Compartmentation of metals in foliage of Populus tremula grown on soils with mixed contamination. I. From the tree crown to leaf cell level

In order to achieve efficient phytoextraction of heavy metals using trees, the metal allocation to aboveground tissues needs to be characterised. In his study, the distribution of heavy metals, macro- and micronutrients and the metal micro-localisation as a function of the leaf position and heavy metal treatment were analysed in poplars grown on soil with mixed metal contamination. Zinc was the most abundant contaminant in both soil and foliage and, together with cadmium, was preferentially accumulated in older foliage whereas excess copper and lead were not translocated. Changes in other element concentrations indicated an acceleration in aging as a consequence of the metal treatment. Excess zinc was irregularly accumulated inside leaf tissues, tended to saturate the veins and was more frequently stored in cell symplast than apoplast. Storage compartments including metabolically safe and sensitive subcellular sites resulted in sizable metal accumulation as well as stress reactions.     

Relative costs of conserving threatened species across taxonomic groups

Bias toward legally protecting and prioritizing charismatic taxonomic groups, such as mammals and birds, and against others, such as insects and plants, is well documented. However, the relative costs of conserving various taxonomic groups and the potential of these costs to interact with existing biases have been much less explored. We analyzed conservation programs across more than 2,000 species in 3 countries to investigate the costs of conserving species within taxonomic groups and how these costs might affect conservation planning. For each data set, we tested for differences in mean annual cost among taxonomic groups. For the data set from the United States, recovery plans differed in duration, so we also tested for differences in total costs among taxonomic groups. Although the costs for individual species varied widely, there were strong international consistencies. For example, mammals cost 8–26 times more on average to conserve than plants and 13–19 times more to conserve than aquatic invertebrates. On average, bird species cost 5–30 times more to conserve than plants and 6–14 times more to conserve than aquatic invertebrates. These cost differences could exacerbate unequal resource allocation among taxonomic groups such that more charismatic groups both receive more attention and require more resources, leading to neglect of other taxonomic groups.     

首都圈防沙治沙水土资源空间优化配置研究——以大兴、怀来、张北为例

首都圈是近年来北京沙尘暴天气日益严重的重要沙尘源区之一。研究区中大兴区代表的是华北平原北缘落叶阔叶林灌草丛典型区;怀来县代表的是桑干河、洋河盆地灌木草原典型区;张北县代表的是坝上高原西部干草原典型区。论文通过了解水土资源利用的变化情况,分析水土资源利用现状和存在问题;利用中国资源环境遥感数据库中的土地利用现状、中国1∶1000000土地资源图等数据,以水资源为最重要的限制因素,通过灰色线性规划模型,以防沙治沙和发展经济、实现区域可持续发展为目标,进行水土资源优化配置;结合不同区域水土资源利用的突出问题,将水土资源优化配置方案落实到空间;建立区域水土资源比较合理、有效利用的方案。大兴的重要措施是平原旱耕地转变为中覆盖度草地,怀来是陡坡地退耕,张北是提高草地的覆盖度。     

Developing a New Operations Plan for the Bow River Basin Using Collaborative Modeling for Decision Support

The Bow River Basin is a cornerstone of Alberta's development. In 2010, stakeholders representing interests from agriculture, municipalities, environment, and more formed the Bow River Project Research Consortium to help determine the potential for improving the operations in the basin. At present, upstream reservoirs are operated primarily for hydropower, whereas downstream reservoirs are operated for irrigation. Through Collaborative Modeling for Decision Support the stakeholders were able to develop a new method for operating the system that would dramatically improve environmental performance. The main components of the new operating strategy called for: purchase or setting aside of a small amount of storage volume in the power reservoirs; a set of rules for releases from that storage; an agreement by the major irrigation districts with the largest water licenses to utilize their ability to shift deliveries to and from their large offstream storage reservoirs to allow for increased instream flows, and to allow junior water license holders (mainly municipal and industrial supplies) an uninterrupted water supply; limitations of reservoir fluctuations to improve inreservoir habitat for fisheries; and increased minimum flows throughout the system leading to improved environmental outcomes. Costs of this strategy were minimal, impacts on power revenue were estimated at <US$2 million/yr on average. Compensatory arrangements should be possible.     

