Decision‐Making Triggers in Adaptive Management

We analyzed whether decision‐making triggers increase accountability of adaptive‐management plans. Triggers are prenegotiated commitments in an adaptive‐management plan that specify what actions are to be taken and when on the basis of information obtained from monitoring. Triggers improve certainty that particular actions will be taken by agencies in the future. We conducted an in‐depth, qualitative review of the political and legal contexts of adaptive management and its application by U.S. federal agencies. Agencies must satisfy the judiciary that adaptive‐management plans meet substantive legal standards and comply with the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act. We examined 3 cases in which triggers were used in adaptive‐management plans: salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the Columbia River, oil and gas development by the Bureau of Land Management, and a habitat conservation plan under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In all the cases, key aspects of adaptive management, including controls and preidentified feedback loops, were not incorporated in the plans. Monitoring and triggered mitigation actions were limited in their enforceability, which was contingent on several factors, including which laws applied in each case and the degree of specificity in how triggers were written into plans. Other controversial aspects of these plans revolved around who designed, conducted, interpreted, and funded monitoring programs. Additional contentious issues were the level of precaution associated with trigger mechanisms and the definition of ecological baselines used as points of comparison. Despite these challenges, triggers can be used to increase accountability, by predefining points at which an adaptive management plan will be revisited and reevaluated, and thus improve the application of adaptive management in its complicated political and legal context. Detonadores de la Toma de Decisiones en el Manejo Adaptativo     

生活垃圾填埋场渗滤液处理技术研究

根据处理工艺原理的不同 ,分别介绍生化和物化处理技术、膜处理技术、土地处理技术和蒸发处理技术等处理工艺研究与应用的进展情况 ,同时根据我国填埋场渗滤液的产生特点和处理处置现状 ,展望了我国渗滤液处理工艺的发展趋势。     

藻类对有机污染物生物吸附的研究进展

随着工业的迅猛发展,越来越多的有毒有机污染物被排放到环境中,进而引起一系列环境问题。大量研究表明,生物吸附已经成为去除有毒有机污染物的重要方法,而藻类作为一种理想的生物吸附剂,具有良好的吸附和降解有机污染物的能力。概述了藻类对染料、酚类、多环芳烃三种具有代表性的有毒有机污染物的生物吸附。     

废弃放射源处理措施探讨

随着石油化工企业应用放射源数量的不断增多,放射源的安全管理已经成为石化企业安全管理工作的重要组成部分,尤其是废弃、闲置的放射源,存放不当或保存时间过久很容易丢失.对此,国家和中国石化集团公司高度重视,陆续颁布了一系列新的法规、规定.如国务院新修订的<放射性同位素与射线装置安全和防护条例>从2005年12月1日起实施,中国石化集团公司安全环保局也于2004年新修订了<放射防护管理规定>,并实行射线作业票制度.在中国石化集团公司历年安全大检查中,加大了对放射源的安全检查力度,放射源安全检查成为每次安全检查的必检内容.     

Two-stage fuzzy-stochastic robust programming: a hybrid model for regional air quality management

In this study, a hybrid two-stage fuzzy-stochastic robust programming (TFSRP) model is developed and applied to the planning of an air-quality management system. As an extension of existing fuzzy-robust programming and two-stage stochastic programming methods, the TFSRP can explicitly address complexities and uncertainties of the study system without unrealistic simplifications. Uncertain parameters can be expressed as probability density and/or fuzzy membership functions, such that robustness of the optimization efforts can be enhanced. Moreover, economic penalties as corrective measures against any infeasibilities arising from the uncertainties are taken into account. This method can, thus, provide a linkage to predefined policies determined by authorities that have to be respected when a modeling effort is undertaken. In its solution algorithm, the fuzzy decision space can be delimited through specification of the uncertainties using dimensional enlargement of the original fuzzy constraints. The developed model is applied to a case study of regional air quality management. The results indicate that reasonable solutions have been obtained. The solutions can be used for further generating pollution-mitigation alternatives with minimized system costs and for providing a more solid support for sound environmental decisions.     

