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.     

上海地区湿地生态旅游资源研究

从国内外湿地研究进展中发现，湿地景观资源及其管理对策研究得到人们越来越广泛的重视。上海市湿地面积广阔，占全市海拔-5m以上总面积9123km^2的65．67％，同时具有景观多样性和生物物种多样性。丰富的湿地资源为上海市提供了广阔的绿地空间，成为宝贵的旅游资源。本文对上海市的湿地景观资源进行了细致的分析，并介绍了其开发和利用现状，在此基础上提出了规划设想和几点建议。     

Wetland loss and substitution by the Section 404 permit program in southern California,USA

To test the effectiveness of the 404 permit program in preventing a net loss of wetland resources, 75 Section 404 projects permitted in the years 1987–1989 and located in a portion of southern California were evaluated. From this group of projects, 80.47 ha of wetlands were affected by Section 404 permits and the Army Corps of Engineers required 111.62 ha of wetland mitigation. To verify the successful completion of each mitigation project, all 75 project sites were visited and evaluated based on the amount of dead vegetation, growth and coverage, and the number of invasive species. Based on the field verification results, the actual amount of completed mitigation area was 77.33 ha, resulting in a net loss of 3.14 ha of wetland resources in the years 1987–1989. By comparing the types of wetlands lost to the types of wetlands mitigated, it is apparent that, in particular, freshwater wetlands are experiencing a disproportionately greater loss of area and that riparian woodland wetlands are most often used in mitigation efforts. The net result of these accumulated actions is an overall substitution of wetland types throughout the region. Results also indicate that, typically, large-scale mitigation projects are more successful compared to smaller projects and that successful compliance efforts are not evenly distributed throughout the region. We recommend that better monitoring, mitigation in-kind, mitigation banking, and planning on a regional or watershed scale could greatly improve the effectiveness of the Section 404 permitting program.     

中国湿地现状综述

湿地是重要的自然资源,对人类生存起着重要作用。本文综述了湿地的含义、功能与 价值、中国湿地的特点与现状,以促进中国湿地的可持续发展与利用。     

Use of Microbial Community to Evaluate Performance of a Wetland System in Treating Pb/Zn Mine Drainage

The performance of a wetland system in treating lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) mine drainage was evaluated by using the polyurethane foam unit (PFU) microbial community (method), which has been adopted by China as a standardized procedure for monitoring water quality. The wetland system consisted of four cells with three dominant plants: Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Paspalum distichum. Physicochemical characteristics [pH, EC, content of total suspended solid (TSS) and metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu)] and PFU microbial community in water samples had been investigated from seven sampling sites. The results indicated that the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and TSS in the mine drainage were gradually reduced from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system and 99%, 98%, 75%, 83%, and 68% of these metals and TSS respectively, had been reduced in concentration after the drainage passed through the wetland system. A total of 105 protozoan species were identified, the number of protozoa species and the diversity index (DI) gradually increased, while the heterotrophic index (HI) gradually decreased from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system. The results indicated that DI, HI, and total number species of protozoa could be used as biological indicators indicating the improvement of water quality.     

黄河口湿地土壤中正构烷烃分子指标及物源指示意义

对黄河口湿地表层土壤中的总有机碳、正构烷烃等进行了分析,计算了正构烷烃分子指标,探讨了其物源指示意义,并对不同采样区域和采样时间的结果进行了比较.结果表明,黄河口湿地土壤中正构烷烃以高碳奇数烷烃(C25～C33)为主,说明土壤中有机质主要来自于陆地高等植物,而样品中未分离混合物的存在表明土壤可能受到了油类污染.土壤中总的正构烷烃含量有明显的时间和区域差异,总的变化范围在0.57～3.90μg.g-1.在2009年4月(枯水期)总的正构烷烃含量相对6月(调水调沙期间)要高,以黄河口湿地核心恢复区最高,其次是黄河入海前最后一个浮桥下方的黄河北岸,最后是黄河故道区域,而6月的变化趋势与此相反.这一变化趋势与总有机碳是一致的,而与中值粒径的变化趋势相反,反映了两个不同的采样时间水环境条件的差异.基于正构烷烃的分子指标,如平均链长ACL、奇偶优势度OEP、烷烃指数AI、碳优势指数CPI和陆海比TAR等表明黄河口湿地土壤的有机质的成熟度较低,有较强的陆源高等植物输入优势,且主要来自于草本植物.与其他指标相比,陆海比指标TAR更好地反映了水环境条件的变化.     

敦煌阳关湿地的特点及可持续利用的分析

湿地是自然界生物多样性最丰富的生态景观和人类最重要的生存环境之一。敦煌阳关湿地因其特殊的地理环境形成了其明显的特点。人为活动对该湿地资源的过度开发及不合理利用,加之全球气候变化的影响,湿地面临着环境恶化、资源枯竭、生态退化等的严重威胁。这也对该湿地功能的发挥和可持续利用造成了非常大的影响。本文以敦煌阳关湿地为研究对象,分析了阳关自然保护区内湿地保护面临的问题,并提出科学合理规划湿地、开展湿地资源监测、湿地保护与生态旅游开发的协调发展等一系列措施。本文对甘肃敦煌阳关国家级自然保护区湿地资源的保护和可持续发展有一定的参考意义。     

若尔盖高原湿地藻类多样性研究

分别于夏、冬两季采集若尔盖高原湿地水样,利用传统培养及显微镜检的方法和现代分子生物学方法对其藻类多样性进行了研究.结果表明,夏季水样至少培养出4种绿藻,分别为普通小球藻(Chlorella vulgaris Beij.)、浮球藻(Planktosphaeriagelatinosa G.M.Smith)、繁茂栅列藻(Scenedesmus abundans Kirchner)和柱状栅列藻(Scenedesmus bijuga Turp.),均属于绿球藻(Chlorococcales),其中普通小球藻为优势藻种,并被分离纯化.显微镜检结果表明冬季水样中主要的藻类种群为硅藻,此结果符合在低温季节天然水体中常以硅藻为主的常理.蓝藻16S rRNA基因克隆文库中的主要类群为硅藻(Bacillaripiophyta,35.3%),其次为蓝藻,包括色球藻(Chroococcales,5.9%)、念珠藻(Nostocales,11.8%)、颤藻(Oscillatoriales,11.8%)和一些未知种属的蓝藻类群(Unclassified Cyanobacteria,35.3%),还发现一些与低温环境微生物相关的类群,如颤藻目细纤菌属(Leptolyngbya).     

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。