Analysis of arable land loss and its impact on rural sustainability in Southern Jiangsu Province of China

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in southern Jiangsu Province have consumed a huge amount of arable land. Through comparative analysis of land cover maps derived from TM images in 1990, 2000 and 2006, we identified the trend of arable land loss. It is found that most arable land is lost to urbanization and rural settlements development. Urban settlements, rural settlements, and industrial park-mine-transport land increased, respectively, by 87 997 ha (174.65%), 81 041 ha (104.52%), and 12 692 ha (397.99%) from 1990 to 2006. Most of the source (e.g., change from) land covers are rice paddy fields and dryland. These two covers contributed to newly urbanized areas by 37.12% and 73.52% during 1990–2000, and 46.39% and 38.86% during 2000–2006. However, the loss of arable land is weakly correlated with ecological service value, per capita net income of farmers, but positively with grain yield for some counties. Most areas in the study site have a low arable land depletion rate and a high potential for sustainable development. More attention should be directed at those counties that have a high depletion rate but a low potential for sustainable development. Rural settlements should be controlled and rationalized through legislative measures to achieve harmonious development between urban and rural areas, and sustainable development for rural areas with a minimal impact on the ecoenvironment.     

Impacts of Upstream Building Width and Upwind Building Arrangements on Airflow and Pollutant Dispersion in a Street Canyon

A two-dimensional numerical model for evaluating the wind flow and pollutant dispersion within a street canyon was first developed using the FLUENT code, which was then validated against a wind tunnel experiment. Then, the effects of the upstream building width and upwind building arrangement on the airflow and pollutant dispersion inside an isolated street canyon were investigated numerically. The numerical results revealed that: (1) the in-canyon vortex center shifts downwards as the upstream building width increases; (2) the recirculation zone covers the entire upstream building roof for the cases when W/H = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 (W is the upstream building width and H is the building height), whereas the flow reattaches the upstream building roof for the cases when W/H = 2.5 and 3.0; (3) when the upstream building width is shorter than the critical width W_C (= 2H), an increase in the upstream building width leads to an increase in the pollution level on the leeward wall of the canyon and a decrease in the roof-level concentrations at the upstream building; (4) when the upstream building width is longer than the critical width, the roof-level concentrations at the upstream building are negligibly small and the pollution level on the leeward wall of the canyon is almost unaffected by a further increase in the upstream building width; (5) when the buildings are placed upwind of the canyon, the flow attaches the upstream building roof and, therefore, almost none of the pollutants are distributed on the upstream building roof; and (6) the pollution levels inside the canyon and on the downstream building roof increase significantly with the number of upwind buildings.     

稠油火驱开采技术节能减排效果分析

火驱作为稠油热采的有效接替技术,与注蒸汽开采技术相比,具有采收率高,能耗低,CO_2排放少的优势。文章从火驱驱油机理特征阐述了火驱与注蒸汽技术的不同点,从燃料开采能耗、热效率、注入剂资源、数据对比四个方面分析火驱比注蒸汽热效率高,无燃料开采成本,能耗是注蒸汽的50%;从CO_2气体排放方式和排放量对比可知,火驱能够减少温室气体排放,为油田节能减排、环保生产起到积极作用。     

花叶芦竹水平潜流人工湿地脱氮性能研究

采用花叶芦竹水平潜流人工湿地处理生活污水，对其脱氮性能进行研究。结果表明：在HRT＝5 d，对TOC，NH⁺₄-N，NO^-₂-N，NO^-₃-N和TN的去除效果分别达到92％、93％、84％、51％和88％，相应空白湿地的去除率分别为91％、85％、-232％、-203％和66％。大部分TOC在湿地的前端被去除。花叶芦竹可以直接吸收氮素，向湿地输送氧气，通过根系分泌物提供碳源。因此，花叶芦竹人工湿地具有很好的硝化反硝化能力，实现了良好的脱氮性能。     

PRB强化垂直流人工湿地系统处理煤矿废水

针对常规人工湿地系统处理高浊含氮磷的有机煤矿废水不佳的问题,采用PRB与人工湿地耦合的方法,进行砂箱模拟实验研究。实验结果表明,由无烟煤、钢渣及沸石构建的PRB强化垂直流人工湿地系统对NH4+-N、PO34--P、Mn2+、COD、SS的去除率分别达到88.84%、96.08%、98.98%、85.78%和94.00%,与常规人工湿地相比,具有处理效率高、水力负荷大、占地面积小等特点,更便于运行管理。     

Suppressed recovery of plant community composition and biodiversity on dredged fill of a hurricane-induced inlet through a barrier island

