Effects of regulated deficit irrigation applied at different growth stages of greenhouse grown tomato on substrate moisture,yield, fruit quality,and physiological traits

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Given a critical water scarcity in arid and semi-arid Tunisian areas and aiming to reduce irrigation water request, it is crucial to identify and...     

A Multidisciplinary Conceptualization of Conservation Opportunity

An opportunity represents an advantageous combination of circumstances that allows goals to be achieved. We reviewed the nature of opportunity and how it manifests in different subsystems (e.g., biophysical, social, political, economic) as conceptualized in other bodies of literature, including behavior, adoption, entrepreneur, public policy, and resilience literature. We then developed a multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity. We identified 3 types of conservation opportunity: potential, actors remove barriers to problem solving by identifying the capabilities within the system that can be manipulated to create support for conservation action; traction, actors identify windows of opportunity that arise from exogenous shocks, events, or changes that remove barriers to solving problems; and existing, everything is in place for conservation action (i.e., no barriers exist) and an actor takes advantage of the existing circumstances to solve problems. Different leverage points characterize each type of opportunity. Thus, unique stages of opportunity identification or creation and exploitation exist: characterizing the system and defining problems; identifying potential solutions; assessing the feasibility of solutions; identifying or creating opportunities; and taking advantage of opportunities. These stages can be undertaken independently or as part of a situational analysis and typically comprise the first stage, but they can also be conducted iteratively throughout a conservation planning process. Four types of entrepreneur can be identified (business, policy, social, and conservation), each possessing attributes that enable them to identify or create opportunities and take advantage of them. We examined how different types of conservation opportunity manifest in a social–ecological system (the Great Barrier Reef) and how they can be taken advantage of. Our multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity strengthens and legitimizes the concept.     

A Standard Lexicon for Biodiversity Conservation: Unified Classifications of Threats and Actions

Abstract: An essential foundation of any science is a standard lexicon. Any given conservation project can be described in terms of the biodiversity targets, direct threats, contributing factors at the project site, and the conservation actions that the project team is employing to change the situation. These common elements can be linked in a causal chain, which represents a theory of change about how the conservation actions are intended to bring about desired project outcomes. If project teams want to describe and share their work and learn from one another, they need a standard and precise lexicon to specifically describe each node along this chain. To date, there have been several independent efforts to develop standard classifications for the direct threats that affect biodiversity and the conservation actions required to counteract these threats. Recognizing that it is far more effective to have only one accepted global scheme, we merged these separate efforts into unified classifications of threats and actions, which we present here. Each classification is a hierarchical listing of terms and associated definitions. The classifications are comprehensive and exclusive at the upper levels of the hierarchy, expandable at the lower levels, and simple, consistent, and scalable at all levels. We tested these classifications by applying them post hoc to 1191 threatened bird species and 737 conservation projects. Almost all threats and actions could be assigned to the new classification systems, save for some cases lacking detailed information. Furthermore, the new classification systems provided an improved way of analyzing and comparing information across projects when compared with earlier systems. We believe that widespread adoption of these classifications will help practitioners more systematically identify threats and appropriate actions, managers to more efficiently set priorities and allocate resources, and most important, facilitate cross‐project learning and the development of a systematic science of conservation.     

National Red Listing Beyond the 2010 Target

Abstract: Following creation of the 2010 Biodiversity Target under the Convention on Biological Diversity and adoption of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, information on status and trends of biodiversity at the national level has become increasingly important to both science and policy. National red lists (NRLs) of threatened species may provide suitable data for reporting on progress toward these goals and for informing national conservation priority setting. This information will also become increasingly important for developing species‐ and ecosystem‐based strategies for climate change adaptation. We conducted a thorough global review of NRLs in 109 countries and analyzed gaps in NRL coverage in terms of geography and taxonomy to determine priority regions and taxonomic groups for further investment. We then examined correlations between the NRL data set and gross domestic product (GDP) and vertebrate species richness. The largest geographic gap was in Oceania, followed by middle Africa, the Caribbean, and western Africa, whereas the largest taxonomic gaps were for invertebrates, fungi, and lichens. The comprehensiveness of NRL coverage within a given country was positively correlated with GDP and negatively correlated with total vertebrate richness and threatened vertebrate richness. This supports the assertion that regions with the greatest and most vulnerable biodiversity receive the least conservation attention and indicates that financial resources may be an integral limitation. To improve coverage of NRLs, we propose a combination of projects that target underrepresented taxa or regions and projects that provide the means for countries to create or update NRLs on their own. We recommend improvements in knowledge transfer within and across regions as a priority for future investment.     

The Why,What, and How of Global Biodiversity Indicators Beyond the 2010 Target

Abstract: The 2010 biodiversity target agreed by signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity directed the attention of conservation professionals toward the development of indicators with which to measure changes in biological diversity at the global scale. We considered why global biodiversity indicators are needed, what characteristics successful global indicators have, and how existing indicators perform. Because monitoring could absorb a large proportion of funds available for conservation, we believe indicators should be linked explicitly to monitoring objectives and decisions about which monitoring schemes deserve funding should be informed by predictions of the value of such schemes to decision making. We suggest that raising awareness among the public and policy makers, auditing management actions, and informing policy choices are the most important global monitoring objectives. Using four well‐developed indicators of biological diversity (extent of forests, coverage of protected areas, Living Planet Index, Red List Index) as examples, we analyzed the characteristics needed for indicators to meet these objectives. We recommend that conservation professionals improve on existing indicators by eliminating spatial biases in data availability, fill gaps in information about ecosystems other than forests, and improve understanding of the way indicators respond to policy changes. Monitoring is not an end in itself, and we believe it is vital that the ultimate objectives of global monitoring of biological diversity inform development of new indicators.     

