中国西南不同湿地类型水鸟多样性评价

水鸟是反映湿地生态系统健康的指标之一,对不同湿地水鸟多样性进行评价能提出有利于湿地生态系统健康良性发展的湿地管理措施,亦能更好地保护水鸟资源。为缓解近年来中国自然湿地退化和消失的问题,中国政府积极推进实施了大量修复自然湿地和新建人工湿地的工程。然而受限于人力、物力和经费,当前对自然湿地和人工湿地水鸟多样性的系统调查和评价多局限于单一地点或局部区域。因水鸟的分布具有地域性,从地域尺度进行不同湿地类型水鸟多样性评价将更为客观,公众科学数据为区域大尺度数据获取提供了可能。本研究借助中国观鸟记录中心数据,比较了2014年1月至2018年2月中国西南4省(市)自然湿地和人工湿地的水鸟物种多样性和组成相似性;结果共记录到9目19科139种水鸟,其中有94.96%的物种分布于自然湿地,67.63%的物种分布于人工湿地;各类群水鸟在自然湿地中的物种数均高于人工湿地。结果说明自然湿地在水鸟保护中具有重要栖息地功能,人工湿地能为大部分水鸟提供栖息地,但不能完全代替自然湿地。自然湿地中的湖泊湿地、河流湿地和沼泽化草甸以及人工湿地中的水库、城市人工景观水面和娱乐水面是水鸟,特别是受威胁水鸟分布的重要湿地类型;建议政府部门重点对上述湿地亚类进行合理的规划和管理。     

Using internet search behavior to assess public awareness of protected wetlands

Improving public awareness of protected wetlands facilitates sustainable wetland management, which depends on public participation. One way of gauging public interest is by tracking Internet search behavior (ISB). We assessed public awareness of issues related to protected wetland areas (PWAs) in South Korea by examining the frequencies of specific queries (PWAs, Ramsar, Upo wetland, Sunchon Bay, etc.) using relative search volumes (RSVs) obtained from an Internet search engine. RSV shows how many times a search term is used relative to a second search term during a specific period. Public awareness of PWAs changed from 2007 to 2013. Initially the majority of Internet searches were related to the most well‐known tidal and inland wetlands Sunchon Bay and Upo wetlands, which are the largest existing wetlands in Korea with the greatest historical exposure. Public awareness, as reflected in RSVs, of wetlands increased significantly following PWA designation for the wetlands in 2008, which followed the Ramsar 10th Conference of Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP10) meeting. Public interest was strongly correlated to the number of news articles in the popular media, as evidenced by the increase in Internet searches for specific wetlands and words associated with specific wetlands. Correspondingly, the number of visitors to specific wetlands increased. To increase public interest in wetlands, wetland aspects that enhance wetland conservation should be promoted by the government and enhanced via public education. Our approach can be used to gauge public awareness and participation in a wide range of conservation efforts.     

Terrestrial Buffer Zones and Wetland Conservation: A Case Study of Freshwater Turtles in a Carolina Bay

Because freshwater wetlands often support diverse and unique species assemblages, wetland loss is a primary concern in biological conservation. U. S. federal statutes protect many wetlands by deterring development within delineated borders that segregate wetland habitats from upland regions. In addition, some state and local jurisdictions mandate buffer zones that afford varying levels of protection to upland habitats adjacent to wetlands. We used geographic information system analysis to test the adequacy of federal and state wetland protection statutes by determining the degree to which protected acreage encompassed the habitats freshwater turtles needed to complete their life cycles. Two critical life-cycle stages, nesting and terrestrial hibernation, occurred exclusively beyond wetland boundaries delineated under federal guidelines. The most stringent state buffer zone insulated 44% of nest and hibernation sites. Our data indicate that the freshwater turtles examined in this study required a 275-m upland buffer zone to protect 100% of the nest and hibernation sites. Insulating 90% of the sites required a 73-m buffer zone. We suggest that the habitat needs of freshwater turtles demonstrate the dependence of wetland biodiversity on the preservation of adequate amounts of upland habitats adjacent to wetlands.     

