semeada. Um quilograma desse material contém 240 unidades.

Produção de mudas
As sementes (castanhas com casca) possuem baixa germinação quando semeadas diretamente; devem ser tratadas para eliminar os inibidores de germinação; isso pode ser obtido deixando-as em repouso dentro da água durante 48 horas, porém trocando-se a água a cada 8 horas. Semeá-las em seguida diretamente em embalagens individuais contendo substrato arenoso enriquecido de matéria orgânica. A emergência demora 10 a 20 dias e a germinação geralmente é alta. Manter as mudas a pleno sol até que alcancem mais de 30 centímetros, quando estarão prontas para o plantio no local definitivo. O desenvolvimento das plantas no campo é lento.

Utilidade
A madeira é apropriada para construção civil, serviços de torno, carpintaria e marcenaria, confecção de cabos de ferramentas agrícolas, cepas de tamanco e caixotaria. A árvore é muito cultivada em quase todo o Brasil e no exterior para a obtenção de seu pseudofruto (caju) e de sua castanha; os frutos são muito consumidos em todo o país, e a castanha é bastante popular e exportada para quase todo o mundo. Os frutos ou pedúnculos podem ser consumidos in natura, na forma de suco e de doces caseiros. O suco de seu fruto é industrializado e altamente apreciado em todo o país. A casca da castanha fornece um óleo industrial. É planta indispensável nos pomares da costa litorânea brasileira. As flores são melíferas.

Informações ecológicas
Planta decídua, heliófita e espontânea em muitas regiões da costa norte e nordeste do país, onde forma pequena árvore. Cresce normalmente em quase todos os solos secos, entretanto dificilmente produz frutos em solos argilosos.

Importância nutritiva

O caju é riquíssimo em vitamina C (seu teor é bem maior que o da laranja). Contém ainda vitamina A e do complexo B. Também é rico em proteínas, lipídios, e carboidratos. É ainda uma boa fonte de sais minerais como cálcio, fósforo e ferro, além de zinco, magnésio, fibras e gordura insaturada, que ajudam a diminuir o nível de colesterol no sangue. O caju tem ainda quantidades razoáveis de Niacina.

Por ser rico em fibras, o caju é indicado para aumentar a movimentação intestinal.

História

Crônicas dos primeiros colonizadores da costa brasileira contam que, na época da frutificação dos cajueiros, nações indígenas do interior vinham ao litoral, território dos tupinambás e tupiniquins, e com eles travavam guerras pela colheita dos frutos: eram as "guerras do acayu". É a espécie símbolo dos restingais da costa leste setentrional.

Durante o domínio holandês no Nordeste do Brasil, diversos autores ressaltaram o valor da fruta do cajueiro, especialmente suas virtudes terapêuticas. Maurício de Nassau chegou a baixar uma resolução que fixava a multa de cem florins por cajueiro derrubado ("visto que o seu fruto é um importante sustento dos índios"). O cajueiro é a árvore símbolo da Cidade do Recife-PE.

Presume-se que o cajueiro chegou em Goa, principal colônia de Portugal nas Índias Orientais entre 1560 e 1565, para a estabilização de taludes e para lutar contra a erosão.

Os portugueses levaram a planta para a Índia, entre 1563 e 1578, onde ela se adaptou extremamente bem. Depois da Índia foi introduzida no sudeste asiático, chegando à África durante a segunda metade do século XVI, primeiro na costa leste e depois na oeste e por último nas ilhas.

As primeiras importações de amêndoas de castanha de caju da Índia foram feitas em 1905 pelos Estados Unidos. O comércio mundial de amêndoa de caju teve início de forma efetiva depois que representantes da empresa americana General Food Corporation descobriram essas nozes durante uma missão na Índia no início da década de 1920. Além de embarques regulares para os Estados Unidos, pequenas consignações foram enviadas para vários países europeus, particularmente para o Reino Unido e Países Baixos. Em 1941 as exportações indianas de amêndoas de castanha de caju já alcançavam quase 20 mil t. Hoje a castanha é um importante item no comércio mundial. O valor total de vendas, após agregação de valor, supera a soma de US$ 2 bilhões.

Informações gerais
 O maior cajueiro do mundo encontra-se em Parnamirim, no Rio Grande do Norte, conforme comprovado pelo Guiness Book na década de 1980.

