The development of first-possession rules in US mining, 1872–1920: theory, evidence, and policy implications

This paper applies a property rights framework to federal mineral lands in the western United States from the enactment of the Mining Law in 1872 until the enactment of the Mineral Leasing Act for fossil fuels in 1920. There are two principal findings. First, the Mining Law appears to have been an effective means for assigning rights to mineral stocks on public lands (at least through 1920). This conclusion is supported by evidence from claim disputes in the West. Second, the impetus for the Mineral Leasing Act did not derive from the different physical characteristics of hardrock minerals and petroleum. The relevance of these conclusions to contemporary mineral policy is also discussed.     

MODELING OF NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION OF NITROGEN AT THE WATERSHED SCALE1

ABSTRACT: The Watershed Nutrient Transport and Transformation (NTT-Watershed) model is a physically based, energy-driven, multiple land use, distributed model that is capable of simulating water and nutrient transport in a watershed. The topographic features and subsurface properties of the watershed are refined into uniform, homogeneous square grids. The vertical discretization includes vegetation, overland flow, soil water redistribution and groundwater zones. The chemical submodel simulates the nitrogen dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Three chemical state variables are considered (NO₃^-_-, NH₄⁺, and Org-N). The NTT-Watershed model was used to simulate the fate and transport of nitrogen in the Muddy Brook watershed in Connecticut. The model was shown to be capable of capturing the hydrologic and portions of the nitrogen dynamics in the watershed. Watershed planners could use this model in developing strategies of best management practices that could result in maximizing the reductions of nitrogen export from a watershed.     

城市污泥模拟堆肥过程中高温菌群的筛选、鉴定及降解效果

在城市污泥模拟堆肥过程的高温期通过平板培养法筛选出一组强化菌群.该组菌群不但可以分解污泥有机质,还可以分解淀粉、蛋白质、油脂、纤维素等大分子有机物.经鉴定,筛选出的菌种分别为地衣芽孢杆菌(B.licheniformis)、短小芽孢杆菌(B.pumilus)、高温放线菌(Thermoactinomyces)、凝结芽孢杆菌(B.coagulans)、枯草芽孢杆菌(B.subtilis);将菌株两两接种到平板,发现各菌株间可以共存.将上述菌种混合后添加到堆肥样品中,其有机质去除率、脱氢酶增加率、比耗氧速率SOUR增加率均高出不加菌样品40%以上,表明该组菌群具有使堆肥腐熟进程加快的应用潜力.     

湿地植物在城镇污水处理系统中的作用特性研究

将不同类型湿地植物如凤眼莲、荇菜、稗草、黑藻、皇竹草、美人蕉等,引入城镇污水处理系统,考察其对污染物的去除效果和在湿地组合系统中的作用特性。盆栽实验发现,虽然植物对污水N、P营养元素的直接去除率分别只有14.0%～59.4%和8.6%～55.2%,但植物通过过滤、截留及加强有机物降解转化的作用,对水体中污染物的去除具有协同效应,使水体N、P的总去除率分别达65.4%～83.8%和43.5%～69.5%。将植物引入组合处理系统,中试实验结果表明,水体TN、TP和COD月平均去除率分别高达80.4%、74.3%和81.3%。与常规生化处理系统相比,处理效果大为增强,生化反应的能耗相对减少,出水水质较稳定,使湿地组合系统成为一种去N除P,防止水体富营养化的有效处理方法。     

Multiple linear regression models of urban runoff pollutant load and event mean concentration considering rainfall variables

Rainfall is an important factor in estimating the event mean concentration (EMC) which is used to quantify the washed-off pollutant concentrations from non-point sources (NPSs). Pollutant loads could also be calculated using rainfall, catchment area and runoff coefficient. In this study, runoff quantity and quality data gathered from a 28-month monitoring conducted on the road and parking lot sites in Korea were evaluated using multiple linear regression (MLR) to develop equations for estimating pollutant loads and EMCs as a function of rainfall variables. The results revealed that total event rainfall and average rainfall intensity are possible predictors of pollutant loads. Overall, the models are indicators of the high uncertainties of NPSs; perhaps estimation of EMCs and loads could be accurately obtained by means of water quality sampling or a long term monitoring is needed to gather more data that can be used for the development of estimation models.     

