Comparing the impacts of hiking, skiing and horse riding on trail and vegetation in different types of forest

Nature-based tourism in protected areas has increased and diversified dramatically during the last decades. Different recreational activities have a range of impacts on natural environments. This paper reports results from a comparison of the impacts of hiking, cross-country skiing and horse riding on trail characteristics and vegetation in northern Finland. Widths and depths of existing trails, and vegetation on trails and in the neighbouring forests were monitored in two research sites during 2001 and 2002. Trail characteristics and vegetation were clearly related to the recreational activity, research site and forest type. Horse trails were as deep as hiking trails, even though the annual number of users was 150-fold higher on the hiking trails. Simultaneously, cross-country skiing had the least effect on trails due to the protective snow cover during winter. Hiking trail plots had little or no vegetation cover, horse riding trail plots had lower vegetation cover than forest plots, while skiing had no impact on total vegetation cover. On the other hand, on horse riding trails there were more forbs and grasses, many of which did not grow naturally in the forest. These species that were limited to riding trails may change the structure of adjacent plant communities in the long run. Therefore, the type of activities undertaken and the sensitivity of habitats to these activities should be a major consideration in the planning and management of nature-based tourism. Establishment of artificial structures, such as stairs, duckboards and trail cover, or complete closure of the site, may be the only way to protect the most sensitive or deteriorated sites.     

Global warming and environmental production efficiency ranking of the Kyoto Protocol nations

This paper analyzes the United Nations Organization's Kyoto Protocol nations to address two questions. First, what are the environmental production efficiency rankings of these nations? Second, is there a relationship between a nation's ratification status and its environmental production efficiency ranking? Our findings suggest that the nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol are more likely to be environmentally production efficient as compared to the nations that have not ratified the Protocol.     

Conceptual issues in designing a policy to phase out metal-based antifouling paints on recreational boats in San Diego Bay

In marine areas throughout the world where recreational boats are densely located, concentrations of copper in the water are being found to be in excess of government standards, due to the hull coatings used on these boats. Copper-based hull coatings are intended to be antifouling in that they retard the growth of algae, barnacles and tubeworms; but alternatives exist that can eliminate the harm that copper contamination does to marine organisms. A variety of policy options are available to mandate or provide economic incentives to switch to these less harmful alternatives. This paper puts forth a conceptual framework for thinking about how to design and evaluate alternative policies to transition to nontoxic boat hulls, drawing from the authors' experience designing a policy for use in San Diego Bay. Many of the issues raised are broadly applicable to environmental problems where the solution involves a large-scale replacement of durable consumer goods.     

An Approach for Evaluating the Repeatability of Rapid Wetland Assessment Methods: The Effects of Training and Experience

We sampled 92 wetlands from four different basins in the United States to quantify observer repeatability in rapid wetland condition assessment using the Delaware Rapid Assessment Protocol (DERAP). In the Inland Bays basin of Delaware, 58 wetland sites were sampled by multiple observers with varying levels of experience (novice to expert) following a thorough training workshop. In the Nanticoke (Delaware/Maryland), Cuyahoga (Ohio), and John Day (Oregon) basins, 34 wetlands were sampled by two expert teams of observers with minimal protocol training. The variance in observer to observer scoring at each site was used to calculate pooled standard deviations (SD_pool), coefficients of variation, and signal-to-noise ratios for each survey. The results showed that the experience level of the observer had little impact on the repeatability of the final rapid assessment score. Training, however, had a large impact on observer to observer repeatability. The SD_pool in the Inland Bay survey with training (2.2 points out of a 0–30 score) was about half that observed in the other three basins where observers had minimal training (SD_pool = 4.2 points). Using the results from the survey with training, we would expect that two sites assessed by different, trained observers who obtain DERAP scores differing by more than 4 points are highly likely to differ in ecological condition, and that sites with scores that differ by 2 or fewer points are within variability that can be attributed to observer differences.     

DEVELOPMENT OF A GIS‐BASED FLOOD INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR FLOODPLAIN MODELING AND DAMAGE CALCULATION1

ABSTRACT: This work presents a flexible system called GIS‐based Flood Information System (GFIS) for floodplain modeling, flood damages calculation, and flood information support. It includes two major components, namely floodplain modeling and custom designed modules. Model parameters and input data are gathered, reviewed, and compiled using custom designed modules. Through these modules, it is possible for GFIS to control the process of flood‐plain modeling, presentation of simulation results, and calculation of flood damages. Empirical stage‐damage curves are used to calculate the flood damages. These curves were generated from stage‐damage surveys of anthropogenic structures, crops, etc., in the coastal region of a frequently flooded area in Chia‐I County, Taiwan. The average annual flood damages are calculated with exceedance probability and flood damages for the designed rainfalls of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 year recurrence intervals with a duration of 24 hours. The average annual flood depth in this study area can also be calculated using the same method. The primary advantages of GFIS are its ability to accurately predict the locations of flood area, depth, and duration; calculate flood damages in the floodplain; and compare the reduction of flood damages for flood mitigation plans.     

OPTIMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT PUMPING SCHEDULES FOR AQUIFER REMEDIATION USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM1

ABSTRACT: Using a genetic algorithm (GA), optimal intermittent pumping schedules were established to simulate pump‐and‐treat remediation of a contaminated aquifer with known hydraulic limitations and a water miscible contaminant, located within the Duke Forest in Durham, North Carolina. The objectives of the optimization model were to minimize total costs, minimize health risks, and maximize the amount of contaminant removed from the aquifer. Stochastic ground water and contaminant transport models were required to provide estimates of contaminant concentrations at pumping wells. Optimization model simulations defined a tradeoff curve between the pumping cost and the amount of contaminant extracted from the aquifer. For this specific aquifer/miscible contaminant combination, the model simulations indicated that pump‐and‐treat remediation using intermittent pumping schedules for each pumping well produced significant reductions in predicted contaminant concentrations and associated health risks at a reasonable cost, after a remediation time of two years.     

Nitrogen input to the Gulf of Mexico

Historical streamflow and concentration data were used in regression models to estimate the annual flux of nitrogen (N) to the Gulf of Mexico and to determine where the nitrogen originates within the Mississippi Basin. Results show that for 1980-1996 the mean annual total N flux to the Gulf of Mexico was 1,568,000 t yr-1. The flux was about 61% nitrate N, 37% organic N, and 2% ammonium N. The flux of nitrate N to the Gulf has approximately tripled in the last 30 years with most of the increase occurring between 1970 and 1983. The mean annual N flux has changed little since the early 1980s, but large year-to-year variations in N flux occur because of variations in precipitation. During wet years the N flux can increase by 50% or more due to flushing of nitrate N that has accumulated in the soils and unsaturated zones in the basin. The principal source areas of N are basins in southern Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio that drain agricultural land. Basins in this region yield 1500 to more than 3100 kg N km-2 yr-1 to streams, several times the N yield of basins outside this region.     

Removal of uranium(VI) from contaminated sediments by surfactants

Uranium(VI) sorption onto a soil collected at the Melton Branch Watershed (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN) is strongly influenced by the pH of the soil solution and, to a lesser extent, by the presence of calcium, suggesting specific chemical interactions between U(VI) and the soil matrix. Batch experiments designed to evaluate factors controlling desorption indicate that two anionic surfactants, AOK and T77, at concentrations ranging from 60 to 200 mM, are most suitable for U(VI) removal from acidic soils such as the Oak Ridge sediment. These surfactants are very efficient solubilizing agents at low uranium concentrations: ca. 100% U(VI) removal for [U(VI)]o,sorbed = 10(-6) mol kg-1. At greater uranium concentrations (e.g., [U(VI)]o,sorbed = ca. 10(-5) mol kg-1), the desorption efficiency of the surfactant solutions increases with an increase in surfactant concentration and reaches a plateau of 75 to 80% of the U(VI) initially sorbed. The most probable mechanisms responsible for U(VI) desorption include cation exchange in the electric double layer surrounding the micelles and, to a lesser extent, dissolution of the soil matrix. Limitations associated with the surfactant treatment include loss of surfactants onto the soil (sorption) and greater affinity between U(VI) and the soil matrix at large soil to liquid ratios. Parallel experiments with H2SO4 and carbonate-bicarbonate (CB) solutions indicate that these more conventional methods suffer from strong matrix dissolution with the acid and reduced desorption efficiency with CB due to the buffering capacity of the acidic soil.     

Road Traffic and Nearby Grassland Bird Patterns in a Suburbanizing Landscape

An extensive road system with rapidly increasing traffic produces diverse ecological effects that cover a large land area. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of roads with different traffic volumes on surrounding avian distributions, and its importance relative to other variables. Grassland bird data (5 years) for 84 open patches in an outer suburban/rural landscape near Boston were analyzed relative to: distance from roads with 3000–8000 to >30,000 vehicles/day; open-habitat patch size; area of quality microhabitat within a patch; adjacent land use; and distance to other open patches. Grassland bird presence and regular breeding correlated significantly with both distance from road and habitat patch size. Distance to nearest other open patch, irrespective of size, was not significant. Similarly, except for one species, adjacent land use, in this case built area, was not significant. A light traffic volume of 3000–8000 vehicles/day (local collector street here) had no significant effect on grassland bird distribution. For moderate traffic of 8000–15,000 (through street), there was no effect on bird presence although regular breeding was reduced for 400 m from a road. For heavier traffic of 15,000–30,000 (two-lane highway), both bird presence and breeding were decreased for 700 m. For a heavy traffic volume of ≥30,000 vehicles/day (multilane highway), bird presence and breeding were reduced for 1200 m from a road. The results suggest that avian studies and long-term surveys near busy roads may be strongly affected by traffic volume or changes in volume. We conclude that road ecology, especially the effects extending outward >100 m from roads with traffic, is a sine qua non for effective land-use and transportation policy.     

Recycling of an industrial sludge and marine clay as light-weight aggregates

The geographical limitations of Singapore, its restricted natural resources and voluminous municipal and industrial waste streams, make environmental management a major challenge for the island state. In an attempt to find ways to reduce importation of raw materials and the waste sent to landfill, light weight aggregates were produced from marine clay and a CaF(2)-rich semiconductor industry sludge. Aggregates were produced in a bench-scale rotary kiln with three clay/sludge loadings (90/10, 70/30 and 50/50%). All three mixtures showed good bloating behavior during firing and the ceramic pellets (1-1.5cm diameter) had densities well below that required for light-weight aggregates. In the initial tests, the pore sizes of the aggregates were in general too large resulting in high water absorption. Comparisons between the composition of the two waste products and the aggregates showed a significant loss of fluorine (40-60%) during processing; a problem which may require flue gas treatment. Leach testing showed that the formed aggregates would not pose a human or environmental hazard in terms of fluorine mobilization.