农田重金属污染原位钝化修复研究进展

污染土壤重金属原位钝化修复是通过向土壤中施加一些活性钝化修复材料,通过溶解沉淀、离子交换吸附、氧化还原、有机络合等反应来改变重金属在土壤中的赋存状态,降低土壤中重金属的有效浓度、迁移性和生物有效性。这种方法成本较低、操作简单、见效快且适合大面积推广,在重金属污染土壤修复中有着不可替代的作用。尤其对主要由污水灌溉、大气沉降等造成的农田土壤面源污染,一些具有吸附固定土壤中重金属离子特性的天然物质和工业副产品都可运用在实地的钝化修复中,且不同类型的钝化修复剂对重金属污染土壤的钝化修复效果各不相同。采用实验室评价和实地应用评价,一方面可以评估钝化修复材料对污染土壤中重金属离子的固定效率;另一方面可以评估钝化修复材料对土壤理化性状、养分状况和生物活性的影响。对重金属污染土壤原位钝化修复中不同来源的钝化剂进行了分类,目前广泛使用的钝化修复剂主要包括硅钙物质、含磷材料、有机物料、黏土矿物、金属及金属氧化物、生物碳及新型材料等,概述了它们各自对重金属污染土壤的钝化修复效果。从研究方法、评价指标、环境影响因子、钝化机制以及环境风险评价等方面分析了该领域的研究现状以及存在的主要问题,今后应重点关注钝化修复剂对土壤-作物系统的潜在环境风险以及钝化材料修复效果的田间长期稳定性评价。     

秸秆生物炭吸附/钝化土壤重金属的过程机理与影响因素

土壤重金属污染因其隐蔽性、滞后性及对环境和人体健康的危害性,已引起广泛关注。生物炭因具有较大的孔隙率、比表面积及丰富的表面官能团,常用来修复重金属污染土壤。秸秆作为农业废弃物,将其制备为生物炭是其资源化利用和减少环境污染的有效途径。因此,本文综述不同秸秆生物炭的原料、制备技术和改性方法等对吸附重金属的影响,探讨其对重金属的吸附机理以及修复重金属污染土壤实际应用效率与影响因素,包括：(1)秸秆种类及制备温度对生物炭特性和重金属污染土壤修复效率的影响;(2)秸秆生物炭吸附/钝化土壤重金属的过程与机理;(3)可提高生物炭修复重金属污染土壤效率的改性技术及其实际应用效率和影响因素。并结合秸秆生物炭制备和应用中存在的问题提出展望,以期为提高秸秆生物炭在重金属污染土壤修复效率,实现农业废弃物资源化回收利用,减少环境污染提供理论基础和技术参考。     

菌根技术在重金属污染修复中的研究与展望

菌根技术作为一种生物新技术对于重金属污染土壤的生物修复正在为全球环境工作者所关注。在土壤中菌根及其庞大的菌丝体网可以分泌大量的生物化学物质，改变植物根际环境及重金属的存在状态或降低重金属的毒性；还可以通过在植物体内的累积以及菌根真菌菌丝体的螯合等各种机制，实现对重金属的提取和固定，达到菌根重金属修复的目的。文章通过讨论菌根植物对重金属修复的作用机制，提出今后菌根技术在重金属植物修复中的新思路；认为应在通过广泛调查、筛选超积累菌根植物的基础上，不断探索植物一微生物一菌根体系修复问题，同时认为应将基因工程引入菌根植物的重金属修复研究中，以促进土壤重金属污染的生物修复。     

