Local and regional variability in snow conditions in northern Finland: A reindeer herding perspective

Weather station measurements were used to force the SNOWPACK snow model and combined with reindeer herders’ experiences to study the local and regional variations in snow conditions in a Finnish reindeer herding area for the 1981–2010 period. Winter conditions varied significantly between the four selected herding districts and between open and forest environments within the districts. The highest snow depths and densities, the thicknesses of ground ice, and the lengths of snow cover period were generally found in the northernmost districts. The snow depths showed the strongest regional coherence, whereas the thicknesses of ground ice were weakly correlated among the districts. The local variation in snow depths was higher than the regional variation and limits for rare or exceptional events varied notably between different districts and environments. The results highlight that forests diversify snow and foraging conditions, e.g., ground ice rarely forms simultaneously in different environments. Sufficient and diverse forest pastures are important during the critical winter season if reindeer herding is pursued on natural grazing grounds also in the future.     

Considering science needs to deliver actionable science

Conservation practitioners, natural resource managers, and environmental stewards often seek out scientific contributions to inform decision-making. This body of science only becomes actionable when motivated by decision makers considering alternative courses of action. Many in the science community equate addressing stakeholder science needs with delivering actionable science. However, not all efforts to address science needs deliver actionable science, suggesting that the synonymous use of these two constructs (delivering actionable science and addressing science needs) is not trivial. This can be the case when such needs are conveyed by people who neglect decision makers responsible for articulating a priority management concern and for specifying how the anticipated scientific information will aid the decision-making process. We argue that the actors responsible for articulating these science needs and the process used to identify them are decisive factors in the ability to deliver actionable science, stressing the importance of examining the provenance and the determination of science needs. Guided by a desire to enhance communication and cross-literacy between scientists and decision makers, we identified categories of actors who may inappropriately declare science needs (e.g., applied scientists with and without regulatory affiliation, external influencers, reluctant decision makers, agents in place of decision makers, and boundary organization representatives). We also emphasize the importance of, and general approach to, undertaking needs assessments or gap analyses as a means to identify priority science needs. We conclude that basic stipulations to legitimize actionable science, such as the declaration of decisions of interest that motivate science needs and using a robust process to identify priority information gaps, are not always satisfied and require verification. To alleviate these shortcomings, we formulated practical suggestions for consideration by applied scientists, decision makers, research funding entities, and boundary organizations to help foster conditions that lead to science output being truly actionable.     

Efficacy of created and restored nesting sites for the conservation of colonial Laridae in the South of France

By rapidly modifying key habitat components, habitat restoration is at risk of producing attractive cues for animals without providing habitats of sufficient quality. As such, individual fitness components, such as reproduction, could be reduced and restored habitats could become ecological traps. This risk notably appears by using artificial constructions in restoration projects, yet few studies have evaluated their efficacy in a robust way. We investigated this by analyzing 154 islets that were created or restored to improve the conservation status of 7 colonial Laridae species in the South of France. From 2007 to 2016, we compared occupancy dynamics and breeding parameters of these species between the restored sites and 846 unmanaged nesting sites. We also explored species’ preference for different nesting site characteristics and their respective effect on breeding parameters. Restored nesting sites were 2–9 times as attractive as unmanaged sites for all species except the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Colonization probability was up to 100 times higher in sites already used by other species the previous year and increased with distance to the shore until >0.2 when distance was over 250 m. Abandonment probability was 29–70% lower when breeding was successful the previous year in all species except the Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis). Productivity and breeding success probability were 2 times higher on managed sites. Distance from the shore was an important attractive characteristic of artificial nesting sites in all species. Other nesting site characteristics had species-specific effects on colonization, abandonment, and breeding success. Our results indicate that managed nesting sites are successful conservation tools for colonial Laridae in the Mediterranean and do not act as ecological traps. Our study showed that testing the ecological trap hypothesis is a robust way to evaluate the success of restoration projects of breeding habitats.     

Solar energy for electricity and fuels

Solar energy conversion into electricity by photovoltaic modules is now a mature technology. We discuss the need for materials and device developments using conventional silicon and other materials, pointing to the need to use scalable materials and to reduce the energy payback time. Storage of solar energy can be achieved using the energy of light to produce a fuel. We discuss how this can be achieved in a direct process mimicking the photosynthetic processes, using synthetic organic, inorganic, or hybrid materials for light collection and catalysis. We also briefly discuss challenges and needs for large-scale implementation of direct solar fuel technologies.     

