Mowers versus growers: Riparian buffer management in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains,USA

Despite long-standing knowledge of the benefits of riparian buffers for mitigating nonpoint source pollution, many streams are unprotected by buffers. Even landowners who understand ecological values of buffers mow riparian vegetation to the streambank. Do trends in rural riparian conditions reflect the development of riparian forest science? What motivates residential riparian management actions? Using high-resolution orthoimagery, we quantified riparian conditions and trends between 1998 and 2015 in the rural upper Little Tennessee River basin in Macon County, North Carolina and explored how landowners view riparian zone management and riparian restoration programs. Buffer composition in 2015 was as follows: no buffer (32.5%), narrow (19.3%), forested (26.7%), shrub (7.2%), and intermediate (7.0%). Relative to 1998, the greatest decrease occurred in the no buffer class (−17.7%, 46 km) and the largest increases occurred in the shrub (+72.5%, 20 km) and narrow (12.6%, 14 km) classes. Forested buffer marginally increased. Semi-structured interview data suggest that landowners prioritize recreational and scenic aspects of riparian buffers over ecological functions such as filtration and bank stabilization. Riparian restoration programs might be made more enticing to non-adopters if outreach language appealed to landowner priorities, design elements demonstrated intentional management, and program managers highlighted areas where ecological goals and landowner values align.     

Traditional water bodies and ecosystem services: Empirical evidence from West Bengal,India

Traditional water harvesting systems are multi-functional in nature and provide a variety of ecosystem services that contribute to the overall wellbeing of local people. This study aims to identify and analyze the factors influencing the variations in the level of awareness across households residing around three selected traditional water bodies in the Indian state of West Bengal. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression models have been used to identify and analyze the determinants of household perception on ecosystem services from tank water bodies. Results show that while a majority of households have strong perceptions on the provisioning and cultural ecosystem services of the tanks, the household perceptions on regulating and supporting services of the tank is found to be relatively weak. Households belonging to lower caste and poor are likely to be more dependent on ecosystem services from tanks than upper caste and rich households, and hence they have better perceptions of provisioning ecosystem services. Households’ awareness about provisioning ecosystem services is negatively related to their level of education and wealth. It is observed that household awareness about regulating and supporting ecosystem services is positively associated with the level of education of the households, ownership of tube well and private tanks. While it is essential to consider household perception on all the ecosystem services for sustainable use and management of traditional water harvesting systems, incorporating the local norms, customs and preferences in policy design are critical for achieving effective conservation outcomes.     

Numerical simulation of far-field blast loads arising from large TNT equivalent explosives

Large TNT equivalent explosions usually arise from accidents occurring during the transportation, storage, and manufacturing of chemicals relevant to process industries. The blast wave generated by the explosion will spread and interact with the surrounding factories and storehouses, damaging the building structures within several kilometers and causing significant casualties and property losses. This study aims to develop an efficient numerical simulation method to predict blast loads to estimate the consequences of accidents involving far-field free air bursts or surface burst explosions. Before its interaction with the interested target, a blast wave is generated in the numerical model by specifying the initial and boundary conditions of the disturbed air. Based on empirical data of incident overpressure, an explicit formula to calculate the air particle velocity is derived from the governing equations of a perfect inviscid gas. A simplified path line method is proposed to calculate the air density. The proposed method is applied to the LS-DYNA CESE solver to simulate the blast loads on building structures in the far field. Validations against empirical data and experiments indicate that the proposed method is sufficiently accurate for engineering applications and, through a case study, presents a more efficient performance than the LOAD_BLAST_ENHANCED (LBE) and mapping methods.     

A strategy for wildlife management in depopulating rural areas of Japan

Former ranges of wild animals have been reestablished in many developed countries. However, this reestablishment has led to increasing human–wildlife conflict in agroforest ecosystems. In Japan, human–wildlife conflict, such as crop raiding by and ecological impacts of wild ungulates and primates, is a serious problem in depopulated rural areas due to these animal range expansions and increased abundances. Japan's human population is predicted to decline by 24% by 2050, and approximately 20% of agricultural settlements will become completely depopulated. In this scenario, anthropogenic pressures on wildlife (e.g., hunting and habitat alteration) will continue to decrease and human–wildlife conflict will increase due to increasing wildlife recovery. Japan's local governments plan to slow range recovery, prevent species reestablishment, or remove recolonizing large mammals through lethal control. This strategy, however, is not cost-effective, and workforce shortages in depopulated communities make it infeasible. Moreover, the suppression of wildlife prevents the recovery of ecological functions and thus would degrade regional biodiversity. The declining pressure on wildlife that accompanies human depopulation will prevent the restoration of any past states of human–wildlife interaction. We suggest human-used areas in rural landscapes be aggregated in compact cities and that in transition zones between human settlements and depopulated lands that land-sharing approaches be applied. Concentrating management efforts in compact cities may effectively decrease human–wildlife conflict, rather than intensifying human pressures. Reforestation of depopulated lands may lead to recovery of wildlife habitats, their ecosystem functions, and regional biodiversity due to minimization of negative anthropogenic effects (land-sparing approach). Balancing resolution of human–wildlife conflict and ecological rewilding could become a new, challenging task for regional wildlife managers.     

