Asuka Koyama

Family functioning perceived by patients and their family members in three Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV diagnostic groups

Abstract  The aim of this study was to clarify the difference in the perception of family functioning measured on the Family Assessment Device (FAD) by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual‐IV diagnoses (i.e. schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder) and by raters (patients and family members). The subjects were 70 psychiatric outpatients paired with their family members (i.e. principal caretaker), divided into three groups based on the patients diagnosis of schizophrenia (24 pairs), major depressive disorder (28 pairs) or bipolar disorder (18 pairs). They rated their perceived family functioning on the FAD. There was no significant difference in perceptions of family functioning between the three groups of family members, while there were differences between the patient groups in some FAD dimensions. Perceptions of family functioning were not significantly correlated between the schizophrenic patients and their family members. The perceptions of family functioning were correlated more strongly between patients and their family members in the bipolar group than between patients and family members in the other two diagnostic groups. As for the FAD Problem Solving dimension, the schizophrenia patients saw it more negatively than did their family members, whereas the depressive patients saw it more positively than did their family members. These results might reflect psychopathological characteristics of each disorder. When clinicians evaluate the family functioning of psychiatric patients, it is important to consider the diagnoses of patients as well as who assesses it.

Nurses’ collaboration with physicians in managing medication improves patient outcome in acute psychiatric care

Abstract  The aim of the present paper was to examine the impact of nurses’ collaboration with physicians in medication management on patient outcome in acute psychiatric care. Data for 143 patients with schizophrenia were assessed based on information given by nurses and physicians in charge. Twenty‐two patients were defined as a collaborative group when physicians changed medication after receiving reports that nurses perceived the necessity to change. A control group was formed from the 50 patients when nurses perceived the necessity to change medication but did not tell physicians, or nurses advised of the necessity to physicians but medication was not changed. Physicians retrospectively evaluated patients’ social functioning and acceptance of medication at admission and discharge. Social functioning was measured by Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and acceptance of medication by a single item using Japanese version of Schedule for Assessment of Insight (SAI‐J). Changes in the scores from admission to discharge on GAF and acceptance of medication were defined as outcome measures. Nurses recognized the necessity to change medication for patients with frequent aggressive behavior and younger age. Compared with the control group, the collaborative group had less instruction for use of drugs, and more perceived necessity to decrease the current dose or the number of drugs because of stable symptoms. The collaborative group demonstrated significantly greater improvement in social functioning. The collaborative group improved acceptance of medication, although there were no significant differences between the two groups. Nurses’ collaboration with physicians in medication management improved patient outcome in acute psychiatric care.

Combined burning and mowing for restoration of abandoned semi‐natural grasslands

Questions Does reintroducing grassland management aid in the recovery of vegetation with high grassland species diversity in abandoned semi-natural grasslands? How do management tools and local topographic factors influence the magnitude of recovery? Do effective restoration tools and sites differ depending on measurement indices (community- and species-level responses)? Location Semi-natural grasslands surrounding Mt. Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Methods We conducted vegetation surveys in grassland sites with two land-use forms (continuously managed/restored after abandonment) and two management types (burning only/burning and mowing). We assessed restoration success by examining plant species composition using the similarity index. We also examined the community-level (i.e. species richness) and species-level (i.e. species occurrence) responses to land-use form, management type and local topographic factors (elevation and slope aspect). Results Reintroduction of grassland management can recover the plant species composition of restored sites. Combined burning and mowing management was a principal determinant of the species richness and occurrence of most grassland species. A north-facing slope was a clear topographic determinant of higher species richness. However, we also found that the presence of some of the grasslands endangered species (i.e. Achillea alpina subsp. subcartilaginea, Artemisia stolonifera and Viola orientalis) was limited in continuously managed sites and that the response to topographic factors was species-specific. Conclusions The reintroduction of combined burning and mowing management in various topographic areas is essential for both plant diversity recovery and local endangered species conservation for the restoration of abandoned semi-natural grasslands. Our results also suggest that selecting restoration sites on northern slopes can enhance the recovery of plant species diversity.

