Ecological assessment of cities-procedure and a case study

This paper discusses the scientific background and content of the ecological assessment of cities, and takes Boda, a new town in Xinjiang province, China, as a case study.     

Measurement and simulation of evaporation from a bare soil

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Social media and scientific research are complementary—YouTube and shrikes as a case study

Fascination with animals and their behaviour is one the most prominent patterns persisting in all human cultures. During the last decades, however, technological development and public access to the Internet have increased the speed and the extent of information sharing at an unprecedented rate, in some cases even challenging the traditional methods used in science. In order to understand the extent of this influence, we focused on the behaviour of shrikes. Shrikes are an enigmatic group of songbirds with a unique behaviour of impaling prey. We employed an extensive Internet search on YouTube (YT), a very popular and increasingly important source of information worldwide, for videos recording shrikes. Our analyses revealed that the number of shrike videos on YT is strongly positively correlated with classical knowledge on shrikes from books and scientific articles. Our results also suggest that in some cases YT may provide an alternative source of information on shrike ecology and behaviour. YT videos may thus provide new insights into the study of certain species or subjects and help identify gaps in ecological studies, especially in poorly studied species.     

Simultaneous phosphorus and nitrogen removal in a continuous-flow two-sludge system

The ability of simultaneous biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal was investigated in a lab-scale continuous-flow two-sludge system. Alternating anaerobic and anoxic conditions were combined with contact oxidation stage for treating raw municipal wastewater. Long-term experiments showed that the contradiction of competing for the organic substrate between denitrifying bacteria and PAOs （phosphorus accumulating organisms） in traditional phosphorus and nitrogen removal system has been resolved. The system can adapt to low influent COD/TN ratio （C/N）. Furthermore the SRT （sludge retention time） of nitrifying sludge and denitrifying phosphorus removal sludge can be controlled at optimal conditions respectively. The removal efficiency of COD, TP, TN, and NH4-N was 81.78%, 92.51%, 75.75%, and 84.47% respectively. It was also found that the appropriate influent C/N should be controlled at the range of 3.8-6, while the optimal C/N to the system ranged between 4-5, and the BFR （bypass sludge flow rate） should be controlled at 0.35 around.     

Nonpoint source nutrient Ioad from a subcatchm ent with a rice cultivation and m ultipond system

A small subwatershed of Chaohu Lake was chosen for research on the relationships of landuse，nonpoint source pollution and its prevention．The distributions of nitrogen and phosphorus in the different land use types were shown by monitoring N and P in water samples from rainfall，surface runoff,ponds，a stream and the lake，and in soil samples from rice fields，nonirrigated land and mountain forests．A multi-pond agroecosystem was found to prevent the nonpoint source pollutants and sediment loading to eutrophic Chaohu Lake from its catchment area，because this multi-pond system can effectively keep water and nutrients inside the catchment area and be reused to irrigate the rice field．It requires only a Small investment and energy consumption．and that is suitable for this large under-development agricultural watershed．     

Frequency of decompression illness among recent and extinct mammals and “reptiles”: a review

The frequency of decompression illness was high among the extinct marine “reptiles” and very low among the marine mammals. Signs of decompression illness are still found among turtles but whales and seals are unaffected. In humans, the risk of decompression illness is five times increased in individuals with Patent Foramen Ovale; this condition allows blood shunting from the venous circuit to the systemic circuit. This right-left shunt is characteristic of the “reptile” heart, and it is suggested that this could contribute to the high frequency of decompression illness in the extinct reptiles.     

Temporal and spatial variation of nitrogen and phosphorus and eutrophication assessment for a typical arid river—Fuyang River in northern China

Based on water quality surveys over 2 years(July to December,in 2014 and 2015) in a typical arid river in northern China the Xingtai segment of the Fuyang River basin — the variation of nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) was analyzed.The extent of water eutrophication of this segment was also assessed using a universal index formula for eutrophic evaluation and a logarithmic power function.The results showed that the average concentration of total N(TN) was 27.2 mg/L(NH_3-N,63.5%),total P(TP) was 2.0 mg/L(solution reactive phosphorus,68.8%).Temporal and spatial variations of N and P in this segment were observed.Concentrations of N and P in the arid season were higher than those in the rainy season.Spatially,the N and P concentrations followed the same trend;i.e.,higher in the city segment than in the suburbs,and decreasing along the river.The water eutrophication in the studied segment reached extremely high levels at all times(eutrophication index ≥76.3).Spatially,its trend was clearly linked with N and P.Water shortage,pollution accumulation and a weak self-purification function are the main reasons for the prominent eutrophication in this segment.     

