Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: a regional comparison of forestry stakeholder perceptions

Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) [1992, Agenda 21: programme of action for sustainable development. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), 3-14 June 1992. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 294pp.], the management of information has become central to the management of forest resources. In the cases of North America and Europe, similar issues have been challenging policy makers as they determine the information suitable for monitoring progress towards sustainable forest management (SFM). Using an 'online' survey, this research explored multiple stakeholder perspectives on monitoring and information reporting for SFM in different jurisdictions. The research was based on the premise that an analysis of the variation in stakeholder observations across a range of SFM 'issue areas' could provide valuable insight into the perceived need for SFM-related monitoring and information reporting in the regions of Europe, Canada and the USA. Despite the traditional limitations associated with exploratory survey research, the results indicate a demand for more information on SFM-related issues. The results also highlight the degree to which the perceptions of a sample of stakeholders can differ between Europe, USA and Canada. While these results cannot be generalized beyond the present study, they do suggest that further studies are needed to understand stakeholder perspectives on forestry-related monitoring and information reporting in different jurisdictions.     

A Social Analysis of the Bioinvasions of Dreissena polymorpha in Spain and Hydrilla verticillata in Guatemala

Human agency plays a key role in the processes of biological invasions. This comprises not only the human role in the configuration of driving forces or in the perception of the impacts, but also the conceptualization of alien species themselves as an environmental problem. This paper examines different stakeholders' positions in bioinvasion processes at different scales, and it looks at their relevance for the management of invasive species. It compares two cases: the invasion process of Dreissena polymorpha in the Ebro River in Spain and the case of Hydrilla verticillata in Lake Izabal, Guatemala. Our results are structured according to impacts and to management options. The discussion focuses on the relevance of incorporating the different stakeholders' interests and values in the analysis and management of biological invasions. Although social analysis of stakeholders' positions is necessary in order to foster management actions, it also reveals conflicts on the relevant criteria and on the very definition of invasive species.     

Is Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Economically Efficient?

It has traditionally been argued that recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is usually not economically viable and that only when externalities, long-term dynamic considerations, and/or the entire product life cycle are taken into account, recycling becomes worthwhile from a social point of view. This article explores the results of a wide study conducted in Israel in the years 2000–2004. Our results reveal that recycling is optimal more often than usually claimed, even when externality considerations are ignored. The study is unique in the tools it uses to explore the efficiency of recycling: a computer-based simulation applied to an extensive database. We developed a simulation for assessing the costs of handling and treating MSW under different waste-management systems and used this simulation to explore possible cost reductions obtained by designating some of the waste (otherwise sent to landfill) to recycling. We ran the simulation on data from 79 municipalities in Israel that produce over 60% of MSW in Israel. For each municipality, we were able to arrive at an optimal method of waste management and compare the costs associated with 100% landfilling to the costs born by the municipality when some of the waste is recycled. Our results indicate that for 51% of the municipalities, it would be efficient to adopt recycling, even without accounting for externality costs. We found that by adopting recycling, municipalities would be able to reduce direct costs by an average of 11%. Through interviews conducted with representatives of municipalities, we were also able to identify obstacles to the utilization of recycling, answering in part the question of why actual recycling levels in Israel are lower than our model predicts they should be.     

Linking Models of Land Use,Resources, and Economy to Simulate the Development of Mountain Regions (ALPSCAPE)

We present a framework of a scenario-based model that simulates the development of the municipality of Davos (Swiss Alps). We illustrate our method with the calculation of the scenario for 2050 “Decrease in subsidies for mountain agriculture and liberalization of markets.” The main objective was to link submodels of land-use allocation (regression-based approach), material and energy flows submodels (Material and Energy Flux Analysis), and economic submodels (Input–Output Analysis). Letting qualitative and quantitative information flow from one submodel to the next, following the storyline describing a scenario, has proven to be suitable for linking submodels. The succession of the submodels is then strongly dependent on the scenario. Qualitative information flows are simulated with microsimulations of actor choices. Links between the submodels show different degrees of robustness: although the links involving microsimulations are the weakest, the uncertainty introduced by the land-use allocation model is actually advantageous because it allows one possible change in the landscape in the future to be simulated. The modeling results for the scenario here presented show that the disappearance of agriculture only marginally affects the region’s factor income, but that the consequences for the self-sufficiency rate, for various landscape-related indicators and ecosystem services, and for the economy in the long term may be considerable. These benefits compensate for agriculture’s modest direct economic value. The framework presented can potentially be applied to any region and scenario. This framework provides a basis for a learning package that allows potential detrimental consequences of regional development to be anticipated at an early stage.     

