Recovery of Sediment Characteristics in Moraine,Headwater Streams of Northern Minnesota After Forest Harvest1

Merten, Eric C., Nathaniel A. Hemstad, Randall K. Kolka, Raymond M. Newman, Elon S. Verry, and Bruce Vondracek, 2010. Recovery of Sediment Characteristics in Moraine, Headwater Streams of Northern Minnesota After Forest Harvest. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 733-743. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00445.x Abstract: We investigated the recovery of sediment characteristics in four moraine, headwater streams in north-central Minnesota after forest harvest. We examined changes in fine sediment levels from 1997 (preharvest) to 2007 (10 years postharvest) at study plots with upland clear felling and riparian thinning, using canopy cover, proportion of unstable banks, surficial fine substrates, residual pool depth, and streambed depth of refusal as response variables. Basin-scale year effects were significant (p < 0.001) for all responses when evaluated by repeated-measures ANOVAs. Throughout the study area, unstable banks increased for several years postharvest, coinciding with an increase in windthrow and fine sediment. Increased unstable banks may have been caused by forest harvest equipment, increased windthrow and exposure of rootwads, or increased discharge and bank scour. Fine sediment in the channels did not recover by summer 2007, even though canopy cover and unstable banks had returned to 1997 levels. After several storm events in fall 2007, 10 years after the initial sediment input, fine sediment was flushed from the channels and returned to 1997 levels. Although our study design did not discern the source of the initial sediment inputs (e.g., forest harvest, road crossings, other natural causes), we have shown that moraine, headwater streams can require an extended period (up to 10 years) and enabling event (e.g., high storm flows) to recover from large inputs of fine sediment.     

我国自然遗产保护中的产权问题研究

从经济学角度看,自然遗产保护中必然涉及产权问题,建立合理的自然遗产产权制度是自然遗产保护的关键。我国目前的自然遗产产权制度暴露出许多弊端,如所有权基础上的自然遗产管理混乱,自然遗产经营权配置不合理,以及欠缺对自然遗产相邻权的规定等。这些产权制度方面暴露的问题,对于自然遗产的保护无疑是不利的。通过对自然遗产保护中产权问题的探析和国外在自然遗产保护方面经验的借鉴,对我国自然遗产保护产权权利束中的所有权、经营权和相邻权的完善提出了几点建议。     

流域管理与开发利用中主要问题的博弈分析

本文从博弈论的角度,通过构造博弈模型对流域管理中诸问题进行分析,旨在完善政府及流域内各理性行为个体的策略,为提高流域水资源开发利用效率提供理论依据。     

浅论我国环保装备发展策略

着重介绍国内环保装备的发展现状,剖析我国环保装备存在的主要问题及落后的原因,从政府和企业的角度提出我国环保装备国产化应采取的主要措施。指出环保装备的研发应朝低投资、低运转费和低管理要求方向发展,讨论了几种适合国情的设备及工艺。     

对排污权交易的现实思考

排污权交易作为一种制度,在我国尚未完全建立.在准市场机制调整之下的排污权交易市场具有比现行排污收费制度更合理之处.排污权交易制度的目的在于逐步减少污染排放,而非刺激排污.其具有的激励和资源配置功能,不仅能较好地控制排污总量,还能提供更丰富的控制污染的方法和途径.公众甚至可以直接参与对环境的管理.本文作者试图从经济学和竞争法的角度对排污权交易的现实问题作一浅显分析.     

艾比湖流域生态环境综合治理措施研究

分析艾比湖流域生态环境存在的问题，从生态功能区建设、流域污染综合治理、环境监控体系建设及环境保护宣传教育4个方面提出艾比湖流域综合治理的对策以遏制艾比湖流域生态环境恶化趋势，使区域经济和生态环境走可持续发展道路。     

Quantifying and Evaluating Ecosystem Health: A Case Study from Moreton Bay, Australia

As part of the program monitoring the ecosystem health of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, we developed a means for assessing ecosystem health that allows quantitative evaluation and spatial representations of the assessments. The management objectives for achieving ecosystem health were grouped into ecosystem objectives, water quality objectives, and human health objectives. For the first two groups, aspects of the ecosystem (e.g., trophic status) were identified, and an indicator was chosen for each aspect. Reference values for each indicator were derived from management objectives and compared with the mapped survey values. Subregions for which the indicator statistic was equal to or better than the assigned reference value are referred to as “compliant zones.” High-resolution surface maps were created from spatial predictions on a fine hexagonal grid for each of the indicators. Eight reporting subregions were established based on the depth and predicted residence times of the water. Within each reporting subregion, the proportion that was compliant was calculated. These results then were averaged to create an integrated ecosystem health index. The ratings by a team of ecosystem experts and the calculated ecosystem health indices had good correspondence, providing assurance that the approach was internally consistent, and that the management objectives covered the relevant biologic issues for the region. This method of calculating and mapping ecosystem health, relating it directly to management objectives, may have widespread applicability for ecosystem assessment.     

Resource Use Dynamics and Land-Cover Change in Ang Nhai Village and Phou Phanang National Reserve Forest, Lao PDR

This study integrated aerial photographs from 1952, 1981, and 1998, and a satellite image from 2000 with oral histories and socioeconomic surveys to assess changes in forest and land cover in Ang Nhai village, Laos. The study documents the history of resource use and changes in household access to resources in the village. Three distinctive trends were observed in terms of forest and land cover—forest degradation, deforestation, and regeneration. Project results suggest that land and forest cover change dynamically under different circumstances. The case study also points out that integration into the market economy can induce intensification of unused lowland areas, while removing pressures from upland areas previously used for supplementing agricultural production. In addition, the creation of a national reserve forest to restrict local access and forest use was an ineffective tool for regulating encroachment and logging activities.     

Environmental Auditing and the Role of the Accountancy Profession: A Literature Review

This review of the literature on environmental auditing and the potential role of accountants distinguishes between compliance audits and audits of the environmental management system. After an extensive introduction to the concept, this review focuses on the similarities and differences between an environmental audit and a financial statement audit. The general approach to both types of audits is similar, except that environmental audits are largely unregulated. Both audits place an emphasis on the evaluation of control systems, which is an argument in favor of external auditors playing a role in environmental audits. Another argument for including external accountants is their code of ethics. However, these professionals seem to be reluctant to enter the field of environmental auditing. It is argued that this reluctance is because of a lack of generally accepted principles for conducting environmental audits. If external accountants are engaged in environmental auditing, they should be part of multidisciplinary teams that also include scientists and engineers to avoid a too strong focus on procedures. Rather than treating these audits as totally different, it is proposed that there be a move towards integrated, or even universal, audits.     

FINANCING PRIVATE WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: ANALYSIS OF A STATE LOAN PROGRAM1

ABSTRACT. A State loan program was analyzed for its effects on groundwater development in Wyoming. The analysis focused on the effects of low-interest State financing on the economic feasibility of investments in center-pivot sprinkler irrigation systems. The feasibility analysis indicated that investments in sprinkler systems for production of cash crops are highly profitable, and would frequently be carried out whether or not the State loan program were available. Investments in sprinklers for production of forage crops are perhaps frequently made attractive by the loan program. Thus, while the program appears to have accelerated the pace of private water resource development in Wyoming, it has also subsidized some investments that would have been carried out regardless of the program's existence. Further analysis indicated that sprinkler investments carried out with State financing contribute substantially to firm growth when cast crops are grown, but have less marked, and sometimes negative, effects on growth when forage crops are produced. Some positive effects of the loan program on southeast Wyoming's regional economy were noted, though a complete empirical analysis of regional impacts was beyond the scope of the study.