Evaluating regional water security through a freshwater ecosystem service flow model: A case study in Beijing-Tianjian-Hebei region,China

Freshwater ecosystem service is essential to human’s survival and development. Many studies have documented the spatial differences in the supply and demand of ecosystem services and proposed the concept of ecosystem services flows. However, few studies characterize freshwater ecosystem service flow quantitatively. Therefore, our paper aims to quantify the effects of freshwater ecosystem service flow on downstream areas. We developed a freshwater ecosystem service flow model and applied it in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, China, for the year of 2000, 2005, and 2010. We assessed the regional water security with an improved freshwater security index by integrating freshwater service provision, consumption and flow; and found that most areas of the BTH region (69.2%) were affected by upstream freshwater flows. The areas achieving water security in the region also expanded to 66.9%, 66.1%, and 71.3%, which were 6.4%, 6.8% and 5.7% increments compared to no-flow situation, in 2000, 2005 and 2010, respectively. Setting quota for human water consumption is suggested to further improve water security. These results highlight the need to fully understand the connections between distant freshwater ecosystem service provision and local freshwater ecosystem service consumption. This approach may also help managers to choose more sustainable strategies for critical freshwater resource management across different regions.     

Continental mapping of forest ecosystem functions reveals a high but unrealised potential for forest multifunctionality

Humans require multiple services from ecosystems, but it is largely unknown whether trade‐offs between ecosystem functions prevent the realisation of high ecosystem multifunctionality across spatial scales. Here, we combined a comprehensive dataset (28 ecosystem functions measured on 209 forest plots) with a forest inventory dataset (105,316 plots) to extrapolate and map relationships between various ecosystem multifunctionality measures across Europe. These multifunctionality measures reflected different management objectives, related to timber production, climate regulation and biodiversity conservation/recreation. We found that trade‐offs among them were rare across Europe, at both local and continental scales. This suggests a high potential for ‘win‐win’ forest management strategies, where overall multifunctionality is maximised. However, across sites, multifunctionality was on average 45.8‐49.8% below maximum levels and not necessarily highest in protected areas. Therefore, using one of the most comprehensive assessments so far, our study suggests a high but largely unrealised potential for management to promote multifunctional forests.     

Environmental needs and social justice

Despite the growth in awareness and practical action to maintain biodiversity, environmental degradation and ecosystem destruction has continued at a high rate over the last 20 years. The roots of this lie in the predominant international economic order, underpinned by lifestyle demands for increased material consumption. Net flow of wealth from South (less developed) to North (more developed) nations has exacerbated a spiral of increased poverty and environmental degradation in the former. Global environmental conservation depends upon a radical change of direction with the principle of equity as the starting point. Notwithstanding the importance of continuing to add to local and small-scale conservation achievements, the prospect of radical change happening seems small, despite it being in the long-term self-interest of the North. The concept of equity is, apparently, unacceptable to Northern electorates.     

Marine ecosystem services: Linking indicators to their classification

There is a multitude of ecosystem service classifications available within the literature, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. Elements of them have been used to tailor a generic ecosystem service classification for the marine environment and then for a case study site within the North Sea: the Dogger Bank. Indicators for each of the ecosystem services, deemed relevant to the case study site, were identified. Each indicator was then assessed against a set of agreed criteria to ensure its relevance and applicability to environmental management. This paper identifies the need to distinguish between indicators of ecosystem services that are entirely ecological in nature (and largely reveal the potential of an ecosystem to provide ecosystem services), indicators for the ecological processes contributing to the delivery of these services, and indicators of benefits that reveal the realized human use or enjoyment of an ecosystem service. It highlights some of the difficulties faced in selecting meaningful indicators, such as problems of specificity, spatial disconnect and the considerable uncertainty about marine species, habitats and the processes, functions and services they contribute to.     

生态意识及其主要特点

一、生态意识产生的时代背景生态意识作为人类思想的先进观念,产生于20世纪后半叶。产业革命以来二百多年,人类依据先进科学技术武装的强大生产力,无限制地向自然进     

Tropical terrestrial invertebrates—Where to from here?

