The National Heritage Resource Act (1999): Can legislation protect South Africa's rare geoheritage resources?

In South Africa, rare geological specimens are protected by the National Heritage Resource Act (1999). These portable geoheritage objects are neither defined nor described in this Act making their geoheritage status questionable. Thirteen categories and criteria for establishing a geological specimen's rarity status are discussed and include (1) rarity as defined by abundance per se; (2) rarity of a particular habit (external shape or form) of a mineral; (3) rare pseudomorphs; (4) rarity of a particular variety of a mineral; (5) rarity of a particular colour of a common mineral; (6) rarity defined by size; (7) rarity defined by quality; (8) a common species, but rare for a particular locality; (9) rarity of associations of minerals; (10) rarity determined by source being depleted, exhausted or mined out; (11) rare inclusions in minerals; (12) previously rare, now common specimens and (13) miscellaneous criteria that produce rare specimens. Geological specimens (resources) are complex objects when defining their rarity status and multiple rarity factors can apply to single specimens. A lack of clear criteria for defining rare geological specimens appears to place the National Heritage Resource Act (1999) in direct conflict with the more recent Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (2002) which legitimizes the legal exploitation of any mineral resource.     

Promoting ecological sustainable planning for natural stone quarrying. The case of the Orosei Marble Producing Area in Eastern Sardinia

This paper presents an analysis of the main environmental impact factors (noise, vibration, fumes, dust, vehicle traffic) associated with marble quarrying and processing in the Orosei industrial area and their effects. Solutions are also proposed to prevent, mitigate and, where possible, eliminate the impact on the environment. Using three-dimensional topographic models, the authors simulated quarry and industrial processing development, with projections over the next 10, 30 and 50 years. The aim of these simulations was to establish land management planning guidelines for the optimal and environmentally sustainable development of the Orosei Marble industrial area. Lastly, careful quarry development planning is important both for enhancing LCA and for improving production processes through sustainable technologies that yield green label products meeting environmental performance standards.     

Integrating soil carbon cycling with that of nitrogen and phosphorus in the watershed model SWAT: Theory and model testing

In this paper we describe and test a sub-model that integrates the cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model. The core of the sub-model is a multi-layer, one-pool soil organic carbon (S_C) algorithm, in which the decomposition rate of S_C and input rate to S_C (through decomposition and humification of residues) depend on the current size of S_C. The organic N and P fluxes are coupled to that of C and depend on the available mineral N and P, and the C:N and N:P ratios of the decomposing pools. Tillage explicitly affects the soil organic matter turnover rate through tool-specific coefficients. Unlike most models, the turnover of soil organic matter does not follow first order kinetics. Each soil layer has a specific maximum capacity to accumulate C or C saturation (S_x) that depends on texture and controls the turnover rate. It is shown in an analytical solution that S_x is a parameter with major influence in the model C dynamics. Testing with a 65-yr data set from the dryland wheat growing region in Oregon shows that the model adequately simulates the S_C dynamics in the topsoil (top 0.3 m) for three different treatments. Three key model parameters, the optimal decomposition and humification rates and a factor controlling the effect of soil moisture and temperature on the decomposition rate, showed low uncertainty as determined by generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation. Nonetheless, the parameter set that provided accurate simulations in the topsoil tended to overestimate S_C in the subsoil, suggesting that a mechanism that expresses at depth might not be represented in the current sub-model structure. The explicit integration of C, N, and P fluxes allows for a more cohesive simulation of nutrient cycling in the SWAT model. The sub-model has to be tested in forestland and rangeland in addition to agricultural land, and in diverse soils with extreme properties such high or low pH, an organic horizon, or volcanic soils.     

Ecosystems emerging. 5: Constraints

Ecosystem constraints are both ontic and epistemic. They limit activity, and as problems to be solved they drive organization, which is our hypothesis:

The driver of organization is constraint.

Solutions proliferate further constraints in an unending spiral of problem (constraint) generation and solution. As constraints proliferate, behavior narrows, and species diversify to compensate (paradox of constraint). Resource enrichment reduces constraints, releases behavior, and reduction of challenges decreases diversity (paradox of enrichment)—high diversity is expressed in low-resource environments and low diversity in high-resource environments. A three-part model of constraints is formulated for non-living systems, and also for goal-directed, problem-solving biota. Mode 1: dynamical means behavior is co-determined by internal states and external inputs. Mode 2: cybernetic employs negative feedback to keep dynamics within goal-oriented operating limits. Mode 3: model-making entails ability to represent (model) physical reality and respond to both phenomenal (modeled) and physical inputs; this property distinguishes living from nonliving systems. Principal sections of the paper elaborate dynamical constraints (three classes), boundary constraints (expressed in edge effects and trophic dynamics), physical constraints (space, time, temperature), chemical constraints (environment fitness, ecological stoichiometry, chemical evolution, limiting factors), coding constraints (environmental vs. genetic coding), network and pathway constraints (connectivity), and natural selection constraints (fitting to the biosphere). Consideration of how the world would look without constraints suggests how fundamental these are in ecosystem emergence, and how the next property in this series, differentiation, would be unmotivated without them. We conclude that constraints as a category are under-studied in ecology, poorly understood in ecological phenomenology, and (our hypothesis) comprise a ubiquitous organizing force in nature.     

