Psychological stress and marginalization as indicators of human carrying capacity in deforesting areas

SUMMARY

A scheme in which psychological factors are considered in effective forest management planning is proposed. A central role is played by human carrying capacity, the resilience of people to deal with the consequences of environmental degradation. Stress and marginalization are taken as indicators of human carrying capacity. A study in Côte d'Ivoire is described in which psychological stress and marginalization were studied in individuals from environments which show different degrees of degradation. Three related hypotheses are proposed: first that individuals living in or near a degrading forest are more stressed and marginalized than individuals in a reference group living in Abidjan; second that people living near the forest with the most sustained and severe degradation would be more stressed and marginalized; finally, that members of autochthonous cultural groups show higher stress and marginalization levels than members of migrant groups. The results of our study showed that people living near the degraded forest were more stressed but not marginalized unless the degradation was severe and sustained. Females were more stressed than males and members of both sexes from autochthonous cultural groups were more prone to stress and marginalization than members of migrant groups.     

人为作用对土壤环境质量的影响及对策

人为作用引起的土壤环境变化是衡量和反映土壤资源与环境质量的标志,它与当前世界关注的全球变化和可持续发展密切相关。本文着重讨论近百年来土壤环境的变化以及未来土壤环境变化的新趋势。通过大量的数据,阐述由于人为作用,上地退化和水土污染问题日益严重。文章还进一步从气候变化、人口压力和大型工程建设等几方面对未来土壤环境的影响进行了预测。最后提出了防治土地退化、水土污染及提高土壤环境质量的对策。     

Pollution,habitat loss,fishing, and climate change as critical threats to penguins

Cumulative human impacts across the world's oceans are considerable. We therefore examined a single model taxonomic group, the penguins (Spheniscidae), to explore how marine species and communities might be at risk of decline or extinction in the southern hemisphere. We sought to determine the most important threats to penguins and to suggest means to mitigate these threats. Our review has relevance to other taxonomic groups in the southern hemisphere and in northern latitudes, where human impacts are greater. Our review was based on an expert assessment and literature review of all 18 penguin species; 49 scientists contributed to the process. For each penguin species, we considered their range and distribution, population trends, and main anthropogenic threats over the past approximately 250 years. These threats were harvesting adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease. Habitat loss, pollution, and fishing, all factors humans can readily mitigate, remain the primary threats for penguin species. Their future resilience to further climate change impacts will almost certainly depend on addressing current threats to existing habitat degradation on land and at sea. We suggest protection of breeding habitat, linked to the designation of appropriately scaled marine reserves, including in the High Seas, will be critical for the future conservation of penguins. However, large‐scale conservation zones are not always practical or politically feasible and other ecosystem‐based management methods that include spatial zoning, bycatch mitigation, and robust harvest control must be developed to maintain marine biodiversity and ensure that ecosystem functioning is maintained across a variety of scales. Contaminación, Pérdida de Hábitat, Pesca y Cambio Climático como Amenazas Críticas para los Pingüinos     

坡地赤红壤物理退化及其机理研究──Ⅲ.土壤物理退化机理分析

主要通过相关统计和综合分析,探讨坡地赤红壤物理退化的内部和外部环境的影响因素．指出养分贫瘠化,尤其是贫有机质化是坡地赤红壤物理性状退化的主要内部原因,植被破坏则是坡地赤红壤物理性状退化的外部因素、而人类活动的影响对坡地赤红壤的物理退化有重要作用。     

Alternative stable states and phase shifts in coral reefs under anthropogenic stress

