Hmong gardens: Botanical diversity in an urban setting

Since the end of the Vietnam War, thousands of Laotian Hmong have immigrated to the United States, many ultimately resettling in the Central Valley of California. In the innercity environment of Sacramento, the Hmong continue their agrarian traditions by creating urban gardens where they grow traditional plants. In this study, we document 59 Hmong garden species grown at a site in South Sacramento. Most of these species are documented in the Southeast Asian botanical literature as either food or medicinal plants. Uses of the plants are discussed as is the importance of urban gardens in maintaining Hmong cultural identity and practices.     

辽宁中部城市群城市非点源污染负荷评估

过去几十年我国经历了快速城市化过程,这使得不透水面大幅度增加,导致地表径流和洪峰流量增加,进入水体的污染物增多。城市非点源污染已成为河流水体恶化、生态系统退化的重要原因。在快速城市化过程中,城市群已成为城市化发展的新阶段。位于同一流域的各城市所产生的城市非点源污染导致城市群流域水环境问题越来越突出,成为制约城市群流域可持续发展的关键因素之一。现有的关于城市非点源的研究多集中于城市内部小尺度,对城市群大尺度的研究亟需发展。以位于浑河太子河流域的辽宁中部城市群为例,在沈阳市不同功能区和不同下垫面进行降雨径流采样,基于事件平均浓度(EMC)法和SWMM(Storm Water Management Model)模型相结合的方式,定量评估城市群流域城市非点源污染负荷。研究结果表明：路面径流中城市非点源污染物浓度、负荷量及其单位面积负荷要高于屋面径流和透水面径流。辽宁中部城市群TP、TN、COD、TSS的年均城市非点源污染负荷分别为265.52、852.89、2249.71、192496.74 t/a,重金属Cd、Ni、Pb、Cr、Cu、Zn的年均城市非点源污染负荷分别为347.99、9932....     

山东省潍坊地区汉族青少年Heath-Carter法体型研究

应用HeathCarter人体测量法对山东省潍坊地区2511名（男1253名、女1258名）7—19岁的汉族学生进行了体型评定。结果是：城市汉族男生平均体型7—15岁为三胚层中间型,16—18岁为内胚层-中胚层均衡型;乡村男生平均体型7—10岁为中胚层-外胚层均衡型,11—14为偏中胚层的外胚层体型,15—17岁为三胚层中间型,18—19岁为内胚层-中胚层均衡型。城市女生平均体型7—9岁为三胚层中间型,10岁为均衡的内胚层体型,11—12岁为外胚层-中胚层均衡型,13—18岁为均衡的内胚层体型;乡村女生7—12岁为均衡的外胚层体型,13—14岁为内胚层-外胚层均衡型,15—18岁为均衡的内胚层体型。     

Biogeographic patterns in below-ground diversity in New York City's Central Park are similar to those observed globally

Soil biota play key roles in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, however, compared to our knowledge of above-ground plant and animal diversity, the biodiversity found in soils remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we present an assessment of soil biodiversity and biogeographic patterns across Central Park in New York City that spanned all three domains of life, demonstrating that even an urban, managed system harbours large amounts of undescribed soil biodiversity. Despite high variability across the Park, below-ground diversity patterns were predictable based on soil characteristics, with prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities exhibiting overlapping biogeographic patterns. Further, Central Park soils harboured nearly as many distinct soil microbial phylotypes and types of soil communities as we found in biomes across the globe (including arctic, tropical and desert soils). This integrated cross-domain investigation highlights that the amount and patterning of novel and uncharacterized diversity at a single urban location matches that observed across natural ecosystems spanning multiple biomes and continents.     

Urban Scaling of Cities in the Netherlands

We investigated the socioeconomic scaling behavior of all cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands and found significant superlinear scaling of the gross urban product with population size. Of these cities, 22 major cities have urban agglomerations and urban areas defined by the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics. For these major cities we investigated the superlinear scaling for three separate modalities: the cities defined as municipalities, their urban agglomerations and their urban areas. We find superlinearity with power-law exponents of around 1.15. But remarkably, both types of agglomerations underperform if we compare for the same size of population an agglomeration with a city as a municipality. In other words, an urban system as one formal municipality performs better as compared to an urban agglomeration with the same population size. This effect is larger for the second type of agglomerations, the urban areas. We think this finding has important implications for urban policy, in particular municipal reorganizations. A residual analysis suggests that cities with a municipal reorganization recently and in the past decades have a higher probability to perform better than cities without municipal restructuring.     