Demographic Consequences of Terrestrial Habitat Loss for Pool‐Breeding Amphibians: Predicting Extinction Risks Associated with Inadequate Size of Buffer Zones

Abstract: Much of the biodiversity associated with isolated wetlands requires aquatic and terrestrial habitat to maintain viable populations. Current federal wetland regulations in the United States do not protect isolated wetlands or extend protection to surrounding terrestrial habitat. Consequently, some land managers, city planners, and policy makers at the state and local levels are making an effort to protect these wetland and neighboring upland habitats. Balancing human land‐use and habitat conservation is challenging, and well‐informed land‐use policy is hindered by a lack of knowledge of the specific risks of varying amounts of habitat loss. Using projections of wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) populations, we related the amount of high‐quality terrestrial habitat surrounding isolated wetlands to the decline and risk of extinction of local amphibian populations. These simulations showed that current state‐level wetland regulations protecting 30 m or less of surrounding terrestrial habitat are inadequate to support viable populations of pool‐breeding amphibians. We also found that species with different life‐history strategies responded differently to the loss and degradation of terrestrial habitat. The wood frog, with a short life span and high fecundity, was most sensitive to habitat loss and isolation, whereas the longer‐lived spotted salamander with lower fecundity was most sensitive to habitat degradation that lowered adult survival rates. Our model results demonstrate that a high probability of local amphibian population persistence requires sufficient terrestrial habitat, the maintenance of habitat quality, and connectivity among local populations. Our results emphasize the essential role of adequate terrestrial habitat to the maintenance of wetland biodiversity and ecosystem function and offer a means of quantifying the risks associated with terrestrial habitat loss and degradation.     

How economics can further the success of ecological restoration

Restoration scientists and practitioners have recently begun to include economic and social aspects in the design and investment decisions for restoration projects. With few exceptions, ecological restoration studies that include economics focus solely on evaluating costs of restoration projects. However, economic principles, tools, and instruments can be applied to a range of other factors that affect project success. We considered the relevance of applying economics to address 4 key challenges of ecological restoration: assessing social and economic benefits, estimating overall costs, project prioritization and selection, and long‐term financing of restoration programs. We found it is uncommon to consider all types of benefits (such as nonmarket values) and costs (such as transaction costs) in restoration programs. Total benefit of a restoration project can be estimated using market prices and various nonmarket valuation techniques. Total cost of a project can be estimated using methods based on property or land‐sale prices, such as hedonic pricing method and organizational surveys. Securing continuous (or long‐term) funding is also vital to accomplishing restoration goals and can be achieved by establishing synergy with existing programs, public–private partnerships, and financing through taxation.     

Effects of Landscape Composition and Wetland Fragmentation on Frog and Toad Abundance and Species Richness in Iowa and Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Abstract: Management of amphibian populations to reverse recent declines will require defining high-quality habitat for individual species or groups of species, followed by efforts to retain or restore these habitats on the landscape. We examined landscape-level habitat relationships for frogs and toads by measuring associations between relative abundance and species richness based on survey data derived from anuran calls and features of land-cover maps for Iowa and Wisconsin. The most consistent result across all anuran guilds was a negative association with the presence of urban land. Upland and wetland forests and emergent wetlands tended to be positively associated with anurans. Landscape metrics that represent edges and patch diversity also had generally positive associations, indicating that anurans benefit from a complex of habitats that include wetlands. In Iowa the most significant associations with relative abundance were the length of the edge between wetland and forest ( positive) and the presence of urban land (negative). In Wisconsin the two most significant associations with relative abundance were forest area and agricultural area ( both positive). Anurans had positive associations with agriculture in Wisconsin but not in Iowa. Remnant forest patches in agricultural landscapes may be providing refuges for some anuran species. Differences in anuran associations with deep water and permanent wetlands between the two states suggest opportunities for management action. Large-scale maps can contribute to predictive models of amphibian habitat use, but water quality and vegetation information collected from individual wetlands will likely be needed to strengthen those predictions. Landscape habitat analyses provide a framework for future experimental and intensive research on specific factors affecting the health of anurans.     

