Cattle Grazing Mediates Climate Change Impacts on Ephemeral Wetlands

Abstract:  Climate change impacts depend in large part on land-management decisions; interactions between global changes and local resource management, however, rarely have been quantified. We used a combination of experimental manipulations and simulation modeling to investigate the effects of interactions between cattle grazing and regional climate change on vernal pool communities. Data from a grazing exclosure study indicated that 3 years after the removal of grazing, ungrazed vernal pools dried an average of 50 days per year earlier than grazed control pools. Modeling showed that regional climate change could also alter vernal pool hydrology. Increased temperatures and winter precipitation were predicted to increase periods of inundation. We evaluated the ecological implications of interactions between grazing and climate change for branchiopods and the California tiger salamander (  Ambystoma californiense ) at four sites spanning a latitudinal climate gradient. Grazing played an important role in maintaining the suitability of vernal pool hydrological conditions for fairy shrimp and salamander reproduction. The ecological importance of the interaction varied nonlinearly across the region. Our results show that grazing can confound hydrologic changes driven by climate change and play a critical role in maintaining the hydrologic suitability of vernal pools for endangered aquatic invertebrates and amphibians. These observations suggest an important limitation of impact assessments of climate change based on experiments in unmanaged ecosystems. The biophysical impacts of land management may be critical for understanding the vulnerability of ecological systems to climate change.     

Understanding large-scale deforestation in southern Jinotega, Nicaragua from 1978 to 1999 through the examination of changes in land use and land cover

Nicaragua, home to the largest remaining extent of rainforest in Central America (total surface area) and to a significant indigenous population, has lost approximately half of its forest cover since 1950. This major and rapid loss of forest cover has been explained as the consequence of an eastward moving agricultural frontier that cuts through the region of Jinotega. If the current deforestation rate continues, the country could lose its remaining forest cover over the course of the next two decades; therefore, it is essential that the dynamics and relationships of land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) in this region are understood. To examine LUCC in Nicaragua over time, Landsat imagery from the southern portion of the region of Jinotega, taken in 1978, 1987, and 1999 was utilized. A remote-sensing method, supervised classification, which allows for the grouping of spectrally similar values for each year, followed by an image change detection analysis (postclassification comparison) was conducted. Groundtruthing (field validation) was conducted in 2006 to validate the data, which yielded increasing overall accuracy rates of 71.68% for 1978, 82.35% for 1987, and 84.38% for 1999. The classification and change detection results showed that if the agricultural cultivation overtook this region, it happened before 1978. Therefore, the possibility that either deforestation did not actually occur along an agricultural frontier or that it was located further east exists; this would be an interesting subject for future studies. There was, however, clear evidence of increased forest cover from 1987 to 1999 near the urban center, correlating with the enforced reforestation law in the city of Jinotega.     

Recognition of water masses according to geochemical signatures in the Central Mediterranean sea: Y/Ho ratio and rare earth element behaviour

This study reports the results of geochemical investigations carried out in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) during the oceanographic cruise BANSIC 2000, focusing on the area around the Pantelleria Island. We evaluate the interface processes between dissolved phase and suspended particulate matter in the water columns on the basis of Y/Ho ratio and rare earth elements and yttrium distributions that are suitable to trace the occurrence of different water layers in Central Mediterranean Area. The main source of trace elements to the sea water system was recognized in the atmospheric fallout, while different scavenging mechanisms among Y and rare earth elements occur. Cation exchange at the dissolved phase-suspended media interface is driven by their external electronic configurations as monitored through the Y/Ho ratios, shape, and amplitude of the tetrad effects calculated along the water columns. The shape and amplitude of the tetrad effects in bottom waters suggest that the preferential Y scavenging from deep water layers depends on the hydrothermal activity in the seafloor. Here, Y is surface-complexed through the formation of inner-sphere complexes; Ho and other heavy rare earth elements are sorbed onto suspended particulate matter surfaces as weak outer-sphere complexes; these materials have a montmorillonite like nature; and preferential incorporation medium rare earth elements in crystal structures of biogenic carbonates is suggested by the relationship between the Eu anomaly and the nutrient contents of water masses.     

