A Hierarchical Fuzzy Decision Support System for the Environmental Rehabilitation of Lake Koronia,Greece

This article presents the design of a fuzzy decision support system (DSS) for the assessment of alternative strategies proposed for the restoration of Lake Koronia, Greece. Fuzzy estimates for the critical characteristics of the possible strategies, such as feasibility, environmental impact, implementation time, and costs are evaluated and supplied to the fuzzy DSS. Different weighting factors are assigned to the critical characteristics and the proposed strategies are ordered with respect to the system responses. The best strategies are selected and their expected impact on the ecosystem is evaluated with the aid of a fuzzy model of the lake. Sensitivity analysis and simulation results have shown that the proposed fuzzy DSS can serve as a valuable tool for the selection and evaluation of appropriate management actions. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

模糊数学在矿山环境影响评价中的应用

环境质量是一个涉及多因素多层级的模糊概念,用经典数学进行环境质量评价,评判环境质量的等级只能用一个绝对判据来划分,无法处理模糊因素边界不清晰、中间过渡不分明的问题。本文应用模糊数学方法,在单环境因素模糊综合评价的基础上,进行了总体环境质量模糊综合评价的探讨,结合某区域环境实例,对其总体环境质量进行了模糊综合评价,并将评价结果与用经典数学评价结果进行了比较,比较表明,环境质量模糊评价方法较经典数学评价方法更客观更准确。     

Ecosystem management to achieve ecological sustainability: The case of South Florida

The ecosystems of South Florida are unique in the world. The defining features of the natural Everglades (large spatial scale, temporal patterns of water storage and sheetflow, and low nutrient levels) historically allowed a mosaic of habitats with characteristic animals. Massive hydrological alterations have halved the Everglades, and ecological sustainability requires fundamental changes in management.The US Man and the Biosphere Human-Dominated Systems Directorate is conducting a case study of South Florida using ecosystem management as a framework for exploring options for mutually dependent sustainability of society and the environment. A new methodology was developed to specify sustainability goals, characterize human factors affecting the ecosystem, and conduct scenario/consequence analyses to examine ecological and societal implications. South Florida has sufficient water for urban, agricultural, and ecological needs, but most water drains to the sea through the system of canals; thus, the issue is not competition for resources but storage and management of water. The goal is to reestablish the natural system for water quantity, timing, and distribution over a sufficient area to restore the essence of the Everglades.The societal sustainability in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is at risk because of soil degradation, vulnerability of sugar price supports, policies affecting Cuban sugar imports, and political/economic forces aligned against sugar production. One scenario suggested using the EAA for water storage while under private sugar production, thereby linking sustainability of the ecological system with societal sustainability. Further analyses are needed, but the US MAB project suggests achieving ecological sustainability consistent with societal sustainability may be feasible.     

Communication in Ecosystem Management: A Case Study of Cross-Disciplinary Integration in the Assessment Phase of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project

Effective communication is essential to the success of collaborative ecosystem management projects. In this paper, we investigated the dynamics of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Projects (ICBEMP) cross-disciplinary integration process in the assessment phase. Using a case study research design, we captured the rich trail of experience through conducting in-depth interviews and collecting information from internal and public documents, videos, and meetings related to the ICBEMP. Coding and analysis was facilitated by a qualitative analysis software, NVivo. Results include the range of internal perspectives on barriers and facilitators of cross-disciplinary integration in the Science Integration Team (SIT). These are arrayed in terms of discipline-based differences, organizational structures and activities, individual traits of scientists, and previous working relationships. The ICBEMP organization included a team of communication staffs (CT), and the data described the CT as a mixed group in terms of qualifications and educational backgrounds that played a major role in communication with actors external to the ICBEMP organization but a minor one in terms of internal communication. The data indicated that the CT-SIT communication was influenced by characteristics of actors and structures related to organizations and their cultures. We conclude that the ICBEMP members may not have had a sufficient level of shared understanding of central domains, such as the task at hand and ways and timing of information sharing. The paper concludes by suggesting that future ecosystem management assessment teams use qualified communications specialists to design and monitor the development of shared cognition among organization members in order to improve the effectiveness of communication and cross-disciplinary integration.     

