Wild things in urban places: America's largest cities and multi-scales of governance for endangered species conservation

Endangered species live inside the world's most densely populated cities. In the United States, the Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the protection and recovery of endangered species – wherever those species are found. Unfortunately, very little is known about urban endangered species policy or programs. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the five largest cities in the United States and examines issue of governance around conservation. Cities have a responsibility to steward the environment, but through the 1973 Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife Service has a legal mandate to protect endangered species throughout the country. Thus, this paper asks: What is the USFWS doing inside cities to recover endangered species? What are cities doing? Conservation is a shared duty but it is not clear that anyone is taking responsibility for urban endangered species.     

Studies on wind environment around high buildings in urban areas

High buildings or architectural complex in urban areas remarkably distort the urban surface wind fields. As the air flow approaches,local strong wind may appear around the buildings. The strong wind makes the pedestrians on sidewalks, entrances and terrace very uncomfortable and causes the pedestrian level wind environment problem. In this studies, hot-wire wind measurement, wind scouring in wind tunnel and numerical computation were carried out to evaluate the wind environment of tall buildings in the prevailing flow conditions in Beijing areas. The results obtained by three techniques were compared and mutually verified. The conclusions drawn from three approaches agree with each other. Also the advantages and limitations of each method were analyzed. It is suggested that the combination of different techniques may produce better assessment of wind environment around high buildings.     

Impact of oasis establishment on underground environment in salinized sandy lands

The salinized sandy lands are the important reclaimable reserve wastelands in thesouth area of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. But it is necessary that the eco-logical environment of the area is not destroyed by action of oasis development. The main factor tohinder oasis development is land salinization. Rational oasis establishment rebuilds wastelandswith lower productivity and utilization efficiency for the growth of agriculture, forestry, and stock raising. The results of surveying sub-soil environment of Aimugaike. Awati oasis in Hotian County ofthe Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region show that the underground water and soil environment arenot deteriorated under the rational management and administration, which could be coordinatedfor obtaining economic and environmental benefit. During the oasis establishment period from1997 to 1999, the plowland area has reached 166.7 hm2, and the seed cotton yield per unit areahas reached 2250 kg @ hm-2, the area of timber forest and active sand break forest has reached 20hm2, the area of fruit trees is 71.5 hm2; and the soil moisture has decreased from 22.07% to18.12%. In the first year of oasis establishment, the soil type has changed salt soil into light saltsoil, in the second year the soil has been out of salt harm; and the content of soil organic matter intopsoil has increased obviously.     

GIS新引擎——“真图”数据解决方案

提出了一种基于移动测量系统技术的"真图"数据解决方案。一方面极大地丰富了GIS数据源,另一方面通过相应的真图影像数据管理软件及开发包扩展GIS功能,为各行业应用提供了地理信息数据解决方案。     

Sedimentary environment and development controls of the hydrocarbon source beds:Middle and Upper Proterozoic in northern North China

Problem on development control of marine source bed hold in Chinese petroleum industry progression. The Hongshuizhuang Formation,Tieling Formation and Xiamaling Formation in the Middle and Upper Proterozoic are important hydrocarbon source beds in northern North China, and investigation of their sedimentary environments and the controls has great significance for petroleum exploration in North China. Based on sedimentology (sequence stratigraphy), palaeoecology, sedimentary geochemistry, and sedimentary palaeogeography, their development pattern is discussed. All these studies indicate that the development controls of the hydrocarbon source beds include a favorite palaeogeographic location, exceeding propagation of biomes in low and middle latitudes, anoxic environments, enrichment of phosphorus element and the adsorption of clay minerals during the preservation of organic matter in the marine carbonates.     

Shifting production/shifting consumption: A political ecology of health perceptions in Kumaon,India

Despite rapid economic growth, India has not seen the improvements in food and nutritional security that other developing countries have had. This “Asian enigma” has generated a wealth of economistic analyses seeking to explain the persistence of poor nutrition, yet few studies have looked at everyday experiences of changing food systems, and how this impacts nutritional practices as well as the processes of subject formation. In this paper, I draw on qualitative research conducted in Uttarakhand, North India and examine how state-led shifts in agricultural production have resulted in changing food consumption practices and diminished perceptions of health. Villagers link this decreased health to increased chemicals in home-produced food, greater dependence on the market for food purchases, and generational changes in dietary preferences. Despite villagers’ cognizance of the negative health effects of these practices, they largely view these byproducts of capitalistic development with an air of inevitability. Following Mansfield (2011) this paper contributes to the political ecology of health literature by employing the concept of food as a “vector of intercorporeality” (Stassart and Whatmore, 2003:449) and bringing this into conversation with a poststructuralist understanding of subjectivity. I argue that within shifting landscapes of agriculture production and food consumption, notions of diminished health are indicative of the complex and always incomplete processes of subject formation. I view shifting health perceptions as intimate bodily resistances to agricultural development, and conclude that within agricultural development programs a focus on bodily health and well-being is a fecund platform for further experimental research that seeks to imagine development differently.     

