Restoring habitat corridors in fragmented landscapes using optimization and percolation models

Landscape fragmentation and habitat loss are significant threats to the conservation of biological diversity. Creating and restoring corridors between isolated habitat patches can help mitigate or reverse the impacts of fragmentation. It is important that restoration and protection efforts be undertaken in the most efficient and effective way possible because conservation budgets are often severely limited. We address the question of where restoration should take place to efficiently reconnect habitat with a landscape-spanning corridor. Building upon findings in percolation theory, we develop a shortest-path optimization methodology for assessing the minimum amount of restoration needed to establish such corridors. This methodology is applied to large numbers of simulated fragmented landscapes to generate mean and variance statistics for the amount of restoration needed. The results provide new information about the expected level of resources needed to realize different corridor configurations under different degrees of fragmentation and different characterizations of habitat connectivity (“neighbor rules”). These results are expected to be of interest to conservation planners and managers in the allocation of conservation resources to restoration projects.     

Restoring the Great Basin Desert, U.S.A.: Integrating Science, Management, and People

The Great Basin Desert lies between the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. Nearly 60% of the area’s deserts and mountains (roughly 30 million ha) are managed by the U. S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. This area is characterized by low annual precipitation, diverse desert plant communities, and local economies that depend on the products (livestock grazing, recreation, mining, etc.) produced by these lands. The ecological and economic stability of the Great Basin is increasingly at risk due to the expansion of fire-prone invasive species and increase in wildfires. To stem this loss of productivity and diversity in the Great Basin, the BLM initiated the “Great Basin Restoration Initiative” in 1999 after nearly 0.7 million ha of the Great Basin burned in wildfires. The objective of the Great Basin Restoration Initiative is to restore plant community diversity and structure by improving resiliency to disturbance and resistance to invasive species over the long-term. To accomplish this objective, a strategic plan has been developed that emphasizes local participation and reliance on appropriate science to ensure that restoration is accomplished in an economical and ecologically appropriate manner. If restoration in the Great Basin is not successful, desertification and the associated loss of economic stability and ecological integrity will continue to threaten the sustainability of natural resources and people in the Great Basin.     

黄土高塬沟壑区植被恢复对不同地貌部位土壤可蚀性的影响

通过采集不同地貌部位（塬面、塬坡和沟坡）各土地利用（农地、草地、灌木地和林地）坡面土壤和根系样品,采用综合土壤可蚀性指数（CSEI）评价了植被恢复对土壤可蚀性的影响。结果表明：（1）不同地貌部位的CSEI差异显著,沟坡CSEI较塬坡和塬面分别增加8.1%和77.7%。（2）塬面草地、灌木地和林地的CSEI较农地分别降低21.1%、29.2%和28.8%;而塬坡和沟坡林地CSEI均低于其他土地利用。（3）CSEI与粘粒含量、砂粒含量、毛管孔隙度、根重密度、根平均直径、根长密度及根表面积密度均呈极显著负相关,而与粉粒含量和土壤容重呈显著正相关关系;粉粒含量、土壤容重和根重密度是影响CSEI的关键因素,其中粉粒含量对CSEI的直接影响最大,而根重密度通过直接或间接作用对CSEI产生负相关影响。建议在塬面上以灌木作为植被恢复模式的首选,而在塬坡和沟坡上选择以乔木为优势群落的恢复模式对水土流失的控制更为有效。     

国土生态修复研究的演进脉络与前沿进展

国土生态修复是推进生态保护修复、服务生态文明建设和加速现代化发展的重大举措,对于人类生存和社会进步具有重要意义。采用文献计量和网络分析方法,以Web of Science数据库中1196篇文献作为研究对象,剖析国土生态修复研究动态趋势、合作关系和研究热点,进一步辨析演进脉络和前沿进展。研究表明：（1）国土生态修复问题受到学术界广泛关注,研究文献主要集中在生态学和环境学领域;（2）美国等发达国家的学者和机构在该领域影响力突出,中国显现出强劲的发展潜力,是新兴合作团体核心成员,中国科学院已成为全球最具影响力的机构;（3）以生态为核心的水、土壤和人口等要素是该领域主要研究对象,人文和自然学科交叉下的综合性研究是该领域未来发展趋势。     

泽龙湖景观水污染治理及生态修复

为了去除泽龙湖微污染景观水中的氮、磷及有机物等污染成分,采用人工增氧和浮田型生态岛技术对泽龙湖景观水进行了生态修复。结果表明,人工增氧能很好地氧化水中有机物,生态岛水生植物可有效地吸收氮和磷,处理后湖水可达到《地面水环境质量标准》(GB 3838—2002)中的Ⅳ类标准。     

矿区生态修复研究

矿区开发过程中,排放和堆存大量废弃物,会破坏大量的土地资源,还可能引发区域重金属污染,土地退化,水土流失等。矿区开发过程中产生的严重后果有两个方面,分别为生态破坏和环境污染。矿区的生态修复工作就是解决生态破坏和环境污染的最有效途径。文中分析了矿区生态修复的重要性、生态修复技术和生态修复模式等。而且,对矿区生态恢复的研究进行了展望。     

针对城市河流功能需求的生态修复技术概述

通过分析城市河流功能需求及其演变趋势,介绍了现有各生态修复技术,论述城市河流生态修复的发展趋势,总结针对各种功能的生态修复技术,旨在说明城市河流的修复需考虑到其功能需求的特殊性,针对不同的城市河流,生态修复的侧重点也应有所变化,以起到更好的修复效果。     

Historical and Future Stream Temperature Change Predicted by a Lidar‐Based Assessment of Riparian Condition and Channel Width

Riparian forests attenuate solar radiation, thereby mediating an important component of the thermal budget of streams. Here, we investigate the relationship between riparian degradation, stream temperature, and channel width in the Chehalis River Basin, Washington State. We used lidar data to measure canopy opening angle, the angle formed between the channel center and trees on both banks; we assumed historical tree heights and calculated the change in canopy angle relative to historical conditions. We then developed an empirical relationship between canopy angle and water temperature using existing data, and simulated temperatures between 2002 and 2080 by combining a tree growth model with climate change scenarios from the NorWeST regional prediction. The greatest change between historical and current conditions (~7°C) occurred in developed portions of the river network, with the highest values of change predicted at channel widths less than ~40 m. Tree growth lessened climate change increases in maximum temperature and the length of river exceeding biologically critical thresholds by ~50%–60%. Moreover, the maximum temperature of channels with bankfull widths less than ~50 m remained similar to current conditions, despite climate change increases. Our findings are consistent with a possible role for the riparian landscape in explaining the low sensitivity of stream temperatures to air temperatures observed in some small mountain streams.