Ecosystems with alternative stable states (ASS) may shift discontinuously from one stable state to another as environmental parameters cross a threshold. Reversal can then be difficult due to hysteresis effects. This contrasts with continuous state changes in response to changing environmental parameters, which are less difficult to reverse. Worldwide degradation of coral reefs, involving "phase shifts" from coral to algal dominance, highlights the pressing need to determine the likelihood of discontinuous phase shifts in coral reefs, in contrast to continuous shifts with no ASS. However, there is little evidence either for or against the existence of ASS for coral reefs. We use dynamic models to investigate the likelihood of continuous and discontinuous phase shifts in coral reefs subject to sustained environmental perturbation by fishing, nutrification, and sedimentation. Our modeling results suggest that coral reefs with or without anthropogenic stress can exhibit ASS, such that discontinuous phase shifts can occur. We also find evidence to support the view that high macroalgal growth rates and low grazing rates on macroalgae favor ASS in coral reefs. Further, our results suggest that the three stressors studied, either alone or in combination, can increase the likelihood of both continuous and discontinuous phase shifts by altering the competitive balance between corals and algae. However, in contrast to continuous phase shifts, we find that discontinuous shifts occur only in model coral reefs with parameter values near the extremes of their empirically determined ranges. This suggests that continuous shifts are more likely than discontinuous shifts in coral reefs. Our results also suggest that, for ecosystems in general, tackling multiple human stressors simultaneously maximizes resilience to phase shifts, ASS, and hysteresis, leading to improvements in ecosystem health and functioning.     

A geological perspective on the degradation and conservation of western Atlantic coral reefs

Continuing coral‐reef degradation in the western Atlantic is resulting in loss of ecological and geologic functions of reefs. With the goal of assisting resource managers and stewards of reefs in setting and measuring progress toward realistic goals for coral‐reef conservation and restoration, we examined reef degradation in this region from a geological perspective. The importance of ecosystem services provided by coral reefs—as breakwaters that dissipate wave energy and protect shorelines and as providers of habitat for innumerable species—cannot be overstated. However, the few coral species responsible for reef building in the western Atlantic during the last approximately 1.5 million years are not thriving in the 21st century. These species are highly sensitive to abrupt temperature extremes, prone to disease infection, and have low sexual reproductive potential. Their vulnerability and the low functional redundancy of branching corals have led to the low resilience of western Atlantic reef ecosystems. The decrease in live coral cover over the last 50 years highlights the need for study of relict (senescent) reefs, which, from the perspective of coastline protection and habitat structure, may be just as important to conserve as the living coral veneer. Research is needed to characterize the geological processes of bioerosion, reef cementation, and sediment transport as they relate to modern‐day changes in reef elevation. For example, although parrotfish remove nuisance macroalgae, possibly promoting coral recruitment, they will not save Atlantic reefs from geological degradation. In fact, these fish are quickly nibbling away significant quantities of Holocene reef framework. The question of how different biota covering dead reefs affect framework resistance to biological and physical erosion needs to be addressed. Monitoring and managing reefs with respect to physical resilience, in addition to ecological resilience, could optimize the expenditure of resources in conserving Atlantic reefs and the services they provide.     

海南岛生态环境质量分析评价

运用遥感和地理信息系统等技术 ,按照景观生态学的原理 ,对海南生态环境现状进行了评价 ,并对近十年来的变化进行了对比分析。结果表明 ,海南生态环境质量由中部向外依次降低 ,天然林从数量上看面积在减少 ,从空间上看沿着边缘线向中部山区退缩。另外 ,土地沙化 /土地退化在向着恢复逆转的方向发展。     

农村环境质量区划原则及指标体系

目前工业“三废”对农村环境污染的发展趋势有所减缓，但乡镇工业对农村环境污染的比重仍在逐渐增大，污染势头继续增强。从整体上讲，农村环境质量继续恶化的趋势尚未得到有效的控制。为加强农村环境质量的管理，本文着重论述了农村环境质量区划应遵循的４条原则，以层次分析法为原理，从自然生态环境、人类开发强度、环境状况３个方面，提出由２８个指标组成的农村环境质量区划指标体系，该指标体系简便适用、易于操作，对不同层次、不同地区的具体区划具有指导意义。     

An assessment of Turkish deltaic landscapes regarding environmental conservation and sustainable management--a case study of the Kizilirmak Delta

