关于围填海工程的生态环境保护措施

以洋山深水港区围填海活动为例,结合工程对周边海域生态环境造成的一定的影响,提出围填海工程的生态环境保护措施。从宣传力度、环境监测工作全方位监控、环境保护监理工作、填海工程环保机构、水环境保护、大气环境保护、声环境保护、固废处置、保护生态环境的影响、敏感目标保护、风险事故环保应急、生态修复等方面做出相应的保护措施方案,以期为和谐海洋的构建、海洋资源的有效利用以及海洋生态环境可持续发展提供借鉴意义。     

Land use and land cover in a transitioning militarized landscape

The repurposing of military lands is common in many parts of the world and presents a variety of conservation opportunities. This study examines land cover at Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, Indiana (U.S.A.) as it transitioned from military proving ground to wildlife refuge from 1985 to 2013. We use remote sensing, semi-structured interviews, and a review of planning and management documents to examine this transition. Limited change in land cover composition and distribution are detected, despite changes in use and management. This landscape similarity relates to similarities in land management practices, and the impact of landscape history on current management practices. The findings suggest that military use and conservation objectives at this site yield similar land covers and are not necessarily in contrast to each other. As military base closures continue, the potential to maintain and expand conservation opportunities on these lands will likely grow in importance.     

Comparing land change from shale gas infrastructure development in neighboring Utica and Marcellus regions, 2006–2015

The emergent patterns of land change resulting from the development of shale oil and gas infrastructure is a result of many small decisions and interactions. This research focuses on the land change associated with the development of shale oil and gas infrastructure in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in two geographically proximate and physically similar counties, Carroll County, OH, and Washington County, PA. Land-cover data used to measure feature-scale change were digitized from aerial photography and then used to update National Land Cover Dataset data used in the calculation of forest fragmentation for the entire study areas. The amount and pattern of land change was very similar between the two counties even though they are drawing oil and gas from different shale formations. Less than 1% of the total forest for each county was lost but the fragmentation impacts are amplified by the pattern of infrastructure on the landscape.     

Superstorm Sandy and the academic achievement of university students

Much of the literature on the consequences of natural disasters has focused on their physical and psychological ramifications. Few researchers have considered how the impacts of a natural disaster can influence academic achievement. This study analyses data collected from nearly 300 students at a mid‐sized, private university in the northeast United States to determine if the effects of Cyclone Sandy in 2012 are associated with measures of academic achievement. The findings reveal that experiencing headaches after the event resulted in a higher likelihood of students suffering a loss of academic motivation. In addition, experiencing headaches and a loss of academic motivation were correlated with a lower grade point average (GPA) during the semester in which Sandy made landfall. However, the more direct effects of the superstorm, including displacement and a loss of power, did not have a significant bearing on academic achievement. Lastly, the paper examines the implications for higher education policy and future research.     

Suitability of the vegetation types in Mexico's Tamaulipas state for the siting of hazardous waste treatment plants

A land suitability study was carried out by applying a multiple-criteria technique to 12 different vegetation types in Mexico's Tamaulipas state to help select potentially suitable sites for hazardous waste treatment plants. Species richness, spatial distribution, and uniqueness were selected as the criteria for estimating a vegetation type's suitability. Using the analytical hierarchy process, we ranked and mapped vegetation types, then compared the results with rankings of the same vegetation types based only on their number of endemic species. The suitabilities of the various vegetation types were ordered in more or less the same way by both methods, except in two cases for which the results were very different. The method proved to be a useful tool despite the availability of only partial (mostly qualitative) information; under such circumstances, expert experience can be incorporated in the evaluation process to a limited degree. The technique described in this paper has a high potential to aid decisions when many opinions and options must be considered simultaneously.     

The effect of urban quality improvements on economic activity

This paper is concerned with the link between urban quality improvements and economic activity. A key question is whether improvements in the urban environment which might be achieved, for instance, through pedestrianisation, will affect business location choices - for example, are office or retail businesses particularly keen to locate in more pleasant urban places? The paper outlines the current state of development of the literature with respect to the influence of urban quality on economic activity, and proposes a framework for forecasting economic impacts based on three communities of reference: customers, employees, and the businesses themselves. The results from original modelling of a case study area in Manchester, England are reported and suggest that the positive uplifts that may be expected from environmental improvement programmes may well be on a scale which is significant. The research is obviously important for the urban regeneration and renaissance agendas which posit attractive and well-designed environments as a way to create the right conditions for promoting economic growth.     

