Assessing the Restoration Success of River Widenings: A Landscape Approach

During the last 200 years, many rivers in industrialized countries have been modified by canalization. In the last two decades, the philosophy of river management has changed considerably, and restoration of ecological integrity has become an important management goal. One appealing restoration approach is to create “river widenings” that permit braiding within a limited area. This study presents a new and efficient framework for rapidly assessing such widening projects and offers a novel method to comparing restored sites with near-natural stretches (stencil technique). The proposed framework evaluates spatial patterns of riparian habitat types using landscape metrics as indicators. Three case studies from river restoration (river widening) in Switzerland are presented for demonstration purposes.The method compares restored sites with prerestoration conditions and near-natural conditions, which are assumed to represent the worst and best case states of a river system. To take into account the limited spatial extent of the restored sites, the so-called “stencil technique” was developed, where the landscape metrics of the near-natural reference sites are calculated for both the entire study area and smaller sections (clips). The clips are created by using a stencil that has the exact shape and size of the restored area (random window-sampling technique). Subsequently, the calculated metrics for the restored sites are compared to the range of values calculated for the near-natural data subset. Our studies show that the proposed method is easy to apply andprovides a valid way to assess the restoration success of river widenings. We found that river widenings offer real opportunities for establishing riparian habitats. However, they promote mainly pioneer successional stages and the habitat mosaic of the restored section is more complex than at the near-natural reference sites.     

A 'Principled' Approach to Complex Emergencies: Testing a New Aid Delivery Model in the Nuba Mountains

This paper provides an analysis of the Nuba Mountains Programme Advancing Conflict Trans-formation (NMPACT) as an example of an operational response in a complex emergency that innovatively addressed an incipient food security crisis. NMPACT is notable for having brought together an array of actors around a common principled agenda and for being the only operational programme in the Sudan to which both warring parties subscribed during the conflict. The key features of the programme are presented and the main innovative elements are reviewed, including the role of the principles of engagement and the 'political humanitarianism' of NMPACT. The paper looks at how NMPACT broke from traditional externally driven responses to food insecurity, and, drawing on lessons from Operation Lifeline Sudan, adopted an approach that focuses on capacity building, sustainable agriculture and market revitalisation, alongside conflict transformation and peace-building. The limitations of the model are also assessed, and preliminary lessons regarding its replication in other complex emergency contexts are presented.     

Local government policies toward environmentally sensitive areas in British Columbia,Canada; Washington and Oregon,USA

While there has been sustained debate on the issue of provincial and state versus local government environmental planning, maintaining privately owned natural resources in the public interest is increasingly viewed as beyond the scope of local governments alone. This paper describes and compares province- and state-level mandates and options for local governments (i.e., city, county, or district) to regulate land uses of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) in British Columbia in Canada and in Washington and Oregon in the United States. We define ESAs as landscape elements or places that are vital to the long-term maintenance of biological diversity, soil, water, and other natural resources, especially as they relate to human health, safety, and welfare, both on-site and in a regional context. Underlying similarities are that all three jurisdictions legally express the need for land-use planning by local governments in managing ESAs. Although all three jurisdictions exhibit similar problems in their attempt to accomplish this, ESA planning by local governments is an optional process in British Columbia and Washington but mandatory in Oregon. Furthermore, actual processes prescribed by each of the three jurisdictions are quite different. The information base upon which local regulation of privately held ESAs depends is variable, both within and between the province- and statelevel jurisdictions. Other than for some specific water-related resources, standard definitions and inventory methods for ESAs are lacking, as is coordination among local governments or among the province- and state-level governments. This study concludes that there is a need for a regional environmental information system in the Pacific Northwest based upon an integrated and scientific approach toward ESA structures and functions.     

Management and valuation of an environmentally sensitive area: Norfolk Broadland,England, case study

Wetlands, like any other environmentally sensitive resource, require very careful evaluation. While it is accepted that all wetlands may be equally valuable in terms of maintaining global life-support systems, individual areas may be ranked according to their uniqueness or the irreplaceability of the resource should the wetland be developed. The various techniques available for evaluating the wetland resource in the development versus conservation conflict situation are critically assessed. Indirect appraisal via the opportunity cost method can generate valuable data which have contributed to the mitigation of such conflict situations.The Broadland, in Norfolk, England, recently designated an environmentally sensitive area (ESA), provides a case study example of wetland management. The search for an acceptable flood alleviation strategy for the ESA is examined in detail. The economic and environmental asset structure of the study area is examined at two levels. A basic screening system is applied to each of the identified flood protection planning units to enable the rank ordering of the units. A more detailed appraisal is then made of the value of selected units so that the cost-effectiveness of any planned expenditure on flood protection works can be assessed. Specific management issues and their likely effect on the environment, in terms of land use for example, are also addressed. The 1986 Agriculture Act marks a potential watershed in British conservation policy. The ESA policy encompasses a dual management strategy that attempts to stimulate compatible agricultural and conservation practices and activities. Other countries that still retain significant unspoiled wetland resources may find that preemptive regulatory government intervention in favor of conservation would help to avoid the worst aspects of the British experience.     

