A Method for Improving the Management of Controversial Wetland

Valley bottom wetlands in agricultural landscapes often are neglected in national and regional wetland inventories. Although these areas are small, located in the bottomlands of the headwater catchments, and scattered in the rural landscape, they strongly influence hydrology, water quality, and biodiversity over the whole catchment area. Valley bottom wetlands often are considered as controversial wetlands. Awareness of the functional role of wetlands is increasing, in parallel with their progressive disappearance in intensive farming landscapes. The need to improve tools for controlling wetland management is a primary consideration for decision makers and land users. This article proposes a method for the inventory of valley bottom wetlands. The method is based on the functional analysis of potential, existing, and efficient valley bottom wetlands (the PEEW approach). Several indicators are proposed for checking the validity of such an approach. Potential wetlands are delineated by means of a topographic index using topographic and pedoclimatic criteria computed from a Digital Elevation Model and easily accessible databases. Existing wetlands are identified from observed surface moisture, the presence of specific wetland vegetation, or soil feature criteria. Efficient wetlands are defined through a given function, such as flow or pollutant regulation or biodiversity control. An analysis of areas at the limits between potential, existing, and efficient wetlands highlights land cultivated or drained in the past, which currently represents negotiating areas in which rehabilitation and other intended management actions can be implemented.     

Analysis of macroinvertebrate assemblages in relation to environmental gradients among lotic habitats of California's Central Valley

We assessed relationships between environmental characteristicsand macroinvertebrate assemblages in lotic habitats of California's Central Valley with community metric and multivariate statistical approaches. Using canonical ordinationanalyses, we contrasted results when assemblage structure was assessed with macroinvertebrate metrics, as suggested for use inindices of biotic integrity, or with genera abundances. Our objectives were to identify metrics or taxa diagnostic of loticenvironmental stressors and compare the capacity of theseapproaches to detect stressors in order to suggest how they mightbe used to diagnose stressors. For macroinvertebrate metrics,redundancy analysis (RDA) extracted three axes correlated withchannel morphology and substrates. For genera abundances, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) extracted two axescorrelated with soluble salts and with channel morphology andsubstrates but did not separate these gradients onto differentaxes. Cluster analyses identified five RDA and five CCA sitegroups, which exhibited differences for environmental variables,metrics, or genera abundances, and agreement between the analysesin partitioning of sites was greater than if sites were partitioned randomly. These approaches differ in their abilityto detect environmental stressors, because they measure differentaspects of assemblages and would be complementary in design ofnew metrics diagnostic of stressors.     

A study of radionuclides, metals and stable lead isotope ratios in sediments and soils in the vicinity of natural U-mineralisation areas in the Northern Territory

Australian guidelines recommend that tailings materials from uranium (U) mining and milling be contained without any detrimental impact on the environment for at least 1000 years. Natural analogue sites are being investigated to determine if they can provide data on the rates of natural erosion processes which occur over these timescales, for input into predictive geomorphic computer models. This paper presents radionuclide, metal and stable lead (Pb) isotope data from sediment cores and surface soils in the vicinity of two mineralised areas in the Alligator Rivers Region.Surface scrapes from the natural Anomaly #2, south of the Ranger mineral lease, exhibit radiogenic ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios, and elevated U and metal concentrations typical for a near surface U anomaly. In contrast, samples taken from the Koongarra mineral lease (KML) show radionuclide activity and metal concentrations similar to natural areas elsewhere in the Alligator Rivers Region and Pb isotope ratios are closer to present day average crustal ratios (PDAC), as the orebodies at KML are covered by surficial sand. A sediment core collected from Anbangbang Billabong, downstream of KML, exhibits small variations in Pb isotope ratios that indicate that approximately 1% of the upper sediments in the sediment core may be derived from material originating from the U anomaly at Koongarra.     

长江流域自然灾害若干问题探讨

长江流域是我国重要产业带,又是我国自然灾害严重区域。水灾和旱灾已成为流域常发广布灾害,年均受灾和成灾面积约占全国总受灾和成灾面积的百分之四十。流域内旱灾成灾面积大于水灾面积。常发灾害与突发重大灾害给流域社会经济造成严重危害。灾害是环境质量的一个函数。长江流域灾害的发生和发展与人类活动引起的环境退化有密切关系。对流域进行综合整治已成为迫切任务。     

略论建设长江经济带

强调指出长江沿岸地区是我国本世纪末或更长时期内重点开发的地区之一,论述了建设长江经济带的必要性和长江流域的资源秉赋,提出了建设长江经济带的基本构想以及应采取的战略措施。     

乡村旅游发展探讨——以湖北百宝寨为例

乡村旅游是我国旅游业的重要组成部分，肩负着以旅助农、以城带乡的重任。湖北省百宝寨拥有良好的山水风光和乡土特色。分析了百宝寨发展乡村旅游的实例，总结出成功的主要原因，并在此基础上提出了促进乡村旅游可持续发展的建议。     

Understanding the Ecology of Blue Elderberry to Inform Landscape Restoration in Semiarid River Corridors

