Modelling soil phosphorus decline: Expectations of Water Framework Directive policies

Depletion of plant-available soil phosphorus (P) from excessive to agronomically optimum levels is a measure being implemented in Ireland to reduce the risk of diffuse P transfer from land to water. Within the Nitrates and Water Framework Directive regulations the policy tool is designed to help achieve good status by 2015 in water bodies at risk from eutrophication. To guide expectation, this study used soil plot data from eight common soil associations to develop a model of Soil Test P (STP) (Morgan's extract) decline following periods of zero P amendment. This was used to predict the time required to move from excessive (Index 4) to the upper boundary of the optimum (Index 3) soil P concentration range. The relative P balance (P balance : Total soil P) best described an exponential decline (R² = 63%) of STP according to a backwards step-wise regression of a range of soil parameters. Using annual field P balance scenarios (?30 kg P ha^?1, ?15 kg P ha^?1, ?7 kg P ha^?1), average time to the optimum soil P boundary condition was estimated from a range of realistic Total P and STP starting points. For worst case scenarios of high Total P and STP starting points, average time to the boundary was estimated at 7–15 years depending on the field P balance. However, uncertainty analysis of the regression parameter showed that variation can be from 3 to >20 years. Combined with variation in how soil P source changes translate to resulting P delivery to water bodies, water policy regulators are advised to note this inherent uncertainty from P source to receptor with regard to expectations of Water Framework Directive water quality targets and deadlines.     

水土流失的危害及水土保持的作用研究

土石山区是我国西南地区常见的地理形态,但是由于其独特的地理构造特点等多种因素的影响经常会出现水土流失,给本地区的生态环境造成严重危害,也严重的影响到本地区的经济发展和社会进步。本文着重阐述了我国西南地区土石山区的水土流失造成的危害,产生危害的原因以及水土保持的重要作用和意义。     

Air pollution policies in Europe: efficiency gains from integrating climate effects with damage costs to health and crops

Emissions of air pollutants cause damage to health and crops, but several air pollutants also have an effect on climate through radiative forcing. We investigate efficiency gains achieved by integrating climate impacts of air pollutants into air quality strategies for the EU region. The pollutants included in this study are SO₂, NH₃, VOC, CO, NO_x, black carbon, organic carbon, PM_2.5, and CH₄. We illustrate the relative importance of climate change effects compared to damage to health and crops, as well as monetary gains of including climate change contributions. The analysis considers marginal abatement costs and compares air quality and climate damage in Euros. We optimize abatement policies with respect to both climate and health impacts, which imply implementing all measures that yield a net benefit. The efficiency gains of the integrated policy are in the order of 2.5 billion Euros, compared to optimal abatement based on health and crop damage only, justifying increased abatement efforts of close to 50%. Climate effect of methane is the single most important factor. If climate change is considered on a 20- instead of a 100-year time-scale, the efficiency gain almost doubles. Our results indicate that air pollution policies should be supplemented with climate damage considerations.     

Effects of organic and soil conservation management on specialist bird species

Bird abundance was assessed on a total of 58 farms across the Seine-et-Marne department, France (12 organic, 19 conservation-tillage and 27 conventional farms). Local abundance variations among the three farming systems were related to two species traits, i.e. habitat specialisation and diet, considering both farmland and non-farmland species. It was found that organic farming favoured specialist birds, either considering the whole community or non-farmland birds only. On the opposite, specialist farmland species were found to be less abundant in conservation-tillage farms than in conventional ones. Invertebrate-feeders were found to benefit from conservation-tillage practices compared to omnivorous species but not compared to granivorous ones; an interaction between species diet and the species specialisation level was also found. Granivorous species tended to increase with the conservation-tillage duration and in particular specialist birds.     

