An Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of the Interior Columbia Basin

Driven by the need to replace interim direction, address recent species listings as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and break the gridlock of implementing actions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS) and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), initiated an effort to develop a scientifically-sound, ecosystem-based strategy for lands they administer in the Interior Columbia Basin. The effort included an integrated assessment of 58.3 million ha in seven states describing the Basin's current conditions and risks associated with different management strategies. The assessment provides the foundation for environmental impact statements outlining management direction for 31 million hectares of FS and BLM administered lands. The process produced a framework for ecosystem management, ecosystem component (social, economic, landscape, terrestrial, and aquatic) assessments, and estimates of ecological integrity and socioeconomic resiliency.     

Monitoring of flow field based on stable isotope geochemical characteristics in deep groundwater

As circumstances of operating and maintenance activities for landfilling and composting in Tehran metropolis differ from those of cities in developed countries, it was concluded to have an environmental impact comparison between the current solid waste management (MSW) strategies: (1) landfill, and (2) composting plus landfill. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare these scenarios for MSW in Tehran, Iran. The Eco-Indicator 99 is applied as an impact assessment method considering surplus energy, climate change, acidification, respiratory effect, carcinogenesis, ecotoxicity and ozone layer depletion points of aspects. One ton of municipal solid waste of Tehran was selected as the functional unit. According to the comparisons, the composting plus landfill scenario causes less damage to human health in comparison to landfill scenario. However, its damages to both mineral and fossil resources as well as ecosystem quality are higher than the landfill scenario. Thus, the composting plus landfill scenario had a higher environmental impact than landfill scenario. However, an integrated waste management will ultimately be the most efficient approach in terms of both environmental and economic benefits. In this paper, a cost evaluation shows that the unit cost per ton of waste for the scenarios is 15.28 and 26.40 US$, respectively. Results show landfill scenario as the preferable option both in environmental and economic aspects for Tehran in the current situation.     

A multi-scale metrics approach to forest fragmentation for Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment

Forests are becoming severely fragmented as a result of land development. South Korea has responded to changing community concerns about environmental issues. The nation has developed and is extending a broad range of tools for use in environmental management. Although legally mandated environmental compliance requirements in South Korea have been implemented to predict and evaluate the impacts of land-development projects, these legal instruments are often insufficient to assess the subsequent impact of development on the surrounding forests. It is especially difficult to examine impacts on multiple (e.g., regional and local) scales in detail. Forest configuration and size, including forest fragmentation by land development, are considered on a regional scale. Moreover, forest structure and composition, including biodiversity, are considered on a local scale in the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Recently, the government amended the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, including the SEA, EIA, and small-scale EIA, to require an integrated approach. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish an impact assessment system that minimizes the impacts of land development using an approach that is integrated across multiple scales.This study focused on forest fragmentation due to residential development and road construction sites in selected Congestion Restraint Zones (CRZs) in the Greater Seoul Area of South Korea. Based on a review of multiple-scale impacts, this paper integrates models that assess the impacts of land development on forest ecosystems. The applicability of the integrated model for assessing impacts on forest ecosystems through the SEIA process is considered.On a regional scale, it is possible to evaluate the location and size of a land-development project by considering aspects of forest fragmentation, such as the stability of the forest structure and the degree of fragmentation. On a local scale, land-development projects should consider the distances at which impacts occur in the vicinity of the forest ecosystem, and these considerations should include the impacts on forest vegetation and bird species. Impacts can be mitigated by considering the distances at which these influences occur. In particular, this paper presents an integrated environmental impact assessment system to be applied in the SEIA process. The integrated assessment system permits the assessment of the cumulative impacts of land development on multiple scales.     

我国流域水生态完整性评价方法构建

流域水生态完整性评价是指通过对水生态系统中不同水生态指标(生物和非生物)的监测以及由数学方法综合形成的综合评价指数,来反映水生态系统完整性状况。近年来,世界各国水环境管理政策发生了变化,开始强调生态保护,重视水体的生态质量。中国现行的常规理化监测指标(如COD、氨氮、BOD5)很难满足水环境管理的需求,难以全面准确地反映水环境质量变化的趋势。因此,在借鉴欧美发达国家流域水生态完整性评价方法的基础上,结合中国目前监测现状以及流域水环境管理需求,构建了包括物理生境指标、理化指标、水生生物指标在内的流域水生态完整性监测与评价方法,以期为中国流域水质目标管理技术体系的业务化运行提供可资借鉴的技术支撑,实现从单一的化学指标监测转向综合的水生态系统监测,实现流域水生态完整性的监测与评价。     

