Characterization of Benthic Communities and Physical Habitat in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers, California

The primary goal of this study was to characterize physical habitat and benthic communities (macroinvertebrates) in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers in California’s San Joaquin Valley in 2003. These rivers have been listed as impaired water bodies (303 (d) list) by the State of California due to the presence of organophosphate (OP) insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon, Group A pesticides (i.e., organochlorine pesticides), mercury, or unknown toxicity. Based on 10 instream and riparian physical habitat metrics, total physical habitat scores in the Stanislaus River ranged from 124 to 188 (maximum possible total score is 200). The highest total habitat score was reported at the upstream site. Tuolumne River physical habitat scores ranged from 86 to 167. Various Tuolumne River physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, increased from downstream to upstream in this river. Merced River physical habitat scores ranged from 121 to 170 with a significant increase in various physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, reported from downstream to upstream. Channel flow (an instream metric) and bank stability (a riparian metric) were the most important physical habitat metrics influencing the various benthic metrics for all three rivers. Abundance measures of benthic macroinvertebrates (5,100 to 5,400 individuals) were similar among the three rivers in the San Joaquin watershed. Benthic communities in all three rivers were generally dominated by: (1) Baetidae species (mayflies) which are a component of EPT taxa generally considered sensitive to environmental degradation; (2) Chironomidae (midges) which can be either tolerant or sensitive to environmental stressors depending on the species; (3) Ephemerellidae (mayflies) which are considered sensitive to pollution stress; and (4) Naididae (aquatic worms) which are generally considered tolerant to environmental stressors. The presence of 117 taxa in the Stanislaus River, 114 taxa in the Tuolumne River and 96 taxa in the Merced River implies that the benthic communities in these streams are fairly diverse but without a clear definition of benthic community expectations it is unknown if these water bodies are actually impaired.     

The Influence of Linear Elements on Plant Species Diversity of Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: Assessment of Different Indices and Statistical Approaches

This paper mainly aims to study the linear element influence on the estimation of vascular plant species diversity in five Mediterranean landscapes modeled as land cover patch mosaics. These landscapes have several core habitats and a different set of linear elements -habitat edges or ecotones, roads or railways, rivers, streams and hedgerows on farm land- whose plant composition were examined. Secondly, it aims to check plant diversity estimation in Mediterranean landscapes using parametric and non-parametric procedures, with two indices: Species richness and Shannon index.Land cover types and landscape linear elements were identified from aerial photographs. Their spatial information was processed using GIS techniques. Field plots were selected using a stratified sampling design according to relieve and tree density of each habitat type. A 50×20 m² multi-scale sampling plot was designed for the core habitats and across the main landscape linear elements. Richness and diversity of plant species were estimated by comparing the observed field data to ICE (Incidence-based Coverage Estimator) and ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator) non-parametric estimators.The species density, percentage of unique species, and alpha diversity per plot were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in linear elements than in core habitats. ICE estimate of number of species was 32% higher than of ACE estimate, which did not differ significantly from the observed values. Accumulated species richness in core habitats together with linear elements, were significantly higher than those recorded only in the core habitats in all the landscapes. Conversely, Shannon diversity index did not show significant differences.     

Indigenous Systems of Forest Classification: Understanding Land Use Patterns and the Role of NTFPs in Shifting Cultivators’ Subsistence Economies

This article discusses the system of classification of forest types used by the Pwo Karen in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand and the role of nontimber forest products (NTFPs), focusing on wild food plants, in Karen livelihoods. The article argues that the Pwo Karen have two methods of forest classification, closely related to their swidden farming practices. The first is used for forest land that has been, or can be, swiddened, and classifies forest types according to growth conditions. The second system is used for land that is not suitable for cultivation and looks at soil properties and slope. The article estimates the relative importance of each forest type in what concerns the collection of wild food plants. A total of 134 wild food plant species were recorded in December 2004. They account for some 80–90% of the amount of edible plants consumed by the Pwo Karen, and have a base value of Baht 11,505 per year, comparable to the cash incomes of many households. The article argues that the Pwo Karen reliance on NTFPs has influenced their land-use and forest management practices. However, by restricting the length of the fallow period, the Thai government has caused ecological changes that are challenging the ability of the Karen to remain subsistence oriented. By ignoring shifting cultivators’ dependence on such products, the involvement of governments in forest management, especially through restrictions imposed on swidden farming practices, is likely to have a considerable impact on the livelihood strategies of these communities.     

Multi-stage sampling for large scale natural resources surveys: a case study of rice and waterfowl

Large-scale sample surveys to estimate abundance and distribution of organisms and their habitats are increasingly important in ecological studies. Multi-stage sampling (MSS) is especially suited to large-scale surveys because of the natural clustering of resources. To illustrate an application, we: (1) designed a stratified MSS to estimate late autumn abundance (kg/ha) of rice seeds in harvested fields as food for waterfowl wintering in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV); (2) investigated options for improving the MSS design; and (3) compared statistical and cost efficiency of MSS to simulated simple random sampling (SRS). During 2000-2002, we sampled 25-35 landowners per year, 1 or 2 fields per landowner per year, and measured seed mass in 10 soil cores collected within each field. Analysis of variance components and costs for each stage of the survey design indicated that collecting 10 soil cores per field was near the optimum of 11-15, whereas sampling >1 field per landowner provided few benefits because data from fields within landowners were highly correlated. Coefficients of variation (CV) of annual estimates of rice abundance ranged from 0.23 to 0.31 and were limited by variation among landowners and the number of landowners sampled. Design effects representing the statistical efficiency of MSS relative to SRS ranged from 3.2 to 9.0, and simulations indicated SRS would cost, on average, 1.4 times more than MSS because clustering of sample units in MSS decreased travel costs. We recommend MSS as a potential sampling strategy for large-scale natural resource surveys and specifically for future surveys of the availability of rice as food for waterfowl in the MAV and similar areas.     