铁循环微生物对环境中重金属的影响研究进展

铁循环微生物包括铁氧化菌(Fe(Ⅱ)-oxidizing bacteria,FeOB)和铁还原菌(Fe(Ⅲ)-reducing bacteria,FeRB),在由它们介导Fe²⁺(Fe³⁺)氧化(还原)的过程中,往往也伴随着一系列重金属元素的迁移转化,对重金属在环境中的生物有效性和迁移性方面有重要作用.本文综述了环境中的铁循环微生物,针对铁循环微生物驱动重金属迁移转化的作用机制,分别从铁氧化菌氧化亚铁生成铁矿物对重金属的固定,铁还原菌介导铁矿物还原溶解及次生矿物生成,以及铁循环微生物代谢耦合重金属形态转化方面进行阐述;进一步通过研究实例综述了铁循环微生物对环境中砷、镉、铬、铜、铅等重金属的作用及修复潜力;未来的研究可关注特定微生物的成矿机制,生物成矿对重金属固定的调控,以及重金属复合污染场地的铁循环微生物修复应用等方面.本文以期为基于铁循环微生物的重金属污染修复提供理论指导和应用依据.     

生物炭来源、性质及其在重金属污染土壤修复中的研究进展

生物炭在改良土壤、固碳与环境修复等方面的良好特性使其成为农业和环境保护领域的研究热点。然而由于生物炭的稳定性强、比表面面积大,施用到土壤后会改变原有的土壤环境,影响重金属在土壤中的环境行为。本文就生物炭制备、特性、土壤重金属的稳定化机制及影响因素进行综述,在此基础上,对生物炭在土壤中的环境行为及归趋、重金属污染土壤的生物炭修复机理及环境效应、生物炭前体物的环境风险与生物炭作为负载材料等方面进行了展望。     

石灰对土壤重金属污染修复研究进展

全球土地资源污染严重,石灰由于其在污染土壤修复方面具有成本低廉,操作简单等特点而受到广泛关注,其修复效果及修复机理已成为当前环境科学研究的热点之一。综述了国内外近20年来有关石灰修复重金属污染土壤研究的最新进展,探讨了影响石灰对污染土壤修复效果的主要因素,阐明了石灰对土壤重金属生物有效性的影响机理。研究表明,石灰及不同的石灰性物质对土壤重金属修复的效果存在差异。石灰对重金属生物有效性的影响机理主要是通过改变土壤p H、土壤阳离子交换量、土壤微生物群落组成、土壤氧化还原电位等多种机制协同作用对重金属进行吸附、络合等,石灰对重金属污染土壤的修复效果受石灰施用量、土壤类型、土壤p H值、重金属污染类型、重金属种类等因素综合影响。在实际修复中,应根据土壤类型和土壤中主要重金属污染类型确定石灰或石灰类物质的最佳施用量。由于长期连续施用石灰容易导致土壤出现板结现象,未来应结合纳米等新技术对石灰及石灰类物质进行改性,加强可以长期连续施用的石灰及石灰类物质的研发,并深化其修复机理的研究,构建石灰与其他修复剂的联合修复体系,以期为重金属污染土壤修复提供科学依据和新途径。     

农田土壤重金属污染状况及修复技术研究

重金属污染因具有毒性、易通过食物链在植物,动物和人体内累积,对生态环境和人体健康构成严重威胁。随着工业快速发展、农药及化肥的广泛使用,农田土壤重金属污染越来越严重,研究农田土壤重金属污染现状及修复技术对农产品安全具有重要意义。综合国内外农田土壤重金属污染状况,农田土壤重金属污染主要来源于固体废弃物堆放及处置、工业废物大气沉降、污水农灌和农用物质的不合理施用。该文综述了国内外有关农田重金属污染土壤修复技术（物理修复、化学修复、生物修复、农业生态和联合修复）的研究进展,并针对各种修复方法,阐述了其原理、修复条件、应用实例及其优缺点,重点论述了植物修复的机理和应用,提出了草本与木本联合修复可有效提高农田土壤重金属复合污染的修复效率,为农田土壤土壤重金属复合污染修复提出了新的途径。最后在对已有研究分析的基础上,提出了联合修复技术（如生物联合技术、物理化学联合技术和物理化学-生物联合技术）可以在一定程度上克服使用单一修复手段存在的缺点,可提高复合污染的修复效率、降低修复成本,未来应深入探索联合修复技术间的相互作用机理,以期为农田土壤重金属综合治理与污染修复提供科学依据。     

