Abel, Nick

Ecological And Environmental Indicators For The Rapid Appraisal Of Natural Resources

This paper examines some of the assumptions underlying rapid appraisal of natural resources. Four case studies of varying complexity are presented to illustrate the range of possibilities in using ecological and environmental indicators to appraise aspects of the physical environment which might either be assessed by longer methods, or not at all. The cases concern the use of proxy variables to facilitate rapid assessment. These proxies are soil colour, plant indicators, soil erosion, and forest vegetation.