Three decades of changes in water environment of a large freshwater Lake and its relationship with socio-economic indicators

Tai Lake (Ch: Taihu) has attracted international attention forcyanobacteria blooms. However, the drivers of cultural eutrophication, especially long-term socio-economic indicators have been little researched. The results of research demonstrate how socio-economic development affected quality of water and how it has been improved by anthropogenic activities. This study described variability in indicators of water quality in Tai Lakeand investigated thedrivers. Significant relationships existed between concentrations of annual mean total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), and population, per capital gross domestic production (GDP) and sewage discharge (p?<?0.05). However, mechanisms causing change varied among TN, TP, COD and BOD. Before 2000, the main contributors to increases in concentrations of TN were human population, GDP and volumes of domestic sewage discharges. After 2000, discharges of industrial sewage become the primary contributor. After 1998, the regressions of annual mean TN, TP and COD on per capital GDP, population and domestic sewage discharge were reversed compared to the former period. Since 1999, an apparent inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic development has developed, which indicated that actions taken by governments have markedly improved quality of water in Tai Lake. The statistical relationship between BOD and per capital GDP didn’t conform to the Kuznet curve. The U-shaped Kuznet curve may offer hope for the future that with significant environmental investments a high GDP can be reached and maintained without degradation of the environment, especially through appropriate management of industrial sewage discharge.     

Text analysis tools for identification of emerging topics and research gaps in conservation science

Keeping track of conceptual and methodological developments is a critical skill for research scientists, but this task is increasingly difficult due to the high rate of academic publication. As a crisis discipline, conservation science is particularly in need of tools that facilitate rapid yet insightful synthesis. We show how a common text‐mining method (latent Dirichlet allocation, or topic modeling) and statistical tests familiar to ecologists (cluster analysis, regression, and network analysis) can be used to investigate trends and identify potential research gaps in the scientific literature. We tested these methods on the literature on ecological surrogates and indicators. Analysis of topic popularity within this corpus showed a strong emphasis on monitoring and management of fragmented ecosystems, while analysis of research gaps suggested a greater role for genetic surrogates and indicators. Our results show that automated text analysis methods need to be used with care, but can provide information that is complementary to that given by systematic reviews and meta‐analyses, increasing scientists’ capacity for research synthesis.     

Restoration of Riparian Buffer Function in Reclaimed Surface Mine Soils

Ecosystem processes such as water infiltration and denitrification largely determine how riparian buffers function to protect surface water quality. Reclaimed mine areas offer a unique opportunity to study the restoration of riparian function without the confounding influence of past land use. Between 1980 and 2000 in southern Illinois, agricultural fields with forest buffers were established along three restored stream reaches in reclaimed mine land. Our research objective was to compare common indicators of soil quality (infiltration, soil C and N, bulk density, and soil moisture) between forest and cultivated riparian zones to determine if riparian function was being restored. Soil bulk density was significantly lower in the forest buffers compared to the agricultural fields. The forest buffers had greater soil total C, total N, and moisture levels than agricultural fields likely due to greater organic matter inputs. Soil total C and N levels in forest buffers were positively related to age of restoration, indicating soil quality is gradually being restored in the buffers. Restoration success of riparian buffers should not be estimated by the return of structure alone; it also includes reestablishment of functions such as nutrient cycling and water retention that largely determine water quality benefits. Watershed planning efforts can expect a lag time on the order of decades between riparian restoration activities and surface water quality improvement.     

On sustainability and social welfare

This paper proposes to define sustainability in terms of leaving it possible for future generations to sustain certain defined targets. It is shown that variants of genuine savings and the ecological footprint can then serve as indicators of sustainability. The link between sustainability and intergenerational welfare is examined, and it is shown how to incorporate indicators of sustainability into a social welfare measure, including risk in the analysis.     

卧龙湖湿地生态系统与生态经济可持续发展的能值分析

采用能值理论,评估了卧龙湖湿地多年平均能值投入及其生态服务价值,并分析了卧龙湖湿地生态系统结构功能及系统内外的物质、能量流动特征。结果显示,卧龙湖湿地生态系统的年能值投入为4.94×101 9sej,其中自然资源能值投入为1.75×101 9s ej,经济反馈的能值投入为3.60×1019sej:能值投资率为2.06,能值自给率仅为0.27,且环境负载率较高。此外,卧龙湖湿地生态系统能提供较高的生态系统服务价值,尤其是蒸腾作用,为每年每公顷269万美元,远远高于其他湿地。对研究结果的分析表明,区域经济发展对于卧龙湖湿地的依赖性很强,而目前卧龙湖湿地的环境负载率较高,因此,加强对卧龙湖湿地的保护和恢复,对于促进区域经济的可持续发展具有重要意义。     

