The Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Sustainable Management of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

The sustainable use and management of important tropical coastal ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs) cannot be done without understanding the direct and indirect impacts of man. The ecosystem's resilience and recovery capacity following such impacts must be determined. The efficacy of mitigation measures must also be considered. Remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are excellent tools to use in such studies. This paper reviews the state of the art and application of these tools in tropical coastal zones, and illustrates their relevance in sustainable development. It highlights a selected number of remote sensing case-studies on land cover patterns, population structure and dynamics, and stand characteristics from South-East Asia, Africa and South-America, with a particular emphasis on mangroves. It further shows how remote sensing technology and other scientific tools can be integrated in long-term studies, both retrospective and predictive, in order to anticipate degradation and to take mitigating measures at an early stage. The paper also highlights the guidelines for sustainable management that can result from remote sensing and GIS studies, and identifies existent gaps and research priorities.There is a need for more comprehensive approaches that deal with new remote sensing technologies and analysis in a GIS-environment, and that integrate findings collected over longer periods with the aim of prediction. It is also imperative to collect and integrate data from different disciplines. These are essential in the spirit of sustainable development and management, particularly in developing countries, which are often more vulnerable to environmental degradation.     

Assessing protected area effectiveness using surrounding (buffer) areas environmentally similar to the target area

Many studies are based on the assumption that an area and its surrounding (buffer) area present similar environmental conditions and can be compared. For example, in order to assess the effectiveness of a protected area, the land use/cover changes are compared inside the park with its surroundings. However, the heterogeneity in spatial variables can bias this assessment: we have shown that most of the protected areas in Mexico present significant environmental differences between their interior and their surroundings. Therefore, a comparison that aims at assessing the effectiveness of conservation strategies, must be cautioned. In this paper, a simple method which allows the generation of a buffer area that presents similar conditions with respect to a set of environmental variables is presented. The method was used in order to assess the effectiveness of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a protected area located in the south-eastern part of Mexico. The annual rate of deforestation inside the protected area, the standard buffer area (based upon distance from the protected area only) and the similar buffer area (taking into account distance along with some environmental variables) were 0.3, 1.3 and 0.6%, respectively. These results showed that the protected area was effective in preventing land clearing, but that the comparison with the standard buffer area gave an over-optimistic vision of its effectiveness.     

Large-scale mercury variations in Lake Vänern (Sweden) 1974-98

Lake V?nern, the largest lake in Sweden, has been seriously contaminated with mercury during the 20th century. In the 1970's and 80's the direct load, mainly from a chlor-alkali industry in the area, of mercury was drastically reduced as a response to new legislation, from three to five tons down to between five and ten kg yr(-1). Large amounts of the disposed pollutant have accumulated in the sediments. The question posed in this work is now, is the effect of the drastic load reduction after more than two decades visible in the sediments? The question is relevant as large areas still are blacklisted for fishing, but also as a follow-up of a major remedy action. The lake also serves as a freshwater reservoir for even Sweden's second largest city. This work synthesises and compares data of mercury in the sediments from three major field programs, in 1974, 1984 and 1998. The interest is focused on both spatial heterogeneity and temporal trends. In 1974, the surface concentrations are significantly higher than in subsequent surveys. Significant differences are also found between 1984 and 1998. Significant spatial differences within the lake are found for respective year. The most contaminated area is located in the north, close to the major point source (a former chlor-alkali industry). This is also the area with the largest improvement, as a direct response to the reduction in load. Further from the outlet, the recovery is more affected by burial and transport processes out into the deeper basins.     

重庆市主城区大气中NO2浓度时空分布特征

利用2017年1月1日～2017年12月31日重庆市主城区17个国控空气质量监测站24 h自动连续采样的二氧化氮(NO_2)浓度小时数据,探讨九个主城区大气中NO_2浓度的时空分布特征、与气象参数之间的关系和气团运动的影响。结果表明,主城区大气NO_2浓度全年北碚区达标率较高(76.16%),渝中区达标率低(3.84%),日均浓度呈夏季前下降、夏季后上升的趋势;月均浓度表现为冬季月份浓度高,其次为春季、秋季和夏季月份;周六、周日、周一和周二的浓度均值较高,周三、周四和周五的较低;小时浓度基本呈5:00～11:00和16:00～20:00上升、其余时间段下降的变化趋势;大气NO_2浓度空间分布差异显著,西北地区(北碚)大气NO_2浓度偏低、渝中区及其附近区域浓度偏高。影响大气中的NO_2浓度的主要气象因素有:气温、降水量、气压、日照和相对湿度;四季气流输送中,春冬季气流轨迹相似,主要源自西部、西北部气流,春季气流轨迹的ρ(NO_2)最高,夏季最低。研究结果可为今后重庆市大气的治理提供研究基础。     

Risk attitudes and mitigation among gold miners and others in the Suriname rainforest

This article analyses the question: do attitudes towards risk influence participation in small‐scale gold mining, a hazardous activity that generates uncertain income? This question is examined by measuring and comparing the risk attitudes of gold miners and non‐mining community members in the rainforest of Suriname, South America. The author presents a multivariate model to predict the duration of work in mining areas as a function of risk tolerance, age, education, and household demographics. The results suggest that a greater tolerance to risk increases the duration of a person's mining career. However, attitudes explain only a fraction of the variation in occupational choices. Qualitative data suggest that these choices are primarily shaped by local barriers to human capital development and by national economic volatility. Given their marginal position in society and the multitude of mining risk mitigation strategies, it is questionable whether gold mining exposes Suriname forest peoples to greater risks than other subsistence alternatives. The author argues that sensitivity to local historical and cultural conditions would improve the efficiency of policies aimed at developing a more sustainable mining industry. By zooming in on the daily lives of miners, anthropology can complement macro‐scale analyses and contribute to policy interventions in the small‐scale mining sector.     

