Basin Environmental Research Articles

First record of Oligobregma Kudenov & Blake, 1975 (Annelida: Polychaeta: Scalibregmatidae Malmgren, 1867) from Brazil with the description of three new species.

Oligobregma represents the most speciose genus of Scalibregmatidae with 17 valid species. Most of them occur at great depths and are found living on soft bottoms. Here, we present the descriptions of O. nonatoi sp. nov., O. cruzae sp. nov., and O. bakkeni sp. nov., sampled from the Brazilian continental shelf and slope, and a key to all species of Oligobregma. O. nonatoi sp. nov. differs from its congeners by the presence of a triangular prostomium with short rounded horns, acicular spines on notopodia of chaetigers 14 and on neuropodia of chaetigers 13. Oligobregma cruzae sp. nov. can be distinguished by the presence of a quadrangular prostomium with two short, rounded horns, acicular spines on chaetigers 14, and lyrate chaetae from chaetiger 5. Finally, O. bakkeni sp. nov. is unique among its congeners by the presence of acicular spines with rounded tips. This is the first record of this genus along the Brazilian coast and the specimens were collected on Esprito Santo, Campos and Santos sedimentary basins, both located in Brazilian southeast region. The sampling campaigns were carried out in scientific expeditions related to two research projects: Santos Project Santos Basin Environmental Characterization and Ambes Project Esprito Santo Basin Assessment Project, both coordinated by CENPES/PETROBRAS.

New species of Pseudoscalibregma Ashworth, 1901 (Annelida: Scalibregmatidae Malmgren, 1867) from Brazil.

Pseudoscalibregma Ashworth, 1901 is a small genus of the family Scalibregmatidae Malmgren, 1867. Currently, a total of eight valid species are accepted. Of these, the majority are found at great depths. This work contains the first report of Pseudoscalibregma to the Brazilian coast, with the description of three new species: Pseuscalibregma ermindae sp. nov., P. magalhaesi sp. nov. and P. parapari sp. nov. The material was sampled from the Brazilian southeast region, on Campos and Santos sedimentary basins, during scientific expeditions called Santos ProjectSantos Basin Environmental Characterization and Ambes ProjectEsprito Santo Basin Assessment Project, both coordinated by PETROBRAS/CENPES. We also include an identification key to Pseudoscalibregma species.

THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS ON THE INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES: THE CASE OF TEKİRDAĞ, TURKEY

Although the unplanned and uncontrolled industrialization in Tekirdağ increased the rank of Tekirdağ from 23rd in 1973 to the 10th place in 2013 in the development ranking among the provinces in Turkey, industrialization and industrial facilities with high environmental impacts brought many environmental problems and started to pose a great threat in terms of environmental sustainability in Tekirdağ. Especially after the 2008 global financial crisis, environmental sensitivity has gained an international dimension. In a similar vein, the Ergene River Basin Environmental Management Master Plan and 1/100,000-scaled the Thrace Sub-Region Ergene Basin Environmental Plan came into force in 2009 upon the pollution in Tekirdağ, Turkey and its surrounding received governmental attention. 1/25,000 Scale Tekirdağ Provincial Environmental Plan and 1/5000 Scale Master Development Plans which were prepared and elaborated in consideration of the Thrace Sub-Region Ergene Basin Environmental Plan and 1/100000-scaled Thrace Sub-Region Ergene Basin Environmental Plan affect the nature and structure of the industry in Tekirdağ and the district-based development of Tekirdağ's districts. After examining the effects of environmental plans on the structure and development of the industry in Tekirdağ, this study analyzes the impact of environmental plans on court decisions about the attempts to set up new industrial areas in Tekirdağ.

Effects of seasonality on the oviposition activity of potential vector mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from the São João River Basin Environmental Protection Area of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Atlantic Forest is home to several arboviruses potentially pathogenic to humans. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the effects of seasonality on mosquito populations circulating in this domain. We evaluated the influence of seasonal variation on the oviposition activity of epidemiologically important mosquito populations in an Environmental Protection Area in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mosquito eggs were collected using ovitraps for 1 year. During the sampling period, 1,086 eggs were collected. Of these, 39 (3.6%) did not hatch, and 1,047 (96.4%) reached the adult stage. Aedes albopictus (44.8%), Ae. terrens (6.4%), and Haemagogus leucocelaenus (48.8%) eggs and adults were identified. The changes in this community over the seasons were also analyzed. Season influence on the collections was significant. The highest numbers of collected eggs were collected in the summer and autumn, with Hg. leucocelaenus dominant in the summer and Ae. albopictus in the autumn. These two seasons were more similar to each other in terms of the composition of the collected mosquito community, forming a separate cluster from winter and spring groups. Summer, autumn, and winter presented values of Dominance (D), Shannon Diversity (H), and Evenness (J) closer to each other than spring. Climatic factors recorded throughout the collection period were not associated with egg abundance, except for temperature, which was positively correlated with Ae. albopictus presence. Finally, seasonality seemed to influence the oviposition activity of the three species recorded. Summer and autumn were the most critical seasons due to Ae. albopictus and Hg. leucocelaenus circulation. These findings should be considered in prophylaxis and implementation of entomological control strategies in the study area.