Do protected areas in urban and rural landscapes differ in species diversity?

Previous studies from Central Europe and North America showed that species richness is higher in urban than in rural landscapes. Do protected areas, which can be found in both city and countryside, reflect this species richness pattern? The impact of urban land-use might reduce conservation success and necessitate special management strategies. We compared species richness and species spatial turnover of selected animal and plant taxa (carabids, butterflies, snails, birds, lichens, mosses, vascular plants) in 30 protected areas in the city of Halle and 56 protected areas in the adjacent rural district of Saalkreis (Central Germany). Species were mapped by experienced biologists within a systematic species inventory. We corrected species numbers for the effects of landscape structure (e.g. size, shape and distance of habitats) which might influence species diversity beyond urbanisation effects. Butterflies, birds and lichens had significantly higher species numbers in the rural protected areas. Species spatial turnover was higher among urban areas than among rural areas or pairs of urban and rural areas for most taxa. Diversity in all taxa depended on the size of a protected area. We discussed these patterns in the context of the general urban-rural species diversity patterns. Our results indicate an increasing isolation of species assemblages with urbanisation and highlight that space for protected areas is even more limited in urban than rural areas. An effective conservation of urban species diversity should include both typical urban and semi-natural habitats to cover the full range of species living in cities.     

GI引导下的采煤塌陷地生态恢复优先级评价

生态恢复优先级评价是恢复生态学研究的热点之一,而退化生态系统被恢复为何种类型是确定生态恢复优先级的前提和重点。以徐州市为研究区,将城市绿色基础设施(GI)作为塌陷地生态恢复的目标,在GIS技术支撑下,从塌陷斑块恢复为GI的适宜性及其对维持GI景观连接度的重要性两个方面,综合评价了采煤塌陷地生态恢复优先级。研究结果表明,徐州市超过半数的采煤塌陷斑块具有较高的GI生态适宜性,相对集中在5个片区;各塌陷斑块维持景观连接度的重要性分布不均匀,贾汪片区中部及北部塌陷斑块对维持景观连接度的作用非常显著;二者叠加后各塌陷斑块的综合适宜度具有明显差异,将其划分为5个生态恢复优先等级,较高优先等级分布于贾汪片区中部、董庄片区北部、庞庄西片区中部,建议将其纳入城市绿色基础设施予以优先恢复并立法保护。     

Global change and the distributional dynamics of migratory bird populations wintering in Central America

Understanding the susceptibility of highly mobile taxa such as migratory birds to global change requires information on geographic patterns of occurrence across the annual cycle. Neotropical migrants that breed in North America and winter in Central America occur in high concentrations on their non‐breeding grounds where they spend the majority of the year and where habitat loss has been associated with population declines. Here, we use eBird data to model weekly patterns of abundance and occurrence for 21 forest passerine species that winter in Central America. We estimate species’ distributional dynamics across the annual cycle, which we use to determine how species are currently associated with public protected areas and projected changes in climate and land‐use. The effects of global change on the non‐breeding grounds is characterized by decreasing precipitation, especially during the summer, and the conversion of forest to cropland, grassland, or peri‐urban. The effects of global change on the breeding grounds are characterized by increasing winter precipitation, higher temperatures, and the conversion of forest to peri‐urban. During spring and autumn migration, species are projected to encounter higher temperatures, forests that have been converted to peri‐urban, and increased precipitation during spring migration. Based on current distributional dynamics, susceptibility to global change is characterized by the loss of forested habitats on the non‐breeding grounds, warming temperatures during migration and on the breeding grounds, and declining summer rainfall on the non‐breeding grounds. Public protected areas with low and medium protection status are more prevalent on the non‐breeding grounds, suggesting that management opportunities currently exist to mitigate near‐term non‐breeding habitat losses. These efforts would affect more individuals of more species during a longer period of the annual cycle, which may create additional opportunities for species to respond to changes in habitat or phenology that are likely to develop under climate change.     

