Ecosystem mapping for the implementation of the European Biodiversity Strategy at the national level: The case of Italy

Several international initiatives, including the European Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, promote the identification and mapping of ecosystems as basic tools for the conservation of biodiversity and related services. On coarse scales, the spatial representation of ecosystems is usually based on broad land cover categories that largely overlook important ecological and biogeographic features of the biotic communities they are meant to exemplify. This paper presents a nationwide ecosystem mapping approach that promotes a degree of thematic detail, which is more suited than that found in the continental maps to meeting biodiversity conservation targets in Italy. The approach is based on the rationale that current and potential vegetation cover are valuable proxies for outlining ecosystems. The resulting Ecosystem Map of Italy includes 43 types of forest ecosystems instead of the 5 woodland, forest and other wooded land types recognized at the European level. We outline the expected advantages of this enhanced thematic detail for a number of conservation purposes and highlight how the resulting maps may help to meet biodiversity conservation targets at the national level. In particular, we refer to the assessment of conservation status, the definition of restoration priorities, the planning of green infrastructure and the identification of collapse risks for the ecosystems identified. Comprehensively, the definition, characterization and assessment of ecosystem types represent the carrying structure of the recently launched national system of natural capital accounting.     

Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services in diverse production systems for informed decision-making

The empirical evidence of decline in ecosystem services (ES) over the last century has reinforced the call for ES quantification, monitoring and valuation. Usually, only provisioning ES are marketable and accounted for, whereas regulating, supporting and cultural ES are typically non-marketable and overlooked in connection with land-use or management decisions. The objective of this study was to quantify and value total ES (marketable and non-marketable) of diverse production systems and management intensities in Denmark to provide a basis for decisions based on economic values. The production systems were conventional wheat (Cwheat), a combined food and energy (CFE) production system and beech forest. Marketable (provisioning ES) and non-marketable ES (supporting, regulating and cultural) ES were quantified by dedicated on-site field measurements supplemented by literature data. The value of total ES was highest in CFE (US$ 3142 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) followed by Cwheat (US$ 2767 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) and beech forest (US$ 2328 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹). As the production system shifted from Cwheat - CFE–beech, the marketable ES share decreased from 88% to 75% in CFE and 55% in beech whereas the non-marketable ES share increased to 12%, 25% and 45% of total ES in Cwheat, CFE and beech respectively, demonstrating production system and management effects on ES values. Total ES valuation, disintegrated into marketable and non-marketable share is a potential way forward to value ES and ‘tune’ our production systems for enhanced ES provision. Such monetary valuation can be used by policy makers and land managers as a tool to assess ES value and monitor the sustained flow of ES. The application of ES-based valuation for land management can enhance ES provision for maintaining the productive capacity of the land without depending on the external fossil-based fertilizer and chemical input.     

科尔沁沙地生态系统服务价值变化研究

研究土地利用变化引起的区域生态系统服务价值的改变。可定量评价土地利用活动对区域生态环境的影响。基于1995年和2000年的土地利用数据．应用谢高地等人制定的中国陆地生态系统单位面积服务价值表．估算了科尔沁沙地土地利用变化引起的生态系统服务价值的改变。结果表明。从1995—2000年5年间。科尔沁沙地的耕地增加4．87％。林地减少2．25％。草地减少0．03％．水域减少1．32％．湿地增加0．54％，城乡工矿居民用地减少3．21％。未利用地减少8．83％；研究区内土地利用变化的区域差异性很大．表现为大部分旗县仍维持着毁林毁草开荒的不合理土地利用活动。科尔沁沙地生态系统服务价值从1995年的1463．67亿元增加到2000年的1467．36亿元。净增加值为3．69亿元，增幅为0．25％；其增加值并非因耕地面积增大所产生．而是个别旗县的大面积沙荒地得到有效治理所致。     

Risk assessment of Giardia from a full scale MBR sewage treatment plant caused by membrane integrity failure