河流物理生境遥感监测研究与应用分析

简述了国内外河流物理生境监测研究进展和应用。从水生态监测体系完整性和物理生境监测手段的优缺点等方面,研究了河流物理生境遥感监测的必要性;结合我国水生态环境管理形势,介绍了河流物理生境遥感监测的应用领域;以辽河干流盘锦段为例,进行了物理生境遥感监测评估的实例分析。     

Evaluating the ecological integrity of Atlantic forest remnants by using rapid ecological assessment

The need for quick identification of priority areas for biodiversity protection makes rapid assessment methods important management tools for defining conservation strategies. An increasingly used rapid assessment method is rapid ecological assessment (REA), a fast and flexible survey directed toward selected indicator species and vegetation forms. The purpose of this study was to propose and test REA based on plant community features of the semideciduous Atlantic forest (SAF). Correlation tests were performed between data collected by REA and plant species diversity, richness, and abundance collected by conventional woody plant inventory methods. The study was conducted in 21 SAF patches in Northern Paraná State, Brazil. The phytosociological inventory was conducted along a single transect and required 2 days to complete (excluding time spent for herbarium identification), whereas REA was conducted along three to four transects per working day. REA results correlated positively with woody plant diversity, proving REA to be an efficient method for defining the conservation status of SAF fragments, but accuracy of evaluations of threats to biological integrity are relatively low. Both the selection of appropriate variables and the skill level of field staff are critical and can strongly influence REA results.     

An evaluation of alternative household solid waste treatment practices using life cycle inventory assessment mode

Waste disposal is an important part of the life cycle of a product and is associated with environmental burdens like any other life-cycle stages. In this study, an integrated assessment for solid waste treatment practices, especially household solid waste, was undertaken to evaluate the impact contribution of household solid waste treatment alternatives towards the sustainable development by using Life Cycle Inventory Assessment method. A case study has been investigated under various possible scenarios, such as (1) landfill without landfill gas recovery, (2) landfill with landfill gas recovery and flaring, (3) landfill with landfill gas recovery and electric generation, (4) composting, and (5) incineration. The evaluation utilized the Life Cycle Inventory Assessment method for multiple assessments based on various aspects, such as greenhouse gas emission/reduction, energy generation/consumption, economic benefit, investment and operating cost, and land use burden. The results showed that incineration was the most efficient alternative for greenhouse gas emission reduction, economic benefit, energy recovery, and land use reduction, although it was identified as the most expensive for investment and operating cost, while composting scenario was also an efficient alternative with quite economic benefit, low investment and operating cost, and high reduction of land use, although it was identified as existing greenhouse gas emission and no energy generation. Furthermore, the aim of this study was also to establish localized assessment methods that waste management agencies, environmental engineers, and environmental policy decision makers can use to quantify and compare the contribution to the impacts from different waste treatment options.     

Long-Term Planning of Waste Management System in the City of Regina – an Integrated Inexact Optimization Approach

In this study, an integrated solid waste management system based on inexact fuzzy-stochastic mixed integer linear programming (IFSMILP) has been applied to the long-term planning of waste management activities in the City of Regina. The model can effectively reflect dynamic, interactive, and uncertain characteristics of the solid waste management system in the city. The results have provided useful answers for the following questions: “What waste reduction goals are desired if the existing landfill's life is prolonged for 15 years?”, “What should be the waste flow allocation pattern in the city?”, “What should be done if the waste generation rate increases rapidly, while the relevant handling capacity is limited?”, and “What level of reliability will we have given the suggested waste management plan?”     

An Optimization Model for Integrated Coastal Management: Development and a Case Study Using Italy’s Comacchio Municipality

In this paper, I develop an optimization model for integrated coastal management in which decisions arise from an area-based algorithm that minimizes predicted damage caused by beach erosion and inshore flooding, while accounting for economic, social, and environmental losses. The model favors the involvement of stakeholders in coastal management, but does not use complicated assessment procedures for non-economic indicators or relative weights to combine economic, social, and environmental indicators. Instead, the integration between economic activities or properties and the environmental status and landscape is represented objectively and non-linearly by referring to initial and sustainability conditions, combined with budgetary and environmental constraints. The model successfully accounted for both human and environmental dynamics by depicting delayed effects, neighborhood externalities, and feedback effects. It calculated a single optimal value for each integrated coastal management strategy, which permitted the support of future decisions and the evaluation of past decisions. The model’s insights were based on reliable estimates, with reliability determined by calculating the confidence level. The model was successfully applied to Italy’s Comacchio coastal municipality, where it revealed the priorities for optimal beach nourishment, dune fixation, and residential and holiday housing development based on budget constraints, beach losses, flood damage, pollution impacts, and land-use constraints.     

