Changing land use/cover patterns and implications for sustainable environmental management in the Irangi Hills,central Tanzania

This article examines the changes in land-use/cover types in the Irangi Hills, central Tanzania during the last 45 years and how such changes have influenced environmental and agricultural sustainability in the area. The spatial and temporal changes of land-use/cover were analysed through aerial photographs interpretation. Local perceptions and experiences of changes were addressed through household interviews and field observations. Results from this study show that during the last 45 years open and wooded grasslands, and other tree-cover types covered about 40% of the land area, ranging from 29% in 1960 to 43–45% between 1977 and 1992. Also, during the same period both the total area and spatial distribution of cultivated fields varied greatly. The cultivated area increased from 31% in 1977 to 35% in 1992, mainly due to agricultural expansion into areas formerly used for grazing and in sandy watercourses that shrunk by 55% between 1977 and 1992. The spatial distribution of the different land-use/cover types is influenced by variations in the scale of soil erosion and soil-conservation initiatives implemented in the Irangi Hills since the early 1970s. However, with increasing pressure on the land, and the declining capacity of the soil conservation authority, sustaining agricultural production in the area remains a major challenge.     

Distribution of radionuclides in the guano sediments of Xisha Islands, South China Sea and its implication

Several natural and anthropogenic radionuclides (²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra and ¹³⁷Cs) in guano-phosphatic coral sediments and pure guano particles collected from Ganquan, Guangjin, Jinqing and Jinyin Islands of the Xisha archipelago, South China Sea, were analyzed. The Constant Initial Concentration (CIC) model and the Constant Rate of Supply (CRS) model were applied for age calculation. The average supply rate of ²¹⁰Pb was 126 Bq m⁻² a⁻¹, very close to the flux of northern hemisphere average (125 Bq m⁻² a⁻¹). The activities of anthropogenic radionuclides in the sediments were very low, indicating that human nuclear tests did not notably impact this region. The main source of radionuclides in the sediments was from atmospheric precipitation, and the organic matter derived from plant and produced by nutrient-rich guano could further enhance them.     

Variation of radiation level and radionuclide enrichment in high background area

Significantly high radiation level and radionuclide concentration along Quilon beach area of coastal Kerala have been reported by several investigators. Detailed gamma radiation level survey was carried out using a portable scintillometer. Detailed studies on radionuclides concentration in different environmental matrices of high background areas were undertaken in the coastal areas of Karunagapalli, Kayankulam, Chavara, Neendakara and Kollam to study the distribution and enrichment of the radionuclides in the region. The absorbed gamma dose rates in air in high background area are in the range 43-17,400 nGyh⁻¹. Gamma radiation level is found to be maximum at a distance of 20 m from the sea waterline in all beaches. The soil samples collected from different locations were analysed for primordial radionuclides by gamma spectrometry. The activity of primordial radionuclides was determined for the different size fractions of soil to study the enrichment pattern. The highest activity of ²³²Th and ²²⁶Ra was found to be enriched in 125-63 μ size fraction. The preferential accumulation of ⁴⁰K was found in <63 μ fraction. The minimum ²³²Th activity was 30.2 Bq kg⁻¹, found in 1000-500 μ particle size fraction at Kollam and maximum activity of 3250.4 Bq kg⁻¹ was observed in grains of size 125-63 μ at Neendakara. The lowest ²²⁶Ra activity observed was 33.9 Bq kg⁻¹ at Neendakara in grains of size 1000-500 μ and the highest activity observed was 482.6 Bq kg⁻¹ in grains of size 125-63 μ in Neendakara. The highest ⁴⁰K activity found was 1923 Bq kg⁻¹ in grains of size <63 μ for a sample collected from Neendakara. A good correlation was observed between computed dose and measured dose in air. The correlation between ²³²Th and ²²⁶Ra was also moderately high. The results of these investigations are presented and discussed in this paper.     

两晋以来气候变化对太湖流域稻麦两熟复种的影响

太湖流域的稻麦两熟复种大约产生于东晋南朝时期（317～589年）,此后这一种植制度长期存在,并不断有所发展。考察发现,此一区域的稻麦两熟在历史上的大多数时候并无突出的季节矛盾,只是有两个时期例外。这两个时期一是明末清初,一是19世纪。太湖流域历史上突出的季节矛盾不由人口、品种等社会原因引起,而由气候变化这一自然因素导致。明末清初和19世纪分别是历史上最为寒冷的时期,是气候变冷造成了这一区域稻麦两熟突出的季节矛盾。     

基于GIS和组合赋权法的农村生态功能适宜性评价及管制分区

在村级土地利用规划过程中进行生态功能适宜性评价,以了解农村生态质量状况、明确农村生态功能适宜程度及空间分布,为村级土地利用规划中土地利用方向的确定和空间布局的划分提供科学的生态适宜依据,从而更好地协调农村发展建设和生态环境保护的关系有着至关重要的作用。以岩南村为例,开展了农村生态功能适宜性评价及应用研究。以高分辨率航空影像为数据源,从地形条件、土壤资源、生物资源、水资源、人类干扰5个方面建立了评价指标体系;利用组合赋权法确定各评价因子的权重值,构建了生态功能适宜性评价模型;以栅格为评价单元,在GIS支持下,对岩南村进行生态功能适宜性评价。并根据评价结果划分了生态功能适宜等级,制定了分区管制措施,提出了土地利用建议,旨在为岩南村土地利用规划提供指导     

The drivers of risk to water security in Shanghai

Big cities are often said to have big water problems, and Shanghai is no exception. In this paper, we examine and compare the influence of the major factors that give rise to the risk of water insecurity in Shanghai. There is an extensive and diverse literature on these issues, dealt with in isolation, and here, we provide a synthesis of the literature, together with our own assessments and calculations, to assess what are the risks to Shanghai’s water supply and what is our degree of confidence in this assessment. We describe the systems that supply water to the city, and past and future changes in the systems, including changes in the glaciers that supply some water to the river, changes in climate, changes in land use, the construction of dams, and water diversions. We show how, at the same time as Shanghai is increasing its dependence on the Yangtze river, water diversions and sea level rise are increasing the risk that this water will be too saline to consume at certain times of the year. This analysis suggests that most of the major drivers of the risk to water security in Shanghai are within the power of environmental managers to control.     

