SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHANGE OF DROUGHT DISASTER IN CHINA IN RECENT FIFTY YEARS

Foreword　Inglobalview ,droughtdisasterisregardedasthemostserioustypeofnaturaldisasterintheworld ,whichhascausedthewidestrangeofeffectsandthebiggesteconomiclosses .Se veredroughtsmainlyoccurinAfrica ,India ,China ,formerSovietUnion ,NorthAmerica ,andAustralia,accountingforalmosthalfofcountriesintheworld .Droughtdisasteroccursfre quentlyinChina ,withwiderangeofinfluence ,whichisthemostseriousmeteorologicaldisas ter ,causingeconomiclossesinagriculture .Fromthe 50’stothe 80’sinthe 2 0thcent…     

A New Modus Operandi for the Agricultural Economics Profession

Agricultural economics has, until the 1990s, enjoyeda reputation for relevance and usefulness to theagri-food industry and policy-makers. Thatreputation has been jeopardized by a growinginfatuation with models and quantification, and aconcomitant underemphasis placed on many complexproblems and issues of society. An illustrativeexample is explored, using agriculturalactivity-related damage to the natural resourcebase, environment and ecology. Agriculturaleconomists are urged to respond by broadening theirterms of reference and joining forces with otherdisciplines.     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地沙尘暴特征--以塔中地区为例

塔克拉玛干沙漠是中国油气开发的重要区域，沙尘暴是该区域重要的灾害性天气，但以往相关的研究很少。为了了解塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地沙尘暴的发生规律，利用塔中气象站1997-2002年的气象资料，对塔中地区沙尘暴的强度、过程、类型和时间变化等特征进行了分析。研究结果表明：（1）塔中年平均沙尘暴日数为16．83d，较沙漠北缘的轮台和沙漠南缘的民丰、和田为多，体现出沙尘源对沙尘暴发生的影响；（2）沙尘暴发生之前出现明显的风速突然降低和风向转换；（3）同塔里木盆地其它区域一样，塔中沙尘暴也可分为5种类型，其主导类型为冷空气东灌型；（4）沙尘暴时间变化规律明显，且从20世纪90年代至21世纪初，塔中沙尘暴日数与持时明显下降，同全疆的变化趋势一致。     

森林可燃物参数与林分特征关系

森林地被可燃物是引起森林火灾的重要原因,掌握森林地被可燃物的载量分布,对森林火灾的预防有着十分重要的意义.但森林地被可燃物载量数据的获得是比较困难的,运用Spss11.0 for windows统计软件系统,对兴安落叶松林和杨桦林的林分因子和各类地被可燃物载量进行后向逐步线性回归分析,建立了一套数学模型,取得了较为满意的结果,从而可以通过林分因子推算各类地被可燃物载量.     

SUMMER LOW FLOWS IN NEW ENGLAND DURING THE 20TH CENTURY1

ABSTRACT: High springtime river flows came earlier by one to two weeks in large parts of northern New England during the 20th Century. In this study it was hypothesized that late spring/early summer recessional flows and late summer/early fall low flows could also be occurring earlier. This could result in a longer period of low flow recession and a decrease in the magnitude of low flows. To test this hypothesis, variations over time in the magnitude and timing of low flows were analyzed. To help understand the relation between low flows and climatic variables in New England, low flows were correlated with air temperatures and precipitation. Analysis of data from 23 rural, unregulated rivers across New England indicated little evidence of consistent changes in the timing or magnitude of late summer/early fall low flows during the 20th Century. The interannual variability in the timing and magnitude of the low flows in northern New England was explained much more by the interannual variability in precipitation than by the interannual variability of air temperatures. The highest correlation between the magnitude of the low flows and air temperatures was with May through November temperatures (r =?0.37, p= 0.0017), while the highest correlation with precipitation was with July through August precipitation (r = 0.67, p > 0.0001).     

“We cannot let this happen again”: reversing UK flood policy in response to the Somerset Levels floods, 2014

The Multiple Streams Framework offers a theoretical account of how policy proposals move from latent possibilities to becoming favored for implementation. We apply this framework in the context of the policy response to the 2013–2014 flooding of the Somerset Levels and Moors. Stakeholder interviews and analysis of news media coverage evidence the way in which a specific policy option that had fallen out of favor with the national Environment Agency – dredging – came to the fore and was eventually adopted during the period in which the conjunction of problem, policy, and political pressures came to a head. Local political activists mobilized a wider campaign with the help of social media and capitalized on national political sensitivities to successfully promote dredging. What is less clear is the longevity of the policy reversal, given funding constraints.     