The Palaeoenvironmental Impact of Prehistoric Settlement and Proto-Historic Urbanism: Tracing the Emergence of the Oppidum of Corent,Auvergne, France

Early human societies and their interactions with the natural world have been extensively explored in palaeoenvironmental studies across Central and Western Europe. Yet, despite an extensive body of scholarship, there is little consideration of the environmental impacts of proto-historic urbanisation. Typically palaeoenvironmental studies of Bronze and Iron Age societies discuss human impact in terms of woodland clearance, landscape openness and evidence for agriculture. Although these features are clearly key indicators of human settlement, and characterise Neolithic and early to Middle Bronze Age impacts at Corent, they do not appear to represent defining features of a protohistoric urban environment. The Late Iron Age Gallic Oppidum of Corent is remarkable for the paucity of evidence for agriculture and strong representation of apophytes associated with disturbance. Increased floristic diversity – a phenomenon also observed in more recent urban environments – was also noted. The same, although somewhat more pronounced, patterns are noted for the Late Bronze Age and hint at the possibility of a nascent urban area. High percentages of pollen from non-native trees such as Platanus, Castanea and Juglans in the late Bronze Age and Gallic period also suggest trade and cultural exchange, notably with the Mediterranean world. Indeed, these findings question the validity of applying Castanea and Juglans as absolute chronological markers of Romanisation. These results clearly indicate the value of local-scale palaeoecological studies and their potential for tracing the phases in the emergence of a proto-historic urban environment.     

Biological affinities and adaptations of Bronze Age Bactrians: IV. A craniometric investigation of Bactrian origins

Discovery of a previously unknown Bronze Age civilization (Oxus civilization) centered on the oases of Central Asia revealed the presence of large, preplanned urban centers immediately above sterile soil. Given the absence of local antecedents, the sudden appearance and proliferation of these Oxus civilization urban centers in the oases of Bactria and Margiana immediately raised the issue of where the inhabitants of these urban centers came from. Three hypotheses have been offered by archaeologists to account for the origins of Oxus civilization populations. These include the early influence model, the late colonization model, and the trichotomy model. Eleven craniometric variables from 12 Aeneolithic and Bronze Age samples, encompassing 657 adults from Central Asia, Iran, and the Indus Valley, are compared to test which if any of these hypotheses are supported by the pattern of phenetic affinities possessed by the Oxus civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis. Craniometric differences between samples are compared with Mahalanobis generalized distance (d²), and patterns of phenetic affinity are assessed with two types of cluster analysis (WPGMA, neighbor-joining method), multidimensional scaling, and principal coordinates analysis. Results of this analysis provide no support for either the late colonization model or the trichotomy model but do offer some support for the early influence model. Nevertheless, it is clear that the early influence model fails to account for a shift in interregional contacts, perhaps from western China to the north around 2000 bc , that appears to have played a major role in the origins of the Oxus civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis. Am J Phys Anthropol 108:173–192, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Molecular epidemiology of rabies epizootics in Colombia, 1994-2002: evidence of human and canine rabies associated with chiroptera

Three urban rabies outbreaks have been reported in Colombia during the last two decades, one of which is ongoing in the Caribbean region (northern Colombia). The earlier outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in Arauca (eastern Colombia) and in the Central region, ending in 1997. Phylogenetic relationships among rabies viruses isolated from the three areas were based on a comparison of cDNA fragments coding for the endodomain of protein G and a fragment of L protein obtained by RT-PCR. The sequenced amplicons which included the G-L intergenic region contained 902 base pairs. Phylogenetic analysis showed three distinct groups of viruses. Colombian genetic variant I viruses were isolated only from Arauca and the Central region, but are now apparently extinct. Colombian genetic variant II viruses were isolated in the Caribbean region and are still being transmitted in that area. The third group of bat rabies variants were isolated from two insectivorous bats, three domestic dogs and a human. This associates bat rabies virus with rabies in Colombian dogs and humans, and indicates bats to be a rabies reservoir of public health significance.     

Fears,attitudes and opinions of suburban residents with regards to their urban foxes

Throughout Central Europe, foxes have taken over urban areas as their habitat. In Southern Germany, these foxes are also carriers of the small fox tapeworm, which causes a serious zoonotic infection in humans. Therefore, a survey was carried out in a suburb of the city of Munich. A postal questionnaire was used to analyse the attitudes, opinions and fears of these participants towards their urban foxes and the background to these attitudes. Questionnaires were sent to all households with gardens and collected in again via the community council. Seven hundred and seventy-nine or 31% of questionnaires were returned. Only a few people are afraid of the fox itself; however, 55% are afraid of the fox tapeworm. Worming the animals is the preferred counter-measure, with 81% in favour. The majority of inhabitants are pleased to see a fox in the community and feel the animals have a right to live. People are afraid of the tapeworm either because they have children in the household or because of increased knowledge of the subject or because it has increasingly become an issue. On the basis of the results of this study, it is to be expected that radical solutions such as killing the foxes are unlikely to be accepted among the population. Worming of the foxes does, however, meet with general approval.     

