Comparison of the response of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the high-latitude regions of the North Atlantic during the warm periods of the 1920s–1960s and the 1990s–2000s

Concern about future anthropogenic warming has lead to demands for information on what might happen to fish and fisheries under various climate-change scenarios. One suggestion has been to use past events as a proxy for what will happen in the future. In this paper a comparison between the responses of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) to two major warm periods in the North Atlantic during the 20th century is carried out to determine how reliable the past might be as a predictor of the future. The first warm period began during the 1920s, remained relatively warm through the 1960s, and was limited primarily to the northern regions (>60°N). The second warm period, which again covered the northern regions but also extended farther south (30°N), began in the 1990s and has continued into the present century. During the earlier warm period, the most northern of the cod stocks (West Greenland, Icelandic, and Northeast Arctic cod in the Barents Sea) increased in abundance, individual growth was high, recruitment was strong, and their distribution spread northward. Available plankton data suggest that these cod responses were driven by bottom-up processes. Fishing pressure increased during this period of high cod abundance and the northern cod stocks began to decline, as early as the 1950s in the Barents Sea but during the 1960s elsewhere. Individual growth declined as temperatures cooled and the cod distributions retracted southward. During the warming in the 1990s, the spawning stock biomass of cod in the Barents Sea again increased, recruitment rose, and the stock spread northward, but the individual growth did not improve significantly. Cod off West Greenland also have shown signs of improving recruitment and increasing biomass, albeit they are still very low in comparison to the earlier warming period. The abundance of Icelandic cod, on the other hand, has remained low through the recent warm period and spawning stock biomass and total biomass are at levels near the lowest on record. The different responses of cod to the two warm events, in particular the reduced cod production during the recent warm period, are attributed to the effects of intense fishing pressure and possibly related ecosystem changes. The implications of the results of the comparisons on the development of cod scenarios under future climate change are addressed.     

Exploring the factors affecting urban ecological risk: A case from an Indian mega metropolitan region

Assessment of ecological risk (ER) is a key approach to adapting and mitigating ecological deterioration in cities of developing countries. In developing countries, the ecological landscapes such as vegetation cover, water bodies, and wetlands are highly vulnerable due to rapid urban expansion. Therefore, urban ER (UER) assessment and its drivers are crucial to guide ecological protection as well as restoration. This study aims to explore the spatiotemporal pattern of UER and the impact of urban spatial form on UER in the Kolkata Megacity Region (KMR), India. This study developed a UER index and used spatial regression models across the urban centres. The ER has been assessed at city scale as well as grid-scale (2 km × 2 km and 5 km × 5 km) from 2000 to 2020. The results showed that ER has substantially increased over the last 20 years. The urban centres with very high and high ER substantially increased, i.e. from 21.95% in 2000 to 31.70% in 2020. Kolkata and its surrounding urban centres were mostly characterized by very high and high ER. ER was influenced by spatial variables (such as land use and landscapes pattern). However, remote sensing parameters were weakly related to ER. The spatial lag model (SLM) (R² = 0.8686) was found to be better fit model than spatial error model (SEM) (R² = 0.8661) and ordinary linear regression model (OLS) (R² = 0.8641). Thus, the findings of the study can improve research and a comprehensive framework for urban ecological resources and provide a scientific basis for urban ecosystem planning and restoration. In addition to this, it will guarantee the sustainable utilization of urban ecosystems.     

