The Effectiveness of Iberian Protected Areas in Conserving Terrestrial Biodiversity

Abstract:  The Iberian Peninsula harbors about 50% of European plant and terrestrial vertebrate species and more than 30% of European endemic species. Despite the global recognition of its importance, the selection of protected areas has been ad hoc and the effectiveness of such choices has rarely been assessed. We compiled the most comprehensive distributional data set of Iberian terrestrial plant and vertebrate species available to date and used it to assess the degree of species representation within existing protected areas. Existing protected areas in Spain and Portugal reasonably represented the plant and animal species we considered (73–98%). Nevertheless, species of some groups (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and gymnosperms) did not accumulate in protected areas at a rate higher than expected by chance ( p > 0.05). We determined that to conserve all vertebrate and plant species in the Iberian Peninsula, at least 36 additional areas are needed. Selection of additional areas for conservation would be facilitated if such areas coincided with sites of community importance (SCI) designated under the European Commission Habitats Directive. Additional areas required for full representation of the selected plant and animal species all coincide with SCI in Spain. Nevertheless, the degree of coincidence varies between 0.3% and 74.6%, and there is a possibility that important areas for conservation occur outside the SCI. Our results support the view that current SCI can be used for prioritization of areas for conservation, but a systematic reevaluation of conservation priorities in Spain and Portugal would be necessary to ensure that effective conservation of one of European's most important biodiversity regions is achieved.     

Contribution of the Natura 2000 Network to Biodiversity Conservation in Italy

Abstract:  The Natura 2000 network is the most important conservation effort being implemented in Europe. Nevertheless, no comprehensive and systematic region—or nationwide evaluation of the effectiveness of the network has been conducted. We used habitat suitability models and extent of occurrence of 468 species of vertebrates to evaluate the contribution of the Natura 2000 network to biodiversity conservation in Italy. We also estimated the population size of 101 species inside the Natura 2000 network to assess its capacity to maintain or improve the population status of listed species. In general the Italian Natura 2000 did not seem to integrate existing protected areas well. The Natura 2000 network increased from 11% to 20% the area devoted to conservation in Italy and the coverage provided to areas with high biodiversity. Nevertheless, some areas with high numbers of species were devoid of conservation areas, and more than 50% of the highly irreplaceable areas were not considered in the system. Moreover, the Natura 2000 network cannot maintain 44–80% (depending on the taxa considered) of the species in a "favorable conservation status" under World Conservation Union Red List criteria. The Natura 2000 network is probably stronger than the results of our analyses suggest. The system is based on a site-specific expert-based strategy and is driven by direct and detailed knowledge of local diversity. Nevertheless, if Natura 2000 is taken to represent the final point of all the EU conservation policies, it will inevitably fail. Its role in conservation could be enhanced by integrating the Natura 2000 system into a more general strategy that considers natural processes and the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying these processes.     

KS-2000宽频带地震计作为综合观测仪器的可行性探讨

取用安徽省数字地震台网金寨地震台KS-2000宽频带地震计记录到的资料,采用matlab的低通滤波功能对地震计垂直向和水平向记录到的资料进行处理,并利用matlab分别画出其频谱图,发现KS-2000宽频带地震计的垂直向能较为清晰的记录到固体潮汐。     

煤矿救援队伍业务管理系统研究

为了改善救援队伍业务管理模式,提高煤矿救援队伍的业务管理能力,利用救护队现有的计算机设备,以Windows Server 2003系统和北京龙软科技发展有限公司Longruan GIS 3.0为平台,以Visual C++6.0和SQL Server 2000为开发工具,采用多层次的Client/Server结构,在面向对象思想指导下设计与实现的煤矿救援队伍业务管理系统,文章介绍了业务管理系统的前台软件开发和后台数据库开发的设计思想和步骤。现场应用证明,该系统能够为煤矿救援队业务管理提供强有力的技术支持,有利于提高煤矿救援队管理人员的业务能力。     

基于Web的热带气旋灾害信息管理系统的设计与应用

用基于Web的页面显示、业务逻辑、数据访问的B/S三层结构,在Microsoft SQL Server2000和Microsoft Visual Studio2005环境下设计开发了热带气旋灾害数据库信息管理系统。对不同类型的数据,采用多对多的数据映射关系,并以不同的方式进行不同的数据管理。为了将没有统一数据格式的热带气旋灾害信息源数据,能够正确地导入到SQL Server数据库中,编写了专门的C++程序对数据格式化,实现数据格式的BNF定义,同时,在系统的设计中,融入灾害评价方法模型供用户选择使用,并采取多项行之有效的措施以防止SQL注入式攻击。     

Uncertainties in the assessment of “significant effect” on the Dutch Natura 2000 Wadden Sea site – The mussel seed fishery and powerboat race controversies

Natura 2000, the nature network based on the European Bird and Habitat Directives, is explicitly grounded on ecological science. To acquire a permit under the Dutch Nature Conservation Act, an appropriate assessment of significant effects must be conducted based on the best available scientific knowledge. In this way the scientific and policy world are directly linked. This article focuses on ‘significant effect’ as a boundary object to analyse how science–policy interactions shape the meaning and assessment of significant effect and how these interpretations influence the decision-making process. To this end, two conflicts over significant effect are investigated: the conflict over the 2006-spring permit for the mussel seed fishery, and the 2011 permit for the planned World Championship powerboat races. In both cases nature organisations started a court process against the government-granted permits in protest to the “no significant effect” claim, stating that there was insufficient certainty for this conclusion. These conflicts are approached as controversies between discourse coalitions with different interpretations of the ecological knowledge. We show how significant effect became a focal point in the controversies, limiting the debate to ecological arguments and science-based expertise, but also creating options for parties to advance their protest by articulating uncertainties. Only uncertainty of incomplete knowledge was explicitly addressed, excluding ambiguity of values and unpredictability of the actual ecosystem. We suggest that acknowledging the value aspect in disputes on significant effect would leave more space for effective solutions of the problems under debate.     

微米级空间碎片撞击太阳电池研究

目的评估航天器太阳电池阵遭遇微米级空间碎片撞击后性能的下降程度。方法利用激光驱动飞片发射系统针对硅太阳电池开展系统的试验工作,对太阳电池机械损伤特性及伏安特性进行测试。利用ORDEM2000软件计算航天器所在轨道的碎片通量和速度。结合试验结果,计算航天器太阳电池阵因微米级空间碎片撞击引起的最大输出功率衰减率。结果太阳电池最大输出功率衰减率与溅射区直径呈二次函数关系,与表面污染率近似相等。未来5年天宫一号所在轨道航天器太阳电池因微米级空间碎片撞击引起的最大输出功率衰减率为0.45%。结论利用该研究结果可以预计航天器太阳电池因微米级空间碎片撞击引起的最大输出功率衰减率,为航天器总体设计提供技术支持。     

吉林省环保移动办公系统设计方案

本文在现有办公自动化系统基础上,设想以中国联通CDMA 1X网络作为传输载体,通过虚拟专用网、网络存储及应用、压缩、分解等技术,设计出"吉林省环保移动办公系统",实现了随时随地接收办公自动化系统中的公文及邮件信息并办理的功能.     

机车司机行车安全监控系统应用研究

分析铁路行车安全监控系统的复杂性和现状;设计分局机车司机行车安全监控系统和数据流向;研制车载的机车司机工作状态实时监督系统;采用视频监控、图像处理技术以及人脸识别技术对机车司机工作状态进行识别并实时报警。经过实验证明:对司机长时间离开座位、睡眠和呆木状态有较高的识别率;同时对司机工作状态的图像信号进行压缩储存;管理人员可以回放检查。采用CDMA技术设计了地面对机车司机工作状态的视频监控子系统,可以把司机的工作状态图像及时传送到车站或调度中心。实际线路实验表明,该系统可以大大提高司机工作的安全性。     

From Environmental Ethics to Nature Conservation Policy: Natura 2000 and the Burden of Proof

Natura 2000 is a network of natural sites whose aim is to preserve species and habitats of relevance in the European Union. The policy underlying Natura 2000 has faced widespread opposition from land users and received extensive support from environmentalists. This paper addresses the ethical framework for Natura 2000 and the probable moral assumptions of its main stakeholders. Arguments for and against Natura 2000 were analyzed and classified according to “strong” or “weak” versions of the three main theories of environmental ethics – anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. Weak (intergenerational) anthropocentrism was found to underlie the Natura 2000 network itself and the positions of environmentalists, while strong (traditional) anthropocentrism pervaded the positions of economic developers. Land users seemed to fall somewhere between weak and strong anthropocentrism. The paper discusses the relation between ethics and different attitudes towards Natura 2000, highlighting some of the implications for the network’s ongoing implementation. It is shown that Natura 2000 achieves a strong reversal of the burden of proof from conservation to economic development and land use change under anthropocentrism. It is argued that the alleged theoretical divide between anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism in relation to the burden of proof does not seem to hold in practice. Finally, it is predicted that the weak versions of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism, are likely to converge extensively in respect to nature conservation policy measures.“Charting the depths of law and policy disputes yield an understanding of ethical differences.” Paul B. Thompson (2002, p. 189).