Basin-Scale Approach to Integration of Agro- and Hydroecological Monitoring for Sustainable Environmental Management: A Case Study of Belgorod Oblast, European Russia

The quantitative and qualitative depletion of water resources (both surface and groundwater) is closely related to the need to protect soils against degradation, rationalization of land use, and regulation of surface water runoff within the watershed area. Belgorod Oblast (27,100 km2), one of the administrative regions of European Russia, was chosen as the study area. It is characterized by a high activity of soil erosion (the share of eroded soils is about 48% of the total area of arable land). The development phase of the River Basin Environmental Management Projects (217 river basins from the fourth to seventh order) allowed for the proceeding of the development of an integrated monitoring system for river systems and river basin systems. The methods used to establish a geoecological network for regional monitoring include the selection and application of GIS techniques to quantify the main indicators of ecological state and predisposition of river basins to soil erosion (the share of cropland and forestland, the share of the south-oriented slopes, soil erodibility, Slope Length and Steepness (LS) factor, erosion index of precipitation, and the river network density) and the method of a hierarchical classification of cluster analysis for the grouping of river basins. An approach considering the typology of river basins is also used to expand the regional network of hydrological gauging stations to rationalize the national hydrological monitoring network. By establishing 16 additional gauging stations on rivers from the fourth to seventh order, this approach allows for an increase in the area of hydro-agroecological monitoring by 1.26 times (i.e., up to 77.5% of the total area of Belgorod Oblast). Some integrated indicators of agroecological (on the watershed surface) and hydroecological (in river water flow) monitoring are proposed to improve basin environmental management projects. Six-year monitoring showed the effectiveness of water quality control measures on an example of a decrease in the concentrations of five major pollutants in river waters.

Yangtze River Basin Environmental Regulation Efficiency Based on the Empirical Analysis of 97 Cities from 2005 to 2016.

The Yangtze River Basin (YRB) is an important area for China’s economic development and environmental governance. The aim of this paper is to analyze the total factor productivity across 97 cities in the YRB from 2005 to 2016. Based on the input and output indicators from 2005 to 2016, this paper selects the SE-SBM model to measure the environmental regulation efficiency (ERE) of 97 cities in the YRB and then uses the DEA–Malmquist index to measure the total factor productivity of the region. Results suggest that the overall ERE in the YRB is weakly ineffective, while ERE in the central and eastern coastal areas is relatively high. ERE matches the economic foundation and development of the city. YRB environmental regulation efficiency was in descending order in the middle stream, upstream, and downstream. The efficiency of regional environmental regulation shows an N-type development trend, with obvious characteristics of phased development. Moreover, the total factor productivity of the YRB has shown a downward trend. The scale efficiency index and the technical efficiency index have positively boosted the total factor productivity, while the technological progress index has dragged down the total factor productivity of the area. The contribution to the total factor productivity index is in order of scale efficiency, technological progress index, and technological efficiency index in the downstream. The overall inputs and outputs of the YRB have great development potential. The inputs have not been fully utilized, the outputs have not been maximized, and the regional differentiation is significantly observable.

PAYMENTS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION IN PARAÍBA DO SUL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA

Abstract One of the benefits of forest and reforestation is linked to the erosion control and reduction of the amount of sediments suspended in water. This study proposes a methodology for Payments for Ecosystem Services associated to these benefits in 24 water supply watersheds, under influence of the Paraíba do Sul River Basin Environmental Protected Area, in Brazil. In order to estimate the water resources protection through the reforestation, the current scenario was compared to a hypothetical scenario, in which degraded pasture are replaced by forest. The avoided soil erosion could reach around 40t.ha-1.yr-1. Reforestation can avoid expenditures in water treatment, sludge disposal and dredging around USD 7.8 million per year. Annual values for PES range from USD 6 to 3,014 per hectare of reforested area. The results highlight the importance of valuing the benefits of the ecosystem services rescued.

