The Variability of Estimates of Variance, and Its Effect on Power Analysis in Monitoring Design

Power analysis can be a valuable aid in the design of monitoringprograms. It requires an estimate of variance, which may come from a pilot study or an existing study in a similar habitat. For marine benthic infauna, natural variation in abundances canbe considerable, raising the question of reliability of varianceestimates. We used two existing monitoring programs to generatemultiple estimates of variance. These estimates were found to differ from nominated best estimates by 50% or more in 43% of cases, in turn leading to under or over-estimation of samplesize in the design of a notional monitoring program. The twostudies, from the same general area, using the same samplingmethods and spanning a similar time scale, gave estimatesvarying by more than an order of magnitude for 25% of taxa.We suggest that pilot studies for ecological monitoring programsof marine infauna should include at least two sampling times.     

evaluation of a measurement method for forest vegetation in a large-scale ecological survey

We evaluate a field method for determining species richness andcanopy cover of vascular plants for the Forest Health MonitoringProgram (FHM), an ecological survey of U.S. forests. Measurementsare taken within 12 1-m² quadrats on 1/15 ha plots in FHM.Species richness and cover are determined for four height classes(strata) within each quadrat and aggregated by stratum over the entireplot. We estimated (1) the agreement between experienced trainers andinexperienced technicians who collected the data on this survey(accuracy) and (2) the agreement among the technicians (precision) forresults on species richness and cover from 3 test plots at 3 timeintervals. The methods appear to be highly precise, although somediscrepancies with the values obtained by the trainers were found.Trainers found significantly more species in the ground stratum (0–0.6 m) and measured significantly more cover in the uppermost stratum(>4.9 m). The proportion of variation due to measurement error andtemporal variability was less than 13% for species richness (all strata)and cover (all but one stratum). This indicates that the method issuitable for monitoring changes in species richness and canopy coverfor a large-scale synoptic monitoring project such as FHM.     

上海部分城市污水处理厂现状调查

对上海市部分城市水污水处理厂的工艺特点，处理能力，污染物去除率，废水排放达标率进行了调查与分析，指出，必须加强对城市污水处理厂的监督监测，并就污水处理厂的建设，改造提出了一些建议。     

Estimation of the Thermal Sensitivity of a Dwelling to Variations in Architectural and Behavioural Parameters

The provision of energy for households is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the domestic sector. There is significant scope for energy savings and thus emission reduction in this sector. This paper constructs a bridge between thermal analysis and environmental assessment in the occupancy stage of the dwelling life cycle, approaching both methods as being on a common system Environment–Dwelling–Inhabitant. The importance of the local level in the thermal analysis and assessment of either a dwelling or an inhabitant's behaviour is demonstrated. It is shown that the researcher can choose between natural experiment, computer experiment and mathematical modelling to analyze the system. Such a choice is discussed for two particular methods of thermal analysis. Thermal Nomograms are the result of mathematical modelling, and the Energy Score Sheet is the result of a computer experiment in energy rating. Despite being developed for the purpose of thermal analysis, these methods can also be utilized for environmental assessment at the local level. The discussion centres on Australian conditions where the majority of the population resides in a relatively benign climate wherein behavioural alterations have significant potential for energy savings and environmental impact. The purpose of the paper is to emphasise benefits apart from energy minimisation to promote the use of energy efficient housing strategies.     

Biological complexity confounds the separation of point- and non-point sources of human impact on the natural world

Identifying process from pattern is one of the most vexing tasks inenvironmental monitoring. Given information on the distribution of speciesin a pre-defined area, together with comprehensive data on how environmentalconditions in that area have altered through time, is it possible toidentify the factors controlling the species‘ layout? Here, the practicalsignificance of this quandary is demonstrated using a series ofenvironmentally-degraded coastal lagoons in New South Wales. The TuggerahLakes (33°17′S,151°30′E) have over the last 50 yearsexperienced significant changes in species‘ distributions. Seagrasses,macroalgae, phytoplankton, molluscs, prawns and the jellyfish Catostylus mosaicus have altered in spatial pattern. Two human activitieshave been blamed for these perturbations: (1) agricultural clearance ofnative vegetation from the catchment, with associated input of top-soil andnutrients; (2) the commissioning of a coal-fired power station in 1967, withmassive uptake and recirculation of lake water for cooling purposes. In thispaper, spatial changes in macrophyte distributions over the last 50 yearsare reviewed in an attempt to identify the true source(s) of perturbation.The model adopted assumes that the power station is a point source of impactwhile nutrient inputs from the catchment are a diffuse source of impact;changes in species distributions can hypothetically be related back to thesesources according to whether they are localised or widespread. However,after a comprehensive analysis of available macrophyte data derived frominterviews, aerial photography and line transect methodologyies theconclusion is reached that changes in biogeographical pattern around theTuggerah Lakes cannot be attributed to specific anthropogenic pressures atanything beyond the coarsest of levels. This is considered to be the normfor most coastal management situations where natural background variation(’noise‘) and the complexity of linkages between physical, chemical andbiological components confounds the identification of causal relationships.The practical implications of this conclusion are discussed in the contextof litigation and remedial management design. Emphasis is placed on theneed to adopt an adaptive approach to estuarine management, incorporatingexplicit recognition of the limitations of available data, and to developnew techniques for identifying cause-effect relationships.     