Genetic Structure of Herpetofauna on Halmahera Island,Indonesia: Implications for Aketajawe‐Lolobata National Park

Abstract: Genetic variation within species—a priority for biodiversity conservation—is influenced by natural selection, demography, and stochastic events such as genetic drift. We evaluated the role of these factors in 14 codistributed species of reptiles and amphibians on the Indonesian island of Halmahera by testing whether their molecular variation was correlated with geographic distance, ecology, riverine barriers, or Halmahera's paleoisland precursors. We found support for isolation by distance effects in four species. Two of these four were also significantly affected either by rivers or by ecology. A fifth species was significantly affected by ecology and a sixth was significantly affected by Halmahera's paleoislands. [Correction added after publication 9 December 2009: the previous sentence was edited for clarity.] These findings—the most comprehensive survey of multispecies genetic variation on Halmahera to date—bode well for the efficacy of the recently established Aketajawe‐Lolobata National Park in conserving a substantial component of vertebrate genetic variation on this island. Future success of conservation efforts will depend crucially, of course, on funding for and enforcement of conservation management of this park.     

污泥臭氧原位减量工艺中抗生素的去除

建立了两套小试规模的序批式反应器,一套作为污泥臭氧原位减量系统,另一套作为控制系统.通过两系统的长期运行（90 d）考察了污泥臭氧原位减量工艺对9种典型抗生素（四环素、土霉素、强力霉素、诺氟沙星、氧氟沙星、环丙沙星、洛美沙星、恩诺沙星和阿奇霉素）的去除效果.结果表明,进水中目标抗生素的存在（9种抗生素各100 μg·L^-1）并未对活性污泥去除COD、总氮、氨氮和总磷的效果产生显著影响.污泥臭氧原位减量系统出水中目标抗生素浓度在运行期间保持相对稳定,且与控制系统接近;但污泥中目标抗生素浓度则显著低于控制系统.质量衡算表明目标抗生素在两系统内的输入和输出逐渐达到平衡,臭氧降解和剩余污泥排放分别为减量和控制系统中目标抗生素的主要去除途径.污泥臭氧处理单元可以降解减量系统入水中83%的目标抗生素,而控制系统入水中82%的目标抗生素则随剩余污泥排放.因此,污泥臭氧原位减量工艺可以明显削减活性污泥系统中抗生素的排放,具有重要的实际意义.     

海水循环养殖系统水处理工艺综述

论述了海水循环养殖系统(RAS)需要控制的水质参数及相关单元水处理工艺.RAS需要对盐度、pH、温度、溶解氧等水质参数进行监测控制,并常采用物理、生物、化学处理的组合工艺,使固体物质、氨氮、亚硝酸盐、硝酸盐、有机物以及致病微生物等的浓度维持在安全范围内.固体物质根据粒径和可沉降性的不同,可采用沉降、过滤、泡沫分离或生物过滤法去除;氨氮、亚硝酸盐以及硝酸盐主要通过生物的硝化和反硝化作用去除;有机物主要通过生物降解去除;化学药剂消毒以及紫外辐照是RAS常用的消毒方法,消毒剂残余及消毒副产物对水质和动物健康的影响是选择合适消毒方法需要考虑的两个关键因素.最后,列举了几种海水RAS常用的组合处理工艺,并提出了针对性的改进建议.     

Copper Overcapacity and the Adjustment Process

This article analyses overcapacity in the world copper industry during the 1980s and reviews projections of mine capacity to 1990 and 1996 by the research staffs of the World Bank, the International Wrought Copper Council, and the Intergovernmental Council of Copper Exporting Countries. The process of restoring demand-supply balance in the copper industry is analysed under alternative assumptions for rates of growth in world consumption and certain conclusions are reached on the implications for copper prices during the 1990s.     

γ-Al2Ｏ3催化臭氧氧化水中嗅味物质MIB效能研究

以γ- Al₂Ｏ₃粉末为催化剂,研究了催化臭氧氧化去除水体中典型嗅味物质2-甲基异茨醇（MIB）的效能及相关影响因素.研究表明,γ- Al₂Ｏ₃在蒸馏水和自来水本底中,均表现出显著的催化活性.在蒸馏水本底条件下,催化氧化可提高MIB去除率47个百分点;而在自来水本底条件下,可提高MIB去除率40个百分点以上.臭氧浓度、催化剂投加量和MIB的初始浓度对催化氧化过程具有明显的影响作用.水的硬度对γ- Al₂Ｏ₃催化臭氧氧化MIB影响不大,但水中无机阴离子对催化效果影响显著.天然水体中的重碳酸盐/碳酸盐碱度可以抑制催化臭氧氧化过程中产生的羟基自由基,对γ- Al₂Ｏ₃催化臭氧氧化MIB起到了抑制作用.低浓度的腐殖酸能够促进催化氧化过程,而高浓度时则有抑制作用.通过pH值对催化氧化MIB的影响和叔丁醇对催化氧化的抑制作用,间接地证明γ- Al₂Ｏ₃催化氧化MIB的作用机理是以羟基自由基为主的间接氧化过程.