Deltas, as macro and micro biological systems at high productive levels, are the natural reserve areas of the world. Those in Turkey present the international importance landscapes as to the various ecosystem characteristics and land use patterns. Nevertheless, these areas are currently facing many problems such as biodiversity loss and environmental degradation owing to coastal settlements and pollution factors. This paper describes the factors responsible for the main features and degradation types of the Deltaic landscapes and their impact for future land use. It also deals with : an overview of the Kizilirmak Delta, one of the most important Deltas along the central part of Black Sea Region (Turkey); presents major ecosystem of it; identifies land use pattern and discusses the threats by environmental and human induced disturbances. The most considering feature of this Delta is to show the largest and most significant wetland area of Turkey which has been able to protect its natural beauties on the Black Sea Coasts. A Delta plain of 56000 hectares extends through the area at the north of the Samsun-Sinop highway. The ecological system of the Delta is extremely rich in terms of its biological variety as well as its fauna (especially number of bird species). But, the Delta including terrestrial areas close to the water resources and the vegetation between aquatic and terrestrial systems, has been constantly modified by human activities. Consequently, some considerations for environmental conservation and sustainable management were put forward for the future generations.     

Nexus security: governance, innovation and the resilient city

Nexus security is a compound mix of ideas: reconciling human needs and wants with access to multiple resources; diversity of access to those resources and services; resilience in the face of weather- and climaterelated variability; resilience likewise in the face of infrastructure failure; and the personal, individual sense of belonging. At the level of Systems Thinking there is a very close relationship between resilience in the behavior of natural (ecological) systems and resilience in the social dynamics of governance within communities, where such resilience establishes the viability of these communities over centuries, which in turn entails successful stewardship of the man-environment relationship. We use insights from this cross-system mapping — across natural, built, and human systems — to assess, first, the role of city governance in achieving nexus security (or not) and, second, the role of technological innovations in serving the same purpose. More specifically, eight principles, covering resilience and diversity of access to resources and services, are used to gauge security-enhancing features of city buildings and infrastructure. Case studies include new designs of resilient office blocks, nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) recovery systems for sanitation and wastewater treatment, and the reconstruction of urban parks for the provision of ecosystem services. Throughout the paper, matters of risk in the face of meteorological variability are prominent. We do not conclude, however, that the presence of risk implies nexus insecurity.     

Coping with complex and dynamic systems. An approach to a transdisciplinary understanding of coastal zone developments

Complexity and uncertainty play important roles in coastal management. Economic development may push the coastal system beyond its resilience thresholds as a result of interactions between environmental and socio-economic processes. The concepts in this paper link processes of system change, natural evolutionary processes observed in coastal zones, to processes of social evolution. An indicator based on calculating an ecological footprint for coastal zones is presented to guide decision-making in spatial and economic planning. The suggested indicator may support a range of methods linking economic valuation and environmental impact analysis.     

三唑酮在油菜-土壤生态系统中的降解与建模

为评价三唑酮可湿性粉剂在土壤-油菜生态系统中使用后的残留行为和环境安全性,进行了2 a大田试验,并比较了指数模型、GM(1,1)灰色模型、阻滞动力学模型对三唑酮降解规律的描述。结果表明:3种模型的拟合结果均达到统计学意义上显著相关;对三唑酮在土壤和油菜中降解行为模拟结果最好的分别为GM(1,1)模型和阻滞动力学模型;三唑酮在土壤中2 a的半衰期分别为3.48和4.38 d,油菜植株中分别为1.98和3.78 d,其降解受温度影响较大。     

