Structurally-consistent estimation of use and nonuse values for landscape-wide environmental change

We address the problem of estimating the use and nonuse value derived from a landscape-wide programme of environmental change. Working in the random utility framework, we develop a structural model that describes both demand for recreational trips to the landscape's quality-differentiated natural areas and preferences over different landscape-wide patterns of environmental quality elicited in a choice experiment. The structural coherence of the model ensures that the parameters of the preference function can be simultaneously estimated from the combination of revealed and stated preference data. We explore the properties of the model in a Monte Carlo experiment and then apply it to a study of preferences for changes in the ecological quality of rivers in northern England. This implementation reveals plausible estimates of the use and nonuse parameters of the model and provides insights into the distance decay in those two different forms of value.     

现代分析技术在水质氨氮监测中的应用分析

在水质监测中,氨氮的监测是十分重要且常见的项目之一。氨氮是释放游离氨的主要源头,而游离氨的含量上升是导致水体富营养的元凶之一,因此,监测水体中氨氮的含量是水环境监测工作的主要内容之一。随着环保意识的增强,我国开始越来越重视对自然环境的监测工作,也逐渐认识到氨氮在水体中导致的危害,开始积极开发和应用分析技术,用于监测水体中氨氮的含量及其变化趋势,为后续的资源保护、污染质量工作奠定基础。本文从常见的现代分析技术入手,分析并探讨现代分析技术在水质氨氮监测中的具体应用方式,希望可以为提升我国水质监测工作质量提供一些思路。     

Female oviposition-site preference and egg hatching success in the damselfly Calopteryx splendens xanthostoma

By removing males and controlling the rate of water flow past oviposition patches in an experimental area, we showed that female Calopteryx splendens xanthostoma preferred to oviposit in fast flowing water rather than slow flowing water. A series of manipulations revealed the fitness benefits to females for this preference: eggs placed in fast-flowing water developed significantly faster and showed significantly lower mortality than eggs placed in slow-flowing water. A major factor determining this difference was the deposition and growth of encrusting algae which prevented the successful hatching of eggs in slow-flowing water.     

The environmental audit. II. Application to stream network design

The planning and execution of water quality management programs requires careful collection and analysis of data coupled with a systematic review and analysis of programmatic success. The environmental audit is a tool which facilitates improved water quality planning and management. This article demonstrates the utility of the environmental audit by reviewing portions of a comprehensive review of the water quality management program for the state of Idaho. The audit is a tool which forces careful design of a sampling program before data are collected. In the audit approach, program objectives are clearly stated prior to initiation of sampling. Stated objectives are also evaluated regularly to identify tension points, that is, conflicts between expectations and reality. In the example taken from Idaho, a management review team followed a directive to redesign the water quality monitoring program. We present a summary of the redesign as proposed by that team, to illustrate the results of a typical review of monitoring programs. That summary is followed by an example of how the proposed program would differ if the audit approach had been used. The two approaches offered both coincident and conflicting recommendations. Management review team and audit recommendations for lake sampling programs were similar even though a different process was used to develop the recommendations. The most striking contrast between the two results lies in the review team's approach to the problem. The directives followed, and the team's responses, concentrate on tools, such as increasing biological monitoring or reliance on monthly BWMP stations. In contrast, the audit results stress addressing management questions for which clear objectives have been stated, depending on specific tools only as needed to meet stated objectives. Although the audit does integrate externalities in its structure, it is little affected by economic or political influences. A major strength of the audit approach is its ability to provide defensible data for management decision making.     

OPTIMUM STORAGE VOLUME OF ROOFTOP RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS FOR DOMESTIC USE1

ABSTRACT: Major parameters and optimum storage volumes of rooftop rain water harvesting systems (RRWHSs) have not been investigated in detail in Taiwan. Accordingly, the four major parameters of RRWHSs were herein identified and elucidated using a simulation method. Because the performance of the RRWHSs is sensitive to the runoff coefficient, a field experiment was conducted to determine the runoff coefficient more precisely for various types of roofs. A simulation model including production theory was developed and employed to estimate the most cost effective combination of the roof area and the storage capacity that best supplies a specific volume of water. Consequently, the expansion path of optimum solutions for different volumetric reliability of water supply can be determined. Additionally, the method based on the marginal rate of substitution can be used for determining the rational volumetric reliability. The procedures developed herein constitute an effective tool for preliminarily estimating the most satisfactory storage capacity of any specific roof area and for determining the rational reliability of a corresponding water supply.     

