基于景观格局的干旱内陆河流域生态风险分析——以石羊河流域为例

合理评估流域生态风险,对于优化流域景观格局、建立流域生态风险预警机制、降低流域生态环境风险、维护流域生态功能具有十分重要的意义。文章以干旱内陆河典型流域为研究对象,以三期遥感数据为基础,构建生态风险指数,结合ArcGIS的空间分析功能,对流域生态风险的时空特征进行分析,结果表明：1987-2010 年,流域景观发生较大了变化,草地面积减少12.73×10⁴ hm²,未利用地面积增加15.59×10⁴ hm²;将生态风险划分为5 个等级,其中低生态风险区向流域上游不断迁移,面积减少31.89×10⁴ hm²,较低生态风险区向上游和中游不断延伸,面积增加29.30×10⁴ hm²,高生态风险区向下游不断扩展,面积增加58.69×10⁴hm²;流域生态风险转换方式共有7 种,低向高等级转化的总面积为122.56×10⁴ hm²,高向低等级转化的总面积为6.12×10⁴ hm²,生态风险呈增高趋势。     

Conflict resilience among community forestry user groups: experiences in Nepal

This paper explores the impact of violent conflict in Nepal on the functioning of community forestry user groups (CFUGs), particularly those supported by the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme, funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). The key questions are: (i) what explains the resilience of CFUGs operating at the time of conflict?; (ii) what institutional arrangements and strategies allowed them to continue working under conflict conditions?; and (iii) what lessons can be drawn for donor‐supported development around the world? The study contributes to other research on the everyday experiences of residents of Nepal living in a period of conflict. It suggests that CFUG resilience was the result of the institutional set up of community forestry and the employment of various tactics by the CFUGs. While the institutional design of community forestry (structure) was very important for resilience, it was the ability of the CFUGs to support and use it effectively that was the determining factor in this regard.     

Ecology,ecological poverty and sustainable development in Central Himalayan region of India

The people inhabiting the mountains of the Central Himalayan region of India are heavily dependent on their immediate natural resources for their survival. However, this resource-poor mountain ecosystem is gradually becoming unable to provide a minimum standard of living to its continually growing population. In this ecosystem, human population is doubling every 27–30 years, against the declining resource base, particularly forests. Forest are disappearing both quantitatively and qualitatively. Against the requirement of 18 ha of forest land to maintain production in 1 ha of cultivated land, the ratio of forests to cultivated land is only 1.33: 1. The present production from grasslands supports 8 units of livestock, against the ideal 2 units, and the gap between the demand and deficit of fodder is more than 5-fold. Loss of vegetative cover is resulting in drying up of water resources, compelling the women to walk longer distances to collect water. This ecological deterioration, apart from human growth and interference, is compounded by mountain specificities such as inaccessibility, fragility, marginality, diversity, niche and adaptability. The specificities manifest in isolation, distance, poor communication, limited mobility, etc., resulting in limited external linkages and replication of external experiences, and slow pace of development. They, therefore, restrict options for economic growth, effecting poverty and affecting the quality of life of the people of the region. Poverty, in this mountain ecosystem cannot be understood and assessed independent of ecological wealth and would better be termed as ecological poverty. The development efforts to be effective in alleviating poverty here, should take into account mountain specificities and incorporate options which have larger human dimensions, such as mechanisms for population control, socio-economic and cultural conditioning, indigenous knowledge systems of the local people and simple technologies that are already in practice or have potential and are based on least external inputs.     

Integrating eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness into the design of sustainable industrial systems in China

As an important tool for environment management, eco-efficiency has been widely applied, but eco-effectiveness has only made progress on eco-design and life cycle management in recent years. Few have attempted to integrate eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness into sustainable industrial systems. In a new framework integrating eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness, both concepts can find unique roles and complement each other in industrial ecosystems to dissolve conflicts between industry and the environment. This article provides a case study of China in which eco-efficiency indicators (energy, water and waste utilisation intensity) have demonstrated great progress in China, but eco-efficiency cannot stop the increasing release of pollutants and their accumulating impact on ecological life-support systems. China must integrate eco-effectiveness and eco-efficiency into concrete sustainable development strategies, questioning whether limited resources are being used correctly. Both eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness are identified as important indicators in the development of sustainable industrial systems. In the framework of sustainable industrial systems, eco-effectiveness must begin to play a more important role.     

After the flames then what? exploring the linkages between wildfires and household food security in the northern Savannah of Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study deploys the livelihoods theory in political ecology together with integrated methods including remote sensing, participatory geographic information systems, interviews and focus group discussions to explore the intricate and dynamic linkages between perennial wildfires and household food insecurity among smallholder farmers in the northern savannah zone of Ghana. Our results suggest that wildfires are a major pathway to household food insecurity in two ways, as perceived by the farmers. First, in instances where wildfires destroy the major crops of smallholders, they are unable to find enough food for the lean season which results in transitory food insecurity. Secondly, in the long term, the environmental impacts of wildfires on the soil lead to lower yields and inadequate food to meet household nutritional needs. Farmers then deploy certain strategies such as early-harvesting and switching to early-maturing crops to avoid with the perennial fires and these strategies further reinforce other dimensions of food insecurity such as nutrition insecurity. Because livelihoods strategies such as crop farming, hunting, charcoal production and herding intersect in the northern savannah zone, we recommend policy options that will engage community members in finding common ways of using shared spaces sustainably. Government should also adopt policies that will encourage domestication of certain livelihood strategies such as cattle herding.     

