基于生态足迹法的区域水资源生态承载力计算与评价——以珠海市为例

研究了人类社会对水资源的消耗、对自然生态环境的影响以及该影响的量化方法和量化指标,将生态足迹法引入区域水资源承载力系统,构建珠海市水资源生态承载力计算模型,分析计算水资源供给对区域经济社会发展的生态承载力,并对该地区的水资源生态承载力进行生态盈亏和敏感性评价.结果表明,总体上珠海市水资源系统呈现生态亏损,亏损率为37%,水资源生态承载呈现超载现象,珠海市城市化进程中流动人口增长对区域水资源的生态承载压力较大.研究结果还表明,将生态足迹模型运用到地区水资源承载力中具有较高的可信度,对地方尺度具有适用性.     

Conceptual framework for evaluation of ecotourism carrying capacity for sustainable development of Karkheh protected area,Iran

The maintenance of natural and virgin ecosystems against an unnecessary influx of humans requires a modern and efficient model such as the carrying capacity model to optimize the management and development of ecotourism in these areas. The model is one of the key tools for conservation and sustainability of these areas. The present research attempts to formulate a framework for the ecotourism carrying capacity model for sustainable development of Karkheh protected area in Iran. The information was collected using a citation method as well as, interviews with experts, and visitors, and director of the region with 24 key indicators being regulated by field surveys and library studies. In this study, the network analysis process model, the Pressure-State-Response conceptual model, and Arc GIS_10.5 software were used to determine the potential for the establishment of ecotourism performance in the scale of 1: 50,000. In this research, 70 questionnaires were completed by experts in the field of environment and ecotourism to determine the relative importance of effective pressures. According to the results, the highest values belonged to physical carrying capacity (13,425,681 persons per day), ecological carrying capacity (2,482,226 persons per day), and social and culture (985,706 people per day), respectively. Based on the regional carrying capacity, the physical, ecological, and social carrying capacity index was calculated as 3356, 621, and 246 (greater than one), respectively. According to the results, the region has a high carrying capacity, which can accept visitors.     

长江三角洲地区复合生态系统生态承载力研究

利用生态压力与生态弹性力之间的相互作用关系构建了生态承载力评价的指标体系,并以长江三角洲地区为例,对复合生态系统生态承载力进行评价。结果显示,上海市、江苏省、浙江省的生态压力指数在过去的10 a中虽略有起伏,但整体都在缓慢增大,生态弹性力指数也基本保持持续增长的态势,生态承载力水平基本向好的趋势发展,但依然处于高压平衡甚至失衡状态。     

化学品足迹:概念、研究进展及挑战

化学品污染被联合国环境规划署列为影响人类生存与发展的全球重大环境问题之一。为实现可持续的化学品管理,需定量评价产品生命周期内由化学品排放造成的生态影响。然而,当前的化学品风险评价指标体系往往指向零碎的危害性或毒性终点,未能综合出整体性指标来定量表征生态系统所承受的损害,亦不能衡量人类活动排放的化学品总量与环境承载容量的相对大小。作为环境足迹一员,化学品足迹继承了"足迹"指标的特点,可定量表征生态系统受化学品影响的程度,并结合生态阈值及环境承载容量,有助于评价人类活动对环境可持续性的影响,有望成为公众、企业、决策者及利益相关者之间相互交流的重要工具。本文概述了化学品足迹的基本概念及其发展历程,介绍了现有的化学品足迹计算方法及其应用于不同空间尺度下的案例研究,讨论了化学品足迹研究中存在的问题与挑战,并对其应用前景进行了展望。     

1995-2004年河北省生态足迹分析与生态恢复措施

生态足迹从具体的生物物理量角度研究自然资本消费的空间,为核算地区自然资本利用状况提供简明框架,进而可判断区域可持续发展状态。河北省正大力实施可持续发展战略,但在绿色战略问题上还面临一些难题。文章利用生态足迹模型,对河北省1995—2004年的生态足迹进行了时间序列的测度以及可持续发展的定量测算,根据计算结果进行分析提出相应对策。结果表明,10年间河北省的人均生态足迹增长率达47.9%,赤字增长率达58.5%,人类负荷超过其生态容量,生态承载力严重不能满足生态足迹的需求,区域的经济社会发展处于一种不可持续的发展状。从而加深了对河北省可持续发展状况的认识,对生态建设决策提供科学依据,并提出河北省生态恢复的措施。     

Calculating ecological carrying capacity of shellfish aquaculture using mass-balance modeling: Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

Increasing growth in the aquaculture industry demands ecosystem-based techniques for management if that growth is to be ecologically sustainable and promote equity among users of the ecosystems in which it occurs. Models of carrying capacity can be used to responsibly limit the growth of aquaculture in increasingly crowded coastal areas. Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA is one such crowded coastal region experiencing a rapid increase in bivalve aquaculture. An ecosystem mass-balance model was used to calculate the ecological carrying capacity of bivalve aquaculture. Cultured oyster biomass is currently at 0.47 t km⁻² and could be increased 625 times without exceeding the ecological carrying capacity of 297 t km⁻². This translates to approximately 38,950 t of harvested cultured oysters annually which is 4 times the total estimated annual harvest of finfish. This potential for growth is due to the high primary productivity and large energy throughput to detritus of this ecosystem. Shellfish aquaculture has potential for continued growth and is unlikely to become food limited due, in part, to the large detritus pool.     

