Mitigating the impact of oil‐palm monoculture on freshwater fishes in Southeast Asia

Anthropogenic land‐cover change is driving biodiversity loss worldwide. At the epicenter of this crisis lies Southeast Asia, where biodiversity‐rich forests are being converted to oil‐palm monocultures. As demand for palm oil increases, there is an urgent need to find strategies that maintain biodiversity in plantations. Previous studies found that retaining forest patches within plantations benefited some terrestrial taxa but not others. However, no study has focused on aquatic taxa such as fishes, despite their importance to human well‐being. We assessed the efficacy of forested riparian reserves in conserving freshwater fish biodiversity in oil‐palm monoculture by sampling stream fish communities in an oil‐palm plantation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Forested riparian reserves maintained preconversion local fish species richness and functional diversity. In contrast, local and total species richness, biomass, and functional diversity declined markedly in streams without riparian reserves. Mechanistically, riparian reserves appeared to increase local species richness by increasing leaf litter cover and maintaining coarse substrate. The loss of fishes specializing in leaf litter and coarse substrate decreased functional diversity and altered community composition in oil‐palm plantation streams that lacked riparian reserves. Thus, a land‐sharing strategy that incorporates the retention of forested riparian reserves may maintain the ecological integrity of fish communities in oil‐palm plantations. We urge policy makers and growers to make retention of riparian reserves in oil‐palm plantations standard practice, and we encourage palm‐oil purchasers to source only palm oil from plantations that employ this practice.     

建筑工人个体安全能力影响因素效用量化研究

为加强对工人不安全行为的管理,保障建筑施工安全,利用结构方程模型(SEM)建模方法研究建筑工人个体安全能力与影响因素间的效用关系。从个体特质和工作环境2方面进行分析,得到技能素质、心理状态、生理状态等16个影响因素。以工作环境的8个影响因素作为外源潜伏变量,其余8个影响因素作为内生潜伏变量,构建建筑工人个体安全能力SEM。利用问卷调查所得数据对模型进行拟合与修正,实现影响因素效用的客观量化。研究结果表明:建筑工人的个体安全能力主要取决于其技能素质;工作环境中,效用最大的因素是施工现场的安全资源配备;当前建筑行业的安全培训与安全文化建设工作还有待进一步开展。     

Towards a better management of complex emergencies through crisis management meta‐modelling

Managing complex emergency situations is a challenging task, mainly due to the heterogeneity of the partners involved and the critical nature of such events. Whatever approach is adopted to support this objective, one unavoidable issue is knowledge management. In the context of our research project, gathering, formalising and exploiting all the knowledge and information about a given crisis situation is a critical requirement. This paper presents some research results concerning this specific topic: from a theoretical point of view, the generic dimensions of crisis characterisation are defined, while from a technical point of view, we describe a software solution able to collect that knowledge (based on meta‐models and ontologies). This is used to confront the characteristics of the situation (context) with characteristics of the resources (relief system) in order to design a suitable response. Finally, an illustrative example concerning a crash between a tanker truck and a train is described.     

Assessing the inter-annual variability of separation distances around odour sources to protect the residents from odour annoyance

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about potential impacts on public health and wellbeing due to exposure to environmental odour. Separation distances between odour-emitting sources and residential areas can be calculated using dispersion models, as a means of protecting the neighbourhood from odour annoyance. This study investigates the suitability of using one single year of meteorological input data to calculate reliable direction-dependent separation distances. Accordingly, we assessed and quantified the inter-annual variability of separation distances at two sites with different meteorological conditions, one in Brazil and the other in Austria. A 5-year dataset of hourly meteorological observations was used for each site. Two odour impact criteria set in current regulations were selected to explore their effect on the separation distances. The coefficient of variation was used as a statistical measure to characterise the amount of annual variation. Overall,for all scenarios, the separation distances had a low degree of inter-annual variability(mean coefficient of variation values from 8% to 21%). Reasonable agreements from year to year were therefore observed at the two sites under investigation, showing that one year of meteorological data is a good compromise to achieve reliable accuracy. This finding can provide a more cost-effective solution to calculate separation distances in the vicinity of odour sources.     

Long-term perspectives on world metal use—a system-dynamics model

In this paper, a system dynamics model is described, which simulates long-term trends in the production and consumption of metals (i.e. iron/steel and an aggregate of metals of medium abundance) in relation to impacts such as ore-grade decline, capital and energy requirements and waste flows. This metal model can be of assistance in exploring the issue of sustainability of metal resource use. Application of the model to historical trends shows it to be fairly capable of reproducing the long-term trends in the 1900–1990 period, among others on the basis of two intensity of use curves applied to 13 world regions. For future trends, a set of perspective-based long-term scenarios has been constructed that represent the major paradigms in resource use. These scenarios highlight some of the uncertain factors in the relation between economic growth, metal resource exploitation and use, and energy and environmental consequences. They also indicate that apparently similar metal flows in society may be the result of quite different and sometimes contrary assumptions on metal demand, production patterns and resource base characteristics. Such analyses contribute to a more open and transparent discussion on the issue at hand by adding quantitative explications to qualitative views.     

