Assessing Land-Use Impacts on Natural Resources

/ Much information is available on changes that occur in natural resources from both spatially-explicit data on environmental conditions and models of the interactions of these conditions and resources with human activities. The strategy for assessing land-use impacts on natural resources developed in this paper provides a framework for using relevant data and models to address questions of how management practices can promote both use and protection of resources. This assessment strategy integrates spatially explicit environmental data using geographic information systems (GIS) with computer models that simulate changes in land cover in response to land-use impacts. The computer models also simulate susceptibility of species to changes in habitat suitability and landscape patterns. The approach is applied to management of limestone barrens on the Oak Ridge Reservation in East Tennessee. Potential limestone barrens habitats are identified by overlaying appropriate soils, geology, slope, and land-use/land-cover conditions. Their validity is tested against known sites containing rare species that occur in these habitats. The location of habitats at risk in the aftermath of human activities is determined by using an available area model that identifies the size and proximity of sites that particular types of species can no longer use as habitat. The resulting risk map can be used in land management planning. The approach uses readily available in situ and remotely sensed data and is applicable to a wide range of locations and land-use scenarios. This approach can be refined based on needs identified by land managers and on the sensitivity of the results to the resolution of available resource information.KEY WORDS: Land management; Assessment; Habitat characterization; Limestone barrens; Ecological modeling; Geographic information systems     

Groundwater conditions under a reconstructed prairie chronosequence

Chronosequences are useful to evaluate long-term changes in ecosystem services but assessing groundwater quality changes using this approach has rarely been done. In this study, groundwater level and quality comparisons were made in a watershed-scale reconstructed prairie chronosequence that extended back in time approximately 13 years at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge (NSNWR) near Prairie City, Iowa. Our objectives were to determine whether groundwater conditions varied significantly across the chronosequence and quantify the rate of nitrate concentration reduction when row crop fields are replaced by prairie. We installed 19 groundwater wells at upland locations selected to provide similar soil type, landscape position and slope. Water samples were collected on five occasions in 2006 and 2007 and analyzed for field parameters, anions and NO₃-N, NH₄-N and PO₄-P. Significant groundwater changes were primarily associated with groundwater levels, and groundwater nitrate and chloride concentrations. The groundwater was deeper under the older prairie plantings but fluctuated similarly among all well sites. Groundwater nitrate and chloride concentrations decreased 0.58 and 0.52 mg/l per year over the 13-year chronosequence, respectively. Results are seen to provide some guidance to land managers regarding possible nitrate concentration reductions achievable from converting cropland to perennial land cover in similar geomorphic settings.     

高速公路对沿途土地利用及景观格局的影响——以内蒙古省道103线蒲滩木刀口到城壕段为例

利用2002年和2006年公路建设前后的两期遥感数据,分析了公路对沿线土地利用和景观格局的影响。结果表明：公路建设使公路用地面积增加了4.10km^2,主要由侵占农业用地和沙地所导致;居民区、森林面积分别增加了1.12km^2和0.08km^2,其余土地利用类型面积有所减少;道路、居民区和森林的景观破碎化指数增加,农田、草地、灌木、沙地和水域下降;景观多样性指数增加,景观优势度降低。     

钼矿区污灌菜地土壤重金属污染的生态风险预警评价

通过对钼矿区地下水进行重金属含量分析,发现地下水已受重金属污染。该受污染地下水为矿区菜地唯一灌溉用水。本文研究钼矿区污灌菜地土壤的重金属污染现状及生态风险。选取矿区、尾矿区、选矿区周边菜地的土壤样本60个,用HNO3-HF-HClO4处理后,采用等离子体发射光谱仪（ICP-AKS）测定土壤样品中Pb、As、Hg、Cr、Cd、Zn、Cu、Ni的全量,采用生态风险指数进行生态风险预警评价。结果表明：矿区、尾矿区、选矿区周边受污染菜地尾矿区农田土壤的生态风险指数（IER）分别为59．42、80．60、154．83,其预警类型均为重警;污染程度为矿区菜地〈尾矿区菜地〈选矿区菜地。     

西藏“一江两河”中部流域农业生态环境及其保护途径

西藏“一江两河”中部流域地区是藏民族文化的发祥地,腹心地区。区内独特的生态环境、奇异的自然风光、丰富的自然资源,２１世纪将进入一个新的发展时期。但也存在诸多的生态环境等问题。本文从环境保护的角度出发,提出建设相对稳定人工生态系统,实现可持续发展的途径。      

Fire use: Is it really the cheaper land preparation method for large-scale plantations?

