Creation of the natural reserve of La Crau: implications for the creation and management of protected areas

Grasslands were once widespread and species-rich ecosystems. They have drastically decreased throughout the world, largely due to changes in land-uses. Remnant grasslands are often highly degraded and disconnected and require active conservation. In order for grasslands to be maintained worldwide, protected areas need to be created. While adequately creating and managing protected areas has proven difficult, this can be improved by following a three-point guideline: (1) consider many ecological groups (birds, insects, plants); (2) use conservation biology knowledge; (3) seek agreements with concerned parties by comprehending elements of economy, politics and sociology. Based on the example of La Crau, a steppe area in South-eastern France, this review aims at (i) illustrating that this guideline can facilitate creating and managing protected areas and (ii) proposing improvement to the guideline while keeping it simple. In La Crau, the need for conservation was first acknowledged in 1975. Between 1983, when a request for a protection decree was made and 1990, when the first concrete protection measure was taken, 20% of the steppe disappeared. It took another 8 years to reach a concerted management plan in 1998. The review shows how using ecological guidelines would have helped better and faster protection of the steppe. Improvements to the guideline drawn from the La Crau experience include: the protection of some traditional practices; the protection of some degraded habitats that can substitute for habitats that no longer exist; the restoration of degraded habitats that do not qualify for protection; and the flexibility of the management plan.     

Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast

Geographical areas constitute the basic implementation locus for integrated coastal zone management strategies and activities. Because the definition of territorial planning objectives may be affected by socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, one of the main steps in the process involves dividing the coast into homogeneous environmental management units (HEMUs). This article presents a general and simple method for regionalizing the landside of a coastal zone into HEMUs and illustrates it through application to the Catalan coast. Socioeconomic and natural (biophysical) subsystems were selected as the most appropriate dimensions of the regionalization process. Dimensions were described using 11 spatial themes, which were managed in a geographic information system environment that proved to be an adequate tool for the purpose. A final coastal zone map of four classes of HEMUs connected to local administrative units was obtained, and because it reflects the current natural and socioeconomic dynamics, it can be considered as an initial step in the planning process for the Catalan coast. Although the proposed method was developed based on the characteristics of the Catalan coast, it is general enough to be adapted and applied to most developed or developing coastal areas.     

Communicative Aspects of Environmental Management by Objectives: Examples from the Swedish Context

Management by objectives (MBO) is a technique for integrating ecological concerns into national political and administrative structures. Politicians determine environmental objectives and interim targets to be implemented and assessed by civil servants in national, regional, and local contexts. Well-developed organizational communication is a prerequisite for MBO. However, communication-related obstacles can arise when using MBO in public environmental management. We examine communicative aspects of environmental MBO, looking specifically at the implementation, administration, and assessment of Swedish environmental quality objectives. Our argument is illustrated by quotations from individual and focus group interviews. We conclude that communicative problems may arise, because different actors interpret messages from different perspectives, depending on their agendas, prior knowledge and experience, and positions in the administrative system. It is crucial to recognize the dialogical aspects of communication, by involving the receiver of a message in a process of response. In addition, the different timeframes underlying different arguments could contribute to misunderstandings between actors involved in handling environmental issues. In assessing the achievement of environmental objectives, indicators are used as communicative tools. It is important to investigate whether and how these indicators contribute to the de- and recontextualization of environmental objectives.     

沈阳市苏家屯区危险废物管理、处置现状与对策

对沈阳市苏家屯区危险废物现状进行了调查,分析了危险废物的来源、产生量、特征及存在的主要问题。在此基础上,提出对危险废物管理处置对策,包括开展危险废物申报登记;加强苏家屯区危险废物监督管理;源头控制危险废物污染产生和建设危险废物集中处置场等。     

我国电子废弃物的管理及发展道路研究

我国电子废弃物的处理处置正向产业化方向稳步推进。本文概括了电子废弃物的特点,以及我国目前处理电子废弃物的现状。遵照循环经济理念,并基于我国国情,提出了我国在电子废弃物处理处置过程中应遵循的主要原则和今后的发展方向。     

Management of mine spoil for crop productivity with lignite fly ash and biological amendments

