Applications of Very High‐Resolution Imagery in the Study and Conservation of Large Predators in the Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean is one of the most rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet due to the effects of climate change and commercial fishing for ecologically important krill and fish. Because sea ice loss is expected to be accompanied by declines in krill and fish predators, decoupling the effects of climate and anthropogenic changes on these predator populations is crucial for ecosystem‐based management of the Southern Ocean. We reviewed research published from 2007 to 2014 that incorporated very high‐resolution satellite imagery to assess distribution, abundance, and effects of climate and other anthropogenic changes on populations of predators in polar regions. Very high‐resolution imagery has been used to study 7 species of polar animals in 13 papers, many of which provide methods through which further research can be conducted. Use of very high‐resolution imagery in the Southern Ocean can provide a broader understanding of climate and anthropogenic forces on populations and inform management and conservation recommendations. We recommend that conservation biologists continue to integrate high‐resolution remote sensing into broad‐scale biodiversity and population studies in remote areas, where it can provide much needed detail. Aplicaciones de Imágenes de Muy Alta Resolución en el Estudio y Conservación de Grandes Depredadores en el Océano Antártico     

Climate change adaptation approaches with nomadic culture characteristics in Inner Mongolia grassland in China

Climate change adaptation is an important part of addressing climate warming. Inner Mongolia grassland is a sensitive and vulnerable area of climate and an important region for adaptation to climate change. New climate change adaptation approaches with nomadic culture characteristics should be exploded in the context of climate warming. In this paper, the different utilization pattern of grassland in different regions, the different modes of production and management and historical culture were analyzed first in Nenjiang–West Liaohe plain and Ke’erqin region, Inner Mongolia Plateau and Ordos Plateau. Then, nomadic culture on the grassland was discussed from the productivity to biodiversity, from local livestock variety to resource-used system. Finally, new approaches of climate change adaptation with inheriting the essence of nomadic culture were proposed, including protecting biodiversity and using resources reasonably, performing a practice of grazing suspension–rotational grazing system, fencing degenerated grassland to facilitate its growth, founding new farming and husbandry system on the grassland, and establishing an incentive mechanism favorable to grassland and ethical cultural protection.     

生态系统服务市场化工具:概念、类型与适用

生态系统服务市场化工具作为一种与命令控制型进路相对的环境政策工具,最初与污染问题相联系而出现,之后扩展至生物多样性和生态系统服务的保护,被认为能够更有效地应对市场失灵,为自然资源管理提供正向激励,有助于优化资源配置以及填补生态保护资金缺口。通过对生态系统服务市场化工具概念、类型和适用的考察,可以发现生态系统服务市场化工具的概念虽频繁出现,但界定过于宽泛模糊,几乎泛指所有带有价格成分的工具;生态系统服务市场化工具的类型划分并不一致,基于归纳的类型划分将现行市场化工具归纳为基于价格的机制、基于数量的机制和市场摩擦机制三类,而基于演绎的类型划分,则将市场化工具分为直接市场交易、许可证交易、反向拍卖、科斯类型协议、调控价格变化和自愿性价格信号六类;生态系统服务市场化工具的适用需要以生态系统服务的货币化为前提,受制于制度背景,并且应当针对市场的弊端予以法律规制,确保交易能够真正提供环境效益;市场化工具的选择不仅有赖于数字运算,还应当考虑多种因素并予以权衡,同时综合运用各种市场化或非市场化工具。中国在建立健全生态保护市场体系的过程中,应当把握生态系统服务市场化工具通过生态系统服务货币化和商品化解决环境外部性问题这一实质,理解缓解银行、生态系统服务付费、反向拍卖、生态标签和生态认证等典型市场化工具的运行机理,明确生态系统服务市场化工具适用的前提和规则,更好地发挥市场化工具的积极功效,从而实现特定的环境政策目标。     