During the last two decades Indonesia has experienced immense forest and land fires. Often these fires are associated with extended drought and widespread use of fire to clear previously logged forest and other degraded land in preparation for oil palm, rubber, or pulpwood plantations. There are many reasons for the use of fire in land clearing activities, but probably the most important one is economics. There is still acceptance that fire is the cheapest, fastest, and most effective land clearing method with the added benefit of providing nutrients from ash residues. This paper provides a review of existing information on the financial costs and benefits of using fire for land clearing in agriculture and forestry plantations as compared with zero-burning techniques. The findings indicate that the economic advantage of fire use varies widely and depends on many factors, such as soil fertility, vegetation density, labour cost, equipment and training costs, and the costs of fire management. For large-scale land clearing, the financial analysis of the costs and benefits of fire versus zero-burning shows that when applied to low-volume vegetation, zero-burning methods are not more expensive than burning – and may actually be more cost effective in the long term. This is the case for clearing oil palm or rubber plantations for replanting, low secondary vegetation, and heavily logged-over forest. Under high-volume forest conditions, burning remains less expensive because it is more difficult, time consuming, and costly to dispose of high volumes of piled wood mechanically.     

Thanks but no thanks: A new policy to reduce land conflict

Land conflicts in developing countries are costly both directly and through increased land degradation. An important policy goal is to create respect for borders. This often involves mandatory, expensive interventions. We propose a new policy design, which in theory promotes neighborly relations at low cost. A salient feature is the option to by-pass regulation through consensus. The key idea combines the insight that social preferences transform social dilemmas into coordination problems with the logic of forward induction. As a first, low-cost pass at empirical evaluation, we conduct an experiment among farmers in the Ethiopian highlands, a region exhibiting features typical of countries where borders are often disputed.     

辽河东西支流与干流水体光学特性和组分对比研究

通过对东、西辽河和辽河干流有色溶解有机物(CDOM)吸收特性和荧光特征以及溶解有机碳(DOC)浓度的分析,对比研究不同子流域CDOM的光学特性差异,并分析影响CDOM与DOC浓度的主要因素.对比研究发现,辽河干流CDOM与DOC相关性(R = 0.89,P < 0.01)高于西辽河(R = 0.81)与东辽河(R = 0.75).总悬浮物浓度(TSM)和总碱度与不同子流域CDOM/DOC相关性较高.不同流域内CDOM与DOC的浓度变化较大,西辽河CDOM和DOC浓度明显高于东辽河和辽河干流.流域内土地利用、气候条件对两者浓度的影响显著,林地和CDOM及DOC浓度存在显著负相关(R = -0.41, -0.56),即林地面积越大,CDOM和DOC浓度越低;而农田与两者存在正相关(R = 0.40, 0.32),农田面积越大,相应的CDOM和DOC浓度越高;降雨量与CDOM和DOC呈现明显的负相关(R = -0.53, -0.38),说明降雨对河流CDOM的稀释作用较大.对于CDOM荧光强度Fn(355)与CDOM浓度来说,在每个子流域两者均存在较好的相关性,特别是西辽河流域(R = 0.96, P < 0.01).CDOM的三维荧光光谱发现,东、西辽河及辽河干流均表现出较强的类腐殖酸荧光峰(A峰和C峰),同时辽河干流表现出很强的类蛋白质峰(T峰).CDOM的吸收斜率(S)以及基于荧光光谱的FI和HIX表明东、西辽河和辽河干流CDOM的主要来源是外源高等植物输入的大分子量DOM,但是,西辽河和辽河干流CDOM的分子量要小于东辽河CDOM组成物质.     

Optimizing the design of storage facilities through the application of ISD and QRA

Four strategies can be used to achieve safety in chemical processes: inherent, passive, active and procedural. However, the strategy that offers the best results is the inherent safety approach, especially if it is applied during the initial stages of a project. Inherently Safer Design (ISD) permanently eliminates or reduces hazards, and thus avoids or diminishes the consequences of incidents. ISD can be applied using four strategies: substitution, minimization, moderation and simplification. In this paper, we propose a methodology that combines ISD strategies with Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) to optimize the design of storage installations. As 17% of major accidents in the chemical industry occur during the storage process and cause significant losses, it is essential to improve safety in such installations. The proposed method applies QRA to estimate the risk associated with a specific design. The design can then be compared to others to determine which is inherently safer. The risk analysis may incorporate complex phenomena such as the domino effect and possible impacts on vulnerable material and human elements. The methodology was applied to the San Juanico tragedy that occurred in Mexico in 1984.