 É muito cultivado nas regiões tropicais da América, África e Ásia. Os maiores exportadores mundiais de amêndoa de castanha de caju (ACC) são Índia, Vietnã e Brasil.

Ligações externas

 https://twitter.com/cajucultura

Anacardiaceae
Árvores do Brasil
Plantas medicinais
Flora do Ceará

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Increasingly, remote sensing data is made publicly available by organizations like ESA and NASA. Based on these data, and in combination with other sources, new valuable applications can be created. In the European research project Linked Open Earth Observation Data for Precision Farming (LEO) researchers from CWI and the University of Athens join their forces with industry partners to develop an application for precision farming. The new application is based on remote sensing and geospatial data. With precision farming - advanced agriculture using GPS, satellite observations and tractors with on-board computers - the farming process is performed as accurately and efficiently as possible. This is achieved by combining data from earth observations with other geospatial sources such as cadastral data, data on soil quality, vegetation and protected areas. This enables farmers to find the optimal trade-off in maximizing yield while minimizing fertilizers and pesticides. At CWI, the researchers will combine various data sources, transfer them into RDF format and publish them as Linked Open Data.


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ESL: Sami Shah's stand up comedy
Primary Secondary Tertiary
45:10 | Published 2 months ago
Sunday Night looks at the story of Abigail Prangs, a woman who was dumped as a baby on the outskirts of Zimbabwe, and now seeks to find out who left her.
With less than a week before the election, know the politics and the issues from the campaign trail as Barrie Cassidy and a panel of expert commentators look at the latest developments as we count down towards May 18.
The Lake Eyre Basin is flooding in spectacular fashion; Leigh Sales interviews Australian cricket coach Justin Langer; Plus, there was a rare human moment on the election campaign trail this week when opposition leader Bill Shorten responded to newspaper accounts of his mother's life with an emotional tribute to the sacrifices she made to raise him. Beyond politics, the moment sparked an outpouring on social media from Australians who wanted to share stories about their own mothers. Meanwhile, satirist Mark Humphries discusses the Daily Telegraph's story about Bill Shorten's mother.
3:02 | Published 2 months ago
Sammy J
With exclusive access to Sammy J's Government Coach as he prepares for the biggest match of his career, Countdown to Glory will replace The Killing Season as the definitive Australian political documentary for a generation.
National Press Club Address
Agriculture Leaders' Election Debate
Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud and Labor Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Joel Fitzgibbon in the agriculture leaders' election debate.
The re-emergence of Clive Palmer as a political force could pose a problem for One Nation; the fight for the seat of Gilmore one of the most confusing in the country; Leigh Sales interviews Greens leader Richard Di Natale.
Sulawesi's Extinction Business
This program investigates the illegal wildlife trade in Sulawesi and how it's wiping out rare and endemic species. Once dubbed the Galapagos of Asia, can it be saved before it's too late?
Preventing Teen Suicide
Jenny Brockie takes a look at what young people who have attempted or contemplated suicide are thinking and feeling at that time.
Leigh Sales interviews Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Plus, Laura Tingle discusses a group of independent candidates about to release a campaign video and analyses Labor's election campaign launch.
Cash Cows
Across Australia the university business is booming. Higher education institutions that only a few years ago were cash strapped are now flush with billions of dollars brought in from fee paying international students. But there are growing concerns about the consequences of the overseas student boom. Four Corners investigates how Australia's higher education system is being undermined by a growing reliance on foreign fee-paying students.
1:15:26 | Published 2 months ago
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is grilled on taxes, funding promises, young people, the impact of negative gearing, Newstart allowance (the dole), franking credits, aged care, climate action, Adani, the Medicare gap, the gig economy and leadership failures.
Liz Hayes investigates the disaster of Boeing's 737 Max jetliner. Why two supposedly state-of-the-art and safe planes crashed killing 346 people, why pilots now fear flying the 737 Max, and whether Boeing could have averted the catastrophes.
