碳酸盐岩风化壳中的土壤蠕滑与岩溶坡地的土壤地下漏失

本文给出了碳酸盐岩风化壳中土壤蠕滑的证据,阐明了土壤蠕滑等块体运动在喀斯特风化壳形成演化中的机制,并用以解释喀斯特风化壳岩土界面的突变接触,和土下基岩表面光滑的现象;提出了岩溶坡地的土壤侵蚀是化学溶蚀、重力侵蚀和流水侵蚀叠加的观点,分析了岩溶坡地土壤地下漏失和土地石质化的过程;最后讨论了植被破坏和土地垦殖等人类活动,破坏植物根系的网固作用,增加径流入渗,促进地下管道侵蚀及其上覆土壤的沉陷补给,加剧了纯碳酸盐岩坡地土壤地下漏失和土地石质化。     

植被生态环境需水短缺价值损失计算方法

以森林生态系统价值评价方法为理论基础,提出植被生态环境需水短缺价值损失计算方法,并根据黑河中游地区植被最小生态环境需水短缺量,估算出黑河中游地区植被最小生态环境需水短缺造成的生态效益损失为28.271亿元.研究的目的在于揭示生态环境需水短缺导致的生态效益价值损失,促进政府和社会对生态需水短缺问题的关注,为实现可持续发展和生态环境保护提供科学依据.     

2008年中国大陆地震灾害损失述评

在列出2008年中国5级以上地震目录的基础上,结合有关省(自治区、直辖市)地震局的地震灾害评估资料,总结出2008年中国大陆地震灾害的主要数据和特性。最后对1990-2008年中国大陆地震灾害的相应数据进行了简要的比较分析。     

Citation Rate and Perceived Subject Bias in the Amphibian‐Decline Literature

Abstract: As a result of global declines in amphibian populations, interest in the conservation of amphibians has grown. This growth has been fueled partially by the recent discovery of other potential causes of declines, including chytridiomycosis (the amphibian chytrid, an infectious disease) and climate change. It has been proposed that researchers have shifted their focus to these novel stressors and that other threats to amphibians, such as habitat loss, are not being studied in proportion to their potential effects. We tested the validity of this proposal by reviewing the literature on amphibian declines, categorizing the primary topic of articles within this literature (e.g., habitat loss or UV‐B radiation) and comparing citation rates among articles on these topics and impact factors of journals in which the articles were published. From 1990 to 2009, the proportion of papers on habitat loss remained fairly constant, and although the number of papers on chytridiomycosis increased after the disease was described in 1998, the number of published papers on amphibian declines also increased. Nevertheless, papers on chytridiomycosis were more highly cited than papers not on chytridiomycosis and were published in journals with higher impact factors on average, which may indicate this research topic is more popular in the literature. Our results were not consistent with a shift in the research agenda on amphibians. We believe the perception of such a shift has been supported by the higher citation rates of papers on chytridiomycosis.     

Selectivity in Mammalian Extinction Risk and Threat Types: a New Measure of Phylogenetic Signal Strength in Binary Traits

Abstract: The strength of phylogenetic signal in extinction risk can give insight into the mechanisms behind species’ declines. Nevertheless, no existing measure of phylogenetic pattern in a binary trait, such as extinction‐risk status, measures signal strength in a way that can be compared among data sets. We developed a new measure for phylogenetic signal of binary traits, D, which simulations show gives robust results with data sets of more than 50 species, even when the proportion of threatened species is low. We applied D to the red‐list status of British birds and the world's mammals and found that the threat status for both groups exhibited moderately strong phylogenetic clumping. We also tested the hypothesis that the phylogenetic pattern of species threatened by harvesting will be more strongly clumped than for those species threatened by either habitat loss or invasive species because the life‐history traits mediating the effects of harvesting show strong evolutionary pattern. For mammals, our results supported our hypothesis; there was significant but weaker phylogenetic signal in the risk caused by the other two drivers (habitat loss and invasive species). We conclude that D is likely to be a useful measure of the strength of phylogenetic pattern in many binary traits.     

An analytical model for predicting counterflow flame propagation through premixed dust micro particles with radiative heat loss

In this paper, an analytical model has been performed to scrutinize the structure of the flame propagation in counterflow configuration where the mixture of solid fuel particles and air are injected as opposed streams. The structure of counterflow premixed flame in a symmetric configuration, containing uniformly distributed volatile fuel particles, with nonunity Lewis number is examined with considering radiative heat loss effect in counterflow configuration with strain rate issue. The flame structure governing equations, required boundary conditions, and matching conditions are applied for each zone in order to solve the differential equations. The flame position is determined, mass fraction of solid particles and gaseous phases, effect of Lewis number change on the gaseous and solid fuel mass fraction distribution, and the role of strain rate, and different particle diameters are investigated with and without considering thermal radiation effect. In addition, the effect of equivalence ratio on the flame temperature, mixture temperate and non-dimensional flame position is investigated in counterflow flame propagation. According to our finding, the burning velocity of counterflow flame remarkably increases as a function of vaporization Damköhler number as well as non-dimensional vaporization temperature with considering thermal radiation effect in counterflow domain.     