Advancing voluntary chemical governance? The case of the Swedish textile industry dialogue

Voluntary environmental governance is a widely used policy approach that has been criticized for its lack of effectiveness. This raises fundamental questions about how to design processes that can advance voluntary programmes in a way that makes them more successful. In this paper, we analyse a government-initiated dialogue process to phase out hazardous chemicals through voluntary action by the Swedish textile industry. The analysis shows that information transfer primarily motivated business participation, while consumer pressure, regulatory threats and traditions of government–business cooperation played minor roles. The institutional design of the dialogue ensured close interaction within a homogeneous group, but collective actions were limited by disagreement about the problems to be addressed, prior unilateral environmental commitments by leading companies, and ambivalent engagement. This case provides valuable insights into the effect of institutional design on the actual interplay between business and government and its effects on voluntary governance.     

A fuzzy logic and probabilistic hybrid approach to quantify the uncertainty in layer of protection analysis

Layer of protection analysis (LOPA) is a widely used semi-quantitative risk assessment method. It provides a simplified and less precise method to assess the effectiveness of protection layers and the residual risk of an incident scenario. The outcome failure frequency and consequence of that residual risk are intended to be conservative by prudently selecting input data, given that design specification and component manufacturer's data are often overly optimistic. There are many influencing factors, including design deficiencies, lack of layer independence, availability, human factors, wear by testing and maintenance shortcomings, which are not quantified and are dependent on type of process and location. This makes the risk in LOPA usually overestimated. Therefore, to make decisions for a cost-effective system, different sources and types of uncertainty in the LOPA model need to be identified and quantified. In this study, a fuzzy logic and probabilistic hybrid approach was developed to determine the mean and to quantify the uncertainty of frequency of an initiating event and the probabilities of failure on demand (PFD) of independent protection layers (IPLs). It is based on the available data and expert judgment. The method was applied to a distillation system with a capacity to distill 40 tons of flammable n-hexane. The outcome risk of the new method has been proven to be more precise compared to results from the conventional LOPA approach.     

紫色土区不同土地利用类型土壤紧实度特征

以重庆市沙坪坝区杨家沟小流域为例,选取6种土地利用类型样地进行试验,研究紫色土区不同土地利用类型的土壤紧实度特征,为土壤质量评价和土地资源管理提供参考。通过多重比较检验分析土壤紧实度随土壤深度的变化规律以及不同土地利用类型下的差异,结果表明:(1)6种土地利用类型的土壤紧实度值为竹林地园地灌木林地林地草地旱地;(2)6种土地利用类型的土壤紧实度均随土壤深度增加而增大,但各类之间变化差异较大;(3)同土层而言,0~10cm土层旱地与其它5种土地利用类型的土壤紧实度有显著性差异(p0.05),但各种土地利用类型间底层土壤紧实度差异不明显;不同土层而言,0~10cm土层与其它3个土层有显著性差异(p0.05),由于0~10cm土层受耕作、踩踏等外力扰动与其它土层差异较大。10~20cm土层与其它3个土层也有显著性差异(p0.05)。其它各土层之间差异不明显。不同土地利用类型的土壤紧实度差异较大,主要与人类活动扰动程度有关。     

基于观测数据空间化的北京市PM_(2.5)时空分异

PM2.5在地球表面上的变化是连续的,但由于地面海拔起伏和站点分布的相对稀疏,直接内插法很难顾及这种情况。文章运用反距离权重(IDW)、Kriging、经验贝叶斯克里金法(EBK)、多元回归+残差内插的综合空间化手段,对北京市2015年1月的PM2.5数据进行分析。结果表明:利用多元回归+残差内插方法空间化更优,且PM2.5存在显著的正局部空间自相关,中度以上污染主要分布在北京市东南部和房山区。时间上,PM2.5质量浓度逐时均值呈"W"型。3 h尺度上,PM2.5质量浓度与相对湿度和露点温度正相关,与能见度、大气压和风速负相关,与温度不相关。     

Learning for social-ecological change: a qualitative review of outcomes across empirical literature in natural resource management

Learning is considered as a promising mechanism to cope with rapid environmental change. The implications of learning for natural resource management (NRM) have not been explored in-depth and the evidence on the topic is scattered across multiple sources. We provide a qualitative review of types of learning outcomes and consider their manifestations in NRM across selected empirical literature. We conducted a systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature (N = 1,223) and a qualitative meta-synthesis of included articles, with an explicit focus on learning outcomes and NRM changes (N = 53). Besides social learning, we found several learning concepts used, including policy and transformative learning, and multiple links between learning and NRM reported. We observe that the development of skills, together with a system approach involving multi-level capacities, is decisive for implications of learning for NRM. Future reviews could systematically compare how primary research applies different learning concepts and discusses links between learning and NRM changes.