English backpacker Elisha Greer recounts her terrifying road trip through rural Australia, held hostage by a drug-crazed madman. Also, a look at those who have died trying to get the perfect selfie.
With less than two weeks before the election, know the politics and the issues from the campaign trail as Barrie Cassidy and a panel of expert commentators look at the latest developments as we count down towards May 18.
Biting, bite-sized comedy as Sammy J tackles the big issues of the day, wrestles them to the ground, then submits them to a variety of yoga poses, sporting analogies, and craft activities.
The prime minister often points out that Australia's 5% unemployment rate is the of many development countries. But the number doesn't reflect a pervasive problem - more than 1 million Australian are underemployed. The presence of both political leaders in Western Australia this week, and the fact they chose to hold the first leaders' debate in Perth, are reflections of the fact the west is regarded as being "in play" at this election campaign, on a scale not seen for some years. Find out road safety tips from the school crossing supervisor plus Satirist Mark Humphries' new role as resignation advisor to the pollies.
Richard Di Natale
Leader of the Greens, Senator Richard Di Natale, addresses the National Press Club ahead of the Federal Election.
Labor fails to blunt Coalition attacks on its climate policy. The federal election campaign has descended in the past few days into a blur of mudslinging ... as a string of candidates across the political spectrum have been brought unstuck by actions from their past. At a policy level, the Coalition is continuing to slug Labor about the cost of its carbon emissions policy. Opposition leader Bill Shorten discusses Labor's election promises.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Three South Jersey firms post layoff notices for more than 800 workers
Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Three South Jersey employers have reported layoff plans for more than 800 workers.
The companies — in Paulsboro, Pennsauken and Gloucester Township — disclosed their intentions in WARN notices posted in recent days at the website of the state Department of Labor.
One of the firms, Paulsboro Refining Co. LLC, said it was cutting 250 jobs due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The layoffs, affecting about half of the facility;'s workers, are to take effect by year-end.
The other firms — USV Optical Inc. and Canada Dry Bottling Co. of New York — did not respond to requests for comment on their WARN notices.
More:Pet Valu announces shutdown, cites 'severe impact' of pandemic
More:In bankruptcy court filing, PREIT discloses agreements to sell sites at Moorestown Mall
USV Optical Inc. announced layoffs for 299 workers at its Blackwood site, effective Dec. 30. The firm, also known as U.S. Vision, is a producer and supplier of eyeglasses.
Canada Dry Bottling disclosed layoff plans for 252 employees at its sprawling distribution and bottling complex at Route 130 and John Tipton Boulevard. They will take effect by Jan. 31, according to the company's notice.
The owner of the Paulsboro refinery, PBF Energy, last week announced plans to idle "major processing units" at the facility as part of a restructuring of its East Coast operations.
The firm, which also has an East Coast refinery in Delaware City, said it expected to incur charges of about $15 million "related to severance and employee-related expense.'
The announcement came as PBF, based in Parsippany, Morris County, reported a third-quarter net loss of $397.8 million, compared to year-before net income of $86.3 million.
A PBF representative called the cutbacks a "difficult, yet necessary, decision."
In a statement Thursday, spokesman Michael Karlovich noted the "extended demand destruction for transportation fuels related to COVID-19 policies, primarily state-initiated lockdowns that keep people at home and reduce travel."
He said workers facing layoffs at the Paulsboro plant are eligible for severance and outplacement programs.
"We have also identified some open positions in other PBF refineries around the country and plan to explore these transfer opportunities with qualified Paulsboro personnel who are willing to relocate," he said.
The company on Wednesday said the COVID-19 pandemic "continues to have a substantial impact on the economy and overall consumer demand for energy and hydrocarbon products."
The firm's six refineries, which cut production at the start of the pandemic, are still operating at reduced levels, it said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who's been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.
Help support local journalism with a Courier-Post subscription.


