Developing Metapopulation Connectivity Criteria from Genetic and Habitat Data to Recover the Endangered Mexican Wolf

Restoring connectivity between fragmented populations is an important tool for alleviating genetic threats to endangered species. Yet recovery plans typically lack quantitative criteria for ensuring such population connectivity. We demonstrate how models that integrate habitat, genetic, and demographic data can be used to develop connectivity criteria for the endangered Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), which is currently being restored to the wild from a captive population descended from 7 founders. We used population viability analysis that incorporated pedigree data to evaluate the relation between connectivity and persistence for a restored Mexican wolf metapopulation of 3 populations of equal size. Decreasing dispersal rates greatly increased extinction risk for small populations (<150–200), especially as dispersal rates dropped below 0.5 genetically effective migrants per generation. We compared observed migration rates in the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM) wolf metapopulation to 2 habitat‐based effective distance metrics, least‐cost and resistance distance. We then used effective distance between potential primary core populations in a restored Mexican wolf metapopulation to evaluate potential dispersal rates. Although potential connectivity was lower in the Mexican wolf versus the NRM wolf metapopulation, a connectivity rate of >0.5 genetically effective migrants per generation may be achievable via natural dispersal under current landscape conditions. When sufficient data are available, these methods allow planners to move beyond general aspirational connectivity goals or rules of thumb to develop objective and measurable connectivity criteria that more effectively support species recovery. The shift from simple connectivity rules of thumb to species‐specific analyses parallels the previous shift from general minimum‐viable‐population thresholds to detailed viability modeling in endangered species recovery planning. Desarrollo de Criterios de Conectividad Metapoblacional a Partir de Datos Genéticos y de Hábitat para Recuperar al Lobo Mexicano en Peligro de Extinción     

Landscape consequences of aggregation rules for functional equivalence in compensatory mitigation programs

Mitigation and offset programs designed to compensate for ecosystem function losses due to development must balance losses from affected ecosystems with gains in restored ecosystems. Aggregation rules applied to ecosystem functions to assess site equivalence are based on implicit assumptions about the substitutability of functions among sites and can profoundly influence the distribution of restored ecosystem functions on the landscape. We investigated the consequences of rules applied to the aggregation of ecosystem functions for wetland offsets in the Beaverhill watershed in Alberta, Canada. We considered the fate of 3 ecosystem functions: hydrology, water purification, and biodiversity. We set up an affect‐and‐offset algorithm to simulate the effect of aggregation rules on ecosystem function for wetland offsets. Cobenefits and trade‐offs among functions and the constraints posed by the quantity and quality of restorable sites resulted in a redistribution of functions between affected and offset wetlands. Hydrology and water purification functions were positively correlated with one another and negatively correlated with biodiversity function. Weighted‐average rules did not replace functions in proportion to their weights. Rules prioritizing biodiversity function led to more monofunctional wetlands and landscapes. The minimum rule, for which the wetland score was equal to the worst performing function, promoted multifunctional wetlands and landscapes. The maximum rule, for which the wetland score was equal to the best performing function, promoted monofunctional wetlands and multifunctional landscapes. Because of implicit trade‐offs among ecosystem functions, no‐net‐loss objectives for multiple functions should be constructed within a landscape context. Based on our results, we suggest criteria for the design of aggregation rules for no net loss of ecosystem functions within a landscape context include the concepts of substitutability, cobenefits and trade‐offs, landscape constraints, heterogeneity, and the precautionary principle.     

Environmental cost of using poor decision metrics to prioritize environmental projects

Conservation decision makers commonly use project‐scoring metrics that are inconsistent with theory on optimal ranking of projects. As a result, there may often be a loss of environmental benefits. We estimated the magnitudes of these losses for various metrics that deviate from theory in ways that are common in practice. These metrics included cases where relevant variables were omitted from the benefits metric, project costs were omitted, and benefits were calculated using a faulty functional form. We estimated distributions of parameters from 129 environmental projects from Australia, New Zealand, and Italy for which detailed analyses had been completed previously. The cost of using poor prioritization metrics (in terms of lost environmental values) was often high—up to 80% in the scenarios we examined. The cost in percentage terms was greater when the budget was smaller. The most costly errors were omitting information about environmental values (up to 31% loss of environmental values), omitting project costs (up to 35% loss), omitting the effectiveness of management actions (up to 9% loss), and using a weighted‐additive decision metric for variables that should be multiplied (up to 23% loss). The latter 3 are errors that occur commonly in real‐world decision metrics, in combination often reducing potential benefits from conservation investments by 30–50%. Uncertainty about parameter values also reduced the benefits from investments in conservation projects but often not by as much as faulty prioritization metrics.     