Foundations of Resilience Thinking

Through 3 broad and interconnected streams of thought, resilience thinking has influenced the science of ecology and natural resource management by generating new multidisciplinary approaches to environmental problem solving. Resilience science, adaptive management (AM), and ecological policy design (EPD) contributed to an internationally unified paradigm built around the realization that change is inevitable and that science and management must approach the world with this assumption, rather than one of stability. Resilience thinking treats actions as experiments to be learned from, rather than intellectual propositions to be defended or mistakes to be ignored. It asks what is novel and innovative and strives to capture the overall behavior of a system, rather than seeking static, precise outcomes from discrete action steps. Understanding the foundations of resilience thinking is an important building block for developing more holistic and adaptive approaches to conservation. We conducted a comprehensive review of the history of resilience thinking because resilience thinking provides a working context upon which more effective, synergistic, and systems‐based conservation action can be taken in light of rapid and unpredictable change. Together, resilience science, AM, and EPD bridge the gaps between systems analysis, ecology, and resource management to provide an interdisciplinary approach to solving wicked problems. Fundamentos del Pensamiento sobre Resiliencia     

Recent advances in research on cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes in sediment,soil and biosolid: a review

Three cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMS) were widely used in various processes of production and industrials and frequently added to consumer products. cVMS are continuously released into the environment, causing increasing environmental and human exposing risks. cVMS were investigated in air, water, biogas, soil, sediment, biosolid and organism. Many scholars focused on the occurrence, behaviours, fate and effects of cVMS in environmental matrices all over the world. However, few studies paid attention to the environmental behaviour of cVMS in the solid phase. We assessed their environmental behaviour and fate in soil, biosolid and sediment. High concentrations of cVMS were detected in biosolids. Volatilisation, adsorption and degradation were the major environmental behaviours for cVMS in the solid phase. Although some aquatic organisms showed an appropriate level of bioaccumulation and bioconcentration, there were no obvious evidence of trophic biomagnification in aquatic food webs for octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5). In addition, cVMS in the environment have not impacted for natural organisms because the concentrations in soil and sediment have not exceeded the maximum no-observed-effect-concentration threshold. Finally, regarding the major environmental behaviour in soil and sediment, suggestions for further study are proposed.     

A study of Malaiyur village ecosystem of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu (India)

The interaction between man and environment in Malaiyur, a hilly village of Madurai District (Tamil Nadu) was studied during the year 1998. The village is sustained on agriculture labour and hence occupies the lowest hierarchy with traditional occupation and the people may be categorised as 'ecosystem people'. The study suggests that the people has to be changed as 'Biosphere people' to protect the environmental degradation due to human activities.     

Elements of fishing community resilience to climate change in the coastal zone of Bangladesh

Resilience has been conceptualized in various ways by anthropologists, ecologists, systems scientists and engineers; the boundaries of resilience are subjective and context dependent. Consequently, choosing the standards and metrics for assessing resilience remains key challenges for policy makers. In this study, using multicriteria evaluation of 40 basic criteria of human, physical, financial, natural and social assets, we have identified several elements, such as experienced fishermen, natural abundance of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha), ability to assert decision on fish selling, nets and boats ownership, social harmony and capacity of buying food as essential livelihood assets for the fishermen at Hatiya Island, Bangladesh. These assets may enhance the relative resilience of the fishing community of the island to climate change by as much as 20–40%. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the elements that lead to resilience at the community level.     

High richness and dense seeding enhance grassland restoration establishment but have little effect on drought response

Restorations commonly utilize seed addition to formerly arable lands where the development of native plant communities is severely dispersal limited. However, variation in seed addition practices may profoundly affect restoration outcomes. Theory and observations predict that species-rich seed mixtures and seeding at high densities should enhance native plant community establishment, minimize exotic species cover, and may promote resistance and resilience to, and recovery from, environmental perturbations. We studied the post-seeding establishment of native plant communities in large grassland restoration plots, which were sown at two densities crossed with two levels of species richness on formerly arable land in Nebraska, USA, and their responses to drought. To evaluate drought resistance, recovery, and resilience of restored plant communities, we erected rainfall manipulation structures and tracked the response of seeded species cover and total plant biomass during experimental drought relative to controls and in the post-drought growing season. High seed richness and high-density seeding treatments resulted in greater richness and cover of native, seeded species per 0.5 m2 compared to low-richness and low-density treatments. Cover differences in response to seed mixture richness were driven by native forbs. Richness and cover of exotic species were lowest in high-richness and high-density treatments. We found little evidence of differential drought resistance, recovery, and resilience among seeding treatments. Increases in exotic species across years were restricted to drought subplots, and were not affected by seeding treatments. Grassland restoration was generally enhanced and exotic cover reduced both by the use of high-richness seed mixtures and high-density seeding. Given the lack of restoration treatment effects on the resistance, recovery, or resilience of seeded species exposed to drought, and the increases in exotic species following drought, other forms of active management may be needed to produce restored plant communities that are robust to climate change.     

