Biomagnification of anthropogenic and naturally-produced organobrominated compounds in a marine food web from Sydney Harbour, Australia

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and naturally-produced organobrominated compounds, such as methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs), have been scarcely studied in the Southern Hemisphere. Yet, sources of the latter group of compounds were found in Southern regions, specifically in Australia. The environmental distribution and biomagnification potential of organobrominated compounds were therefore investigated in a representative aquatic food chain (invertebrates and fish) from the Sydney Harbour, Australia. Mean PBDE concentrations ranged from 6.4 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in squid to 115 ng/g lw in flounder. BDE 47 was the dominant congener, followed by BDE 100. Mean levels of MeO-PBDEs (sum of congeners 2’-MeO-BDE 68 and 6-MeO-BDE 47) were as high as 110 ng/g lw in tailor, with a slight dominance of 2’-MeO-BDE 68. Polybrominated hexahydroxanthene derivates (PBHDs), another class of naturally-produced compounds, were found at variable concentrations and ranged from 4.7 ng/g lw in fanbelly and 146 ng/g lw in tailor. The tribrominated PBHD isomer dominated in the samples, except for luderick and squid. The lower levels of PBDEs found in luderick from the harbour compared to those obtained from the upper Parramatta River indicated a terrestrial (anthropogenic) origin of PBDEs, while the higher levels of MeO-PBDEs and PBHDs in the samples from the harbour confirmed the marine (natural) origin of these compounds. The highest trophic magnification factor (TMF) was found for sum PBDEs (3.9), while TMFs for sum MeO-PBDEs and sum PBHDs were 2.9 and 3.4, respectively. This suggests that biomagnification occurs in the studied aquatic food chain for anthropogenic brominated compounds, but also for the naturally-produced organobromines.     

自然资源利用权的双重物权属性及环境保护价值

自然资源利用权从产生的途径上看应属于特许物权，从内容和功能上看应属于准用益物权，两种物权属性并不相互排斥。自然资源利用权的双重物权属性符合环境保护的价值取向和价值选择。     

Bioherbicidal activity of terpenes and phenylpropenes against Echinochloa crus-galli

Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the herbicidal activity of twelve natural compounds belonging to monoterpenes, phenylpropenes, and sesquiterpenes against Echinochloa crus-galli under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. Experiments were conducted to determine the impact of different concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8?mM) of these compounds on the seed germination and root and shoot growth of barnyard grass. trans-Cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and thymol caused the highest impact on barnyard grass reducing its seed germination and shoot growth. p-Cymene (EC₅₀ = 0.22?mM) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (EC₅₀ = 0.34?mM) were the most potent compounds in limiting the root growth of the E. crus-galli. In a post-emergent experiment, thymol, trans-cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, farnesol, and nerolidol significantly reduced the shoot growth, fresh and dry weight of two-leaf stage barnyard grass after 2 days of the foliar treatment with the concentrations of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0%. These compounds induced severe visible injury symptoms where trans-cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, farnesol and nerolidol showed a complete weed control at 1.0 and 2.0%. These compounds were successfully formulated as emulsifiable concentrates and showed higher herbicidal activities against barnyard grass. Altogether, our data showed that trans-cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, thymol, farnesol, and nerolidol can be developed as novel bioherbicides for managing E. crus-galli.     

汽车危险报警开关气候老化性能研究

针对汽车危险报警开关的气候老化性能展开研究,分别采用整车自然暴露试验技术和人工加速老化试验技术,对汽车危险报警开关的老化性能进行研究,结果显示该汽车危险报警开关表面严重变色,表明其耐气候老化性能较差;对造成汽车危险报警开关因气候老化严重变色的原因进行具体分析,提出具体的措施实施整改,并对整改后的危险报警开关耐老化性能进行验证分析,结果表明经过整改后的危险报警开关耐气候老化性能有了很大的提高。     

Is Urban Stream Restoration Worth It?1

Kenney, Melissa A., Peter R. Wilcock, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Nicholas E. Flores, and Daniela C. Martínez, 2012. Is Urban Stream Restoration Worth It? Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 603-615. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00635.x Abstract: Public investment in urban stream restoration is growing, yet little has been done to quantify whether its benefits outweigh its cost. The most common drivers of urban stream projects are water quality improvement and infrastructure protection, although recreational and aesthetic benefits are often important community goals. We use standard economic methods to show that these contributions of restoration can be quantified and compared to costs. The approach is demonstrated with a case study in Baltimore, Maryland, a city with a legal mandate to reduce its pollutant load. Typical urban stream restoration costs of US$500-1,200 per foot are larger than the cost of the least expensive alternatives for management of nitrogen loads from stormwater (here, detention ponds, equivalent to $30-120 per foot of restored stream) and for protecting infrastructure (rip-rap armoring of streambanks, at $0-120 per foot). However, the higher costs of stream restoration can in some cases be justified by its aesthetic and recreational benefits, valued using a contingent valuation survey at $560-1,100 per foot. We do not intend to provide a definitive answer regarding the worth of stream restoration, but demonstrate that questions of worth can be asked and answered. Broader application of economic analysis would provide a defensible basis for understanding restoration benefits and for making restoration decisions.     