山东省沂南县东部土壤重金属生态健康风险评价

【研究目的】 山东是中国矿业与农业发达省份、沂南县东部堪称其代表。掌握当地土壤重金属污染及对生态健康风险的影响对生态环境保护有重要意义。【研究方法】 系统调查分析表层土壤样品4779件,获取Hg、Cd、Cr、Ni、As、Cu、Pb、Zn等元素分布最新数据,并用地累积指数法、潜在生态危害指数法和健康风险评估模型等评价研究了生态健康风险及相关问题。【研究结果】 （1）上述重金属均量与临沂市土壤背景值大致相当,仅Hg略偏高且变异系数最大,指示当地土壤Hg受人类活动影响明显。与国家农用地土壤污染风险筛选值相比,Cu、Cr、Ni是相对主要超标元素,As、Cd、Cu、Pb超标倍数大,它们均可能会产生生态健康危害;（2）据地累积指数平均值,该区土壤总体无污染,据单样值,Hg、Cu污染最突出,其他6元素污染较轻;（3）生态风险方面,Hg、Cd是主要生态风险元素,As、Cu次之。高生态风险区为铜井镇南东部、界湖镇西北金场附近以及县城西部主城区3个片区;（4）人体健康风险方面,重金属对成人不具有非致癌风险和致癌风险,极个别地区对儿童具有非致癌风险和致癌风险,Cr、As是主要非致癌风险元素,As致癌风险最大。【结论】 沂南县东部土壤质量总体较好,铜井镇南东部、界湖镇西北金场附近以及县城西部主城区3个片区为高生态风险区,Hg、Cr、As为主要生态健康风险元素。     

四川邻水县华蓥山—西槽土壤Cu地球化学特征与生态健康

铜(Cu)是人体所必需的微量元素,目前我国还没有农作物Cu含量的推荐值,更缺少开发富Cu土地资源的土壤Cu含量标准。本文以四川省邻水县华蓥山—西槽耕地区为研究区,根据1∶5万土地质量地球化学调查获取的表层土壤、农作物及根系土中Cu含量数据调查结果,研究了土壤与农作物中Cu的含量及分布特征,分析了玉米籽实Cu生物富集系数(BAF)的影响因素,构建了玉米籽实Cu的BAF预测模型,提出了开发富Cu玉米和富Cu土地资源的Cu含量最佳赋值范围。研究结果显示:(1)研究区表层土壤Cu含量范围为(3.33～173)×10^-6,平均值、中位值分别为26.85×10^-6、25.60×10^-6。土壤Cu高值区主要分布在邻水县华蓥山玄武岩、碳酸盐岩与炭质页岩为成土母岩的地区,土壤Cu低值区分布在西槽侏罗系砂页岩为成土母岩的地区。(2)研究区玉米籽实Cu含量范围为(0.80～2.71)×10^-6,平均值为1.76×10^-6,中位值为1.82×10^-6。(3)为保证人体摄入Cu安全...     

Classifying high-prevalence neighborhoods for cardiovascular disease in Texas

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death in the state of Texas. In order to develop effective healthcare policies to combat CVD, it is essential to understand what types of communities are most affected. In this paper, we develop a classification scheme to segment high-prevalence communities based on selected social and demographic characteristics. We find that while many high-prevalence areas reflect traditional relationships between socioeconomic deprivation and poor health outcomes, a subset of more affluent communities in Texas are also affected. This suggests the importance of tailored approaches to prevention that account for this diversity among high-prevalence neighborhoods.     

Satellite monitoring of urbanization and environmental impacts—A comparison of Stockholm and Shanghai

This study investigates urbanization and its potential environmental consequences in Shanghai and Stockholm metropolitan areas over two decades. Changes in land use/land cover are estimated from support vector machine classifications of Landsat mosaics with grey-level co-occurrence matrix features. Landscape metrics are used to investigate changes in landscape composition and configuration and to draw preliminary conclusions about environmental impacts. Speed and magnitude of urbanization is calculated by urbanization indices and the resulting impacts on the environment are quantified by ecosystem services. Growth of urban areas and urban green spaces occurred at the expense of cropland in both regions. Alongside a decrease in natural land cover, urban areas increased by approximately 120% in Shanghai, nearly ten times as much as in Stockholm, where the most significant land cover change was a 12% urban expansion that mostly replaced agricultural areas. From the landscape metrics results, it appears that fragmentation in both study regions occurred mainly due to the growth of high density built-up areas in previously more natural/agricultural environments, while the expansion of low density built-up areas was for the most part in conjunction with pre-existing patches. Urban growth resulted in ecosystem service value losses of approximately 445 million US dollars in Shanghai, mostly due to the decrease in natural coastal wetlands while in Stockholm the value of ecosystem services changed very little. Total urban growth in Shanghai was 1768 km² and 100 km² in Stockholm. The developed methodology is considered a straight-forward low-cost globally applicable approach to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate urban growth patterns that could help to address spatial, economic and ecological questions in urban and regional planning.     

