Efficacy of Vegetated Buffers in Preventing Transport of Fecal Coliform Bacteria from Pasturelands

An experimental study was conducted in Tillamook, Oregon, USA, to quantify the effectiveness of edge-of-field vegetated buffers for reducing transport of fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) from agricultural fields amended with dairy cow manure. Installation of vegetated buffers on loamy soils dramatically reduced the bacterial contamination of runoff water from manure-treated pasturelands, but the size of the vegetated buffer was not an important determinant of bacterial removal efficiency. Only 10% of the runoff samples collected from treatment cells having vegetated buffers exhibited FCB concentrations >200 colony forming units (cfu)/100 mL (a common water quality standard value), and the median concentration for all cells containing vegetated buffers was only 6 cfu/100 mL. The presence of a vegetated buffer of any size, from 1 to 25 m, generally reduced the median FCB concentration in runoff by more than 99%. Results for FCB load calculations were similar. Our results suggest that where substantial FCB contamination of runoff occurs from manure-treated pasturelands, it might be disproportionately associated with specific field or management conditions, such as the presence of soils that exhibit low water infiltration and generate larger volumes of runoff or the absence of a vegetated buffer. Buffer size regulations that do not consider such differences might not be efficient or effective in reducing bacterial contamination of runoff.     

Water Hyacinth in China: A Sustainability Science-Based Management Framework

The invasion of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) has resulted in enormous ecological and economic consequences worldwide. Although the spread of this weed in Africa, Australia, and North America has been well documented, its invasion in China is yet to be fully documented. Here we report that since its introduction about seven decades ago, water hyacinth has infested many water bodies across almost half of China’s territory, causing a decline of native biodiversity, alteration of ecosystem services, deterioration of aquatic environments, and spread of diseases affecting human health. Water hyacinth infestations have also led to enormous economic losses in China by impeding water flows, paralyzing navigation, and damaging irrigation and hydroelectricity facilities. To effectively control the rampage of water hyacinth in China, we propose a sustainability science-based management framework that explicitly incorporates principles from landscape ecology and Integrated Pest Management. This framework emphasizes multiple-scale long-term monitoring and research, integration among different control techniques, combination of control with utilization, and landscape-level adaptive management. Sustainability science represents a new, transdisciplinary paradigm that integrates scientific research, technological innovation, and socioeconomic development of particular regions. Our proposed management framework is aimed to broaden the currently dominant biological control-centered view in China and to illustrate how sustainability science can be used to guide the research and management of water hyacinth.     

Managing the Use of Copper-Based Antifouling Paints

Copper is the biocide of choice for present-day antifouling (AF) paints. It is also a major source of copper loading in to the marine environment and, as such, might cause local copper levels to exceed water quality criteria. The present study is multifaceted and looks into the overall impact of copper-based AF paints on copper concentrations along a 64-km stretch of the Indian River Lagoon and at Port Canaveral, Florida. This preliminary study is one of the first to outline issues and present background evidence on the current status of copper and copper-based AF usage in Florida and to address the need for management. Previous measurements of copper levels in these waters show a history of copper contamination close to marinas, boatyards, and at Port Canaveral that often exceed state and federal water quality standards. Further, we estimate that the total annual copper input into the Indian River Lagoon is between 1.7 tons/year (sailboats) and 2.1 tons/year (powerboats) from boats in 14 marinas. We estimate the copper input into Port Canaveral to be about 1.4 tons/year from seven cruise ships. A brief survey of marina operators and boat owners revealed attitudes and practices associated with AF paint usage that ranged from excellent to inferior. Management recommendations are made for a proactive approach to improving AF paint selection and application, assessing the environmental status of copper, and redefining existing management practices for sustainable AF paint usage and environmental health.     

An Analysis of Spatial Clustering and Implications for Wildlife Management: A Burrowing Owl Example

Analysis tools that combine large spatial and temporal scales are necessary for efficient management of wildlife species, such as the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia). We assessed the ability of Ripley’s K-function analysis integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) to determine changes in burrowing owl nest clustering over two years at NASA Ames Research Center. Specifically, we used these tools to detect changes in spatial and temporal nest clustering before, during, and after conducting management by mowing to maintain low vegetation height at nest burrows. We found that the scale and timing of owl nest clustering matched the scale and timing of our conservation management actions over a short time frame. While this study could not determine a causal link between mowing and nest clustering, we did find that Ripley’s K and GIS were effective in detecting owl nest clustering and show promise for future conservation uses.     

Sustainability and Local People’s Participation in Coastal Aquaculture: Regional Differences and Historical Experiences in Sri Lanka and the Philippines

This article discusses environmental sustainability in aquaculture and its contribution to poverty alleviation, based on field studies in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The aquaculture practices studied are the monoculture of the black tiger prawn (Penneaus monodon) and milkfish (Chanos chanos) and the polyculture of the two species together with the mud crab (Scylla serrata). Factors affecting economic viability, social equity and environmental impacts in aquaculture are discussed and used to illuminate local and regional differences between aquaculture in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Findings indicate that the most significant difference is the level of participation by local people (i.e., people originating ≤10 km away from the farm location). In the Philippines, 84 % of the people involved in aquaculture are locals, whereas in Sri Lanka, 55% are outsiders. Whether differences between the two areas can be explained by analyzing regional conditions, which might have resulted in different aquaculture practices, is discussed. In Sri Lanka, semi-intensive shrimp monoculture is currently the most common practice, whereas in the Philippines, extensive shrimp/fish polyculture is more common. Previous studies, as well as fieldwork, indicate that extensive culture practices reduce environmental impacts and benefit local people more. Sustainability in aquaculture is, however, also dependent on the extent of mangrove conversion into ponds. As such, extensive and locally owned farms do not necessarily result in an all but sustainable situation. Keeping this in mind, it is discussed if extensive polyculture practices might result in a more sustainable aquaculture, both environmentally and socioeconomically.     