Long-term field trials using lignite fly ash (LFA) were carried out in rice crops during the period 1996-2000 at Mine I, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Tamil Nadu. LFA, being alkaline and endowed with an excellent pozzolanic nature, silt loam texture, and plant nutrients, has the potential to improve the texture, fertility, and crop productivity of mine spoil. The rice crops were the first, third, fifth, and sixth crops in rotation. The other crops, such as green gram (second) and sun hemp (fourth), were grown as green manure. For experimental trials, LFA was applied at various dosages (0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 t/ha), with and without press mud (10 t/ha), before cultivation of the first crop. Repeat applications of LFA were made at the same dosages in treatments of up to 50 t/ha (with and without press mud) before cultivation of the third and fifth crops. Press mud, a lightweight organic waste product from the sugar industry, was used as an organic amendment and source of plant nutrients. Also, a recommended dosage of chemical fertilizer, along with gypsum, humic acid, and biofertilizer as supplementing agents, was applied in all the treatments, including control. With one-time and repeat applications of LFA, from 5 to 20 t/ha (with and without press mud), the crop yield (grain and straw) increased significantly (p < 0.05), in the range from 3.0 to 42.0% over the corresponding control. The maximum yield was obtained with repeat applications of 20 t/ha of LFA with press mud in the third crop. The press mud enhanced the yield in the range of 1.5-10.2% with various dosages of LFA. The optimum dosage of LFA was 20 t/ha for both one-time and repeat applications. Repeat applications of LFA at lower dosages of up to 20 t/ha were more effective in increasing the yield than the corresponding one-time applications of up to 20 t/ha and repeat applications at 50 t/ha. One-time and repeat applications of LFA of up to 20 t/ha (with and without press mud), apart from increasing the yield, evinced improvement in the texture and fertility of mine spoil and the nutrient content of crop produce. Furthermore, some increase in the content of trace and heavy metals and the level of gamma-emitters in the mine spoil and crop produce was observed, but well within the permissible limits. The residual effect of LFA on succeeding crops was also encouraging in terms of eco-friendliness. Beyond 20 t/ha of LFA, the crop yield decreased significantly (p < 0.05), as a result of the formation of hardpan in the mine spoil and possibly the higher concentration of soluble salts in the LFA. However, the adverse effects of soluble salts were annulled progressively during the cultivation of succeeding crops. A plausible mechanism for the improved fertility of mine spoil and the carryover or uptake of toxic trace and heavy metals and gamma-emitters in mine spoil and crop produce is also discussed.     

环境监测实验室废液的管理与处理方法

环境监测实验室的废液处理常常被忽视,提出建立有效的废液管理制度的必要性.有针对性地介绍了环境监测实验室中常见废液的处理方法.     

中国农业现代化发展水平的空间非均衡及动态演进

研究中国农业现代化发展水平的地区差距以及内部动态分布特征对于制定农业现代化发展的相关政策具有重要意义。本文利用1997-2013年中国31个省、市(自治区)的面板数据,构建了农业现代化发展水平的指标体系,进而采用熵权综合指数法测算出中国农业现代化发展水平的综合指数,同时借助Dagum基尼系数和Markov链估计方法对中国农业现代化发展水平的地区差距及其分布动态进行了实证研究,得到如下结论:1Dagum基尼系数及分解结果表明,中国农业现代化发展水平的总体差距在样本考察期内呈现出先上升、后下降的演变趋势。从三大地区来看,东部地区内差距呈现出上升趋势,而中部和西部地区内差距则呈现出下降趋势。地区间差距是造成中国农业现代化发展水平空间非均衡的首要原因,并且其对总体差距的贡献率呈波动上升趋势;地区内差距对总体差距的贡献率变化较小,而超变密度对总体差距的贡献率呈现出先上升、再下降的演变趋势。2Markov链分析表明,中国农业现代化发展水平状态流动性较低。从整体来看,中国农业现代化发展水平存在较为明显的上升趋势,并且农业现代化发展的低水平省份将逐步减少,总体向中等以上水平发展。针对本文实证结果,由此得到如下政策建议:首先,加大国家对西部地区农业基础设施建设的投入,引导农业科技人才回归;其次,加强区域间农业现代化发展全方位的交流与合作,发挥省区之间的协同效应;最后,因地制宜,充分利用资源禀赋,推动农业现代化发展。     

Simulated management effects on ammonia emissions from field applied manure

A need exists to improve the utilization of manure nutrients by minimizing NH₃ emissions from land application of manure. Management strategies to reduce NH₃ emissions are available; however, few have been validated under Canadian conditions. A well tested and accurate simulation model, however, can help overcome this challenge by determining appropriate management strategies for a given set of field conditions.