Relationship between PM10 and PM2.5 levels in high-traffic area determined using path analysis and linear regression

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between PM_(10) and PM_(2.5) levels as related to meteorological conditions and traffic flow using both a linear regression analysis and a path analysis. The Particulate matter(PM) samples were collected from Sukhumvit road, Bangkok, Thailand, at both open(104 samples) and covered(92 samples)areas along the road. Fifteen percent of all samples were separated before the statistical models were run and used for model validation. The results from the path analysis were more elaborate than those from the linear regression, thus indicating that meteorological conditions had a direct effect on the particulate levels and that the effects of traffic flow were more variable in open areas. The model also indicated that meteorological conditions had an indirect effect and that traffic flow had a direct effect on particulate levels in covered areas. The model validation results indicated that for open areas, the R~2 values were not very different between the path analysis and the linear regression model, but that the path analysis was more accurate than the linear regression model at very low PM concentrations. At high PM concentrations, the path analysis model also had a better fit than did the linear regression, so the predictions from the path analysis model were more accurate than those from the linear regression.     

典型铅锌矿化区不同土地利用类型土壤重金属污染特征与评价

选取云南者海典型铅锌矿区周边冶炼区（A）、粮食主产区（B）、保护区（C）三个区域土壤为研究对象,分析三个区域内林地（LD）和耕地（GD）土壤pH、总碳（TC）、总氮（TN）、总磷（TP）和5种重金属（Hg、Cd、Pb、Zn、Cu）含量,利用典范对应分析（CCA）研究不同土地利用类型下它们之间的关系,基于系统熵值与重金属生物毒性改进灰色聚类评价法对研究区重金属污染程度进行评价。结果表明,A、B、C三区土壤的5种重金属均超过云南省土壤背景值,且含量A区 > B区 > C区,所有土壤样品Hg、Cd、Pb、Zn、Cu平均含量分别为7.24、1.53、1 794、2 892、210 mg/kg;LD土壤重金属含量普遍高于GD。研究区土壤pH总体呈弱酸性,但A区土壤受矿业活动影响呈弱碱性。TC、TN含量和C/N值均表现出LD大于GD,但TP含量表现为GD显著大于LD （P<0.05）。CCA分析表明LD和GD土壤pH与Cd和Cu呈负相关,与Zn和Pb呈正相关,且pH对重金属含量的影响最大;TC、TP与重金属Cd和Cu在LD土壤中呈正相关,在GD土壤中呈负相关。改进灰色聚类评价结果表明重金属污染程度均表现为LD大于GD;A区污染最严重且均呈重度污染,B区次之,C区污染程度最轻。经比较本文改进的灰色聚类评价法在准确性和灵敏度方面优于传统方法。     

雨天硫酸盐化速率样品扩散分析

选择采样期不同降雨天数的碱片，测定余边的硫酸盐化速率含量，其结果为：采样期全月无雨时，余边上的硫酸盐均未检出；半月以上至全月有雨时检出率为１００％，检出量占样品量的２．７０～１５．９５％。经扩散试验，查清了余边上的硫酸盐主要是有效面积上采集的样品的扩散，并提出了相应的修正方法。     

略谈淮北市城市景观生态建设

为了保护淮北市城市生态环境，拟利用城市景观生态学原理对该市城市景观进行生态设计，包括城市自然组分、非自然组分设计。自然组分包括种群源、廊道、节点等内容，力争使自然组分成为环境质量的控制性组分，使城市生态良性循环、物种多样并持续存在和流动可达，物质循环、能量流动、信息传递畅通。     

新疆生态功能区划初探

“新疆生态功能区划”参考了“中国综合生态环境区划方案”，以《生态功能区划暂行规程》为依据，充分考虑新疆独特的地理分布格局，将新疆分为5个生态区，18个生态亚区，79个生态功能区。“新疆生态功能区划”对科学有效地管理新疆生态环境，因地制宜地实施保护和治理策略，保证社会经济可持续发展具有重要意义。     

兰州市功能区大气细菌污染和城市绿地系统杀菌效应分析

在测定兰州市城市不同功能区和不同类型绿地系统空气细菌数量的基础上,分析了各功能区空气细菌污染状况,以及人流量和车流量与空气细菌数量之间的关系;探讨了不同绿地系统的杀菌效应,指出各绿地系统杀菌能力:乔、灌、草>乔、灌>草、灌>草坪。     

Economic development and environmental protection: an ecological economics perspective