环境监测结果不确定度评定中灵敏系数的求解

本文介绍了重量法、容量滴定法、工作曲线法、气量法以及仪器直读式等方法,测定环境参数时,对其监测结果进行不确定度评定中,为计算标准不确定度所需的灵敏系数的求算公式.     

鄱阳湖区粮食供给功能的空间格局分析

在种植制度复杂、地块破碎及多阴雨天气的南方地区,应用卫星遥感植被指数时间序列数据提取复种指数受到中低空间分辨率的限制。使用较高空间分辨率影像是提取该区域复种信息有效的数据源。论文以鄱阳湖区为研究区,通过遥感解译提取水田空间信息;在界定单/双季稻生长期物候历的前提下,根据水稻不同生长期内归一化植被指数(NDVI)的明显差异,选择合理时间窗口的TM影像获取水田NDVI数据,采用非监督分类法提取单/双季稻的空间分布信息;结合湖区乡镇不同熟制水稻单产数据估算出基于栅格的水稻产量。研究表明,4月下旬到6月下旬是判别双季早稻与单季稻空间分布的合理时间窗口;7月上旬到8月上旬及9月中旬到10上旬是判别单季稻与双季晚稻空间分布的合理时间窗口。2005年,单季稻播种面积为3 081.58 km²,晚稻/早稻播种面积为3 602.97 km²,水稻复种指数为153.9%。单季稻普遍分布在市县建成区周边,双季稻主要分布在河口三角洲等地。全年水稻总产量约1 650×10⁴ t,单季稻占30.5%,双季稻占69.5%。赣江下游地区两种熟制水稻产量均较高,而湖汊及湖区外围丘陵地区产量较低。     

基于防突工作流程的突出预测敏感指标体系构建方法

针对现有突出预测敏感指标确定方法存在的问题,基于瓦斯压力和瓦斯含量的联系,考察了临界压力和含量的对应关系,确定了瓦斯压力为杨柳煤矿10#煤层区域预测敏感指标,临界值为0.74MPa;采用实验室分析和现场验证相结合的手段,通过引入相对误差和迫近度等分析方法,确立了钻屑解吸指标Δh2为10#煤层局部预测敏感指标,临界值为180 Pa;结合我国目前防突工作基本流程,确定了突出预测敏感指标体系的构建方法,构建了杨柳煤矿10#煤层突出预测敏感指标体系。     

考虑受灾点需求时间窗的应急物资配送车辆路径规划研究

为解决灾后应急物资亟待配送到灾区的现实问题,提高应急物资配送效率,考虑灾区对应急物资的需求紧迫程度的差异,建立软硬时间窗综合约束情况下以应急物资配送的总延迟时间最短、软时间窗的惩罚成本最小、硬时间窗的不满足个数最少为目标的应急物资车辆配送路径方案生成模型。前期对路网数据预处理,形成配送中心到受灾点的多对多时间最短路径集合,后期根据目标和约束进行模型构建,并利用遗传算法求解。引入算例分析对模型的有效性进行验证。结果表明:该模型可综合考虑软硬时间窗的影响,形成高效的应急物资车辆路径配送方案,可对灾后整体的应急方案制定提供帮助,具有较好的可行性和现实意义。     

声-化联合法清洗含油钻屑

将超声波与pH敏感型表面活性剂(P(MMA-MAA-CS))联合使用,利用声-化联合法清洗含油钻屑。研究了不同因素对清洗效果的影响,并利用界面张力和三相接触角实验探讨了清洗机理。实验获得的最佳清洗条件为:固液质量比1∶5,P(MMA-MAA-CS)加入量0.5%(w),NaOH加入量2%(w),超声时间20 min,超声功率200 W。在此条件下清洗2次后,钻屑含油量可降低至0.82%,达到GB18599—2001《一般工业固体废物存、处置场污染控制标准》的要求。     

物种敏感度分布(SSD)方法在农药环境风险评估中的应用

物种敏感度分布法(Species Sensitive Distribution,SSD)能够依据不同物种对农药等胁迫因素的敏感度服从一定的累积概率分布,以统计形式将多种非靶标物种的实验室数据进行汇总分析,获得物种对农药的敏感度差异,作为效应评估指标应用于农药风险评估。本文综述了SSD概念、方法原理、国内外研究和应用进展,并以毒死蜱为例进行了数据分析。由此建议继续关注国际上对SSD及更复杂模型模拟研究进展,以便应用于我国农药环境风险评估,推动我国农药管理的持续发展。