The conservation value of suburban golf courses in a rapidly urbanising region of Australia

The conservation value of suburban golf courses was assessed in southeast Queensland, Australia, by investigating their capacity to support urban-threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and frogs. Terrestrial vertebrate assemblages were compared between golf courses and nearby eucalypt fragments and with suburban bird assemblages. Biotic diversity varied among golf courses. While some had conservation value (supporting high densities of regionally threatened vertebrates), most failed to realise that potential, supporting only common urban-adapted species. Golf courses were generally a better refuge for threatened birds and mammals than for threatened reptiles and amphibians. Reasons for the relative absence of threatened herpetofauna are currently unclear but could be attributed to increased sensitivity to isolation, exposure to herbicides or greater disruption of ground-level habitats. While species-specific studies are required to identify the ecological role played by habitats on golf courses and the potential for long-term viability, the results confirm that suburban golf courses can have local conservation value for threatened vertebrates. Given their ubiquity, golf courses present a significant opportunity for urban wildlife conservation. Thus while the golf industry is making genuine attempts to improve its environmental management standards, it is important to ensure those efforts target the needs of regionally threatened species. Legislation may be required to ensure ecological criteria are incorporated in new golf developments. Ongoing research is investigating the effect that golf course design and management practices have on the local diversity of threatened vertebrates.     

Natural links: naturalistic golf courses as wildlife habitat

Worldwide, there are over 25,000 golf courses. In the United States, there are approximately 15,000, with developers building about 350 new courses each year. Japan, Taiwan, China, and other countries are experiencing a similar golf boom. Some developers regard golf course development as one of the fastest growing types of land development in the world. Typically considered by ecologists to be an environmental problem, scientists are now reexamining golf courses to assess their potential to be wildlife habitat. Can naturalistic courses (those with substantial amounts of native wildlife habitat) actually benefit wildlife populations, especially birds, and still be attractive to golfers? My ecological research with a well-known naturalized links-style golf course in Kansas suggests that a naturalistic golf course can support significant numbers of birds, including many threatened species. When compared to a nearby natural area, the golf course equaled the natural area in total bird species richness but not in the relative abundance of specific kinds of birds. Naturalistic golf courses, while not natural areas, can complement biological reserves, military reservations, greenbelts, parks, farms, backyards and other units of the regional habitat mosaic. The large amount of habitat on naturalistic courses also reduces water runoff, irrigation, and chemical inputs. Furthermore, raising the profile of naturally landscaped golf courses can engage thousands of additional people in wildlife habitat preservation issues. Naturalistic courses are growing in popularity and the golfing community is responsive to aesthetic and environmental concerns. With the involvement of ecologists, this burgeoning interest in natural habitats on golf courses may significantly increase the amount of wildlife habitat, especially if designers build these kinds of courses in urban areas and on degraded landscapes such as landfills, quarries, and eroded lands.     

A model of greenhouse gas emissions from the management of turf on two golf courses

An estimated 32,000 golf courses worldwide (approximately 25,600 km²), provide ecosystem goods and services and support an industry contributing over $124 billion globally. Golf courses can impact positively on local biodiversity however their role in the global carbon cycle is not clearly understood. To explore this relationship, the balance between plant-soil system sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from turf management on golf courses was modelled. Input data were derived from published studies of emissions from agriculture and turfgrass management. Two UK case studies of golf course type were used, a Links course (coastal, medium intensity management, within coastal dune grasses) and a Parkland course (inland, high intensity management, within woodland).Playing surfaces of both golf courses were marginal net sources of greenhouse gas emissions due to maintenance (Links 0.4 ± 0.1 Mg CO₂e ha^− 1 y^− 1; Parkland 0.7 ± 0.2 Mg CO₂e ha^− 1 y^− 1). A significant proportion of emissions were from the use of nitrogen fertiliser, especially on tees and greens such that 3% of the golf course area contributed 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The area of trees on a golf course was important in determining whole-course emission balance. On the Parkland course, emissions from maintenance were offset by sequestration from trees which comprised 48% of total area, resulting in a net balance of −4.3 ± 0.9 Mg CO_2e ha^− 1 y^− 1. On the Links course, the proportion of trees was much lower (2%) and sequestration from links grassland resulted in a net balance of 0.0 ± 0.2 Mg CO_2e ha^− 1 y^− 1. Recommendations for golf course management and design include the reduction of nitrogen fertiliser, improved operational efficiency when mowing, the inclusion of appropriate tree-planting and the scaling of component areas to maximise golf course sequestration capacity. The findings are transferrable to the management and design of urban parks and gardens, which range between fairways and greens in intensity of management.     