南水北调东线水资源配置中的期权契约研究

针对南水北调东线实际和传统水资源配置方法的局限性。借鉴金融工程的理念。引入水期权契约作为市场机制下水资源配置的一种方式．用以提高干旱年水供给保证率、规避水价波动风脸，从而提高东线水资源使用价值。分析期权契约理论用于南水北调水资源配置的可行性。并根据东线受水区流域水资源供求缺口的影响因素分析．得出水价的均值回复特性。在上述分析基础上引入多次执行期权契约。考虑应用动态规划方法对期权价值进行求解。并通过算例分析验证了该方法的可行性．最后根据南水北调东线实际构建了水期权契约在东线的应用流程。     

A simulation framework for water allocation to meet the environmental requirements of urban rivers: model development and a case study for the Liming River in Daqing City,China

In this paper, we describe the development of a simulation framework for allocating water from different sources to meet the environmental flows of an urban river. The model permits the development of a rational balance in the utilization of storm water, reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants, and freshwater from reservoirs with consideration of the limited capacities of different water resources. It is designed to permit the full utilization of unconventional water sources for the restoration of river water quality by increasing river flow and improving water quality. To demonstrate practical use of the model, a case study is presented in which the model was used to simulate the environmental water allocation for the Liming River in Daqing City, China, based on the three water sources mentioned above. The results demonstrate that the model provides an effective approach for helping managers allocate water to satisfy the river’s environmental water requirements.     

攀枝花市的经济发展与用地布局研究

攀枝花市是我国６０年代在川西南山地河谷中建设起来的钢铁工业城市，城市发展与城市用地之间存在较大的矛盾。作者对攀枝花城区用地特点和经济发展趋势进行了分析，并提出了城市未来用地布局的意见。     

浅谈基层单位环境监测专项经费的管理

随着环境监测事业的不断发展,中央财政对环保监测事业经费投入大幅上升,资金安排规模逐年加大,加强环境监测项目经费管理显得尤其重要.文章提出如何科学地编制环境监测项目支出预算,并深入分析了环境监测项目管理存在的问题,进一步提出了加强项目支出预算的管理途径地方法.     

A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM TO MANAGE SUMMER STREAM TEMPERATURES1

ABSTRACT: Warm summer stream temperatures due to low flows and high air temperatures are a critical water quality problem in many western United States river basins because they impact threatened fish species’habitat. One way to alleviate this problem is for local and federal organizations to purchase water rights to be used to increase flows, hence decrease temperatures. Presented is a Decision Support System (DSS) that can be used in an operations mode to effectively use water acquired to mitigate warm stream temperatures. The DSS uses a statistical model for predicting daily stream temperatures and a rule‐based module to compute reservoir releases. Water releases are calculated to meet fish habitat temperature targets based on the predicted stream temperature and a user specified confidence of the temperature predictions. Strategies that enable effective use of a limited amount of water throughout the season have also been incorporated in the DSS. The utility of the DSS is demonstrated by an example application to the Truckee River near Reno, Nevada, using hypothetical operating policy and 1988 through 1994 inflows. Results indicate that the DSS could substantially reduce the number of target temperature violations (i.e., stream temperatures exceeding the target temperature levels detrimental to fish habitat).     

Application of the Morris algorithm for sensitivity analysis of the REALM model for the Goulburn irrigation system

The REALM modelling shell is widely used in Australia as a water allocation modelling tool. It has been used to develop the Goulburn System Model (GSM) of the Goulburn, Broken, Loddon and Campaspe Rivers in northeastern Victoria. REALM represents the river and irrigation system as a network of storages and carriers. The model has been optimised to best represent the water harvesting and allocation for use by water management authorities. The model is analysed to assess the sensitivity of a subset of the model outputs, to a subset of the system parameters. The New Morris algorithm uses sampling paths generated in the space of the parameters, to generate points at which the model is run (to generate the model outputs). These model runs are then used to estimate the first and second-order effects of the parameters on the outputs. The results illustrate the mild linkage of the Goulburn and Broken systems, and the Broken system also shows differences between minimum and average outflows. The Goulburn is more sensitive to some of the numerical convergence parameters used in the allocation software, while the Broken is less sensitive to these factors. The numerical convergence factors also lead to important second-order effects.