Perceived changes in environmental degradation and loss of ecosystem services,and their implications in human well-being

ABSTRACT

Rural communities worldwide face a decrease of critical ecosystem services caused by replacement of native forests by commercial plantations. Replacement of native forest by commercial plantations decreases water provisioning, with possible negative impacts over well-being. We tested this hypothesis in Central Chile. We assessed subjective well-being (SWB) and local perceptions of changes in forest cover and water provision among 78 rural families. We also assessed if the Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS) affects the perceptions of environmental changes and their implications in SWB. Individuals perceived less forest cover than 20 years ago, and this is seen as a factor of decreased livelihood, availability of forest products, and water provisioning for households. People also reported less water available than 20 years ago. The main drivers associated with decreased water provision were the establishment of pine plantations (44% of individuals) and drought (44%). A better-off SWB was associated with perception of lower rate of deforestation. The perceptions of forest degradation and its association to SWB are affected by SBS. Paradoxically, a better-off SWB was also associated with an improvement of water quality, although the quantity and quality of water have decreased according to biophysical data, which ought to decrease the SWB. Impacts of environmental degradation in SWB are masked by factors such as more infrastructure for drinking water, assisted by governments. This masking of environmental degradation reduces the opportunity to avoid negative impacts over well-being among rural communities that are dependent on assistance around the world.     

Landscape design,planning, and management: An approach to the analysis of vegetation

The process of analyzing vegetation in terms of its suitability for various non-consumptive uses is primitive in comparison with systems for evaluating other resources such as soil and topography. This paper proposes a framework for developing a standardized, quantitative vegetation analysis system based on plant ecology methods. A tentative scheme under study in Wisconsin is presented for discussion purposes.     

Recreational benefits of residual open space: A case study of four communities in northeastern New Jersey

Numerous undeveloped and ecologically diverse tracts of land within urban communities in the United States are presently being utilized for a variety of unsupervised recreational activities. The present use and perceived value of residual open spaces adjacent to the Palisades to residents of four communities in northeastern New Jersey was assessed. The results of our survey suggest that parks and open space represent a city service that is not as highly valued as other more visible services, that respondents desire a diversity of recreational experiences, that existing parks and open space provide a narrow range of recreational benefits to users, that benefits of existing parks extend primarily to the provision of active pursuits, and that undeveloped residual open spaces are valued for and provide opportunities for a variety of passive pursuits.Residual open spaces are a resource that contributes towards meeting the aesthetic and recreational needs of city residents. Failure by planners and decision-makers to recognize the value and utility of such tracts of land may result in their destruction and in the loss of a resource which provides a range of recreational opportunities that is not adequately provided by formal parks and open spaces.Paper of the Journal Series, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.This work was performed as a part of NJAES Project No. 17501, Urban Forestry: Planning and Management of Residual Open Space, supported by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and by a grant from the Consortium for Environmental Forestry Studies sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeast Forest Experiment Station.     

Influence of ethnicity on recreation and natural environment use patterns: Managing recreation sites for ethnic and racial diversity

Management of natural environment sites is becoming increasingly complex because of the influx of urbanized society into wildland areas. This worldwide phenomenon impacts a wide range of countries. In southern California ethnicity is often a major factor influencing recreation site use and behavior at sites in the wildland-urban interface. This study investigated the role of ethnicity and race on the use patterns, perception of environment, and recreation behaviors at an outdoor recreation site visited by an ethnically diverse population. Two research questions were asked: (1) What ethnic groups engage in outdoor recreation at this site, and (2) what differences can be assigned to these various groups? Data were collected from 250 recreationists during 1991. Three major ethnic groups were identified, and statistically significant differences were found in the importance of site attributes, activity participation, and in preferred and actual communication channels. Management implications and strategies based on group differences are discussed.     

RIVER RECREATION EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES IN TWO RECREATION OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM (ROS) CLASSES1

The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) system is used by the USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management for inventorying, classifying, and managing wildlands for recreation. Different ROS classes from the Colorado and Arkansas Rivers in Colorado were compared, using visitor survey data collected in 1979 and 1981, to see if the different classes offered different recreational experience opportunities. No difference between classes was found. Six possible reasons for not finding a difference are discussed. The usefulness of ROS at the broader levels of planning and the needs at more detailed levels of planning are noted.     