水深梯度对荆三棱(Scirpus yagara)生长的影响

研究湿地植物对水深梯度的响应对于湿地修复具有重要的指导意义.在南四湖湖边滩地上的人工修复湿地中开展水深梯度对荆三棱(Scirpus yagara)生长的影响研究,试验观测水深分别为-10、0、10、20、30 cm共5个梯度.结果显示:随着水位的升高,1)荆三棱的株高、基茎、叶长和叶宽均有所增加,当水位大于10 cm时各项指标增加更为显著;2)生物量呈增加趋势,而根茎比则逐渐减小,水位为30 cm时的生物量和根茎比分别为-10 cm时的2.67倍和58.15%;3)叶绿素含量总体呈增加趋势,但在不同水位间的差异不明显(P>0.05);4)叶绿素荧光方面,最大光化学量子产量Fv/Fm均在0.75以上,光化学淬灭qP和非光化学淬灭qN分别呈现出升高和下降的趋势.结果表明,在试验所设置的水位条件下(-10～30 cm),荆三棱的生长没有受到水深梯度增加的显著影响,相反表现出随着水深的增加而生长更好的趋势.可见,在试验设置的水深梯度范围内,相对较高的水位有利于荆三棱的生长,因此在湿地管理中应控制适当的高水位以利于其种群的生长和稳定.     

Mine size optimization using marginal analysis

In this study, a model to estimate the optimum mine size is developed. The model is developed on the basis of marginal analysis. The model solves for the production rate at which the present value of marginal costs equals the present value of marginal revenues—the rate that microeconomic theory shows will maximize the net present value of production from the mine.In addition, the article discusses the effects on the optimum production rate of: the physical characteristics of the deposit, economic factors, and financial factors. It has been found that, not surprisingly, as the reserve tonnage increases, the optimum mine size increases. Also, the optimum production rate increases as the ore grade increases. A direct relationship has been found between the mineral price and the optimum production rate. The optimum mine size is found to be inversely related to the expected growth rate of mineral price, while it is directly related to the expected growth rate of mining costs. A concave relationship has been found between the cost of capital and the optimum mine size.     

热休克、Poly I:C上调草鱼GRP78基因表达

葡萄糖调节蛋白78(GRP78)是细胞内一种应急蛋白,它通过对细胞内、外胁迫因子产生强烈的应答而调节内质网稳态.草鱼(Ctenopharyngodon idellus)GRP78克隆于草鱼肝肾cDNA文库,全长2 490 bp.其中,5'非编码区为155 bp,含有7个热休克元件,3'非编码区为373 bp,最大开放阅读框为1 962 bp,编码653个氨基酸.序列分析表明,草鱼GRP78的N端包含3个HSP70家族的签名序列,C末端为内质网蛋白滞留信号KDEL,草鱼GRP78与人及其它动物的同源性很高.适应性进化分析也显示GRP78非常保守,受到强烈的功能约束,说明该蛋白质在进化中非常重要.RT-PCR分析表明,相对于本底水平,34℃热激和Poly I:c诱导后,草鱼GRP78在肝、肾等组织巾的表达明显上调.图4表1参16     

Is The Ca + K + Mg/Al Ratio in the Soil Solution a Predictive Tool for Estimating Forest Damage?

The ratio between (Ca +K +Mg) and Al in nutrientsolution has been suggested as a predictive tool forestimating tree growth disturbance. However, the ratiois unspecific in the sense that it is based on severalelements which are all essential for plant growth;each of these may be growth-limiting. Furthermore,aluminium retards growth at higher concentrations. Itis therefore difficult to give causal and objectivebiological explanations for possible growthdisturbances. The importance of the proportion ofbase-cations to N, at a fixed base-cation/Al ratio, isevaluated with regard to growth of Picea abies.The uptake of elements was found to be selective;nutrients were taken up while most Al remained insolution. Biomass partitioning to the roots increasedafter aluminium addition with low proportions of basecations to nitrogen. We conclude that the low growthrates depend on nutrient limitation in thesetreatments. Low growth rates in the high proportionexperiments may be explained by high internal Alconcentrations. The results strongly suggest thatgrowth rate is not correlated with the ratio in therooting medium and question the validity of usingratios as predictive tools for estimating forestdamage. We suggest that growth limitation of Picea abies in the field may depend on lowproportions of base cations to nitrate. It istherefore important to know the nutritional status ofthe plant material in relation to the growth potentialand environmental limitation to be able to predict andestimate forest damage.     

Environmental Initiative Prioritization with a Delphi Approach: A Case Study

India is fast finding its place in the industrialized world and that is beginning to raise its environmental consciousness. The Delphi technique was used to prioritize specific needs and articulate a sustainable urban improvement strategy for the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The Delphi technique is a means of achieving consensual validity among raters by providing them feedback regarding other raters' responses. Mumbai has several indigenous environmental groups that were tapped for activists and leaders; the study was conducted using ten environmentalists. In the initial phases the responses resulted in a range of possible program alternatives. The last two stages helped to seek out information that generated a consensus on the part of the respondent group. Statistical analysis methods included a hierarchical cluster analysis, mean, median, mode, and percent of agreement calculations using SPSS software. The face-to-face discussion in phase 4 clarified some issues and helped the group as a whole to outline the strategy for putting in place the essential elements of a framework to improve the quality of life in an urban environment.     

Assessing Public Participation Techniques for Comfort, Convenience, Satisfaction, and Deliberation

Public participatory techniques have been the focus of a large and growing body of environmental literature. There is some consensus among those who study these techniques that there is a need to develop and implement new techniques that meet certain criteria. These include that the techniques be comfortable, convenient, and satisfying to participants. Authors have also frequently called for the use of deliberative techniques, which allow participants to express and listen to a variety of perspectives regarding the issue at hand. However, the literature on public participation lacks a set of widely applicable evaluation methods to determine whether participants in techniques find them comfortable, convenient, satisfying, or deliberative. This paper reports on the implementation of two different techniques that participants scored fairly high on all of these factors, as well as the scale-based survey questions developed to measure these factors.