NITROGEN AND ORGANIC MATTER LOSSES IN NO‐TILL CORN CROPPING SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT: Intensive cropping systems based on mechanical movement of soil have induced land degradation in most agricultural areas due to soil erosion and soil fertility losses. Thus, farmers have been increasing fertilization rates to maintain an economically competitive crop yield. This practice has resulted in water quality degradation and lake eutrophication in many agricultural watersheds. Research was conducted in the Patzcuaro watershed in central Mexico to develop appropriate technology that prevents nonpoint source pollution from fertilizers. Organic matter (OM) and nitrogen (N) losses in runoff and nitrate (NO₃‐N) percolation in Andisols with corn under conventional till (CT) and no‐till (NT) treatments using variable percentages of crop residue as soil cover were investigated for steep‐slope agriculture. USLE type runoff plots were used to collect water runoff, while suction tubes with porous caps at 30, 60, and 90 cm depth were used to sample soil water solutes for NO₃‐N analyses. Results indicated a significant reduction of N and OM losses in runoff as residue cover increased in the NT treatments. Inorganic N in runoff was 25 kg/ha for NT without residue cover (NT‐0) and 6 kg/ha for the NT with 100 percent residue cover (NT‐100). Organic matter losses in runoff were 157 and 24 kg/ha for the NT‐0 and NT‐100 treatments, respectively. Nitrate‐N percolation was evident in CT and NT with 100 percent residue cover (NT‐100). However, NT‐100 had higher NO₃‐N concentration at the root zone, suggesting the possibility of reducing fertilization rates with the use of NT treatments.     

茶粕有机肥的开发与利用

论述了生物有机肥在发展农业生产中的重要地位,以及生产中存在着的大量使用集约化畜禽养殖场的畜禽粪对土壤、水体等环境质量和农产品质量安全产生严重影响的问题,提出以茶粕作为原料生产有机肥具有生产过程相对安全、克服有机肥二次污染的优点.此外,茶叶次生代谢物茶多酚、茶色素、茶皂素和茶皂甙等具有抗氧化、清除自由基、络合金属离子、调节植物生长和生物防虫、灭虫等独特生理功效,将极大地提高茶粕有机肥的生物有效性,显示出其广阔的应用前景.     

大气颗粒物手工比对监测体系滤膜称量质控技术探讨

健全大气颗粒物手工比对监测体系是"十三五"环境空气自动监测质量管理的一项重点任务,其中颗粒物滤膜的称量直接影响手工监测数据质量。研究调研了国内各级环保部门所属环境监测机构颗粒物滤膜称量工作情况,结合国内外方法标准、技术规范等,重点探讨了称量实验室环境、称量设备、称量影响因素等滤膜称量质控要点,并针对环境管理与监测需求对大气颗粒物手工比对监测滤膜称量质控提出建议。     

利用SPAMS初探盘锦市冬季PM2.5污染特征及来源

利用SPAMS 0515于2015年1月在盘锦市兴隆台空气质量自动监测点位采集PM_(2.5)样品,并分析其污染特征和来源。研究结果表明,盘锦市冬季PM_(2.5)的颗粒类型主要以OC颗粒、富钾颗粒、EC颗粒组成。其中,OC颗粒占比最高,为52.5%;PM_(2.5)污染的主要贡献源为燃煤、生物质燃烧、机动车尾气排放,占比分别为33.2%、25.7%、17.5%,特别是在PM_(2.5)质量浓度较高时段,燃煤和机动车尾气排放对污染的贡献较大。     

Trait space of rare plants in a fire‐dependent ecosystem

The causes of species rarity are of critical concern because of the high extinction risk associated with rarity. Studies examining individual rare species have limited generality, whereas trait‐based approaches offer a means to identify functional causes of rarity that can be applied to communities with disparate species pools. Differences in functional traits between rare and common species may be indicative of the functional causes of species rarity and may therefore be useful in crafting species conservation strategies. However, there is a conspicuous lack of studies comparing the functional traits of rare species and co‐occurring common species. We measured 18 important functional traits for 19 rare and 134 common understory plant species from North Carolina's Sandhills region and compared their trait distributions to determine whether there are significant functional differences that may explain species rarity. Flowering, fire, and tissue‐chemistry traits differed significantly between rare and common, co‐occurring species. Differences in specific traits suggest that fire suppression has driven rarity in this system and that changes to the timing and severity of prescribed fire may improve conservation success. Our method provides a useful tool to prioritize conservation efforts in other systems based on the likelihood that rare species are functionally capable of persisting.     

