The environmental impact of industrialization in East Asia and strategies toward sustainable development

The East Asian economy has been growing fast in recent years, and environmental stresses are building up rapidly. Transboundary air pollution, water shortages, drinking water contamination, freshwater and marine pollution, deforestation, climatic disasters, and other environmental problems are becoming serious threats to the well-being of people in this densely populated region. The ESI (environmental sustainability index) reported by the World Economic Forum in 2005 is a good indicator of the environmental status of the region; most East Asian countries ranked at the bottom. East Asia is not moving toward a sustainable society, and the environment will not sustain the current rate of economic development for long. The traditional culture of East Asia used to be sustainable, so we can learn much from our traditions. Land use should be planned from an ecological point of view so as to best preserve the land’s productivity and stability. There should be definite goals as to where and how much to preserve the three important ecological bases: forests, coastal wetlands and agricultural farms. The forest is the base for the terrestrial ecosystem, including flood control, water resources, and climate; the coastal wetland is the base for the marine ecosystem; farmland is the base for producing food. Within these defined goals, limits should be set on how much land can be utilized for activities like urban development, manufacturing, and recreation. Limits on the pollution load resulting from such activities should be set so as not to irreversibly damage the environment. Economic development should be planned to allow the use of energy and resources only after satisfying these constraints.

人工曝气复氧整治污染河流

向受到严重有机污染的河流充入溶解氧可以有效消除水体的黑臭,改善水质和恢复生态平衡。文章总结了纯氧增氧系统、鼓风机———微孔布气管曝气系统、叶轮吸气推流式曝气器和水下射流曝气设备等多种使用于河道人工曝气复氧的技术;并列举大量国内外的相关工程实例说明这些技术在实践中的有效性。     

三峡库区陆生植物迁地保存初报

三峡植物物种多样性保护,重点在珍稀濒危植物,但对建群种和有实用价值的种也进行收集保存。7年来试验站保存三峡库区植物200余种,迁移成活率93%,有8种未成功。（1）到2002年已有30余种植物正常开花结实（其中木本植物24种）,可以选择繁殖试验,以达到保存的目的;（2）选择了8种植物,进行生长观测,在人为控制下,生长速度满意;（3）进行了部份种类的扦插繁殖和孢子繁殖,获得了相关结果;（4）少数种类收集遇到极大困难,需要继续努力。三峡库区生物多样性研究与保护,存在一些问题与困难,如漏项问题、库区物种问题、外来种问题、隔离对生物多样性的影响问题、生物多样性的功能问题等需要进一步研讨,从而使库区物种得以保存,环境得以优化,生物资源得到持续利用。     

云南个旧多金属矿区农田土壤-作物系统重金属污染现状——以乍甸镇为例

对云南个旧市乍甸镇农田土壤和农作物重金属污染现状进行了野外调查及评价。结果表明:农田土壤Pb、Zn、Cu、Cd、As质量比均超出GB 15618—1995《土壤环境质量标准》二级标准,Hg未检出,该地区农田呈现以As、Cd为主多种重金属复合污染。Pb、Zn、Cu、Cd、As土壤有效态质量比与土壤全量呈极显著正相关(p<0.01)。农作物中Cu、As质量比与土壤有效态Cu、As质量比无显著相关,Zn质量比与土壤有效态Zn呈极显著负相关(p<0.01),Cd、Pb质量比与土壤有效态Cd、Pb呈显著正相关(p<0.05)。89%的农作物As超标,油菜籽(Brassica napusL.)As质量比最高,均值达(23.04±14.33)mg/kg(鲜重,下同)。Pb超标率达72%,油菜籽Pb质量比最高,平均为(5.55±2.53)mg/kg。Zn、Cd超标率均为11.11%,超标最严重的油菜籽Zn质量比为(46.65±13.61)mg/kg,Cd质量比为(0.24±0.10)mg/kg。Cu超标率为5.55%,油菜籽Cu质量比最高,达(16.02±2.75)mg/kg。油菜籽对As、Pb、Zn、Cu、Cd的转移系数(农作物可食部分重金属质量比(鲜重)与土壤重金属质量比的比值)远高于其他作物。农作物对Pb、Zn、Cd、As的转移顺序依次为果实类、叶菜类、根茎类,对Cu的转移顺序为果实类、根茎类、叶菜类。农作物以As、Pb污染为主,总体属重度污染。聚类分析得出:油菜籽、青蒜(Allium ampeloprasumL.)和生菜(Lactuca sativaL.var.ramosaHort.)重金属污染严重,不适合在该地区继续种植和食用。     

