Media and social impact valuation of a living wall: The case study of the Sagrado Corazon hospital in Seville (Spain)

Vertical greening systems have increased in popularity during the last years due to their experienced added ecological and aesthetic value for current clients. The use of living walls is in line with a service sector focusing on environmental consciousness. Still, scientific evidence is lacking regarding the multiple benefits of LW. There is also a lingering fear of high installation and maintenance costs. Therefore, it is important to assess the intangible benefits that increase the value of living walls and, hence, of the place in which they are installed. The main objective of this work is the valuation of the returns obtained because of the publicity related to a living wall installed in the ‘Quirónsalud Sagrado Corazón’ Hospital in Seville (Spain) and the assessment of the public’s perception towards it. The investment that the hospital would have made in order to obtain a similar media impact has been estimated. The living wall proved to be very profitable in terms of publicity as the installation costs were recovered six times over. Also, the attitude towards the presence of such a greening system in the premises was assessed. To do so, 555 questionnaires were handed out face-to-face to patients, visitors and workers present at the hospital. Most participants concurred that the living wall induced positive reactions and improved their psychological well-being. Therefore, they completely agreed with the investment made by the hospital on such a vertical greening system.     

The shared landscape: what does aesthetics have to do with ecology?

This collaborative essay grows out of a debate about the relationship between aesthetics and ecology and the possibility of an “ecological aesthetic” that affects landscape planning, design, and management. We describe our common understandings and unresolved questions about this relationship, including the importance of aesthetics in understanding and affecting landscape change and the ways in which aesthetics and ecology may have either complementary or contradictory implications for a landscape. To help understand these issues, we first outline a conceptual model of the aesthetics–ecology relationship. We posit that: 1. While human and environmental phenomena occur at widely varying scales, humans engage with environmental phenomena at a particular scale: that of human experience of our landscape surroundings. That is the human “perceptible realm.” 2. Interactions within this realm give rise to aesthetic experiences, which can lead to changes affecting humans and the landscape, and thus ecosystems. 3. Context affects aesthetic experience of landscapes. Context includes both effects of different landscape types (wild, agricultural, cultural, and metropolitan landscapes) and effects of different personal–social situational activities or concerns. We argue that some contexts elicit aesthetic experiences that have traditionally been called “scenic beauty,” while other contexts elicit different aesthetic experiences, such as perceived care, attachment, and identity. Last, we discuss how interventions through landscape planning, design, and management; or through enhanced knowledge might establish desirable relationships between aesthetics and ecology, and we examine the controversial characteristics of such ecological aesthetics. While these interventions may help sustain beneficial landscape patterns and practices, they are inherently normative, and we consider their ethical implications.     

感官鉴别真伪鹿鞭

通过对真伪鹿鞭感官真伪鉴定的研究 ,找出真伪鹿鞭的不同特点 ,并加以区分     

广东省消费者对食用农产品标识的认知及支付意愿

农产品标识是传播农产品信息的有效途径,能够消除农产品信息不对称现象。广东省于2009年率先在我国颁布实施了农产品标识市场准入制度,因而其消费者具有较好的认知基础。通过对广州、湛江、东莞和惠州4市消费者进行实地调研,运用二元Logistic回归模型,重点研究消费者对农产品标识的认识水平以及影响其支付意愿的主要因素。研究结果表明:消费者对加贴标识农产品的认知水平和支付意愿具有正相关性,即认识水平低,支付意愿也低;另外,年龄、收入、文化程度、支付能力和农产品价格也是影响消费者支付意愿的重要因素;其中,农产品价格与支付意愿负相关,其他影响因素与支付意愿正相关。     

“Not in their front yard” The opportunities and challenges of introducing perennial urban meadows: A local authority stakeholder perspective

The growing evidence base for the benefits for people and wildlife of nature-based solutions to managing urban green infrastructure lacks research investigating land manager perspectives on their implementation. To address this gap, we explored UK local authority manager perceptions of the challenges and opportunities of introducing perennial urban meadows to prioritise biodiversity and aesthetics. This was co-produced as an experiment in urban greenspaces with Luton Parks Service and Bedford Borough Council 2013–15. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the eight stakeholder managers involved to identify key factors impacting on the perceived feasibility of future urban meadow establishment in other areas. All managers identified three dominant factors (aesthetics and public reaction, locational context, and human resources and economic sustainability). Additional factors (local politics, communication, biodiversity and existing habitat and physical factors) varied in importance according to personal values and managerial role. Support for future meadow introduction and a desire to overcome the economic challenge of the disposal of meadow arisings were related to manager biocentricity. Managers were aware of changing public values leading to increasing acceptance of a messier urban aesthetic. They perceived perennial meadows as a realistic alternative to amenity mown grass that in specific contexts could increase local biodiversity and enhance aesthetics if implemented in consultation with the public and local councillors. Our findings have relevance for the wider implementation of such nature-based solutions to urban GI management: Changes in management practice such as the introduction of perennial meadows have significant political, strategic, economic and practical implications and cannot be viewed purely as a technical challenge.     