仪化热电厂提高循环水浓缩倍率的措施

针对仪化热电厂将循环水用作冲灰水，导致浓缩倍率只有1.6，以及凝汽器铜管腐蚀结垢严重等问题，提出了隔断循环水与冲灰水的直接联系，实现闲路循环，对凝汽器铜管进行酸洗，并对循环水实施加缓蚀阻垢荆、杀菌剂和旁流过滤等办法，全部实施后产生了很好的效益，值得借鉴。     

BASIN SCALE WATER MANAGEMENT AND FORECASTING USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS1

ABSTRACT: Water scarcity in the Sevier River Basin in south‐central Utah has led water managers to seek advanced techniques for identifying optimal forecasting and management measures. To more efficiently use the limited quantity of water in the basin, better methods for control and forecasting are imperative. Basin scale management requires advanced forecasts of the availability of water. Information about long term water availability is important for decision making in terms of how much land to plant and what crops to grow; advanced daily predictions of streamflows and hydraulic characteristics of irrigation canals are of importance for managing water delivery and reservoir releases; and hourly forecasts of flows in tributary streams to account for diurnal fluctuations are vital to more precisely meet the day‐to‐day expectations of downstream farmers. A priori streamflow information and exogenous climate data have been used to predict future streamflows and required reservoir releases at different timescales. Data on snow water equivalent, sea surface temperatures, temperature, total solar radiation, and precipitation are fused by applying artificial neural networks to enhance long term and real time basin scale water management information. This approach has not previously been used in water resources management at the basin‐scale and could be valuable to water users in semi‐arid areas to more efficiently utilize and manage scarce water resources.     

浙江省酸雨的空间分布格局及其未来变化趋势预测

利用浙江省1992、2002年的酸雨监测数据,并利用RAINS-ASIA模型模拟了1990-2030年浙江省酸雨前体物(SO2)的排放量,以及酸沉降超临界负荷面积占研究区域面积比例的变化情况.结果表明,浙江省的酸雨分布范围不断扩大、危害程度不断加重;未来一个时期内,SO2排放量都会维持在较高的水平;酸沉降超临界负荷面积所占比例在经历较快的增长阶段之后,会维持在较为恒定的水平,并呈现出明显的时滞性.     

贵州草海湿地农田渠系水质空间分异特征及影响分析

为了解草海湿地农田渠系水质现状、空间分异特征及影响因素,于2011年秋季对草海湿地进行大空间尺度的采样,分析了氮磷等理化指标,采用单因子污染指数法和营养状态指数法分别对农田渠系水质和湖泊营养状态进行评价.结果表明,草海湿地农田渠系水质污染严重,多数水质为V类或劣V类,总氮和溶解氧是水体中的主要污染因子;上游水质劣于下游,尤其是上游靠近县城区域的水质最差;多等级排水渠系对氮磷具有一定的截留作用,干渠V级水质好于低级渠系水质;不同的土地利用方式对水质的影响不同,城镇用地>集中式村落>农田;草海湿地水体上、中、下游营养水平分别为中度富营养、轻度富营养和中营养,外源污染物的累积和湖泊营养水平的提高导致其沼泽化,而流域不合理的土地利用结构加剧了沼泽化的进程.     

滇池水体磷的时空变化与藻类生长的关系

水体磷的时空变化与藻类生长的关系对研究水体富营养化具有十分重要的作用。采用GPS定位,对滇池海埂、斗南、罗家村、新街、昆阳等5个代表性位点监测断面水体总磷、可溶性磷及叶绿素a含量进行了为期1年（2003年5月至2004年5月）的动态研究,并在滇池海埂位点进行了日变化试验,全面分析了滇池不同区域、不同层次、不同时期水体总磷和可溶性磷的年变化、日变化及水体氮/磷比对藻类生长的影响。结果表明,滇池水体磷与藻类生长呈现显著的年变化和日变化特征,显示了滇池全湖水体总磷与叶绿素a周年变化呈显著正相关,水体可溶性磷与叶绿素a呈正相关趋势;海埂位点水体总磷与叶绿素a日变化呈显著正相关,水体可溶性磷与叶绿素a日变化呈显著的负相关,水体氮磷比与叶绿素a呈显著正相关。表明水体磷负荷对藻类生长影响呈现显著的水体区域性和水层差异性和季节性,藻类生长主要吸收水体中的可溶性磷,暗示了滇池水体磷是藻类生长的主要限制因子之一。