Simulating uptake and transport of TNT by plants using STELLA

Understanding the uptake and transport of soil organic contaminants by plants is crucial to a successful application of phytoremediation technique. This study investigated the removal of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) from a contaminated sandy soil by a poplar tree (Populus fastigiata) through the examinations of temporal variations of xylem water potential, leaf water transpiration, and root water and TNT uptake. A dynamic model for Uptake and Translocation of Contaminants from a Soil-Plant ecosystem (UTCSP), developed using the STELLA software package, was modified for the purpose of this study. The model was calibrated using laboratory measurements prior to its application. Simulation results showed that about 25% of TNT was removed from the soil by the poplar tree in 90 days. Simulations further revealed that the rates of water and TNT up taken by roots had a typical diurnal variation pattern: increasing during the day and decreasing during the night, resulting from daily variations of xylem water potentials that were caused by leaf water transpiration. In general, the storage of TNT mass in the roots decreased with time and occurred partially because of the low availability of soil TNT as time elapsed and partially because of the biodegradation of TNT in the plant tissues. This study suggests that the UTCSP model could be a useful tool for estimating phytoremediation of soil TNT by a plant.     

The composition, trend and impact of urban solid waste in Beijing

This paper provides an overview of the trend of generation, composition, and management of municipal solid waste, and estimates the carbon emissions arising from municipal solid waste management in Beijing. The correlation analysis conducted shows that the generation of municipal solid waste in Beijing has been growing steadily, showing high correlations (r > 0.9) to the total GDP, per capita income, and the population. Food waste showed an increasing trend since 1990. Compared with the results of an investigation in 1990, ash and woodchips content in 2003 declined from 56% to 17%, while the percentage of paper and plastic increased from 10% to 29% over the same period. The calorific value of the municipal waste also increased, from 2,686 kJ/kg in 1990 to 4,667 kJ/kg in 2003, indicating that the waste is suitable for incineration. Currently, the source separation ratio of municipal waste is approximately 15%. About 94% of all the collected solid waste goes to the landfill while 4% is composted and 2% is incinerated. A moderate garbage collection fee is applied to both permanent and temporary residents in Beijing, but the willingness to pay for solid waste collection and treatment is still low. Under current treatment mode, the total amounts of carbon emission from waste disposal sites and incineration increased with the increase of municipal solid waste, from 29.8 Gg in 1990 to 84.5 Gg in 2003, including 83.3 Gg of CH₄ and 22.0 Gg of CO₂. The data availability and methodological challenges in monitoring the quantity and characteristics of municipal solid waste are discussed.     

Comparison of a diurnal vs steady-state ozone exposure profile on growth and yield of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in open-top chambers in the Yangtze Delta, China

Most available exposure-response relationships for assessing crop loss due to elevated ozone (O₃) have been established using data from chamber and open-top chamber experiments, using a simulated constant O₃ concentration exposure (square wave), which is not consistent with the diurnal variation of O₃ concentration that occurs in nature. We investigated the response of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) to O₃ as affected by two exposure regimes: one with a diurnal variation (CF100D) and another with a constant concentration (CF100). Although the two exposure regimes have the same mean O₃ concentration and accumulated O₃ concentration above 40 ppb (AOT40), our results show that O₃ at CF100D reduced biomass and number of pods/plant more than O₃ at CF100. Both O₃ exposures resulted in larger seed weights/100 pods compared to CF. Numbers of seeds/100 pods were reduced by CF100, while numbers of seeds/100 pods in the CF100D chambers were comparable to those in CF. Our results suggest that chamber experiments that use a constant O₃ exposure may underestimate O₃ effects on biomass and yields.     

Modeling the mechanisms for uptake and translocation of dioxane in a soil-plant ecosystem with STELLA