Landscape constraints on functional diversity of birds and insects in tropical agroecosystems

In this paper, we analyzeatabases on birds and insects to assess patterns of functional diversity in human-dominated landscapes in the tropics. A perspective from developed landscapes is essential for understanding remnant natural ecosystems, because most species experience their surroundings at spatial scales beyond the plot level, and spillover between natural and managed ecosystems is common. Agricultural bird species have greater habitat and diet breadth than forest species. Based on a global data base, bird assemblages in tropical agroforest ecosystems were composed of disproportionately more frugivorous and nectarivorous, but fewer insectivorous bird species compared with forest. Similarly, insect predators of plant-feeding arthropods were more diverse in Ecuadorian agroforest and forest compared with rice and pasture, while, in Indonesia, bee diversity was also higher in forested habitats. Hence, diversity of insectivorous birds and insect predators as well as bee pollinators declined with agricultural transformation. In contrast, with increasing agricultural intensification, avian pollinators and seed dispersers initially increase then decrease in proportion. It is well established that the proximity of agricultural habitats to forests has a strong influence on the functional diversity of agroecosystems. Community similarity is higher among agricultural systems than in natural habitats and higher in simple than in complex landscapes for both birds and insects, so natural communities, low-intensity agriculture, and heterogeneous landscapes appear to be critical in the preservation of beta diversity. We require a better understanding of the relative role of landscape composition and the spatial configuration of landscape elements in affecting spillover of functionally important species across managed and natural habitats. This is important for data-based management of tropical human-dominated landscapes sustaining the capacity of communities to reorganize after disturbance and to ensure ecological functioning.     

The influence of environmental spatial structure on the life-history traits and diversity of species in a metacommunity

Several models have been proposed to understand how so many species can coexist in ecosystems. Despite evidence showing that natural habitats are often patchy and fragmented, these models rarely take into account environmental spatial structure. In this study we investigated the influence of spatial structure in habitat and disturbance regime upon species’ traits and species’ coexistence in a metacommunity. We used a population-based model to simulate competing species in spatially explicit landscapes. The species traits we focused on were dispersal ability, competitiveness, reproductive investment and survival rate. Communities were characterized by their species richness and by the four life-history traits averaged over all the surviving species. Our results show that spatial structure and disturbance have a strong influence on the equilibrium life-history traits within a metacommunity. In the absence of disturbance, spatially structured landscapes favour species investing more in reproduction, but less in dispersal and survival. However, this influence is strongly dependent on the disturbance rate, pointing to an important interaction between spatial structure and disturbance. This interaction also plays a role in species coexistence. While spatial structure tends to reduce diversity in the absence of disturbance, the tendency is reversed when disturbance occurs. In conclusion, the spatial structure of communities is an important determinant of their diversity and characteristic traits. These traits are likely to influence important ecological properties such as resistance to invasion or response to climate change, which in turn will determine the fate of ecosystems facing the current global ecological crisis.     

A modified method of ecological footprint calculation and its application

As economic and ecological support systems become more interdependent, new disciplines are needed to “bridge the gap” between human and nature. “Emergy” created by H.T. Odum is a new method for evaluating natural capital and ecosystem services. The “ecological footprint” created by Wackernagel and Rees has been promoted as a policy and planning tool for sustainability. The aim of this paper is to show a modified form of ecological footprint calculation by combining emergy analysis with conventional ecological footprint form of calculations. Our new method starts from the energy flows of a system in calculating ecological footprint and carrying capacity. Through a study of the energy flows, and using the method of emergy analysis, the energy flows of a system are translated into corresponding biological productive units. To demonstrate the mechanics of this new method, we compared our calculations with that of an original calculation of ecological footprint of a regional case. We select Gansu province in western China, as an example for application of our study. In this case the same conclusions were drawn using both methods: that Gansu province runs an ecological deficit.     