Interactions between Carbon Sequestration and Shade Tree Diversity in a Smallholder Coffee Cooperative in El Salvador

Agroforestry systems have substantial potential to conserve native biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. In particular, agroforestry systems have the potential to conserve native tree diversity and sequester carbon for climate change mitigation. However, little research has been conducted on the temporal stability of species diversity and aboveground carbon stocks in these systems or the relation between species diversity and aboveground carbon sequestration. We measured changes in shade‐tree diversity and shade‐tree carbon stocks in 14 plots of a 35‐ha coffee cooperative over 9 years and analyzed relations between species diversity and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration was positively correlated with initial species richness of shade trees. Species diversity of shade trees did not change significantly over the study period, but carbon stocks increased due to tree growth. Our results show a potential for carbon sequestration and long‐term biodiversity conservation in smallholder coffee agroforestry systems and illustrate the opportunity for synergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Interacciones entre el Secuestro de Carbono y la Diversidad de Árboles de Sombra en una Cooperativa de Café de Pequeños Agricultores en El Salvador     

Geography and Recovery under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Abstract: The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) defines an endangered species as one “at risk of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” The prevailing interpretation of this phrase, which focuses exclusively on the overall viability of listed species without regard to their geographic distribution, has led to development of listing and recovery criteria with fundamental conceptual, legal, and practical shortcomings. The ESA's concept of endangerment is broader than the biological concept of extinction risk in that the “esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific” values provided by species are not necessarily furthered by a species mere existence, but rather by a species presence across much of its former range. The concept of “significant portion of range” thus implies an additional geographic component to recovery that may enhance viability, but also offers independent benefits that Congress intended the act to achieve. Although the ESA differs from other major endangered‐species protection laws because it acknowledges the distinct contribution of geography to recovery, it resembles the “representation, resiliency, and redundancy” conservation‐planning framework commonly referenced in recovery plans. To address representation, listing and recovery standards should consider not only what proportion of its former range a species inhabits, but the types of habitats a species occupies and the ecological role it plays there. Recovery planning for formerly widely distributed species (e.g., the gray wolf [Canis lupus]) exemplifies how the geographic component implicit in the ESA's definition of endangerment should be considered in determining recovery goals through identification of ecologically significant types or niche variation within the extent of listed species, subspecies, or “distinct population segments.” By linking listing and recovery standards to niche and ecosystem concepts, the concept of ecologically significant type offers a scientific framework that promotes more coherent dialogue concerning the societal decisions surrounding recovery of endangered species.     

Understanding Interaction Effects of Climate Change and Fire Management on Bird Distributions through Combined Process and Habitat Models

Abstract: Avian conservation efforts must account for changes in vegetation composition and structure associated with climate change. We modeled vegetation change and the probability of occurrence of birds to project changes in winter bird distributions associated with climate change and fire management in the northern Chihuahuan Desert (southwestern U.S.A.). We simulated vegetation change in a process‐based model (Landscape and Fire Simulator) in which anticipated climate change was associated with doubling of current atmospheric carbon dioxide over the next 50 years. We estimated the relative probability of bird occurrence on the basis of statistical models derived from field observations of birds and data on vegetation type, topography, and roads. We selected 3 focal species, Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), and Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus), that had a range of probabilities of occurrence for our study area. Our simulations projected increases in relative probability of bird occurrence in shrubland and decreases in grassland and Yucca spp. and ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) vegetation. Generally, the relative probability of occurrence of all 3 species was highest in shrubland because leaf‐area index values were lower in shrubland. This high probability of occurrence likely is related to the species’ use of open vegetation for foraging. Fire suppression had little effect on projected vegetation composition because as climate changed there was less fuel and burned area. Our results show that if future water limits on plant type are considered, models that incorporate spatial data may suggest how and where different species of birds may respond to vegetation changes.     

