STATUS OF RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES1

ABSTRACT: An attempt was made to review all available data on the extent and status of riparian ecosystems in the U.S.A. This report presents a synthesis of the findings, including some estimates of how much land was originally covered by woody riparian vegetation, and how much remains in that condition today. A synopsis of information is presented on the status of riparian ecosystems in each of 10 regions: California, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Arid Southwest, Plains-Grasslands, Lake States, Corn Belt, Mississippi Delta, Northeast-Appalachian, and Southeast. Woody riparian plant communities once covered an estimated 75 to 100 million acres of land in the contiguous 48 states. Mankind has converted at least two-thirds of that nationwide acreage to other non-forest land uses and it is estimated that only 25 to 35 million acres of riparian plant communities remain in a near natural condition. Across the country, loss of riparian acreages is directly attributable to water resource development (especially channel modification and water impoundment), floodplain clearing for agriculture, and urbanization. In many states of the arid west, the midwest, and the lower Mississippi alluvial valley, riparian vegetation has been reduced in area by more than 80 percent. Riparian woodlands are one of this country's most heavily modified natural vegetation types.     

SIDE EFFECTS OF 58 YEARS OF COPPER SULFATE TREATMENT OF THE FAIRMONT LAKES,MINNESOTA1

The shallow Fairmont Lakes in southern Minnesota have been treated with copper sulfate for 58 years to reduce excessive algal growth. Copper sulfate was applied to five lakes at cumulative rates upo to 1647 kg/ha (1470 1b/acre), totaling 1.5 million kilograms. Data collected since treatment of the Fairmont Lakes began in 1921 provide alarming insights into lake responses to sustained chemical treatment with copper sulfate. Short-term and long-term effects have occurred. Short-term effects include: a) the intended temporary killing of algae, b) dissolved oxygen depletion by decomposition of dead algae, c) accelerated phosphorus recycling from the lake bed and recovery of the algal population within 7 to 21 days, and d) occasional fish kills due to oxygen depletion or copper toxicity or both. Long-term effects are shown to include: a) copper accumulation in the sediments, b) tolerance adjustments of certain species of algae to higher copper sulfate dosages, c) shift of species from green to blue-green algae and from game fish to rough fish, d) disappearance of macrophytes, and e) reductions in benthic macroinvertebrates. The conclusion is that while copper sulfate treatments enjoy great popularity because they kill and remove algae almost instantaneously, other immediate or cumulative side effects can be harmful to many other aquatic organisms.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Soil Pollution by Lignite Mining

Lignite mining and processing has caused a pronounced impact both directly and indirectly on soils and ecosystems across large areas of the former GDR. We studied soils of pine forest ecosystems at sites affected by severe alkaline dust and sulphur deposition, stemming from lignite fired power plant emission, and at dumped sites from lignite mining. In this paper we summarize our main results and evaluate the long-term impact of lignite mining and combustion on the environment. The pine ecosystems on naturally developed soils show a clear effect of deposition history along a former deposition gradient with distinct changes in chemical properties of organic surface layers and mineral soil as well as in element turnover and cycling rates. Afforested sites on mining dumps are directly affected by the composition of the dumped substrates. Over a large area (800 km²) these substrates are dominated by Tertiary sediments with varying amounts of lignitic particles and pyrite that result in phytotoxic site conditions (pH < 3, high salt and metal contents). High amelioration doses of liming material (up to 200 t ha⁻¹) were applied for restoration purposes. We studied the development of these sites over a period of 60 years using a false-time series approach. Beside the extreme soil conditions, element budgets of these sites are characterized by very high element release rates over decades caused by pyrite oxidation and primary mineral weathering.     

