SIMULATION/OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR MULTI-BASIN WATER RESOURCE PLANNING1

A set of simulation and optimization tools capable of analyzing the development and operation of a complex, multi-basin, interconnected water resource are explained. These models provide valuable information regarding the important questions: (1) “When should new projects be build?” (2) “How big should they be?” and (3) “How should the system be operated?” Since these tools were developed by and for practicing engineers, their applicability to real-world problems is mandatory. To assure this, testing was done on an actual proposed project, the Texas Water System.     

Forest Restoration and Forest Communities: Have Local Communities Benefited from Forest Service Contracting of Ecosystem Management?

Conservation-based development programs have sought to create economic opportunities for people negatively impacted by biological diversity protection. The USDA Forest Service, for example, developed policies and programs to create contracting opportunities for local communities to restore public lands to replace jobs lost from reduced timber harvest. This article examines 12 years of Forest Service land management contracting in western Oregon, Washington, and northern California to evaluate if contractors located in communities near national forests have been awarded more land management contracts and contract value over time. We find that land management contracting spending has declined dramatically and, once we control for intervening factors, we find that local contractors have received a smaller proportion of land management contracts over time.     

中国煤中氟的含量及其分布

在全国主要产煤的26个省、市和自治区根据各煤田的地质储量、成煤时期和煤变质程度,兼顾各矿区的煤炭产量,采集305个煤样,用高温热水解-离子选择性电极法测定了全部样品的氟含量.煤中的氟主要以无机形态赋存,氟含量和变质程度之间没有必然的联系.成煤时代等单一因素对氟含量的影响可能为其它各种因素的综合作用所掩盖,对此有必要进行更深入、具体的研究研究了各省、市和自治区的煤氟含量的分布,有必要重新审视、甄别燃煤型氟中毒区氟的来源.全国煤的氟含量服从对数正态分布,90%的样品含氟范围为47～347mg/kg,宜用几何平均值136mg/kg作为全国平均煤氟含量.与世界煤相比,中国煤氟含量并无异常.     

Policy And Practice The Environmental Component of the Leader Programme, 1992-94

Rural development across various Member States of the EU has been assisted by the LEADER programme (1992-94). In view of the fact that this is to be extended by LEADER 2 (1994-99), a preliminary analysis of the environment component of the original programme is presented. Whilst LEADER was never intended to be an environmental programme as such, many local groups showed considerable environmental awareness in selecting and shaping their projects. There is reason for qualified optimism that the basic tenets of sustainable development have permeated much of LEADER.     

Community wildfire protection planning in the American West: homogeneity within diversity?

As large wildfires have become common across the American West, federal policies such as the Healthy Forests Restoration Act have empowered local communities to plan for their own wildfire protection. Here, we present an analysis of 113 community wildfire protection plans from 10 western states where large fires have recently occurred. These plans contain wide diversity in terms of specific plan elements and dimensions, yet less diversity in the paradigms underlying their fire protection approaches. These patterns held true across both plans constructed solely by local actors as well as those constructed with the help of outside consultant expertise.     

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS: A NECESSITY IN WATER PLANNING1

ABSTRACT In water planning activities, major emphasis has been placed on the development of procedures for devising “optimum plans.” These plans are defined as those which meet prespecified demands for water at “minimum cost.” However, all plans are developed subject to postulated conditions regarding the state of the physical system and of nature. Because planning takes place in a dynamic and uncertain environment in which postulated conditions are known to change, it is imperative that the planner be apprised in the planning phase of the effect of changes which can occur. Using “this information, a planner can temper his judgment with a knowledge of the effect of the uncertainty resulting from changes in the system state variables. This paper presents results of the use of a computer simulation and optimization model to quantify possible variations in system response which could occur as a result of uncertainty in the postulated physical and economic conditions under which the proposed water development system was to perform. The possible effects of these variable responses on planning decision-making is discussed.     

Local and landscape scale factors influencing edge effects on woodland salamanders

We examined local and landscape-scale variable influence on the depth and magnitude of edge effects on woodland salamanders in mature mixed mesophytic and northern hardwood forest adjacent to natural gas well sites maintained as wildlife openings. We surveyed woodland salamander occurrence from June-August 2006 at 33 gas well sites in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. We used an information-theoretic approach to test nine a priori models explaining landscape-scale effects on woodland salamander capture proportion within 20 m of field edge. Salamander capture proportion was greater within 0-60 m than 61-100 m of field edges. Similarly, available coarse woody debris proportion was greater within 0-60 m than 61-100 m of field edge. Our ASPECT model, that incorporated the single variable aspect, received the strongest support for explaining landscape-scale effects on salamander capture proportion within 20 m of opening edge. The ASPECT model indicated that fewer salamanders occurred within 20 m of opening edges on drier, hotter southwestern aspects than in moister, cooler northeastern aspects. Our results suggest that forest habitat adjacent to maintained edges and with sufficient cover still can provide suitable habitat for woodland salamander species in central Appalachian mixed mesophytic and northern hardwood forests. Additionally, our modeling results support the contention that edge effects are more severe on southwesterly aspects. These results underscore the importance of distinguishing among different edge types as well as placing survey locations within a landscape context when investigating edge impacts on woodland salamanders.     

Decreasing lead bioaccessibility in industrial and firing range soils with phosphate-based amendments

In-situ stabilization using phosphate (P) amendments, such as P-based fertilizers and rock, are a potentially cost-effective and minimally disruptive alternative for stabilizing Pb in soils. We examined the effect of time (0-365 d), in vitro extraction pH (1.5 vs. 2.3), and dosage of three P-based amendments on the bioaccessibility (as a surrogate for oral bioavailability) of Pb in 10 soils from U.S. Department of Defense facilities. Initial untreated soil bioaccessibility consistently exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency default value of 60% relative bioavailability, with higher bioaccessibility consistently observed at an in vitro extraction pH of 1.5 vs. 2.3. Although P-based amendments statistically (P < 0.05) reduced bioaccessibility in many instances, with reductions dependent on the amendment and dosage, large amendment dosages (approximately 20-25% by mass to yield 5% P by mass) were required to reduce average bioaccessibility by approximately 25%. For most amendment combinations, reductions continued to occur for periods up to 1 yr, indicating that the observed reductions were not merely experimental artifacts of the in vitro extraction procedure. Although our results indicated that reductions in Pb bioaccessibility with P amendments are technically feasible, relatively large amendment masses were required to achieve relatively modest reductions in bioaccessibility. The cost and potential environmental implications of adding such large amounts of P may limit the practicality of in situ immobilization for some Pb-contaminated soils, industrial and firing range soils in particular.