Indigenous Uses, Population Density, and Conservation of Threatened Medicinal Plants in Protected Areas of the Indian Himalayas

Abstract:  For 10 years I monitored the population density of threatened medicinal plant species in seven protected areas in the Indian Himalayas. I also documented the indigenous uses of threatened medicinal plants through interviews with 138 herbal healers (83 Tibetan healers and 55 Ayurvedic healers) residing in the buffer zone villages of these protected areas. To assess the population status of threatened medicinal plant species, I sampled the 10 major habitat types in the protected areas. In all, I found 60 threatened medicinal plant species during the study period, of which 54 species occurred in the sampling plots. Twenty-two percent of threatened medicinal plant species were critically endangered, 16% were endangered, and 27% were vulnerable. Thirty-two threatened medicinal plant species were endemic to the Himalayan region. The density of threatened medicinal plant species varied with protected areas. The Valley of Flowers protected area had the highest number of threatened medicinal plant species. The "moist" habitat type was richest in these species among all 10 habitat types sampled. Arnebia euchroma (Royle ex Benth.) Johnston and Ephedra gerardiana Wall. ex Stapf. were the most common threatened medicinal plant species. The indigenous groups of healers used these threatened species in curing about 45 different ailments. Based on my findings, I believe that to ensure the long-term sustainability of threatened medicinal plants, medicinal-plant conservation areas should be established.     

Including Spatial Heterogeneity and Animal Dispersal When Evaluating Hunting: a Model Analysis and an Empirical Assessment in an Amazonian Community

Abstract:  Hunting in tropical forests is typically most intense near human settlements, and this creates gradients of decreasing animal densities toward those settlements. Within the context of this spatial pattern, we evaluated the status of game in the hunting grounds of an indigenous community in eastern Ecuador. We constructed a spatially explicit model of hunter-prey interactions that mimicked the hunting in the village and included realistic animal-dispersal rules. We compared predictions from the model with distributions of animal harvest rates and catch per unit effort of 12 game species. Six species were overharvested in part or all of the area, and two other species were probably being overharvested, although high dispersal rates complicated the interpretation. We then compared our method with methods that have been used previously. We argue that because our method provides information about the spatial extent of overharvesting, it could be particularly useful in informing decision makers about where to establish no-take areas and could therefore aid in improving the sustainability of hunting in tropical forests.     

安全在矿区可持续发展体系中的地位

以矿区可持续发展指标体系为对象,通过对大量的调查统计数据的分类统计排序分析以及模糊聚类分析等,探讨了人们对安全在矿区可持续发展体系中的地位的认识问题,并得出一个重要子集作为矿区可持续发展的重要环节     

南京地区农业资源的综合评价研究

客观、准确地评价地区农业资源,对于农业资源的开发和利用具有重要意义。本文从系统论观点出发,将地区农业资源分成自然资源和社会资源,在能够较好地反映系统结构特征、不同样点差异及满足易于收集、便于数量表示和定量处理等基本要求的基础上,选择了若干评价指标。利用综合指数法、区位商法等评价方法,对南京地区的主要农业资源（土地资源、气候资源与社会资源）进行了定量分析,并在此基础上,利用资源优势度分析法进行了综合评价。结果表明,南部小区的农业资源具有整体优势,南部和中部的资源利用较为合理,北部小区则具有较为丰富的后备资源。最后,根据各地资源要素的不同组合,简要给出了较适宜的开发途径,为该地农业资源的进一步开发与利用提供了依据。     

Suburban Areas in Developing Countries and Their Relationship to Groundwater Pollution: A Case Study of Mar del Plata, Argentina

2 were sampled in order to verify the impact of these problems on groundwater. All samples were analyzed for major ions, and about 30 of them for fecal coliforms and heavy metals. Nineteen samples were selected for pesticide analyses. The average nitrate content was 80 mg/liter, eight times the regional background value. Fecal coliforms were detected in 60% of the analyzed samples. Zinc content and a high Cl⁻/HCO₃ ⁻ ratio were observed in the surroundings of the solid waste disposal area. Moreover, lindane and heptachlor pesticides were detected in ten samples.     