Paying for International Environmental Public Goods

Supply of international environmental public goods must meet certain conditions to be socially efficient, and several reasons explain why they are currently undersupplied. Diagnosis of the public goods failure associated with particular ecosystem services is critical to the development of the appropriate international response. There are two categories of international environmental public goods that are most likely to be undersupplied. One has an additive supply technology and the other has a weakest link supply technology. The degree to which the collective response should be targeted depends on the importance of supply from any one country. In principle, the solution for the undersupply lies in payments designed to compensate local providers for the additional costs they incur in meeting global demand. Targeted support may take the form of direct investment in supply (the Global Environment Facility model) or of payments for the benefits of supply (the Payments for Ecosystem Services model).     

喀斯特灌丛土壤丛枝菌根真菌群落结构及丰度的影响因子

运用末端限制性片段长度多态性(terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism,T-RFLP)和荧光定量PCR(real-time PCR)法,检测喀斯特灌丛生态系统中不同坡位条件下土壤丛枝菌根(arbuscular mycorrhizal,AM)真菌群落结构与丰度的变化,揭示不同坡位条件下影响灌丛生态系统土壤AM真菌群落结构与丰度的关键因子.研究结果表明不同坡位条件下,土壤有机碳、全氮和速效磷含量差异显著,变化趋势为上坡位≈中坡位下坡位;土壤AM真菌丰度变化趋势为上坡位≈中坡位下坡位.相关性分析表明,土壤速效磷含量与AM真菌丰度存在显著负相关(P0.05).RDA分析表明不同坡位条件下,土壤AM真菌与植物群落结构存在显著差异,植物均匀度指数显著影响土壤AM群落结构组成,而土壤有机碳、全氮显著影响植物群落结构组成.可见,不同坡位条件下,土壤养分与植物群落结构共同作用影响土壤AM真菌群落结构,说明利用AM真菌用于喀斯特地区植被恢复时,微形态(坡位)对AM真菌的影响应该纳入考虑范畴.     

生物炭添加对半干旱地区土壤温室气体排放的影响

为确定生物炭添加对半干旱地区农田土壤温室气体释放的影响,采用小区定位试验,利用锯末(J)和槐树皮(H)及3种添加比例(1%、3%、5%,质量百分比),研究了生物炭添加6个月内表层土壤CO2、CH4和N2O等3种温室气体排放的动态变化.结果表明,与对照相比,各处理土壤CO2排放通量随生物炭的添加呈现增加的趋势,锯末和槐树皮等两种生物炭处理的土壤CO2平均排放通量分别增加了1.89%和3.34%,但差异不显著.CH4排放随着生物炭添加量的增加而降低,各生物炭处理的土壤表层CH4排放量平均降幅分别为:J1:1.17%、J3:2.55%、J5:4.32%、H1:2.35%、H3:5.83%、H5:7.32%.其中,锯末生物炭仅在5%添加量时较对照差异显著(P0.05),而槐树皮生物炭处理在3%和5%的添加量与对照差异均达显著水平(P0.05).生物炭对N2O的排放影响没有明显规律性.研究表明,生物炭在短期内对半干旱地区农田土壤CO2和N2O的排放没有显著影响,而对CH4排放则影响显著(P0.05).就生物炭类型而言,槐树皮生物炭在抑制CH4排放方面优于锯末生物炭,差异显著(P=0.048).     

城市饮用水源地生态系统健康评价与保护对策研究

开展城市饮用水源地生态系统健康状况评价,为建立流域尺度的长效保护机制提供依据.以郑州尖岗水库为研究对象,构建水域生境结构、水生生物、陆域生态格局和生态功能等共6类16项评价指标,采用综合指数法开展评估.尖岗水库水域、陆域和流域综合生态健康标准化评估值分别为54.17、59.21和57.19,评价等级均为"一般",河道连通性、森林覆盖率是流域生态健康的主要限制因子.人类活动对尖岗水库生态系统健康状况产生了强烈影响,生态环境正处于负向演替和生态退化阶段.