Human use and conservation planning in Alpine areas of Northwestern Yunnan,China

Alpine areas in northwestern Yunnan, China possess globally significant levels of biodiversity and are important locally for livelihood activities such as livestock grazing and medicinal plant collection. Because local land use has important impacts on alpine conditions and communities have significant capacity to manage alpine resources, we emphasized local collaboration during the initial stages of conservation planning. Our collaboration with local communities investigated how livelihood strategies affect the condition of alpine resources in northwestern Yunnan and how future conservation efforts can be compatible with local livelihoods. We sampled three livestock herding sites, each within a different alpine sub-region, using open-ended interviews and maximum variation sampling. According to interviewees, livestock grazing within the alpine zone currently does not appear to be negatively impacting the availability of forage. Medicinal plant collection, however, is showing unsustainable trends. Tourism is as yet a nascent industry, but is seen as having great potential by those interviewed. It is clear that with increases in population, access to regional markets, and tourism, northwestern Yunnan’s rich alpine resources will require careful management. In addition to the data collected, we found that the methodology used may be widely applicable to organizations with limited resources that wish to engage local communities during the formative stages of regional-level conservation planning.     

Global-scale quantitative assessment for biodiversity on forest land use: applying the Global No Net Loss approach

Here we propose a method to quantitatively assess and examine Global No Net Loss (GNNL) of forest biodiversity on a global scale. The method produces a GNNL index of existing forest and enables future predictions of forest loss under different assumptions. The method tests the feasibility of the GNNL index and enables discussion of policy for future global scale sustainable forest management up to 2050. The GNNL index was estimated from an equation including forest areas per country per forest type (primary forest, secondary forest and plantation forest), diversity of forest ecosystem, and species density. Estimates derived from historical data revealed an approximate 7% reduction in GNNL index between 1990 and 2005. Predictions of the GNNL index until 2050 emphasize the importance of regenerating large portions of forests felled for agricultural land (or other uses) with secondary forests.     

Identifying the land use and land cover change drivers: methods and case studies of two forest reserves in Northern Benin

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is one of the problems that the world has been facing for the last few decades despite political attention....     

区域主体功能实现与自然资源利用的定量关系研究

主体功能区划通过主体功能划分的方式将开发和保护结合,自然资源开发利用复杂化过程中资源利用与目标实现之间亟需实现基本的定量核算关系。本文从自然资源可持续利用角度,试图探讨建立初步的主体功能核算关系,通过核算框架进行生产、生活、生态主体功能概算与比较。以京津冀主体功能区与水资源为例,对所设立的核算关系进行了验证与应用,并构造绝对与相对量指标量化京津冀主体功能量、功能水资源投入量与效率,进行了异空间尺度与异质性功能的比较,为以主体功能实现最大化为目标的资源优化配置提供量化工具。结果显示:①利用生态服务价值测算的当量因子法与水足迹测算的投入产出法,刻画了水资源对于地区主体功能的支撑作用。②利用功能总量与单位功能水资源投入量指标完成了异质性功能在异质性空间上规模、结构、相应水资源效率的比较。基于算例结果得到以下结论:①本文构建的自然资源-主体功能核算关系框架能够有效衔接主体功能规划,定量核算能有效反映与评价资源对区域功能目标、经济开发活动的支撑作用。②区域资源配置存在相对功能实现的效率差异,可根据资源投入与功能产出之间的关系引导实现功能最大化目标的资源配置。合理、有效的量化手段能够推进主体功能制度的落实,也有助于当前中国空间规划体系编制与落实的实际指导效果。     

论人类文明的演变与演替

本文从整体论视角出发,从讨论文明的概念和表现入手,对"文明"和"社会"的定义进行了新界定。文明是指人群在特定历史时期的生存方式以及居主导地位的主流价值观。文明的实质是人类(社会)对人与自然关系的看法和对待,或者说是认识和行为。在此基础上分析了人类文明演变的历程和今后的走向,剖析了人类的生存方式(人类的生活方式、人类的生产方式和人群的组织方式)在原始文明阶段、农业文明阶段、工业文明阶段的不同样式,提出了当今人类正处于由工业文明时代向新的环境文明时代转折的过渡阶段的论断。正确认识人类文明演变和演替的规律对任何一个国家和民族来说都是至关重要的。要实现中华民族的伟大复兴,就必须清楚地认识到当今人类所处时代的特点,特别是要对当今人类文明的演变与演替有一个正确的认识和把握。     

Consumer attitudes on the use of plastic and cloth bags

This paper examines consumer attitudes and behavior on the use of plastic and cloth bags in Eski?ehir, Turkey. To this end, a structural equation model is proposed. Environmental consciousness regarding the use of plastic bags, social pressure, support for the banning of plastic bags, the intention to use cloth bags and behavior to reduce plastic bag use are employed as latent variables in the model. The intention to use cloth bags and the behavior to reduce the use of plastic bags are defined as endogenous latent variables in the structural model. In the conclusion of the study, it is identified that consumers who are environmentally conscious and feel under social pressure, tend to reduce the use of plastic bags and switch to using cloth bags.     

