爆堆块度评价方法研究的进展

爆堆矿岩的块度分布是评价爆破效果的一项重要依据。对爆堆矿岩的块度大小与块度构成情况进行准确、可靠的定量描述 ,不仅可为验证、改进爆破工艺与参数 ,进而为改善爆破效果提供直接的参考依据 ,而且也是开展爆破优化研究的重要技术基础。通常使用手工方法去评估爆堆矿岩的块度 ,它能在一定程度上对爆破块度分布进行定量的评价。但这些方法还都存在着某些缺陷。而爆堆矿岩块度的计算机图像分析法则可弥补上述诸方法的种种缺陷 ,近年来 ,该研究在国内外得到了越来越广泛的关注和应用。笔者在总结各种测定爆破块度分布的理论和方法的基础上 ,详细分析和研究了当前计算机图像处理分析爆破块度方法。     

The Interior-to-Edge Breakpoint Distance as a Guideline for Nature Conservation Policy

A method is proposed to quantify disturbance impact on isolated habitats. For every landscape patch, the breakpoint distance, defined as the penetration distance for which equality of interior and edge habitat is observed, can be calculated. Disturbance with equal impact at all patch sides is assumed. Effects of patch compactness, size, convolution, and perforation are discussed. The potential use of the measure for nature reserve design is discussed. The breakpoint distance follows the reserve design guidelines for individual patches, based on island biogeography and is consistent with the form and function principle. A large breakpoint distance is preferred for natural habitats. Small size, small compactness, intense convolution, and the occurrence of many gaps depress the breakpoint distance.     

Spatial-econometric analysis of attraction and repulsion of private conservation by public reserves

It is difficult for public agencies to make optimal reserve-site selections without knowing how new public reserves might influence the configuration of private conservation. Private land trusts protect much land in the USA, but little is known about how private groups respond to conservation decisions made by other conservation agents. To fill that gap, we analyze township-level spatial data on conservation in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts to explore relationships between the location of private and public conservation land. Using linear spatial-econometric models and Bayesian spatial probit models, we find evidence that private-protected acres are clustered together in space. In California, it appears that private land conservation is attracted towards places where the government has reserves. In Illinois and Massachusetts, however, it appears that private conservation shifts away from townships with government reserves due to a mixture of spatial repulsion and simple acreage displacement.     

Effects of mechanical fracturing and experimental trampling on Hawaiian corals

In situ trampling occurred under experimental conditions to quantify the differences in the responses to anthropogenic trampling in four dominant species of Hawaiian corals, Porites compressa, Porites lobata, Montipora capitata, and Pocillopora meandrina. Trampling was simulated daily for a period of nine days at which time further breakage was minimal. Forty treatment colonies produced 559 fragments. Trampling was followed by an 11-month recovery period. Coral colony and fragment mortality was low. All four species were highly tolerant of inflicted damage, suggesting that some species of corals can withstand limited pulse events that allow time for recovery. Growth rates following trampling were significantly lower in the treatment groups for three of the four species. This study demonstrated that very few trampling events can produce significant changes in growth even after a long recovery period. Survivorship of fragments is clearly size- and species-dependent in M. capitata and P. compressa. Smaller fragments (<5 cm) had higher mortality than larger fragments (>5 cm). High breakage rates for M. capitata and P. compressa are consistent with the nearshore, low-energy regions they inhabit—the same environment frequented by skin divers and waders. Mechanical tests were conducted to determine tensile and compressive strengths. Pocillopora meandrina exhibited the strongest skeletal strength, followed in decreasing order by Porites lobata, Porites compressa, and Montipora capitata. The skeletal strength obtained from the experiments correlate with the wave energy present in the environments in the regions they inhabit, suggesting that structural strength of corals is an adaptive response to hydraulic stress.     

The Euler Number as an Index of Spatial Integrity of Landscapes: Evaluation and Proposed Improvement

The spatial integrity of a habitat or landscape is determined by the occurrence of habitat fragments and of perforations inside them. A landscape is said to have less spatial integrity with increasing numbers of fragments and perforations. The Euler number (ε) is a numerical measure of spatial integrity, based upon the difference |n _f −n _p | between the number of fragments (n _f ) and the number of perforations (n _p ). In this contribution, ε is evaluated, and an improvement is presented as a new index ε*, which is a combination of two metrics (ε _i , ε _d ) based on n _f and n _p . The term ε _i quantifies the intensity of perforation and/or fragmentation. The term ε _d measures the extent to which fragmentation predominates perforation, and vice versa. The intensity and dominance measures are combined into an Euclidean distance measure, generating the new ensemble value ε*, calculated as ε*= (n _f +n _p )⁻¹√[1 +n _f ²]. Use, sensitivity, and application of ε*, ε _i , and ε _d are illustrated using percolation maps. Application of the new metrics by environmental scientists is encouraged because (1) no negative values can be generated with ε*, ε _i , and ε _d ; (2) the range of ε*, ε _i , and ε _d is fixed; (3) process dominance and intensity are both assessed; (4) ε*, ε _i , and ε _d are easy to calculate and to interpret; and (5) ε* is not only based upon |n _f −n _p |, as ε is. Guidelines for practical use by means of a biplot of ε _i and ε _d are given.     

