Current Practice and Future Prospects for Social Data in Coastal and Ocean Planning

Coastal and ocean planning comprises a broad field of practice. The goals, political processes, and approaches applied to planning initiatives may vary widely. However, all planning processes ultimately require adequate information on both the biophysical and social attributes of a planning region. In coastal and ocean planning practice, there are well‐established methods to assess biophysical attributes; however, less is understood about the role and assessment of social data. We conducted the first global assessment of the incorporation of social data in coastal and ocean planning. We drew on a comprehensive review of planning initiatives and a survey of coastal and ocean practitioners. There was significantly more incorporation of social data in multiuse versus conservation‐oriented planning. Practitioners engaged a wide range of social data, including governance, economic, and cultural attributes of planning regions and human impacts data. Less attention was given to ecosystem services and social–ecological linkages, both of which could improve coastal and ocean planning practice. Although practitioners recognize the value of social data, little funding is devoted to its collection and incorporation in plans. Increased capacity and sophistication in acquiring critical social and ecological data for planning is necessary to develop plans for more resilient coastal and ocean ecosystems and communities. We suggest that improving social data monitoring, and in particular spatial social data, to complement biophysical data, is necessary for providing holistic information for decision‐support tools and other methods. Moving beyond people as impacts to people as beneficiaries, through ecosystem services assessments, holds much potential to better incorporate the tenets of ecosystem‐based management into coastal and ocean planning by providing targets for linked biodiversity conservation and human welfare outcomes. La Práctica Actual y los Prospectos Futuros para los Datos Sociales en la Planeación Costera y Oceánica     

Experiencing Biodiversity as a Bridge over the Science–Society Communication Gap

Drawing on the idea that biodiversity is simply the diversity of living things, and that everyone knows what diversity and living things mean, most conservation professionals eschew the need to explain the many complex ways in which biodiversity is understood in science. On many biodiversity‐related issues, this lack of clarity leads to a communication gap between science and the general public, including decision makers who must design and implement biodiversity policies. Closing this communication gap is pivotal to the ability of science to inform sound environmental decision making. To address this communication gap, we propose a surrogate of biodiversity for communication purposes that captures the scientific definition of biodiversity yet can be understood by nonscientists; that is, biodiversity as a learning experience. The prerequisites of this or any other biodiversity communication surrogate are that it should have transdisciplinary relevance; not be measurable; be accessible to a wide audience; be usable to translate biodiversity issues; and understandably encompass biodiversity concepts. Biodiversity as a learning experience satisfies these prerequisites and is philosophically robust. More importantly, it can effectively contribute to closing the communication gap between biodiversity science and society at large. Experimentando la Biodiversidad como un Puente sobre el Vacío entre la Comunicación Ciencia‐Sociedad     

Effects of Wind Energy Development on Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie‐Chickens in Fragmented Grasslands

Wind energy is targeted to meet 20% of U.S. energy needs by 2030, but new sites for development of renewable energy may overlap with important habitats of declining populations of grassland birds. Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) are an obligate grassland bird species predicted to respond negatively to energy development. We used a modified before–after control–impact design to test for impacts of a wind energy development on the reproductive ecology of prairie‐chickens in a 5‐year study. We located 59 and 185 nests before and after development, respectively, of a 201 MW wind energy facility in Greater Prairie‐Chicken nesting habitat and assessed nest site selection and nest survival relative to proximity to wind energy infrastructure and habitat conditions. Proximity to turbines did not negatively affect nest site selection (β = 0.03, 95% CI = ?1.2–1.3) or nest survival (β = ?0.3, 95% CI = ?0.6–0.1). Instead, nest site selection and survival were strongly related to vegetative cover and other local conditions determined by management for cattle production. Integration of our project results with previous reports of behavioral avoidance of oil and gas facilities by other species of prairie grouse suggests new avenues for research to mitigate impacts of energy development. Efectos del Desarrollo de la Energía Eólica sobre la Ecología de Anidación de Gallinas de la Gran Pradera en Pastizales Fragmentados     

Effect of Rotational Shepherding on Demographic and Genetic Connectivity of Calcareous Grassland Plants

Response to habitat fragmentation may not be generalized among species, in particular for plant communities with a variety of dispersal traits. Calcareous grasslands are one of the most species‐rich habitats in Central Europe, but abandonment of traditional management has caused a dramatic decline of calcareous grassland species. In the Southern Franconian Alb in Germany, reintroduction of rotational shepherding in previously abandoned grasslands has restored species diversity, and it has been suggested that sheep support seed dispersal among grasslands. We tested the effect of rotational shepherding on demographic and genetic connectivity of calcareous grassland specialist plants and whether the response of plant populations to shepherding was limited to species dispersed by animals (zoochory). Specifically, we tested competing dispersal models and source and focal patch properties to explain landscape connectivity with patch‐occupancy data of 31 species. We fitted the same connectivity models to patch occupancy and nuclear microsatellite data for the herb Dianthus carthusianorum (Carthusian pink). For 27 species, patch connectivity was explained by dispersal by rotational shepherding regardless of adaptations to zoochory, whereas population size (16% species) and patch area (0% species) of source patches were not important predictors of patch occupancy in most species. [Correction made after online publication, February 25, 2014: Population size and patch area percentages were mistakenly inverted, and have now been fixed.] Microsite diversity of focal patches significantly increased the model variance explained by patch occupancy in 90% of the species. For D. carthusianorum, patch connectivity through rotational shepherding explained both patch occupancy and population genetic diversity. Our results suggest shepherding provides dispersal for multiple plant species regardless of their dispersal adaptations and thus offers a useful approach to restore plant diversity in fragmented calcareous grasslands. Efectos del Pastoreo Rotacional sobre la Conectividad Genética y Demográfica de Plantas de Pastizales Calcáreos     

