Spatial Multiobjective Optimization of Agricultural Conservation Practices using a SWAT Model and an Evolutionary Algorithm

Finding the cost-efficient (i.e., lowest-cost) ways of targeting conservation practice investments for the achievement of specific water quality goals across the landscape is of primary importance in watershed management. Traditional economics methods of finding the lowest-cost solution in the watershed context (e.g.,^5,12,20) assume that off-site impacts can be accurately described as a proportion of on-site pollution generated. Such approaches are unlikely to be representative of the actual pollution process in a watershed, where the impacts of polluting sources are often determined by complex biophysical processes. The use of modern physically-based, spatially distributed hydrologic simulation models allows for a greater degree of realism in terms of process representation but requires a development of a simulation-optimization framework where the model becomes an integral part of optimization.Evolutionary algorithms appear to be a particularly useful optimization tool, able to deal with the combinatorial nature of a watershed simulation-optimization problem and allowing the use of the full water quality model. Evolutionary algorithms treat a particular spatial allocation of conservation practices in a watershed as a candidate solution and utilize sets (populations) of candidate solutions iteratively applying stochastic operators of selection, recombination, and mutation to find improvements with respect to the optimization objectives. The optimization objectives in this case are to minimize nonpoint-source pollution in the watershed, simultaneously minimizing the cost of conservation practices. A recent and expanding set of research is attempting to use similar methods and integrates water quality models with broadly defined evolutionary optimization methods^{3,4,9,10,13-15,17-19,22,23,25}. In this application, we demonstrate a program which follows Rabotyagov et al.''s approach and integrates a modern and commonly used SWAT water quality model⁷ with a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm SPEA2²⁶, and user-specified set of conservation practices and their costs to search for the complete tradeoff frontiers between costs of conservation practices and user-specified water quality objectives. The frontiers quantify the tradeoffs faced by the watershed managers by presenting the full range of costs associated with various water quality improvement goals. The program allows for a selection of watershed configurations achieving specified water quality improvement goals and a production of maps of optimized placement of conservation practices.     

Using Ecological Risk Assessment Principles in a Source Water Protection Assessment

It has become increasingly common to apply ecological risk assessment (ERA) principles to watershed and regional scale environmental management. This article describes the application of watershed ERA principles to the development of a source water protection assessment and a strategic watershed management plan. The primary focus was on the protection of drinking water quality, a concern typically addressed by human health risk assessors. The approach emphasizes adaptations to the problem formulation phase of ERA (defining assessment endpoints, developing conceptual models and an analysis plan) suitable for watershed management planning in a multi-objective, multi-stressor context. Physical, chemical, and biological attributes were selected for primary drinking water quality assessment endpoints, and coupled with additional assessment endpoints relevant to other environmental and social management objectives. Conceptual models helped the planning team to better understand and communicate the multiple natural and human stressors in the watershed and the causal pathways by which they affected drinking water. The article provides an example of the types of adaptations that can make ERA principles suitable for watershed management related to human health goals, and illustrates the efficiency of integrating health and ecological assessments.     

流域水质管理系统构建的理论、方法和实践

随着工农业的发展及乡村都市化 ,淡水资源的短缺成为全球性的问题。淡水资源的短缺 ,一方面是对淡水需求量增加 ,供不应求。另一方面是水体水质恶化 ,水资源退化。保护淡水资源是一项持久性的艰巨任务 ,其中水资源管理工具评价预测各种管理措施对水资源的影响 ,是必不可缺少的。工业和生活废水对水体的点源污染问题 ,早在2 0世纪 2 0年代就被意识到 ,并开展了一些水资源的保护和管理研究工作。自 192 5第一个水质数学模型Ｓｔｒｅｅｔｅｒ Ｐｈｅｌｐｓ[1] 用于模拟水环境中ＢＯＤ和ＤＯ的动态变化研究以来 ,出现了许多水质模型并用于河流、…     