Compramos este estudio para mis estudios en Greenwich, pero no lo utilizamos todo el tiempo y nos gustaría que otras personas disfruten de la sensacional experiencia de estar en Greenwich. En el estudio de la planta baja hay una televisión de pantalla plana, televisión por satélite, banda ancha, cocina totalmente equipada, lavadora, nevera / congelador y microondas. También hay un pequeño espacio patio. El aparcamiento está disponible por £ 4 por 24 hrs. Se trata de un sistema de tarjeta de cero por lo que la tarjeta de cero se debe dejar en el estudio a la salida.
La cocina dispone de suministros básicos como el té, café, lavavajillas, etc, que se pueden utilizar. Hay un expresos de Tesco 20 yardas a través de Trafalgar Rd. Las toallas limpias y ropa de cama están incluidas.
El estudio es autónomo por lo que es suyo por la duración de su estancia. No nos quedamos en el hotel. Se puede cocinar y utilizar nuestras bicicletas (a su propio riesgo!) para explorar la zona. Hay cascos y luces en el estudio.
Greenwich es un patrimonio de la humanidad y es el hogar de muchos sitios históricos, como el Cutty Sark, Greenwich Museo Marítimo, Observatorio Real y el Antiguo Colegio Naval.
Greenwich Park es un gran espacio abierto y está a sólo 5 minutos a pie.
Maze Hill (sólo cuatro minutos) se conecta al puente de Londres (11 minutos) y la calle del cañón. estación de Greenwich DLR conecta a Canary Wharf (11 minutos). El Servicio de Clipper Támesis te puede llevar a todos los puntos a lo largo del río y por el oeste hasta Westminster y el London Eye. Un barco de este se lleva más allá de la arena O2.
2 bicicletas plegables están disponibles. Son bastante viejo, pero funcionan bien y se puede explorar los caminos de ambas orillas del río. Se pueden llevar en la góndola de O2 al lado norte, sin costo adicional. También se les puede rueda trasera a través del pie del túnel Cutty Sark (libre) y hay un sinfín de paseos en bicicleta a orillas del río en ambos lados del río. El uso de bicicletas es bajo su propio riesgo y cascos y luces son obligatorias.
El check-in es después de las 2 p.m.
A great place to stay in London!
A really cozy, warm and welcoming studio to stay in that feels like your own private retreat in the heart of London. The historical maritime area of Greenwich is interesting to explore and access to London city is convenient and easy. Recommend going into London on the Thames Clipper for wonderful views of the sights, and an especially awesome approach to Tower Bridge. Nick's apartment suited me as it's safe, secure, easy to find and access, well-equipped and everything works. It makes you feel like a local, thanks Nick.
We enjoyed our stay in Greenwich and wish we had more time to explore the local area. We especially appreciated Nick's recommendation of the Cutty Sark pub and restaurant.
We had a wonderful stay at this cute flat in Greenwich. At the start there was a slight mix up but Nick dealt with this wonderfully and we are very grateful for this.
Despite being right behind a main road, it was very quiet. The connections into the centre of London and walk to the park in Greenwich were very handy and quick. This also gave us several different travel options. The room was a bit stuffy as we were staying the in the middle of the heat wave but the ability to have a freezing shower was definitely beneficial! All in all, a wonderful stay - pity the trip went by to quickly!
We really enjoyed our stay at this charming flat in Greenwich. It's a quiet place to regroup and refresh after a busy day of seeing the sights and manoeuvring through the crowds. Quite close (5-10 min walk) from a variety of transport; train, bus, water bus (Thames Clipper) that are all connected by the Oyster card. If visiting from abroad, highly recommend ordering a visitor Oyster card from Transport for London before your visit as you can't get one once in the UK if you're not a resident (or so I understand). A good variety of pubs, cafes and restaurants within walking distance. The owner (Nick) left lots of good instructions on how to work the various amenities within the flat. Would love to return some day.
I stayed here for two glorious weeks in June. The location was exceptional; within 5 minutes of Maze Hill rail station and 15+ minutes of Cutty Sark DLR. The flat is just off the main road east of Greenwich yet was extremely quiet.
Wi-fi was very good (a big plus for me) and there are shops within a few yards of the door - and a very good riverside pub a few minutes away. The location is close to all the Greenwich attractions like the Royal Observatory, Greenwich Park, and the Old Royal Naval College.
Nick and Pippa left wine, milk and croissants for my arrival, which really made me feel at home. I would highly recommend Nick's place and am making plans to come back!
I love it that you enjoyed the studio and most of all that you enjoyed Greenwich.


