Sea otters,social justice,and ecosystem‐service perceptions in Clayoquot Sound,Canada

We sought to take a first step toward better integration of social concerns into empirical ecosystem service (ES) work. We did this by adapting cognitive anthropological techniques to study the Clayoquot Sound social‐ecological system on the Pacific coast of Canada's Vancouver Island. We used freelisting and ranking exercises to elicit how locals perceive ESs and to determine locals’ preferred food species. We analyzed these data with the freelist‐analysis software package ANTHROPAC. We considered the results in light of an ongoing trophic cascade caused by the government reintroduction of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and their spread along the island's Pacific coast. We interviewed 67 local residents (n = 29 females, n = 38 males; n = 26 self‐identified First Nation individuals, and n = 41 non‐First Nation individuals) and 4 government managers responsible for conservation policy in the region. We found that the mental categories participants—including trained ecologists—used to think about ESs, did not match the standard academic ES typology. With reference to the latest ecological model projections for the region, we found that First Nations individuals and women were most likely to perceive the most immediate ES losses from the trophic cascade, with the most certainty. The inverse was found for men and non‐First Nations individuals, generally. This suggests that 2 historically disadvantaged groups (i.e., First Nations and women) are poised to experience the immediate impacts of the government‐initiated trophic cascade as yet another social injustice in a long line of perceived inequities. Left unaddressed, this could complicate efforts at multistakeholder ecosystem management in the region.     

Accounting for the Impact of Conservation on Human Well‐Being

Conservationists are increasingly engaging with the concept of human well‐being to improve the design and evaluation of their interventions. Since the convening of the influential Sarkozy Commission in 2009, development researchers have been refining conceptualizations and frameworks to understand and measure human well‐being and are starting to converge on a common understanding of how best to do this. In conservation, the term human well‐being is in widespread use, but there is a need for guidance on operationalizing it to measure the impacts of conservation interventions on people. We present a framework for understanding human well‐being, which could be particularly useful in conservation. The framework includes 3 conditions; meeting needs, pursuing goals, and experiencing a satisfactory quality of life. We outline some of the complexities involved in evaluating the well‐being effects of conservation interventions, with the understanding that well‐being varies between people and over time and with the priorities of the evaluator. Key challenges for research into the well‐being impacts of conservation interventions include the need to build up a collection of case studies so as to draw out generalizable lessons; harness the potential of modern technology to support well‐being research; and contextualize evaluations of conservation impacts on well‐being spatially and temporally within the wider landscape of social change. Pathways through the smog of confusion around the term well‐being exist, and existing frameworks such as the Well‐being in Developing Countries approach can help conservationists negotiate the challenges of operationalizing the concept. Conservationists have the opportunity to benefit from the recent flurry of research in the development field so as to carry out more nuanced and locally relevant evaluations of the effects of their interventions on human well‐being. Consideración del Impacto de la Conservación sobre el Bienestar Humano     

The Complementary Niches of Anthropocentric and Biocentric Conservationists

A divergence of values has become apparent in recent debates between conservationists who focus on ecosystem services that can improve human well‐being and those who focus on avoiding the extinction of species. These divergent points of view fall along a continuum from anthropocentric to biocentric values, but most conservationists are relatively closer to each other than to the ends of the spectrum. We have some concerns with both positions but emphasize that conservation for both people and all other species will be most effective if conservationists focus on articulating the values they all share, being respectful of divergent values, and collaborating on common interests. The conservation arena is large enough to accommodate many people and organizations whose diverse values lead them to different niches that can, with good will and foresight, be far more complementary than competitive. Los Nichos Complementarios de los Conservacionistas Antropocéntricos y Biocéntricos     

Current Practice and Future Prospects for Social Data in Coastal and Ocean Planning

Coastal and ocean planning comprises a broad field of practice. The goals, political processes, and approaches applied to planning initiatives may vary widely. However, all planning processes ultimately require adequate information on both the biophysical and social attributes of a planning region. In coastal and ocean planning practice, there are well‐established methods to assess biophysical attributes; however, less is understood about the role and assessment of social data. We conducted the first global assessment of the incorporation of social data in coastal and ocean planning. We drew on a comprehensive review of planning initiatives and a survey of coastal and ocean practitioners. There was significantly more incorporation of social data in multiuse versus conservation‐oriented planning. Practitioners engaged a wide range of social data, including governance, economic, and cultural attributes of planning regions and human impacts data. Less attention was given to ecosystem services and social–ecological linkages, both of which could improve coastal and ocean planning practice. Although practitioners recognize the value of social data, little funding is devoted to its collection and incorporation in plans. Increased capacity and sophistication in acquiring critical social and ecological data for planning is necessary to develop plans for more resilient coastal and ocean ecosystems and communities. We suggest that improving social data monitoring, and in particular spatial social data, to complement biophysical data, is necessary for providing holistic information for decision‐support tools and other methods. Moving beyond people as impacts to people as beneficiaries, through ecosystem services assessments, holds much potential to better incorporate the tenets of ecosystem‐based management into coastal and ocean planning by providing targets for linked biodiversity conservation and human welfare outcomes. La Práctica Actual y los Prospectos Futuros para los Datos Sociales en la Planeación Costera y Oceánica     

