Visualising Ecological Literacy

For over two decades, ecological literacy has sought to integrate foundational premises for addressing environmental problems. Here Jody Boehnert of EcoLabs explains how she has developed graphics resources and tools for designers in order for them to understand the perceptual shifts that are necessary to learn the causality and complexity of ecology and how it is embedded in human relations.     

Identification of potential areas for biomass production in China: Discussion of a recent approach and future challenges

A standard methodology is needed to recognize potentially suitable areas for sustainable bioenergy crop production. This facilitates better identification of promising crops and cropping systems, logistical and economic studies, and work needed to meet regulatory criteria. A possible approach is built upon three layers of internationally available spatial data: (1) degrading and abandoned areas, (2) potentially suitable land cover classes, (3) exclusion zones such as nature reserves and areas of high biodiversity. For China, areas identified as potentially suitable range from 1.2 to 6.0% of the national territory, depending on different levels of statistical confidence in degrading area status and allowable limits of terrestrial carbon. Verification on the ground showed that about 60% of points tested conformed to the remote suitability assessment in the scenario, which represents the results for the combination of all degrading areas and a terrestrial carbon stock limit of 200 t ha⁻¹. A top-down approach is useful in framing potentially suitable locations, but a complementary bottom-up analysis is still required to ultimately identify areas for sustainable bio-fuel production.     

Freshwater biogeography in Wallacea: The case of sphaeriid bivalves in the Malili lake system (Sulawesi,Indonesia)

Ancient lakes are renowned as freshwater hotspots of biodiversity and endemism. However, some of these water bodies are poorly studied with the minute pill clams in the genus Pisidium (family Sphaeriidae) being particularly overlooked. The Malili lake system is located on Sulawesi, which is the largest and possibly biologically most diverse Indonesian island within the biodiversity hotspot region of Wallacea. This lake system consists of 5 interconnected lakes that harbour a unique freshwater fauna including 42 mostly endemic mollusc species described to date. The only bivalves recognized in this lake system have been in the widespread genus Corbicula. We present new insights into the sphaeriid biodiversity of the ancient Malili lakes and provide the first fossil-calibrated phylogeny for this family to discuss the biogeographical history of the Wallacean Pisidium fauna including the dating of speciation events. Both morphological and molecular data suggest that the Malili lake system is inhabited by at least three Pisidium species, two of which are potentially endemic to these lakes. This diversity is probably derived from a single colonization event from the Oriental region. The fossil-calibrated phylogeny further indicates that intra-island diversification occurred well after the island was fully formed. Our study improves understanding of the overall sphaeriid biodiversity in Indonesia as well as the endemic fauna of the ancient lakes.     

Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Rapid degradation of the world’s large lakes

Large lakes of the world are habitats for diverse species, including endemic taxa, and are valuable resources that provide humanity with many ecosystem services. They are also sentinels of global and local change, and recent studies in limnology and paleolimnology have demonstrated disturbing evidence of their collective degradation in terms of depletion of resources (water and food), rapid warming and loss of ice, destruction of habitats and ecosystems, loss of species, and accelerating pollution. Large lakes are particularly exposed to anthropogenic and climatic stressors. The Second Warning to Humanity provides a framework to assess the dangers now threatening the world’s large lake ecosystems and to evaluate pathways of sustainable development that are more respectful of their ongoing provision of services. Here we review current and emerging threats to the large lakes of the world, including iconic examples of lake management failures and successes, from which we identify priorities and approaches for future conservation efforts. The review underscores the extent of lake resource degradation, which is a result of cumulative perturbation through time by long-term human impacts combined with other emerging stressors. Decades of degradation of large lakes have resulted in major challenges for restoration and management and a legacy of ecological and economic costs for future generations. Large lakes will require more intense conservation efforts in a warmer, increasingly populated world to achieve sustainable, high-quality waters. This Warning to Humanity is also an opportunity to highlight the value of a long-term lake observatory network to monitor and report on environmental changes in large lake ecosystems.     

