Spatiotemporal Variability in Water Sources Controls Chemical and Physical Properties of a Semi‐arid Urban River System

We conducted synoptic surveys over three seasons in one year to evaluate the variability in water sources and geochemistry of an urban river with complex water infrastructure in the state of Utah. Using stable isotopes of river water (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) within a Bayesian mixing model framework and a separate hydrologic mass balance approach, we quantified both the proportional inputs and magnitude of discharge associated with “natural” (lake, groundwater, and tributary inputs) and “engineered” (effluent and canal inflows) sources. The relative importance of these major contributors to streamflow varied both spatially and seasonally. Spatiotemporal patterns of dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, calcium, chloride, nitrate, and orthophosphate indicated seasonal shifts in dominant sources of river water played an important role in determining water quality. We show although urban rivers are clearly influenced by novel water sources created by water infrastructure, they continue to reflect the imprint of “natural” water sources, including diffuse groundwater. Resource managers thus may need to account for the quantity of both surface waters and also historically overlooked groundwater inputs to address water quality concerns in urban rivers.     

Controlling range expansion in habitat networks by adaptively targeting source populations

Controlling the spread of invasive species, pests, and pathogens is often logistically limited to interventions that target specific locations at specific periods. However, in complex, highly connected systems, such as marine environments connected by ocean currents, populations spread dynamically in both space and time via transient connectivity links. This results in nondeterministic future distributions of species in which local populations emerge dynamically and concurrently over a large area. The challenge, therefore, is to choose intervention locations that will maximize the effectiveness of the control efforts. We propose a novel method to manage dynamic species invasions and outbreaks that identifies the intervention locations most likely to curtail population expansion by selectively targeting local populations most likely to expand their future range. Critically, at any point during the development of the invasion or outbreak, the method identifies the local intervention that maximizes the long‐term benefit across the ecosystem by restricting species’ potential to spread. In so doing, the method adaptively selects the intervention targets under dynamically changing circumstances. To illustrate the effectiveness of the method we applied it to controlling the spread of crown‐of‐thorns starfish (Acanthaster sp.) outbreaks across Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Application of our method resulted in an 18‐fold relative improvement in management outcomes compared with a random targeting of reefs in putative starfish control scenarios. Although we focused on applying the method to reducing the spread of an unwanted species, it can also be used to facilitate the spread of desirable species through connectivity networks. For example, the method could be used to select those fragments of habitat most likely to rebuild a population if they were sufficiently well protected.     

Slow recovery of tropical old‐field rainforest regrowth and the value and limitations of active restoration

There is current debate about the potential for secondary regrowth to rescue tropical forests from an otherwise inevitable cascade of biodiversity loss due to land clearing and scant evidence to test how well active restoration may accelerate recovery. We used site chronosequences to compare developmental trajectories of vegetation between self‐organized (i.e., spontaneous) forest regrowth and biodiversity plantings (established for ecological restoration, with many locally native tree species at high density) in the Australian wet tropics uplands. Across 28 regrowth sites aged 1–59 years, some structural attributes reached reference rainforest levels within 40 years, whereas wood volume and most tested components of native plant species richness (classified by species’ origins, family, and ecological functions) reached less than 50% of reference rainforest values. Development of native tree and shrub richness was particularly slow among species that were wind dispersed or animal dispersed with large (>10 mm) seeds. Many species with animal‐dispersed seeds were from near‐basal evolutionary lineages that contribute to recognized World Heritage values of the study region. Faster recovery was recorded in 25 biodiversity plantings of 1–25 years in which wood volume developed more rapidly; native woody plant species richness reached values similar to reference rainforest and was better represented across all dispersal modes; and species from near‐basal plant families were better (although incompletely) represented. Plantings and regrowth showed slow recovery in species richness of vines and epiphytes and in overall resemblance to forest in species composition. Our results can inform decision making about when and where to invest in active restoration and provide strong evidence that protecting old‐growth forest is crucially important for sustaining tropical biodiversity.     