Membrane bioreactors (MBR) are highly efficient at intercepting particles and microbes and have become an important technology for wastewater reclamation. However, many pathogens can accumulate in activated sludge due to the long residence time usually adopted in MBR, and thus may pose health risks when membrane integrity problems occur. This study presents data from a survey on the occurrence of water-borne Giardia pathogens in reclaimed water from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant with MBR experiencing membrane integrity failure, and assessed the associated risk for green space irrigation. Due to membrane integrity failure, the MBR effluent turbidity varied between 0.23 and 1.90 NTU over a period of eight months. Though this turbidity level still met reclaimed water quality standards (≤5 NTU), Giardia were detected at concentrations of 0.3 to 95 cysts/10 L, with a close correlation between effluent turbidity and Giardia concentration. All β-giardin gene sequences of Giardia in the WWTP influents were genotyped as Assemblages A and B, both of which are known to infect humans. An exponential dose-response model was applied to assess the risk of infection by Giardia. The risk in the MBR effluent with chlorination was 9.83 × 10^-3, higher than the acceptable annual risk of 1.0 × 10^-4. This study suggested that membrane integrity is very important for keeping a low pathogen level, and multiple barriers are needed to ensure the biological safety of MBR effluent.     

再生水消毒副产物去除技术研究进展

三卤甲烷、卤乙酸、卤乙腈、三氯硝基甲烷以及N-亚硝基二甲胺是再生水氯/氯胺消毒中主要的消毒副产物,具有较强的毒性和致癌性,严重威胁生态安全及人体健康。目前难以通过改变消毒条件来减少其生成量,而去除其前驱物可有效降低消毒副产物的生成。文章介绍了氧化法、混凝沉淀法、离子交换法以及膜过滤等方法去除消毒副产物前驱物的研究,重点分析了臭氧氧化法去除消毒副产物前驱物的影响因素,对已生成的消毒副产物的去除也进行了简述。     

城市土地利用类型与PM2.5浓度相关性研究——以武汉市为例

随着我国工业化的不断发展,在我国的主要经济发展地区的雾霾天气不断爆发,使我国的大气环境日益恶化,严重影响了人们的日常生活和身体健康。PM2.5作为雾霾的重要组成成分,也日渐成为环境领域的研究热点问题。随着全球性变化研究领域逐渐加强了对土地利用与生态环境的相关研究,因此无论从法律和社会经济发展的角度,还是从生态资源保护与环境可持续发展的角度,土地利用与PM2.5的相关研究都显得相当重要。研究目的:分析武汉市各类用地类型与PM2.5浓度的相关性程度。研究方法:使用ENVI与ArcGIS对武汉市2013年MODIS气溶胶产品进行空间分析与插值处理,再应用SPSS将其与武汉市2013年10个观测点的PM2.5浓度数据作相关性分析,以证实MODIS气溶胶厚度与PM2.5浓度的相关性,并建立两者的线性回归方程,然后利用计算后的武汉市整体PM2.5浓度分布与各土地利用类型进行相关性研究。研究结果:武汉市PM2.5浓度有明显的空间分布特征,绿化面积比例与PM2.5浓度呈显著负相关,建设用地面积比例与PM2.5浓度呈显著正相关,未利用地面积比例虽然与PM2.5浓度呈正相关,但相关性较低,而耕地与水体对PM2.5浓度没有显著影响。研究结论:土地利用类型对武汉市PM2.5浓度的分布有显著的影响,其与搭载MODIS传感器的遥感卫星监测方式的结合能成为研究大范围特定区域PM2.5浓度空间格局的新方法,并且增加城市绿化面积,控制建设用地规模能有效减少PM2.5浓度。     

Aggregating high-priority landscape areas to the parcel level: an easement implementation tool

Landscape characteristics and parcel ownership information are often collected on different spatial scales leading to difficulties in implementing land use plans at the parcel level. This study provides a method for aggregating highly resolute landscape planning information to the parcel level. Our parcel prioritization model directly incorporates a Land Trust's conservation goals in the form of a compromise programming model. We then demonstrate the use of our approach for implementation decisions, including parcel selection under a budget constraint and the estimation of a total conservation budget necessary to meet specific conservation goals. We found that these cost constraints significantly alter the composition of the 'best' parcels for conservation and can also provide guidance for implementation. The model's results were integral to a local Land Trust's ability to further define and achieve their goals.     

