Phytoplankton biomass and primary production dynamics in Lake Kariba

The present study examined spatial, seasonal and depth variations in phytoplankton biomass and primary production (PP), compared with those reported for other tropical African lakes, to determine whether or not measured phytoplankton changes might be linked to climate warming. The biomass of three major phytoplankton classes (Cyanophyceae; Chlorophyceae; Bacillariophyceae) and net PP were measured during the midwinter and midsummer at six different depths at 35 sampling sites distributed across the lake’s five basins. A more rigorous sampling regime was used in the fifth basin, with phytoplankton biomass and PP rates measured every second month over a 24 month period at six different depths at ten sampling sites located in riverine and lacustrine waters. Cyanophyceae, which displayed a gradient of decreasing biomass from Basins 2 to 5, contributed 69% of the total phytoplankton biomass in the lake’s five basins during summer. This percentage was approximately four times greater than that contributed by the Bacillariophyceae and about ten times greater than that contributed by the Chlorophyceae. During winter, Bacillariophyceae biomass was equivalent to that of the Cyanophyceae, but displayed an opposing gradient of increasing biomass from Basins 1 to 3, with a subsequent biomass decline from Basins 3 to 5. Chlorophyceae exhibited no distinct biomass gradient across the five lake basins, being undetectable during winter. The biomass of all three phytoplankton classes and the net PP varied in magnitude and direction monthly between the lacustrine and riverine waters, with increasing water depth and with no distinct seasonal patterns being evident. The monthly variations in biomass were related to the thermal stratification cycle, hydrological gradients and the extent of water mixing, being similar to those reported for other tropical African lakes. It is noteworthy that total phytoplankton biomass and PP in Lake Kariba have declined by about 95% and 50%, respectively, since the 1980s. These declines correspond to an upward shift in the depth of the thermocline, associated with an average temperature increase of 1.9 °C and a 50% reduction in the depth of the euphotic zone, since the 1960s.     

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF WATER QUALITY IN BOREAL RIVERS BASED ON PARTITIONING METHODS

Quantitative studies of the relationships between river water quality and environmental variables are needed to improve understanding of the impacts of natural and human factors on aquatic environments. However, multicollinearity between environmental variables can hinder the identification of key factors when water quality–environment relationship is studied using traditional regression methods. This study utilized two alternative statistical methods, variation and hierarchical partitioning, to address these difficulties in studies of river water quality. Using these methods, we explored the effects of catchment physiography, climate and land use variables on total phosphorus and nitrogen, pH, water colour and dissolved oxygen during the years 1995–2005 in 32 boreal rivers in Finland. Catchment physiography and land use explained most of the variation in water quality, especially in phosphorus, nitrogen and water colour data. The strong correlations (r_s > 0.8) between agricultural land use and phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations indicate that water quality is highly affected by agriculture in boreal regions. By determining the environmental drivers of different water quality variables, we can estimate the water quality of different catchments in response to environmental changes and identify areas that are sensitive to global changes. Our study shows that novel statistical methods integrated with geographic information system data and techniques provide deeper insights into water quality–environment relationships than traditional regression, and these should be considered when developing, for example, conservation planning for rivers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linking Organizational Resources and Work Engagement to Employee Performance and Customer Loyalty: The Mediation of Service Climate.

This study examined the mediating role of service climate in the prediction of employee performance and customer loyalty. Contact employees (N=342) from 114 service units (58 hotel front desks and 56 restaurants) provided information about organizational resources, engagement, and service climate. Furthermore, customers (N=1,140) from these units provided information on employee performance and customer loyalty. Structural equation modeling analyses were consistent with a full mediation model in which organizational resources and work engagement predict service climate, which in turn predicts employee performance and then customer loyalty. Further analyses revealed a potential reciprocal effect between service climate and customer loyalty. Implications of the study are discussed, together with limitations and suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field test investigation of a double-stage coupled heat pumps heating system for cold regions

This paper reports a double-stage coupled heat pumps (DSCHP) heating system, which couples air source heat pump (ASHP) and water source heat pump (WSHP) together. The system is presented for the first time in open literature with the objective to improve the working condition and heating performance of the ASHP under cold environment. A practical project in Beijing firstly installed this system and field test has been performed for one month. The test results indicate that the DSCHP system can be smoothly and efficiently used for heating in cold regions. Compared with the traditional ASHP heating system, the operating characteristics of the DSCHP heating system are greatly improved, demonstrating that the system can offer considerable application potential in cold regions.     

世界能源的未来

介绍世界能源发展现状，未来能源的发展趋向和21世纪的长期能源预测，指出21世界能源具有美好的光明前景。     

Remote sensing of vegetation and land-cover change in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems

The objective of this paper is to review research conducted over the past decade on the application of multi-temporal remote sensing for monitoring changes of Arctic tundra lands. Emphasis is placed on results from the National Science Foundation Land-Air-Ice Interactions (LAII) program and on optical remote sensing techniques. Case studies demonstrate that ground-level sensors on stationary or moving track platforms and wide-swath imaging sensors on polar orbiting satellites are particularly useful for capturing optical remote sensing data at sufficient frequency to study tundra vegetation dynamics and changes for the cloud prone Arctic. Less frequent imaging with high spatial resolution instruments on aircraft and lower orbiting satellites enable more detailed analyses of land cover change and calibration/validation of coarser resolution observations.The strongest signals of ecosystem change detected thus far appear to correspond to expansion of tundra shrubs and changes in the amount and extent of thaw lakes and ponds. Changes in shrub cover and extent have been documented by modern repeat imaging that matches archived historical aerial photography. NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) time series provide a 20-year record for determining changes in greenness that relates to photosynthetic activity, net primary production, and growing season length. The strong contrast between land materials and surface waters enables changes in lake and pond extent to be readily measured and monitored.     