Recent Changes in Stream Flashiness and Flooding,and Effects of Flood Management in North Carolina and Virginia

The southeastern United States has undergone anthropogenic changes in landscape structure, with the potential to increase (e.g., urbanization) and decrease (e.g., reservoir construction) stream flashiness and flooding. Assessment of the outcome of such change can provide insight into the efficacy of current strategies and policies to manage water resources. We (1) examined trends in precipitation, floods, and stream flashiness and (2) assessed the relative influence of land cover and flow‐regulating features (e.g., best management practices and artificial water bodies) on stream flashiness from 1991 to 2013. We found mean annual precipitation decreased, which coincided with decreasing trends in floods. In contrast, stream flashiness, overall, showed an increasing trend during the period of study. However, upon closer examination, 20 watersheds showed stable stream flashiness, whereas 5 increased and 6 decreased in flashiness. Urban watersheds were among those that increased or decreased in flashiness. Watersheds that increased in stream flashiness gained more urban cover, lost more forested cover and had fewer best management practices installed than urban watersheds that decreased in stream flashiness. We found best management practices are more effective than artificial water bodies in regulating flashy floods. Flashiness index is a valuable and straightforward metric to characterize changes in streamflow and help to assess the efficacy of management interventions.     

潞安集团煤油循环经济园区的探索与实践

山西潞安集团充分发挥自身煤炭资源和区位发展优势，以煤的深度转化为主线，着力探索实践煤基合成油项目，延伸发展煤基多联产产业化，产出了煤基合成油，建成了煤油循环经济园区，走出一条“高碳能源，低碳利用”的循环经济之路。对潞安集团煤油循环经济园区进行全面的研究和介绍，以期为煤炭工业可持续发展提供一种全新的视角和思路。     

尿素为还原剂燃煤烟气脱硝技术的研究与应用

尿素由于运输、储存安全性较高，作为还原剂进行脱硝备受关注。从工艺原理、系统组成和工程应用等方面，对尿素制氨选择性催化还原技术（SCR）、选择性非催化还原技术（SNCR）和尿素法三种脱硝方法进行了综述。分析了不同技术运用过程存在的问题，并提出解决措施。     

应用Dot—ABC法检测植物镉金属污染

用不同浓度的氯化镉诱导黄瓜幼叶Cd—MT的产生，并应用Dot—ABC法检测了30种来自天水不同区域植物的MT含量，初步确定它们的重金属污染情况。结果表明，CA—MT浓度与环境诱导浓度呈显著正相关，Dot—ABC法检测的植物金属硫蛋白的最低含量为16mg，并初步估测了其中10种植物可能存在不同程度的重金属污染。本法具有特异、简便和灵敏的特点，可用于农产品镉金属污染的检测。     

国外建筑废弃物循环利用的经验及对我国的启示

伴随着建筑废弃物产生量的迅速增长,建筑废弃物循环利用已成为循环经济发展的重点领域。从完善的法律法规、深度循环利用方式和产业化发展等方面,对国外发达国家废弃物循环利用的经验和做法加以总结和提升,并结合我国实际,提出建立健全我国建筑废弃物法律法规体系、构筑多级循环利用模式和培育废弃物利用产业体系的几点启示,以期为我国相关部门制定建筑废弃物的相关政策制度、提高建筑废弃物的循环再利用水平提供参考和依据。     

林聪悟-直线法在基于美国混凝土规范设计中的程序实现

首先,阐述了美国ACI318-08规范中钢筋混凝土受弯、受压构件的设计原理和基本假定。与我国混凝土结构设计规范不同,ACI318-08规范是根据构件的受力破坏形态来确定名义抗压和抗弯承载力的折减系数的,相对于延性破坏,脆性破坏构件的承载力折减较多。然后,由平衡条件、平截面假定及Newton迭代格式,推导出林聪悟-直线法的计算公式。编制程序实现该算法时,须根据最大、最小配筋率的规定对迭代区域进行限定;在确定P-M相关曲线上的拐点位置的基础上,实现中性轴高度在曲线上的分段迭代。通过在曲线拐点处设置微小增量及自动调整中性轴高度等方法,解决了程序计算时可能出现的迭代发散问题。算例表明,所编制程序的计算结果具有很高的精度。