Progress in the ecology and conservation of giant pandas

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) conservation is a possible success story in the making. If extinction of this iconic endangered species can be avoided, the species will become a showcase program for the Chinese government and its collaborators. We reviewed the major advancements in ecological science for the giant panda, examining how these advancements have contributed to panda conservation. Pandas’ morphological and behavioral adaptations to a diet of bamboo, which bear strong influence on movement ecology, have been well studied, providing knowledge to guide management actions ranging from reserve design to climate change mitigation. Foraging ecology has also provided essential information used in the creation of landscape models of panda habitat. Because habitat loss and fragmentation are major drivers of the panda population decline, efforts have been made to help identify core habitat areas, establish where habitat corridors are needed, and prioritize areas for protection and restoration. Thus, habitat models have provided guidance for the Chinese governments’ creation of 67 protected areas. Behavioral research has revealed a complex and efficient communication system and documented the need for protection of habitat that serves as a communication platform for bringing the sexes together for mating. Further research shows that den sites in old‐growth forests may be a limiting resource, indicating potential value in providing alternative den sites for rearing offspring. Advancements in molecular ecology have been revolutionary and have been applied to population census, determining population structure and genetic diversity, evaluating connectivity following habitat fragmentation, and understanding dispersal patterns. These advancements form a foundation for increasing the application of adaptive management approaches to move panda conservation forward more rapidly. Although the Chinese government has made great progress in setting aside protected areas, future emphasis will be improved management of pandas and their habitat.     

湖南木兰科植物资源的调查研究

本文分析了湖南木兰科分布的自然条件,结合其形态性状讨论了它们的分类学问题、地理分布特点、资源状况以及自然生长状况。文末提出了湖南省木兰科的保护植物名单。     

IFTCIP: An Integrated Optimization Model for Environmental Management under Uncertainty

In this study, an interval-fuzzy two-stage chance-constrained integer programming (IFTCIP) method is developed for supporting environmental management under uncertainty. The IFTCIP improves upon the existing interval, fuzzy, and two-stage programming approaches by allowing uncertainties expressed as probability distributions, fuzzy sets, and discrete intervals to be directly incorporated within a general mixed integer linear programming framework. It has advantages in uncertainty reflection, policy investigation, risk assessment, and capacity-expansion analysis in comparison to the other optimization methods. Moreover, it can help examine the risk of violating system constraints and the associated consequences. The developed method is applied to the planning for facility expansion and waste-flow allocation within a municipal solid waste management system. Violations of capacity constraints are allowed under a range of significance levels, which reflects tradeoffs between the system cost and the constraint-violation risk. The results indicate that reasonable solutions for both binary and continuous variables have been generated under different risk levels. They are useful for generating desired decision alternatives with minimized system cost and constraint-violation risk under various environmental, economic, and system-reliability conditions. Generally, willingness to take a higher risk of constraint violation will guarantee a lower system cost; a strong desire to acquire a lower risk will run into a higher system cost.     

Land desertification monitoring and assessment in Yulin of Northwest China using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS)

The objective of this study is to develop techniques for assessing and analysing land desertification in Yulin of Northwest China, as a typical monitoring region through the use of remotely sensed data and geographic information systems (GIS). The methodology included the use of Landsat TM data from 1987, 1996 and 2006, supplemented by aerial photos in 1960, topographic maps, field work and use of other existing data. From this, land cover, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), farmland, woodland and grassland maps at 1:100,000 were prepared for land desertification monitoring in the area. In the study, all data was entered into a GIS using ILWIS software to perform land desertification monitoring. The results indicate that land desertification in the area has been developing rapidly during the past 40 years. Although land desertification has to some extent been controlled in the area by planting grasses and trees, the issue of land desertification is still serious. The study also demonstrates an example of why the integration of remote sensing with GIS is critical for the monitoring of environmental changes in arid and semi-arid regions, e.g. in land desertification monitoring in the Yulin pilot area. However, land desertification monitoring using remote sensing and GIS still needs to be continued and also refined for the purpose of long-term monitoring and the management of fragile ecosystems in the area.     

大气中黑碳的健康效应及机制研究进展

虽然人类社会不断进步发展,但大量工业和自然排放也导致了严重的空气污染。大气颗粒物是大气污染物的主要成分之一,黑碳是其中的重要组成成分,被国际癌症研究机构(IARC)归类为2B类致癌物。黑碳可以吸附其他致癌物质,会对环境和人体健康产生不利影响,因此黑碳暴露对人类的危害得到越来越多的重视。空气中黑碳的水平与心血管、呼吸和神经系统疾病的发生都有关系;黑碳主要通过引起氧化应激和炎症反应,诱发基因突变等一系列损伤。虽然现今对于黑碳健康效应的研究已取得了一些进展,但研究多数处于起步阶段,且仅针对黑碳本身进行单独研究,未来还需要加强开展对黑碳和其他污染物联合毒性效应及机制的研究。本综述主要针对近年来已开展的研究进行了总结归纳。