Spatial and Temporal Patterns Associated with Permitted Tree Removal in Austin,Texas, 2002–2011

A wide-ranging set of physical, urban, demographic, socioeconomic, and policy characteristics determines the spatial distribution of urban forests. Information on the characteristics surrounding tree removals on both public and private properties has received less attention in the literature. The purpose of this research was to analyze the spatiotemporal trends and geographic patterns of tree removals in Austin, Texas, between 2002 and 2011 in an effort to understand how site-specific characteristics influence urban tree removal and affect the overall distribution of Austin's urban forest. We examined permitted tree removals using a geographic information system (GIS) as well as spatial and statistical analyses. Specifically, we evaluated the degree to which variables related to various physical, urban, and socioeconomic conditions predicted tree removals. The results indicate that permitted tree removals and their associated characteristics in Austin have varied over the ten-year study period. Permitted tree removals increased over the study period and took place in the urban core and along the urban periphery. Permitted tree removals were more likely to be undertaken by college graduates and owner-occupants and to occur in more densely populated areas, closer to major streets, and on properties with older structures. The results of this research provide urban forest professionals with information on the location and intensity of permitted tree removals and the significant characteristics driving urban tree loss.     

新疆头屯河地区侏罗系砂岩成分变化及构造环境的探讨

对砂岩矿物成分的定量研究,发现砂岩矿物成熟度的变化与该区构造运动相吻合,源区构造环境为再旋回造山带和岩浆岛弧。     

Hydrochemistry and sediment characteristics of polar periglacial lacustrine environments on Fisher Island and Broknes Peninsula,East Antarctica

Fisher Island and Broknes Peninsula in the Larsemann Hills constitute part of a polar lowland periglacial environment between marine and glacial ecosystems. The landscape is characterized by gently rolling hills and broad valleys interspersed with lakes formed in glacially scoured basins. We analyzed the physieochemical parameters and the ionic constituents of water samples from 10 lakes in each of these two locations. Our results showed considerable differences between the two regions and demon- strated the influence of lithology and processes including weathering, evaporation, and atmospheric precipitation. All major cations and anions in the lake waters showed positive correlations indicating balanced ionic concentrations. Unconsolidated sediments were sparsely distributed and scattered over glacial deposits, valley fills, and occasional moraine ridges. The type and rate of sedi- mentation was mainly controlled by surface run-off and aeolian influx. The sediment samples from lake beds and the catchment area on Fisher Island were immature and poorly to very poorly sorted, consisting of gravelly sand with negligible silt and finer fractions. Sediments had a polymodal grain size distribution with the two major populations lying between -2 and 1 phi and be- tween 0 and 1.5 phi. The sediments were lithic arenite to arkosic in composition and the microtextures imprinted over quartz grains were dominated by mechanical textures resulting from several stages of glacial crushing and grinding. The presence of deep disso- lution cavities, cryptocrystalline precipitation, and euhedral crystal growth signified the effect of chemical activity after the deposition of grains in the lacustrine environment.     

基于高分影像的松嫩低平原地区生态环境问题解析——以黑龙江省肇源县为例

基于高分辨率卫星影像数据,利用遥感、GIS技术获取黑龙江省肇源县内自然资源与生态地质环境各因子分布现状数据,其中：耕地2 541.75 km²、林地161.88 km²、草地349.00 km²、河流128.05 km²、湖泊215.80 km²、沼泽109.17 km²、其他水域84.65 km²、建设用地191.25 km²、未利用地329.94 km²;湿地1 334.54 km²、荒漠化土地775.47 km²。利用地类覆盖率、人均占有量以及景观指数（破碎度指数、平均斑块分形指数、分形维数、多样性指数、均匀度指数）量化分析后,得出两类生态地质环境因子中湿地资源尤其是自然湿地受人类活动干扰程度较大、荒漠化土地受人类活动干扰程度较小的结论。并选取老山村等典型地区进行了多期次遥感动态监测及野外核查,揭示了松嫩低平原典型地区目前存在的湿地退化、土地荒漠化等生态地质环境问题。