Torpor and activity in a free-ranging tropical bat: implications for the distribution and conservation of mammals?

Bats are most diverse in the tropics, but there are no quantitative data on torpor use for energy conservation by any tropical bat in the wild. We examined the thermal biology, activity patterns and torpor use of two tree-roosting long-eared bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi, 7.8?g) in tropical northern Australia in winter using temperature telemetry. Bats commenced activity about 20?min after sunset, ended activity about 2.5?h before sunrise and entered torpor everyday in the early morning even when minimum ambient temperatures (T _a) were as high as 23°C. On average, bats remained torpid for almost 5?h, mean minimum skin temperature (T _skin) measured was 22.8?±?0.1°C and daily T _skin minima were correlated with T _a. Our study shows that even in the tropics, torpor is frequently employed by bats, suggesting that worldwide most bat species are heterothermic and use torpor for energy conservation. We propose that the ability of employing torpor and the resulting highly plastic energy requirements may partially explain why these small insectivorous bats can inhabit almost the entire Australian continent despite vastly different climatic and likely trophic conditions. Reduced energy requirements also may permit survival in degraded or modified habitats, reduce the need for foraging and reduce exposure to predators. Thus, the ability to employ torpor may be one important reason for why most Australian bats and other heterothermic mammals have not gone extinct whereas many obligatory homeothermic mammals that cannot employ torpor and have high energy and foraging requirements have suffered high rates of extinctions.     

The regulation of China’s township and village coal mines: a study of complexity and ineffectiveness

An appropriate system of laws and regulations and a suitable institutional structure for administration are important requirements for the effective management of small-scale mines. Over the last twenty years, township and village coal mines in China have made a large contribution to the country’s supply of energy. Yet at the same time they have had substantial negative impacts, such as wastage of coal resources, a high casualty rate amongst miners, and a wide range of environmental damage. Two reasons for the magnitude of these externalities are the highly complex nature of the institutional structure for regulating small-scale coal mines, and the excessive and incoherent burden of applicable laws and regulations.     

Full-scale application and performance of a new multi-self-reflow decentralized Wastewater treatment device: Impact of hydraulic and pollutant loads

Decentralized treatment of wastewater in rural areas usually has several challenges, which include large fluctuations in pollutant concentration and water quantity, complicated operation and maintenance of conventional biochemical treatment equipment, resulting in poor stability and a low compliance rate of the wastewater treatment process. In order to solve the above problems, a new integration reactor is designed, which uses gravity and aeration tail gas self-reflux technology to realize the r...     

Implementation-oriented and transformative research—Lessons from a project on conservation and sustainable use of forest resources in Ethiopia

This article draws lessons from a seven-year project on conservation and use of remaining coffee forests in the highlands of South-west Ethiopia. The project investigated the genetic diversity of Coffea arabica in its place of origin as well as economic perspectives of quality coffee marketing. With initially broad multidisciplinary natural and social sciences research a basis was laid for a second phase of praxis and implementation-oriented research in the same region.As a key innovative approach an NGO was established to take over all project management and implementation-oriented work in Ethiopia at the beginning of the second phase. This initiative helped decisively to solve the kind of problems identified in RESCUE (2012): ownership of results developed within R&D, the often missing mandate for science to actively contribute to solutions ‘on the ground’, and problems of cultural and social unsuitability and misunderstanding, which often are at the core of the problem when solutions from scientists are expected.The NGO operated as an intermediary between the involved scientists and other stakeholders from the coffee industry as well as from public administration and the Ethiopian polity. Its overall target was to contribute toward establishment of a biosphere reserve following the UNESCO MAB scheme and to use this scheme for the conservation and use of the remaining Ethiopian coffee forests. This target was achieved: the biosphere reserve has been accepted and accredited by UNESCO and is in operation. In addition, quality coffee from the development zones of the biosphere reserve is being sold on local markets in Yayu, SW Ethiopia.There are important lessons for the future of transdisciplinary and transformative sustainability science that can be drawn from this experience. These lessons concern concrete challenges and chances of research and development geared toward sustainable development:

• •Working with implementation-targets as project organizing elements,
• •communication and transfer of responsibility to involved stakeholders,
• •challenges for praxis-oriented syntheses from research results,
• •practical challenges of management and coordination for transdisciplinary projects, as well as.
• •chances for long-term sustainability and use of research and implementation work.

These lessons are described in this article with the overall intention to draw conclusions and to make them more widely available for scientists and project coordinators working in transdisciplinary projects that aim to contribute toward (more) sustainable development.     

