Estimates of Lost Material Stock of Buildings and Roads Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

This article describes research conducted for the Japanese government in the wake of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011. In this study, material stock analysis (MSA) is used to examine the losses of building and infrastructure materials after this disaster. Estimates of the magnitude of material stock that has lost its social function as a result of a disaster can indicate the quantities required for reconstruction, help garner a better understanding of the volumes of waste flows generated by that disaster, and also help in the course of policy deliberations in the recovery of disaster‐stricken areas. Calculations of the lost building and road materials in the five prefectures most affected were undertaken. Analysis in this study is based on the use of geographical information systems (GIS) databases and statistics; it aims to (1) describe in spatial terms what construction materials were lost, (2) estimate the amount of infrastructure material needed to rehabilitate disaster areas, and (3) indicate the amount of lost material stock that should be taken into consideration during government policy deliberations. Our analysis concludes that the material stock losses of buildings and road infrastructure are 31.8  and 2.1 million tonnes, respectively. This research approach and the use of spatial MSA can be useful for urban planners and may also convey more appropriate information about disposal based on the work of municipalities in disaster‐afflicted areas.     

黑木耳原种胞外酶活性的研究

目的：研究黑木耳菌株原种胞外酶活分泌特性,为进行大规模生产用种早期判定提供检测手段。方法：以9个黑木耳栽培菌株的原种为实验材料,分别测定了其胞外漆酶、多酚氧化酶、羧甲基纤维素酶、滤纸维素酶的酶活性变化。结果：胞外漆酶、多酚氧化酶、纤维素酶活性的变化趋势大致相似,酶活随培养时间呈规律性的升高、降低,除个别菌株（3、6）外,不同菌株同种酶活性差别不大,酶活相对较高的菌株有2、3、6、9号。不同菌株酶活高峰出现的时间有差异,较早的出现在培养的第10d,较晚的出现在培养的第70d。结论：被测菌株胞外酶活存在一定的规律性,利用该规律性可检测菌种退化、老化和不利变异。     

Grouping horses according to gender—Effects on aggression, spacing and injuries

Many horse owners tend to group horses according to gender, in an attempt to reduce aggressive interactions and the risk of injuries. The aim of our experiment was to test the effects of such gender separation on injuries, social interactions and individual distance in domestic horses. A total of 66 horses were recruited from 4 different farms in Norway and Denmark and divided into six batches. Within each batch, horses were allotted into one mare group, one gelding group and one mixed gender group, with most groups consisting of three or four animals. After 4–6 weeks of acclimatisation, a trained observer recorded all social interactions using direct, continuous observation 1 h in the morning and 1 h in the afternoon for three consecutive days. Recordings of the nearest neighbour of each horse were performed using instantaneous sampling every 10 min. The horses were inspected for injuries before grouping, day 1 after grouping and after 4–6 weeks. No significant effect of gender composition was found on social interactions (P > 0.05), spacing (P > 0.07) or injuries (P > 0.23). Eighty percent of all aggressive interactions recorded were threats, not involving physical contact. Horses with the smallest space allowance showed the highest mean number of aggressive interactions (28.6 ± 6.1 interactions per 6 h) compared to the mean of all the other batches (8.3 ± 1.0 interactions per 6 h). Very few injuries were found and most were superficial. In conclusion, gender composition does not seem to have any effect on aggression level, spacing or injuries. However, the early social experience of horses, management of feeding and space allowance probably represents more important factors for successful group housing of domestic horses.     

