Impact of land use and land cover changes on the ambient temperature in a middle scale city, Takamatsu, in Southwest Japan

There is a lack of information on urban heat island impact on the thermal environment due to low populated urban sprawl, although densely populated urban sprawl impact has been identified by several researchers. The Takamatsu area has recently developed in a low populated urban sprawl style without any increase in population. This paper examined the impact of a low populated urban sprawl on the thermal environment through an analysis of the last 30 years data set and investigated the contribution of vegetation fraction and population density to the temperature trend. As a consequence, it was shown that one of the most significant causative factors of temperature increase is an expansion of non-vegetated area even without population growth. This result implied that vegetated zones should be maintained in urban areas in order to realize sustainable urbanization.     

关于城市气候资源研究

亚热带城市气候资源具有可持续发展意义,本文分析了热带亚热带地区城市气候资源水平,论述了运用城市气候资源消除城市热岛的研究基础。     

Effects of an invasive ant on land snails in the Ogasawara Islands

We investigated how Pheidole megacephala has affected endemic achatinellid snails because these snails are excellent indicators of the impact of ants and they have high conservation value in Ogasawara. In 2015 we surveyed the Minamizaki area of Hahajima Island of Ogasawara, designated a core zone of the World Heritage Site, for P. megacephala. In Minamizaki, we determined the distribution and density of achatinellid snails in 2015 and compared these data with their distribution and density in 2005. Land cover in the survey area was entirely forest. We also tested whether P. megacephala preyed on achatinellid snails in the laboratory. P. megacephala was present in the forested areas of Minamizaki. Achatinellid snails were absent in 19 of 39 sites where P. megacephala was present, whereas in other areas densities of the snails ranged from 2 to 228 individuals/site. In the laboratory, P. megacephala carried 6 of 7 achatinellid snails and a broken shell was found. Snail distribution and density comparisons and results of the feeding experiments suggest that the presence of P. megacephala has contributed to the decline of achatinellid snails in forests in the survey area. Yet, P. megacephala is not on the official list of invasive non‐native species. Stakeholders using the list of invasive species to develop conservation programs should recognize that invasiveness of non‐native species differs depending on the ecosystem and that official lists may not be complete.     

上海市城市热岛景观格局演变特征研究

城市热岛空间格局特征及其内在驱动机制的研究可为缓解城市热岛效应、城市规划与产业布局提供科学依据,目前这方面研究还比较少,相关机制并没有得到完全的揭示。该研究以上海市为研究对象,采用1987、1996、2002和2010年4景Landsat TM/ETM+遥感影像,对城市地表温度进行了反演与分级。借助景观格局指数,分析了上海市城市热岛景观格局时空演变特征。结果表明:随着1987-2010年上海市不断城市化,各级热岛景观类型斑块数量持续增加,高等级的城市热岛景观类型面积也持续增加,整个城市热岛景观趋于破碎化。热岛景观总体聚集度下降,连通性下降,但是低等级热岛景观向高等级热岛景观转移的面积逐渐增加,景观类型之间面积差异逐渐减小,景观均匀度和多样性增加。城市化过程中,人口数量的增加和经济的快速发展对城市热岛景观格局的形成和演变具有重要的影响。研究结果揭示了城市热岛格局随城市化进程的时空演变特征,可以为制定有效的热岛效应缓解措施提供参考依据。     

关中平原城市群夏季城市热岛特征及驱动力

以2001~2017年夏季长时间序列的MODIS地温产品及相关数据为基础,使用Mann-Kendall非参数检验与Sen’s斜率分析法揭示了关中平原城市群地表热环境的时空变化趋势,利用主成分分析法构建城市热环境指数（UTEI）来表征地区热环境的优劣,借助地理探测器对影响地表温度（LST）的主要因子进行驱动力分析.结果表明,关中平原城市群2001~2017年间夏季白天平均LST为29.3℃,夜晚为18.3℃,白天和夜晚LST的变化率分别为-0.053和0.026℃/a,白天的降温幅度略高于夜间的增温幅度.地表热岛强度（SUHII）在17a间呈上升趋势,白天的增长速率大于夜间,老城区的SUHII大于新建城区.UTEI与LST之间存在显著的负相关,白天（P<0.05,R²=0.850）和夜晚（P<0.05,R²=0.624）都表现为二次曲线关系.因子探测分析表明,地表干度指数（NDBSI）、高程（DEM）与增强植被指数（EVI）是白天LST空间分异的主控因子（q>0.6）,夜晚LST受夜间灯光、DEM与气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）的影响更大（q>0.4）.交互探测结果显示,DEM与NDBSI之间的交互效果在白天最好,DEM与夜间灯光之间的交互作用在夜间最大,任意双因子之间的交互作用优于单一因子的作用效果.本研究对于加强关中平原城市群地表热环境的监测与评价具有重要指导意义.     

Harvesting heat energy from asphalt pavements: development of and comparison between numerical models and experiment

The use of flowing water in embedded pipes to harvest heat energy from asphalt pavements and thereby reducing its temperature and the urban heat island effect has been proposed. A successful use of such an approach would require a complete understanding of the effect and the interaction of various mechanisms such as conduction, convection and radiation and factors such as solar radiation, diameter of pipe and rate of flow. A large-scale experiment was conducted to understand such effects, and numerical modelling was conducted for prediction of temperature. The experiment was modelled using finite element method, and a good match was obtained between predicted and experimentally obtained results. Effects of pipe diameter and flow rate were also analysed. This model could be used in future for selection of appropriate levels of critical variables and hence successful implementation of this concept to sustainable pavements.     

