Establishment of a comprehensive indicator system for the assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services

Context

Common indicators are needed to monitor biodiversity loss and the implications for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services (ES). A plethora of different sets of indicators may hinder the identification of major endpoints for large-scale assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES).

Objectives

We aim to describe the main challenges of indicators for BES assessment and provide suggestions for establishing a comprehensive indicator system.

Methods

An extensive literature review was conducted in this study. We review the main challenges of indicators for BES assessment and propose corresponding improvements from our perspectives of theory and practical applications.

Results

The main theoretical challenges of existing indicators include inconsistent definitions and classifications of ES, misunderstanding of linkages among biodiversity, ecosystem structure, functions and services, and practical problems relate to such issues as indicator representativeness, data availability, and uncertainty. Our suggested improvements include clarifying the main terms, concepts and classification of indicators, establishing a robust conceptual framework with clear interactions among different components and indicators, selecting indicators based on ecosystem properties, streaming existing data into one platform, and strengthening validation of proxies. The steps for constructing a comprehensive indicator system for BES assessment are summarized.

Conclusions

Clear definitions of key terms are indispensable to classify indicators and construct a conceptual framework. Improved understanding of the relations among indicators of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ES across multiple scales can guide the development of the indicator system. The integrated indicator system is an important tool for BES assessment to support decision making for sustainable development.

     

基于DTW距离的拖拉机传动轴载荷样本长度计算方法

针对工程领域载荷样本长度确定方法对农业机械载荷适用性较差的问题,提出了一种基于动态时间扭曲（DTW, Dynamic Time Warping）距离计算载荷样本长度的方法。首先,运用无线扭矩传感器获取犁耕作业下拖拉机传动轴的动态载荷,结合传动轴犁耕作业下的载荷特点,划分作业工况;再将作业循环叠加并经过归一化处理后进行DTW距离计算,确定传动轴载荷样本长度;最后,计算参数外推中均值混合正态分布函数的拟合参数相对误差。结果表明,运用DTW距离方法确定的载荷样本长度,能够使均值双正态分布函数拟合得到的参数相对误差保证在10%以内。近似均值精度估计法和均值曲线拟合法的拟合参数相对误差最大值分别为126.06%和80.62%,而基于DTW距离计算方法的拟合参数相对误差最大值为5.43%,验证了基于DTW距离的载荷样本长度计算方法的适用性。研究结果可为拖拉机传动轴田间试验载荷样本长度确定提供参考。     

Dynamics of forest biomass carbon stocks from 1949 to 2008 in Henan Province,east-central China

We estimated forest biomass carbon storage and carbon density from 1949 to 2008 based on nine consecutive forest inventories in Henan Province,China.According to the definitions of the forest inventory,Henan forests were categorized into five groups: forest stands,economic forests,bamboo forests,open forests,and shrub forests.We estimated biomass carbon in forest stands for each inventory period by using the continuous biomass expansion factor method.We used the mean biomass density method to estimate carbon stocks in economic,bamboo,open and shrub forests.Over the 60-year period,total forest vegetation carbon storage increased from34.6 Tg(1 Tg = 1×10~(12)g) in 1949 to 80.4 Tg in 2008,a net vegetation carbon increase of 45.8 Tg.By stand type,increases were 39.8 Tg in forest stands,5.5 Tg in economic forests,0.6 Tg in bamboo forests,and-0.1 Tg in open forests combine shrub forests.Carbon storageincreased at an average annual rate of 0.8 Tg carbon over the study period.Carbon was mainly stored in young and middle-aged forests,which together accounted for 70–88%of the total forest carbon storage in different inventory periods.Broad-leaved forest was the main contributor to forest carbon sequestration.From 1998 to 2008,during implementation of national afforestation and reforestation programs,the carbon storage of planted forest increased sharply from 3.9 to 37.9 Tg.Our results show that with the growth of young planted forest,Henan Province forests realized large gains in carbon sequestration over a 60-year period that was characterized in part by a nation-wide tree planting program.     