Modelling soil organic carbon dynamics in two long-term experiments of north-eastern Italy

Simulation models are widely used to assess the impacts of management and environmental variables on soil organic matter dynamics, to address questions on ecosystem sustainability and carbon cycling under global change. We tested the Century ecosystem model for two long-term experiments in north-eastern Italy: one (SF) comparing nutrient management treatments in small confined plots containing widely contrasting soil types (i.e., sandy, clay and peat) and the other (CR) involving a field study with crop rotation, nutrient, and management intensity variables. The organic matter changes in the SF experiment, showed a strong, linear relationship with C inputs from crop residues and added manures in the sand and clay soils, which was closely mimicked by the model. There was a net loss of soil C for all treatments in the peat soil, but the rate and overall magnitude of C losses were accurately simulated by the model, which suggested that treatment effects on soil C inputs was the major determinant of SOC dynamics in all three soils. In the CR experiment the model reasonably simulated the large initial decline (averaging about 30% of initial levels) in SOC observed in all treatments, as well as mean treatment effects over the course of the experiment. The model predicted a general pattern of higher SOC in the high management intensity, high fertility treatment combinations and lower SOC in the low management intensity, low fertility treatments; however, observed soil C did not show a clear pattern related to the treatments. Simulated soil C contents were linearly related to C input levels in the different treatments while there was no significant relationship between measured soil C and C inputs based on observed data.     

水土保持工作中存在的问题及对策

我国一直以来就是一个水土流失大国,治水保土工作一直备受重视。当前在我国经济快速发展,环境问题日益突出的情况下,合理开发和保护水资源,充分做好水土保持工作已经是各级政府部门和社会各界面临的一个重要课题。     

Applying the concept of agrodiversity to indigenous soil and water conservation practices in eastern Kenya

Agrodiversity – the diversity of cropping systems, crop species and farm management practices has received increasing attention in recent years as a way of spreading risk and supporting food security in resource-poor farming systems. This paper discusses the dynamic aspects of indigenous soil and water conservation (ISWC) practices in a semi-arid part of Kenya. The objective is to show the range of sources of variability and diversity that prevail in this environment, the responses of farmers to this variability, and the way farmers' rationalise the heterogeneity of soil and water management practices. Methods used included participatory surveys and evaluations, on-farm monitoring, soil and rainfall data analyses, and questionnaire surveys. Sources of variability affecting cropping systems and land management practices included rainfall, soil fertility, farmer resource level and farm productivity. A decision-tree was developed to examine how biophysical and socio-economic variability affected farmers' choice of ISWC. Different ISWC structures dominated on sandy and stony soils, respectively. Low resource farmers tended to choose cheaper and less labour demanding techniques, and constructed smaller ISWC structures than better endowed farmers. The largest diversity of ISWC practices was found on newly-opened land with mixed soils. Moreover, on-farm productivity levels indicated that costly investments in SWC are unfeasible, as this would further increase the risk for negative returns to farming. The wider implications of the results are that SWC interventions in marginal areas should build on the existing agrodiversity and an understanding of the complex interactions between environmental and socio-economic factors that give rise to differences in farming systems and land management practices.     

Soil loss and conservation in the black soil region of Northeast China: a retrospective study

The black soil region in Northeast China is an important region for cereal grain production in the country. However, several decades of overexploitation and unsustainable land use practices have caused substantial loss of soil and soil productivity. The dominant soil erosion processes in the black soil region are water, wind and meltwater erosion, of which water erosion on the slope farmland is the major contributor to soil erosion. According to landforms and characteristics of soil and water loss, the black soil region of Northeast China can be classified as the rolling hill area, the low mountain–hill ravine area, and the farming-pastoral area. As a result, land use strategies, including the Three Defense Lines control pattern, the Pyramid Style control pattern, and the control pattern of Minimum Exploiture and Maximal Protection, are proposed for the three respective areas. Moreover, conservation tillage and participatory management are the promising measures that have not been widely implemented in the black soil region until now.     

山西省输电线路工程水土保持措施研究

本文分析了输电线工程水土流失的特点,结合山西省区域地形地貌及气候特点,提出输电线路工程中防治水土流失的一些措施,为山西省输电线路工程建设水土保持工作的进行提供科学依据。     

Estimating yields of tropical maize genotypes from non-destructive,on-farm plant morphological measurements

