Each fisherman is different: Taking the environmental perception of small-scale fishermen into account to manage marine protected areas

One of the reasons for the failure of some Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is the lack of respect for their boundaries and regulations, which intensifies the need to assess the attitudes of stakeholders affected by MPAs. To this end, it is necessary to know the perception and behavior of resource users in these areas in relation to the management process. This study addressed the perception of different groups of fishermen in three MPAs that allow sustainable use of resources on the Brazilian northeastern coast. The perception analysis was based on four aspects: biodiversity conservation, flexibility and adaptability of fishermen, participation in management and opinions about the MPA. The interviewed fishermen (n=100) were classified into natives or immigrants,≥than 40 years old or <40, predominant use of selective or nonselective fishing gear and part or full time fishermen. The results showed that younger fishermen and the ones who use selective fishing gear presented a more conservation prone perception; nonselective fishermen and part-time fishermen were more flexible and adaptable to changes; and younger fishermen tended to agree more with the establishment of the MPAs. Taking these differences in perceptions among fishermen into account could serve as a basis for improvements in the management and conservation of fishing resources, besides helping predict possible future behavior due to changes in management policies.     

Biogeographic assessments: A framework for information synthesis in marine spatial planning

This paper presents the Biogeographic Assessment Framework (BAF), a decision support process for marine spatial planning (MSP), developed through two decades of close collaborations between scientists and marine managers. Spatial planning is a considerable challenge for marine stewardship agencies because of the need to synthesize information on complex socio-ecological patterns across geographically broad spatial scales. This challenge is compounded by relatively short time-frames for implementation and limited financial and technological resources. To address this pragmatically, BAF provides a rapid, flexible and multi-disciplinary approach to integrate geospatial information into formats and visualization tools readily useable for spatial planning. Central to BAF is four sequential components: (1) Planning; (2) Data Evaluation; (3) Ecosystem Characterization; and (4) Management Applications. The framework has been applied to support the development of several marine spatial plans in the United States and Territories. This paper describes the structure of the BAF framework and the associated analytical techniques. Two management applications are provided to demonstrate the utility of BAF in supporting decision making in MSP.     

现代河流沉积物碎屑及矿物组分研究新进展

现代河流沉积物忠实地记录了流域盆地内的母岩、风化、搬运和沉积过程中的化学、物理过程以及人类活动的改造作用,是探索和验证源- 汇系统等理论的重要媒介。本文以全球现代河流砂组分数据库为基础,总结了碎屑组分、重矿物组分在不同大陆的分布特征,探讨了其在物源识别、源区贡献率计算、沉积物产生及搬运过程中气候- 构造等影响因素的评估、对源- 汇系统的研究启示等方面的应用。今后建议加强基于大数据的沉积物组分对气候- 构造- 人类活动的响应、沉积物产生及通量、高时间分辨率的沉积物组分变异性、不同物源定量化方法的差异等方面的研究。     

热气候指数评价中国南方城市夏季舒适度

利用南方14个城市1981-2013年6-9月的逐日气象资料,根据生物环境特点,制定了基于通用热气候指数的新评价方法,对中国南方城市夏季舒适度进行评价研究。结果表明:中国南方城市的高温不舒适天数近33 a来以3.4 d/10a的速度增加,并有5 a震荡周期。舒适度排名显示,体感温度最高的4个城市分别为重庆、福州、南昌和长沙,杭州与重庆的体感舒适度下降速率较快。对比高温不舒适天数和高温日数发现,两者具有很好的一致性,证明了高温不舒适度与气温关系的密切性。同时,由于热气候指标计算要素的多重考虑,结果与高温日数存在一些差异,但其更具有一定参考和应用价值。     

Making spaces: The ethnic Brao people and the international border between Laos and Cambodia