Societal constraints often limit full process restoration in large river systems, making local rehabilitation activities valuable for regeneration of riparian vegetation. A target of much mitigation and restoration is the federally threatened Valley elderberry longhorn beetle and its sole host plant, blue elderberry, in upper riparian floodplain environments. However, blue elderberry ecology is not well understood and restoration attempts typically have low success rates. We determined broad-scale habitat characteristics of elderberry in altered systems and examined associated plant species composition in remnant habitat. We quantified vegetation community composition in 139 remnant riparian forest patches along the Sacramento River and elderberry stem diameters along this and four adjacent rivers. The greatest proportion of plots containing elderberry was located on higher and older floodplain surfaces and in riparian woodlands dominated by black walnut. Blue elderberry saplings and shrubs with stems <5.0 cm in diameter were rare, suggesting a lack of recruitment. A complex suite of vegetation was associated with blue elderberry, including several invasive species which are potentially outcompeting seedlings for light, water, or other resources. Such lack of recruitment places increased importance on horticultural restoration for the survival of an imperiled species. These findings further indicate a need to ascertain whether intervention is necessary to maintain functional and diverse riparian woodlands, and a need to monitor vegetative species composition over time, especially in relation to flow regulation.     

流域城市水交易机制研究

为了解决流域城市水资源短缺以及水环境污染的一系列问题.提出了"流域城市"的基本概念,并结合水权和排污权交易模式相关的研究内容,构建了包涵水权交易和排污权交易的市场平台;建立了一个在水务部门与环保部门共同监督管理之下的水交易市场体系,综合进行水交易.最后以黄河流域兰州段为实例,对由初始权分配比例、环境容量、交易保护价格等构建的水市场所需要的参数进行了分析计算.研究结果表明,当节水技术和排污浓度不变,且购入方没有剩余的水权或排污权时,排污权交易与水权交易是按一定的比例进行的.     

长江与黄河源丰水期地表水中汞的分布特征、赋存形态及来源解析

在全球变暖的背景下,探明青藏高原地表水中汞的形态、分布和来源特征对认识高寒地区汞的生物地球化学循环过程具有重要意义.为探讨汞在高寒地区地表水中的分布特征和潜在来源,以青藏高原长江源和黄河源流域地表水为研究对象,测定丰水期地表水中总汞（THg）、颗粒态汞（PHg）和溶解态汞（DHg）的浓度,分析其空间分布特征及其影响因素,并利用PMF模型定量解析地表水中汞的来源.结果表明,长江源和黄河源流域地表水中ρ（DHg）均值分别为（2.96±1.26） ng ·L^-1和（2.47±0.83） ng ·L^-1,二者无显著差异;而长江源流域地表水中ρ（THg）［（10.69±11.14） ng ·L^-1］和ρ（PHg）［（8.46±11.41） ng ·L^-1］显著高于黄河源流域地表水中的ρ（THg）［（3.37±2.03） ng ·L^-1］和ρ（PHg）［（1.13±1.02） ng ·L^-1）］（P<0.05）.此外,考虑到较低的汞浓度水平和甲基化程度,研究区内汞的生态威胁较弱.相关性分析结果显示,长江源流域地表水中汞以PHg为主要形态,其浓度变化主要受冰川融水输入、土壤侵蚀和降水等因素影响;DHg作为黄河源流域地表水中汞的主要形态,其分布格局主要受制于汞和溶解性有机质（DOC）的结合作用.空间分布上,河道坡降和土壤侵蚀强度的空间差异可能是导致长江源流域地表水中THg和PHg浓度随水流方向总体呈下降趋势的关键因素.PMF模型解析结果表明,长江源和黄河源区地表水中51.4%的汞来源于大气沉降,38.8%的汞来源于水流对土壤岩层或沉积物的侵蚀作用,而9.7%的汞来源于土壤径流或渗流的输入.     

Determining the tourism potential of the Altındere Valley National Park (Trabzon/Turkey) with respect to its conservation value

This study was conducted to determine the tourism potential of Alt?ndere Valley National Park with respect to its conservation and utilization. With its natural values, Alt?ndere Valley National Park is one of the internationally prominent areas of potential for the recreational and touristic facilities it offers.

A mathematical method – criterion referenced method – was applied within this study, which was done to portray the touristic potential (resulting from the touristic and recreational utilization of the national park area and recreational zone) of the national park, which was visited by an average of 200,000 local and foreign guests.

According to this method, the conservation and utilization values that appear on two opposite axes were examined in accordance with the natural resource values of the area, and conservation and utilization values for each criterion were determined. Depending on the data, the general exploitable touristic potential of the area was specified.

A survey study was conducted on groups from various disciplines and local & foreign tourists visiting the area in specifying the touristic potential of the National Park. Eleven criteria were defined concerning the area and a criterion reference was prepared for each criterion. Then, conservation and utilization values for each criterion and exploitable touristic potential were mathematically indicated. The fact that the attained values were reduced to a percentage basis provides the opportunity to compare the researched area to similar fields that use the same method. Within the scope of the method, several suggestions were made using the information obtained in the evaluation of the data for every other source value.