Detection of vegetation trends in highly variable environments after grazing exclusion in Mongolia

Question Environmental variability (e.g., in precipitation) has a large effect on vegetation dynamics, and this often makes it difficult to assess the recovery of vegetation after a disturbance. In this study, we assessed vegetation recovery trends in response to grazing exclusion while considering for the annual environmental variability. Location Two regions with highly variable precipitation: a steppe near Mandalgobi (45°46′N, 106°16′E), in Mongolias Central Gobi province, and a desert steppe near Bulgan (43°54′N, 103°31′E), in Mongolias South Gobi province. Changes in vegetation were observed along grazing gradients at these two sites, and vegetation thresholds were identified. Methods We established reference plots in pre-threshold areas along the grazing gradients. We removed the impact of livestock grazing at various locations along the grazing gradients by establishing exclosures, and investigated vegetation from 2005 through 2013. We developed a smoothed hierarchical model within a Bayesian framework, and examined the effect of grazing exclusion on vegetation, focusing especially on the extent of grass cover recovery. In addition, we compared soil nutrient conditions in the reference plots and inside and outside each exclosure along the grazing gradients. Results Temporal trends in the cover of perennial grass in each plot inside and outside of the exclosures largely coincided, irrespective of grazing intensity, and exclosure had no effect (Bulgan) or a negative effect (Mandalgobi) on vegetation recovery. Soil nutrient content was not significantly affected by exclosure at a given distance from the grazing source, but decreased significantly with decreasing grazing intensity. Thus, recovery of the land from a post-threshold state may not be apparent even after 9 years of grazing exclusion in environments with highly variable precipitation. Conclusion The effect of exclosure duration on perennial grass cover was limited, even after controlling for environmental variability. Once a vegetation threshold has been crossed, merely removing livestock from the landscape may not be sufficient for that area to recover. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Role of tussock morphology in providing protection from grazing for neighbouring palatable plants in a semi-arid Mongolian rangeland

Background: Palatable plants in rangelands may be protected from herbivore grazing by the presence of less palatable neighbouring plants. The protective role of benefactor species on palatable species often collapses under heavy grazing, but the underlying mechanism—the relationship between the reduced protective role and grazing damage to benefactor species—remains unclear. Aims: To clarify whether the protection of surrounding palatable species conferred by a less palatable tussock grass (Achnatherum splendens) is reduced under heavy grazing, focusing on the changes to tussock morphology caused by grazing. Methods: In the Mongolian steppe, we measured the morphological traits of A. splendens tussocks, plant density of palatable graminoids and grazing damage in three A. splendens microhabitats (inside, adjacent to, and outside tussocks) under light and heavy grazing areas. Results: A. splendens tussocks had smaller basal area and culm height, and greater culm density under heavy grazing. The densities of palatable graminoids adjacent to and inside tussocks were equal to or lower than those outside, but grazing damage decreased inside tussocks. Additionally, plant establishment inside tussocks was negatively related to A. splendens culm density, probably owing to competition for space within the tussocks. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the collapse of positive grass–grass interactions results from the decline in neighbouring benefactor plants through the morphological changes caused by grazing.

Patterns of plant diversity loss and species turnover resulting from land abandonment and intensification in semi-natural grasslands

Land-use changes cause biodiversity loss in semi-natural ecosystems worldwide. Biotic homogenization has led to biodiversity loss, mainly through declines in species composition turnover. Elucidating patterns of turnover in species composition could enhance our understanding of how anthropogenic activities affect community assembly. Here, we focused on whether the decreasing patterns in plant diversity and turnover of species composition resulting from land-use change vary in two regions. We estimated the species diversity and composition of semi-natural grasslands surrounding paddy fields in satoyama landscapes. We examined the differences in species diversity and composition across three land-use types (abandoned, traditional, and intensified) in two regions (Hyogo and Niigata Prefectures, Japan), which were characterized by different climatic conditions. We then assessed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity to compare the patterns of diversity losses in the two regions as a result of land-use changes. In each region, gamma-diversity was consistently higher in the traditional sites compared to abandoned or intensified sites. The analyses revealed that most of the beta-diversity in traditional sites differed significantly from those of abandoned and intensified sites in both regions. However, the beta-diversity of total and perennial species did not differ between traditional and abandoned sites in the Hyogo region. We noted that the beta-diversity of total and perennial species in intensified sites was much lower than that in the traditional sites of the Niigata region. Overall, the patterns of alpha- and gamma-diversity loss were similar in both study regions. Although the biotic homogenization was caused by intensified land-use in the Niigata region, this hypothesis did not completely explain the loss of biodiversity in the abandoned sites in the Hyogo region. The present study contributes to the growing body of work investigating changes in biodiversity as a result of both biotic homogenization and differentiation in semi-natural ecosystems. Conservationists and policy makers should focus on patterns of species composition responded to land-use changes that continue to increase worldwide.

