Situational Waste in Landscape Watering: Residential and Business Water Use in an Urban Utah Community1

Abstract: Landscape water conservation is an important issue for municipalities throughout the Western United States, and especially in Utah as rapid growth strains existing water supplies. We conducted interdisciplinary research in Layton, Utah, that aimed at understanding patterns of landscape water use among households and businesses. The research project involved three basic tasks. First, a landscape “water budget” was developed by producing a calibrated and classified mosaic of landscape type and area from airborne multispectral digital imagery, integrating this information with Layton City parcel boundary data to determine landscape vegetated areas per lot, and estimating irrigation needs derived from reference evapotranspiration (ETo) obtained using weather data for the Salt Lake City metropolitan region. Second, utilizing Layton water billing data, water use for each household and business was identified and categorized as “conserving,”“acceptable” or “wasteful” by determining how much the water applied varied from actual landscape plant need. Third, surveys were administered to a random stratified sample of households and businesses in the study area to investigate various factors that were hypothesized to be predictive of wasteful watering practices. This paper primarily focuses on analysis of the household and business survey data, which explores factors affecting urban landscape water use from a human behavioral perspective. We found that the most significant factors predicting actual water use were the type of irrigation system and whether the location was a household or business. Attitudinal and motivational characteristics were not consistently associated with water use. We found that wasteful watering is the result of many factors embedded in the complex context of urban landscapes. This implies that water conservation programs should identify potential wasteful users through analyses of water billing data and direct water conservation measures at these users by focusing on site‐specific evaluations and recommendations. Water audits or water checks are one such tool that some communities have employed to help people understand and assess the quantity of water needed by and applied to their landscapes. This approach provides an opportunity to evaluate situational constraints at particular locations and design appropriate strategies for reducing water waste.     

Assessing the spatial distribution of grassland age in a marginal European landscape

Grassland age is increasingly recognised to be an indicator for present-day biodiversity, e.g. plant species richness, and is also important for other landscape functions. We developed a methodological approach to systematically assess the spatial distribution of grassland age in marginal European landscapes. This approach - applied to the Lahn-Dill Highlands (1270 km(2)), a marginal landscape in Hesse, Germany - comprises three steps: (1) in a two-stage stratification process, we pre-stratified the study area according to recent land-cover patterns and their changes between 1955 and 1995 (stratification I) and classified grassland types by combining data on soil moisture, base-richness, and elevation (stratification II). From 50 grassland types, we randomly selected 1000 representative grassland patches. (2) We determined the age of these patches by means of aerial photograph interpretation of a chronosequence dating back to 1953 and classified each patch with respect to the age classes young (<18 years), mid-aged (18-47 years), and old (>47 years). (3) Based on this information, we calculated grassland type-specific probabilities for grassland patches to belong to the respective age classes. These probabilities were projected to districts by direct extrapolation. An exemplary validation of extrapolation results for two test areas was performed. The results revealed that 49% of the investigated patches were old grassland. The remaining patches were mid-aged (36%) or young grassland (15%). The extrapolation results indicated accordingly a predominance of old grassland at the district scale. Occurrences of mid-aged grassland were concentrated in districts with a pronounced land-cover change, whereas young grassland is apparently evenly distributed across the study area. Validation results suggest that our approach is suitable for a realistic estimation of grassland age in marginal European landscapes. The method may be applied in landscape models of various disciplines that rely on large-scale information on grassland age.     

VMS在旅游公路景观影响评价中的应用

应用美国林务局的“风景资源管理系统”（VMS）对贾登峪-禾木乡旅游公路进行了景观影响评价。结果表明,从处于低位的观察点来看,山体的不同垂直位置承受的工程活动强度不同。山体的上半部能承受一定强度的工程活动,受公路建设的影响轻微;但山体的中下部能承受的工程活动有限,受公路建设的影响较大。具体分析表明,公路设计的老路方案和四级路方案对泰加林山体的景观影响程度基本相同。     

Linking Hydrologic Alteration to Biological Impairment in Urbanizing Streams of the Puget Lowland,Washington, USA1

