Transferability of Material Composition Indicators for Residential Buildings: A Conceptual Approach Based on a German‐Japanese Comparison

Most anthropogenic material stocks and flows are associated with the building sector. Several recent studies have developed material composition indicators (MCIs) suitable for calculating material stocks and flows of the building sector using bottom‐up approaches, which hold great potential to provide information to support resource efficiency policies. A major limitation is the lack of country‐specific MCIs. This study aims to introduce a concept for a better transferability of MCI across different contexts by proposing requirements for defining MCIs and to discuss options and limits of the transferability. We take existing MCIs for residential buildings in Germany and Japan as case studies and make them comparable by applying harmonization methods. Based on that, similarities and differences are systematically identified and discussed, considering their socioeconomic, cultural, technical, and environmental factors. Our results indicate significant limitations to the transferability of MCIs for detached houses, while bigger apartment complexes show greater homogeneity despite the very different environments in which they are constructed. This indicates that while it is possible to assume foreign MCIs as plausible for large constructions, local coefficients need to be estimated for smaller single‐family homes.     

Contrasting responses of plants and pollinators to woodland disturbance

Preserving species diversity is critical to ensure ecosystem functioning; however, different components of diversity might respond to human disturbance in different ways. Similarly, trophic levels might have uncoupled responses to the same disturbance, thus ameliorating or aggravating the persistence of ecological communities. In this study, we analysed how the density, richness and evenness of flowers and pollinators respond to four levels of woodland thinning intensity (0, 30, 50 and 70% of woodland basal area removed) over 2 years in three contrasting sites. We found a mismatch in the response of flowers and pollinators to thinning. Flower density and richness had disparate responses, depending on the site and year, while evenness did not change with thinning. In contrast, pollinator density and richness, but not evenness, consistently increased with thinning among years and sites. These results suggest that thinning has a great influence on pollinators through changes in abiotic conditions and, perhaps, flower attractiveness rather than through small‐scale changes in flower density and richness. At the site where tree flowers were absent, bee pollinator community composition was impoverished, suggesting that trees provide important floral resources to pollinators. Our findings indicate that disturbance may diminish local plant abundance and richness, but pollinator abundance and richness are enhanced after intense thinning at small scales.     

农业化学投入强度替代效率及其影响因素

采用SE-DEA和空间基尼系数,研究了2000—2016年我国农业化学投入强度替代效率,并运用Tobit模型分析了我国及各地区替代效率的驱动因素.结果表明: 我国农业化学投入强度替代的综合效率和规模效率呈现出“N”字型趋势,纯技术效率则波动上升,替代效率的地区差异明显,东部地区更倚重替代要素的投入规模;各年份全国省域差异最高的是综合效率,其次为纯技术效率,规模效率的区域差异性最小,地区内部省域差异逐渐减小,东部地区省域差异最大;农业化学投入替代效率受农业技术水平、农户收入水平、农业生产结构、农业发展程度和工业化水平的显著影响,各地区受各因素影响差异明显.推动农业化学投入替代效率,要从提高农业化学投入强度替代要素的投入效率、调整农用工业发展结构、关注农民收入水平和修订农业化学投入强度替代的补贴政策等方面入手.     

Drought may be beneficial to the competitive advantage of Amaranthus spinosus

干旱利于刺苋的竞争优势 干旱可以影响入侵植物的生长和土壤酶活性。因此,非常有必要评估干旱背景下入侵植物的竞争优势以及入侵植物和干旱对土壤酶活性的影响。本研究旨在分析干旱背景下起源于热带美洲的入侵植物刺苋(Amaranthus spinosus)与本地植物苋菜(Amaranthus tricolor)共存时的竞争优势和土壤酶活性。通过栽植实验进行刺苋与苋菜的竞争共栽培,并进行不同水平的干旱处理,即：(i)对照;(ii)轻度干旱;(iii)重度干旱。实验结束后测定两种苋属植物的功能性状、渗透调节、抗氧化酶活性以及土壤pH、电导率、土壤微生物生物量碳含量和土壤酶活性。干旱背景下,刺苋的相对竞争强度和相对优势度均高于苋菜。因此,干旱利于刺苋的竞争优势。干旱背景下,刺苋的土壤水溶性盐含量和蔗糖水解能力均大于苋菜。而较高的土壤水溶性盐含量和蔗糖水解能力利于刺苋对养分的获取和利用。     