生物炭修复土壤重金属污染的研究进展

生物炭是由生物质在完全或部分缺氧的情况下经热解炭化产生的一类高度芳香化难熔性固态物质。近年来,生物炭在污染环境修复方面得到广泛关注,已成为当前环境科学的研究热点。文章综述了近年来国内外有关生物炭修复重金属污染土壤的研究进展,探讨了生物炭对土壤修复的潜力,阐述了生物炭对于土壤重金属生物有效性的影响。相关研究发现,不同来源及裂解温度制备的生物炭对土壤重金属修复的效果不同,不同类型土壤重金属对于生物炭的响应亦非常复杂,从而呈现出各异的土壤重金属修复效果。生物炭对重金属生物有效性的影响源于改变土壤p H、影响土壤有机质含量,改变土壤氧化还原电位及土壤微生物群落组成等多种机制的协同作用,同时生物炭在对重金属的吸附方面扮演着重要角色。生物炭对土壤重金属修复的影响效应取决于生物炭的特性和施用量、土壤肥力和性质、以及重金属种类等因素。因此,必须根据不同土壤的主要重金属污染类型,选择合适的生物炭,以期得到较好的土壤改良效果。今后应加强生物炭在农田土壤改良以及农作物生长方面的研究与应用,进一步探索生物炭在重金属污染土壤中发生的生物和化学反应机理,并且要对生物炭的施用效果进行野外长期定位研究。     

EGTA淋洗和KH2PO4钝化联合修复重金属污染土壤

为进一步削减螯合淋洗后土壤残留重金属的环境风险,采用淋洗与钝化相结合的方法修复重金属污染土壤.研究了乙二醇双(2-氨基乙基醚)四乙酸(EGTA)淋洗、磷酸二氢钾(KH_2PO_4)钝化及两者联合修复对土壤重金属洗脱率的影响,并分别采用TCLP法和BCR法分析重金属浸出浓度及化学形态分布,构建了涵盖土壤重金属残留量、生物有效性和毒性的环境风险评价方法,对淋洗、钝化及其联合修复效果进行了评价.结果表明,EGTA对Cu和Cd具有较好的洗脱效果,降低了土壤Cu、Zn和Cd浸出浓度,提高了Pb浸出浓度,削减了可还原态Cu残留量、弱酸提取态和可还原态Zn残留量、可还原态Pb残留量以及弱酸提取态、可还原态Cd残留量.随着KH_2PO_4投加量的增加,Pb、Cd和Cu浸出浓度呈下降趋势,Zn浸出浓度先上升后下降.KH_2PO_4对重金属形态分布的影响主要表现为降低弱酸态或可还原态重金属占比,提高残渣态重金属占比.EGTA和KH_2PO_4联合修复显著降低了4种重金属的可还原态残留量和弱酸提取态Pb、Cd残留量,大幅度削减了Cd和Cu的浸出浓度和环境风险.Zn污染土壤宜淋洗修复,Pb污染土壤宜钝化修复,Cd和Cu污染土壤深度修复宜淋洗/钝化联合处理.     

土地利用/覆被变化（LUCC）与土壤重金属积累的关系研究进展（Research Review of the Relationship between Land Use/Cover Change and Heavy Metal Accumulation in Soil）

土壤重金属污染是世界性环境问题之一.土地利用/覆被变化(LUCC)是最主要的环境演变驱动因子之一.为明晰LUCC对土壤重金属积累和污染的影响,根据前人研究,从场地、县域和流域/区域尺度总结了LUCC和土壤重金属污染的关系.研究发现,三个尺度上土地利用方式和覆被类型/格局是控制土壤重金属空间积累和分布的重要因子,土地利用/覆被可以直接吸纳或吸附重金属,亦能通过改变土壤物理、化学和生物性质从而控制重金属在土壤中的移动性和活性,造成土壤中重金属的积累直至污染.此外,论文阐明了LUCC在土壤重金属污染风险预测、规避和污染土壤修复中的重要作用,最后提出了在实践中通过调整土地利用/覆被类型进行污染土壤修复的建议.寓景观生态学思想于土壤重金属污染防治过程是一种新的有效途径.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