Life cycle assessment as an analytical tool in strategic environmental assessment. Lessons learned from a case study on municipal energy planning in Sweden

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is explored as an analytical tool in strategic environmental assessment (SEA), illustrated by case where a previously developed SEA process was applied to municipal energy planning in Sweden. The process integrated decision-making tools for scenario planning, public participation and environmental assessment. This article describes the use of LCA for environmental assessment in this context, with focus on methodology and practical experiences. While LCA provides a systematic framework for the environmental assessment and a wider systems perspective than what is required in SEA, LCA cannot address all aspects of environmental impact required, and therefore needs to be complemented by other tools. The integration of LCA with tools for public participation and scenario planning posed certain methodological challenges, but provided an innovative approach to designing the scope of the environmental assessment and defining and assessing alternatives.     

Diatom Indicators of Stream and Wetland Stressors in a Risk Management Framework

Ecological risk assessment and risk management call for "state-of-the-science" methods and sound scientific assessments of ecosystem health and stressor effects. In this paper recent developments of periphyton indicators of biotic integrity and ecosystem stressors of streams and wetlands are related in a framework of ecological metrics that can be used to quantify risk assessment and risk management options. Many periphyton metrics have been employed in past assessments of water quality and a periphyton indices of biotic integrity has been applied by the state of Kentucky. In addition, the sensitivity of species composition of periphytic diatom assemblages has been shown to respond predictably to ecological stressors so that specific pH, conductivity, and total phosphorus in wetlands and streams can be inferred with weighted average indices. Inference of nutrient conditions by diatom indicators of total phosphorus is shown to have sufficient precision to be a valuable complement to one-time measurement of highly variable total phosphorus in streams. Quantitative indices of sustainability and restorability of ecosystem integrity are proposed, respectively, as the changes in ecological conditions that can occur without significant change in ecological integrity or changes that are necessary to restore ecological integrity.     

化工园区安全与环境一体化智慧监测管理

中国化工园区入驻企业日趋复杂,已有园区面临转型升级,新建园区不断涌现,园区之间竞争激烈,安全与环境隐患较大。为进一步提升化工园区的安全与环境管理水平,笔者研究工业园区安全与环境监测的技术需求、主要监测内容与信息化实现手段,提出了智慧管理的一体化解决方案。主要包括安全与环境监测、一园一档、安全生产及园区封闭化管理4个模块,概括为感知层、网络层、应用层3个层次。智慧管理方案充分利用物联网、云计算、大数据、三维倾斜GIS、数据孪生等先进信息化手段,建立智慧化的环境监督和安全生产监督体系及平台系统,可提高园区安全、环境监测预警及应对突发事件的能力。在园区新型工业化发展过程中,环安一体化、信息化建设有助于园区争夺高端产业,加快科技自主创新,促进产业转型升级,完善民生保障体系,推动园区产业高质量发展。     

Optimization of digestion parameters for analysing the total sulphur of mine tailings by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

The oxidation of sulphidic mine tailings and consequent acid generation poses challenges for the environment. Accurate and precise analysis of sulphur content is necessary for impact assessment and management of mine tailings. Here, the authors aim at developing a rapid and easy digestion procedure, which may analyse and measure the total amount of sulphur in mine tailings by using inductively coupled plasma. For evaluating effects of several variables, the researchers used a univariate (analysis of variance (ANOVA)) strategy and considered factors such as composition of the acid mixture, heating time, and refluxing device to optimize the performance. To do the experiment, the researchers have used two certified reference materials (KZK-1 and RTS-2) and samples of tailings from Musselwhite mine. ANOVA result shows that heating time is the most influencing factor on acid digestion of the reference materials whereas in case of a digestion of tailings sample, hydrochloric acid proved to be the most significant parameter. Satisfactory results between the measured and referenced values are found for all experiments. It is found that the aqua regia (1 ml HNO₃ + 3 ml HCl) digestion of 0.1 g of samples after only 40 min of heating at 95°C produced fast, safe, and accurate analytical results with a recovery of 97% for the selected reference materials.     

河流水生态环境质量评价方法研究与应用进展

河流生态质量的监测和评价是从河流生态系统健康状况的角度对河流质量进行的评价。河流生态健康的评价已经向多要素多指标综合、多种评价方法(预测模型法、生物完整性指数、多要素综合评价)、流域尺度方向发展。该文重点介绍了国外评价体系产生的背景和研究基础,分析了广泛应用的几类评价方法的特点、在不同国家和流域的应用情况以及各方法的应用前景,分析了国内开展河流生态质量评价研究的发展过程、阶段性研究进展和应用案例,并根据目前研究基础评述了我国评价体系现存问题及应用前景,为河流生态质量评价体系的建立及发展方向提供建议和参考。     