A protocol for eliciting nonmaterial values through a cultural ecosystem services frame

Stakeholders’ nonmaterial desires, needs, and values often critically influence the success of conservation projects. These considerations are challenging to articulate and characterize, resulting in their limited uptake in management and policy. We devised an interview protocol designed to enhance understanding of cultural ecosystem services (CES). The protocol begins with discussion of ecosystem‐related activities (e.g., recreation, hunting) and management and then addresses CES, prompting for values encompassing concepts identified in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) and explored in other CES research. We piloted the protocol in Hawaii and British Columbia. In each location, we interviewed 30 individuals from diverse backgrounds. We analyzed results from the 2 locations to determine the effectiveness of the interview protocol in elucidating nonmaterial values. The qualitative and spatial components of the protocol helped characterize cultural, social, and ethical values associated with ecosystems in multiple ways. Maps and situational, or vignette‐like, questions helped respondents articulate difficult‐to‐discuss values. Open‐ended prompts allowed respondents to express a diversity of ecosystem‐related values and proved sufficiently flexible for interviewees to communicate values for which the protocol did not explicitly probe. Finally, the results suggest that certain values, those mentioned frequently throughout the interview, are particularly salient for particular populations. The protocol can provide efficient, contextual, and place‐based data on the importance of particular ecosystem attributes for human well‐being. Qualitative data are complementary to quantitative and spatial assessments in the comprehensive representation of people's values pertaining to ecosystems, and this protocol may assist in incorporating values frequently overlooked in decision making processes.     

Improving supplementary feeding in species conservation

Supplementary feeding is often a knee‐jerk reaction to population declines, and its application is not critically evaluated, leading to polarized views among managers on its usefulness. Here, we advocate a more strategic approach to supplementary feeding so that the choice to use it is clearly justified over, or in combination with, other management actions and the predicted consequences are then critically assessed following implementation. We propose combining methods from a set of specialist disciplines that will allow critical evaluation of the need, benefit, and risks of food supplementation. Through the use of nutritional ecology, population ecology, and structured decision making, conservation managers can make better choices about what and how to feed by estimating consequences on population recovery across a range of possible actions. This structured approach also informs targeted monitoring and more clearly allows supplementary feeding to be integrated in recovery plans and reduces the risk of inefficient decisions. In New Zealand, managers of the endangered Hihi (Notiomystis cincta) often rely on supplementary feeding to support reintroduced populations. On Kapiti island the reintroduced Hihi population has responded well to food supplementation, but the logistics of providing an increasing demand recently outstretched management capacity. To decide whether and how the feeding regime should be revised, managers used a structured decision making approach informed by population responses to alternative feeding regimes. The decision was made to reduce the spatial distribution of feeders and invest saved time in increasing volume of food delivered into a smaller core area. The approach used allowed a transparent and defendable management decision in regard to supplementary feeding, reflecting the multiple objectives of managers and their priorities.     

Setting conservation management thresholds using a novel participatory modeling approach

We devised a participatory modeling approach for setting management thresholds that show when management intervention is required to address undesirable ecosystem changes. This approach was designed to be used when management thresholds: must be set for environmental indicators in the face of multiple competing objectives; need to incorporate scientific understanding and value judgments; and will be set by participants with limited modeling experience. We applied our approach to a case study where management thresholds were set for a mat‐forming brown alga, Hormosira banksii, in a protected area management context. Participants, including management staff and scientists, were involved in a workshop to test the approach, and set management thresholds to address the threat of trampling by visitors to an intertidal rocky reef. The approach involved trading off the environmental objective, to maintain the condition of intertidal reef communities, with social and economic objectives to ensure management intervention was cost‐effective. Ecological scenarios, developed using scenario planning, were a key feature that provided the foundation for where to set management thresholds. The scenarios developed represented declines in percent cover of H. banksii that may occur under increased threatening processes. Participants defined 4 discrete management alternatives to address the threat of trampling and estimated the effect of these alternatives on the objectives under each ecological scenario. A weighted additive model was used to aggregate participants’ consequence estimates. Model outputs (decision scores) clearly expressed uncertainty, which can be considered by decision makers and used to inform where to set management thresholds. This approach encourages a proactive form of conservation, where management thresholds and associated actions are defined a priori for ecological indicators, rather than reacting to unexpected ecosystem changes in the future.     