流域农业面源污染迁移过程与模型研究进展

当前农业面源污染仍是我国水污染的主要来源,面源污染过程涉及农业、水利、环境、生态等多学科交叉,是国内外环境污染学术研究和流域污染控制与管理关注的焦点之一。不同学科通常在不同的时空尺度上采用不同的方法研究农业面源污染的产生与迁移过程,如农业学科注重农田—山坡—流域尺度下灌溉、不同作物在不同阶段施肥、营养盐转化吸收及其土壤库收支与微生物对营养盐的作用等过程,但忽略了不同尺度或系统之间的迁移过程内在联系,尤其是较少开展集成模拟研究。本文综述了典型空间尺度（从田块到山坡,再到流域尺度）农业面源污染迁移过程及影响因素,总结了流域农业面源污染建模方法,提出在模型系统中除需要深入考虑田块、山坡等尺度的局部水文及其污染物产生、累积、释放与迁移外,还迫切需要综合考虑农田—山坡—流域系统的水文和污染物迁移过程与集成面源模型的研发。同时,针对农业面源污染迁移过程的尺度转换、建模方法和模型不确定性,分析了其现有研究存在的不足,并对未来研究进行了展望。

     

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION FROM A BULRUSH‐DOMINATED WETLAND IN THE KLAMATH BASIN,OREGON1

ABSTRACT: Growing‐season evapotranspiration and surface energy and water balances were investigated for an extensive, bulrush‐dominated wetland in the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge of south‐central Oregon, a semi‐arid region with competing demands for scarce water resources. Turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat were measured by eddy covariance for 1.2 to 1.9 days during each of four site visits during late‐May to mid‐October 1997. Mean daytime latent heat flux and the Bowen ratio ranged from 148 to 178 W m^?2 and from 0.38 to 0.51, respectively, during late May, mid‐July, and late August site visits. By mid‐October, when the plant canopy had senesced, daytime latent heat flux and the Bowen ratio averaged 46 W m^?2 and 2.8, respectively. An hourly Penman‐Monteith (PM) model that was fitted to the surface‐flux data provided values for the surface resistance to water‐vapor diffusion that ranged from 78 s m^?1 during late August to 206 s m^?1 during mid‐October. Similarly, a Priestley‐Taylor (PT) model provided values for the PT multiplier (a) that ranged from 0.96 during late August to 0.37 during mid‐October. The PM and PT models predicted evapotranspiration totals of 560 and 480 mm, respectively, for May 28 to October 12, 1997.     

Structural perturbations of models used in mathematical biology

The paper discusses the importance of understanding structural perturbations of models used in mathematical biology, where we mainly focus on ecology and dynamical systems. We describe first briefly the classical modeling strategy and the derivation of model structures. Structural perturbations are then discussed, mainly in the framework of ODEs. We give some examples how insights obtained from this type of model could be transfered to other kinds of models. Finally we propose an alternative modeling strategy characterized by a systematic investigation of a models neighbourhood in an appropriately chosen model class.     

An innovative three-dimensional approach for the simulation of pressure vessels exposed to fire

The present study introduces an innovative approach to the detailed simulation of the pressure build-up in equipment containing saturated liquids when exposed to fire. The approach is based on the adoption of a fully three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the inner fluid. Experimental data gathered from literature studies were used to validate the model considering vessels of several scales and geometries exposed to a full engulfing pool fire. The comparison between the results of the 3D CFD model developed and those of two-dimensional (2D) literature models was also carried out. This enabled deriving precise indications on the selection of the most suitable approach based on the type of accidental scenario to reproduce, confirming 2D models as sound and reliable tools to model the fluid behaviour when homogeneous heat exposure conditions are present. On the other side, limitations of 2D approaches in capturing edge effects on i) temperature profiles, ii) recirculation patterns, and iii) energy accumulation in the vessel lading during fire exposure were identified and discussed. The results obtained represent a valuable source of information to support risk management and emergency response planning.     

Structural equation modelling of lower back pain due to whole-body vibration exposure in the construction industry

Whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure is a health hazard among workers, causing lower back pain (LBP) in the construction industry. This study examines key factors affecting LBP due to WBV exposure using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results confirm five key factors (equipment, job related, organizational, personal, social context) with their 17 associated items. The organizational factor is found the most important, as it influences the other four factors. The results also show that appropriate seat type, specific training programme, job rotation, workers’ satisfaction and workers’ physical condition are crucial in reducing LBP due to WBV exposure. Moreover, provision of new machines without proper training and good working condition might not help reduce LBP due to WBV exposure. The results help the construction companies to better understand key factors affecting LBP due to WBV exposure, and to plan for a better health improvement programme.