Ecosystem services assessments in local municipal decision making in South Africa: justification for the use of a business-based approach

The ecosystem services (ES) concept is being increasingly incorporated into environmental policy formulation and management approaches. The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR) is a framework used to assess the dependence and impact that a business has on ES. The success of the corporate experience of ES assessment provides an opportunity for adaption for local authority decision making. In this paper, the ESR tool was adapted to the South African setting at a local government level, and tested at two sites in the Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. In testing the tool and gathering feedback from key stakeholders, it was found that there are both opportunities and challenges to this approach. Overall, however, it provides an opportunity for the systematic inclusion of ES assessment into existing regulatory frameworks for land-use planning and Integrated Environmental Management, whether in a strategic application, at a broader spatial (municipal) scale or in a specific locale within the municipality.     

军用集成电路质量控制方法分析与探讨

集成电路是军用电子设备最重要的器件之一,集成电路的质量直接影响到军用装备的质量。从集成电路的选择、二次筛选和破坏性物理分析(DPA)这几个方面探讨了军用集成电路的质量控制方法。实践证明通过质量控制筛选得到的集成电路整批使用可靠性都有明显的提高。     

Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Plant conservation initiatives lag behind and receive considerably less funding than animal conservation projects. We explored a potential reason for this bias: a tendency among humans to neither notice nor value plants in the environment. Experimental research and surveys have demonstrated higher preference for, superior recall of, and better visual detection of animals compared with plants. This bias has been attributed to perceptual factors such as lack of motion by plants and the tendency of plants to visually blend together but also to cultural factors such as a greater focus on animals in formal biological education. In contrast, ethnographic research reveals that many social groups have strong bonds with plants, including nonhierarchical kinship relationships. We argue that plant blindness is common, but not inevitable. If immersed in a plant‐affiliated culture, the individual will experience language and practices that enhance capacity to detect, recall, and value plants, something less likely to occur in zoocentric societies. Therefore, conservation programs can contribute to reducing this bias. We considered strategies that might reduce this bias and encourage plant conservation behavior. Psychological research demonstrates that people are more likely to support conservation of species that have human‐like characteristics and that support for conservation can be increased by encouraging people to practice empathy and anthropomorphism of nonhuman species. We argue that support for plant conservation may be garnered through strategies that promote identification and empathy with plants.     

The varying effects of left–right ideology on support for the environment: Evidence from a Swedish survey experiment

Years of research show that left-leaning individuals are more supportive of environmental policies than right-leaning individuals. The explanation for the lower level of support among right-leaning individuals is their stronger preference for economic growth and lower acceptance of intervention in markets. However, recent cross-national studies have questioned whether the effect of ideology on environmental support is universal. A Swedish survey experiment shows that the effect of ideology varies greatly depending on how individuals think about the environment. Specifically, it demonstrates that if environmental support is contrasted with economic growth, then the effect of ideology is stronger as opposed to when environmental support is not juxtaposed with economic growth. Furthermore, among people who strongly perceive the environment as a left–right issue, there is a larger divide between left and right.     

采用支持向量机算法优化电化学处理油田污水的工艺参数

采用支持向量机(SVM)算法,将Box-Behnken设计法与支持向量回归算法(SVR)实验参数优化软件相结合,优化电化学去除油田污水COD的工艺参数。通过量子粒子群算法对SVM算法参数进行优化,从建立的回归模型中找到工艺参数的全局最佳点:电解时间60 min,电解电流3 A,三维电极填充料中石英砂质量695 g。模型得到的COD理论最优去除率为92.48%,验证实验得到的COD去除率为91.43%。     

Land use planning and wildfire risk mitigation: an analysis of wildfire-burned subdivisions using high-resolution remote sensing imagery and GIS data

This paper evaluates risk factors that influence the probability that a house will burn from wildfire. A logistic regression is used to analyse data processed from pre-fire and post-fire IKONOS images and other geo-referenced data. The dependent variable is the probability that a given house will burn. A total of 12 independent variables are evaluated: vegetation density; area of defensible space; adjacency of a parcel to public lands; proximity of a house to fire station; road width; road type; parcel size; subdivision morphology; assessed value; elevation; slope and aspect. Model results generally support dominant land use planning and design strategies for wildfire risk reduction including vegetation treatments, site selection with respect to topography, and improving access to fire stations.     