ADAPTING EXISTING MODELS TO EXAMINE EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ON STREAM HABITAT QUALITY1

Annual expenditures by the federal government in the United States for agricultural conservation programs increased about 80 percent with passage of the 2002 Farm Bill. However, environmental benefits of these programs have not been quantified. A national project is under way to estimate the effect of conservation practices on environmental resources. The watershed models intended for use in that project are focused on water quantity and quality and have minimal habitat assessment capability. Major impairments to aquatic ecosystems in many watersheds consist of physical habitat degradation, not water quality, suggesting that current models for this national initiative do not address one of the most significant aspects of aquatic ecosystem degradation. Currently used models contain some components relevant to aquatic habitat, and this paper describes specific components that should be added to allow rudimentary stream habitat quality assessments. At least six types of variables could be examined for ecological impact: land use, streamflow, water temperature, streambed material type, large woody debris, and hydraulic conditions at base flow. All of these variables are influenced by the presence, location, and quality of buffers. Generation of stream corridor ecological or habitat quality indices might contribute to assessments of the success or failure of conservation programs. Additional research is needed to refine procedures for combining specific measures of stream habitat into ecologically meaningful indices.     

Quantification of net primary production of Chinese forest ecosystems with spatial statistical approaches

Net primary production (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystems provides food, fiber, construction materials, and energy to humans. Its demand is likely to increase substantially in this century due to rising population and biofuel uses. Assessing national forest NPP is of importance to best use forest resources in China. To date, most estimates of NPP are based on process-based ecosystem modeling, forestry inventory, and satellite observations. There are little efforts in using spatial statistical approaches while large datasets of in-situ observed NPP are available for Chinese forest ecosystems. Here we use the surveyed forest NPP and ecological data at 1,266 sites, the data of satellite forest coverage, and the information of climate and topography to estimate Chinese forest NPP and their associated uncertainties with two geospatial statistical approaches. We estimate that the Chinese forest and woodland ecosystems have total NPP of 1,325 ± 102 and 1,258 ± 186 Tg C year⁻¹ in 1.57 million km² forests with a regression method and a kriging method, respectively. These estimates are higher than the satellite-based estimate of 1,034 Tg C year⁻¹ and almost double the estimate of 778 Tg C year⁻¹ using a process-based terrestrial ecosystem model. Cross-validation suggests that the estimates with the kriging method are more accurate. Our developed geospatial statistical models could be alternative tools to provide national-level NPP estimates to better use Chinese forest resources.     

基于BEPS生态模型对亚洲东部地区蒸散量的模拟

气候变化和人类活动的加剧导致亚洲东部地区陆地生态系统的碳水循环过程发生显著的变化,成为全球变化研究最关注的对象之一。实际蒸散(ET)是陆地生态系统碳水循环的重要组成部分,但对该地区ET特征的研究尚不够深入。论文利用遥感、气象和土壤等资料驱动生态过程模型BEPS对亚洲东部地区1982—2006年间的ET进行了模拟分析。利用6个站的通量实测数据验证表明,BEPS模型能够解释ET的81.23%的年变化和86.4%的10 d变化。模拟结果表明:亚洲东部的ET呈现出从东南向西北和西南沙漠地区逐渐减少的分布特征,最小值位于中国的西北沙漠地区;ET与降水量之比从东南和东北地区向西北内陆和西南沙漠地区逐渐增加,其中在中国长江以南的亚洲东部地区,平均值为0.4,而在沙漠地区接近1.0。在1982至2006年期间,研究区年ET总量的平均值为12 045×109m3/a,其中,中国、泛东南亚和印度的ET总量占整个研究区的62.4%;研究区的单位面积ET均值为401 mm/a,在泛东南亚地区最大(1100 mm/a),在蒙古最小(134 mm/a)。在所有的地表覆盖类型中,常绿阔叶林的ET总量和平均值都为最大,城镇地区的ET总量和平均值都为最小。研究区的ET总量呈增加趋势,草地、稀树草原、裸地和城镇的ET明显上升,其它地表覆盖类型的ET变化不明显。     

基于熵权法的连云港市入海河流环境健康评价——以蔷薇河为例

建立包含压力-状态-响应要素的指标体系,采用基于熵权的模糊数学评价方法,运用相对隶属度算法评价在快速城市化胁迫下(2000～2007年)连云港市入海河流(以蔷薇河为例)相对健康程度,该方法避免了主观判断河流环境健康标准的不确定性.评价结果表明2000～2007年,连云港市蔷薇河相对健康整体大致呈下降趋势,最优年为200...     

