Indigenous, Colonist, and Government Impacts on Nicaragua's Bosawas Reserve

Abstract:  We studied the impacts of colonists, two groups of indigenous residents (Miskitu and Mayangna), and management by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) on the forest of the Bosawas International Biosphere Reserve. Indigenous people and colonists subsist on the natural resources of the reserve, and MARENA is responsible for protecting the area from colonization and illicit exploitation. Using geostatistical procedures and Landsat images at three different time periods, we compared per capita deforestation and boundary stabilization in areas with colonists and areas with indigenous peoples. We also examined whether the Mayangna deforested less than the Miskitu and whether the Nicaraguan government has effectively defended the Bosawas boundary against the advance of the agricultural frontier. In addition, we analyzed the current distribution of land uses within the reserve and its contiguous indigenous areas with a supervised classification of current land cover. Indigenous demarcations protected the forest successfully, whereas the Bosawas boundary itself did not inhibit colonization and consequent deforestation. Indigenous farmers deforested significantly less per capita than colonists, and the two indigenous groups in Bosawas did not differ significantly in their effects on the forest. Our results show that indigenous common-property institutions and indigenous defense of homeland have been powerful factors in protecting the forests of Bosawas and that the difficult evolution of a nested cross-scale governance system in Bosawas—under pressure from indigenous peoples—is probably the key to the forest ' s survival thus far.     

Community Based Interventions as a Strategy to Combat Desertification in the Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands of Kajiado District, Kenya

Vegetation degradation, especially the disappearance of woody vegetation and a diminished grass cover, has aroused the concern of the Maasai community (semi-nomadic pastoralists) of Kajiado District, Kenya. The district is one of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid districts. Over recent years, they have observed their land resources deteriorate due to the desertification process caused by the land use practices of man. They have identified indicators of desertification such as increase of bare lands, which have been invaded by previously unknown grasses and weeds that are of no economic value, and also the disappearance of some useful plant species. It is due to the above concerns that a group of 30 farmers have been very keen to participate in on-farm research to strategize on ways to halt and even reverse the desertification process. The participatory research has identified useful trees that the farmers have been planting around homesteads, as woodlots on their farms to provide woodfuel, shade, and to act as windbreaks. They have also identified species for planting as live fences instead of using thorny tree branches as fencing material, which contributes further to the desertification process. Due to the termite menace on young tree seedlings, the farmers use indigenous knowledge to prepare concoctions using locally available materials, which they apply to planting holes and on seedlings. During awareness campaigns, the farmer research group highlights the need to conserve vegetation resources and also expounds on the concept of planting two trees after one is felled.     

土著微生物原位修复石油污染土壤试验研究

利用当地土著微生物优势菌群,辅以物理和化学的方法,结合当地地质微环境特点,开展了陕北某油井旁的石油污染黄土土壤修复研究。设置两个试验区、一个空白区和一个对照区,在两个试验区中分别加入3%的土著优势菌群制剂,选择优化出的土著菌群经鉴定,主要有：假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）、微球菌属（Micrococcus）、放线菌属（Actinomayces）、真菌类的青霉属（Penicillium）、曲霉属（Aspergillus）等。试验结果显示：土著优势菌剂一般需要3-7d的延滞期（lag phase）,然后进入对数期（logarithmic phase）;两个试验区土壤中人为添加石油含量分别为1542、1886mg·kg^-1时,经过11-32d原位土著优势微生物菌剂的修复,土壤中的石油污染物降解率可达69.52%-88.11%,而对照区土壤中人为添加的石油含量变化不大,降解率基本在10%以内,说明在自然条件下土壤中石油降解是缓慢的。谷糠黍糠、麦麸两种添加剂对优化菌液的修复效果的作用基本相同。试验过程中对土壤温度、水分、氧和营养物质等影响因素进行了调控,起到了良好的作用。     

An Australian perspective on rewilding

Rewilding is increasingly recognized as a conservation tool but is often context specific, which inhibits broad application. Rewilding in Australia seeks to enhance ecosystem function and promote self-sustaining ecosystems. An absence of large-bodied native herbivores means trophic rewilding in mainland Australia has focused on the restoration of functions provided by apex predators and small mammals. Because of the pervasive influence of introduced mesopredators, predator-proof fences, and establishment of populations on predator-free islands are common rewilding approaches. This sets Australian rewilding apart from most jurisdictions and provides globally relevant insights but presents challenges to restoring function to broader landscapes. Passive rewilding is of limited utility in arid zones. Although increasing habitat extent and quality in mesic coastal areas may work, it will likely be necessary to undertake active management. Because much of Australia's population is in urban areas, rewilding efforts must include urban areas to maximize effectiveness. Thus rewilding is not synonymous with wilderness and can occur over multiple scales. Rewilding efforts must recognize human effects on other species and benefit both nature and humans. Rewilding in Australia requires development of a shared vision and strategy and proof-of-concept projects to demonstrate the benefits. The repackaging of existing conservation activities as rewilding may confuse and undermine the success of rewilding programs and should be avoided. As elsewhere, rewilding in Australia should be viewed as an important conservation tool.     

