China's endemic vertebrates sheltering under the protective umbrella of the giant panda

The giant panda attracts disproportionate conservation resources. How well does this emphasis protect other endemic species? Detailed data on geographical ranges are not available for plants or invertebrates, so we restrict our analyses to 3 vertebrate taxa: birds, mammals, and amphibians. There are gaps in their protection, and we recommend practical actions to fill them. We identified patterns of species richness, then identified which species are endemic to China, and then which, like the panda, live in forests. After refining each species' range by its known elevational range and remaining forest habitats as determined from remote sensing, we identified the top 5% richest areas as the centers of endemism. Southern mountains, especially the eastern Hengduan Mountains, were centers for all 3 taxa. Over 96% of the panda habitat overlapped the endemic centers. Thus, investing in almost any panda habitat will benefit many other endemics. Existing panda national nature reserves cover all but one of the endemic species that overlap with the panda's distribution. Of particular interest are 14 mammal, 20 bird, and 82 amphibian species that are inadequately protected. Most of these species the International Union for Conservation of Nature currently deems threatened. But 7 mammal, 3 bird, and 20 amphibian species are currently nonthreatened, yet their geographical ranges are <20,000 km² after accounting for elevational restriction and remaining habitats. These species concentrate mainly in Sichuan, Yunnan, Nan Mountains, and Hainan. There is a high concentration in the east Daxiang and Xiaoxiang Mountains of Sichuan, where pandas are absent and where there are no national nature reserves. The others concentrate in Yunnan, Nan Mountains, and Hainan. Here, 10 prefectures might establish new protected areas or upgrade local nature reserves to national status.     

喀斯特小流域黄壤硫同位素组成特征——对环境过程和效应的指示

用连续提取方法分析了黄壤中总硫、SO₄^2-、总还原态硫（TRS）和有机硫的硫同位素组成,探讨黄壤中硫的迁移转化过程及其环境效应.有机硫是主要的硫形态,SO₄^2-是主要的无机硫形态.TRS具有最低的δ³⁴S值,同时SO₄^2-和TRS的δ³⁴S值随剖面加深而平行地增大指示黄壤中存在SO₄^2-异化还原过程.黄壤剖面中总硫和有机硫的δ³⁴S值先增大后降低与有机硫矿化及有机硫组分的迁移和底层吸附有关.生物滞留后剩余SO₄^2-的吸附、解吸、淋溶迁移及深层吸附与累积导致剖面中SO₄^2-的δ³⁴S值先增大后明显降低.酸沉降下剖面中SO₄^2-的吸附、解吸和淋溶迁移可引起黄壤酸化.值得关注的是,酸沉降输入的SO₄^2-主要以有机硫和吸附态SO₄^2-滞留在黄壤中,则在硫的年沉降速率大幅降低后,在较长时期内,黄壤中有机硫矿化和吸附态SO₄^2-解吸可能释放大量SO₄^2-进入地表和地下水体,与之相关的土壤理化性质变化和水体化学组成改变等方面的环境效应值得关注.     

农村人居环境综合整治技术管理政策不足及对策

通过分析我国农村人居环境综合整治的技术管理政策现状,指出现行技术管理政策的不足,包括技术政策方面存在针对性和前瞻性不足、评价政策方面缺乏严格的技术评价和审查制度以及支持政策方面存在研发支持和示范推广体系不健全等。在此基础上提出了强化技术政策的系统协调性,建立健全技术评价和审查制度,加大研发支持、健全示范推广体系及技术服务市场等对策建议。     

Wild fruits as a contribution to sustainable rural development: a case study from the Garhwal Himalaya