柴油机微粒中可溶性有机成分的真空干燥条件

柴油机碳烟颗粒(PM)中可溶性有机组分(SOF)含量是其重要的特性参数,而真空干燥法可方便、高效、可靠地分析颗粒SOF含量,对其干燥条件的探索具有重要的研究意义和应用价值。首先采用模拟的柴油机颗粒,分析不同的干燥条件对模拟SOF(柴油、润滑油)挥发率的影响规律,得出模拟的SOF分析的最佳干燥条件;在此基础上,探索了真实柴油机颗粒SOF分析的最佳干燥条件为:干燥温度220℃、干燥时间3 h、真空度98 kPa,得知SOF组分干燥的难易程度介于柴油和润滑油之间;同时,根据此干燥条件,分析了排气管末端采集的真实碳烟颗粒的SOF含量特性。     

Fire as a Soil-Forming Factor

In the span of a human generation, fire can, in theory, impact all the land covered by vegetation. Its occurrence has many important direct and indirect effects on soil, some of which are long-lasting or even permanent. As a consequence, fire must be considered a soil-forming factor, on par with the others traditionally recognized, namely: parent material, topography, time, climate, living beings not endowed with the power of reason, and humans.     

燃煤电厂在线监测系统颗粒物浓度排放系数影响因素的探讨

选取上海市7家未安装气-气换热器的国控燃煤电厂作为研究对象，从煤质、除尘器、脱硫协同脱除作用以及锅炉工况负荷等方面探讨对颗粒物浓度排放系数 K值产生的影响，得出上述因素通过改变脱硫进口颗粒物浓度值影响 K值，当脱硫进口颗粒物浓度较低、波动范围较小时，其 K值也维持相对稳定的状态；当脱硫进口颗粒物浓度较高、波动范围较大时，其 K值也会发生较大的变化等结论。     

Environmental forensic investigation of the air pollution from a cement manufacturing unit

Abstract

Cement manufacturing is a process that results in the emission of significant quantities of suspended particulate matter (SPM) to the ambient air. An environmental forensic investigation was carried out in the surroundings of a major cement manufacturing unit at a place called Coimbatore in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The investigation was carried out to identify the contribution of the cement manufacturing unit to the SPM concentration of the surrounding air environment. The sampling points’ selection and sample collection were done following the principles outlined in the INTERPOL Manual for Pollution Crime Forensic Investigation. On-site monitoring of the air samples was carried out using Mini Laser Aerosol Spectrometer (GRIMM, Mini-LAS Model 11R). The instrument was capable of measuring particles ranging from 0.25 to 32 µm and classifying them into 31 size channels. The test results at majority of the monitoring locations were well above the limits specified in the National Ambient Air Quality Standards of India. Microscopic studies of the dust samples were carried out for surface texture and particle shape. The spatial distribution of particles was analysed using geographic information system (GIS) for the visual identification of the extent of the pollution by keeping the cement factory as the focal point. The results from the GIS and microscopic analysis established the role of the cement factory in the particulate matter pollution of its surroundings, specifically in the areas North-West of the factory. The successfully adopted procedure can serve as a guideline for the environmental forensic investigation of similar pollution incidences.     

Isotopic composition (C & N) of the suspended particles and N uptake by phytoplankton in a shallow tropical coastal lagoon

The spatial distribution of the C/N ratios and variations in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of suspended particulate matter were used to characterise their source in Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, Chilika, India. In addition, the significance of re-mineralised nutrients in the primary productivity of the shallow lagoon was also determined through quantification of the subsurface nitrogen uptake conditions at two relatively stable locations in the lagoon. The results indicated that the influence of terrestrial organic matter was the maximum in the northern sector and was relatively limited at the central and southern part of the lagoon. In situ ¹⁵N uptake experiments (daytime) under biogeochemically stable conditions revealed that the N uptake by phytoplankton ranged between 0.24 and 1.01?mM?m^?3?h^?1 during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. New production and regenerated production in the shallow lagoon was also estimated by calculating f-ratios (ratio of nitrate assimilation by phytoplankton to total nitrogenous nutrient assimilation, have been estimated), which varied from 0.52 in the post-monsoon to 0.38 in the pre-monsoon. Lowering of the f-ratio from post- to pre-monsoon indicated a dominance of mineralisation over the new production.