A reflection on four impactful Ambio papers: The biotic perspective: This article belongs to Ambio’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Climate change impacts

Climate change represents one of the most pressing societal and scientific challenges of our time. While much of the current research on climate change focuses on future prediction, some of the strongest signals of warming can already be seen in Arctic and alpine areas, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and in the oceans, where the combination of rising temperatures and acidification due to increased CO₂ concentrations has had catastrophic consequences for sensitive marine organisms inhabiting coral reefs. The scientific papers highlighted as part of this anniversary issue represent some of the most impactful advances in our understanding of the consequences of anthropogenic climate change. Here, we reflect on the legacy of these papers from the biotic perspective.     

Two Hundred Years of Local Avian Extinctions in Eastern Amazonia

Local, regional, and global extinctions caused by habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation have been widely reported for the tropics. The patterns and drivers of this loss of species are now increasingly well known in Amazonia, but there remains a significant gap in understanding of long‐term trends in species persistence and extinction in anthropogenic landscapes. Such a historical perspective is critical for understanding the status and trends of extant biodiversity as well as for identifying priorities to halt further losses. Using extensive historical data sets of specimen records and results of contemporary surveys, we searched for evidence of local extinctions of a terra firma rainforest avifauna over 200 years in a 2500 km² eastern Amazonian region around the Brazilian city of Belém. This region has the longest history of ornithological fieldwork in the entire Amazon basin and lies in the highly threatened Belém Centre of Endemism. We also compared our historically inferred extinction events with extensive data on species occurrences in a sample of catchments in a nearby municipality (Paragominas) that encompass a gradient of past forest loss. We found evidence for the possible extinction of 47 species (14% of the regional species pool) that were unreported from 1980 to 2013 (80% last recorded between 1900 and 1980). Seventeen species appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and many of these are large‐bodied. The species lost from the region immediately around Belém are similar to those which are currently restricted to well‐forested catchments in Paragominas. Although we anticipate the future rediscovery or recolonization of some species inferred to be extinct by our calculations, we also expect that there are likely to be additional local extinctions, not reported here, given the ongoing loss and degradation of remaining areas of native vegetation across eastern Amazonia. Doscientos Años de Extinciones Locales de Aves en la Amazonia Oriental     

城市电力供应系统公共安全风险评估体系及应用

城市电力供应系统与城市公共安全关系紧密，文章分析了导致城市电力供应系统故障或事故的主要风险因素、事故类型及其风险程度，建立了城市电力供应系统公共安全风险评估体系。利用建立的风险评估体系，对某市电力供应系统的安全性进行了风险评估，同时验证了该体系在城市电力供应系统风险评估中的良好适用性。     

Mowers versus growers: Riparian buffer management in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains,USA

Despite long-standing knowledge of the benefits of riparian buffers for mitigating nonpoint source pollution, many streams are unprotected by buffers. Even landowners who understand ecological values of buffers mow riparian vegetation to the streambank. Do trends in rural riparian conditions reflect the development of riparian forest science? What motivates residential riparian management actions? Using high-resolution orthoimagery, we quantified riparian conditions and trends between 1998 and 2015 in the rural upper Little Tennessee River basin in Macon County, North Carolina and explored how landowners view riparian zone management and riparian restoration programs. Buffer composition in 2015 was as follows: no buffer (32.5%), narrow (19.3%), forested (26.7%), shrub (7.2%), and intermediate (7.0%). Relative to 1998, the greatest decrease occurred in the no buffer class (−17.7%, 46 km) and the largest increases occurred in the shrub (+72.5%, 20 km) and narrow (12.6%, 14 km) classes. Forested buffer marginally increased. Semi-structured interview data suggest that landowners prioritize recreational and scenic aspects of riparian buffers over ecological functions such as filtration and bank stabilization. Riparian restoration programs might be made more enticing to non-adopters if outreach language appealed to landowner priorities, design elements demonstrated intentional management, and program managers highlighted areas where ecological goals and landowner values align.     

Combined Effects of Levels of Protection and Environmental Variables at Different Spatial Resolutions on Fish Assemblages in a Marine Protected Area

Abstract: The links between species–environment relations and species’ responses to protection are unclear, but the objectives of marine protected areas (MPAs) are most likely to be achieved when those relations are known and inform MPA design. The components of a species’ habitat vary with the spatial resolution of the area considered. We characterized areas at two resolutions: 250 m² (transect) and approximately 30,000 m² (seascape). We considered three categories of environmental variables: substrate type, bottom complexity, and depth. We sought to determine at which resolution habitat characteristics were a better predictor of abundance and species composition of fishes and whether the relations with environmental variables at either resolution affected species’ responses to protection. Habitat features accounted for a larger proportion of spatial variation in species composition and abundances than differences in protection status. This spatial variation was explained best by habitat characteristics at the seascape level than at the transect level. Species’ responses to protected areas were specific to particular seascape characteristics, primarily depth, and bottom complexity. Our method may be useful for prioritizing marine areas for protection, designing MPAs, and monitoring their effectiveness. It identified areas that provided natural shelter, areas acting as buffer zones, and areas where fish species were most responsive to protection. The identification of such areas is necessary for cost‐effective establishment and monitoring of MPAs.     

