Mega-Development Trends in the Amazon: Implications for Global Change

This paper describes four global-change phenomena that are having major impacts on Amazonian forests. The first is accelerating deforestation and logging. Despite recent government initiatives to slow forest loss, deforestation rates in Brazilian Amazonia have increased from 1.1 million ha yr^–1 in the early 1990s, to nearly 1.5 million ha yr^–1 from 1992–1994, and to more than 1.9 million ha yr^–1 from 1995–1998. Deforestation is also occurring rapidly in some other parts of the Amazon Basin, such as in Bolivia and Ecuador, while industrialized logging is increasing dramatically in the Guianas and central Amazonia.The second phenomenon is that patterns of forest loss and fragmentation are rapidly changing. In recent decades, large-scale deforestation has mainly occurred in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon — in the Brazilian states of Pará, Maranho, Rondônia, Acre, and Mato Grosso, and in northern Bolivia. While rates of forest loss remain very high in these areas, the development of major new highways is providing direct conduits into the heart of the Amazon. If future trends follow past patterns, land-hungry settlers and loggers may largely bisect the forests of the Amazon Basin.The third phenomenon is that climatic variability is interacting with human land uses, creating additional impacts on forest ecosystems. The 1997/98 El Niño drought, for example, led to a major increase in forest burning, with wildfires raging out of control in the northern Amazonian state of Roraima and other locations. Logging operations, which create labyrinths of roads and tracks in forsts, are increasing fuel loads, desiccation and ignition sources in forest interiors. Forest fragmentation also increases fire susceptibility by creating dry, fire-prone forest edges.Finally, recent evidence suggests that intact Amazonian forests are a globally significant carbon sink, quite possibly caused by higher forest growth rates in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ fertilization. Evidence for a carbon sink comes from long-term forest mensuration plots, from whole-forest studies of carbon flux and from investigations of atmospheric CO₂ and oxygen isotopes. Unfortunately, intact Amazonian forests are rapidly diminishing. Hence, not only is the destruction of these forests a major source of greenhouse gases, but it is reducing their intrinsic capacity to help buffer the rapid anthropogenic rise in CO₂.     

Determining Ecoregions for Environmental and GMO Monitoring Networks

A representative environmental monitoring network at the regional scale cannot use raster-based or random sampling designs, but requires a stratified sampling procedure integrating different information layers, and it has to occur in ecologically differing homogeneous regions (ecoregions). These we have determined using a set of spatial strata with ecological variables which we analysed with classification and regression trees (CART). We present a framework for environmental monitoring, that covers different scales, and we transfer the framework to a potential GMO (genetically modified organisms) monitoring network. We use ecoregion and other environmental strata together with existing environmental monitoring networks to determine GMO monitoring sites more precisely.     

SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND EUTROPHICATION ASSESSMENT FOR CHLOROPHYLL a IN TAIHU LAKE

Spatial structure analysis and kriging analysis have been identified to be useful tools in illustrating the spatial patterns of variables. Taihu Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in China, and has suffered serious eutrophication in recent years due to the rapid economic development and growing environmental pollution in the Taihu Catchment. In this paper, spatial structural analysis, kriging interpolation and eutrophication assessment were carried out for chlorophyll a in the lake. Studies show that spherical model could be applied to fit all experimental variograms. Positive nuggets were observed for three directions except NE–SW direction. The variograms show some anisotropy with anisotropic ratio falling within 1.76. The spatial structural patterns of chlorophyll a in the lake were affected by factors such as distribution of pollution sources, water flow and wind. Two-dimensional ordinary block kriging was applied for interpolation process. An eutrophication assessment map was also made based on a water-quality evaluation standard. Results show that the content of chlorophyll a in Taihu Lake was quite high. The whole lake has suffered serious eutrophication. However, the eutrophic situation varied in space. Higher contents of chlorophyll a appeared mainly in the northern part of the lake.     

Scale,context, and decision making in agricultural adaptation to climate variability and change

This work presents a framework for viewing agricultural adaptation, emphasizing the multiple spatial and temporal scales on which individuals and institutions process information on changes in their environment. The framework is offered as a means to gain perspective on the role of climate variability and change in agricultural adaptation, and developed for a case study of Australian agriculture. To study adaptation issues at the scale of individual farms we developed a simple modelling framework. The model highlights the decision making element of adaptation in light of uncertainty, and underscores the importance of decision information related to climate variability. Model results show that the assumption of perfect information for farmers systematically overpredicts adaptive performance. The results also suggest that farmers who make tactical planting decisions on the basis of historical climate information are outperformed by those who use even moderately successful seasonal forecast information. Analysis at continental scales highlights the prominent role of the decline in economic operating conditions on Australian agriculture. Examples from segments of the agricultural industry in Australia are given to illustrate the importance of appropriate scale attribution in adapting to environmental changes. In particular, adaptations oriented toward short time scale changes in the farming environment (droughts, market fluctuations) can be limited in their efficacy by constraints imposed by broad changes in the soil/water base and economic environment occuring over longer time scales. The case study also makes the point that adaptation must be defined in reference to some goal, which is ultimately a social and political exercise. Overall, this study highlights the importance of allowing more complexity (limited information, risk aversion, cross-scale interactions, mis-attribution of cause and effect, background context, identification of goals) in representing adaptation processes in climate change studies.     

