The hydrological influence of black locust plantations in the loess area of northwest China

Black locust (Robina pseudoacacia) has become one of the most important shelter species in the loess area of northwest China. This paper summarizes recent research concerning its hydrological influence, including canopy interception, litter absorption capacity, its effect on rainfall kinetic energy, infiltration rates, surface runoff, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration, and its role in soil conservation. Several predictive models are listed. on the basis of existing results, optimum characteristics for an effective plantation are defined, and problems requiring further research are identified.     

Characteristics and conservation of biodiversity in Xinjiang

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers nearly 1/6 territory of China, with vari-ous landscape patterns, environmental conditions and three key regions of biodiversity of China.The ecosystem here has a relatively simple structure and fragile ecological stability. The coverageof sparse vegetation here is only 2.1% which is far lower than 14%, the average coverage all overthe country. Although the fragile and unstable ecosystems are improved partly in the past, the totalsituation in Xinjiang has worsened (such as drying up of rivers and lakes, desertification andsalinization of soil, deterioration of meadow, reduction of biodiversity, etc.). Although the speciesnumbers of Xinjiang are few, the diversity of taxa is very high. The types of plant communities areabundant, and the flora abounds in one-species genus, one-genus family and few-species genus.Also, the fauna abounds in endangered species and endemic species, of which 108 species ofvertebrates were listed as nationally protected species. In addition, there are abundantanti-adversity gene pools. The present paper puts forwards several suggestions for biodiversityconservation in Xinjiang.     

On the way to a better state? The role of NGOs in the planning and implementation of protected areas in Brazil

Protected areas are considered some of the most versatile as well as important instruments of nature conservation and environmental policies. The `classic' model of nature conservation aims at the isolation of large areas in order to preserve their `pristine' nature from human interference. However, the transfer of this model to developing countries led to serious conflicts with local people. From a socio-geographical viewpoint, protected areas can be understood as regulative tools for the shaping and controlling of space. This approach helps to recognise the influence of distinct modes of appropriation of space and nature on the emergence and course of conflicts. In the present article it is used to analyse the leading role played by Brazilian NGOs in the transformation of the classic model of protected area management at the beginning of the nineties. Two case studies – dealing with the implementation of the Amazonian Mamirauá Reserve and with the reform of the Brazilian protected area legislation – are used to illustrate not only the success of the new approaches, but also the expectations and contradictions which surround the future development of protected areas in Brazil.     

Seasonal warm-water refuge and sanctuary usage by the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in Kings Bay,Citrus County,Florida

The largest Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) aggregation at a natural warm-water site occurs in Kings Bay, Crystal River, FL. In accordance with the Manatee Recovery Plan, manatee protection areas within Kings Bay have been created by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Florida including a year-round refuge designation and seven Federal manatee sanctuaries during the winter manatee season (15 November–31 March). Over the last 30 years, an increase in manatee counts has been observed in Kings Bay which has prompted the need to review existing manatee protection measures. Aerial survey data collected between 1983 and 2012 were used to examine the seasonal change in manatee distribution within Kings Bay to assess the effectiveness of current sanctuary sizes and locations. Regression analysis suggested a significant change in manatee abundance among the winter seasons (p < 0.05). The average winter manatee counts increased by 4.81 animals per year over the 30-year period. Spatially explicit maps using geographic information system (GIS) analysis revealed a strong correlation between high manatee density and artesian springs in Kings Bay during the winter seasons. Highest abundances were identified at three locations: King Spring, Three Sisters Springs, and Magnolia Springs, which coincide with preexisting sanctuary designations. Additional coverage is advocated to support the overflow of manatees outside of sanctuary boundaries. As density patterns were not uniform across summer periods, a consideration of additional boat speed regulations is recommended.     

FluBiDi – a model to estimate flood based on runoff: validation using extreme and natural basin conditions

FluBiDi is a two-dimensional model created to simulate real events that can take days and months, as well as short events (minutes or hours) and inclusive laboratory tests. To verify the robustness of FluBiDi, it was tested using a previous study with both designed and real digital elevation models. The results highlight good agreement between the models (i.e. Mike Flood, SOBEK, ISIS 2D, and others) tested and FluBiDi (around 90% for a specific instant and 95% for the complete time simulation). In the simulated hydrographs, the discharge peak value, time to peak, and water level results were accurate, reproducing them with an error of less than 5%. The velocity differences observed in a couple of tests in FluBiDi were associated with very short periods of time (seconds). However, FluBiDi is highly accurate for simulating floods under real topographical conditions with differences of around 2 cm when water depth is around 150 cm. The average water depth and velocities are precise, and the model describes with high accuracy the pattern and extent of floods. FluBiDi has the capability to be adjusted to different types of events and only requires limited input data.     