基于熵权的区间型多属性决策方法在湖泊水质评价中的应用

针对现有多属性决策方法在水质评价过程中忽视指标在某一等级内效用相同,导致指标间过度补偿,综合评价效果失真的问题,本文考虑将指标时序或空间的多个监测值转化成区间数以降低数据维度,保留时序信息,同时通过定义指标区间到约定等级区间的距离,体现评价强调达标的特点,进而利用熵权法从指标平均水平达标的一致性和变化幅度的趋同性两方面筛选评价作用显著的指标.该方法在指标测度阶段和指标生成阶段压缩决策矩阵维度,简化了评价过程的计算.最后通过对太湖水域的水质数据的评价案例说明了方法的可行性和实效性.     

闽江口围垦养殖对沉积物有机碳组分及其矿化的影响

研究滨海湿地围垦养殖后沉积物有机碳库的动态变化,对科学评估沿海滩涂湿地开发利用对碳库的影响具有重要意义.以闽江口鳝鱼滩湿地为研究区,采集不同围垦年限(3 a和15 a)养殖塘和短叶茳芏(Cyperus malaccensis)(养殖塘围垦前主要土著植被)湿地沉积物,测定其总有机碳(TOC)、有机碳组分(微生物生物量碳(MBC)、易氧化有机碳(EOC)、水溶性有机碳(WSOC))及有机碳矿化特征,并基于时空互代法,分析了围垦养殖对沉积物TOC、有机碳组分及矿化的影响.结果表明:围垦养殖3 a,沉积物TOC和WSOC含量总体上没有显著变化,但围垦15a,表层(0~10 cm)沉积物TOC和WSOC含量显著增加,其增加比例分别约为68.36%和68.01%;围垦养殖后,沉积物MBC没有显著变化,EOC含量则有所降低,围垦15 a后表层沉积物EOC含量约降低37.35%.围垦养殖后表层沉积物有机碳矿化速率和累积矿化量均高于短叶茳芏湿地,而亚表层(10~20 cm)沉积物矿化速率差异不显著,且表层累积矿化量高于亚表层.养殖塘沉积物TOC及有机碳组分受长期水淹和饵料添加等管理方式的影响,同时受黏粒、TN和TP等理化性质的间接影响,进一步影响沉积物矿化速率、累积矿化量和潜在矿化量(C0).上述结果预示着滨海湿地围垦养殖在一定程度上增加了沉积物有机碳的蓄积,同时也促进了有机碳矿化.     

矿山复垦区女贞人工林生态系统碳的源汇效应

采用LI-8100土壤碳通量测定系统,测定了淮南大通煤矿塌陷复垦区女贞人工林土壤碳排放动态,并结合生物量调查,建立相对生长模型,对复垦区女贞林生态系统碳的源汇效应及其特征进行了研究。结果表明:复垦区女贞林生态系统年生物量碳增量为7.72 t/(hm~2·a),其中乔木层占81.22%,林下植被占4.02%,枯死掉落物占14.76%;乔木层生物量碳年增量大小顺序依次为树干树枝树根树叶,在乔木层中所占的比例依次为54.7%、22.37%、16.9%、6.06%;女贞林生态系统年净生态系统生产力NEP值为1.87 t/(hm~2·a),表明复垦区女贞林生态系统整体表现为碳汇,其中乔木层对碳汇的贡献率占77.54%。     

矿区不同植被复垦模式对土壤细菌群落结构的影响

以安太堡露天煤矿复垦区为研究对象,用PCR-DGGE技术分析不同复垦植被(榆树、落叶松、杏树、云杉和刺槐)及复垦年限(15年和20年)对土壤细菌的影响.土壤细菌多样性分析结果表明:复垦20年组,榆树最高,杏树最低,其余3个植被无显著差异;复垦15年组,云杉显著高于刺槐;刺槐随复垦年限延长,其土壤细菌多样性显著增高,而云杉却反之.相似性系数分析、聚类分析和PCA均显示,相同复垦年限的土样细菌群落结构相似性高.相关性分析表明细菌多样性指数和土壤pH显著正相关.优势和差异条带测序鉴定出Nitrospira、Sphingomonas、Arthrobacter、Brachybacterium、Rhizobium以及Mesorhizobium等或参与氮循环、或降解多环芳烃及杂环有机物的细菌属.本研究说明榆树和云杉有利于土壤细菌多样性的恢复;复垦区土壤的优势菌群多为有利于污染土壤的生态修复和肥力恢复的功能细菌属.