Extinction rate of discovered and undiscovered plants in Singapore

Extinction is a key issue in the assessment of global biodiversity. However, many extinction rate measures do not account for species that went extinct before they could be discovered. The highly developed island city–state of Singapore has one of the best-documented tropical floras in the world. This allowed us to estimate the total rate of floristic extinctions in Singapore since 1822 after accounting for sampling effort and crypto extinctions by collating herbaria records. Our database comprised 34,224 specimens from 2076 native species, of which 464 species (22%) were considered nationally extinct. We assumed that undiscovered species had the same annual per-species extinction rates as discovered species and that no undiscovered species remained extant. With classical and Bayesian algorithms, we estimated that 304 (95% confidence interval, 213–414) and 412 (95% credible interval, 313–534) additional species went extinct before they could be discovered, respectively; corresponding total extinction rate estimates were 32% and 35% (range 30–38%). We detected violations of our 2 assumptions that could cause our extinction estimates, particularly the absolute numbers, to be biased downward. Thus, our estimates should be treated as lower bounds. Our results illustrate the possible magnitudes of plant extirpations that can be expected in the tropics as development continues.     

Nutrient budgets: sustainability assessment of rainfed lowland rice-based systems in northeast Thailand

In northeast Thailand, the sustainability of rainfed lowland rice-based systems, the dominant land-use system (LUS) in the region, is a concern for the welfare of the population in this relatively poor region. Poor soil fertility and low inputs are seen as major causes of this lack of sustainability. In this context, the assessment of nutrient budgets is seen as a powerful tool for the assessment of critical components of the sustainability of this particular LUS. Biophysical, socioeconomic, and management-related data on the farming systems were collected for 30 farms in Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeast Thailand. A relational database system (RDBS) was developed to manage and analyze the data. The RDBS includes a calculation procedure for the semi-automatic generation of partial nutrient balances. Partial nutrient balances are good indicators for some critical components of sustainability, and important for decision support on soil fertility management when considered with the additional factors that are required for a full nutrient balance.For the rice-based systems of 30 farms, mean partial balances were 12 kg N ha⁻¹, 8 kg P ha⁻¹, and 7 kg K ha⁻¹ per year. Large variations in partial N, P, and K balances exist among different farms and, even more so, for different land utilization types (LUTs). The LUTs are distinct cropping system–management combinations that occur down to the subfield level. Many of the partial balances assessed were negative.Farmers manage nutrients for similar parcels of land in very different ways. This results in the observed large variation in partial nutrient balances, even for the same type of land use within the same farm. These results confirm the high inter-farm and intra-farm variability for partial balances of N, P, and K of several preliminary studies. Farmer interviews and field surveys revealed that different socioeconomic factors appear to be related with inter- and intra-farm variability in nutrient budgets. In addition, the socioeconomic component of the case study revealed that diversification of income sources, particularly off-farm employment, had a larger impact on household income than rice production. Furthermore, while many less well-off households had a greater reliance on rice production, many farms with high off-farm and non-rice farm income had a higher total production of rice.The nutrient balance approach, starting with partial nutrient balances, may become an important component of a dynamic and site-specific decision support tool (DST) for nutrient management, and a relational database of the form used in this study may become a key element.     

Human Settlements on the Northern Shores of Lake Aral and Water Level Changes

The shore of Lake Aral in Kazakhstan is a perfect area for studying the human adaptation strategy to past climate changes. New archaeological material, gathered along the northern shores during the expedition of the INTAS project CLIMAN, is briefly presented. Changes in settlement activity during the Atlantic and Subboreal are related to lake level changes of the Aral Sea. A previ-ously proposed lake level maximum needs to be revised. In particular the lake level stand at 72/73 m, with an assumed age of 5000 BP is definitely refused. Based on the presented data the maximum lake level most probably never reached beyond 57/58 mean average sea level (masl). Furthermore the regression during the 15^th–16^th centuries has been underestimated. It may have been lower than the present day level. Thus the present desiccation of the Aral Sea is historically not unique, as a similar regression, probably induced by man as well, has occurred at least once during history. A readjustment of the water level is, therefore, possible at any time.     

Regional-specific emission inventory for NH3, N2O, and CH4 via animal farming in South, Southeast, and East Asia

Ammonia, nitrous oxide, and methane emission from animal farming of South, Southeast, and East Asia, in 2000, was estimated at about 4.7 Tg NH₃–N, 0.51 Tg N₂O–N, and 29.9 Tg CH₄, respectively, using the FAO database and countries’ statistic databases as activity data, and emission factors taking account of regional characteristics. Most of these atmospheric components, up to 60–80%, were produced in China and India. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, which were large source countries next to China and India, contributed more than a few percent of total emission of each atmospheric component. The largest emission livestock were cattle whose contribution was considerably high in South, Southeast, and East Asia; more than one-fourth of ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions: more than half of methane emission. The other major livestock for nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions were pigs. For methane emission, buffaloes were second source livestock. To provide spatial distributions of these gases, the emissions of county and district level were allocated into each 0.5° grid by means of the weighting by high-resolution land cover datasets. The regions with considerable high emissions of all components were able to be found at the Ganges delta and the Yellow River basin. The spatial distributions for ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions were similar but had a substantial difference from methane distribution.     