Systematic Temporal Patterns in the Relationship Between Housing Development and Forest Bird Biodiversity

As people encroach increasingly on natural areas, one question is how this affects avian biodiversity. The answer to this is partly scale‐dependent. At broad scales, human populations and biodiversity concentrate in the same areas and are positively associated, but at local scales people and biodiversity are negatively associated with biodiversity. We investigated whether there is also a systematic temporal trend in the relationship between bird biodiversity and housing development. We used linear regression to examine associations between forest bird species richness and housing growth in the conterminous United States over 30 years. Our data sources were the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the 2000 decennial U.S. Census. In the 9 largest forested ecoregions, housing density increased continually over time. Across the conterminous United States, the association between bird species richness and housing density was positive for virtually all guilds except ground nesting birds. We found a systematic trajectory of declining bird species richness as housing increased through time. In more recently developed ecoregions, where housing density was still low, the association with bird species richness was neutral or positive. In ecoregions that were developed earlier and where housing density was highest, the association of housing density with bird species richness for most guilds was negative and grew stronger with advancing decades. We propose that in general the relationship between human settlement and biodiversity over time unfolds as a 2‐phase process. The first phase is apparently innocuous; associations are positive due to coincidence of low‐density housing with high biodiversity. The second phase is highly detrimental to biodiversity, and increases in housing density are associated with biodiversity losses. The long‐term effect on biodiversity depends on the final housing density. This general pattern can help unify our understanding of the relationship of human encroachment and biodiversity response. Patrones Sistemáticos Temporales en la Relación entre Desarrollos Urbanos y la Biodiversidad de Aves de Bosque     

Assessing Sustainability at Multiple Scales in a Rotational Bushmeat Hunting System

Abstract: Results of many studies show unsustainable levels of bushmeat hunting across West/Central Africa. Nevertheless, these results are usually derived from snapshot sustainability indices in which critical parameters are often taken from the literature. Simple, more informative tools for assessing sustainability are needed. We evaluated the impact of bushmeat hunting across a range of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales in a comparison of different measures of sustainability. Over 15 months in 2002–2004 in and around a village close to Equatorial Guinea's Monte Alén National Park, we collected data via a village offtake survey, hunter‐camp bushmeat‐consumption diaries, hunter interviews, and following hunters during hunts. We compared 2003 data with a previous offtake survey (1998–1999) and interview reports back to 1990. In the past 14 years, average distance from the village at which hunters operated remained constant, with hunters switching back and forth between long‐established camps, although trapping effort increased. In the past 5 years, overall offtake and number of active hunters did not change substantially, although catch per unit effort (CPUE) decreased slightly. Although the proportion of the two most commonly trapped species (Cephalophus monticola and Atherurus africanus) and gun‐hunted primates increased in the offtake, species presumably less robust to trapping decreased slightly. Apparent sustainability in economic terms may be masking gradual local extirpation of more vulnerable species before and during this study. Our results suggest that changes in prey profiles and CPUE may be the most accurate indicators of actual sustainability; these indices can be monitored with simple village‐based offtake surveys and hunter interviews to improve community management of bushmeat hunting.     

三峡蓄水期间汉丰湖消落区营养状态时间变化

为探明三峡蓄水后汉丰湖消落区水质营养状态的变化特征,于2013年10月至2014年2月对水质进行连续观察,测定了水质物理参数、营养盐与叶绿素(Chl-a)的质量浓度.结果表明,水体中营养盐与Chl-a质量浓度的增加,在淹水后营养程度有升高现象,2014年2月与2013年10月相比,TN、TP、高锰酸盐指数与Chl-a质量浓度分别增加了4.7、1.0、0.2、3.27倍,TN、TP质量浓度均超过藻类生长限值,随滞留时间延长易造成水体富营养化,应引起重视.Chl-a单因子评价反映出水质由贫营养向富营养演变.TN/TP结果表明,TN、TP分别在不同时间内制约着藻类的生长;2013年10~12月与2014年2月,藻类生长受TN限制;2014年1月,藻类生长受TP限制.Chl-a与p H、DO、NH+4-N、NO-3-N、TN、高锰酸盐指数及TP呈显著正相关,而与SD、水温呈显著负相关;蓄水期间,水质受到了同一污染源的影响.因子分析结果表明,汉丰湖消落区水质主要受p H、DO、NO-3-N、TN的影响,同时Chl-a、TP、NH+4-N与好氧性有机物的污染不可忽视;在蓄水稳定初期水体具有自净能力,随蓄水滞留时间的延长,水质污染程度整体上呈现逐步恶化的趋势,应加以控制;三峡蓄水期间,南河、东河营养程度相对较高,应加强治理.     

北京市潮白河再生水补水河段水质时空变异

城市河道是城市再生水利用的主要载体,而人工湿地是城市再生水河道补水前主要的水质净化方式.为了解再生水补水与人工湿地对再生水补水段水质的影响,选取北京市潮白河再生水补水河段作为研究对象,利用聚类分析、判别分析及因子分析等方法对不同季节水体的水质情况进行分析.结果表明:研究区内水体氮磷污染严重,其中TN污染表现为NO₃--N、NO₂--N和NH₄+-N的混合型污染.聚类分析结果表明,水质在季节尺度上表现为丰水期（6-9月）和枯水期（2月、3月、5月和12月）两大类;在空间尺度上受再生水补水和湿地净化的影响表现为显著的空间差异性.判别分析结果表明,再生水补给对河道水质的影响无显著季节差异,湿地净化功能在丰水期和枯水期差异较大且丰水期湿地的净化效果最为明显.因子分析结果表明,再生水作为城市河道的补充水源,一方面对河道中的F-、Chl-a等起到稀释作用,另一方面使得水体中的N、P及离子含量增加;丰水期湿地的净化作用使水体中氮磷等有机营养物质含量及ρ（TDS）等显著降低.