Reviving wood-pastures for biodiversity and people: A case study from western Estonia

Wood-pastures are associated with high cultural and biodiversity values in Europe. However, due to their relatively low productivity, large areas of wood-pastures have been lost over the last century. In some areas, incentive schemes have been developed to revive wood-pastures. We investigated the effects of one such scheme in western Estonia. We compared the structure of grazed wood-pastures (old and restored) to those of abandoned wood-pastures and ungrazed forest stands to explore the effects of management, and conducted interviews with 24 farmers to investigate their motivations to carry out the management. We found a positive influence of active management on the semi-open structure of wood-pastures. Financial support was vital for management, but personal values related to tradition also played an important role. The interviewees differed widely in their range of motivations, suggesting that other strategies in addition to financial incentives would further improve the management of wood-pastures in the region.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0719-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Ecological citizenship and democracy: Communitarian versus agonistic perspectives

Grassroots environmental movements have recently started to question the focus on sustainable consumption as a main strategy to tackle climate change. They prefer to address individuals as citizens rather than as consumers, and focus on collective rather than individual change. Two prominent movements in this regard are Transition Towns and Climate Justice Action. While both movements criticise conventional approaches, they put forward entirely different strategies for what has to happen instead. Based on extensive qualitative research, this article analyses how these movements manifest themselves in Flanders (Belgium). The focus is on their different accounts of how and why collective practices have to be built, and the place they attribute to ‘the political’ in this. The analysis reveals the existence of two different forms of ecological citizenship: one communitarian, the other agonistic.     

Connotation and principles of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas based on the theory of externality

Understanding the connotation and principles of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas is the basis and guarantee for establishing and improving the ecological compensation mechanism of water source reserve areas. First, this paper reviews the three stages of ecological compensation research progress. Based on the review, using the theory of externality, the ecological environment system of water source reserve areas is then analyzed. This paper argues that the connotation of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas is a kind of institutional arrangement, which is designed to internalize externalities. Finally, based on the understanding of the connotation of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas, five principles for establishing and improving the ecological compensation mechanism are proposed, including the principle of fairness and justice, the principle of equivalence of equality and responsibility, the principle of flexibility and effectiveness, the principle of “earmark funds, and implementation by law,” and the principle of government compensation supplemented with market compensation.     

长江中游城市群经济与生态成本空间演化模式分析

综合运用变异系数、泰尔指数及ESDA-GIS多种方法,在充分考虑传统经济影响因子的基础上,尝试引入经济发展生态成本指标,分析长江中游城市群经济综合发展水平与生态成本的空间匹配及演化模式。研究表明:经济综合发展水平高低聚集特征明显,空间极化现象是导致区域经济发展不平衡的主要原因;生态成本空间集聚现象以高高集聚和低低集聚为主,且呈现出高高集聚减少、低低集聚增多的现象,生态成本消耗有所改善;2001~2012年长江中游城市群市域经济综合发展水平与生态成本表现出越来越显著的差异化空间格局,呈现出由低经济综合发展水平-低生态成本过渡到高经济综合发展水平-高生态成本,进而发展到高经济综合发展水平-低生态成本的空间匹配模式的阶段性特征;高经济综合发展水平-高生态成本的经济发展模式仍在大部分城市中存在,经济与生态空间协调发展的潜力仍然很大。     

瑞士绿色水电认证对我国水电开发评估的启示

简要介绍了EAWAG"绿色水电认证"的概念、程序和标准要求,分析了我国目前水电站评估中存在的制度上、技术上的缺陷和问题,结合"绿色水电认证"的特点,论证了该认证标准在我国水电站评估中的适宜性:绿色水电认证将管理计划与生态目标有机地结合,为我国水电评估指标体系的构建提供了十分有益的参考;通过绿色电力认证额外增加的发电量作为生态投资,强调电力的生态价值,提供资金改善受影响河道的生态完整性;绿色水电认证标准中关于生态监测的数据要求,能够填补我国目前水电站生态影响评价数据的不足.     

