LAND SUBSIDENCE: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT. Land subsidence due to groundwater overdraft has been assumed to be one of Arizona's major water related problems. This paper investigates the premise from an economic point of view and concludes that in the case of Arizona the physical fact of land subsidence has little or no economic significance.     

The social and ecological determinants of common pool resource sustainability

We study a dynamic common pool resource game in which current resource stock depends on resource extraction in the previous period. Our model shows that for a sufficiently high regrowth rate, there is no commons dilemma: the resource will be preserved indefinitely in equilibrium. Lower growth rates lead to depletion. Laboratory tests of the model indicate that favorable ecological characteristics are necessary but insufficient to encourage effective CPR governance. Before the game, we elicit individual willingness to follow a costly rule. Only the presence of enough rule-followers preserves the resource given favorable ecological conditions.     

施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对果园土壤有机碳组分的影响

为研究施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对土壤有机碳组分的影响,以果园土壤为研究对象,从时间、空间维度解析长期施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对土壤有机碳积累、组成及其分布规律的影响,结合CPMI（碳库管理指数）和相关性分析,揭示施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对土壤碳汇的影响机制.结果表明,施用餐厨垃圾调理剂可显著提高土壤中w（TOC）（TOC为总有机碳）,并随施用时间的增加逐渐向深层土壤迁移,改善TOC分布状况.随着施用餐厨垃圾调理剂时间的增加,0~20 cm土壤层中w（NOC）（NOC为非活性有机碳）和30~40 cm土壤层中w（AOC）（AOC为活性有机碳）呈增加趋势,AOC分配比例低于NOC分配比例.随着施用时间的增长,0~30 cm土壤层中w（POC）（POC为颗粒有机碳）显著提高,最大值为42.94 mg/g,MOC（矿质结合态有机碳）分配比例与POC分配比例呈相反变化趋势,有利于提高土壤碳稳定性.各土壤层中CPMI均大于空白对照组,最大值为154.437,表明施用餐厨垃圾调理剂有利于提升土壤肥力.相关性分析表明,w（POC）与pH呈负相关,与含水率、EC（电导率）、w（OM）（OM为有机质）呈正相关,其中与含水率相关性最高（R=0.91）.可见,长期施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对提高果园土壤碳汇、改善土壤肥力具有重要意义,研究结果有助于进一步提升土壤碳汇的新型土壤调理剂的研发与应用.      

Evolutionof Sustainable Carbon Cycling Processes in China

This report summarizes the surveys on carbon inventories and initiatives on sustainable carbon cycling taken by RCEES. The first part of this report deals with the concept of sustainable carbon cycling, the historical evolution of carbon cycling processes in China, carbon pool enhancement, value addition, carbon sequestration and carbon balance. The second part covers the modeling of carbon dynamics, emission inventories of various carbon containing greenhouse gases and their potential abatement measures.     

煤炭开采对粮食安全的影响及其对策

从开采方法、土地复垦与综合治理、经济和政策等方面采取措施,可以最大限度地减小采矿对土地资源的破坏,治理好矿区土地资源,保护好耕地,实现粮食产需总量的大体平衡。“保护粮食安全”关键是抓好耕地保护,根据可持续发展原则,综合考虑矿业经济发展与矿区生态环境保护的关系,走矿业“绿色开采”的道路,研究有利于矿区耕地保护的采矿新技术,使资源开发与耕地保护协调发展,同时还应对煤矸石和粉煤灰进行充分利用、防治水体受到污染、采用先进的土地复垦技术对土地资源的浪费和破坏进行治理,把土地复垦中的经济效益、社会效益和生态效益统一起来,为粮食生产奠定基础。     