Capabilities and management utility of recreation impact monitoring programs

A recreation impact monitoring system was developed and applied in 1984–1986 and in 1991 to all backcountry river-accessed campsites within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Results suggest that actions implemented by park managers in response to problems identified by the initial survey were highly effective in reducing resource degradation caused by camping. In particular, the elimination of some designated campsites and installation of anchored firegrates reduced the total area of disturbance by 50%. Firegrate installation provided a focal point that increased the concentration of camping activities, allowing peripheral areas to recover. As suggested by predictive models, additional resource degradation caused by increased camping intensities is more than offset by improvements in the condition of areas where use is eliminated. The capabilities and management utility of recreation impact monitoring programs, illustrated by the Delaware Water Gap monitoring program, are also presented and discussed.     

论综合型休闲娱乐场所环境影响评价的工作重点

娱乐及餐饮业近年来发展迅速，开展这类项目的环境影响评价工作首先应确保其环保审批手续的前置性。环评单位应在项目筹划初期介入，工作中应以项目合理选址和提出具有可操作性的污染防治措施这两个侧重面开展工作，作出准确的评价结论，给出可行的污染防治措施及方案。只有这样，才能编制出较为完善的环境影响评价文件，才能达到预防或减轻不良环境影响的最终目的。     

鄱阳湖区粮食供给功能的空间格局分析

在种植制度复杂、地块破碎及多阴雨天气的南方地区,应用卫星遥感植被指数时间序列数据提取复种指数受到中低空间分辨率的限制。使用较高空间分辨率影像是提取该区域复种信息有效的数据源。论文以鄱阳湖区为研究区,通过遥感解译提取水田空间信息;在界定单/双季稻生长期物候历的前提下,根据水稻不同生长期内归一化植被指数(NDVI)的明显差异,选择合理时间窗口的TM影像获取水田NDVI数据,采用非监督分类法提取单/双季稻的空间分布信息;结合湖区乡镇不同熟制水稻单产数据估算出基于栅格的水稻产量。研究表明,4月下旬到6月下旬是判别双季早稻与单季稻空间分布的合理时间窗口;7月上旬到8月上旬及9月中旬到10上旬是判别单季稻与双季晚稻空间分布的合理时间窗口。2005年,单季稻播种面积为3 081.58 km²,晚稻/早稻播种面积为3 602.97 km²,水稻复种指数为153.9%。单季稻普遍分布在市县建成区周边,双季稻主要分布在河口三角洲等地。全年水稻总产量约1 650×10⁴ t,单季稻占30.5%,双季稻占69.5%。赣江下游地区两种熟制水稻产量均较高,而湖汊及湖区外围丘陵地区产量较低。     

Influence of Bioenergy Crop Production and Climate Change on Ecosystem Services

Land use change can significantly affect the provision of ecosystem services and the effects could be exacerbated by projected climate change. We quantify ecosystem services of bioenergy‐based land use change and estimate the potential changes of ecosystem services due to climate change projections. We considered 17 bioenergy‐based scenarios with Miscanthus, switchgrass, and corn stover as candidate bioenergy feedstock. Soil and Water Assessment Tool simulations of biomass/grain yield, hydrology, and water quality were used to quantify ecosystem services freshwater provision (FWPI), food (FPI) and fuel provision, erosion regulation (ERI), and flood regulation (FRI). Nine climate projections from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase‐3 were used to quantify the potential climate change variability. Overall, ecosystem services of heavily row cropped Wildcat Creek watershed were lower than St. Joseph River watershed which had more forested and perennial pasture lands. The provision of ecosystem services for both study watersheds were improved with bioenergy production scenarios. Miscanthus in marginal lands of Wildcat Creek (9% of total area) increased FWPI by 27% and ERI by 14% and decreased FPI by 12% from the baseline. For St. Joseph watershed, Miscanthus in marginal lands (18% of total area) improved FWPI by 87% and ERI by 23% while decreasing FPI by 46%. The relative impacts of land use change were considerably larger than climate change impacts in this paper. Editor's note : This paper is part of the featured series on SWAT Applications for Emerging Hydrologic and Water Quality Challenges. See the February 2017 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

演艺厅噪声治理工程实例

对一家演艺厅的噪声现状进行分析,并提出改善墙壁、屋面隔声性能,降噪的有效途径。