Protected Areas and Prospects for Endangered Species Conservation in Canada

Abstract:  Reserve networks figure prominently in conservation strategies that aim to reduce extinction rates. We tested the effectiveness of the current reserve network at protecting species at risk in Canada, where relatively extensive wilderness areas remain. We compared numbers of terrestrial species at risk included in existing reserves to randomly generated networks with the same total area and number of reserves. Existing reserve networks rarely performed better than randomly selected areas and several included fewer endangered species than expected by chance, particularly in the most biologically imperiled regions. The extent of protected area and density of species at risk were unrelated at either broad (countrywide) or finer spatial scales (50 × 50 km grids), although there was a tendency for the most threatened regions of the country to have few or no protected areas (1.5% of areas with >30 endangered species were in reserves). Although reserves will play a useful role in conserving endangered species that occur within them, reducing extinction rates in a region with much of the world's remaining wilderness will require integrating conservation strategies with agricultural and urban land-use plans outside formally protected areas.     

基于GIS和RS的晋江市土地利用变化与可持续利用研究

采用GIS和遥感技术，在拟订土地分类系统的基础上，对1996和2001年晋汀市土地资源进行遥感解译，得到这两期1：10万土地利用现状图及数据库，分析了晋江市土地利用类型的构成与比例，以及土地利用面积动态变化状况。结果表明，晋汀市自1996年以来，城镇居民点与工矿用地扩展较大，面积增幅达5312．55hm^2，交通面积增加1507．02hm^2，林地而积增加了293．05hm^2，园地面积也增加了4．17hm^2；但耕地面积锐减，减少面积为6419．43hm^2，减幅为14．6％，其去向主要是建设用地、生态退耕、园地和池塘用地。在此基础上，认为土地利用变化存在的主要问题是：耕地面积锐减；土地利用结构小平衡；生态环境恶化等。应采取针对性的土地可持续发展措施，重视土地管理制度创新和土地利用的优化配置。     

Understanding the distribution of cattle production systems in the South American Chaco

ABSTRACT

Impacts of cattle production vary among different production systems, but data on their distribution is scarce for most world regions. In this work, we combine datasets on cattle vaccination locations and land cover in a regression framework to define and map major cattle production systems in the Argentinean Dry Chaco. We also explore how cattle occurrence relates to spatial determinants. Results indicate that the region harbors about 5.5 million heads. Cattle density was mainly described by the share of pasture (69.9%), cropland (28.1%) and aridity (23.8%). We identified 12-major cattle production systems: six cow-calf, three whole-cycle, and three fattening systems. Of these, four systems had high woodland cover (>85%). Data generated is available in a website. Understanding the distribution of cattle production systems is important to assess the environmental impacts of beef production at broad scales. Integrating vaccination data with land-cover information provides a promising avenue to identify livestock systems.     

套种籽西瓜对杉木幼林生产力和林地质量的影响

8年(1985—1992)的试验研究,证明杉木幼林套种籽西瓜不仅提高了林分的生物生产力,而且增加了林地养分归还量,促进了林地土壤理化性质的改良,有效地防止了林地的水土流失,是一种速生高效和生态协调的山地立体经营模式。     

Using Economic and Regulatory Incentives to Restore Endangered Species: Lessons Learned from Three New Programs

Abstract:  We studied three new incentive-based programs for restoring endangered species on private lands in the United States: safe harbor, Environmental Defense's Landowner Conservation Assistance Program, and conservation banking. For each program, we gathered data on the number of participating landowners, the number of species targeted for assistance, and the cumulative acreage of enrolled land. Measured in this way, both safe harbor and the Landowner Conservation Assistance Program have been remarkably successful. Landowners are drawn to three aspects of these programs: (1) the removal of regulatory burdens associated with attracting endangered species to their property; (2) technical guidance on how to restore habitats for endangered species; and (3) cost-share assistance for habitat restoration. Technical guidance appears to be more important than either regulatory relief or financial assistance in securing the cooperation of some landowners. Assessing the success or failure of conservation banking proved more difficult, given the relatively small number of banks created to date and the lack of any centralized database on them. However, nearly half of the 47 endangered-species conservation banks we surveyed have sold credits, indicating some success in either acquiring or restoring essential habitats.     