Juggling multiple dimensions in a complex socio-ecosystem: The issue of targeting in payments for ecosystem services

Proponents of payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes advocate targeting payments to geographical areas that can: (a) maintain or enhance ecosystem services, (b) permit economically efficient arrangements and (c) address poverty objectives. The location of these efficient, effective and equitable (or triple-win) solutions is viewed as the ‘holy grail’ of PES and is often sought in isolation to broader socio-economic pressures, political relationships, or local cultural conditions. While the plethora of PES design perspectives often follow the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness, they seldom relate to pluralistic value systems and may disparage local self-determination for influencing the form and terms of negotiation. This paper critically analyses the assumptions underpinning the design of PES schemes which seek to optimise or target efficient, effective and poverty objectives. Using a case study for a proposed PES initiative in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, we employ spatial analysis to geographically visualise the discrepancy between the location for a typology of targeted objectives and actual preferences which support local perceptions of natural resource use and conservation. The case study highlights the inequity inherent in targeting payments under a neoliberal framing. Instead, spatially differentiating incentives according to socially determined priorities and collective management is suggested.     

Urban green commons: Insights on urban common property systems

The aim of this paper is to shed new light on urban common property systems. We deal with urban commons in relation to urban green-space management, referring to them as urban green commons. Applying a property-rights analytic perspective, we synthesize information on urban green commons from three case-study regions in Sweden, Germany, and South Africa, and elaborate on their role for biodiversity conservation in urban settings, with a focus on business sites. Cases cover both formally established types of urban green commons and bottom-up emerged community-managed habitats. As our review demonstrates, the right to actively manage urban green space is a key characteristic of urban green commons whether ownership to land is in the private, public, the club realm domain, or constitutes a hybrid of these. We discuss the important linkages among urban common property systems, social–ecological learning, and management of ecosystem services and biodiversity. Several benefits can be associated with urban green commons, such as a reduction of costs for ecosystem management and as designs for reconnecting city-inhabitants to the biosphere. The emergence of urban green commons appears closely linked to dealing with societal crises and for reorganizing cities; hence, they play a key role in transforming cities toward more socially and ecologically benign environments. While a range of political questions circumscribe the feasibility of urban green commons, we discuss their usefulness in management of different types of urban habitats, their political justification and limitation, their potential for improved biodiversity conservation, and conditions for their emergence. We conclude by postulating some general policy advice.     

生态区评价研究的兴起与发展--以美国森林生态系统管理评价(FEMAT)研究为例

生态区评价是近年来出现在美国的一种新型区域生态系统管理方法的理论与实践科学研究,起始于美国总统森林会议(1993)后成立的森林生态系统管理评价组(FEMAT),目标是实现地区生态系统的科学管理.本文评介了生态区评价首项案例--美国西北太平洋沿岸区原始森林及其他各类森林经营管理方案的生态、经济、社会影响综合评价的科学与方法实践意义.指出FEMAT的生态区评价:1)迈出了生态区评价历史上坚实的第一步,实现了区域土地利用规划与生态系统管理方案从以行政疆域为准划分向以生态区域为准划定边界的转变;2)方案优化过程充分考虑区域生态、经济、社会的历史、现状与未来趋势等各方面,将科学、政策、管理融为一体,使之易于在实践中贯彻;3)促进了不同政府机构和利益团体间为实现资源开发与生态保育双重目标而共同协作.     

某储油库地下水有机污染健康风险评价

本文以USEPA推荐使用的污染场地健康风险评价方法为基础,结合污染场地实际情况,分析、评价了某储油库地下水有机污染对场址内暴露人群造成的健康风险.评价结果表明:该储油库地下水有机污染物为1,2-二氯乙烷、苯、三氯甲烷和甲苯.污染场址内的工人和居民受到的非致癌风险均小于1.在可接受范围;而污染对场址内的工人和居民产生的致癌风险较大,分别为1.7×10-4、9.0×10-3,是不可接受的.产生致癌风险的主要污染物为1,2-二氯乙烷,占总致癌风险的99.80%,可致人产生多种形态的肿瘤,并具有潜在的遗传毒性.主要暴露途径是吸入吸收,占总致癌风险比例大于70%,其次为口人吸收.皮肤接触暴露途径产生的致癌风险较小,占总致癌风险比例小于1%.