Integration of technologies and alternative sources of water and energy to promote the sustainability of urban landscapes

Recent research has highlighted the positive role of green areas in urban environments, providing numerous social, environmental and economic services, such as mitigation of the urban heat island effect, storm attenuation, increased water infiltration into the soil, reduction of noise and air pollution, among others. However, the maintenance of green areas may result in high consumption of water, reaching 50% of the total consumption in some municipalities, and energy, becoming a reason of concern. The present study aimed to integrate techniques and technologies that promote the automatic and efficient irrigation of urban landscapes, using alternative sources of energy and water, toward its sustainability. The conceptual unit was able to reduce in 64% the water consumed in irrigation. Rainwater met 69% of the demand and the photovoltaic system supplied all the energy required. The economic feasibility analysis showed that the conceptual unit is financially unfeasible, under the conditions of this study. However, with some interventions for reusing the surplus energy and water, and considering the higher fees charged by other cities, the investment became attractive. In this new scenario, the internal rate of return (15 years) was 27.3% and the discounted payback period was 4.9 years.     

基于LEI和MSPA的南昌市城市扩张类型与生态景观类型变化关联分析

中国正处于城市化快速发展阶段,城市扩张导致大量生态景观日益破碎,分析城市扩张类型与生态景观类型的变化及其关联机制能为改善生态环境提供指导。以南昌市为研究区,采用景观扩张指数（LEI）和形态学空间格局分析法（MSPA）识别南昌市的城市扩张类型和生态用地景观类型,并通过建立缓冲区带分析城市扩张类型与生态景观类型变化的关联特征。结果表明：（1）南昌市城市扩张主要以边缘型扩张为主,生态用地以“核心”形态为主;（2）不同圈层的城市扩张类型和生态景观类型的关系在不同发展阶段差异显著;（3）在城市扩张过程中,总体上生态景观越加破碎,边缘型扩张会加速大型绿色斑块的减小,飞地型扩张促进绿色景观单元的破碎化,填充型扩张则有弱化这一过程的作用。研究结果可为控制城市无序扩张提供可靠的理论参考,并为研究区的城市有序扩张和生态环境保护提供决策依据。     

岩溶山区城镇化进程的土地利用景观格局演变特征——以贵阳市为例

基于多期贵阳市土地利用现状数据,运用景观生态学原理系统研究了城镇化进程中贵阳市景观格局时空演变特征。结果表明,城镇化进程中建设用地景观面积持续增加,耕地、林地和草地景观面积减少。城市建设用地景观早期集中于贵阳市中部,其它呈零星点状分布;中期以南部和西北部为主,逐渐由零星点状向带状发展;后期由带状向四周拓展的区位演变特征。城镇化进程中景观蔓延度和景观形状呈下降趋势,斑块数和破碎度增加,景观形状趋于规则;景观多样性和均匀度随城镇化推进有所上升,景观异质性增强。景观格局变化受控于国家政策、城市发展理念与规划调整。     

长江上游小型水库枯水期水质对景观组成、配置和水库特征的响应

长江流域小型水库数量多分布广,具有重要的生态经济效益,探明小型水库水质对环境变量的响应规律对于提升水库水质具有非常重要的意义.基于长江上游36个小型水库枯水期水质数据,运用相关分析和冗余分析等研究方法,将环境变量划分为景观配置指标、景观组成指标和水库特征指标这三大类,探明其对水质指标变化的影响.结果表明：(1)旱地是NO^-₃-N、TN和TP的主要来源;居民点是TP物质的主要来源;水田、林地和荒草地对水库N、P的截留和净化具有正向作用;(2)旱地最大斑块指数与水库TN和NO^-₃-N浓度显著正相关,水田散布与并列指数、林地散布与并列指数与水库NO^-₃-N和TN浓度显著负相关;旱地斑块密度与TP物质含量显著正相关;林地最大斑块指数与TP含量显著负相关;(3)水库库容、水库平均深度和水库形状指数对水库水质提升具有显著的正向作用;(4)水库环境变量中,景观配置指标对水库水质指标变化的解释率最高(24%),其次是水库特征指标(11%),最后为景观组成指标(9%).流域...     

