南京市2000~2014年城市建设用地变化及驱动因子研究

基于土地利用模型测度2000~2014年南京市城市建设用地的动态变化,再运用典型相关分析、主成分分析及逐步回归分析组合的偏最小二乘回归法对南京市城市建设用地的驱动因子进行分析。结果表明：（1）2000~2014年南京市城市建设用地面积总体上呈上升趋势,年均增长率为11.73%;（2）南京市用地结构信息熵呈波动下降趋势,城市建设用地系统结构性增强,但是用地扩展的综合效益趋降;（3）人口增长、道路扩展、投资水平提高及文化产业发展等能够较好的解释南京市城市建设用地的增长,这4类因子对城市建设用地变化具有正向作用;（4）逐步线性回归结果表明,园林绿地面积的增加相对其他因子对南京市建设用地规模增长的作用最大,其次是道路长度和公路里程。     

基于三阶段DEA与Malmquist指数分解的长江经济带水资源利用效率研究

长江经济带水资源的合理有效使用为经济的可持续发展提供了重要保障。以长江经济带11省市为研究对象,运用三阶段DEA模型和Malmquist对2010~2014年11省市水资源的利用效率进行了静态和动态分析。研究结果表明:在剔除了外部环境因素和随机误差因素以后,纯技术效率均值和综合技术效率均值被低估,规模效率均值被高估,投入规模不足是扼制我国水资源利用效率提升的瓶颈。同时,东中西部省份的水资源利用效率差异显著,呈现"东部中部西部"的格局。通过对Malmquist指数分解可知,全要素生产率指数与技术变化值的演变趋势基本一致,反映了全要素生产率指数对技术变化的严重依赖。因此,扩大生产规模,加大科技投入和知识创新,优化和升级产业结构是提高水资源利用效率的重要途径。     

我国耕地生态安全评价及障碍因子诊断

耕地生态安全评价及障碍因子诊断是改善耕地生态系统状况、促进耕地可持续利用的重要基础。在界定耕地生态安全内涵的基础上,构建了基于PSR模型的评价指标体系,采用熵值法和障碍度模型,对我国耕地生态安全进行了评价。研究表明：（1）1996~2010年我国耕地生态安全水平总体不断提高,综合指数从0484 4增加到0626 9,安全等级经历了“临界安全-较安全”的演变历程;（2）压力指数总体上呈现下降趋势,状态指数和响应指数总体上呈现上升趋势;（3）长远来看,系统压力是影响耕地生态安全的首要因素,1996~2010年系统压力和系统状态的障碍度分别以年均533%和052%的速度增加,而系统响应的障碍度以年均802%的速度下降;（4）影响耕地生态安全的主要障碍因子包括单位耕地面积农药负荷、单位耕地面积化肥负荷、人均耕地面积、土地垦殖率、水土流失程度等。为了促进耕地生态安全水平不断提高,需要进一步转变经济发展方式,加强土地利用监督管理,降低经济增长对土地资源的过度消耗;大力发展绿色农业,合理施用农药、化肥;积极开展农村土地整治,加强高标准基本农田建设;加大环境治理力度,有效控制水土流失程度     

湖北省土地利用减碳增效系统仿真及结构优化研究

土地利用变化是引起碳排放的重要原因之一,土地经济效益是利用土地的目标之一,如何通过优化土地利用结构实现土地利用减碳增效是值得研究的重要问题。基于系统结构与功能相互作用的视角,梳理复杂系统内变量间的反馈关系,运用系统动力学(SD)进行建模,将约束条件纳入到多目标规划(MOP)中,实现MOP与SD模型整合,进行系统仿真并得出优化后2020年湖北省土地利用结构。结果显示,利用SD-MOP模型能够实现减碳增效目标下土地利用结构优化,与2008年真实值相比,耕地、林地、牧草地及建设用地分别增加了0.33×10~4、30.17×10~4、0.08×10~4和16.37×10~4 hm~2,其他农用地及未利用地分别减少7.23×10~4、33.15×10~4 hm~2;与无约束SD单模型仿真相比,土地利用碳排放量减少了58×10~4 t,经济效益年增长率维持在3.58%,优化方案具有可行性。SD-MOP模型优化的土地利用结构符合区域可持续发展要求,兼顾了土地利用碳减排和经济效益增长的双重目标,能为区域土地资源优化配置提供参考。     

Thinking inside the basin: scale in transboundary water management

While transboundary waters are widely advocated to be best managed at the basin level, practical experience in transboundary waters at the basin vis‐à‐vis other scales has not been systematically examined. To understand past experiences in transboundary water management at alternate scales, this paper: (i) determines the relative abundance of water treaties at different scales and (ii) elucidates how transboundary water law varies according to the scale to which it applies. The paper developed a scale typology with six groups, and systematically applied it to stratify transboundary water treaties. Treaty contents were then compared across scales according to the following set of parameters: primary issue area, temporal development, and important water management attributes. Results of this work reveal: (i) treaties tend to focus on hydropower and flood control at smaller scales, and organizations and policies at larger scales; (ii) a temporal trend toward treaties concluded at larger scales; and (iii) a higher proportion of treaties is at larger scales in Africa and Asia than in Europe and the Americas. These findings suggest that smaller scale cooperation may constitute a more constructive scale in which to achieve development‐oriented cooperation. Further, scope may exist to complement basin scale cooperation with cooperation at smaller scales, in order to optimize transboundary water management. In the context of basin‐wide management frameworks, Africa and Asia may benefit from greater emphasis on small‐scale transboundary water cooperation.     