Urban development and landscape change in the Yangtze River Delta region in China

The impact of large-scale urban development on land resources has long been debated by urban planners and designers. This study investigated the extent to which different urban characteristics are associated with land-cover change. The Yangtze River Delta region in China, forming one of the largest sprawling urban landscapes among the regions around the world, was chosen for the study area. Spatial analysis and multiple regression methods were applied to empirically investigate the pattern of resource sites lost to urban development in the area between the 1950s and 2017. The results showed that contrary to the widespread notion that large-sized cities are predominantly responsible for a region’s environmental degradation, city size was not a significant factor in determining the rate of resource loss. Large-sized cities gained their populations with far lesser impacts on land than small-sized cities and towns if normalized to the same number of populations. One explanation for the diminishing effect of city size on land-cover change relates to the degree of spatial dispersion of urban development and local differences in social valuation of diversified lands by cities.     

红色荒漠化雏议

根据国际上对于荒漠化概念的新说明以及由联合国环境规划署所资助的《中国荒漠化 (土地退化 )防治研究》课题报告中确定的荒漠化定义 ,荒漠化概念的内涵包括 :1)以土地退化为本质 ;2 )与人类活动相关联 ;3)以荒漠化景观为标志 ;4 )以脆弱生态环境为背景。因此我国的荒漠化类型除了风蚀作用形成的沙质荒漠化外 ,还有水蚀作用形成的土质荒漠化和石质荒漠化 ;荒漠化防治的重点区域除北方干旱、半干旱和半湿润地区以外 ,也包括南方湿润地区的红壤丘陵区和石质山区。其中属于水蚀荒漠化和土质荒漠化的红色荒漠化就是指我国南方红壤丘陵区在人类不合理经济活动和脆弱生态环境相互作用背景下 ,以流水侵蚀为主导作用而形成、以地表出现劣地为标志的严重土地退化。鉴于我国南方红色荒漠化现象在我国现实存在中的客观性、在全球变化中的特殊性以及在理论概念上的模糊性 ,有必要对其进行深入研究     

Temporal trends in agricultural water use and the relationships to hydroclimatic factors in the High Plains aquifer region

The High Plains aquifer (HPA) is the primary water source for agricultural irrigation in the US Great Plains. The water levels in many locations of the aquifer have declined steadily over the past several decades because the rate of water withdrawals exceeds recharge, which has been a serious concern to the water resources management in the region. We evaluated temporal trends and variations in agricultural water use and hydroclimatic variables including precipitation, air temperature, reference evapotranspiration, runoff, groundwater level, and terrestrial water storage across the HPA region for different periods from 1985 to 2020 at the grid, county, or region scale. The results showed that water withdrawals decreased from 21.3 km³/year in 1985 to 18.2 km³/year in 2015, while irrigated croplands increased from 71,928 km² in 1985 to 78,464 km² in 2015 in the entire HPA. The hydroclimatic time-series showed wetting trends in most of the northern HPA, but drying and warming trends in the southern region from 1985 to 2020. The groundwater level time-series indicated flat trends in the north, but significant declining in the central and southern HPA. Trends in irrigation water withdrawals and irrigation area across the HPA were controlled by the advancement of irrigation systems and technologies and the management of sustainable water use, but also were affected by dynamical changes in the hydroclimatic conditions.     