Connecting science,policy, and implementation for landscape‐scale habitat connectivity

We examined the links between the science and policy of habitat corridors to better understand how corridors can be implemented effectively. As a case study, we focused on a suite of landscape‐scale connectivity plans in tropical and subtropical Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, and Bhutan). The process of corridor designation may be more efficient if the scientific determination of optimal corridor locations and arrangement is synchronized in time with political buy‐in and establishment of policies to create corridors. Land tenure and the intactness of existing habitat in the region are also important to consider because optimal connectivity strategies may be very different if there are few, versus many, political jurisdictions (including commercial and traditional land tenures) and intact versus degraded habitat between patches. Novel financing mechanisms for corridors include bed taxes, payments for ecosystem services, and strategic forest certifications. Gaps in knowledge of effective corridor design include an understanding of how corridors, particularly those managed by local communities, can be protected from degradation and unsustainable hunting. There is a critical need for quantitative, data‐driven models that can be used to prioritize potential corridors or multicorridor networks based on their relative contributions to long‐term metacommunity persistence.     

Using citizen science data to identify the sensitivity of species to human land use

Conservation practitioners must contend with an increasing array of threats that affect biodiversity. Citizen scientists can provide timely and expansive information for addressing these threats across large scales, but their data may contain sampling biases. We used randomization procedures to account for possible sampling biases in opportunistically reported citizen science data to identify species’ sensitivities to human land use. We analyzed 21,044 records of 143 native reptile and amphibian species reported to the Carolina Herp Atlas from North Carolina and South Carolina between 1 January 1990 and 12 July 2014. Sensitive species significantly associated with natural landscapes were 3.4 times more likely to be legally protected or treated as of conservation concern by state resource agencies than less sensitive species significantly associated with human‐dominated landscapes. Many of the species significantly associated with natural landscapes occurred primarily in habitats that had been nearly eradicated or otherwise altered in the Carolinas, including isolated wetlands, longleaf pine savannas, and Appalachian forests. Rare species with few reports were more likely to be associated with natural landscapes and 3.2 times more likely to be legally protected or treated as of conservation concern than species with at least 20 reported occurrences. Our results suggest that opportunistically reported citizen science data can be used to identify sensitive species and that species currently restricted primarily to natural landscapes are likely at greatest risk of decline from future losses of natural habitat. Our approach demonstrates the usefulness of citizen science data in prioritizing conservation and in helping practitioners address species declines and extinctions at large extents.     

Effects of landscape transformation on bird colonization and extinction patterns in a large‐scale,long‐term natural experiment

Conversion of agricultural land to forest plantations is a major driver of global change. Studies on the impact of forest plantations on biodiversity in plantations and in the surrounding native vegetation have been inconclusive. Consequently, it is not known how to best manage the extensive areas of the planet currently covered by plantations. We used a novel, long‐term (16 years) and large‐scale (30,000 ha) landscape transformation natural experiment (the Nanangroe experiment, Australia) to test the effects of land conversion on population dynamics of 64 bird species associated with woodland and forest. A unique aspect of our study is that we focused on the effects of plantations on birds in habitat patches within plantations. Our study design included 56 treatment sites (Eucalyptus patches where the surrounding matrix was converted from grazed land to pine plantations), 55 control sites (Eucalyptus patches surrounded by grazed land), and 20 matrix sites (sites within the pine plantations and grazed land). Bird populations were studied through point counts, and colonization and extinction patterns were inferred through multiple season occupancy models. Large‐scale pine plantation establishment affected the colonization or extinction patterns of 89% of studied species and thus led to a comprehensive turnover in bird communities inhabiting Eucalyptus patches embedded within the maturing plantations. Smaller bodied species appeared to respond positively to plantations (i.e., colonization increased and extirpation of these species decreased in patches surrounded by plantations) because they were able to use the newly created surrounding matrix. We found that the effects of forest plantations affected the majority of the bird community, and we believe these effects could lead to the artificial selection of one group of species at the expense of another.     

Toward quantification of the impact of 21st‐century deforestation on the extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates

Conservation actions need to be prioritized, often taking into account species’ extinction risk. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List provides an accepted, objective framework for the assessment of extinction risk. Assessments based on data collected in the field are the best option, but the field data to base these on are often limited. Information collected through remote sensing can be used in place of field data to inform assessments. Forests are perhaps the best‐studied land‐cover type for use of remote‐sensing data. Using an open‐access 30‐m resolution map of tree cover and its change between 2000 and 2012, we assessed the extent of forest cover and loss within the distributions of 11,186 forest‐dependent amphibians, birds, and mammals worldwide. For 16 species, forest loss resulted in an elevated extinction risk under red‐list criterion A, owing to inferred rapid population declines. This number increased to 23 when data‐deficient species (i.e., those with insufficient information for evaluation) were included. Under red‐list criterion B2, 484 species (855 when data‐deficient species were included) were considered at elevated extinction risk, owing to restricted areas of occupancy resulting from little forest cover remaining within their ranges. The proportion of species of conservation concern would increase by 32.8% for amphibians, 15.1% for birds, and 24.7% for mammals if our suggested uplistings are accepted. Central America, the Northern Andes, Madagascar, the Eastern Arc forests in Africa, and the islands of Southeast Asia are hotspots for these species. Our results illustrate the utility of satellite imagery for global extinction‐risk assessment and measurement of progress toward international environmental agreement targets.