MEASURING THE SITE-SPECIFIC RECREATION BENEFITS RESULTING FROM IMPROVED WATER QUALITY: AN UPPER BOUND APPROACH1

The estimation of the value of recreation benefits resulting from improved water quality is required for many purposes. In particular, the Water Pollution Control Act of 1980 requires the consideration of the reasonableness of costs of reducing water pollution in relation to benefits to be derived from establishing effluent standards (Clean Water Act of 1977). Recreation is often the most important benefit resulting from water quality improvement. Current methods used to calculate recreation benefits are either not site-specific or are expensive and controversial. This paper presents a relatively simple, inexpensive, and less controversial method of calculating site-specific recreation benefits resulting from improved water quality. It does this by producing an upper bound estimate which often is adequate for the relevant decision. The upper bound estimates is based on two assumptions: 1) there are alternative equivalent substitute sites for the newly augmented water quality site, and 2) the new augmented recreation opportunities at the site will be used to their maximum supply capacity. Clearly, if an upper bound benefit estimate in a cost-benefit ratio does not produce a favorable ratio, no other benefit estimate will. In cases where this estimate produces an ambiguous result resort must be had to other more precise methods of estimation.     

Characteristics of winter backcountry use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Numerous backcountry and wilderness use studies have been conducted over the last decade, but nearly all of them have concentrated on peak season and summer use. This study investigates use patterns and user characteristics of winter campers, and implications for the management of winter backcountry overnight use. Use pattern data were collected from 580 backcountry use permits for both winter and summer campers of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). A two-page questionnaire was also mailed to 300 of the winter users to survey their characteristics, past backpacking experience, and reasons for winter camping. Backcountry permit data indicate that use patterns differ significantly between winter and summer campers, with winter campers taking shorter, weekend, destination-type trips. Winter campers engage in backcountry camping nearly twice as often during winter as other seasons of the year, both in and outside GSMNP. They are also experienced hikers that tend to avoid camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the summer because of heavy visitor use. This suggests that winter backcountry campers are different enough from peak season campers that management of these two user groups may require different styles.     

ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS ABOUT A CONTAMINATED SITE IN A DENSELY POPULATED SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENT

Considerable attention has been devoted to the concerns and perceptions of people residing around contaminated facilities, both brownfields in urban areas and others located in remote and lightly populated areas. This paper examines the concerns of recreationists and sportsmen residing near the Department of Energys (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in central Long Island, one of the most densely populated regions in the United States, where tourism is of prime importance. On an open-ended question, the greatest concern was pollution, followed by environmental health as a global concern, and human health as a concern for Brookhaven. Accidents/spills, loss of public health, and loss of ecological health were rated highest among a list of concerns, and change in property values was rated lowest. When asked to rank seven concerns, protecting human health was ranked the highest, and economic interests were ranked the lowest. For future land use at Brookhaven, recreational uses were rated the highest, while building houses and factories, and storage of nuclear material were rated the lowest. These data can be used by managers, decision and policy makers, and the general public to assess and manage local and regional environmental concerns and to consider future land uses for decommissioned lands, such as those at Brookhaven.     

THE WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL'S PROPOSED PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS - AN ECONOMIC COMMENT1

The way the Water Resources Council proposes to measure the beneficial effects of national economic development and recreation is questioned and alternatives suggested. In measuring the former, the assumptions specified by the Council are questioned because they do not hold true in the market place. In addition, the Council's method of simulating a price per recreation day implies that an arbitrary price be selected from a range and multiplied times the number of days at no charge for use of the facilities. It is contended that these procedures would over state the economic benefits which in the real market would be measured by the selected price times the quantity demanded at that price.     

旅行成本法在我国应用中存在的几个问题

我国旅行成本法案例研究多数未分清旅行成本与旅游目的地本身价格的关系,推导的游憩需求曲线是旅行成本-旅游人次模型,而不是旅游目的地本身的价格-旅游人次需求曲线。文章具体说明了区域旅行成本法的基本原理及操作方法,并用乔光华文章数据重新对达里诺尔国家级自然保护区游憩价值进行计算,对旅行成本的构成等问题进行了讨论,得出其消费者剩余为0.9221×108元a/,比原研究中的0.0937×108元a/高出近10倍。认为乔光华等的研究在推断游憩需求曲线时存在方法上的问题,直接将旅行成本和时间价值作为游憩价值不符合旅行成本法的基本原理和公共物品无(或低)市场价格的经济理论。还对调整后的旅行成本数据进行了计算,得到保护区游憩价值为1.3581×108元a/。     