Hydromorphological and socio-cultural assessment of urban rivers to promote nature-based solutions in Jarabacoa,Dominican Republic

In Latin America and the Caribbean, river restoration projects are increasing, but many lack strategic planning and monitoring. We tested the applicability of a rapid visual social–ecological stream assessment method for restoration planning, complemented by a citizen survey on perceptions and uses of blue and green infrastructure. We applied the method at three urban streams in Jarabacoa (Dominican Republic) to identify and prioritize preferred areas for nature-based solutions. The method provides spatially explicit information for strategic river restoration planning, and its efficiency makes it suitable for use in data-poor contexts. It identifies well-preserved, moderately altered, and critically impaired areas regarding their hydromorphological and socio-cultural conditions, as well as demands on green and blue infrastructure. The transferability of the method can be improved by defining reference states for assessing the hydromorphology of tropical rivers, refining socio-cultural parameters to better address river services and widespread urban challenges, and balancing trade-offs between ecological and social restoration goals.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01565-3.     

中国城市热岛时空特征及其影响因子的分析

全球气候变暖背景下,城市热岛效应会加重城市地区的热胁迫,对人类健康和生存发展提出严峻挑战.近年来我国雾-霾污染情况严重,但雾-霾对城市热岛影响的认识仍较匮乏.本研究基于MODIS遥感卫星地表温度数据,明确了我国2003~2013年白天、夜间以及四季城市热岛的空间变化,并从生物物理学和生物化学角度定量分析其控制机制.结果表明,影响我国白天城市热岛强度的主要因素为人口、农田灌溉和植被活动.纬度、降水量、反照率以及气溶胶浓度是夜间城市热岛强度的主控因子.从对比城乡粗糙度、反照率等生物物理学属性的角度,揭示了乡村背景环境对城市热岛分析的重要影响.结果表明,雾-霾治理可以缓解我国夜间城市热岛现象和热胁迫,有利于缓解区域甚至全球气候变化.     

Structure and activity of thermophilic methanogenic microbial communities exposed to quaternary ammonium sanitizer

Food processing facilities often use antimicrobial quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) sanitizers to maintain cleanliness. These QACs can end up in wastewaters used as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of QAC contamination on biogas production and structure of microbial communities in thermophilic digester sludge. Methane production and biogas quality data were analyzed in batch anaerobic digesters containing QAC at 0, 15, 50, 100 and 150 mg/L. Increasing sanitizer concentration in the bioreactors negatively impacted methane production rate and biogas quality. Microbial community composition data was obtained through 16S rRNA gene sequencing from the QAC-contaminated sludges. Sequencing data showed no significant restructuring of the bacterial communities. However, significant restructuring was observed within the archaeal communities as QAC concentration increased. Further studies to confirm these effects on a larger scale and with a longer retention time are necessary.     

大庆市城市污泥土地利用与环境影响研究

统计了大庆市生活污水处理厂污泥泥质重金属含量和本地区土壤环境重金属现状监测值,结果表明:大庆地区土壤属于天然低背景,污泥中重金属含量符合《城镇污水处理厂污泥处置农用泥质》(CJ/T 309-2009)标准的要求.结合本地区土壤的理化性质和污水厂污泥泥质特性,分析堆肥后污泥土地利用前景与环境影响,建议城市污泥处置应遵循源头削减和全过程控制原则,为大庆污泥处理厂的运行和管理提供合理化建议.     

污水净化装置内部流场特性分析研究

针对目前城市污水存在悬浮物和砂粒的问题,为了减少砂粒大量存在给后续单元带来的处理压力,设计了一种可实现在加药、絮凝等处理模块前,完成污水内固相悬浮物及颗粒的新型净化装置.基于计算流体动力学软件Fluent,运用混合相模型(Mixture),对新型污水净化装置内部流场特性及分离性能进行数值模拟分析.模拟结果显示新型污水净化装置内部流场分布均匀,分离性能稳定并呈现出了较好的固相去除效果,其中悬浮物的分离效率达90%以上,固相颗粒分离效率达91%.