Mitigating the effects of climate change on the nests of sea turtles with artificial irrigation

For sea turtles, like many oviparous species, increasing temperatures during development threaten to increase embryonic mortality, alter offspring quality, and potentially create suboptimal primary sex ratios. Various methods are being implemented to mitigate the effects of climate change on reproductive success, but these methods, such as breeding programs, translocations, and shading, are often invasive and expensive. Irrigation is an alternative strategy for cooling nests that, depending on location, can be implemented relatively quickly and cheaply. However, multiple factors, including ambient conditions, nest substrate, and species characteristics, can influence irrigation success. Additionally, irrigation can vary in duration, frequency, and the volume of water applied to nests, which influences the cooling achieved and embryonic survival. Thus, it is critical to understand how to maximize cooling and manage risks before implementing irrigation as a nest-cooling strategy. We reviewed the literature on nest irrigation to examine whether artificial irrigation is feasible as a population management tool. Key factors that affected cooling were the volume of water applied and the frequency of applications. Embryonic responses varied with species, ambient conditions, and the timing of irrigation during development. Nest inundation was the key risk to a successful irrigation regime. Future irrigation regimes must identify clear targets, either primary or adult sex ratios, that maximize population viability. Monitoring population responses and adjusting the irrigation regime in response to population characteristics will be critical. Most studies reported on the manipulation of only one or two variables, further research is required to understand how altering multiple factors in an irrigation regime influences the cooling achieved and embryonic responses.     

Tracking Chinese newspaper coverage of elephant ivory through topic modeling

Mass media worldwide has contributed to increasing awareness of the illegal wildlife trade and its significant impact on wildlife conservation. We used mass media coverage as a proxy for macro-level public opinion to analyze the media framing of elephant ivory in 6394 Chinese newspaper articles published from 2000 to 2021 and thus determine the effects of wildlife policies on public opinion. We focused on 2 events: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) approval of China as a trading partner in the purchase and import of ivory stockpiles from Africa in July 2008 and the Chinese government's announcement of a domestic ivory ban in December 2016. Using latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling, we identified 8 topics about elephant ivory and grouped them into 3 frames: ivory arts and culture, ivory crimes, and elephant conservation. Over the last 2 decades, topics related to ivory crimes remained the most prevalent in news articles. Topics about ivory arts and culture showed a significant shift in media salience before and after the 2 events (from 0.44 to 0.19 and from 0.08 to 0.15, respectively, p < 0.05), whereas the other 2 frames did not change significantly. Contrary to popular belief, our results indicated that Chinese macro-level public opinion on ivory had become more negative following the CITES approval of ivory importation and less negative after the ivory ban announcement, at least for certain periods. The relationship between mass media, public opinion, and wildlife trade policies is complex and requires further examination of the sociopolitical dynamics that influence media narratives. Our results showed the value of topic modeling in monitoring and assessing media representations of wildlife issues in the era of big data. Conservationists should remain vigilant of mass media coverage and collaborate with media practitioners to produce comprehensive narratives on wildlife issues if resources permit.     

Application of decision tools to ethical analysis in biodiversity conservation

Achieving ethically responsible decisions is crucial for the success of biodiversity conservation projects. We adapted the ethical matrix, decision tree, and Bateson's cube to assist in the ethical analysis of complex conservation scenarios by structuring these tools so that they can implement the different value dimensions (environmental, social, and animal welfare) involved in conservation ethics. We then applied them to a case study relative to the decision-making process regarding whether or not to continue collecting biomaterial on the oldest of the two remaining northern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), a functionally extinct subspecies of the white rhinoceros. We used the ethical matrix to gather ethical pros and cons and as a starting point for a participatory approach to ethical decision-making. We used decision trees to compare the different options at stake on the basis of a set of ethical desiderata. We used Bateson's cube to establish a threshold of ethical acceptability and model the results of a simple survey. The application of these tools proved to be pivotal in structuring the decision-making process and in helping reach a shared, reasoned, and transparent decision on the best option from an ethical point of view among those available.     

Opportunities and challenges for Common Agricultural Policy reform to support the European Green Deal

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union's main instrument for agricultural planning, with a new reform approved for 2023–2027. The CAP intends to align with the European Green Deal (EGD), a set of policy initiatives underpinning sustainable development and climate neutrality in the European Union (EU), but several flaws cast doubts about the compatibility of the objectives of these 2 policies. We reviewed recent literature on the potential of CAP environmental objectives for integration with the EGD: protection of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable management of natural resources. The CAP lacks appropriate planning measures, furthering instead risks to biodiversity and ecosystem services driven by landscape and biotic homogenization. Funding allocation mechanisms are not tailored to mitigate agricultural emissions, decreasing the efficiency of climate mitigation actions. The legislation subsidies farmers making extensive use of synthetic inputs without adequately supporting organic production, hindering the transition toward sustainable practices. We recommend proper control mechanisms be introduced in CAP Strategic Plans from each member state to ensure the EU is set on a sustainable production and consumption path. These include proportional assignment of funds to each CAP objective, quantitative targets to set goals and evidence-based interventions, and relevant indicators to facilitate effective monitoring of environmental performance. Both the CAP and the EGD should maintain ambitious environmental commitments in the face of crisis to avoid further degradation of the natural resources on which production systems stand.     