From insight to action in reservoir management—lessons from Asia

The World Commission on Dams (WCD) has now presented its final report on the problems with large dams. Many dam projects were found to be underperforming, especially those built for irrigation purposes. WCD also reports that many projects fail to meet current standards of social equity. A reallocation of costs and benefits is needed, but entrenched interests make this a difficult task. This article identifies shortcomings in large Asian irrigation projects: why the problems emerged, and what could be done to improve the performance of existing projects. The article argues that Asian irrigation agencies take mainly an engineering perspective, focusing on the dam itself. In a large number of cases, it takes over 10 years for the infrastructure to be installed and for the water to be delivered to the fields of the command area. Agencies need to improve their competence in dealing with social and environmental issues. This article argues that social and economic infrastructure is often inadequate; there is a need for an integrated view of the role of agriculture in development. Furthermore, adaptive management practices and water user participation can often be critical elements. To be successful, participation needs to be gender sensitive, and stakeholders at all income levels need to be consulted. To bridge the gulf between rhetoric and action, there is also a need for independent evaluation of dam projects.     

土壤酶活性及其对土壤质量的指示研究进展

土壤中所进行的生物和生物化学过程是陆地生态系统功能的基础 ,这些过程之所以能够持续进行 ,得益于土壤中酶的作用 .酶是土壤生态系统代谢的一类重要动力 ,土壤中所进行的一切生物学和化学过程都要由酶的催化作用才能完成 .虽然单一种类的土壤酶的催化作用可能是专性的 ,但土壤中酶的来源不同 ,酶的种类繁多 .土壤中已经被鉴定出的约 6 0种酶活性表明 ,土壤酶活性是与土壤质量的很多理化指标相联系的 ,酶的催化作用对土壤中元素 (包括Ｃ、Ｎ、Ｐ、Ｓ)循环与迁移有着重要作用 .历史上 ,土壤化学和物理学属性一直被用来作为表征土壤生产力和…     

资源环境领域脱钩分析研究进展

为掌握资源环境领域脱钩分析的研究进展,论文采用概括和比较分析的手段,从脱钩概念界定、脱钩分析的主要关注领域、脱钩分析的测度方法以及脱钩指标4个方面对资源环境领域的脱钩分析进行了梳理和概括。归纳出已有研究的几个特点:①不同研究对于脱钩的定义和类型划分不同,就脱钩而言,主要区别在于所包含绝对脱钩、相对脱钩和衰退性脱钩中的类型不同;②目前脱钩分析的研究领域主要集中在宏观层面以及部分行业(产业)层面的环境(资源)压力与其驱动因素之间的脱钩分析;③不同研究所采用的脱钩测度方法有很大差别,目前大致有8类不同的脱钩测度方法;④脱钩指标也是脱钩分析中的一项重要研究内容,目前还没有一个统一的指标体系,越来越多的研究将各类有关环境压力和资源消耗的指标应用到脱钩分析作为脱钩指标。最后探讨了还需要进一步深入研究的内容。     

成渝经济区生物多样性空间分异特征

以区(县)为评价单元,采用野生动物丰富度、野生维管束植物丰富度、生态系统类型多样性、物种特有性、外来物种入侵度、受威胁物种丰富度等评价指标,应用归一化处理方法,对成渝经济区148个区(县)的生物多样性进行了评价,以阐明区域生物多样性空间分布规律. 归一化处理时修正了野生维管束植物丰富度、野生动物丰富度、物种特有性、受威胁物种丰富度4个指标的最大值. 结果表明:成渝经济区中12个区(县)的生物多样性等级为高,71个区(县)为中,55个区(县)为一般,10个区(县)为低. 生物多样性较丰富的区域主要包括大巴山区、渝东南武陵山区、渝南金佛山、四面山、三峡库区、龙门山、川西南山地,而生物多样性较低的地区主要分布在成都平原、盆中丘陵平坝、渝西方山丘陵、川东平行岭谷等区域. 评价结果表明成渝经济区生物多样性的空间分异特征明显.      

黄浦江上游底栖动物的指示生物生态研究

就黄浦江上游水质现状，底栖动物指示种的适用范围及其对污染的指示意义，加以探讨，研究，结果筛选出适应于当前水质状况的底栖动物有颤蚓，水丝蚓，珍珠蚌，钩虾和摇蚊幼虫等指示种，从底栖动物指示种的变化，可预测水质变化的趋势以及季节性的差异。