Determining advanced recycling fees and subsidies in "E-scrap" reverse supply chains

Primarily due to environmental concerns and legislative mandates, the disposition of end-of-life (EOL) electronics products has attracted much attention. Advanced recycling fees (ARFs) and government subsidies may play important roles in encouraging or curtailing the flows of recycled items. We present a Stackelberg-type model to determine ARFs and socially optimal subsidy fees in decentralized reverse supply chains where each entity independently acts according to its own interests. The model consists of one leader (the government) and two followers (a group of manufacturers, importers, and sellers (MISs) and a group of recyclers). To maximize social welfare, the government determines the ARFs paid by MIS and the subsidy fees for recyclers when MIS sells new products and recyclers process EOL products. We find that MIS and recyclers behave at the equilibrium status by choosing optimal selling quantity in the market and optimal reward money for customers bringing EOL products to recyclers. Under this approach the two fees achieve the maximum of social welfare at the equilibrium status, while both MIS and recyclers gain the maximum of profits. For comparative purposes, we also develop a conceptual model describing the current practice by which ARFs and the subsidy fees are determined on the basis of fund balance between revenues and costs along with recycling operations. We conclude that our results outperform current practice.     

Development of Customized Fire Behavior Fuel Models for Boreal Forests of Northeastern China

Knowledge of forest fuels and their potential fire behavior across a landscape is essential in fire management. Four customized fire behavior fuel models that differed significantly in fuels characteristics and environmental conditions were identified using hierarchical cluster analysis based on fuels data collected across a boreal forest landscape in northeastern China. Fuel model I represented the dense and heavily branched Pinus pumila shrubland which has significant fine live woody fuels. These forests occur mainly at higher mountain elevations. Fuel model II is applicable to forests dominated by Betula platyphylla and Populus davidiana occurring in native forests on hill slopes or at low mountain elevations. This fuel model was differentiated from other fuel models by higher herbaceous cover and lower fine live woody loading. The primary coniferous forests dominated by Larix gmelini and Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongolica were classified as fuel model III and fuel model IV. Those fuel models differed from one another in average cover and height of understory shrub and herbaceous layers as well as in aspect. The potential fire behavior for each fuel model was simulated with the BehavePlus5.0 fire behavior prediction system. The simulation results indicated that the Pinus pumila shrubland fuels had the most severe fire behavior for the 97th percentile weather condition, and had the least severe fire behavior under 90th percentile weather condition. Fuel model II presented the least severe fire potential across weather conditions. Fuel model IV resulted in greater fire severity than Fuel model III across the two weather scenarios that were examined.     

Overview of Contemporary Issues of Forest Research and Management in China

With 207 million ha of forest covering 22% of its land area, China ranks fifth in the world in forest area. Rapid economic growth, climate change, and forest disturbances pose new, complex challenges for forest research and management. Progress in meeting these challenges is relevant beyond China, because China’s forests represent 34% of Asia’s forests and 5% of the worlds’ forests. To provide a broader understanding of these management challenges and of research and policies that address them, we organized this special issue on contemporary forest research and management issues in China. At the national level, papers review major forest types and the evolution of sustainable forestry, the development of China’s forest-certification efforts, the establishment of a forest inventory system, and achievements and challenges in insect pest control in China. Papers focused on Northern China address historical, social, and political factors that have shaped the region’s forests; the use of forest landscape models to assess how forest management can achieve multiple objectives; and analysis and modeling of fuels and fire behavior. Papers addressing Central and South China describe the “Grain for Green” program, which converts low productivity cropland to grassland and woodland to address erosion and soil carbon sequestration; the potential effects of climate change on CO₂ efflux and soil respiration; and relationships between climate and net primary productivity. China shares many forest management and research issues with other countries, but in other cases China’s capacity to respond to forest management challenges is unique and bears watching by the rest of the world.     

关于危险化学品重大危险源分级的研究

在重大危险源死亡半径分级法的基础上,引入经济密度和人员密度,并给出不同情况下相应的计算方法。然后以＂最大危险原则＂和＂概率求和原则＂为财产损失和人员伤亡计算的原则,以《重大危险源分级标准（征求意见稿）》中的分级标准为标准,对危险化学品重大危险源进行分级,这样进行危险源分级时,可将周边环境中可能波及到的财产损失和人员伤亡考虑进去,使得危险化学品重大危险源分级考虑的因素更加全面,分级的结果和实际情况更加吻合。本文的研究结果对危险化学品重大危险源分级具有一定的参考价值。     

峨眉山资源植物研究

按资源植物的用途与相似有机化学物质类群,将峨眉山资源植物分为5大类11小类.统计表明,绝对数量最高的大类资源植物依次为药用植物、园林植物和食用植物,而药用植物、芳香植物在我国同类资源中占较大的相对比重;绝对数量最高的小类资源植物依次为纤维、鞣质、油脂与蛋白植物资源种类,而淀粉、维生素与色素资源种类比重达到或超过全国同类资源植物数量的1/2.峨眉山资源植物的特点是:种类丰富,蓄积量小;珍稀度高,特有性强;品类齐全,潜力巨大.围绕峨眉山资源植物的有效保护和利用,提出了建立长效的科技合作与资源共享机制,提高资源编目与监测水平,建立"峨眉山植物园",逐步树立"峨眉山"资源植物品牌等建议.     