亚洲地区环境监测实验室精度调查

为了解亚洲各国环境监测实验室监测分析数据的精度现状,提高实验室的监测技术水平,同时为了编制“亚洲地区环境监测实验室精度管理手册”提供依据,日本JICA（日本国际协力团）在亚洲开展了精度调查工作。文章报导了我国有关的33个环境监测实验室参加该精度调查的内容,和本次精度调查的结果及影响数据质量的因素分析,并与亚洲其它国家精度调查结果进行了比较。     

Effects of Oil‐Palm Plantations on Diversity of Tropical Anurans

Agriculturally altered vegetation, especially oil‐palm plantations, is rapidly increasing in Southeast Asia. Low species diversity is associated with this commodity, but data on anuran diversity in oil‐palm plantations are lacking. We investigated how anuran biological diversity differs between forest and oil‐palm plantation, and whether observed differences in biological diversity of these areas is linked to specific environmental factors. We hypothesized that biological diversity is lower in plantations and that plantations support a larger proportion of disturbance‐tolerant species than forest. We compared species richness, abundance, and community composition between plantation and forest areas and between site types within plantation and forest (forest stream vs. plantation stream, forest riparian vs. plantation riparian, forest terrestrial vs. plantation terrestrial). Not all measures of biological diversity differed between oil‐palm plantations and secondary forest sites. Anuran community composition, however, differed greatly between forest and plantation, and communities of anurans in plantations contained species that prosper in disturbed areas. Although plantations supported large numbers of breeding anurans, we concluded the community consisted of common species that were of little conservation concern (commonly found species include Fejervarya limnocharis, Microhyla heymonsi, and Hylarana erythrea). We believe that with a number of management interventions, oil‐palm plantations can provide habitat for species that dwell in secondary forests. Efectos de las Plantaciones de Palma de Aceite sobre la Diversidad de Anuros Tropicales Faruk et al.     

重庆近48年来高温天气气候特征及其环流形势

利用重庆23个气象观测站1960~2007年逐日最高气温观测资料，NCEP/NCAR再分析数据集中的高度场格点资料，运用EOF、REOF等方法，探讨重庆高温日数的空间分布特征，并对多高温天气的2006年和少高温天气年7~8月的环流特征进行了分析。结果表明：重庆高温天气主要出现在7~8月份，高温日数具有显著的年代际和区域性差异，20世纪70年代最多，80年代最少，沿长江、乌江为高温多发带。一致性异常分布是重庆高温日数的最主要空间模态；高温日数的异常空间分布可分为以下3个关键区：重庆中西部、重庆东南部、重庆东北部。乌拉尔山至鄂霍次克海地区阻塞高压偏弱，东亚大槽偏浅；100 hPa 高空南亚高压偏东,500 hPa 高空副高偏北偏西，形成一种上高下高的叠加形势是重庆7~8月出现多高温天气的主要原因。     

Water security: Old concepts,new package,what value?

“Water security” has come to infiltrate prominent discourse in the international water and development community, and achieving it is often viewed as a new water sector target. Despite the elevated status that the concept has increasingly acquired, understandings of the term are murky and quantification is rare. To promote a more tangible understanding of the concept, this paper develops an index for evaluating water security at a country level. The index is comprised of indicators in five components considered to be critical to the concept: (i) basic needs; (ii) agricultural production; (iii) the environment; (iv) risk management; and (v) independence. Achieving water security in these components can be considered necessary but insufficient criteria to measure the achievement of security in related areas such as health, livelihoods, and industry. After populating indicators with data from Asia‐Pacific countries, results are interpreted and the viability of methods is discussed. This effort comprises an important first step for quantifying and assessing water security across countries, which should spur more concrete understanding of the term and discussion of its added value.     

Levels and profiles of long-chain perfluorinated carboxylic acids in human breast milk and infant formulas in East Asia

In this study, 90 human breast milk samples collected from Japan, Korea, and China were analyzed for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (C8), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (C9), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (C10), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) (C11), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) (C12), and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA) (C13). In addition, infant formulas (n = 9) obtained from retail stores in China and Japan were analyzed. PFOA was the predominant compound and was detected in more than 60% of samples in all three countries. The PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, and PFUnDA levels in Japan were significantly higher than those in Korea and China (p < 0.05). The PFTrDA level was highest in Korea (p < 0.05). The median PFOA concentrations were 89 pg mL⁻¹ (48% of total perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) (C8-C13)) in Japan, 62 pg mL⁻¹ (54%) in Korea, and 51 pg mL⁻¹ (61%) in China. The remaining ∑PFCAs (C9-C13) were 95 pg mL⁻¹ in Japan, 52 pg mL⁻¹ in Korea, and 33 pg mL⁻¹ in China. Among the long-chain PFCAs, odd-numbered PFCAs were more frequently detected than even-numbered PFCAs, except for PFDA in Japan. There were no evident correlations between the mother’s demographic factors and the PFCA concentrations. PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA were frequently detected in both Japan and China, but there were no significant differences between the two countries. The total PFCA concentrations in the infant formulas were lower than those in the breast milk samples in Japan (p < 0.05), but not in China (p > 0.05). In conclusion, various PFCAs were detected in human breast milk samples from East Asian countries.     

Conservation Biology in Asia: the Major Policy Challenges

Abstract:  With about half the world's human population and booming economies, Asia faces numerous challenges to its biodiversity. The Asia Section of the Society for Conservation Biology has identified some key policy issues in which significant progress can be made. These include developing new sources of funding for forest conservation; identifying potential impacts of energy alternatives on the conservation of biodiversity; curbing the trade in endangered species of plants and animals; a special focus on the conservation of mountain biodiversity; enhancing relevant research; ensuring that conservation biology contributes to major international conventions and funding mechanisms; using conservation biology to build a better understanding of zoonotic diseases; more effectively addressing human–animal conflicts; enhancing community-based conservation; and using conservation biology to help address the pervasive water-deficit problems in much of Asia. These challenges can be met through improved regional cooperation among the relevant stakeholders .