Aerobic degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by a Proteobacteria strain in a closed culture system

The contamination of methyl ten-butyl ether （MTBE） in underground waters has become a widely concerned problem all over the world. In this study, a novel dosed culture system with oxygen supplied by H2O2 was introduced for MTBE aerobic biodegradation. After 7 d, almost all MTBE was degraded by a pure culture, a member of β-Proteobacteria named as PMI, in a closed system with oxygen supply, while only 40% MTBE was degraded in one without oxygen supply. Dissolved oxygen （DO） levels of the broth in closed systems respectively with and without H2O2 were about 5-6 and 4 mg/L. Higher DO may improve the activity of monooxygemase, which is the key enzyme of metabolic pathway from MTBE to tert-butyl alcohol and finally to CO2, and may result in the increase of the degrading activity of PM1 cell. The purge and trap GC-MS result of the broth in closed systems showed that tea-butyl alcohol, isopronol and acetone were the main intermediate products.     

Nitrogen cycling of atmosphere-plant-soil system in the typical Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

The nitrogen (N) distribution and cycling of atmosphere-plant-soil system in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland (TMCW) and marsh meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland (MMCW) in the Sanjiang plain were studied by a compartment model. The results showed that the N wet deposition amount was 0.757 gN/(m2·a), and total inorganic N (TIN) was the main body (0.640 gN/(m2·a)). The ammonia volatilization amounts of TMCW and MMCW soils in growing season were 0.635 and 0.687 gN/m2, and the denitrification gaseous lost amounts were 0.617 and 0.405 gN/m2, respectively. In plant subsystem, the N was mainly stored in root and litter. Soil organic N was the main N storage of the two plant-soil systems and the proportions of it were 93.98% and 92.16%, respectively. The calculation results of N turnovers among compartments of TMCW and MMCW showed that the uptake amounts of root were 23.02 and 28.18 gN/(m2·a) and the values of aboveground were 11.31 and 6.08 gN/(m2·a), the re-translocation amounts from aboveground to root were 5.96 and 2.70 gN/(m2·a), the translocation amounts from aboveground living body to litter were 5.35 and 3.38 gN/(m2·a), the translocation amounts from litter to soil were larger than 1.55 and 3.01 gN/(m2·a), the translocation amounts from root to soil were 14.90 and 13.17 gN/(m2·a), and the soil (0-15cm) N net mineralization amounts were 1.94 and 0.55 gN/(m2·a), respectively. The study of N balance indicated that the two plant-soil systems might be situated in the status of lacking N, and the status might induce the degradation of C. angustifolia wetland.     

Pastoral farmland habitat diversity in south-east Ireland

In this study, habitat surveys were undertaken on 50 grass-based farms in SE Ireland and data digitised onto aerial photography. Additional data i.e. stocking rates, and participation (or otherwise) in the Irish Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) were collected and analysed as possible explanatory variables for farm habitat composition.Results indicated that approximately 14.3% of the land area of sampled farms comprised of semi-natural habitat types, a proportion substantially greater than has been reported for many other European countries. The most frequently recorded semi-natural habitats included, field boundaries, scrub, and deciduous and riparian woodlands.Multivariate analysis of farm habitat configuration showed a strong dichotomy between dairy and non-dairy farming systems. Habitats such as intensively managed grassland and built ground were closely associated with dairy-based enterprises. In contrast, the incidence of other habitat types was associated with non-dairy and/or REPS participating enterprises. The ecological quality of field boundaries as assessed by the Field Boundary Evaluation and Grading System (FBEGS) Index was significantly greater on dairy, compared with dry-stock farms.This dichotomy in farm habitat composition is not reflected within current Agri-Environment (AE) policy. Integration of locally important drivers of habitat diversity into the design and implementation of AE policy, is integral to the successful performance of AE schemes.     

循环水养殖系统（RAS）生物载体上微生物群落结构变化分析

为研究循环水养殖系统(recirculating aquaculture systems,RAS)生物滤池挂膜及运行过程中生物载体上微生物群落结构的变化及其脱氮机制,采用传统微生物培养方法,对不同时期生物载体上的异养细菌、氨氧化细菌及硝化菌进行堵养计数.并通过变性梯度凝胶电泳技术,对细菌的16S rDNA V3可变区的...     

Using the land transformation model to forecast vacant land

Growing or shrinking cities can experience increases in vacant land. As urban populations and boundaries fluctuate, holes can open in once tight urban areas. Many cities chase growth-oriented approaches to dealing with vacancies. It is critical to understand land-use alteration to accurately predict transformations of physical change in order to make better informed decisions about this phenomenon. This research utilizes the land transformation model (LTM), an artificial neural networking mechanism in Geographic Information Systems, to forecast vacant land. Variable influence on vacant land prediction and accuracy of the LTM is assessed by comparing input factors and patterns, using time-series data from 1990 to 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Results indicate that the LTM can be useful in simulating vacant land-use changes but more precise mechanisms are necessary to increase accuracy. This will allow for more proactive decisions to better regulate the process of urban decline and regeneration.     

