BIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED CONSERVATION PRACTICES ON SOIL EROSION AND FRESHWATER FISHERIES1

ABSTRACT: Farmers can generate environmental benefits (improved water quality and fisheries and wildlife habitat), but they may not be able to quantify them. Furthermore, farmers may reduce their incomes from managing lands to produce these positive externalities but receive little monetary compensation in return. This study simulated the relationship between agricultural practices, water quality, fish responses to suspended sediment and farm income within two small watersheds, one of a cool water stream and one of a warm water stream. Using the Agricultural Drainage and Pesticide Transport (ADAPT) model, this study related best management practices (BMPs) to calculated instream suspended sediment concentrations by estimating sediment delivery, runoff, base flow, and streambank erosion to quantify the effects of suspended sediment exposure on fish communities. By implementing selected BMPs in each watershed, annual net farm income declined $18,000 to $28,000 (1 to 3 percent) from previous levels. “Lethal” fish events from suspended sediments in the cool water watershed decreased by 60 percent as conservation tillage and riparian buffers increased. Despite reducing suspended sediments by 25 percent, BMPs in the warm water watershed did not reduce the negative response of the fisheries. Differences in responses (physical and biological) between watersheds highlight potential gains in economic efficiency by targeting BMPs or by offering performance based “green payments.”     

GEOMORPHOLOGY OF STEEPLAND HEADWATERS: THE TRANSITION FROM HILLSLOPES TO CHANNELS1

Headwater streams comprise 60 to 80 percent of the cumulative length of river networks. In hilly to mountainous terrain, they reflect a mix of hillslope and channel processes because of their close proximity to sediment source areas. Their morphology is an assemblage of residual soils, landslide deposits, wood, boulders, thin patches of poorly sorted alluvium, and stretches of bedrock. Longitudinal profiles of these channels are strongly influenced by steps created by sediment deposits, large wood, and boulders. Due to the combination of small drainage area, stepped shallow gradient, large roughness elements, and cohesive sediments, headwater streams typically transport little sediment or coarse wood debris by fluvial processes. Consequently, headwaters act as sediment reservoirs for periods spanning decades to centuries. The accumulated sediment and wood may be episodically evacuated by debris flows, debris floods, or gully erosion and transported to larger channels. In mountain environments, these processes deliver significant amounts of materials that form riverine habitats in larger channels. In managed steepland forests, accelerated rates of landslides and debris flows resulting from the harvest of headwater forests have the potential to seriously impact the morphology of headwater streams and downstream resources.     

DRY AND WET WEATHER FLOW NUTRIENT LOADS FROM A LOS ANGELES WATERSHED1

Effective watershed management requires an accurate assessment of the pollutant loads from the associated point and nonpoint sources. The importance of wet weather flow (WWF) pollutant loads is well known, but in semi‐arid regions where urbanization is significant the pollutant load in dry weather flow (DWF) may also be important. This research compares the relative contributions of potential contaminants discharged in DWF and WWF from the Ballona Creek Watershed in Los Angeles, California. Models to predict DWF and WWF loads of total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate‐nitrogen, nitrite‐nitrogen, ammonia‐nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total phosphorus from the Ballona Creek Watershed for six water years dating from 1991 to 1996 were developed. The contaminants studied were selected based on data availability and their potential importance in the degradation of Ballona Creek and Santa Monica Bay beneficial uses. Wet weather flow was found to contribute approximately 75 percent to 90 percent of the total annual flow volume discharged by the Ballona Creek Watershed. Pollutant loads are also predominantly due to WWF, but during the dry season, DWF is a more significant contributor. Wet weather flow accounts for 67 to 98 percent of the annual load of the constituents studied. During the dry season, however, the portion attributable to DWF increases to greater than 40 percent for all constituents except biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids. When individual catchments within the watershed are considered, the DWF pollutant load from the largest catchment is similar to the WWF pollutant load in two other major catchments. This research indicates WWF is the most significant source of nonpoint source pollution load on an annual basis, but management of the effects of the nonpoint source pollutant load should consider the seasonal importance of DWF.     

PREDICTING FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA LEVELS IN THE CHARLES RIVER,MASSACHUSETTS, USA1

In Massachusetts, the Charles River Watershed Association conducts a regular water quality monitoring and public notification program in the Charles River Basin during the recreational season to inform users of the river's health. This program has relied on laboratory analyses of river samples for fecal coliform bacteria levels, however, results are not available until at least 24 hours after sampling. To avoid the need for laboratory analyses, ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression models were developed to predict fecal coliform bacteria concentrations and the probabilities of exceeding the Massachusetts secondary contact recreation standard for bacteria based on meteorological conditions and streamflow. The OLS models resulted in adjusted R²s ranging from 50 to 60 percent. An uncertainty analysis reveals that of the total variability of fecal coliform bacteria concentrations, 45 percent is explained by the OLS regression model, 15 percent is explained by both measurement and space sampling error, and 40 percent is explained by time sampling error. Higher accuracy in future bacteria forecasting models would likely result from reductions in laboratory measurement errors and improved sampling designs.     