珍贵油料植物诸葛菜的研究

四川大学植物遗传研究室经过几年的调查研究,发现诸葛菜的农艺性状较好,分枝多、角果多,每果子粒多,千粒重较重,含油量较高,特别是油分品质优异,其营养价值高的脂肪酸如油酸和亚油酸的含量较高,分别为20.32％,和53.17％,其营养价值低的脂肪酸如亚麻酸和芥酸的含量较低,分别为4.76％和0.94％,是油菜优质育种的优异新种源,可以作为油菜远缘杂交育种亲本,并可能选育出优质油料新作物。本文对诸葛菜的开花授粉习性作了观察,对核型特点作了分析,可供育种工作的参考,诸葛菜主产中国。四川大学在国内外首先推荐这种有希望的油料新种源。     

植物遗传资源保护与利用的市场化机制和国际制度

随着植物物种资源的不断减少和因生物技术迅猛发展对植物遗传资源需求的不断增加 ,植物遗传资源正逐步由公共物品转变为稀缺物品。坚持《生物多样性公约》所确立的遗传资源效益公平分享原则 ,完善现有国际多边体系 ,促进以“遗传编码功能”价值概念和遗传资源保护效应“内部化”与“补偿”方案为基础的植物遗传资源市场化保护与利用机制的形成 ,建立“植物遗传资源交易所”和“生物多样性合作社” ,将有助于提高世界各国尤其是发展中国家保护植物遗传资源的积极性 ,实现全球植物遗传资源的可持续利用     

Multimedia model of atrazine in plant-soil-groundwater system with a fugacity approach

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＣｏｎｔａｍｉｎａｔｉｏｎｏｆｅｄｉｂｌｅｖｅｇｅｔａｔｉｏｎｂｙｐｅｒｓｉｓｔｅｎｔ,ｕｂｉｑｕｉｔｏｕｓｃｈｅｍｉｃａｌｓｓｕｃｈａｓＰＣＢｓ,ｄｉｏｘｉｎｓ,ｐｅｓｔｉｃｉｄｅｓ,ａｎｄｈｅｒｂｉｃｉｄｅｓｐｒｏｖｉｄｅｓａｍａｊｏｒｅｘｐｏｓｕｒｅｒｏｕｔｅｔｏｈｕｍａｎｓ ,ｄｏｍｅｓｔｉｃａｎｉｍａｌｓａｎｄｗｉｌｄｌｉｆｅ .Ｕｐｔａｋｅｏｆｔｈｅｓｅｏｒｇａｎｉｃｃｈｅｍｉｃａｌｓｂｙｐｌａｎｔ,ａｎｄｓｕｂｓｅｑｕｅｎｔｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｉｎｔｈｅｐｌａｎ…     

温度、盐度、铜、氨对对虾仔虾(Penaues orientalis K)和光滑河兰蛤(Potamocorbula laevis)的影响

在室内模拟条件下,进行了热冲击及其与盐度、铜、氨联合对对虾仔虾和光滑河兰蛤的急性影响研究。结果表明,两种动物的起始致死温度(TL₅₀)和最高临界温度(CTM)随驯化温度的升高而增大;随盐度的降低,仔虾的耐高温能力明显降低,而兰蛤对盐度变化反应不明显;高温明显提高铜、氨对仔虾的毒性。也提高铜对兰蛤的毒性,但降低氨对兰蛤的毒性影响。仔虾对高温、低盐、铜离子及非离子氨反应敏感。     

中国能源的现状

研究中国能源的现状，其中主要包括能源储量和能源生产以煤为主；石油和天然气在能源构成中的比例低下；煤炭储量可观，但品质不高；能源生产增长迅速；能源短缺。尤其是清洁能源短缺，清洁能源危机将会长期存在。我国如此的能源现状已造成大气环境煤烟型严重污染。我国从石油输出国已变成石油进口国，我国半个多世纪以来实施的“能源自给政策”急需调整。采用洁净煤技术开发利用清洁能源，确保经济在持续迅速发展的同时，我国大气环境免遭污染，即经济发展和大气环境保护双赢。