浙江省银杏生产的现状和对策

分析了浙江省银杏资源及其开发利用现状的基础上，揭示了发展银杏的优势和有利条件，以及银杏生产的存在问题，提出了发展银杏生产的对策和措施。     

油菜花上真菌种类及其对菌核菌拮抗作用的研究

于油菜初花期与盛花期采取油菜不同部位花瓣和花药进行真菌分离.除菌核病菌(Sclerotinia sclerotiorum)外,还以不同的频率分离到葡萄孢菌(Botrytis spp.),交链孢菌(Alternaria spp.),芽枝霉菌(Cladosporium spp.),叶点霉菌(Phyllosticta sp.),附球孢菌(Epicoccum sp.),镰刀菌(Fusarium spp.).其中葡萄孢菌、交链孢菌、芽枝霉菌出现较早,为初花期主要真菌群;盛花期还分离到叶点霉菌和附球孢菌,以镰刀菌出现最迟.1991年从分离真菌中选择101个菌株.通过培养皿法和花瓣法测定对菌核菌的拮抗作用,初步筛选出A_3,A_(25),A_(26),B_(10),B_(13),B_(11),B_(26),B_(31),B_(3(?)),C_8,E_1和E_2 12个对菌核菌拮抗作用较强的菌株.用以上拮抗菌和菌核菌的孢子悬液于24h 时内在实验室条件下先后喷雾接种开花的油菜植株,所有拮抗菌占领花朵百分率为63%～96%不等,而菌核菌不能定殖其上.1992年从151个分离菌株中,筛选出59个对核盘菌具有拮抗作用的真菌菌株,其中葡萄孢菌41个占69.49%,交链孢菌5个占8.47%,芽枝霉菌1个占1.69%,镰刀菌12个占20.34%.     

Validation of multi-frequency inversion method by using dummy scatterers of zooplankton

ABSTRACT:   High- and multi-frequency acoustic measurement systems and the multi-frequency inversion (MFI) method have been used to measure spatial distributions and abundances of zooplankton by size. In this study, the calibration method for high- and multi-frequency systems was developed and the validation of MFI method was carried out by scatterer measurement. The standard sphere calibration method that has not been applied to such high- and multi-frequencies was applied to calibrate our high- and multi-frequency system, TAPS-6 (Tracor Acoustic Profiling System, BAE Systems). An optimum size of standard sphere of tungsten carbide of 1 mm radius was derived to have a small target strength variation for the six frequencies of TAPS-6, and the practicability and precision of the standard sphere calibration method was confirmed for those frequencies. A school or cluster of dummy scatterers of zooplankton with small tungsten carbide spheres were designed to validate the MFI method, and volume back-scattering strength values were measured by the multi-frequency system. By comparing the result of the inversion with their real composition, the features of the MFI method could be validated and examined.     

基于微根管技术的玉米根系生长监测

为了研究玉米根系生长规律,该文利用固城农业气象试验站内设置的大型根剖面系统,采用微根管观测法,对试验地上玉米主要生育期的根系生长动态进行定期直接跟踪监测,并以方形整段标本法作为参照标准,对试验数据采用MATLAB软件辅助图像处理和现代统计方法进行分析。结果表明：微根管法与方形整段标本法对得出的根长密度随深度增加呈递减型有较好的一致性,两者相关系数达到0.83以上,通过0.05的显著性检验;由观测数据建立的回归方程能较好地反映土壤中玉米根系生长规律,进一步表明微根管法是一种破坏性较小、可准确定位跟踪植物根系在土壤中生长动态变化的先进技术,对植物根系生长研究有较好的推广应用价值。     

Developing fertilizer recommendations for rice in Sub-Saharan Africa,achievements and opportunities

