Priorities for Improving the Scientific Foundation of Conservation Policy in North America

Abstract:  The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) can enhance conservation of biodiversity in North America by increasing its engagement in public policy. Toward this end, the North America Section of SCB is establishing partnerships with other professional organizations in order to speak more powerfully to decision makers and taking other actions—such as increasing interaction with chapters—geared to engage members more substantively in science-policy issues. Additionally, the section is developing a North American Biodiversity Blueprint, which spans the continental United States and Canada and is informed by natural and social science. This blueprint is intended to clarify the policy challenges for protecting continental biodiversity, to foster bilateral collaboration to resolve common problems, and to suggest rational alternative policies and practices that are more likely than current practices to sustain North America's natural heritage. Conservation scientists and practitioners can play a key role by drawing policy makers' attention to ultimate, as well as proximate, causes of biodiversity decline and to the ecological and economic consequences of not addressing these threats.     

Can we take the pulse of environmental governance the way we take the pulse of nature? Applying the Freshwater Health Index in Latin America

Quantitative assessments have long been used to evaluate the condition of the natural environment, providing information for standard setting, adaptive management, and monitoring. Similar approaches have been developed to measure environmental governance, however, the end result (e.g., numeric indicators) belies the subjective and normative judgments that are involved in evaluating governance. We demonstrate a framework that makes this information transparent, through an application of the Freshwater Health Index in three different river basins in Latin America. Water Governance is measured on a 0–100 scale, using data derived from perception-based surveys administered to stakeholders. Results suggest that water governance is a primary area of concern in all three places, with low overall scores (Guandu-26, Alto Mayo-38, Bogotá-43). We conclude that this approach to measuring governance at the river basin scale provides valuable information to support monitoring and decision making, and we offer suggestions on how it can be improved.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01407-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

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.     

华北平原玉米-小麦轮作农田N2O交换通量的研究

以华北地区冬小麦-夏玉米轮作农田为研究对象,运用静态箱法对正常施肥及正常施肥结合秸秆还田农田N2O交换通量进行了连续1 a对比研究.正常施肥及正常施肥结合秸秆还田样地N2O全年的累积排放量分别为7.61 kg.hm-2和12.6kg.hm-2,其中秸秆还田引起N2O排放明显增加主要发生在玉米生长季节.两种处理样地在玉米季N2O的排放量占全年累积排放的57%～86%,表明华北玉米-小麦轮作体系中N2O排放主要集中在玉米季.各次施肥后10 d内N2O的累积排放量约占全年总排放量的71%～88%,显然现有化肥极大促进了华北农田N2O排放.     

北运河下游典型河网区水体中氮磷分布与富营养化评价

选择北运河下游典型河网区(闸坝多、水流慢和湖库化)为研究对象,通过为期1 a的水质监控,阐述了河网区氮、磷的时空变化特征,并利用对数型幂函数普适指数公式对其水体营养状态进行了评价.结果表明,河网区水体中TN平均质量浓度为12.50 mg.L-1(NH4+-N占67.41%),TP为1.45 mg.L-1(SRP占80.81%).河网区水体中氮、磷的时空分布特征明显,TN和NO 3--N质量浓度随季节变化特征趋于一致,NH 4+-N稍有不同;TP和SRP质量浓度随季节变化特征基本一致.从河网区进水带至出水带,水体中氮、磷质量浓度均呈逐渐下降趋势,其中TN、NH4+-N和NO3--N平均质量浓度分别从19.30、13.22和2.19mg.L-1降至7.98、4.45和1.50 mg.L-1;TP和SRP分别从1.95和1.59 mg.L-1降至1.11和0.91 mg.L-1.富营养化评价综合指数表明,河网区水体在时空尺度上均处于"极富"营养状态.     

华北地区1951-2009年气温、降水变化特征

基于华北五省(市)64个基本气象站的1961-2009年逐年逐月气温、降水资料, 利用泰森权重计算了华北地区面平均降水及面平均气温,并建立了7个长序列气象站的气温、降水与面平均值的回归方程,展延了研究区1951-1960年面平均降水和气温资料。对展延后的1951-2009年序列数据,应用Mann-Kendall检验、Mann-Whitney检验、9 a滑动平均等方法进行趋势分析,分析结果显示: 该区59 a间年气温上升了1.5 ℃,年气温序列存在显著上升趋势,年气温序列在1993年前后有一个突变点,年气温距平以1989年为低温期与高温期的分界线,年气温平均每10 a增长2.2%;年降水序列无显著趋势,亦无显著跳跃趋势,年降水距平大致以1976年为多雨期与少雨期的分界线,年降水平均每10 a增长-1.3%。研究成果为深入分析华北地区气候变化规律、未来气候变化影响,以及水资源对气候变化的响应提供了基础。     

美国氮氧化物排放交易经验及启示

综述了美国氮氧化物排放交易项目的演进过程,总结其实践经验,并探讨美国经验对中国氮氧化物排放控制的借鉴意义。     

农村沼气在北方农业源减排中的应用浅析

农村沼气作为一种特殊的清洁能源,在沈阳市农村节能减排、应对气候变化和发展低碳经济、促进新农村建设方面发挥了巨大的作用。本文通过对沼气工程在北方地区应用的阐述,力图推动北方农村沼气在农业源减排工作中的应用。     

降雨和土地利用对地表径流的影响-以北京北护城河周边区域为例

以北京北护城河周边区域为例,探讨了降雨和土地利用对地表径流的影响。选取了2011-2012 年4-11 月的15 场降雨,分别代表小雨、中雨、大雨、暴雨、大暴雨和特大暴雨这6 个雨量级。利用校准的雨洪管理模型（Storm Water Management Model, SWMM）分别模拟每次降雨事件下研究区7 个控制断面的地表径流深度。结果表明,地表径流深度随降雨量的增加显著线性增加。当降雨量在不同量级之间变化时,地表径流深度的变化幅度不尽相同。在不同的降雨事件中,降雨量和地表径流深度随时间的动态变化趋势可能有很大的差异,但地表径流深度在某一时刻的值的高低均决定于之前1~2 h 的降雨量,而地表径流深度的总体上升或下降趋势均决定于前期累积的降雨量。地表径流深度随渗透面积比例的增加显著下降,且变化曲线存在临界阈值（为15%~20%）。在暴雨、大暴雨和特大暴雨时,渗透面积比例对地表径流的影响更大。研究结果可为控制汛期城市地表径流量和洪峰流量、减少城市内涝提供土地利用和管理方面的理论依据和决策建议。     

Seasonal and spatial occurrence and distribution of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in rural and urban areas of the North Chinese Plain

Passive air sampling (PAS) was employed to study the occurrence of gaseous and particle-bound PAHs in the North Chinese Plain. The averaged concentrations of gaseous and particle-bound PAHs were 485 ± 209 ng/m³ and 267 ± 161 ng/m³, respectively. The PAHs concentrations at urban sites were generally higher than those at rural ones with ratios <1.5 in spring, summer and fall, but differences between them were not significant for the wintertime and annually averaged concentrations. This urban-rural distribution pattern was related to the PAHs emission sources. PAHs spatial variation can be partially (49%) explained by emission with a simple linear regression method. Both the gaseous and particle-bound PAHs were highest in winter and lowest in summer, with winter/summer ratios of 1.8 and 8, respectively. Emission strength was the most important factor for the seasonality.