A Regression Model of Stream Water Quality Based on Interactions between Landscape Composition and Riparian Buffer Width in Small Catchments

Riparian vegetation represents a protective barrier between human activities installed in catchments and capable of generating and exporting large amounts of contaminants, and stream water that is expected to keep quality overtime. This study explored the combined effect of landscape composition and buffer strip width (L) on stream water quality. The landscape composition was assessed by the forest (F) to agriculture (A) ratio (F/A), and the water quality by an index (IWQ) expressed as a function of physico-chemical parameters. The combined effect (F/A × L) was quantified by a multiple regression model with an interaction term. The study was carried out in eight catchments of Uberaba River Basin Environmental Protection Area, located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and characterized by very different F/A and L values. The results related to improved water quality (larger IWQ values) with increasing values of F/A and L, which were not surprising given the abundant similar reports widespread in the scientific literature. But the effect of F/A × L on IWQ was enlightening. The interaction between F/A and L reduced the range of L values required to sustain IWQ at a fair level by some 40%, which is remarkable. The interaction was related to the spatial distribution of infiltration capacity within the studied catchments. The high F/A catchments should comprise a larger number of infiltration patches, allowing a dominance of subsurface flow widespread within the soil layer, a condition that improves the probability of soil water to cross and interact with a buffer strip before reaching the stream. Conversely, the low F/A catchments are prone to the generation of an overland flow network, because the absence of permanent vegetation substantially reduces the number of infiltration patches. The overland flow network channelizes runoff and conveys the surface water into specific confluence points within the stream, reducing or even hampering an interaction with a buffer strip. Notwithstanding the interaction, the calculated L ranges (45–175 m) are much larger than the maximum width imposed by the Brazilian Forest Code (30 m), a result that deserves reflection.

Evaluation and Bias Correction of Satellite-Based Rainfall Estimates for Modelling Flash Floods over the Mediterranean region: Application to Karpuz River Basin, Turkey

This study investigates the utility of satellite-based rainfall estimates in simulating flash floods in Karpuz River Basin, Turkey, characterized by limited rain gauge network. Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) product was evaluated with the rain gauge network at daily and monthly time-scales considering seasonality, elevation zones, extreme events and rainfall intensity thresholds. Statistical analysis indicated that GSMaP shows acceptable linear correlation coefficient with rain gauges, however, suffers from significant underestimation bias. Statistical measures exhibited a remarkable deterioration with increasing elevation-following a linear relationship; for example, percent bias was found to increase by a rate of 11.7% with every 400 m interval. A multiplicative bias correction scheme was devised, and Hydrological River Basin Environmental Assessment Model (Hydro-BEAM) was implemented to simulate flash floods driven by the uncorrected/corrected GSMaP data. Analysis of intensity thresholds revealed that appropriate threshold selection is critically important for the bias correction procedure. The hydrological model was calibrated for flash flood events during October–December 2007 and 2012 and validated during October–December, 2009 and 2010. Flash floods simulations were improved by the local bias correction procedure applied to the GSMaP data, but the degree of improvement varied from one period to another. The results of the study indicate that bias factors incorporating multiple variables such as extreme events and elevation variability have the potential to further improve flood simulations.

Environmental history in East Asia: interdisciplinary perspectives

Introduction, Ts'ui-jung Liu Part I: Environmental Thought and Policy 1. Scientific Curiosity in China and Europe: Natural History in the late Ming and the Eighteenth Century, Mark Elvin 2. Environmental Ethics and Aesthetics: The Laozi Revisited Yim-tze Kwong 3. Vision and Significance in Environmental Policy History, Susumu Kitagawa Part II: Utilizations of Land Resources 4. The Effect of Environment on the War between the Song and the Jin States, Jin Liu and Lei Kang 5. The Retreat of the Horse: The Manchus, Land Reclamation and Local Ecology in the Jianghan Plain (ca. 1700s-1850s), Yan Gao 6. Problems Concerning the Environmental History of the Chinese Loess Plateau, Kohei Matsunaga 7. The Zhaozhou Bazi Society in Yunnan: Historical Process in the Bazi Basin Environmental System during the Ming Period (1368-1643), Jianxiong Ma 8. Lashihai: Changing Environmental Protection of an Alpine Lake and Wetland, Shu-min Huang 9. Forest Landscape Change at the Shihmen Reservoir Catchment (2002-2007), Chih-Da Wu, Shih-Chun Candice Lung, Yung-Chung Chuang, and Jihn-Fa Jan Part III: Ground Gained for Agriculture 10. Limitations and Adaptation: Environment and Technology in Jifu Region's Rice Cultivation during the Ming and Qing Periods (1368-1911), Xin-hao Du and Bo Ren 11. Historical Knowledge and the Response to Desertification: A Study of Agricultural Water Supply Technology in Eighteenth-Century Northwestern China, Shinobu Iguro 12. The Aesthetics and Politics of Chinese Horticulture in Late Qing Borderlands, Peter Lavelle 13. Maize Cultivation and Its Effect on Rocky Desertification: A Spatial Study of Guizhou Province (1736-1949), Zhaoqing Han Part IV: Ground Lost: Disaster and Disease 14. Infant Mortality and Beriberi in Osaka City between the World Wars: Impact of the Mother's Diet on Infant Health, Emiko Higami and Kenichi Tomobe 15. Faith Healing and Vaccination against Smallpox in Nineteenth-Century Japan, Hiroshi Kawaguchi 16. Living Style Diseases: Parasite Infections and Kaoping Region's Rural Environment, Michael Shiyung Li 17. Ecodemics: Facing and Mediating the Risks from the Wild, Mika Mervio 18. Beyond Uncertainty: Industrial Hazards and Class Actions in Taiwan and Japan, Paul Jobin