Garhwal Himalaya is an important source of wild fruit species. These wild fruit trees grow abundantly across an altitudinal gradient of Himalaya and the majority of them bear fruits during summer. Fruit varieties are eaten raw by the local inhabitants of the region and whilst they are a rich source of protein, carbohydrate, fat and other elements, compared to cultivated fruits, they have not yet been considered as a source of alternative food products. About 13 potentially exploitable species of wild fruits and one semi-domesticated species having high potential for exploitation were selected for study; six (Aegle marmelos, Berberis asiatica, Hippophae rhamnoides, Myrica nagi, Rubus ellipticus and Prunus armeniaca) were examined in detail for their economic potential. Among the wild fruits, Hippophae rhamnoides was found to be economically efficient, followed by Aegle marmelos, Rubus ellipticus and Myrica nagi, respectively. Prunus armeniaca, a semi-domesticated and less utilized fruit of the higher Himalaya, provides better economic returns on an annual basis. The authors have recently made an attempt to utilize these wild fruits as a source of income, particularly for poor rural inhabitants and unemployed youths of the region by making a variety of edible products such as jam, jelly, juice, squash, sauce, etc. The enterprise was demonstrated to the people to encourage them to adopt it in the form of a small village-level cottage industry. The present paper discusses the distribution, botany, phenology, yield, ethnobotany, and uses of these species, and the cost-benefit analysis of food products prepared from them.     

农村生活用能的区域分异——以关中临渭区为例

研究农村生活用能的区域分异,对于优化用能结构、制定合理的能源利用和生态环境保护政策具有重要意义。以关中临渭区为例,采用实地问卷调查、能源利用区位商、相关分析等方法,探究平原地区、黄土台塬与丘陵山区农村生活用能的分异特征及成因,得到以下结论:①平原地区具有区位优势的生活能源为煤炭、玉米棒芯、液化气、蜂窝煤、电能和太阳能,煤炭的区位商达2.671;黄土台塬为沼气、太阳能、作物秸秆、蜂窝煤、液化气和玉米棒芯,沼气的区位商达3.465;丘陵山区为薪柴,区位商为1.142。前两者用能多元化,商品能源较多;丘陵山区用能结构单一,木柴为主的非商品能源居多。②区域用能分异特征突出。平原地区市场化导向明显,多种能源互补利用;黄土台塬地区政策导向明显,沼气利用较多,用能组合多样;丘陵山区受自然条件影响,薪柴为主,其他燃料为辅。农村生活用能的区域分异取决于自然环境、生产结构、经济环境以及外界环境,是收入水平、温度、发展条件、政策影响等方面综合作用的结果。③平原地区人均收入高(7 056元),人均商品用能多(204.15 kgce);条件恶劣的丘陵山区人均收入低(5 750元),人均商品用能少(45.38 kgce)。人均非商品用能受人均收入影响小,相对稳定。人均有效耕地和人均耕地越多,人均商品用能越多,人均非商品用能越少,且人均有效耕地变化引起的用能类别的变化幅度较大。     

南方农村生活污水处理目标及工艺模式探讨

调研了南方城郊某区氮磷污染源,发现:由农村生活污水排放的氮与磷,分别为种植业的11.4%和11.1%,分别为养殖业和种植业之和的0.44%与0.55%.近年来,农村生活污水处理已初步形成了有别于城市的工艺模式,称之为分散处理技术.通过调研与运行研究,发现:分散处理技术各工艺模式,COD出水均低于60mg/L,其中有好氧段的工艺,运行效果更为稳定;但分散处理技术各工艺模式,均难以实现脱氮除磷目标,出水TN和TP最高为28mg/L和1.8mg/L.由此提出:广大农村生活污水处理,应以消除污水排放对水体产生的黑臭问题为目标,而没有必要、也难以实现污水的脱氮除磷处理目标.     

基于广义收益—成本分析的农村面源污染治理策略

应用污染排放系数法、技术经济评价方法,统筹考虑农村面源污染治理的环境效益与经济收益、技术成本与交易费用,构建面向一般区域的农村面源污染治理策略的分析框架与方法.研究表明,2011年宜兴市农村面源污染排放总氮2880.94t,总磷501.19t,水环境经济损失为3.38亿元.耕地测土配方施肥、规模化养殖沼气工程、分散养殖沼气工程和农村生活污水净化工程的净现值率分别为55.00、2.54、0.52、-0.15.综合考虑技术可行性、交易费用和政府管理支撑能力,近期应优先治理规模化养殖和种植业面源污染,分散养殖和农村生活污水污染可作为远期治理重点.     