Trade‐Offs between Cattle Production and Bird Conservation in an Agricultural Frontier of the Gran Chaco of Argentina

Intensification of food production in tropical landscapes in the absence of land‐use planning can pose a major threat to biological diversity. Decisions on whether to spatially integrate or segregate lands for production and conservation depend in part on the functional relations between biological diversity and agricultural productivity. We measured diversity, density, and species composition of birds along a gradient of production intensification on an agricultural frontier of the Argentine Chaco, where dry tropical forests are cleared for cattle production. Bird species diversity in intact forests was higher than in any type of cattle‐production system. Bird species richness decreased nonlinearly as cattle yield increased. Intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems, those in which forest understory is selectively cleared to grow pastures of non‐native plants beneath the tree canopy, produced 80% of the mean cattle yield obtained in pastures on cleared areas and were occupied by 70–90% of the number of bird species present in the nearest forest fragments. Densities of >50% of bird species were significantly lower in open pastures than in silvopastoral systems. Therefore, intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems may have the greatest potential to sustain cattle yield and conserve a large percentage of bird species. However, compared with low‐intensity production systems, in which forest structure and extent were intact, intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems supported significantly fewer forest‐restricted bird species and fewer frugivorous birds. These data suggest that the integration of production and conservation through intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems combined with the protection of forest fragments may be required to maintain cattle yield, bird diversity, and conservation of forest‐restricted species in this agricultural frontier. Compromisos entre la Producción de Ganado y la Conservación de Aves en una Frontera Agrícola del Gran Chaco de Argentina     

Global Effects of Local Human Population Density and Distance to Markets on the Condition of Coral Reef Fisheries

Coral reef fisheries support the livelihoods of millions of people but have been severely and negatively affected by anthropogenic activities. We conducted a systematic review of published data on the biomass of coral reef fishes to explore how the condition of reef fisheries is related to the density of local human populations, proximity of the reef to markets, and key environmental variables (including broad geomorphologic reef type, reef area, and net productivity). When only population density and environmental covariates were considered, high variability in fisheries conditions at low human population densities resulted in relatively weak explanatory models. The presence or absence of human settlements, habitat type, and distance to fish markets provided a much stronger explanatory model for the condition of reef fisheries. Fish biomass remained relatively low within 14 km of markets, then biomass increased exponentially as distance from reefs to markets increased. Our results suggest the need for an increased science and policy focus on markets as both a key driver of the condition of reef fisheries and a potential source of solutions. Efectos Globales de la Densidad de Población Humana Local y la Distancia a los Mercados sobre la Condición de Pesquerías en Arrecifes de Coral     

Geographic distribution and environmental characterization of livestock production systems in Eastern Africa

The central role played by livestock in the livelihoods of rural households in the developing world is seldom fully appreciated by policy makers, development agencies and donors. Knowledge gaps in the geographic distribution and environmental determinants of farming systems, especially if viewed through the livestock lens, compound this problem. We have produced a map of pastoral, agro-pastoral and mixed farming systems across Eastern Africa, by analysing datasets collected in the framework of livelihood analysis. Input data were gathered between 2000 and 2007 by various emergency and development agencies for Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and parts of Ethiopia and Sudan. A quantitative definition of the production systems is adopted, based on the ratio of livestock- to crop-derived income. The resulting livelihood-based map of livestock production systems was compared through correspondence analysis to an alternative livestock production systems map, produced independently from environmental data. Convergence between the two mapping approaches was evident. The geographic distribution of the livestock production systems was also modelled using multivariate analysis of remotely sensed and other geospatial datasets. Models show high statistical accuracy, and were thus used to fill the gaps in the observed distribution of livestock production systems. Finally, selected environmental factors underpinning the systems (agro-climatology, human and livestock populations and land cover) were analysed in detail, enabling the livestock production systems to be characterized in terms of them. The regional scope of the map, as well as its direct link with a vast amount of livelihood information, render it a valuable tool for a range of development and research applications, including those related to global change.     

Economic sustainability and the preservation of environmental assets

The core requirement of sustainability is that current economic activities should not result in an excessive burden on future generations. This criterion is general enough to imply different decision rules for the preservation of environmental assets. Neoclassical economics does not have a sustainability criterion for environmental assets independent of the intertemporal efficiency criterion, which allocates environmental and man-made capital based on projected monetary benefits and costs. This criterion is examined in terms of the feasibility of valuing the benefits of environmental assets, the substitution possibilities between natural and man-made capital, and the ethical grounds for using efficiency as the sole determinant of the allocation of environmental assets. An alternative ecological sustainability criterion is the preservation of safe minimum levels of environmental assets in physical terms rather than the dollar value of a composite of natural and man-made capital. Safe minimum standards for environmental assets constrain the efficiency criterion in order to ensure the sustainability of economic systems. It is argued that the ecological approach to sustainability should limit the economic approach for decisions involving the allocation of environmental assets.     

The world agricultural system and ethical considerations relating to the rural environment: Some perspectives on cause and effect in underdeveloped countries

Food is a basic human need and therefore a basic human right. While food output has increased to a level where there is enough food produced to feed the world, still millions starve. Using the concept of capitalist world economy as a framework, this paper provides a structural analysis of the food production and distribution system within monopoly capitalism and its implications for countries of the underdeveloped world. Focusing on the impact of a dominant world food supply system on indigenous systems (particularly through the rise of science, technology, and monopoly capital), considerations relating to environmental use and food production and distribution are raised. Finally a call is made for a new agricultural ethic.