Modelling trade-offs between livestock grazing and wader conservation in a grassland agroecosystem

The objective of this study was to model the trade-offs between ecological and productive performance of a grassland agroecosystem. We developed a dynamic model linking grass dynamics controlled by livestock grazing to stochastic population dynamics of two wader bird species with high conservation value. Bird dynamics were driven by both direct and indirect effects of grazing. Viable control framework was used to predict grazing strategies ensuring production and conservation and to generate the whole trade-off curve between ecological and productive performance. Bird population size was used as an indicator of ecological performance and the total number of grazing days defined productive performance. Model results show that conciliating ecological and productive performance implies a temporal shift in grazing sequences. The best ecological performance was obtained at intermediate levels of productive performance. Without grazing or with too low a grazing intensity, it was not possible to maintain any of the bird populations due to the indirect effects of grazing on habitat quality. However, too high a level of grazing implied fast population decline for both populations due to direct negative effects of grazing on nest survival. Field data on current grazing regimes and grass height showed a low proportion of suitable fields in our case study area. This result indicates an antagonism between direct and indirect effects of grazing on wader birds, implying the need of very specific management of grassland. Our results illustrate the fact that European grasslands are anthropic habitats which are highly dependent on human activity. In such habitats, trade-off curves are not expected to be strictly decreasing or increasing.     

Simple rules for ranking and optimally managing metapopulations

We present two ‘rules of thumb’ for metapopulation management. The first identifies an explicit formula for the persistence time of the population, and thus enables the population manager to form a priority species ranking by identifying those species most at risk of extinction. The second identifies an optimal management strategy that gives direction on how to alter the colonisation rate (creation or improvement of habitat corridors) and local extinction rate (restoring habitat quality or expanding habitat) in order to maximise the persistence time under a budgetary constraint. We employ a simple stochastic version of Levins (1969) metapopulation model, which is first calibrated to a more realistic spatial model. Our rules are tested on computer-generated patch networks and a model for malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) in the Bakara region of South Australia.     

Levels of community participation and satisfaction with decentralized wildlife management in Idodi-Pawaga Wildlife Management Area,Tanzania

Participatory approaches to conservation are viewed as a plausible alternative to the old ‘fortress conservation’ approach. The design and implementation of these approaches in developing countries have tended to embrace community participation through decentralized governance mechanisms in the past three decades. However, sustainable conservation approaches that maintain community livelihoods while conserving biodiversity are challenged with meeting both objectives. In addressing this challenge, little attention has been given to an empirical analysis of community’s satisfaction levels on how they participated in the design and implementation of this approach. In this article, we use a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative data to examine levels of satisfaction and participation of local communities in the Idodi-Pawaga Wildlife Management Area (WMA), south-western Tanzania. We find that social economic factors (e.g. age, household size, gender, number of years living in the same location and participation/non-participation) influence, in different ways, the satisfaction levels of community’s participation towards the WMA creation. Due to inadequate participation, we find that the WMA design and implementation process failed from the beginning to actively involve the local communities and this has resulted in the near absence of the promised economic benefits from wildlife conservation. We suggest that participation should go beyond the simple information sharing to actively engage the local communities in key planning activities from the beginning of any WMA programme. It is also important to take into consideration their levels of satisfaction with the process of decision-making if meaningful decentralized governance is to be achieved.     

Current state and future perspectives of sewer networks in urban China

Sewer network construction is insufficient in China currently. The management for sewer network is very disordered in China. Maintenance is far from enough for current sewer networks in China. China’s top priority for sewer networks is to elevate its overall performance. The new technical route is an optimal option for sewer maintenance in China. Chinese authorities and the public have largely ignored sewer networks; however, various problems are emerging nationwide with the increase construction of new sewers. The current state of sewer network construction, administration, and maintenance in China is comprehensively reviewed in this study. Serving about 444 million people, 511,200 km of sewer lines are located in urban areas. In 2014, $7 billion was invested in sewer network construction. However, both the sewer pervasion rate and the per capita sewer length were significantly lower than those in developed countries. Sewer administrative agencies in local governments are uncoordinated. Laws, regulations, and standards are incomplete, and some practices are unscientific. The future situation of sewer maintenance is extremely grim because sewer corrosion control measures have not been launched. Moreover, inspection and rehabilitation chiefly rely on traditional approaches. In contrast, the overall market share of innovative technologies is very low owing to high cost, funds shortage, and technical limitations. Approaches such as liner inversion cured-in-place pipe, pull-in ultraviolet light cured liners, and spiral wound lining are applied mostly in economically developed regions. According to status and problem analyses, China’s top priority will be to conduct aggressive maintenance work in sewer networks in the future. New technical route, corrosion control - periodic visualized inspection - trenchless rehabilitation, could be the best option for future sewer maintenance in China. Instructions and opportunities for applying this technical route are discussed in detail in this study. Finally, additional factors in the development of sewer networks in China are suggested.     

