Practical actions for applied systematic conservation planning

Systematic conservation planning is intended to inform spatially explicit decision making. Doing so requires that it be integrated into complex regulatory and governance processes, and there are limited instances where this has been achieved effectively. South Africa is a global leader in the application of conservation plans, the outputs of which are widely used for spatial planning and decision making in many spheres of government. We aimed to determine how conservation planning in the country progressed from theory to implementation, and to identify practical actions that enabled this transition, by assessing temporal trends in the characteristics of conservation plans (1990–2017, n = 94). Since 2010 conservation planning has entered an operational period characterized by government leadership of plans, administrative rather than ecological planning domains, decreasing size of planning units, increasing emphasis on end-user products, and scheduled revision of plans. Key actions that enabled this progression include transitioning leadership of plans from scientists to practitioners, building capacity within implementing agencies, creating opportunities to integrate plans in legislative processes, establishing a strong community of practice, adopting implementation-focused methods, and balancing standardization with innovation. Learning from this model will allow other countries, particularly those with a similar megadiverse, developing context, to operationalize conservation planning into spatial planning and decision making.     

安徽省地震前兆SQL网络数据库通用接口程序

为充分发挥前兆数字化数据在地震预报中的作用 ,研制了基于SQL网络数据库的通用接口程序。该程序通过ODBC数据源直接从网上对数据库进行存取 ,并通过数据导出和日期格式的转换而形成前兆分析人员所需的数据格式。     

Simultaneous measurement of aqueous redox-sensitive elements and their species across the soil-water interface

The redox-sensitive elements, such as iron, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, and arsenic, shift their speciation every millimeter (mm) across the soil-water interface in the flooded soil environments. Monitoring of element speciation at this high-resolution (HR) within the SWI is still difficult. The key challenge lies in obtaining sufficient porewater samples at specific locations along the soil gradient for downstream analysis. Here with an optimized inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method and a HR porewater sampler, we demonstrate mm-scale element profiles mapping across the SWI in paddy soils. High-concentrations of iron and manganese (> 10 mg/L) were measured by ICP-MS in an extended dynamic range mode to avoid signal overflow. The iron profile along the SWI generated by the ICP-MS method showed no significant difference (p < 0.05) compared to that measured independently using a colorimetric method. Furthermore, four arsenic (arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acid), two phosphorus (phosphite and phosphate) and two sulfur (sulfide and sulfate) species were separated in 10 min by ion chromatography -ICP-MS with the NH₄HCO₃ mobile phase. We verified the technique using paddy soils collected from the field, and present the mm-scale profiles of iron, manganese, and arsenic, phosphorus, sulfur species (relative standard deviation < 8%). The technique developed in this study will significantly promote the measurement throughput in limited samples (e.g. 100 μL) collected by HR samplers, which would greatly facilitate redox-sensitive elements biogeochemical cycling in saturated soils.     

液/液界面电化学及在环境监测分析中的应用

介绍了液/液界面电化学四种基本结构和主要实验方法,综述了液/液界面电化学分析方法在环境监测分析中的应用。作为一种新方法测定离子载体及能与其形成络合物的金属离子组分的浓度,它具有简便、快捷、经济实用等特点。     

岩溶区地下水补给型水库表层无机碳时空变化特征及影响因素

为更深入地认识岩溶区地下水补给型水库表层无机碳的循环过程,于2014-07-12~2014-07-20期间,以广西上林县大龙洞岩溶水库表层水体为研究体系,对无机碳循环研究的重要指标进行定点观测和高密度的昼夜监测.结果发现:1从上游到下游DIC含量和水体p CO2值逐渐增加[DIC(平均):122.88 mg·L-1增至172.02 mg·L-1,p CO2(平均):637.91×10-6增至1 399.97×10-6],δ13CDIC值逐渐偏负[δ13CDIC(平均):-4.34‰降至-6.97‰].2库区均为大气CO2的源,CO2交换通量在7.11~335.54 mg·(m2·h)-1之间,平均125.03 mg·(m2·h)-1,上游和下游地区CO2交换通量较大[平均131.73 mg·(m2·h)-1、170.25 mg·(m2·h)-1],中游狭窄地区CO2交换通量较小[平均116.05 mg·(m2·h)-1].3表层水体p CO2值和水-气界面CO2交换通量存在晚上升高,白天降低的昼夜变化规律,且与叶绿素a(Chla)呈负相关关系.分析认为:1大龙洞水库表层水体DIC含量、δ13CDIC值和水体p CO2的空间分布主要受浮游植物浓度、浊度、电导率、水深、透明度等的影响,而水-气界面CO2交换通量除了受浮游植物浓度空间变化的影响外还受风速的影响.2浮游植物昼夜垂向运动及光合作用和呼吸作用昼夜变化控制着水库表层水体溶解性无机碳的昼夜循环过程.     