大坝截流前后金沙江观音岩水电站鱼类群落功能多样性的变化

人类活动通过对非生物因素和生物多样性的作用从而对生态系统功能产生了巨大的影响。大量的理论和实验研究表明,物种功能性状在连接群落组成改变和生态系统进程转变中起着重要作用。由于物种功能性状的差异,栖息环境改变后,群落中容易适应新环境的物种占据优势,难以适应的物种数量减少甚至消失,从而导致整个群落结构发生改变,进而使整个生态系统进程发生转变。通过评价金沙江观音岩水电站大坝截流前后鱼类群落组成情况,结合不同种类功能性状的差异,采用生物多样性评估方法和功能多样性指数分析方法两种不同手段,对比分析截流前后大坝下游鱼类群落结构和功能多样性的变化,从而分析大坝建设的生态效应。结果表明:Bray-Curtis相异指数前后差异较大,辛普森指数无明显变化;功能多样性指数的变化表明大坝截流对水体中体型较大,口下位,食谱宽度较窄的鱼类生存和活动造成了一定的破坏,导致拥有这些特征的鱼类数量减少甚至消失,降低了下游鱼类群落的功能多样性,进而对该区域整个生态系统功能产生影响。     

森林生态系统对大气氮沉降降低的响应

大气氮沉降是全球变化的重要影响因素之一,而过量氮沉降导致森林出现氮饱和,引起土壤酸化、硝酸根淋溶、氧化亚氮排放增加、植物物种多样性和植被生产力下降.在欧洲、北美和我国大气氮沉降降低的背景下,总结森林生态系统对氮输入降低的响应,不仅能够完善氮沉降对森林生态系统影响的知识体系,也能评估各国已开展的减排行动的成效,为我国制定进一步的减排政策提供科学依据.回顾了欧洲和北美的温带森林以及我国亚热带森林的土壤、地表水、氮循环和植被对大气含氮污染气体和氮沉降降低的响应.土壤溶液中硝酸根浓度对氮沉降的减少响应迅速,但具体响应规律未出现统一趋势.土壤酸化和氮循环过程从高氮沉降中的恢复过程出现滞后现象.森林氮矿化和固持、土壤碳储量和净初级生产力可能需要几十年的时间对氮沉降的减少作出响应.相对而言,虽然有一两年的延迟,土壤无机氮库和氮淋溶量会随着氮沉降的下降而下降.地表水氮浓度与森林生态系统氮状态密切相关.当氮沉降降低时,在历史高氮沉降地区,森林生态系统的氮淋溶下降,因此地表水氮浓度的响应较明显.而在氮缺乏的森林中,普遍较低的地表水氮浓度受到氮沉降变化的影响不显著.地表水酸化的恢复受到土壤硫解吸-矿化和硝化...     

区域规划环评中生态系统服务功能影响评价方法初探研究

生态系统服务功能是维系区域生态系统安全的重要保障,从生态系统服务功能角度评价区域规划对生态系统的影响具有重要意义。目前在规划环评中应用生态系统服务功能评价的案例仍然较少,本文基于目标导向性影响评价理念,构建生态系统服务功能影响指标体系,以及基于RS与GIS技术的空间评价方法,旨在探索建立一套适用于区域尺度规划环境影响评价的可行的生态系统服务功能影响评价模式。针对区域主要的生态系统服务功能类型,选择能够准确衡量功能强弱且对人类干扰敏感的因子作为主要评价指标．通过指标的变化趋势和规划建设空间分析,评价规划实施对区域主要生态系统服务功能造成的影响,根据评价结果提出相应的避让、减缓、补偿、优化等对策措施,保障区域生态系统服务功能不降低。     

基于概率神经网络的城市湖泊生态系统健康评价研究

概率神经网络(PNN)是一种结构简单、训练简捷、应用十分广泛的人工神经网络,并且在水质分类等环境领域已取得一定研究成果.本文选取广州市最大的人工湖——白云湖作为研究对象,结合其水质监测数据及生物监测数据,建立概率神经网络模型对其进行湖泊生态系统健康评价,得到不同监测时间点的湖泊生态系统健康评价结果.分析表明:1白云湖生态系统比较脆弱,目前净化水质的效果有限;2各监测点的评价结果均呈季节性变化,丰水期湖泊生态系统健康状态好于枯水期,年际变化不显著.实验结果表明,利用概率神经网络对湖泊生态系统健康状态进行评价是可行的,与传统评价方法相比,其具有训练时间短、权重确定客观、输出结果稳定等优势,可以运用到更多相关领域.     

耐蚀高熵合金在岛礁装备中的应用前景

详细综述了南沙岛礁环境下装备的腐蚀特点以及耐蚀高熵合金的研究进展,着重分析了合金化元素及热处理工艺对耐蚀高熵合金腐蚀性能的影响规律.最终,归纳了耐蚀高熵合金在岛礁装备中的潜在应用领域,为全面提升我国关键装备在南沙岛礁环境中的服役能力提供了理论指导.     

基于生态系统服务权衡的生态安全多情景决策

聚焦于成渝城市群生态安全格局识别的主题,耦合多源数据,运用相应的模型与算法对区域粮食生产、碳固存、产水、土壤保持、生境质量5类生态系统服务进行估算,在此基础上借助空间统计与分析厘清生态系统服务功能间的权衡/协同关系,并构建不同风险情景,明确未来区域发展的生态安全格局.结果显示,2000~2015年,成渝城市群粮食生产、固碳和产水量这3类服务功能均呈下降趋势,土壤保持、生境质量服务呈上升趋势,且各类服务的空间分异性突出;固碳、产水、土壤保持与生境质量两两之间均表现为协同关系,粮食生产与这4类服务间表现为权衡关系,但这种冲突性在区域发展过程中逐渐呈减弱趋势;在空间分布上,成渝城市群生态系统服务间的权衡/协同关系表现出了一定的集聚特征;不同决策风险下生态系统服务间的权衡值也不同,随着决策风险系数的增加权衡值呈现先上升后下降的趋势;最终确定风险系数α=1.6为最适宜情景,此时权衡值最高、区域生态系统风险适中.将决策者的态度纳入生态安全格局识别过程中,使结果更全面,为城市群生态安全格局评价和管理提供科学支撑.