The impacts of urban sprawl on ecological connectivity in the Montreal Metropolitan Region

Urban sprawl is a widely recognized phenomenon in many major cities worldwide and is a significant land use planning and management issue. This process has many impacts on the ecological function and structure of the landscape. In this article, we analyze the effects of urban sprawl on the ecological patterns and processes in the Montreal Metropolitan Region (MMR) between 1966 and 2010. The dispersed sprawl of low-density urban areas within the territory during this period sharply increased the fragmentation of the territory, isolating the few remaining natural spaces and decreasing their ecological connectivity and, ultimately, biodiversity. The results obtained clearly show that land-use changes that occurred in the MMR have caused profound changes in landscape properties, both structurally and functionally, and especially from 1981 to 2010. In 1966, around 45% of the land had a high or very high level of connectivity, and almost 38% in 1981. By 2010 only 6.5% of the landscape was connected and 73% of the territory possessed no or low connectivity.     

Assessment of the hazard due to fragment projection: A case study

Fragment projection following vessel burst is a possible cause of domino effects in industrial accidents. The projection of fragments from stationary equipment usually follows the catastrophic rupture of process equipment due to internal pressure exceeding design values. In recent years, a detailed model was developed to assess fragment impact probability. The model, based on the use of fragmentation patterns and of a simplified analysis of fragment trajectory, allows the calculation of impact probabilities considering different scenarios leading to vessel burst and fragment projection. In the present study a case-study was analyzed to assess model performance and to test the credibility of the model predictions for fragment number, shape and impact probability. The cumulative probability of fragment impact was found to be in good agreement with the actual distribution of the landing points experienced for the fragments formed in the accident. The maximum projection distance predicted by the model resulted comparable to the maximum landing distance experienced in the accident. The model tested thus seems to yield significant results, well in the range of those experienced in the case-study analyzed.     

Landscape Trends in Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States Ecoregions

Landscape pattern and composition metrics are potential indicators for broad-scale monitoring of change and for relating change to human and ecological processes. We used a probability sample of 20-km × 20-km sampling blocks to characterize landscape composition and pattern in five US ecoregions: the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, Southeastern Plains, Northern Piedmont, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge Mountains. Land use/land cover (LULC) data for five dates between 1972 and 2000 were obtained for each sample block. Analyses focused on quantifying trends in selected landscape pattern metrics by ecoregion and comparing trends in land cover proportions and pattern metrics among ecoregions. Repeated measures analysis of the landscape pattern documented a statistically significant trend in all five ecoregions towards a more fine-grained landscape from the early 1970s through 2000. The ecologically important forest cover class also became more fine-grained with time (i.e., more numerous and smaller forest patches). Trends in LULC, forest edge, and forest percent like adjacencies differed among ecoregions. These results suggest that ecoregions provide a geographically coherent way to regionalize the story of national land use and land cover change in the United States. This study provides new information on LULC change in the southeast United States. Previous studies of the region from the 1930s to the 1980s showed a decrease in landscape fragmentation and an increase in percent forest, while this study showed an increase in forest fragmentation and a loss of forest cover.     

Spatial hyperdynamism in a post-disturbance simulated forest

Competition–colonization models can address the population dynamics of remnants following habitat destruction. Spatially explicit versions have produced qualifications of the extinction debt issue and limited hyperdynamism in populations following habitat destruction. Although spatially explicit, these efforts examined few indicators of the spatial structure of the landscape. An existing model is modified here to represent a difference in niche adaptations as well as the competition–colonization tradeoff. Several landscape metrics are calculated at each iteration. Although the addition of niche differentiation did not change the qualitative outcome of the model, the spatial metrics show that some aspects of landscape structure, i.e., average patch area and proximity, become hyperdynamic and remain so. Small fluctuations in species populations are magnified in their spatial expression because the landscape is simplified.     

A Spatially Explicit Resource-Based Approach for Managing Stream Fishes in Riverscapes

The article describes a riverscape approach based on landscape ecology concepts, which aims at studying the multiscale relationships between the spatial pattern of stream fish habitat patches and processes depending on fish movements. A review of the literature shows that few operational methods are available to study this relationship due to multiple methodological and practical challenges inherent to underwater environments. We illustrated the approach with literature data on a cyprinid species (Barbus barbus) and an actual riverscape of the Seine River, France. We represented the underwater environment of fishes for different discharges using two-dimensional geographic information system-based maps of the resource habitat patches, defined according to activities (feeding, resting, and spawning). To quantify spatial patterns at nested levels (resource habitat patch, daily activities area, subpopulation area), we calculated their composition, configuration, complementation, and connectivity with multiple spatial analysis methods: patch metrics, moving-window analysis, and least cost modeling. The proximity index allowed us to evaluate habitat patches of relatively great value, depending on their spatial context, which contributes to the setting of preservation policies. The methods presented to delimit potential daily activities areas and subpopulation areas showed the potential gaps in the biological connectivity of the reach. These methods provided some space for action in restoration schemes.