Climate readiness of recovery plans for threatened Australian species

The rapidly changing climate is posing growing threats for all species, but particularly for those already considered threatened. We reviewed 100 recovery plans for Australian terrestrial threatened species (50 fauna and 50 flora plans) written from 1997 to 2017. We recorded the number of plans that acknowledged climate change as a threat and of these how many proposed specific actions to ameliorate the threat. We classified these actions along a continuum from passive or incremental to active or interventionist. Overall, just under 60% of the sampled recovery plans listed climate change as a current or potential threat to the threatened taxa, and the likelihood of this acknowledgment increased over time. A far smaller proportion of the plans, however, identified specific actions associated with ameliorating climate risk (22%) and even fewer (9%) recommended any interventionist action in response to a climate-change-associated threat. Our results point to a disconnect between the knowledge generated on climate-change-related risk and potential adaptation strategies and the extent to which this knowledge has been incorporated into an important instrument of conservation action.     

Mainstreaming human and large carnivore coexistence through institutional collaboration

Achieving coexistence between large carnivores and humans in human-dominated landscapes (HDLs) is a key challenge for societies globally. This challenge cannot be adequately met with the current sectoral approaches to HDL governance and an academic community largely dominated by disciplinary sectors. Academia (universities and other research institutions and organizations) should take a more active role in embracing societal challenges around conservation of large carnivores in HDLs by facilitating cross-sectoral cooperation to mainstream coexistence of humans and large carnivores. Drawing on lessons from populated regions of Europe, Asia, and South America with substantial densities of large carnivores, we suggest academia should better embrace the principles and methods of sustainability sciences and create institutional spaces for the implementation of transdisciplinary curricula and projects; reflect on research approaches (i.e., disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary) they apply and how their outcomes could aid leveraging institutional transformations for mainstreaming; and engage with various institutions and stakeholder groups to create novel institutional structures that can respond to multiple challenges of HDL management and human–large carnivore coexistence. Success in mainstreaming this coexistence in HDL will rest on the ability to think and act cooperatively. Such a conservation achievement, if realized, stands to have far-reaching benefits for people and biodiversity.     

Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

Using fuzzy set theory to address the uncertainty of susceptibility to drought

This paper presents the technical aspects of a new methodology for assessing the susceptibility of society to drought. The methodology consists of a combination of inference modelling and fuzzy logic applications. Four steps are followed: (1) model input variables are selected—these variables reflect the main factors influencing susceptibility in a social group, population or region, (2) fuzzification—the uncertainties of the input variables are made explicit by representing them as ‘fuzzy membership functions’, (3) inference modelling—the input variables are used to construct a model made up of linguistic rules, and (4) defuzzification—results from the model in linguistic form are translated into numerical form, also through the use of fuzzy membership functions. The disadvantages and advantages of this methodology became apparent when it was applied to the assessment of susceptibility from three disciplinary perspectives: Disadvantages include the difficulty in validating results and the subjectivity involved with specifying fuzzy membership functions and the rules of the inference model. Advantages of the methodology are its transparency, because all model assumptions have to be made explicit in the form of inference rules; its flexibility, in that informal and expert knowledge can be incorporated through ‘fuzzy membership functions’ and through the rules in the inference model; and its versatility, since numerical data can be converted to linguistic statements and vice versa through the procedures of ‘fuzzification’ and ‘defuzzification’.     

Long-Term Changes in the Fauna of Diurnal Lepidopterans (Lepidoptera,Diurna) in the Northern Taiga Subzone of the Western Russian Plain

In the diurnal lepidopteran fauna of the northern taiga subzone in the western Russian Plain, the species inhabiting primary biotopic complexes typical of this subzone currently account for slightly more than 60% of the total species richness and abundance. A large part of the fauna is represented by the species of more southern origin, whose expansion to the northern taiga was caused by anthropogenic transformation of landscapes between the 12th and 20th centuries and recent climate warming.     

