Toward an improved ecosystem based management approach: incorporating catchment characteristics into better management and planning of the Great Barrier Reef marine ecosystem

Discharge from the Great Barrier Reef Catchment (GBRC) is considered the second most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Utilising principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), this research aimed to assess the variability and co-variation of 28 water basins (WBs) within the GBRC, in order to improve the institutional arrangements and regulation of water quality and increase collaboration horizontally between management organisations, and vertically between government tiers. Water basin variability was measured by nine variables: size (ha), population, agricultural land use (ha), number of major water storages, major rivers and major towns, total nitrogen exported (T/yr), total phosphorus exported (T/yr) and herbicide use (ha). The Fitzroy WB, with PC scores of 7.0081, 2.2897 and ?1.6504, was identified as the most dissimilar and therefore needing to be managed differently. Many WBs within the same regions were very dissimilar to each other, indicating that current management practices, based largely on geographic location, are unlikely to be the most efficient and effective. Instead, managing groups of WBs with similar geo-political properties (determined by the CA) could be more effective and efficient. Coordination and collaboration are key to successful ecosystem based management, therefore managing similar WBs together through inter-NRM (natural resource management) agreements, irrespective of their geographical location, facilitates management bodies building strong, cooperative working relationships.     

Assessment of the Water Quality and Ecosystem Health of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia): Conceptual Models

Run-off containing increased concentrations of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides from land-based anthropogenic activities is a significant influence on water quality and the ecologic conditions of nearshore areas of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. The potential and actual impacts of increased pollutant concentrations range from bioaccumulation of contaminants and decreased photosynthetic capacity to major shifts in community structure and health of mangrove, coral reef, and seagrass ecosystems. A detailed conceptual model underpins and illustrates the links between the main anthropogenic pressures or threats (dry-land cattle grazing and intensive sugar cane cropping) and the production of key contaminants or stressors of Great Barrier Reef water quality. The conceptual model also includes longer-term threats to Great Barrier Reef water quality and ecosystem health, such as global climate change, that will potentially confound direct model interrelationships. The model recognises that system-specific attributes, such as monsoonal wind direction, rainfall intensity, and flood plume residence times, will act as system filters to modify the effects of any water-quality system stressor. The model also summarises key ecosystem responses in ecosystem health that can be monitored through indicators at catchment, riverine, and marine scales. Selected indicators include riverine and marine water quality, inshore coral reef and seagrass status, and biota pollutant burdens. These indicators have been adopted as components of a long-term monitoring program to enable assessment of the effectiveness of change in catchment-management practices in improving Great Barrier Reef (and adjacent catchment) water quality under the Queensland and Australian Governments’ Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.     

Changes in Forest Area Along Stream Networks in an Agricultural Catchment of the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon

Scenes from the series of multispectral sensors on the Landsat satellites were used to map recent changes (between 1972 and 2004) in forest cover within and adjacent to stream networks of an intensively farmed region of the southern Great Barrier Reef catchment (Australia). Unsupervised ISODATA classifications of Tasseled-Cap transformed data (at 57 m ground resolution) mapped forest and cleared areas within 150 m of Pisoneer catchment waterways with 72.2% overall accuracy (K(hat) = 0.469), when adjusted for the size of each class. Although the user's accuracy was higher for the forest class (82.1 +/- 8.4% at alpha = 0.05), large errors of commission (34.2 +/- 8.3%) substantially affected map accuracy for the cleared class. The main reasons for misclassification include: (1) failure to discriminate narrowly vegetated riparian strips; (2) misregistration of scenes; and (3) spectral similarity of ground cover. Error matrix probabilities were used to adjust the mapped area of classes, resulting in a decline of forest cover by 12.3% and increase of clearing by 18.5% (22.4 km(2) change; 95% confidence interval: 14.3-29.6 km(2)) between 1972 and 2004. Despite the mapping errors, Landsat data were able to identify broad patterns of land cover change that were verified from aerial photography. Most of the forest losses occurred in open forest to woodland habitat dominated by Eucalyptus, Corymbia, and Lophostemon species, which were largely replaced by sugarcane cropping. Melaleuca communities were similarly affected, though they have a much smaller distribution in the catchment.     

Influence of Social, Biophysical, and Managerial Conditions on Tourism Experiences Within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

N  = 1475) traveling with tourism operations of different sizes who traveled to different sites completed surveys. Results indicated that snorkelers who traveled with larger operations (more people and infrastructure) differed from those traveling with smaller operations (few people and little on-site infrastructure) on benefits received and in the way that specific conditions influenced their enjoyment. Benefits related to nature, escape, and family helped to define reef experiences. Conditions related to coral, fish, and operator staff had a positive influence on the enjoyment of most visitors but, number of people on the trip and site infrastructure may have the greatest potential as setting indicators. Data support the potential usefulness of visitor input in applying the LAC concept to a marine environment where tourism and recreational uses are rapidly changing.     