On December 6, 1904 the present international border between Laos and Cambodia was unilaterally established when the French colonial government extracted Stung Treng Province from Laos and transferred it to Cambodia. The ethnic Brao people living in the border region were not well known to the French, and in any case, their views were not deemed important. But since then the Brao have utilised this state administrative boundary in ways not intended by its designers, or governments since then, to give them more power to create new spaces. When conditions in Cambodia have been deemed unfavourable, the Brao have often crossed into Laos, and similarly, when circumstances have been less advantageous in Laos they have moved to Cambodia.This paper traces the history of the Brao as it specifically relates to the international border between Laos and Cambodia. While this administrative boundary was created to help national governments keep populations confined within nation-states, Brao human agency has sometimes confounded these efforts, through transforming its significance and role. The boundary has separated Brao populations in ways that are sometimes upsetting to them, but it has also allowed the Brao to position themselves at the margins of different nation-states, in spaces where they have been able to, at least temporarily, avoid or reduce state control over them. These are not non-state spaces; they are fundamentally constituted by a state-established boundary, even if the Brao have been able to mobilise this resource to empower themselves, and sometimes to resist the state itself.     

Probable Neolithic footprints preserved in inter-tidal peat at Kenfig, South Wales (UK)

Holocene footprints have been reported from several locations around the UK coast preserved within inter-tidal sediments. These sediments are normally fine-grained silts, sands and clays. Here we report potential human footprints preserved in the lower of two inter-tidal peat units exposed on the foreshore at Kenfig in South Wales. The lower peat layer pre-dates 3810 ± 40 BP and its maximum age is constrained by two dates, one of 4930 ± 50 BP and another of 5110 ± 50 BP. The prints may have formed at any point within this time interval. Both peat units formed in a salt marsh, or fen environment, as indicated by the analysis of both diatoms and pollen and have been tentatively assigned to the middle Wentlooge Formation within the Holocene lithostratigraphy established for the Severn Estuary Holocene sequence. The footprints were digitised using an optical laser scanner and are compared to other Holocene human footprints exposed on the Sefton Coast in North West England. In comparison the Kenfig prints have poor anatomical form which may be the result of both the substrate and post-depositional modification. The paper demonstrates the value of using optical laser scanning in the data capture and analysis of transitory archaeological and geological trace evidence.     

气候变化与人类活动联合影响下东江流域非一致性洪水频率

一致性假设一直是洪水频率分析的基本假设条件,但在气候变化与人类活动综合影响下,水文极值序列的一致性假设受到极大挑战。基于此,以东江流域为例,运用GAMLSS模型(广义可加模型),将时间、气候指标(北极涛动AO、北太平洋涛动NPO、太平洋年代际振荡PDO和南方涛动SOI)以及水库指标(Reservoir Index)统一纳入洪水频率分析中,并对东江流域1954―2009年年最大流量序列(AMS)进行频率分析,结果表明:1)龙川、河源和岭下站年最大流量序列均值与时间呈线性关系,方差为常量,而博罗站均值和方差与时间均呈非线性关系;2)水库对各水文站点AMS均值有显著线性影响;3)NPO对各站点AMS均值有显著线性影响,NPO值较高时,东江流域可能面临着较低的洪水风险,在一致性假设前提下,可能高估洪水设计值,反之亦然;而PDO对各站点方差有显著线性(岭下、博罗)/非线性(龙川、河源)影响;4)以时间为协变量构建非一致性模型,研究得出:龙川、河源和岭下3站T年一遇洪水设计值均呈单调下降趋势,博罗站1954―1995年左右洪水设计值呈下降趋势,而在1996―2009年呈上升趋势;以气候与水库为协变量构建非一致性模型,研究表明:龙川、河源和岭下3站T年一遇洪水设计值均因水库影响呈向下跃变;5)以气候和水库为协变量的非一致性模型对洪水频率具有良好的预测能力,为非一致条件下设计洪水的预测提供了新的预测方法。     