基于模型的农业非点源污染最佳管理措施效率评估研究进展

随着点源污染的逐步控制,农业非点源污染已成为世界范围内关注的热点,由于其特有的时空异质性特点导致对其进行有效控制较为困难,最佳管理措施(BMPs,Best Management Practices)是实现流域农业非点源污染控制的有效手段,对拟实施的BMPs效率进行评估是实施流域非点源污染BMPs配置的前提。通过模型模拟的方法可对拟采用的不同措施的削减效率及经济成本进行评估以获取最具成本-效益的BMPs空间配置方案,为措施有效选择提供依据。通过对多种模型在工程型和管理型BMPs评估方面的研究进行论述表明,通常概念化模型多用于对污染源控制类措施进行评估,而机制类模型则可用于对不同时空尺度下的过程控制类BMPs进行评估;措施效率发挥的时间滞后性及模型模拟不确定性是模型模拟过程中需要重点考虑的问题,可通过增加野外监测点数量、监测频率、优化监测点位置并选择合适的评估指标以降低模型评估BMPs过程中滞后效应的影响;此外BMPs实施时间与空间位置的不匹配、时空尺度异质性、污染物形态及生态系统服务功能转换风险均需在BMPs评估过程中加以考虑。模型模拟是BMPs效率评估(包括非点源污染关键源区的时空识别)、污染物迁移转化以及成本效益分析的有效工具,同时对于流域非点源污染管理控制及BMPs实施利益相关者有效参与问题的分析也具有重要意义。     

Ecological risk assessment of urban stormwater ponds: Literature review and proposal of a new conceptual approach providing ecological quality goals and the associated bioassessment tools

Stormwater ponds are a common feature of the urban landscape in many countries with advanced stormwater management. Built to control the impacts of urbanization in the form of increased runoff flows, volumes and pollution loads, stormwater ponds are exposed to strong anthropogenic pressures. Meanwhile, as open water systems, they represent new aquatic habitats potentially enhancing the biodiversity of urban areas and balancing the transformation of original ecosystems existing prior to urbanization. In the current context of sustainable development, assessing the ecological risks of stormwater ponds serving as aquatic habitats is therefore crucial for ensuring both the preservation and rehabilitation of biodiversity in urban areas. During the last decade, ecological risk assessments applied to stormwater ponds lacked adoption of integrated interdisciplinary approaches. This prevented advances in developing adaptive methodologies for assessing the ecological quality of stormwater ponds and for providing quality objectives for the management of these facilities. Also, the application of established integrated assessment methodologies, such as the Sediment Quality Triad widely used in North America, based on comparisons with reference sites, is challenged by the man-made features of urban stormwater ponds. The search for a more specific and effective methodology led to the proposal of supplementing the Sediment Quality Triad with the Oligochaete methodology, which was developed and standardized in France for determining the biological status of sediments in stagnant water ecosystems. The benefits of this approach are discussed in a conceptual framework providing ecological quality goals for urban stormwater ponds.     

两类水质综合评价方法的特点及其在河流水环境管理中的作用

河流水质恶化已成为严峻的环境问题,针对河流开展水质综合评价对河流水环境管理具有重要意义。依据不同的评价目标,选择合理的综合评价的评估标准成为河流水质评价中重要的问题之一。通过基于期望值和阈值的水质健康综合评估法(ETI)和水质质量指数(WQI)两种水质综合评价方法对"引滦入津"工程重要水源地伊逊河水质进行评价,结果显示:1)伊逊河水质ETI评估结果为良好等级,WQI评估结果为一般等级;2)伊逊河采样点水质在ETI评价中分布于4个等级,WQI仅分布于2个等级;3)伊逊河自上游至下游水质显著降低,特别是ETI评估中由优秀等级转变为差等级;4)ETI和WQI评估结果显示极显著相关性(R=0.951,P0.01);5)通过逐步多元回归,ETI评估结果的主导因子是DO、EC、SS、BOD_5和TP(P0.05),WQI评估结果的主导因子是DO、SS、BOD_5、TP、TN和NH_3-N(P0.05)。进一步分析表明伊逊河水质恶化与其流域内土地利用情况密切相关。在河流水环境管理中,ETI作为一种水质相对值评估方法,能更好体现流域内水质差异的区分度,便于管理者迅速定位流域内亟需治理的河流或河段,同时能够根据河流自身特征制定管理目标,可作为河流管理绩效评估的有效手段;而WQI作为一种水质绝对值评估方法,更适用于河流水质时间变化评估,对河流经长期治理后的管理效果评价起到重要作用。     

