Physiological Age of Host Plant Foliage and Survival of Gypsy Moth Larvae

The pH of leaf homogenates of common birch (Betula verrucosa L.), a food plant of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) larvae, was measured at different times of day in the course of leaf organogenesis, and midgut pH was measured in gypsy moth larvae phenotypically differing in the color of the hypodermis at the fifth instar. A possible relation between these parameters is discussed.     

Fluctuations of Population Size and Structure in the Northern Mole Vole: Preliminary Analysis

Long-term stationary studies on the ecology of the northern mole vole (Ellobius talpinus Pall.), performed by the mark–recapture method from 1985 to 1997, have provided original data on population dynamics and structure. The analysis shows that, to reveal cyclic fluctuations of population size in this species, the period of three years should be taken as a unit of time for estimating the duration of one phase. The 12-year population cycle in E. talpinus has four distinct phases: an increase, a peak, a decline, and a minimum. At each phase, the population is characterized by certain features of family structure, age composition, birth and death rates, and the composition of migrants.     

Effects of the Anthropogenic Factor on Bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in the Volga Region

Using the example of bats inhabiting the Volga region, the cases in which the anthropogenic factor creates favorable conditions for these animals or significantly reduces their diversity of their fauna are considered. In this context, an opinion concerning the approaches to the conservation of bats is formulated.     

南水北调中线工程对汉江中下游工业发展的影响

南水北调中线工程计划从丹江口水库向我国北方每年调水１４５亿ｍ＾３,汉江丹江口以下地区的水资源量将随之相应减少。汉江中下游地区是湖北省盐化工、机械、石油、食品、化肥、电力的重要生产地区,是湖北省的汽车工业走廊,其经济在湖北省占有举足轻重的地位。由于经济的迅速发展,下世纪工农业生产和人民生活对水资源的需求将从现在的１４０亿ｍ＾３增加到２５０亿ｍ＾３以上,需水量将达到水资源量的５８％,潜伏着严重的水资源     

揭开武汉东湖蓝藻水华消失之谜

水华（亦称湖靛）是湖泊富营养化最恶劣的表征之一。武汉东湖７０年代至１９８４年间每年夏季出现蓝藻水华,１９８５年起突然消失,至今已有１４年没有重现,原因何在？通过三次设在湖里的围隔试验,证明鲢鳙的大量放养,是水华消失的决定性因素。     

Contour Farming Based on Natural Vegetative Strips: Expanding the Scope for Increased Food Crop Production on Sloping Lands in Asia

In the agriculture of the future, there is a compelling place for agroecologically-based practices alongside practices based on the best available chemical, genetic, and engineering components. This paper explores this issue in the context of the development and spread of a conservation farming system based on natural vegetative contour buffer strips in smallholder production systems in southeast Asia. Farmers adapted contour hedgerow farming practices into a simpler, buffer-strip system as a labor-saving measure to conserve soil and sustain yields on steeply sloping cropland in Claveria, Mindanao, Philippines. Permanent-ridge tillage systems were also adapted to smallholder farming systems by researchers. Natural vegetative buffer strips resulted in gradually increasing yields, with an estimated benefit of 0.5t/ha/crop. They were seen to increase land values, facilitate investment in more intensive and profitable cropping systems, and expand the land base for food crop agriculture. They induced an institutional innovation of farmer-led Landcare organizations, which have spread this and other agroforestry practices to thousands of households in the southern Philippines.     

Sustainable Agriculture: New Paradigms and Old Practices? Increased Production with Management of Organic Inputs in Senegal

Farmers in Sahelian countries are confronted with a variety of soil fertility and management problems. During the last two decades, NGOs have worked with farmers and research institutions to develop and test practices that will increase food production, while at the same time enhance the natural resource base.Since 1987, The Rodale Institute (RI) has worked closely with farmers' associations and government institutions to promote regenerative agriculture-farming systems that prioritize the use of local resources while improving them as they are used to grow food, using agro-ecological methods. The Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute has collaborated in this program as a partner of RI. The Senegal Regenerative Agriculture Resource Center model has been applied as a new and viable approach that builds on traditional knowledge and farmer-to-farmer exchange.Research results on soil conservation and improvement have shown that fields spread with amended animal manure or compost yield greater harvests than fields farmed with traditional methods.     

论湘中城市群经济的融合耦动与可持续发展

本文以湘中（长株潭）城市群作为研究对象,概述了湘中城市群经济融合的总体特征,对其城市群空间生长演化过程中存在的问题和应采取的对策,经济如何实现可持续发展进行了探讨。     

Effects of ecological factors on the diurnal activity rhythm of Yakutian black-capped marmots (Marmota camtschatica bungei) in the arctic

It is established that the activity of marmots (the genusMarmota) on the surface is timed to the daylight period. In the Arctic, under conditions of continuous illumination (the polar day), the diurnal rhythm of black-capped marmotsMarmota camtschatica bungei on the surface has a “daylight” pattern. The main external regulator of the diurnal rhythm is the altitude of the sun above the horizon. In the cold period, however, the effect of air temperature on animal activity becomes stronger.     

中国环境保护的政策框架及其投资重点

本文分析了中国环境面临的严峻挑战 ,论述了中国环境政策框架的演变和完善过程 ,介绍了中国环境保护的投资重点。