Abstract: We used a retrospective approach to identify hydrologic metrics with the greatest potential for ecological relevance for use as resource management tools (i.e., hydrologic indicators) in rapidly urbanizing basins of the Puget Lowland. We proposed four criteria for identifying useful hydrologic indicators: (1) sensitive to urbanization consistent with expected hydrologic response, (2) demonstrate statistically significant trends in urbanizing basins (and not in undeveloped basins), (3) be correlated with measures of biological response to urbanization, and (4) be relatively insensitive to potentially confounding variables like basin area. Data utilized in the analysis included gauged flow and benthic macroinvertebrate data collected at 16 locations in 11 King County stream basins. Fifteen hydrologic metrics were calculated from daily average flow data and the Pacific Northwest Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (B‐IBI) was used to represent the gradient of response of stream macroinvertebrates to urbanization. Urbanization was represented by percent Total Impervious Area (%TIA) and percent urban land cover (%Urban). We found eight hydrologic metrics that were significantly correlated with B‐IBI scores (Low Pulse Count and Duration; High Pulse Count, Duration, and Range; Flow Reversals, T_Qmean, and R‐B Index). Although there appeared to be a great deal of redundancy among these metrics with respect to their response to urbanization, only two of the metrics tested – High Pulse Count and High Pulse Range – best met all four criteria we established for selecting hydrologic indicators. The increase in these high pulse metrics with respect to urbanization is the result of an increase in winter high pulses and the occurrence of high pulse events during summer (increasing the frequency and range of high pulses), when practically none would have occurred prior to development. We performed an initial evaluation of the usefulness of our hydrologic indicators by calculating and comparing hydrologic metrics derived from continuous hydrologic simulations of selected basin management alternatives for Miller Creek, one of the most highly urbanized basins used in our study. We found that the preferred basin management alternative appeared to be effective in restoring some flow metrics close to simulated fully forested conditions (e.g., T_Qmean), but less effective in restoring other metrics such as High Pulse Count and Range. If future research continues to support our hypothesis that the flow regime, particularly High Pulse Count and Range, is an important control of biotic integrity in Puget Lowland streams, it would have significant implications for stormwater management.     

人类活动影响下喀斯特区域景观格局梯度分析

在ARCGIS和景观结构分析软件FRAGSTATS 3.3的支持下,分析了喀斯特区域广西环江县不同人类活动强度样带1988年和2005年2个时期的景观格局变化特征,以及2005年研究区4种主要景观类型的格局特征随人类活动强度的梯度变化规律。研究结果表明,环江县景观分布不均匀,林地是研究区的基质景观类型;在景观水平上,随着人类活动强度的降低,样带景观的破碎化程度降低,形状复杂程度升高,景观斑块的分布趋于集中;在景观类型水平上,研究区4种主要的景观类型在梯度带中能够很好的反映出格局的变化特征,其中,各景观类型的面积比重、破碎度和分维数随人类活动强度的梯度变化趋势较为明显,聚集度和连通性的梯度变化幅度相对较小。研究揭示了景观格局沿人类活动强度的梯度变化规律,可为研究区自然资源的合理开发及可持续发展提供参考。     

城市化下景观格局对河流水质变化的空间尺度效应分析

研究不同空间尺度上景观组成与结构变量对城市河流水质的影响程度和机制对于流域生态保护具有重要意义.以汉江流域襄阳城区段8个水质监测断面为中心,利用GIS软件以河流为对象生成8种空间尺度的缓冲区域,采用景观格局指数、冗余分析等方法与模型,识别景观格局对河流水质影响最有效的河岸带空间尺度,以及其与水质的相互关系.结果表明:①总体上农用地和城市用地的面积占比随缓冲区宽度上升而增加,而其他景观类型呈相反的变化特征.②景观格局在不同宽度缓冲区内对河流水质的影响具有空间尺度性,在300 m宽度解释能力最大,达到了78.5%.③景观组成变量中仅园地的面积比例(PLAND_(GAR))在400 m宽度上与水质指标存在相关关系.④影响水质变化的主要景观类型在小尺度上是城市用地,相对较大尺度上是林业用地,并且城市用地和林业用地的斑块密度(PD_(URB)和PD_(FOR))对河流水质的负面影响最为显著.结果反映了300 m宽度是景观格局对水质变化的最佳临界区,景观组成变量对水质的影响程度小于景观结构变量.同时,不同景观类型对水质的影响机制也具有差异性,林业用地分布越密集、面积越大对进入水体的污染物净化作用越明显,而分散分布的城市区域对水质退化的作用显著.园地和草地因种植方式的差异对水质变化有一定的影响;而农业用地与水质之间没有发现显著的相关性.研究结果可以从宏观尺度上为流域水环境保护、景观优化与管理提供科学依据.     

