Vulnerable groups*

As a rule, refugees arrive in their host country with a bare minimum of possessions; in this respect every refugee can be classified as vulnerable. However, a certain category is especially at risk, namely those persons who would be considered vulnerable in a "normal society." These people are doubly in need of assistance, firstly, inasmuch as they are refugees and secondly, insofar as they are vulnerable. If these refugees can be helped to overcome (or at least reduce) their handicaps, they can begin to become self-reliant and form an active, productive parts of their community, rather than remaining an extra burden to an already vulnerable part of the society in their country of asylum. Whilst their able-bodied companions work in the fields or the towns, part of this category can be trained and usefully employed in sectors of work that do not require great mobility or physical fitness (such as handicrafts, trade, teaching and services)..     

桂林盘龙洞土壤CO_2释放速率的分布状况和变化规律

以桂林盘龙洞岩溶实验场为例,选择岩溶洼地里的坡地灌木丛和洼地灌木丛2个样地,通过长期定时监测土壤CO2释放速率的季节变化、空间分布规律以及日动态变化。得知：⑴无论是坡地还是洼地,春季和夏季时土壤CO2释放速率表层土大于深层土,秋季和冬季时深层土大于表层土,且坡地大于洼地;⑵土壤CO2的释放速率具有明显的季节性变化特征,...     

Restructuring of Eastern Europe and its possible consequences for atmospheric environment

The environmental situation in the (former) communist countries of Eastern Europe is threatening. How will the political and economical restructuring affect the environmental conditions? This article investigates the consequences for air pollution resulting from energy uses over the next 5 yr. Since abatement investments seem unfeasible (with the exception of the former GDR) financially and to some extent also technically, the assessment of energy demand is crucial. Explicitly accounting for market prices shows that emissions will substantially decline due to conservation and the substitution of the cleaner fuel natural gas for “dirty” coal.     

Effects of power-line construction on wetland vegetation in Massachusetts,USA

Utility rights-of-way corridors through wetland areas generate long-term impacts from construction activities to these valuable ecosystems. Changes to and recovery of the vegetation communities of a cattail marsh, wooded swamp, and shrub/bog wetland were documented through measurements made each growing season for two years prior, five years following, and again on the tenth year after construction of a 345-kV transmission line. While both the cattail marsh and wooded swamp recovered within a few years, measures of plant community composition in the shrub/bog wetland were still lower, compared to controls, after ten years. Long-term investigations such as the one reported here help decrease uncertainty and provide valuable information for future decision making regarding construction of power utility lines through valuable and dwindling wetland resources.     

The shadow of the past: environmental issues and institutional learning in EU enlargement processes

This paper compares the role of environmental issues in negotiating Spanish membership of the European Union (EU) with the ongoing enlargement talks with Central and Eastern European countries. The paper first argues that the EU has recognized a need to change the way in which it has traditionally managed environmental issues in enlargement processes. Second, the paper provides evidence of learning processes at the Community level that could have effected a change in Community approaches to enlargement in the environmental field. However, the paper shows that the fundamental principles and procedures applied in preparing for eastern enlargement match those used in previous enlargement rounds, resembling a largely technical exercise with exclusive focus on the applicants' ability to align with the acquis communautaire and the length of transition periods. The lack of sufficient adaptation or reform suggests that path dependence and institutional inertia have constrained the scope for innovations at the level of policy strategy and institutions, for which the shadow of the past has reinforced established patterns of institutional behaviour and practices. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

粤东花岗岩流域覆盖型风化壳风化特征比较

为了对比在同种基岩与气候背景下,相邻花岗岩流域风化壳的风化程度,借助粒度组成、pH值和磁化率等实验方法,测定了粤东榕江和漯河流域阶地上发育的冲积物覆盖型风化壳.数据结果说明,螺河流域发育的该类型风化壳的风化程度强于榕江流域阶地上发育的该类型风化壳.粒度组成还表明,两流域该类型风化壳具有在<2μm粒级含量上冲积层大于基座风化壳的特征.两个流域风化壳粒度组成差别的原因是两个流域不同的剥蚀速率,榕江流域剥蚀速率较快.pH值在冲积物覆盖型风化壳剖面上呈现三低两高间隔出现的规律.螺河流域风化壳磁化率低于榕江流域是由局部的地貌条件决定,磁化率在粤东地区该类型风化壳的指示意义不准确.     

东太湖水产养殖对沉积物中氨氧化原核生物的影响

本研究旨在了解东太湖水产养殖区表层沉积物中氨氧化微生物的群落特征.以编码氨单加氧酶的α亚基(amo A)基因为标记,通过实时荧光定量PCR技术(real-time q PCR)分析环境中好氧氨氧化原核生物的丰度;通过构建克隆文库、测序,进而划分操作分类单元(OTUs)构建系统发育树,分析氨氧化微生物的群落结构与多样性.分析养殖区和对照区表层沉积物中氨氧化微生物群落结构和多样性发现,养殖区中氨氧化细菌(ammonia-oxidizing bacteria,AOB)的丰度更高而对照区中氨氧化古菌(ammonia-oxidizing archaea,AOA)的丰度更高;AOA在养殖区多样性更高,AOB在对照区多样性更高;AOA在养殖区和对照区沉积物中的优势类群均为Nitrosopumilus,AOB在养殖区和对照区沉积物中的优势类群相同均为亚硝化螺旋菌属(Nitrosospira).水产养殖主要通过影响沉积物中的氨氮含量来影响AOA和AOB的丰度,养殖过程会影响AOA的群落结构而对AOB的群落结构则无明显影响.     

Characterization of precipitation in the background of atmospheric pollutants reduction in Guilin: Temporal variation and source apportionment

Rainfall samples were collected from three observation sites in Guilin from 2013 to 2017, and the chemical composition characteristics of precipitation and the contribution made by different ion sources were analyzed when atmospheric pollutants levels were reduced. The results showed that acid gas emissions and atmospheric pollutant concentrations continued to decline during the study period. However, the change in the volume-weighted mean p H at the three sites suggested that acid rain pollutio...     

Radionuclides in the Ecosystem of Lake Tygish in the Zone of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace

The radioecological situation in Lake Tygish is described. The lake is situated on the central axis of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT), which was formed after the nuclear accident in the Southern Urals in 1957. The distributions of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs among the main components of the water body and the results of the measurement of tritium concentration in the water are presented. Mathematical models are described that have made it possible to estimate changes in the concentrations of radionuclides and their amounts accumulated in the water and bottom sediments of the lake during the long period after the accident and to predict the development of the radioecological situation in the lake until 2057. Based on the mathematical models, more accurate data on the initial ecological situation in the lake in the year of the accident have been obtained.     

Land use change in Southern Romania after the collapse of socialism

The drastic socio-economic and political changes that occurred after the breakdown of socialism in Eastern Europe triggered widespread land use change, including cropland abandonment and forest cover changes. Yet the rates and spatial patterns of post-socialist land use change remain largely unclear. We used Landsat TM/ETM+ images to classify land cover maps and assess landscape pattern changes from 1990 to 2005 in Argeş County, Southern Romania. Cropland abandonment was the most widespread change (21.1% abandonment rate), likely due to declining returns from farming, tenure insecurity, and demographic developments during transition. Forest cover and forest fragmentation remained remarkably stable during transition, despite widespread ownership transfers. Cropland abandonment provides opportunities for increased carbon sequestration, but threatens cultural landscapes and biodiversity. Continued monitoring is important for assessing whether abandoned croplands will eventually reforest or be put back into production and to better understand the consequences of post-socialist land use change for ecosystems and biodiversity.