From proposal to decision: Suggestions for tightening up the “NEPA process”

Although the process of documenting compliance with NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act) requires no drastic revisions, it can be managed more rigorously. Suggestions for revision can be grouped under five major steps: 1) getting a complete proposal from the applicant; 2) getting the decision-making process onto the right decision-making path; 3) modifying the applicant's proposal 4) going down a shorter path through the EA/FONSI (environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact) or through categorical exclusion review; and 5) going down the longer path through the EIS. Step 2 is perhaps the most critical, because there a decision must be made whether to write an EA/FONSI or an EIS, on the basis of whether the proposal would “significantly affect … the … environment.” In the past, this decision has not always been made promptly or rigorously. Accordingly, we suggest that the agency responsible for NEPA compliance should develop a system (a “black box”), consisting of a core group of specialists working with an interdisciplinary team, using sophisticated techniques for modeling impacts and directing both their research and their writing according to the concept of significance. By determining more efficiently and reliably whether the impacts of a proposal would be significant, such an approach would improve management of the total process.     

旅游踩踏对土壤微生物生物量碳、氮、磷的影响

为了探明旅游活动对张家界国家森林公园土壤微生物活性及多样性的影响,保护土壤生态平衡及合理开发自然保护区提供理论依据,进行了旅游踩踏对土壤微生物生物量碳、氮、磷的影响研究.结果表明,在所设的3个试验区中,0～5cm土壤层的微生物生物量碳、磷受到旅游踩踏的影响最严重,5～15cm土壤层的微生物生物量碳、磷受到旅游踩踏的影响较严重,而15～25cm土壤层的微生物生物量碳、磷受到旅游踩踏的影响最轻,旅游踩踏对所设3个试验区中3个层次土壤的微生物生物量碳、磷的影响均达到了显著水平(p＜0.05).从旅游踩踏对3个土壤层的微生物生物量氮的影响程度来看,0～5cm土壤层的微生物生物量氮受到的影响最严重,5～15cm土壤层的微生物生物量氮受到的影响较严重,而15～25cm土壤层的微生物生物量氮受到的影响最轻,背景区与缓冲区15～25cm土壤层的微生物生物量氮差异没有达到显著水平.说明张家界国家森林公园土壤微生物遭到了旅游踩踏的破坏,抵御外界干扰的能力已受到了旅游踩踏的破坏.     

人工湖的营建及其水质改善措施——以沈阳市丁香湖为例

以沈阳市建设的第一座大型人工湖泊丁香湖为研究对象,针对丁香湖在基础设施建设、生态系统功能恢复等方面存在诸多现实问题为例,通过依势修整、科学引蓄、补水调换、人工生态浮岛和水生植物布设、局部复氧曝气和辅助的抑藻手段等综合治理措施,使丁香湖水质得到有效改善、生物多样性得到恢复。     

兰州新区建设循环经济型园区的对策探究

《循环经济发展战略及近期行动计划》指出了要推动各类产业园区实施循环化改造,促进园区绿色低碳循环发展的新要求。兰州新区是国务院批复的全国第五个、西北第一个国家级新区,对兰州新区循环化建设提出相应对策。     

Visitor-induced changes in the chemical composition of soils in backcountry areas of Mt Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

Balancing recreation and conservation is an important issue in Canada's parks and protected areas. Increased levels of visitation to parks, especially to backcountry areas, create undue pressure on natural resources, resulting in a variety of ecological impacts. This paper illustrates the issue of visitor-induced changes on the chemical composition of soils in Mt Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. Soil samples were collected from dish wash stations and fire pits (disturbed sites) at seven campgrounds located along two popular backcountry trails, and were compared to samples obtained from adjacent undisturbed control sites. Analysis of soil samples suggest that the lower amounts of aluminum, potassium, magnesium and sodium in many of the 'disturbed' samples can be related to intense leaching in dish wash stations, and can be attributed to frequent disposal of waste water from washing and cooking activities. Soils in wash stations generally had higher phosphorus, copper and zinc contents as compared to controls. Soils in fire pits were elevated in copper, relative to controls. Results of this study support park regulations that waste water disposal and camp fires be restricted to designated areas. Informing the public of scientific studies helps them understand the consequences of their activities; this may help persuade them to observe park rules and regulations.     

Protected Area Safeguard Tree and Shrub Communities from Degradation and Invasion: A Case Study in Eastern Madagascar

Despite their prevalence in both developed and developing countries, there have been surprisingly few field assessments of the ecological effectiveness of protected areas. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a key protected area in eastern Madagascar, Ranomafana National Park (RNP). We established paired 100 × 4-m vegetation transects (400 m²) within RNP and in remnant forests in the park’s peripheral zone. In each 400-m² plot, all woody stems >1.5 cm in diameter at breast height were measured and identified to species. All species were also identified as native or non-native. We identified utilitarian species within all transects and they were sorted into use category. We calculated plot-level taxonomic biodiversity and functional diversity of utilitarian species; the latter was calculated by clustering the multivariate distances between species based on their utilitarian traits, and all metrics were tested using paired t-tests. Our results showed that there was significantly higher biodiversity inside RNP than in remnant forests and this pattern was consistent across all diversity metrics examined. Forests not located within the park’s boundary had significantly higher non-native species than within RNP. There was no statistically significant difference in functional diversity of utilitarian species inside RNP vs. remnant forests; however, the overall trend was toward higher diversity inside park boundaries. These findings suggested that RNP has been effective at maintaining taxonomic diversity relative to surrounding unprotected areas and restricting the spread of non-native plants. The results also suggested that low functional redundancy of forests outside of RNP might be of concern, because residents in surrounding villages may have few other substitutes for the services provided by species that are of critical importance to their livelihoods. This study highlights the challenges of trying to reconcile biodiversity conservation with human use of natural resources in economically poor, remote areas.     

我国旅游景区经营模式的构想

本文以旅游景区的经营模式为研究核心,从现有国内外旅游景区组织结构分析入手,构建了适合我国国情和旅游景区可持续发展要求的两种经营模式：一种是国有国营的次国家公园模式,另一种是完全企业化经营,并且提出了两种模式运作的保障条件。     

北京公园水体中邻苯二甲酸酯类物质的测定及其分布特征

为了正确评估北京市公园水体受PAEs污染的程度,采集了北京11个公园湖水的水样,采用固相萃取-气相色谱联用技术检测了其中六种邻苯二甲酸酯类物质(PAEs)的含量,该方法加标回收率在73%～89.3%,RSD为5.9%～18.1%,检出限在0.40～4.58mg/L。实验结果为北京公园水体中总PAEs浓度在6.4～138.1μg/L,平均值为27.9μg/L,证明北京公园水体受到不同程度的PAEs污染,主要的污染物为邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)和邻苯二甲酸双(2-乙基己基)酯(DEHP),其中东南部以及西北部的公园污染较严重。分析了PAEs在公园湖水底泥中和水体中的分布特征,结果显示,PAEs在湖水底泥中的含量明显大于在水体中的含量。     

成都市活水公园人工湿地系统10年运行回顾

成都市活水公园是1997年建成的世界上首座以展示"人工湿地水处理系统"和"仿峨眉山亚热带自然植被"为主要内容的、以水保护为主题的生态公园。它所展示的人工湿地处理系统工程,现己正常运行了10年。本文通过回顾10年来活水公园人工湿地工程设计、建设与运行的经验,结合当前己建和在建的人工湿地工程中所存在的一些问题,提出一些看法与建议。供从事人工湿地工程设计、施工及管理人员参考。