The livestock production system in a village ecosystem in the Rawain Valley,Uttarakhand, Central Himalaya

Animals in the Himalayan region are reared basically to supplement the family income and sustain crop production, and constitute an important component of the rural economy of the region. Given the ecological importance of the livestock production system in terms of intrinsic values as a life support system for local people and a contribution towards sustainable agriculture through its role in the maintenance of soil fertility, the present study was conducted. This paper describes and assesses the current status of livestock production systems, monetary input/output, status of available forest resources, current level of pressure on the livestock production system and recommends strategies for sustainable development of a livestock production system in the Rawain Valley of Central Himalaya.     

Fine root decomposition and nutrient release in Toona sinensis plantation under the reconstruction mode of low-efficiency cypress forest gaps北大核心CSCD

Fine root decomposition is an important way in which nutrients are returned to plantation soil; thus, further study of this process will be helpful for understanding material cycling in forest ecosystems. We investigated a Toona sinensis plantation in the central Sichuan hilly region using litter bags containing T. sinensis fine roots to evaluate the dynamics of fine root decomposition and nutrient release for one year in forest gaps of 50 m2 (L1), 100 m2 (L2), and 150 m2 (L3). The results showed that T. sinensis fine root decomposition was fastest in the first 90 days. As time passed, the decomposition rate slowed. One year later, the residue rate was 75.44%, 73.92%, and 72.07%, respectively. The fine root decomposition rate of L3 was greater than that of L2, which was greater than that of L1. During fine root decomposition, the dynamics of the fine root nutrient concentrations changed. C, P, and K concentrations of the fine roots declined in forest gaps, while N, Ca, and Mg concentrations increased overall in the fine roots. In conclusion, forest gaps had effects on the fine root decomposition and nutrient release of T. sinensis, and different sized forest gaps produced different results. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Land-Use Change and Carbon Flux Between 1970s and 1990s in Central Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

6 tons C were released to the atmosphere during the period of time covered by our study, equal to approximately 34% of the 1975 vegetation C pool. The Chiapas highlands, while comprising just 0.3% of Mexico's surface area, contributed 3% of the net national C emissions.     

Comments on “turbulent velocity profile in fully-developed open channel flows”

In a recent paper published in this journal, Bonakdari et al. (Environ Fluid Mech 8:1–17, 2008) presented a new formulation of the vertical velocity profile in the central portion of steady fully developed turbulent open-channel flows which is based on an analysis of the Navier–Stokes equations. The predicted mean streamwise velocity profiles presented by the authors represent dip phenomenon (maximum velocity below the free surface). The discusser would like to point out some contradictions and an error in the main demonstration. This error appears in the right-hand side term of the main Eq. 22 (Environ Fluid Mech 8:1–17, 2008) in the parameter α. Our corrected demonstration shows that α is equal to and not to as obtained by the authors (Environ Fluid Mech 8:1–17, 2008). The values of α used by the authors are under-estimated by 1, this difference has a significant effect on velocities and therefore will involve a difference between measured and predicted velocity profiles. Finally, the assumption of at the free surface is in contradiction with predicted velocity profiles.     

城市集中供热联片取暖的效益分析与评价

在对大连市凌水地区实施集中供热前后的环境效益进行定性分析比较的基础上,应用环境经济学的费用效益分析方法,对集中供热的环境效益进行了效益定量化估算,结果表明:实行区域集中供热联片取暖10年后投资费效比为1∶3.3。     

Impacts of Variable Climate and Effluent Flows on the Transboundary Santa Cruz Aquifer

Assessing groundwater resources in the arid and semiarid borderlands of the United States and Mexico represents a challenge for land and water managers, particularly in the Transboundary Santa Cruz Aquifer (TSCA). Population growth, residential construction, and industrial activities have increased groundwater demand in the TSCA, in addition to wastewater treatment and sanitation demands. These activities, coupled with climate variability, influence the hydrology of the TSCA and emphasize the need for groundwater assessment tools for decision‐making purposes. This study assesses the impacts of changes in groundwater demand, effluent discharge, and climate uncertainties within the TSCA from downstream of the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant to the northern boundary of the Santa Cruz Active Management Area. We use a conceptual water budget model to analyze the long‐term impact of the different components of potential recharge and water losses within the aquifer. Modeling results project a future that ranges from severe long‐term drying to positive wetting. This research improves the understanding of the impact of natural and anthropogenic variables on water sustainability, with an accessible methodology that can be globally applied.     

