南四湖湿地景观格局变化的生态系统服务价值响应

利用1987-2010年5期卫星遥感影像监测南四湖湿地景观格局变化,并且采用市场比较法、影子工程法、工业制氧成本法、碳税法和价值替代法等多种评估方法对南四湖湿地景观格局变化的生态系统服务功能价值响应进行深入探讨.结果表明,南四湖湿地中大量芦苇、荷田等自然湿地景观转化为养殖水域、水稻田等人工湿地,景观格局趋于破碎化;湖泊湿地景观格局变化对于湿地的供给功能、调节功能、文化功能和支持功能均有影响,其中对供给功能和调节功能影响最大.以2010年不变价计算,南四湖湿地景观格局变化导致2010年湿地生态系统服务功能价值比1987年减少3.06亿元,其中大气成分调节功能价值损失11.7亿元,净化功能价值损失3.77亿元,涵养水源功能损失0.65亿元,物质生产功能价值增加13.06亿元,其他功能价值对湿地景观格局变化的响应不明显.     

甘肃省耕地资源转变为建设用地的价值损失评估

依据耕地资源具有的社会保障功能、生态系统服务功能和经济产出功能,初步建立耕地资源的价值评估体系,综合运用市场价值法、替代法、机会成本法和影子价格法等评价方法,估算了甘肃省12个市(州)2007年耕地转变为建设用地所导致的正面效应价值损失。结果表明,由于建设用地占用耕地造成的价值损失相当巨大,2007年全省建设所占用耕地的总面积为1 564.66 hm2,造成的价值损失多达95 904.09万元,各市(州)1 hm2土地的损失都超过了45万元。从价值损失的构成来看,损失的直接使用价值为45 712.77万元,间接使用价值达50 191.32万元。可以看出,耕地资源除为社会提供直接产品价值外,还有巨大的间接使用价值,而且这种价值对人类的贡献比农产品的产出价值更为显著。     

伊犁河流域林业生态科技示范区建设对生态服务价值的影响

采用生态系统服务价值计算方法,估算伊犁河流域林业生态科技示范区建设前后生态服务价值变化.结果显示:草地退化前,示范区生态服务价值为64.0万元·a-1;近几十年由于超载过牧草地,生物量明显下降,2003年生态服务价值降至45.9万元.示范区建设以后,生态服务价值显著提高.与草地退化前相比,2006年生态服务价值增长64.5%;与草地退化后相比,生态服务价值增长129.2%,主要由生态服务间接利用价值提供.表明伊犁河流域林业生态科技示范区建设提升了该区生态服务价值,生态经济效益显著.     

基于遥感与GIS的黄河三角洲绿色空间生态服务价值评估

基于黄河三角洲1987、1997和2007年的TM遥感影像解译数据和野外调查结果,得到研究区三个年度的土地利用空间分布图。然后从土地利用的角度重新审视绿色空间的概念和内涵,建立基于土地利用类型的绿色空间生态评估体系,分析黄河三角洲地区的绿色空间生态服务价值及其变化情况。研究结果表明,1987—2007年间黄河三角洲地区绿色空间土地利用变化显著,其中,水体面积增加明显,农田、林地面积略有增加,湿地和草地面积显著减少,未利用地面积略有减少。土地利用面积的变化直接影响到其生态服务价值的变化,研究期间湿地生态服务价值减少了77.72亿元,草地减少9.00亿元,未利用地减少0.16亿元;水体的生态服务价值增加54.54亿元,农田和林地共增加3.41亿元。研究区绿色空间生态服务价值呈逐年减少的趋势,20年间研究区生态服务价值减少了28.94亿元。通过对绿色空间单项生态服务价值功能重要性进行评价,研究表明黄河三角洲地区单项生态服务价值以湿地、农田和水体占主要地位,这与各单项生态系统的面积及其单位生态服务价值量有关。     

三峡库区(重庆段)景观格局变化及其对生态系统服务价值的影响

以具有重要生态地理位置的三峡库区(重庆段)为研究区,结合2000—2015年Landsat TM数据,运用统计和网络分析法,从时空角度研究景观格局和生态系统服务价值的变化及其两者间的相互关系。结果表明,整体而言,研究区耕地和林地所占比例较大,草地、水域、建设用地和其他用地所占比例较小,建设用地面积增加最快;从时间上看,2000—2015年斑块密度、最大斑块面积指数呈先减少后增加的趋势,聚集度最大值和香农多样性指数最小值出现在2010年;2000—2015年生态服务价值总量先增加后减少,2010年达最大;从空间上看,景观破碎度逐渐从库区东北、东南向各区县建成区及主城区转移,东北与东南地区的景观完整性逐渐提高;生态系统服务价值低值区集中于各区县建成区,主城区生态服务价值最低,长江流域西侧的生态服务价值低于东侧。合理的景观格局对提高该区域的生态系统服务价值具有重要意义。     

