人类行为对自然生态系统改变的研究——以大洋岛屿为例

本文聚焦于人类活动在印度洋和中、高纬度大洋中遥远岛屿的表象，着重阐述了人类行为对自然生态系统的影响，文章通过对建筑、采矿、生物引进，以及旅游业开发等人类活动的若干方面的观察和考证，总结认为世界上不存在孤立地域，没有哪一个环境能够保持与世界的经济和政治体系毫不相干。     

A continental analysis of correlations between tree patterns in African savannas and human and environmental variables

This study analyses possible relationships between natural processes taking place in savannas and the tree patterns found in savannas. This can lead to new hypotheses about which processes are driving savanna physiognomy. To do so tree patterns were quantified for African savannas from historical aerial photographs applying frequently used landscape metrics. Also, additional data for these areas were collected to quantify the processes taking place at these locations. Correlations between tree pattern indices and explaining factors were analysed. We found a negative trend between tree cover and density of sheep and goats, but no relationship between tree cover and density of cattle, suggesting that small livestock have an effect on tree cover, but that larger livestock (or obligate grazers) do not. Also, a positive correlation between human population density and tree cover was found. Possible explanations for the found relations are discussed. Subsequent ways to analyse the latter correlation are discussed, and the potential of the presented historical database of aerial photographs is highlighted.     

First record of Branchinella spinosa (Milne-Edwards) (Crustacea: Branchiopodacolon; Anostraca) from Greece

As the result of a first screening of temporary inland water habitats,Branchinella spinosa is here recorded for the first time in Greece. This finding extends the circum-Mediterranean part of its vast distribution. The species was collected from a shallow astatic coastal salt-marsh that is mainly fed by rainwater, where it coexists but rarely co-occurs withArtemia parthenogenetica. Branchinella spinosa is only the fourth anostracan species currently known from Greece. The poor knowledge of anostracan richness and abundance is mainly due to limited sampling efforts in this area. As temporary aquatic habitats are threatened by several anthropogenic activities, especially agriculture and land clearing for urbanisation and tourism, there is an urgent necessity for further monitoring and protection of these precious habitats.     

Boundaries Make a Difference: The Effects of Spatial and Temporal Parameters on Conservation Planning*

Conservation planning and resulting ecological target identification require selection of both a planning area boundary and temporal baseline or reference condition. We examined the effects that these selections can have on resulting amount and location of identified conservation targets. A gap analysis for California was conducted using five different sets of ecoregion boundaries to identify and compare existing conservation shortfalls in major land cover type representation in protected areas using a threshold of 30 percent per ecoregion per type as the minimum required for future ecological viability. Another gap analysis was run for a single ecoregion using two temporal baselines (current and pre-1900) for the land cover followed by a comparison of identified conservation needs. We found that the boundaries of different ecoregional schemes affected both the total area needed to meet the per ecoregion land cover conservation goals and the spatial location of underprotected land cover types. Choice of temporal baseline also had a significant effect on the establishment of conservation targets for the highly human-impacted Central Valley ecoregion. To meet the given conservation threshold using a historic rather than contemporary baseline, a substantial amount of restoration is required. The results can help identify areas of both conservation needs consensus and those that vary widely based on the chosen planning boundary, as well as aid in the selection of appropriate restoration targets in degraded ecosystems. Because all landscapes are continuous in nature and planning area boundaries are discrete, similar results are likely to be found in analyses conducted in other regions.     

