Environmental benchmarks vs. ecological benchmarks for assessment and monitoring in Canada: Is there a difference?

Environmental benchmarks are widely used in Canadian environmental assessment as a standard against which to monitor air or water quality in response to human activities in the environment. Recent work in Canada has developed the concept of ecological benchmarks as a complement to environmental benchmarks. However, implementation of ecological benchmarks may be challenging. This paper presents an analogy between ecological benchmarks and the more commonly used environmental benchmarks, as an attempt to increase understanding and use of ecological benchmarks in resource management, assessment, and monitoring. Ecological benchmarks, and their corresponding indicators, will be challenging to identify and use. However, through the use of the principles of adaptive management, effective ecological indicators and benchmarks can be established. Although it is essential that ecological benchmarks are site-specific, the analogy and general principles outlined here are applicable to assessment and monitoring in any part of the world.     

昌吉硫磺沟矿区地表沉陷区的土地整治与生态恢复

针对昌吉市硫磺沟矿区煤矿开采引起的地表沉陷及其对矿区地表及环境破坏的影响,以减轻地表沉陷危害程度、恢复矿区所在地的生态功能为目标,按照采矿区塌陷类型、塌陷坑大小及塌陷区地理环境,采用不同的土地整治与生态恢复措施,在防治和控制矿区地表沉陷引起的生态破坏及生态环境保护方面取得很好的成果与经验.     

Towards a long-term integrated monitoring programme in Europe: network design in theory and practice

Long-term integrated monitoring is an important approach forinvestigating, detecting and predicing the effects ofenvironmental changes. Currently, European freshwaters,glaciers, forests and other narural and semi-natural ecosystemsand habitats are monitored by a number of networks establishedby different organisations. However, many monitoring programmeshave a narrow focus (e.g. targeting individual ecosystems) andmost have different measurement protocols and sampling design.This has resulted in poor integration of ecosystem monitoring ata European level, leading to some overlapping of efforts and alack of harmonised data to inform policy decisions. The need fora consistent pan-European long-term integrated monitoring ofterrestrial systems programme is recognised in the scientificcommunity. However, the design of such a system can be problematic, not least because of the constraints imposed bythe need to make maximum use of existing sites and networks.Based on the outcomes of the NoLIMITS project (Networking ofLong-term Integrated Monitoring in Terrestrial Systems), thisarticle reviews issues that should be addressed in designing aprogramme based on existing monitoring sites and networks. Fourmajor design issues are considered: (i) users' requirements,(ii) the need to address multiple objectives, (iii) role ofexisting sites and (iv) operational aspects.     

evaluation of a measurement method for forest vegetation in a large-scale ecological survey

We evaluate a field method for determining species richness andcanopy cover of vascular plants for the Forest Health MonitoringProgram (FHM), an ecological survey of U.S. forests. Measurementsare taken within 12 1-m² quadrats on 1/15 ha plots in FHM.Species richness and cover are determined for four height classes(strata) within each quadrat and aggregated by stratum over the entireplot. We estimated (1) the agreement between experienced trainers andinexperienced technicians who collected the data on this survey(accuracy) and (2) the agreement among the technicians (precision) forresults on species richness and cover from 3 test plots at 3 timeintervals. The methods appear to be highly precise, although somediscrepancies with the values obtained by the trainers were found.Trainers found significantly more species in the ground stratum (0–0.6 m) and measured significantly more cover in the uppermost stratum(>4.9 m). The proportion of variation due to measurement error andtemporal variability was less than 13% for species richness (all strata)and cover (all but one stratum). This indicates that the method issuitable for monitoring changes in species richness and canopy coverfor a large-scale synoptic monitoring project such as FHM.     

基于耦合模型的安徽经济与环境协调发展分析

构建了经济发展与生态环境评价指标体系，选用耦合协调度模型计算2010—2019年安徽省不同区域经济发展与生态环境的耦合协调度，并采用灰色关联度法计算评价指标与耦合协调度的关联系数。研究结果表明：全省经济发展与生态环境的耦合协调度整体呈改善趋势，耦合协调度集中分布在0.393~0.765，基本处于良好协调或低水平协调阶段。全省不同区域的生态环境指数均大于经济发展指数。省会城市、沿江江南地区耦合协调度高于江淮之间和淮河以北地区。工业"三废"排放量、环境质量、环境污染治理力度是影响经济发展与生态环境耦合协调度的重要因素，建议通过改善这些方面进一步提升经济与环境的耦合协调度水平。     

关于"生态监测"之思考

对生态监测的目的、含义、监测内容及与环境监测的关系进行了探讨。     

monitoring bioaccumulation of contaminants in the belted kingfisher (ceryle alcyon)

The belted kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon), acommon piscivore in the eastern United States, hasbecome a common endpoint in ecological riskassessments (ERA) because of their high consumptionof potentially contaminated aquatic prey. Whilebioaccumulation data and biosurveys may be used tosupport conclusions of ERAs for kingfishers, thereare currently no published data on contaminantconcentrations in kingfishers. Additionally,methods available for collecting biological samples(e.g., feathers, eggs, food debris, etc.) fromkingfisher burrows can be detrimental to thereproductive success of the birds. We present amethod for obtaining samples from burrows during orfollowing the nesting season. The method wasapplied to kingfisher burrows on the Oak RidgeReservation (ORR) in eastern Tennessee. Feathers,eggshells, and nestlings were collected from burrows and analyzed. In addition, carcasses ofthree adult kingfishers found dead on the ORR wereanalyzed. Metals and radionuclides were accumulatedby both juvenile and adult birds. Body burdens ofcadmium, lead, and cesium-137 in adult birds were belowlevels associated with toxicity. Concentrations of selenium and mercury were observed at potentiallytoxic levels. Contaminants in eggshells andnestling feathers indicate exposure, however, thereis insufficient information to evaluate thetoxicological significance of this contamination.National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp. under contract DE-AC05-96OR22464     

新疆生态环境质量综合评价研究

合适的评价指标体系对正确评价区域的生态环境质量起关键的决定性作用。本文综合前人的研究成果，应用RS和GIS技术，采用综合指数评价法，对全疆区域的生态环境质量进行评价、排序及分级，由此得出符合实际的全疆生态环境质量状况。结果表明，全疆生态环境质量总体较差，北疆生态环境质量优于南疆，北疆西部生态环境质量优于北疆东部地区。     

西藏公路建设过程中的生态保护

针对西藏独特的高原生态环境特征，分析了公路建设的生态影响，提出了不同生态系统类型的生态恢复和保护措施。     

环境伦理·生态文明·环境政策取向

环境伦理是一个伴随人类文明发展历程的社会主题。由于人类缺乏对生态文明、环境伦理、环境道德的合理吸纳,造成愈演愈烈的生态恶果。人类文明正处于历史转折点,必须对传统人类文明加以辩证之否定,融物质文明、精神文明、生态文明于一体,通过提供理性制度安排、调整利益分配格局来规范人类的道德伦理观念。