Expanding Kenya's protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity to maximize coverage of plant diversity

Biodiversity is highly valuable and critically threatened by anthropogenic degradation of the natural environment. In response, governments have pledged enhanced protected‐area coverage, which requires scarce biological data to identify conservation priorities. To assist this effort, we mapped conservation priorities in Kenya based on maximizing alpha (species richness) and beta diversity (species turnover) of plant communities while minimizing economic costs. We used plant‐cover percentages from vegetation surveys of over 2000 plots to build separate models for each type of diversity. Opportunity and management costs were based on literature data and interviews with conservation organizations. Species richness was predicted to be highest in a belt from Lake Turkana through Mount Kenya and in a belt parallel to the coast, and species turnover was predicted to be highest in western Kenya and along the coast. Our results suggest the expanding reserve network should focus on the coast and northeastern provinces of Kenya, where new biological surveys would also fill biological data gaps. Meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17% terrestrial coverage by 2020 would increase representation of Kenya's plant communities by 75%. However, this would require about 50 times more funds than Kenya has received thus far from the Global Environment Facility.     

活性污泥工艺的多目标优化分析

研究了多目标优化方法在活性污泥工艺优化中应用的可行性,以国际水协(IWA)发布的基准仿真模型BSM1的工艺流程为对象,以出水水质、过程能耗和反应池体积的指标为优化目标,以反应池池容(5个)、混合液回流量、污泥回流量、污泥排放量、反应池氧气传质系数(3个)等11个变量为决策变量,构建了基于BSM1的多目标优化模型,并利用MatLab非支配排序遗传算法NSGA-II进行求解,获得了BSM1多目标优化模型的Pareto解.研究结果表明,在Dry进水条件下,通过将体积指标增大4.1%,可以明显改善出水水质指标(降低81.5%),能耗指标也能得到一定改善(降低13.3%);在3种进水条件(Dry,Rain,Storm)下,相对于BSM1工艺参数的缺省值,利用本研究的优化解作为工艺参数,均能不同程度改善出水水质、降低能耗.研究结果显示,在活性污泥过程不同目标之间进行权衡可以通过多目标优化方法来实现.     

MBR中活性污泥对雌酮E1的吸附性能研究

研究了MBR中灭活污泥对雌酮(El)的吸附行为,考察了污泥浓度、污泥粒径和El初始浓度对E1吸附效果的影响,并探讨了不同污泥组分(悬浮颗粒、胶体和溶解物)对E1的吸附作用贡献.结果表明,在E1初始浓度为l～500μg·L-1,4h左右达到吸附平衡;E1的吸附符合Freundlich吸附模型,呈线性吸附;E1初始浓度越大,吸附速率越小.随着污泥浓度升高,单位污泥对E1的吸附量显著下降,出现了固体浓度效应;而吸附去除率却随着污泥浓度的升高而显著增加,且两者之间呈显著正相关(p＜0.05).活性污泥对E1的单位吸附容量随着污泥粒径增大而减小.污泥中悬浮颗粒、胶体和溶解物的含量分别为87.8％、9.6％和2.6％,吸附平衡时,E1在3种组分中的浓度分别为13.9 μg·g-1、24.1 g·g-1和12.5 μg· g-1,胶体吸附效果最好.不同组分对E1的吸附贡献与其含量正相关,吸附贡献为:悬浮颗粒＞胶体＞溶解物.     

英国公海保护的政策措施研究及设立公海保护区的利弊分析

介绍了英国负责海洋保护的主要管理机构,研究了英国海洋保护的相关法律与政策,分析了英国关于建立公海保护区的立场。从我国利益角度出发,对设立公海保护区所产生的利弊进行了分析。     

环保法首修：生态文明入法——评析环保法修正案（草案）之指导思想

阐述了生态文明的内涵,认为生态文明入法是思想理念上升为法律意志,分析了生态文明入法的必要性、合理性和价值性。     

典型季风型温冰川消融期融水化学日变化特征

分析了玉龙雪山白水1号冰川区2009年8月29日～9月3日4 750 m处冰雪融水的pH、电导率、无机离子和δ18O的化学特征,结果表明,消融期日尺度上pH值受气温变化影响较大.碱性尘埃中的可溶盐溶解导致融水电导率增大.一天中消融速率快时δ18O值较低,消融速率慢时δ18O值较高.受岩石岩性和海洋水汽影响,研究区Na＋、K＋的平均浓度高于Μg2＋的平均浓度.融水中阳离子主要来源于石灰岩风化,属典型的碳酸盐溶滤水.融水中无机离子的总含量随气温的变化而变化,具有明显的周期性,但是不同可溶性离子对气温变化所导致的消融速率响应幅度不一致.局地岩石岩性、季风输送和人类活动是白水1号冰川融水中无机离子的主要来源.