Cascades of green: A review of ecosystem-based adaptation in urban areas

Climate change impacts increase pressure on challenges to sustainability and the developmental needs of cities. Conventional, “hard” adaptation measures are often associated with high costs, inflexibility and conflicting interests related to the dense urban fabric, and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) has emerged as a potentially cost-efficient, comprehensive, and multifunctional approach. This paper reviews and systematises research on urban EbA. We propose an analytical framework that draws on theory from ecosystem services, climate change adaptation and sustainability science. It conceptualises EbA in terms of five linked components: ecological structures, ecological functions, adaptation benefits, valuation, and ecosystem management practices.Our review identified 110 articles, reporting on 112 cities, and analysed them using both quantitative statistical and qualitative content analysis. We found that EbA research in an urban context is fragmented due to different disciplinary approaches and concepts. Most articles focus on heat or flooding, and the most studied ecological structures for reducing the risk of such hazards are green space, wetlands, trees and parks. EbA is usually evaluated in bio-geophysical terms and the use of economic or social valuations are rare. While most articles do not mention specific practices for managing ecological structures, those that do imply that urban EbA strategies are increasingly being integrated into institutional structures. Few articles considered issues of equity or stakeholder participation in EbA.We identified the following challenges for future EbA research. First, while the large amount of data generated by isolated case studies contributes to systems knowledge, there is a lack of systems perspectives that position EbA in relation to the wider socio-economic and bio-geophysical context. Second, normative and ethical aspects of EbA require more thought, such as who are the winners and losers, especially in relation to processes that put people at risk from climate-related hazards. Third, there is room for more forward-looking EbA research, including consideration of future scenarios, experimentation in the creation of new ecological structures and the role of EbA in transformative adaptation.     

现代专题地图制图研究进展与趋势分析

针对专题地图制作相关研究不足的问题,该文通过归纳总结专题地图理论与应用、网络共享等方面的研究进展,从功能转变、模式转变和内涵冲击三方面分析专题地图研究趋势,并探讨现有制图理论技术存在的不足之处。文章认为:研究专题地图符号的内在结构及统一构建方式,在符号学和微观语言学的理论框架下建立专题符号句法模式,注重对专题地图符号模型的整体描述,并通过相应制图模型的研究来优化制图过程,发掘和创新制图理论成果,将会促进专题地图理论的完善,深化专题符号的自适应表达。     

Identifying geospatial services across heterogeneous taxonomies

Geospatial services with different functions are assembled together to solve complex problems. Different taxonomies are developed to categorize these services into classes. As differences in granularity and semantics exist among these taxonomies, the identification of services across different taxonomies has become a challenge. In this paper, an approach to identify geospatial services across heterogeneous taxonomies is proposed. Using formal concept analysis, existing heterogeneous taxonomies are decomposed into semantic factors and their various combinations. With these semantic factors, a super taxonomy is established to integrate the original heterogeneous taxonomies. Finally, with the super taxonomy as a cross-referencing system, geospatial services with classes in original taxonomies are identifiable across taxonomies. Experiments in service registries and a social media-based spatial-temporal analysis project are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.     

From taxonomies to ontologies: formalizing generalization knowledge for on-demand mapping

Automation of the cartographic design process is central to the delivery of bespoke maps via the web. In this paper, ontological modeling is used to explicitly represent and articulate the knowledge used in this decision-making process. A use case focuses on the visualization of road traffic accident data as a way of illustrating how ontologies provide a framework by which salient and contextual information can be integrated in a meaningful manner. Such systems are in anticipation of web-based services in which the user knows what they need, but do not have the cartographic ability to get what they want.     

人为干扰对滨海湿地生态系统的影响

对滨海湿地生态系统的主要人为干扰方式进行了系统辨识,详细阐述了不同人为干扰方式对滨海湿地生态系统结构、功能及服务的影响。综合分析了人为干扰造成的滨海湿地生态系统的结构改变、功能破坏、服务减少,其中,城市化、工业化进程干扰对滨海湿地生态系统的影响最为严重,并提出了滨海湿地保护对策。     

海洋浮游微食物网结构及其影响因素

微食物环是海洋生态系统中重要的物质和能量过程,是传统食物链的有效补充。微食物环研究是当前海洋生态学研究的热点之一,但对其结构的系统研究较少,海洋微食物网结构在2000年才被Garrison提出。尽管微食物网各个类群的丰度在不同海洋环境中有相对变化,但是这些变化都处于一定的范围之内,其丰度结构约为纤毛虫10 cell ml-1、鞭毛虫103 cell ml-1、微微型真核浮游生物104 cell ml-1、蓝细菌104-5 cell ml-1、异养细菌106 cell ml-1、病毒107 particle ml-1。海洋浮游食物链中捕食者和饵料生物粒径的最佳比值为10:1,实际研究中该比值会略低,例如纤毛虫与其饵料的粒径比值为8:1,鞭毛虫为3:1。Pico和Nano浮游植物的丰度比（Pico:Nano）是研究微食物网结构的指数之一,该指数具有不受研究尺度影响的优点,可用于研究区域性和全球性微食物网结构。近年来,学者们从多角度对海洋微食物网的结构开展了研究,不同海区微食物网各类群丰度、生物量的时间和空间变化研究有很多报道,微食物网的结构可受空间、季节、摄食、营养盐等多种因素影响。在对不同空间微食物网的研究中,学者往往研究不同物理性质的水团中各类群生物丰度的不同,以此来表征微食物网结构的不同;同一海区微食物网结构的季节变化也是使用各个类群丰度和生物量的变化来表示,该变化主要受水文环境因素影响。摄食者对微食物网各类生物的影响通过三种途径：1. 中型浮游动物摄食;2. 中型浮游动物摄食微型浮游动物,通过营养级级联效应影响低营养级生物;3. 中型浮游动物通过释放溶解有机物、营养盐影响细菌和低营养级生物。浮游植物通过产生化感物质和溶解有机物影响微食物网结构,而营养盐的浓度及变化则可以对微食物网产生直接或间接影响。     