Temporal and Spatial Relationships Between Watershed Land Use and Salt Marsh Disturbance in a Pacific Estuary

Historical and recent remote sensing data can be used to address temporal and spatial relationships between upland land cover and downstream vegetation response at the watershed scale. This is demonstrated for sub-watersheds draining into Elkhorn Slough, California, where salt marsh habitat has diminished because of the formation of sediment fans that support woody riparian vegetation. Multiple regression models were used to examine which land cover variables and physical properties of the watershed most influenced sediment fan size within 23 sub-watersheds (1.4 ha to 200 ha). Model explanatory power increased (adjusted R(2) = 0.94 vs. 0.75) among large sub-watersheds (>10 ha) and historical watershed variables, such as average farmland slope, flowpath slope, and flowpath distance between farmland and marsh, were significant. It was also possible to explain the increase in riparian vegetation by historical watershed variables for the larger sub-watersheds. Sub-watershed area is the overriding physical characteristic influencing the extent of sedimentation in a salt marsh, while percent cover of agricultural land use is the most influential land cover variable. The results also reveal that salt marsh recovery depends on relative cover of different land use classes in the watershed, with greater chances of recovery associated with less intensive agriculture. This research reveals a potential delay between watershed impacts and wetland response that can be best revealed when conducting multi-temporal analyses on larger watersheds.     

Estimation of Landscape Potential for Construction of Surface-Flow Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment in Estonia

The main aim of this article is to demonstrate a method of complex landscape analysis in order to estimate the landscape suitability for the construction of surface-flow wetlands (SFW) for wastewater treatment. This is a multilevel suitability analysis from a more general regional (landscape) assessment based on a map of landscape types (1:100,000) toward a detailed analysis based on aerial orthophotos and detailed soil maps (1:10,000). The assessment scheme consists of landscape classification according to the physical-chemical properties of landscape factors (soil conditions, landforms, hydrogeology, expert decisions concerning landscape values, and suitability analysis). The partial suitability values of SFWs are derived by summarizing expert values for landscape factors (each ranging from -1 to +1). By multiplying the summarized partial suitability values with nature protection values (ranging from 0 to 1), we obtain the final suitability value for each landscape type. Any kind of nature protection area has been considered nonsuitable and excluded at regional-level analysis. The results of the regional analysis demonstrate that suitability is distributed relatively equally over the study area. The high suitability potential (classified as "very suitable") is relatively evenly distributed in lowland regions throughout the country. The share of "very suitable" and "suitable" areas in different counties varies from 5 to 23% and 7 to 49%, respectively. The detailed analysis based on aerial orthophotos showed that areas suitable for SFWs can also be found within the areas determined to be unsuitable based on the less detailed map of landscape types, whereas differences are much greater between settlements chosen for the detailed suitability analysis.     

皖南地区铜陵市大气颗粒物污染特征及潜在源研究

利用2018年3月—2021年2月环境和气象数据对皖南地区铜陵市大气颗粒物的污染特征和潜在贡献源进行了系统性研究.铜陵市大气颗粒物污染具有明显的季节变化特征,冬季污染物浓度最高,PM_2.5和PM₁₀平均为（60.3±31.0）μg·m^-3和（89.2±42.2）μg·m^-3.计算发现PM_2.5/PM₁₀超过0.5,铜陵市的大气颗粒物污染问题与细颗粒物关系密切.后向轨迹聚类分析表明铜陵市大气颗粒物的输送路径具有季节性差异.春季以西北、东北和西南方向气流为主,占比83.73%;夏季以东南和南部方向气流为主,占比82.90%;秋季以东北气流为主,占比51.00%;冬季则是以北方和西北气流为主,占比69.81%.其中,冬季气流轨迹所对应的PM_2.5和PM₁₀的浓度最高,平均为59.7和92.0μg·m^-3;夏季最低,平均为23.8和43.8μg·m^-3.潜在源贡献因子（WPSC...     