城镇供热管道隐患辨识研究

近年来,因供热管道老化腐蚀、外部自然环境、施工活动等导致的事故时有发生,给居民的冬季供暖造成了严重的危害和影响。本文在分析供热管道自身安全特性的基础上,运用事故树等系统安全分析方法对供热管道隐患进行辨识分析,结合供热管道影响因素明确隐患辨识重点,并针对隐患排查内容及手段等提出对策建议,以支撑供热管道单位更系统、更科学的开展隐患排查治理工作,保障管线的安全运行。     

突发事件机理体系与现代应急管理体制设计

本文为了增加对突发事件的科学认识,提升应急管理的能力水平,首先对突发事件和应急管理的内在机理进行剖析。通过分阶段、划层次地构建"4L-5S"机理分析模型,将二者划归为统一体系,以理清其逻辑内涵;然后,为顺应时代发展特征,满足应急管理的更高要求,实现应急管理工作从非常态协同应对转为常态化职能管理,对现代应急管理体制加以总体设计。从而,突发事件机理体系设计使得我国的突发事件机理研究逐渐过渡至具有阶段性和层次性,现代应急管理体制设计使得我国应急管理整合出具备现代思维理念的逻辑框架。     

基于24Model的矿工怠工行为 管理模式架构及策略研究

为减少矿工怠工行为,基于24Model研究矿工怠工行为的管理模式架构及策略。首先,基于冰山模型理论分析矿工怠工行为的影响因素;其次,基于24Model和行为修正理论提出集怠工行为识别、行为原因分析、行为管理策略选择和行为修正评估于一体的矿工怠工行为管理模式架构;最后,提出了针对性的管理策略。对于提高煤矿企业矿工的工作绩效具有重要的理论意义和实践价值。     

An interdisciplinary review of current and future approaches to improving human–predator relations

In a world of shrinking habitats and increasing competition for natural resources, potentially dangerous predators bring the challenges of coexisting with wildlife sharply into focus. Through interdisciplinary collaboration among authors trained in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, we reviewed current approaches to mitigating adverse human–predator encounters and devised a vision for future approaches to understanding and mitigating such encounters. Limitations to current approaches to mitigation include too much focus on negative impacts; oversimplified equating of levels of damage with levels of conflict; and unsuccessful technical fixes resulting from failure to engage locals, address hidden costs, or understand cultural (nonscientific) explanations of the causality of attacks. An emerging interdisciplinary literature suggests that to better frame and successfully mitigate negative human–predator relations conservation professionals need to consider dispensing with conflict as the dominant framework for thinking about human–predator encounters; work out what conflicts are really about (they may be human–human conflicts); unravel the historical contexts of particular conflicts; and explore different cultural ways of thinking about animals. The idea of cosmopolitan natures may help conservation professionals think more clearly about human–predator relations in both local and global context. These new perspectives for future research practice include a recommendation for focused interdisciplinary research and the use of new approaches, including human‐animal geography, multispecies ethnography, and approaches from the environmental humanities notably environmental history. Managers should think carefully about how they engage with local cultural beliefs about wildlife, work with all parties to agree on what constitutes good evidence, develop processes and methods to mitigate conflicts, and decide how to monitor and evaluate these. Demand for immediate solutions that benefit both conservation and development favors dispute resolution and technical fixes, which obscures important underlying drivers of conflicts. If these drivers are not considered, well‐intentioned efforts focused on human–wildlife conflicts will fail.     

Empirical Trials of Plant Field Guides

We designed 3 image‐based field guides to tropical forest plant species in Ghana, Grenada, and Cameroon and tested them with 1095 local residents and 20 botanists in the United Kingdom. We compared users’ identification accuracy with different image formats, including drawings, specimen photos, living plant photos, and paintings. We compared users’ accuracy with the guides to their accuracy with only their prior knowledge of the flora. We asked respondents to score each format for usability, beauty, and how much they would pay for it. Prior knowledge of plant names was generally low (<22%). With a few exceptions, identification accuracy did not differ significantly among image formats. In Cameroon, users identifying sterile Cola species achieved 46–56% accuracy across formats; identification was most accurate with living plant photos. Botanists in the United Kingdom accurately identified 82–93% of the same Cameroonian species; identification was most accurate with specimens. In Grenada, users accurately identified 74–82% of plants; drawings yielded significantly less accurate identifications than paintings and photos of living plants. In Ghana, users accurately identified 85% of plants. Digital color photos of living plants ranked high for beauty, usability, and what users would pay. Black and white drawings ranked low. Our results show the potential and limitations of the use of field guides and nonspecialists to identify plants, for example, in conservation applications. We recommend authors of plant field guides use the cheapest or easiest illustration format because image type had limited bearing on accuracy; match the type of illustration to the most likely use of the guide for slight improvements in accuracy; avoid black and white formats unless the audience is experienced at interpreting illustrations or keeping costs low is imperative; discourage false‐positive identifications, which were common; and encourage users to ask an expert or use a herbarium for groups that are difficult to identify. Pruebas Empíricas de Guías de Campo de Plantas Hawthorne, Cable & Marshall     

Combined Municipal Solid Waste and biomass system optimization for district energy applications

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal has been a controversial issue in many countries over the past years, due to disagreement among the various stakeholders on the waste management policies and technologies to be adopted. One of the ways of treating/disposing MSW is energy recovery, as waste is considered to contain a considerable amount of bio-waste and therefore can lead to renewable energy production. The overall efficiency can be very high in the cases of co-generation or tri-generation. In this paper a model is presented, aiming to support decision makers in issues relating to Municipal Solid Waste energy recovery. The idea of using more fuel sources, including MSW and agricultural residue biomass that may exist in a rural area, is explored. The model aims at optimizing the system specifications, such as the capacity of the base-load Waste-to-Energy facility, the capacity of the peak-load biomass boiler and the location of the facility. Furthermore, it defines the quantity of each potential fuel source that should be used annually, in order to maximize the financial yield of the investment. The results of an energy tri-generation case study application at a rural area of Greece, using mixed MSW and biomass, indicate positive financial yield of investment. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the effect of the most important parameters of the model on the optimum solution, pinpointing the parameters of interest rate, investment cost and heating oil price, as those requiring the attention of the decision makers. Finally, the sensitivity analysis is enhanced by a stochastic analysis to determine the effect of the volatility of parameters on the robustness of the model and the solution obtained.