Geographic distribution and environmental characterization of livestock production systems in Eastern Africa

The central role played by livestock in the livelihoods of rural households in the developing world is seldom fully appreciated by policy makers, development agencies and donors. Knowledge gaps in the geographic distribution and environmental determinants of farming systems, especially if viewed through the livestock lens, compound this problem. We have produced a map of pastoral, agro-pastoral and mixed farming systems across Eastern Africa, by analysing datasets collected in the framework of livelihood analysis. Input data were gathered between 2000 and 2007 by various emergency and development agencies for Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and parts of Ethiopia and Sudan. A quantitative definition of the production systems is adopted, based on the ratio of livestock- to crop-derived income. The resulting livelihood-based map of livestock production systems was compared through correspondence analysis to an alternative livestock production systems map, produced independently from environmental data. Convergence between the two mapping approaches was evident. The geographic distribution of the livestock production systems was also modelled using multivariate analysis of remotely sensed and other geospatial datasets. Models show high statistical accuracy, and were thus used to fill the gaps in the observed distribution of livestock production systems. Finally, selected environmental factors underpinning the systems (agro-climatology, human and livestock populations and land cover) were analysed in detail, enabling the livestock production systems to be characterized in terms of them. The regional scope of the map, as well as its direct link with a vast amount of livelihood information, render it a valuable tool for a range of development and research applications, including those related to global change.     

Management Decentralization and Montane Forest Conditions in Tanzania

Abstract: We examined how differences in local forest‐management institutions relate to disparate anthropogenic forest disturbance and forest conditions among three neighboring montane forests in Tanzania under centralized, comanaged, or communal management. Institutional differences have been shaped by decentralization reforms. We conducted semistructured interviews with members of forest management committees, local government, and village households and measured anthropogenic disturbance, tree structure, and species composition in forest plots. We assessed differences in governance system components of local institutions, including land tenure, decision‐making autonomy by forest users, and official and de facto processes of rule formation, monitoring, and enforcement among the three management strategies. We also assessed differences in frequencies of prohibited logging and subsistence pole cutting, and measures of forest condition. An adjacent research forest served as an ecological reference for comparison of forest conditions. Governance was similar for comanaged and centralized management, whereas communal managers had greater tenure security and decision‐making autonomy over the use and management of their forest. There was significantly less illegal logging in the communal forest, but subsistence pole cutting was common across all management strategies. The comanaged forest was most disturbed by recent logging and pole cutting, as were peripheral areas of the larger centralized forest. This manifested in more degraded indicators of forest conditions (lower mean tree size, basal area, density of trees ≥ 90 cm dbh, and aboveground biomass and higher overall stem density). Greater tenure security and institutional autonomy of the communal strategy contributed to more effective management, less illegal logging, and maintenance of good forest conditions, but generating livelihood benefits was a challenge for both decentralized strategies. Our results underscore the importance of well‐designed institutional arrangements in forest management and illustrate mechanisms for improved forest governance and conservation in the context of Tanzanian decentralization reforms.     

Land Conversion for Suburban Housing: A Study of Urbanization Around Warsaw and Olsztyn,Poland

In Poland of the 1990s, urban demand for housing land around city agglomerations increased rapidly. The decreasing profitability of agricultural production also caused farmers to become interested in the sale of agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes, and new land legislation granted them the right to sell their land. Polish counties simultaneously received self-governing status, which allowed them to define the priorities for local development. Counties received additional responsibility for land management and quickly demonstrated strong support for land conversion, which was perceived as a factor of local development. This paper argues that decentralization and the extension of private control over land have led to a loss of rural landscapes in Poland because farmers, county governments, and rural society in general gained from the conversion of agricultural to housing land. Rapid urbanization has significantly reduced the availability of open space around cities and threatened valuable landscapes, for it has occurred in the absence of environmental safeguards. This paper reports findings from research in two counties, located in regions with diverse economic growth rates. Decentralization is particularly problematic if tax regulations and intergovernmental fiscal relations reward local authorities for urbanization but not environmental protection. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