山东、江苏两省人力资本水平评估及启示

人力资本得到提高并取代劳动力、土地等要素,成为构成一个国家或地区竞争的重要因素。转方式调结构从某种意义上讲,就是从资源消耗型转变为人力资本型推动发展的模式。山东省和江苏省在我国经济发展占有重要位置,两省的GDP约占全国的1/5。通过山东、江苏两省人力资本水平比较,认识两省的发展特点,对于我国目前转型发展有启示意义。研究表明:一是人力资本总体水平江苏省高于山东省;二是人力资本基础水平山东省略高于江苏省;三是江苏省人力资本投资水平增长速度高于山东省;四是山东省人力资本存量水平低于江苏省。山东省提升人力资本水平,实现转型发展,主要对策是:一要加快经济结构调整,提升人力资本投资的能力;二要优化人力资本投资方向,推动新兴战略产业发展;三要优化公共财政结构,真正体现教育优先原则。     

新能源汽车补贴政策工具挖掘及量化评价

现阶段中国大力开展新能源汽车示范推广工作,中央及各地方政府已相继出台一系列补贴政策。在严厉打击新能源汽车"骗补"及补贴政策重新调整等背景下,分析梳理现有政策从而对其进行整体把握与正确判断显得尤为重要,从而为政策改进与优化做准备。本文选取了截至2016年底国家和北京市颁布的涉及新能源汽车补贴的相关政策。首先,从采用文本挖掘的方法整理出的政策文本的高频有效关键词从中提炼出的政策工具,可分为供给型、需求型、环境型三类,分别从技术推动、市场拉动和环境支撑三个方面促进和规范新能源汽车市场。发现现有政策工具仍存在一些问题,如缺乏支持新能源汽车技术提升和产品开发的供给型政策工具;环境型政策工具的作用重点欠科学,对充电基础设施建设的重视程度不够;补贴过于聚焦新能源汽车购买环节等。其次,结合政策特点运用PMC指数模型构建了新能源汽车补贴政策的量化评价框架,通过变量分类、参数识别建立了多投入产出表,并通过PMC指数的测量、PMC曲面的生成综合反映政策各维度的情况。再次,采用实证分析的方法,选取3项新能源汽车补贴政策(P1、P2、P3)为研究对象,对政策进行量化评价。结果得出3项政策的PMC指数分别为7.52、6.95、6.21,均在良好的等级之内,P1政策的量化结果为优秀,P2、P3政策结果为良好,且具有较大的提升空间,可考虑在激励措施等方面予以加强。最后,根据新能源汽车补贴政策无法取得预期效果的原因,提出三点政策优化意见:(1)重视供给型政策工具的使用,加大新能源汽车科研资金投入;(2)环境型政策工具的作用重点应放在充电等基础设施的建设上;(3)需求型可考虑采取以公共交通带动私人交通的策略。     

移民型城市生态人居环境评价与优化研究

三峡工程建设以来,在大规模移民迁建的拉动下,形成了大量库区移民城市.良好的人居环境是保障移民型城市稳步发展的关键,也是建设生态城市的核心问题.本文基于生态人居清洁、舒适、低环境负荷的特点,以三峡移民第一城--重庆市万州区为例,对其1999-2005年居住适宜性水平进行了评价和分析,并基于评价结果提出了相应的优化调整建议.针对库区移民城市强调社会结构重建的特点,本文分别从基础设施、居住系统、生态环境、社会人文四个方面筛选指标,建立三级评价指标体系,综合运用层次分析法和熵权法确定指标权重,有效避免了主、客观定权方式各自的弱点.评价结果表明:7年来万州城区宜居水平虽呈上升趋势,但综合指数集中在0.45～0.6之间,距离生态人居的标准还存在明显差距.其中,基础设施滞后问题尤为突出,社会人文、生态环境指数自2000年后一直呈下降的趋势.     

