The town scheme approach to urban conservation in England and Scotland

The Town Scheme approach to urban conservation is being used increasingly as a major method of repairing historic buildings in conservation areas. A Town Scheme involves a long‐term financial and administrative partnership between the various levels of government. An annual budget made up of equal contributions from central government and the participating local authority is used to finance a multi‐year programme of repairs. Owners can apply for grants which are usually for 40 per cent of approved costs, and repair work must relate to the original structure and architectural details of an approved list of historic buildings. Town Schemes by themselves cannot totally transform the environmental quality of conservation areas, and the most successful schemes are part of wide‐ranging renewal and enhancement projects.     

IMPACTS OF RESIDENTIAL WATER REUSE IN THE TUCSON AREA1

ABSTRACT: Groundwater pumping constitutes approximately 100 percent of the water supply in the Tucson Active Management Area (AMA), Arizona. The current annual overdraft approaches 250,000 acre-feet, but the goal of the AMA is to eliminate the overdraft by the year 2025. Urban water reuse, if implemented by only 30 percent of the area's projected population, would reduce the annual ground-water overdraft by 25,000 acre-feet.     

Effects of cattle grazing and haying on wildlife conservation at National Wildlife Refuges in the United States

The National Wildlife Refuge System is perhaps the most important system of federal lands for protecting wildlife in the United States. Only at refuges has wildlife conservation been legislated to have higher priority than either recreational or commercial activities. Presently, private ranchers and farmers graze cattle on 981,954 ha and harvest hay on 12,021 ha at 123 National Wildlife Refuges. US Fish and Wildlife Service policy is to permit these uses primarily when needed to benefit refuge wildlife. To evaluate the success of this policy, I surveyed grassland management practices at the 123 refuges. The survey results indicate that in fiscal year 1980 there were 374,849 animal unit months (AUMs) of cattle grazing, or 41% more than was reported by the Fish and Wildlife Service. According to managers' opinions, 86 species of wildlife are positively affected and 82 are negatively affected by refuge cattle grazing or haying. However, quantitative field studies of the effect of cattle grazing and haying on wildlife coupled with the survey data on how refuge programs are implemented suggest that these activities are impeding the goal of wildlife conservation. Particular management problems uncovered by the survey include overgrazing of riparian habitats, wildlife mortality due to collisions with cattle fences, and mowing of migratory bird habitat during the breeding season. Managers reported that they spend $919,740 administering cattle grazing and haying; thus refuge grazing and haying programs are also expensive. At any single refuge these uses occupy up to 50% of refuge funds and 55% of staff time. In light of these results, prescribed burning may be a better wildlife management option than is either cattle grazing or haying.     

WATER CONSERVATION METHODS IN URBAN LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION: AN EXPLORATORY OVERVIEW1

ABSTRACT: The increasing use of irrigation for urban landscapes is causing new demands for efficient watering systems. Conservation techniques for irrigated agricultural fields cannot be applied to urban landscapes without amendment. This paper attempts to review methods of urban landscape water conservation in the context of the diversity and complexity of urban landscapes and the demands upon them for quality of the urban environment. A development's initial site layout and planting design fundamentally determine how much irrigation water will be required; the complexity and creativity inherent in urban design open a number of specific possibilities for reducing water demand. Irrigation hardware is then designed to deliver the required volume of water to the specified landscape efficiently by implementing a number of physical and operational principles. Maintenance of the finished development involves monitoring results and making adjustments as the plantings grow and develop. The potential for conserving urban irrigation water is large. Effective conservation need not compromise other qualities of the urban environment such as aesthetics, screening, or shade. Urban design can address both the kinds of landscapes people need, and minimal consumption of irrigation water.     

The Environmental Implications of Soil Erosion in the United States

Soil erosion has both on-farm and off-farm impacts. Reductionof soil depth can impair the lands productivity, and thetransport of sediments can degrade streams, lakes, and estuaries. Since 1933, soil conservation policies have existedin the United States. Originally they focused on the on-farmbenefits of keeping soil on the land and increasing net farmincome. Beginning in the 1980s, however, policy goalsincreasingly included reductions in off-site impacts of erosion.As a consequence of conservation efforts associated withexplicit U.S. government policies, total soil erosion between1982 and 1992 was reduced by 32% and the sheet and rillerosion rate fell from an average of 4.1 tons per acre per yearin 1982 to 3.1 tons per acre in 1992 while the wind erosion ratefell from an average of 3.3 tons per acre per year to 2.4 tonsper acre per year over the same period. Still, soil erosion isimposing substantial social costs. These costs are estimated tobe about $37.6 billion annually. To further reduce soil erosionand thereby mitigate its social costs, there are a number ofpolicy options available to induce farmers to adopt conservationpractices including education and technical assistance, financial assistance, research and development, land retirement, andregulation and taxes.     

挥发酚水质样品保存条件的研究

应用正交试验法探讨挥发酚水质样品的最优保存条件，找出了对挥发酚水质样品保存影响最大的因素为保存温度，其次为样品的pH值。经实验证明，挥发酚样品浓度为0.2mg/L，温度5℃，保存时间在8h内，pH值为4的条件下，挥发酚水质样品的保存效果最好。     

额济纳绿洲生物多样性保护与可持续发展对策研究

本文论述了额济纳绿洲生物多样性的基本内涵与保护价值，提出保护绿洲生物多样性的措施及策略。     

纳米磁流体及其在水资源保护中的应用前景

在简要讨论水体油污染严重,保护水资源重要性的基础上,介绍基于纳米科学技术的新型材料纳米磁流体的制备、性质及其重要应用。重点讨论纳米磁流体在水体油污染治理中急待深入开展的研究内容及其在水资源保护中良好的应用前景。     

黄河中游水保措施对入黄干支流泥沙特性的影响:Ⅱ.减沙效益分析

应用文献［１］关于不同地貌类型及不同水保措施条件下黄河干支流中泥沙粒径分布的研究结果,可以对相应条件下的减沙效益进行有效的分析。利用文献［１］模型,本文不仅探讨了在给定地貌类型条件下各类水保措施实施前后流域汇入黄河干支流的泥沙总量的变化,而且还在扣除降雨变化的影响之后,预测了各类组合条件下非均匀泥沙中减沙效果最佳的粒径级和相应粒径级泥沙的减沙量,预测结果得到了黄河干支流各站所有实测资料的验证。文中还简要讨论了人类活动（主要是开矿）对减沙效益的影响。     

长江口九段沙湿地自然保护的探讨

九段沙是长江口新生沙岛，在调研其湿地生态环境和自然演变趋势基础上，尽快设立九段沙自然保护区已是各方共识，但对其而言，一方面已有大型工程的影响，另一方面滩地的冲蚀可能使高级群落－芦苇的分布面积减少，因此提出，在保护湿地初期建造，低堤不至于影响湿地的自然演变过程，而有利于保护高级群落和局部高潮滩的增速。