Integrated management of land and water resources based on a collective approach to fragmented international conventions

Interlinked crises of land degradation, food security, ecosystem decline, water quality and water flow depletion stand in the way of poverty reduction and sustainable development. These crises are made worse by increased fluctuations in climatic regimes. Single-purpose international conventions address these crises in a piecemeal, sectoral fashion and may not meet their objectives without greater attention to policy, legal, and institutional reforms related to: (i) balancing competing uses of land and water resources within hydrologic units; (ii) adopting integrated approaches to management; and (iii) establishing effective governance institutions for adaptive management within transboundary basins. This paper describes this global challenge and argues that peace, stability and security are all at stake when integrated approaches are not used. The paper presents encouraging results from a decade of transboundary water projects supported by the Global Environment Facility in developing countries that test practical applications of processes for facilitating reforms related to land and water that are underpinned by science-based approaches. Case studies of using these participative processes are described that collectively assist in the transition to integrated management. A new imperative for incorporating interlinkages among food, water, and environment security at the basin level is identified.     

An appraisal of a biocontamination assessment method for freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages; a practical way to measure a significant biological pressure?

Freshwater invasive or alien species (IAS) can have a major impact on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage structure and diversity. This has implications for accurate biological monitoring, the assessment of the ecological quality status of rivers and achievement of Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives. Although IAS constitutes a major biological pressure to WFD objectives, current approaches to ecological status assessment tend to ignore their presence. This problem is compounded as biotic indices such as the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) score do not distinguish between native and IAS, when IAS tend to be more tolerant of organic pollution than the natives they replace. Biocontamination is the presence of an IAS in a system, and we tested a new method of biocontamination assessment, designed to be used alongside current routine water quality monitoring techniques, by applying it to biological monitoring data from the river monitoring programme of a small Island, The Isle of Man. Although 54% of monitoring sites exhibited no biocontamination, 19% showed low or moderate biocontamination and 27% high or severe biocontamination. Richness contamination was low (only two contaminated families being recorded), but abundance contamination was high in some sites (87% of individuals being IAS). Sites with a greater relative abundance of IAS individuals exhibited lower BMWP water quality. Within invaded sites BMWP monitoring was not responsive to changing chemical water quality, whereas within uninvaded sites it was. In invaded sites, the relative abundance of IAS increased as ammonia and BOD₅ increased. Our study shows current monitoring approaches mask the presence of AIS within assemblages, with some highly biocontaminated sites registering high BMWP biological quality. This new index represents a simple way to integrate the IAS biological pressure into established WFD monitoring programmes, to produce more comprehensive estimates of ecological quality status than are currently being realised.     

Management and rehabilitation of peatlands: The role of water chemistry,hydrology, policy,and emerging monitoring methods to ensure informed decision making