Pre-Physician Assistant (PA) students can major in any subject as long as they fulfill the pre-requisite courses of the PA schools that they apply to. EKU currently has two majors with Pre-Physician Assistant concentrations. Find the curriculum planners for those concentrations online here. Learn more about becoming a PA here. Watch the American Academy of PA's "What is a PA?" video to learn more about this growing profession.
PA school application deadlines vary and are available online here. Students generally apply to PA school one full academic year before they plan to attend (for example spring of junior year), but timing ultimately depends on the deadlines and start times of the a student's preferred program.
Many PA programs recommend or require significant previous experience shadowing a PA, along with direct patient contact in a medical discipline.
It is vital to research all programs of interest to ensure that all prerequisite courses and experience requirements are met before applying.


Quality, Delivery, Value. Unique Systems has never wavered from this ideology. Quality parts, on time, at a price that's within your budget! These are just some of the reasons for Unique Systems' phenomenal growth. Our precision manufacturing techniques and meticulous quality control process have earned us the "No Rejects" reputation, which we enjoy universally. As our customer, the superior quality you have come to rely on is always available directly to you from Unique Systems, which translates into substantial savings!
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Preheat pressure cooker to brown setting. Add 1 - 2 tbsp. butter to the cooking vessel, then cook the onions, carrots, and celery for about 5 minutes. Add the meat, ½ tsp. salt, and pepper to taste. Cook meat until browned.
Add pasta, tomato puree, remaining salt and stir to combine. Add enough water to cover pasta completely.
Note: do not use quick cooking pastas.
Securely close lid to locked position, set pressure limiting valve to "Airtight". Follow basic directions for pressure cooking, and cook at low pressure for 5 minutes.
Use quick pressure release when cooking has completed. If pasta is too done, reduce cooking time by 1 - 2 minutes.
Sprinkle cheese over finished dish prior to serving.


Ragnarok Tactical is proud to offer what we believe to be the highest quality stand alone level IV plates in Canada. Made in Croatia by Croshield these individually serialized hard armour plates are NIJ compliant to provide level IV protection and warrantied for 7 years from the date of manufacture. This batch was produced August 2018. Each plate weighs 2.4 kg. The plates are sold only as a set of two.
NIJ level IV Hard Armor Insert is designed to provide protection against Armor Piercing (AP) bullets.
Ragnarok Tactical's cadre of instructors have seen and tried many plates, often disappointed by the quality of manufacture, questionable lineage, price, or weight. These plates are remarkably light, durable, and priced competitively. The manufacturer suggested a retail price of $450 US per plate. We're able to offer them for $999.99 Canadian per set of two, and still offer $10 flat rate shipping.
We tested a sample plate, pictured, by starting to shoot it with steel core 7.62x54R as that was as close as we could get to 7.62x63 M2 AP. As you can see the plate survived. After 3 hits the sample plate was shot with 458 Winchester Magnum which failed to penetrate the plate. We recognize that this was not a controlled laboratory test. This test allows us to say confidently that the plates will do what they are rated for.
As body armor is regulated by province, please ensure you are following your provincial laws regarding purchasing and ownership. We ask that you email a scan of your PAL or agency ID to sales@ragnaroktactical.ca when you order. This allows us to ensure you are not a criminal, your PAL# will be noted on your order, the email will not be retained.


