Manchester Metropolitan University

About: Manchester Metropolitan University is a education organization based out in Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5435 authors who have published 16202 publications receiving 442561 citations. The organization is also known as: Manchester Polytechnic & MMU.

Second rate or a second chance? Assessing biomass and biodiversity recovery in regenerating Amazonian forests.

Abstract: © 2018 The Authors Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Secondary forests (SFs) regenerating on previously deforested land account for large, expanding areas of tropical forest cover Given that tropical forests rank among Earth’s most important reservoirs of carbon and biodiversity, SFs play an increasingly pivotal role in the carbon cycle and as potential habitat for forest biota Nevertheless, their capacity to regain the biotic attributes of undisturbed primary forests (UPFs) remains poorly understood Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of SF recovery, using extensive tropical biodiversity, biomass, and environmental datasets These data, collected in 59 naturally regenerating SFs and 30 co-located UPFs in the eastern Amazon, cover >1,600 large- and small-stemmed plant, bird, and dung beetles species and a suite of forest structure, landscape context, and topoedaphic predictors After up to 40 years of regeneration, the SFs we surveyed showed a high degree of biodiversity resilience, recovering, on average among taxa, 88% and 85% mean UPF species richness and composition, respectively Across the first 20 years of succession, the period for which we have accurate SF age data, biomass recovered at 12% per year, equivalent to a carbon uptake rate of 225 Mg/ha per year, while, on average, species richness and composition recovered at 26% and 23% per year, respectively For all taxonomic groups, biomass was strongly associated with SF species distributions However, other variables describing habitat complexity—canopy cover and understory stem density—were equally important occurrence predictors for most taxa Species responses to biomass revealed a successional transition at approximately 75 Mg/ha, marking the influx of high-conservation-value forest species Overall, our results show that naturally regenerating SFs can accumulate substantial amounts of carbon and support many forest species However, given that the surveyed SFs failed to return to a typical UPF state, SFs are not substitutes for UPFs

Disability and diversity – a difference too far?

Abstract: It is currently fashionable to herald “managing diversity” as an approach which signals a new dawn for equal opportunities Within the management of diversity is a new, more positive approach to employee “‘difference” which prescribes the valuation of individuality and the abandonment of group based equality initiatives In principle the focus on individuals suggests this approach lends itself particularly well to disabled employees who constitute a more heterogeneous group than women and ethnic minorities The article evaluates this in the light of debates traditionally located within gender literatures and applies them to survey data gathered from UK HRM managers which details the disability equality initiatives adopted by their organisations It argues that differences between disabled groups and those constituted on the basis of gender or race, together with differences amongst disabled people renders the group based and the managing diversity approach to equality largely rhetorical

Monitoring sensitivity to land degradation and desertification with the environmentally sensitive area index: The case of lesvos island

Abstract: In Europe, the most susceptible areas to land degradation and desertification (LDD) are found in the Mediterranean region. The present study focuses on the island of Lesvos (Greece) and maps the environmental sensitivity of the island to LDD between the years 1990 and 2000. Sensitivity is estimated with a modification of the MEDALUS Environmentally Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) approach, employing 21 quantitative parameters divided in five main quality indices: climate, vegetation, soils, groundwater and socio-economic quality. Parameterisation of these indices is achieved via remote sensing and ancillary data in a Geographical Information System (GIS). Results show that ~85% of the island is fragile or critically sensitive in both epochs. Fragile areas are on the increase, covering an estimated 72% of the island in 1990 and 77% in 2000, whereas critically sensitive areas decrease from 214 to 113 km2. By modifying the ESAI to include 10 additional parameters related to soil erosion, groundwater quality, demographic and grazing pressure, and by applying the modified ESAI in two—rather than one—periods, this study was able to identify that, contrary to previous belief, critically sensitive areas are also found in the eastern side of the island mainly due to human-related factors. It is concluded that the proposed methodology is a useful tool for regional scale trend analyses of environmental sensitivity and the identification of LDD hot spots in Mediterranean environments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison of Gait Patterns Between Healthy and Scoliotic Patients Using Time and Frequency Domain Analysis of Ground Reaction Forces

Abstract: Study Design. The walking gait in 20 healthy adolescent girls and 20 adolescent girls with iodiopathic scoliosis was compared using time and frequency domain analysis of the ground reaction forces. Objectives. To investigate the support phase mechanics of walking gait in health subjects and those with scoliosis. Summary of Background Data. Previous studies have demonstrated the important role of gait in the etiology of scoliosis, although, to date, there are no detailed reports that examine kinetic gait parameters. Methods. Selected force-time parameters were used to investigate time domain patterns. The frequency content of the vertical, anterior-posterior, and medial-lateral components was used to examine frequency characteristics. Inter- and intrasubject variability and bilateral symmetry also were examined. Results. The findings indicated no significant differences between the two groups for the time domain variables. However, the frequency content of the group with scoliosis was significantly higher than that of the control group, especially in the medial-lateral component, suggesting presence of a balance control misfunction. In addition, substantially higher inter- and intrasubject variability and asymmetry was found within the frequency content of the group with scoliosis compared with the control group in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior directions. Conclusions. Patients with scoliosis exhibit balance problems during the stance phase of gait and have significant asymmetry in the frequency characteristics. These findings could be a primary effect that contributes to the medial-lateral deformity of the spine and its initiation and progression.