滇中经济区生态环境现状及改善对策

以滇中经济区为研究对象,探讨和分析了滇中经济区目前的土地石漠化、水土流失、水资源短缺、水体污染、矿业污染以及重金属污染的生态环境现状,并从经济、社会以及生态环境协调发展的理念,从水土保持、石漠化的治理和开发、科技推广力度、生态环境建设的执法力度以及环保教育等方面提出了滇中经济区生态环境改善的对策。     

An optimized two-step derivatization method for analyzing diethylene glycol ozonation products using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

The ozonation of hydroxyl compounds(e.g., sugars and alcohols) gives a broad range of products such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids. This study developed and optimized a two-step derivatization procedure for analyzing polar products of aldehydes and carboxylic acids from the ozonation of diethylene glycol(DEG) in a non-aqueous environment using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Experiments based on Central Composite Design with response surface methodology were carried out to evaluate the effects of derivatization variables and their interactions on the analysis. The most desirable derivatization conditions were reported, i.e., oximation was performed at room temperature overnight with the o-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl) hydroxyl amine to analyte molar ratio of 6, silylation reaction temperature of 70°C, reaction duration of 70 min, and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide volume of 12.5 μL. The applicability of this optimized procedure was verified by analyzing DEG ozonation products in an ultrafine condensation particle counter simulation system.     

1980—2014年中亚地区植被净初级生产力对气候和CO2变化的响应

中亚干旱区分布着世界80%以上的温带荒漠,受气候变化影响显著。论文首先收集实验观测数据验证了干旱区生态系统模型（AEM）,然后运用AEM开展数值模拟实验量化研究了1980—2014年中亚净初级生产力（NPP）的时空格局,评估了不同环境因子（降水、温度、CO₂）的相对贡献率及其交互效应。结果表明：过去35 a中亚干旱区年均NPP总量为1 125±129 Tg C（1 T=10¹²）或218±25 g C/m²。哈萨克斯坦北部地区年NPP值较高（349±39 g C/m²）,而南疆地区年NPP值较低（123±45 g C/m²）。1980—2014年间,中亚NPP总体呈减少趋势 [-0.71 g C/(m²·a)],南疆极端干旱区的NPP降低最为显著 [-2.05 g C/(m²·a)]。相较于1980—1984年NPP均值,在1985—2014年中亚区域NPP总体降低了118 Tg（-10%）。其中CO₂施肥效应促进NPP增加了99.7 Tg （+8%）,气温升高的正效应促进NPP增加了35.4 Tg（+2%）,而降水减少导致NPP降低了221 Tg（-18%）。研究区内9%的地区的NPP主要控制因子为温度,主要分布在天山和哈萨克斯坦北部等高纬高寒地区。降水主控区面积占整个研究区的69%,主要分布在荒漠平原特别是南疆等植被受水分限制的区域。CO₂主控区占研究区面积的20%,主要分布在天山中山带森林区和低海拔地区等水热条件好的区域。研究表明新疆南部地区是中亚的关键生态脆弱区,其生态安全面临着气候变化的挑战,但21世纪的升温不大可能因刺激自养呼吸而对中亚区域NPP造成显著影响。     

基于夜间灯光的城市居民直接碳排放及影响因素——以中原经济区为例

城市居民直接能源消耗及其碳排放对区域碳减排政策的制定具有重要影响。受统计数据缺乏与研究方法的限制,当前的研究不仅较少探讨精细空间尺度上的城市居民直接碳排放,同时也缺乏在县级尺度上对人均居民直接碳排放的影响因素进行深入分析。鉴于此,论文以中原经济区为例,通过引入夜间灯光数据,利用增强型饱和校正模型估算了网格尺度上的城市居民碳排放,并采用地理加权回归模型对其影响因素进行了分析。主要研究发现：中原经济区的碳排放总体空间特征是西北高、东南低。郑州市市辖区的城市居民直接碳排放总量位于首位,而邢台县、辉县市和襄垣县的人均碳排放较高。此外,就其影响因素来看,人均GDP、碳排放强度、第二产业比重和HDD（Heating Degree Days,热度日）均表现为正效应,城镇化率为负效应,而CDD（Cooling Degree Days,冷度日）的系数有正有负。城市居民直接碳排放的影响因素分析为中原经济区制定切实可行的区域碳排放政策提供了重要的基础理论依据。     