不同磁黄铁矿自养反硝化脱氮除磷作用

氮磷排放标准日趋严格,开发高效廉价脱氮除磷材料已成为研究热点.采用黄铁矿与赤铁矿在管式炉中氮气气氛下600 ℃煅烧,得到硫化赤铁矿形成的磁黄铁矿、黄铁矿热分解形成的磁黄铁矿,构建磁黄铁矿-方解石体系处理含氮磷模拟废水,对比不同方式制备的磁黄铁矿、天然磁黄铁矿、黄铁矿、硫磺脱氮除磷性能,考察不同磁黄铁矿晶体结构和结晶度差异及其对脱氮除磷影响,探究不同体系中矿物结构和微生物群落变化.结果表明：黄铁矿热分解产物以六方磁黄铁矿为主;硫化赤铁矿产物以低结晶度的单斜磁黄铁矿为主,因而表现出优异的脱氮除磷活性,氮磷去除率分别为99.8%和96.8%.铁硫化物与微生物反应产物的XRD、SEM和FE-TEM分析结果表明,微生物能有效利用磁黄铁矿进行脱氮,磷酸盐主要以FePO₄形式被去除.群落分析结果表明铁硫化物脱氮除磷体系中的主要功能菌属为Thiobacillus和 Sulfurimonas,结晶度低的单斜磁黄铁矿更有利于Thiobacillus定向富集.     

随机价格下杉木人工林的碳汇收益及最优轮伐期确定

发展林业碳汇是应对全球气候变化及实现中国2060年碳中和的重要举措。基于改进的Faustmann-Hartman模型,以中国南方浙江、福建和江西三个省份杉木人工林为研究对象,使用时间序列模型拟合并预测中国碳排放权交易市场的碳汇价格,通过蒙特卡洛模拟确定最优轮伐期及碳汇收益。研究结果表明：（1）依次纳入木材收益、地上生物量碳汇收益和死亡有机质碳汇收益时,杉木人工林的最优轮伐期分别为21.85年、22.98年和22.88年;（2）上述三种情景下,林地期望价值的净现值分别为20408.20元/hm²、24587.29元/hm²和28101.11元/hm²;（3）全面考虑包含死亡有机质碳库在内的林业碳汇效益,能够稳定提高林地所有者收益约7.02%~21.61%。此外,应进一步考虑多轮伐期下税收政策及自然风险等因素对碳汇营林的影响,这是确定最优轮伐期和碳汇收益后续研究值得重视的问题。     

基于函数极值条件下的中国碳达峰碳中和情景分析

基于函数极值条件提出了碳达峰出现时间和需要满足的理论条件,并对主要发达国家作了验证,同时对中国现状做了分析,最后采用了基准和强化两种情景分析了中国实现2030年碳达峰后进入2060年碳中和时期的二氧化碳排放量。研究结果显示：（1）根据IPAT恒等式将碳排放函数分解成人口、人均GDP和碳强度三个因素时,碳峰值出现时间为三个因素年增长率之和由正转负的正数值年度,发达国家的历史数据证实了这一条件。（2）中国三个因素年增长率之和自2003年起已经开始降低,最近几年一直在0.01~0.02徘徊,表明总体上朝着有利于碳达峰的方向发展,同时按照三个因素的预期发展目标计算得出中国2030年碳排放峰值的上限为112.2亿t,若2021—2035年保持相同的人均GDP年均复合增长率,碳强度年均复合增长率的绝对值需要比人均GDP年均复合增长率高0.14个百分点。（3）在能源消费总量逐渐回落的前提条件下,2060年基准情景下非化石能源占比约为65%,产生的二氧化碳量约为31.4亿t,强化情景下非化石能源占比约为70%,二氧化碳排放约为26.6亿t,而碳汇和CCUS等固碳技术还存在不确定性,碳中和任务依然艰巨。实现碳达峰碳中和最终需要控制能源消费,践行低碳消费行为。