Non-native plants are a seasonal pollen source for native honeybees in suburban ecosystems

In urban and suburban ecosystems, biodiversity can depend on various non-native plant species, including crop plants, garden plants and weeds. Non-native plants may help to maintain biodiversity by providing a source of forage for pollinators in these ecosystems. However, the contribution of plants in urban and agricultural areas to ecosystem services has often been underestimated in biodiversity assessments. In this study, we investigated the pollen sources of native honeybees (Apis cerana) in an arboretum containing native trees and urban and agricultural plants in a suburban landscape. We surveyed the flowering tree species planted inside the arboretum, which were potential pollen sources. The number of potential pollen-source species of native trees peaked in June and July and decreased after August. We collected A. cerana pollen balls every month and identified plant species of pollen in the collected pollen balls using DNA barcoding. In total, we identified 29 plant species from A. cerana pollen balls. The probability of A. cerana using pollen from urban and agricultural plants was higher in July and August than in June. A. cerana collected pollen forages from native tree species (53%), but also gathered pollen from crop plants (13%), garden trees (19%) and native and non-native weeds (14%); the predominant pollen sources in September and October were the garden tree Ulmus parvifolia and the non-native weed Solidago altissima. We found that native honeybees used plants from a variety of habitats including non-native plants to compensate for apparent seasonal shortages of native tree sources in suburban ecosystems. Our results highlight the importance of assessments of both positive and negative roles of non-native plants in urbanized ecosystems to improve biodiversity conservation.

Partitioning the plant diversity of semi-natural grasslands across Japan

Effective conservation of global species diversity requires a clear understanding of spatial scales that support overall diversity across broad scales. Abandonment of semi-natural grasslands has increased their fragmentation and decreased their areal extent. We quantified diversity patterns of plant communities in Japan across hierarchical scales to facilitate the development of an effective nationwide strategy for conserving species diversity in remnant semi-natural grasslands. We applied additive partitioning of plant species diversity, using a nested hierarchical design at three spatial scales (quadrat, grassland, and western and eastern regions of Japan) for three groups of plant species (all species, grassland species and national Red Listed species). We consistently found lower proportions of among-quadrats diversity, and higher proportions of among-grasslands diversity and between-regions diversity in the overall diversity of the entire species complement than would be expected by chance. The high contribution of among-grasslands diversity to overall diversity suggests that each grassland had a unique species content. The second-ranking contributor to overall diversity differed between grassland species and Red Listed species: the second-ranking contributor for grassland species was diversity at the among-quadrats scale but the second-ranking contributor for all species and for Red Listed species was diversity at the between-regions scale. Thus, effective conservation of diversity of the entire species complement in remnant semi-natural grasslands requires preservation of beta diversity in individual grasslands. Our findings highlight the importance of strengthening local preservation and restoration activities within each grassland, and of nationwide strategies for conserving Red Listed species in remnant semi-natural grassland communities.

Prescribed burning experiments for restoration of degraded semiarid Mongolian steppe

Prescribed burning has been a successful ecosystem restoration tool worldwide. In this study, we burned two different degraded Mongolian grasslands in spring: sparsely vegetated Argalant (ARG) and Hustai National Park (HNP), dominated by the unpalatable forb Artemisia adamsii. We investigated soil properties, seed bank, seedling density, vegetation, biomass, and forage quality before and/or after burning in the grasslands. Burning weakly affected soil properties and significantly reduced seed bank density. Seedling density of Chenopodium aristatum was greater and that of Cleistogenes squarrosa was lower in burned than in unburned plots of HNP, although C. squarrosa showed greater vegetative growth in burned plots. The floristic composition showed small changes after burning, depending on the pre-burning vegetation, but cover of A. adamsii decreased after burning in both ARG and HNP. Thus, the reduced seed bank density by burning led to weak responses of vegetation composition to burning due to strong vegetative growth. However, burning suppressed the unpalatable forb (A. adamsii) and hastened palatable grass (C. squarrosa) productivity, which would be attractive for livestock production, especially for overgrazed areas with low forage palatability. Our findings illustrate the possibility of using spring prescribed burning as a restoration tool in degraded Mongolian steppe, as well as the importance of site-specific conditions for understanding postfire recovery.