Evaluating the effects of foraging habitat restoration on shorebird reproduction: the importance of performance criteria and comparative design

Coastal development and engineering projects preclude ecosystem processes that provide habitat for beach nesting birds. Management for coastal species may depend on actions that attempt to restore important habitat features and mitigate disturbance effects. However, species response to restoration or other management actions may be difficult to predict or measure. At Jones Beach State Park, on Long Island, New York, a 0.49 ha restoration project provided moist substrate foraging habitat for breeding Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) from 2002 to 2005. We examined whether foraging habitat restoration affected Piping Plover breeding population size, productivity, and fledgling production within 300 m of the restoration site. We found a positive relationship between habitat restoration and the number of fledglings produced per year. However, foraging habitat restoration did not significantly increase the number of Plover pairs breeding at Jones Beach. Our ability to evaluate restoration effects on Plovers depended on: 1) use of multiple performance criteria; 2) a design that allowed comparison of pre- and post-restoration data; and 3) a spatial control that allowed comparison of similar areas that were near and far from the restoration site. Despite the small size of the restoration project, there were measurable benefits to Plovers, indicating that foraging habitat restoration may be an effective tool for species recovery.     

山地小微湿地生态修复探讨 ——以梁平区猎神村梯塘小微湿地为例

小微湿地是乡村景观的组成部分,是乡村重要的水土基础设施.湿地的功能已经得到广泛认同,但过去多关注大面积成片分布的沼泽、湖泊、滨海湿地及大型河流湿地等,而对于那些数量众多、分散分布的小型和微型湿地却缺少关注.2018年10月,《湿地公约》第十三届缔约方大会通过了中国政府提交的《小微湿地保护与管理决议草案》,小微湿地的保护...     

Pigou meets Mirrlees: On the irrelevance of tax distortions for the second-best Pigouvian tax

This paper extends the Mirrlees (1971) model of optimal income redistribution with optimal corrective taxes to internalize consumption externalities. Using general utility structures and exploring both linear and non-linear taxes, it is demonstrated that the optimal second-best tax on an externality-generating good should not be corrected for the marginal cost of public funds, since it equals one in the optimal tax system. In the optimum, distortions of income taxes are equal to marginal redistributional gains. If the government does not have access to a non-distortionary marginal source of finance, the marginal cost of public funds can be either larger or smaller than one depending on subjective preferences for income redistribution. The optimal second-best corrective tax is then either higher or lower than the Pigouvian level. The findings in this paper generalize and amend prior results based on representative-agent models, shedding new light on the weak double-dividend hypothesis, and on the welfare gains of recycling revenue from environmental taxes.     

Maintenance of variable responses for coping with wetland drying in freshwater turtles

Aquatic animals inhabiting temporary wetlands must respond to habitat drying either by estivating or moving to other wetlands. Using radiotelemetry and capture mark recapture, we examined factors influencing the decisions made by individuals in a population of freshwater turtles (Chelodina longicollis) in response to wetland drying in southeastern Australia. Turtles exhibited both behaviors, either remaining quiescent in terrestrial habitats for variable lengths of time (terrestrial estivation) or moving to other wetlands. Both the proportion of individuals that estivated terrestrially and the time individuals spent in terrestrial habitats increased with decreasing wetland hydroperiod and increasing distance to the nearest permanent wetland, suggesting behavioral decisions are conditional or state dependent (i.e., plastic) and influenced by local and landscape factors. Variation in the strategy or tactic chosen also increased with increasing isolation from other wetlands, suggesting that individuals differentially weigh the costs and benefits of residing terrestrially vs. those of long-distance movement; movement to other wetlands was the near universal strategy chosen when only a short distance must be traveled to permanent wetlands. The quality of temporary wetlands relative to permanent wetlands at our study site varies considerably and unpredictably with annual rainfall and with it the cost-benefit ratio of each strategy or tactic. Residency in or near temporary wetlands is more successful during wet periods due to production benefits, but movement to permanent wetlands is more successful, or least costly, during dry periods due to survival and body condition benefits. This shifting balance may maintain diversity in response of turtles to the spatial and temporal pattern in wetland quality if their response is in part genetically determined.     