Acoustic communities in an environmental gradient from native to urban areas in Central Brazil

As urban areas expand due to increasing human populations, natural habitats are diminishing in quantity and quality. We conducted a study to examine the response of diurnal acoustic communities along a gradient of environments, ranging from native to dense urban areas. We hypothesized that acoustic indices would decline with urbanization, transitioning from natural and rural areas to urban environments. We conducted the research in and around Brasília, Central Brazil. We deployed 24 digital recorders in native, rural, low-density and high-density urban areas. We employed five commonly used acoustic indices (ADI, ACI, NDSI, H and BI) to characterize the acoustic communities and represent the existing biodiversity numerically. We initially compared the index values across different land use types using a non-parametric rank sum test. Subsequently, we selected eight landscape metrics and performed a principal component analysis to summarize the surrounding matrix at each sampling point. We then employed generalized linear models to determine if the acoustic indices exhibited the anticipated variations. The results indicated significant variations in all indices among the different land use types, indicating their responsiveness to distinct acoustic communities and environmental characteristics. ADI, H and NDSI exhibited declining values from native to urban areas, while ACI and BI displayed the opposite trend. These findings underscore the influence of landscape structure on acoustic indices. Consequently, we concluded that adopting appropriate landscape planning, mainly through integrating natural and urban areas, could help preserve biodiversity in tropical urban regions.     

Comparative Limnology of Several Reservoirs in Central India

Twenty four reservoirs in Central India were investigated for their physical, chemical and biological features. These reservoirs differed significantly in their size, physical features, chemical composition and vegetation. Three medium and major reservoirs recorded comparatively low electrical conductivity. All the eighteen minor reservoirs showed high conductivity and low transparency since they were all situated in densely populated urban areas polluted by human faeces and domestic sewage. The most abundant ions in water are calcium, carbonate and chloride. The phytoplankton was found to be dominated by Cyanophyceae. Rotifers dominated among zooplankton. All the minor reservoirs are highly eutrophicated. Among the major reservoirs Tawa Reservoir is oligotrophic while others are mesotrophic to eutrophic in nature.     

Urban plant ecology patterns and processes: a case study of the flora of the City of Plymouth, Devon, U. K.

Aim Using a large database that has been created over the past 5 years with the RECORDER package, presence/absence data for 829 species of vascular plants in the 103 1-km² squares that cover the city of Plymouth (pop. 243,373) have been analysed by two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN ) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to establish the major species assemblages and to examine their spatial distribution across the city in relation to variation in land use. Location The City of Plymouth. Methods Nine groupings of squares emerged and their distribution was mapped across the city. Interpretation of those groups and their variation in relation to the land use ordination axes showed that TWINSPAN groups lying along the first axis of variation correlated floristic variation with the process of urban development and the historical evolution of urban structure. The second axis appeared to be related to particular remnant semi-natural habitats within the city that could be regarded as ‘hot-spots’ for survival of many plant species. Species were categorized into four types on the basis of their recency and mode of arrival in the city and by using the historical flora of Plymouth produced by T. R. Archer-Briggs in 1880. Variations in the sources of species in relation to the TWINSPAN classification groups were then examined. A second ordination was also computed; this time with geological, altitudinal and distance variables. TWINSPAN groups were then superimposed on the ordinations using polygons to assist with biogeographical interpretation. Results and conclusions The results of both the multivariate analyses and distribution of species by source are then discussed in the context of previous research into urban plant ecology, particularly in Central Europe. The problems of inferring process from pattern in this meso-scale study are reviewed and suggestions are made for further research into urban ecology and biogeography in the city.     

中原城市群“三生”空间模拟及生态效应评估——基于未来土地利用模拟模型和共享社会经济路径情景

黄河流域高质量发展背景下,加强该流域典型城市群"三生"空间(PLES)时空演变和生态效应具有重要现实意义。以中原城市群为例,基于2010年、2015年和2020年的土地利用数据,耦合未来土地利用变化情景模拟模型(FLUS)、共享社会经济路径(SSPs)和生态环境效应模型,分析了2025-2100年五种SSPs情景下中原城市群"三生"空间的时空演变特征,以及2035年不同情景下的生态环境效应。结果表明:(1)从2025年到2100年,除SSP4情景外,其余4种情景均表现为生产空间面积持续缩减、生活空间面积明显扩张、生态空间面积略有起伏总体缩减。(2) 5种SSPs情景下,"三生"空间的空间分布格局相对一致。城镇生活用地较为聚集呈片状分布,农村生活用地呈点状零散分布。农业生产用地较大,分布均匀。林地和牧草生态用地主要分布在西部和南部,水域生态用地呈东西向带状分布在中原城市群中北部。(3)2035年,研究区生态环境质量空间分布不均衡,呈现"西南高-中部低"特征。中间发展情景(SSP2),生态环境质量略高于其他情景。研究结果对中原城市群的国土空间规划和生态文明建设具有一定的理论和实践价值。     