Implications of the ban on organotins for protection of global coastal and marine ecology

Organotin-based antifouling paints are highly effective against most fouling organisms, and their application results in a large amount of savings for the shipping industry. On the other hand, TBT (tributyltin) in antifouling paints is described as the most toxic substance ever introduced into the marine environment. Consequential environmental impacts of TBT led to its regulation in many countries, although concerns were raised regarding the complete prohibition of organotin-based compounds in antifouling paints. Serious concerns were also raised regarding the complete banning of organotins. After long deliberations, the AFS Convention (convention to control the use of harmful antifouling systems on ships) was adopted on 5 October 2001. The Convention, which prohibits the use of harmful organotins in antifouling paints used on ships, will enter into force on 17 September 2008. In view of the concerns raised against the prohibition of organotin-based compounds in antifouling paints, this paper focuses on a review of the AFS Convention, with a gap analysis on the difficulties in implementation of the Convention. It also offers some recommendations for improved policies.     

Management of traditional hunting of dugongs [Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776)] in the northern Great Barrier Reef,Australia

Some of the largest concentrations of dugongs (Dugong dugon) occur in the coastal waters of eastern Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Designation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has prompted the development of a program for management of dugong hunting by the aboriginal communities of the region. Assessment of the population by aerial surveys combined with monitoring of the aboriginal hunters' harvest suggest that the take is well below the sustainable yield. However, the reproductive rate of dugongs is so low that it will be a decade before the status of the population can be established. Therefore, a conservative management policy for dugongs is recommended while acknowledging the rights of traditional hunters. Greater participation of the aboriginal communities in the management program is sought to overcome initial misunderstandings and hostility.     

Evidence of hydrocarbon contamination from the Burgan oil field, Kuwait: interpretations from thermal remote sensing data

The paper presents the application of thermal remote sensing for mapping hydrocarbon polluted sites. This has been achieved by mono-window algorithm for land surface temperature (LST) measurements, using multi-date band 6 data of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM). The emissivity, transmittance and mean atmospheric temperature were used as critical factors to estimate LST. The changes in the surface emissivity due to oil pollution alter the apparent temperature, which was used as a recognition element to map out oil polluted surfaces. The LST contrast was successfully used to map spatial distribution of hydrocarbon pollution in the Burgan Oil field area of Kuwait. The methodology can be positively used to detect waste dumping, oil spills in oceans and ports, besides environmental management of oil pollution at or near the land surface.     

Junk-buyers as the linkage between waste sources and redemption depots in urban China: the case of Wuhan

This paper locates junk-buyers in the recycling chain that includes waste source, collection system and end-user. With increasing needs of convenience for recycling at waste sources but disappearing redemption depots in city blocks of China, junk-buyers play a role of linkage between waste sources and redemption depots. It is these door-to-door collectors who make the general public aware of cash value inside recyclable waste. Also, the motivation of getting cash back pushes junk-buyers become immediate suppliers to redemption depots. Without junk-buyers as door-to-door collectors, the current waste recovery system in post-Mao's China would brake down. However, as in other developing countries, the junk-buyer occupation in urban China currently is typically driven by economic incentives, and the door-to-door collection of recyclable waste completely falls into junk-buyer individual business. It is difficult for junk-buyers who mainly come from the countryside to establish stable relations with waste sources for lack of recognition from urban society. The appropriate allocation of individual time and space becomes crucial to conducting the door-to-door activities so as to collecting more recyclables. While the collecting territory as the condition of production is positively reflected by the usual extent of the collecting distance, junk-buyers mostly spend time in finding sellers instead of simply expanding their collecting territory. This is a typical example of the cheapest and lowest skilled labor forces being in relatively unlimited supply in a developing country.     

Assessment of contamination from arsenical pesticide use on orchards in the Great Valley region, Virginia and West Virginia, USA

Lead arsenate pesticides were widely used in apple orchards from 1925 to 1955. Soils from historic orchards in four counties in Virginia and West Virginia contained elevated concentrations of As and Pb, consistent with an arsenical pesticide source. Arsenic concentrations in approximately 50% of the orchard site soils and approximately 1% of reference site soils exceed the USEPA Preliminary Remediation Goal (PRG) screening guideline of 22 mg kg(-1) for As in residential soil, defined on the basis of combined chronic exposure risk. Approximately 5% of orchard site soils exceed the USEPA PRG for Pb of 400 mg kg(-1) in residential soil; no reference site soils sampled exceed this value. A variety of statistical methods were used to characterize the occurrence, distribution, and dispersion of arsenical pesticide residues in soils, stream sediments, and ground waters relative to landscape features and likely background conditions. Concentrations of Zn, Pb, and Cu were most strongly associated with high developed land density and population density, whereas elevated concentrations of As were weakly correlated with high orchard density, consistent with a pesticide residue source. Arsenic concentrations in ground water wells in the region are generally <0.005 mg L(-1). There was no spatial association between As concentrations in ground water and proximity to orchards. Arsenic had limited mobility into ground water from surface soils contaminated with arsenical pesticide residues at concentrations typically found in orchards.     