基于触觉感知的水稻行弯度测量装置设计与试验

为解决水田环境下稻行弯度信息提取问题,提出一种触觉感知方法。根据除草期内水稻与杂草的生理高度及力学差异,基于弯曲传感器设计了一种稻株定位的感知梁。通过力学分析,建立了感知梁与稻株接触作用的力学模型,结合稻株抗弯强度,确定了感知梁抗弯刚度的设计原则。在此基础上,构建感知梁标定试验装置,获得了装置偏距与感知梁电压差的映射关系。基于多传感器技术,通过采集4根感知梁的电压(形变)变化特征,计算出稻行弯度。为检验测量装置的精度及稳定性,进行了田间试验,行进速度试验表明:行进速度的提高不利于测量结果的稳定性,在行进速度为1. 5 m/s时,平均误差为5. 90 mm,最大误差为8. 30 mm;稻穴株数试验表明:测量误差与稻穴株数有一定的相关性,稻穴株数为6株以上的测量误差最小,平均误差为2. 56 mm,4～5株的平均误差较大,为4. 36 mm,1～3株测量的平均误差最大,为6. 17 mm;水层厚度试验表明:测量误差与水层厚度没有明显相关性,误差均能控制在14 mm范围内。该装置测量结果可满足避苗机械除草等精准控制的要求。     

Is urban greening for everyone? Social inclusion and exclusion along the Gowanus Canal

Focusing on the subthemes of how governance happens and processes of marginalization, this paper examines a case study in Gowanus, Brooklyn to explore inclusion and exclusion in urban environmental decision-making processes. This work gains support from theoretical considerations in urban political ecology and interdisciplinary research on green gentrification and how power differences and inequity impact civic involvement. The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York became a Superfund site in 2010, after much debate between local, state, and federal government offices over how to pursue clean up. Private development, local and state initiatives are addressing the sewage and other contamination along the banks of the canal while the Superfund clean up in the waterway takes place. The area has become a site for enacting waterfront planning and economic development, green infrastructure creation, brownfield redevelopment, and other local and state green planning initiatives. Public forums on cleaning and greening Gowanus have engaged the community, and allowed space for discussing the possibilities for the future of the area. This paper will focus on interview responses in relation to the federal Environmental Protection Agency decision-making process. Why do some residents support or oppose the clean up processes in Gowanus, and what influences their ability or desire to take part in the decision-making processes? Further, for whom is this space being redeveloped, and how do inclusion and exclusion operate to create divisions in decision-making processes surrounding the clean up?     

生态旅游视角下景区居民利益感知研究——以武陵源风景区为例

旅游地居民对旅游的利益感知是影响一个地方旅游业可持续发展的关键因素。通过对武陵源风景区居民进行问卷调查，运用SPSS统计软件进行数据统计，采用因子分析法对该区域居民的利益感知状况进行分析发现：不同人口学特征的居民对旅游的利益感知具有明显差异，主要表现在经济、文化和环境等方面。在此基础上提出相关建议，为景区居民的利益保护提供相关依据。     

基于反DEM和HSV变换的遥感图像反立体校正

为解决遥感图像反立体现象给使用者带来的不便,加强遥感图像的使用.提出一种基于反DEM结合太阳光照和HSV颜色变换的遥感图像反立体校正方法,并以高黎贡山地区的IRS遥感图像为例与原有的方法进行了对比试验.结果表明:所提出方法在原始图像色彩保留、原始图像阴坡区域的校正效果及原始图像光谱信息保留方面都要优于原有方法.     

基于绿视率的校园景观感知视听耦合特征分析

深入认识视觉和听觉耦合下人们对景观的感知规律，对景观资源评价和宜居环境设计尤为关键。以福建农林大学金山校区校园景观为对象，结合样地监测和问卷调查等方法，比较分析夏季（7月）不同绿视率呈现的视觉信息与声音感受特征结合下人们对景观环境感知特征的差异。结果表明:1）校园声景观不同时段的声音类型频率与声级无明显相关关系（P＞0.05），声级大小与空气温度、湿度等环境因子亦无显著相关性；2）景观中10、30 m和50 m的3个圆形缓冲区内的道路面积占比与声级呈中等强度正相关（0.577＜r＜0.689），且林地面积占比与声级呈中等强度负相关（r=-0.591），其他景观要素与声级均无显著相关性；3）声音的存在会影响人们对景观美感度和景观自然度感知，但在高和低绿视率景观中表现相反，即:在高绿视率景观中为正向效应，而在低绿视率组中产生负向效应。女性对声景观感知的好感度显著高于男性；4）无论景观绿视率高低与否，受访者对声音响度与视听匹配度的感受都会对景观美感度和自然度产生显著影响，但影响作用各异。