Field bioassessments for selecting test systems to evaluate military training lands in tallgrass prairie. Ecosystem health. V

Ecosystem responses to physical or chemical stress may vary from changes in single organisms to alteration of the structure and function of the ecosystem. These responses to stress cannol be predicted exactly. Ecosystems repeatedly exposed to physical and/or chemical stress can be used to study the separate and combined environmental effects of stress. Such studies also allow the development of procedures to select test systems for the analysis of stress in ecosystems. A preliminary field survey of six military training sites at Fort Riley, Kansas, USA, was conducted to identify and verify ecological test systems for evaluating ecosystem responses to physical and/or chemical stress. Comparisons of these data with data collected concurrently from Konza Prairie Research Natural Area reference sites showed that soil microarthropods, some species of macroarthropods, small mammals, and native earthworm species were negatively affected by stress. In contrast, plant species diversity, plant foliage biomass, soil mycorrhizae, and many soil characteristics were within the boundaries of nominal variations observed on “pristine” Konza Prairie. Introduced European earthworms appeared to be positively affected by training activities. This study provided a test of systematic procedures to support impact analysis, ecological toxicology, and ecosystem risk assessments. This is paper IX in D. J. Schaeffer's “Environmental Audit” series.     

A participatory approach to ecosystem conservation: fuzzy cognitive maps and stakeholder group analysis in Uluabat Lake,Turkey

Fuzzy cognitive mapping was used to develop a participatory ecosystem management plan for Uluabat Lake, Turkey. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders belonging to six different groups. Lake pollution was the most central and most mentioned variable for stakeholders. Stakeholder groups agree that lake pollution is negatively affecting ecosystem health and thereby local economies. Thus, reducing lake pollution was chosen as the overall goal for the management plan. Possible ways to reduce lake pollution and increase ecosystem health were seen differently by the different groups. Hunters, factory managers, NGO personnel, and local people thought industry was the main cause of lake pollution, while officials from the government and local municipalities thought roads and urban development contributed the most to lake pollution. Generally the stakeholder groups did not perceive their own actions as affecting the lake as strongly as other groups thought. For example, factory managers viewed factory pollution as negatively affecting the lake but less strongly than the other groups did. According to policy option simulations, reducing lake pollution had positive effects on all variables, especially fish, birds, animal husbandry, irrigation, agriculture, and the ecological balance of the lake. Results of this analysis were used to facilitate meetings among stakeholder groups and to develop a participatory ecosystem management plan. The analysis was useful for pointing out the similarities as well as the differences among the groups. It also helped the facilitators understand the focus of each stakeholder group and enabled them to suggest activities in which each group would want to participate.     

Fuzzy decision analysis for integrated environmental vulnerability assessment of the mid-Atlantic Region

A fuzzy decision analysis method for integrating ecological indicators was developed. This was a combination of a fuzzy ranking method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The method was capable of ranking ecosystems in terms of environmental conditions and suggesting cumulative impacts across a large region. Using data on land cover, population, roads, streams, air pollution, and topography of the Mid-Atlantic region, we were able to point out areas that were in relatively poor condition and/or vulnerable to future deterioration. The method offered an easy and comprehensive way to combine the strengths of fuzzy set theory and the AHP for ecological assessment. Furthermore, the suggested method can serve as a building block for the evaluation of environmental policies.     

河流水质评价中模糊数学评价法的应用与比较

选择2005年6个典型日（1月12日、3月10目、5月10日、7月13日、9月8日和11月10日）的水质,运用两种模糊数学评价法对浙江西苕溪流域港口断面的水质进行评价并作比较。第一种数学评价法采用较为简单的单因素模糊综合评价法,另一种采用多级模糊数学评价法。评价结果表明,1月12日、3月10日和11月10日的水质达到国家Ⅰ类水质标准;而5月10目的水质相对最差。比较两种评价方法,单因素模糊综合评价法对单个因素的影响敏感,特别是超标值对最后的相对隶属度贡献大;而多级模糊评价法综合各个因素来评价现状水质,因而反映出水质的综合情况。结合港口断面的特点分析水质变差的原因,结论是：流域农业劳作带来的面源污染物质进入港口断面使得该断面在农作高峰期水质较差;同时,断面的水资源短缺问题较为严重,导致水环境容量较小,污染物较难稀释扩散。     

环境风险评价的实践与发展

环境风险评价（Environmental Risk Assessment ERA）是环境影响评价的一个重要分支,主要分析评价环境中的潜在危险。本文围绕开展ERA的必要怀、国内外ERA发展现状等方面进行了评述,在此基础上针对目前ERA工作中的不足提出了三点建议。     

A method for assessing environmental risk: A case study of Green Bay,Lake Michigan,USA