Tracking pigeons in a magnetic anomaly and in magnetically “quiet” terrain

Pigeons were released at two sites of equal distance from the loft, one within a magnetic anomaly, the other in magnetically quiet terrain, and their tracks were recorded with the help of GPS receivers. A comparison of the beginning of the tracks revealed striking differences: within the anomaly, the initial phase lasted longer, and the distance flown was longer, with the pigeons' headings considerably farther from the home direction. During the following departure phase, the birds were well homeward oriented at the magnetically quiet site, whereas they continued to be disoriented within the anomaly. Comparing the tracks in the anomaly with the underlying magnetic contours shows considerable differences between individuals, without a common pattern emerging. The differences in magnetic intensity along the pigeons' path do not differ from a random distribution of intensity differences around the release site, indicating that the magnetic contours do not directly affect the pigeons' routes. Within the anomaly, pigeons take longer until their flights are oriented, but 5 km from the release point, the birds, still within the anomaly, are also significantly oriented in the home direction. These findings support the assumption that magnetically anomalous conditions initially interfere with the pigeons' navigational processes, with birds showing rather individual responses in their attempts to overcome these problems.     

Particle number size distributions and formation and growth rates of different new particle formation types of a megacity in China

To understand the contribution of new particle formation (NPF) events to ambient fine par ticle pollution,measurements of particle size distributions,trace gases and meteorologica conditions,were conducted at a suburban site (NJU) from October to December 2016 and a an industrial site (NUIST) from September to November 2015 in Nanjing.According to the temporal evolution of the particle size distributions,three types NPF events were observed typical NPF (Type A),moderate NPF events (Type B) and s...     

Land cover change and landscape fragmentation—comparing the utility of continuous and discrete analyses for a western Honduras region

Current studies of land cover change and landscape fragmentation rely predominantly on land cover classifications derived from remotely sensed images. However, limitations of traditional land cover classifications are numerous and well known. This research compares classification-based techniques (discrete data) to the use of vegetation indices (continuous data) for land cover modeling and analyses of landscape fragmentation for a study area in western Honduras. The study area typifies many regions of tropical developing countries, where a complex interaction of social and environmental factors have given rise to a dynamic mosaic of patches of reforestation and deforestation. Understanding the complex human dimensions of land use and land cover change in these parts of the world continues to present a challenge for researchers.The land cover modeling analysis compares two models using different formulations for the dependent variable: (i) a continuous analysis using a tobit model regressing the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), with non-forest values truncated at 0, on the variables elevation, slope, distance from roads and distance from the nearest market; and (ii) a discrete analysis using a probit model with threshold NDVI coverages (representing forest and non-forest). To examine the patterns of landscape fragmentation, a discrete analysis of a forest/non-forest classification using the software FRAGSTATS is compared to a continuous NDVI-based analysis using the local indicator of spatial association (LISA) statistic. Estimated marginal effects and overall predictive power are compared across the tobit and probit formulations. Because the tobit formulation included variation in the dependent variable for forested areas, greater information was retained regarding the subtle relationships among the independent variables and land cover. The LISA statistic, using the NDVI coverages as input, were helpful in the interpretation of the data and its spatial arrangement in the landscape, indicating that the LISA was a good complement to the FRAGSTATS, classification-based analysis. Given the LISA statistic is parametric and hence subject to outliers, whereas landscape metrics tend to be non-parametric, we found that the use of both FRAGSTATS and LISA together was more beneficial than either analysis by itself. While there is increasing awareness of the need for using continuous data for land cover modeling and fragmentation, this area remains little explored. The research presented provides insights for additional future applications utilizing continuous data analyses.     

Patterns and drivers of CH4 concentration and diffusive flux from a temperate river–reservoir system in North China

Freshwater reservoirs are regarded as an important anthropogenic source of methane (CH₄) emissions. The temporal and spatial variability of CH₄ emissions from different reservoirs results in uncertainty in the estimation of the global CH₄ budget. In this study, surface water CH₄ concentrations were measured and diffusive CH₄ fluxes were estimated via a thin boundary layer model in a temperate river–reservoir system in North China, using spatial (33 sites) and temporal (four seasons) monitoring; the system has experienced intensive aquaculture disturbance. Our results indicated that the dissolved CH₄ concentration in the reservoir ranged from 0.07 to 0.58 µmol/L, with an annual average of 0.13 ± 0.10 µmol/L, and the diffusive CH₄ flux across the water–air interface ranged from 0.66 to 3.61 μmol/(m²•hr), with an annual average of 1.67 ± 0.75 μmol/(m²•hr). During the study period, the dissolved CH₄ concentration was supersaturated and was a net source of atmospheric CH₄. Notably, CH₄ concentration and diffusive flux portrayed large temporal and spatial heterogeneity. The river inflow zone was determined to be a hotspot for CH₄ emissions, and its flux was significantly higher than that of the tributary and main basin; the CH₄ flux in autumn was greater than that in other seasons. We also deduced that the CH₄ concentration/diffusive flux was co-regulated mainly by water temperature, water depth, and water productivity (Chla, trophic status). Our results highlight the importance of considering the spatiotemporal variability of diffusive CH₄ flux from temperate reservoirs to estimate the CH₄ budget at regional and global scales.     

