Motivations for Conserving Urban Biodiversity

Abstract: In a time of increasing urbanization, the fundamental value of conserving urban biodiversity remains controversial. How much of a fixed budget should be spent on conservation in urban versus nonurban landscapes? The answer should depend on the goals that drive our conservation actions, yet proponents of urban conservation often fail to specify the motivation for protecting urban biodiversity. This is an important shortcoming on several fronts, including a missed opportunity to make a stronger appeal to those who believe conservation biology should focus exclusively on more natural, wilder landscapes. We argue that urban areas do offer an important venue for conservation biology, but that we must become better at choosing and articulating our goals. We explored seven possible motivations for urban biodiversity conservation: preserving local biodiversity, creating stepping stones to nonurban habitat, understanding and facilitating responses to environmental change, conducting environmental education, providing ecosystem services, fulfilling ethical responsibilities, and improving human well‐being. To attain all these goals, challenges must be faced that are common to the urban environment, such as localized pollution, disruption of ecosystem structure, and limited availability of land. There are, however, also challenges specific only to particular goals, meaning that different goals will require different approaches and actions. This highlights the importance of specifying the motivations behind urban biodiversity conservation. If the goals are unknown, progress cannot be assessed.     

自上而下的城市能源消耗碳排放估算方法

快速的城镇化进程带来城市碳排放的快速增长,准确的城市水平碳排放数据对于制定科学合理的碳减排政策极为关键,明确碳排放源的关键类别可以做到有的放矢和精准管控.但是目前中国碳排放数据的研究主要集中在国家、地区和省级层面,城市水平由于所需基础数据的不透明和不准确,长久以来缺乏完整的碳排放清单.为解决该问题,在以前相关研究的基础上,通过省级能源平衡表,尝试利用合理的分配指标从省级碳排放数据估算出下属城市的碳排放,构建了一套自上而下的城市能源消耗碳排放估算方法.通过与现有可获得的城市水平数据进行对比,发现估算差距均在10%以内,证明了该方法的可行性和准确性,并尝试在时间尺度进行了扩展.为获取在时间和空间上均连续的中国城市能源消耗碳排放数据提供了科学的方法和合理的思路,也能为各城市分配减排任务和城市间进行减排协商提供可靠的数据支撑.     

淮南市持续发展的生态安全评价

淮南市是一所典型的煤炭资源型城市。是建立在资源、环境、经济和社会等子系统上的复杂系统。是城市发展与资源和环境保护之间矛盾较为突出的区域。主要表现在：城市布局不合理。城市整体结构不完善；人类进行煤炭资源开发利用过程中对生态和景观产生了干扰和破坏。从而造成其生态结构、功能的破坏以及量观的破碎化。本研究从压力-状态-响应三方面构建了淮南市生态安全评价指标体系。指标体系包括目标层、系统层、要素层和指标层。并给出了计算各评价指标值之闻均衡度的模型。量后结合RS、GIS技术实施该评价模型。对淮南市为实例进行了分析和评价。评价结果与实际情况基本符合。     

1993-2003年特大火灾发生规律、特征及原因分析

火灾作为一种灾害现象,其发生与发展具有随机性和确定性的双重特性.火灾统计分析是研究火灾随机性规律的一种有效方法,它通过总结、整理和分析大量的原始火灾资料,归纳出火灾发生的统计性规律.本文从1993-2003年我国火灾形势着手,联系火灾形势发展过程中的火灾起数、火灾中人员伤亡和直接财产损失等大量数据,重点分析了特大火灾的原因及类别特征,总结了特大火灾发生发展的规律和趋势,为正确认识和预测我国火灾形势、做好特大火灾的预防工作提供了参考.     

Effects of urban greenspace configuration and native vegetation on bee and wasp reproduction

Pollinator welfare is a recognized research and policy target, and urban greenspaces have been identified as important habitats. Yet, landscape-scale habitat fragmentation and greenspace management practices may limit a city's conservation potential. We examined how landscape configuration, composition, and local patch quality influenced insect nesting success across inner-city Cleveland, Ohio (U.S.A.), a postindustrial legacy city containing a high abundance of vacant land (over 1600 ha). Here, 40 vacant lots were assigned 1 of 5 habitat treatments (T1, vacant lot; T2, grass lawn; T3, flowering lawn; T4, grass prairie; and T5, flowering prairie), and we evaluated how seeded vegetation, greenspace size, and landscape connectivity influenced cavity-nesting bee and wasp reproduction. Native bee and wasp larvae were more abundant in landscapes that contained a large patch (i.e., >6 ha) of contiguous greenspace, in habitats with low plant biomass, and in vacant lots seeded with a native wildflower seed mix or with fine-fescue grass, suggesting that fitness was influenced by urban landscape features and habitat management. Our results can guide urban planning by demonstrating that actions that maintain large contiguous greenspace in the landscape and establish native plants would support the conservation of bees and wasps. Moreover, our study highlights that the world's estimated 350 legacy cities are promising urban conservation targets due to their high abundance of vacant greenspace that could accommodate taxa's habitat needs in urban areas.     