800年来苏北废黄河三角洲的演变模式

根据历史资料、数据和相关研究,结合研究区域背景,分析苏北废黄河三角洲的演变。结果显示,岸线演变在发育阶段和侵蚀阶段分别为向海延伸约90 km和侵蚀后退约22 km,面积相差约800 km2,三角洲地貌演变表现为岸线平直-曲折-平滑-平直的过程。在废三角洲陆海相互作用的基础上,运用演化模式分析三角洲的演变过程。该三角洲演变可以分为7个演变阶段,发育期在径流和潮流作用下以沙洲并陆淤积延伸方式进行,侵蚀期在波浪和潮流作用下以沙洲合并侵蚀后退和淤积外长交替侵蚀的方式。泥沙输运、人类活动和气候变化对废三角洲的演变有重要影响,巨量的来沙是三角洲发育的原因,泥沙平衡被打破是侵蚀的主要原因。发育期中,泥沙输运影响淤积速度和位置,人类活动和气候变化影响黄河河道迁移、输沙量和产沙量;侵蚀期中,泥沙输运影响侵蚀状态,人类活动在一定程度上影响海岸带冲/淤,气候变化将影响三角洲的演变趋势。     

Food choices,health and environment: Effects of cutting Europe's meat and dairy intake

Western diets are characterised by a high intake of meat, dairy products and eggs, causing an intake of saturated fat and red meat in quantities that exceed dietary recommendations. The associated livestock production requires large areas of land and lead to high nitrogen and greenhouse gas emission levels. Although several studies have examined the potential impact of dietary changes on greenhouse gas emissions and land use, those on health, the agricultural system and other environmental aspects (such as nitrogen emissions) have only been studied to a limited extent. By using biophysical models and methods, we examined the large-scale consequences in the European Union of replacing 25–50% of animal-derived foods with plant-based foods on a dietary energy basis, assuming corresponding changes in production. We tested the effects of these alternative diets and found that halving the consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs in the European Union would achieve a 40% reduction in nitrogen emissions, 25–40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 23% per capita less use of cropland for food production. In addition, the dietary changes would also lower health risks. The European Union would become a net exporter of cereals, while the use of soymeal would be reduced by 75%. The nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of the food system would increase from the current 18% to between 41% and 47%, depending on choices made regarding land use. As agriculture is the major source of nitrogen pollution, this is expected to result in a significant improvement in both air and water quality in the EU. The resulting 40% reduction in the intake of saturated fat would lead to a reduction in cardiovascular mortality. These diet-led changes in food production patterns would have a large economic impact on livestock farmers and associated supply-chain actors, such as the feed industry and meat-processing sector.     

The mechanism of post-rift fault activities in Baiyun sag,Pearl River Mouth basin

Post-rift fault activities were often observed in deepwater basins, which have great contributions to oil and gas migration and accumulation. The main causes for post-rift fault activities include tectonic events, mud or salt diapirs, and gravitational collapse. In the South China Sea continental margin, post-rift fault activities are widely distributed, especially in Baiyun sag, one of the largest deepwater sag with its main body located beneath present continental slope. During the post-rift stage, large population of faults kept active for a long time from 32 Ma (T70) till 5.5 Ma (T10). Seismic interpretation, fault analysis and analogue modeling experiments indicate that the post-rift fault activities in Baiyun sag between 32 Ma (T70) and 13.8 Ma (T30) was mainly controlled by gravity pointing to the Main Baiyun sag, which caused the faults extensive on the side facing Main Baiyun sag and the back side compressive. Around 32 Ma (T70), the breakup of the continental margin and the spreading of the South China Sea shed a combined effect of weak compression toward Baiyun sag. The gravity during post-rift stage might be caused by discrepant subsidence and sedimentation between strongly thinned sag center and wing areas. This is supported by positive relationship between sedimentation rate and fault growth index. After 13.8 Ma (T30), fault activity shows negative relationship with sedimentation rate. Compressive uplift and erosion in seismic profiles as well as negative tectonic subsiding rates suggest that the fault activity from 13.8 Ma (T30) to 5.5 Ma (T10) might be controlled by the subductive compression from the Philippine plate in the east.