As the world's most abundant source of terrestrial carbon, peatlands provide numerous ecosystem services, including habitat biodiversity and freshwater quality. Land and water management practices in relation to peatlands, for either exploitation or rehabilitation, are complicated by several factors: spatial diversity in geochemistry; laborious survey methods that may be subject to confounding factors; regional and irregular climate variations; a lack of generalizability regarding appropriate strategies; and, in some countries, by non-implementation of water quality assessment policies for pollution control and land use. Such factors raise uncertainty in the effectiveness of restoration and rehabilitation strategies, while modern peatland management looks to develop land use schemes that offer minimal risk to the environment. The aims of this paper were to (1) investigate the disparate factors influencing peatland management which confound appropriate interventions for enhanced water quality (2) examine how non-implementation of national policies for water pollution control may result in adverse environmental impacts, and (3) propose an innovative peatland management methodology for a detailed and robust land analysis with water quality being the primary consideration. The paper suggests that optical, radar, and radiometric remote sensing methods may be used to identify management zones within a peatland, that may require variable management strategies during restoration. Satellite remote sensing and Earth observation methodologies are well documented; hence, the prospect and properties of a less documented airborne electromagnetic approach may present an opportunity for improved management of peatlands.     

基于城镇排污视角的水功能区纳污能力模型及其应用

水功能区纳污能力是区域水功能区限制纳污和责任考核管理的重要依据.为了适应目前以县为主体的水功能区水环境管理方式,本研究从水功能区城镇污染物允许排放量的视角研究水功能区纳污能力,建立水功能区城镇排污模型,并应用于泾河入渭段主要城镇礼泉县和泾阳县.结果表明: 礼泉县和泾阳县月允许排污量与河道流量密切相关,丰水期允许排污量高于枯水期.泾河礼泉段当年11月至来年3月水体COD浓度劣于该水功能区水质目标,应削减该时间段礼泉县排污口排污量.排污口排污流量的取值会影响河道水功能区纳污能力的计算结果,城镇排污模型利用相对稳定的排污口排污浓度计算排污口允许排污流量,得到的水功能区纳污能力更为合理.研究结果可为严格的水资源管理提供科学依据.     

Trade-off Modeling for Product and Manufacturing Process Design for the Environment

This article presents a method for integrating pollution prevention and concurrent engineering (simultaneous design of products and the manufacturing processes used to produce them). The central issue is unavoidable trade-offs, such as those among pollution, manufacturing cost, and quality. The probabilistic nature of the manufacturing process is exploited as an opportunity for pollution preventi0n.A decision tool in the form of a mathematical model is presented, which can be used by engineers and others with whom these trade-offs must be negotiated, Specifically, the method integrates statistical manufacturing process control into a mubobjective design optimization formulation. First, the framework of a multiattribute utilty function is developed to determine which objectives are both relevant and negotiable. Then, a statistical manufacturing process control experiment is conducted to formulate some of the constraints that prevent all objectives from being maximized. Simultaneously, information obtained from the experiment is also used to fine-tune the upper and lower bounds in the utility functions. The results of an industrial case study of a floor tile manufacturer are presented, from the manufacturer's viewpoint. The material choice and manufacturing process settings that result in the best combination of the conflicting objectives of product quality (measured in terms of scrap rate), air pollution, and manufacturing cost are determined. The analysis also reveals the irony that for this manufacturer; efforts to reduce solid waste through greater use of scrap materials increase air pollution levels     

农业面源氮污染控制措施滞后效应形成机理与评估方法研究进展

推广实施最佳管理措施(BMPs)被认为是防治农业面源污染的有效途径,然而许多流域实施BMPs后通常难以在预测的时间内实现水质改善目标,导致人们对BMPs的有效性提出质疑。受流域内养分遗留效应影响,BMPs实施后的环境质量改善效益可能不会立刻显现(也即“滞后期”),这是由于过去人为活动输入的过量营养物质在流域水文传输和生物地球化学转化过程中的积累所致,当来自外部的污染负荷减少时,这部分营养物质的汇集和释放可能掩盖治理措施对于水质改善的影响。鉴于遗留的营养物质在延迟水质改善方面的关键作用,滞后期的量化评估对于全面分析污染成因,科学配置BMPs,有效治理流域农业面源污染,提升水质改善效率非常重要。以农业面源氮控制措施的滞后效应形成机理和评估方法为主线,概述了流域尺度氮累积和滞后效应产生的主要机理,述评了氮污染滞后效应的量化评估方法,提出目前大多数流域模型尚不能很好的表述滞后效应以及缺乏解决水文和生物地球化学遗留效应的能力,并对未来BMPs优化配置研究提出建议：(1)摸清流域水文传输过程和生物地球化学转化过程对BMPs控氮效益滞后期的影响,分析污染负荷削减的时空响应规律;(2)构建包含土壤、浅...     