Integrating information on river networks, catchments and major forest types: towards the characterisation and analysis of European landscapes

Recent developments in European environmental policies ask for European-wide and harmonised information on the state of our environment as well as on pressures and impacts thereon. The fulfilment of this requirement demands for a holistic analysis of the landscape and the interactions between its various components, including the development of suitable data for the whole area of interest. Forests and water bodies are important entities in this context. In this paper we, therefore, report on the development of European-wide databases for forests, river networks and catchments. Examples of how such data can be combined for analysing specific landscape characteristics such as the percentage of rivers running through forested areas or the distribution of forest categories according to relief characteristics are given for the whole of Italy as well as for three selected catchments.     

Incorporating ecological sustainability into landscape planning

The ecological component is crucial in landscape planning according to the principles of sustainable development. We define “ecologically sustainable landscape” and develop a tool to measure how ecological sustainability is incorporated in landscape plans. This method acknowledges the critical role of spatial scale and pattern to the conservation of biodiversity. The metapopulation concept is used as a spatially explicit ecological theory, appropriate to describe the relation between biodiversity and the pattern of ecosystem patches (“ecosystem network”) in intensively used regions. We propose that ecological sustainability is achieved if quality, area and configuration of the ecosystem network permit target species to persist. A simple decision-making model represents a theoretical framework for a tool comprising two sets of ecological indicators. One set indicates the awareness of actors to consider ecological principles of sustainable planning. The other set indicates their performance to apply these principles quantitatively in designing the ecosystem pattern. The method is applied on a sample of reports on Dutch landscape development plans. A majority of the reports shows awareness of the importance of spatial conditions for achieving planning goals, but perform inadequately on the quantitative indicators. We conclude that the tool could be developed as a guideline and assessment method for the ecological sustainability of landscape plans.     

Ecological networks: A spatial concept for multi-actor planning of sustainable landscapes

In this paper, we propose the ecological network concept as a suitable basis for inserting biodiversity conservation into sustainable landscape development. For landscapes to be ecologically sustainable, the landscape structure should support those ecological processes required for the landscape to deliver biodiversity services for present and future generations. We first show that in multifunctional, human-dominated landscapes, biodiversity conservation needs a coherent large-scale spatial structure of ecosystems. Theory and empirical knowledge of ecological networks provides a framework for the design of such structures. Secondly, ecological networks can bridge the paradox between reserve conservation (fixing nature in space and time) and development, which implies change. This is because ecological networks can change structure without losing their conservation potential. Thirdly, ecological networks facilitate stakeholder decision-making on feasible biodiversity goals. They help to focus on an effective spatial scale. We conclude that extending the ecological network concept with multifunctional indicators is a promising step towards sustainable landscape development and stakeholder decision-making.     

深圳马峦山郊野公园生态环境综合评价

深圳马峦山郊野公园是一个保护较好的自然生态公园.从自然地理条件、生物多样性、生物资源、生态景观与人文景观资源等多方面对其进行论述和评价,提出了具体的管理建议.     

生境系统的保护、再造与利用--以银川大西湖湿地公园规划为例

公园是城市中的自然生态斑块之一,它对城市生态环境的改善起着举足轻重的作用。银川大西湖湿地公园规划通过湿地生境系统的保护、再造与利用,营造多样性的生物景观序列,从而构建丰富的景观类型与内容。     

Co-variations of bacterial composition and catabolic genes related to PAH degradation in a produced water treatment system consisting of successive anoxic and aerobic units

This paper reports on the investigation of concentration levels of PAHs, community structure, as well as the abundance of PAH-related catabolic genes including upper-pathway dioxygenase genes (nahAc and phnAc) and down-pathway catechol dioxygenase genes (C12O and C23O) in a successive anoxic and aerobic treatment of produced water from the Jidong Oilfield, China. 93% of total PAHs were removed, almost equally contributed by the anoxic and aerobic units. However, PAHs of more than 3 benzene rings remained almost unchanged. The signals for phnAc and C12O were undetectable in this biological system, whereas the existence of nahAc and C23O was confirmed in the system and the copies of the two genes in the aerobic tank were 2 or 3 orders higher than those in the influent water sample. The different behavior of C23O demonstrated that mineralization of PAHs might mainly occur in the aerobic unit. The existence of nahAc and C23O genes in the influent and the high similarity of genotype between the influent and the two sludge samples suggested that bacteria existing in the influent contributed to PAH removal and bacteria harboring PAH catabolic genes were enriched in the sludge.