Effects of seascape connectivity on reserve performance along exposed coastlines

Seascape connectivity (landscape connectivity in the sea) can modify reserve performance in low-energy marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass), but it is not clear whether similar spatial linkages also shape reserve effectiveness on high-energy, exposed coastlines. We used the surf zones of ocean beaches in eastern Australia as a model system to test how seascape connectivity and reserve attributes combine to shape conservation outcomes. Spatial patterns in fish assemblages were measured using baited remote underwater video stations in 12 marine reserves and 15 fished beaches across 2000 km of exposed coastline. Reserve performance was shaped by both the characteristics of reserves and the spatial properties of the coastal seascapes in which reserves were embedded. Number of fish species and abundance of harvested fishes were highest in surf-zone reserves that encompassed >1.5 km of the surf zone; were located < 100 m to rocky headlands; and included pocket beaches in a heterogeneous seascape. Conservation outcomes for exposed coastlines may, therefore, be enhanced by prioritizing sufficiently large areas of seascapes that are strongly linked to abutting complementary habitats. Our findings have broader implications for coastal conservation planning. Empirical data to describe how the ecological features of high-energy shorelines influence conservation outcomes are lacking, and we suggest that seascape connectivity may have similar ecological effects on reserve performance on both sheltered and exposed coastlines.     

Evolution of the landscape as a response of a demographic change. A case study in the Duero riverside,Spain

The Arribes del Duero area, in western Spain, at the border with Portugal, is suffering a drastic change in the landscape, as a response of the diminution of population. Traditional tasks related to agriculture have been abandoned, and heavy sheep farming on the area is provoking the impoverishment of soils. The effect derived from these actions is the disintegration of the terraces, which are one of the major attractions for tourists visiting the region. We propose that incentives for local people could help to develop those traditional labours to recover the landscape, together with the promotion of immigration of families with school-age children, could bring back the economy to the area.     

Conflictive sustainability landscapes: the neoliberal quagmire of urban environmental planning in Buenos Aires

The government of Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol on 17 December 2002, but over 100 Canadian municipalities had joined the International Council for Local Environmental Intitatives' (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign up to a decade earlier. A low-cost home energy rating system (HERS) evaluation and individualized energy plan was provided to 420 households in Kitchener, Ontario, from September 2000 to August 2001. To assess the impact of the energy efficiency program, natural gas consumption in the year prior to the evaluation was compared with that in the year following. Overall, a 5% reduction was achieved, but individual responses varied widely. Situational and psychological factors were evaluated for three groups of households: the conservers, the consumers and the steady middle group. Conservers (30% of households) had higher initial energy consumption levels and achieved two-thirds of the potential savings identified by the energy evaluation. Consumers (12% of households) had higher ownership rates of high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters and demonstrated the rebound effect of increased demand for energy services following the evaluation. Low-income groups were the most likely to behave as conservers (42%) while high-income groups were the least likely to be conservers (13%) and the most likely to be consumers. Local programs need to be inclusive of all income groups to increase participation and implementation rates by systematically reducing barriers (financial, knowledge, trust) or increasing incentives (financial, regulatory or social) if the desired goal (e.g. Kyoto target) is to be achieved.     

江苏北部景观生态对策研究

在对江苏北部气候、地貌、土壤、植被等景观生态要素研究的基础上，以地貌和基质为基本线索、以植被为标志建立了该地区的景观生态分类系统。该系统为二级分类系统，包括１０个景观型、３１个景观亚型。以景观亚型或景观亚型的组合为基本制图单位，编制了江苏北部１∶１００万景观生态类型图。详细分析了江苏北部稀疏植被景观、常绿针叶林景观、落叶阔叶林景观、旱地作物景观、水旱轮作景观、水田作物景观、淡水水生植被景观等主要景观型的生态问题，提出了相应的生态对策。     

湘江流域传统村落景观基因变异及其分异规律

传统村落在历史、文化、经济、旅游和科学等多个方面价值颇高,保护传统村落的空间格局和文化内涵极为重要。以中国湘江流域上中下游六个典型传统村落为例,以景观基因理论为基础,运用景观基因分析法识别了湘江流域传统村落景观基因,分析了上中下游传统村落显性物质景观基因与隐性非物质文化基因的变异特征,总结了湘江流域传统村落景观基因变异特征及分异规律,研究结果显示：（1）湘江流域上游传统村落平面基因变异相悖于本土的情况侧重发生在平面结构变异上;立面基因的变异相悖于本土、突变后直接消亡的情况较多;文化基因上受外来冲击的不适感较强,有加剧景观基因变异的风险和趋势。（2）湘江流域中游传统村落对立面基因的改动需求较大,且改动时间较早,造成立面基因变异以及平面基因中街巷格局、平面布局变异较大,变异后相悖于本土的特征显著;而在文化基因中,对文化的变异融合接受能力强,变异相融于本土的情况显著。（3）湘江流域下游传统村落在形态、布局特征明显的平面基因中产生的变异不大显著;在立面基因中遭遇突变后直接消亡的特征明显;在文化基因中,对家风信仰的基因变异以相融于本土为主,习俗礼仪的基因变异呈现分化趋势,单民族聚居式的家族以相悖于本土的特征为主,多民族聚居式的家族以相融于本土的特征为主。     