Land use intensification increasingly drives the spatiotemporal patterns of the global human appropriation of net primary production in the last century

Land use has greatly transformed Earth's surface. While spatial reconstructions of how the extent of land cover and land-use types have changed during the last century are available, much less information exists about changes in land-use intensity. In particular, global reconstructions that consistently cover land-use intensity across land-use types and ecosystems are missing. We, therefore, lack understanding of how changes in land-use intensity interfere with the natural processes in land systems. To address this research gap, we map land-cover and land-use intensity changes between 1910 and 2010 for 9 points in time. We rely on the indicator framework of human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) to quantify and map land-use-induced alterations of the carbon flows in ecosystems. We find that, while at the global aggregate level HANPP growth slowed down during the century, the spatial dynamics of changes in HANPP were increasing, with the highest change rates observed in the most recent past. Across all biomes, the importance of changes in land-use areas has declined, with the exception of the tropical biomes. In contrast, increases in land-use intensity became the most important driver of HANPP across all biomes and settings. We conducted uncertainty analyses by modulating input data and assumptions, which indicate that the spatial patterns of land use and potential net primary production are the most critical factors, while spatial allocation rules and uncertainties in overall harvest values play a smaller role. Highlighting the increasing role of land-use intensity compared to changes in the areal extent of land uses, our study supports calls for better integration of the intensity dimension into global analyses and models. On top of that, we provide important empirical input for further analyses of the sustainability of the global land system.     

阔叶红松林不同林层和生长阶段树木生长对采伐强度的响应

采伐是调整林分结构的重要手段。不同林层的树木对采伐强度有着不同的响应方式。但以往考察采伐对树木生长的影响时多采用定性或简单定量的方法(如按树高等距)划分森林的垂直层次, 这就忽略了同一林层内不同树种间和不同发育阶段树木生长的差异。该研究在吉林蛟河天然阔叶红松(Pinus koraiensis)林内建立轻度(胸高断面积采伐强度17.3%)、中度(34.7%)、重度(51.9%)采伐以及对照(不采伐)样地, 跟踪调查采伐后自然恢复2、4、7年保留木的生长动态。根据不同树种每一个体所处的林层位置和生长发育阶段, 将保留木划分为3个组别: 林冠层树种的成熟个体(I)、林冠层树种的未成熟个体(II)以及林下层树种的全部个体(III), 比较不同恢复时期各组别树木的生长对于采伐强度的响应差异。结果表明, 第II组树木的平均胸径相对生长速率(0.033 cm·cm^-1·a^-1)显著高于第I (0.016 cm·cm^-1·a^-1)和III组(0.018 cm·cm^-1·a^-1)。总体来看, 采伐促进了大多数林冠层优势树种(第I、II组)的生长, 尤其是第II组树木的相对生长速率随采伐强度的增加而增加, 但第I组树木的相对生长速率只在重度采伐样地显著高于对照样地。然而林冠层少见种的生长速率并未受到采伐活动的显著影响。值得注意的是, 第I和II组树木生长对于采伐的响应都存在一定的时间滞后, 伐后短期内(2年)采伐样地与对照样地的生长速率没有显著差异, 而采伐对树木生长的促进效果在伐后2-4年才开始出现, 并在随后的监测期内持续存在。各组别树木的相对生长速率均随初始胸径的增大而降低, 且这种负相关关系的斜率随采伐强度增加逐渐增大, 表明随着采伐强度增加, 较小的树木个体从减弱的竞争中获益更多, 呈现出更加明显的生长释放现象。     

