基于放射源理论的区域生态系统评价方法

研究区域生态系统定量评价方法对区域生态系统的建设与保护具有十分重要的意义。从放射源理论出发,首次将生态影响距离、生态源及生态影响效应的概念引入分析评价中,提出了区域生态系统的定量评价方法,并建立了基于景观空间格局的区域生态系统生态影响的定量计算公式。甘垛镇新庄片和横泾镇沿荡片的应用实例表明,该方法原理简明、结果直观,为区域生态系统的科学评价提供了定量评价方法。     

基于属性理论的长株潭城市群生态系统健康评价

城市生态系统是一种高度人工化的自然-社会-经济复合生态系统,其健康状况直接影响到城市的可持续发展。针对城市生态系统健康评价标准的不确定性问题,在构建评价指标体系的基础上,提出了基于属性理论的城市生态系统健康评价模型及评价方法。以长株潭城市群为研究区域,运用该模型和方法对其生态系统健康进行了综合评价。评价结果表明：长株潭城市群的生态系统现状属于一般健康类,其中自然生态子系统对区域整体健康状况有较大影响,评价结果与实际情况大体吻合。通过对各子系统层的健康度分析,识别了健康限制因素,并提出了相应的调控措施。采用属性理论方法开展城市生态系统健康评价,能较好地识别系统层综合健康状况和子系统层的健康状况,具有一定的实用价值,其评价结果为促进城市生态建设,有效实施生态系统健康管理提供了科学依据。     

基于乡村社会-生态系统脆弱性的国土综合整治时空配置研究

精确评价乡村社会-生态系统脆弱性并识别其空间分异特征是合理制定国土综合整治规划和精准施策、促进乡村可持续发展的基础。该研究针对效率模型权重分配影响评价结果的精确性问题,引入灾害脆弱性理论的压力冲击因果链分析框架,界定乡村社会-生态系统脆弱性内涵和形成机理,构建社会-经济-环境-压力-状态-响应(SEE-PSR)模型的致脆效率评价指标体系,采用3种效率评价模型对2018年上海市青浦区184个行政村进行评价和比较,分析其空间分异特征并将研究结果运用于国土综合整治时空配置实践。结果表明,乡村社会-生态系统在环境、社会、经济等压力变化下所表现出的承脆体状态和综合应对能力过程符合"输入-产出"的系统致脆效率;采用熵权对抗交叉数据包络分析模型(EW-ACE-DEA)对乡村社会-生态系统脆弱性进行评价,结果更具可信度和精确性;2018年该区行政村社会-生态系统脆弱性均值为0.595,全区值域范围为[0.404,0.787],且空间上呈现由东向西逐渐降低的变化趋势;采用乡村脆弱性等级-脆弱性空间集聚类型的综合配置法,可合理安排该区国土综合整治时序,上海市青浦区国土综合整治时空配置类型可划分为5类。该研究丰富了乡村地理学理论,可为乡村区域治理和区域可持续发展提供决策依据。     

生态系统服务内涵、价值评估与GIS表达

生态系统服务价值评估是当前生态经济学领域的研究热点,为解决生态系统之于人类的重要性提供了量化的参考,也是生态补偿机制建立的重要依据.近5年国际上SCI论文发表数量以年均40%速度增长,我国研究起步于上世纪90年代末,十年来发展迅速,从对国外研究的简单模仿逐渐转向对评估模型参数的修正及对技术方法的适应性集成与发展.生态系统服务的内涵研究不断推进,在阐释“自然组分-生态过程-生态功能-生态服务.获得利益”关系上呈现多种观点,相应地提出了不同的价值评估指标体系;生态系统服务价值评估以瞬时静态为主,动态评估略显不足;研究对象从大尺度和单一生态系统逐渐转向中尺度区域,评估结果表现形式从单一数值化向基于GIS的空间表达发展.在回顾全球范围生态系统服务评估研究成果的基础上,从研究区域分布与学科特点、内涵及分类、评估方法和GIS技术应用等四大方面进行归纳分析,并从生态系统管理和决策支持需求的角度,指出生态系统评估研究已取得显著进展,但有关生态系统服务的内涵与分类、生态系统服务价值的动态评估及GIS技术的应用研究仍待深入.     