Stewardship among lifestyle oriented rural landowners

Changes in landownership associated with amenity migration are affecting the demographic, cadastral and ecological conditions of rural landscapes. These changes and concerns about their impacts on natural resource management, including ecological conservation, relate to both the structural consequences of landownership change, land subdivision and to the motivations, management ability and attitudes of lifestyle oriented rural landowners. Based on an Australian case study near Sydney, NSW, this paper examines the motivations and practices of such landowners, assesses potential consequences for vegetation and characterises the landowners according to three stewardship types.     

A theoretical overview of the relationship between the resource curse and genuine savings as an indicator for “weak” sustainability

This paper shows the strong relation between the factors that lead to the resource curse (RC) and factors that lead to a decline of genuine savings (GS). There is substantial empirical evidence that economies that rely predominantly on their natural resources are also characterized by slower economic growth. This so‐called RC is commonly traced back to the fact that natural resources' generate rents that are independent of a country's economic performance, which can lead to suboptimal reinvestments of this consumed natural capital. We argue that the factors responsible for the RC also have a negative effect on GS, a concept that measures “weak” sustainable development by considering reinvestment of natural capital rents in physical and human capital. We discuss whether the RC hampers possibilities for resource abundant countries to obtain sufficiently high rates of GS, and find indeed many reasons why resource‐dependent countries have problems achieving positive GS rates. We survey both areas of research, emphasizing the influence of the exogenous and endogenous determinants of economic growth, which are usually used to theoretically and empirically explain the RC on the three different forms of capital considered by GS. We specify why most countries suffering from the RC have negative GS rates and explain in detail where the linkages are. This overview could help with potential advancements in the explanation of GS through the inclusion of RC effects.     

添加天然沸石和石灰对土壤镉形态转化的影响

采用土壤培养实验,研究镉污染土壤中添加沸石、石灰及两者配施对土壤pH值和土壤镉形态变化的影响。结果表明,土壤pH值随沸石用量的增加而增加,随培养时间呈现先增加后下降并逐渐趋于稳定的趋势,但均高于对照。高剂量石灰的处理对土壤pH的影响最大,与对照相比土壤pH提高了3.33个单位。在土壤5~50 d培养过程中,石灰处理的土壤交换态镉含量呈现先逐渐降低而后略有升高的趋势,其余处理均呈下降趋势。培养50 d后,高剂量的沸石、石灰及高剂量沸石与石灰配施处理的土壤交换态镉含量从5 d时的67.54、61.95和55.56 mg/kg降低至54.65、49.93和45.96mg/kg。相关分析表明,不同培养时期交换态镉含量与土壤pH值呈负相关关系。在10个处理中,L2Z3(石灰2 g/kg土和沸石60 g/kg土)组合处理效果最好,使土壤交换态镉含量下降了34.68%,碳酸盐结合态镉含量上升了4.30%,铁锰氧化结合态镉含量上升了16.97%,有机结合态镉含量上升了1.31%,残渣态镉含量上升了12.11%。     

Bioavailability of residual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons following enhanced natural attenuation of creosote-contaminated soil

The impact of residual PAHs (2250 ± 71 μg total PAHs g⁻¹) following enhanced natural attenuation (ENA) of creosote-contaminated soil (7767 ± 1286 μg total PAHs g⁻¹) was assessed using a variety of ecological assays. Microtox™ results for aqueous soil extracts indicated that there was no significant difference in EC₅₀ values for uncontaminated, pre- and post-remediated soil. However, in studies conducted with Eisenia fetida, PAH bioaccumulation was reduced by up to 6.5-fold as a result of ENA. Similarly, Beta vulgaris L. biomass yields were increased 2.1-fold following ENA of creosote-contaminated soil. While earthworm and plant assays indicated that PAH bioavailability was reduced following ENA, the residual PAH fraction still exerted toxicological impacts on both receptors. Results from this study highlight that residual PAHs following ENA (presumably non-bioavailable to bioremediation) may still be bioavailable to important receptor organisms such as earthworms and plants.