Pressure cookers or pressure valves: Do roads lead to deforestation in China?

The effect of roads on forests is ambiguous. Many studies conclude that building and upgrading roads increases pressure on forests but some find that new and better roads may reduce the rate of deforestation. In this paper we use satellite remote sensing images of forest cover in Jiangxi Province, China, to test whether the existence and the size of roads (ranging from expressways to tertiary roads) in 1995 affected the level of forest cover in 2000 or the rate of change between 1995 and 2000. To account for road access for each of our 1 km² (“pixel”) units of forest cover we measure whether or not and what type of roads penetrate the “watershed” in which the pixel lies. These watersheds allow more plausible measures of accessibility than do traditional “crowfly” distance measures that ignore topography. To account for possible confounding we also use 12 additional covariates: geographic and climatic variables (e.g., elevation, slope, rainfall, temperature, soil properties); demographic and economic variables (e.g., local population and GDP per square kilometer); and distance variables (e.g., distance to the nearest provincial capital). Although simple univariate OLS regressions show that forest levels are lower and deforestation rates higher either when there is a road, or when there is a higher quality road, these results are not robust. Controlling for all of the covariates and also using recently developed covariate matching techniques to estimate treatment effects, we find that roads in China’s Jiangxi Province can most safely be described as having no impact on the level of forests and no impact on the rate of deforestation.     

基于FY-4A卫星数据反演气溶胶光学厚度及分析应用

风云四号A星（FY-4A）是我国新一代静止气象卫星,多通道扫描成像辐射计（AGRI）是风云四号静止气象卫星的主要载荷之一.为探究FY4A数据用于气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）反演的可行性,基于FY-4A/AGRI数据,利用暗像元算法对2019年2月23~26日及10月27~30日京津冀地区AOD进行反演研究,并与AERONET地基观测AOD数据进行了对比分析.结果表明,基于FY-4A数据及构建响应函数库,通过暗像元方法能较好的反演出京津冀地区气溶胶空间分布;AOD主要的高值区体现在京津冀中南部地区并向周边郊区逐渐降低,在AOD值较大时此特征较为明显;将反演值与同期AERONET地基观测数据对比验证,相关系数达到0.869,均方根误差为0.221,表明AOD反演值与观测值吻合较好,FY-4A卫星数据反演AOD具有一定可行性.     

几种裸子植物胚乳愈伤组织的诱导

取裸子植物未成熟胚乳作为外植体，在改良MS、添加不同种类激素和不同浓度配比的培养基上．分别予以热激、光培养、暗培养和刻伤胚乳等多种处理进行培养．结果表明：刻伤胚乳和适时暗培养有利于愈伤组织发生；经过25～30d的培养，在ρ（NAA）＝0．5～0．75mg／L、ρ（2，4－D）＝0．2～0．5mg／L、蔗糖浓度5％的培养基上，油松、白皮松、青、华北落叶松以附加ρ（KT）1．0～2．0mg／L以及白、侧柏在BA与KT配合使用的培养基上，热激后暗培养，愈伤组织诱导频率可达86．4％．     

Cadmium uptake by different rice genotypes that produce white or dark grains

IntroductionCadmium(Cd)isanon essentialtracemetalthathasadverseeffectsonplants,animalsandhumans.EnvironmentalcontaminationwithCdduetoanthropogenicactivities,suchasmining,industry,agricultureandwastedisposalhasbeenincreasingsincethebeginningofthe 2 0thcentury (Alloway,1995) .ResearchoncontrollingCdpollutionassociatedwithassessingandmanagingacuteinjurytohumanhealththroughoccupationalexposureanddisposalofCdfromindustrialpointsourcestolocalpopulationsthroughseveralpathwayshasmadeconsiderableadva…     

上海崇明县植被覆盖度动态变化遥感监测研究

植被覆盖度是用于描述和评价生态系统的重要参数。基于1989、2001、2006年的TM/ETM+遥感数据,以上海市崇明县为研究区域,利用改进的像元二分模型,估算出不同时期内崇明县的植被覆盖度,并对其变化进行了定量分析。结果表明:1989-2001年,植被覆盖度负向变化地表约10.17%,正向变化约20.58%,乡镇和湿地区域正向变化的面积大于负向变化,农场区域则相反;2001-2006年,负向变化约29.1%,正向变化约12%,农场和湿地区域正向变化的面积大于负向变化,乡镇区域则相反,并且随着城市化进程的深入,各土地用地类型的植被覆盖度变化在一定程度上都呈现出生态退化的趋势。     