农户生态系统的生态结构评价

在调查研究不同类型的农户生态系统的基础上,本文采用优势度和稳定指数两个指标对四种不同类型的农户生态系统结构进行定量评价,并分析比较四类农户生态系统的能量产投比和经济效益。结果表明,这两个指标能定量地衡量各种类型农户生态系统的均衡性和稳定性,可以对农户生态系统结构优劣进行评价。     

基于RS和GIS的生态系统健康评价

生态系统健康评价可以认识区域生态系统健康状况、识别生态环境问题,为制定科学的生态保护对策提供依据,对提高可持续发展和环境管理具有重要的指导作用。文章由压力-状态-响应（P-S-R）概念模型建立了生态系统健康评价指标体系和评价模型,运用RS和GIS技术及统计学分析法,形成程序化、系统化的生态系统健康评价技术方法体系,并以高平市为案例,运用定量的方法对其生态系统健康进行综合评价及分级研究,通过对压力、状态、响应评价结果及健康综合评价结果的分析,结合高平市生态系统健康的自然条件状况与人类活动影响,探讨了影响区域健康的因素,为高平市资源的合理利用与保护提供科学依据。结果表明该技术对生态系统健康评价是切实可行的。     

农村生态系统健康的基本内涵及评价体系探索

生态系统健康是研究人类活动、社会经济组织、自然系统和人类健康的综合性学科,是人类社会可持续发展的保证,国内外对不同类型的生态系统健康进行了大量研究,指出生态系统健康是在时间上具有维持其组织结构、自我调节和对胁迫受损的恢复能力,实现生态系统的稳定性和可持续性.农村生态系统是一类自然一人工复合生态系统,在综合分析农业生态系统健康和城市生态系统健康概念的基础上,提出农村生态系统是指在不同区域范围的农村地域内,不同类型生态系统间的相互能量关系,以及农村人群和周围环境的相互影响与相互作用的总和.农村生态系统健康是指农村生态系统能够实现农村环境健康目标、生态系统活力目标、农业生产与乡镇企业发展目标,并具有一定的自我调节和对胁迫受损的恢复能力.通过分析已有生态系统健康评价所采用的指标体系,结合农村生态系统的特性,研究构建了由环境健康目标、生态系统活力目标和功能目标组成的农村生态系统健康评价的框架体系,以期明确农村生态系统健康的内涵,为开展评价研究建立初步基础.     

区域生态安全:概念及评价理论基础

借鉴国内外的研究成果,提出区域生态安全的概念是指在一定时空范围内,在自然及人类活动的干扰下,区域内生态环境条件以及所面临的生态环境问题不对人类生存和持续发展构成威胁,并且自然-经济-社会复合生态系统的脆弱性能够不断得到改善的状态。指出生态安全评价是一个多学科交叉的研究领域,其评价理论基础涉及可持续发展理论、生态系统服务功能理论、生态承载力理论、时空论和系统工程论等;生态安全是可持续发展的基础,两者具有内涵和目标的一致性;区域生态安全研究的目的就是平衡人类的自然资源利用与生存环境质量需求的矛盾,保证生态系统在持续安全的状态下提供服务;应用生态承载力的研究成果有助于补充和完善生态安全评价。区域生态安全评价强调研究对象的时空性和研究方法的系统性。多学科整合能更好地指导区域生态安全评价。     

基于生态系统服务的土地整治生态风险评价与管控建议

土地整治的生态风险评价与管理是生态文明背景下土地整治项目可持续发展的客观要求。"十三五"期间,土地整治投资和力度规模持续加大,在对区域社会和经济发展带来积极作用的同时,也会对区域生态系统结构与功能产生深远影响,如何管控土地整治的生态风险受到越来越多的关注。在系统阐述了土地整治生态风险的内涵与特点的基础上,分析了土地整治不同生态效应所对应的生态风险因子与评价指标体系,提出了基于土地整治全过程分析的生态风险识别、评价与管控的思路,并将生态系统服务功能的提升作为生态风险评价的重要内容,克服了以往生态风险研究更多侧重生态系统结构与功能本身变化的局限性,并指出了土地整治生态风险所需要关注的科学问题与发展趋势。     

城市生态可持续性的内涵及其支持系统评价指标体系研究

构建城市生态可持续性支持系统评价模型并对其发展水平进行综合评价,是城市生态可持续性从理论研究阶段进入可操作的实际应用阶段的重要步骤。针对城市生态可持续性基本内涵,根据＂承载力-支持力-吸引力-延续力-发展力＂（CSAED）模型框架,构建城市生态可持续性支持系统的评价指标体系,以泛长株潭地区为例,分析了该区域各地市在生态环境有效改善、资源能源集约利用、社会民生和谐进步、经济高效公平增长、人口质量综合提升、政策和制度调整与完善等方面的基本情况与提升方向。评价结果表明：泛长株潭地区大部分城市生态环境有效改善水平、资源能源集约利用效率、社会民生进步程度以及经济高效公平增长水平都普遍偏低,这意味着当前该区域亟需解决城市生态承载力不够强、环境容量有限、产业结构仍待升级、就业结构不优及公共服务不足等区域经济社会发展不协调问题,以维持区域城市生态可持续性。     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.