Environmental efficiency and its determinants in the development of China’s western regions in 2000–2014

In this study, we measure the environmental efficiency of western China in 2000–2014 by the super-efficiency slacks-based measure model which considers the undesirable outputs. The results show that the environmental efficiency of western China is low and rank behind in the national level. The environmental efficiency is lower than the traditional efficiency which reflects that the economic growth in 2000–2014 has paid high environmental costs. The difference between the traditional efficiency and environmental efficiency experienced “inverted U”-type trend change. The environmental efficiency of the western provinces presented differentiated developing trend and the differences between the western provinces were enlarging. The environmental efficiency of the western regions was not only lower than that in the eastern regions with a big gap but also lower than that in the central regions. Through the convergence test, we found that the environmental efficiency gap between the western and the eastern regions was gradually expanding; meanwhile, the environmental efficiency gap between the central and the western regions was narrowing. This paper also analyzes the determinants of environmental efficiency by the tobit model and then addresses.     

Study of poverty alleviation strategy based on labor force quality improvement and ecological protection in Western China

Fragile ecological environment and poverty correlate to and reinforce each other closely in Western China.At the same time,Western China is also the most prominent area of the knowledge and human poverty with very low labor force quality.On the basis of analyzing the characteristics of poverty in Western China,this paper studies the coupling relationship between fragile ecological environment and poverty in Western China,including the impacts of fragile environment on poverty occurrence and the effects of ecological construction on poverty alleviation.It also analyzed how low labor quality causes persistent poverty in the western region.At the end of the paper,strategies of diversity poverty alleviation in Western China are suggested based on sustainable development,including education improvement,ecological construction,industries development,infrastructure construction,planning institution innovation,and so on.     

Social licences to operate: for better not for worse; for richer not for poorer? The impacts of unplanned mining closure for “fence line” residential communities

Establishing “social licences to operate” with communities has become a significant corporate social responsibility agenda. The complex dynamics of these relationships can compound the impacts for communities when these contracts are not upheld. This article documents reflections from a rapid rural appraisal conducted in the Shire of Ravensthorpe in remote Western Australia after the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation was “mothballed” 9 months into a projected 25-year lifespan. It captures how communication about the project and its time frames created a sense of consistency, predictability, certainty and trust – enabling social licence. The raising of hope and the emergence of mistrust underpin social, environmental and financial impacts of this event for the local community. Embedded in the theoretical dimensions of social licences, this case study highlights the problematic of social licences that engage with non-contractual stakeholders as partners in “booms” but have no legal responsibility towards them in times of “bust”.     

厦门西港潮间带柱状沉积物重金属赋存形态与污染评价

采用改进的BCR四步提取法研究厦门西港潮间带柱状沉积物中12种重金属元素(Ba、Co、Cr、Cu、Fe、Mn、Zn、Ni、Pb、Sr、V和Ti)不同形态的分布特征,并利用次生相和原生相比值法进行重金属污染评价。结果表明:在1975~2013年所对应的沉积柱中,Fe、Zn、Ba、Ti、Co、Cr、Ni、V和Cu主要以残渣态为主,Sr和Mn主要以弱酸溶态赋存,Pb以可还原态和残渣态为主。次生相和原生相比值法评价结果表明,Pb在1981~1983年、1991~2003年处于轻度到中度污染水平,作为生物成因元素的Sr和Mn不适于用本法评价,其他金属均未受到污染。     

Diameter growth models for mixed-species stands of Coastal British Columbia including thinning and fertilization effects

