The Assessment of Island-Type Urban Ecosystem Based on the Environmental Carrying Capacity Model - A Case Study of Shanghai's ChongMing Island

2012 ◽  
Vol 573-574 ◽  
pp. 325-330
Author(s):  
Shi Dong Liu ◽  
Dong Qian Xue ◽  
Jun Gao

The island-type urban ecosystem is facing enormous pressures due to its special geographical location and spatial integrity. This paper uses Shanghai's ChongMing Island as an area of study and selects the Yangtze River tunnel-bridge, and the Shanghai World EXPO as driving factors for the urban ecosystem. This will be based on the time-spatial urban ecosystem carrying capacity assessment model in order to study the impact of human activities on the island-type environment. The paper will subsequently identify the limiting factors of the ChongMing urban ecosystem. The results show that the water ecosystem in ChongMing is presently in good condition. From 2004 to 2011, the traffic carrying capacity has apparently been alleviated. Much of the traffic onto the island has changed from ferry boat traffic to tunnel-bridge transportation. The tunnel-bridge carrying capacity has been gradually decompressed after the Shanghai World EXPO, and has basically met the needs of the people. Despite this, the influx of tourists in 2010 made urban environmental problems more prevalent, especially the treatment of solid waste, which is now the biggest obstacle to natural environmental protection on ChongMing Island.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
WB Hall ◽  
GM Mckeon ◽  
JO Carter ◽  
KA Day ◽  
SM Howden ◽  
...  

The 160 million ha of grazing land in Queensland support approximately 10 million beef equivalents (9.8 million cattle and 10.7 million sheep) with treed and cleared native pastures as the major forage source. The complexity of these biophysical systems and their interaction with pasture and stock management, economic and social forces limits our ability to easily calculate the impact of climate change scenarios. We report the application of a systems approach in simulating the flow of plant dry matter and utilisation of forage by animals. Our review of available models highlighted the lack of suitable mechanistic models and the potential role of simple empirical relationships of utilisation and animal production derived from climatic and soil indices. Plausible climate change scenarios were evaluated by using a factorial of rainfall (f 10%) * 3260C temperature increase * doubling CO, in sensitivity studies at property, regional and State scales. Simulation of beef cattle liveweight gain at three locations in the Queensland black speargrass zone showed that a *lo% change in rainfall was magnified to be a f 15% change in animal production (liveweight gain per ha) depending on location, temperature and CO, change. Models of 'safe' carrying capacity were developed from property data and expert opinion. Climate change impacts on 'safe' carrying capacity varied considerably across the State depending on whether moisture, temperature or nutrients were the limiting factors. Without the effect of doubling CO,, warmer temperatures and +lo% changes in rainfall resulted in -35 to +70% changes in 'safe' carrying capacity depending on location. With the effect of doubling CO, included, the changes in 'safe' carrying capacity ranged from -12 to +115% across scenarios and locations. When aggregated to a whole-of-State carrying capacity, the combined effects of warmer temperature, doubling CO, and +lo% changes in rainfall resulted in 'safe' carrying capacity changes of +3 to +45% depending on rainfall scenario and location. A major finding of the sensitivity study was the potential importance of doubling CO, in mitigating or amplifying the effects of warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall. Field studies on the impact of CO, are therefore a high research priority. Keywords: climate change, Queensland, simulation, rangelands, beef production, cattle, carrying capacity, CO,, utilisation


Author(s):  
M. von der Thannen ◽  
S. Hoerbinger ◽  
C. Muellebner ◽  
H. Biber ◽  
H. P. Rauch

AbstractRecently, applications of soil and water bioengineering constructions using living plants and supplementary materials have become increasingly popular. Besides technical effects, soil and water bioengineering has the advantage of additionally taking into consideration ecological values and the values of landscape aesthetics. When implementing soil and water bioengineering structures, suitable plants must be selected, and the structures must be given a dimension taking into account potential impact loads. A consideration of energy flows and the potential negative impact of construction in terms of energy and greenhouse gas balance has been neglected until now. The current study closes this gap of knowledge by introducing a method for detecting the possible negative effects of installing soil and water bioengineering measures. For this purpose, an environmental life cycle assessment model has been applied. The impact categories global warming potential and cumulative energy demand are used in this paper to describe the type of impacts which a bioengineering construction site causes. Additionally, the water bioengineering measure is contrasted with a conventional civil engineering structure. The results determine that the bioengineering alternative performs slightly better, in terms of energy demand and global warming potential, than the conventional measure. The most relevant factor is shown to be the impact of the running machines at the water bioengineering construction site. Finally, an integral ecological assessment model for applications of soil and water bioengineering structures should point out the potential negative effects caused during installation and, furthermore, integrate the assessment of potential positive effects due to the development of living plants in the use stage of the structures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5598
Author(s):  
Stasys Mizaras ◽  
Diana Lukmine

