Environmental management of the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon

Irreversible environmental changes are occurring along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon as a result of regulation of the river flow by the Glen Canyon Dam. The questions of primary importance in managing this great natural resource are 1) in what manner and how rapidly are the physical and ecological adjustments taking place, and 2) is the increased use of the river for recreational boating contributing to the degradation? Human use along the Colorado River is limited, for the most part, to the relic, pre-dam fluvial deposits colloquially called “beaches.” With the new river regime these deposits are positioned well above the present high-water stage, 27,000 cubic feet/second (cfs), or 765 cubic meters/second (cms), so they are not replenished periodically as they were prior to construction of the dam in 1963. The dominant natural processes now are aeolian sand transport and mass wasting. The float-trip passengers use the river beaches for hiking, camping, and. lunch stops. At the most desirable sites thirty to forty people camp on the beaches each night over a four to five month season. Human impact includes incorporation of campsite litter, burial of chemically treated waste, and the direct stress associated with people walking on the vegetation and unstable sedimentary deposits. Results of our investigations indicate that the rate of degradation at the most heavily used sites exceeds the capacity of aeolian processes to reestablish natural landscapes. Therefore, careful management of float trjps is needed if these environments are to be maintained in a natural state rather than a “sand-box” state.     

Contamination of Oxygen-Consuming Organics in the Yellow River of China

Contamination of oxygen-consuming organics (OCOs) was one of the most serious problems in the Yellow River of China. This study was conducted to analyze monitoring of the data on OCOs contamination for the river in 1980 and during 1992–1999 as well as examining the effect of suspended solids (SS) on chemical oxygen demand (COD_Mn) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) of river water. Several significant results have arisen from the study. First, COD_Mn and BOD₅ of the river water showed an increasing trend from the upper to the lower reaches of the mainstream. BOD₅ values of river water in 1992 were significantly higher than those in 1980 and showed an increasing trend during 1992–1999. Second, OCOs in river water of the mainstream was attributed mainly to point sources; the ratio of point to non-point sources of BOD₅ was about 2.81. The load from point sources showed an increasing trend during 1992–1998. In contrast, the load from non-point sources manifested a decreasing trend during this period; this was caused by the decreasing trend of SS content in river water. The total load of BOD₅ from point and non-point sources displayed an increasing trend during 1992–1998. Third, as the humic substances in SS can hardly be biologically oxidized in natural conditions but can be oxidized by chemical oxidants such as potassium permanganate, COD_Mn was not suitable for being regarded as a parameter reflecting the pollution degree of OCOs in river water with a high SS content.     

水电开发对河流生态系统服务的效应评估与时空变化特征分析——以武江干流为例

水电开发对河流生态系统的影响不容忽视,科学评估其影响有助于建立更可持续的水电开发模式。以武江干流为例,利用当量因子法和功能价值评估法,分析了武江干流梯级水电开发对受淹没影响的河岸带陆地生态系统和河流生态系统服务的效益及损失,并就其对河流生态系统服务的综合效应进行了评估。结果显示：武江干流水电开发使受淹没影响的河岸带生态系统和河流生态系统本身的服务价值均出现增加,价值增量主要体现在水文调节、水资源供给等服务方面;武江干流水电开发对河流生态系统服务的正效应大于负效应,正效应主要体现在发电、水文调节、气体调节等方面,负效应主要体现在维持生物多样性、土壤保持等支持服务方面。研究认为不同规模水电站的正负效应侧重点不同,不同流域单位电能的生态损失难以直接横向比较。结合多年来武江鱼类资源跟踪调查数据,分析了鱼类生物损失指数的变化趋势,探讨了水电开发在时间上的累积生态效应及水电服务的空间格局差异。由于生物多样性等服务的影响难以用货币直接衡量,加上水域的单位面积服务价值远高于其他生态用地类型,导致负效应的价值评估偏保守,武江干流水电开发的正负效应之比偏大。     

Use of Approximate Inference in an Index of Completeness of Biological Inventories

Abstract:  To assess the completeness of a floristic or faunal inventory, one may use the ratio of the observed number of species to the "true number" of species ( C ). If the inventory is complete , C = 1. The estimate of the true number can be obtained from accumulation curves, nonparametric methods, or other techniques. We devised a simple method for computing confidence intervals (CI) for C and for evaluating the null hypothesis that the inventory is complete. The method is based on the assumptions that an estimate of the variance of the true number of species is known and that the distribution of the estimator of the true number of species is approximately normal. We applied our method to bird inventories in the Balsas Basin of Mexico. The completeness index for subtransects were lower (84.0, 85.4, and 89.9%) than for the whole transect (91.6%) (all significantly different from 100%). Thus, these particular inventories were incomplete at 2 spatial resolutions. Our method of estimating CI for C can be used to estimate species richness obtained from databases of different sites or to test the null hypothesis that an inventory derived from a database is complete.     

长江流域洪灾与生态破坏的关系浅析:Ⅲ生态重建与减灾对策

在分析长江流域１９９８ 年洪水灾害与生态环境破坏的关系的基础上，提出了生态重建规划应以可持续发展为指导思想，坚持经济建设、社会发展与生态环境保护相协调的基本原则；指出了生态保护、恢复、重建的要点与方略；提出了防灾、减灾的对策建议。     

我国城市化过程中水土资源利用问题的认识

改革开放以来，我国城市化过程出现快速发展时期，特别是长江下游地区（长江三角洲及其周边地区），由于人口与产业不断集聚，重大基础设施项目投资加大，道路网密度增加，开发区扩大，使得城市空间迭加扩展，造成了严重的水土资源利用失衡，生态环境日趋恶化，使本地区城市发展出现了许多新问题。以长江下游地区为例，对本区城市化过程中有关水土资源环境恶化、水污染增加、土地资源流失，以及城镇化速度过快的情况，作了深入分析论证，同时对长江下游地区水土资源合理开发利用与保护提出了新的思维、新的方法措施，特别是对如何加强长三角地区水质环境的整治提出了4点切实可行的办法与措施，为本地区的经济发展与生态安全提供科学依据.     

