Interaction Between the Environment and Animals in Urban Settings: Integrated and Participatory Planning

In urban ecosystems, the ecological system has become completely unbalanced; this, in turn, has led to an increase in well-known problems such as air pollution, ground pollution, and water pollution. This imbalance has also led to the growth and spread of pathogens harmful to man, animals, and plants. Urban sustainability indicators, both global and local, also “indicate” the percentage of population, but these refer only to the human population, not the animal population. Cities need good waste, water, and air management, effective traffic planning, and good zoning of businesses, crafts, and services; over and above these activities, cities also need for planning to take into account the existence of pets (dogs, cats, and etc.) and nonpet animals (insects, birds, mice, etc.). Cities tend to be designed around humans and “on a human scale,” without taking into account the fact that a huge animal population is living side by side with people. That explains why overcrowding tends to go hand in hand with urbanization; all these populations, including humans, need to adapt to new spaces and often need to drastically change their behavior. This is a fact that must be included when drafting sustainable city plans. The supposed strategy is that of “integrated-participatory” control of the interactions between the environment and animals in the cities. Strategy will focus on the development of integrated approaches and tools for environment and animal management in the context of urban settings. This will require such specific methods as ecological balance sheets and ecoplans for the planning, management, and control of the interrelation among environment, animal, and public health. The objective is to develop a better understanding of urban biodiversity and of urban ecosystem functioning, in order to understand and minimize the negative impacts of human activities on them. The research will focus on assessing and forecasting changes in urban biodiversity, structure, function, and dynamics of urban ecosystems, with relationships among society, economy, biodiversity, and habitats.     

TUGAI: An Integrated Simulation Tool for Ecological Assessment of Alternative Water Management Strategies in a Degraded River Delta

The development of ecologically sound water allocation strategies that account for the needs of riverine ecosystems is a pressing issue, especially in semiarid river basins. In the Aral Sea Basin, a search for strategies to mitigate ecological and socioeconomic deterioration has been in process since the early 1990s. The Geographic Information System–based simulation tool TUGAI has been developed to support the policy determination process by providing a simple, problem-oriented method to assess ecological effects of alternative water management strategies for the Amudarya River. It combines a multiobjective water allocation model with simple, spatially explicit statistical and rule-based models of landscape dynamics. Changes in environmental conditions are evaluated by a fuzzy habitat suitability index for Populus euphratica, which is the dominant species of the characteristic riverine Tugai forests. Water management scenarios can be developed by altering spatiotemporal water distribution in the delta area or the amount of water inflow into the delta. Outcomes of scenario analysis are qualitative comparisons of the ecological effects of different options for a time period of up to 28 years. The given approach utilizes different types of knowledge, from quantitative hydrological data to qualitative local expert knowledge. The main purpose of the tool is to integrate the knowledge in a comprehensive way to make it available for discussions on alternative policies in moderated workshops with stakeholders. In this article, the modules of the tool, their integration, and three hypothetical scenarios are presented. Based on the experience gained when developing the TUGAI tool, we propose that the general framework can be transferred to other areas where tradeoffs in water allocation between the environment and other water users are of major concern. The potential for a simulation tool to structure and inform a complex resource management situation by involving local experts and stakeholders in the development of possible future scenarios will become increasingly valuable for transparent and participatory resource management.     

Effect of Cadmium on Microbial Activity and a Ryegrass Crop in Two Semiarid Soils

Soil pollution with Cd is an environmental problem common in the world, and it is necessary to establish what Cd concentrations in soil could be dangerous to its fertility from toxicity effects and the risk of transference of this element to plants and other organisms of the food chain. In this study, we assessed Cd toxicity on soil microorganisms and plants in two semiarid soils (uncultivated and cultivated). Soil ATP content, dehydrogenase activity, and plant growth were measured in the two soils spiked with concentrations ranging from 3 to 8000 mg Cd/kg soil and incubated for 3 h, 20 days, and 60 days. The Cd concentrations that produced 5%; 10%;, and 50%; inhibition of each of the two soil microbiological parameter studied (ecological dose, ED, values) were calculated using two different mathematical models. Also, the effect of Cd concentration on plant growth of ryegrass (Lolium perenne, L.) was studied in the two soils. The Cd ED values calculated for soil dehydrogenase activity and ATP content were higher in the agricultural soils than in the bare soil. For ATP inhibition, higher ED values were calculated than for dehydrogenase activity inhibition. The average yields of ryegrass were reduced from 5.03 to 3.56 g in abandoned soil and from 4.21 to 1.15 g in agricultural soil with increasing concentrations of Cd in the soil. Plant growth was totally inhibited in abandoned and agricultural soils at Cd concentrations above 2000 and 5000 mg/kg soil, respectively. There was a positive correlation between the concentration of Cd in the plants and the total or DTPA-extractable concentrations of Cd in the soil.     