Sources and Delivery of Nutrients to the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico from Streams in the South‐Central United States1

Rebich, Richard A., Natalie A. Houston, Scott V. Mize, Daniel K. Pearson, Patricia B. Ging, and C. Evan Hornig, 2011. Sources and Delivery of Nutrients to the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico From Streams in the South‐Central United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(5):1061‐1086. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00583.x Abstract: SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to estimate nutrient inputs [total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)] to the northwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico from streams in the South‐Central United States (U.S.). This area included drainages of the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas‐White‐Red, and Texas‐Gulf hydrologic regions. The models were standardized to reflect nutrient sources and stream conditions during 2002. Model predictions of nutrient loads (mass per time) and yields (mass per area per time) generally were greatest in streams in the eastern part of the region and along reaches near the Texas and Louisiana shoreline. The Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River watersheds, which drain nearly two‐thirds of the conterminous U.S., delivered the largest nutrient loads to the Gulf of Mexico, as expected. However, the three largest delivered TN yields were from the Trinity River/Galveston Bay, Calcasieu River, and Aransas River watersheds, while the three largest delivered TP yields were from the Calcasieu River, Mermentau River, and Trinity River/Galveston Bay watersheds. Model output indicated that the three largest sources of nitrogen from the region were atmospheric deposition (42%), commercial fertilizer (20%), and livestock manure (unconfined, 17%). The three largest sources of phosphorus were commercial fertilizer (28%), urban runoff (23%), and livestock manure (confined and unconfined, 23%).     

Where artisanal mines and forest meet: Socio‐economic and environmental impacts in the Congo Basin

While mineral exploitation can provide significant income and employment, it may negatively impact the environment, being ultimately detrimental to livelihoods in the long term. The consequences of mining are of concern in high value forest ecosystems such as the Sangha Tri‐National (TNS) landscape covering Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo. This paper captures the socio‐economic and environmental impacts of small‐scale mining in the TNS. Using structured questionnaires, consultations and observation, diamonds and gold were found to contribute directly to the livelihoods of at least 5% of the landscape's population. Although up to eight income‐generating strategies are used, mining contributes on average to 65% of total income and is used mainly to meet basic needs. A gold miner's average income is US$ 3.10 a day, and a diamond miner earns US$ 3.08, making them slightly wealthier than an average Cameroonian and three times wealthier than an average non‐miner in the TNS. Environmental impacts were temporary, low impact and of limited scale. However, with mining likely to increase in the near future, an increasing population and miners' low environmental awareness, measures are needed to ensure and reinforce the positive impact of artisanal mining on livelihoods and maintain its low environmental footprint in the TNS landscape.     

基于区域化过程的边缘地区发展模式——以南阳市为例

边缘地区的发展问题一直是区域研究中的重点和难点，研究其发展轨迹、机理对于促进经济相对滞后的边缘区域发展具有重要意义。以豫鄂两省交界地区的南阳地区为例，在实地调研基础上，对其处于“核心→边缘”中的区域化过程进行阐述，采用区位商和“三轴图”产业重心方〖JP2〗法对其边缘化过程进行分析，针对南阳地区实际发展状况，提出未来解决边缘化的主要发展模式：（1）“CI”区域形象设计，推行区域形象发展模式；（2）“特色农产品＋农户＋中介＋（市场）明星企业”的农业产业化模式、“特色资源+生态工业园”的工业发展模式；（3）以旅游和物流为主的交通驱动型第三产业发展模式，通过特色模式带动地区经济快速高效发展，以期为南阳地区及同类区域发展提供有益建议。