提高乌鲁木齐市水磨沟区植被覆盖率的设想

通过对乌鲁木齐市水磨沟区植被的现状调查和对存在问题的分析,结合生态示范区建设指标体系,提出提高该区植被覆盖率及改善生态环境的设想。     

Land Cover Changes as a Result of Environmental Restrictions on Nitrate Leaching in Dairy Farming

Nitrate leaching forms an important environmental problem because it causes pollution of groundwater and surface water, and adds to already problematic eutrophication. This study analyses the impact of reductions in nitrate leaching on land cover decisions of dairy farms, of which the activities make an important contribution to nitrate leaching. As the level of nitrate leaching depends on groundwater depth as well as on the supply of nitrogen, spatial variation in groundwater levels will cause a spatial variation in land cover under restrictions on nitrate leaching. A non-linear partial optimisation model for the economic and ecological aspects of the problem were used to show how land cover and dairy farms' financial balances change when nitrate losses are reduced. The model is spatially explicit, and describes nitrate leakage and yields of maize and grass as a function of groundwater depth, including the effects of various grazing systems. The model analyses the decisions of a risk neutral agent who minimises costs under the following constraints: (i) production, feed requirements and mass balances for fodder; (ii) constraints for nitrate leaching. Economic costs are attributed to increased costs of fodder and processing of manure when nitrate restrictions are tightened. An important result of the study is the variation in compliance costs and land cover for maize and grass production brought about by spatial variation in groundwater depth. While the effects are negligible for some shallow groundwater classes, it is extremely difficult in other classes – if not impossible – to obtain the EU standard of maximum admissible losses of 34 kg N ha^–1 at low costs. The study shows an important reduction in land cover by maize.     

Effect of selected organic and inorganic snow and cloud components on the photochemical generation of nitrite by nitrate irradiation

The effect of selected organic and inorganic compounds, present in snow and cloudwater was studied. Photolysis of solutions of nitrate to nitrite was carried out in the laboratory using a UVB light source. The photolysis and other reactions were then modelled. It is shown that formate, formaldehyde, methanesulphonate, and chloride to a lesser extent, can increase the initial formation rate of nitrite. The effect, particularly significant for formate and formaldehyde, is unlikely to be caused by scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. The experimental data obtained in this work suggest that possible causes are the reduction of nitrogen dioxide and nitrate by radical species formed on photooxidation of the organic compounds. Hydroxyl scavenging by organic and inorganic compounds would not affect the initial formation rate of nitrite, but would protect it from oxidation, therefore, increasing the concentration values reached at long irradiation times. The described processes can be relevant to cloudwater and the quasi-liquid layer on the surface of ice and snow, considering that in the polar regions irradiated snow layers are important sources of nitrous acid to the atmosphere. Formate and (at a lesser extent) formaldehyde are the compounds that play the major role in the described processes of nitrite/nitrous acid photoformation by initial rate enhancement and hydroxyl scavenging.     

我国南方冰雪灾害的特征与城市救灾对策研究

在对2008年初中国南方所发生的冰雪灾害的损失、影响和成因进行分析的基础上,指出该次灾害具有受灾范围的全面性、灾害过程的发展性和救灾行动的艰难性等特征,阐明冰雪灾害在城市会造成停电停水、交通瘫痪和通讯中断等严重灾情,进而引发断油断粮、物价飞涨和人心恐慌等综合性灾害。通过冰雪灾害对城市救灾行动的总结,指出冰雪灾害给城市政府的深刻启示在于城市规模的急速扩张必须同时加强防灾救灾的软硬件建设,并提出城市必须采取持久开展防灾救灾知识宜传教育、大力加强防灾救灾基础设施建设、科学制订各类灾害的专业性应急预案和努力构建协同联动救灾机制等对策,有效提升城市应对灾害的能力,减少灾害造成的损失。     

扬州市土地利用与覆盖的遥感监测

应用遥感技术监测分析扬州市2009—2012年土地利用与覆盖状况。结果表明,扬州市土地利用及覆盖以耕地、城乡工矿居民用地及水域为主,主要生态红线区土地覆盖类型未发生人为改变,生态环境状况总体良好,呈略有改善的态势。提出,应坚持开展污染治理和生态建设,优化发展空间,统筹城乡建设用地管理。     

How dynamics and drivers of land use/land cover change impact elephant conservation and agricultural livelihood development in Rombo,Tanzania

Land use/land cover (LULC) change affects the provision of ecosystem services for humans and habitat for wildlife. Hence, it is crucial to monitor LULC particularly adjacent to protected areas. In this study, we measured LULC change in Rombo, Tanzania, an area with high-potential agro-ecological zones that is dominated by human–elephant conflicts (HECs). We used remote sensing and geographical information system techniques, questionnaires and village meetings to assess spatio-temporal patterns of the LULC changes in the study area. Using Landsat imagery, digital elevation model (DEM) and ground truthing, we classified and monitored changes in LULC from the years 1987 to 2015. We found that within Rombo, settlements were increasing, while agricultural and agroforestry lands were decreasing and respondents’ perceptions varied along the altitudinal gradient. Patterns of HEC and LULC were observed to change along the gradient and the later threatened the agricultural land and ecological integrity for elephant habitat, leading to high tension and competition between elephants and people. This research offers baseline information for land use planning to balance wildlife conservation with livelihood development in Rombo and highlights that managing the impacts of LULC changes on HEC and elephant habitat loss is a matter of urgency.     