Factors influencing property selection for conservation revolving funds

Finding sustainable ways to increase the amount of private land protected for biodiversity is challenging for many conservation organizations. In some countries, organizations use revolving‐fund programs, whereby land is purchased and then sold to conservation‐minded owners under condition they enter into a conservation covenant or easement. The sale proceeds are used to purchase, protect, and sell additional properties, incrementally increasing the amount of protected private land. Because the effectiveness of this approach relies on selecting appropriate properties, we explored factors currently considered by practitioners and how these are integrated into decision making. We conducted exploratory, semistructured interviews with managers from each of the 5 major revolving funds in Australia. Responses indicated although conservation factors are important, financial and social factors are also highly influential. A major determinant was whether the property could be resold within a reasonable period at a price that replenishes the fund. To facilitate resale, often selected properties include the potential for the construction of a dwelling. Practitioners face with clear trade‐offs between conservation, financial, amenity, and other factors in selecting properties and 3 main challenges: recovering the costs of acquisition, protection, and resale; reselling the property; and meeting conservation goals. Our findings suggest the complexity of these decisions may constrain revolving‐fund effectiveness. Drawing from participant responses, we identified potential strategies to mitigate these risks, such as providing adequate recreational space without jeopardizing ecological assets. We suggest managers could benefit from a shared‐learning and adaptive approach to property selection given the commonalities between programs. Understanding how practitioners deal with complex decisions in the implementation of revolving funds helps identify future research to improve the performance of this conservation tool.     

A strategy for wildlife management in depopulating rural areas of Japan

Former ranges of wild animals have been reestablished in many developed countries. However, this reestablishment has led to increasing human–wildlife conflict in agroforest ecosystems. In Japan, human–wildlife conflict, such as crop raiding by and ecological impacts of wild ungulates and primates, is a serious problem in depopulated rural areas due to these animal range expansions and increased abundances. Japan's human population is predicted to decline by 24% by 2050, and approximately 20% of agricultural settlements will become completely depopulated. In this scenario, anthropogenic pressures on wildlife (e.g., hunting and habitat alteration) will continue to decrease and human–wildlife conflict will increase due to increasing wildlife recovery. Japan's local governments plan to slow range recovery, prevent species reestablishment, or remove recolonizing large mammals through lethal control. This strategy, however, is not cost-effective, and workforce shortages in depopulated communities make it infeasible. Moreover, the suppression of wildlife prevents the recovery of ecological functions and thus would degrade regional biodiversity. The declining pressure on wildlife that accompanies human depopulation will prevent the restoration of any past states of human–wildlife interaction. We suggest human-used areas in rural landscapes be aggregated in compact cities and that in transition zones between human settlements and depopulated lands that land-sharing approaches be applied. Concentrating management efforts in compact cities may effectively decrease human–wildlife conflict, rather than intensifying human pressures. Reforestation of depopulated lands may lead to recovery of wildlife habitats, their ecosystem functions, and regional biodiversity due to minimization of negative anthropogenic effects (land-sparing approach). Balancing resolution of human–wildlife conflict and ecological rewilding could become a new, challenging task for regional wildlife managers.     

Bird conservation and the land sharing-sparing continuum in farmland-dominated landscapes of lowland England

Empirical evidence from many regions suggests that most species would be least negatively affected if human food demand were met through high-yield agricultural production and conservation of nonfarm ecosystems (land sparing), rather than through wildlife-friendly farming over a larger area (land sharing). However, repeated glaciation and a long history of agriculture may lead to different results in regions such as western Europe. We compared the consequences of land sparing and land sharing on breeding bird species in 2 lowland regions of England, The Fens, with 101 species, and Salisbury Plain, with 83. We derived density–yield responses for each species and then estimated regional population size under regional food production strategies, including land sharing and land sparing, a range of intermediate strategies, and a novel mixed strategy. In both regions, more species achieved maximum regional population size under land sparing than land sharing. In The Fens, the majority of birds were loser species (estimated to have smaller populations under all food production strategies than in the preagricultural baseline scenario), whereas in Salisbury Plain the majority were winners (smaller populations in the preagricultural baseline scenario). Loser species overwhelmingly achieved maximum regional population size under land sparing, whereas winner species achieved maximum regional population size under either land sharing or an intermediate strategy, highlighting the importance of defining which groups of species are the target of conservation. A novel 3-compartment strategy (combining high-yield farming, natural habitat, and low-yield farming) often performed better than either land sharing or land sparing. Our results support intermediate or 3-compartment land-sparing strategies to maximize bird populations across lowland agricultural landscapes. To deliver conservation outcomes, any shift toward land sparing must, however, ensure yield increases are sustainable in the long term, do not entail increased negative effects on surrounding areas, and are linked to allocation of land for nature.