湿地生态风险评价中生物完整性指数研究进展

湿地是陆地与水域之间的过渡地带,是地球上生产力最高的生态系统。湿地生态风险评价的实际应用将使人们更好地理解物理、化学和生物风险源如何影响湿地,并为湿地管理提供科学支撑,这就要求确定湿地生态健康评价指标的完整性。生物完整性指数以环境生态毒理学数据为依据,是进行生态系统健康风险评价的最有力工具。大中型无脊椎动物作为易选择的分类群,可用于湿地评估的生物完整性指数的建立,土壤动物特别是线虫类群作为湿地土壤和水环境健康评价的指示生物具有广阔前景。通过线虫分子毒理学等研究方法,可优化出生物完整性指数体系,建立扰动背景下的湿地生态风险评价模型,为湿地污染的监测、防控和修复,提供理论依据和实践方法。     

A proposed methodology for assessing the quality of wildlife habitat

Measurement of the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat is a necessity in planning and analyzing water resource projects. A methodology that provides a means of examining the following major components of habitat quality is proposed: (1) the quantity of land uses, (2) the degree of interspersion of land use, aand (3) the stage of land management and vegetative types. The model can be calibrated to a specific region by experienced wildlife biologists and applied by field technicians using aerial photographs and field evaluation of randomly located points. Biologists familiar with a region develop transformation curves relating variables that represent the above three major components to standardizing factors that range from 0 to 1; these transformation curves reflect the sensitivity of wildlife populations to determinants of habitat quality. The methodology also provides the means for biologists to weigh each components as to its relative importance to the wildlife group or species. A weighted geometric mean of the components provides an indication of the overall quality of the habitat. Changes in the habitat components that may occur because of alternative project actions can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the alternatives. The change in the index of habitat quality will indicate the need for mitigation in water resource projects. The system then can be used to identify areas for mitigation and the effects of mitigating measures.     

Relationships among Isolated Wetland Size, Hydroperiod, and Amphibian Species Richness: Implications for Wetland Regulations

Abstract: Wetland development within the United States is regulated primarily by size. Decisions concerning wetland destruction or conservation are therefore based in part on three inherent assumptions: (1) small wetlands contain water for short portions of the year; (2) small wetlands support few species; and (3) species found in small wetlands are also found in larger wetlands. We tested these assumptions using data on wetland size, relative hydroperiod (drying scores), and relative species richness of amphibians in depression wetlands of the southeastern United States. We found a significant (p = 0.03) but weak (r² = 0.05) relationship between hydroperiod and wetland size and no relationship (p = 0.48) between amphibian species richness and wetland size. Furthermore, synthetic models of lentic communities predict that short-hydroperiod wetlands support a unique group of species. Empirical investigations support this prediction. Our results indicate that hydroperiod length should be included as a primary criterion in wetland regulations. We advocate a landscape approach to wetlands regulation, focused in part on conserving a diversity of wetlands that represent the entire hydroperiod gradient.     

Simulation of cumulative effects of nearshore restoration projects on estuarine hydrodynamics

Many nearshore restoration projects are currently underway at coastal locations where human influence and development have disrupted natural habitat and coastal ecological systems. The objectives of these projects in general are to restore the lost estuarine functions to the tidal marshland. Often these projects are conducted with little understanding of the potential effects of other nearby projects within the ecosystem, and similarly, it is easy to neglect the effect of the local project on the larger estuarine scale. In this paper, a modeling study is presented to evaluate the hydrodynamic responses of multiple restoration projects and their cumulative effect in the Snohomish River estuary in Washington, USA. The concept of absolute mean tidal transport is introduced and used to measure the cumulative effect of the proposed restoration projects on the estuarine hydrodynamics. The results show that the hydrodynamic responses due to multiple restoration projects are additive in the estuary, and the effect is nonlinear. The hydrodynamic response under restoration conditions depends on the size of the restoration area and the geometric configuration of the existing river channels. Within a complex braided estuary such as the Snohomish, the influence of a specific restoration project is not only experienced locally, but also found to significantly affect tidal transport in all distributary branches within the system.     