Implementation of a GIS-based management tool for conservation of biodiversity within the municipality of Oslo, Norway

Tools to effectively apply biological information in daily physical planning cases are viewed as essential in order to preserve and manage natural habitats in highly pressured urban areas. This paper describes a GIS-based management tool for conservation and management of biodiversity and the process of implementation in the capital of Oslo, Norway. The main objective of this multi-agency effort is to ensure a sustainable and responsible management of the biodiversity within the municipality. A political decision on the state level encourages all municipalities to survey and classify their biological diversity according to a scale of importance within 2003. Furthermore the results from the survey were encouraged to be implemented in the daily physical planning at a local level. The assignment called for structured, classified and accessible information about the biological resources of the municipality. The electronic tool presented makes it possible to combine biological information with any other information that is relevant for a planning issue. We believe the GIS-based management tool has a strong potential to be transferred to other municipalities in Norway as well as to other countries with organised environmental management systems at both local, regional and national levels.     

Shades of Green, Fields of Gold: representations, discourse and the politics of golf in Singapore

The issue of golf course provision in the land-scarce city-state of Singapore has always been a contentious one. Using various methodologies, including face-to-face interviews with golfers, non-golfers, golf club managers and planners, the multiple meanings of golf courses and golfing in Singapore are explored, and it is illustrated how differing images of golf are appropriated to suit the particular agendas of its proponents and opponents. These include representing golf courses as expansive spaces, parks, gardens and open spaces, viewing golf as an elitist leisure activity, and asserting that golf is a 'healthy' sport. It is also shown how such representations of golf are shaped by the wider socio-political context of Singapore, and it is argued that understanding how landscapes of golf are 'read' and how discourses of golfing are articulated is important in resolving the issue of golf course provision.     

The distribution, abundance and diversity of birds in Manila's last greenspaces

Urban environments are not considered areas with conservation importance. However greenspaces in cities have been previously identified as areas with significant avian biodiversity. We investigated the distribution and diversity of birds in what are increasingly considered as Metropolitan Manila's last greenspaces; the University of the Philippines campus, military cemeteries and two government operated parks. Using species–area analysis, abundance and diversity indices, TWINSPAN ordination and logistic regression to determine important landscape features for species presence, we describe the distribution of bird communities and diversity in Metropolitan Manila. Two major bird community groupings were observed. These are the urban exploiters and the urban adaptable with the former occurring in high abundances and the latter in low abundances in greenspaces. The number of built and natural spatial entities determines abundances. Species area analysis suggests that the greenspaces are distinct habitats that preserve faunal uniqueness whereas urbanization tends to decrease diversity. These observations suggest that greenspaces harbor significant avian biodiversity as well as the presence of endemic and threatened species. As the greenspaces possess remnant wetland and wooded habitat we recommend that they be preserved and maintained by ensuring that these habitats are incorporated in any urban development plan.     

塑胶跑道施工技术

阐述了塑胶跑道的性能特点,分别对塑胶跑道基础要求、配合比及施工工艺流程作了简析,重点对其施工步骤进行了归纳总结,旨在通过严格控制各施工工序,从而确保塑胶跑道施工质量。     

建筑设计基础课程向研究型教学转变的探索

经过多年教学探索,总结了建筑设计基础课程的教学应重构教学体系,并采用多种训练方式和教学手段,培养学生的主动性和创新性,以实现逐渐向研究型教学转变的目的。     

关于城市河道防洪的探讨

结合GB50201—94防洪标准和CJJ50—92城市防洪工程设计规范,针对防洪标准及洪峰流量计算方法的确定进行了探讨,提出了自己的观点,并通过某工程实例进行阐述,以期为其他河道工程设计提供指导。     

Molecular approaches to the assessment of biodiversity in aquatic microbial communities

