Contribution of the Natura 2000 Network to Biodiversity Conservation in Italy

Abstract:  The Natura 2000 network is the most important conservation effort being implemented in Europe. Nevertheless, no comprehensive and systematic region—or nationwide evaluation of the effectiveness of the network has been conducted. We used habitat suitability models and extent of occurrence of 468 species of vertebrates to evaluate the contribution of the Natura 2000 network to biodiversity conservation in Italy. We also estimated the population size of 101 species inside the Natura 2000 network to assess its capacity to maintain or improve the population status of listed species. In general the Italian Natura 2000 did not seem to integrate existing protected areas well. The Natura 2000 network increased from 11% to 20% the area devoted to conservation in Italy and the coverage provided to areas with high biodiversity. Nevertheless, some areas with high numbers of species were devoid of conservation areas, and more than 50% of the highly irreplaceable areas were not considered in the system. Moreover, the Natura 2000 network cannot maintain 44–80% (depending on the taxa considered) of the species in a "favorable conservation status" under World Conservation Union Red List criteria. The Natura 2000 network is probably stronger than the results of our analyses suggest. The system is based on a site-specific expert-based strategy and is driven by direct and detailed knowledge of local diversity. Nevertheless, if Natura 2000 is taken to represent the final point of all the EU conservation policies, it will inevitably fail. Its role in conservation could be enhanced by integrating the Natura 2000 system into a more general strategy that considers natural processes and the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying these processes.     

崇明岛公路两侧蔬菜地土壤和蔬菜重金属污染研究

为了研究崇明岛公路两侧土壤和蔬菜重金属污染状况,采集陈海、北沿公路两侧蔬菜地土壤、蔬菜和路面灰尘样品,测定重金属Pb、Cd、Cu、Zn含量.结果表明,以上海市土壤环境背景值上限值为评价标准,所有土壤样品Pb、Cd、Cu和Zn的超标率分别为10.1%、25.4%、6.5%和8.7%;以HJ 332-2006 食用农产品产地环境质量评价标准中蔬菜地土壤环境质量评价指标限值(pH值6.5～7.5)为标准,Cd超标率在21.0%,仅有不到3%样品Pb含量超标,而没有样品Cu、Zn含量超标.以国家食品卫生标准中规定的重金属限量为标准,路侧蔬菜样品Pb含量超标率为43.2%,Cd为18.6%,Zn和Cu则小于5%.由此可见,崇明岛主要公路两侧土壤污染以Cd为主,而蔬菜污染则以Pb为主.在长期运营的前提下,低交通量公路两侧50 m范围内耕作层土壤和两侧作物会发生一定程度的重金属污染,路面灰尘是路侧土壤和蔬菜的潜在污染源.     

炉渣与生物炭施加对稻田土壤铁还原菌群落结构及甲烷排放影响

为了探究炉渣及生物炭施加处理对稻田土壤铁还原菌群落结构及甲烷排放的影响,在福州某平原稻田中分别进行施加生物炭、炉渣、生物炭+炉渣3种处理,测定早、晚稻生长期稻田甲烷排放通量和可培养铁还原菌数量,并比较施加处理与不施加处理稻田土壤铁还原菌群落结构组成之间的差异.结果表明：废弃物施加能够改变稻田土壤铁还原菌数量,晚稻生物炭施加组的铁还原菌数量显著高于其他3组（P<0.05）;废弃物施加在一定程度上抑制了稻田土壤甲烷的排放,其中早稻混合施加组对甲烷排放的降低作用最为明显;福州平原稻田土壤中铁还原菌种类丰富,分布于10个门,其中厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）和变形菌门（Proteobacteria）为优势菌门相对丰度占比之和大于95%.共鉴定出20个属,其中相对丰度较高的菌属为芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）、厌氧粘细菌属（Anaeromyxobacter）、梭状芽孢杆菌属（Clostridium）等10个属,占样品中已知铁还原菌属的62.07%~66.58%;生物炭和炉渣主要通过改变土壤pH值及含水量影响稻田土壤铁还原菌群落结构,混合施加的影响比单一施加更为显著;芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）的相对丰度与稻田土壤甲烷的排放通量呈显著负相关,是稻田中抑制甲烷产生与排放的主要铁还原菌属.     

