Integrating urban ecosystem sustainability assessment into policy-making: insights from the Gold Coast City

This paper introduces a policy-making support tool called ‘Micro-level Urban-ecosystem Sustainability IndeX (MUSIX)’. The index serves as a sustainability assessment model that monitors six aspects of urban ecosystems – hydrology, ecology, pollution, location, design, and efficiency – based on parcel-scale indicators. This index is applied in a case study investigation in the Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. The outcomes reveal that there are major environmental problems caused by increased impervious surfaces from growing urban development in the study area. The findings suggest that increased impervious surfaces are linked to increased surface runoff, car dependency, transport-related pollution, poor public transport accessibility, and unsustainable built environment. This paper presents how the MUSIX outputs can be used to guide policy-making through the evaluation of existing policies.     

PCA and multidimensional visualization techniques united to aid in the bioindication of elements from transplanted <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphagnum palustre</Emphasis> moss exposed in the Gdańsk City Area

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: During the last decades, a technique for assessing atmospheric deposition of heavy elements was developed based on the principle that samples of moss are able to accumulate elements and airborne particles from rain, melting snow and dry deposition. Despite a broad interest in bioindication there are still ongoing works aimed at the preparation of a standard procedure allowing for a comparison of research carried out in various areas. This is why the comparison of living and dry moss of the same species and growth site seems to be interesting, logical and promising. A most reliable approach seems to be the application of bioindication connected with multivariate statistics and efficient visualization techniques in the interpretation of monitoring data. The aim of this study was: (i) to present cumulative properties of transplanted Sphagnum palustre moss with differentiation into dry and living biomaterial; (ii) to determine and geographically locate types of pollution sources responsible for a structure of the monitoring data set; (iii) to visualize geographical distribution of analytes in the Gdańsk metropolitan area and to identify the high-risk areas which can be targeted for environmental hazards and public health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A six month air pollution study based on Sphagnum palustre bioindication is presented and a simplified procedure of the experiment is given. The study area was located at the mouth of the Vistula River on the Baltic Sea, in Gdańsk City (Poland). Sphagnum palustre was selected for research because of its extraordinary morphological properties and its ease in being raised. The capability of dry and living moss to accumulate elements characteristic for anthropogenic and natural sources was shown by application of Principal Component Analysis. The high-risk areas and pollution profiles are detected and visualized using surface maps based on Kriging algorithm. RESULTS: The original selection of elements included all those that could be reliably determined by Neutron Activation Analysis in moss samples. Elimination of variables covered the elements whose concentrations in moss were lower than the reported detection limits for INAA for most observations or in cases where particular elements did not show any variation. Eighteen elements: a, Ca, Sc, Fe, Co, Zn, As, Br, Mo, Sb, Ba, La, Ce, Sm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Th, were selected for the research presented. DISCUSSION: Two runs of PCA were performed since, in the first-run a heavy polluted location (Stogi - 'Sto') understood as outlier in the term of PCA approach was detected and results in the form of block diagrams and surface maps were presented. As ensues from the first-run PCA analysis, the factor layout for both indicators is similar but not identical due to the differences in the elements accumulation mechanism. Three latent factors ('phosphatic fertilizer plant impact', 'urban impact' and 'marine impact') explain over 89% and 82% of the total variance for dry and living moss respectively. In the second-run PCA three latent factors are responsible for the data structure in both moss materials. However, in the case of dry moss analysis these factors explain 85% of the total variance but they are rather hard to interpret. On the other hand living moss shows the same pattern as in first-run PCA. Three latent factors explain over 84% of the total variance in this case. The pollution profiles extracted in PCA of dry moss data differ tremendously between both runs, while no deterioration was found after removal of Stogi from data set in case of living moss. Performance of the second-run PCA with exception of Stogi as a heavy polluted location has led to the conclusion that living moss shows better indication properties than dry one. CONCLUSIONS: While using moss as wet and dry deposition sampier it is not possible to calculate deposition values since the real volume of collected water and dust is hard to estimate due to a splash effect and irregular surface. Therefore, accumulation values seam to be reasonable for moss-based air pollution surveys. Both biomaterials: dry and living Sphagnum palustre show cumulative properties relative to elements under interest. Dry moss has a very loose collection of the atmospheric particles, which can also easily get lost upon rinsing with rainwater running through exposed dry moss material. The living moss may, on the contrary, incorporate the elements in its tissue, thus being less susceptible to rinsing and thus better reflecting the atmospheric conditions. Despite the differences in element uptake and uphold capabilities dry and living moss reflect characteristic anthropogenic and natural profiles. Visible differences in impacts' map coverage exist mostly due to the accumulation mechanisms differentiating dry from living moss. However, in case of each indicator 'phosphatic fertilizer plant impact' is recognized as the strongest pollution source present in examined region. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: General types of pollution sources responsible for a structure of monitoring data set were determined as high-risk/low-risk areas and visualized in form of geographic distribution maps. These locations can be targeted for environmental hazards and public health. Chemometric results in the form of easy defined surface maps can became a powerful instrument in hands of decision-makers working in the field of sustainable development implementation.     

