WATER RESOURCES OF MEXICO1

The aim of this paper, based fundamentally on the experiences and data obtained by staff members of the Secretaria de Recursos Hidráulicos, is to present a general view of the water resources of the Mexican territory. Unfortunately, there does not exist a rational and adequate distribution of those resources, due to a great number of factors, mainly natural, which we must control to attain a convenient rationalization to meet the requirements of a growing population and industry.     

Frog, Bat, and Dung Beetle Diversity in the Cloud Forest and Coffee Agroecosystems of Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract:  We compared the species diversity of copronecrophagous beetles (Scarabaeinae) , bats, and frogs in tropical montane cloud forest (original vegetation) and shaded coffee plantations (an agroecosystem common to the region) for a landscape in central Veracruz, Mexico. We sampled in three tropical montane cloud forest fragments and in three coffee plantations with traditional polyculture shade between 1998 and 2001. The three indicator groups responded differently to the transformation of tropical montane cloud forest into shaded coffee plantations. The species richness of frogs was one-fifth less in coffee plantations than in forest fragments, and only one-third of the frog species occurred in both forest fragments and coffee plantations. The number of beetle species and their abundance was significantly greater in coffee plantations than in the forest fragments, whereas species richness and species composition of bats were virtually the same in both habitats. The majority of the abundant species remained as such in both communities, but species that were less abundant were not scarce in both habitats. We attributed differences in the species assemblages to the differing degrees of penetrability of the borders of the two habitat types (especially for the coffee plantations) and to the differences in life-history traits among species. Shaded coffee plantations form a matrix that envelops the remaining fragments of cloud forest. Together they connect the forest fragments with the other habitats of the landscape and represent a highly functional resource for the preservation of biodiversity that serves as a complement to but not a substitute for cloud forest in this notably modified landscape.     

Constraints on foraging success due to resource ecology limit colony productivity in social insects

The benefit of group living is a fundamental question in social evolution. For sociality to evolve, each individual must gain in terms of some fitness component by living in larger groups. However, in social insects, a decrease in per capita success in brood production has been observed in larger groups. While it has been proposed that this decrease could be outweighed by an increase in the predictability of success, a functional basis to this hypothesis has so far never been demonstrated. In this paper, using foraging economics as a functional proxy to colony productivity, we construct a model to explore how number of foragers in the colony interacts with the ecology of resources to influence per capita foraging success and its predictability. The results of the model show that there is no increase in per capita foraging success in larger colonies under most circumstances, though there is an increase in its predictability. We then test the model with empirical data on the foraging behavior of the primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata. The consistency between the data and the model suggests that foraging economics could provide a robust functional basis in explaining the relationship between colony size and productivity.     

Quantifying inconsistencies in old cadastral maps and their impact on land-use reconstructions

ABSTRACT

Old cadastral maps represent a historical reference dataset for long-term land-use reconstructions. This study presents identification of inconsistencies in the nineteenth century Franziscean cadastre, one of the largest sets of old cadastral maps worldwide, by comparing three versions of the maps and written documents created in the same period. We identified all parcels and their land-use in the four sub-sources in six study areas. The overall share of inconsistencies among 5 771 identified parcels is 7.4%, with the biggest share of inconsistency in agroforestry and forestry classes. The most frequent inconsistencies are of ‘Not differentiable land use’ (n = 212) and ‘Different land-use’ categories across the sub-sources (n = 113). We conclude that the frequency of uncertainties in old cadastral maps may limit the validity of historical land-use reconstructions, affecting the eventual restoration and management efforts based on such data. We provide a summary for the use of Franziscean cadastre.     

甘肃陇中地区近55年潜在蒸散量及干旱指数演变趋势

了解陇中地区干湿状况,对进一步研究植被与气候变化和农业水资源管理有重要意义。基于陇中地区1961—2015年的地面气候资料日值数据集,应用彭曼蒙特斯模型(P-M模型)、滑动t检验、Morlet小波、主成分分析和薄盘样条插值等方法,对陇中地区近55 a潜在蒸散量(ET_0)和干旱指数(AI,aridity index)的变化趋势进行了研究。结果表明:年际分布上ET_0以上升趋势为主,AI整体上升趋势不显著,表明陇中地区近55 a气候趋于干旱;年内分布上ET_0呈单峰型分布,AI则呈谷状分布;空间分布上陇中地区ET_0和AI都呈有规律的从南向北依次增加的趋势,越往北气候越干;ET_0在1975年、1983年和1997年发生了突变,AI则在1983年、1986年和2012年发生突变,ET_0和AI的序列周期不尽相同。近55 a陇中地区气候趋于干旱。     

中原经济区城市资源环境绩效指标体系构建与实证

为了识别城市或“相似群体”最重要的资源环境“短板”问题,以中原经济区31个城市为研究区域,选择水土资源、能源、环境质量和污染物排放及治理水平等4个方面共计33项指标,利用层次分析修正法确定指标权重,采用正向指标极大化、负向指标极小化、适中指标平均化的标准化方法对研究区域内各市资源环境绩效进行测算. 研究表明:①从资源环境绩效角度来看,中原经济区城市可分为“双高”超载型、农业型、“双低”超载型、资源型四大类. ②占中原经济区城市总数2/5的资源型城市,由于过度强调资源产出、忽视环境保护而成为经济区环境问题高发、资源环境矛盾较为突出的集中区域. ③在对4个Ⅰ级指标(资源利用效率、能源利用效率、环境质量指数、污染物排放及治理水平)设定均衡权重情况下,15个城市的能源利用效率居末位,10个城市的资源利用效率居末位,表明中原经济区提高资源环境绩效应率先在能源、资源利用效率领域实现突破. 所构建的资源环境绩效评估指标体系仍有待进一步优化,今后应加大对可再生资源能源利用、农村生态环境特别是农村土地重金属及有机物污染等问题的关注.      

