Quantitative Evaluation on Urban Ecosystem Carrying Capacity in Tianjin Binhai New Area

Based on the concept of ecosystem carrying capacity, the indicator system of quantitative assessment was set up, which consisted of support indicator system and pressure indicator system. And the factor analysis method was used to screen the indicator system. Different from the traditional indicator weight determination based on the absolute values of the coefficients of regression equation, the squares of factor loadings in the rotated component matrix were attempted to determine the weights of 40 assessment indicators. The result shows that ecological support system and pressure system in Binhai New Area are relatively balanced among six years, and the developing level of urban ecosystem is basically healthy on the whole. However, due to continuously increasing pressure of the resources consumption caused by the rapid growth of the second industry, which is the Leading Industry of Binhai New Area, the ecosystem carrying capacity reached the minimum in 2005.     

In-stand scenic beauty of variable retention harvests and mature forests in the U.S. Pacific Northwest: The effects of basal area, density, retention pattern and down wood

Tensions between amenity- and timber-based economies in the U.S. and Canadian Pacific Northwest motivated a study of scenic beauty inside mature forests and timber harvests. A diverse sample of regional forests, measures of forest structure, and large, representative samples of photographs and public judges were employed to measure scenic beauty inside un-harvested mature and old-growth forests, and timber harvests. The latter varied systematically in down wood levels and retention level and pattern. Scenic beauty tended to be optimized at a basal area of 110–155 m³/ha and/or 700–900 trees/ha. Older forests and those with larger trees were perceived to be more beautiful. In harvests, greater retention levels, less down wood, and dispersed rather than aggregated retention patterns contributed to aesthetic improvements. Green-tree retention harvests offer considerable potential gains in perceived scenic beauty compared to perceived very ugly clearcuts, particularly at higher retention levels. These gains are more reliable from dispersed retention patterns. The silvicultural parameters studied change strength in affecting scenic beauty with changes in retention level. These interactions are explored in relation to a range of scenic quality objectives as an aid to planners, visual impact analysts, and silviculturists.     

Indoor air quality investigation according to age of the school buildings in Korea

Since the majority of schools are housed in buildings dating from the 1960s and 1970s, a comprehensive construction and renovation program of school buildings has been carried out to improve the educational conditions in Korea. However, classrooms and computer rooms, with pressed wood desks, chairs and furnishings, as well as construction materials, might have negative effects on the indoor air quality. Furthermore, most schools have naturally ventilated classrooms. The purpose of this study was to characterize the concentrations of different indoor air pollutants within Korean schools and to compare their indoor levels within schools according to the age of school buildings. Indoor and outdoor air samples of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO(2)), particulate matter (PM(10)), total microbial count (TBC), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and formaldehyde (HCHO) were obtained during summer, autumn and winter from three sites; a classroom, a laboratory and a computer classroom at 55 different schools. The selection of the schools was based on the number of years since the schools had been constructed. The problems causing indoor air pollution at the schools were chemicals emitted by building materials or furnishings, and insufficient ventilation rates. The I/O ratio for HCHO was 6.32 during the autumn, and the indoor HCHO concentrations (mean = 0.16 ppm) in schools constructed within 1 year were significantly higher than the Korean Indoor Air Standard, indicating that schools have indoor sources of HCHO. Therefore, increasing the ventilation rate by means of a mechanical system and the use of low-emission furnishings can play key roles in improving the indoor air quality within schools.     

Natural Resource Assessment: An Approach to Science Based Planning in National Parks

We conducted a natural resource assessment at two national parks, New River Gorge National River and Shenandoah National Park, to help meet the goals of the Natural Resource Challenge—a program to help strengthen natural resource management at national parks. We met this challenge by synthesizing and interpreting natural resource information for planning purposes and we identified information gaps and natural significance of resources. We identified a variety of natural resources at both parks as being globally and/or nationally significant, including large expanses of unfragmented, mixed-mesophytic forests that qualify for wilderness protection, rare plant communities, diverse assemblages of neotropical migratory birds and salamanders, and outstanding aquatic recreational resources. In addition, these parks function, in part, as ecological reserves for plants in and wildlife. With these significant natural resources in mind, we also developed a suite of natural resource management recommendations in light of increasing threats from within and outside park boundaries. We hope that our approach can provide a blueprint for natural resource conservation at publically owned lands.     

Impact of poor solid waste management on ground water

Eight sediment cores recovered from Tamaki Estuary were analysed for Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd using downward cored sub-samples. The results indicate a significant upward enrichment in heavy metals with the highest concentrations found in the uppermost 0–10 cm layer. Assessment of heavy metal pollution in marine sediments requires knowledge of pre-anthropogenic metal concentrations to act as a reference against which measured values can be compared. Pristine values for the cored sediments were determined from flat “base-line” metal trends evident in lower core samples. Various methods for calculating metal enrichment and contamination factors are reviewed in detail and a modified and more robust version of the procedure for calculating the degree of contamination is proposed. The revised procedure allows the incorporation of a flexible range of pollutants, including various organic species, and the degree of contamination is expressed as an average ratio rather than an absolute summation number. Comparative data for normalized enrichment factors and the modified degree of contamination show that Tamaki Estuary sediments have suffered significant systematic heavy metal contamination following catchment urbanization. Compared to baseline values the uppermost sediment layers show four-fold enrichment averaged across eight cores and four analysed metals.     