Improving agricultural productivity to keep pace with the fast-growing food demand is a huge challenge for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Fertilizer is a powerful productivity-enhancing input; nevertheless, farmers of SSA use only 5–9 kg ha^?1 of fertilizer, which is ten times lesser than Latin America and Asia (50 and 80 kg ha^?1, respectively). Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important food crops of SSA, and its consumption is growing faster than any other commodity in Africa. Rice-based systems have high potential for improving food production through an efficient management of fertilizers. The biophysical environment, cropping systems and socio-economic status of farmers including market opportunities are the main factors for developing appropriate fertilizer recommendations. Many research efforts have been invested in different countries to develop fertilizer recommendation for rice. However, the diversity of rice ecologies, the type and the cost of fertilizers available on local market are the main constraints for development of blanket recommendations of fertilizer usually applied in many countries. Here, we make a reviews of the progress made on the development of fertilizer recommendations for rice-based systems in SSA. The utilization of the new concepts and decisions support tools for development of fertilizer recommendation and the main achievements and weakness are discussed. The opportunities offered by the new concepts, modeling and decision support tools are discussed in a regional strategic approach for better management of fertilizers in the diversified ecologies of rice-based systems.     

Nomenclature and genetic relationships of apples and pears from Terceira Island

Heritage apple (Malus domestica Borkh. hybrids) and pear (Pyrus communis L. hybrid) trees grow in villages throughout Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal. Some of these pears have different names but similar morphology. The objective of this study was to determine synonymy, homology, and phylogeny of apples and pears from Terceira and to examine potential relationships of the island pears with standard apples and pears of Portuguese or American descent. Nine apple microsatellite markers were used to determine genetic relationships. Distance- and parsimony-based cluster analysis grouped these genotypes into separate apple and pear clades. The Terceira apples were divided into two clades: the maçā and the reineta-reinette. Among the 17 heritage apple genotypes, seven unique accessions were identified and four groups of synonyms, or possibly clones, were detected including: ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares; ‘Reineta Castanha’ and ‘Reineta Verde Miuda’; ‘Maçā Pêra,’ ‘Maçā Calhau’, ‘Pêro Branco’ from Salga and from Terra-Chā and ‘Maçā Marmelo’; and the five genotypes ‘Maçā Sao Joao’, ‘Malápio Rosa’, ‘Maçā Gaspar’, ‘Maçā Branca’ and ‘Maçā Pato’. In addition, two homonyms were detected. ‘Pêro Vermelho’ from Terra Chā was a separate genotype from a tree from Doze Ribeiras of the same name, but Pêro Branco from Terra Chā appears to be a clone that can be distinguished by an additional allele at CH1F07a from a tree with that name from Salga. One pair of apple clones, ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares appear to be derived from an unreduced gamete of ‘Golden Delicious.’ Another apple genotype ‘Maçā Acida’ could be a sibling of the ‘Maçā Pêra’ clonal group. Other tested standard apples from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Of the seven heritage pears, five unique genotypes and one pair of synonyms were detected. ‘Pêra Papo Pintassilgo’ from Raminho and ‘Pêra Vermelha’ from the nursery of Serviço de Desenvolvimento Agario da Terceira (SDAT) were synonyms. ‘Passans du Portugal’ was related to ‘Pêra Cabaca’ but other standard pears from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Future studies will include additional apple and pear cultivars from other Islands of the Azores and continental Portugal, and wild Asian species to further explore genetic relationships.     

Reputational damage and the Fukushima disaster: an analysis of seafood in Japan

As the levels of radioactivity in seafood have fallen back into the safe range, Fukushima fisheries are considering reopening. However, even if seafood from the Fukushima area were sufficiently safe to distribute to seafood markets, its value may be undermined because of the damage done to its reputation by the Fukushima disaster. We quantified consumers’ preferences for seafood from Fukushima and adjacent prefectures to examine the extent of the reputational damage to Fukushima seafood. We conducted a choice experiment to measure consumers’ willingness to pay for seafood from the Fukushima area. We also measured the impact of displaying ecolabels [Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Marine Eco-label Japan (MEL)] on Fukushima products. The results indicated that Fukushima products are considerably discounted compared with products displayed as domestic; even products from adjacent prefectures are substantially discounted. By contrast, consumers positively evaluated locally labeled products. We also found that demersal fish are discounted more than pelagic fish that inhabit the ocean surface off the shore of Fukushima.