Seeking knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices to inform regional bushfire management

ABSTRACT

A transdisciplinary review of the current academic knowledge of Indigenous traditional fire management is presented for the Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia. For a long time, the roles of Indigenous management of the landscape have either been overlooked or discounted within environmental studies. That situation is beginning to change in many parts of Australia. However, this review of knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices specifically for the Mt Lofty Ranges suggests that there is very little formalised, academic knowledge available that could be utilised to inform prescribed burning practices in the region. Perhaps Indigenous peoples’ use of fire was strongly governed by individual choices, or perhaps established regimes demarcated roles across groups; perhaps some areas were burnt regularly and others were left unaltered – there is still no clear evidence from the academic literature to provide even limited understandings of such elements of pre-colonial fire regimes. That gap in knowledge will become increasingly problematic as the need for appropriate, sophisticated burning practices to respond to risk in peri-urban Adelaide increases with a changing climate. To learn from traditional Indigenous land management: (a) formal knowledge needs to be generated on past regional burning practices; and (b) understanding needs to be developed as to whether past burning practices could lead to effective hazard management and biodiversity outcomes within contemporary landscapes. Such an integration of Indigenous knowledge for effective environmental management will only be possible if the injustices of past exclusions of the importance of Indigenous biocultural practices are recognised.     

基于图像感兴趣区域融合特征的PM2.5浓度预测方法

通过图像预测PM_2.5浓度的准确性,在很大程度上取决于模型所选用的特征参数。为丰富特征参数的表达,设计了一种基于图像传统特征与深度特征充分融合的PM_2.5浓度预测方法。首先,根据不同PM_2.5浓度下的成像差异,选定图像感兴趣区域,解决图像尺寸过大导致的模型运算效率较低问题。然后,针对所选取的局部图像,利用传统图像处理方法手动设计并提取图像浅表视觉特征,同时利用卷积神经网络自动提取图像深层语义特征。最后,将两种特征融合,交由卷积神经网络的全连接层实现对PM_2.5浓度的回归预测。预测误差比对结果显示,相比使用单种特征,使用融合特征能够有效提高模型的预测性能。     

傣族传统民居技术更新的可持续性研究——以西双版纳城子寨的新民居更新为例

以往的民居改建、更新理论和原则或是从美学的角度出发，或是从功能的角度探讨问题，本文旨在可持续发展思想的指导下，在保留和继承部分民居传统技术的同时，融入现代技术的思想和方法，从技术角度实现对西双版纳城子寨傣族传统民居的积极保护与有序更新，走出技术适宜更新的可持续发展之路。     

Toxicity screening of biodegradable polymers. II. Evaluation of cell culture test with medium extract

Cell culture testing with material extracts was applied to toxicity screening of some commercial degradable plastics: a plasticized cellulose acetate, an aliphatic polyester (Bionolle), polyhydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate (Biopol), and polycaprolactone (TONE polymer). Cell culture medium with serum was used as extraction medium. Methods for the determination of morphology and viability of cells cultured in the extract were investigated. Phase-contrast light microscopy of cells, enhanced by neutral red staining, provides high-contrast images for qualitative evaluation of cell morphology and lysis. Compared to the determination of protein using the Bradford method and of neutral red uptake, the determination of dehydrogenase activity using 3-[4,5-dimethylthia-zol-2-yl]-2,5-diephenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) is more sensitive and accurate. The relative MTT activity of cells cultured in fresh extracts indicate that TONE polymer (all shapes) and Bionolle (test bars and films) are comparable to materials currently used in the food industry (polyethylene terephthalate, atactic and isotactic polystyrene) with no toxic effects on cells.     

循环流化床锅炉在森工林区供热行业的应用前景

针对目前森工林区供热行业使用传统燃煤锅炉现状,分析对比层燃锅炉与循环流化床锅炉的优缺点,分析森工林区供热行业应用循环流化床锅炉的前景。     

环境规制对企业竞争力的影响

除改进环境源效外．环境规恻对本国企业竟争力的影响也是政策恻定的关键影响因素。传统假设认为环境规铆会负面影响企业竞争力。波特假设认为在一定条件下。环境规制通过创新补偿与先动优势可提高企业竟争力。本文在提出问题的基础上，对上逮假设进行了剖析。然后讨论了该领域研究的新动向．即不确定性因素的存在对环境规恻与企业竟争力关采的影响。提出环境规制能否影响企业的竟争力还依赖于企业面临的内外部条件、环境管理动机等多种因素。     

水工学的发展趋势——从传统水工学到生态水工学

我国水资源时空分布不均，水污染与水土流失问题突出，仅靠传统水工学的开发与利用不足以解决这些问题，且会给流域生态环境带来不利影响，因此传统水工学的变革是必然的。从解决问题的基本思路出发，将传统水工学与生态水工学的基本理论、研究范围等各方面加以比较，指出在坚持人与自然和谐共处的前提下，坚持可持续发展，遵循生态系统自组织、自修复原理，重视流域整体性，坚持保护生物多样性，并做到较好的亲水性，可以形成完善的生态水工学基本原理。以生态水工学基本原理指导流域开发利用将会取得较好效果，同时,流域生态系统健康诊断、生态水工建筑物设计与管理以及流域受损生态系统的生态恢复与重建应是生态水工学的主要研究方向。     

The importance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands for the conservation of terrestrial mammals

Indigenous Peoples’ lands cover over one-quarter of Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial-level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples and their lands are crucial for the long-term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition on these lands globally remains largely unknown. We conducted the first comprehensive analysis of terrestrial mammal composition across mapped Indigenous lands based on data on area of habitat (AOH) for 4460 mammal species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We overlaid each species’ AOH on a current map of Indigenous lands and found that 2695 species (60% of assessed mammals) had ≥10% of their ranges on Indigenous Peoples’ lands and 1009 species (23%) had >50% of their ranges on these lands. For threatened species, 473 (47%) occurred on Indigenous lands with 26% having >50% of their habitat on these lands. We also found that 935 mammal species (131 categorized as threatened) had ≥ 10% of their range on Indigenous Peoples’ lands that had low human pressure. Our results show how important Indigenous Peoples’ lands are to the successful implementation of conservation and sustainable development agendas worldwide.     

Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species

Abstract: Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create “shifting baseline syndrome,” in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of “community memory” of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle‐lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21^st century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves’ shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities.