Grey Parrots Psittacus erithacus in Kampala,Uganda – are they becoming suburbanised?

The globally Vulnerable Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) has been seen in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, in increasing numbers in recent years. This apparently new behaviour of a typically forest species is helped by the presence of many large trees, which provide roosting and nesting sites, and fruiting trees where they feed. Grey Parrots in Kampala potentially come from three sources: escapees, releases of captive birds or wild birds moving into a suburban environment. Birds mostly exhibit behaviours typical of wild birds, but as most, if not all, of the Grey Parrots in captivity are wild-caught and would revert to wild-caught behaviours when released, it is difficult to distinguish them from the wild population. However, we believe that at least some of the birds seen in Kampala are wild.     

The consumption of out-of-home highbrow leisure by ethnicity and national origin: attendance at museums and live theatres in Houston

Dynamics of compensation for the deprivations of segregation and discrimination, and the support of multiculturalism derived from ethnic cohesion explain the consumption of out-of-home highbrow leisure events by minority/ethnic individuals, immigrants, and their descendants as efforts toward their integration and assimilation in metropolitan areas. Using data from the Houston Area Survey, I examine whether there are any significant ethnic disparities in the attendance at museums and live theatres, which represent a relevant dimension of out-of-home highbrow leisure in Houston. I found that the odds of frequently attending museums and live theatres are lower for Anglos compared with non-Anglos, and higher for US-born individuals with at least one foreign parent compared with US-born individuals with US-born parents. These findings reveal that the audiences of museums and live theatres in Houston are already characterized by a noteworthy ethnic diversity.     

The altitudinal limit of Leptohyphes Eaton, 1882 and Lachlania Hagen, 1868 (Ephemeroptera: Leptohyphidae,Oligoneuriidae) in Ecuadorian Andes streams: searching for mechanisms

We explored mechanisms determining the upper altitudinal limit of ephemeropterans from two different genera: Leptohyphes Eaton, 1882 Eaton, A.E. (1882), ?An Announcement of New Genera of the Ephemeridae?, The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 18, 207–208. [Google Scholar] (Leptohyphidae) and Lachlania Hagen, 1868 Hagen, H.A. (1868), ?On Lachlania Abnormis: A New Genus and Species from Cuba Belonging to the Ephemerina?, Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 11, 372–375. [Google Scholar] (Oligoneuriidae). For this, we (1) surveyed the two taxa in 165 stream sites along a wide altitudinal gradient; (2) sampled benthic fauna at short altitudinal intervals along a stream, from 2780 to 3150 m above sea level; (3) collected adults at the lowest and highest sites; and (4) transplanted nymphs from the lowest to the highest study site in our stream to determine survival over time. Densities of the two taxa declined gradually with altitude and both disappeared between 2950 and 3080 m a.s.l. The upper altitudinal limit in the stream seemed to be most closely related to mean oxygen saturation, temperature, and current velocity. Adults were collected where the nymphs were found, but not at the upstream site where the nymphs were absent, implying limited upstream dispersal of adults and some of the altitudinal constraint lying at the adult stage. Short-term survival of transplanted nymphs was lower than that of controls, suggesting that the distribution was limited at the juvenile stage, and that at least some of the altitudinal constraint is related to the abiotic stream environment.     

An interactive method to select a set of sustainable urban development indicators

The paper proposes a method for selecting a set of sustainable development indicators which can be used for various sustainability-related tasks, such as assessment of current condition, measure of progress toward specific goals of sustainable development, in general, and sustainable urban development, in particular. The method is based on variable clustering, selecting cluster representative, and multivariate linear regression in combination with experts and stakeholders’ input in an interactive process. The small set of indicators derived from the proposed method was able to account for a significant amount of information from the initial indicator set while effectively assisting stakeholders in making informed decision based on objective quantitative information and meeting their preference simultaneously.     

基于遥感技术的城市下垫面参数与热环境关系的研究——以北京市朝阳区为例

城市热岛（UHI）不仅直接关系到城市人居环境质量和居民健康状况,同时还对城市能源消耗、生态系统过程演变、生物物候以及城市经济可持续发展有着深远的影响。以北京市朝阳区2002—2017年夏季4期Landsat系列遥感影像为数据,采用大气反演法,对15年间朝阳区城市地表温度（LST）时空变化进行分析,发现15年间朝阳区城市热岛比例指数上升迅速,热岛效应逐年加剧。进一步研究表明,城市地表温度与归一化植被指数（NDVI）及归一化建筑指数（NDBI）密切相关：地表温度与NDBI正相关,NDBI指数每升高0.1,地表升温0.79~2.37°C;与NDVI指数负相关,NDVI指数每提高0.1,地表降温0.4~0.77°C。本研究可为城市规划建设与城市绿地营建提供科学具体的参考指导依据,并促进生态可持续发展与人居环境改善。     

关于（荒野）殖民化

由于人类体验自然的渴望日益增长,在政治和实践层面,在城市中提供接触自然的机会显得越来越必要。关于“城市荒野”的思想和规划旨在提供一种特殊的自然体验。鉴于不同荒野思想之间存在冲突,风景园林师必须设法了解已有的荒野认知及其含义。通过 3 个荒野类别—“未知荒野”“特定荒野”和“过程荒野”,探讨发展千年的荒野理念,并提出“殖民化”（colonisations）概念作为理解荒野理念发展的一个关键。自然过程伴随着动植物对空间的殖民,而人类进入和占有空间的殖民过程则包含生理、心理和精神 3 个层面的内容。空间命名是一种特殊的、具有精神和象征意味的殖民化形式。例如,人类在城市中发现野生植被,称其为“野性自然”或“城市荒野”。然而,如今大多数（尤其官方）的荒野定义中均排除了人类干扰：一旦被殖民,真正的荒野就不复存在。科学研究对自然过程的殖民化已取得很多成果,但对于人类有关自然和荒野的认知和态度了解并不多。对于风景园林师来说,这有助于更好地理解如何“基于自然进行设计和建造”,对创造令人满意的景观也非常重要。探讨与“城市荒野”有关的论述、规划和设计观点及思想。 由于人类体验自然的渴望日益增长,在政治和实践层面,在城市中提供接触自然的机会显得越来越必要。关于“城市荒野”的思想和规划旨在提供一种特殊的自然体验。鉴于不同荒野思想之间存在冲突,风景园林师必须设法了解已有的荒野认知及其含义。通过 3 个荒野类别—“未知荒野”“特定荒野”和“过程荒野”,探讨发展千年的荒野理念,并提出“殖民化”（colonisations）概念作为理解荒野理念发展的一个关键。自然过程伴随着动植物对空间的殖民,而人类进入和占有空间的殖民过程则包含生理、心理和精神 3 个层面的内容。空间命名是一种特殊的、具有精神和象征意味的殖民化形式。例如,人类在城市中发现野生植被,称其为“野性自然”或“城市荒野”。然而,如今大多数（尤其官方）的荒野定义中均排除了人类干扰：一旦被殖民,真正的荒野就不复存在。科学研究对自然过程的殖民化已取得很多成果,但对于人类有关自然和荒野的认知和态度了解并不多。对于风景园林师来说,这有助于更好地理解如何“基于自然进行设计和建造”,对创造令人满意的景观也非常重要。探讨与“城市荒野”有关的论述、规划和设计观点及思想。     

当代中国城市对荒野审美的呼唤

当今的城市化进程面临诸多问题,在生态文明的时代背景下,城市替代了乡村成为国人的主要人居环境。生态文明旨在倡导重构人与自然的关系。那么,荒野景观作为最本真的生态自然,理应成为人们市居生活的重要体验对象与审美对象。荒野哲学以其对人类生存家园损毁的忧患意识以及对当下生产生活方式的深刻反思逐渐成为哲学思考的重要组成部分。在当今城市中,荒野的价值应该得以重估,荒野景观应当得以复魅。城市对荒野的呼唤、城市审美对荒野的悦纳,是当今中国城乡可持续建设的重大使命。在生态文明的当今社会,人们在市居生活中需要倡导一种审美观念,即荒野审美。荒野审美观的构建正逐渐趋向成熟。     

郊野公园植物多样性的生态恢复与重建——以上海滨江森林公园为例

植物作为自然界生态系统的重要组成部分,其多样性的保护与发展是人类可持续发展的物质基础之一,对维护生态环境的平衡与稳定具有重要意义,也是当今中国生态园林城市建设的重要内容。以上海滨江森林公园一期工程为例,通过总结建设过程中自然生境的恢复与重建、现状植物保护和开发的经验,探索郊野公园设计建造中植物多样性保护的有效措施,为今后城市郊野公园的建设和原有绿地的绿化改造等提供参考借鉴。     

基于计算流体力学数值模拟的城市绿地温湿效应及室外热舒适评价研究进展

近年来随着计算机与各学科领域交叉研究的发展,计算流体力学数值模拟方法在城市环境的微气候研究方面得到较多应用,为研究绿地在有限面积内更有效地实现其降温效应提供了新的思路。回顾计算流体力学（CFD）数值模拟方法在不同尺度的城市绿地温湿效应及室外热舒适度评价研究中的应用,在此基础上,总结目前存在的问题及不足,对未来该领域的研究方向提出3点展望,以期为未来城市绿地微气候研究提供参考：1）多平台与尺度扩展研究;2）微气候特征指标的综合交叉分析;3）高适配度模拟模型的及时更新。