Exploration of Science Parks

1 DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE PARKSThe concept of science park originated in the US. Manyterms are used to describe science parks, such as researchpark, technology park, science centre, research centre,innovation centre, and with various combination of these(MacDonald, 1987). The first science park in the worldis Stanford Industrial Park established in 1951. In 1955,only seven companies were located in the park. By 1980there were ninety companies including Hewlett PackardCompany, whic…     

水质监测频率与极端气候对高原湖泊入湖河流氮磷通量估算的影响

河流是流域氮磷营养盐的主要输出途径之一,准确掌握其通量变化和驱动因素对流域营养盐管理具有重要意义.本研究以滇池主要入湖河流宝象河为例,基于周水质观测数据和逐日水量数据,构建了河流氮磷通量LOADSET模型.估算了宝象河不同时间尺度（日、季、年）TN和TP的通量,评估了4种低频水质采样和极端气候指数对河流氮磷通量计算的影响.结果表明：①2018年宝象河的TN和TP年通量分别为270.49 t和11.19 t,存在显著的年内差异,夏季是通量最高的季节,分别占TN和TP年通量的40.78%和41.96%.②基于LOADEST模型的低频水质采样的氮磷估算结果与高频采样差异较小,宝象河TN、TP通量估算受采样频率影响较小.③宝象河的TN和TP通量变化受连续5日最大降水量、平均最低气温、平均最高气温、最低气温、最低气温极大值、最高气温极小值和平均温差7种极端气候指数的显著影响.     

科技创新投入对环境全要素生产率的影响机制

使用2004~2015年的中国280个地级市的面板数据,对科技创新投入与环境全要素生产率间的非线性关系、内部影响机理和空间异质性进行分析,结果显示：科技创新投入与环境全要素生产率之间呈现倒N型关系,两个拐点的位置分别为7.722（2257.47万元）和9.610（14913.17万元）;在外部资本进入、污染治理、市场规模效应3种影响路径中,科技创新投入影响下的外部资本进入对环境全要素生产率依然存在污染避难所的负向效应,科技创新投入与外部资本间效应为0.1363,外部资本与环境全要素生产率间效应为-0.0065;科技创新投入能够增强企业的污染治理技术并提高环境全要素生产率,三者间前后效应分别为-0.0277和-0.0311;科技创新的投入与高效益增强了市场规模效应,有效促进生产结构的转型进而提高环境全要素生产率,三者间前后效应为0.0186和0.4346.空间异质性中,外部资本进入与溢出效应带来的污染避难所负效应在中部地区显著,在西部和东北部地区不显著,而污染天堂正效应在东部地区存在但不显著;污染创新治理投入的技术正溢出效应在东部和西部地区效应显著,在中部和东北部不显著;科技创新投入与市场需求规模效应在空间区域无差异且显著为正.建议依据科技创新投入的不同影响路径来实施空间差异化策略.     

喜凉作物生长期对全球变暖停滞响应的时空差异——以中国绿洲为例

基于中国绿洲喜凉作物（chimonophilous crop）分布区39个站点1960~2016年逐日平均气温资料,运用线性趋势法、反距离加权插值（IDW）、Morlet小波、Mann-Kendall检验等方法,研究中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期的时空变化对变暖停滞的响应.结果表明：①变暖停滞期,中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期起、止日及生长期日数以-0.2d/10a、0.33d/10a、0.53d/10a的趋势变化,较1960~2016年起始日提前趋势减缓1.01d/10a,终止日推迟减缓1.28d/10a,生长期日数延长减缓2.3d/10a,对变暖停滞有响应.②中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期起始日对变暖停滞响应的站点有44%,终止日和生长期日数均为49%,主要分布在南疆、柴达木盆地和河西绿洲,其中河西绿洲对变暖停滞响应最明显,南疆次之,柴达木最小,而北疆绿洲不存在滞缓现象,显然空间差异明显.③M-K检验显示,中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期起、止日及生长期日数分别在2001年、1990年和1997年发生突变,起始日晚于变暖停滞起始年份,终止日和生长期日数早于变暖停滞起始年,且分绿洲生长期日数突变年与变暖停滞起始年相接近.④Morlet小波得出变暖停滞期其变化稳定存在2.4~4.3a的震荡周期,表明未来几年中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期仍持续延长.