From dust bowl to dust bowl:soils are still very much a frontier of science

When the Soil Science Society of America was created, 75 yr ago, the USA was suffering from major dust storms, causing the loss of enormous amounts of topsoil as well as human lives. These catastrophic events reminded public officials that soils are essential to society’s well-being. The Soil Conservation Service was founded and farmers were encouraged to implement erosion mitigation practices. Still, many questions about soil processes remained poorly understood and controversial. In this article, we argue that the current status of soils worldwide parallels that in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Dust bowls and large-scale soil degradation occur over vast regions in a number of countries. Perhaps more so even than in the past, soils currently have the potential to affect populations critically in several other ways as well, from their effect on global climate change, to the toxicity of brownfield soils in urban settings. Even though our collective understanding of soil processes has experienced significant advances since 1936, many basic questions still remain unanswered, for example whether or not a switch to no-till agriculture promotes C sequestration in soils, or how to account for microscale heterogeneity in the modeling of soil organic matter transformation. Given the enormity of the challenges raised by our (ab)uses of soils, one may consider that if we do not address them rapidly, and in the process heed the example of U.S. public officials in the 1930s who took swift action, humanity may not get a chance to explore other frontiers of science in the future. From this perspective, insistence on the fact that soils are critical to life on earth, and indeed to the survival of humans, may again stimulate interest in soils among the public, generate support for soil research, and attract new generations of students to study soils

Study on US wetland protection institution change

本文提出了分析湿地保护制度变迁的理论框架,使不同国家的湿地保护制度研究能在统一语境下比较。首先基于科学计量学和系统研究方法筛选出公众、科学、政府和法律为影响湿地保护制度变迁的四个关键要素,并依赖博弈论工具建立了分析美国湿地保护制度的理论架构。基于这一架构,本文对包括关键利益相关者、政策执行路径、政策工具和管理挑战等内容的美国湿地政策史进行了讨论。对美国湿地保护制度的演化进行了四阶断之划分:"西进运动"与全民开垦(1900年之前)、"水鸟保护"与公众参与(1900-1970年)、核心法律与科学研究(1971-1980年)和完善制度与新的挑战(1980年至今)。分析得出如下结论:在湿地保护制度中,公众是源头、科学是前提、有效的政府管治和将湿地保护的规则和与政策制度化是关键。通过借鉴美国湿地保护制度变迁研究,本文构建了湿地保护制度变迁的"竹节模式"经验性模型,揭示了各动因之间的作用机理。虽然美国湿地保护制度也面临着公众教育、科学定义和政府管辖权等挑战,但中国的湿地管理者与政策制定者仍可从美国湿地政策执行的历史背景中吸取经验。同时本文的理论分析结构也可为自然资源及管理策略的研究提供参考。The four key elements of public opinion,science,government and law were used to construct an empirical model built upon Game Theory. This theoretical framework,in which the wetland management policies of different countries can be compared,demonstrates the mechanism by which the four key elements interact to develop environmental policy and protect wetlands.Based on this empirical model,the history of wetland policies in the USA including key stakeholders,policy implementation approaches,policy instruments and management challenges were discussed. Evolution of the institution that protects American wetlands is broken down into four stages:Westward Movement and Reclamation(pre- 1900),Waterfowl Protection and Public Participation(1900- 1970),Core Laws and Scientific Research(1971- 1980)and Improved Institutions and New Challenges(1980- present). Wetland policies originate with public opinions and beliefs,scientific knowledge is a prerequisite for policy implementation and,lastly,effective governmental jurisdiction and institutionalization of wetland protection regulation and policy are critical. Although public education,scientific definition and governmental jurisdiction are challenging,Chinese wetland managers and policy makers can learn from the implementation of USA wetland policies. The analysis outlined in this paper is a template that other natural resource studies can follow when developing natural resource strategies.国家公派留学基金项目(2011-2013);; 康奈尔大学Jeffrey Sean Lehman基金项目(2012-2013

Comment on "Potential of integrated field spectroscopy and spatial analysis for enhanced assessment of soil contamination: A prospective review" by Horta et al

Comment on "Potential of integrated field spectroscopy and spatial analysis for enhanced assessment of soil contamination: A prospective review" by Horta et a

Simulating the Effects of Sea Level Rise on the Resilience and Migration of Tidal Wetlands along the Hudson River

<div><p>Sea Level Rise (SLR) caused by climate change is impacting coastal wetlands around the globe. Due to their distinctive biophysical characteristics and unique plant communities, freshwater tidal wetlands are expected to exhibit a different response to SLR as compared with the better studied salt marshes. In this study we employed the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM), which simulates regional- or local-scale changes in tidal wetland habitats in response to SLR, and adapted it for application in a freshwater-dominated tidal river system, the Hudson River Estuary. Using regionally-specific estimated ranges of SLR and accretion rates, we produced simulations for a spectrum of possible future wetland distributions and quantified the projected wetland resilience, migration or loss in the HRE through the end of the 21^st century. Projections of total wetland extent and migration were more strongly determined by the rate of SLR than the rate of accretion. Surprisingly, an increase in net tidal wetland area was projected under all scenarios, with newly-formed tidal wetlands expected to comprise at least 33% of the HRE’s wetland area by year 2100. Model simulations with high rates of SLR and/or low rates of accretion resulted in broad shifts in wetland composition with widespread conversion of high marsh habitat to low marsh, tidal flat or permanent inundation. Wetland expansion and resilience were not equally distributed through the estuary, with just three of 48 primary wetland areas encompassing >50% of projected new wetland by the year 2100. Our results open an avenue for improving predictive models of the response of freshwater tidal wetlands to sea level rise, and broadly inform the planning of conservation measures of this critical resource in the Hudson River Estuary.</p></div

SLR projections in centimeters (rounded to the nearest whole number) used in SLAMM simulations for the north and south sections of the HRE.

<p>SLR projections in centimeters (rounded to the nearest whole number) used in SLAMM simulations for the north and south sections of the HRE.</p

Wetland change (ha and %) by time step in the MSLR-LA and HSLR-LA scenarios.

<p>Numbers in each time step represent changes from the previous time step (with 2020 representing the change from the Time Zero simulation of year 2007).</p

Projections for the Piermont Marsh tidal wetland area (Fig 1c, #48).

<p>(a) Time Zero (current conditions); MSLR with (b) HA, (c) MA, and (d) LA by year 2100; HSLR with (e) HA, (f) MA, and (g) LA by year 2100.</p

Comparison of the current trend scenario deterministic model (MSLR-LA) and uncertainty analysis results.

<p>Uncertainty analysis results include mean, 10^th percentile, and 90^th percentile for Iona Island Marsh’s (a) high marsh, (b) low marsh, and (c) tidal flat categories.</p