Economic analysis of nature preservation investments: the zonal travel cost approach applied for Harghita County of Romania

The paper is focused on the cost of travel method and specific issues involved by the use of this method for monetization of benefits provided by nature preservation investment projects. Usually, nature preservation investment projects are non revenue generator projects and consequently the monetization of benefits provided is essential in the process of analysis and valuation of these projects, because benefits are the only positive effects able to counterbalance the investment costs. Therefore, the main interest and particularity of the cost-benefit analysis of nature preservation investment projects consists in identification and monetization of the benefits. In the following paper, the method of zonal travel cost is used for indicative valuation of the direct benefits of an investment project for nature preservation, in Harghita County of Romania, as an opportunity and pre-feasibility study completed before making the initial investment decision.     

Mitigation of agricultural nonpoint-source pesticide pollution in artificial wetland ecosystems

Contamination caused by pesticides in agriculture is a source of environmental poor water quality in some of the European Union countries. Without treatment or targeted mitigation, this pollution is diffused in the environment. Pesticides and some metabolites are of increasing concern because of their potential impacts on the environment, wildlife and human health. Within the context of the European Union (EU) water framework directive context to promote low pesticide-input farming and best management practices, the EU LIFE project ArtWET assessed the efficiency of ecological bioengineering methods using different artificial wetland (AW) prototypes throughout Europe. We optimized physical and biological processes to mitigate agricultural nonpoint-source pesticide pollution in artificial wetland ecosystems. Mitigation solutions were implemented at full-scale demonstration and experimental sites. We tested various bioremediation methods at seven experimental sites. These sites involved (1) experimental prototypes, such as vegetated ditches, a forest microcosm and 12 wetland mesocosms, and (2) demonstration prototypes: vegetated ditches, three detention ponds enhanced with technology of constructed wetlands, an outdoor bioreactor and a biomassbed. This set up provides a variety of hydrologic conditions, with some systems permanently flooded and others temporarily flooded. It also allowed to study the processes both in field and controlled conditions. In order to compare the efficiency of the wetlands, mass balances at the inlet and outlet of the artificial wetland will be used, taking into account the partition of the studied compound in water, sediments, plants, and suspended solids. The literature background necessary to harmonize the interdisciplinary work is reviewed here and the theoretical framework regarding pesticide removal mechanisms in artificial wetland is discussed. The development and the implementation of innovative approaches concerning various water quality sampling strategies for pesticide load estimates during flood, specific biological endpoints, innovative bioprocess applied to herbicide and copper mitigation to enhance the pesticide retention time within the artificial wetland, fate and transport using a 2D mixed hybrid finite element model are introduced. These future results will be useful to optimize hydraulic functioning, e.g., pesticide resident time, and biogeochemical conditions, e.g., dissipation, inside the artificial wetlands. Hydraulic retention times are generally too low to allow an optimized adsorption on sediment and organic materials accumulated in artificial wetlands. Absorption by plants is not either effective. The control of the hydraulic design and the use of adsorbing materials can be useful to increase the pesticides residence time and the contact between pesticides and biocatalyzers. Pesticide fluxes can be reduced by 50–80% when hydraulic pathways in artificial wetlands are optimized by increasing ten times the retention time, by recirculation of water, and by deceleration of the flow. Thus, using a bioremediation method should lead to an almost complete disappearance of pesticides pollution. To retain and treat the agricultural nonpoint-source po a major stake for a sustainable development.     

Testing wetland features to increase amphibian reproductive success and species richness for mitigation and restoration

Aquatic habitat features can directly influence the abundance, species richness, and quality of juvenile amphibians recruited into adult populations. We examined the influences of within-wetland slope, vegetation, and stocked mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) on amphibian metamorph production and species richness during the first two years post-construction at 18 experimental wetlands in northeast Missouri (U.S.A.) grasslands. We used an information theoretic approach (AICc) to rank regression models representing total amphibian metamorph production, individual amphibian species metamorph production, and larval amphibian species richness. Total amphibian metamorph production was greatest at shallow-sloped, fish-free wetlands during the first year, but shallow-sloped wetlands with high vegetation cover were best the second year. Species richness was negatively associated with fish and positively associated with vegetation in both survey years. Leopard frog (Rana blairi/sphenocephala complex) metamorph quality, based on average metamorph size, was influenced by slope and the number of cohorts in the wetland. However, the tested variables had little influence on the size of American toads (Bufo americanus) or boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata). Our results indicate that wetlands designed to act as functional reproductive habitat for amphibians should incorporate shallows, high amounts of planted or naturally established vegetation cover, and should be fish-free.     

