Streamside Forest Buffer Width Needed to Protect Stream Water Quality,Habitat, and Organisms: A Literature Review

This literature review addresses how wide a streamside forest buffer needs to be to protect water quality, habitat, and biota for small streams (≤~100 km² or ~5th order watershed) with a focus on eight functions: (1) subsurface nitrate removal varied inversely with subsurface water flux and for sites with water flux >50 l/m/day (~40% avg base flow to Chesapeake Bay) median removal efficiency was 55% (26‐64%) for buffers <40 m wide and 89% (27‐99%) for buffers >40 m wide; (2) sediment trapping was ~65 and ~85% for a 10‐ and 30‐m buffer, respectively, based on streamside field or experimentally loaded sites; (3) stream channel width was significantly wider when bordered by ~25‐m buffer (relative to no forest) with no additional widening for buffers ≥25 m; (4) channel meandering and bank erosion were lower in forest but more studies are needed to determine the effect of buffer width; (5) temperature remained within 2°C of levels in a fully forested watershed with a buffer ≥20 m but full protection against thermal change requires buffers ≥30 m; (6) large woody debris (LWD) has been poorly studied but we infer a buffer width equal to the height of mature streamside trees (~30 m) can provide natural input levels; (7, 8) macroinvertebrate and fish communities, and their instream habitat, remain near a natural or semi‐natural state when buffered by ≥30 m of forest. Overall, buffers ≥30 m wide are needed to protect the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of small streams.     

Instream Restoration to Improve the Ecohydrologic Function of a Subalpine Meadow: Pre‐implementation Modeling with HEC‐RAS

Vegetation in subalpine meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is particularly vulnerable to lowering of groundwater levels because wet meadow vegetation is reliant upon shallow groundwater during the dry summer growing season. These ecosystems are especially vulnerable to channel incision as meadow aquifers are hydrologically connected to tributaries, and many have not yet recovered from previous anthropogenic influences. While instream restoration projects have become a common approach, lack of postrestoration monitoring and communication often result in a trial‐and‐error approach. In this study we demonstrate that preimplementation modeling of possible instream restoration solutions, chosen to raise stream stage and subsequently groundwater levels, is a useful tool for evaluating and comparing potential channel modifications. Modeling allows us to identify strategic locations and specific methods. Results show additional sediment depth and roughness on tributaries along with introduced woody debris (simulated by high roughness) on the Tuolumne River are the most effective means of raising stream stage. Results demonstrate that restoration efforts are most efficient in tributary streams. Managers and planners can more efficiently direct resources while minimizing the potential for negative impacts or failed restoration projects by modeling the possible effects of multiple restoration scenarios before implementation.     

河岸带不同植被格局对表层土壤养分分布和迁移特征的影响

河流周边的人类活动干扰使得河岸带的植被类型和结构发生了巨大变化。研究选取了北京市温榆河的3个类型河岸带植被结构,从河漫滩到河道上依次为：（I）杨树林-农田、（II）火炬树林-荒草、（III）农田-荒草。通过土壤采样分析和对比研究,发现河岸带的植被格局可以显著影响土壤养分的空间分布特征和流失风险。从河漫滩到河道的方向上,河岸带植被组合I的土壤全氮、全磷、有效氮、有效磷和有机质含量均呈现降低的趋势,而土壤容重则逐渐增加。对于植被结构类型II,土壤的全氮、有效氮和有机质呈现出波动的变化;而土壤的全磷和有效磷都呈现比较平缓的变化趋势。对于植被组合III,土壤养分含量均呈现增加的趋势,土壤容重呈现降低的趋势。河岸植被模式III的下坡位荒草区域的土壤养分和有机质含量都要显著高于其上坡位的农田区域,但农田区域的土壤容重则大于荒草区域。植被结构的异质性还可以影响到河岸样带的土壤平均养分含量和容重大小。研究结果可以为退化河岸带的植被恢复和植被格局的优化设计提供参考。     

公路隧道内CNG管束气瓶车泄漏天然气扩散CFD仿真

气体管束气瓶车是运输压缩天然气(Compressed Natural Gas, CNG)的重要工具,针对CNG管束气瓶车运输过程中在公路隧道内发生追尾导致泄漏问题,基于计算流体动力学CFD方法,建立CNG管束气瓶车遭追尾致泄漏后果预测与评估模型,对公路隧道内风场条件下泄漏天然气的扩散过程进行模拟与分析,研究CNG管束气瓶车泄漏天然气在隧道内的扩散规律和形成的危险区域范围。仿真结果表明:泄漏天然气扩散具有极速泄漏、外力作用、初期膨胀增长和稳定收缩等特征;喷射气云团能够覆盖肇事车辆前部,可能导致驾驶人员窒息或引发火灾、爆炸事故;实例工况下,泄漏气体扩散至稳态以后,形成爆炸极限浓度范围内的气云分布在肇事车辆前部1.5m至肇事车辆中部之间的区域;进行事故应急响应时,应封锁事故隧道,加强隧道内通风,在消防水枪的稀释掩护下对管束气瓶车进行堵漏作业。     

淮河干流岸边带生态健康遥感评估

结合高分辨率遥感影像在岸边带范围提取、生态系统高精度分类、生态结构特征提取方面的优势,将景观结构指数纳入岸边带生态健康评估指标体系,从生态功能、生态结构和生态胁迫三个方面对淮河干流岸边带生态健康状况进行全面调查评估.评价结果显示,淮河干流岸边带生态健康指数低于0.3,生态健康状况总体处于较差水平,并具有明显的空间走向特征,从上游到中游呈现出生态环境状况逐渐变差、再略有改善的趋势.通过对淮河干流岸边带生态环境问题的分析,认为人类开发强度大、植被覆盖率低、自然岸线保有率低、人为干扰强度大是造成淮河干流岸边带生态健康状况较差的主要原因.     