合肥市近19年来土地利用格局的时空变化分析

利用Landsat TM、ETM 、CBERS—2资源卫星数据,采用基于知识型光谱特性的增强与人机交互解译相结合的方法,提取了合肥市1987年、2000年和2006年土地利用类型的专题信息。利用GIS空间分析技术和数理统计方法,分析了合肥市近19年来的土地利用变化特征。结果表明:①在整个阶段—耕地减少了23.38%,建设用地增加了61.26%;城镇用地新增速度最快,且新增速率远大于转移速率,属高速扩张型;②区内最"敏感"的类型是交通用地,其新增速率在两个阶段分别达到1.64和1.62,远高于其它的类型;④从城市扩展的方向上看,合肥城市的发展主要以西南部、南部和东部为主,西南部最为明显;城市已经形成以老城区为核心,向东、北、西南三翼伸展,形成"南进—东拓—西缓—北抑"的空间发展布局。     

论城市旅游景观视觉形象的影响因素——以扬州市为例

在视觉影响因素的作用下,旅游者对实地感知的城市旅游景观视觉辨别和鉴赏形成了视觉形象感知。城市旅游景观的品质不同对视觉形象产生的影响不同,而不同社会背景的旅游者及居民对同类旅游景观视觉形象感知的影响也不同。分析得出性别、年龄、文化水平、职业等不同社会背景的旅游者和居民对扬州旅游景观视觉形象感知的影响不显著,据此提出了提升城市旅游景观视觉形象的方法和建议,期望对城市旅游的规划者、决策者提供参考,以便创造更多更美的城市旅游景观。     

非物质文化遗产的旅游发展探索——以古徽州为例

古徽州非物质文化遗产丰富多彩、特色鲜明,是旅游开发的重要遗产。鉴于非物质文化遗产的特殊性,单纯的记录、保存和隔离的做法不能有效地保护。提出了发挥旅游促进非物质文化遗产传承的积极作用,文旅互动、统筹规划、强化管理,既利于古徽州地区非物质文化遗产的保护与传承,又有助于古徽州地区休闲旅游经济的快速发展,可实现古徽州非物质文化遗产的可持续发展。     

合肥市城郊农业生态系统服务价值评价研究

合肥市是安徽省的省会,生态农业资源十分丰富。对合肥市城郊农业生态系统服务功能价值进行了定量评价,针对合肥市城郊农业生态系统现状,提出了可持续发展对策。     

黄岩城区交通噪声监测与分析

对黄岩城区主要交通干线的昼间交通噪声进行了监测和分析。结果表明:黄岩城区主要交通干线的昼间交通噪声水平全部超过国家标准;小轿车是黄岩城区交通噪声的主要来源。     

东莞市污水处理厂升级改造工艺路线初探

针对东莞市38个污水处理厂的实际情况,通过对目前城市污水处理厂常用的二级处理工艺进行技术升级改造时可能采用的深度处理工艺技术的综合分析比较,推荐了NPR、CNR、人工湿地三种工艺作为尾水的深度处理备选技术,提出了东莞市污水处理厂升级改造应优先采用CNR工艺,并可为我国不同地区、不同发展时期满足不同的水质需求进行污水处理厂工艺升级改造提供技术支持。     

基于Models-3的自修正空气质量预报系统及其效果检验

本文介绍了一个以Models-3为基础的自动化空气质量数值预报系统,该系统通过Gambas、Yabasic和R语言等工具进行开发,集成WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ三个模式,可通过监测数据进行自动修正,完成空气质量业务数值预报,并将结果发布到Web服务器上进行呈现。该系统对硬件的要求较低,将部署于一台DELL Optiplex 9010工作站上,设置6km—2km双层嵌套,进行成都市空气质量数值预报。本文分析了成都市2014年1月1日至2014年12月31日的空气质量数值预报结果,评价系统对成都市NO_2、SO_2、PM_(10)、PM_(2.5)、O_3、CO以及空气质量指数(AQI)的预报效果。结果显示,系统对于成都市2014年空气质量变化情况趋势的预报效果较好,302天有效预报中,24小时直接预报的空气质量等级准确率为58.27%,AQI预报相关系数0.71,观测值自动修正预报对24小时空气质量预报具有明显改善效果,使其等级预报准确率达到64.9%,相关系数提高到0.89。     

近百年来芜湖市气候变化趋势分析

通过对补充重建气候序列的分析,得出芜湖市近百年来气候变化的主要特征。研究结果表明,近百年来芜湖气候总体呈暖干变化,冬春季和年均气温具有显著增温趋势,夏季气温无明显变化;降雨量呈微弱下降趋势,主要反映在夏季降水减少。