Levels of tin in core sediments along the Alexandria Coast, Egypt

Tin concentrations were determined in surface and core sediments from three hot spots along the Alexandria coast, namely: Abu-Qir Bay, Eastern Harbour, and Western Harbour. The mean concentrations in surface sediment were 2.434, 3.212, and 5.572 μg/g dry weight for Abu-Qir Bay, Eastern Harbour, and Western Harbour, respectively. A sharp decrease in tin level in core sediments with depth was observed in almost all locations except for core 4 in Abu-Qir Bay and core 17 in the Eastern Harbour, where the sub-sample at the 5 cm level recorded the highest tin concentrations.     

Biological productivity of bogs in the middle taiga subzone of Western Siberia

New experimental data on biological productivity of plant communities in oligotrophic and mesotrophic bogs of the middle taiga subzone over the past five years are presented. The relationship between net primary production and the stock of live phytomass is estimated. The stock of necromass in oligotrophic bog ecosystems increases from west to east, while the stock of live phytomass and net primary production decrease.     

Plant Phenology in Western Canada: Trends and Links to the View From Space

One feature of climate change is the trends to earlier spring onset in many north temperate areas of the world. The timing of spring flowering and leafing of perennial plants is largely controlled by temperature accumulation; both temperature and phenological records illustrate changes in recent decades. Phenology studies date back over a century, with extensive databases existing for western Canada. Earlier spring flowering has been noted for many woody plants, with larger trends seen for species that develop at spring's start. Implications for ecosystems of trends to earlier spring arrival include changes in plant species composition, changes in timing and distribution of pests and disease, and potentially disrupted ecological interactions. While Alberta has extensive phenology databases (for species, years, and geographic coverage) for recent decades, these data cannot provide continuous ground coverage. There is great potential for phenological data to provide ground validation for satellite imagery interpretation, especially as new remote sensors are becoming available. Phenological networks are experiencing a resurgence of interest in Canada (www.plantwatch.ca) and globally, and linking these ground-based observations with the view from space will greatly enhance our capacity to track the biotic response to climate changes.     

Macroinvertebrate Regionalisation for use in the Management of Aquatic Ecosystems in Victoria, Australia

The development of a broader, more holistic approach to aquaticecosystem management has been called for in recent years. Physical and chemical objectives alone are no longer consideredsufficient for the protection of aquatic ecosystems and shouldbe supplemented with biological objectives. The ubiquitousand sedentary nature of macroinvertebrates, combined with theirmeasurable response to environmental conditions, favour their use as important indicators in environmental policies. To establish biological objectives, there is a need for a regionalframework to limit the variability between ecosystems. Past studies have demonstrated that an a posteriori regionalisationapproach may be more useful than an a priori approach in explaining single component (e.g. macroinvertebrates) patternsacross ecosystems. This is particularly important as aquaticresource management agencies often focus on one or twocomponents of the ecosystem to assess environmental health. This study uses an a posteriori method to delineate and describebiological regions based on edge and riffle macroinvertebrate data. The regionalisation will provide a framework for settingbiological objectives, based on the range of reference conditionsmeasured within each separate region. The objectives will includeregional checklists for taxa and biotic indices. Predictive modelling in the style of RIVPACS or AUSRIVAS will also be usedwithin each region to develop objectives, incorporating local, regional and systematic features as predictor variables.     

Derivation of Nutrient Guidelines for Streams in Victoria, Australia

Human induced increases to nutrientconcentrations in streams have led to many agenciesdeveloping strategies and criteria for nutrientreduction. National or statewide guidelines aregenerally inappropriate, due to the natural variabilityin stream ecosystems within political boundaries. Thisstudy used an extant aquatic macroinvertebrate-basedregionalisation for the state of Victoria, Australia, asthe basis for defining regions of relatively homogeneousenvironmental character. This enabled the selection ofecologically-based regional reference sites andsubsequent characterisation of the nutrient status ofthese sites. Using an extensive biological and nutrientdata base for streams across the State, we calculated50th and 75th percentile concentrations forreference sites within each region. Using thesepercentiles in conjunction with impact and recoverystudies, we defined nutrient guidelines for each region. Although the nutrient data largely supported thebiological regionalisation, patterns in the nutrient datadid require some minor modifications for the nutrientregions. Relatively unimpacted regions with referencesites in very good-to excellent-condition were assignedguidelines largely based on the 75th percentiles. The more impacted regions, where best availablereference sites were of poorer quality, were assignedguidelines based largely on the 50th percentiles. Professional judgement and known extents of impactsacross each region provided important contributions tothe decision-making process. The derived guidelineconcentrations are comparable to several cited in theliterature and are proposed for use in monitoring,assessment and restoration targets.     

豫西地区降水资源对旱地粮食作物产量的影响与对策

本文论述降水资源是旱地粮食作物产量的重要影响因素,揭示了豫西地区主要粮食作物的需水规律和水分盈亏规律,提出运用地理风险决策、实行适水种植的宏观对策。     

实施西部开发战略应注意资源开发区的环境保护问题

实施西部开发战略应注意矿产资源开发、土地资源开发、水资源开发、森林资源开发、草地资源开发、农业资源开发、生物资源开发和旅游资源开发等活动的环境保护问题，本文就此问题提出建议。     

Community response to hazard information

The impact of flood hazard information on public acceptance of a selected flood mitigation strategy was assessed by an analysis of the content of newspaper reports of community reaction and letters to the editor. The impact of personal delivery of a flood hazard map on individual perception of risk and attitude to such information was assessed using personal interviews. The results indicated that media coverage of the flood hazard information reduced public criticism of the works. This result must be partially attributable to the dramatic style of media coverage and the fact that the media only emphasized the positive value of the works. The interview demonstrated that personal delivery of the information raised perception of risk, improved comprehension of flood risk, had no impact on acceptability of risk but discouraged some respondents from seeking such information in the future. Factors to explain the last negative change were identified to be the format of the map sheet and low salience of flood hazard. On the basis of all results, methods to improve community response to hazard information are provided.     

西部大开发中水资源保护的战略意义

水是生命的源泉，水资源具有维持生命与健康功能，生态系统组成与演化功能，景观组合与美学功能：水能及其服务功能；水介质的传输与净化功能；社会生活与经济服务功能等。西部水资源具有发挥各种功能的区域条件。保护西部水资源的战略意义在于：(1)它是实施西部可持续发展战略的迫切需求；(2)西部是全国水资源富集区，对其保护具有全国战略意义；(3)水资源保护是西部生态建设的重要内容，是建成西部生态屏障的重要措施；(4)西部水资源是产业发展的支撑，对其保护对全国产业发展及其布局，有特殊功能和意义；(5)水资源昌西部农业命脉，保护水资源是西部农业持续发展的保证；(6)西部水资源保护具有跨流域的功能，有广泛的国际影响；(7)水资源保护是发展我国西部旅游产业的重要支撑。总之。西部大开发需要水资源的利用和保护，而水资源的保护和利用又是西部大开发的重要内容和成功的重要标志。