寒地大学校园环境要素与冬季体力活动相关性

为探究促进冬季体力活动的寒地大学校园环境设计依据,基于循证设计理论和社会生态学模型在中国东北地区9座大学校园年内进行了问卷调查,用实证方法探究了寒地大学校园的建成、气候及感知环境要素对学生冬季体力活动频率和水平的影响.通过描述性统计横向对比了学生冬季与非冬季月份的体力活动模式及各个校园的主观评价得分;并通过多重线性回归分析探求了校园环境要素对冬季体力活动的影响.统计结果表明:学生在冬季月份进行体力活动的频率和总量低于非冬季月份;校园冬季环境质量低于非冬季月份,且设施防寒、步行可达性、交通安全性、冬季活动安全性得分较低;在冬季,目的地多样性、公共交通选择多样性、道路交通网络连通性、步行道路环境品质、辅助设施存在性、犯罪安全性与交通性体力活动正相关,冰雪危害和空气污染与交通性体力活动负相关;校园环境与冬季休闲性活动无相关关系.利用上述数据可以初步推测促进体力活动的寒地大学校园环境设计倾向并对各个环境要素的重要程度进行评级,重要程度较高的要素是校内目的地、步行道路、犯罪安全性、步行辅助设施和校园公共交通服务.     

Green leaf phenology at Landsat resolution: Scaling from the field to the satellite

Despite the large number of in situ, plot-level phenological measurements and satellite-derived phenological studies, there has been little success to date in merging these records temporally or spatially. In this research, we bridge this scale gap through higher resolution satellite records (Landsat) and quantify the accuracy of satellite-derived metrics with direct field measurements. We compiled fifty-seven Landsat scenes from southern New England (P12 R51) from 1984 to 2002. Green vegetation areal abundance for each scene was derived from spectral mixture analysis and a single set of endmembers. The leaf area signal was fit with a logistic-growth simulating sigmoid curve to derive phenological markers (half-maximum leaf-onset and offset). Spring leaf-onset dates in homogenous stands of deciduous forests displayed significant and persistent local variability. The local variability was validated with multiple springtime ground observations (r² = 0.91). The highest degree of verified small-scale variation occurred where contiguous forests displayed leaf-onset gradients of 10-14 days over short distances (< 500 m). These dramatic gradients occur in of low-relief (< 40 m) upland regions. The patterns suggest that microclimates resulting from springtime cold-air drainage may be influential in governing the start of leaf growth; every 4.16 m loss in elevation delayed spring leaf onset by 1 day. These microclimates may be of crucial importance in interpreting in situ records and interpolating phenology from satellite data. Regional patterns from the Landsat analyses suggest topographic, coastal, and land-use controls on phenology. Our results indicate that deciduous forests in the Providence, RI metropolitan area leaf out 5-7 days earlier than comparable rural areas. The platform-independent curve-fit methodology may be extended across platforms and field data. The methodologically consistent approach, in tandem with Landsat data, allows an effective scaling from plot to satellite phenological observations.     

Employment Discrimination: The Role of Implicit Attitudes, Motivation, and a Climate for Racial Bias.

This study is an attempt to replicate and extend research on employment discrimination by A. P. Brief and colleagues (A. P. Brief, J. Dietz, R. R. Cohen, S. D. Pugh, & J. B. Vaslow, 2000). More specifically, the authors attempted (a) to constructively replicate the prior finding that an explicit measure of modern racism would interact with a corporate climate for racial bias to predict discrimination in a hiring context and (b) to extend this finding through the measurement of implicit racist attitudes and motivation to control prejudice. Although the authors were unable to replicate the earlier interaction, they did illustrate that implicit racist attitudes interacted with a climate for racial bias to predict discrimination. Further, results partially illustrate that motivation to control prejudice moderates the relationship between explicit and implicit attitudes. Taken together, the findings illustrate the differences between implicit and explicit racial attitudes in predicting discriminatory behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

中国自然保护地碳中和贡献的初步 评估及三个关键研究课题

自然保护地不仅对保护生物多样性具有重要意义,也在减缓气候变化、实现碳中和目标方面起到关键作用。中国自然保护地的碳中和贡献尚未得到充分的认识和关注,相关研究尚处于起步阶段。首先对中国陆域自然保护地的碳储量、碳吸收能力、人为碳排放水平展开初步评估,发现陆域自然保护地在保护高碳中和贡献生态系统方面存在不足。随后提出了中国自然保护地碳中和贡献研究的3个关键课题,分别是自然保护地碳循环作用机理研究、自然保护地碳中和贡献评估与管理、生物多样性保护和碳中和的协同治理。最后围绕关键课题提出14个具体研究问题,为中国自然保护地减缓气候变化的科学研究与管理实践构建系统框架。