The Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Sustainable Management of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

The sustainable use and management of important tropical coastal ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs) cannot be done without understanding the direct and indirect impacts of man. The ecosystem's resilience and recovery capacity following such impacts must be determined. The efficacy of mitigation measures must also be considered. Remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are excellent tools to use in such studies. This paper reviews the state of the art and application of these tools in tropical coastal zones, and illustrates their relevance in sustainable development. It highlights a selected number of remote sensing case-studies on land cover patterns, population structure and dynamics, and stand characteristics from South-East Asia, Africa and South-America, with a particular emphasis on mangroves. It further shows how remote sensing technology and other scientific tools can be integrated in long-term studies, both retrospective and predictive, in order to anticipate degradation and to take mitigating measures at an early stage. The paper also highlights the guidelines for sustainable management that can result from remote sensing and GIS studies, and identifies existent gaps and research priorities.There is a need for more comprehensive approaches that deal with new remote sensing technologies and analysis in a GIS-environment, and that integrate findings collected over longer periods with the aim of prediction. It is also imperative to collect and integrate data from different disciplines. These are essential in the spirit of sustainable development and management, particularly in developing countries, which are often more vulnerable to environmental degradation.     

Sustainability: a Dissent

Abstract:  Broadly conceived and considered in its many usages, sustainability has grave defects as a planning goal, particularly when used by conservationists: it confuses means and ends; it is vague about what is being sustained and who or what is doing the sustaining; it is uninspiring; it is little more than Pinchot-era conservation (and thus ignores the many lessons learned since then); it need not be linked to land, to the land's functioning, or to any ecological science; it need not include a moral component; it is consistent with the view of humans as all-powerful manipulators of the planet; and, in general, it is such a malleable term that its popularity provides only a facade of consensus. When sustainability is defined broadly to include the full range of economic and social aspirations, it poses the particular risk that ecological and biodiversity concerns will be cast aside in favor of more pressing human wants. Given these many defects, the conservation movement should discard the term in favor of a more alluring goal, attentive to nature and its ecological functioning. A sound goal would incorporate and distill the considerable ecological and moral wisdom accumulated since Pinchot's day while giving conservationists the rhetorical tools needed to defend the land against competing pressures. In our view, conservation would be well served by an updated variant of "land health," Aldo Leopold's ecologically grounded goal from the 1940s. Land health as an independent understanding should set the essential terms of how we live and enjoy the earth, providing the framework within which we pursue our many social and economic aims.     

织物干洗的工业生态研究

正确评价干洗剂对人体的毒副作用，合理地设定干洗过程挥发性有害物质的残留限量，是开发干洗业环境无害技术和绿色服务的先决条件。只有在充分保证环境安全的前提下，通过逐步推行化学清洁产品的总体选择战略，从环境管理和经济发展的结合上来规范企业的环境行为，才能最终实现干洗业的可持续发展。     

丘陵农村能源生态工程（连载）——新的生态能源开发与环境治理规划

在系统分析与初期实施的基础上，通过计算机仿真技术对后期～２０１０年提出进一步综合开发治理规划，并对规划实施的支撑条件进行了研究，这些研究丘陵农村的发展提供了具有参考意义的信息资料。     

西藏自治区土地资源的适宜性评价与利用

本文综合评价了西藏自治区土地资源的适宜性及其质量．阐明了影响土地资源潜力发挥的主要限制因素，分析了土地资源利用现状、存在问题和开发潜力。并在此基础上、提出了西藏自治区土地资源合理开发利用的方向、对策和措施。     

岷江上游半干旱河谷土壤成土特征研究：以大沟流域为例

岷江上游半干旱河谷位于新构造运动活动带，其土壤形成和发育过程有着鲜明的区域特征。本文结合该区域的自然地理特点，综合分析各成土因素和土壤性状，对该区域土壤的成土特征进行了深入的分析和研究。     

水入渗条件下边坡破坏离心模型试验研究

水的人渗能对土体强度产生较大的影响,它是造成边坡破坏的一个主要因素.不同含水量土质边坡的离心模型试验表明:边坡的破坏类型与其含水量大小有关,且主要存在两种破坏类型:一种是含水量较小时形成的拉裂缝破坏,另一种是含水量较大时形成的整体滑塌破坏;同时,含水量与边坡的最大稳定高度呈非线性关系.进一步的损伤力学分析表明,随着土体含水量的增加,损伤变量增大,并存在一个突变点;通过同离心模型试验结果比较,发现该突变点对应的含水量可作为两种破坏类型的判据.     

A Comparison of Campfire Impacts and Policies in Seven Protected Areas

Using resource-monitoring data from seven protected areas, the effectiveness of three campfire policies—campfire ban, designated campfires, and unregulated campfires—were assessed based on the number of fire sites and the amount of tree damage. Results indicate that unregulated campfire policies permitted substantial numbers of fire sites and tree damage in campsites, although fire bans did not eliminate or even substantially decrease these problems. A designated campfire policy was effective in decreasing number of fire sites, but little difference was found among policies regarding tree damage. Given the importance of campfires to visitor experiences, campfire prohibitions could be viewed as unnecessarily restrictive based on their limited success in preventing resource damage. Conclusions encourage protected-area managers to consider designated campfire policies and prohibitions on axes, hatchets, and saws to better meet resource protection and visitor experience mandates.     

云南粉土的动力特性试验研究

粉土是一种具有特殊工程性质的土,由粉土液化引起的工程震陷造成的危害极大。根据云南粉土的室内共振柱试验,得到了归一化处理后的G/Gm ax~γ/rγ和D~γ曲线,并运用修正后的双曲线模型进行了拟合分析。根据室内振动三轴试验,得出不同固结比和不同固结压力下的土的动强度与振动次数的试验曲线,发现动强度与破坏振次间符合较好的乘幂关系,动强度与固结比之间符合较好的二次抛物线关系;分析不同围压下孔压与破坏振次的试验曲线规律,发现可以用指数函数进行拟合。结果可供该类土的动力特性研究参考。