Modeling Opportunity Costs of Conservation in Transitional Landscapes

Abstract:  Conservation scientists recognize the urgency of incorporating opportunity costs into conservation planning. Despite this, applications to date have been limited, perhaps partly because of the difficulty in determining costs in regions with limited data on land prices and ownership. We present methods for estimating opportunity costs of land preservation in landscapes or ecoregions that are a changing mix of agriculture and natural habitat. Our approach derives from the literature on estimating land values as opportunity costs of alternate land uses and takes advantage of general availability of necessary data, even in relatively data-poor regions. The methods integrate probabilities of habitat conversion with region-wide estimates of economic benefits from agricultural land uses and estimate land values with a discount rate to convert annual values into net present values. We applied our method in a landscape undergoing agricultural conversion in Paraguay. Our model of opportunity costs predicted an independent data set of land values and was consistent with implicit discount rates of 15–25%. Model-generated land values were strongly correlated with actual land values even after correcting for the effect of property size and proportion of property that was forested. We used the model to produce a map of opportunity costs and to estimate the costs of conserving forest within two proposed corridors in the landscape. This method can be applied to conservation planning in situations where natural habitat is currently being converted to market-oriented land uses. Incorporating not only biological attributes but also socioeconomic data can help in the design of efficient networks of protected areas that represent biodiversity at minimum costs.     

合徐高速公路淮南连接线水土保持方案的探讨

通过对合徐高速公路淮南连接线水土流失原因和特点的分析 ,对沿线的水土流失进行了预测 ,提出了防治措施。并对具体的防治措施进行了探讨     

城市节水“碳足迹”的探讨

随着水资源问题日益突出和城镇化的飞速发展,城市节水成为促进水资源可持续开发利用的有效措施。日益严峻的气候问题导致了人们对＂碳足迹＂的关注和低碳技术的发展。通过对城市节水相关因素＂碳足迹＂来源的分析,提出城市节水低碳化及建议。     

汽车使用对生态环境污染的分析研究

随着社会经济和汽车工业的飞速发展,汽车使用造成的污染日趋加剧。汽车在给人类带来便捷与文明的同时也成为破坏生态环境的元凶和能源的最大消耗者。本文在研究了汽车污染的类型、生成机理、特点和对生态环境造成的危害后,指出了汽车工业未来的发展趋势,即生产新型节能环保汽车。在政府倡导建设资源节约型、环境友好型社会的背景下,加强对节能环保汽车产品的研发和推广,以推动中国环保事业和汽车工业的发展。     

三峡库区坡地果园间植草篱的水土保持效应

坡地果园水土流失对三峡库区生态环境和农业可持续性发展构成双重压力。以皇竹草篱为纽带间植于坡地果园营建复合生态模式,对草篱拦蓄泥沙、径流的效应进行了长期观测。结果表明：草篱间植的应用能有效减少坡地果园的水土流失,尤以侵蚀量减少更为显著,与传统果园经营模式相比,径流量减少了5871%~6574%,侵蚀量减少了7070%~7792%。同时,草篱间植的应用对减少养分的流失总量效果也相当显著,对减少库区面源污染,保持和提高坡地果园的土地生产力具有重要作用,为三峡库区坡地果园的利用与保护提供了技术与模式支撑。     

Breeding skylarks (Alauda arvensis) on organic and conventional arable farms in The Netherlands

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of differences in cropping pattern between organic and conventional arable farms on the breeding activity of skylarks and to assess the effects of arable crop management on skylark nest survival. Skylark nest density was seven times higher on organic farms than on conventional farms (0.63 vs. 0.09 nest per 10 ha). Skylarks showed a strong preference for spring cereals, lucerne and grass leys, all of which were mainly or exclusively grown on organic farms. On organic farms nests were initiated during the entire breeding season, but on conventional farms no nesting activity was found during the peak of the season (early May to early June). On organic farms 27% of all nests was successful. Increasing the availability of suitable breeding habitat during the peak of the breeding season on conventional farms might provide one means of enhancing breeding skylark populations. On organic farms, crop management should focus on reducing nest loss due to farming operations.     

“限塑令”发布后的变化与反响

对国务院办公厅下发“限塑令”后的变化与反响以及出现的问题等进行了全面分析,并在此基础上,综合阐述了国内各大媒体针对“限塑令”在推行过程中存在的问题提出的若干切中实际的应对策略。主要包括：如何理解和贯彻“限塑令”这个利国利民的“国策”,如何将“限塑”作为一项造福人类的系统工程来实施,如何将“限塑”引入到改善环境、节约资源、培养健康生活习惯的良性循环轨道上来等意见和建议。     

大伙房水库水源涵养与生态补偿机制的探讨

对大伙房水库上游3县生态环境、水源涵养、经济现状进行了调查分析,3个县为保护水库水质每年直接经济投入达82052万元。提出了生态环境保护措施和水源涵养生态补偿办法,补偿资金合计53396.53万元/a。     

云南纳板河流域国家级自然保护区国家重点保护植物调查及保护问题

通过对云南纳板河流域国家级自然保护区的野外调查,实地共发现13科18种国家重点保护野生植物,占我国国家重点保护野生植物总数的7．1％,其中东京桐（Deutzianthus tonkienensis）为保护区内首次发现的新记录种。查明了国家重点保护植物在区内的地理坐标、种群数量和分布特点,分析了其就地保护中存在的主要问题和威胁因素,并提出了具体的建议对策。     

我国地质公园的空间分布与保护网络的构建

我国地质公园空间体系目前存在着空间结构不均衡、类型结构不合理、宏观评价和指导相对薄弱等问题。在简要回顾国际上国家公园和保护区体系网络发展趋势的基础上,分析了影响我国地质公园空间分布的相关因素,包括资源与空间因素,如自然地理格局、地质遗迹分区、地域分区及行政区划等;管理与人为因素,如资源普查、保护区重叠、经济发展水平、资金投入及人为重视程度等。由此提出了完善我国地质公园网络的建议:强化"自上而下"的科学评价和指导;加强普查,寻找保护空缺;走向网络化的空间保护模式;建立多级管理合作平台。