Assessing dam implementation impact on threatened carnivores: the case of Alqueva in SE Portugal

Large dam construction in water deficient areas is a management decision often controversial. Besides providing water storage, economical benefits, and a source of renewable energy, the construction and flooding caused by large dams cause disruptions in natural systems. We monitored the pre- and post-Alqueva dam impacts on the threatened carnivore species (polecat, otter, wildcat and Iberian lynx) populations in SE Portugal, and assessed which factors mostly contribute to post-dam distribution. Major short term impacts of large dams are: (1) increase in accessibility and human presence; (2) movement of heavy machinery and dam-workers; (3) deforestation with habitat loss and fragmentation; (4) change from lotic to lentic system; (5) lower prey availability and harsher capture; and (6) changes in land use adjacent to the reservoir. Thus, the response to those impacts can be predicted as a decline of polecat, wildcat and lynx distribution ranges, and a recovery of the otter from the severe short term impacts. Our results corroborate this hypothesis for all the species, especially during deforestation/early flooding. Otter's distribution range increased in the phase of greater impact, with a subsequent decrease with flooding. Our results suggest carnivores used "escape" areas with favourable habitat and prey conditions, however, the areas with higher probability of species presence decreased by two fold showing a drastic range reduction. To ensure populations' survival of these charismatic threatened carnivore populations of Mediterranean landscapes of south-east Portugal, we propose continuing the monitoring program and the development of a conservation program for the subsisting areas of optimal and suboptimal habitats.     

Mathematical model for photocatalytic destruction of organic contaminants in air

Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) was investigated in a bench-scale reactor for the abatement of two airborne organic contaminants: toluene and ethanol. A mathematical model that includes the impacts of light intensity, initial contaminant concentration, catalyst thickness, and relative humidity (RH) on the degradation of organic contaminants in a photocatalytic reactor was developed to describe this process. The commercially available catalyst Degussa-PtTiO2 was selected to compare with the MTU-PtTiO2-350 catalyst, which was synthesized by the sol-gel process, platinized, and calcined at 350 degrees C. For toluene removal using the MTU-PtTiO2-350 catalyst, the degradation rate increased with increases in light intensity from 0.2 to 2.2 mW/cm2 and in catalyst thickness from 0.00037 to 0.00361 cm. However, further increases in light intensity and catalyst thickness had only slight effect on the toluene degradation rate. Increasing the initial concentration from 6.29 to 127.9 microg/L and the RH from 10 to 85% resulted in decreases in the toluene degradation rate. For ethanol removal using the MTU-PtTiO2-350 catalyst, the degradation rate increased more rapidly with an increase in RH from 17 to 56%; the RH had little effect on the ethanol degradation rate while it further increased from 56% to 82%. We discuss applicability of the model to estimate the influence of process variables and to evaluate photocatalyst performance.     

责任关怀(R)在行动

责任关怀(R)(Responsible Care(R))是旨在不断改善安全、健康和环境表现的世界性化学工业计划.这项志愿工业举措在提高资源有效利用、降低风险、废物最少化和保护环境质量方面发挥了重大作用.责任关怀已经通过其对这些空前急需的挑战的固有灵活和革新性回应取得了成功.本文描述责任关怀(R)的组织结构及其一些成就.     

应用大气扩散模式进行区域稻田甲烷源强估算

传统通量箱方法对区域稻田甲烷源强的估算具有很大不确定性 .本研究应用箱模式和 ATDL模式估算区域稻田甲烷排放率 .箱模式和 ATDL模式估算排放率分别为 :6月 13.2～ 30.4mg· (m²·h)^-1 和 6.1～ 8.5mg·(m²·h)^-1,9月 10.4～20.0 mg·(m²·h)^-1 和 5.5～9.3mg·(m²·h)^-1;而传统通量箱方法估算排放率为 :6月 0.3～ 14.3mg·(m²·h)^-1 ,9月 0～0.3mg·(m²·h)^-1.分析表明 ,北京地区水稻生长季的接地逆温等不利气象条件使箱模式应用的基本假设难以满足 ,使之得出偏高的估算结果 . ATDL模式能较好地适应这种不利气象条件 ,并在 6月得出了与通量观测结果相近的估算结果 ,而其 9月高于通量观测结果的估算 ,却可能证实了通量箱方法难以测得的干旱稻田土壤裂缝的甲烷排放 ,有待于进一步研究证实 .