Heavy Metal Toxicity Responses of Two Willow (Salix) Varieties Grown Hydroponically: Development of a Tolerance Screening Test

The E.U. funded BIORENEW project is investigating bioremediation of industrially degraded land using biomass fuel crops, including willow. One of its goals is to develop a rapid screening test to assess the metal tolerance of large numbers of willow varieties. This should reflect how a plant will respond to heavy metals under various field conditions and in the long term. A preliminary experiment tested two varieties of contrasting ability to thrive in metal-contaminated soils. Trees were exposed to a metal cocktail in three different strengths of background solution. An appropriate strength solution (1/4 strength Hoaglands) was identified for differentiating variety performance, based on its effect on the biomass of plant fractions relative to control fractions. This is a response to heavy metals which can be quantified rapidly and simply. The relative performance of the varieties was comparable to their performance in field studies. This test will be used to assess the tolerance of further varieties.     

Effects of climate and land-cover change on the conservation status of gibbons

Species shift their distribution in response to climate and land-cover change, which may result in a spatial mismatch between currently protected areas (PAs) and priority conservation areas (PCAs). We examined the effects of climate and land-cover change on potential range of gibbons and sought to identify PCAs that would conserve them effectively. We collected global gibbon occurrence points and modeled (ecological niche model) their current and potential 2050s ranges under climate-change and different land-cover-change scenarios. We examined change in range and PA coverage between the current and future ranges of each gibbon species. We applied spatial conservation prioritization to identify the top 30% PCAs for each species. We then determined how much of the PCAs are conserved in each country within the global range of gibbons. On average, 31% (SD 22) of each species’ current range was covered in PAs. PA coverage of the current range of 9 species was <30%. Nine species lost on average 46% (SD 29) of their potential range due to climate change. Under climate-change with an optimistic land-cover-change scenario (B1), 12 species lost 39% (SD 28) of their range. In a pessimistic land-cover-change scenario (A2), 15 species lost 36% (SD 28) of their range. Five species lost significantly more range under the A2 scenario than the B1 scenario (p = 0.01, SD 0.01), suggesting that gibbons will benefit from effective management of land cover. PA coverage of future range was <30% for 11 species. On average, 32% (SD 25) of PCAs were covered by PAs. Indonesia contained more species and PCAs and thus has the greatest responsibility for gibbon conservation. Indonesia, India, and Myanmar need to expand their PAs to fulfill their responsibility to gibbon conservation. Our results provide a baseline for global gibbon conservation, particularly for countries lacking gibbon research capacity.     

羟胺/EDTA协同强化芬顿反应的机理与动力学

经典芬顿反应(Fe²⁺/H₂O₂)在实际水处理中存在pH响应范围窄、亚铁盐投加量大和铁泥产量高等技术瓶颈问题。改用乙二胺四乙酸(EDTA)络合的亚铁离子(Fe²⁺-EDTA)做引发剂后,pH响应范围明显扩大,然而也引入了有机二次污染,同时提高了溶解铁的去除难度。在Fe²⁺-EDTA/H₂O₂体系中投加还原性的羟胺(HA),可将失活的Fe³⁺-EDTA转化成具有活性的Fe²⁺-EDTA,从而实现低铁投加量/低EDTA投加量条件下有机污染物的消除。结果表明：以伊文思蓝为模型污染物,HA/EDTA/芬顿体系的pH范围可扩大至7.0~9.0;铁离子和EDTA的最佳投料比为1∶1,H₂O₂的最佳投加量为0.5 mmol∙L⁻¹,HA的最佳投加量为0.1 mmol∙L⁻¹; HA/EDTA/芬顿体系中主要的活性物质为羟基自由基(·OH);苯基甲基亚砜(PMSO)的降解路径分析则证明了新体系中高价铁(Fe^IV)几乎不起任何作用。以上结果表明,将羟胺引入EDTA/芬顿体系后可同步降低铁离子与络合剂的使用量,故此体系改变了络合剂强化的芬顿反应中药剂投加量过大与后续铁离子不好处置的问题,可为进一步拓展芬顿反应的应用范围提供参考。     

Effects of seawater salinity on nitrite accumulation in short-range nitrification to nitrite as end product

The effect of seawater salinity on nitrite accumulation in short-range nitrification to nitrite as the end product was studied by using a SBR. Experimental results indicated that the growth of nitrobacteria was inhibited and very high levels of nitrite accumulation at different salinities were achieved under the conditions of 25--28℃, pH 7.5--8.0, and the influent ammonia nitrogen of 40--70mg/L when seawater flow used to flush toilet was less than 35% (salinity 12393 mg/L, Cl^- 6778mg/L) of total domestic wastewater flow, which is mainly ascribed to much high chlorine concentration of seawater. Results showed that high seawater salinity is available for short-range nitrification to nitrite as the end product. When the seawater flow used to flush toilet accounting for above 70% of the total domestic wastewater flow, the removal efficiency of ammonia was still above 80% despite the removal of organics declined obviously(less than 60% ). It was found that the effect of seawater salinity on the removal of organics was negative rather than positive one as shown for ammonia removal.     