In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel created an inlet over 500 m wide and 10 m deep that connected the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound. This breach was subsequently filled with sediments dredged from the adjacent sound. The purpose of this study was to determine if the barrier island terrestrial plant communities were naturally re-establishing through primary succession. In 2006–2008, we compared plant communities, soil carbon and nitrogen, and Aeolian transport of sediments in undisturbed back-dunes, undisturbed shrub thickets, putative back-dunes, and putative shrub thickets. We found that species richness and evenness were low on the filled area relative to adjacent plant communities that had persisted through the storm. Plants on the filled area were almost entirely limited to a band of primarily Spartina patens found at the margin of the sound and there were no signs of establishing the typical zonation of back dune grasses, shrubs, and salt marsh. Evaluation of soil quality suggests that nutrients and organic material are not limiting recovery. Aeolian transport, however, was demonstrably higher across the filled area, where no dense stands of taller plants buffered the airflow. Plant re-establishment is suppressed by wind erosion inhibiting deposition of seeds. Recovery of the site will likely depend on the rhizomatous spread of S. patens from the sound shore. S. patens can then potentially facilitate the colonization of other species by buffering the wind and trapping seeds of other plants. Ironically, this slow recovery may benefit federally threatened bird species that require sparse vegetation for nesting success.     

Dioxin-like activity in environmental and human samples from Greenland and Denmark

Dioxins and dioxin-like (DL) compounds are some of the most toxic chemicals being highly persistent in the environment. The toxicological effects of dioxins are mediated via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Compounds of diverse structure and lipophility can bind and activate AhR. The AhR transactivation bioassay is utilized in an array of projects to study the AhR-mediated activities of individual chemicals and mixtures and for epidemiological purposes.This review summarizes a series of studies regarding the DL-activity of single compounds and complex compound mixtures in the environment and humans.We found that some pesticides, plasticizers and phytoestrogens can activate the AhR, and the combined effect of compounds with no or weak AhR potency cannot be ignored.The significant DL-activity in the wastewater effluent indicates the treatment is not sufficient to prevent contamination of surface waters with dioxins. Our results from human studies suggest that the serum DL-activity reflect the complex mixture of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Greenlandic Inuit had lower serum DL-activity level compared to Europeans, probably due to long distance from the dioxin sources and UV degradation of the high potent dioxin and/or the inhibitory effect of the high level of non-DL POPs. Selective bioaccumulation of PCBs in the food chain may contribute to the negative correlation between serum POPs and DL-activity observed in Greenlandic Inuit.Hence the AhR transactivation bioassay provides a cost-effective and integrated screening tool for measurement of the DL-activity in human, environmental and commercial samples.     

Characterization of PM(2.5) collected during broadcast and slash-pile prescribed burns of predominately ponderosa pine forests in northern Arizona

Prescribed burning, in combination with mechanical thinning, is a successful method for reducing heavy fuel loads from forest floors and thereby lowering the risk of catastrophic wildfire. However, an undesirable consequence of managed fire is the production of fine particulate matter or PM(2.5) (particles ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter). Wood-smoke particulate data from 21 prescribed burns are described, including results from broadcast and slash-pile burns. All PM(2.5) samples were collected in situ on day 1 (ignition) or day 2. Samples were analyzed for mass, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), inorganic elements, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC). Results were characteristic of low intensity, smoldering fires. PM(2.5) concentrations varied from 523 to 8357 μg m(-3) and were higher on day 1. PAH weight percents (19 PAHs) were higher in slash-pile burns (0.21 ± 0.08% OC) than broadcast burns (0.07 ± 0.03% OC). The major elements were K, Cl, S, and Si. OC and EC values averaged 66 ± 7 and 2.8 ± 1.4% PM(2.5), respectively, for all burns studied, in good agreement with literature values for smoldering fires.     

低碳技术转让的资金机制问题研究

简单介绍了中国低碳技术转让的现实问题,分析了国内外现有解决低碳技术转让机制的模式,并提出了构建适合中国国情的低碳技术转让资金机制新模式,以解决低碳技术转让市场流动性的问题,进而减缓气候变化对中国的影响,最后指出了未来的研究方向。     

超声波辅助提取杜仲籽油的工艺优化

以杜仲籽为原料,应用超声波辅助法提取杜仲籽油.在单因素试验的基础上,通过正交试验确定了超声波辅助提取杜仲籽油的较佳工艺条件.结果表明,杜仲籽油的较佳提取工艺条件为料液比12ml/g,提取温度50℃,提取时间15min,超声波功率225W,在该条件下杜仲籽油得率27.24%.