The digital ‘connected’ earth: open technology for providing location-based services on degraded communication environments

In the current world, it is easy to listen that everybody and everything is connected. Over this connected world, the concept of location-based services has grown in order to provide digital services in everyplace and at every time. Nevertheless, this is not 100% true because the connection is not guaranteed for many people and in many places. These are the Degraded Communications Environments (DCE), environments where the availability of high-speed communications is not guaranteed in at least the 75% of the time. This paper works over the experience of a previous work in developing light protocols that do not need broadband for communication. This work provides an extension of these protocols for the inclusion of mobile devices as elements of the communication process and a set of libraries to allow the development of applications in DCE. The work done has involved the development of two frameworks: an Android framework that makes the incorporation of Android devices easier and a server-based framework that provides the server side for the development of the referred applications. A use case that uses these two frameworks has been developed. Finally, all technology developed is available throw a public Git repository.     

Measured and perceived visual complexity: a comparative study among three online map providers

We present a study on human perception of map complexity, with the objective of better understanding design decisions that may lead to undesirable levels of complexity in web maps. We compare three complexity metrics to human ratings of complexity obtained through a user survey. Specifically, we use two algorithmic approaches published by others, which measure feature congestion (FC) and subband entropy (SE), as well as our own approach of counting object types rather than individual objects. We compare these metrics with each other as well as with human complexity ratings for three maps of the same area from map providers Google Maps, Bing Maps, and OpenStreetMap. Each map design is assessed at three different scales (levels of detail). We find that (1) the FC and SE metrics appear to be adequate predictors of what humans consider complex; (2) object-type counts are slightly less successful at predicting human-rated complexity, implying that clutter is more important in perceived complexity than diversity of symbology; and (3) generalization choices do impact human complexity ratings. These findings contribute to our understanding of what makes a map complex, with implications for designing maps that are easy to use.     

Cross-site analysis of perceived ecosystem service benefits in multifunctional landscapes

Rural development policies in many Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries promote sustainable landscape management with the intention of providing multiple ecosystem services (ES). Yet, it remains unclear which ES benefits are perceived in different landscapes and by different people. We present an assessment of ES benefits perceived and mapped by residents (n = 2,301) across 13 multifunctional (deep rural to peri-urban) landscapes in Europe. We identify the most intensively perceived ES benefits, their spatial patterns, and the respondent and landscape characteristics that determine ES benefit perception. We find outdoor recreation, aesthetic values and social interactions are the key ES benefits at local scales. Settlement areas are ES benefit hotspots but many benefits are also related to forests, waters and mosaic landscapes. We find some ES benefits (e.g. culture and heritage values) are spatially clustered, while many others (e.g. aesthetic values) are dispersed. ES benefit perception is linked to people’s relationship with and accessibility to a landscape. Our study discusses how a local perspective can contribute to the development of contextualized and socially acceptable policies for sustainable ES management. We also address conceptual confusion in ES framework and present argumentation regarding the links from services to benefits, and from benefits to different types of values.     

黄河下游沿岸农业景观中蜘蛛对非农生境的响应（英文）

Non-crop habitats have been suggested to impact local biodiversity significantly in agricultural landscapes. However, there have been few studies of the effects of less-focused non-crop habitats(orchard, wetland, pit and ditch) on variation of spider abundance. In this study, spiders in 30 woodlands were captured using pitfall traps in Fengqiu County, China, and the effects of local and landscape variations at different scales(50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 350 m and 500 m) on spider abundance were analysed. The most important variation that influenced spider abundance at the 500 m scale was the less-focused non-crop habitat(LNH) cover, and 10% was an appropriate proportion of LNH cover to sustain high level of spider diversity in the investigated landscape. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analyses revealed that there were significant differences in the spider composition among the high, medium and low LNH coverage. Based on indicator species analysis, different spider species were associated with landscapes with different levels of LNH cover. Lycosidae, which accounted for 48% of the total specimens, preferred woodland habitats neighbouring areas with high LNH cover. Compared with woodland habitats, LNH provided more diverse food sources and habitat to sustain more spider species in the study area. Furthermore, linear elements composed of vegetation, such as pits and ditches, may prevent agricultural intensification by enhancing landscape connectivity and providing habitats for different spiders. Our findings may provide a theoretical basis for biodiversity conservation in agro-ecosystems and top-down control of pests.