可持续发展:制度供求与政府责任

社会范围内可持续发展目标的实现。必须有健全的正式制度与非正式制度供给并配合有强有力的实施机制。然而．由于国家的制度供给功能与地方政府行为异化可能引致经济活动偏离制度目标．非正式制度供给主体的行为异化、经济发展水平及制度成本的非均摊皆可导致制度供给不足并由此引起诸多不可持续现象。本文旨在通过对可持续发展制度供求的理论分析．从可持续发展制度供求的内在要求上。阐述制度供求的非均衡状态对可持续发展的影响。探讨我国在可持续发展战略实施中制度供给不足的原因。明确提出中央政府和地方政府相应的制度供给责任。以改变不可持续发展的现状。     

The Structure of Energy Supply for Tissue Adaptation in Small Mammals Differing in Ecological Specialization

Multivariate factor analysis of the data on liver bioenergetics of mountain and forest voles has been performed. The specific features of tissue energy metabolism are best differentiated in the space of characters pertaining to the succinic acid oxidation system. The role of the dominant oxidation substrate in the structure of energy supply for the adaptation of tissue to a set of environmental factors in specialized and widespread species is discussed.     

南水北调西线工程对解决受水区生态环境问题的意义

南水北调西线工程是一项跨流域的大型调水工程，对解决我国西北、华北部分地区严重干旱缺水，促进黄河上中游地区的资源开发和经济持续快速发展，及其生态环境的改善具有重大意义。本文着重分析了调水工程对受水区生态环境的有利影响，指出调水工程将增加受水区的河川径流量，改善水环境；提高植被覆盖率，遏制并治理水土流失和土地沙漠化；减少自然灾害，改善农业生态环境和当地居民的生存环境。     

Regional characteristics of land use in Northeast and Southern Blue Ridge Province: Associations with acid rain effects on surface-water chemistry

The Direct/Delayed Response Project (DDRP) is one of several studies being conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to assess risk to surface waters from acidic deposition in the eastern United States. In one phase of DDRP, land use, wetland, and forest cover data were collected for statistical samples of 145 Northeast lake and 35 Southern Blue Ridge Province stream watersheds in the United States. Land-use and other data then were extrapolated from individual to target watershed populations. Project statistical design allows summarization of results for various subsets of the target population. This article discusses results and implications of the land-use and land-cover characterization for both regions. Forest cover was the primary land use in both regions. In the Northeast, developed (agriculture and urban) land was positively associated with surface-water chemistry values for acid neutralizing capacity, Ca plus Mg, pH, and sulfate in the Pocono/Catskill subregion. Extensive wetlands and beaver activity occur in parts of the Northeast region, whereas topography limits wetland and riparian development in the Southern Blue Ridge Province. Northeast soils have low sulfate adsorption capacity, most watersheds are near sulfur steady state, and lake sulfate concentrations are controlled principally by levels of sulfur deposition. Net annual sulfur retention in Northeast watersheds is positively correlated with occurrence of wetlands and beaver impoundments. In contrast, most Southern Blue Ridge Province soils have high sulfate adsorption capacities, resulting in high net watershed sulfur retention. At the present time, stream sulfate concentrations and percent sulfur retention are controlled principally by soil chemical properties related to adsorption rather than atmospheric deposition and land use. The information in this document has been funded wholly by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to the agency's peer and administrative review, and it has been approved for publication as an EPA document. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.     

Soil and water characteristics of a young surface mine wetland

Coal companies are reluctant to include wetland development in reclamation plans partly due to a lack of information on the resulting characteristics of such sites. It is easier for coal companies to recreate terrestrial habitats than to attempt experimental methods and possibly face significant regulatory disapproval. Therefore, we studied a young (10 years) wetland on a reclaimed surface coal mine in southern Illinois so as to ascertain soil and water characteristics such that the site might serve as a model for wetland development on surface mines. Water pH was not measured because of equipment problems, but evidence (plant life, fish, herpetofauna) suggests suitable pH levels. Other water parameters (conductivity, salinity, alkalinity, chloride, copper, total hardness, iron, manganese, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and sulfate) were measured, and only copper was seen in potentially high concentrations (but with no obvious toxic effects). Soil variables measured included pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, aluminum, iron, sulfate, chloride, and percent organic matter. Soils were slightly alkaline and most parameters fell within levels reported for other studies on both natural and manmade wetlands. Aluminum was high, but this might be indicative more of large amounts complexed with soils and therefore unavailable, than amounts actually accessible to plants. Organic matter was moderate, somewhat surprising given the age of the system.