Quantifying biases in marine-protected-area placement relative to abatable threats

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a critical defense against biodiversity loss in the world's oceans, but to realize near-term conservation benefits, they must be established where major threats to biodiversity occur and can be mitigated. We quantified the degree to which MPA establishment has targeted stoppable threats (i.e., threats that can be abated through effectively managed MPAs alone) by combining spatially explicit marine biodiversity threat data in 2008 and 2013 and information on the location and potential of MPAs to halt threats. We calculated an impact metric to determine whether countries are protecting proportionally more high- or low-threat ecoregions and compared observed values with random protected-area allocation. We found that protection covered <2% of ecoregions in national waters with high levels of abatable threat in 2013, which is ∼59% less protection in high-threat areas than if MPAs had been placed randomly. Relatively low-threat ecoregions had 6.3 times more strict protection (International Union for Conservation of Nature categories I–II) than high-threat ecoregions. Thirty-one ecoregions had high levels of stoppable threat but very low protection, which presents opportunities for MPAs to yield more significant near-term conservation benefits. The extent of the global MPA estate has increased, but the establishment of MPAs where they can reduce threats that are driving biodiversity loss is now urgently needed.     

Assessing ecological function in the context of species recovery

Species interactions matter to conservation. Setting an ambitious recovery target for a species requires considering the size, density, and demographic structure of its populations such that they fulfill the interactions, roles, and functions of the species in the ecosystems in which they are embedded. A recently proposed framework for an International Union for Conservation of Nature Green List of Species formalizes this requirement by defining a fully recovered species in terms of representation, viability, and functionality. Defining and quantifying ecological function from the viewpoint of species recovery is challenging in concept and application, but also an opportunity to insert ecological theory into conservation practice. We propose 2 complementary approaches to assessing a species’ ecological functions: confirmation (listing interactions of the species, identifying ecological processes and other species involved in these interactions, and quantifying the extent to which the species contributes to the identified ecological process) and elimination (inferring functionality by ruling out symptoms of reduced functionality, analogous to the red-list approach that focuses on symptoms of reduced viability). Despite the challenges, incorporation of functionality into species recovery planning is possible in most cases and it is essential to a conservation vision that goes beyond preventing extinctions and aims to restore a species to levels beyond what is required for its viability. This vision focuses on conservation and recovery at the species level and sees species as embedded in ecosystems, influencing and being influenced by the processes in those ecosystems. Thus, it connects and integrates conservation at the species and ecosystem levels.     

Application of the Red List Index for conservation assessment of Spanish vascular plants

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI) is used to measure trends in extinction risk of species over time. The development of 2 red lists for Spanish vascular flora during the past decade allowed us to apply the IUCN RLI to vascular plants in an area belonging to a global biodiversity hotspot. We used the Spanish Red Lists from 2000 and 2010 to assess changes in level of threat at a national scale and at the subnational scales of Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and peninsular Spain. We assigned retrospective IUCN categories of threat to 98 species included in the Spanish Red List of 2010 but absent in the Spanish Red List of 2000. In addition, we tested the effect of different random and taxonomic and spatial Spanish samples on the overall RLI value. From 2000 to 2010, the IUCN categories of 768 species changed (10% of Spanish flora), mainly due to improved knowledge (63%), modifications in IUCN criteria (14%), and changes in threat status (12%). All measured national and subnational RLI values decreased during this period, indicating a general decline in the conservation status of the Spanish vascular flora. The Canarian RLI value (0.84) was the lowest, although the fastest deterioration in conservation status occurred on peninsular Spain (from 0.93 in 2000 to 0.92 in 2010). The RLI values based on subsamples of the Spanish Red List were not representative of RLI values for the entire country, which would discourage the use of small areas or small taxonomic samples to assess general trends in the endangerment of national biotas. The role of the RLI in monitoring of changes in biodiversity at the global and regional scales needs further reassessment because additional areas and taxa are necessary to determine whether the index is sufficiently sensitive for use in assessing temporal changes in species’ risk of extinction.     