Ecological restoration,social-economic changes and sustainable development in the Three Gorges Reservoir area: A case study in Yunyang,Chongqing Municipality

The Three Gorges Reservoir area contains high mountains and deep valleys. The fragile mountainous ecosystems are facing problems such as overpopulation, less available farmland, ecological degradation and poverty. The construction of the Three Gorges Project and a series of ecological restoration activities and social-economic changes have influenced the present and future viability of this area. The measures which have been taken indicate that restoring and renewing the degraded ecosystems and improving the economy is a prerequisite and is possible. Yunyang, a typical county, both in terms of poverty and ecological degradation in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing Municipality, was chosen for the case study. This paper discusses the impacts of the Grain-for-Green project, ecological agriculture, urban and infrastructure building and ecological immigrants on the regional sustainable development through detailed field investigation and a questionnaire survey.     

Evaluation of carrying capacity with particular reference to firewood and fodder resources in Central Himalaya: a case study of Baliya catchment

SUMMARY

The dwindling forests of the Central Himalaya are suffering from serious losses, threatening the subsistence population of the region. This study analyses the rate of consumption of fodder and firewood in a Central Himalayan catchment and estimates the carrying capacity of the catchment for these resources. Estimates indicate that the carrying capacity of the natural ecosystems and agroecosystems, in terms of availability of fodder and fuelwood resources, has already been exceeded.     

The effects of variable predation risk on foraging and growth: less risk is not necessarily better

There is strong evidence that the way prey respond to predation risk can be fundamentally important to the structuring and functioning of natural ecosystems. The majority of work on such nonconsumptive predator effects (NCEs) has examined prey responses under constant risk or constant safety. Hence, the importance of temporal variation in predation risk, which is ubiquitous in natural systems, has received limited empirical attention. In addition, tests of theory (e.g., the risk allocation hypothesis) on how prey allocate risk have relied almost exclusively on the behavioral responses of prey to variation in risk. In this study, we examined how temporal variation in predation risk affected NCEs on prey foraging and growth. We found that high risk, when predictable, was just as energetically favorable to prey as safe environments that are occasionally pulsed by risk. This pattern emerged because even episodic pulses of risk in otherwise safe environments led to strong NCEs on both foraging and growth. However, NCEs more strongly affected growth than foraging, and we suggest that such effects on growth are most important to how prey ultimately allocate risk. Hence, exclusive focus on behavioral responses to risk will likely provide an incomplete understanding of how NCEs shape individual fitness and the dynamics of ecological communities.     

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。     

乡土植物在广梧高速公路生态绿化中的应用

绿化关系到高速公路的长期效益,是生态高速公路建设的重要内容。广梧高速公路的生态绿化,以利用乡土植物为原则,模拟自然生态系统的组成和结构,实现公路景观与周边自然景观的和谐统一。对广梧高速公路双凤至平台段的自然条件、植被类型及植物种类进行了全面调查,结果显示该地域共有维管束植物342种,隶属于95科244属,然后结合植物本身的生物学、生态学及生理学特征,从中筛选出适于本段高速公路两侧绿化带、边坡绿化的乡土植物53种;并根据沿线具体的生境条件,按照群落学的原则对其组合应用进行了设计。     

The Role of Prices in Conserving Critical Natural Capital

Abstract: Until recent decades, economic decision makers have largely ignored the nonmarket benefits provided by nature, resulting in unprecedented threats to ecological life‐support functions. The economic challenge today is to decide how much ecosystem structure can be converted to economic production and how much must be conserved to provide essential ecosystem services. Many economists and a growing number of life scientists hope to address this challenge by estimating the marginal value of environmental benefits and then using this information to make economic decisions. I assessed this approach first by examining the role and effectiveness of the price mechanism in a well‐functioning market economy, second by identifying the issues that prevent markets from pricing many ecological benefits, and third by focusing on problems inherent to valuing services generated by complex and poorly understood ecosystems subject to irreversible change. I then focus on critical natural capital (CNC), which generates benefits that are essential to human welfare and have few if any substitutes. When imminent ecological thresholds threaten CNC, conservation is essential and marginal valuation becomes inappropriate. Once conservation needs have been met, remaining ecosystem structure is potentially available for economic production. Demand for this available supply will determine prices. In other words, conservation needs should be price determining, not price determined. Conservation science must help identify CNC and the quantity and quality of ecosystem structure required to ensure its sustained provision.     