For the past 20 years, the increased development and routine application of molecular-based techniques has made it possible to carry out detailed evaluations of the biodiversity of aquatic microbial communities. It also offers great opportunities for finding out how this parameter responds to various environmental stresses. Most of these approaches involve an initial PCR amplification of a target, which is generally located within the ribosomal operon. The amplification is achieved by means of primers that are specific to the organisms of interest. The second step involves detecting sequence variations in the PCR fragments either by a cloning/sequencing analysis, which provides a complete characterization of the fragments, or by an electrophoretic analysis, which provides a visual separation of the mixture of fragments according to sequence polymorphism (denaturing or temperature gradient gel electrophoresis, single strand conformation polymorphism) or length polymorphism (terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism, automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis). Other non-PCR-based methods are also commonly used, such as fluorescence in-situ hybridization and DNA re-association analysis. Depending on the technique used, the information gained can be quite different. Moreover, some of these analyses may be rather onerous in terms of time and money, and so not always suitable for screening large numbers of samples. The most widely used techniques are discussed in this paper to illustrate the principles, advantages and shortcomings of each of them. Finally, we will conclude by evaluating the techniques and discussing some emerging molecular techniques, such as real-time PCR and the microarray technique.     

A model of greenhouse gas emissions from the management of turf on two golf courses

An estimated 32,000 golf courses worldwide (approximately 25,600 km²), provide ecosystem goods and services and support an industry contributing over $124 billion globally. Golf courses can impact positively on local biodiversity however their role in the global carbon cycle is not clearly understood. To explore this relationship, the balance between plant-soil system sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from turf management on golf courses was modelled. Input data were derived from published studies of emissions from agriculture and turfgrass management. Two UK case studies of golf course type were used, a Links course (coastal, medium intensity management, within coastal dune grasses) and a Parkland course (inland, high intensity management, within woodland).Playing surfaces of both golf courses were marginal net sources of greenhouse gas emissions due to maintenance (Links − 2.2 ± 0.4 Mg CO₂e ha^− 1 y^− 1; Parkland − 2.0 ± 0.4 Mg CO₂e ha^− 1 y^− 1). A significant proportion of emissions were from the use of nitrogen fertiliser, especially on tees and greens such that 3% of the golf course area contributed 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The area of trees on a golf course was important in determining whole-course emission balance. On the Parkland course, emissions from maintenance were offset by sequestration from turfgrass, and trees which comprised 48% of total area, resulting in a net balance of − 5.4 ± 0.9 Mg CO₂e ha^− 1 y^− 1. On the Links course, the proportion of trees was much lower (2%) and sequestration from links grassland resulted in a net balance of − 1.6 ± 0.3 Mg CO₂e ha^− 1 y^− 1. Recommendations for golf course management and design include the reduction of nitrogen fertiliser, improved operational efficiency when mowing, the inclusion of appropriate tree-planting and the scaling of component areas to maximise golf course sequestration capacity. The findings are transferrable to the management and design of urban parks and gardens, which range between fairways and greens in intensity of management.     

Modelling the impacts of payments for biodiversity conservation on regional land-use patterns

We present a land-use allocation model that evaluates the impact of payments for ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation on land-use patterns. In a non-linear optimisation procedure, land use is allocated at farm level, taking into account risk behaviour, and spatial as well as temporal variability of net revenues of land-use alternatives, using a spatial resolution of 29 m × 29 m. The model is applied to a study area of 30 km × 34 km in western Ecuador, considered a hotspot for biodiversity. In this coffee growing region, agroforestry systems with shade-coffee are important for biodiversity conservation at the landscape level, but under pressure due to low revenues. Through scenario analyses, we analyse the effects of price premiums per kg, payments per ha, and price buffering for coffee, as well as incentives leading to coffee yield increases, and payments per ha of forest remnants. We compare different risk aversion levels of the involved agents. We conclude that payments per ha are more efficient to maintain or increase coffee areas than payments per kg. Price buffering may be the most cost-effective way to support coffee production, especially at high-risk aversion levels. Significant yield increases are necessary to make coffee more attractive compared to the other alternatives. Relatively low payments per ha of forest can significantly increase forested land. Risk behaviour turns out to be an important factor when determining the possible effect of payments for ecosystem services. We conclude that the model is a versatile tool to support planning of payments for conserving ecosystems.     

The place of one-year training courses for construction management

The structure and philosophy of a one-year course in construction management are described. Emphasis is placed on the importance of forgetting old methods and ideas, in order to take full advantage of new technologies, and on the need to allow enough time for effective training.     

Geographic information systems and the conservation of urban biodiversity

Planners in urban areas face a dilemma when deciding the future of sites with both conservation and development value. This paper examines the development of a simple geographic information system in Leeds, England, to enable planners to record and assess the ecological value of sites proposed for development. It goes on to explore the potential for developing similar local level data bases for use in the New Zealand urban context.     

