THE INFLUENCE OF DRAW-DOWN ON RECREATION ON THE TRENT CANAL RESERVOIR-LAKES1

ABSTRACT: Water-based outdoor recreation constitutes an important benefit in many multiple-use projects. One problem frequently encountered, however, is the fluctuation of the water-level in a reservoir, especially if draw-downs occur during the summer recreation season. The Trent Canal in Ontario, Canada, forms a unique recreation waterway of some 240 miles of canal and navigable lakes and rivers. For the control of the water in the canal, the Canadian Federal government manages 44 reservoir-lakes as water-storage sites to augment the flows in the canal. While most disputes in water allocation for recreation generally involve recreation uses versus other, non-recreation uses, in the case of the Trent Canal and its reservoir-lakes the dispute in water allocation exists between two competing recreation-uses: for recreation boating on the Canal and its waterway, and for recreation use of the reservoir-lakes. Each use has its own duty-of-water in terms of requirements, or water conditions, for its optimum use. On the reservoir-lakes, by far the largest recreation user-group, is made up of the owners of private shoreline summer cottages (cabins). Draw-downs on the reservoir-lakes, in some cases as much as 13 feet, hence constitute a negative externality imposed by the canal, especially since water-level lowering takes place continuously throughout the summer. In-depth interviews conducted with over 100 cottage-owners indicate four main conclusions. First, the previous user assumptions of the extent of the negative effect of water-level fluctuation on recreation had been exaggerated. Only in extreme draw-downs during infrequent dry years would draw-down constitute a serious imposition. Second, water-level fluctuation does constitute a form of inconvenience to the private riparian recreation property owners, but it does not generally reduce the quantity of recreation use of the reservoir-lakes. Third, there is evidence that reservoir-lake users have learned to adapt successfully to water-level draw-downs. Fourth, the shoreline physiography of the location of a riparian owner strongly influences the way in which draw-down affects attitudes and opinions. The complex jurisdictional split of the land and water resources of the region points to the need to establish a Trent Canal Authority, to oversee the proper use and development of the canal, its waterway, and the reservoir-lakes.     

三峡库区典型土壤酸碱缓冲性能及其影响因素研究

受酸沉降和化肥施用等外源性酸输入的影响,三峡库区土壤面临着严重的酸化威胁。通过选取三峡库区两种典型土壤(紫色土和黄壤)作为研究对象,采用酸碱滴定法对土壤酸碱缓冲性能及其影响因素进行了研究。结果表明:在一定的p H范围内,紫色土(p H 6.5~2.5、6.2~11.5)和黄壤(p H 5.6~2.8、5.5~10.7)的p H变化与外源性酸、碱加入量均呈线性相关关系。通过分段拟合获取的缓冲容量结果显示,紫色土酸、碱缓冲容量分别为101.3、34.6 mmol/kg;而黄壤酸、碱缓冲容量分别为105.3、38.0 mmol/kg。黄壤和紫色土主要受碳酸钙与阳离子交换的缓冲作用;缓冲体系及初始p H、机械组成等土壤理化性质的不同是导致库区典型土壤酸碱缓冲容量差异的主要原因,总体表现为黄壤酸、碱缓冲性能略优于紫色土。此外,由于近年来酸沉降和氮肥用量的增加,使得库区土壤面临的酸化威胁呈上升趋势。该结果对库区土壤环境容量和典型土壤酸化潜势等研究具有参考价值,还可为区域外源性酸临界值评估以及应对策略制定提供理论依据。     

庐山不同森林植被类型土壤特性及其健康评价

土壤作为森林生态系统的一个重要因子,评价森林土壤健康状况对森林健康的维护经营以及森林系统功能的发挥具有重要意义。在系统调查和分析庐山8种森林植被类型土壤特性的基础上,评价指标分别从物种多样性以及不同的森林土壤特性中进行筛选,包括物种多样性系数、枯落物层厚度、腐殖质层厚度、土层厚度、容重、粘粒含量、有机质、p H值、阳离子交换量、全氮、水解氮、有效磷、速效钾、磷酸酶活性等指标,基于SPSS19.0软件对所获得数据进行差异性检验和相关分析,确定各项指标的权重,应用合适的土壤健康评分函数,将测得的指标值转换为对应指标的分值,最后通过加权综合法,计算其土壤健康指数,并对不同森林植被类型土壤健康状况进行评价。结果表明,8种森林植被类型下最终的土壤健康指数大小排序为:针阔混交林(0.78)常-落混交林(0.72)灌丛(0.69)常绿阔叶林(0.67)落叶阔叶林(0.64)竹林(0.59)马尾松林(0.53)黄山松林(0.46)。     

福建省林权改革环境影响农户调查研究—以三明市和永安市为例

福建是全国第一个开展林权制度改革的省份。本文通过在福建省三明市和永安市实地调研的基础上,探讨福建省森林资源经营的改变对环境的影响。研究发现,林区的绝大部分林农对林权改革持满意的态度,认为林权改革前后对环境的影响有变化。数据分析显示,林改后,对林业的投入对于森林旅游的影响成正比;家庭年均收入对空气质量的影响成负相关。研究建议,继续加大对林业的投入,科学编制森林经营规划和经营方案,促进生态环境改善和林农的增收。     