Achieving Open Access to Conservation Science

Conservation science is a crisis discipline in which the results of scientific enquiry must be made available quickly to those implementing management. We assessed the extent to which scientific research published since the year 2000 in 20 conservation science journals is publicly available. Of the 19,207 papers published, 1,667 (8.68%) are freely downloadable from an official repository. Moreover, only 938 papers (4.88%) meet the standard definition of open access in which material can be freely reused providing attribution to the authors is given. This compares poorly with a comparable set of 20 evolutionary biology journals, where 31.93% of papers are freely downloadable and 7.49% are open access. Seventeen of the 20 conservation journals offer an open access option, but fewer than 5% of the papers are available through open access. The cost of accessing the full body of conservation science runs into tens of thousands of dollars per year for institutional subscribers, and many conservation practitioners cannot access pay‐per‐view science through their workplace. However, important initiatives such as Research4Life are making science available to organizations in developing countries. We urge authors of conservation science to pay for open access on a per‐article basis or to choose publication in open access journals, taking care to ensure the license allows reuse for any purpose providing attribution is given. Currently, it would cost $51 million to make all conservation science published since 2000 freely available by paying the open access fees currently levied to authors. Publishers of conservation journals might consider more cost effective models for open access and conservation‐oriented organizations running journals could consider a broader range of options for open access to nonmembers such as sponsorship of open access via membership fees. Obtención de Acceso Abierto a la Ciencia de la Conservación     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Some polyphagous Homoptera gain protection from their natural enemies by feeding on the toxic plantsSpartium junceum andErythrina corallodendrum (Leguminosae)

Summary Interactions were studied among alkaloid-containing legumes (Erythrina corallodendrum andSpartium junceum) and non-toxic plants (Citrus sinensis, Cucurbita moschata andEuphorbia tirucalli), several polyphagous homopterans,Aphis craccivora (Aphididae),Icerya purchasi, I. aegyptiaca (Margarodidae),Lepidosaphes ulmi (Diaspididae) andPlanococcus citri (Pseudococcidae), and some major natural enemies of these homopterans. Significant reductions in survival due to negative effects of alkaloid containing as compared with non-alkaloidal plants were recorded for the predatorsRodolia cardinalis andChilocorus bipustulatus, but not forCryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae),Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) andSympherobius sanctus (Neuroptera: Sympherobiidae). The development time of the larvae or pupae ofR. cardinalis, C. carnea andS. sanctus was longer on the toxic plants than on the non-toxic ones. The percentage of parasitism ofA. craccivora collected from the non-alkaloidal plantsVicia palaestina andMelilotus albus was much higher than that onS. junceum. The parasitoid complexes ofA. craccivora differed between both plant groups. The nutritive value of honeydew ofI. purchasi andA. craccivora, as expressed by the life span ofEncyrtus infelix (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) adults, was also investigated. Life spans were significantly longer when the wasps fed on honeydew produced on non-alkaloidal plants (C. sinensis andPittosporum tobira) than on alkaloid containing plants whenI. purchasi — but notA. craccivora — was the producer. It is suggested that the chemical defense ofE. corallodendrum andS. junceum is exploited by polyphagous phytophages to reduce predation. In nature, population growth and density of four of the investigated homopterans are conspicuously high when they developed on the alkaloid containing plant species, and very low on non-alkaloid plants. The efficiency of their natural enemies may be reduced by sequestration of alkaloids (or other toxic plant compounds) or their transfer into excreted honeydew. Therefore it is assumed that a generalist phytophagous homopteran may be protected from its natural enemies, although at different rates of efficiency, if it can safely sequester the host allelochemical when it develops on toxic species within its host range.