Using ecological memory as an indicator to monitor the ecological restoration of four forest plantations in subtropical China

A large area of plantations has been established worldwide and especially in China. Evaluating the restoration status of these plantations is essential for their long-term management. Based on our previous work, we used an ecological memory (EM) approach to evaluate four 26-year-old plantations that represent four common kinds of plantations in subtropical China, i.e., mixed broad-leaved plantation (MBP), mixed coniferous plantation (MCP), eucalyptus plantation (EP), and mixed legume plantation (MLP). Comparing them with the regional climax community, i.e., monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (BF), all four plantations accumulated nearly the same pattern of EM during succession. EM was >50 % for soil minerals, light conditions, soil age, soil animals, and soil microbes. EM was about 25 % for soil pollen and 10 % for birds, soil seed bank, and plant species. The total EM value of the four plantations ranged from 50.96 to 52.54, which indicated that all four plantations were in the regional, natural trajectory of succession and between the early and medium successional stages. The results indicated that natural succession processes are unlikely to be accelerated by planting late-stage tree species without sufficient EM. The results also demonstrated that all four plantations were in positive successional trajectories, and the positive succession dynamics were greater in the MLP and MCP. We suggest that the entire natural succession trajectory be used to evaluate the restoration of a site and that the ultimate restoration target be divided into several milestones along the reference trajectory to monitor progress. Forest restoration may be accelerated by starting with a minimum dynamic unit supporting sufficient EM.     

广州夏季办公室内细颗粒中多环芳烃污染特征研究

大部分的都市办公人群每天在办公室至少度过8 h。而室外环境的渗透、办公室内吸烟、办公设备使用和中央通风系统均可能导致细颗粒物及多环芳烃(PAHs)在室内积聚而造成微环境污染。2015年5—6月,在广州市3种不同功能区(商住区、高新产业区、工业区)共选取了14间不同类型的办公室,对其室内外PM_(2.5)和多环芳烃进行同步监测。结果表明,(1)14间中有12间办公室内的PM_(2.5)浓度水平高于世界卫生组织(WHO)的推荐值25μg·m-3;(2)与国内外类似研究相比,办公室内外∑16PAHs及Ba P-eq的监测浓度水平均较低,并呈现一致规律:文印>室外>吸烟>多人>单人>无窗(无人),其中Ba P-eq低于欧盟规定的安全限值1 ng·m-3;(3)文印工作和吸烟行为与室内PM_(2.5)和PAHs浓度升高有密切关系,分别对5环和4环PAHs贡献明显;(4)其他无明显内源的办公室的细颗粒中PAHs污染在监测期间主要来源于室外贡献。     

基于污染物排放许可的总量控制制度改革研究

污染物总量控制制度改革是基于排污许可制的环境管理制度体系改革的重点内容之一。文章分析了总量控制制度与排污许可证制度的关联关系,现有的排污行可证制度对总量控制制度融合的要求,从许可排放量确定、分配、实际排放量核算与核定等角度,深刻剖析了总量控制制度与排污许可证制度融合存在的技术和机制两大障碍。最后就污染物总量确定、许可排放量分配、实际排放量核算与责任机制等三方面为构建基于排污许可证的总量控制制度提出了改革思路和建议。     

基于排污许可的环境标准制度改革完善研究

排污许可制度是固定点源环境管理的基础核心制度,政府以排污许可证为载体,对固定污染源的污染物排放限值、排污行为等进行许可,以排放标准的要求作为基本依据,并以环境质量标准为依据,对非达标区实施更为严格的排污许可限制。然而,现有的部分行业排放标准由于制定时间较早、科学技术支撑方法不足、与环境质量改善难以挂钩等问题,难以满足新排污许可证制度改革要求。本文在研究现行环境标准体系对排污许可制度的支撑作用与相互关系的基础上,研究了基于排污许可制的排放标准存在的主要问题,并以健全排污许可制度的环境标准支撑为目的,提出了现行环境标准体系的完善和修订建议。     

Fluctuating asymmetry rather than oxidative stress in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bufo raddei</Emphasis> can be an accurate indicator of environmental pollution induced by heavy metals

Oxidative stress (OS) and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) as risk markers for environmental stress are widely used to predict changes in the health and fitness of many animals exposed to pollutants. However, from the perspective of protecting declining amphibians, it remains to be verified which one would be a reliable indicator for amphibians exposed to long-term heavy metal pollution under natural conditions. In this study, the OS and FA of Bufo raddei exposed to natural heavy metal pollution were analyzed to determine which marker is more accurate for indicating heavy metal-induced stress. Three years of data were collected during the breeding season of B. raddei from Baiyin (BY), which has been mainly contaminated with Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd compounds for a long period, and from Liujiaxia (LJX), which is a relatively unpolluted area. Unexpectedly, although significant accumulation of the four heavy metals was found in the kidney and liver of B. raddei from BY, the levels of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and malondialdehyde in these two organs were found to be irregular, with low repeatability in both BY and LJX. However, significant differences in the levels of FA were observed in B. raddei populations from these two areas over the past 3 years (P < 0.01). The degrees of FA in B. raddei populations from BY and LJX were assessed as degree 4 and 1, respectively. In short, this study suggested that FA was a more reliable and effective indicator than OS to monitor and predict long-term environmental stress on anuran amphibians.     