珠海竹银水库入库污染现状评估及水环境容量分析

以珠海竹银水库为对象,针对水库面临的入库污染问题,分析入库主要的污染物类型与污染负荷总量,全面评估水库的污染现状,并对水库水环境容量状况进行评价.研究结果表明,入库河流的主要问题是氮、磷浓度较高,但其它污染物的浓度不高.每种污染物的水环境容量值都很大,其中氯化物的容量最大,重金属的容量较小,表明水库蓄水初期水质较好,纳污能力较强.这些结果为今后竹银水库的污染控制与水质管理,为实现安全供水目标提供基础数据.     

Effects of Land Use,Topography and Socio-Economic Factors on River Water Quality in a Mountainous Watershed with Intensive Agricultural Production in East China

Understanding the primary effects of anthropogenic activities and natural factors on river water quality is important in the study and efficient management of water resources. In this study, analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Principal component analysis (PCA), Pearson correlations, Multiple regression analysis (MRA) and Redundancy analysis (RDA) were applied as an integrated approach in a GIS environment to explore the temporal and spatial variations in river water quality and to estimate the influence of watershed land use, topography and socio-economic factors on river water quality based on 3 years of water quality monitoring data for the Cao-E River system. The statistical analysis revealed that TN, pH and temperature were generally higher in the rainy season, whereas BOD₅, DO and turbidity were higher in the dry season. Spatial variations in river water quality were related to numerous anthropogenic and natural factors. Urban land use was found to be the most important explanatory variable for BOD₅, COD_Mn, TN, DN, NH₄ ⁺-N, NO₃ ⁻-N, DO, pH and TP. The animal husbandry output per capita was an important predictor of TP and turbidity, and the gross domestic product per capita largely determined spatial variations in EC. The remaining unexplained variance was related to other factors, such as topography. Our results suggested that pollution control of animal waste discharge in rural settlements, agricultural runoff in cropland, industrial production pollution and domestic pollution in urban and industrial areas were important within the Cao-E River basin. Moreover, the percentage of the total overall river water quality variance explained by an individual variable and/or all environmental variables (according to RDA) can assist in quantitatively identifying the primary factors that control pollution at the watershed scale.     

面源污染最佳管理措施多目标协同优化配置研究进展

随着点源污染逐渐得到有效控制,面源污染逐渐成为我国多数地区影响水环境质量安全的主要因素。推广实施最佳管理措施(Best Management Practices, BMPs)被认为是控制面源污染的有效途径。受到区域种植制度、耕作方式、政策以及经济成本等因素的影响,导致流域尺度配置BMPs存在一定的困难,特别是随着流域空间尺度的变化,会进一步加大BMPs配置难度,使得BMPs的配置工作变为了一项多目标决策优化问题,即如何在有限的成本投入下,实现水环境质量改善的目标。需要在不同空间尺度下对流域BMPs进行多目标协同优化配置。从面源污染关键源区识别、BMPs削减效率评估以及BMPs多目标协同优化模拟3个方面对面源污染BMPs多目标协同优化配置研究进行了综述。结果表明:1)包含地块尺度和流域尺度的多尺度模型耦合系统的构建,将是实现关键源区精准识别的有效途径;2)BMPs削减效率对水质改善响应的滞后性、不确定性、时空异质性、污染物形态转换风险等均是今后BMPs削减效率评估中需要重点解决的关键问题;3)建立流域污染物负荷削减量与水质改善之间的非线性响应关系,并以此为基础将BMPs组合数据库、成本数据库以及基于进化算法的的优化配置方案进行耦合,进而构建多目标决策支持系统,以获取BMPs空间优化配置方案以及多目标成本-效益最优曲线。     