基于GA-BP模型的景观小水体富营养化评价方法

为了研究适用于景观小水体富营养化评价的方法,以上海市10个公园景观水体为实验对象,在初步了解了景观小水体水质和营养状况的基础上运用主成份分析法对各项水质指标进行评价因子筛选,并对筛选出来的因子建立富营养化评价等级.运用MATLAB软件的GA-BP算法建立评价模型对10个公园4个季度共40组数据进行评价,结果显示与营养度指数法结果总体一致.选用的Chla, TP, TN, CODMn, SD五个评价因子的数据都比较易得,模型可推广性强.     

Multimethod,multistate Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach for use in regional monitoring of wolves

In many cases, the first step in large‐carnivore management is to obtain objective, reliable, and cost‐effective estimates of population parameters through procedures that are reproducible over time. However, monitoring predators over large areas is difficult, and the data have a high level of uncertainty. We devised a practical multimethod and multistate modeling approach based on Bayesian hierarchical‐site‐occupancy models that combined multiple survey methods to estimate different population states for use in monitoring large predators at a regional scale. We used wolves (Canis lupus) as our model species and generated reliable estimates of the number of sites with wolf reproduction (presence of pups). We used 2 wolf data sets from Spain (Western Galicia in 2013 and Asturias in 2004) to test the approach. Based on howling surveys, the naïve estimation (i.e., estimate based only on observations) of the number of sites with reproduction was 9 and 25 sites in Western Galicia and Asturias, respectively. Our model showed 33.4 (SD 9.6) and 34.4 (3.9) sites with wolf reproduction, respectively. The number of occupied sites with wolf reproduction was 0.67 (SD 0.19) and 0.76 (0.11), respectively. This approach can be used to design more cost‐effective monitoring programs (i.e., to define the sampling effort needed per site). Our approach should inspire well‐coordinated surveys across multiple administrative borders and populations and lead to improved decision making for management of large carnivores on a landscape level. The use of this Bayesian framework provides a simple way to visualize the degree of uncertainty around population‐parameter estimates and thus provides managers and stakeholders an intuitive approach to interpreting monitoring results. Our approach can be widely applied to large spatial scales in wildlife monitoring where detection probabilities differ between population states and where several methods are being used to estimate different population parameters.     

Scale dependency in effectiveness,isolation, and social‐ecological spillover of protected areas

Protected areas are considered vital for the conservation of biodiversity. Given their central role in many conservation strategies, it is important to know whether they adequately protect biodiversity within their boundaries; whether they are becoming more isolated from other natural areas over time; and whether they play a role in facilitating or reducing land‐cover change in their surroundings. We used matching methods and national and local analyses of land‐cover change to evaluate the combined effectiveness (i.e., avoided natural‐cover loss), isolation (i.e., changes in adjacent areas), and spillover effects (i.e., impacts on adjacent areas) of 19 national parks in South Africa from 2000 to 2009. All parks had either similar or lower rates of natural‐cover loss than matched control samples. On a national level, mean net loss of natural cover and mean net gain of cultivation cover decreased with distance from park boundary, but there was considerable variation in trends around individual parks, providing evidence for both increased isolation and buffering of protected areas. Fourteen parks had significant positive spillover and reduced natural‐cover loss in their surroundings, whereas five parks experienced elevated levels of natural‐cover loss. Conclusions about social‐ecological spillover effects from protected areas depended heavily on the measures of land‐cover change used and the scale at which the results were aggregated. Our findings emphasize the need for high‐resolution data when assessing spatially explicit phenomena such as land‐cover change and challenge the usefulness of large‐scale (coarse grain, broad extent) studies for understanding social‐ecological dynamics around protected areas.     

用"3S"技术和景观生态学方法探索新农村之路

针对中国新农村建设面临的5个重大理论实践问题,用“35”技术和景观生态学开展了中国典型省区——四川省新农村建设道路研究,从城市-农村-自然三大景观差异、演变、协调、互动等角度,提出了正确认识农村的新思维、科学划分农村的新方法和探索新农村健康发展的新途径。