加快推进重大政策和重大项目落地,确保生态环境质量总体改善——《“十三五”生态环境保护规划》解读

当前我国环境形势仍十分严峻,"十三五"期间要实现生态环境质量总体改善,需要"硬制度""硬项目"和"硬投入"。文章结合《"十三五"生态环境保护规划》,对其中的重大改革制度政策创新和重大工程项目安排以及资金投入渠道等进行了深入分析解读,提出为确保生态环境质量总体改善,必须积极推动重大改革政策的实施,加快推进重大项目的落地,加大环保资金的投入,优化环保资金渠道。     

Occurrence,sources, and ecological risks of PBDEs,PCBs, OCPs,and PAHs in surface sediments of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster,China

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 25 surface sediments in three cities (Nantong, Wuxi, and Suzhou) in the Yangtze River Delta, eastern China were measured. The mean concentrations were 378, 45.8, 1.98, 4,002 ng/g for PBDEs, OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, respectively. Their levels in the sediments in the three cities were generally consistent with the city industrialization. PBDEs and OCPs were markedly dominated by deca-BDE (>90 %) and DDTs (>70 %). A principle component analysis of the analytes identified three major factors suggesting different sources of the contaminants in the sediments. PBDEs and the organic carbon in the sediments have common sources from industrial activities; whereas OCPs and PCBs, correlated with the second factor, were mainly from historical sources. The third factor with loadings of PAHs is indicative of various combustion sources. Ecological risk assessment indicated that the potential highest risk is from DDTs, for which 22 sites exceed the effects range low (ERL) values and three sites exceed the effects range median (ERM) value.     

江汉平原土地利用对钉螺分布的影响研究

分析了江汉平原2009年易于钉螺孳生的3种土地利用类型（滩地、河渠和水田）比例与钉螺密度的关系。首先，在ERDAS9.2和ENVI4.7软件中对江汉平原2009年的Landsat5TM遥感影像进行了预处理。在已有的多期土地利用数据的基础上，借助eCognition软件利用向量相似度指标来提取土地利用变化区域，结合目视解译经验并运用遥感指标通过建立规则集对变化区域进行分类，将变化区域的分类结果更新2000年数据，得到了该区域2009年的土地利用数据。接下来，整理了江汉平原2009年螺情资料并计算出村级钉螺平均密度，绘制了2009年钉螺分布图。将绘制的钉螺分布图与土地利用分类图叠置分析，并结合收集的螺情数据确定了钉螺易于孳生的3种土地利用类型，分别为滩地、河渠和水田。最后，将钉螺密度与这3种土地利用比例进行线性回归分析。研究结果表明，钉螺密度与这三种土地利用类型比例存在线性回归关系，模型精度为R2=0857。该结论对通过遥感影像来估算钉螺密度具有指导意义，另外也可以为湖北省提出合理用地和灭螺并重的土地利用模式提供一定的科学参考     

Metabolic uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide addition for sludge reduction and fouling control in a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor

• Effects of metabolic uncoupler TCS on the performances of GDMBR were evaluated. • Sludge EPS reduced and transformed into dissolved SMP when TCS was added. • Appropriate TCS increased the permeability and reduced cake layer fouling. • High dosage aggravated fouling due to compact cake layer with low bio-activity. The gravity-driven membrane bioreactor (MBR)system is promising for decentralized sewage treatment because of its low energy consumption and maintenance requirements. However, the growing sludge not only increases membrane fouling, but also augments operational complexities (sludge discharge). We added the metabolic uncoupler 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) to the system to deal with the mentioned issues. Based on the results, TCS addition effectively decreased sludge ATP and sludge yield (reduced by 50%). Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS; proteins and polysaccharides) decreased with the addition of TCS and were transformed into dissolved soluble microbial products (SMPs) in the bulk solution, leading to the break of sludge flocs into small fragments. Permeability was increased by more than two times, reaching 60–70 L/m²/h bar when 10–30 mg/L TCS were added, because of the reduced suspended sludge and the formation of a thin cake layer with low EPS levels. Resistance analyses confirmed that appropriate dosages of TCS primarily decreased the cake layer and hydraulically reversible resistances. Permeability decreased at high dosage (50 mg/L) due to the release of excess sludge fragments and SMP into the supernatant, with a thin but more compact fouling layer with low bioactivity developing on the membrane surface, causing higher cake layer and pore blocking resistances. Our study provides a fundamental understanding of how a metabolic uncoupler affects the sludge and bio-fouling layers at different dosages, with practical relevance for in situ sludge reduction and membrane fouling alleviation in MBR systems.