秦淮河干流沉积物磷形态沿程分布特征

应用化学连续提取法,分析了秦淮河干流14个表层沉积物样品的磷形态沿程变化特征及其影响因素.结果发现,秦淮河干流由上游至南京市区段,随城市化程度的提高,河流沉积物总磷和各种形态磷沿程增加的趋势十分明显.Ca-P和Fe-P平均含量分别占TP的26.8%和25.7%,是主要的磷形态.易吸附态磷(L-P)在TP中的比例最低,但在城区由于TP的高度富集,其含量均超过15 mg·kg-1.沉积物中的总磷含量在城区河段显著增加,但只有很少部分转化为稳定形态的磷,人口密集区生活污水等各种来源排放的磷仍然深刻影响着城市河流的水环境质量.随城市化程度的提高,秦淮河中下游沉积物样品中钙富集的趋势明显,与之相对应的是沉积物Ca-P含量均超过200 mg·kg-1,相关分析和通径分析结果表明,二者之间存在成因上的联系.钙的富集提高了沉积物的固磷能力,将上覆水体中的磷转化为钙结合态磷.城区河流沉积物中钙含量的升高,对于河流生态系统磷的迁移转化有重要影响.     

海河流域河流富营养化程度总体评估

以海河流域2009年地表水水质现状数据为基础,分别运用河流水体富营养化潜势和浮游植物表征河流富营养化水平.结果显示,流域河流水体中富营养盐含量相对较高,河流水体中TN、NH3-N平均含量分别为8.13、4.34 mg·L-1,分别超过《地表水环境质量标准》(GB3838—2002)Ⅴ类限值(2 mg·L-1)4倍、2倍以上.北三河水系(北运河、潮白河、蓟运河)、子牙河水系和海河干流中TN浓度超过9 mg·L-1;海河流域河流水体中TP平均含量为0.87 mg·L-1,超过地表水Ⅴ类限值(0.4 mg·L-1)2倍以上.北三河水系、子牙河水系和黑龙港运东水系水中TP平均含量均超过1.0 mg·L-1.主要河流3%处于中或贫营养,44%处于极富营养化水平,主要分布在北三河水系、子牙河水系和漳卫河水系,表明流域河流总体呈现富营养化状态,平原段河流富营养化严重.河流治理要兼顾耗氧污染控制和营养盐控制,以改善河流水质.     

Quantitative analysis of riparian herbaceous community in Liaohe River Conservation Area and its tributaries北大核心CSCD

Research on community characteristics of riparian herbs is an important scientific basis of riparian vegetation rehabilitation. This study aimed to investigate the species diversity and quantitative characteristics of riparian herbs in Liaohe River Conservation Area and its tributaries. Herbaceous communities were investigated by sample line method. Group average clustering analysis and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) were used to find the major environmental factors affecting the distribution pattern of riparian herbaceous communities. The result showed altogether 154 herbaceous species, belonging to 40 families and 96 genera. The riparian herbaceous species diversity was found to be correlated to river slope, sinuosity and stream order, being lower in rivers of mountain area than in rivers of plain area, and higher in tributaries than in Liaohe River Conservation Area. Clustering analysis classified the herbaceous communities into 23 types, being dominated by hygrophytes including communities of Echinochloa crusgalli, Oenanthe javanica, Polygonum hydropiper, Murdannia keisak, Artemisia selengensis, Scirpus triqueter, Heleocharis soloniensis, Pycreus sanguinolentus, Cyperus fuscus, Phragmites australis, Polygonum amphibium, Carex diandra + Artemisia selengensis and Carex diandra + Rorippa islandica. Correlation analysis between DCA ordination axes and environmental factors showed that the altitude, river slope, sinuosity and stream level were the major environmental factors affecting the distribution pattern of herbaceous communities in the riparian zone of Liaohe River Conservation Area and its tributaries. The results of CCA showed that the contribution ratio of stream level was the highest, followed by altitude and slope, with sinuosity the last. The results suggested that riparian herbaceous characteristics are affected by the comprehensive force of altitude, river slope, sinuosity and stream order, and that Calamagrostis epigeios, Triarrhena sacchariflora and Phragmites australis are suitable species for riparian vegetation rehabilitation.     

Application of an odd/even predominance of n-alkanes in oil–source rock correlation: taking the lower Paleozoic strata of the Tarim Basin as an example

The composition and distribution of n-alkanes carbon numbers reflect the source of kerogenic organic matter, sedimentary environment, and maturity of the rocks. The comparison results of the n-alkanes GC (gas chromatography) chromatograms in the Tazhong Low Uplift show that the n-alkanes of the source rocks in Upper Ordovician display an odd carbon number predominance. At the same time, Cambrian–Lower Ordovician exhibit an even carbon number predominance. The correlation between oil and source rock illustrates that crude oils in the fields of well TZ10-12 and well TZ24 stem from the Upper Ordovician source rocks. The origins of the crude oils in the fields of well TZ161-162 and well TZ45 are Cambrian–Lower Ordovician. The strata corresponding to the crude oils with odd/even carbon number predominance match the oil–source rock correlation. Thus, the characteristics of odd/even carbon number predominance in n-alkane compounds are effective for oil–source rock correlation in the Tazhong Low Uplift, Tarim Basin.