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.     

ArcGIS支持下的样本稀疏山区空间插值模拟探讨

样本稀疏地区空间插值法对区域化变量的精准管理具有重要意义。基于ArcGIS 90,在分析土壤属性空间分布特征的基础上,提出并构建了基于不同土壤类型的土壤特性空间预测模拟模型,对比了传统方法与改进方法空间插值精度,实现了数值插值在复杂地理环境区域的应用,得到以下结论：(1)基于经度、纬度、海拔高度及坡度等地理因子的土壤基础环境因子的空间预测模拟模型,突破以往只能描述土壤属性在水平方向变化的局限,较客观、合理地反映土壤属性随地理位置及海拔高度的立体变化特征;(2)基于不同土壤类型回归模型来增加样本点以推断评价指标在无取样地区的分布状况的处理方式具有一定的数学理论支撑,有效降低了插值误差,提高了评价精度,使评价结果更加接近现实。     

The ecological footprint: an exhibit at an intergenerational trial?

This paper aims at assessing the extent to which the ecological footprint indicator (EF) can be regarded as an exhibit allowing an intergenerational trial about the use of natural resources. For that purpose, we examine various criticisms questioning the relevancy of EF measures for the study of environmental justice between generations. We explore the difficulties raised by the physical—and highly aggregated—nature of EF measures, as well as problems related to the number, the possible non-existence, and the tastes of future generations. The extent to which postulates on nature’s regeneration and technological progress affect the significance of EF studies is also discussed. It is concluded that those criticisms, by identifying various weaknesses of EF measures for the study of intergenerational justice, point to several crucial refinements of existing EF-based analyses.

Climate change and natural disasters: macroeconomic performance and distributional impacts

Commonly occurring natural events become natural disasters when they affect the population through death and injury, and/or through the destruction of natural and physical capital on which people rely for their livelihood and quality of life. Climate change plays a role in that it tends to increase the frequency and intensity of weather-related natural disasters. Additionally, climate change may put people at risk by influencing access to water, coastal flooding, disease and hunger, and leaving them with a more degraded environment, leading, in turn, to increased vulnerability. The purpose of this paper is to present a review and synthesis of the literature and case studies addressing differential impacts of climate change-related natural disasters on a society and its economy. Developed and developing countries show different vulnerabilities to natural disasters. Even within countries, impacts vary significantly across population and economic sectors. When losses from natural disasters are large, their cumulative effect can have notable macroeconomic impacts, which feed back to further pronounce existing income inequalities and lower income levels. Impacts tend to be most pronounced for women, the young and elderly, and people of ethnic or racial minorities.

Comparative study of natural radioactivity levels in soil samples from the Upper Siwaliks and Punjab,India using gamma-ray spectrometry

Natural radioactive materials under certain conditions can reach hazardous radiological levels. So, it becomes necessary to study the natural radioactivity levels in soil to assess the dose for the population in order to know the health risks and to have a baseline for future changes in the environmental radioactivity due to human activities. The natural radionuclide (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K) contents in soil were determined for 26 locations around the Upper Siwaliks of Kala Amb, Nahan and Morni Hills, Northern India, using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometric analysis. It was observed that the concentration of natural radionuclides viz., ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, in the soil varies from 28.3 ± 0.5 to 81.0 ± 1.7 Bq kg⁻¹, 61.2 ± 1.3 to 140.3 ± 2.6 Bq kg⁻¹ and 363.4 ± 4.9 to 1002.2 ± 11.2 Bq kg⁻¹ respectively. The total absorbed dose rate calculated from activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K ranged from 71.1 to 162.0 nGy h⁻¹. The radium equivalent (R_eq) and the external hazard index (H_ex), which resulted from the natural radionuclides in soil, were also calculated and found to vary from 149.4 to 351.8 Bq kg⁻¹and from 0.40 to 0.95 respectively. These values in Upper Siwaliks area were compared with that from the adjoining areas of Punjab. The radium equivalent activities in all the soil samples were lower than the limit (370 Bq kg⁻¹) set in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report and the dose equivalent was within the safe limit of 1 mSv y⁻¹.     

Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L.) response to ozone and ethylenediurea (EDU)

Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L.) seedlings were placed into open-top chambers in May, 2004 and fumigated for 12 wks. Nine chambers were fumigated with either carbon-filtered air (CF), non-filtered air (NF) or twice-ambient (2×) ozone (O₃). Ethylenediurea (EDU) was applied as a foliar spray weekly at 0 (control), 200, 400 or 600 ppm. Foliar injury occurred at ambient (30%) and elevated O₃ (100%). Elevated O₃ resulted in significant decreases in biomass and nutritive quality. Ethylenediurea reduced percent of leaves injured, but decreased root and total biomass. Foliar concentrations of cell-wall constituents were not affected by EDU alone; however, EDU × O₃ interactions were observed for total cell-wall constituents and lignocellulose fraction. Our results demonstrated that O₃ altered the physiology and productivity of cutleaf coneflower, and although reducing visible injury EDU may be phytotoxic at higher concentrations.     

History Matters: Relating Land-Use Change to Butterfly Species Occurrence

Western European landscapes have drastically changed since the 1950s, with agricultural intensifications and the spread of urban settlements considered the most important drivers of this land-use/land-cover change. Losses of habitat for fauna and flora have been a direct consequence of this development. In the present study, we relate butterfly occurrence to land-use/land-cover changes over five decades between 1951 and 2000. The study area covers the entire Swiss territory. The 10 explanatory variables originate from agricultural statistics and censuses. Both state as well as rate was used as explanatory variables. Species distribution data were obtained from natural history collections. We selected eight butterfly species: four species occur on wetlands and four occur on dry grasslands. We used cluster analysis to track land-use/land-cover changes and to group communes based on similar trajectories of change. Generalized linear models were applied to identify factors that were significantly correlated with the persistence or disappearance of butterfly species. Results showed that decreasing agricultural areas and densities of farms with more than 10 ha of cultivated land are significantly related with wetland species decline, and increasing densities of livestock seem to have favored disappearance of dry grassland species. Moreover, we show that species declines are not only dependent on land-use/land-cover states but also on the rates of change; that is, the higher the transformation rate from small to large farms, the higher the loss of dry grassland species. We suggest that more attention should be paid to the rates of landscape change as feasible drivers of species change and derive some management suggestions.     

Reconnecting to the Biosphere

Humanity has emerged as a major force in the operation of the biosphere, with a significant imprint on the Earth System, challenging social-ecological resilience. This new situation calls for a fundamental shift in perspectives, world views, and institutions. Human development and progress must be reconnected to the capacity of the biosphere and essential ecosystem services to be sustained. Governance challenges include a highly interconnected and faster world, cascading social-ecological interactions and planetary boundaries that create vulnerabilities but also opportunities for social-ecological change and transformation. Tipping points and thresholds highlight the importance of understanding and managing resilience. New modes of flexible governance are emerging. A central challenge is to reconnect these efforts to the changing preconditions for societal development as active stewards of the Earth System. We suggest that the Millennium Development Goals need to be reframed in such a planetary stewardship context combined with a call for a new social contract on global sustainability. The ongoing mind shift in human relations with Earth and its boundaries provides exciting opportunities for societal development in collaboration with the biosphere--a global sustainability agenda for humanity.     

Spinal deformities in the black-striped pipefish Syngnathus abaster (Pisces, Syngnathidae) from the Tunis North Lake, Tunisia

Spinal deformities are seen in fishes. Deformities in the family Syngnathidae is rarely reported. Spine curvatures in natural population of pipefish, Syngnathus abaster are reported from the Tunis North Lake. The species is euryhaline and occurs along the Mediterranean coasts. Four hundred specimens of S. abaster were collected from January 2006 to December 2007 from the Tunis North Lake. Two specimens with skeletal abnormalities were described for the first time. X-rays radiographies revealed several vertebral deformities for each deformed specimen, especially at five curvation places of the caudal part. Several factors are believed to be the cause of spinal deformities of S. abaster in the Tunis North Lake, such as environmental disturbances, parasitism infection and nutritional factors.     

Powdered activated carbon coupled with enhanced coagulation for natural organic matter removal and disinfection by-product control: application in a Western Australian water treatment plant

The removal of organic precursors of disinfection by-products (DBPs), i.e. natural organic matter (NOM), prior to disinfection and distribution is considered as the most effective approach to minimise the formation of DBPs. This study investigated the impact of the addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to an enhanced coagulation treatment process at an existing water treatment plant on the efficiency of NOM removal, the disinfection behaviour of the treated water, and the water quality in the distribution system. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the efficacy of plant-scale application of PAC combined with enhanced coagulation on an Australian source water. As a result of the PAC addition, the removal of NOM improved by 70%, which led to a significant reduction (80-95%) in the formation of DBPs. The water quality in the distribution system also improved, indicated by lower concentrations of DBPs in the distribution system and better maintenance of disinfectant residual at the extremities of the distribution system. The efficacy of the PAC treatment for NOM removal was shown to be a function of the characteristics of the NOM and the quality of the source water, as well as the PAC dose. PAC treatment did not have the capacity to remove bromide ion, resulting in the formation of more brominated DBPs. Since brominated DBPs have been found to be more toxic than their chlorinated analogues, their preferential formation upon PAC addition must be considered, especially in source waters containing high concentrations of bromide.