Evaluating Management of Protected Areas: Integrating Planning and Evaluation

/ An approach to evaluating the effectiveness of management of protected areas is proposed. This approach has been used in developing an evaluation strategy for the Fraser Island World Heritage Area in Australia. The main component of the strategy is built upon the desired outcomes specified in the management plan for the area and thus provides a basis for assessing the extent to which the plan's objectives are being achieved. A series of monitoring programs have been proposed to enable this assessment. Examples of monitoring programs developed as part of the evaluation strategy are presented. A second component of the strategy monitors the implementation of the management plan. A management information system has been developed to record and report on the extent to which the specific actions specified in the management plan have been implemented. The strategy is discussed in relation to seven objectives set for the evaluation program in its design phase.KEY WORDS: Planning; Evaluation; Monitoring; Management; Protected areas     

关于山东农村自然资源的条件分析及其合理开发利用对策研究

本文从宏观角度,在分析山东农村自然资源有利条件、不利因素及存在问题基础上,确定了山东农村发展的基本指导思想和步骤,提出了合理开发利用农村自然资源的主要战略对策。     

秦巴集中连片特困区多维贫困度量及其空间格局

连片特困区贫困是特殊的区域性贫困,实现持久脱贫,关键在于识别和评估区域的贫困程度以及深究其致贫原因。基于此,通过构建经济维度硬现状、社会维度软现状及自然维度潜在状态3维的多维贫困度量指标体系,应用均方差权重法测算了2006、2010及2014年秦巴集中连片特困区及各子区域的多维贫困度,并分析了多维贫困及其各维度的时空演变规律。结果表明：（1）秦巴集中连片特困区多维贫困度得分偏高,表明该区域贫困程度较深,且多维贫困在不同贫困维度上呈现显著差异。（2）2006—2014年秦巴集中连片特困区多维贫困度都呈减弱趋势,且表现出以甘肃省徽县至湖北省房县为轴带的中部地区集聚的空间演变趋势。（3）在整体多维贫困显著改善的同时,不同连片扶贫区及不同的贫困维度在减贫路径上也体现出不同的演化特征。所得结论为该区域内县域尺度贫困类型特征识别以及扶贫工作前期评估以及后期验收成效等提供一定技术支持,也为后期实施因地制宜的脱贫措施提供科学的辅助决策支撑。     

三峡库区社区水平乡村路网对森林景观变化的影响

人为扰动是短时空尺度内森林景观变化或用途转换的主要动力,而乡村路网则成为人为扰动拓展的主要通道。基于1992、2002、2014年三峡库区重庆市石柱县西沱镇3期遥感影像和实地调研数据,在ArcGIS平台支持下,研究社区水平乡村路网对森林景观变化的影响。结果表明：1）1992—2014年研究区乡村路网影响域内次生林、退化林地和耕地的动态变化较显著,集中分布在中西部平坦区。1992—2002年乡村路网缓冲区内森林景观整体呈退化趋势,退化类型以次生林→退化林地、次生林→耕地、退化林地→耕地为主,演化量达1 705.91 hm²;2002—2014年乡村路网缓冲区内森林景观主要呈恢复趋势,恢复类型以耕地→退化林地、耕地→次生林、退化林地→次生林和原始林→退化原始林为主,演化量达1 674.52 hm²。2）相比发现,前一时期研究区乡村路网长度的增加和路网材质的提升很大程度上驱动森林景观的退化,而后一时期低等级路段的消失、废弃或利用率的降低则有助于森林景观的恢复,消失路段恢复率近100%。3）研究有助于丰富人们对社区水平乡村路网影响森林景观变化的理解与认识,为生态文明建设中合理规划乡村路网提供科学依据。     

新农村建设中农村生态环境问题的实践思考——以湖南省为例

随着湖南省新农村建设的快速推进和城镇发展规模的不断扩大,农村生态环境破坏日趋严重,呈现出点、面污染共存;生活、工业污染叠加;各种新旧污染相互交织;工业及城市污染大幅向农村转移的特征。农村生态环境问题已严重阻碍了农业经济的发展、农村社会事业的建设和农民生产生活质量的提高,必须从战略的高度认识和加强湖南省农村生态环境污染的防治。