Among the least known of Canada's large predators, the wolverine's status as threatened, or endangered throughout its eastern range, makes it a candidate for conservation programs. A lack of public support, however, can dramatically reduce the chances of such programs being successful. To assess the current state of support for wolverine conservation, knowledge and perceptions toward this species among the public, adults visiting the St. Félicien zoo were surveyed. Knowledge among participants was generally low and misconceptions were abundant, even among repeat visitors to the zoo. Attitudes, however, were mostly positive. To assess how exposure can influence perceptions, children were surveyed who had or had not attended a 5-day camp at the zoo. Both groups demonstrated similar levels of knowledge about wolverine. However, children who had attended the camp demonstrated a greater aesthetic appreciation and fewer negative associations with wolverines. These results suggest that while the wolverine is not a well-known species, people's perceptions toward this species are not necessarily negative. Additionally, information provided by zoos, in a variety of forms, may not always be acquired by visitors, but may still have a positive influence on how the public perceives cryptic misunderstood species such as the wolverine.

In this study we examined (1) whether there has been significant tree cover change over the period 1960–2010 in a 960,000 km² subarctic study region in western and central Canada, and (2) the degree to which Global Forest Change (GFC) tree cover data agree with other datasets. We compared GFC tree cover to cover estimates from air photos (c. 1960), ground-level plot data (c. 1982–84), annotated low-level oblique photographs (c. 2005–09), and air photo footprints on the World Imagery Base Map (c. 2010). Tree cover changes since 1960 varied by physiographic and ecological regions. Afforestation was modest to non-significant depending on the region. We observed no evidence of northward tree migration. An increase in the areal extent of burned forests, mostly in areas south of the forest-tundra, was the largest change detected. We documented systematic discrepancies between our tree cover estimates and GFC data. GFC underestimates of tree cover typically occurred in areas of low tree density. Areas where GFC data overestimated tree cover were common, especially near the northern limits of trees and in areas dominated by dense or tall shrubs. Predictions of climate-driven vegetation response derived solely from remotely sensed data may not be reliable.

Livestock grazing is one of the significant causes of land degradation. However, the effect of contrasting grazing intensities on soil properties and vegetation in the southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is poorly understood. We studied the impact of light grazing (LG), moderate grazing (MG), heavy grazing (HG) and no grazing (NG) on vegetation characteristics and the chemical properties of soil samples taken at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm layers from the designated grazing treatments. A total of 42 species representing 32 genera and 16 families were identified. Our result shows that HG significantly reduced total aboveground biomass, vegetation cover, canopy average height, but increased unpalatable aboveground biomass. Soil organic matter declined with increasing grazing intensity and respectively decreased to 64.51%, 65.38% and 82.40% for LG, MG and HG compared to the NG treatment and soil carbon storage exhibited a similar pattern. Soil total nitrogen and phosphorus contents decreased with increasing soil depth, while soil total potassium was not affected by grazing across soil depths. We conclude that 1 yak would have a more severe impact than 3 sheep units on the vegetation community and soil characteristics of alpine meadows in the southeastern QTP.

Physiological responses of plants to elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen (N) availability are ecologically important because of increased atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and N enrichment in many ecosystems. Here, the effects of N availability on the responses of six wetland plant species to elevated CO₂ levels are examined in terms of growth and root exudation. Six species of emergent plant species typically found in marshes were incubated under two levels of CO₂ (370 and 740 ppm) and two levels of N (0 and 8.8 mg N L^–1). Elevated CO₂ did not affect shoot biomass, root biomass, and height significantly, regardless of N levels. The C/N ratio of plant species increased in response to elevated CO₂ levels, but this effect varied by species. All species released higher amounts of dissolved organic carbon under elevated CO₂ compared with ambient air conditions. This response was limited under low soil N concentrations. By contrast, phenolic content increased significantly with elevated CO₂ under low-N treatment. The findings suggest that elevated CO₂ is not responsible for biomass accumulation of emergent wetland plant species, but does elicit changes in the quantity and quality of root exudates, which are, in turn, dependent on N availability to plant species.

In many areas of the agriculturalized Pampas of Argentina, rural roadsides (RRS) are the only relics of the grassland biome that originally dominated the region. Nowadays, no policies regulate the use and preservation of these environments. We assessed plant species diversity in 28 RRS in a representative area of the Southern Pampean region, and investigated the degree to which some RRS variables (width, slope, type, and density of RRS in a circular area of 2000 m in diameter) explain their floristic assemblages and species richness. We listed 107 species belonging to 25 families. The most species-rich families were Poaceae (33 species) and Asteraceae (22 species). Fifty percent of the species were native to the region and 58% perennial. There was a predominance of herbaceous dicots (68%), and 12 species (11%) were endemic to the region. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that the density of neighboring RRS significantly explained plant species assemblages. Exotic species richness decreased with the width of the RRS. We expect that this information and proper management will promote the potential of RRS for nature conservation as we consider RRS important refuge for grassland plants.

Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) has been critiqued for only protecting species on federal lands. However, this shortcoming has never been quantitatively assessed in terms of species' ranges. We assessed the proportion of ranges of federally-listed terrestrial species at risk (SAR) receiving protection via SARA, excluding birds protected by the Migratory Birds Convention Act. Additionally, we assessed species protection provided by provincial and territorial protected areas within the ranges of SARA-listed species. We show that federal land provides protection within only 8.1% of species' Canadian ranges on average, and 63.1% of 252 terrestrial SAR are protected within less than 5% of their range. The addition of provincial and territorial protected areas increases this average to 14.6% and reduces the percent with less than 5% protection to 34.9% of species. Eighteen species receive 0% protection within their Canadian ranges. We found no significant difference in average protection among taxonomic groups. Canada's capacity to protect SAR via SARA could be improved by greater coordination among national, provincial and Indigenous governments, the creation of a more effective protected area network, exercising SARA's provision for emergency protection orders where applicable, and facilitating greater SAR protection on public and private lands.