Socioeconomic Drivers of Deforestation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon

Investigations of land use/land cover (LULC) change and forest management are limited by a lack of understanding of how socioeconomic factors affect land use. This lack also constrains the predictions of future deforestation, which is especially important in the Amazon basin, where large tracts of natural forest are being converted to managed uses. Research presented in this article was conducted to address this lack of understanding. Its objectives are (a) to quantify deforestation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon (NEA) during the periods 1986–1996 and 1996–2002; and (b) to determine the significance and magnitude of the effects of socioeconomic factors on deforestation rates at both the parroquia (parish) and finca (farm) levels. Annual deforestation rates were quantified via satellite image processing and geographic information systems. Linear spatial lag regression analyses were then used to explore relationships between socioeconomic factors and deforestation. Socioeconomic factors were obtained, at the finca level, from a detailed household survey carried out in 1990 and 1999, and at the parroquia level from data in the 1990 and 2001 Ecuadorian censuses of population. We found that the average annual deforestation rate was 2.5% and 1.8%/year for 1986–1996 and 1996–2002, respectively. At the parroquia level, variables representing demographic factors (i.e., population density) and accessibility factors (i.e., road density), among others, were found to be significantly related to deforestation. At the farm level, the factors related to deforestation were household size, distance by road to main cities, education, and hired labor. The findings of this research demonstrate both the severity of deforestation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon and the array of factors affecting deforestation in the tropics.     

Grouping and representativeness of monitoring stations based on wind speed and wind direction data in urban areas of Japan

Data on wind speed and wind direction from 27 air pollution monitoring stations in an urban area of Japan were analyzed and studied for the future assessment of the urban heat island phenomenon. A cluster analysis clarified the regionality of the wind speed and wind direction. In the study area, land and sea breeze developed and controlled the wind direction. On the other hand, the mountain and valley wind should be studied to determine their typical behavior.     

Status of heavy metals in agricultural soils as affected by different patterns of land use

This study was conducted to determine status of heavy metals in agricultural soils under different patterns of land use. A total of 38, 40 and 45 soil samples for bare vegetable field, greenhouse vegetable field, and grain crop field were respectively taken from surface layer (0–20 cm) from selected experimental areas away from suburbs of ten counties (or districts or cities) in four provinces or municipalities of Huabei plain in north China. Information of crop production history, including varieties, rotation systems and fertilizer use, at the corresponding sampling sites was surveyed. Soil total Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr, As and Hg were measured. The results showed that the contents of total Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr, As, and Hg in the soil samples, especially soil total Cu and Zn contents, were higher in the bare vegetable field and the greenhouse vegetable field than that in the grain crop field. Long-term use of excessive chemical fertilizers and organic manures in the bare vegetable field and the greenhouse vegetable field contributed to the accumulation of Cu, Zn, and other heavy metals in the soils. The contents of total Cu, Zn, and other heavy metals in soils increased with increasing vegetable production history of the research areas. In comparison with the grain crop field, the comprehensive pollution indices of the seven soil heavy metals and the single-factor pollution indices of soil Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Hg based on the second criterion of Environmental Quality Standard for Soils were significantly higher in the bare vegetable field and the greenhouse vegetable field. Soils from the greenhouse vegetable field were slightly contaminated according to the comprehensive pollution index, and soils from the bare vegetable field and the grain crop field were at the warning heavy metal pollution level. The soils were contaminated with Cd according to the single-factor pollution index. The Cd pollution was relatively more serious in the bare vegetable field and the greenhouse vegetable field than that in the grain crop field. The soils selected with different land use patterns were not contaminated with Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, As and Hg.     

Ecosystem classification for EU habitat distribution assessment in sandy coastal environments: An application in central Italy

Many recent developments in coastal science have gone against the demands of European Union legislation. Coastal dune systems which cover small areas of the earth can host a high level of biodiversity. However, human pressure on coastal zones around the world has increased dramatically in the last 50 years. In addition to direct habitat loss, the rapid extinction of many species that are unique to these systems can be attributed to landscape deterioration through the lack of appropriate management. In this paper, we propose to use of an ecosystem classification technique that integrates potential natural vegetation distribution as a reference framework for coastal dune EU Habitats (92/43) distribution analysis and assessment. As an example, the present study analyses the EU Habitats distribution within a hierarchical ecosystem classification of the coastal dune systems of central Italy. In total, 24 land elements belonging to 8 land units, 5 land facets, 2 land systems and 2 land regions were identified for the coastal dunes of central Italy, based on diagnostic land attributes. In central Italy, coastal dune environments including all the beach area, mobile dunes and all the fixed-dune land elements contain or could potentially hold at least one EU habitat of interest. Almost all dune slack transitions present the potentiality for the spontaneous development of EU woodlands of interest. The precise information concerning these ecosystems distribution and ecological relationships that this method produces, makes it very effective in Natura 2000 European network assessment. This hierarchical ecosystem classification method facilitates the identification of areas to be surveyed and eventually bound, under the implementation of EU Habitat directive (92/43) including areas with highly disturbed coastal dune ecosystems.