Effective formation and implementation of forest policy can only be achieved with orientation to the most important goal—increasing society’s welfare. The global problem is, at present, that the impact of forests on society welfare indexes have not been identified. The aim of the study is to design an assessment model and assess the impact of Lithuanian forests on the society welfare index. The impact of forests was determined by multiplying the country’s welfare of society index by the forest contribution coefficient. In this study, to assess the index of the welfare of Lithuanian society, a five-dimensional model with 16 indicators was applied. The study is based on the Eurostat database and on Lithuanian forestry statistics. The Lithuanian welfare of society index calculated according to the model was 51.4% and the contribution of forests in this index was 3.9%. It represented 7.6% of the index of the welfare of society. Forests have the greatest impact in the environmental dimension, according to the assessment results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickael Teixeira Alves ◽  
Nick G. H. Taylor ◽  
Hannah J. Tidbury

AbstractPersistence of wild Pacific oyster, Magallana gigas, also known as Crassostrea gigas, has been increasingly reported across Northern European waters in recent years. While reproduction is inhibited by cold waters, recent warm summer temperature has increased the frequency of spawning events. Although correlation between the increasing abundance of Pacific oyster reefs in Northern European waters and climate change is documented, persistence of wild populations may also be influenced by external recruitment from farmed populations and other wild oyster populations, as well as on competition for resources with aquaculture sites. Our understanding of the combined impact of the spawning frequency, external recruitment, and competition on wild population persistence is limited. This study applied an age-structured model, based on ordinary differential equations, to describe an oyster population under discrete temperature-related dynamics. The impact of more frequent spawning events, external recruitment, and changes in carrying capacity on Pacific oyster density were simulated and compared under theoretical scenarios and two case studies in Southern England. Results indicate that long term persistence of wild oyster populations towards carrying capacity requires a high frequency of spawning events but that in the absence of spawning, external recruitment from farmed populations and other wild oyster populations may act to prevent extinction and increase population density. However, external recruitment sources may be in competition with the wild population so that external recruitment is associated with a reduction in wild population density. The implications of model results are discussed in the context of wild oyster population management.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1333
Author(s):  
Syed S. U. H. Bukhari ◽  
Alan G. McElligott ◽  
Rebecca S. V. Parkes

There are approximately 112 million working equids in developing countries, many of which are associated with brick kilns. Brick kilns and overloading are associated with welfare problems in working equids. Understanding equids’ abilities and influencing factors are important for both effective performance and welfare. Traditionally, measurement of the amount of ‘bone’ was used, and more recently, gait symmetry has been identified as a potential marker for loading capacity. Assessment of stride parameters and gait kinematics provides insights into adaptations to loading and may help determine cut-off loads. Physiological factors such as the ability to regain normal heart rates shortly after work is an important tool for equine fitness assessment and a more accurate measure of load-carrying capacity than absolute heart rate. Oxidative stress, plasma lactate, and serum creatine kinase activity are reliable biochemical indicators of loading ability. For monitoring stress, salivary cortisol is superior to serum cortisol level for assessment of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and is related to eye temperatures, but this has yet to be interpreted in terms of load-carrying ability in equids. Further research is needed to standardize the evidence-based load-carrying capacity of working horses and donkeys.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107-120
Author(s):  
Viktor Medennikov

The article substantiates the need to re-evaluate the role of human capital in the development of society in the digital age. Since high-quality education is the main direction of the formation of human capital in any country, the importance of creating an information space for scientific and educational institutions is demonstrated. A methodology for assessing the level of human capital on the basis of information scientific and educational resources is proposed. The author presents results of calculations obtained by this method on the example of agricultural educational institutions and a mathematical model for assessing the impact of human capital on the socio-economic situation of the regions.


1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Jordan ◽  
Rusty Brooks

AbstractThis paper describes a microcomputer software package, IO/EAM: An Input-Output Economic Assessment Model, which was developed at the University of Georgia through a joint extension-research effort. The package is a menudriven, user friendly program that is designed to be used by county extension agents, researchers, and other extension personnel to estimate the economic impact of changes in county economies. The program employs an input-output model that provides users with a locally based, easily updated source of economic intelligence. Use of input-output techniques allows users to estimate the impact of changes in county economies on an industry-by-industry basis and to account for the interdependencies among these industries in a county.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 438-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shari Harding

Self-stigma is a salient concept in mental health care. Consequences of self-stigma include increased morbidity and decreased engagement with the health care system. Cultural factors may affect self-stigma and its consequences. This article utilizes the Giger and Davidhizar transcultural assessment model to explore veteran culture and self-stigma. Veterans have their own cultural values that can affect nursing care. Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans are seeking care in community settings more often than within the VA system; therefore, all nurses should be aware of the cultural needs of veterans including the impact of self-stigma.


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