This paper argues on both theoretical and empirical grounds that, beyond a certain point, there is an unavoidable conflictbetween economic development (generally taken to mean 'materialeconomic growth') and environmental protection. Think for a moment of natural forests, grasslands, marine estuaries, salt marshes, and coral reefs; and of arable soils, aquifers, mineraldeposits, petroleum, and coal. These are all forms of 'natural capital' that represent highly-ordered self-producing ecosystemsor rich accumulations of energy/matter with high use potential (low entropy). Now contemplate despoiled landscapes, eroding farmlands, depleted fisheries, anthropogenic greenhouse gases,acid rain, poisonous mine tailings and toxic synthetic compounds.These all represent disordered systems or degraded forms of energy and matter with little use potential (high entropy). The main thing connecting these two states is human economic activity. Ecological economics interprets the environment-economyrelationship in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. The second law sees economic activity as a dissipative process. Fromthis perspective, the production of economic goods andservices invariably requires the consumption of available energy and matter. To grow and develop, the economynecessarily 'feeds' on sources of high-quality energy/matter first produced by nature. This tends to disorder and homogenizethe ecosphere, The ascendance of humankind has consistently been accompanied by an accelerating rate of ecological degradation, particularly biodiversity loss, the simplificationof natural systems and pollution. In short, contemporary political rhetoric to the contrary, the prevailing growth-oriented global development paradigm is fundamentally incompatible with long-term ecological and social sustainability. Unsustainability is not a technical nor economic problem as usually conceived, but rather a state of systemic incompatibilitybetween a economy that is a fully-contained, growing, dependent sub-system of a non-growing ecosphere. Potential solutions fly inthe face of contemporary development trends and cultural values.     

Assessing protected area effectiveness using surrounding (buffer) areas environmentally similar to the target area

Many studies are based on the assumption that an area and its surrounding (buffer) area present similar environmental conditions and can be compared. For example, in order to assess the effectiveness of a protected area, the land use/cover changes are compared inside the park with its surroundings. However, the heterogeneity in spatial variables can bias this assessment: we have shown that most of the protected areas in Mexico present significant environmental differences between their interior and their surroundings. Therefore, a comparison that aims at assessing the effectiveness of conservation strategies, must be cautioned. In this paper, a simple method which allows the generation of a buffer area that presents similar conditions with respect to a set of environmental variables is presented. The method was used in order to assess the effectiveness of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a protected area located in the south-eastern part of Mexico. The annual rate of deforestation inside the protected area, the standard buffer area (based upon distance from the protected area only) and the similar buffer area (taking into account distance along with some environmental variables) were 0.3, 1.3 and 0.6%, respectively. These results showed that the protected area was effective in preventing land clearing, but that the comparison with the standard buffer area gave an over-optimistic vision of its effectiveness.     

Ecological Risk Assessment of Abandoned Shrimp Ponds in Southern Thailand

The potential ecological risks associated with contaminants from 15 abandoned shrimp ponds in southern Thailand were assessed at the screening level. Shrimp ponds reported as out of production for more than 2 years were selected as sampling sites. The assessment endpoint was identified as the protection of aquatic life from hazard of multiple agents or stressors in water or sediment from the ponds. The measurement endpoints were amount of toxic phytoplankton species, Yellow Head Viruses, SEMB viruses, oxytetracycline, cadmium, copper, and manganese. Data from field measurements and laboratory analyses obtained primarily from April to June 2003 were used in the risk analysis. The results showed that insignificant amounts of stressors were present, except for the metals. So, only concentration values of the metals were used in the calculation of hazard quotients (HQ) for risk characterization. The highest potential ecological risk characterized by the highest HQ value observed for each metal was 19 for manganese, 4.3 for cadmium, and 1.8 for copper. These findings indicated a need for further ecological risk assessment at a more detailed level to focus on the bioavailability and effects of metals from abandoned shrimp farms, with manganese the highest priority.     

Environmental benchmarks vs. ecological benchmarks for assessment and monitoring in Canada: Is there a difference?

Environmental benchmarks are widely used in Canadian environmental assessment as a standard against which to monitor air or water quality in response to human activities in the environment. Recent work in Canada has developed the concept of ecological benchmarks as a complement to environmental benchmarks. However, implementation of ecological benchmarks may be challenging. This paper presents an analogy between ecological benchmarks and the more commonly used environmental benchmarks, as an attempt to increase understanding and use of ecological benchmarks in resource management, assessment, and monitoring. Ecological benchmarks, and their corresponding indicators, will be challenging to identify and use. However, through the use of the principles of adaptive management, effective ecological indicators and benchmarks can be established. Although it is essential that ecological benchmarks are site-specific, the analogy and general principles outlined here are applicable to assessment and monitoring in any part of the world.