Alveolar echinococcosis in humans: the current situation in Central Europe and the need for countermeasures.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in humans is caused by a larval stage (metacestode) of Echinococcus multilocularis, which exhibits a tumor-like growth, initially in the liver, with the potential to induce serious disease. At the end of the 1980s, E. multilocularis was known to occur in four countries of Central Europe, but has now been identified in ten countries. Red foxes are the principal definitive hosts of E. multilocularis and sources of human infection, but dogs and cats can also be infected. Growing populations of foxes and their increasing immigration to urban areas are new risk factors. Human AE is rare but its potential high fatality rate, considerable costs of treatment and the persisting infection risk should be reasons for health authorities in European countries to establish coordinated systems of surveillance and risk assessment in combination with measures to reduce morbidity and mortality of AE in the human population. Here, J. Eckert and P. Deplazes outline the current epidemiological situation in Central Europe, and discuss options for surveillance, prevention and control.     

Diversity and Biotic Homogenization of Urban Land-Snail Faunas in Relation to Habitat Types and Macroclimate in 32 Central European Cities

The effects of non-native species invasions on community diversity and biotic homogenization have been described for various taxa in urban environments, but not for land snails. Here we relate the diversity of native and non-native land-snail urban faunas to urban habitat types and macroclimate, and analyse homogenization effects of non-native species across cities and within the main urban habitat types. Land-snail species were recorded in seven 1-ha plots in 32 cities of ten countries of Central Europe and Benelux (224 plots in total). Each plot represented one urban habitat type characterized by different management and a specific disturbance regime. For each plot, we obtained January, July and mean annual temperature and annual precipitation. Snail species were classified into either native or non-native. The effects of habitat type and macroclimate on the number of native and non-native species were analysed using generalized estimating equations; the homogenization effect of non-native species based on the Jaccard similarity index and homogenization index. We recorded 67 native and 20 non-native species. Besides being more numerous, native species also had much higher beta diversity than non-natives. There were significant differences between the studied habitat types in the numbers of native and non-native species, both of which decreased from less to heavily urbanized habitats. Macroclimate was more important for the number of non-native than native species; however in both cases the effect of climate on diversity was overridden by the effect of urban habitat type. This is the first study on urban land snails documenting that non-native land-snail species significantly contribute to homogenization among whole cities, but both the homogenization and diversification effects occur when individual habitat types are compared among cities. This indicates that the spread of non-native snail species may cause biotic homogenization, but it depends on scale and habitat type.     

Population genetic structure of the European kestrel Falco tinnunculus in Central Poland

We analysed the genetic structure of the European kestrel population of Central Poland using nine highly polymorphic microsatellite loci. Samples were collected in two urban locations (Warsaw and ?ód?) and two rural areas. Sampling locations were at nearly equal distances from each other along an east to west line. We performed genotyping in a total of 99 birds. The results revealed the presence of a genetic structure in the population investigated. Bayesian clustering indicated that samples originated from more than one population. Genetic differentiation was less pronounced among the birds nesting in Warsaw and in the two rural sites, whereas all pairwise comparisons with the ?ód? population indicated moderate and significant genetic differentiation. The observed pattern of differentiation might have been caused by two factors: changes in allele frequency between seasons and/or the founding of the urban population of ?ód? from a different source population than the urban population from Warsaw. Additionally, we found a rather high gene flow among kestrels from the Warsaw urban area and the two investigated rural areas.     

Toward a Locational Definition of State Systems of Settlement

Recent information indicates that urbanism is only one of several options providing the means to consolidate, concentrate, and organize the coercive power necessary for state formation. Central Place Theory (CPT) is a model of urban settlement frequently chosen to approach the broader problem of state formation, but its universal applicability is in doubt. In this paper, spatial and functional definitions of urbanism and other concepts (functional center, functional lattice) related to state systems of settlement are derived using locational analytic approaches other than CPT, and their implications are discussed. A typology of state-level settlements is introduced. Advantages of a locational approach to the investigation of settlement systems are suggested.