不同构型人工湿地基质中土著菌的耐药性及整合子丰度调查

采用Kirby-Bauer纸片琼脂扩散法分析了夏、冬季节9个不同构型人工湿地中的葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus)、假单胞菌(Pseudomonas)两种土著菌对7种常用抗生素的耐药性,并通过荧光定量PCR检测人工湿地基质中Ⅰ型整合子(int1)的丰度.结果表明,共分离出的522株葡萄球菌和543株假单胞菌,约84%的菌株对所测试的抗生素具有耐药性,多重耐药率达到68%以上,MRI指数平均为0.22,与某些环境中人源或动物源细菌耐药水平相当,表明人工湿地基质土著菌具有较高水平的耐药性;两种土著菌对氨苄西林和复方新诺明的耐药率较高,四环素、庆大霉素和环丙沙星的耐药率均极低(3%),而对头孢他啶和氯霉素的耐药性呈现差别.湿地基质中int1基因的浓度为1.14×105~5.66×105copies·g-1,其相对丰度为0.54%~3.68%.季节和湿地工艺对细菌耐药和整合酶基因分布有较大影响.夏季2种细菌的抗生素耐药率、多重耐药指数和int1丰度均显著高于冬季;下行垂直流湿地中的抗生素耐药率、多重耐药指数(MRI)最高,而在水平潜流湿地中int1丰度最高.研究表明人工湿地基质的土著菌长期暴露在一定浓度抗生素和耐药肠道菌的生活污水环境下获得了耐药性,人工湿地中抗生素耐药菌和耐药基因的污染及环境风险不容忽视.     

Mercury concentration in hair samples from Chinese people in coastal cities

This investigation was made to estimate current normal concentrations of total mercury in the hair of Chinese coastal people. Hair samples were collected from 659 healthy inhabitants in the areas along the coast and the rivers (such as Shanghai, Ningbo, Dalian, Xiamen, and Zhoushan) of China from Feb. 2005 to June 2006. Total mercury concentrations in the samples were analyzed by the cold vapor atomic adsorption spectrometry method (CVAAS). The results showed the geometric mean concentration of total mercur...     

基于大面积网格法的商场疏散时间预测

为了准确预测商场人员疏散时间,文中结合群集流动规律及离散法建立新的大面积网格算法,将时间离散为微小单元Δt,空间离散为大面积网格,利用人员流动速度—密度公式,计算每一Δt时间内网格中人员流动速度,迭代累计各单元时间得到疏散时间。以某商场人员疏散演练为例进行分析,结果表明,大面积网格算法预测的人员疏散时间与实际疏散演习时间基本吻合,其相对误差为3.4%,预测精确度较高。     

湖南古村落的物质安全防御研究

基于湖南现存的一些古村落,从物质安全防御角度出发,对古村落在基地选址、整体布局、空间形态等方面所采用的安全防御进行研究。通过分析湖南当地居民的主要物质防御手段即利用山水作为村落的自然屏障、团结所有村民进行集群防御与在村落内部层层设防等方法,指出湖南古村落物质防御的有效性和科学性对当今社会安居工程建设具有借鉴意义。     

加热法处理船舶压载水对外来生物存活的影响

初步研究了加热法处理船舶压水对外来生物存活的影响。结果表明，就可行的加热温度而言，对细菌的杀灭效果不好；对单细菌藻的去除效果也因加热温度，时间而异，去除的效果越好，此外，暗置时间对去除效果也有一定的影响。     

Indigenous Power Struggles in the Peruvian Amazon: A Spatio-cultural Analysis of Communication

It is well established that external national policies and internal ethnic politics contribute to indigenous power struggles that create a disharmonious indigenous voice. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate how such fissures intersect with internal, covert communication forces embedded in indigenous communities. Based on a case study of Peru’s national indigenous Amazonian organization Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP or the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest), the authors advance a geographical perspective of communication to interrogate the physical and social spaces that contribute to and fragment indigenous public spheres, drawing from a content analysis of interviews and news media reports. The aim is to analyse how power—influenced by the spatio-cultural effects on communication—divided a national indigenous voice following Peru’s 2009 Amazon conflict.