Evaluating impacts of marine governance on human communities: Testing aspects of a human impact assessment model

A human impact assessment (HIA) model was developed to guide research to understand how changes in a fishery can impact fishermen and fishing communities. Path analysis demonstrates that job satisfaction is an important variable intervening between marine governance and well-being. Individual-level variables in the demographic latent variable influence aspects of job satisfaction as well as well-being. It is variance in management that influences satisfaction with fishing which has a direct effect on well-being. In the HIA model, the three components of job satisfaction (self-actualization, income, and psycho-social) have the greatest total impact on well-being. The model also indicates complex relationships between management, fishing activity attributes, job satisfaction, and individual and social attributes. Relationships between community context and differences in job satisfaction in the Northeast and Alaska regions confirmed that these factors, also included in the HIA model, are important aspects of impact assessment. Results help to show that changes in ocean governance have impacts on the human communities who use these important resources. To anticipate and ameliorate potential impacts on human well-being as indicated by tools such as the HIA model, research needs to be accomplished to appropriately design and account for these impacts.     

THE TIGER IN THE DINING ROOM: DESIGNING AND EVALUATING INTEGRATED ASSESSMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC CHANGE

Integrated assessments (IAs) and integrated assessment models (IAMs) arerecent responses to the inter-disciplinary challenges provided by complexglobal environmental issues such as atmospheric change. This paper discussesan array of integrated assessments, providing an overview of the role of IAsas bridges or foundations for epistemic communities. Formal as well associal, political, and ethical issues are presented. As well as a definition of anIA and an IAM, different forms and approaches of current or proposed IAsare reviewed. Particular stress is laid on the need to maintain the integrity ofthe diverse components of an IA. Finally, reference is made to the need tounderstand the underlying ethical and normative concerns that have promotedthe current interest in IA.     

Geochemical behavior of heavy metals in a Zn–Pb–Cu mining area in the State of Mexico (central Mexico)

The geochemical behavior of zinc, lead and copper from sulfidic tailings in a mine site with potential to generate acidic drainage (pyrite (55%) and sphalerite (2%)) is reported in this paper. The mining area is divided in two zones, considering the topographic location of sampling points with respect to the tailings pile: (a) outer zone, out of the probable influence of acid mine drainage (AMD) pollution, and (b) inner zone, probably influenced by AMD pollution. Maximum total ions concentrations (mg/L) measured in superficial waters found were, in the outer zone: As (0.2), Cd (0.9), Fe (19), Mn (39), Pb (5.02), SO4(2-) (4650), Zn (107.67), and in the inner zone are As (0.1), Cd (0.2), Fe (88), Mn (13), Pb (6), SO4(2-) (4,880), Zn (46). The presence of these ions that exceeding the permissible maximum limits for human consume, could be associated to tailings mineralogy and acid leachates generated in tailings pile.     

An integrated environmental and health performance quantification model for pre-occupancy phase of buildings in China

To comprehensively pre-evaluate the damages to both the environment and human health due to construction activities in China, this paper presents an integrated building environmental and health performance (EHP) assessment model based on the Building Environmental Performance Analysis System (BEPAS) and the Building Health Impact Analysis System (BHIAS) models and offers a new inventory data estimation method. The new model follows the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework and the inventory analysis step involves bill of quantity (BOQ) data collection, consumption data formation, and environmental profile transformation. The consumption data are derived from engineering drawings and quotas to conduct the assessment before construction for pre-evaluation. The new model classifies building impacts into three safeguard areas: ecosystems, natural resources and human health. Thus, this model considers environmental impacts as well as damage to human wellbeing. The monetization approach, distance-to-target method and panel method are considered as optional weighting approaches. Finally, nine residential buildings of different structural types are taken as case studies to test the operability of the integrated model through application. The results indicate that the new model can effectively pre-evaluate building EHP and the structure type significantly affects the performance of residential buildings.     

Integrated Benefit Evaluation of Pedestrian Bridge

Pedestrian bridges can not only allow traffic to run more smoothly but also reduce vehicle fuel consumption and emission exhaust. Taking various factors into account is essential when making a benefit assessment for a pedestrian bridge. This paper establishes an integrated benefit evaluation method for pedestrian bridges. Factors that influence integrated benefits are classified into four categories: traffic, environment, resource, and maintenance. According to these factors, five evaluation indexes, which include vehicle delay profit and loss value (PLV), pedestrian delay PLV, exhaust emission PLV, fuel consumption PLV, and greening maintenance cost, were introduced into the benefits evaluation. Three methods were used to obtain these factors: traffic simulation, a mathematical model, and empirical values. Finally, an example is demonstrated to verify this method, and the results show that the method is reliable in practice.