Design,management, and key accomplishments of a coordinated environmental research program on acidic deposition

The present and potential adverse effects of the atmospheric input of acidic and acidifying substances on the environment have been of significant public and scientific concern for the past several decades. This article describes the background, design, implementation, and major accomplishments of a 6-yr integrated multidisciplinary environmental research program designed to address the issue of the regional scale consequences of acidic deposition on the environment and human health in Alberta. The research program was called the Acid Deposition Research Program (ADRP) and was a cooperative undertaking between industry, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, and the government of Alberta, Canada. The research effort was designed and guided by two external science advisory boards, biophysical and human health, to maintain objectivity and continuity from beginning to end. Public input was sought, encouraged, and ensured by a public advisory board. The major conclusions of the ADRP are presented as well as observations on the needs of future integrated multidisciplinary research programs.     

湘西沅麻盆地的干旱与对策

笔者以无雨日数、旱期内降水量和干旱对农业生产的影响确定干旱等级指标,分析了沅麻盆地干旱的特征,特别指出当地干旱频率在加快、旱区在扩大。文中的观点可供湘西山区开发,乃至我国东部亚热带丘陵山区开发参考。     

陕西渭北煤矿区地质灾害浅析

渭北煤矿区是陕西省的重要煤炭生产基地,随着矿区的开发,地质环境日趋恶化,地质灾害亦日渐增多。矿区地质灾害既普遍又严重,主要类型有:地震、活动断裂、滑坡、地面裂陷、泥石流及土壤侵蚀等。其内力型地质灾害主要受新构造运动所控制,而外力型地质灾害多与人类活动有关,即与矿区开发有关。     

热应激与人的行为特性

在许多作业环境中，人们都要受到热应激的作用，热应激不仅能引起不良的生理反应，还会对人的行为特性有不利的影响。人们往往注重于热应激引起的生理反应及生理耐受极限，忽视了它对人的行为特征的影响。本文侧重论述热应激对人的行为影响，以加深了解热应激的作用，为存在热应激的人－机系统设计及改善人－机关系综合措施提供理论依据。     

人的失误本质及检测的研究

对人的失误本质、定义及特点作了系统的分析研究。针对人的失误产生条件、原因及类型，提出了检测失误与控制失误的技术     

The impact of off-road vehicles on a desert ecosystem

The effects of operating a 4-wheel drive truck in a 9-ha area of the Mojave Desert were evaluated. A truck was driven over the same 0.9-km track 21 times between November 1973 and May 1974. The vehicle was also driven randomly around the area (1.3 to 3.4 km) 17 times between December 1973 and May 1974.Spring densities of annual plants in ruts of the regular track (8/m²) were less than those in control areas (46–112/m²), but densities in randomly driven plots (39/m²) did not differ significantly from controls. Severity of damage to shrubs was directly related to intensity of driving in the area. About 58% of shrubs growing in the regular track sustained estimated damage ranging from 81 to 100%. In randomly driven areas only 6% of shrubs were damaged to this extent, while about 61 % sustained damage from 0 to 20%.Numbers and kinds of rodents in control and driven areas were similar before and after the experiment. More young rodents were trapped in the experimental plot than in the control area during July 1974, and this may have been promoted by basal sprouting of new growth by damaged shrubs. Estimates of numbers of side-blotched lizards indicated similar densities before, during, and after the experiment. Counts of whiptail lizards in control and experimental areas were the same after the experiment, but counts of gridiron-tailed lizards were much lower in the driven area.     

Conceptualizing and operationalizing human wellbeing for ecosystem assessment and management

There is growing interest in assessing the effects of changing environmental conditions and management actions on human wellbeing. A challenge is to translate social science expertise regarding these relationships into terms usable by environmental scientists, policymakers, and managers. Here, we present a comprehensive, structured, and transparent conceptual framework of human wellbeing designed to guide the development of indicators and a complementary social science research agenda for ecosystem-based management. Our framework grew out of an effort to develop social indicators for an integrated ecosystem assessment (IEA) of the California Current large marine ecosystem. Drawing from scholarship in international development, anthropology, geography, and political science, we define human wellbeing as a state of being with others and the environment, which arises when human needs are met, when individuals and communities can act meaningfully to pursue their goals, and when individuals and communities enjoy a satisfactory quality of life. We propose four major social science-based constituents of wellbeing: connections, capabilities, conditions, and cross-cutting domains. The latter includes the domains of equity and justice, security, resilience, and sustainability, which may be assessed through cross-cutting analyses of other constituents. We outline a process for identifying policy-relevant attributes of wellbeing that can guide ecosystem assessments. To operationalize the framework, we provide a detailed table of attributes and a large database of available indicators, which may be used to develop measures suited to a variety of management needs and social goals. Finally, we discuss four guidelines for operationalizing human wellbeing measures in ecosystem assessments, including considerations for context, feasibility, indicators and research, and social difference. Developed for the U.S. west coast, the framework may be adapted for other regions, management needs, and scales with appropriate modifications.     

Sustainability science: an ecohealth perspective

Sustainability science is emerging as a transdisciplinary effort to come to grips with the much-needed symbiosis between human activity and the environment. While there is recognition that conventional economic growth must yield to policies that foster sustainable development, this has not yet occurred on any broad scale. Rather, there is clear evidence that the Earth’s ecosystems and landscapes continue to degrade as a consequence of the cumulative impact of human activities. Taking an ecohealth approach to sustainability science provides a unique perspective on both the goals and the means to achieve sustainability. The goals should be the restoration of full functionality to the Earth’s ecosystems and landscapes, as measured by the key indicators of health: resilience, organization, vitality (productivity), and the absence of ecosystem distress syndrome. The means should be the coordinated (spatially and temporally) efforts to modify human behaviors to reduce cumulative stress impacts. Achieving ecosystem health should become the cornerstone of sustainability policy—for healthy ecosystems are the essential precondition for achieving sustainable livelihoods, human health, and many other societal objectives, as reflected in the Millennium Development Goals.     

Toward understanding the human dimensions of the rapidly changing arctic system: insights and approaches from five HARC projects

Human dimensions research focuses on the interrelationships between humans and the environment. To date, human dimensions research in arctic regions has concentrated primarily on local events and contexts. As such, it complements analysis elsewhere of adaptation and sustainable development within broad institutional, social, and environmental contexts. This paper reviews five projects from the Human Dimensions of the Arctic System (HARC) initiative, established by the US National Science Foundation in 1997. Common themes and findings are highlighted: climatic variations or change affect societies through interactions with human activities; population dynamics provide key quantitative indicators of social impacts and well being; and specific impacts and responses are the result of complex, context-sensitive interactions. Congruent approaches to the challenges of interdisciplinary research are also identified: multivariate time plots aid the integration of data, retrospective and prospective studies are part of a continuum and reinforce one another, comparative studies are essential for understanding general principles of human dimensions, and arctic residents can play a vital role in research and action.     

建筑物火灾疏散中人的行为研究的回顾与发展

建筑物发生火灾后 ,安全疏散所需时间的长短主要取决于疏散开始时间 ,疏散开始时间又取决于人的行为 ,而人的行为是其生理和心理因素的函数。为此 ,在论证研究人的行为在疏散评价的重要性的基础上 ,详细地评述了火灾疏散中人行为的历史背景、研究内容和研究范围 ,然后展望了其以后的研究方向。特别强调 ,基础数据库的收集与建立、人行为的模式、系统动态的模拟和仿真等在研究中的重要作用