Generation of Priority Research Questions to Inform Conservation Policy and Management at a National Level

Abstract: Integrating knowledge from across the natural and social sciences is necessary to effectively address societal tradeoffs between human use of biological diversity and its preservation. Collaborative processes can change the ways decision makers think about scientific evidence, enhance levels of mutual trust and credibility, and advance the conservation policy discourse. Canada has responsibility for a large fraction of some major ecosystems, such as boreal forests, Arctic tundra, wetlands, and temperate and Arctic oceans. Stressors to biological diversity within these ecosystems arise from activities of the country's resource‐based economy, as well as external drivers of environmental change. Effective management is complicated by incongruence between ecological and political boundaries and conflicting perspectives on social and economic goals. Many knowledge gaps about stressors and their management might be reduced through targeted, timely research. We identify 40 questions that, if addressed or answered, would advance research that has a high probability of supporting development of effective policies and management strategies for species, ecosystems, and ecological processes in Canada. A total of 396 candidate questions drawn from natural and social science disciplines were contributed by individuals with diverse organizational affiliations. These were collaboratively winnowed to 40 by our team of collaborators. The questions emphasize understanding ecosystems, the effects and mitigation of climate change, coordinating governance and management efforts across multiple jurisdictions, and examining relations between conservation policy and the social and economic well‐being of Aboriginal peoples. The questions we identified provide potential links between evidence from the conservation sciences and formulation of policies for conservation and resource management. Our collaborative process of communication and engagement between scientists and decision makers for generating and prioritizing research questions at a national level could be a model for similar efforts beyond Canada.     

生态环境脆弱地区城市化发展特征及城市发展路径选择流程研究

脆弱的生态环境会对城市化进程产生一定的约束作用。生态环境脆弱地区的城市化,表现出与非脆弱地区不同的特征。以往的研究,更倾向于对各类生态环境脆弱地区分别进行研究。本文试图站在更宏观的角度,通过研究生态环境脆弱和非脆弱地区这两个大类在城市化发展方面的异同,明确生态环境脆弱地区城市化发展的特征及合适的路径。首先在阅读了大量国内外相关文献的基础上,总结了干旱区、喀斯特地区、高寒地区、过渡区等类型的生态环境脆弱区的共性,了解其城市化现状及约束因素,并结合学者们的研究,与生态环境良好地区的城市化进行了对比,提出发展的对策。在理论分析的基础上,文章第二部分初步构建了一个生态环境脆弱地区城市化发展路径的选择方法及流程。研究表明生态环境脆弱区城市化的制约因素主要有地质条件、地形、水文、气候、植被和地上地下自然资源等,与生态环境良好地区城市化的差异主要体现在产业选择、人口承载力及城市建设用地等方面,这些方面也是该类地区在城市化过程中应格外重视的。生态环境脆弱地区城市化路径选择流程主要分为以下几个步骤：归类、分析城市化水平及阶段、分析生态环境演变历程、研究城市化与生态环境的相互作用机制、情景分析、制定战略规划,确定城市的功能、定位等。     

大亚湾开发区经济发展与土地资源的可持续利用

大亚湾开发区由于自然地理条件优越,特别是曾因美国的熊猫汽车和英荷壳牌石油等的落户而带动了区域经济的迅速发展,成为广东省沿海地区外商投资的热点,使原为滨海小镇的穷乡僻壤面临大规模高强度的开发．本文根据区域自然环境条件和经济发展势态．对土地资源的利用现状、土地利用结构的动态变化以及土地承载力状况进行分析;指出在开发过程中存在的耕地面积急剧下降．农田用多养少,土地征而未用以及在规划上对农业的重视不足等问题;最后从协调经济发展与土地利用保护的矛盾,维护区域的良好自然生态环境和土地资源的可持续利用出发,对区域的土地利用保护提出了六点对策性措施．     

小流域可持续发展能力的生态足迹法分析--以重庆市万州区五桥河流域为例

以三峡库区五桥河流域为例,将生态足迹理论与方法运用于小流域尺度的可持续发展研究中,采用问卷调查的数据获取方式,保守地估算了该区居民的生态足迹需求和生态足迹供给,并与其他国家(地区)作比较,分析了该区的资源利用效益.结果表明,五桥河流域人均生态足迹需求为1.020 7 hm2·人-1,而生态承载力仅为0.465 2 hm2·人-1,生态赤字达到-0.555 5 hm2·人-1;生态足迹需求及亏缺主要源于林地和草地类产品的消费;五桥河流域生态足迹赤字已经高于全球水平(-0.4 hm2·人-1),资源利用效率仅为世界平均水平的12%,该区发展呈相对不可持续状态.     

制度-技术-资源协同影响生态经济的效果分析

生态经济是在生态系统承载能力范围内,运用系统工程方法和生态经济学原理改变生产和消费方式,挖掘资源的潜力,建设体制合理与社会和谐环境的经济形态。生态经济的以资源为基础,以政策与制度为导向,以技术创新为支撑,是制度、技术、资源等重要影响变量协同作用的结果,制度变迁、技术创新、资源利用三者共同作用于生态经济运行过程都呈现出了典型的非线性特征;将制度、技术、资源分别视为生态经济系统的高层、中层和低层子系统,以逻辑斯蒂（Logistic）曲线为基础,建构了生态经济发展的非线性动力学模型;最后以系统论的观点分析了制度、技术、资源与生态经济发展、科学发展观贯彻、和谐社会构建之间的互动关系。