Carbon emission reduction and cost–benefit of methane digester systems on hog farms in China

Three different sizes of hog farms were selected to analyze the carbon emissions reduction and the cost–benefit of three methane digester systems. The sizes of the digesters are 2,200, 2,200 and 800 m³, respectively. The sales of slaughter hogs from them are 50,000, 35,000 and 10,000 head, respectively. The carbon emissions reductions were 5,237, 4,017, and 1,334 tons, respectively. The results show that while the methane digester systems have a significant effect on carbon emissions reduction, it is difficult to operate the systems sustainably. If the carbon emissions reduction can be traded at high enough prices in the carbon offset markets, then the systems will be profitable and sustainable. Newly established China's domestic carbon offset market could provide this possibility, but more government support is needed. In addition, this study shows that scale economies make the digester adoption relatively more profitable for larger farms than smaller ones.     

Implementing the European flood risk management plan

In response to the extreme flood events of recent decades, the European Union has released the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), which requires the creation of flood risk management plans. These plans do not yet exist in practice, as water management agencies have until 2015 to put them into action. This contribution will discuss two questions regarding the European flood risk management plan: First, how is the new instrument integrated into the various member states, particularly with respect to the scenario approach? Second, how prepared are the institutions for the collaborative planning paradigm of the flood risk management plan, particularly with respect to the river basin districts approach? Citing examples from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, this paper offers both a pessimistic and an optimistic perspective on the implementation of the new flood risk management instrument.     

Assessing local planning capacity to promote environmentally sustainable residential development

Smart growth and sustainability planning have, in recent years, become central issues in planning discourse. Scholars have argued that planning capacity at the local government level is critical for smart growth planning, and that planners have a fundamental role to play in advancing local and regional sustainability. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which local planning capacity enables communities to promote more sustainable, smart growth residential development. Based on a 2013 survey of 38 county and 53 municipal governments in the state of Wisconsin, USA, this study finds that the majority of the sample communities have permitted residential developments characterized as transit-oriented, New Urbanist, mixed use, infill developments, or conservation subdivisions as alternatives to low-density, automobile-dependent conventional developments. The study also finds that jurisdictions with higher planning capacities are more likely to overcome significant barriers to more sustainable residential development.     

Recent Changes in Stream Flashiness and Flooding,and Effects of Flood Management in North Carolina and Virginia

The southeastern United States has undergone anthropogenic changes in landscape structure, with the potential to increase (e.g., urbanization) and decrease (e.g., reservoir construction) stream flashiness and flooding. Assessment of the outcome of such change can provide insight into the efficacy of current strategies and policies to manage water resources. We (1) examined trends in precipitation, floods, and stream flashiness and (2) assessed the relative influence of land cover and flow‐regulating features (e.g., best management practices and artificial water bodies) on stream flashiness from 1991 to 2013. We found mean annual precipitation decreased, which coincided with decreasing trends in floods. In contrast, stream flashiness, overall, showed an increasing trend during the period of study. However, upon closer examination, 20 watersheds showed stable stream flashiness, whereas 5 increased and 6 decreased in flashiness. Urban watersheds were among those that increased or decreased in flashiness. Watersheds that increased in stream flashiness gained more urban cover, lost more forested cover and had fewer best management practices installed than urban watersheds that decreased in stream flashiness. We found best management practices are more effective than artificial water bodies in regulating flashy floods. Flashiness index is a valuable and straightforward metric to characterize changes in streamflow and help to assess the efficacy of management interventions.     

Characterizing Drought in Irrigated Agricultural Systems: The Surface Water Delivery Index (SWDI)

Quantifying surface water shortages in arid and semiarid agricultural regions is challenging because limited water supplies are distributed over long distances based on complex water management systems constrained by legal, economic, and social frameworks that evolve with time. In such regions, the water supply is often derived in a climate dramatically different from where the water is diverted to meet agricultural demand. The existing drought indices which rely on local climate do not portray the complexities of the economic and legal constraints on water delivery. Nor do these indices quantify the shortages that occur in drought. Therefore, this research proposes a methodological approach to define surface water shortages in irrigated agricultural systems using a newly developed index termed the Surface Water Delivery Index (SWDI). The SWDI can be used to uniformly quantify surface water deficits/shortages at the end of the irrigation season. Results from the SWDI clearly illustrate how water shortages in droughts identified by the existing indices (e.g., SPI and PDSI) vary strongly both within and between basins. Some surface water entities are much more prone to water shortages than other entities based both on their source of water supply and water right portfolios.