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The Northern Circuit
the small towns and rural areas north of Peoria
Lacon at the Center
Is it possible to imagine Lacon as the center of the world? Well, it is photographically, at least if the photographer is commercial drone operator Frank Holocker.
Since receiving Federal Aviation Administration approval in April, he has been using the camera on his "unmanned aircraft system" – as the agency calls a drone – to document both natural and man-made landmarks around the area, as well as various activities. Samples of his work can be seen at the Facebook page and Twitter feed for Upper Images.
One of his latest experiments has involved using the aerial perspective to create what are often called "small planet" photos. They involve focusing on some particular point and then "bending" multiple photos of the surrounding area to create the impression of that point at the center of the globe.
If you've ever spliced together two or more photos to create an ultra-wide panorama, then you have the basic idea of how the small planet images are formed. Only the component images are warped into a sphere while being assembled.
"It's just a technique of photography," Holocker said.
For his hometown, Holocker zeroed in on the intersection of Illinois Routes 17 and 26, which are Lacon's Fifth and LaPrairie Streets. The drone was at about 150 feet.
You'll notice that Holocker's business watermark at the lower right is sideways. That's because this image has actually been rotated 90 degrees here from the original way it was posted on Facebook, which was like this:
The rotation was done to make it conform to what seems to be the instinctive visual habit of expecting north to point up on a globe. Accordingly, the Marshall County Courthouse is just above and to the right of the intersection (in the upper photo), and the downtown business district stretches out to the west on the left.
For a more conventional perspective, here's what you see from 150 feet up at that intersection if you're looking east along Route 17 toward Varna:
And this is the view to the west and the Illinois River:
For the first few months of this year, it probably seemed to many people in and around Lacon that the local elementary school was the center of the world. That was when residents of the Midland School District vigorously debated and ultimately passed a $9.8 million referendum for a new school to replace the aging building in central Lacon.
So it was perhaps fitting that Holocker also created a small planet photo centered on the school. Here's how the world looks from above the shuttered building that will soon be demolished:
One of the component photos shows the adjacent playground where the new school will be constructed, beginning in September if environmental remediation and demolition are completed on schedule.
Holocker also plans to follow the demolition and construction processes, which – again, if the projected schedule holds up – are expected to result in completion of the new school by Aug. 2017.
"That way I'll have the whole timeline," he said. "I can put it all into one video if I want to."
On the recent evening that Holocker did both the intersection and school shoots, he was reminded that occasionally someone gets really, irrationally angry at the idea of drones. That was when a middle-aged guy that he didn't know drove into the courthouse parking lot where he had launched for one flight and threatened him.
"With over 100 drone flights, this was the second time I have had someone come out and get mad because it was flying," he wrote on his personal Facebook page. "I hate to say this, but people need to be educated about UASs. They are here and the legal ones will always be around. Threatening to harm me is just stupid."
The encounter ended pretty quickly and uneventfully. The guy got in his car and drove away after Holocker pointed toward the Sheriff's Department across the parking lot and made a suggestion.
"I told him, 'If you're upset that I'm flying my drone here, you should go over there and tell them, because they gave me permission.'"
That evening also led him to suspect that he's sometimes being watched from a bit higher up. Then, and also a few days earlier when he shot photos and video of Lacon-Sparland Fire Department training drills, a small plane repeatedly passed overhead at an altitude he estimated at about 300 feet.
"The only thing I could think of was that they were looking at that drone, and maybe taking pictures," he remarked later. "Why else would you be flying that low?"
How would someone know where to find the drone and when? Holocker has to notify the FAA of flights in the vicinity of an airport so the agency can post a "notam" – notice to airmen – of that activity. Here's an example:
Though this looks like pure gibberish, it's actually aviation gibberish, and what it says is that a drone is going to be operating at altitudes up to 200 feet in an area within .8 nautical mile of the Marshall County Airport (C75).
The two recent occasions of the plane flying overhead in Lacon have been after notams were posted in advance of the UAS flights. Holocker thinks it's been the same white Cessna with red numbers both times, though he hasn't documented that yet.
"It's been low enough that I can see it, but I've never been quick enough to get a picture of it," he said. "One of those times I'm going to grab my phone and do that."
The Facebook selections also include numerous photos and videos from many other areas along the river, from Chillicothe to Hennepin. Maybe someday there will be a shot of a Cessna.
Contact Gary L. Smith at (800) 516-0389 or glsmith@mtco.com, and follow him on Twitter @Glsmithx.
Author Gary L. SmithPosted on July 31, 2016 July 31, 2016 Leave a comment on Lacon at the Center
Marshall Circuit Clerk named top county official
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ARC Review--The Lantern's Ember by Colleen Houck
Welcome to a world where nightmarish creatures reign supreme.