Microbiota associated with the migration and transformation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons in groundwater

Pollution of groundwater with chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) is a serious environmental problem which is threatening human health. Microorganisms are the major participants in degrading these contaminants. Here, groundwater contaminated for a decade with CAHs was investigated. Numerical simulation and field measurements were used to track and forecast the migration and transformation of the pollutants. The diversity, abundance, and possible activity of groundwater microbial communities at CAH-polluted sites were characterized by molecular approaches. The number of microorganisms was between 5.65E+05 and 1.49E+08 16S rRNA gene clone numbers per liter according to quantitative real-time PCR analysis. In 16S rRNA gene clone libraries constructed from samples along the groundwater flow, eight phyla were detected, and Proteobacteria were dominant (72.8 %). The microbial communities varied with the composition and concentration of pollutants. Meanwhile, toluene monooxygenases and methane monooxygenases capable of degradation of PCE and TCE were detected, demonstrating the major mechanism for PCE and TCE degradation and possibility for in situ remediation by addition of oxygen in this study.     

Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis with Bird Populations as Habitat-Specific Environmental Indicators: Evidence from Canada

Abstract:  The traditional environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis postulates that environmental degradation follows an inverted U-shaped relationship with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. We tested the EKC hypothesis with bird populations in 5 different habitats as environmental quality indicators. Because birds are considered environmental goods, for them the EKC hypothesis would instead be associated with a U-shaped relationship between bird populations and GDP per capita. In keeping with the literature, we included other variables in the analysis—namely, human population density and time index variables (the latter variable captured the impact of persistent and exogenous climate and/or policy changes on bird populations over time). Using data from 9 Canadian provinces gathered over 37 years, we used a generalized least-squares regression for each bird habitat type, which accounted for the panel structure of the data, the cross-sectional dependence across provinces in the residuals, heteroskedasticity, and fixed- or random-effect specifications of the models. We found evidence that supports the EKC hypothesis for 3 of the 5 bird population habitat types. In addition, the relationship between human population density and the different bird populations varied, which emphasizes the complex nature of the impact that human populations have on the environment. The relationship between the time-index variable and the different bird populations also varied, which indicates there are other persistent and significant influences on bird populations over time. Overall our EKC results were consistent with those found for threatened bird species, indicating that economic prosperity does indeed act to benefit some bird populations.     

矿山废弃地生态退化程度评价

矿山废弃地是受采矿影响极度退化的生态系统,生态退化程度评价是对矿山废弃地生态质量现状、环境影响和治理难度的评估过程,可用于指导矿山废弃地生态环境影响评价和生态恢复规划编制等。本文分别尾矿库、露采迹地、排岩场和压占区4种矿山废弃地类型,采用兼顾自然因子和人为干扰强度因子的评价方法,通过对主要生态、环境问题的分析,选择导致生态系统退化的主要因子或易于反映生态系统质量的自然因子和人为干扰强度因子作为生态退化评价指标,评价指标来自于工程设计条件、土壤、植被和地质安全性4个方面;首先采用层次分析法确定各评价指标权重,其中占用面积和地表破坏程度是最最要的指标;在生态退化等级划分基础上确定了各评价指标的域值,并将各指标量化和标准化,计算各生态退化等级的综合得分值变化范围,建立了矿山废弃地生态退化程度综合评价方法体系,将生态退化程度划分为可自然恢复、可治理、难于治理和不能治理4个等级。最后,针对遵化市典型民营铁矿进行了案例适用性分析,并对不同退化等级的废弃地进行了生态防护措施分析。