氯乙烯生产中的清洁生产分析

结合氯乙烯清洁生产中存在的实际问题,重点对氯乙烯工业生产全过程涉及的工艺技术路线与技术装备的先进性进行分析。通过不同生产工艺的纵向比对,及先进工艺的不同专利技术间的横向对比,对氯乙烯的生产工艺进行清洁生产的分析与评价。     

观音堂库区水温变化对水生态环境影响的分析

本文用径流-库容比数法，对观音堂水库水体水温结构类型进行判断，用经验公式法和代表层水温法对观音堂水库水体水温结构和下泄水温进行了预测，预测结果表明：观音堂水库属分层型水库，在汛期表现出临时混合型的特点，水库下泄水使下游河道水温年内分布趋于均匀．这种水温变化，导致水库水质随水库深度增加而逐渐恶化，对水库下游河段水生生态系统产生不利影响。     

A Global Indicator for Biological Invasion

Abstract:  "Trends in invasive alien species" is one of only two indicators of threat to biodiversity that form part of the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) framework for monitoring progress toward its "2010 target" (i.e., the commitment to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss). To date, however, there is no fully developed indicator for invasive alien species (IAS) that combines trends, derived from a standard set of methods, across species groups, ecosystems, and regions. Here we provide a rationale for the form and characteristics of an indicator of trends in IAS that will meet the 2010 framework goal and targets for this indicator. We suggest single and composite indicators that include problem-status and management-status measures that are designed to be flexible, readily disaggregated, and as far as possible draw on existing data. The single indicators at national and global scales are number of IAS and numbers of operational management plans for IAS. Global trends in IAS are measured as the progress of nations toward the targets of stabilizing IAS numbers and the implementation of IAS management plans. The proposed global indicator thus represents a minimum information set that most directly addresses the indicator objective and simultaneously aims to maximize national participation. This global indicator now requires testing to assess its accuracy, sensitivity, and tractability. Although it may not be possible to achieve the desired objective for a global indicator of biological invasion by 2010 as comprehensively as desired, it seems possible to obtain trend estimates for a component of the taxa, ecosystems, and regions involved. Importantly, current indicator development initiatives will also contribute to developing the mechanisms necessary for monitoring global trends in IAS beyond 2010.     

天津市核技术应用及环境影响

论述了天津市核技术的发展与应用，放射性污染源对环境辐射影响，放射性污染源存在的主要问题及原因分析，并就核技术辐射环境管理提出了建议。     

城市垃圾焚烧中PVC环境影响研究

在城市生活垃圾中，大约有一半的氯来自PVC废物。在垃圾焚烧过程中，PVC含量的增加可导致HCl产生量的增加，并有可能成为二噁Ying生成的氯源。PVC中铅含量最高，但对生活垃圾相对贡献量不大。PVC对生活垃圾的镉相对贡献量最大，而且在含PVC垃圾焚烧过程中烟气中镉的浓度也有明显增加。此外，PVC有使重金属从底灰向飞灰转移的趋势，这对于后续的底灰处置是有利的。在分析PVC对城市垃圾焚烧过程影响的基础上，本文最后提出了结论和建议。     

海平面上升对生态环境及其服务功能的影响

近50年来，海平面持续上升对我国沿海地区的影响日渐明显。综合分析了我国海平面上升的现状及其发展变化趋势，对未来海平面上升对沿海地区生态环境及其服务功能可能造成的影响作了分析。最后提出了对策建议，为政府部门采取措施提供科学依据。     

Portuguese coastal zones and the new coastal management plans

Coastal zones in Portugal, as interface areas between land and sea, have problems related to the growing human pressure in terms of changes in land use associated with urban and industrial occupation, new accessibility (ports, motorways) and traffic flows, intensification of recreational use (beaches, water sports) and excessive fishing. Impacts include deterioration of water quality and sediments; alteration and degradation of natural habitats; new hydrodynamic situations; major landscape changes: and rapid changes in habits and way of life of the local populations and increased exposure of populations and assets to natural and induced risks (storms, accidents, spills, explosions). Plans for the Management of the Coastal Zone (POOC) have been developed and seven of them have been approved, while two similar plans are at a final stage of preparation. Together they cover the entire coast of Portugal. Their implementation and assessment could be a first step towards an integrated management of the Portuguese coastal zones. River Basin Management Plans (PBH) have been concluded and recently approved for the whole country. However, these plans do not consider estuarine systems and some other issues related to coastal systems. The National Water Plan (PNA) is under public presentation and discussion. Several ‘key messages’ are presented in this paper as a contribution for assessment of the proposals of this plan on issues related with coastal waters.