湿地生态系统固碳潜力研究进展

固碳是湿地生态系统一项重要的服务功能。文章通过对各种类型湿地的固碳量及其潜力进行分析,发现湿地的固碳潜力要高于其他类型的生态系统,维持和恢复湿地的固碳潜力对全球碳循环具有重要的意义。如果湿地遭到破坏或转为他用,其固碳能力就会随之下降,所以保护湿地是保证湿地固碳潜力优先考虑的管理措施。此外通过对泥炭湿地、沿海湿地、森林湿地和人工湿地的恢复措施及效果的分析,发现恢复和创造湿地可以恢复并增强湿地生态系统的固碳潜力,但针对湿地碳库的固碳措施需要进一步的探索和实践。     

Amphibian Breeding Distribution in an Urbanized Landscape

Abstract:  Amphibians commonly use wetlands for breeding habitat, and given the concern about their ongoing global declines, the effects of urbanization on the breeding distribution of amphibians need to be quantified. Thus, we conducted a survey of the larval amphibian community in central Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) wetlands along an urbanization gradient. Wetlands in urban areas had less surrounding forest and wetlands and greater road density than rural wetlands. Urbanization was also associated with increases in hydroperiod (i.e., wetland permanency) and the presence of fish predators. Moreover, urban wetlands had lower larval amphibian species richness than rural wetlands. This decrease in richness was attributable to a decrease in occurrence of wood frogs ( Rana sylvatica ) and ambystomatid salamanders ( Ambystoma maculatum and A. jeffersonianum ) in urban sites. Wood frogs and ambystomatid salamanders were positively associated with the amount of forest surrounding sites and negatively associated with hydroperiod. As a result, we hypothesize that these species are sensitive to the effects of urban development. The remaining species in this study appear fairly resilient to the effects of urbanization. These data demonstrate the importance of quantifying both local and landscape attributes when describing the factors that limit the breeding distribution of amphibians. We recommend that to preserve amphibian biodiversity in urbanized landscapes, it is best to focus on regional diversity, which protects a variety of sites that encompass various hydroperiods, have adequate buffer habitat, and are connected by dispersal routes.     

Effects of urbanization and urban stream restoration on the physical and biological structure of stream ecosystems

Streams, as low-lying points in the landscape, are strongly influenced by the stormwaters, pollutants, and warming that characterize catchment urbanization. River restoration projects are an increasingly popular method for mitigating urban insults. Despite the growing frequency and high expense of urban stream restoration projects, very few projects have been evaluated to determine whether they can successfully enhance habitat structure or support the stream biota characteristic of reference sites. We compared the physical and biological structure of four urban degraded, four urban restored, and four forested streams in the Piedmont region of North Carolina to quantify the ability of reach-scale stream restoration to restore physical and biological structure to urban streams and to examine the assumption that providing habitat is sufficient for biological recovery. To be successful at mitigating urban impacts, the habitat structure and biological communities found in restored streams should be more similar to forested reference sites than to their urban degraded counterparts. For every measured reach- and patch-scale attribute, we found that restored streams were indistinguishable from their degraded urban stream counterparts. Forested streams were shallower, had greater habitat complexity and median sediment size, and contained less-tolerant communities with higher sensitive taxa richness than streams in either urban category. Because heavy machinery is used to regrade and reconfigure restored channels, restored streams had less canopy cover than either forested or urban streams. Channel habitat complexity and watershed impervious surface cover (ISC) were the best predictors of sensitive taxa richness and biotic index at the reach and catchment scale, respectively. Macroinvertebrate communities in restored channels were compositionally similar to the communities in urban degraded channels, and both were dissimilar to communities in forested streams. The macroinvertebrate communities of both restored and urban degraded streams were correlated with environmental variables characteristic of degraded urban systems. Our study suggests that reach-scale restoration is not successfully mitigating for the factors causing physical and biological degradation.