Evaluation of the performance of rural wastewater treatment plants using chemical measurements in combination with statistical techniques: a case study

The performance of a wastewater treatment plant was assessed statistically using multivariate cluster and principle component analysis. This was after measuring some physico-chemical properties in the influent, effluent, downstream, and upstream waters over a 4-month period. The cluster analysis grouped the sampling sites into three clusters: relatively non-polluted (upstream), medium polluted (downstream), and polluted (influent and effluent). The polluted water was further subdivided into very highly (influent) and highly (effluent) polluted. The grouping of influent and effluent into one cluster was due to some water quality parameters such as amount of copper, lead, and phosphates that are not efficiently removed by the plant. Using principal component analysis, samples from the same site taken over a period of 4 months were scattered, indicating inconsistencies in the performance of the plant. This was more pronounced during the rainy season, suggesting that increased water volumes from open sewers make the already poorly performing plant worse. The major loading factors found by principle component analysis were phosphate, lead, iron, zinc, copper, pH, and conductivity. Generally, the wastewater treatment system was found to be efficient in removing heavy metals and these were found in the sludge, but not anions. The mean percentage metal removal could be arranged in the following decreasing order: iron (85%)?>?zinc (57%)?>?copper (40%) and lead (38%) following the concentrations (mg?kg^?1) found in the sludge: iron (11,300)?>?zinc (820)?>?copper (180)?>?lead (20)?>?cadmium (3). Phosphate and iron concentrations in the effluent were found to be above the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) recommendations. The major cause of poor performance is the high volume of the wastewater, exceeding the capacity of the plant 10 times.     

Metal accumulation risks in regularly flooded and non-flooded parts of floodplains of the River Rhine: Extractability and exposure through the food chain

Ecotoxicological risks of sediment contamination in floodplains are supposed to be highest in the regularly flooded parts. Therefore, in risk assessments, the non-flooded parts are neglected or considered to be reference areas. We investigated the metal extractability and levels in important food sources for vertebrates, viz. grass shoots and earthworms, in flooded as well as non-flooded parts and compared these with total metal concentrations. A comparison of these areas in the moderately polluted ‘Afferdensche en Deestsche Waarden’ floodplains along the River Rhine showed that total Zn, Pb, and Cd concentrations were highest in the regularly flooded parts. However, CaCl₂-extractable Zn concentrations were highest in non-flooded areas, and those of Pb and Cd were equal in both areas. Total Cu concentrations were not significantly different between the two areas, but CaCl₂-extractable Cu concentrations were highest in the regularly flooded areas. The metal concentrations in grass shoots of non-flooded areas were equal to (Zn, Cu, Cd) or higher than (Pb) those in regularly flooded areas. Zn concentrations in earthworms in regularly flooded areas were higher, but concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Cd were not. Ecotoxicological risk assessments require analysis of the total and potentially bioavailable metal concentrations in soils as well as concentrations in biota. This study shows that the less contaminated non-flooded areas in moderately polluted floodplains cannot be neglected in metal accumulation studies and cannot be used as pristine reference areas.     

Natural resource management in national parks: a management assessment of a Natura 2000 wetlands site in Kotychi-Strofylia,southern Greece

In Europe, the establishment of the Natura 2000 network is one of the main actions that has been undertaken to contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity. However, the management system of sites included in the network is under question. The aim of this study was to assess the natural resource management applied to the National Park of the wetlands Kotychi-Strofylia, southern Greece, an important site belonging to the European ecological network Natura 2000, and the Ramsar convention. The methodological approach applied follows the general framework of International Unit for Nature Conservation/World Committee for Protected Areas (IUCN/WCPA) for the evaluation of protected areas, and it was based on field monitoring data with a view of providing information in achieving the stated management objectives. Two levels of indicators were used: the first concerned the evaluation of the management process and the second the evaluation of the management outputs and outcomes. The assessment of the natural resources management in the National Park showed that the management of the area is oriented towards biodiversity conservation and lies within the scope of the habitat directive and the ecological network Natura 2000. The framework applied and the methodological approach followed in this study appear to provide a useful basis for designing and conducting management evaluation. The indicators used at local scale can be integrated at regional- and national-scale projects of management evaluation, and, at the same time, the evaluation results can help local managers to improve management by taking the appropriate management measures. The analytical hierarchical conceptual flow suggested seems to be considered as an essential tool for evaluating natural resource management.