Measurements of peroxyacyl nitrates (PANS) in Mexico City: implications for megacity air quality impacts on regional scales

Peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs) were measured using gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) in north central Mexico City during February–March of 1997. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) was observed to exceed 30 ppb during five days of the study, with peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN) and peroxybutryl nitrate (PBN) reaching 6 and 1 ppb maximum, respectively. Levels of total PANs typically exceeded 10 ppb during the period of measurement and showed a very strong diurnal variation with PANs maximum during the early afternoon and falling to less than 0.1 ppb during the evening hours. These levels of PANs are the highest reported values in North America (and the world) for an urban center, since levels of approximately 30 ppb were reported during the late 1970s in the Los Angeles area (South Coast Air Basin, Tuazon et al., 1978). Hydrocarbon measurements indicate that the levels of olefins, specifically butenes are significant in Mexico City. A time series taken of source indicator hydrocarbons taken before and during a Mexican National Holiday with reduced automobile traffic clearly show that mobile sources of butenes are as important as liquefied petroleum gas. Observations of 10–40 ppb C methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE) are consistent with MTBE/gasoline fuel usage as a source of isobutene and formaldehyde. Both these reactive species can lead to increased oxidant and PAN formation. The strong diurnal profiles of PANs are consistent with regional clearing of the Mexico City air basin on a daily basis. Estimates are given using a simple box model calculation for a number of key primary and secondary pollutant emissions from this megacity on an annual basis. These calculations indicate that megacities can be important sources of both primary and secondary pollutants, and that PANs produced in megacity environments are likely to contribute strongly to regional scale ozone and aerosol productions during long range transport.     

Identifying socioeconomic and biophysical factors driving forest loss in protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are a commonly used strategy to confront forest conversion and biodiversity loss. Although determining drivers of forest loss is central to conservation success, understanding of them is limited by conventional modeling assumptions. We used random forest regression to evaluate potential drivers of deforestation in PAs in Mexico, while accounting for nonlinear relationships and higher order interactions underlying deforestation processes. Socioeconomic drivers (e.g., road density, human population density) and underlying biophysical conditions (e.g., precipitation, distance to water, elevation, slope) were stronger predictors of forest loss than PA characteristics, such as age, type, and management effectiveness. Within PA characteristics, variables reflecting collaborative and equitable management and PA size were the strongest predictors of forest loss, albeit with less explanatory power than socioeconomic and biophysical variables. In contrast to previously used methods, which typically have been based on the assumption of linear relationships, we found that the associations between most predictors and forest loss are nonlinear. Our results can inform decisions on the allocation of PA resources by strengthening management in PAs with the highest risk of deforestation and help preemptively protect key biodiversity areas that may be vulnerable to deforestation in the future.     

21世纪初华中地区发展的资源环境基础

作为中国21世纪资源开发的重要场所,华中地区资源环境开发利用将对国家社会经济发展起到举足轻重的作用。对华中地区资源本底特征、人地关系演进状态及发展趋势进行了分析,认 为华中地区拥有较好的资源基础,特别是在水土两大资源的结合方面。但是从现状和未来国家高速工业发展看,未来华中地区自然资源承载负荷将面临较以往更为巨大和更为艰难的挑战。一方面,优越的地理位置使华中地区在国家未来经济发展与资源环境协调过程中的重要地位更为突出,另一方面,当地的人口增长和经济发展同样会对有限的资源基础造成越来越大的压力。因此,区域发展政策应当做出相应调整。     

Extreme events and environmental changes: Tracing sedimentary processes in Central Vietnam coastal lagoons

Sediment cores, obtained in 2004–2005 and in 2008 from seven coastal lagoons of Central Vietnam (Lang Co, Nuoc Man, Nuoc Ngot, Thi Nai, O Loan, Thuy Trieu and Dam Nai), were analysed to assess changes in ²¹⁰Pb, porosity, grain size, and depth distributions of selected major and trace elements (Al, As, Ni, and Zn). The aim was to trace sedimentary processes in areas periodically subject to extreme events. The occurrence of lateral sedimentary inhomogeneities has been hypothesised to explain the differences observed at depth for some tracer profiles, whereas topmost levels present evidence that accounts for the loss of a sediment layer (from 2.0 to 7.5 cm thick) between the two samplings. These losses might be attributed to major typhoons that impacted the coasts of Central Vietnam during the study period.