Effective Transboundary Aquifer Areas: An Approach for Transboundary Groundwater Management

The natural complexity, heterogeneity, and extent of transboundary aquifers around the world, have led to controversy over which method or criteria should be used to identify and delineate their boundaries. Currently, there is no standard methodology that aquifer‐sharing countries can use to delineate the area of a transboundary aquifer. In the case of Mexico and Texas, Mexico uses administrative boundaries, whereas Texas uses geological boundaries. This paper proposes a method for delineation and prioritization of aquifers (or aquifer areas) called effective transboundary aquifer areas (ETAAs), which uses a combination of physical criteria (geological boundaries, topography, and hydrography) and the location and density of active water wells in the borderland between Mexico and Texas. This method identifies the area of priority (productivity area) in the aquifer using pumping patterns or hot spots regardless of the aquifer’s surficial geological limits, therefore offering a more effective, local and practical management option at the transboundary level. Different geological features or pumping patterns will have different sizes and locations of ETAAs within the same aquifer. In West Texas, which is dominated by bolsons, the method produces limited options for ETAAs, whereas in South Texas in the easternmost border the identified ETAAs are more significant.     

On the influence of faulting on small-scale soil-gas radon variability: a case study in the Iberian Uranium Province

In order to evaluate the influence of faulting on the variability of geogenic radon at detailed scale (1:2000), data on gamma ray fluxes, U and Th concentrations in rocks, radon in soil-gas and radon in groundwater were collected in three target areas on the Oliveira do Hospital region (Central Portugal). This region stands on the Iberian Uranium Province, and is dominantly composed of Hercynian granites and metasedimentary rocks of pre-Ordovician age, crosscut by faults with dominant strike N35°E, N55°E and N75°E. Radiometric anomalies are frequent, associated with faults of the referred systems and metasedimentary enclaves; the analytical data confirms that these anomalies are produced by local high uranium contents in rocks and fault-filling materials (n = 34, range 13-724 ppm), while other radiogenic elements are relatively constant (e.g. Th 4-30 ppm). Radon concentration in soil can be extremely high, up to 12,850 kBq m⁻³ (n = 215), with a large proportion of results above 100 kBq m⁻³. Unsurprisingly, groundwater also shows high radon concentrations, with observed values in the range 150-4850 Bq.L⁻¹ (n = 17). From the results it is concluded that metasedimentary enclaves, as well as faults, can accumulate uranium from circulating fluids, and as a consequence, strongly locally enhance geogenic radon potential. Due to this fact, for the purpose of land use planning in such uranium-enriched regions, very detailed geological mapping is needed to precisely recognize radon high risk areas. A correlation between radon concentration in soil or in groundwater and gamma ray fluxes was established pointing to the possible use of these fluxes as a first step in assessing geogenic radon potential, at least to geological setting similar to the study area.     

中国银行业与中国的碳金融发展

本文介绍了碳金融的定义以及中国构建完善碳金融体系的背景,指出我国的CDM市场虽然是全球最大的CDM市场,但碳金融还处于起步阶段,缺乏国际CERs定价权,CDM项目存在巨大的风险,这些问题亟需解决。中国的银行业作为中国金融机构的主要组成部分,在构建完善的碳金融市场上起到了十分关键的作用。分析了目前中国银行业参与碳金融的现状及存在的问题,提出了中央银行和中国商业银行介入碳金融的方法。中央银行应与商业银行相互配合使中国的碳金融市场尽快发展和完善。     

建设秦岭国家中央公园的探究

通过对秦岭的综合分析,借鉴国外＂国家公园＂的建设经验,从秦岭目前开发现状存在的问题及其原因进行分析研究,提出应成立国家秦岭管理局,科学开发保护秦岭,分不同区域建设秦岭国家中央公园;在发展生态旅游的同时,积极整合资源,争取加入世界人与生物圈,联合申遗,推动秦岭走向世界,从而实现秦岭地区人与自然的可持续发展。