Uneven Environmental Management: A Canadian Perspective

Advocates of community-based approaches to environmental management argue that by respecting local circumstances, skills, and concerns we may improve the prospects of achieving environmental sustainability; yet, within nation states such as Canada, environmental conditions, management and enforcement costs and capabilities, and power differentials within and among civic and public sectors may result in a highly differentiated capacity for environmental management across different localities and regions. This article draws on insights of political ecology to 1) create a conceptual framework that identifies key elements shaping regional environmental management regimes and to 2) undertake a comparative analysis to assess how elements interact to generate uneven management outcomes. I compare experiences of two Canadian biosphere reserves designated in 2000: Clayoquot Sound, BC; and Redberry Lake, SK. Analysis reveals that differences in governance and institutional capacities in the biosphere reserves are key to explaining uneven local outcomes. Where the public and civic sectors are strong, a robust and publicly vetted form of management will emerge. Where these sectors are weak and land is held as private property, environmental nongovernmental organizations can set the type and level of management, to the exclusion of effective civic and state involvement. This result may improve environmental sustainability but hinder social sustainability of a management regime and raises questions about the efficacy of community-based management.     

An Interpretive Study of Yosemite National Park Visitors’ Perspectives Toward Alternative Transportation in Yosemite Valley

The National Park Service (NPS) is increasingly focusing on alternative transportation systems in national parks to address environmental and social problems arising from a historical reliance on personal automobiles as the primary means of visitor access. Despite the potential advantages, alternative transportation may require a reorientation in the way that Americans have experienced national parks since the advent of auto-tourism in the early twentieth century. Little research exists, however, on visitor perspectives towards alternative transportation or the rationale underlying their perspectives. It remains unclear how transportation systems affect visitors’ experiences of the park landscape or the factors influencing their travel behavior in the parks. This report presents an interpretive study of visitor perspectives toward transportation management in the Yosemite Valley area of Yosemite National Park, California. Qualitative analysis of 160 semi-structured interviews identified individual psychological factors as well as situational influences that affect visitors’ behavior and perspectives. Individual psychological factors include perceived freedom, environmental values and beliefs, prior experience with Yosemite National Park and other national parks, prior experience with alternative transportation in national parks, and sensitivity to subjective perceptions of crowding. Situational factors included convenience, access, and flexibility of travel modes, as well as type of visit, type of group, and park use level. Interpretive communication designed to encourage voluntary visitor use of alternative transportation should focus on these psychological and situational factors. Although challenges remain, the results of this study suggest approaches for shaping the way Americans visit and experience their national parks to encourage environmental sustainability.     

Criteria for the Assessment of Sustainable Water Management

Pressure on the world’s water resources is increasing, restraining social and economic development in many countries, and threatening ecological values in others. In order to manage water resources in a more sustainable manner, new planning methodologies/processes for river basin management need to be developed. This study attempts to construct a set of useable normative criteria for the analysis and evaluation of such processes. The criteria were designed as a response to the lack of deductive approaches in the evaluation of methodologies and working procedures used in the context of river basin management, making it possible to highlight their potential for sustainable development. The criteria are based on the twin concepts of participation and integration. These concepts function as well-established dimensions of both sustainable development and sustainable river basin management, and they are of significant methodological relevance. A synthesis of the key aspects connected to the two concepts is undertaken, based on a broad literature review. Focus is laid on how in methodological terms, and in relation to regional water management, to achieve participation and integration in a decision-making or planning process. The criteria are concerned with how knowledge and values are integrated into the planning process and how commitment, legitimacy, or acceptance for the resulting plan is generated.     

中国冰雪资源高质量开发：理论审视、实践转向与挑战应对

推动冰雪资源高质量开发,是实现联合国可持续发展目标的新路径与新模式,是践行“两山理论”的重要环节,也是落实全民健身国家战略、助力体育强国建设的重要手段。在实际建设的理论指导层面,社会学所倡导的幸福感理论明确了冰雪资源高质量开发的终极目标,资源经济学的资源价值理论为冰雪资源的价值认识及价格核算提供了科学工具,地理学的人地关系理论是探究空间分异规律及人地系统耦合路径的理论基石。基于我国冰雪资源开发实践的系列转变及现实挑战,提出我国冰雪资源高质量开发的实现路径,即坚持观念创新的发展方式、多重协调的发展要求、积极开放的发展理念以及主客共赢的发展目标。     

Effects of artificially induced complete mixing on dissolved organic matter in a stratified source water reservoir

Naturally complete mixing promotes the spontaneous redistribution of dissolved oxygen(DO), representing an ideal state for maintaining good water quality, and conducive to the biomineralization of organic matter. Water lifting aerators(WLAs) can extend the periods of complete mixing and increase the initial mixing temperature. To evaluate the influence of artificial-induced continuously mixing on dissolved organic matter(DOM) removal performance, the variations of DOM concentrations, optical cha...