Experimental investigation of groundwater contamination by surface sources: Determination of adsorption capacity,diffusion, and sorption potential of selected anions in different soils

The present study investigated the fate and transport of two significant anions through soil to explore their potential as groundwater contaminants. The retention properties of chloride and sulfate in soils having several significantly different characteristics (soil‐1 and soil‐2) were determined using adsorption test and adsorption‐diffusion column experiments. The maximum adsorption capacity of chloride was 3.7 and 1.16 mg/g, respectively, in soil‐1 and soil‐2, with organic matter (OM) content of 3.92% and 4.69%, respectively. The sulfate adsorption obtained was 24.09% and 13.83%, respectively, in the two soils. The anions exhibited monolayer adsorption in the soils with replacement of hydroxyl ions from soils as the major mechanism of adsorption. On the other hand, the adsorption capacities obtained from the adsorption‐diffusion column experiment were about 100 times lower compared to that of the column tests of both of the soils. The maximum adsorption capacity of chloride was 0.03 mg/g and 0.01 mg/g, respectively, in soil‐1 and soil‐2, whereas that of sulfate was 0.04 mg/g and 0.03 mg/g. The empirical relation for depth of penetration (d) from a known spillage onto the soil surface was determined as a function of sorption capacity (S) and initial anion concentration (C) as d = 0.0073e^(?57S)C and d = 0.0038e^(?35S)C for chloride and sulfate, respectively.     

Accounting for the occupation of the marine environment as a natural resource in life cycle assessment: An exergy based approach

The human population is rising and the availability of terrestrial land and its resources are finite and, perhaps, not sufficient to deliver enough food, energy, materials and space. Thus, it is important to (further) explore and exploit the marine environment which covers no less than 71% of the earth's surface. The marine environment is very complex but can roughty be divided into two systems: natural (e.g. wild fishing) and human-made (e.g. artificial islands). In this study, characterization factors (CF) for natural and human-made marine systems were calculated in order to be able to assess the environmental impact of occupying marine surfaces, which was not possible so far in life cycle assessment. When accounting for natural resources while occupying one of these systems, it is important to consider the primary resources that are actually deprived from nature, which differs between the natural and human-made marine systems.In natural systems, the extracted biomass was accounted for through its exergy content, which is the maximum quantity of work that the system can execute in its environment. Reference flows for marine fish, seaweeds, crustaceans and mollusks were proposed and their correlated CF was calculated. For human-made systems, the deprived land resource is, in fact, the occupied area of the marine surface. Based on potential marine net primary production data (NPP), exergy based spatial and temporal CFs for ocean areal occupation were calculated. This approach was included in the Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment (CEENE) method which makes it the first life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method capable of analyzing the environmental impact (and more specific the resource footprint) of marine areal occupation. Furthermore, the methodology was applied to two case studies: comparing resource consumption of on- and offshore oil production, and fish and soybean meal production for fish feed applications.     

Carbon in the Vegetation and Soils of Great Britain

•The total amount of carbon held by vegetation in Great Britain is estimated to be 114 Mtonnes. •Woodlands and forests hold 80% of the G.B. total although they occupy only about 11% of the rural land area. Broadleaf species hold about 50% of the carbon in woodlands and forests. •A map of carbon in the vegetation of Great Britain at 1 km×1 km resolution based on land cover identified in the I.T.E. Land Cover Map is presented. The predominant location of vegetation carbon is the broadleaved woodlands of southern England. •The amount of carbon in the soils of Great Britain is estimated to be 9838 Mt (6948 Mt in Scotland and 2890 Mt in England and Wales). •In Scotland, most soil carbon is in blanket peats, whereas most soil carbon is in stagnogley soils in England and Wales. •The carbon content of the soils of Great Britain is mapped at 1 km×1 km resolution. Scottish peat soils have the greatest density of carbon and in total contain 4523 Mt of carbon, 46% of the G.B. total.     

Bacterial water quality: Springs and streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Water samples from streams and springs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were analyzed for fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus, and total coliform bacteria. Levels of bacteria were found to be highly variable but related to elevation, time of year, type of water source, and water level of the streams. Visitors did not seem to be major contributors to bacterial contamination. Levels of fecal coliform and total coliform in most water samples were unsuitable for drinking without treatment. Tennessee state standards for body contact recreation (swimming and wading) were exceeded in a few samples but none from streams suitable for swimming. As a result of these findings, park managers increased efforts to inform visitors of the need to treat drinking water and removed improvements at backcountry springs which tended to give the springs the image of safe, maintained water sources.     

浅谈当前我国环境执法的障碍与对策

环境执法是我国环境法制建设的一个重要组成部分。本文从当前环境立法权威、环境立法之间的关系、环境立法内容、环境职能部门的权力配置、执法人员素质、地方领导、环境管理体制、环境执法的群众参与以及公民的环境法律意识等方面问题和障碍的分析，提出了应对策略和建议。