Vigilance monitoring for operator safety: A simulation study on highway driving

INTRODUCTION: Alertness of individuals operating vehicles, aircrafts, and machinery is a pre-requisite for safety of the individual and for avoiding economic losses. In this paper, we present a new technique for determining the alertness level of the operator and elaborate the methodology for the specific case of highway driving METHOD: Our hypothesis is that the time derivative of force exerted by the driver at the vehicle-human interfaces can be used to construct a signature of individual driving styles and to discern different levels of alertness RESULTS: In this study, we present experimental results corroborating this hypothesis and introduce a parameter, 'spikiness index,' for the time series data of the force derivative to quantify driver alertness IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The low cost, ruggedness, and low-volume data processing requirements of the proposed technique give it a competitive edge over existing predominantly image processing based vigilance monitoring systems.     

CITY OF TUCSON WASTE WATER EFFLUENT DELIVERY FACILITY1

ABSTRACT: The Tucson area is totally dependent on ground water, which is in increasingly short supply due to excessive overdrafts. Tucson area waste water treatment plants discharge material quantities of secondary effluent downstream, which is lost to evapotranspiration and recharge of the ground water basin. The city and the four large mining companies who share the common Santa Cruz basin ground water, recognized the common water supply problem and agreed to fund a feasibility study for mining process use of the effluent to partly alleviate the overdraft of ground water. The study analyzed the projected waste water effluent resources, potential mining company demand for waste water effluent and possible interface of an effluent delivery facility with the proposed Central Arizona Project. The effluent resources were analyzed with respect to potential demand. An optimum alignment was selected. An optimum system was detailed through design schematics, amortized cost and finance requirements, and an implementation schedule. It was concluded that a waste water effluent delivery facility could be implemented which would utilize reclaimed effluent in quantities approximating 35 percent of basin overdraft and which would provide revenue for full cost recovery over a 20 year operation period. The mining companies are studying the internal economic impacts of the project.     

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A SPATIAL HYDROLOGY MODEL OF OKEFENOKEE SWAMP,GEORGIA1

ABSTRACT: :The model described herein was used to assess effects of the Suwannee River sill (a low earthen dam constructed to impound the Suwannee River within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to eliminate wildfires) on the hydrologic environment of Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Developed with Arc/Info Macro Language routines in the GRID environment, the model distributes water in the swamp landscape using precipitation, inflow, evapotranspiration, outflow, and standing water. Water movement direction and rate are determined by the neighborhood topographic gradient, determined using survey grade Global Positioning Systems technology. Model data include flow rates from USGS monitored gauges, precipitation volumes and water levels measured within the swamp, and estimated evapotranspiration volumes spatially modified by vegetation type. Model output in semi‐monthly time steps includes water depth, water surface elevation above mean sea level, and movement direction and volume. Model simulations indicate the sill impoundment affects 18 percent of the swamp during high water conditions when wildfires are scarce and has minimal spatial effect (increasing hydroperiods in less than 5 percent of the swamp) during low water and drought conditions when fire occurrence is high but precipitation and inflow volumes are limited.     

Democratising planetary boundaries: experts,social values and deliberative risk evaluation in Earth system governance

ABSTRACT

Recent debates about the concept of planetary boundaries recall longstanding concerns about whether ecological limits are compatible with ecological democracy. The planetary boundaries framework (originally set out in Rockström et al., 2009a, 2009b) defines values for key Earth-system processes such as climate change and biodiversity that aim to maintain a ‘safe’ distance from thresholds or levels that could endanger human wellbeing. Despite having a significant impact in policy debates, the framework has been criticised as implying an expert-driven approach to governing global environmental risks that lacks democratic legitimacy. Drawing on research on deliberative democracy and the role of science in democratic societies, we argue that planetary boundaries can be interpreted in ways that remain consistent with democratic decision-making. We show how an iterative, dialogical process to formulate planetary boundaries and negotiate ‘planetary targets’ could form the basis for a democratically legitimate division of labour among experts, citizens and policy-makers in evaluating and responding to Earth-system risks. Crucial to this division of evaluative labour is opening up space for deliberative contestation about the value judgments inherent in collective responses to Earth-system risks, while also safeguarding the ability of experts to issue warnings about what they consider to be unacceptable risks.     

The social side of spatial decision support systems: Investigating knowledge integration and learning

Spatial decision support systems (SDSS) represent a step forward in efforts to account for the spatial dimension in environmental decision-making. The aim of SDSS is to help policymakers and practitioners access, interpret and understand information from data, analyses and models, and guide them in identifying possible actions during a decision-making process. Researchers, however, report difficulties in up-take of SDSS by the intended users. Some suggest that this field would benefit from investigation of the social aspects involved in SDSS design, development, testing and use. Borrowing insights from the literature on science-policy interactions, we explore two key social processes: knowledge integration and learning. Using a sample of 36 scientific papers concerning SDSS in relation to environmental issues, we surveyed whether and how the selected papers reported on knowledge integration and learning. We found that while many of the papers mentioned communication and collaboration with prospective user groups or stakeholders, this was seldom underpinned by a coherent methodology for enabling knowledge integration and learning to surface. This appears to have hindered SDSS development and later adoption by intended users.