The integrated project AquaTerra of the EU sixth framework lays foundations for better understanding of river-sediment-soil-groundwater systems

The integrated project "AquaTerra" with the full title "integrated modeling of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system; advanced tools for the management of catchment areas and river basins in the context of global change" is among the first environmental projects within the sixth Framework Program of the European Union. Commencing in June 2004, it brought together a multidisciplinary team of 45 partner organizations from 12 EU countries, Romania, Switzerland, Serbia and Montenegro. AquaTerra is an ambitious project with the primary objective of laying the foundations for a better understanding of the behavior of environmental pollutants and their fluxes in the soil-sediment-water system with respect to climate and land use changes. The project performs research as well as modeling on river-sediment-soil-groundwater systems through quantification of deposition, sorption and turnover rates and the development of numerical models to reveal fluxes and trends in soil and sediment functioning. Scales ranging from the laboratory to river basins are addressed with the potential to provide improved river basin management, enhanced soil and groundwater monitoring as well as the early identification and forecasting of impacts on water quantity and quality. Study areas are the catchments of the Ebro, Meuse, Elbe and Danube Rivers and the Brévilles Spring. Here we outline the general structure of the project and the activities conducted within eleven existing sub-projects of AquaTerra.     

Temporal and Spatial Relationships Between Watershed Land Use and Salt Marsh Disturbance in a Pacific Estuary

Historical and recent remote sensing data can be used to address temporal and spatial relationships between upland land cover and downstream vegetation response at the watershed scale. This is demonstrated for sub-watersheds draining into Elkhorn Slough, California, where salt marsh habitat has diminished because of the formation of sediment fans that support woody riparian vegetation. Multiple regression models were used to examine which land cover variables and physical properties of the watershed most influenced sediment fan size within 23 sub-watersheds (1.4 ha to 200 ha). Model explanatory power increased (adjusted R(2) = 0.94 vs. 0.75) among large sub-watersheds (>10 ha) and historical watershed variables, such as average farmland slope, flowpath slope, and flowpath distance between farmland and marsh, were significant. It was also possible to explain the increase in riparian vegetation by historical watershed variables for the larger sub-watersheds. Sub-watershed area is the overriding physical characteristic influencing the extent of sedimentation in a salt marsh, while percent cover of agricultural land use is the most influential land cover variable. The results also reveal that salt marsh recovery depends on relative cover of different land use classes in the watershed, with greater chances of recovery associated with less intensive agriculture. This research reveals a potential delay between watershed impacts and wetland response that can be best revealed when conducting multi-temporal analyses on larger watersheds.     

Implementing the UNCCD: Participatory challenges

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) emphasizes the need for public participation in land degradation assessment and rehabilitation. While participatory approaches are supported by a growing body of research and practice, meaningfully involving the people affected by land degradation is far from straightforward. This paper investigates the challenge of using the UNCCD as a guide to influence community participation in policy‐making and practice at national and local levels by analyzing experiences from three southern African countries. We show that the UNCCD represents a useful normative framework for addressing degradation problems, but that the participatory ethos is difficult to enact at the national level. Whilst there is increasing evidence that combining local and scientific knowledge using participatory mechanisms can deliver the benefits that the Convention strives to achieve, communication between researchers and practitioners, and those involved in implementing the UNCCD at the national level needs to be strengthened. Broad lessons and best practices in incorporating participatory practices into policy development are elucidated. Our case studies show that a range of mixed‐method, interdisciplinary approaches can enable policy‐makers and practitioners to meaningfully engage those who are affected by land degradation in its definition, assessment and rehabilitation.