Efficacy-based and normative interventions for facilitating the diffusion of conservation behavior through social networks

Research suggests that encouraging motivated residents to reach out to others in their social network is an effective strategy for increasing the scale and speed of conservation action adoption. However, little is known about how to effectively encourage large numbers of residents to reach out to others about conservation causes. We examined the influence of normative and efficacy-based messaging at motivating residents to engage in and to encourage others to participate in native plant gardening in their community. To do so, we conducted a field experiment with messages on mailings and tracked native plant vouchers used. Efficacy messages tended to be more effective than normative messages at increasing residents’ willingness to reach out to others to encourage conservation action, as indicated by a several percentage point increase in native plant voucher use by residents’ friends and neighbors. Messages sometimes had different impacts on residents based on past behaviors and perceptions related to native plant gardening. Among these subgroups, efficacy and combined efficacy and norm messages most effectively encouraged individual and collective actions, as indicated by increased voucher usage. Our findings suggest that interventions that build residents’ efficacy for engaging in a conservation behavior and for reaching out to others may be a promising path forward for outreach. However, given our results were significant at a false discovery rate cutoff of 0.25 but not 0.05, more experimental trials are needed to determine the robustness of these trends.     

Effects of Coastal Lighting on Foraging Behaviorof Beach Mice

Abstract:  Introduction of artificial light into wildlife habitat represents a rapidly expanding form of human encroachment, particularly in coastal systems. Light pollution alters the behavior of sea turtles during nesting; therefore, long-wavelength lights—low-pressure sodium vapor and bug lights—that minimize impacts on turtles are required for beach lighting in Florida (U.S.A.). We investigated the effects of these two kinds of lights on the foraging behavior of Santa Rosa beach mice (  Peromyscus polionotus leucocephalus ). We compared patch use and giving-up densities of mice for experimental food patches established along a gradient of artificial light in the field. Mice exploited fewer food patches near both types of artificial light than in areas with little light and harvested fewer seeds within patches near bug lights. Our results show that artificial light affects the behavior of terrestrial species in coastal areas and that light pollution deserves greater consideration in conservation planning.     

长江口没冒沙演变过程及其对水库工程的响应

研究南槽没冒沙演变规律，可以为筑库引淡蓄水工程建设提供科学依据。根据该海区近百年来各个时期的海图和20年来的实测水文泥沙等资料以及2003、2004年的现场观测数据，探讨了没冒沙的形成及形成后的演变过程。研究表明：没冒沙的形成和发育经历了局部边滩冲刷、边滩沙嘴发育和沙脊形成3个阶段；近半个世纪来，沙体中轴位置在稳定强劲的涨落潮流作用下呈现出西北—东南走向的良好的稳定性，具有潮流脊性质。而蓄淡水库工程建设将有可能使南槽成为适应进出水沙量的新型河槽。     

Use of USLE/GIS Methodology for Predicting Soil Loss in a Semiarid Agricultural Watershed

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is an erosion model to estimate average soil loss that would generally result from splash, sheet, and rill erosion from agricultural plots. Recently, use of USLE has been extended as a useful tool predicting soil losses and planning control practices in agricultural watersheds by the effective integration of the GIS-based procedures to estimate the factor values in a grid cell basis. This study was performed in the Kazan Watershed located in the central Anatolia, Turkey, to predict soil erosion risk by the USLE/GIS methodology for planning conservation measures in the site. Rain erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), and cover management factor (C) values of the model were calculated from erosivity map, soil map, and land use map of Turkey, respectively. R values were site-specifically corrected using DEM and climatic data. The topographical and hydrological effects on the soil loss were characterized by LS factor evaluated by the flow accumulation tool using DEM and watershed delineation techniques. From resulting soil loss map of the watershed, the magnitude of the soil erosion was estimated in terms of the different soil units and land uses and the most erosion-prone areas where irreversible soil losses occurred were reasonably located in the Kazan watershed. This could be very useful for deciding restoration practices to control the soil erosion of the sites to be severely influenced.     

Community evacuation following a chlorine release, Mississippi

On 7th September 1986, four miles north of Collins, Mississippi, a train transporting chlorine derailed. Two cars ruptured and gas escaped. As a result, 100 families were evacuated. To study the evacuation process, we conducted person-to-person interviews with sixty-two families staying in the evacuation center. Only 52.5% of the families received their first directive to evacuate directly from police or other officials. Delays in evacuating tended to be shorter when people were warned by the police and were told the reason for evacuating. Lack of personal transportation and preexisting health problems resulted in delays in evacuation. Concerns about evacuation included fear of looting, lack of a place to go, lack of transportation, difficulty in moving with children and elderly persons, and the need to take care of pets. One third of the interviewees reported feeling panic. Community evacuation procedures would be improved if: (1) officials contact all households directly; (2) the warning message addresses people's concerns; and (3) transportation is provided.     