Five hundred years ago, Jack made a deal with the devil. It's difficult for him to remember much about his mortal days. So, he focuses on fulfilling his sentence as a Lantern—one of the watchmen who guard the portals to the Otherworld, a realm crawling with every nightmarish creature imaginable. Jack has spent centuries jumping from town to town, ensuring that nary a mortal—or not-so-mortal—soul slips past him. That is, until he meets beautiful Ember O'Dare.
Seventeen, stubborn, and a natural-born witch, Ember feels a strong pull to the Otherworld. Undeterred by Jack's warnings, she crosses into the forbidden plane with the help of a mysterious and debonair vampire—and the chase through a dazzling, dangerous world is on. Jack must do everything in his power to get Ember back where she belongs before both the earthly and unearthly worlds descend into chaos.
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
I've pretty much loved every single book by Colleen Houck and when I heard she was writing a standalone with a Halloween twist, I was immediately excited! The Lantern's Ember was a magical and delightful little read! It was rife with aspects of Halloween lore...it was pretty much perfect in that sense!
I'll admit though, I had a rough start, but that's also likely due to the timing of reading as well. I was very busy and the first two days of trying to read this I only read a chapter or two. Diving in was rough, but once I got to read more than a chapter at a time I was really getting into the story! We have Jack who is known as a lantern. He basically guides the doorways to the Otherworld which, as you can imagine is a world filled with supernatural beings. There's some history to it involved as well as Jack's situation and how he became to be a lantern that is revealed from the start which I really enjoyed instead of having to wait several chapters in order to get all this necessary background.
Ember is a witch that Jack has been keeping an eye on over the past few years. There aren't any witches in the Otherworld for reasons we will soon learn, but Ember is fascinated with the idea of the Otherworld and beseeches Jack to take her, but he refuses to do so for her own safety. It's not long before a vampire named Dev brings her over, as he was tasked to do so by a particular someone. When Jack finds out she's missing, he recruits her best friend, Finney, to help him track her down and bring her back to her world.
This was quite an adventurous read! In some ways, it was like an Alice in Wonderland story as Ember enters this new world that is so strange and different, and quite dangerous. Witches are a hot commodity in this world and Ember's life is pretty much in danger from the moment she enters, but Dev, her vampire/sort of kidnapper, but not, is determined to keep her safe. In fact, his plans to bring Ember to his employer has changed, because yes, he finds he's falling in love with her. Though naturally, we already sense that Ember and Jack have a growing connection, but let's also add in the fact that Finney, her longtime best friend, also loves her. It makes for quite the array of suitors.
The romance wasn't a huge role in the story as well, I mean it was there throughout, as we had at least two of the characters trying to actively pursue Ember. I felt a little bad for Finney as he never really seemed to have a chance with Ember despite being the best friend and all. I felt like Ember's choice was obvious from the getgo however.
When the Lord of the Otherworld gets wind that a new and powerful witch has entered his domain, he's determined to have her. The Otherworld is powered by witchlight and with a ned budding witch, he will continue to remain an all powerful deity.
I think my favorite thing about this book was truly all the Halloween lore that was incorporated. Jack is sort of the new Jack that gave the name to the jack-o-lantern, he was also involved with scaring a man named Ichabod away from one of the Otherworld gates. We get to see how other traditions of Halloween were born as well as the story moves along. It was really fascinating the ways Colleen brought these traditions to life! It was probably my favorite part of the story!
There was a great deal of tension in this one too! Everyone had their own plan for Ember, and she had her own plans for her life as well! Some rather interesting twists came about in the grand finale that I thought was pretty shocking! Though I do like how Colleen was able to wrap everything up! I am so used to her highly detailed stories that stretch for several books--and that I enjoy as well--so this standalone was pretty amazing for her to write as well! I almost think that standalones can be harder to write than a series, but that's just me!
The Lantern's Ember was a marvelous read indeed! It's the perfect read for lovers of Halloween lore! It's not a scary read by any means, though there's a great deal of tension and suspense to it. Lots of twists and turns and a healthy sprinkling of romance as well. This is easily making my list of best reads of the year as I've always enjoyed the different myths and lore that surround Halloween! Colleen Houck has done it again and written yet another superb book rich with mythology!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
The Lantern's Ember releases September 11, 2018
Amber Elise @ Du Livre September 5, 2018 at 5:51 PM
I actually set this one aside because I got distracted. I'm happy you enjoyed it though!
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TICK TICK TICK!!!! Still need a Roommate!!
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Teaser and Top Ten Tuesdays
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text:
Diego Armando Miranda (Itauguá, Departamento Central, Paraguay; 20 de enero de 1986) es un futbolista paraguayo que se desempeña como delantero en el Club Sportivo Trinidense de la Primera División de Paraguay.

Clubes

Enlaces externos
 Ficha en BDFA

Futbolistas de Paraguay

Futbolistas del 12 de Octubre Football Club
Futbolistas del Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy en los años 2000
Futbolistas del Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy en los años 2010

Futbolistas del Club Sportivo Trinidense