The effect of quantitative variables of forage vegetation on the structure of ruminant guilds

An interrelation between the structure of ruminant guilds and forage species structure depend on food consumption/supply proportion. The success in competition is determined not only by adaptive advantages of consumer species but also by their specific food benefits, which root in habitat vegetation structure. It is proposed that consumer coexistence in the chronologically former guilds is rather neutral for lack of considerable benefits and advantages. Inversely, some species of further guilds are able to dominate others using adaptive advantages more than food benefits of pastures. Resource shortage and competition in consumer guilds may be an indicator of community transformation or at least feature of guild novelty.     

Using multitemporal Landsat TM imagery to establish land use pressure induced trends in forest and woodland cover in sections of the Soutpansberg Mountains of Venda region, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Globally, tropical forests are being perturbed by human activity. Tropical vegetation constitutes some of the largest terrestrial carbon stocks against the build up of greenhouse gases. In this paper, a local-scale case study utilising remote sensing methodology in estimating forest loss is presented, for a section of tropical South Africa’s Soutpansberg Mountains where land use pressure threatens some of the last remaining indigenous forests. Landsat TM images from October 1990, August 2000 and September 2006 were used, together with municipality level demographic data. Hybrid image classification techniques distinguished forest cover on the images, which were classified into vegetation density categories. About 20% of forest and woodland cover was lost in the 16-year analysis period, mainly due to pine and eucalyptus plantation and residential housing expansions. The local-scale key drivers behind the deforestation are examined.     

Experience in quantitative analysis of floristic structure and diversity in Samarskaya Luka

Quantitative methods have been applied to the study of floristic structure and diversity in Samarskaya Luka. The results show that Samarskaya Luka is a floristically heterogeneous area in which six elementary floras can be distinguished. This area has been assessed as a floristically autonomous formation, and its floristic representativeness was estimated.     

我国人力资本形成的阶段与区域特征分析

以经典Mincer收入方程为基础。通过引入教育、经验与区域变量。对1990年和2000年我国人力资本收益率及其影响因素进行估计。形成了关于我国人力资本发展阶段特征的基本判断。模型结果支持了正规教育对人力资本的影响由线性向非线性的变化。并且在平均收益率方面中等教育有着潜在优势；在经验因素中。工作前的经验比工作后的经验对收入影响更显重要；东部地区人力资本的形成与其他地区存在显着的差异。而东部以外的地区之间人力资本形成模式差异则不明显。     

Toxicology and detection methods of the alkaloid neurotoxin produced by cyanobacteria, anatoxin-a

Freshwater resources are under stress due to naturally occurring conditions and human impacts. One of the consequences is the proliferation of cyanobacteria, microphytoplankton organisms that are capable to produce toxins called cyanotoxins. Anatoxin-a is one of the main cyanotoxins. It is a very potent neurotoxin that was already responsible for some animal fatalities. In this review we endeavor to divulgate much of the internationally published information about toxicology, occurrence and detection methods of anatoxin-a. Cyanobacteria generalities, anatoxin-a occurrence and production as well as anatoxin-a toxicology and its methods of detection are the aspects focused in this review. Remediation of anatoxin-a occurrence will be addressed with a public health perspective. Final remarks call the attention for some important gaps in the knowledge about this neurotoxin and its implication to public health. Alterations of aquatic ecosystems caused by anatoxin-a is also addressed. Although anatoxin-a is not the more frequent cyanotoxin worldwide, it has to be regarded as a health risk that can be fatal to terrestrial and aquatic organisms because of its high toxicity.     

Development and use of water quality criteria and standards in the United States

Water quality criteria, as a means of distinguishing "good" water from "bad" water, have been employed for over 150 years. During the 1940s and 1950s, the formulation of water quality criteria and their role in water quality management were hotly debated in the United States as each state formulated its own approach to water pollution control. In 1965, when the federal government assumed control of water quality management in the US, a single, national approach to the formulation and use of criteria had to be selected and implemented nationwide. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the history of criteria as a basis for water quality management in the US; note the different water quality management philosophies used by states prior to 1965; and summarize the relationship of criteria to monitoring over the past 30 years. Standards, as legal instruments, are developed for a specific water body by designating a use of the water (society value) and the criteria necessary to protect the use (a scientific finding). Standard violation, as a concept, tends to remain as a single-sample exercise (i.e., the sample measurement is either above or below the standard). Increasingly, however, there is a demand to classify large bodies of water (e.g., lake, river segment, or aquifer), over a set time period, such as a day, year, or decade, as either in compliance or in violation of water quality standards. No peer-reviewed, standardized method for computing standard "violations" has been widely accepted for this purpose. The paper ends with a call to develop such methods, if water quality managers must produce standard violation information (infer sample results) over time and space. Electronic Publication     

