Assessment of Changes in Stream and Riparian Conditions of the Marys River Basin,Nevada1

Abstract: Stream and riparian managers must effectively allocate limited financial and personnel resources to monitor and manage riparian ecosystems. They need to use management strategies and monitoring methods that are compatible with their objectives and the response potential of each stream reach. Our objective is to help others set realistic management objectives by comparing results from different methods used to document riparian recovery across a diversity of stream types. The Bureau of Land Management Elko Field Office, Nevada, used stream survey, riparian proper functioning condition (PFC) assessment, repeat photographic analysis, and stream and ecological classification to study 10 streams within the Marys River watershed of northeast Nevada during all or parts of 20 years. Most riparian areas improved significantly from 1979 to 1992‐1993 and then additionally by 1997‐2000. Improvements were observed in riparian and habitat condition indices, bank cover, and stability, pool quality, bank angle, and depth of undercut bank. Interpretation of repeat photography generally confirmed results from stream survey and should be part of long‐term riparian monitoring. More attributes of Rosgen stream types C and E improved than of types B and F. A and Gc streams did not show significant improvement. Alluvial draws and alluvial valleys improved in more ways than V‐erosional canyons and especially V‐depositional canyons. Stream survey data could not be substituted for riparian PFC assessment. Riparian PFC assessments help interpret other data.     

环境污染与城乡收入差距:作用机制与基于中国经济事实的检验

环境污染是与居民健康水平紧密相关的,并且会导致处于不同收入阶层的居民的健康人力资本投资决策呈现出异质性特征,从而影响居民收入差距。本文通过构建跨期经济模型研究环境污染对城乡收入差距的影响,研究发现:环境污染导致城镇居民和农村居民出现相同比例的健康损害,这种损害会拉大城乡居民绝对收入差距;处于低收入阶层的农村居民应对环境污染带来的健康损害会进行相对较少的健康人力资本投资,因而城乡居民的健康水平差异会逐渐拉大,所以城乡收入的相对差距也会随着环境污染的加剧而扩大。基于理论研究结果,运用中国2002—2013年的省级面板数据进行实证研究发现:(1)环境污染对中国城乡收入差距的影响显著为正,并且基于人均二氧化硫排放量和人均废水化学需氧量排放量的计量检验结果是一致的,这表明研究结论是稳健的;(2)运用门槛面板模型的计量结果表明当滞后一期的城乡收入差距增加到临界点之后,环境污染对城乡收入差距的正效应会明显增强,表明环境污染对处于不同收入阶层的城镇居民和农村居民的健康人力资本投资决策有显著的影响,环境污染进一步拉大城乡居民的相对收入差距;(3)本文的研究结果证明了在教育、政府行为、城镇化等影响城乡收入差距的核心因素之外,环境污染也是影响中国城乡居民收入差距的显著性因素,并且其影响会随着环境污染的加剧和期初收入差距的拉大而变得更加严重,因此在治理中国城乡收入差距的过程中,相关政策应该平衡环境污染成本在城镇居民和农村居民之间的分配。     

Heterogeneity of farmers' preferences towards agri-environmental schemes across different agricultural subsystems

Specialised literature on the uptake of agri-environmental schemes (AES) has paid little attention to how this can be influenced by the different types of agricultural systems. This paper analyses the heterogeneity of farmers' preferences towards these schemes, distinguishing between different subsystems within the same agricultural system. We use the choice experiment method to analyse the case study of three olive grove subsystems in southern Spain, with the subsystems ranging from extensive to intensive. The results reveal inter- and intra-subsystem heterogeneity of farmers' preferences towards AES, both in general and specifically related to scheme attributes. A variety of factors appear to lie behind inter-subsystem heterogeneity, especially those associated with subsystem specificities (principally, the type of joint production). Likewise, numerous factors play a role in intra-subsystem heterogeneity, most of them related to farm/farmer socio-economic and physical characteristics. These findings will help in the design of more efficient AES.     

南水北调东线工程徐州段河流生境质量评价

河流生境质量评价是河流生态系统健康评价的关键之一。本文评价自然和人为作用下的河流生境质量,以南水北调东线工程徐州段丰县、邳州两市输水通道上的河流为研究对象,结合环境特点,选择了反映河道生境、河岸生境和滨岸带生境的10个指标,给出了每个指标的评价方法和5级标准特征值,建立河流生境质量评价体系,确定评价指标的等级标准,对研究区内16个河段的生境质量状况进行综合评价。结果表明:(1)河流生境质量指数(IRHQ)综合得分介于33~91。根据评价等级划分标准,其中有50%的河段生境质量达到"优"等,其余介于"良"等到"劣"等,河流生境质量整体状况良好。(2)河流生境质量指数与NH_4~+-N、COD、TN呈负相关,与DO呈正相关,多项生境指标也与水质指标具有相关性,表明生境质量与水质的相互影响。     

Management of Large Wood in Streams: An Overview and Proposed Framework for Hazard Evaluation

Instream and floodplain wood can provide many benefits to river ecosystems, but can also create hazards for inhabitants, infrastructure, property, and recreational users in the river corridor. We propose a decision process for managing large wood, and particularly for assessing the relative benefits and hazards associated with individual wood pieces and with accumulations of wood. This process can be applied at varying levels of effort, from a relatively cursory visual assessment to more detailed numerical modeling. Decisions to retain, remove, or modify wood in a channel or on a floodplain are highly dependent on the specific context: the same piece of wood that might require removal in a highly urbanized setting may provide sufficient benefits to justify retention in a natural area or lower‐risk urban setting. The proposed decision process outlined here can be used by individuals with diverse technical backgrounds and in a range of urban to natural river reaches so that opportunities for wood retention or enhancement are increased.     