In this study, diameter growth models for three species growing in mixed-stands of Coastal British Columbia (BC), Canada, under a variety of silvicultural treatments were developed. The three species were: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn). A Box and Lucas model (1959) was initially fitted to the diameter growth series for each tree, as this model is very flexible and was based on processes reflective of the metabolic processes governing tree growth. Next, a random coefficients modelling approach (i.e., parameter prediction approach) was used to modify the estimated parameters for each species using functions of tree size and stage of development, site productivity, and inter-tree competition variables, while accounting for temporal correlation within trees. Impacts of fertilization on diameter growth were estimated by including the time since fertilization as an additional variable. Since state variables that are changed as a result of thinning were already in the model, accurate results post-thinning were obtained with no changes to the model. For the combined effects of thinning and fertilization, a two-step additive approach was used, where the state variables were changed following thinning and the diameter increment was modified for fertilization using the time since fertilization variable. Results indicated that multiple treatments sustain a change in growth for a longer time period following treatment than thinning or fertilization alone.     

The loss of an indigenous constructed landscape following British invasion of Australia: An insight into the deep human imprint on the Australian landscape

Indigenous people play an integral role in shaping natural environments, and the disruption to Indigenous land management practices has profound effects on the biosphere. Here, we use pollen, charcoal and dendrochronological analyses to demonstrate that the Australian landscape at the time of British invasion in the 18th century was a heavily constructed one—the product of millennia of active maintenance by Aboriginal Australians. Focusing on the Surrey Hills, Tasmania, our results reveal how the removal of Indigenous burning regimes following British invasion instigated a process of ecological succession and the encroachment of cool temperate rainforest (i.e. later-stage vegetation communities) into grasslands of conservation significance. This research provides empirical evidence to challenge the long-standing portrayal of Indigenous Australians as low-impact ‘hunter-gatherers’ and highlights the relevance and critical value of Indigenous fire management in this era of heightened bushfire risk and biodiversity loss.     

国家安全视角下的我国西部国土空间规划:体系完善与基本导向

当前,我国国土空间规划自上而下试图从宏观层面尽可能解决或缓解自改革开放以来所面临的生态环境问题、资源约束、人地关系冲突、多头管理、规划权威性等关键问题。我国国土规划的体系、架构和技术条例等迄今已形成相对科学合理的“共性”规范,但在战略层面讨论面向未来国家安全背景下的地域“个性”问题仍较缺乏。面对国家需求和西部特殊情境,应考虑建立基于国家安全考量的跨省区、跨流域的西部国土空间规划。在战略层面,为保障国家安全,此规划应着重考虑：（1）理论上,基于国家安全视角应建立跨省区、跨流域的西部国土空间规划体系;（2）实践中,建议制定西部空间尺度的以生态区、自然保护区为核心的“西部国土空间规划—生态安全”专项规划,以边境线、支撑线为规划脉络的“西部国土空间规划—生存安全”专项规划（或在规划中明确“国防安全细则”）,依托主要交通线以城镇体系为组织脉络的“西部国土空间规划—生活安全”专项规划（或在规划中明确“西部和谐社会建设细则”）,遵循主体功能区且以区域性中心城市、城市群等为中心的“西部国土空间规划—生产安全”专项规划（或“西部经济高质量发展规划”）,重构生态空间、生存空间、生活空间、生产空间;（3）特别建议强化边疆城镇/村寨建设,设立新时代“大三线建设”——西部“环青藏高原重点建设带”,以应对后疫情时期有限全球化和“双循环”现实的可能的国家安全需求。整体上,西部情境特殊,其国土空间规划与东中部应有差异,切忌一刀切。     