Knowledge of mechanisms for uptake, translocation, and accumulation of soil contaminants in plants is essential to successful applications of the phytoremediation technique. Analysis and evaluation of these mechanisms would be greatly facilitated by the availability of a dynamic model that can predict soil contaminant uptake by roots, transport from roots through stems to leaves, and accumulation in plant during the transport process. In this study, a dynamic model for uptake and translocation of contaminants from a soil-plant ecosystem (UTCSP) was developed using the STELLA modeling tool. The structure of UTCSP consists of time-dependent simultaneous upward transport, accumulation, and transpiration of water and contaminants in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, which was driven by water potential gradients among soils, roots, stems, leaves, and atmosphere. The UTCSP model was calibrated using the experimental measurements and applied to predict phytoremediation of 1,4-dioxane from a sandy soil by a poplar tree. Simulation results showed that about 20% of 1,4-dioxane was removed from the soil by the poplar tree in 90 days. The simulations further revealed that while the mass of 1,4-dioxane in the poplar tree increased consecutively with time, the rates of water and 1,4-dioxane uptake and translocation in the roots, stems, and leaves have a typical diurnal distribution pattern: increasing during the day and decreasing during the night, resulting from daily variations of plant water potentials that were caused by leaf water transpiration. This study suggests that the UTCSP model is a useful tool for estimating phytoremediation of contaminants in the soil-plant ecosystems.     

Distribution of Economic Benefits from Ecotourism: A Case Study of Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in China

Ecotourism is widely promoted as a conservation tool and actively practiced in protected areas worldwide. Theoretically, support for conservation from the various types of stakeholder inside and outside protected areas is maximized if stakeholders benefit proportionally to the opportunity costs they bear. The disproportional benefit distribution among stakeholders can erode their support for or lead to the failure of ecotourism and conservation. Using Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas (China) as an example, we demonstrate two types of uneven distribution of economic benefits among four major groups of stakeholders. First, a significant inequality exists between the local rural residents and the other types of stakeholder. The rural residents are the primary bearers of the cost of conservation, but the majority of economic benefits (investment, employment, and goods) in three key ecotourism sectors (infrastructural construction, hotels/restaurants, and souvenir sales) go to other stakeholders. Second, results show that the distribution of economic benefits is unequal among the rural residents inside the reserve. Most rural households that benefit from ecotourism are located near the main road and potentially have less impact on panda habitat than households far from the road and closer to panda habitats. This distribution gap is likely to discourage conservation support from the latter households, whose activities are the main forces degrading panda habitats. We suggest that the unequal distribution of the benefits from ecotourism can be lessened by enhancing local participation, increasing the use of local goods, and encouraging relocation of rural households closer to ecotourism facilities.     

Influence of sulfur dioxide-related interactions on PM2.5 formation in iron ore sintering

The formation of PM_2.5 (aerosol particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter) in association with SO₂ emission during sintering process has been studied by dividing the whole sintering process into six typical sampling stages. A low-pressure cascade impactor was used to collect PM_2.5 by automatically segregating particulates into six sizes. It was found that strong correlation existed between the emission properties of PM_2.5 and SO₂. Wet mixture layer (overwetted layer and raw mixture layer) had the function to simultaneously capture SO₂ and PM_2.5 during the early sintering stages, and released them back into flue gas mainly in the flue gas temperature-rising period. CaSO₄ crystals constituted the main SO₂-related PM_2.5 during the disappearing process of overwetted layer, which was able to form perfect individual crystals or to form particles with complex chemical compositions. Besides the existence of individual CaSO₄ crystals, mixed crystals of K₂SO₄-CaSO₄ in PM_2.5 were also found during the first half of the temperature-rising period of flue gas. The interaction between fine-grained Ca-based fluxes, potassium vapors, and SO₂ was the potential source of SO₂-related PM_2.5.

Implications: The emission property of PM_2.5 and SO₂ throughout the sintering process exhibited well similarity. This phenomenon tightened the relationship between the formation of PM_2.5 and the emission of SO₂. Through revealing the properties of SO₂-related PM_2.5 during sintering process, the potential interaction between fine-grained Ca-based fluxes, potassium vapors, and SO₂ was found to be the source of SO₂-related PM_2.5. This information can serve as the guidance to develop efficient techniques to control the formation and emission of PM_2.5 in practical sintering plants.     

Antimicrobial activities of flavonoids against bamboo-destroying fungi and molds

It is well-known that Poria vaporaria (Pers.:Fr.) Cooke, Paecilomyces variotii Bainier and Aspergillus niger are fungi and molds which destroy bamboo. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of antibacterial activity of 16 flavonoids in preventing the actions of these three bamboo-destroying fungi and molds (Poria vaporaria (Pers.:Fr.) Cooke, Paecilomyces variotii Bainier and Aspergillus niger). The results showed that baicalein(1) exerted the highest inhibitory effect on Poria vaporaria (Pers.:Fr.) Cooke and Paecilomyces variotii Bainier indicating that baicalein(1) may be considered as a potential agent to develop as natural bactericide to preserve natural bamboo.     