条带开采下沉系数计算与优化设计的神经网络模型

在综合分析条带开采地表下沉系数影响因素的基础上,采用神经网络方法建立了条带开采地表下沉系数的计算模型。模型以国内外成功的条带开采实例为学习训练样本和测试样本,对模型的计算结果与实测值进行了对比分析,分析结果表明,该模型的计算值更接近于实测值。在上述研究的基础上,在给定条带开采采出率的条件下,以条带开采的地表下沉系数最小为原则,运用该模型实现了对条带开采尺寸的优化设计。该研究的成果,为条带开采地表下沉系数的理论计算及条带开采尺寸的优化设计探索出了一种新的方法。     

插板对正庚烷油池火燃烧行为的影响研究

海上石油泄漏常规的处理方法是原位燃烧,加速其燃烧并使其燃尽是降低其对生态环境影响的重要措施之一。以正庚烷为燃料,在油池内插入竖直铝板,研究不同高度铝板对池火燃烧行为的影响。结果表明,插板对池火燃烧速率以及火焰高度具有明显的增强作用,随着板的高度的增加,增强作用先增大后减小,当H_p/D(板高与油池直径之比)为3.5时,增强作用最大。火焰高度、板的温度、热通量以及燃烧速率的变化趋势一致,它们的临界点均在H_p/D=3.5附近。插板后燃烧速率增大主要是因为插板自身的热传导导致了燃料的核态沸腾,使燃料接受的热反馈增大,从而加快了燃料的蒸发,增大了燃烧速率。     

煤层开采诱发地表裂缝成因数值模拟

为了通过分析地表裂缝的成因来研究采空区上覆火成岩非连续性破坏,根据现场数据和概率积分法确定了研究的岩土体范围,使用FLAC3D进行建模。布置6条监测线进行地表沉降监测,并与模拟得到的地表裂缝出现位置的变形数据进行对比,模拟得到了岩体塑性区的分布。结果表明,造成地表裂缝的主要原因是采空区上覆岩层中存在产状不均匀的火成岩,且位于松散层下方。采空区影响向上发展至火成岩底部造成火成岩边缘区域局部悬空。当采空区面积足够大时,火成岩上部拉应力超过其抗拉强度,进而发生断裂,松散层陷落导致地表裂缝。     

The ecological insurance trap

Common pool resources often insure individual livelihoods against the collapse of private endeavors. When endeavors based on private and common pool resources are interconnected, investment in one can put the other at risk. We model Senegalese pastoralists who choose whether to grow crops, a private activity, or raise livestock on common pool pastureland. Livestock can increase the likelihood of locust outbreaks via ecological processes related to grassland degradation. Locust outbreaks damage crops, but not livestock, which are used for savings and insurance. We show the incentive to self-protect (reduce grazing pressure) or self-insure (increase livestock levels) changes with various property rights schemes and levels of ecological detail. If the common pool nature of insurance exacerbates the ecological externality even fully-informed individuals may make risk management decisions that increase the probability of catastrophe, creating an “insurance trap.”     

Nitrogen availability in relation to vegetation changes resulting from grass encroachment in Dutch dry dunes

The encroachment of some tall grass species in open dune vegetation, as observed in a Dutch dry dune area, is considered unfavourable from a conservation viewpoint. This paper investigates differences in vegetation and soil properties between grass-dominated and still existing open dune grassland plots at four locations along the coast. Soil properties studied include nitrogen and phosphorus pools and nitrogen availability by mineralization. Vegetation properties included are above and below-ground biomass and nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in above-ground biomass. Systematic differences in N-pools between grass-dominated and open dune grassland plots were not observed. However, N-availability by mineralization and its turnover rates are higher in grass-dominated plots than in open dune grassland plots, as well as above and below-ground biomass. In open dune grassland plots, atmospheric N-input is an important source of N, whereas in grass-dominated plots mineralization largely exceeds atmospheric N-input. However, these observations do not explain the mosaic-like vegetation pattern. Grazing intensity is most likely the determinant factor in the dry dune system. It is concluded, that grass encroachment is probably triggered by atmospheric deposition and is enhanced by positive feedbacks in the N-cycle. The relevance of these results for restoration management is briefly discussed.