Hierarchical priority setting for restoration in a watershed in NE Spain, based on assessments of soil erosion and ecosystem services

Maintaining and enhancing ecosystem services through the restoration of degraded ecosystems have become an important biodiversity conservation strategy. Deciding where to restore ecosystems for the attainment of multiple services is a key issue for future planning, management, and human well-being. Most restoration projects usually entail a small number of actions in a local area and do not consider the potential benefits of planning restoration at broad regional scales. We developed a hierarchical priority setting approach to evaluate the performance of restoration measures in a semiarid basin in NE Spain (the Martín River Basin, 2,112 km²). Our analysis utilized a combination of erosion (a key driver of degradation in this Mediterranean region) and six spatially explicit ecosystem services data layers (five of these maps plotted surrogates for soil retention and accumulation, water supply and regulation, and carbon storage, and one plotted a cultural service, ecotourism). Hierarchical maps were generated using a geographic information system that combined areas important for providing a bundle of ecosystem services, as state variables, with erosion maps, as the disturbance or regulatory variable. This was performed for multiple scales, thereby identifying the most adequate scale of analysis and establishing a spatial hierarchy of restoration actions based on the combination of the evaluation of erosion rates and the provision of ecosystem services. Our approach provides managers with a straightforward method for determining the spatial distribution of values for a set of ecosystem services in relation to ecological degradation thresholds and for allocating efforts and resources for restoration projects in complex landscapes.     

Exploring the effects of population growth on future land use change in the Las Vegas Wash watershed: an integrated approach of geospatial modeling and analytics

The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is one of the fastest growing areas in the southwestern United States. The rapid urbanization has presented many environmental challenges. For instance, as population growth and urbanization continue, the supply of sufficient clean water will become a concern. In addition, the area is also experiencing the longest drought in history, and the volume of water storage in Lake Mead, the main fresh water supply for the entire region, has been reduced greatly. The water quality in the main stem of the Las Vegas Wash (LVW) and Lake Mead may also be significantly affected. In order to develop effective sustainable management plans, the very first step is to predict the plausible future urbanization and land use patterns. This paper presents an approach to predict the future land use pattern at the LVW watershed using a Markov cellular automata model. The multi-criteria evaluation was used to couple population density as a variable depicting the driving force of urbanization in the model. Moreover, landscape metrics were used to analyze land use changes in order to better understand the dynamics of urban development in the LVW watershed. The predicted future land use maps for the years 2030 and 2050 show substantial urban development in the area, much of which are located in areas sensitive to source water protections. The results of the analysis provide valuable information for local planners and policy makers, assisting their efforts in constructing alternative sustainable urban development schemes and environmental management strategies.     

基于PCA和SOM网络的洪泽湖水质时空变化特征分析

2010年分4个季度对洪泽湖全湖20个样点的水质理化特征进行了定期监测,采用修正的卡尔森营养状态指数法（TSIm）综合评价了洪泽湖水质的营养状况,同时应用主成分分析（PCA）和自组织特征映射网络（SOM网络）分析了洪泽湖水质的时空变化特征。结果显示：除了水深（WD）和透明度（SD）,洪泽湖的pH、EC、NH+4 N、TN、TP、和CODMn等水质参数季节差异显著。TSIm综合评价结果表明洪泽湖4个季节的水质均呈富营养化状态,夏季富营养化程度最严重。PCA分析表明洪泽湖水质主要受离子和氮盐的控制,磷不是控制洪泽湖水质的最主要因素。SOM网络将全湖20个样点聚为G1、G2和G3三类,G1代表洪泽湖相对封闭的北部区域,有沉水植被分布,水质主要受围网养殖污染的影响;G2代表洪泽湖东部和南部区域,〖JP2〗航运繁忙,直接承接淮河入湖河水,水质主要受淮河入湖河水和航运的影响;G3代表洪泽湖西部水域,沿岸密布养殖池塘且人口密度大,水质主要受养殖废水和城镇生活污水的影响。研究认为,控制外源污染和恢复沉水植被是防治洪泽湖富营养化的有效途径     

低成本高效慢速烤燃试验方法研究

目的研究低成本高效慢速烤燃试验方法。方法利用自主研发的一套慢速烤燃试验装置,以1℃/min和3.3℃/h升温程序作为对比试验,设置几种三阶段升温程序,对JBO-9013和JH-14炸药进行慢速烤燃试验,以此获得不同升温程序下试样的响应温度和响应等级。结果 1℃/min、3.3℃/h、三阶段(100/150/193℃)升温程序下,JBO-9013响应温度分别为243.1、199.5、199.8、201.4、193.0℃,响应等级均为燃烧反应;JH-14响应温度分别为211.0、186.0、191.7℃,响应等级均为爆轰反应。结论升温程序对JBO-9013和JH-14响应温度和响应剧烈程度均有影响。与GJB8018—2013中1℃/min升温程序相比,三阶段升温程序与MIL-STD-2105D和STANAG 4439中3.3℃/h烤燃试验结果吻合度较高。因此,三阶段升温程序具有缩短试验周期、提高试验效率和降低试验成本的作用。