城市建设用地扩张的区域差异及其驱动因素

中国城市建设用地规模随着工业化、城镇化的不断发展而日益剧增。受经济、社会等诸多驱动因素影响,各地建设用地扩张在时间维度、空间维度都存在明显的区域差异,对上述问题进行全面考察,有助于理清建设用地扩张的机理,促进土地集约、节约利用。将城市建设用地扩张的影响因素分为政府推动和市场拉动两个方面,采用基尼系数及基于半对数回归方程的Shapley值分解方法,考察了2006—2015年中国大陆31个省(市、自治区)城市建设用地扩张的区域差异及其驱动因素的贡献程度。结果表明:(1)2006—2015年,中国城市建设用地扩张的区域差异比较明显,衡量差异程度的基尼系数先升后降,最后稳定于0.3左右;(2)财政赤字率、经济政策执行力、经济增长、人口城镇化等因素对建设用地扩张具有正向驱动作用,产业结构调整、建设用地利用效率等因素对建设用地扩张具有负向驱动作用;(3)经济增长、财政赤字率、经济政策执行力等三个因素对建设用地扩张区域差异的贡献最大;(4)影响我国东、中、西三个区域建设用地扩张的主导因素不尽相同。为此,应从促进区域经济平衡发展、拓宽政府融资渠道、加快产业结构调整、提高建设用地利用效率等多方面入手,破解城市建设用地过度扩张的困局。     

基于微震监测的岩体失稳智能预报

岩体稳定性预报是微震监测工作的重要组成部分。探讨微震活动性参数变化作为岩体稳定性预测的可行性,结合用沙坝矿实际生产过程中观测到的现象,提出微震监测岩体失稳预报的一般模式。根据b值在岩体失稳前先增大后减小的趋势作为危险预警初始条件;并将能量指数、施密特数急剧下降以及累积视体积增加的时间段作为岩体失稳的预警期,将事件数的急剧下降作为危险的临界状态。用沙坝矿根据这一原理建立的岩体失稳预报模式可以达到采场失稳的智能预报,解决了人工判别预警期过程中效率低的难题,保障矿山的生产工作。     

Value congruence,control, sense of community and demands as determinants of burnout syndrome among hospitality workers

Employees working in the hospitality industry are constantly exposed to occupational stressors that may lead employees into experiencing burnout syndrome. Research addressing the interactive effects of control, community and value congruence to alleviate the impact of workplace demands on experiencing burnout is relatively limited. The present study examined relationships among control, community and value congruence, workplace demands and the three components of burnout. A sample of 418 employees working in a variety of hospitality associations including restaurants and hotels in Spain were recruited. Moderation analyses and linear regressions analyzed the predictive power of control, community and value congruence as moderating variables. Results indicate that control, community and value congruence were successful buffers in the relationships between workplace demands and the burnout dimensions. The present findings offer suggestions for future research on potential moderating variables, as well as implications for reducing burnout among hospitality employees.     

矿井风险评价基本模型研究与探讨

提出风险的绝对值和相对值的概念,探讨了如何合成事故发生可能性和事故后果严重程度这两个指标,如何确定多个评价单元的评价对象的风险等级划分等问题。     

生态环境准入清单编制实践应用与探讨—以湖南省为例

生态环境准入清单源于“三线”划定管控成果的集成,是具体到每个环境管控单元落实底线思维和生态环境保护硬约束落地的重要出口。生态环境准入清单如何在实际环境管理工作中做到能用、适用、管用,值得深思和探讨。湖南省以园区管控单元为特色,在全国率先发布并全面实施生态环境准入清单体系。以湖南省为例,系统阐述生态环境准入清单编制原则、技术思路与清单实践的特点和落地应用实效,总结问题,提出优化生态环境准入清单的思考与建议：1）明确“三线一单”的法律地位和层级定位,找准功能定位,形成由多部门协同推动的态势;2）强化生态环境准入清单的目标支撑作用,保证科学适用;3）规范生态环境准入清单形式,协同多要素管控;4）引入配套机制,指导“三线一单”的动态更新。

     

场地土壤修复目标值制定方法与政策

土壤污染物修复目标值的制定是污染场地环境管理的重要环节,制定科学合理的修复目标值是能否实现绿色可持续修复的关键。通过对比分析美国、英国、加拿大、澳大利亚等国家修复目标值的内涵、制定技术方法和决策管理机制,发现国内外关于土壤污染物修复的总体目标基本一致,即以保护人体健康和生态环境质量作为总体控制要求;但对于具体场地的定量修复目标值,国内外在制定依据、制定方法、决策管理机制等方面存在差异。我国主要在健康风险评估阶段,采用第一和第二层次风险评估方法确定修复目标值,而欧美国家主要基于全过程风险管理的决策管理机制,结合土壤中污染物的形态归趋和迁移转化规律,采用不同层次的风险评估,制定地块特征的修复目标值,保证健康风险和环境风险均达到可接受水平。借鉴国外经验,结合我国污染地块环境管理实践,提出土壤污染物修复目标值制定方法优化的建议：1) 统筹考虑人体健康风险和环境风险;2) 建立基于层次化、精细化的风险评估与修复目标值确定方法体系;3) 构建修复目标值动态适应性调整机制;4) 形成污染地块全过程风险管理机制。