河谷型城市风场及污染物扩散的CFD数值仿真

为研究河谷型城市地形及其引起的风场和污染物扩散的复杂问题,利用CFD（计算流体力学）方法和复杂地形网格生成技术,建立河谷型城市风场及大气污染分布的数值仿真模型,实现CFD方法在复杂地形空气运动和污染物扩散方面的应用.分别使用LES（large eddy simulation）模型和mixture模型研究兰州市地面风场特征和污染物扩散形态,计算得到的污染物分布结果与实测结果分布一致.结果表明:复杂地形对空气运动的影响很大,如风速因山体屏障作用会呈现带状分布特征,山体后侧易出现弱风区域;同时,风场会密切影响污染物扩散,决定了污染物扩散形态,如幅散能够影响污染物扩散范围及污染水平.而给定西北风条件下,如地面以上10 m、风速为5 m/s、不受地形阻挡情况下,工业区污染物浓度被稀释10倍,约扩散2.2 km;山体阻挡会抑制污染物纵向扩散,表现在山体阻挡情况下污染物稀释100倍时的扩散长度约为相对平坦区域的1/3.此外,不同的入口风向会引起空气运动与山体相互作用发生变化,进而会使得地面风速、局部风场存在差异,造成污染物扩散及分布形态差异.研究显示,CFD方法可行,模型可靠,可以用来研究地形对风场和污染物扩散的影响.      

煤炭开采对生态系统功能的胁迫作用:模型·实证

为研究煤炭开采对生态系统功能的胁迫作用,基于系统动力学原理构建一般情况下煤炭开采对生态系统功能胁迫作用的系统动力学模型,分析不同情境下煤炭开采对生态系统功能的胁迫作用特征,并以淮河流域典型煤炭资源型城市——淮南市为例进行实证研究. 结果表明:煤炭开采对生态系统功能有胁迫作用,政府是重要影响因素;不同情境下煤炭开采对生态系统功能的胁迫作用不同,表现为情境一(理想状态)<情境二(良性状态)<情境三(一般状态)<情境四(停滞状态)<情境五(糟糕状态);生态治理投资系数和煤炭开采技术投资系数的比值越大,则煤炭开采对生态系统功能的胁迫作用越小. 实证结果通过有效性检验,表明该研究建立的系统动力学模型具有可靠性. 当前淮南市生态治理投资和煤炭开采技术投资的比值为0.511,表明淮南市生态系统功能系统和煤炭开采系统处于一般状态. 研究显示,政府在维持生态系统功能稳态中发挥着一定作用. 煤炭开采对生态系统功能的胁迫作用特征:当生态治理投资系数和煤炭开采技术投资系数的比值为0时,生态系统功能系统和煤炭开采系统处于糟糕状态;当比值为(0,1)时,处于一般状态;当比值为1时,处于良性状态;当比值大于1时,两大系统进入理想状态.      

Management of sustainability transitions through planning in shrinking resource city contexts: an evaluation of Yubari City,Japan

This paper evaluates the planning competences required to enact a managed transition to sustainability at the municipal level for cities facing population, economic and employment decline. Drawing on the ‘shrinking cities’ literature, we argue consolidation of the built environment can become a focal point for sustaining citizen welfare when transitioning cities that are facing decline, especially those previously reliant on resource industries. We evaluate the former coal mining city of Yubari, Japan, which is developing a consolidated urban form with the aim of creating a ‘sustainable’ future city. Findings from interviews and content analysis of Yubari’s planning policy indicate, however, that to translate ‘shrinking’ a city into a managed transition, spatial planning must be accompanied by a wider range of social policy measures and strong cross-sectoral engagement. We also caution that the unique geographical and political context of Yubari mean its model may not be directly replicable in other contexts.     

城市热环境及其微热环境的改善

以苏南５市县３０年来热环境诸因素的变化资料为依据,分析城市区域特征所引起的热环境诸因素的变化趋势,介绍包括规划城市区域的道路网,控制建筑物布局的密度,以及城市绿化和水面等在内的城市规划和建筑设计措施对于改善城市区域微热环境的效用。     

New indicator approaches for effective urban air quality management

Measurements of urban air quality at monitoring stations in developed countries have frequently involved the criteria gaseous pollutants, particulates, hazardous air pollutants, perceived air quality and relevant meteorological conditions. Large numbers of indicators have therefore been established to quantify emissions, concentrations and environmental and human health impacts of each of these groups of substances. To simplify the data for management, several indicators have been grouped together to form urban air quality indices but the weightings of individual variables is contentious. In industrialising and developing countries, data may be limited and traditional air pollutant indicators cannot often be constructed. The emphasis therefore has to be placed on the development of policy-relevant indicators, such as Response Indicators that reflect different policy principles for regulating air pollutant emissions. Indices that quantify the air quality management capabilities and capacities at the city level provide further useful decision-relevant tools. Four sets of indices, namely, 1. air quality measurement capacity, 2. data assessment and availability, 3. emissions estimates, and 4. management enabling capabilities, and a composite index to evaluate air quality management capability, were constructed and applied to 80 cities. The indices revealed that management capability varied widely between the cities. In some of the cities, existing national knowledge on urban air quality could have been more effectively used for management. It was concluded that for effective urban air quality management, a greater emphasis should be given, not just to monitoring and data capture programmes, but to the development of indicators and indices that empower decision-makers to initiate management response strategies. Over-reliance on restricted, predetermined sets of traditional air quality indicators should be avoided.