重庆市主城区大气中NO2浓度时空分布特征

利用2017年1月1日～2017年12月31日重庆市主城区17个国控空气质量监测站24 h自动连续采样的二氧化氮(NO_2)浓度小时数据,探讨九个主城区大气中NO_2浓度的时空分布特征、与气象参数之间的关系和气团运动的影响。结果表明,主城区大气NO_2浓度全年北碚区达标率较高(76.16%),渝中区达标率低(3.84%),日均浓度呈夏季前下降、夏季后上升的趋势;月均浓度表现为冬季月份浓度高,其次为春季、秋季和夏季月份;周六、周日、周一和周二的浓度均值较高,周三、周四和周五的较低;小时浓度基本呈5:00～11:00和16:00～20:00上升、其余时间段下降的变化趋势;大气NO_2浓度空间分布差异显著,西北地区(北碚)大气NO_2浓度偏低、渝中区及其附近区域浓度偏高。影响大气中的NO_2浓度的主要气象因素有:气温、降水量、气压、日照和相对湿度;四季气流输送中,春冬季气流轨迹相似,主要源自西部、西北部气流,春季气流轨迹的ρ(NO_2)最高,夏季最低。研究结果可为今后重庆市大气的治理提供研究基础。     

复垦区景观异质性研究

景观生态学目前发展较为迅速，研究的领域也日渐广泛，不仅有理论的探讨，也有应用方面的研究，从研究领域来看，研究较多的还是农业景观，森林景观、自然保护区与国家公园。复垦区景观异质性的研究还较少见，本文就这一问题作一初步探讨。     

The hierarchy and spatial characteristics of ecosystems: A reconsideration of the ecosystem concept (II)

This paper, based on the autonomy concept, continues to investigate hierarchical forms and spatial structure of ecosystems. The former can lead to limits for the selection of the component parts of an ecosystem and a distinction between its endogenous and exogenous variables; and the latter can be lead to a hypothesis of the space of an ecosystem: the space of an ecosystem = its habitat area + supporting area + impact area, and two characteristics of ecosystems, space-overlapping and the area of ecosystem space, have been further studied referring to human activities.     

Spatial distribution of ecological security status assessment of West-Liaohe River based on geographic information system

Eco-security assessment is a hot research area in resource and environmental science, which involves data with much spatial, non-linear, and random features. Geographic information system (GIS), as a useful tool to analyze and manage spatial information, has a superior advantage in this field. A case study in the western part of the Liaohe River featuring a method of eco-security spatial differences (ESSD) based on GIS is developed in this paper. The method includes four steps: 1) developing the pressure-state-response (P-S-R) framework with site data; 2) digitizing West-Liaohe River and setting its GRID database of ecosecurity assessment indicators; 3) figuring out the relative membership degree (RMD) of eco-security indicators by using the analytical hierarchy process with the weight of indicator; 4) classifying the security zone and mapping the assessment result of eco-security status in grid by GIS method of assigning and clustering. The visual spatial differences of eco-security based on GIS enables decision makers to know the status of eco-security better in making policies for achieving sustainability. __________ Translated from Environmental Science, 2005, 26(5): 28–33 [译自: 环境科学]     

古尔班通古特沙漠1970-2000年代生物结皮覆盖变化研究

生物结皮是古尔班通古特沙漠主要的地表覆盖类型,也是维持其地表稳定的重要生物因子。论文利用20世纪70年代中期、80年代末期及21世纪初的遥感影像,通过生物结皮指数提取了古尔班通古特沙漠在相应时期内的生物结皮空间分布。在此基础上,分析了研究区近30年来生物结皮空间分布的变化特征;利用景观分析软件Fragstats计算了各个时期内结皮覆盖的景观指数熏并对其变化特征进行了分析。结果表明:由于新疆气候增湿、增暖明显,近30年来结皮发育良好。但由于油田开采、水利工程建设、牲畜放牧等人类活动的加强,结皮发育受到较为严重的干扰,区域内结皮斑块破碎化程度加大。     

天津地区表层土壤多环芳烃含量的中尺度空间结构特征

应用地统计学技术对全天津地区表层土壤中 16种优控多环芳烃含量和土壤理化参数进行了空间结构分析 .结果显示 ,各组分浓度均存在中尺度的空间自相关性 .多环芳烃浓度的空间结构存在明显的各向异性 .大气运移和土壤TOC含量可能是影响土壤多环芳烃浓度空间结构特征的重要环境因素 .