Livestock Predation—Insights From Problem Animal Control Registers in Botswana

Abstract: Problem Animal Control Registers, where farmers report livestock losses due to predators as a prerequisite for financial compensation, allow quantifying the human-predator conflict. We analyzed such registers from the Kweneng District of Botswana to assess the impact of native predators on livestock over 3 years. Leopards (Panthera pardus), lions (Panthera leo), wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), brown hyenas (Hyaena brunnea), and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) altogether claimed 2,272 head of livestock. During 2002, the year with the highest impact, the number of animals reported depredated (954) represented 0.34% of the livestock in the district. Leopards and lions caused 64% of the losses. Leopard livestock predation mainly affected calves and was consistent over the district and over time. In contrast, lion predation concentrated on adult cattle, was characterized by local hot spots close to reserve borders, decreased with increasing distance to a reserve, and increased during 2002, an unusually dry year. Interviews with 60 farmers and herders within 30 km of Khutse and Central Kalahari Game Reserves revealed an annual loss of 2.2% of their livestock to predators. Here, small farms (max. 100 domestic animals) suffered relatively higher losses than large, commercial farms, not only due to predation (small farms: 11.7%; large farms: 1.0%) but also from other causes (small: 12.6%; large: 2.8%), even though herders on large farms guarded 5 times more livestock per person than those on small farms. To reduce livestock predation in most of the district where lions are absent, we recommend maternity corrals for pregnant females and calves to better protect vulnerable calves during day and night. In areas close to a reserve where lions roam, herders' incentives to keep all livestock protected in a corral at night have to be enhanced because, according to the registers, only 3 predation cases were reported to have happened inside a corral.     

Natal homing in juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta)

Juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from West Atlantic nesting beaches occupy oceanic (pelagic) habitats in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, whereas larger juvenile turtles occupy shallow (neritic) habitats along the continental coastline of North America. Hence the switch from oceanic to neritic stage can involve a trans-oceanic migration. Several researchers have suggested that at the end of the oceanic phase, juveniles are homing to feeding habitats in the vicinity of their natal rookery. To test the hypothesis of juvenile homing behaviour, we surveyed 10 juvenile feeding zones across the eastern USA with mitochondrial DNA control region sequences (N = 1437) and compared these samples to potential source (nesting) populations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea (N = 465). The results indicated a shallow, but significant, population structure of neritic juveniles (PhiST = 0.0088, P = 0.016), and haplotype frequency differences were significantly correlated between coastal feeding populations and adjacent nesting populations (Mantel test R2 = 0.52, P = 0.001). Mixed stock analyses (using a Bayesian algorithm) indicated that juveniles occurred at elevated frequency in the vicinity of their natal rookery. Hence, all lines of evidence supported the hypothesis of juvenile homing in loggerhead turtles. While not as precise as the homing of breeding adults, this behaviour nonetheless places juvenile turtles in the vicinity of their natal nesting colonies. Some of the coastal hazards that affect declining nesting populations may also affect the next generation of turtles feeding in nearby habitats.     

四川省森林植被固碳经济价值动态

<正>确估算森林植被固碳经济价值可为森林生态系统的生态效益评价提供基础数据。利用1997年和2014年两期四川省森林资源清查数据,依据不同森林类型的生物量与蓄积量回归方程和支付意愿法,估算了四川省两个时期森林植被的固碳经济价值。结果表明,从1997年到2014年,四川省森林植被固碳经济价值由703.17亿元增长到865.75亿元,净增长162.58亿元,年均增长9.56亿元,年均增长率为1.36%;在两个时期,云冷杉林的固碳经济价值比重最大,分别占总固碳经济价值的54.82%和46.62%,表明云冷杉森林植被类型在全省森林植被固碳经济价值中占有重要的地位;四川省天然林和人工林植被的固碳经济价值均呈增加趋势,并且人工林植被固碳经济价值年均增长速率(7.42%)明显高于天然林(1.03%);四川省森林植被固碳经济价值总体上随林龄的增加而增加。研究结果说明,实施包括天然林保护工程在内的森林保护和经营管理措施对提高森林植被的固碳经济价值具有重要的作用。     