地下水溶质反常运移的分数阶对流扩散模型研究进展

地下水溶质在非均质多孔介质中的扩散过程并不总是遵循Fick定律,因此称为反常扩散或反常运移,其本质上是非马尔可夫非局域性过程.分数阶对流扩散模型可以对含水层中溶质的这种运移进行充分而准确的描述.本文在阐明多孔介质溶质反常运移基本问题及其动力学机理基础上,综述了三类分数阶对流扩散模型,即空间分数阶对流扩散模型、时间分数阶对流扩散模型和分布式分数阶对流扩散模型,并详细讨论了分数阶对流扩散模型在地下水溶质反常运移领域的应用前景和挑战.     

环境规制对技术创新效率的影响分析——基于创新链视角的两阶段实证检验

新古典经济学理论认为,严格的环境规制会提高污染治理成本,挤占技术创新活动的资金,对技术创新产生"挤出效应"。而"波特假说"认为,长期内适当的环境规制政策将对企业的科技创新活动起到刺激性推动作用,可弥补因规制而增加的额外成本,从而形成"创新补偿效应"。这个观点表明环境规制对于企业的技术创新可能存在非线性影响效应。另外,技术创新要经历研究开发阶段与成果转化阶段,即从资源投入到产生经济效益的过程。本文基于系统观和创新链视角,创新性地构建两阶段关联DEA模型测算技术创新活动的投入产出效率,并运用中国2011——2017年间的省级面板数据进行回归检验,探讨环境规制强度对研究开发阶段和成果转化阶段技术创新效率的非线性影响效应,同时将中国划分为东部、中西部两大区域分别考察,进一步揭示环境规制对技术创新效率影响的空间异质性和阶段性特点,最后提出相应政策建议。     

Meta-analysis of ecosystem services associated with oyster restoration

Restoration of foundation species promises to reverse environmental degradation and return lost ecosystem services, but a lack of standardized evaluation across projects limits understanding of recovery, especially in marine systems. Oyster reefs are restored to reverse massive global declines and reclaim valuable ecosystem services, but the success of these projects has not been systematically and comprehensively quantified. We synthesized data on ecosystem services associated with oyster restoration from 245 pairs of restored and degraded reefs and 136 pairs of restored and reference reefs across 3500 km of U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coastlines. On average, restoration was associated with a 21-fold increase in oyster production (mean log response ratio = 3.08 [95% confidence interval: 2.58–3.58]), 34–97% enhancement of habitat provisioning (mean community abundance = 0.51 [0.41–0.61], mean richness = 0.29 [0.19–0.39], and mean biomass = 0.69 [0.39–0.99]), 54% more nitrogen removal (mean = 0.43 [0.13–0.73]), and 89–95% greater sediment nutrients (mean = 0.67 [0.27–1.07]) and organic matter (mean = 0.64 [0.44–0.84]) relative to degraded habitats. Moreover, restored reefs matched reference reefs for these ecosystem services. Our results support the continued and expanded use of oyster restoration to enhance ecosystem services of degraded coastal systems and match many functions provided by reference reefs.     

Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement

Fragmentation of the boreal forest by linear features, including seismic lines, has destabilized predator–prey dynamics, resulting in the decline of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) populations. Restoration of human-altered habitat has therefore been identified as a critical management tool for achieving self-sustaining woodland caribou populations. However, only recently has testing of the response of caribou and other wildlife to restoration activities been conducted. Early work has centered around assessing changes in wildlife use of restored seismic lines. We evaluated whether restoration reduces the movement rates of predators and their associated prey, which is expected to decrease predator hunting efficiency and ultimately reduce caribou mortality. We developed a new method for using cameras to measure fine-scale movement by measuring speed as animals traveled between cameras in an array. We used our method to quantify speed of caribou, moose (Alces alces), bears (Ursus americanus), and wolves (Canis lupus) on treated (restored) and untreated seismic lines. Restoration treatments reduced travel speeds along seismic lines of wolves by 1.38 km/h, bears by 0.55 km/h, and caribou by 1.57 km/h, but did not reduce moose travel speeds. Reduced predator and caribou speeds on treated seismic lines are predicted to decrease encounter rates between predators and caribou and thus lower caribou kill rates. However, further work is needed to determine whether reduced movement rates result in reduced encounter rates with prey, and ultimately reduced caribou mortality.     

Importance of conserving large and old trees to continuity of tree-related microhabitats

Protecting structural features, such as tree-related microhabitats (TreMs), is a cost-effective tool crucial for biodiversity conservation applicable to large forested landscapes. Although the development of TreMs is influenced by tree diameter, species, and vitality, the relationships between tree age and TreM profile remain poorly understood. Using a tree-ring-based approach and a large data set of 8038 trees, we modeled the effects of tree age, diameter, and site characteristics on TreM richness and occurrence across some of the most intact primary temperate forests in Europe, including mixed beech and spruce forests. We observed an overall increase in TreM richness on old and large trees in both forest types. The occurrence of specific TreM groups was variably related to tree age and diameter, but some TreM groups (e.g., epiphytes) had a stronger positive relationship with tree species and elevation. Although many TreM groups were positively associated with tree age and diameter, only two TreM groups in spruce stands reacted exclusively to tree age (insect galleries and exposed sapwood) without responding to diameter. Thus, the retention of trees for conservation purposes based on tree diameter appears to be a generally feasible approach with a rather low risk of underrepresentation of TreMs. Because greater tree age and diameter positively affected TreM development, placing a greater emphasis on conserving large trees and allowing them to reach older ages, for example, through the establishment of conservation reserves, would better maintain the continuity of TreM resource and associated biodiversity. However, this approach may be difficult due to the widespread intensification of forest management and global climate change.