Effects of a constructed wetland and pond system upon shallow groundwater quality

Constructed wetland (CW) and constructed pond (CP) are commonly utilized for removal of excess nutrients and certain pollutants from stormwater. This study characterized shallow groundwater quality for pre- and post-CW and CP system conditions using data from monitoring wells. Results showed that the average concentrations of groundwater phosphorus (P) decreased from pre-CW to post-CW but increased from pre-CP to post-CP. The average concentrations of groundwater total Kjeldahl nitrogen and ammonium ( $ {\mathrm{NH}}{_4^{ + }} $ ) increased from pre-CW (or CP) to post-CW (or CP), whereas the average concentrations of groundwater arsenic (As), chromium, nickel, and zinc (Zn) decreased from pre-CW to post-CW regardless of the well locations. Variations of groundwater cadmium, copper, and Zn concentrations were larger in pre-CP than in post-CP and had a tendency to decrease from pre-CP to post-CP. In general, the average concentrations of groundwater aluminum and manganese decreased and of groundwater calcium, iron, magnesium, and sodium increased from pre-CP to post-CP. The average values of water levels (depth from the ground surface), redox potential, and conductance decreased and of chloride and sulfate ( $ {\mathrm{SO}}{_4^{{ - 2}}} $ ) increased after the wetland and pond were constructed regardless of the well locations. Results further revealed that there were significant differences (α?=?0.05) between the pre- and post-CW (or CP) for redox potential, water level, and As. This study suggests that the CW–CP system had discernible effects on some of the shallow groundwater quality constituents. This information is very useful for fully estimating overall performance of stormwater treatment with the CW–CP system.     

High mineral adsorption of glyphosate versus diethyl phthalate and tetracycline,during visible light photodegradation with goethite and oxalate

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The increasing presence of pesticides, pharmaceuticals and plasticizers in environmental media is threatening public health and ecosystems. Remediation of...     

Cu2+对普通小球藻的光合毒性：初始藻密度的影响

为了研究Cu2+对普通小球藻的光合毒性以及初始藻密度对Cu2+光合毒性的影响,将初始密度为107mL-1的普通小球藻暴露于Cu2+的6个浓度(0、5、10、20、30和40μmol.L-1)中进行96 h的毒性暴露实验,在2、48和96 h分别利用叶绿素荧光仪(MAXI-Imaging-PAM)测定各项叶绿素荧光参数,同时,针对3个不同初始密度的普通小球藻(2×106、5×106和2×107mL-1),测定并比较了其暴露于0、20和40μmol.L-1的Cu2+12 h后,叶绿素荧光参数的变化。不同初始藻密度的毒性实验结果显示,初始藻密度为2×106mL-1时,20和40μmol.L-1Cu2+可完全抑制普通小球藻的光合作用;当初始藻密度增加到5×106和2×107mL-1时,40μmol.L-1Cu2+对普通小球藻的实际光合作用效率仅有约75%和25%的抑制。这表明初始藻密度越大,Cu2+的光合毒性越弱。但随着初始藻密度的增加,初始藻密度的变化对Cu2+光合毒性的影响减弱。初始藻密度为107mL-1时的毒性实验结果显示,暴露于20~40μmol.L-1Cu2+2 h后,普通小球藻的光合作用即受到抑制,且该抑制程度随Cu2+浓度的增加而增强,并随着暴露时间的延长有所缓解。随着Cu2+浓度的增加,最大量子产量(Fv/Fm)、实际量子产量(Yield)、相对电子传递速率(ETR)和光化学淬灭系数(qP)逐渐降低,非光化学淬灭系数(NPQ/4)逐渐上升。研究结果表明,Cu2+对普通小球藻的光合作用有一定的抑制作用,其机理可能为通过引起PSII系统反应中心的部分失活,导致PSII系统反应中心的开放比例减少,引起电子传递速率降低以及ATP和NADPH的合成减慢,从而使光合作用速率下降;初始藻密度对Cu2+的光合毒性大小有较大的影响,故在进行藻类的毒性实验时,也应关注初始藻密度的影响。