滇西地区土壤重金属来源解析及空间分布

以滇西重金属地质高背景区为研究区,系统采集了4193件表层土壤样品,分析测试了As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb和Zn 8种重金属元素的含量,综合运用相关分析、主成分分析和单因素方差分析等经典统计方法探讨了土壤重金属来源和土壤重金属含量与成土母质、土地利用方式之间的关系,并利用地统计方法对重金属的空间分布特征进行了分析.结果表明：①研究区8种重金属含量平均值均超过全国土壤背景值,但是低于农用地污染风险筛选值;与云南省土壤背景值相比,As、Cd、Cu、Ni、Pb和Zn含量平均值与云南省背景值相当,Hg和Cr的平均含量分别是其背景值的2.35和1.60倍,土壤重金属存在不同程度累积现象.②Cr、Cu和Ni主要受成土母质的控制;Cd、Zn和Pb主要受人类活动影响,人为来源主要为铅锌矿开采选冶、交通运输和煤炭燃烧,Cd、Zn在一定程度上受成土母质的影响;As和Hg以人为来源为主,受汞矿采选、农业活动及煤炭燃烧的影响.③不同成土母质和土地利用方式的土壤中重金属含量差异显著.Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg和Ni在沉积岩母质区土壤中平均含量最高;草地中As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Zn平均含量最高.④Cu、Ni、Cr高值区与沉积岩母质区及区内分布的铜矿和铁矿空间耦合性良好;Pb、Cd和Zn的高值区与区内的铅锌矿分布范围基本一致;As和Hg高值区与区内汞矿等热液型金属矿的分布具有较高的空间一致性,在人类活动密集地区也呈高背景分布.     

Rainfall-human-spatial interactions in a salinity-prone agricultural region of the Western Australian wheat-belt

To explore the complexity of temporal and spatial dynamics of an agricultural landscape under various external and internal driven scenarios, SimKat, an agent-based model, has been developed with the simulation computer program CORMAS. This model combines simplified bio-physical processes of land cover, regional dry-land salinity changes, rainfall impact on productivity, farm profitability and the complexity of land-use decisions of individual farmers in a dry-land agricultural catchment (no irrigation). In this model, simulated farmers formulate individual decisions dealing with land-use changes based on the combined performance of their past land cover productivity and market returns. The willingness to adapt to market drivers and the ability to maximize returns vary between farmers. In addition, farmers in the model can demonstrate various attitudes towards dry-land salinity mitigation as a consequence of experiencing and perceiving salinity on their farm, in the neighborhood or across the entire region. Consequently, farmers can adopt land cover strategies aimed at reducing dry-land salinity. Aggregating the simulated individual behavior of farmers combined with historical rainfall and market price records, reproduced similar aggregated trends of land-cover changes, regional salinity change and farm number decline as observed in the last 20 years in the subject region (Katanning, Western Australia). Using the model in an initial exploratory study on the impact of rainfall variability and change highlighted the importance of average rainfall decline and the widespread willingness of farmers to adapt perennial vegetation in their farming systems to combat regional dry-land salinity. Rainfall decline, as one of the observed consequences of climate change in this region, can also lead to prolonged sequences of dry seasons in the future. Adaptation by farmers to sequences of dry and wet seasons, rather than an average trend in rainfall, seems to be critical for farm survival in this region. Intensifying cropping during wet seasons to maximize farm returns can increase vulnerability in subsequent periods of dry seasons, in particular where alternative income from pasture and sheep production has been lost in the adaptation process.     

西辽河沉积物中不同粒径微团聚体磷的解吸特征

采用平衡解吸法研究了西辽河沉积物不同粒径微团聚体磷的解吸特征.结果表明,不同粒径团聚体磷的解吸比例为黏粒(0.20)<粉粒(0.28)<细砂(0.45)<粗砂(0.93);其原因为:细粒级微团聚体中腐殖质含量远远高于粗粒级;细粒级微团聚体中有机质是通过可溶有机质与黏土矿物相互结合形成复合体而富集,在其所形成的复合体团聚结构中引起的团聚体结构不可逆形变是导致磷的解吸比例降低,解吸迟滞性指数增大的根本原因;西辽河冲泻质泥沙黏粒和粉粒级微团聚体所携载的可解吸态磷(NAP)入海后可分别为上覆水提供磷(212.93±38.60)mg/kg,(159.45±31.44)mg/kg.沉积物黏粒级和粉粒级微团聚体所携载的NAP是磷素循环的重要组成部分.