A physically based distributed hydrological model of wadi system to simulate flash floods in arid regions

Many hydrological approaches have been developed for humid areas; however, we still have many challenges regarding flash floods simulation in arid regions. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to develop a physically based hydrological model for flash floods simulation, to understand the hydrological processes, and to overcome the water relating problems, as water scarcity, data deficiency. In this study, Hydrological River Basin Environmental Assessment Model incorporating wadi system (Hydro-BEAM-WaS) integrated with both Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing data is proposed. To overcome the lack of observational data, Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) data has been compared with the Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC) data. We found that the GSMaP has an overestimated or underestimated systematic seasonal bias. Wadi El-Khoud in Oman was chosen for model calibration, while the River Nile basin in Egypt was chosen for flash flood simulations. The simulation has been successfully carried out where it exhibits a reasonable fit between both the simulated and observed results, in spite of the deficiency of high quality observations. This approach can be used to evaluate and simulate the wadi runoff behaviors, such as discontinuous surface flow. It also can help in estimating the initial and transmission losses. Flash flood water has been assessed and evaluated as new water resources, which would be properly utilized to overcome the problem of water shortage in such regions. The proposed model has been proven to provide reliable simulations of flash floods referring to ungauged wadi systems.

Japan-Egypt Hydro Network: Science and Technology Collaborative Research for Flash Flood Management

The present paper outlines the development of a shared hydraulic and hydrology-based network between Kyoto University and three institutional research units in Egypt that seeks to bridge the gap in research, education and practice. This network base was developed the contextualized problems facing the water resources sector in Egypt. Although Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, suffers from severe water shortages, flash floods are responsible for the loss of lives and other problems. One of the JE-HydroNet (Japan-Egypt Hydro Network) outcomes is to forecast flash floods and to propose mitigation strategies in order to reduce the threat of flash floods and water harvesting. An integration of remote sensing data and a distributed Hydrological model so-called Hydro-BEAM (Hydrological River Basin Environmental AssessmentModel) has been proposed for flash flood simulation at Wadi-El-Arish, Sinai. Simulation has been successfully carried out to flash flood event that hit Egypt in January, 2010. Simulation results present remarkable characteristics such as the short time to maximum peak, short flow duration, and severe damage resulting in difficulty in evacuating people from the vulnerable regions. The methodology developed to forecast flash floods considering mitigation strategies which can be applied effectively at different arid regions.

Paralacydonia (Polychaeta: Paralacydoniidae) off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Paralacydoniids are a small group of burrowing polychaetes, with adults reaching ~10 cm in length. The prostomium is subconical, distally bearing two pairs of frontal appendages; the pharynx is eversible and distally papillate and jaws are absent. The parapodia are biramous, except the first segment which is uniramous. Both rami are widely separated, with long, flattened pre- and post-chaetal lobes, interramal cilia and short digitiform dorsal and ventral cirri. The notochaetae are simple, and the neurochaetae are compound spiniger. The posterior end bears a pair of long cirri. A single species, Paralacydonia paradoxa, has been considered valid. Two other named taxa, Paralacydonia weberi and Paralacydonia mortenseni, are usually considered synonyms of P. paradoxa, although a revision has not been undertaken. Paralacydoniids were collected during the Habitats Project–Campos Basin Environmental Heterogeneity coordinated by CENPES/PETROBRAS, of which the first campaign was held in June–July 2008 and the second campaign in January–February 2009. In all, 289 specimens were observed under the light microscope, and some by means of scanning electron microscopy. The paralacydoniids, collected at depths between 380 and 2514 m, were 0.4 to 19 mm in total length, the largest with 74 chaetigers; the size is related to the number of chaetigers.

