Effects of the Surrounding Matrix on Tree Recruitment in Amazonian Forest Fragments

Abstract:  Little is known about how the surrounding modified matrix affects tree recruitment in fragmented forests. We contrasted effects of two different matrix types, Vismia - and Cecropia -dominated regrowth, on recruitment of pioneer tree species in forest fragments in central Amazonia. Our analyses were based on 22, 1-ha plots in seven experimental forest fragments ranging in size from 1 to 100 ha. By 13 to 17 years after fragmentation, the population density of pioneer trees was significantly higher in plots surrounded by Vismia regrowth than in plots surrounded by Cecropia regrowth, and the species composition and dominance of pioneers differed markedly between the two matrix types. Cecropia sciadophylla was the most abundant pioneer in fragments surrounded by Cecropia regrowth (constituting nearly 50% of all pioneer trees), whereas densities of species in Vismia -surrounded fragments were distributed more evenly. Thus the surrounding matrix had a strong influence on patterns of tree recruitment in Amazonian forest fragments.     

Protection of Mammal Diversity in Central America

Abstract:  Central America is exceptionally rich in biodiversity, but varies widely in the attention its countries devote to conservation. Protected areas, widely considered the cornerstone of conservation, were not always created with the intent of conserving that biodiversity. We assessed how well the protected-area system of Central America includes the region's mammal diversity. This first required a refinement of existing range maps to reduce their extensive errors of commission (i.e., predicted presences in places where species do not occur). For this refinement, we used the ecological limits of each species to identify and remove unsuitable areas from the range. We then compared these maps with the locations of protected areas to measure the habitat protected for each of the region's 250 endemic mammals. The species most vulnerable to extinction—those with small ranges—were largely outside protected areas. Nevertheless, the most strictly protected areas tended toward areas with many small-ranged species. To improve the protection coverage of mammal diversity in the region, we identified a set of priority sites that would best complement the existing protected areas. Protecting these new sites would require a relatively small increase in the total area protected, but could greatly enhance mammal conservation.     

以可持续发展理论指导社会发展综合实验区的实践

社会发展综合实验区中中国可持续发展战略的实验基地，本文对实验区如何按可持续发展原则，结合当地的人口、资源、环境状况，制宁长远的可持续发展的生态规划做了较系统的论述。     

关于计划生育法制建设的思考

社会主义市场经济体制的建立和完善，给计划生育工作带来了一系列的新情况、新问题。因此，把计划生育工作纳入法制的轨道显得尤为重要。本文分析了我国计划生育工作靠行政约束的局限性；总结了市场经济体制下，计划生育工作面临的新特点；阐述了加强计划生育法制建设的紧迫性和可行性；并提出了计划生育立法的基本思路     

An Ecologically Destabilized Environment: Its Effect on Small-Mammal Populations

Characteristics of the small-mammal populations inhabiting forest biocenoses in the Middle Ural state reserves have been analyzed over in the period from 1987 to 2002. During this period, the habitats of these animals were considerably destabilized due to windfalls and fires. The environmental characteristics of animal microhabitats at different stages of environment destabilization have been described quantitatively. Changes in the long-term cycles of the population dynamics of the dominant forest vole species caused by the destabilizing factors have been found. Redistribution of species dominance with respect to abundance has been demonstrated.     

外源稀土La在沉积物中的形态及其生物可利用性

将沉积物中的外源稀土La分为可溶解态、酸可提取态、有机质及硫化物结合态,研究了小球藻(Chlorella Vulgaris Beijerinck)对这三种形态La的生物可利用性.研究结果表明:这三种形态的La在沉积物中的含量与其在藻中的含量有很好的相关关系.其中可溶解态La的生物可利用性最大,这说明,沉积物中La的释放对其生物可利用性至关重要.     

The brief as an instrument of policy

A review of the use of planning and design briefs by local authorities in the United Kingdom was carried out in 1982–83 to test whether the role of the brief as an instrument of local policy and as a promotional tool in the development process was being fully exploited. The paper provides a state of the art review, presents a summary of the findings and offers some comments on the results. It concludes that most authorities now use briefs as part of their normal planning procedures, but that there is potential which is not yet being exploited.     

CITIZEN INFLUENCE IN WATER POLICY DECISIONS: CONTEXT, CONSTRAINTS, AND ALTERNATIVES

ABSTRACT: The desirable proportion of citizen input into policy making and the proper mechanism for that input engender substantial conflict in the water resources arena. Nevertheless, discussions of citizen participation in water policy formation generally occur within narrow perspectives both with regard to the issues involved and the alternative mechanisms by which that participation can be realized. This paper examines the historical and current contexts of the controversies and presents a discussion of the alternative processes for citizen influence - called linkage. The linkage processes discussed include direct participation, citizen advisory committees, the pressure group model, the electoral model and the bureaucratic model. Each linkage process is discussed in terms of who is considered the public, how the public influence works, the limitations of the process, and what available water policy-related data suggest regarding the adequacy of the process.