河流型饮用水水源保护区划分比较

比较分析了国内外河流型水源保护区划分的原则、方法和标准,例证了我国不同省份的划分实践。指出,我国各省多采用经验值划分水源保护区范围,部分省份划分方案久未更新,没有充分发挥保护区的作用。提出,应进一步细化水源保护区划分规范指导要求,及时修订省级水源保护区划分方案,并借鉴国外水源保护区划分经验,通过调整水质标准、重视公众参与、利用地理信息系统等方式划分水源保护区,从源头上预防水源污染,降低饮用水公共风险,保障饮用水安全。     

Transformations of particles, metal elements and natural organic matter in different water treatment processes

Characterizing natural organic matter （NOM）, particles and elements in different water treatment processes can give a useful information to optimize water treatment operations. In this article, transformations of particles, metal elements and NOM in a pilot-scale water treatment plant were investigated by laser light granularity system, particle counter, glass-fiber membrane filtration, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy, ultra filtration and resin absorbents fractionation. The results showed that particles, NOM and trihalomethane formation precursors were removed synergistically by sequential treatment of different processes. Preozonation markedly changed the polarity and molecular weight of NOM, and it could be conducive to the following coagulation process through destabilizing particles and colloids; mid-ozonation enhanced the subsequent granular activated carbon （GAC） filtration process by decreasing molecular weight of organic matters. Coagulation-flotation and GAC were more efficient in removing fixed suspended solids and larger particles; while sand-filtration was more efficient in removing volatile suspended solids and smaller particles. Flotation performed better than sedimentation in terms of particle and NOM removal. The type of coagulant could greatly affect the performance of coagulation-flotation. Pre-hydrolyzed composite coagulant （HPAC） was superior to FeCl3 concerning the removals of hydrophobic dissolved organic carbon and volatile suspended solids. The leakages of flocs from sand-filtration and microorganisms from GAC should be mitigated to ensure the reliability of the whole treatment system.     

气候移民的概念与类型探析

气候变化问题、气候变化及其不利影响所导致的现实或潜在的大量气候移民已成为21世纪人类社会面临的严峻挑战,是现阶段人类社会普遍关注的核心问题之一。通过对社会发展进程中各种主客观因素叠加作用导致的渐变缓发性气候风险、极端突变灾害性气候风险等诸种气候变化现象所导致的气候移民问题的剖析,结合已有的研究文献对历史、现实条件下气候变化导致的气候移民产生的机理与逻辑展开分析,以把握其演变发展趋势。从而对气候移民进行概念上的辨析、梳理和界定,以揭示气候移民的实体内涵、本质特点与根本属性;并依据移民的迁移意愿、迁移时限长短、迁移的空间区域和距离远近、导致气候移民的不同致因对其进行类型上的划分与归类,以期加深我们对气候移民问题的深入理解与认知,更好把握气候移民问题产生的本质与演变发展规律。从而为有效破解各种气候变化现象导致的气候移民难题,化解气候移民面临的各种社会风险,促进社会的良性运行与协调发展做出初步探索。     

江苏苏中3市的沿江岸线资源开发利用变化及驱动因素

长江是我国重要的黄金水道,其岸线资源有着丰富的开发利用价值。近年来,苏中地区长江岸线资源利用发展迅速。因此,选取苏中扬州、泰州、南通3市为研究对象,基于2002年和2008年的长江岸线利用状况数据,对比分析了3市岸线发展变化的规律。研究表明:2002年以来,苏中3市的岸线利用率大幅提高;新增岸线中工业岸线占比最大,港口岸线和生活服务岸线次之;工业岸线和生活服务岸线的增幅最为显著;各类型岸线的增加主要来源于未利用岸线,已有岸线类型的转换主要流向工业岸线和未利用岸线。港口建设需求、沿江基础工业化进程加快、港产城融合发展、规划和政策引导等是岸线利用变化的重要驱动力。     

高铁扣件弹条疲劳断裂原因分析

通过对WJ-7型扣件中60Si2MnA弹条在拉伸-扭转试验过程发生断裂的原因进行分析和数值模拟研究,得出弹条断裂的原因.对60Si2MnA弹条承受的荷载进行分析可知,WJ-7型扣件在铁垫板与弹条后端接触区域内弯处应力集中最大,是造成弹条断裂破坏的主要原因之一,而弹条断裂的根本原因是弹条长期处于极限强度下工作,使弹条最终...     

洪泛区林地的开发对鱼类栖息地面积的影响模拟

洪泛区的开发利用,必然会导致洪泛区林地糙率的改变。河漫滩也是河流洪泛区的一部分。洪泛区糙率的减小,会使河水流速增大,从而减小鱼类可用栖息地面积。因此,在洪水发生时,为了给鱼类提供避险场所,保护有效栖息地面积,需研究洪泛区林地的开发对鱼类的影响。利用River 2D软件模拟在一定频率的洪水条件下,不同的河漫滩糙率对应的鱼类栖息地加权可用面积(WUA),分析了糙率的改变对河流鱼类栖息地的影响。结果表明:随着河漫滩糙率的降低,加权可用面积(WUA)逐渐减小,河漫滩范围内WUA的变化幅度比较大,河漫滩的特性对鱼类栖息地面积的影响很大。洪泛区植被的砍伐,会使鱼类栖息地面积减小。因此,应防止洪泛区的过度开发,保护河流生态环境。