煤层底板采动导水破坏深度计算的神经网络方法

在综合分析影响煤层底板采动导水破坏深度因素的基础上 ,应用人工神经网络方法 ,建立了底板破坏深度的计算模型。该模型利用现场观测资料作为学习训练样本和测试样本 ,对模型的测算结果、理论计算值和实测值进行了对比分析。结果表明 :用神经网络方法计算底板破坏深度考虑的因素更加全面 ,结果更接近于实际。笔者研究的计算模型和测算方法 ,为承压水上安全采煤决策提供了科学依据。     

皖东地区大型真菌资源及其开发利用

为了合理开发皖东地区的大型真菌资源，对皖东地区大型真菌资源种类进行了调查统计分析。结果表明，该区有大型真菌4纲8目23科47属101种。分析了其资源价值，提出了相应的开发策略。     

The role of stand history in assessing forest impacts

Air pollution, harvesting practices, and natural disturbances can affect the growth of trees and forest development. To make predictions about anthropogenic impacts on forests, we need to understand how these factors affect tree growth. In this study the effect of disturbance history on tree growth and stand structure was examined by using a computer model of forest development. The model was run under the climatic conditions of east Tennessee, USA, and the results compared to stand structure and tree growth data from a yellow poplar-white oak forest. Basal area growth and forest biomass were more accurately projected when rough approximations of the thinning and fire history typical of the measured plots were included in the simulation model. Stand history can influence tree growth rates and forest structure and should be included in any attempt to assess forest impacts.     

酒泉地区城镇体系可持续发展构想

酒泉地区城镇类型较多，城镇体系中的许多关系需要统筹协调，本文侧重从城镇的规模和空间关系分析，城乡一体化和区一发展，基础产业和环境建设等三个角度，探讨了区域城市可持续发展问题。     

Distribution of radionuclides among the main components of Lake Chervyanoe in the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace

Radioecological conditions have been estimated in Lake Chervyanoe located on the central axis of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT) about 100–110 km northeast of the Mayak Production Association. Data on the ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs contents in the main components of the lake, the distribution of these radionuclides over the profile of bottom sediments, and their amounts in the lake are presented. The experimental data have been used to construct mathematical models for estimating changes in the radionuclide concentrations and amounts in the water and bottom sediments of the lake over a long period after the nuclear accident, as well as the tritium content of the lake water in different periods of time.     

Hive over Hbase框架查询性能研究

通过Hive与Hbase两者本身对外的API接口互相进行通信,搭建了一个Hive over Hbase的整合框架方案。实验证明,基于"Hbase存储入口+Hive查询入口"的Hive over Hbase框架比Hive或Hbase原生访问具有更高效的数据库查询速度,且随着数据量的增加,查询性能更加明显。     

基于ERA-Interim资料分析青藏高原“湿池”变化特征

论文利用ERA-Interim(0.5°×0.5°,简称ERA)、NCEP/NCAR2(2.5°×2.5°,简称NCEP2)两种不同分辨率的再分析资料和探空观测资料,首先分析了夏季(7月)和冬季(1月)青藏高原(以下简称高原)上大气水汽含量大值区(简称"湿池")的区域分布特征,然后基于ERA资料分析了1979—2012年间高原"湿池"的一些变化特征,发现了一些新的事实。主要结果包括:在对流层中上层,高原上无论夏、冬季都有大气水汽含量的高值中心——高原"湿池"存在。夏季7月高原"湿池"强度最强,ERA资料除了在高原南部有自西到东的连续高湿中心带外,在高原西北部还有一个高湿中心;NCEP2资料仅在高原东南部和西南部有两个高湿中心。冬季1月,两种资料均只在高原东南部有高湿中心。总体上,ERA资料与探空观测资料的高湿中心区更为接近。7月,高原南部高湿中心在1990年代中期(1994—1996年)之后持续偏强,西北部中心强度有弱—强—弱—强交替变化特征;1月,高湿中心在1980年代末期开始持续偏强。高原南部高湿中心带在7月几乎是一个连续的区域,1996年以后这一特征更为明显,在1月则是分为东西两段的高湿中心带。