阴角邻面火灾作用下L型钢管混凝土柱耐火极限研究

运用有限元软件ABAQUS计算L形带肋钢管混凝土柱阴角相邻两面受火全过程下的耐火极限,分析了阴角邻面受火方式下构件内部温度场和应力场的变化规律,在此基础上分析荷载比、宽厚比、计算长度、加劲肋纵向间距、荷载偏心率、荷载角等参数对耐火极限的影响规律。数据表明:荷载比、计算长度对构件耐火极限影响较大,随着荷载比和计算长度的增大,耐火极限基本呈线性下降;加劲肋间距对构件耐火性能影响较小;由于L形柱的特殊形式,偏心荷载对耐火极限的影响规律较复杂,荷载作用点偏向低温区可以提高耐火极限。     

化学环境下的应力-渗流耦合对尾 矿库稳定性影响试验

通过扫描电镜（FE-SEM）、能谱分析（EDX）、X射线衍射（XRD）、LMS-30激光粒度分析等室内试验探究了尾矿库内存在的酸、碱离子对尾矿颗粒的沉降、微观形貌、物质组成以及粒径级配的影响；建立酸、碱影响下的孔隙比与渗透系数的数学关系模型，并将建立的模型用来表征尾矿库内的应力渗-流场两场耦合机制，实现代入有限元计算软件的目的。结果表明:化学因素的存在影响着尾矿颗粒的多项性状，酸性环境下尾矿颗粒发生溶蚀，部分金属元素流失；碱性环境下尾矿颗粒间生成胶结物质，孔隙出现以含氢氧化铁为主的絮状、团簇状堵塞物，改变了渗流速度；尾矿库内浸润线高度在碱性、中性、酸性环境下依次降低，而渗流速度依次升高。     

CO2和ABC干粉灭火剂扑灭火旋风火焰实验对比分析

为了分析2种灭火剂扑灭火旋风效果，采用实验室自制装置生成稳定的火旋风火焰，喷射CO₂或ABC干粉灭火剂，获取火焰温度场及光电信号数据。研究结果表明:在CO₂灭火剂或ABC干粉灭火剂作用下火旋风火焰温度场呈“下凹”型指数衰减；受灭火剂喷射位置影响，火焰根部、中部及顶端不同区域的灭火剂影响系数不同；基于火焰降温速率和光信号变化，相较于CO₂灭火剂，对火焰起抑制作用的ABC干粉灭火剂降温效率更高、扑灭效果更好。     

基于生态系统服务供需的雄安新区生态安全格局构建

生态安全格局构建是保障区域生态安全的关键。沿用“源地识别—阻力面构建—廊道提取”的生态安全格局构建模式，选取粮食供给、产水量、土壤保持、固碳释氧和生境维持5项生态系统服务供给指标，以及人口密度、地均GDP和土地利用程度3项生态系统服务需求指标，综合生态系统服务供需2方面识别重要生态源地，利用夜间灯光强度进行基本阻力面修正，采用最小累积阻力模型进行生态廊道提取，构建出雄安新区生态安全格局。研究表明:新区生态源地总面积约48433 km2，占新区土地总面积的313%，主要分布于新区西北部旱地和东南部水域；新区生态阻力系数空间分布较为破碎，大部分区域阻力值较低，间或分布高阻力值；新区生态廊道总长度18586 km，呈“Y”字型沿建设用地和水系分布，所处地类主要为旱地。基于生态系统服务供需的生态安全格局构建可为新区规划建设提供参考和借鉴。     

When all life counts in conservation

Conservation science involves the collection and analysis of data. These scientific practices emerge from values that shape who and what is counted. Currently, conservation data are filtered through a value system that considers native life the only appropriate subject of conservation concern. We examined how trends in species richness, distribution, and threats change when all wildlife count by adding so-called non-native and feral populations to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and local species richness assessments. We focused on vertebrate populations with founding members taken into and out of Australia by humans (i.e., migrants). We identified 87 immigrant and 47 emigrant vertebrate species. Formal conservation accounts underestimated global ranges by an average of 30% for immigrants and 7% for emigrants; immigrations surpassed extinctions in Australia by 52 species; migrants were disproportionately threatened (33% of immigrants and 29% of emigrants were threatened or decreasing in their native ranges); and incorporating migrant populations into risk assessments reduced global threat statuses for 15 of 18 species. Australian policies defined most immigrants as pests (76%), and conservation was the most commonly stated motivation for targeting these species in killing programs (37% of immigrants). Inclusive biodiversity data open space for dialogue on the ethical and empirical assumptions underlying conservation science.     

隧道竖井外流场模拟及风塔外型结构优化研究

为提高长大隧道施工及运营通风过程中竖井通风效率，实现隧道节能通风。依托实际隧道工程，基于Fluent软件，选用RNG k-ε湍流模型，对无竖井风塔、圆柱风塔、矩形风塔和凸台状风塔4种结构、不同环境风速工况下的流场进行数值模拟，并对模拟结果进行交叉比对分析，提出最优化的竖井风塔结构形式。研究结果表明:采用风塔结构竖井出流量要远大于无风塔结构竖井出流量；对于不同竖井风塔外型结构，竖井出流量与环境风速关系呈多项式函数；当倾斜角为45°、圆心角为90°时，凸台结构对应竖井出流量最大，且受环境风影响波动较小，通风稳定性较好。建议竖井出口结构选用矩形或凸台状，实现对环境风的高效利用，提高竖井通风效率。