Heavy metal contamination of an arid river environment: Gruben River, Namibia

The dispersal of metalliferous pollution from several spoil heaps produced during 20th century copper mining in the Gruben River valley, Namibia is examined. The Gruben River flows through an extremely arid environment with an average rainfall of ˜25 mm p.a. The potential for physical and chemical remobilisation of Cu, Zn and Ni is assessed by examining the spatial and temporal distribution of metal-contaminated sediment deposited within the confines of the channel. The relationships between metal content, grain size, geomorphic environment and the downstream distribution of metals are discussed. The phase-specific heavy metal concentrations of sediments, collected as part of the downstream sampling programme, are also examined using progressively more aggressive sequential acid extractions. In addition, metal concentrations are compared with Dutch guidelines for soil contamination to ascertain the extent of environmental risk.Total metal concentrations show that the Gruben valley is highly contaminated, particularly with respect to Cu and Ni concentrations, which exceed Dutch target values for Cu (36 ppm) in 94.7% and Ni (35 ppm) in 90.5% of samples, respectively. Zn concentrations are much lower with only 6.3% of the samples exceeding the target value (140 ppm). As might be expected, the metal–sediment concentrations of Cu are the most highly elevated, with a peak value of 10,500 ppm being recorded from material collected from suspended sediment transported during a minor flow event that occurred in March 1999. Lower energy and fine-grained sedimentary environments are shown to be clearly associated with higher metal concentrations. Sequential extractions of metals show that of the three principal elements considered in this study, only a negligible proportion of Cu (0.41%) is held in the exchangeable phase. Ni and Zn were below detection limits. Although the total metal concentrations in the Gruben River valley sediments are extremely high and are in themselves a concern, the small percentage of metals held in the exchangeable phase and the low potential for remobilisation under the arid conditions would suggest that they pose only a minor risk to the environment.     

Improved magnetic anomalies of the Antarctic lithosphere from satellite and near-surface data

The Antarctic magnetic anomaly map compiled marine and airborne surveys collected south of 60°S through 1999 and used Magsat data to help fill in the regional gaps between the surveys. Ørsted and CHAMP satellite magnetic observations with greatly improved measurement accuracies and temporal and spatial coverage of the Antarctic, have now supplanted the Magsat data. We combined the new satellite observations with the near-surface survey data for an improved magnetic anomaly map of the Antarctic lithosphere. Specifically, we separated the crustal from the core and external field components in the satellite data using crustal thickness variations estimated from the terrain and the satellite-derived free-air gravity observations. Regional gaps in the near-surface surveys were then filled with predictions from crustal magnetization models that jointly satisfied the near-surface and satellite crustal anomalies. Comparisons in some of the regional gaps that also considered newly acquired aeromagnetic data demonstrated the enhanced anomaly estimation capabilities of the predictions over those from conventional minimum curvature and spherical harmonic geomagnetic field models. We also noted that the growing number of regional and world magnetic survey compilations involve coverage gaps where these procedures can contribute effective near-surface crustal anomaly estimates.     

Freshwater Ostracodes in Quaternary Permafrost Deposits in the Siberian Arctic

Ostracode analysis was carried out on samples from ice-rich permafrost deposits obtained on the Bykovsky Peninsula (Laptev Sea). A composite profile was investigated that covers most of a 38-m thick permafrost sequence and corresponds to the last ca. 60 kyr of the Late Quaternary. The ostracode assemblages are similar to those known from European Quaternary lake deposits during cold stages. The ostracode habitats were small, shallow, cold, oligotrophic pools located in low centred ice wedge polygons or in small thermokarst depressions. In total, 15 taxa, representing 7 genera, were identified from 65 samples. The studied section is subdivided into six ostracode zones that correspond to Late Quaternary climatic and environmental stadial-interstadial variations established by other paleoenvironmental proxies: (1) cold and dry Zyrianian stadial (58–53 kyr BP); (2) warm and dry Karginian interstadial (48–34 kyr BP); (3) transition from the Karginian interstadial to the cold and dry Sartanian stadial (34–21 kyr BP); (4) transition from the Sartanian stadial to the warm and dry Late Pleistocene period, the Allerød (21–14 kyr BP); (5) transition from the Allerød to the warm and wet Middle Holocene (14–7 kyr BP); and (6) cool and wet Late Holocene (ca. 3 kyr BP). The abundance and diversity of the ostracodes will be used as an additional bioindicator for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the Siberian Arctic.