Simple Spatial Modeling Tool for Prioritizing Prescribed Burning Activities at the Landscape Scale

Abstract:   Resources for prescribed fire are frequently insufficient to manage public lands for all conservation and resource management objectives, necessitating prioritization of the application of fire across the landscape within any given year. Defining tradeoffs when applying prescribed fire to large landscapes is problematic not only because of the complexity of weighing competing management objectives at the landscape scale, but also because of the difficult nature of independently applying need-to-burn criteria to large areas. We present a case study of a simple modeling process implemented at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle (U.S.A.) to prioritize the application of prescribed fire. In a workshop setting, managers and biologists identified key conservation criteria and landscape management objectives that drive the application of prescribed fire. Remote sensing and other spatial data were developed to directly or indirectly represent all these criteria. Using geographic information system software, managers and biologists weighted each criterion according to its relative contribution to overall burn prioritization, and individual values for the criterion were scored according to how they influence the need to burn. Subsequently, this process has been validated and modified through ecological monitoring. This modeling process has also been applied to the 77,400-ha Blackwater River State Forest, public land adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base, demonstrating its applicability to lands with varying management priorities. The advantages of this model-based approach for prioritizing prescribed fire include the reliance on accessible, inexpensive software, the development of spatially explicit management objectives, the ease of transferability, and clearly stated assumptions about management that may be tested and reviewed through monitoring and public comment.     

Impending Recovery of Kirtland's Warbler: Case Study in the Effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act

Dendroica kirtlandii ). This particular recovery program actually began before passage of the federal ESA, when biologists alerted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources of the perilously low population of this bird, which only breeds under jack pine (Pinus banksiana) trees in Michigan. By the time an ESA Recovery Team was formed for this bird in 1975 (the first such team created under the ESA), a legacy of consensus and interagency cooperation was well established. This has led to successful efforts at habitat management and control of its nest parasite, the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater). While the Kirtland's warbler is not yet recovered, its population is near an all-time high, and its recovery is possible within the next decade. When (and if) this happens, it will be clearly attributable to this successful model of federalism for natural resources management.     

海南岛地表水的区域地球化学特征及其影响因素

始于2004年的海南岛多目标生态地球化学调查,对全岛的地表水进行了区域调查取样,分析测试了24项指标(部分样品增加测试12项)。测试结果表明,大多数指标优于国家地表水环境质量标准(GB3838-2002)中III类水体水质标准,只有Hg和总氮存在区域性的超Ⅲ类水体水质。经对样品的聚类分析研究表明,全岛地表水样品主要分为4类,分别反映了地表植被、海水入侵、灌溉水田排水、矿山废水排放对地表水化学成分的控制作用。在此认识的基础上,依地表水样品所处的土地利用方式的不同,按一定顺序对样品进行编号赋值(沿海的土地视为"海洋利用方式"),该赋值与聚类分析所得到的样品类别值之间存在极显著的正相关性,相关系数达0.8280,表明海南岛的土地利用方式是控制地表水地球化学特征的关键因素,从而为海南岛地表水环境质量的保护和提高指出了方向。     

松针生理性质对其富集多环芳烃行为的影响

测定了雪松(Cedrus deodar)和黑松(Pinus thunbergii)松针的脂含量、气孔密度和比表面积等生理性质及松针中多环芳烃 (PAHs)浓度,考察了松针生理性质对其富集PAHs行为的影响.结果表明,雪松松针中PAHs浓度高于黑松,其平均总浓度(ΣPAHs)分别为(1101±692)ng/g和(518±339)ng/g,2种松针对PAHs的富集能力有较大差异,脂含量是决定松针富集PAHs量的首要因素.2种松针中PAHs组成均以3环和4环PAHs为主,分别占ΣPAHs的56%和31%以上.松针对于3环PAHs的富集能力强于4环PAHs,两者浓度差异约为2倍左右;对于5、6环PAHs,未发现其浓度与脂含量之间的相关关系.由于雪松和黑松松针的脂含量随比表面积具有不同的变化趋势,2种松针中PAHs浓度随比表面积的变化趋势相反.对于5、6环PAHs,松针比表面积和气孔密度对其浓度有显著影响.     

大气臭氧浓度增加对湿地松幼苗的影响

采用开顶式气室(open top chambers,OTCs)装置,研究O<,3>浓度增加(E-O<,3>约150 nL·L<'-1>)对湿地松幼苗的影响,包括伤害症状、植株生长、针叶光合色素含量、气体交换速率与叶绿素荧光、丙二醛(MDA)以及主要抗氧化剂含量变化.经过E-O<,3>处理一个生长季后(AOT40值为38...     

