Ecological Networks as Conceptual Frameworks or Operational Tools in Conservation

Abstract:  The establishment of ecological networks (ENs) has been proposed as an ideal way to counteract the increasing fragmentation of natural ecosystems and as a necessary complement to the establishment of protected areas for biodiversity conservation. This conservation tool, which comprises core areas, corridors, and buffer areas, has attracted the attention of several national and European institutions. It is thought that ENs can connect habitat patches and thus enable species to move across unsuitable areas. In Europe, however, ENs are proposed as an oversimplification of complex ecological concepts, and we maintain that they are of limited use for biodiversity conservation for several reasons. The ENs are species specific and operate on species-dependent scales. In addition, the information needed for their implementation is only available for a handful of species. To overcome these limitations, ENs have been proposed on a landscape scale (and for selected "focal" species), but there is no indication that the structural composition of core areas, corridors, and buffer areas could ensure the functional connectivity and improve the viability of more than a few species. The theory behind ENs fails to provide sufficient practical information on how to build them (e.g., width, shape, structure, content). In fact, no EN so far has been validated in practice (ensuring connectivity and increasing overall biodiversity conservation), and there are no signs that validation will be possible in the near future. In view of these limitations, it is difficult to justify spending economic and political resources on building systems that are at best working hypotheses that cannot be evaluated on a practical level.     

常张高速公路岩石边坡仿原生态植被恢复技术的应用研究

介绍了常张高速公路岩石边坡仿原生态植被恢复技术的施工工艺、新型的生态防护技术与传统的边坡防护相比较,具有投资省、见效快,且能稳定表层边坡,综合造价仅为客土喷播植草的50%～60%,能在短期内使边坡整体环境景观效果与周边协调一致,尤其适宜于对客土喷播植草难以成活的极陡边坡(坡率大于1∶0.75)的生态防护,探索出了一条适合我省实际情况的且成本低、效果好的新的生态防护模式.仿原生态植被恢复技术是常张高速公路生态防护措施的典型代表,对今后我省山区高速公路生态防护建设具有一定的指导意义.     

乌海市发展循环经济初探

乌海市是资源型城市，生态环境恶劣，资源短缺将成为乌海市可持续发展的瓶颈，而大力发展循环经济将是破解这一瓶颈的唯一途径，也是乌海市未来社会经济持续增长的核心因素。本文旨在探讨中小型资源城市发展循环经济，在企业、园区、区域三个层面努力构建循环经济体系。     

Rapid ecotoxicological assessment of heavy metal combined polluted soil using canonical analysis

IntroductionElevatedconcentrationofheavymetalssuchascopperandcadmiumexistinmanyagriculturalsoilsfromminingactivities(Chen ,2 0 0 0 ;Dudka ,1 997;Lambert,1 997)andfrommanagementpracticesincludingirrigationwithsewageandutilizationofsewagesludge(Clapp ,1 994) .Onceheavymetalsenteredintosoils,regardlessthesources,theywouldnotonlybeaccumulatedbyorganisms,butalsocirculateinthefoodchain (Uhlig ,2 0 0 0 ;Barcan ,1 998) .Furthermore ,theirramificationwouldberetainedinsoilecosystemwithtoxicconcentrati…     

Compound contamination and secondary ecological effects of Cd and As in soil-alfalfa ecosystems

ＣｏｍｐｏｕｎｄｃｏｎｔａｍｉｎａｔｉｏｎａｎｄｓｅｃｏｎｄａｒｙｅｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌｅｆｆｅｃｔｓｏｆＣｄａｎｄＡｓｉｎｓｏｉｌ－ａｌｆａｌｆａｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｓ（ＺｈｏｕＱｉｘｉｎｇ；ＧａｏＺｈｅｎｇｍｉｎ）（ＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＡｐｐｌｉｅ...     

生物多样性与城市景观生态建设

论述了生物多样性在城市景观中的重要作用，生物多样的现代城市中的衰落以及城市生物多样性保护与景观生态建设的关系，提出应将生物多样性保护计划同城市景观生态建设结合起来。     

Landscape planning and ecology construction of wetland comprehensive protected area system in the Sanjiang Plain

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＷｅｔｌａｎｄｉｓｏｎｅｏｆｔｈｅｒｉｃｈｅｓｔｂｉｏｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙａｒｅａｓｉｎｔｈｅｅａｒｔｈ .Ｂｉｏｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｓｈｏｕｌｄｉｎｃｌｕｄｅｆｏｕｒｌｅｖｅｌｓ:ｈｅｒｅｄｉｔｙｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ ,ｓｐｅｃｉｅｓｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ ,ｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙａｎｄｌａｎｄｓｃａｐｅｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ .Ｓｐｅａｋｉｎｇｆｒｏｍｃｅｒｔａｉｎａｎｇｌｅｓ,ｔｈｅｐｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎｏｆｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙａｎｄｌａｎｄｓｃａｐｅｄｉｖｅｒ…     

Is renewable energy still green? Shaping Australia’s renewable energy enterprise in an age of ecological modernisation

ABSTRACT

Renewable energy (RE) illustrates well the logic of ecological modernisation (EM). This logic has successfully transformed RE from a fringe idea owned by largely environmental actors to a mainstream one embraced by a broader constituency. This mainstream embrace inevitably (re)shapes the renewables enterprise. Not all renewables actors today are driven by environmental goals. Instead, key actors, particularly in corporate or community domains, nurture competing norms and aspirations. How the renewables project is envisaged and the goals it is directed to serve can thus differ considerably. Understanding these differences is important since transformations in the energy domain will not only impact climate protection but shape social futures in significant ways. The analysis proceeds in two interrelated steps: first, empirically – conducting an exploration of some of the main projects and actors in the contemporary Australian RE space; and second, theoretically – considering these empirical developments through an EM lens.     

SBR活性污泥中的主要微生物类群及其基本生态规律初探

本文重点探讨采用ＳＢＲ活性污泥法处理有机磷农药（乐果）生产废水的工艺中，ＳＢＲ内的活性污泥的主要微生物类群、特征、功能以及与环境因子、废水处理运行状况的关系。     

Haloacetic acids in the aquatic environment. Part II: ecological risk assessment

Haloacetic acids (HAAs) are environmental contaminants found in aquatic ecosystems throughout the world as a result of both anthropogenic and natural production. The ecological risk posed by these compounds to organisms in freshwater environments, with a specific focus on aquatic macrophytes, was characterized. The plants evaluated were Lemna gibba, Myriophyllum spicatum and M. sibiricum and the HAAs screened were monochloroacetic acid (MCA), dichloroacetic acid (DCA), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and chlorodifluoroacetic acid (CDFA). Laboratory toxicity data formed the basis of the risk assessment, but field studies were also utilized. The estimated risk was calculated using hazard quotients (HQ), as well as effect measure distributions (EMD) in a modified probabilistic ecological risk assessment. EMDs were used to estimate HAA thresholds of toxicity for use in HQ assessments. This threshold was found to be a more sensitive measure of low toxicity than the no observed effect concentrations (NOEC) or the effective concentration (EC10). Using both deterministic and probabilistic methods, it was found that HAAs do not pose a significant risk to freshwater macrophytes at current environmental concentrations in Canada, Europe or Africa for both single compound and mixture exposures. Still, HAAs are generally found as mixtures and their potential interactions are not fully understood, rendering this phase of the assessment uncertain and justifying further effects characterization. TCA in some environments poses a slight risk to phytoplankton and future concentrations of TFA and CDFA are likely to increase due to their recalcitrant nature, warranting continued environmental surveillance of HAAs.