Towards a monitoring method and a number of multifaceted and hierarchical biodiversity indicators for urban and suburban parks

In this paper we develop a method for the general monitoring of the biodiversity in (sub)urban parks. The method works along two lines, that of habitat diversity and that of species diversity. On the habitat level we measure the diversity in so called ‘habitat units’. These units are divided in planar, linear and punctual elements. For each category we calculate a Shannon–Wiener diversity index and a saturation index. The latter is the ratio of the diversity index compared to the maximum diversity possible. On the species level we use the species number and diversity index of vascular plants, as measured in random sampling plots of 100 m² (for trees and shrubs) and 4 m² (for herbaceous vegetation). In addition, we also use the species number of butterflies, amphibians and breeding birds. These numbers are compared with the total species number in Flanders, resulting in a saturation index per park for butterflies, amphibians and breeding birds. In this way 20 biodiversity indicators are obtained. The proposed method was applied to the municipal park of Loppem (West-Flanders, Belgium), from which the necessary time budget has been calculated. Since it is the first application of a new method and no reference to other parks is available, the proposed bioindicators have been compared with criteria given in the literature on the selection of biodiversity indicators.     

Recommendations for design and management of golf courses and green spaces based on surveys of breeding bird communities in Montreal

It has been suggested that golf courses can serve as wildlife habitat, provided key landscape features are present. Breeding bird communities were characterized on six golf courses and six green spaces in the Montreal area, Quebec, Canada. Landscape variables were measured to see which were the best correlates of avian species richness within and across sites. While there was no difference in the mean number of bird species (golf: 31 ± 2.4 SE; green: 33 ± 4.5 SE), golf courses supported fewer total species (golf: 55; green: 66). However, most of the species contributing to the green spaces’ higher cumulative total were found at one site. Species composition differed between golf courses and green spaces, and was most correlated with site size, housing density surrounding the site, and extent of coniferous tree, grass, and vegetated water cover. Our results support the work of others, and suggest that golf course architects can improve habitat quality by: (1) increasing deciduous and coniferous tree cover; (2) increasing native vegetation within and surrounding all water bodies; (3) reducing the amount of highly managed grass area; (4) ensuring large, undeveloped buffers are maintained to prevent a shift in avian community composition with increasing urban sprawl; and (5) ensuring sites are planned as large as possible.     

北京工业大学耿丹学院建筑设计基础课教学探索

为了能够进一步提高独立学院的教学质量,根据独立学院的学生特点,北京工业大学耿丹学院对现有的建筑设计初步课程进行针对性的探索实践,使学生们更容易的去学习其在大学期间应该学得的知识。     

高职类建筑专业建筑制图与相关课程的整合

根据高等职业教育的特点,分析了建筑工程管理专业目前的课程体系,阐述了课程整合的必要性,构建了《建筑制图》与相关课程的整合框架,最后针对课程整合过程中可能出现的问题,提出了切实可行的措施,以期提高教学质量。     

三本院校工程管理专业建筑施工课程教学探索

针对目前三本院校工程管理专业建筑施工课程教学的现状,分析了教学中存在的多方面问题,从精简教材、优化及活化教学内容、改进教学方法、加强学业综合考评等方面提出了改进措施,以提高学生对建筑施工技术的应用能力。     

Effects of reduced nitrogen compounds on epiphytic lichen communities in Mediterranean Italy

The effects of reduced nitrogen compounds on epiphytic lichen vegetation have been largely investigated in northern Europe. This paper reports for the first time results of a study carried out on pine trees in the Mediterranean basin. Contrary to the usual acidophytic lichen colonization of pine bark, in this case a nitrophytic lichen vegetation was found, suggesting that the study area is characterized by a diffuse eutrophication. Tree circumference, distance from the stock farms, bark pH and bark electrical conductivity emerged as the main factors influencing the distribution and abundance of epiphytic lichens in the study area. Both Hyperphyscia adglutinata and Xanthoria parietina were suitable local indicator species of high pine bark pH values. However, while X. parietina indicated high nitrogen dust pollution, H. adglutinata occurred also where there was an additional increase in bark pH caused by the release of high amounts of ammonia. The increased nitrogen availability caused by ammonium apparently had no effect on the occurrence of nitrophytes.