Northern pike (Esox lucius L.) and aquatic vegetation,tools in the management of fisheries and water quality in shallow waters

Species and size composition of fish communities in shallow stagnant waters appear to be associated with the type, abundance and pattern of the vegetation. Man-induced impacts as eutrophication, and suppression of vegetation for reasons of water quantity management or angling pleasure may induce irreversible changes in the aquatic ecosystem. Water quality management should aim at restoring former pike habitat. Submerged weeds are important to that effect. These habitats are characterized by relatively low densities of fish stocks. Stocking of bream and carp interferes strongly with these objectives. With respect to fish stocks, interests of water quality and fishery management may be opposed.     

Design and performance of a filtration-adsorption pool train and drawing water system for small urban recreational water pollution control

A filtration-adsorption pool train (FAPT) and drawing water (DW) system was developed to control the small urban recreational water pollution at a senior hotel in Shanghai, China. The results from one year of operation indicated that the system had successfully achieved the water quality objectives: compared with the water quality before the treatment system worked, the average concentrations of SS, COD_Mn, BOD₅, NH₃-N, TP and Chla were reduced by 79%, 39.5%, 45%, 36%, 44.3% and 70%, respectively, and DO and transparency were improved by 27% and 134%, respectively. The customers enjoyed a recreational, aesthetic and educational amenity along the ring pond. Therefore, it was conducted that the FAPT-DW system was an effective measure for small recreational waters, especially in urban areas with limited land resources.     

试论大渤海地区污染之区域整治

分析了大渤海地区污染现状和主要污染问题．应用系统动力学仿真模型,预测了地区经济发展对未来环境影响．以生态学和区域科学的基本观点,提出了该地区污染之区域整治的基本对策．１）治理目标的整体性．经济发展要充分考虑地区自然资源长期供给能力,污染治理要与经济支持能力相适应．２）因地制宜分区治理．根据不同地区的功能,实行分类管理和治理．３）建立资源、经济、环境协调发展体系,调整工业结构,将资源利用贯穿于开发、利用、加工及产品转化的全过程,对严重缺水、污染比较严重的三大城市群严格控制大耗水、耗能工业的发展,将新建的耗水、耗能工业尽可能安排在滨海地区．４）对主要污染流域、海域和城市群实行重点区域治理．     

Impacts of species-led conservation on ecosystem services of wetlands: understanding co-benefits and tradeoffs

Biodiversity conservation organisations have recently begun to consider a wider ecosystem services context for their activities. While the literature suggests the potential of ‘win–win’ situations where biodiversity conservation and the delivery of ecosystem services overlap, empirical evidence is wanting. Here we explore the role that species-led management for the benefit of biodiversity in cultural landscapes can play in the delivery of wider ecosystem services. We use UK lowland wetlands as a case study and show how successful delivery of species-led conservation through management interventions relies on practices that can affect greenhouse gas fluxes, water quality and regulation, and cultural benefits. In these wetlands, livestock grazing has potentially large effects on water and greenhouse gas related services, but there is little scope to alter management without compromising species objectives. Likewise, there is little potential to alter reedbed management without compromising conservation objectives. There is some potential to alter woodland and scrub management, but this would likely have limited influence due to the relatively small area over which such management is practiced. The management of water levels potentially has large effects on provision of several services and there does appear to be some scope to align this objective with biodiversity objectives. A comprehensive understanding of the net costs and benefits to society of these interventions will require fine-grained research integrating ecological, economic and social science research. However, a less analytic understanding of the potential costs and benefits can highlight ways by which land management principally to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives might be modified to enhance delivery of other ecosystem services.