Vertical and temporal distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus and relationship with their influencing factors in aquatic-terrestrial ecotone： a case study in Taihu Lake, China

Vertical and temporal distributions of N and P in soil solution in aquatic-terrestrial ecotone （ATE） of Taihu Lake were investigated, and the relations among N, P, ORP （oxidation reduction potential）, TOC, root system biomass and microorganism were studied. As a whole, significant declines in TN, NO3^--N, DON （dissolved organic nitrogen） and TP concentration in soil solution have occurred with increase of the depth, and reached their minima at 60 cm depth, except for NH4^＋-N, which increased with depth. The concentration of TP increased gradually from spring to winter in the topsoil, the maximum 0.08 mg/L presented in the winter while the minimum 0.03 mg/L in spring. In the deeper layer, the concentration value of TP fluctuated little. As for the NO3^--N, its seasonal variation was significant at 20 cm depth, its concentration increased gradually from spring to autumn, and decreased markedly in winter. Vertical and temporal distribution of DON is contrary to that of NO3^--N. The results also show that the variation of N and P in the percolate between adjacent layers is obviously different. The vertical variation ofTN, TP, NO3^--N, NH4^＋-N and DON is significant, of which the variation coefficient of NO3^--N along the depth reaches 100.23%, the highest; while the variation coefficient of DON is 41.14%, the smallest. The results of correlation analysis show that the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus correlate significantly with TOC, ORP, root biomass and counts of nitrifying bacteria. Most nutrients altered much from 20 to 40 cm along the depth. However, DON changed more between 60 and 80 cm. Results show that soil of 0-60 cm depth is active rhizoplane, with strong capability to remove the nitrogen and phosphorus in ATE. It may suggest that there exists the optimum ecological efficiency in the depth of above 60 cm in reed wetland. This will be very significant for ecological restoration and reestablishment.     

Cross-cultural and cross-ecotype production of a killer whale ‘excitement’ call suggests universality

Facial and vocal expressions of emotion have been found in a number of social mammal species and are thought to have evolved to aid social communication. There has been much debate about whether such signals are culturally inherited or are truly biologically innate. Evidence for the innateness of such signals can come from cross-cultural studies. Previous studies have identified a vocalisation (the V4 or ‘excitement’ call) associated with high arousal behaviours in a population of killer whales in British Columbia, Canada. In this study, we compared recordings from three different socially and reproductively isolated ecotypes of killer whales, including five vocal clans of one ecotype, each clan having discrete culturally transmitted vocal traditions. The V4 call was found in recordings of each ecotype and each vocal clan. Nine independent observers reproduced our classification of the V4 call from each population with high inter-observer agreement. Our results suggest the V4 call may be universal in Pacific killer whale populations and that transmission of this call is independent of cultural tradition or ecotype. We argue that such universality is more consistent with an innate vocalisation than one acquired through social learning and may be linked to its apparent function of motivational expression.     

Life cycle assessment of milk production — a comparison of conventional and organic farming

An LCA was performed on organic and conventional milk production at the farm level in Sweden. In the study, special focus was aimed at substance flows in concentrate feed production and nutrient flows on the farms. The different feeding strategies in the two forms of production, influence several impact categories. The import of feed by conventional dairy farms often leads to a substantial input of phosphorus and nitrogen. Organic milk production is a way to reduce pesticide use and mineral surplus in agriculture but this production form also requires substantially more farmland than conventional production. For Swedish conditions, however, a large use of grassland for grazing ruminants is regarded positively since this type of arable land use promotes the domestic environmental goals of biodiversity and aesthetic values.     

Development and application of a GIS database for the Miyun Reservoir water quality protection

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Prediction and coordination of the man-environment system—a case study in Jiaozuo City

In this paper, the new systematical theory and methodology have been applied to the research on the structure, development and coordination of man-environment system in Jiaozuo City. It has been proved that the application of self-organization theory of synergism is successful. Furthermore, on the basis of self-organization theory, a series of mathematical models have been established. The prediction of the status of man-environment system in Jiaozuo City by the year 2010, was made, and the trend of population growth, industrial development, environmental pollution were given. Finally, suggestions for the future development of Jiaozuo City were mentioned.