The Science Advisory Board of the US Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that risk reduction strategies become the centerpiece of environmental protection. The goal in developing such strategies is to identify opportunities for greatest reduction of ecological risks. This is a perspective that is significantly more comprehensive than the traditional focus on human health risks arising from environmental degradation. The identification of ecological risks upon which environmental protection efforts should be focused requires an ecological risk assessment methodology that is based on anthropogenic stressors affecting an ecosystem and a set of impaired use criteria. A methodology based on this concept is developed and discussed in this article. The methodology requires that risk values be assigned to each ecosystem stressor-impaired use pair that reflect the degree to which the given stressor contributes to ecosystem risk as measured by the given impaired use criterion. Once these data are available, mathematical analyses based on concepts from fuzzy set theory are performed to obtain a ranking of ecosystem stressors. The methodology has been tested by applying it to a case study involving Green Bay of Lake Michigan. A workshop was held in which 11 persons with extensive knowledge of the Green Bay ecosystem determined risk values through a group-consensus process. The analytical portion of the methodology was then used to rank the ecosystem risks (stressors) from several perspectives, including prevention management and remediation management. The overall conclusion of the workshop participants was that the fuzzy set decision model is a useful and effective methodology for differentiating environmental risk.     

Status and fuzzy comprehensive assessment of combined heavy metal and organo-chlorine pesticide pollution in the Taihu Lake region of China

The status of combined heavy metal and organo-chlorine pesticide (OCPs; i.e. HCH and DDT) pollution was investigated and the soil environmental quality of the Taihu Lake watershed, one of the most developed regions in China, was evaluated using a fuzzy comprehensive assessment. Statistical analyses showed the presence of combined pollution in the soil. At many sampling sites, heavy metal concentrations were above corresponding background values, indicating the effects of extraneous pollutants. It has been over 20 years since China banned the use of OCPs, but they can still be found in soil samples of this region. HCH levels at all investigated sites were below the Chinese Environmental Quality Standard for Soils. Fuzzy comprehensive assessment showed that the overall soil quality in this region could be categorized as class I. Nevertheless, the high coefficients of variation for levels of DDT, Cd and Hg indicated the existence of some point-source pollution. Continuous monitoring and further studies of the region are recommended to prevent pollution of farmland from these sources.     

一种改进的模糊聚类方法在大气环境质量评价中的应用

一般的模糊聚类分析方法只能解决大气污染状况的顺序问题,或只能得出此地与彼地的大气质量状况的相似程度,而不能同时确定大气质量的具体等级。本文提出的一种改进的模糊聚类分析方法解决了这一问题、该方法的主要改进在于:①以各污染因子的污染程度的分级标准值为聚类中心,待分样本与聚类中心之间的相似系数或待分样本隶属于某一类的隶属函数作为聚类函数;②相似系数设计为几何平均最小型,隶属函数设计为正态分布型。实例计算和比较表明,该方法是大气环境质量评价中的一种较好的方法。     

Incorporating Ecosystem Function Concept in Environmental Planning and Decision Making by Means of Multi-Criteria Evaluation: The Case-Study of Kalloni,Lesbos, Greece

Nature provides life-support services which do not merely constitute the basis for ecosystem integrity but also benefit human societies. The importance of such multiple outputs is often ignored or underestimated in environmental planning and decision making. The economic valuation of ecosystem functions or services has been widely used to make these benefits economically visible and thus address this deficiency. Alternatively, the relative importance of the components of ecosystem value can be identified and compared by means of multi-criteria evaluation. Hereupon, this article proposes a conceptual framework that couples ecosystem function analysis, multi criteria evaluation and social research methodologies for introducing an ecosystem function-based planning and management approach. The framework consists of five steps providing the structure of a participative decision making process which is then tested and ratified, by applying the discrete multi-criteria method NAIADE, in the Kalloni Natura 2000 site, on Lesbos, Greece. Three scenarios were developed and evaluated with regard to their impacts on the different types of ecosystem functions and the social actors’ value judgements. A conflict analysis permitted the better elaboration of the different views, outlining the coalitions formed in the local community and shaping the way towards reaching a consensus.     

Adsorption and degradation of triazophos, chlorpyrifos and their main hydrolytic metabolites in paddy soil from Chaohu Lake, China

Triazophos and chlorpyrifos are organophosphorus pesticides (OPs), and their primary hydrolytic metabolites are 1-phenyl-3-hydroxy-1,2,4-triazole (BZC) and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP). In this study, the adsorption and degradation of triazophos, chlorpyrifos, BZC and TCP were investigated in paddy soil from Chaohu Lake, China. Adsorption tests demonstrated that the adsorption of these compounds to soils could be described by the Freundlich equation. Moreover, chlorpyrifos displayed the highest affinity for adsorption, followed by triazophos, BZC and TCP. Degradation of these compounds in non-sterile soil followed first-order exponential decay kinetics, and the half-life (t(1/2)) of these contaminants ranged from 8.40 to 44.34 d. Sterilization of soil decreased the degradation rate, indicating that microorganisms played a significant role in the degradation of these compounds. The values of t(1/2) and K(oc) were fitted to obtain models that could predict the leaching potential of the contaminants from soil. Compared to their parent compounds, BZC and TCP showed high potential for leaching into groundwater. The inoculation of OPs-degrading bacterium (Diaphorobacter sp. GS-1) removed 95.38%, 100% and 100% of triazophos, chlorpyrifos and BZC in paddy soil after 21 d, respectively. The pollution risk of triazophos, chlorpyrifos and BZC could be greatly decreased by inoculating soil with Diaphorobacter sp. GS-1, which decreases the t(1/2) of the contaminants.     