Maize is the main grain crop grown in the highlands of sub-Saharan Africa, on a broad range of soil fertility and management conditions. Important yield variability has been reported at different scales, reflecting the intensity and spatial distribution of growth-limiting and growth-reducing factors. Maize yield estimation represents a valuable tool to assess within-farm variability in soil fertility through crop performance. The objective of this study was to develop mathematical relationships between plant morphological attributes and grain yield of tropical maize genotypes, based on plant allometric characteristics. These models were used to estimate maize yields and the estimates were validated against independent data collected from experimental and farmers’ fields in western Kenya. Three commercial hybrids and three local varieties were considered. Multiple linear regression models including plant height and either ear length or ear diameter as explanatory variables, and simple linear regressions including only plant height, were the most accurate to estimate both total aboveground biomass and grain dry matter yields per plant (r²: 0.76–0.91). Average values for the harvest index ranged between 0.34 and 0.42, varying with the total aboveground biomass produced per plant. Yield estimations on ground area basis for farmers’ fields were acceptably accurate. Plant height measurements can be easily taken at any moment after maize flowering and used in simple models to estimate maize yield. This approach proved also a valuable tool to discuss yield variability with farmers.     

Mitigation costs,distributional effects,and ancillary benefits of carbon policies in the Nordic countries,the U.K., and Ireland

This paper provides a survey of top-downmodelling analyses of carbon (C) abatementmitigation costs, distributional effectsand ancillary benefits in the Nordiccountries, the U.K. and Ireland. Specialemphasis is placed on the effects ofrevenue recycling and tax exemptions.According to the analyses, modestemissions reductions can be met withoutsubstantial costs for the countriesstudied, and a strong double dividend isfound in some analyses. The gross domesticproduct (GDP) or welfare effects are mostlyin the range of –0.4 and 1.2 percent whenC emissions are reduced by 20–30 per cent.Lowest costs are obtained without taxexemptions and with tax revenues used toreduce distortionary taxes. Ancillarybenefits are mostly in the range35–80/MgC^-1, i.e., about the same order ofmagnitude as the mitigation costs.Distributional effects are mostlyregressive, unless the tax revenues aredistributed in lump-sum fashion with equaltransfers to each household.     

Modelling the effect of support practices (P-factor) on the reduction of soil erosion by water at European scale

The USLE/RUSLE support practice factor (P-factor) is rarely taken into account in soil erosion risk modelling at sub-continental scale, as it is difficult to estimate for large areas. This study attempts to model the P-factor in the European Union. For this, it considers the latest policy developments in the Common Agricultural Policy, and applies the rules set by Member States for contour farming over a certain slope. The impact of stone walls and grass margins is also modelled using the more than 226,000 observations from the Land use/cover area frame statistical survey (LUCAS) carried out in 2012 in the European Union.The mean P-factor considering contour farming, stone walls and grass margins in the European Union is estimated at 0.9702. The support practices accounted for in the P-factor reduce the risk of soil erosion by 3%, with grass margins having the largest impact (57% of the total erosion risk reduction) followed by stone walls (38%). Contour farming contributes very little to the P-factor given its limited application; it is only used as a support practice in eight countries and only on very steep slopes. Support practices have the highest impact in Malta, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, The Netherlands and United Kingdom where they reduce soil erosion risk by at least 5%. The P-factor modelling tool can potentially be used by policy makers to run soil-erosion risk scenarios for a wider application of contour farming in areas with slope gradients less than 10%, maintaining stone walls and increasing the number of grass margins under the forthcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.     

UK air quality in 2050—synergies with climate change policies

Estimates are made of air quality in the UK around the time of 2050 on the assumption that significant changes are made to energy and transport technologies to move towards the goal of a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 on a 1990 base. London is used as an example to assess possible future concentrations of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen. Emission reductions and their effects on ozone concentrations in the southern UK are also discussed. The paper concludes that significant synergies and co-benefits are possible through a concerted consideration of air quality and climate change policies.     

潜流型人工湿地堵塞机制及其模型化

从物理、化学、生物三个方面分析了人工湿地堵塞的机理,指出湿地堵塞的过程实质上就是有效孔隙率减少的过程,湿地的堵塞与否,堵塞的程度如何,可由其饱和水力传导系数来表征。对几个与人工湿地堵塞有关的数学模型作了介绍和分析,并探讨了一些预防人工湿地堵塞的措施以及其未来的研究方向。     