洞庭湖区近50年土地利用/覆盖的变化研究

利用1978，1989，1998年的Landsat卫星遥感影像资料及20世纪50年代航测的地形图，研究了洞庭湖区近50年土地利用／覆盖及其景观结构的变化，土地利用／覆盖类型分为水体，湿地，农田，林地和建成区五类，各时期遥感影像的总体分类精度都在80％以上，运用ArcInfo和ArcView GIS软件，将不同时期的土地利用／覆盖格局在空间上清晰地显示出来，通过叠加4个不同时期的影像分类图，计算出各种土地利用／覆盖类型转变为其他土地利用／覆盖类型的比例，洞庭湖区50年来水体面积不断减少，减少量为1460km^2，其中1955年到1978年水面面积缩小了970。57km^2，分别为1978年到1989年和1989年到1998年缩小面积的2．23倍和1805倍，湿地面积逐渐增加，1998年湿地面积分别为1955，1978和1989年的1．46，1．41和1．09倍，农田的面积百分比从1955年的54．70％增加到1978年62．15％，又逐渐降低到1989年的51．88％和1998年的48．17％，林地的面积1978年比1955年减少了17％,，1989年比1978年增加了57％，1998年比1989年增加了11％，建成区的变化表明近50年来湖区城市化的进程，洞庭湖区土地利用／覆盖及其景观结构的变化是社会经济和自然因素综合作用的结果。     

Urban development and landscape change in the Yangtze River Delta region in China

The impact of large-scale urban development on land resources has long been debated by urban planners and designers. This study investigated the extent to which different urban characteristics are associated with land-cover change. The Yangtze River Delta region in China, forming one of the largest sprawling urban landscapes among the regions around the world, was chosen for the study area. Spatial analysis and multiple regression methods were applied to empirically investigate the pattern of resource sites lost to urban development in the area between the 1950s and 2017. The results showed that contrary to the widespread notion that large-sized cities are predominantly responsible for a region’s environmental degradation, city size was not a significant factor in determining the rate of resource loss. Large-sized cities gained their populations with far lesser impacts on land than small-sized cities and towns if normalized to the same number of populations. One explanation for the diminishing effect of city size on land-cover change relates to the degree of spatial dispersion of urban development and local differences in social valuation of diversified lands by cities.     

Effectiveness of Panama as an intercontinental land bridge for large mammals

Habitat fragmentation is a primary driver of wildlife loss, and establishment of biological corridors is a common strategy to mitigate this problem. A flagship example is the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), which aims to connect protected forest areas between Mexico and Panama to allow dispersal and gene flow of forest organisms. Because forests across Central America have continued to degrade, the functioning of the MBC has been questioned, but reliable estimates of species occurrence were unavailable. Large mammals are suitable indicators of forest functioning, so we assessed their conservation status across the Isthmus of Panama, the narrowest section of the MBC. We used large-scale camera-trap surveys and hierarchical multispecies occupancy models in a Bayesian framework to estimate the occupancy of 9 medium to large mammals and developed an occupancy-weighted connectivity metric to evaluate species-specific functional connectivity. White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and tapir (Tapirus bairdii) had low expected occupancy along the MBC in Panama. Puma (Puma concolor), red brocket deer (Mazama temama), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), which are more adaptable, had higher occupancy, even in areas with low forest cover near infrastructure. However, the majority of species were subject to ≥1 gap that was larger than their known dispersal distances, suggesting poor connectivity along the MBC in Panama. Based on our results, forests in Darien, Donoso–Santa Fe, and La Amistad International Park are critical for survival of large terrestrial mammals in Panama and 2 areas need restoration.     

Progress in the ecology and conservation of giant pandas

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) conservation is a possible success story in the making. If extinction of this iconic endangered species can be avoided, the species will become a showcase program for the Chinese government and its collaborators. We reviewed the major advancements in ecological science for the giant panda, examining how these advancements have contributed to panda conservation. Pandas’ morphological and behavioral adaptations to a diet of bamboo, which bear strong influence on movement ecology, have been well studied, providing knowledge to guide management actions ranging from reserve design to climate change mitigation. Foraging ecology has also provided essential information used in the creation of landscape models of panda habitat. Because habitat loss and fragmentation are major drivers of the panda population decline, efforts have been made to help identify core habitat areas, establish where habitat corridors are needed, and prioritize areas for protection and restoration. Thus, habitat models have provided guidance for the Chinese governments’ creation of 67 protected areas. Behavioral research has revealed a complex and efficient communication system and documented the need for protection of habitat that serves as a communication platform for bringing the sexes together for mating. Further research shows that den sites in old‐growth forests may be a limiting resource, indicating potential value in providing alternative den sites for rearing offspring. Advancements in molecular ecology have been revolutionary and have been applied to population census, determining population structure and genetic diversity, evaluating connectivity following habitat fragmentation, and understanding dispersal patterns. These advancements form a foundation for increasing the application of adaptive management approaches to move panda conservation forward more rapidly. Although the Chinese government has made great progress in setting aside protected areas, future emphasis will be improved management of pandas and their habitat.     

南岳衡山风景名胜区景观资源的调查与评价

景观资源是旅游资源的重要组成因素,本文以自然综合体的南岳衡山为考察对象,对其景观资源进行较详尽的调查,并进行定性和定量的评价,为确定南岳衡山风景名胜区性质、规划提供基础资料.