矿区植被恢复方式对土壤微生物和酶活性的影响

矿区废弃地生态退化形势严峻,生态修复已成为矿区可持续发展的主要措施,土壤微生物和酶活性可作为评价土壤恢复质量的敏感因子.本研究将以山西省安太堡煤矿复垦区作为对象,分析植被恢复方式对土壤微生物和酶活的影响.结果表明,不同植被方式对土壤理化特征、参与氮代谢的3类菌群(固氮菌、硝化细菌和反硝化细菌)和4种酶活性(蔗糖酶、过氧化氢酶、脲酶和多酚氧化酶活)均有显著影响.土壤总氮含量与固氮菌和硝化细菌数量均显著相关,而与反硝化细菌不相关.多酚氧化酶活性与有机碳和总氮含量之间为负相关,而其它3种酶与有机碳和总氮之间呈正相关.通过主成分分析计算综合肥力指标,刺槐-油松混交林土壤综合肥力指标最高,而未复垦综合肥力指标最低.可见,刺槐-油松混交林是晋西北干旱区矿区复垦较为适宜的植被恢复模式.     

人工快渗一体化设备在农村污水处理中的应用

针对农村污水的特点,结合湖北十堰地区农村污水处理工程案例,分析了以人工快渗技术为核心的一体化设备在实际应用中的运行效果和工艺优势。经过实际运行监测,工程处理出水主要水质指标可达到GB 18918—2002《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》一级A排放标准,并且该工艺设备具有运行成本低、抗冲击负荷能力强、运行管理方便等优点,可有效地解决目前农村地区由于资金、技术、人才等因素限制造成的污水处理能力低和管理水平低的问题,是一种适合我国农村地区污水处理的工艺设备。     

ABC算法优化SVR的磨损故障预测模型

目的为了提高故障预测的精度,针对支持向量回归SVR(Support vector machine for regression,SVR)参数选择困难的问题,提出一种采用人工蜂群(artificial bee colony,ABC)算法优化支持向量回归(SVR)的故障预测模型(ABC-SVR)。方法该模型先对样本数据进行重构,然后将故障预测误差(适应度)作为优化目标,通过ABC算法寻优找到最优的SVR参数,建立故障预测模型。最后通过实例仿真验证模型的优越性。结果采用ABC算法优化的SVR故障预测模型进行时间序列预测,能够较好地跟踪发动机滑油金属元素浓度的变化过程,并且能够提前2个取样时间预测异常情况的出现。结论 ABC-SVR模型有效解决了SVR参数选择难题,能够更加准确地表现故障变化规律,提高了故障预测精度。     

综合水质标识指数法在海拉尔河水质评价中的应用研究

水质评价是水环境治理的重要基础性工作.水质综合标识指数法涵盖了综合水质类别、定量污染程度、水环境功能区达标等信息,是将定性与定量评价相结合,能够对综合水质做出合理的解释,不会因个别指标导致过分评价.研究将海拉尔河划分为3个控制单元,根据2003年-2012年水质监测数据,采用综合水质标识指数法识别各控制单元主要污染因子,并分析海拉尔河水质时空变化规律.研究结果表明海拉尔河从上游至下游综合水质标识指数逐渐升高,上游水质较好,中游和下游主要污染指标为高锰酸盐指数和COD.2003年-2012年,海拉尔河高锰酸钾指数、BOD5、氨氮和总磷的污染减轻,化学需氧量污染略微减轻但仍存在超标风险.