Lipid peroxidation rates in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taraxacum officinale</Emphasis> Wigg. and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vicia cracca</Emphasis> L. from biotopes with different levels of soil pollution with heavy metals

The rates of lipid peroxidation (LPO) have been studied in Taraxacum officinale Wigg. (Asteraceae) and Vicia cracca L. (Fabaceae) from urban ecosystems with different levels of soil pollution with heavy metals (HMs), including Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cr. The former species responds to the increased HM contents by intensification of LPO processes, with their parameters correlating with the concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cu in the soil. In the latter species from the same biotopes, conversely, LPO homeostasis remains actually undisturbed.     

Aquatic ecological health assessment of Shaying River Basin based on indices of physico-chemistry and aquatic organisms北大核心CSCD

With a variety of ecosystem services, river ecosystem plays an important role in the process of human society development. On the other hand, health condition of most aquatic ecosystems is seriously threatened by human activities. Restoring and maintaining a healthy ecosystem has already become a vital goal of river management. As a basis of river management, river health assessment is therefore particularly important. Based on indices of physics, chemistry and aquatic organisms, this research tried to establish a comprehensive evaluation system of aquatic ecological health suitable for the situation of Shaying River Basin. The system included 6 factors including riparian zone, river morphology, nutrients, oxygen balance, periphyton and benthic macroinvertebrates, which were defined into 19 indices reflecting the aquatic ecological health from different aspects. The assessment results indicated that the health condition of overall basin was normal, varying among different parts of the region, with Shahe River, Lihe River and Beiru River in the upper part sub-healthy, and Jialu River in the same part sub-sick. The middle region was generally in normal or sub-sick level; the health condition of the lower part was comparatively better due to a good condition. Within the indices, the nutrients and benthic macroinvertebrates were the major constraining factors to the health condition of Shaying River Basin for their poor health condition. The health conditions showed significant differences among the rivers (P < 0.01), with Jialu River being the worst. The result indicated that the aquatic ecological health of Shaying River Basin is affected by many factors, with urban and industrial sewage being the main ones, And that different protective measures should be employed for rivers of different conditions. The result can provide theoretical basis for the ecological restoration of Shaying River Basin and reasonable exploitation and conservation of the water resource of the whole Huaihe River Basin.     

Red-list status and extinction risk of the world's whales,dolphins, and porpoises

To understand the scope and scale of the loss of biodiversity, tools are required that can be applied in a standardized manner to all species globally, spanning realms from land to the open ocean. We used data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List to provide a synthesis of the conservation status and extinction risk of cetaceans. One in 4 cetacean species (26% of 92 species) was threatened with extinction (i.e., critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable) and 11% were near threatened. Ten percent of cetacean species were data deficient, and we predicted that 2–3 of these species may also be threatened. The proportion of threatened cetaceans has increased: 15% in 1991, 19% in 2008, and 26% in 2021. The assessed conservation status of 20% of species has worsened from 2008 to 2021, and only 3 moved into categories of lesser threat. Cetacean species with small geographic ranges were more likely to be listed as threatened than those with large ranges, and those that occur in freshwater (100% of species) and coastal (60% of species) habitats were under the greatest threat. Analysis of odontocete species distributions revealed a global hotspot of threatened small cetaceans in Southeast Asia, in an area encompassing the Coral Triangle and extending through nearshore waters of the Bay of Bengal, northern Australia, and Papua New Guinea and into the coastal waters of China. Improved management of fisheries to limit overfishing and reduce bycatch is urgently needed to avoid extinctions or further declines, especially in coastal areas of Asia, Africa, and South America.