A Case Study of Ecosystem Services in Urban Planning in Finland: Benefits,Rights and Responsibilities

The concept of ecosystem services is entering the agenda of land-use planning and scientists optimistically expect it to inform planners and decision-makers about the benefits that ecosystems provide. While tools and methods have been developed for mapping and valuing ecosystem services, only little attention has been paid to the practical application of the approach or its institutional preconditions and implications. We empirically analysed two urban planning processes for building residential areas in the outskirts of growing population centres in Finland. Our analysis of documents and interviews with planners focused on the benefits provided by ecosystems as well as the associated rights and responsibilities. We found that the concept ‘ecosystem service’ was not used, yet various benefits were identified. The rights of different stakeholders to ecosystem services were not explicitly identified, but many ecosystem services were perceived as public goods and particularly access to recreation was highlighted as an important justification for green areas. The results show that while the ecosystem services approach introduces new insights to land-use planning, it is still not embedded in the current practices or institutions. Operationalizing ecosystem services requires institutional adaptation, case-specific tailoring of methods, and deliberation among practitioners and stakeholders.     

基于模糊数学的贡嘎山景区燕子沟景群旅游开发项目环境质量评价

应用模糊综合评价的方法进行环境质量评价,能较传统方法提供更多信息。本文将模糊数学的方法首次应用于贡嘎山景区燕子沟景群区环境质量综合评价,选择线性模糊分布确定隶属函数,并采用标准加权法计算权重因子,以消除评价因子实测浓度的影响。分别采用两类算子模型进行评价,结果均表明评价区总体环境质量属于清洁型。     

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Environmental Dredging in South Lake,China

Environmental dredging is a primary remedial option for removal of the contaminated material from aquatic environment. Of primary concern in environmental dredging is the effectiveness of the intended sediment removal. A 5-year field monitoring study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the environmental dredging in South Lake, China. The concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphors, and heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Hg, and As) before and after dredging in sediment were determined and compared. Multiple ecological risk indices were employed to assess the contamination of heavy metals before and after dredging. Our results showed that the total phosphorus levels reduced 42% after dredging. Similar changes for Hg, Zn, As Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, and Ni were observed, with reduction percentages of 97.0, 93.1, 82.6, 63.9, 52.7, 50.1, 32.0, and 23.6, respectively, and the quality of sediment improved based on the criterion of Sediment Quality Guidelines by USEPA and contamination degree values (C_d) decreased significantly (paired t-test, p < 0.05). Unexpectedly, the TN increased 49% after dredging compared to before dredging. Findings from the study demonstrated that the environmental dredging was an effective mechanism for removal of total phosphorus and heavy metals from South Lake. Nevertheless, the dredging was ineffective to remove total nitrogen from sediment. We conclude that the reason for the observed increase in TN after dredging was likely ammonia release from the sediment impairing the dredging effectiveness.     

An Assessment of Ecosystem Risks in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

The information needed for conducting the risk assessment was provided by the participants in a 2-day workshop. The invited participants, who possessed knowledge of the St. Croix ecosystem, identified through a group-consensus process a list of stressors and a list of ecosystem values. They then assigned numerical values to each stressor-ecosystem value pair that reflected the degree to which the given stressor contributes to ecosystem risk as measured by the given ecosystem value. Based on this information, the analytical portion of the methodology was then used to rank the ecosystem risks (stressors) when examined from several different perspectives: immediate impact, time-duration, and management activities. Regardless of the perspective taken, riverway development emerged as the most significant stressor.     

跨江桥梁项目环境风险概率计算及影响因素分析

跨江大桥项目由于存在对跨越水体水环境影响的特征,故而应该就风险概率的限制因素进行深入的分析.跨江桥梁对项目区域水环境风险产生的最大可信事故是危化品在跨越水体时发生事故进而产生侧翻、坠河、泄露等引起的对水环境的影响,本次研究在对项目区域交通事故基础数据统计的基础上,计算得到了具有代表性的事故概率基数,并在综合考虑了车型比、道路线形特征、事故区域及形态比例、防护措施等各项限制因素的情况下,计算出了大桥项目发生最大可信事故的概率.