Defining the Diurnal Pattern of Snowmelt Using a Beta Distribution Function

Snow is an important component of the hydrologic cycle for many regions worldwide. In addition to vital water resources, snowmelt can be important for forest ecosystem dynamics and flood risk. However, standard design events in the United States lack a design snowmelt event, including only precipitation events, though snowmelt has been shown to be larger than rainfall. In this article, we present a method using hourly snow water equivalent data to develop and test a function for representing the diurnal pattern of snowmelt. A two‐parameter beta distribution function is modified for the purposes of this study and found to fit the pattern of snowmelt well with a root mean squared error of 0.008. Soil moisture sensors were additionally utilized to assess the timing of the snowmelt water outflow from the base of the snowpack that supports the shape of the function, but suggests that the timing of losses recorded on snow pillows lag as much as 3 h. Further testing of the function showed the shape of the function to be accurate. The methods developed and tested in this paper can be applied for design purposes comparing snowmelt and rainfall events or to improve hydrological models investigating processes such as streamflow or groundwater recharge.     

Does Including Soil Moisture Observations Improve Operational Streamflow Forecasts in Snow‐Dominated Watersheds?

Changing climate and growing water demand are increasing the need for robust streamflow forecasts. Historically, operational streamflow forecasts made by the Natural Resources Conservation Service have relied on precipitation and snow water equivalent observations from Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites. We investigate whether also including SNOTEL soil moisture observations improve April‐July streamflow volume forecast accuracy at 0, 1, 2, and 3‐month lead times at 12 watersheds in Utah and California. We found statistically significant improvement in 0 and 3‐month lead time accuracy in 8 of 12 watersheds and 10 of 12 watersheds for 1 and 2‐month lead times. Surprisingly, these improvements were insensitive to soil moisture metrics derived from soil physical properties. Forecasts were made with volumetric water content (VWC) averaged from October 1 to the forecast date. By including VWC at the 0‐month lead time the forecasts explained 7.3% more variability and increased the streamflow volume accuracy by 8.4% on average compared to standard forecasts that already explained an average 77% of the variability. At 1 to 3‐month lead times, the inclusion of soil moisture explained 12.3‐26.3% more variability than the standard forecast on average. Our findings indicate including soil moisture observations increased statistical streamflow forecast accuracy and thus, could potentially improve water supply reliability in regions affected by changing snowpacks.     

Decline of traditional rice farming constrains the recovery of the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon)

Traditional agriculture benefits a rich diversity of plants and animals. The winter-flooded rice fields in the Qinling Mountains, China, are the last refuge for the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), and intensive efforts have been made to protect this anthropogenic habitat. Analyses of multi-temporal satellite data indicate that winter-flooded rice fields have been continuously reduced across the current range of crested ibis during the past two decades. The rate of loss of these fields in the core-protected areas has unexpectedly increased to a higher level than that in non-protected areas in the past decade. The best fit (R² = 0.87) numerical response model of the crested ibis population shows that a reduction of winter-flooded rice fields decreases population growth and predicts that the population growth will be constrained by the decline of traditional winter-flooded rice fields in the coming decades. Our findings suggest that the decline of traditional rice farming is likely to continue to pose a threat to the long-term survival and recovery of the crested ibis population in China.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0649-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Steel slags in a landfill top cover – Experiences from a full-scale experiment

A full scale field study has been carried out in order to test and evaluate the use of slags from high-alloy steel production as the construction materials for a final cover of an old municipal landfill. Five test areas were built using different slag mixtures within the barrier layer (liner). The cover consisted of a foundation layer, a liner with a thickness of 0.7 m, a drainage layer of 0.3 m, a protection layer of 1.5 m and a vegetation layer of 0.25 m. The infiltration varied depending on the cover design used, mainly the liner recipe but also over time and was related to seasons and precipitation intensity. The test areas with liners composed of 50% electric arc furnace (EAF) slag and 50% cementitious ladle slag (LS) on a weight basis and with a proper consistence of the protection layer were found to meet the Swedish infiltration criteria of ?50 l (m² a)^?1 for final covers for landfills for non-hazardous waste: the cumulative infiltration rates to date were 44, 19 and 0.4 l (m² a)^?1 for A1, A4 and A5, respectively. Compared to the precipitation, the portion of leachate was always lower after the summer despite high precipitation from June to August. The main reason for this is evapotranspiration but also the fact that the time delay in the leachate formation following a precipitation event has a stronger effect during the shorter summer sampling periods than the long winter periods. Conventional techniques and equipment can be used but close cooperation between all involved partners is crucial in order to achieve the required performance of the cover. This includes planning, method and equipment testing and quality assurance.