Evaluation of the Environmentalist Dimension of Ecotourism at the Dadia Forest Reserve (Greece)

Environmental education and financial support of nature conservation are considered among the primary components of the environmentalist dimension of ecotourism. The potential of environmental education calls for enhancing visitor environmental knowledge and prompting change of visitor behavior. The present study addressed the evaluation of the environmentalist dimension of ecotourism in the Dadia Forest Reserve. The first objective of the research was to study the influence of variables determined prior to the visit, namely, visitor and visit characteristics, visitor environmental information sources, visitor pro-environmental behavior, and visitation goals, on variables determined during the visit, that is, visitor participation in and satisfaction from ecotourism activities. The second objective was to study the effect of selected variables on visitor knowledge and behavior intentions. Visitor participation in and satisfaction from ecotourism activities were primarily controlled by visit characteristics. Levels of visitor knowledge were quite satisfactory; however, coherence among knowledge items was rather loose. On the other hand, behavior intention items revealed the highest possible degree of coherence, which should be attributed to the pervasive influence of visitor satisfaction from watching birds at the Bird Observatory within the Dadia Forest Reserve. Ecotourism activities, during which the main part of environmental knowledge was offered, exerted no effect on visitor knowledge; all the same, they significantly influenced visitor behavior intentions. Overall, visitor behavior intentions revealed a considerable potential of financing environmental protection and providing voluntary work in the frame of the environmental management of the Dadia Forest Reserve.     

城市生物多样性问题及保护对策探讨

结合秦皇岛市的实际,对城市生物多样性现状和特点、生物多样性保护存在的问题进行了讨论,并提出了城市生物多样性保护的对策。      

浅谈西安市临潼区生态农业发展模式

本文通过对临潼区自然生态环境和资源利用现状进行评价,提出该区生态农业的发展模式及生态农业建设主要任务,以达到持续、高效、合理地利用区内各种资源。     

石油烃类污染物在地下水中自然衰减特性

污染物在地下水中的自然衰减是目前解决地下水污染问题的一个重要的研究领域，是地下水污染生物修复的基础课题，本文以地下水中的常见污染物石油烃为对象，着重阐述该物在地下水中的自然衰减特性。根据所获取的国内外资料，介绍了其自然衰减的三种动力学方程：Monod动力学方程，一级衰减动力学方程和瞬时反应动力学方程，并且对于石油烃的自然衰减速率进行了详细的描述，为以后的研究提供参考。     

Anthropogenic influences on a mediterranean Nature Reserve: modelling and forecasting

The lagoon of Biguglia (northeastern Corsica) is one of a number Nature Reserve. Anthropogenic activities are increasing over its watershed however. The present study aims to examine the state of health of the lagoon with the example of two pollutants (Cd and Cu). Water samples were collected in spring and summer 1997. The trace metal fluxes between the various compartments were measured. Transfer processes from the watershed to the lagoon were also examined. The temporal evolution of Cd and Cu content is assessed on the one hand by comparing the present data with former reference work (1992). On the other hand, a 5-box model is implemented in order to reduce the complex functioning of the lagoon to a system of differential equations. With the help of a numerical resolution method, the increase of metallic concentration levels is estimated since 1992. On the basis of 1997 data, two hypotheses are compared. The hypothesis that takes into account a growing increase of anthropogenic activities on the watershed gives, by extrapolation, results that are closer to field measurements. However, even with this hypothesis, the cadmium content in the lagoon is underestimated. This may signify that for this metal the evolution of the lagoon pollution is more important than a linear increase.     

Reserve Design to Maximize Species Persistence

We develop a reserve design strategy to maximize the probability of species persistence predicted by a stochastic, individual-based, metapopulation model. Because the population model does not fit exact optimization procedures, our strategy involves deriving promising solutions from theory, obtaining promising solutions from a simulation optimization heuristic, and determining the best of the promising solutions using a multiple-comparison statistical test. We use the strategy to address a problem of allocating limited resources to new and existing reserves. The best reserve design depends on emigration, dispersal mortality, and probabilities of movement between reserves. When movement probabilities are symmetric, the best design is to expand a subset of reserves to equal size to exhaust the habitat budget. When movement probabilities are not symmetric, the best design does not expand reserves to equal size and is strongly affected by movement probabilities and emigration rates. We use commercial simulation software to obtain our results.     

The future of water in Australia: The potential effects of climate change and ozone depletion on Australian water quality,quantity and treatability

Water is a resource that is essential for all life on Earth. An exponentially growing human population, in addition to unprecedented industrial and technological development, threaten the availability and quality of this resource. Climate change and ozone depletion are two major environmental problems facing mankind today. These problems have the potential to further strain currently available freshwater resources. Recent research has shown that climate change and ozone depletion are linked phenomena and their interaction exacerbates their impact. Changes in precipitation, surface runoff, solar UV radiation, temperatures, and evaporation are some of the predicted outcomes of climate change and ozone depletion. They influence the biogeochemical cycles and aquatic ecosystems in lakes and rivers, and alter the character of natural organic matter (NOM) and, consequently, they have the potential to affect the quality, quantity and treatability of our water resources. Given these uncertainties, and the need to mitigate the consequences of climate change and ozone depletion, the issues of changing water quality, quantity and treatability cannot be ignored by Australian governments and water utilities.     

Participants and non-participants of place-based groups: an assessment of attitudes and implications for public participation in water resource management

Policy-makers and public participation analysts face the question of who should be involved in environmental decision-making. Participants are often representatives of organized groups who share similar demographic and other characteristics. This raises concerns about the degree to which the interests and opinions of others are represented. The research presented here investigates the nature and degree of differences in environmental attitudes, specifically those toward water resource management efforts, among people who do and do not participate in place-based groups in metropolitan Portland, Oregon. Neighborhood associations and a watershed council were the focus of this research due to their involvement in land-use planning and resource activities. Thirty-four individual attitudinal judgments were evaluated, along with four indices representing attitudes toward resource protection goals, government, regulations, and economic measures. Survey findings revealed watershed council participants were more supportive of resource protection compared to others on all attitudinal dimensions except anthropocentric goals. In contrast, neighborhood association participants are relatively representative of non-participants except for heightened support for economic strategies. Participants in both groups exhibited higher socioeconomic status than non-participants. Written survey comments highlighted the perceived value of on-the-ground projects incorporating local input and feedback while interviews provided insights on how to expand participation in place-based groups and resource protection efforts.     

Marine Parks for protection and tourism in Turkey

Protected Turkish areas in the Mediterranean region are compared with those of other Mediterranean countries. Policies followed in Turkey for conservation protection of the natural and cultural environment and the use of coastal resources for tourism are discussed. The purpose and application of Turkish law is examined with respect to the interaction between the protection of coastal areas and tourism. Modifications on the administrative and management regulations in Turkey enabling a better use of coastal areas is suggested by combining coastal tourism and protection. The necessity and importance of estabilishing and managing Marine Parks in short-and long-term plans are acknowledged.     

质谱直接测量法解析盐城市大气细颗粒物来源

为全面了解盐城市大气颗粒物的组成,摸清以PM2.5为首要污染物的来源,说清其化学组分和源贡献率,于2014年12月16日00:00—2014年12月21日09:00,利用在线单颗粒气溶胶质谱仪,对盐城市细颗粒物进行实时在线源解析。结果表明,盐城首要污染物为燃煤,占比为23.7%,其次是机动车尾气,占比为18.3%,第三位是扬尘,占总颗粒数的15.7%,生物质燃烧占比为14.8%位列第四,工业工艺源、二次无机源和其他源贡献率相对较小。