兰州市土地利用变化及生态服务价值

以典型河谷型大城市兰州市为例,在RS和GIS技术支持下,剖析了1997-2009年该市各县区土地利用及其变化情况。在此基础上,参考Costanza等生态系统服务价值计算方法和中国陆地生态系统单位面积服务价值表,分析r近12年来研究区土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值的影响及其变化情况。结果表明：1997-2009年兰州市林地增长面积最大,主要来源于耕地的转出及两山绿化,其次为建设用地,主要是对耕地、草地和未利用地的占用;土地利用类型面积减少最大的是耕地,主要转变为林地、草地和建设用地。土地利用变化引起生态系统服务价值及GDP变化,其分别从1997年的59．99亿元,210．27亿元上升到2009年的61．52亿元,920亿元。总体呈增长趋势,表明该区域生态环境整体向良性方向发展。     

广州市流溪河流域白云区段生态系统服务价值的估算与分析

在分析流溪河流域白云区段生态系统的景观变化和生态环境现状的基础上,依据流溪河流域白云区段的土地详查数据(1993年)及其土地利用变更调查数据(2001年末),引用Constanza等对全球生态系统服务单位公顷价值的平均估算结果,对流溪河流域白云区段生态系统服务价值进行评估。评估结果表明:2001年流溪河流域白云区段生态系统服务的总价值为85190050.43美元,折合人民币70700.75万元,相当于该区域同期GDP的6.22%。由于存在影响核算结果准确性的一些因素,因此,该结果是粗略与保守的估算。     

1996—2006年武汉市土地利用/覆被变化研究

以武汉市为研究区,利用1996和2006年Landsat5的TM影像解译结果,基于GIS空间分析与数理统计方法定量研究了1996—2006年11年间的武汉市土地利用/覆被变化。研究结果表明：（1）1996—2006年期间,武汉市土地利用覆被总体特征表现出耕地、草地和未利用地减少,林地、水域和建设用地面积增加的态势;（2）这11年间耕地转化为林地、建设用地和水域这3种变化类型分布最为广泛,转换率最大;（3）11年来武汉市土地利用综合动态度变化幅度较大,并呈缓慢上升趋势。土地利用年变化速度达到1.25%;（4）1996—2006年武汉市土地利用程度逐年提高,土地利用程度变化量和变化率均大于0,说明武汉市处于土地利用发展时期,土地利用集约度会进一步提高。     

基于生态价值核算的重庆市区域生态补偿策略研究

生态系统服务功能是实施区域生态补偿最直接的依据.基于修正后的生态系统服务价值核算方法,对重庆市生态系统服务价值、生态补偿优先级及生态补偿额进行了核算,结果表明:1)重庆市2019年生态系统服务总价值8898.99亿元,水文调节和气候调节是最主要的生态系统服务价值类型;空间上,渝东北三峡库区城镇群生态系统服务价值占比达到...     

广州市萝岗区生态系统服务功能价值空间评估

基于遥感与GIS,选取生产有机物质、涵养水源、净化环境污染、气体调节、营养物质循环、保土育肥6项生态系统服务功能主要指标,计算得到的各项量化的生态服务功能效益,通过影子工程法、市场价值法和机会成本法等转换成生态系统服务价值,在小空间格网上对广州市萝岗区生态系统服务功能价值进行了定量评估和空间分析。结果表明：萝岗区2007年生态系统服务价值达到16.13亿元,平均为37 175.81元/hm2。从空间分布看：萝岗区北部农林地区生态服务价值最高,中部、东部山区的服务价值较高,南部工业地区服务价值较低。不同的生态景观具有不同的生态服务功能,保持生态景观的多样性和均衡性能促进生态系统服务价值的增加。萝岗区生态城建设要保护该区原生的自然生态景观特征和景观格局,促进区域生态服务功能的全面提升和生态服务价值总体增加。     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation

Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.     

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.     

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.