城市土地生态适宜性分区划分研究

在新型城镇化与生态文明建设背景下,城市发展迫切需要合理布局以实现城市土地的节约集约利用,降低城市化过程中因建设用地肆意蔓延所导致的土地资源浪费与生态环境破坏影响。以常州市武进区为例,采用地形地貌、生态环境、交通设施、建设密度4类因子建立景观过程阻力赋值体系,结合GIS空间分析技术,以垂直生态过程的多因素多因子综合判别得到的生态保护用地扩张和城镇用地扩张阻力基面为基础,再以描述水平生态过程的最小累积阻力模型计算两种扩张过程的最小累积阻力值,并依据二者的最小累积阻力差值表面,从空间上将武进区划分为4个等级的城市土地生态适宜性分区,分别为优先建设区118.39 km²、适宜建设区233.60 km²、生态缓冲区777.91 km²、生态控制区115.90 km²,明确指出了各分区的空间布局,提出了相应的发展建议,以期为武进区未来城市发展提供科学合理的空间布局参考。同时考虑了垂直生态过程和水平生态过程,一定程度上弥补了传统方法只从景观单元垂直过程研究的不足之处,为生态适宜性分区划分的方法研究提供了有益的尝试和补充。     

Integrated landscape planning and remuneration of agri-environmental services. Results of a case study in the Fuhrberg region of Germany

Until now, existing remuneration of environmental services has not sufficiently supported the goals of spending money more effectively on the environment and of motivating farmers. Only a small share of the budgets for agriculture in the EU, as well as in US and other countries, is available for buying environmental goods and services beyond the level of good farming practice (GFP). This combined with the insufficient targeting of compensation payments to areas where special measures are needed leads to an unsatisfactorily low impact of agri-environment measures compared to other driving forces that stimulate the intensification of farming. The goal of this paper is to propose a management concept that enhances the ecological and cost efficiency of agri-environment measures. Components of the concept are a comprehensive environmental information base with prioritised goals and targets (available in Germany from landscape planning) and new remuneration models, which complement conventional compensation payments that are based upon predetermined measures and cost. Comprehensive landscape planning locates and prioritises areas which require environmental action. It contains the information that authorities need to prioritise funding for environmental services and direct measures to sites which need environmental services beyond the level of GFP.Also appropriate remuneration models, which can enhance the cost efficiency of public spending and the motivation of the farmers, can be applied on the base of landscape planning.Testing of the planning methodology and of one of the remuneration models (success-oriented remuneration) in a case study area (“Fuhrberger Feld” north of Hanover, Germany) demonstrated the usability of the concept and led to proposals for future development of the methodology and its application in combination with other approaches.     

太阳能路灯技术的国内外研究动态及其在浙江新农村建设中的应用

针对中国太阳能利用技术的现状，分析比较了太阳能路灯在国内利用的可行性，详细介绍了浙江某示范村的太阳能路灯工程情况，并对该工程进行了经济可行性的分析。     

The Environmental Effects of New Zealand’s Free-Market Reforms

This paper explains one way in which New Zealand’s free-market reforms have adversely affected its environment. Liberalisation of New Zealand’s economy has radically changed the determinants of agricultural export success, largely due to the elimination of subsidies to domestic producers, and of tariffs on imports. In this exposed agricultural milieu, the dairy industry has thrived; cow numbers have increased by over 50%, with commensurate increases in herd and farm sizes. With this rapid expansion has come increasing pollution of New Zealand’s waterways. New Zealand’s Resource Management Act 1991 is potentially capable of controlling these adverse effects; however, its implementation was slow and piecemeal throughout the 1990s. So, at the same time as production and pollution from dairy farming expanded, the efficacy of environmental policy was limited. The resulting implementation gap has put at risk the ‘clean and green’ image that is an important component of New Zealand’s agricultural export success.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Comparative Analysis of New Zealand and US Approaches for Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Management

The role of the central government in New Zealand is generally limited to research and policy development, and regional councils are responsible for most monitoring and management of the problem. The role of the federal government in the United States includes research and monitoring, policy development, and regulation. States also have a significant management role. Both countries rely on voluntary approaches for NPS pollution management. Very few national water quality standards exist in New Zealand, whereas standards are widely used in the United States. Loading estimates and modeling are often used in the United States, but not in New Zealand. A wide range of best management practices (BMPs) are used in the United States, including buffer strips and constructed/engineered wetlands. Buffer strips and riparian management have been emphasized and used widely in New Zealand. Many approaches are common to both countries, but management of the problem has only been partly successful. The primary barriers are the inadequacy of the voluntary approach and the lack of scientific tools that are useful to decision-makers. More work needs to be performed on the evaluation of approaches developed in both countries that could be applied in the other countries. In addition, more cooperation and information/technology transfer between the two countries should be encouraged in the future.