酸沉降对森林植物影响过程和机理

文章丰要包括如下几方而的内容：（1）概述了酸沉降作用下森林衰退的状况及其相关工作的开展情况；（2）总结了酸沉降对森林植物的影响过程和机理；（3）阐述了酸沉降对森林植物影响研究的模型和临界酸负荷值的确定；（4）探讨了存在的问题和未来值得研究的方向。指山未来的研究方向主要是：酸沉降对森林生态系统的影响机理和森林生态系统对酸沉降的反馈机制；酸沉降对非优势种、稀有种及低等植物的影响；酸沉降与其它环境因子对森林植物的共同影响；酸沉降的监控和预测，建立适合我斟实际情况的研究模型；将常规分析手段和分子生物学技术相结合，加强抗性植物和指示植物的筛选工作；加强受损森林植被的恢复和重建工作；开展酸沉降对森林植被的格局动态及森林演替动态变化研究。     

Leaching characteristics of bisphenol A from epoxy-resin pavement materials

We investigated the leaching characteristics of bisphenol A (BPA) from two kinds of epoxy-resin pavement materials, one containing epoxy resins (EPs) and the other containing epoxy-acrylate resins (EPAs). Both samples contained residual BPA monomer, at levels of 9.0?µg?g^?1 for the EP resin sample and 4.4?µg?g^?1 for the EPA resin sample. These amounts were larger than amounts previously measured for polycarbonate samples. The amount of BPA leached from the samples increased with temperature. The leaching of BPA from EP was more strongly affected by temperature than the leaching from EPA. The pH also affected the amount of leached BPA. The maximum leached amount was observed under alkaline conditions (pH 10.8) for both sample types. The amounts of BPA that might leach from pavement materials during 1?h of heavy rain were estimated to be 0.9?µg?m^?2 for EP and 3.5?µg?m^?2 for EPA. Our results indicate that EPs disposed of in waste landfills without any treatment may be a source of BPA in leachate at landfill sites.     

Applicability of Montreal Process Criterion 4 — soil and water conservation — to rangeland sustainability

SUMMARY

Criterion 4 of the Montreal Process addresses the conservation of soil and water resources as a way to assess the sustainability of a nation's forests. For the most part, the indicators under this criterion are relevant to rangelands. The area and percent of rangeland with significant soil erosion apply equally well to both biomes. Percent of streams with flow rates and timing outside its range of historical variation is also equally important, although a measure of proper functioning and condition may provide a better measure of the indicator. The area and percent of rangeland with diminished soil productive capability because of a loss of reduced organic matter or changed physical characteristics can be useful indicators locally and regionally.     

Roles of digital technology in China's sustainable forestry development

China has the fifth largest forest area in the world and any change in China's forestry development will have inevitable impacts on global ecological sustainability. China has undergone excessive logging of natural forests and also made tremendous efforts in afforestation during the past half century. China's forestry is now going through a variety of transitions and several forestry programs have been implemented to drive forestry transitions. The goal of these actions is to protect ecological services of forests and sustain China's forestry development. These forestry programs are spatially sophisticated and cannot be successfully implemented without accurate and transparent forest/forestry information. A variety of digital technologies, including forest modeling, remote sensing, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, and visualization, have been applied in handling diverse information in China's forestry. Digital forestry is not just a theoretical concept in China. Our digital forestry experience in northeast China suggests that digital technology is both usable and useful in China's forestry development. Digital technology is playing an important interactive role in China's top-down forestry administration system. The analog-to-digital transition in technology is expected to lead to the success of forestry programs and forestry transitions in China.     

Carbon sequestration of black locust forests in the Yellow River Delta region,China

The Yellow River Delta region in China is a land area of 1,200,000 ha with rich natural resources. Adverse environmental conditions, such as low rainfall and high salinity, promote the dominance of black locust trees for afforestation. With the increase of CO₂ in the atmosphere, this forest and others throughout the world have become valued for their ability to sequester and store carbon. Forests store carbon in aboveground biomass (i.e. trees), belowground biomass (i.e. roots), soils and standing litter crop (i.e. forest floor and coarse woody debris). There are well-developed methods to sample forest ecosystems, including tree inventories that are used to quantify carbon in aboveground tree biomass. Such inventories are used to estimate the types of roundwood products removed from the forest during harvesting. Based on standard plot inventories and stem analyses, carbon sequestration estimates of trees were 222.41 t ha^?1 for the Yellow River Delta region accounted for 67.12% of the whole forest. Similarly, carbon storage by herbaceous matter and soil was 0.50 and 50.34 t ha^?1, respectively. The results suggest that carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystem was performed by most of the forest, which plays an increasingly important role in sequestering carbon as the stand grows.     

A system dynamics model for evaluating collaborative forest management: a case study in Indonesia

This article presents a system dynamics (SD) method to examine the problem of forest degradation. The model developed takes a system-oriented view of forest management, embracing both social and biophysical factors affecting deforestation. Social factors examined are socio-economic variables or elements that influence behaviour and decision-making choices at the household level. Biophysical factors are four sub-components that are considered major land uses namely, the paddy field component, rattan plantations, coffee plantations and forest stands. The model was applied in a case study located in Pasir District of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The site covers an area that includes a protected forest and a privately allocated timber license concession. Three village communities are examined in the case study. The SD model developed was applied to the case study focusing on three management policies or scenarios, which are based on access rights to the forest resources within the study area. Specifically, the property arrangements examined in each scenario are: Policy 1 – status quo (i.e. continue present property rights arrangements); Policy 2 – local communities manage the forest exclusively; and Policy 3 – collaborative management involving both local communities and a private company. Results from the model show that the third policy is the most viable option, and also lead to a win–win solution.