基于土地利用变化的生态风险评价——以广西岑溪市为例

该文以1999年及2009年岑溪市土地利用数据为来源,在GIS的支持下,分析了10年来研究区内的土地利用变化的时空特点及其转化过程,结合土地利用综合指数、耕地垦殖指数、植被覆盖指数、景观破碎度指数评价了土地利用变化的生态风险。研究表明：研究区域内10年间土地利用类型发生了复杂的相互转换,其中林草地、建设用地和耕地为研究区内变化面积最大的3种土地利用类型;受经济快速发展和城市化进程加快的影响,土地利用的广度和深度不断增大,全市土地利用趋于破碎化,土地生态风险程度有所增加。     

Late glacial and holocene landscapes of central Beringia

New palynological and sedimentological data from St. Lawrence Island present a rare view into late-glacial and Holocene environments of the central Bering Land Bridge. The late glaciation was a time of dynamic landscape changes in south-central Beringia, with active thermokarst processes, including the formation and drainage of thaw lakes. The presence of such a wet, unstable substrate, if widespread, probably would have had an adverse impact on food sources and mobility for many of the large mammal populations. The establishment of Betula shrub tundra on the island suggests late-glacial summers that were warmer than present, consistent with regional paleoclimatic interpretations. However, the increasing proximity to the Bering Sea, as postglacial sea levels rose, modified the intensity of warming and prevented the establishment of deciduous forest as found in other areas of Beringia at this time. The mid- to late Holocene is marked by more stable land surfaces and development of Sphagnum and Cyperaceae peat deposits. The accumulation of organic deposits, decline of shrub Betula, and decrease in thermokarst disturbance suggest that conditions were cooler than the previous. A recent decline in peat accumulation at the study sites may relate to local geomorphology, but similar decreases have been noted for other arctic regions.     

海域使用格局卫星遥感监测与评价——以葫芦岛试验区为例

研究了海域使用类型遥感监测的分类系统,探索建立了各类海域使用类型的卫星遥感监测方法。在此基础上,以葫芦岛试验区为例,对该验区海域使用格局进行了卫星遥感监测与评价。结果表明:卫星遥感技术结合地理信息系统技术与全球定位系统技术可以较好地对海域使用空间格局进行监测和评价。葫芦岛试验区海域使用类型以工矿业用海和渔业用海为主,工矿业用海以大斑块的集中用海为主要特征,而渔业用海则以小斑块的分散用海为主。在海域使用空间格局上,葫芦岛区块海域以工矿业用海为主,兴城区块海域以工矿业和渔业用海为主,绥中区块海域则是以渔业用海为主,葫芦岛试验区海域使用空间格局具有明显的空间分异特征。     

低效用海评价指标体系构建研究——以浙江省普陀区填海用海为例

本文旨在针对当前海域节约集约利用的要求下,缺乏低效用海客观评价体系的现状。采用层次分析法和德尔菲专家打分法等技术,在DPSIR框架下,从指标选取、权重设立以及综合评价等方面构建低效用海评价指标体系,并在浙江省普陀区进行应用示范。结果显示,普陀区41个填海项目中,有17个项目评价等级为优,有4个评价等级为良好。等级为一般和较差的项目各10个,占评价项目48.7%。这表明普陀区填海项目中批而未填、填而未建或闲置用海情况较为明显。本研究在指标体系构建和实际应用方面具有创新性和先进性,对于低效用海的节约集约利用具有一定的实际意义和应用价值。     

Potential impacts of aerosol–land–atmosphere interactions on the Indian monsoonal rainfall characteristics

Aerosols can affect the cloud-radiation feedback and the precipitation over the Indian monsoon region. In this paper, we propose that another pathway by which aerosols can modulate the multi-scale aspect of Indian monsoons is by altering the land–atmosphere interactions. The nonlinear feedbacks due to aerosol/diffuse radiation on coupled interactions over the Indian monsoon region are studied by: (1) reviewing recent field measurements and modeling studies, (2) analyzing the MODIS and AERONET aerosol optical depth datasets, and (3) diagnosing the results from sensitivity experiments using a mesoscale modeling system. The results of this study suggest that the large magnitude of aerosol loading and its impact on land–atmosphere interactions can significantly influence the mesoscale monsoonal characteristics in the Indo-Ganges Basin.     

Neoliberalizing environmental governance? Land trusts, private conservation and nature on the Oak Ridges Moraine

With recent changes in the ways that state agencies are implementing their environmental policies, the line between public and private is becoming increasingly blurred. This includes shifts from state-led implementation of environmental policies to conservation plans that are implemented and managed by multi-sectoral networks of governments, the private sector and environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs). This paper examines land trusts as private conservation initiatives that become part of neoliberal governance arrangements and partnerships that challenge our conceptions of environmental preservation and democratic participation. The paper starts with an examination of the concept of neoliberalized environmental governance. Next, it addresses the shifting social constructions of property and land in the context of protecting large scale ecosystems. Through a case study of the extension of new environmental governance arrangements on the Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario, we examine the relationships that have formed between different levels of the state and environmental non-governmental organizations. Finally, we analyze the expansion of land trusts and private conservation initiatives that are predicated on private land ownership and the commodification of nature, the emerging discourses and practices of private conservation, and how these are implicated in the privatization and neoliberalization of nature.     