远程火箭弹高弹道飞行温度环境分析

目的在不采用防热涂层的前提下,为满足远程火箭弹高弹道飞行的防热需求,提出增加壳体厚度的设计思路。方法通过弹道耦合的气动加热计算,分析不同材料、不同厚度壳体的弹头壁面在飞行过程中的温度变化情况。结果壳体厚度达到20 mm以上时,铝、钢、铜三种材料壳体的外壁面温度均低于150℃,而相同厚度的壳体,钢壳的降温能力最强。结论增加壳体厚度可以有效降低弹头壳体壁面温度。     

Effect of spatial variation on salinity tolerance of macroinvertebrates in Eastern Australia and implications for ecosystem protection trigger values

Salinisation of freshwater has been identified as a serious environmental issue in Australia and around the world. Protective concentrations (trigger values) for salinity can be used to manage salinity impacts, though require locally relevant salinity tolerance information. 72-h acute salinity tolerance values were determined for 102 macroinvertebrates collected from 11 locations in four biologically distinct freshwater bio-regions in Northeast Australia and compared with sensitivities observed in Southeast Australia. The salinity tolerance of individual taxa was consistent across Northeast Australia and between Northeast and Southeast Australia. However, two distinct communities were identified in Northeast Australia using distributions of the acute tolerance values and a calculated index of salinity sensitivity. Salinity trigger values should therefore be representative of local or regionally relevant communities and may be adequately calculated using sensitivity values from throughout Eastern Australia. The results presented provide a basis for assessing salinity risk and determining trigger values for salinity in freshwater ecosystems at local and regional scales in Eastern Australia.     

Tradeoffs between forestry resource and conservation values under alternate policy regimes: A spatial analysis of the western Canadian boreal plains

An important element of resource management and conservation is an understanding of the tradeoffs between marketed products, such as timber, and measures of environmental quality, such as biodiversity. In this paper, we develop an integrated economic-ecological spatial optimization model that we then apply to evaluate alternate forest policies on a 560,000 km² study region of managed boreal forest in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. The integrated model incorporates dynamic forest sector harvesting, current levels of oil and gas sector development, coarse-filter or habitat-based old forest indicators, a set of empirical forest bird abundance models, and statistical models of the natural and current fire regimes. Using our integrated model, economic tradeoff curves, or production possibility frontiers, are developed to illustrate the cost of achieving coarse-filter targets by a set time (50 years) within a 100-year time horizon. We found levels of ecological indicators and economic returns from the timber industry could both be increased if spatial constraints imposed by the current policy environment were relaxed; other factors being equal, this implies current policy should be revised. We explore the production possibility frontier's relationship to the range of natural variation of old forest habitat, and show how this range can be used to guide choices of preferred locations along the frontier. We also show that coarse-filter constraints on the abundance of certain habitat elements are sufficient to satisfy some fine-filter objectives, expressed as the predicted abundances of various species of songbirds.     

Genetic relatedness and space use in a behaviorally flexible species of marmot, the woodchuck (Marmota monax)

Solitary species show several patterns of space use and relatedness. Individuals may associate randomly or may live near female or male kin, often as a result of natal philopatry or dispersal patterns. Although usually described as solitary or asocial, woodchucks (Marmota monax) are behaviorally flexible marmots that exhibit greater sociality in some populations than others. I examined relationships between kinship, geographic distance, and home range overlap, as well as dispersal and philopatry, to determine the extent to which kin associated spatially. I used a combination of microsatellite DNA analysis, long-term behavioral observations, and radiotelemetry to test predictions that females, but not males, would associate with kin. Indeed, woodchucks lived closer and shared a greater proportion of their home range with more closely related animals. Overlap of females' and males' home ranges was positively correlated with kinship, and male–female dyads shared more area with closer kin. Most juveniles delayed dispersal beyond their first summer. Females often remained philopatric and settled near their natal range. Although males often dispersed as yearlings, some males also established territories within or immediately adjacent to their natal home ranges. A combination of factors can explain these spatial patterns, including high population density associated with the study site's location within a suburban environment, high dispersal costs, and abundant food. Thus, despite their asocial and solitary reputation, woodchucks displayed spatial patterns seen in other, more social species of ground-dwelling sciurids.     

折线法和滚球法确定避雷针保护范围的安全性分析

概述了如何利用折线法和滚球法确定避雷针保护范围 ,并通过分析对比两者的安全性 ,提出了必须具体问题具体对待才能做到安全防雷     

Influence of Ambient pH on Freshwater Invertebrates under Experimental Conditions

In experimental mesocosms differing in water pH, the communities of macroinvertebrates demonstrated marked differences in their species composition and the quantitative ratios between the main groups of members (oligochaetes, chironomids, mollusks, etc.). The highest species diversity was recorded at pH 4.09–8.65. It proved to decrease at pH below 4 and above 9. In experiments on determining tolerance to water pH, seven groups of invertebrates differing in their adaptive potential were distinguished among 40 species found en masse in the freshwater zoobenthos and zooperiphyton of the Upper Volga basin.