老庄道家思想所蕴含的生态伦理观念

中国古代思想家老子、庄子在生态环境伦理方面就如何协调人与自然的关系提出了许多宝贵的思想,如“天人合一”、“道法自然”、“知止”等。这些观点对我们解决二十一世纪所面临的生态环境问题具有重要的启迪意义。     

近十年生态工程在中国的进展

我国生态工程近 1 0多年有进一步发展 ,研究和应用对象扩展为社会 -经济 -自然复合生态系统 ,目标明确为可持续发展 ,从追求一维的经济增长或环境与自然保护 ,走向富裕、健康、文明三维一体的复合生态繁荣。在充实“整体、协调、循环、自生”的生态工程原理和生态控制论的基础上 ,总结出生态工程设计的 8项原则。方法论发展为从物理过程的量化走向生态过程的序化 ,从工程结构的优化走向生态格局的进化 ,从机器的人工智能走向人的生态智能。技术路线发展了硬件、软件、心件耦合 ;多学科、多技术的系统组合 ;调控复合生态系统全生态过程 ;寓环境保护于生产和消费中 ,寓废弃物处理于利用中 ;结构和功能纵横耦合成食物链网式、生命周期式、生态系统式等网络结构     

循环农业是发展循环经济的基础

论述了发展循环农业是发展循环经济的基础,以及发展循环农业应采取的方针政策及具体措施。指出发展农业循环经济是我国实现农业经济可持续发展的必然选择。     

华北农村水环境污染评价及源解析

近年来,国家相继发布多项重要文件要求整治农村人居环境、建设美丽乡村,但当前针对农村水环境问题研究相对较少,制约了农村环境治理工作开展。选取华北某镇农村河道坑塘,评价农村水环境污染水平、生态风险并进行污染溯源。结果表明,57处调查点位中有1处水体黑臭,但有多处调查点位水体溶解氧在2~3 mg∙L⁻¹、透明度在25~35 cm、氨氮在8~15 mg∙L⁻¹,接近黑臭阈值。仅有约9%的水体全部水质指标均能满足地表水V类要求 (检测指标为18项) ,超标指标主要为pH、COD_Mn、BOD、氨氮、总磷、总氮、粪大肠菌群等8项。底泥总磷、总氮标准指数分别处于中度、重度污染状态,营养盐综合指数属于重度污染状态。底泥存在不同程度的重金属富集,铜、锌、汞、镉、铬、铅、砷、镍等8项重金属的平均浓度是天津土壤背景值的0.45~2.73倍。汞的地累积指数平均值为0.64,为轻度污染;铜、锌、镉、铬、铅、砷、镍等其他7项重金属为清洁状态。汞的潜在生态风险指数约110,为较高生态危害;其他7项重金属生态风险指数均小于80,为轻微生态危害。综合Pearson相关性、主成分及PMF分析,研究区重金属最主要的污染来源是交通源和大气沉降,其次是工业源,最后是农业源。总体来看,研究区水体水质较差,沉积物有重金属轻度富集,其中汞是沉积物生态风险的主要贡献元素。     

矿山边坡绿化基质的优化配比

矿山边坡生态恢复和重建是矿区生态环境建设的有效途径,而绿化基质是矿山边坡生态恢复和重建的重要因素。基于正交实验和盆栽实验,以土壤、活性污泥、炉渣、粉煤灰、保水剂、尿素和秸秆等物质为基质原料,研究绿化基质的理化性质及出苗率特征。研究结果表明：与对照黄土相比,绿化基质pH相对较低,仍属于碱性土壤,而电导率、有机质和铵态氮相对较高,表明盐分和养分含量较高;污泥的配比含量是影响绿化基质入渗、蒸发、pH、电导率、有机质和出苗率等指标的关键因素;各因素对出苗率的影响强度从大到小依次为：污泥和粉煤灰、秸秆、土壤和炉渣、尿素、保水剂;基质的最优配比为：保水剂（11~15 g）、污泥和粉煤灰（150：600）、土壤和炉渣（375：375~600：150）、尿素（0 g）、秸秆（30 g）。