Stated preferences for size and bag limits of Alaska charter boat anglers

Over the last several years, significant regulatory changes related to Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis have occurred in the for-hire recreational charter boat fishing sector in Alaska. In addition to limited entry restrictions and adoption of a catch sharing plan that provides a formal means of determining allocation between the commercial and charter boat fishing sectors, more restrictive harvest regulations were placed on anglers fishing from charter boats. This article provides insights into how the value anglers place on charter boat fishing is affected by these regulations, principally bag and size limits. Such information is helpful in assessing the trade-offs in economic benefits associated with different regulatory tools used to manage angler harvest levels. Stated preference choice experiment data from a 2012 survey are analyzed using a panel rank-ordered mixed logit model to estimate the economic value, or willingness to pay (WTP), non-resident anglers place on saltwater charter boat fishing trips in Alaska and to assess how changes in characteristics of fishing trips, particularly harvest restrictions related to Pacific halibut, affect this value. The model specification accounts for a wide array of size and bag limit restrictions that have been recently implemented or are under consideration by Pacific halibut fishery managers. The results indicate that very strict harvest restrictions have the effect of driving WTP to zero, while allowing at least one (potentially) large fish to be caught is valuable to anglers. The results also suggest that WTP for fishing trips with bag limits that allow two or more fish to be harvested with no size restrictions on the first fish harvested are not statistically different from the value for trips for larger bag limits or for the case where all the fish in the limit can be any size. This suggests that fishery managers can restrict the size of the second fish in a two-fish bag limit and still maintain economic values for fishing trips.     

3S技术在海南省海岸保护利用规划中的应用

利用3s技术强大的空间信息处理和管理能力及制图能力,实现了在海南省海岸保护利用规划中多源地理数据采集处理、专题信息分析提取、规划图集编制和规划信息管理系统的建立等．结果表明：采用3S技术能够较好地处理海南省海岸保护利用规划中涉及的陆图、海图、遥感图、海洋功能区图、相关规划图和项目用海图等基础地理数据,以及现场调查、勘测数据的空间位置关系;提取了海南岛海岸类型、海岸开发利用现状等专题信息;结合海南社会经济发展对海岸资源开发利用的需求和生态环境保护要求,划分基本功能岸段,总体为北部海岸以港口、旅游岸段为主,东部海岸以旅游、渔业岸段为主,南部海岸以旅游、港口岸段为主,西部海岸以港口、渔业岸段为主．     

Land subsidence caused by groundwater exploitation in Suzhou City,China

Suzhou City, located at the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in southeastern Jiangsu Province, is one of the few cities in China which suffer from severe ground settlement. A research project was carried out to investigate this problem. Geological and hydrogeological studies show that there is a multi-layered aquifer system with three distinct, soft mud layers of marine and lagoonal origins. An examination of historical records of groundwater extraction, water levels, and ground settlement shows that the ground subsidence is associated with the continuously increasing groundwater extraction in the deep, confined aquifer. It is believed that the consolidation of the soft mud layers, especially the third layer which is thick and close to the main pumped aquifer, contributes to the ground settlement. A three-dimensional finite difference numerical model representing the multi-layered aquifer system was developed to study the ground settlement in response to groundwater extraction. By calibrating the model with both the measured groundwater level and ground settlement, the aquifer parameters were estimated. The model outputs fit reasonably well with the observed results, which indicates that the numerical model can reproduce the dynamic processes of both groundwater flow and soil consolidation. The hydraulic conductivity of the third mud layer near the center of the ground settlement has been reduced by over 30% in the last 14 years. The gradual deterioration in the hydraulic conductivity of the mud may have significant adverse effect on the sustainable groundwater resource of the deep confined aquifer, since the recharge from the shallow aquifers through the mud layer is the only source of water to the deep aquifer. An analysis of the spatial distributions of groundwater drawdown and ground settlement shows that the area with maximum drawdown is not necessarily the area with maximum ground settlement due to the occurrence of the soft mud layer. A simple reallocation in pumping rates on the basis of the spatial distribution of the thick mud layer could significantly reduce the ground settlement. Electronic Publication     

New developments in water efficiency

1Water LossInitiativesUnaccounted-for water(or unbilled water)has beenreceiving newscrutiny at both the state and nationallevels.For years,water conservationeffortsin Europehave emphasized reduction in water loss to a muchgreater extent thaninthe United S…