Comparison of the chromotropic acid and modified pararosaniline methods for the determination of formaldehyde in air

Follow-up tests were performed in 25 complaint homes previously investigated by the Wisconsin Division of Health to determine ambient formaldehyde concentrations. Four collection methods were compared in each home: (1) midget impingers containing double-distilled water and immersed in ice baths, (2) midget impingers containing 1% sodium bisulfite solution and immersed in ice baths, (3) midget impingers containing cold 1% sodium bisulfite solution (temperature not maintained with an ice bath), and (4) a refrigerated, complete sampling unit developed at Lawrence Berkley Laboratory which utilized double-distilled water as a collection medium. Air was drawn through the midget impingers using personal sampling pumps. All four types of sampling trains were operated simultaneously in a bedroom, collecting specimens within an area of about 4 ft², while in the kitchen or living room, all sampling trains except for the impingers containing 1% sodium bisulfite solution and immersed in ice baths were operated together. Analysis of variance indicated that the three samples collected using midget impingers and personal sampling pumps gave similar results. All specimens collected in water were analyzed using both the chromotropic acid and pararosaniline analytical methods. Quality control specimens prepared in the laboratory showed excellent agreement between the two methods; however, field specimens through which air had been drawn were assigned lower values using the pararosaniline method. Special precautions were taken to ensure that specimens collected in water were not contaminated with sodium bisulfite, a serious interference for the pararosaniline test. To rule out the possibility that specimens deteriorated between analysis, test results from each method were confirmed by repeating each method for selected sets of specimens for a period of several days. It was hypothesized that some source of interference was present in the field specimens which affected the pararosaniline analysis. Statistical tests were applied to determine whether the observed discrepancy between the analytical methods was consistent and a regression model was employed to determine whether any of the other environmental parameters measured during sample collection was associated with the discrepancy.     

Evaluation of the Rural Human Settlement in Shandong Province

Taking Shandong Province as the research object, this paper uses the principal component analysis method to evaluate the status of the rural human settlement in Shandong Province. It establishes the ev...     

Evaluation of the Rural Human Settlement in Shandong Province

Abstract

Taking Shandong Province as the research object, this paper uses the principal component analysis method to evaluate the status of the rural human settlement in Shandong Province. It establishes the evaluation index system of the rural residential environment in Shandong Province, including living environment, economy, infrastructure, public service facilities, and ecological environment, in total five comprehensive index, and 20 secondary indexes. Through measurement and sorting of rural human environment development level of Shandong Province in 2010, the 17 cities are divided into-excellent, good, ordinary, poor-four development areas and are analyzed based on the restriction factor in the development of the region.     

Land use and energy scenarios affecting the global carbon cycle

Past increase of atmospheric CO₂ involves significant contributions from both fossil and biospheric sources. The latter are controversial, partly because these CO₂ releases may be balanced by accelerated regrowth following clearing of some forests, while others were being converted to agricultural or other nonforest land. A simulation model was used to reconstruct changes since 1860 and project four hypothetical future scenarios of CO₂ injection to 2460. Nineteen compartments and their exchanges of carbon were considered. Areal extents of tropical forests, other wooded ecosystems, and nonforests were incorporated into the model. Rapidly and slowly exchanging pools of carbon per unit area were projected by integrating income-loss differential equations numerically. Estimated cumulative releases of CO₂ from fossil fuels (plus cement) near 120 Pg of carbon (1 Pg = 10¹⁵ g) from 1860 to 1970 were assumed to equal the prompt plus delayed releases due to forest clearing. Limits of exploitable forest area and biomass were evaluated and found to contribute much less future CO₂ than usable fossil fuels. Ultimate release from the latter (7500±2500 Pg C) could increase atmospheric CO₂ manyfold: doubling the assumed 1860 levels as early as (1) the year 2032 for assumed early fossil-use scenarios and (2) the year 2045 for late fossil-use scenarios. Depending on the poorly known parametes that were programmed to constrain the organic production rates, cumulative storage, and the response of plants and soils to enhanced atmospheric CO₂, biospheric storage might reach higher levels for all scenarios than the estimates given here. However, maximizing such storage in real life would require much closer understanding and wiser management of ecosystems than history has shown.