Visitor-induced changes in the chemical composition of soils in backcountry areas of Mt Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

Balancing recreation and conservation is an important issue in Canada's parks and protected areas. Increased levels of visitation to parks, especially to backcountry areas, create undue pressure on natural resources, resulting in a variety of ecological impacts. This paper illustrates the issue of visitor-induced changes on the chemical composition of soils in Mt Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. Soil samples were collected from dish wash stations and fire pits (disturbed sites) at seven campgrounds located along two popular backcountry trails, and were compared to samples obtained from adjacent undisturbed control sites. Analysis of soil samples suggest that the lower amounts of aluminum, potassium, magnesium and sodium in many of the 'disturbed' samples can be related to intense leaching in dish wash stations, and can be attributed to frequent disposal of waste water from washing and cooking activities. Soils in wash stations generally had higher phosphorus, copper and zinc contents as compared to controls. Soils in fire pits were elevated in copper, relative to controls. Results of this study support park regulations that waste water disposal and camp fires be restricted to designated areas. Informing the public of scientific studies helps them understand the consequences of their activities; this may help persuade them to observe park rules and regulations.     

广东省“十二五”生态环境时空变化趋势及影响因素

基于2011—2015年Landsat7、Landsat8等卫星遥感影像,结合土壤侵蚀面积、水资源量、降雨量、污染物排放量等统计数据,按照《生态环境状况评价技术规范》(HJ 192—2015),研究评价广东省"十二五"期间生态环境状况及其时空变化趋势,并对其影响因素进行综合分析。结果表明,广东省的生态环境状况总体为优,各市生态环境状况均属优、良,粤北生态环境状况整体最好;广东省及各市生态环境状况稳中趋好,但呈现温和地波动变化;主要污染物排放量下降和水资源总量提高是促进生态环境状况改善的主要原因。     

抚顺市生态环境现状及存在问题的探讨

抚顺市生态环境现状:(森林覆盖率较高,但生态系统结构不合理,生态功能的发挥受到影响;矿产开发严重破坏生态平衡,矿区生态环境恶劣,历史欠帐大;自然保护区植被覆盖率较高,但生物多样性仍遭受严重威胁;农业生态问题严峻;水土流失严重;建成区布局紊乱,绿地系统缺乏连通性。)指出生态环境建设面临的制约因素为经济建设与生态建设不协调、经济发展模式粗放,生态恶化、缺乏有效的生态经济政策,资金短缺。     

三峡库区坡耕地利用与水土保持种植制

三峡库区耕地资源十分有限,且坡耕地占有相当大的比重,陡坡地多,在不良的耕作方式下肥力低下,水土流失十分严重在分析三峡库区自然条件与坡耕地资源特点的基础上,讨论了坡耕地种植制度与土壤侵蚀的关系,提出通过合理搭配作物种类进行多熟制间套作,一年生农作物与多年生经饲作物间作及农作物与木本植物等高间作等手段来建立坡耕地水土保持种植制,从而达到减轻土 蚀之目的。     

土地利用和生态系统服务功能变化研究——以三峡库区大宁河流域为例

将土地利用类型分类为耕地、有林地(森林地)、灌木林地、草地、迹地、水体、建设用地和未利用地8类.以遥感数据为数据源,通过自动分类和人工解译相结合的方法获取了以上土地利用类型,并对三峡库区大宁河流域的土地利用变化过程和驱动力做了分析.以Costanza等人的全球生态系统服务价值的估测结果为基础,对各种地类生态服务功能价值重新赋值,进而估算近30年大宁河流域的生态服务价值,分析了其变化过程.结果表明:近30年,大宁河流域土地利用总的变化趋势是林、灌、草地经历了不断破坏和缓慢恢复的过程,耕地面积经历了先增后减,建设用地不断扩展.经济发展、人口增长和国家政策是土地利用变化的主要原因.生态系统服务功能经历了一个先损害后恢复的过程,表现为生态服务价值从1973年到1995年不断减少,而1995年到2002年连续增加.     

三峡库区几种林下苔藓的保水功能

通过对三峡库区三种森林类型(松栎混交林、栓皮栎纯林、马尾松纯林)林下苔藓储量调查分析及其持水特性试验，得到不同森林类型林下苔藓储量、最大持水量、吸水速率等水文特征参数。结果表明，马尾松纯林林下苔藓储量最大(12．93t／hm^2)，松栎混交林和栓皮栎纯林林下苔藓储量相同(9．47t／hm^2)。松栎混交林林下苔藓最大持水量为5．36mm，栓皮栎纯林为5．73mm，马尾松纯林为6．26mm。研究结果还表明，三峡库区林下苔藓持水量随时间变化过程与森林类型无关。在只有苔藓覆盖情况下，不同森林类型林内不产生水分下渗和地表径流时的最大降雨量和最大降雨雨强分别为：松栎混交林林地5．36mm，5．820mm／h；马尾松纯林林地6．26mm，7．420mm／h；栓皮栎纯林林地5．73mm，6．060mm／h。