基于资源环境承载力评价的土地利用功能分区研究

资源环境承载力是可持续发展度量和管理的重要参量和依据,是土地利用功能分区的前提和基础.从资源环境约束系统和保障系统两个维度,应用GIS空间分析和多因素综合评价法,探讨基于资源环境承载力评价的土地利用功能分区研究,并以重庆市渝北区为例进行实证研究.研究结论以期为优化国土空间开发格局和生态文明建设提供科学数据、规划思路和决策依据.     

绿色会计视角下能源企业的成本核算优化研究

针对绿色会计视角下能源企业的成本核算优化,介绍了绿色会计视角下能源企业的成本核算,由于能源企业的发展,对环境产生了巨大危害,也导致能源企业由于本身成本过高,这才提出绿色会计,这样才能优化能源企业的成本,可以保证能源企业的可持续发展;同时,也保障了能源企业生态的稳定建设.基于绿色会计视角,探讨了能源企业的绿色成本优化研究,主要包括能源企业坚持绿色会计,确定绿色成本原则,能源企业绿色成本优化条件和能源企业加强绿色会计实践.     

京津冀生态涵养区生态规划思路与实施路径研究

生态规划是在调查分析区域内各生态因子的空间分异和承载力,分析人为活动对该区域的影响以及调控方向,为区域资源开发与环境保护提供决策依据,促进区域内自然系统与人类社会和谐发展.科学制定张承地区的生态规划,是建设京津冀生态涵养区的重要支撑.但是目前张家口市生态规划存在专门研究文献非常少、缺乏对微地形的考虑和分析、政府重视程度不够等多个层面的问题.做好张家口市生态规划,要坚持"生态优先、绿色发展"的原则,必须落脚到京津冀协同发展的大政方针,注重京津冀生态系统的整体性特征;必须要紧密结合张家口市当前面临的建成可再生能源示范区、京张联合举办冬奥会等多个发展节点.     

基于生态足迹改进模型的生态安全及其预测研究

由William Rees提出的生态足迹模型已经成为近年来生态可持续发展的重要的度量工具,但是该模型仅考虑了土地的基本生产功能,忽视了土地生态系统的服务功能。文章借鉴生态系统服务功能理论改进了传统的生态足迹模型,将生态系统服务功能价值当量因子引入生态足迹模型均衡因子和产量因子的计算中,改进后的模型体现了生态系统功能的完整性;同时,文章以江苏省2010年的统计数据为基础,应用改进模型计算了其2010年生态压力指数,结果表明,江苏省生态压力指数达到1.495,其安全状况已经超过了极不安全边界,处于极不安全状态;最后利用灰色理论GM(1,1)模型对其2011-2015年的生态安全状况进行了预测,发现江苏省未来5年生态压力指数快速增大,年平均增长速度为6.89%,表明江苏省未来5年生态安全状况将继续恶化,这将严重影响其生态可持续发展和经济可持续发展。     

优化城镇污水处理厂运行管理的探讨

结合城镇污水处理厂运行管理经验,探讨通过优化工艺控制、科学合理的生产调度、强化设备管理、加强安全管理和成本管理控制等措施,来实现优化城镇污水处理厂的运行管理;从而有利于污水处理厂实现安全生产、稳定达标、高效运行。通过优化和强化城镇污水处理厂运行管理,不仅有利于充分发挥污水处理厂污水治理的环境效益,在国家节能减排工作中发挥更大的作用;同时有利于污水处理厂进一步降低运行成本、开源节流,实现污水处理厂的可持续发展。     

医院低碳经济管理路径探索研究

在建设两型社会的大背景下,我院积极探索低碳经济管理途径,通过实施‘‘四权分离物品管理机制”、全成本核算、打造数字化医院和低碳医疗等手段初步实现了低碳经济管理,并取得了极大的经济效益和社会效益。     

以淮安市为例研究中小城市噪声污染现状及趋势

收集2006-2010年淮安市各功能区环境噪声、交通噪声和区域环境噪声监测数据,分析中小城市环境噪声的污染状况,结果表明中小城市的噪声环境质量都有不同程度的好转,与大城市环境噪声比较,各类噪声都明显低于大城市的噪声污染,但随着城市和交通的改造与发展,第4类城市功能区夜间环境噪声有增加趋势。