我国环境与健康工作若干问题思考

简述了环境与健康的概念与工作任务、环境健康风险评估的内涵与方法,结合我国环境与健康法规标准及调查研究现状、生态环境部门环境与健康工作职能等,分析了目前我国环境与健康管理工作中存在的问题。提出,强化环境与健康工作的制度体系及技术体系,建立环境与健康综合监测体系,加强环境与健康调查研究及信息平台建设,加快建立环境健康风险管理机制以及提升公众环境与健康素养水平等方面的工作建议,为推进环境健康风险管理融入我国现有生态环境管理制度提供参考。     

Baseline requirements can hinder trades in water quality trading programs: Evidence from the Conestoga watershed

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are promoting point/nonpoint trading as a way of reducing the costs of meeting water quality goals. Farms can create offsets by implementing management practices such as conservation tillage, nutrient management and buffer strips. To be eligible to sell offsets or credits, farmers must first comply with baseline requirements. USEPA guidance recommends that the baseline for nonpoint sources be management practices that are consistent with the water quality goal. A farmer would not be able to create offsets until the minimum practice standards are met. An alternative baseline is those practices being implemented at the time the trading program starts, or when the farmer enters the program. The selection of the baseline affects the efficiency and equity of the trading program. It has major implications for which farmers benefit from trading, the cost of nonpoint source offsets, and ultimately the number of offsets that nonpoint sources can sell to regulated point sources. We use a simple model of the average profit-maximizing dairy farmer operating in the Conestoga watershed in Pennsylvania to evaluate the implications of baseline requirements on the cost and quantity of offsets that can be produced for sale in a water quality trading market, and which farmers benefit most from trading.     

北方地区城市污水厂冬季运行管理

以沈阳市北部污水处理厂5年的实际运行管理为例,阐述北方地区城市污水处理厂冬季运行时应注意的问题及对策。     

Modelling above-ground herbage mass for a wide range of grassland community types

Whereas it is recognized that management of plant diversity can be the key to reconciling production and environmental aims, most grassland models are tailored for high-value grass species. We proposed to adapt a mono-specific grass model to take into account specific features of species-rich permanent grasslands, especially over the reproductive phase. To this end, we used the concept of plant functional type (PFT), i.e. the grouping of plant species according to plant traits determined by the response of plant species to different management practices (land use and fertilization) and characterizing of agronomic properties of the corresponding species. In the model, weather and nutrient availability act upon rates of biophysical processes (radiation capture and use, plant senescence). These rates are modified over times due to PFT-specific parameters determined experimentally which represent the different strategies of plant species regarding growth. The integration of these parameters into the model made it possible to predict herbage biomass accumulation rate under different management practices for a wide range of plant communities differing in their PFT composition. The model was evaluated in two steps, first by analyzing separately the effects of PFT and an indicator of nutrient availability on herbage accumulation and then by conducting a sensitivity analysis. It was validated using two independent datasets; a cutting experiment running over the whole growing season to examine the consistency of the model outputs under different cutting regimes, and a monitoring of meadows and pastures in spring over a whole growth cycle to assess the model’s ability to reproduce growth curves. Although a good fit was observed between the simulated and observed data, the few discrepancies noticed between field data and predicted values were attributed mainly to the potential presence of non-grass species. More specifically, we noticed that nutrient (mainly nitrogen) availability is the main driver of plant growth rate, and that PFT determines the times at which this rate changes in relation to the phenological characteristics of species present. We concluded that integration of the PFT concept into the initial mono-specific growth model is especially suited to evaluating the consequences of management practices on species-rich permanent grasslands to meet feed production targets.     

淮河流域水污染防治的框架研究

1994年淮河流域发生特大水污染事件引起了各方面的极大关注。笔者介绍了淮河流域水污染的背景;指出了治理淮河流域水污染的总体框架及各组成部分之间的关系;分析了淮河流域环境问题识别评估的主要结论;归纳了强化管理能力建设,制订实施细则,调整和建设排污收费和监测系统,以及治理工程项目的研究内容。      

环境信息数据仓库建设及其相关的技术应用

阐述了环境信息数据仓库建设的需求和体系框架,介绍了环境信息数据仓库建设的关键技术和基于数据仓库的决策支持系统,列举了环境信息数据仓库在2000年2001年间对我国西部12个省、自治区和直辖市的大范围生态环境调查课题中的应用价值。