Use of ecoacoustics to determine biodiversity patterns across ecological gradients

The variety of local animal sounds characterizes a landscape. We used ecoacoustics to noninvasively assess the species richness of various biotopes typical of an ecofriendly forest plantation with diverse ecological gradients and both nonnative and indigenous vegetation. The reference area was an adjacent large World Heritage Site protected area (PA). All sites were in a global biodiversity hotspot. Our results showed how taxa segregated into various biotopes. We identified 65 singing species, including birds, frogs, crickets, and katydids. Large, natural, protected grassland sites in the PA had the highest mean acoustic diversity (14.1 species/site). Areas covered in nonnative timber or grass species were devoid of acoustic species. Sites grazed by native and domestic megaherbivores were fairly rich (5.1) in acoustic species but none were unique to this habitat type, where acoustic diversity was greater than in intensively managed grassland sites (0.04). Natural vegetation patches inside the plantation mosaic supported high mean acoustic diversity (indigenous forests 7.6, grasslands 8.0, wetlands 9.1), which increased as plant heterogeneity and patch size increased. Indigenous forest patches within the plantation mosaic contained a highly characteristic acoustic species assemblage, emphasizing their complementary contribution to local biodiversity. Overall, acoustic signals determined spatial biodiversity patterns and can be a useful tool for guiding conservation.     

城市旅游地景观格局演变与优化研究——以南京为例

城市旅游地景观格局是城市旅游与景观生态共同的研究热点。研究以南京为例,利用Arc GIS技术,以累积耗费距离及旅游地景观演化模型为分析手段,探讨了研究区自1991年以来的景观格局演变与优化问题。结果表明:(1)1991~2003年,旅游景观比重减少而非旅游景观增加;2003~2014年,旅游景观比重增加而非旅游景观递减。景观演化表现为先后台化再旅游化的特征。(2)河湖水面、公园与绿地、建设用地景观形状日趋规则化,林地、交通用地景观形状复杂度不断提升,景观破碎化程度加剧且多样性先上升后下降,表现出快速、高度城市化过程。(3)根据景观生态系统服务功能价值和空间作用,构建生态源地、生态廊道和生态节点等景观组分来加强生态网络的空间联系,提出格局优化方案。(4)非旅游型城市景观应进一步转变为典型旅游景观,以保持景观旅游化及旅游地景观演化的可持续性。     

Dynamics and driving forces of agricultural landscapes in Southern Ethiopia – a case study of the Chencha and Arbaminch areas

Agricultural landscapes in Ethiopia have undergone unprecedented changes. The direction of change, however, is unsustainable as manifested in land degradation, biodiversity loss, and low agricultural productivity. The objective of this study is to examine the patterns and trends of agricultural landscape development and responses of the local people within the framework of the dynamics of demography, socioeconomic conditions, politics, and natural resources in the Chencha and Arbaminch areas, Southern Ethiopia, during the last century. Information on cultivated and grazing land areas was acquired by satellite image interpretation. Interviews and group discussions provided important information on agricultural land use systems. A review and an analysis of secondary sources and documents of past studies were also used for trend analysis as a baseline and a supplement to oral history. The results show that cultivated land was expanded by 39% from 1973 until 2006, but per capita farming land holdings decreased enormously. In the same period of time, grassland shrank by 69% thus causing a significant decrease in livestock. Cultivated land scarcity can mostly be related to demographic pressure, which was exacerbated by government policy, land tenure, and the nature of subsistence agriculture. The farmers, however, were resourceful and developed skills over millennia to cope with the problems associated with population density and scarce resources. However, these traditional land use activities and land management practices have been deteriorating recently. Land use planners and environmental managers should take local knowledge and innovation into account in order to make sound decisions for the future.     

多媒体网络环境下高职设计类课程教学模式探讨简

高职生源具有自我管理能力差、学习情绪化、形象思维能力强等特点,高职教师由此存在倦怠情绪。高职设计类课程现有教学模式存在讲练分开、缺乏专业特色和重理论轻实践等方面的不足。以多媒体网络技术为基础,采用仿真实践教学、自主学习和混合式教学模式是实现高职设计类课程教学目标的有效途径。     

基于生命周期视角的种养一体化奶牛场环境经济效益评估

准确评估种养一体化奶牛场的经济性能与环境绩效,是相关支持政策制定的基础,也是促进奶业低碳生产的关键.本文基于生命周期视角,对非种养一体化奶牛场（non-IPBS）和种养一体化奶牛场（IPBS）养殖过程中的温室气体排放、能源消耗、水消耗、土地占用等环境成本和经济效益进行评估.结果表明,non-IPBS生产1t标准牛奶（FPCM）的净收益为1427元,而IPBS的实际净收益提高7%,如果青贮玉米自给率从当前的32%提升到100%,则实际净收益将提高19%,同时,该净收益的提高率取决于耕地流转费用,临界点为14695元/hm²;相比non-IPBS,IPBS生产1tFPCM的温室气体排放、能源消耗、水消耗、土地占用分别减少6%、6%、5%、7%,如果青贮玉米自给率提升到100%,则相应减少16%、16%、11%、14%.IPBS在降低青贮玉米种植的化肥施用、解决养殖场粪便污染等方面优势明显,在提升养殖经济效益、降低温室气体排放等方面具有巨大潜力,值得推广.