There are over one million described invertebrate species on Earth, the majority of which are likely to inhabit the highly biodiverse rain forests around the equator. These are some of the most vulnerable ecosystems on Earth due to the pressures of deforestation and climate change with many of their inhabitants at risk of extinction. Invertebrates play a major role in ecosystem functioning from decomposition and nutrient cycling to herbivory and pollination; however, while our understanding of these roles is improving, we are far from being able to predict the consequences of further deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss due to the lack of comparative data and the high proportion of species which remain to be discovered. As we move into an era of increased pressure on old-growth habitats and biodiversity, it is imperative that we understand how changes to invertebrate communities, and the extinction of species, affect ecosystems. Innovative and comprehensive methods that approach these issues are needed. Here, we highlight priorities for future tropical terrestrial invertebrate research such as the efficiency of sustainable land management, exploration of innovative methods for better understanding of invertebrate ecology and behavior, and quantifying the role of invertebrates in ecosystem functioning.     

The effect of temperature on bacterial degradation of EDTA in pH-auxostat

The effect of temperature on the maximum specific growth rate and the cell yield was studied during cultivation of two bacterial strains (LPM-4 and Pseudomonas sp. LPM-410) on EDTA under unlimited cell growth conditions in a pH-auxostat. Both strains displayed linear dependence of reciprocal biomass yield against reciprocal specific growth rate, from which the values of rate of substrate expenditure for cell maintenance and the “maximum” yield (i.e., hypothetical yield without cell maintenance processes) were estimated. Analysis of the maximum yield values based on mass–energy balance theory suggested that oxidation of the carboxylic acid side chains of EDTA by a monooxygenase had zero or low energetic efficiency. An Arrhenius equation with different values of Arrhenius parameters within different temperature ranges gave a good fit with the temperature dependence of both growth rate and biomass yield. Specific growth rates of both strains showed a more pronounced temperature dependence than did the cell yields. A possible kinetic mechanism was suggested which might be responsible for the modes of the temperature dependences of specific growth rate and yield that were found. The mechanism is based on a hypothetical key substance governing the metabolic flows, which is formed in a zero-order reaction and destroyed in a first-order reaction, both rate constants depending on temperature according to the Arrhenius law.     

Determinants of Land Degradation and Fragmentation in Semiarid Vegetation at Landscape Scale

The objective of this paper was to investigate the sensitivity to degradation of semiarid plant communities in terms of plant cover and fragmentation, quantifying relationships between landscape characteristic (physical, socio-economical and historical) and vegetation degradation. The degradation of vegetation was measured as the degree of coverage of the two dominant vegetation types (i.e. tall arid brush and tall grass steppe), while fragmentation was measured as patch size and isolation. Data were obtained using GIS tools, and analyzed by logistic regression and linear multivariate regression. Results showed denser coverage at more elevated, gradual slopes that were not sea-oriented. Historical elements of the landscape had a significant effect on current natural vegetation. According to the fragmentation patterns, the vegetation is in fairly good condition (medium coverage had the largest patches but dense coverage was less isolated) but attention must be given to preserve vegetation, due to the relationships between fragmentation and human activities. Moreover, the protection plan under way in the area appeared to favour denser vegetation cover, while human activities had a measurable effect on vegetation degradation.     

Nonthermal Plasma‐Induced Degradation of Morin and Enhancement of Biological Activities

In the present study, non‐thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma of induced structural changes of morin resulted in the isolation of one previously undescribed benzofuranone derivative, along with two known compounds. The chemical structures of these degradation products were elucidated by UV, NMR and FAB‐MS spectroscopic analyses. The isolated three compounds showed potent antioxidative activities in two different tests, with IC₅₀ values in the range of 12.9–41.8 μm in the 2,2′‐azino‐bis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS⁺) radical scavenging activity, 19.0–71.9 μm for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity test. Furthermore, the new methoxylated benzofuranone exhibited enhancement of inhibitory effects against pancreatic lipase with an IC₅₀ value of 90.7±1.6 μm , when compared to the parent morin. These results suggested that the degradation products isolated from plasma exposed morin might be beneficial for prevention of obesity and related diseases.