Anthropogenic-driven changes with focus on the coastal zone of Mauritius, south-western Indian Ocean

Some 44% of the world's population lives within 150 km of the coast and mass migration towards the coast will continue in the decades ahead. Degrading and exhaustive uses of land, water and other coastal resources and disruption of environmental processes through degradation of environmental quality and loss of critical terrestrial and aquatic habitats can lead to serious deleterious impacts on the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems. Following the Arusha Resolution (1993), the Seychelles Statement (1996) and the Colombo CZM Workshop (1999), the need for integrated coastal zone management has become critical because of the limited land resources and unproportional domination of coastal areas in the wider Caribbean and Indian Ocean/ Pacific island states. The coastal zone of Mauritius (1,850 km², 20°S, 58°E, south-western Indian Ocean, 1.12 million inhabitants) was redefined in 1997 in the Environmental Protection Act of 1991 [Part VII (Act 34)] to include all islets within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ; 1.7 million km²). During the 1980s, the Mauritian economy underwent major structural changes successfully, with a rapid phase of industrialization diversifying into two major activities, textiles and tourism. Existing reports and data in a common framework have to be synthesized and organized to fill existing gaps in knowledge with data collection and scientific inquiries, to identify social and economic drivers and to relate socioeconomic change to demands for environmental resources (land use, water resources, marine systems) and environmental impacts as proposed under the MERMAID (Mauritius Environmental Resource Management and Industrial Development) project. Nutrient flux and sediment trace metal contamination studies are currently underway to investigate different watersheds impacted by agricultural, urban and industrial activities in the north-west of the island. There is a pressing need to integrate the natural sciences with socioeconomic disciplines as proposed by the International Human Dimensions Program (IHDP) for an integrated management of coastal zones. Three integrated pilot projects in the Pacific-Indian Ocean and wider Caribbean as identified by Land Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) in the future, including current status and changes in material fluxes from drainage basins, transboundary impacts from the ocean and atmospheric inputs, could elucidate the land–sea interactions and human dimensions of change on small islands. The sustainability of marine resources and the conservation of biological diversity will depend on a critical understanding of linkages between human activities and ecological responses and upon a citizenry that assumes ownership of these regions. Case studies would also help in investigating how humans affect transport pathways and biogeochemical cycles in small island states. Electronic Publication     

Remote Forest Refugia for Fijian Wildlife

Abstract:  On Pacific islands non-native rats and mongooses threaten many native species. In Fiji we compared visitation rates of rats and mongooses at bait stations and measured biomass of leaf-litter invertebrates to assess the relative predation pressure from these species in forest areas at different distances from the forest edge. Forest areas over 5 km from the forest edge had significantly fewer baits encountered by rats or mongooses than did natural forest areas nearer agricultural and urban habitats. Remote forest areas may function as a last refuge for island species threatened by predation from non-native rats and mongooses. The biomass of leaf-litter invertebrates in remote forest areas was higher, indicating a refuge effect for some taxa targeted by rats and mongooses. Protection of the few remaining large blocks of natural forests on Pacific islands may be the most cost-effective approach for conserving many island endemics threatened by rats and mongooses. Logging roads can compromise this refuge effect by acting as dispersal routes for rats into natural forests.     

Long-Term Population Changes of Native and Introduced Birds in the Alaka'i Swamp, Kaua'i

Abstract:  Within the last 30 years, five endemic bird species of the Alaka'i Swamp, Kaua'i, Hawai'i, have likely gone extinct. We documented population trends of the remaining avifauna in this time period to identify a common pattern in the Hawaiian Islands: decline of native species and expansion of introduced species. We conducted bird surveys over 100 km² of the Alaka'i and Kōke'e regions of Kaua'i in March–April 2000 to estimate population size, distribution, and range limits of seven native and six introduced forest birds. We compared the results with four previous surveys conducted over the last 30 years. Five of the seven native species we studied have fared well, maintaining sizeable populations (>20,000 individuals) and unchanged or increasing numbers. The endemic 'Akikiki ( Oreomystis bairdi ), however, declined from 6296 (SE ± 1374) to 1472 (SE ± 680) individuals and exhibited range contraction from 88 to 36 km². The 'I'iwi ( Vestiaria coccinea ) also experienced a decline and contraction, though not as severe. Populations of several introduced forest birds are increasing, but all species, excluding the Japanese White-eye ( Zosterops japonicus ), were at low numbers (<5,500 individuals in survey area). One introduced species, the Japanese Bush-Warbler ( Cettia diphone ) recently invaded, whereas another, the Red-billed Leiothrix ( Leiothrix lutea ), has been extirpated. Two hurricanes in the past 20 years appear to have most strongly affected nectarivores and may have contributed to the decline or extinction of several other species. Overall, native bird populations on Kaua'i have exhibited species-specific responses to limiting factors. Although most native populations appear stable, the extant native avifauna is vulnerable as a result of limited distributions and the potential for widespread habitat degradation.     

基于定量遥感技术的重庆市热岛效应

近年来，城市热岛效应不断增强，已经成为一个突出的城市环境问题。重庆市作为长江中上游特大型城市，工业发达，经济快速发展，市区热岛效应明显，但是很少对其研究。以2007年Landsat5 TM影像为数据源，利用单窗算法对重庆市城市地表温度进行反演，并进行城市地面亮温等级划分，在从城市土地利用类型、NDVI等方面对重庆市城市热岛效应强度和空间格局分布及其特征进行了探讨。结果表明：城区热岛现象显著，且分布不均匀；不同土地利用类型对热岛效应影响不同；城市地面亮温与NDVI呈明显的线性负相关关系。最后结合重庆市的特殊地形，提出了以下解决城市热岛效应的对策：加强城市规划，调整城市结构；构建最佳绿化结构，提高城市绿化率；改变能源结构，提高能源利用率，控制工厂废气排放量。