Effectiveness of Voluntary Conservation Agreements: Case Study of Endangered Whales and Commercial Whale Watching

Abstract: The use of voluntary approaches to achieve conservation goals is becoming increasingly popular. Nevertheless, few researchers have quantitatively evaluated their efficacy. In 1998 industry, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations established a voluntary conservation program for whale watching in the northeast region of the United States, with the intent to avoid collisions with and harassment of endangered whales by commercial and recreational whale‐watching vessels. One important aspect of the program was the establishment of 3 speed zones within specific distances of whales. We wanted to determine the level of compliance with this aspect of the program to gauge its efficacy and gain insights into the effectiveness of voluntary measures as a conservation tool. Inconspicuous observers accompanied 46 commercial whale‐watching trips from 12 companies in 2003 (n= 35) and 2004 (n= 11). During each trip, vessel position and speed were collected at 5‐second intervals with a GPS receiver. Binoculars with internal laser rangefinders and digital compasses were used to record range and bearing to sighted whales. We mapped whale locations with ArcGIS. We created speed‐zone buffers around sighted whales and overlaid them with vessel‐track and speed data to evaluate compliance. Speeds in excess of those recommended by the program were considered noncompliant. We judged the magnitude of noncompliance by comparing a vessel's maximum speed within a zone to its maximum recorded trip speed. The level of noncompliance was high (mean 0.78; company range 0.74–0.88), some companies were more compliant than others (p= 0.02), noncompliance was significantly higher in zones farther from whales (p < 0.001), and operators approached the maximum speed capabilities of their vessel in all zones. The voluntary conservation program did not achieve the goal of substantially limiting vessel speed near whales. Our results support the need for conservation programs to have quantifiable metrics and frequent evaluation to ensure efficacy.     

Boosting freshwater fish conservation with high-resolution distribution mapping across a large territory

The lack of high-resolution distribution maps for freshwater species across large extents fundamentally challenges biodiversity conservation worldwide. We devised a simple framework to delineate the distributions of freshwater fishes in a high-resolution drainage map based on stacked species distribution models and expert information. We applied this framework to the entire Chinese freshwater fish fauna (>1600 species) to examine high-resolution biodiversity patterns and reveal potential conflicts between freshwater biodiversity and anthropogenic disturbances. The correlations between spatial patterns of biodiversity facets (species richness, endemicity, and phylogenetic diversity) were all significant (r = 0.43–0.98, p < 0.001). Areas with high values of different biodiversity facets overlapped with anthropogenic disturbances. Existing protected areas (PAs), covering 22% of China's territory, protected 25–29% of fish habitats, 16–23% of species, and 30–31% of priority conservation areas. Moreover, 6–21% of the species were completely unprotected. These results suggest the need for extending the network of PAs to ensure the conservation of China's freshwater fishes and the goods and services they provide. Specifically, middle to low reaches of large rivers and their associated lakes from northeast to southwest China hosted the most diverse species assemblages and thus should be the target of future expansions of the network of PAs. More generally, our framework, which can be used to draw high-resolution freshwater biodiversity maps combining species occurrence data and expert knowledge on species distribution, provides an efficient way to design PAs regardless of the ecosystem, taxonomic group, or region considered.     

红外光度法测定石油类和动植物油常见问题探讨

根据石油类在波数为2930cm-1、2960 cm-1、3030 cm-1全部或部分谱带处有物征吸收的原理,采用红外光度测油仪和水样絮凝富集技术测定石油类、动植物油。     

新修农田土壤培肥技术试验研究

黄土丘陵区土地资源主要以坡地形式存在，近年来声势浩大的坡改梯工程使一部分山坡地变为层层梯田，水土保持率明显提高，而如何进行新生土层的土壤培肥，又是该工程的重要课题。作者对当地近几年土壤培肥技术试验进行了研究。以期提高土地资源的利用率。     

四川省蔬菜基地的气候优势及其开发利用

利用四川省10年气候资料与蔬菜生产资料，经过多年的实地考察研究及统计分析，找出四川省蔬菜基地群分布随海拔高度变化的规律、产供销特点，并提出了发展四川省蔬菜产业的对策。     

油气田采油(气)废水处理设施运行情况调查与评价

通过对全国19个油气田191套采油（气）废水处理设施进行调查，针对其工艺流程、建设投资、处理能力、运行费用、运行状况和处理效果，分析了现有处理方法存在的问题，并提出了解决的办法。对今后处理设施的管理、改进和处理技术的研究有一定参考价值。