人类活动对土壤环境的影响及对策

人类不合理的开发行为给土壤环境带来了沉重的负面影响，主要表现为土壤沙化、土壤侵蚀、土壤盐渍化、土壤污染等。本文以此为出发点展开讨论，分析各种现象的成因，并提出相应对策。     

新冠肺炎疫情期间我国居民洗手行为研究

直接接触和飞沫传播等方式是新型冠状病毒传播的主要途径,合理的洗手行为是切断暴露途径和降低病毒感染风险的有效防控措施,对于新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19,简称“新冠肺炎”）疫情的防控具有重要的作用.该研究于2020年2月25日—3月14日,采用电子问卷的方式调查了覆盖我国31个省（自治区、直辖市）1 728个县（区）18岁及以上的居民,收集共计8 330名成人的洗手情形及洗手时长等信息,分析不同暴露情景下的洗手行为及其影响因素.结果表明:女性、城市地区居民在洗手比例和洗手时长上均分别高于男性、农村地区居民.人群在一般暴露情景下的洗手比例较高,而对于病毒感染风险较高的暴露情景（如咳嗽或打喷嚏后、接触他人后等）的洗手率（分别为73.6%和83.9%）排名靠后,说明人群对病毒的传播途径和防护措施有待深入理解;在洗手时间上,根据WHO规定的洗手时长标准（20 s）,仅有41.7%的人群洗手时长合格（大于20 s）,城区居民洗手时长的合格率（42.0%）显著高于农村地区（39.7%）;总体上,具有外出经历的人群洗手比例较未曾外出的人群高,新冠肺炎疫情期间居住地是否存在新冠肺炎疑似和确诊病例显著影响居民的洗手行为,但是疫情最严重的地区居民的洗手时长合格率（37.2%）最低,反而疫情最轻的地区居民的洗手时长合格率（43.6%）最高,说明居民的洗手行为可能受疫情等多方面的影响.研究显示,相比于非疫情期间而言,疫情期间我国居民洗手行为发生率提高,洗手时长合格率提高,但是仍然水平偏低.应提高居民洗手行为意识,科学地执行洗手这一防护措施,相关政策制定以及个人防护应当进一步关注和重视洗手行为的防疫作用.      

基于土地利用与植被恢复情景的土壤侵蚀演变特征

基于土地利用与植被恢复情景,使用USLE和土壤风蚀方程对坝上地区水蚀和风蚀强度进行估算。结果表明：（1）2015年坝上地区风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度均值分别为8.83±5.15 t·ha^-1·a^-1、4.37±6.62 t·ha^-1·a^-1和13.22±8.18 t·ha^-1·a^-1;风蚀占总侵蚀67%,水蚀占33%。（2）土地利用调整情景下,风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度分别减少4.9%~9.9%、2.9%~8.3%和4.3%~9.3%;土地利用+植被恢复情景下,风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度则分别减少6.3%~13.8%、5.2%~16.2%和5.9%~14.3%。（3）土地调整面积与风蚀强度减少率呈对数关系,与水蚀强度减少率呈指数关系,与总侵蚀强度减少率呈线性关系（P<0.01）。本文结果可以为土壤侵蚀方程计算及区域土壤侵蚀防治提供数据参考。     

黑河中下游防风固沙功能时空变化及影响因子分析

黑河中下游是我国重要的防风固沙生态功能区,分析该区域的防风固沙功能时空变化,明确其主要的影响因子贡献,对于指导荒漠化防治、维护流域生态安全十分重要.该研究基于修正风蚀方程(revised wind erosion equation,RWEQ)、一元线性回归斜率分析、灰色关联分析和GIS技术,分析了2000—2017年黑河中下游防风固沙功能动态变化及其影响因子.结果表明:①2000—2017年,黑河中下游年均防风固沙量为3.2×109 t,年均防风固沙功能约为2.44×104 t/km2;防风固沙量总体呈增强趋势,年均增加6.67×107 t,年均变化率为1.85%.②区域防风固沙功能呈现中游较强,向下游递减的空间分布特征,防风固沙功能较高区约占研究区面积的31.54%,一般区占20.77%,较低区(北部荒漠区)占47.69%;甘肃省张掖市和嘉峪关市防风固沙功能呈增加趋势,回归方程系数(slope)为0~26.29%,占总面积的12.51%;额济纳旗东北部和甘肃省高台县中部防风固沙功能呈下降趋势,回归方程系数为-17.17%~0,占总面积的23.30%.③防风固沙功能主要影响因子中,风力因子最主要,贡献率为30.04%,其次为积雪覆盖、土壤湿度、植被覆盖,贡献率分别为24.57%、24.26%和21.13%.研究显示,防风固沙工程应综合考虑气候变化、植被覆盖、土壤特性及人类活动的复合影响,实行具有空间差异化的方案.      

基于BP神经网络的三峡库区土壤侵蚀强度模拟

降雨侵蚀力变化是一复杂过程,其变化存在一定的随机波动性,土壤侵蚀是三峡库区生态环境脆弱最主要的影响因素之一,查明库区土壤侵蚀强度的演化过程及未来趋势是库区生态文明建设过程中急需解决的关键科学问题。论文基于三峡库区1990年侵蚀降雨特征,利用BP神经网络对2010年75个站点降雨侵蚀力进行模拟、验证,预测2030年75个站点降雨侵蚀力。选取2030年预测结果中位于库区周围的27个站点,结合2030年库区自然增长、生态保护情景下土地利用模拟数据,使用RUSLE计算2030年土壤侵蚀强度。结果表明：1）2010年库区降雨侵蚀力模拟相对误差为15%,测试样本数据相对误差为14.67%,预测相对误差为19.65%,NE系数为0.85,说明BP神经网络对库区降雨侵蚀力具有良好模拟效果;2）2010年库区土壤侵蚀强度的Kappa指数为0.75,计算结果能满足模拟与预测需求;3）在土地利用不变情况下,2030年库区轻度、中度侵蚀面积均有所增加,微度及强烈以上侵蚀面积均呈减少趋势,且侵蚀强度转变中的58%来源于相邻侵蚀强度,跨侵蚀等级区的较少;4）在降雨侵蚀力不变情况下,自然增长、生态保护情景下未来土地利用变化所导致的土壤侵蚀均呈下降趋势,后者下降的趋势更为明显;5）在降雨侵蚀力及土地利用均变化的情况下,自然增长、生态保护情景下土壤侵蚀均呈下降趋势。