云南高原湖泊流域土地利用与水质变化异质性分析

以云南省九大高原湖泊为例,通过面板数据方式分析对高原湖泊流域土地利用类型变化,通过库兹涅兹曲线相关内容对利用强度的分析以及与水质的动态变化情况,得到耕地、园地、湿地面积与湖泊含磷量存在一定负相关.林地、牧草地、建设用地面积与湖泊含磷量存在一定正相关.牧草地、耕地、园地、湿地面积与湖泊含氮量存在一定负相关,建设用地面积与湖泊含氮量存在一定正相关.园地和耕地面积与污染综合指数存在负相关,建设用地面积与污染综合指数存在负相关.分析指出,滇池、泸沽湖处于流域协调区间,阳宗海、抚仙湖、星云湖、程海处于流域冲突区间,洱海、异龙湖处于冲突区间向协调区间转型过程中.     

我国公务员人力资源管理廉政考核体系研究

我国体制转轨时期,面对当前的腐败,究其原因除了腐败本身具有的顽固性尚未得到根本遇制外,缺少科学的廉政考核体系也是一个重要原因.本文从我国公务员康政概念开始,通过一系列指标体系的测量,充分利用现代科技不断进行制度和方法的创新,不断完善我国公务员康政考核的指标体系.     

An innovative computer design for modeling forest landscape change in very large spatial extents with fine resolutions

Although forest landscape models (FLMs) have benefited greatly from ongoing advances of computer technology and software engineering, computing capacity remains a bottleneck in the design and development of FLMs. Computer memory overhead and run time efficiency are primary limiting factors when applying forest landscape models to simulate large landscapes with fine spatial resolutions and great vegetation detail. We introduce LANDIS PRO 6.0, a landscape model that simulates forest succession and disturbances on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. LANDIS PRO 6.0 improves on existing forest landscape models with two new data structures and algorithms (hash table and run-length compression). The innovative computer design enables LANDIS PRO 6.0 to simulate very large (>10⁸ ha) landscapes with a 30-m spatial resolution, which to our knowledge no other raster forest landscape models can do. We demonstrate model behavior and performance through application to five nested forest landscapes with varying sizes (from 1 million to 100 million 0.09-ha cells) in the southern Missouri Ozarks. The simulation results showed significant and variable effects of changing spatial extent on simulated forest succession patterns. Results highlighted the utility of a model like LANDIS PRO 6.0 that is capable of efficiently simulating large landscapes and scaling up forest landscape processes to a common regional scale of analysis. The programming methodology presented here may significantly advance the development of next generation of forest landscape models.     

Effect of arsenic species on the growth and arsenic accumulation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis>

The effects of arsenic (As) species, such as As(III), As(V) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), on the accumulation of As in cucumber (Cucumis sativus), as well as on its growth in a soil mesocosm were evaluated. When Cucumis sativus was cultivated in soils contaminated with 20 and 50 mg/kg of As(III), As(V) or DMA for 40 days, the growth was markedly inhibited by the inorganic As (As(III) and As(V)) rather than the organic As (DMA). Irrespective of the As species, the As concentrations accumulated in Cucumis sativus increased with increasing As concentration in the soil. The As bioaccumulation factors from soil into the tissue of Cucumis sativus were 17.5–35.4, 29.3–42.7 and 17.6–25.7 for As(III), As(V) and DMA, respectively. In addition, the As translocation factors from the roots to shoots were 0.025–0.031, 0.018–0.032 and 0.014–0.026 for As(III), As(V) and DMA, respectively. In conclusion, Cucumis sativus mainly accumulated As in its roots rather than its shoots and easily accumulated inorganic rather than organic As from the soil into its tissue.     

Distributions of heavy metals in the sediments of South Korean harbors

Mechanisms of natural attenuation of arsenic (As) by wetland plants may be classified by plant uptake and adsorption and/or co-precipitation by iron (oxy)hydroxide formed on the root surface of plants or in rhizosediment. A natural Cattail (Typha spp.) wetland impacted by tailings containing high levels of As from the Myungbong abandoned Au Mine, South Korea was selected, and the practical capability of this wetland to attenuate As was evaluated. The As concentrations in the plant tissues from the study wetland were several-fold higher than those from control wetland. SEM-EDX analyses demonstrated that iron plaques exist on the rhizome surface. Moreover, relatively high As contents bonded with hydrous iron oxides were found in the rhizosediments rather than in the bulk sediments. It was revealed through the leaching and sequential extraction analyses that As existed as more stable forms in the wetland sediment compared with adjacent paddy soil, which is also contaminated with As due to input of mine tailings. The As concentration ratios of extracted solution to sediment/soil represented that the wetland sediment showed significant lower values (10-fold) rather than the paddy soil with indicating high As stability. Also, As in the wetland sediment was predominantly bonded with residual phases on the basis of results from sequential extraction analysis. From these results, it is concluded that transformation of As contaminated agricultural field to wetland environment may be helpful for natural attenuation until active remediation action.