Set Up and Calibration of a Spatial Tool for Simulating Latest Decades’ Flow Discharges of the Western Java: Preliminary Results and Assessments

This paper discusses a study of the application of global spatio- temporal climate datasets and the hydrological model STREAM (Spatial Tools for River Basin Environmental Analysis and Management Options). In the study, set up and calibration of STREAM for the reconstruction of monthly discharge for several locations in the western part of Java, Indonesia, for the period 1983- 2002 are carried out. The set up includes the preparation of monthly precipitation and temperature datasets, a digital elevation model of the domain being studied, and maps of land cover and soil water holding capacity. Discharge observations from six stations located mostly in the upper parts of major watersheds in the domain are used to calibrate the model by comparing simulated and observed discharge variables. The model performs reasonably well. Comparison between computed and observed mean monthly discharges yield correlation coefficients ranging from 0.72 to 0.93. The computed mean annual discharge in five out of six observation stations ranges between -8 and 5% with respect to the mean annual observed discharge. This study offers a tool which can be used for reconstructing historical discharge.

Using Technology and Inquiry to Improve Student Understanding of Watershed Concepts

This paper presents the design, implementation and assessment of the Columbia River Basin Environmental Research Project (CERP) curriculum. CERP is an online inquiry-based, regional geographic curriculum designed to improve technology skills and content knowledge about water quality and watershed-level processes. Student attitudes and knowledge gains were assessed over a three-year period in a freshmen level general education inquiry class using pre- and -post surveys and work sample analysis. Results show students gained content knowledge, and Internet research and graphing skills. Our findings suggest that the CERP curriculum is effective in improving student understanding of complex environmental issues.

Establishment of a non‐governmental regional approach to La Plata River Basin integrated watershed management promoted throughout three international workshops supported by UN and Japanese agencies, led by ILEC

AbstractThe La Plata River Basin is one of the largest international river basins in the world, with an area of about 3 million km2. It spreads across five countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), and its water resources are essential for their economic development. Together with reservoir development, extensive deforestation, intensive agriculture practices and large urban developments took place in the Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay basins, affecting environmental conditions and raising important issues concerning water resources use and conservation. Therefore, the need to promote participatory and cooperative efforts among water resources stakeholders, as well as the systematic exchange of information and experiences on common regional problems among organizations and experts from throughout the basin who are devoted to water resources use and management, was reported by researchers and managers gathered at the First and Second International Workshops on Regional Approaches for Reservoir Development and Management in the La Plata River Basin (held in 1991 and 1994). As a concrete response to this need, the efforts of a number of organizations from various countries within the basin, with the support of international and national governmental organizations, resulted in the foundation of La Plata River Basin Environmental Research and Management Network (RIGA) in March 2001. This was within the framework of the Third International Workshop, which was precisely one of the short‐term activities included in the RIGA Action Plan. During the preparatory processes for the RIGA Network, the presence of Japanese cooperation supporting the La Plata River Basin Workshops through a non‐governmental international organization (ILEC) played an important role in stimulating such an organization‐based joint approach in the basin. This outcome, although not originally planned, constituted a welcomed byproduct of its main specific interest in the region, which was the establishment of international sustainable management guidelines for lake and reservoir management. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

国際河川の統合的流域管理 ラプラタ川流域環境研究管理ネットワーク（ＲＩＧＡ）の設立とわが国の貢献

The La Plata River Basin is one of the largest international river basin in the world, with an area of about 3.1 million km2. It includes parts of five countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and its water resources are essential for their economic development. Together with reservoir development for hydropower, extensive deforestation, intensive agriculture practices and large urban development took place in the Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay basins affecting environmental conditions and raising important issues concerning water resources use and conservation which can be illustrated by the occurrence of blue green algae bloom, excessive sedimentation, and related water quality degradations. Therefore the need to promote participatory and cooperative efforts among water resources stakeholders as well as systematic interchange of information and experiences on common regional problems among organizations and experts throughout the basin devoted to water resources use and management, was claimed by researchers and managers gathered in the I and II International Workshops on Regional Approaches for Reservoir Development and Management in the La Plata River Basin held in 1991 and 1994, respectively. As a concrete response to said need, efforts carried out by a number of organizations from various countries within the Basin, with the support of international and national governmental organizations including Japanese Governmental and Non-Governmental Organization, succeeded in the foundation of La Plata River Basin Environmental Research and Management Network (RIGA), carried out in March 2001, within the framework of the III International Workshop, which was precisely one of the short term activities included in RIGA Action Plan.