农林复合系统固碳潜力研究进展

农林复合系统是解决当前资源枯竭、农林用地紧张和实现环境保护的一种可持续土壤管理模式。自《京都议定书》签订以来, 农林复合系统因其较高的固碳潜力引起了科学家的广泛关注。深入理解农林复合系统的固碳过程及其对气候变化、环境条件的改变和管理措施的响应, 是准确地预测农林复合系统在全球变化情景下固碳潜力的关键。该文综述了农林复合系统的概念和分类, 探讨了农林复合系统相比单一系统的固碳潜力及固碳机理, 分析了农林复合系统固碳潜力的测定方法和当前面临的挑战, 综述了气候因子、环境条件和人为管理措施对农林复合系统固碳潜力的影响。我国农林复合系统的固碳潜力相比全球其他区域还处于较低水平, 为提高我国农林复合系统的固碳潜力, 未来需要加强以下四个方面的工作: 扩大农林复合系统的分布面积、加强农林复合系统的合理配置和管理、选择适宜的物种组合和优化系统的群体结构。     

15000年以来若尔盖高原泥炭地发育及其碳动态

高海拔泥炭地是维护高原气候环境稳定的重要生态系统,由于其兼具高海拔和高寒的特点,对气候变化尤为敏感。若尔盖高原泥炭地是中国高海拔泥炭地集中分布区,碳储量丰富,由于方法学差异及数据缺乏,其碳储量估算仍存在一定程度的不确定性,对长时间尺度碳通量的模拟研究还较为匮乏。因此,以若尔盖高原泥炭地为研究对象,基于若尔盖高原泥炭地每千年的面积变化和碳累积速率重新评估若尔盖高原泥炭地碳储量,并利用泥炭分解模型和碳通量重建模型探讨了15000年以来若尔盖高原泥炭地碳通量动态。研究结果表明,若尔盖高原泥炭地约从15000年开始发育,发育高峰期在12000-10000年和7000-5000年,泥炭累积速率范围为0.22-1.31 mm/a,平均值为0.56 mm/a;碳累积速率范围为13.4-77.2 g C m^-2 a^-1,平均碳累积速率为33.5 g C m^-2 a^-1,3000年至今碳累积速率最高,7000-6000年是碳累积速率次峰值时期;15000年以来若尔盖高原泥炭地碳储存量达1.4 Pg（1 Pg=10¹⁵ g）,碳累积输入和碳累积释放分别为5.6 Pg和4.2 Pg;净碳平衡平均值为0.087 Tg（1 Tg=10¹² g）C/a,峰值出现在11000-10000年为0.295 Pg;在6000-2000年若尔盖泥炭地出现微弱碳源,最大值出现在5000-4000年,约为-0.034 Pg,净碳平衡在15000-11000年和4000年至今呈现上升趋势,而10000-4000年整体呈现下降趋势。总体而言,若尔盖高原泥炭地碳储量丰富,是青藏高原东部重要的陆地生态系统碳库和碳汇,本研究将为我国高海拔泥炭地碳库保育提供一定的理论和数据支撑。     

Relationship of size at return with environmental variation,hatchery production,and productivity of wild pink salmon in Prince William Sound,Alaska: does size matter?

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) returning to Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, have increased to historically high levels of abundance in recent years, but average body size at return has declined. We examined how body size at return of PWS pink salmon was related to 10 biophysical factors, including the scale of hatchery production. We also examined the effect of body size at return on productivity of wild pink salmon in PWS. For the 1975–1999 brood years, we found that an index of total abundance of pink salmon in the Gulf of Alaska and sea surface temperature during the year of return best explained the variation in pink salmon body size over time. Body size at return was significantly correlated with productivity of wild pink salmon. We used stepwise-regression to fit a generalized linear version of the Ricker spawner-recruit model to determine if body size would explain significant variation in wild-stock productivity in context with other environmental variation, including hatchery production. The results indicate that variability in wild-stock productivity is primarily driven by density-independent factors in the marine environment, but that body size of wild spawners also significantly affects productivity of wild PWS pink salmon. We conclude that the success of large-scale enhancement increasing the total run in PWS may have contributed to the decline in body size because of density-dependent growth in the Gulf of Alaska. We used a simulation model to estimate the impact of hatchery-induced changes in adult body size on wild-stock production in PWS. We estimated an annual wild-stock yield loss of 1.03 million pink salmon, less than 5% of the annual hatchery return of 24.2 million adult pink salmon for brood years 1990–1999.