崇明岛东部不同年代围垦区土壤有机质组成变化研究

在崇明岛东部不同年代围垦区选择4个典型部位的钻孔样品,应用热裂解气相色谱质谱联用技术(Py-GC-MS),取得土壤有机质热裂解产物的类型与相对含量,从分子层面探究埋藏盐沼土壤有机质组成特征,研究土壤有机质稳定性随时间的变化规律.结果表明,自西向东4个钻孔的样品(CM2、CM4、CM5、CM6)中,分别检测到53、80、...     

缙云山马尾松林和柑橘林土壤微生物PLFA沿海拔梯度的变化

土壤微生物群落是土壤生态系统的重要组成部分,对环境变化敏感.本文运用磷脂脂肪酸法(PLFA)研究缙云山马尾松林和柑橘林土壤微生物群落结构沿海拔梯度的变化特征.结果表明,从6个海拔土壤中共检测到48种PLFA,其中i16:0、10Me17:0、10Me18:0 TBSA在6个海拔中含量均最高,且柑橘林土壤PLFA种类和含量明显高于马尾松林.随着海拔升高马尾松林土壤微生物种类和含量逐渐增加,柑橘林则逐渐降低,各海拔间细菌、真菌、放线菌、革兰氏阴性菌(G~-)及革兰氏阳性菌(G~+)含量差异显著.土壤微生物群落多样性研究结果表明,马尾松林低海拔丰富度指数(R),多样性指数(H')、均匀度指数(J)均显著高于高海拔,而柑橘林R在低海拔最高,H'、J则在高海拔最高.不同海拔土壤细菌、放线菌、G~-及G~+与土壤酶和环境因子之间存在相关性,细菌、放线菌、G~-及G~+与脲酶(Ure)、转化酶(Ive)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、林分类型均呈极显著正相关,真菌与Ure、Ive、CAT呈显著正相关;而细菌、真菌、放线菌、G~-及G~+与海拔呈极显著或显著负相关.Ure、Ive、CAT、林分及海拔是影响土壤微生物PLFA变化的重要因子.     

北部湾涠洲岛原油污染物的海水环境质量基准研究

选择9种我国本土海洋生物对北部湾涠洲岛原油污染物的急性生物毒性进行测试,并基于测试获得的毒性数据,利用美国水生生物基准推算方法,对该原油污染物的海水环境基准阈值进行推导,结果表明:原油样品对卤虫、褶皱臂尾轮虫、太平洋纺锤水蚤、中国对虾、三疣梭子蟹、彩虹明樱蛤、牙鲆、半滑舌鳎、青岛大扁藻的LC50(或EC50)分别为10.28, 2.37, 4.88, 0.31, 0.81, 65.88, 19.02, 9.10, 0.23mg/L;涠洲岛原油污染物的急性和慢性海水质量基准阈值分别为0.06,0.012mg/L.研究结果可为我国海上溢油事故损害评估提供科学依据.     

海南岛西部地区砖红壤中微量元素含量及其分布特征

对海南岛西部地区发育典型的5个砖红壤剖面微量元素的组成特征进行研究发现,5个剖面微量元素的含量变化趋势具有一定的相似性,其中Cu、Pb、Zn、As平均含量大多高于中国南方砖红壤的平均值,而Ni、Mo、Cd、Sn、Sb等微量元素则刚好相反。各剖面微量元素含量的纵向变化规律显示,土壤中微量元素含量及其垂直变化从根本上取决于土壤母质的特征。受区内自然条件影响,区内土壤微量元素的垂向迁移能力相对较弱,而人类的工业活动、农业活动也可导致少量As、Cd、Pb等有害外源微量元素进入土壤并趋向于在土壤的浅层富集。     

Removal of congo red and basic violet 1 by chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) sawdust,a saw mill waste: batch and column studies

The efficiency of chir pine sawdust (CPS) for adsorptive removal of the dyes, congo red (CR) and basic violet 1 (BV), from aqueous solution was evaluated using batch and column studies. The equilibrium was attained in 60 min for CR and 45 min for BV. The adsorption of BV obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model while the Freundlich isotherm fitted the equilibrium data of CR adsorption. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacities (Q_o) of CPS for BV and CR were 11.3 and 5.8 g kg^?1, respectively. The kinetic data for CR were best fitted to the Lagergren pseudo-first-order model and for BV to the pseudo-second-order model. The intra-particle diffusion was found to be the rate-controlling step for CR adsorption, while the adsorption kinetics of BV were controlled by both intra-particle and liquid-film diffusion. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The adsorption activation energy (E_a) for CR (124 kJ mol^?1) implied chemical adsorption while that for BV (5.4 kJ mol^?1) indicated physical adsorption. An increase in the Thomas model constant (K_Th) with increasing flow indicated that for both dyes the mass transport resistance decreased during adsorption. Thus, CPS may be an efficient low-cost adsorbent for decolorization of dye-containing wastewaters.