Mutual information in the Tangled Nature model

We consider the concept of mutual information in ecological networks, and use this idea to analyse the Tangled Nature model of co-evolution. We show that this measure of correlation has two distinct behaviours depending on how we define the network in question: if we consider only the network of viable species this measure increases, whereas for the whole system it decreases. It is suggested that these are complimentary behaviours that show how ecosystems can become both more stable and better adapted.     

A linked model of animal ecology and human behavior for the management of wildlife tourism

Wildlife tourism attractions are characterized as having intricately coupled human-wildlife interactions. Accordingly, the ability to mitigate negative impacts of tourism on wildlife necessitates research into the ecology of the system and of the human dimensions, since plans aimed at optimizing wildlife fitness must also be acceptable to tourists. We developed an integrated systems dynamics model for the management of tourist-stingray interactions at ‘Stingray City Sandbar’ (SCS), Cayman Islands. The model predicts the state of the tourism attraction over time in relation to stingray population size, stingray life expectancy, and tourist visitation under various management scenarios. Stingray population data in the model comprised growth rates and survival estimates (from mark-and-recapture data) and mortality estimates. Inputted changes in their respective rates under different management scenarios were informed by previous research. Original research on the demand of heterogeneous tourist segments for management regulations via a stated choice model was used to calculate changes in the tourist population growth rate from data supplied by the Caymanian government. The management attributes to which tourists were responsive also have anticipated effects on stingray ecology (migration and mortality), and vice versa, thus linking the two components. We found that the model's predictions over a 25-year time span were sensitive to the stingray population growth rate and alternate management options. Under certain management scenarios, it was possible to maximize both the tourist segment in favor of no management and stingray numbers while reducing stingray health. However, the most effective relative strategy included a reduction in visitor density, restricted stingray interactions, and an imposition of a small fee. Over time, although fewer stingrays were predicted to remain at SCS, they would live longer and experience fewer stochastic disease events, and the desirable tourist segment was predicted to predominate. By understanding how management will affect tourist activities and their subsequent impacts on both wildlife health and visitor satisfaction, one can explore the management alternatives that would optimize both.     

我国低碳转型进程中碳强度与电气化环境库兹涅茨倒U形关联的检验与政策启示

中国正在积极地谋求低碳化转型,政府承诺落实2030年前碳达峰的目标并努力争取2060年实现碳中和。碳强度控制是实现CO_2减排的关键制度,而电气化又与碳排放和经济增长都具有紧密的联系。因此,研究电气化与碳强度的关系对政策设计和制定碳强度控制政策具有重要意义。基于电气化与碳强度关系的现有研究,本文提出了碳排放强度随着电气化水平提高先上升后下降的环境库兹涅茨曲线(EKC)关系假设。本文以中国1997—2016年30个省份的面板数据为对象进行假设检验,并使用空间杜宾模型验证空间效应对结果的影响。结果显示,我国电气化与碳强度之间确实存在显著的倒U形的EKC关系,并且这一结论在考虑空间因素后仍然稳健。EKC曲线的拐点在不考虑空间因素的情况下位于电气化水平为10.52%的位置,在考虑了空间因素后略微后移到10.81%。截至2016年,所有省份的电气化水平均处于EKC拐点的右侧,即电气化水平的提高将对碳强度下降起到显著的促进作用。最后,针对电气化与碳强度关系的一般与空间特征,本文对电气化发展提出了政策建议。     

Assessment of the state of agroecosystem sustainability using landscape indicators: a comparative study of three rural areas in Greece

The research was based on a comparative study of three representative rural areas (Dovras, Larissa, and Messapia) in Greece. Remote sensing data were collected (maps, aerial photographs) for the landscape analysis and elaborated using GIS linked with economic and social parameters regarding land use. By using a selected core set of landscape indicators, this research aims at providing a useful tool for assessing agroecosystem management at territorial level and hopefully assist decision-making for the promotion of sustainability. The selected tool showed that the study area of Messapia presented the highest level of environmental sustainability, while the area of Dovras showed the best combination of agricultural productivity and landscape management. Results showed that the ecoregions of Dovras, Larissa, and Messapia presented a landscape composed of important ecological function areas in the percentages of 40%, 15%, and 70%, respectively, and of cultivated areas in the percentages of 55%, 71.19%, and 19.75%, respectively.     

离子液体的水生生态毒理及其毒性影响因素研究进展

离子液体具有极低挥发性等良好理化性质而被公认为是传统有机溶剂的替代品,然而其较强的水溶性对水环境造成的潜在威胁受到关注。本文归纳总结了国内外有关不同类型离子液体对不同营养级水生生物个体、组织器官、细胞、酶等的毒性影响,并对碳链长度、阴阳离子以及环境因子等毒性影响因素的最新研究进展进行了综述,为设计绿色离子液体及合理控制管理水环境提供参考。