基于综合指标法的中国生态系统服务保护有效性评价研究

将生态系统服务保护纳入到传统的以保护区为基础的自然保护之中是生态保护研究的新领域。利用综合指标方法,分析了中国从2000-2010年的4种生态系统服务时空变化特征;并对中国的七大生态保护和恢复区域的服务空间保护成效进行评价,提出了国家尺度上的生态系统服务保护优先性分级。主要结论为：① 中国的生态系统服务自西北向东南逐渐增加,显著增加区主要分布在黄土高原地区,显著减少区主要分布在东北及华北地区。黄土高原的生态系统服务提高主要是农田向草地和林地、草地向林地的转换引的;华北地区的降低主要是耕地的减少以及人工用地的增加引起的;东北地区是由于林地向耕地草地、耕地向湿地与人工用地的转换引起的。② 七大生态保护和恢复区的生态系统服务均为增加趋势而且显著增加面积大于减少面积;显著增加面积最大的为三北防护林工程区、最小的为重点生态功能区;显著减少最大为重要生态功能区、最小的为三北防护林工程区。而且,对服务的保护成效在重要生态功能区最高,其次为天然林保护工程区,其余区域均小于全国平均水平。③ 提出的生态系统服务保护优先性等级中,极高级别占到了国土面积的26.18%,保护的生态系统服务量占到全国总量的64.19%,保护成效为全国平均水平的2.47倍。     

Using live vegetation volume to analyze the effects of plot Pinus massoniana Lamb on water and soil conservation under natural rainfall events

The 3-D spatial distributions of vegetation are of great significance for water and soil conservation but are rarely concerned in literatures. The live vegetation volume （LVV） was used to relate to water/soil loss under 144 natural erosive rainfall events from 2007 to 2010 in a typical water-eroded area of southern China. Quadratic polynomial regression models were established for five pure tree （Pinus massoniana Lamb） plots between LVV and water （rtmoff）/soil conservation effects （RE/SE）. RE/SE corresponds to the ratios of runoff depth/soil loss of the pure tree plots to that of the control plot under each rainfall event. Increasing LVV exhibits descending （DS）, descending-ascending （DA）, ascending-descending （AD）, and ascending （AS） trends in the LVV-RE and LVV-SE curves. The effects of soil conservation on the plots were generally more noticeable than the effects of water conservation, and most of the RE and SE values reflected the positive effects of water and soil conservation. The effects were mainly positive under heavy rains （e.g., rainfall erosivity, R = 140 MJ mm ha-l h, maximum 30 min intensity, I30 = 16 mm h-l）, whereas the effects were mainly negative under light rains （e.g., R = 45 MJ mm ha-1 h, I30 = 8 mm h-l）. The trees＇ water/soil conservation effects notably transformed when rainfall erosivity and intensity were lower than the positive or negative effects to a certain threshold. About 50% rainfall events led to obvious transform effects when LVVs were near 0.5 or 0.6. These results are able to aid in the decision making on the forest reconstruction in water-eroded areas.     

Building a bioregion through transboundary conservation in Central America

Barquet, K. 2015. Building a bioregion through transboundary conservation in Central America. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography. Vol. 69, 265–276. ISSN 0029-1951.

Proponents of transboundary conservation argue for the formation of a bioregional scale of governance. How such rescaling should be done remains an undiscussed issue. Through a study of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in Central America and Si-A-Paz, a transboundary protected area in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the author investigates how a transboundary scale of conservation is enacted. The study shows that in order to meet the conditions of a bioregion, actors involved in transboundary conservation in Central America produced accounts of social and ecological integrity that did not entirely match local narratives. Moreover, transboundary conservation provided actors with increased mobility across governance scales and sources of funding. In turn, this scalar mobility enhanced the power of already powerful actors in the area, helped states to attract international sources of funding, and empowered previously marginalized local groups at the expense of others. The author concludes that actors involved in transboundary conservation attempt to create new meanings of nature and understandings of society in order to produce a new scale of conservation. However, the study highlights the problems of matching discourses of nature to accounts of social unity, and underlines the political nature of scalar projects.     

New Modes of Environmental Governance in Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation in Oregon

Abstract

Natural resource challenges often span administrative jurisdictions and include actors and processes operating at different spatial and political scales. We applied concepts of new environmental governance to analyze Oregon’s approach to greater sage-grouse conservation. Through one in-depth case study in Lake County, we traced features of new environmental governance (cross-scale interactions, decentralization, and capacities of actors) through different governance levels. Interviews and qualitative analysis revealed that decentralization of administrative functions facilitated cross-scale interactions and relied on intermediaries, gap-filling, and perceptions of legitimacy at lower levels. State and agency guidelines steered the effort and were accompanied by financial and technical resources from multiple arenas, which increased local capacity. This study adds to the understandings of environmental governance for implementing multi-actor, multi-level conservation arrangements in resource-dependent communities. Further exploration of connections between higher levels and local contexts will reveal important, new ways to link policies with on-the-ground outcomes.     

Private rights,public benefits: Industry-driven seabed protection

New Zealand has a large exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that contains a variety of marine habitats and commercially-important species. The commercial fishing industry operating within New Zealand's EEZ is of significant value to the economy and fisheries resources are managed through the extensive use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs). One of the benefits of ITQs has been to better align some of the private incentives of quota owners with the public interest. These incentives contributed to an initiative proposed by the fishing industry to close large areas of New Zealand's EEZ to protect the seabed from trawling. These closed areas are termed benthic protection areas (BPAs) and protect the benthic biodiversity of about 1.1 million square kilometres of seabed—approximately 30% of New Zealand's EEZ. A significant proportion of New Zealand's known seamounts and active hydrothermal vents are protected by these closed areas. We describe and discuss the criteria used to select BPAs and some of the criticism of this marine protection initiative. We argue that the assignment of strong property rights in fishing resources was an important precondition to an industry initiative that has a significant public benefit. Where private and public interests are well aligned, government can adopt an enabling and facilitation role, ceding direct control of processes in order to get the results the align with the public interest.