大青山中高山地带阴坡水土保持效益的研究

本文对大青山高土地带阴坡三种不同水土保持林与农地，撩荒地比较，将枯落物持水性、土壤含水量及土壤性质、分散度、导水率进行了分析，阐明了大青山中高山地带阴坡三种不同林分有极强的哟水性、可拦蓄大量的径流；林地土壤含水量高、结构良好、渗透降水能力强，土本难以破坏。可有交地防治山地水土流失的发生。     

Collaboration mobilises institutions with scale-dependent comparative advantage in landscape-scale biodiversity conservation

Landscape-scale approaches are emerging as central to ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation globally, triggering the requirement for collaboration between multiple actors and associated risks including knowledge asymmetries; institutional fragmentation; uncertainty; power imbalances; “invisible” slow-changing variables; and entrenched socio-economic inequities. While social science has elucidated some dimensions required for effective collaboration, little is known about how collaboration manages these risks, or of its effects on associated social-ecological linkages. Our analysis of four different Australian contexts of collaboration shows they mobilised institutions matched to addressing environmental threats, at diverse scales across regulatory and non-regulatory domains. The institutions mobilised included national regulatory controls on development that threatened habitat, incentives to farmers for practice-change, and mechanisms that increased resources for on-ground fire and pest management. Knowledge-sharing underpinned effective risk management and was facilitated through the use of boundary objects, enhanced multi-stakeholder peer review processes, interactive spatial platforms, and Aboriginal-driven planning. Institutions mobilised in these collaborations show scale-dependent comparative advantage for addressing environmental threats. The findings confirm the need to shift scientific attention away from theorising about the ideal-scale for governance. We argue instead for a focus on understanding how knowledge-sharing activities across multiple scales can more effectively connect environmental threats with the most capable institution to address these threats.     

Modelling of the Lenzing SO2 recovery process and validation with plant data

Mass balances were performed for the recovery absorption stages of a magnesium bisulphite pulping process in order to obtain accurate basic data for further process simulation.Data for the main components (liquid flows, sulphur and magnesium oxide) were obtained at three different power levels of the downstream recovery boiler.Based on these results, single absorption stages were simulated with a commercial modelling package. The results of the mass balance and the results of the simulation of single absorption stages are compared. Furthermore, results simulated with the new model of the whole absorption recovery system are shown and problems, which appeared during the calculation runs, are described.     

应用气液两相流模型模拟湖泊风生流

采用了基于两相流理论的三维相间界面计算模型模拟湖泊风生流,并采用交错网格的有限体积法求解。该模型应用于昆明市滇池的风生流模拟,实际计算表明该模型算法程序简单,计算结果合理,能较真实的反映湖泊风生流的流态特征。     

Optimal retrofit of water conservation networks

This paper presents a new general mathematical programming model for the optimal retrofit of material conservation networks considering recycle, reuse and regeneration schemes (notice that most of the previously reported methods only have considered the synthesis case, and nowadays it is very important to have strategies for the retrofit of water networks because several existing water network are functioned under suboptimal conditions because these were synthesized using inefficient approaches or because the process and environmental constraints have changed). The model considers the reconfiguration of existing networks to satisfy stricter process and environmental constraints considering the repiping for the network, the reuse of the existing treatment units, the modification for the capacity and performance of the existing units and the installation of new treatment units to reduce the overall operating cost through the reduction of the use of fresh sources. The objective function accounts for the minimization of the total annual cost associated to the retrofit process. This retrofit process involves simultaneously economic (because the reduction of the fresh sources costs) and environmental (because the reduction of the waste streams discharged to the environment and with a better quality) improvements. The applicability of the proposed model is proved through a set of example problems addressed, where no numerical complications were observed. In addition, the proposed approach is general and it can be applied to any specific case with the information required.     

环境政策对企业绩效的影响

一个国家的环境政策是国家保护环境的大致方针,直接关系到这个国家的环境立法和环境管理,更直接影响到这个国家的整体环境状况,不同类型的环境政策对企业也产生了各方面的影响。本文研究环境政策的不同形式、内容、具体执行手段及其对企业的环境、经济绩效产生的影响。通过研究西方发达国家的成功环境政策,探讨我国环境政策中存在的不足与缺陷。最后根据不同管理手段的可行性,有效性及最终效果,联系我国具体国情,在符合可持续发展原则的同时,提出更为有效,对企业绩效具有正面刺激的环境政策建议。