When the dark ones become darker: How promotion focus moderates the effects of the dark triad on supervisor performance ratings

The current study adds to a growing body of research on dark personality traits by investigating the moderating role of promotion focus on the relationships among dark triad traits and facets of job performance. Specifically, we investigated the effects of the dark triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on supervisor ratings of performance, and the moderating effect promotion focus has on those effects. Using field data, we surveyed 549 employees from a manufacturing company in the USA and obtained supervisor ratings of task performance and helping behavior for each employee. We found support for multiple hypotheses, which suggests that managers rated narcissistic and psychopathic employees as having poorer task performance and psychopathic employees as engaging in fewer helping behaviors than employees low in those traits. Furthermore, promotion focus strengthened these negative relationships. We did not find these effects for Machiavellianism. Implications of these findings for future dark personality research as well as the practical implications for managers and organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

灾害旅游发展中的伦理冲突与均衡:利益相关者视角

灾害旅游的发展是出于经济动机和社会动机两方面的驱动,但这两方面动机之间存在天然的矛盾.因此,有必要引入伦理学的思想来分析灾害旅游中的伦理均衡问题,尤其是涉及范围较广的利益相关者的均衡问题.从利益相关者的视角出发,探讨了灾害旅游中的伦理均衡实现的动力,即各利益主体"利己"和"利他"的对立统一性.在对灾害旅游中的利益相关者进行界定的基础上,分析了各利益相关者面临的伦理冲突,并对伦理均衡进行了讨论.     

Numerical Simulation of Light/Dark Cycle Frequency of Microalgae Fluid in a Helical Tubular Photobioreactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture

In the present study, three-dimensional numerical simulations are conducted on hydrodynamics and light-intensity distribution of microalgae fluid flow in a helical tubular photobioreactor for CO₂ capture. The effect of incident direction of the light illumination is discussed and the light/dark cycle frequency experienced by the microalgae fluid in the cross-section of the photobioreactor is investigated. The simulation results reveal the steadily nonhorizontal and unsymmetrical Dean roll-cells of the microalgae fluid flow in the cross-section of the helical tube. The external light projecting onto the helical tubular photobioreactor from the center is a better way for microalgae cultivation. The light/dark cycle frequency of the microalgae fluid flow is calculated based on the light-intensity distribution inside the photobioreactor. The light/dark cycle frequency keeps constant for the same stream trace of the microalgae flow while varies with different flow regions. Meanwhile, the light/dark cycle frequency increases with the increase in microalgae fluid velocity. The suitable demarcation between the light and the dark zone depends on the shape and the location of the Dean roll-cells.     

Tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater using isolated algal strains: treatment efficiency and value-added products recovery

ABSTRACT

Two microalgal strains (Chlorella sorokiniana, A&B,) grown optimally at pH 9 (A) and 7 (B) were isolated from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. These strains were used to check their efficacy for nutrients and organic carbon removal capacities from the tertiary wastewater. The strains were characterised using 18S rDNA sequencing method and both the strains closely related to Chlorella sorokiniana. Different inoculum doses (IDs) of both the strains were tried to check their efficacy on wastewater treatment. Due to the increase in the IDs, hydraulic retention time decreased from 6 d to 1?d. On an average, 12–100% of total kjeldahl nitrogen, 53–96% NO₃–N, and 59–92% PO₄–P, were removed. Despite the same growth environment, strain A with the highest ID (700?mg/L) showed the best performance in terms of overall organic carbon removal, nutrient removal, and value-added products recovery. Strain A showed an increase in carbohydrate and protein content by 42% and 13%, respectively. Both the strains showed luxury phosphorus uptake and found suitable for advanced wastewater treatment.     

Book Reviews

The study focused on the so-called dark coniferous forest belt on the northern slope of Changbai Mountain, at an altitude of 1100 to 1700 m. Forty tree species, 50 shrub species and 165 herb species were recorded in a series of transects. The main impact factors on forest diversity and proposals for sustainable management of this diversity were studied using an altitude and area gradient pattern method. The results showed that the diversity of dark coniferous forest gradually decreased from lower to upper altitude; while the importance value of key species increased. The methodology used to assess attributes for conservation of dark coniferous forest diversity involved measurement of individual trees, number of species, age structure, stand structure, diameter at breast height (DBH), and cumulative wood storage. Different conservation strategies have been developed and are discussed for different parts of the forest.