管控视角下生态空间与生态保护红线关系研究

国土空间规划背景下, 生态保护红线是在生态空间的现有基础上提出管控要求, 但其与各类生态空间的管控要求之间是否兼容以及如何协调, 仍需要梳理。本研究首先将生态空间划分为自然和管理两大属性和宏观、中观和微观三个层次进行类型体系梳理; 然后, 基于管控视角, 从管理目标、管控内容与管控强度三方面着重探讨13类生态空间与生态保护红线的差异。在管控目标方面, 两者的支持与调节目标兼容度较高, 供给与文化目标定位差异较大; 在管控内容方面, 差异主要表现在培育修复类和人工利用类; 在管控强度方面, 生态保护红线两级管控强度和生态空间三级管控强度不完全匹配。建议以“两大属性三个层次”系统完善生态空间类型体系, 从管理目标、管控内容与管控强度三方面进行生态空间管控要求体系化构建; 进一步完善生态保护红线管控内容和管控强度, 使其与对应的各类生态空间管控要求更好地协调。     

Effects of starvation on death‐feigning in adult Eucryptorrhynchus brandti (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

In insects, death‐feigning is an effective defence strategy. Eucryptorrhynchus brandti, a major borer pest in China, has a weak flight ability and exhibits obvious death‐feigning behaviour when disturbed. Despite a large number of studies of its biological and ecological properties as well as control methods, the death‐feigning behaviour has not been specifically described. In laboratory conditions, we recorded the survival rate under starvation and feeding conditions and evaluated the effect of starvation on the duration and occurrence of death‐feigning. In a continuous experiment, we examined variation in the death‐feigning duration every day over 7 day. Then, we evaluated the effects of starvation for 3, 6 and 9 day in a non‐continuous experiment and further observed variation in the death‐feigning intensity. We found that starvation significantly affected the survival rate. Survival time was significantly longer in the starvation group than in the feeding group, and females had longer survival times than males (female: 14 day, male: 8 day). In the continuous experiment, starved E. brandti had the longest duration of death‐feigning at 2 day, followed by a significant decrease. In the non‐continuous experiment, the duration and proportion of death‐feigning decreased significantly as the duration of starvation increased and were significantly lower than feeding. These observations suggest that starvation is a non‐negligible factor in the death‐feigning behaviour of E. brandti adults, facilitating the interpretation of future ecological and behavioural data of thanatosis.     

Thermoregulatory responses in humans during exercise after exposure to two different light intensities

The effects after exposure to two different light intensities (dim, 50 lx and bright, 5000 lx) on thermoregulatory responses during exercise in a climatic chamber (27 degrees C, 60% relative humidity) were studied in nine untrained female subjects, aged 19-22 years. The subjects were in either the dim or bright light intensities from 0600 hours to 1200 hours. They were then instructed to exercise on a cycle ergometer at an intensity of 60% maximal oxygen uptake from 1200 hours to 1300 hours in a light intensity of 500 Ix. The main results can be summarized as follows. Firstly, exercise-induced increases of core temperature were significantly smaller, after exposure to the bright than after the dim light intensities, although both tests were performed in the same light intensity. Secondly, body mass loss after exercise was significantly greater after exposure to the bright light intensity. Thirdly, an increase in salivary lactic acid during exercise was significantly lower after the bright intensity. Fourthly although the salivary melatonin level was not different between the two light intensities both before and after the exercise, it increased significantly during exercise only after the bright intensity. These results are discussed in terms of the establishment of a lower set-point in the core temperature after exposure to a bright light intensity.     

The Use of Digitally-modified Videos to Study the Function of Ornamentation and Courtship in the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata

The use of video playback, digitally-modified video images, and animations is a potentially powerful tool for exploring the interactions between morphological and behavioral components of complex sexually selected traits. The utility of digitally-modified video was evaluated by the responses of females to male images in which either the behavioral components of display or the colors of ornamentation were manipulated. Females were presented with paired male images that varied only in the size of the orange or blue spot on the body (19.1% vs. 8.6%), courtship duration (7sec vs. 2.3sec), or courtship rate (3 displays min^-1 vs. 1 display min^-1). Females preferred male images with more vigorous courtship displays (both duration and rate) but did not discriminate between images differing in spot size. The results of the present study suggest that females discriminate more strongly between variation in male behavior than in their morphological attributes. The results of morphological manipulations should be interpreted with caution, however, because several factors could have contributed to the lack of female responses to color spot variation. Among them are lowered resolution of the computer image, which fails to capture the precision and complexity of the color pattern. Despite these potential difficulties, digitally-modified video promises to be a powerful method to study complex visual communication systems, where the function of and interaction between the various morphological and behavioral components is as yet poorly understood.