冬季低温条件下浮床植物对富营养化水体的净化效果

在冬季低温条件下,采用浮床无土栽培技术,研究了水芹菜、多花黑麦草以及大蒜3种耐寒植物对富营养化水体的净化效果。试验结果表明,3种植物在水温4.0～10．1℃的条件下均生长良好,对水体中TN、NH4^＋-N、TP、CODMn污染物的去除率分别为59.3％～29.2％、65、2％～39.3％、55.6％～33.9％,55．7％～49．5％．对藻类的抑制率为88．4%～92．3％。通过比较,水芹菜净化能力最强,多花黑麦草次之,大蒜最弱。本项研究丰富了冬季低温条件下治理富营养化水体的方法．也为冬季浮床植物的选择提供了依据。     

北京冬季奥运会历史同期大气PM2.5污染特征分析

基于2015~2021年的1~3月北京市大气PM_2.5浓度与化学组成长期观测数据,分析了2022年北京冬季奥林匹克运动会（冬奥会）和北京冬季残疾人奥林匹克运动会（冬季残奥会）历史同期的PM_2.5污染态势、化学组成特征以及潜在源区.2015~2018年的1~3月重污染［日均ρ（PM_2.5）>75 μg·m^-3］天数以及重污染期间PM_2.5平均值下降十分显著,之后这两者未发生明显改变.2018~2021年的1~3月每年平均发生重污染23 d,重污染天ρ（PM_2.5）平均值约为120.0 μg·m^-3.2015~2021年的1~3月超长重污染过程（连续重污染超过5 d）平均每年发生2~3次,其中2021年发生3次,且持续时间最长达到8 d.历年冬奥会历史同期发生重污染的天数为2~9 d,春节期间烟花爆竹大量燃放可能是该时期重污染发生的重要原因之一;冬季残奥会历史同期重污染天数一般为1~5 d,但2021年受频繁出现的静稳天气影响,重污染天数高达9 d.在同时段重污染期间,PM_2.5化学组成均以二次组分为主,例如在PM_2.5可测组分中,2020年NO₃^-质量分数高达46%,较同年清洁天（11%）显著增加;SO₄^2-质量分数为12%~19%,说明当前硫酸盐污染仍不容忽视.北京市1~3月PM_2.5主要贡献区域包括内蒙古自治区中西部、河北省、天津市、山西省、陕西省、山东省中西部和河南省北部.研究结果将为北京市冬季空气质量持续改善以及2022年冬奥会与冬季残奥会期间北京市环境空气质量保障提供科学依据.     

游憩导向下国土空间生态修复的理论与模式

游憩导向下国土空间生态修复是将受损生态空间保护与休闲空间融合的重要手段,是构建山水林田湖草命运共同体与提高人类福祉的重要内容。基于国内外研究现状,界定了游憩导向下国土空间生态修复的概念,提出其应遵循生态系统服务理论、人地关系地域系统理论、区位理论、景观基因理论、大地艺术理论五大理论逻辑。基于实践案例归纳了游憩导向下生态修复模式类型、特征与问题,并提出实践模式的五大优化路径,包括明确功能适宜、效益最优的修复导向,建立多级空间尺度联动的传导机制,提升游憩导向下生态修复地的地方嵌入性,加强修复效果的动态监测评估,构建可持续的建设与运营管理模式,以期为游憩导向下国土空间生态修复和保护提供理论和实践参考。     

Long-term winter observation of nitrous acid in the urban area of Beijing

The particulate matter (PM) pollution has been significantly improved by carrying out various valid emission control strategies since 2013 in China. Meanwhile the variation trend of nitrous acid (HONO) is worthy to investigate due to its vital role in the atmospheric oxidation process. In this study, field observation in the winter is conducted to investigate the concentration of HONO in an urban area of Beijing. In the winter of 2019, the mean HONO concentration is 1.38 ppbV during the whole winter. Photo-enhanced NO₂ heterogeneous reactions on the ground and aerosol surfaces were found as the possible daytime sources of HONO. Compared to O₃, photolysis of HONO dominates the primary OH sources during the winter time. To understand the HONO pollution patterns by years variation, multi-year data is summarized and finds that primary pollutants including CO and NO decreased, but secondary pollutants i.e., HONO (mostly generated via secondary process) increased. Our study highlights the requirement to mitigate secondary pollution by control HONO concentration.