论制约21世纪城市园林绿化发展的因素

改革开放以来，我国城市园林绿化事业虽然取得了长足进展，但仍面临着人多地少、资金严重缺乏的窘境，本文分析了产业这些问题的症结，提出了相应的对策与建议。     

Salamander Abundance along Road Edges and within Abandoned Logging Roads in Appalachian Forests

Abstract:  Roads may be one of the most common disturbances in otherwise continuous forested habitat in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Despite their obvious presence on the landscape, there is limited data on the ecological effects along a road edge or the size of the "road-effect zone." We sampled salamanders at current and abandoned road sites within the Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina (U.S.A.) to determine the road-effect zone for an assemblage of woodland salamanders. Salamander abundance near the road was reduced significantly, and salamanders along the edges were predominantly large individuals. These results indicate that the road-effect zone for these salamanders extended 35 m on either side of the relatively narrow, low-use forest roads along which we sampled. Furthermore, salamander abundance was significantly lower on old, abandoned logging roads compared with the adjacent upslope sites. These results indicate that forest roads and abandoned logging roads have negative effects on forest-dependent species such as plethodontid salamanders. Our results may apply to other protected forests in the southern Appalachians and may exemplify a problem created by current and past land use activities in all forested regions, especially those related to road building for natural-resource extraction. Our results show that the effect of roads reached well beyond their boundary and that abandonment or the decommissioning of roads did not reverse detrimental ecological effects; rather, our results indicate that management decisions have significant repercussions for generations to come. Furthermore, the quantity of suitable forested habitat in the protected areas we studied was significantly reduced: between 28.6% and 36.9% of the area was affected by roads. Management and policy decisions must use current and historical data on land use to understand cumulative impacts on forest-dependent species and to fully protect biodiversity on national lands     

土地利用变化对城郊农业区生态效益的影响——以四川省南充市高坪区为例

借鉴生态效益综合评价的有关理论和数学模型,以四川省南充市高坪区为例,选取生物多样性指数、植被覆盖指数、水土保持效益指数、土壤改良指数、涵养水源指数、拦截径流指数和湿度指数7个指标作为评价因子,建立生态效益评价体系,对该区域1996和2005年2个时期综合生态效益进行评估和比较.结果表明,该区域综合生态效益值分别为7.85和7.95,2005年比1996年略为升高;基于GIS的图层叠置、分割等分析功能,就区域土地利用变化对其内部生态效益造成的变化进行了分析,该区域可被划分为生态效益显著增强区、增强区、保持区、减弱区和显著减弱区5个等级.     

高寒草甸土地退化及其恢复重建对土壤碳氮含量的影响

针对我国青藏高原草地大面积退化及由此引发的一系列生态环境问题,从土壤生态功能恢复和区域可持续发展的角度出发,将原生高寒嵩草草甸封育系统作为对照,研究了土地退化对土壤碳氮含量的影响,检验了不同人工重建措施(3个人工种植处理:混播、松耙单播、翻耕单播和1个自然恢复处理)对土壤碳含量的相对影响程度。研究结果如下:原生植被封育处理每平方米土壤平均碳、氮含量分别为7.47kg和0.647kg,而重度退化地碳、氮含量分别为3.67和0.448kg·m-2,可以推算,由于土地退化而造成的土壤(0~20cm层)碳氮丢失量分别为3.80kg·m-2和0.199kg·m-2,即高寒草甸土地退化导致0~20cm土壤层中50.87%的有机碳和30.75%的氮流失,可以看出高寒草甸土壤退化后流失的碳比氮多;混播处理、松耙单播处理、翻耕单播处理和自然恢复处理土壤单位面积有机碳含量分别是原生植被土壤有机碳的70.5%,69.0%,49.0%和80%,单位面积氮含量分别是原生植被土壤全氮的86.9%,88.7%,71.1%和91.7%。但是,与重度退化地相比,除翻耕单播处理外,其它恢复重建措施均能部分恢复系统的碳氮含量,因此,将重度退化地进行自然恢复或松耙混播重建多年生植被可以作为系统固定碳(碳汇)的一个途径。     

长江中下游湖泊富营养化过程的湖泊沉积记录

长江中下游湖群区，历来是人类最活跃的场所，但由于近年来社会经济的迅速发展，湖泊富营养化问题日趋严重，对湖泊湿地变化与湖泊营养盐状况关系的分析是制定湖泊环境整治和生态修复的重要科学依据。长江中游湖泊——龙感湖的湖中心钻孔沉积物中硅藻组合和总磷变化记录了近百年来龙感湖富营养化过程。沉积物中湿地花粉与人湖营养盐关系以及磁化率的分析表明，流域内人类活动对湖周滩地的改造，破坏了湿地植被，助长了人湖物质的增加，湖泊营养相对富集，而流域农业化肥的使用导致了水质的进一步恶化。