Sustainable forest management practice in Central African States and customary law

Sustainable forest management (SFM) has become a major focus for the international community. This is because of the multifunctional importance of forest resources for the entire planet, namely ecological, socio-economic, cultural and climatic balance. General awareness of forest importance unfortunately coincides with the observed increase in threats, especially anthropogenic, to this world heritage. To tackle the continuing deforestation and degradation, the international community, through the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and its predecessors, has attempted to adopt an international convention on SFM based on the 15 Rio Declaration principles. The limited success of international negotiations aimed at the adoption of such an instrument leads us to seek an alternative within international law theories, through analysis of the relationship between states practice in SFM and customary international law. To this end, this paper focuses on the practice of Central African States in sustainable forest management, especially statement of principles, sub-regional treaty and domestic legislation. The analysis shows that their practice fulfils all the requirements in order to be regarded as regional custom. Therefore, principles and state practices of SFM can thus be considered legally binding for this sub-region, despite some major implementation shortcomings.     

Changes in Avian and Plant Communities of Aspen Woodlands over 12 Years after Livestock Removal in the Northwestern Great Basin

Abstract: Riparian and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) woodlands are centers of avian abundance and diversity in the western United States, but they have been affected adversely by land use practices, particularly livestock grazing. In 1990, cattle were removed from a 112,500‐ha national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon. Thereafter, we monitored changes in vegetation and bird abundance in years 1–3 (phase 1) and 10–12 (phase 2) in 17 riparian and 9 snow‐pocket aspen plots. On each 1.5‐ha plot, we sampled vegetation in 6 transects. Three times during each breeding season, observers recorded all birds 50 m to each side of the plot's 150‐m centerline for 25 minutes. We analyzed data with multivariate analysis of variance and paired t tests with p values adjusted for multiple comparisons. In both periods, riparian and snow‐pocket aspen produced extensive regeneration of new shoots ( stems/ha and 7079 stems/ha, respectively). By phase 2, a 64% increase in medium‐diameter trees in riparian stands indicated successful recruitment into the overstory, but this pattern was not seen in snow‐pocket stands, where the density of trees was over 2 times greater. By phase 2 in riparian and snow‐pocket stands, native forb cover had increased by 68% and 57%, respectively, mesic shrub cover had increased by 29% and 58%, and sagebrush cover had decreased by 24% and 31%. Total avian abundance increased by 33% and 39% in riparian and snow‐pocket aspen, respectively, ground or understory nesters increased by 133% and 67% and overstory nesters increased by 34% and 33%. Similarly, ground or understory foragers increased by 25% and 32%, aerial foragers by 55% and 57%, and overstory foragers by 66% and 43%. We interpreted the substantial regeneration of aspen shoots, increased densities of riparian forbs and shrubs, and increased avian abundances as a multitrophic‐level response to the total removal of livestock and as substantial movement toward recovery of biological integrity.     

浅议加强安全生产执法队伍建设

为了充分发挥安全生产执法队伍的作用,规范执法行为,依法履职,端正执法形象,必须加强安全生产执法队伍建设,维护国家法律的尊严,保障执法的公平、正义,提高安全生产执法队伍管理水平。本文对安全生产执法队伍把好人员进入关、完善机构、建章立制等加强基础建设,探索和转变执法方式等方面进行探讨,论述加强安全生产执法队伍建设的重要性和具体作法。     

滑坡速度计算的改进条分法

在阐述滑坡速度计算方法的基础上,提出了用改进条分法来进行滑坡速度的计算,该方法选取了沿滑面方向和垂直滑面方向来分析各个块体的受力特征,认为当前条块所受的前后块体相互作用力矢量和沿滑面方向及垂直滑面方向的加速度为零。根据牛顿定律建立动力学平衡方程,求解每一块体在各个运动阶段加速度,然后用基本运动学原理求解各个块体的运动时间及末速度,并与传统的条分法的求解结果进行了对比。本文以新滩滑坡为例,将研究区化分为18条块,用改进条分法求的加速度和速度比一般条分法偏大。     

构筑可持续发展的循环型社会体系

可持续发展社会的形成并不仅指单纯的物质循环,而是用生态学原理来调和社会和经济的发展,使社会·经济·环境都达成持续的生态平衡。通过论述日本循环型社会形成基本法等相关法律体系,分析了面向循环型经济社会建设的产业体系的发展方向,通过区域性循环社会的实践阐述了从循环型经济社会向可持续发展社会转变的重要意义。