Impact of climate change on vulnerability of forests and ecosystem service supply in Western Rhodopes Mountains

The vulnerability of forest ecosystem services to climate change is expected to depend on landscape characteristic and management history, but may also be influenced by the proximity to the southern range limit of constituent tree species. In the Western Rhodopes in South Bulgaria, Norway spruce is an important commercial species, but is approaching its current southern limit. Using climate sensitive forest models, we projected the impact of climate change on timber production, carbon storage, biodiversity and soil retention in two representative landscapes in the Western Rhodopes; a lower elevation landscape (1000–1450 m a.s.l) dominated by mixed species forests, and a higher elevation landscape (1550–2100 m a.s.l.) currently dominated by spruce. In both landscapes climate change is projected to induce a shift in forest composition, with drought-sensitive species, such as Norway spruce, being replaced by more drought-tolerant species such as Scots pine and black pine at lower elevations. In the higher elevation landscape a reduction in spruce growth is projected, particularly under the more severe climate change scenarios. Under most climate scenarios a reduction in growing stock is projected to occur, but under some scenarios a moderate increase in higher elevation stands (>1500 m a.s.l.) is expected. Climate change is projected to negatively influence carbon storage potential across landscapes with the magnitude depending on the severity of the climate change scenario. The impact of climate change on forest diversity and habitat availability is projected to differ considerably between the two landscapes, with diversity and habitat quality generally increasing at higher elevations, and being reduced at lower elevations. Our results suggest that if currently management practices are maintained the sensitivity of forests and forest ecosystem services in the Western Rhodopes to climate change will differ between low and higher elevation sites and will depend strongly on current forest composition.     

Municipal solid waste source-separated collection in China: A comparative analysis

A pilot program focusing on municipal solid waste (MSW) source-separated collection was launched in eight major cities throughout China in 2000. Detailed investigations were carried out and a comprehensive system was constructed to evaluate the effects of the eight-year implementation in those cities. This paper provides an overview of different methods of collection, transportation, and treatment of MSW in the eight cities; as well as making a comparative analysis of MSW source-separated collection in China. Information about the quantity and composition of MSW shows that the characteristics of MSW are similar, which are low calorific value, high moisture content and high proportion of organisms. Differences which exist among the eight cities in municipal solid waste management (MSWM) are presented in this paper. Only Beijing and Shanghai demonstrated a relatively effective result in the implementation of MSW source-separated collection. While the six remaining cities result in poor performance. Considering the current status of MSWM, source-separated collection should be a key priority. Thus, a wider range of cities should participate in this program instead of merely the eight pilot cities. It is evident that an integrated MSWM system is urgently needed. Kitchen waste and recyclables are encouraged to be separated at the source. Stakeholders involved play an important role in MSWM, thus their responsibilities should be clearly identified. Improvement in legislation, coordination mechanisms and public education are problematic issues that need to be addressed.     

Biodegradation of shells of the black pearl oyster,Pinctada margaritifera var. cumingii,by microborers and sponges of French Polynesia

The composition, distribution and infestation sequence of organisms that destroy the commercially valuable shells of the black oyster Pinctada margaritifera var. cumingii Jameson, 1901 were studied. Three ecologically different groups of boring (euendolithic) organisms were identified: (1) phototrophic boring microorganisms (cyanobacteria, Hyella caespitosa, Hyella sp., Mastigocoleus testarum, Plectonema terebrans, and green algae, Phaeophila dendroides, Ostreobium quekettii); (2) heterotrophic boring microorganisms (fungi, Ostracoblabe implexa); (3) filter-feeding boring organisms (sponges, Cliona margaritiferae, C. vastifica). The phototrophic endoliths dominate the external pristmatic region of the shell, whereas the valuable interior nacreous region is attacked mainly by heterotrophs. Boring patterns reflect in part the shape and behaviour of the organisms and in part the structural properties of the shell, and inflict different types of damage. Infestation starts with microbial borers, which prepare the conditions for later invasion by more damaging clionid sponges. The infestation begins always at the apex, the oldest part of the shells, from which the periostracum is often removed by natural attrition or by cleaning procedure. The rate of bioerosion in 1 yr-old hatchery shells is 36 times higher than in natural populations.     

母亲,在太阳里

我最早的一张照片是站在母亲身旁照的。母亲抱着四弟,我穿着有褶皱的棉袍,一只袖口露着镯子,一只手搭在母亲的腿上,面部表情凝重而又满足,显得对母亲十分依恋。母亲穿着带有暗花的夹袍,留着披肩长发,面带微笑。幼年的我,脸庞十分像母亲。这张照片应拍摄于1944年早春,当时我三岁多。     

Quantifying air pollution attenuation within urban parks: an experimental approach in Shanghai, China

Parks with various types of vegetations played an important role in ameliorating air quality in urban areas. However, the attenuation effect of urban vegetation on levels of air pollution was rarely been experimentally estimated. This study, using seasonal monitoring data of total suspended particles (TSP), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) from six parks in Pudong District, Shanghai, China, demonstrated vegetations in parks can remove large amount of airborne pollutants. In addition, crown volume coverage (CVC) was introduced to characterize vegetation conditions in parks and a mixed-effects model indicated that CVC and the pollution diffusion distance were key predictors influencing pollutants removal rate. Therefore, it could be estimated by regression analysis that in summer, urban vegetations in Pudong District could contribute to 9.1% of TSP removal, 5.3% of SO(2) and 2.6% of NO(2). The results could be considered for a better park planning and improving air quality.     

1025t/h四角切圆煤粉炉内空气过量系数对NO生成的影响

文章采用计算流体力学软件Fluent数值模拟了1 025 t/h四角切圆煤粉炉内的湍流扩散燃烧,分析了空气过量系数对炉内烟气速度、烟气温度和氮氧化物组分的影响。结果表明:空气过量系数会对炉内流场的空气动力学特性和温度场分布均匀性产生显著影响。煤粉炉膛最佳空气过量系数为1.07,此时炉内温度场、速度场和浓度场的分布可使燃烧中间产物HCN和NH_3较好的将燃料型NO还原为N_2,来充分发挥空气分级燃烧降低NO排放的功效。     

Physical infrastructure,energy consumption,economic growth,and environmental pollution in Pakistan: an asymmetry analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study explores the symmetric and asymmetric effects of physical infrastructure on energy consumption, economic growth, and air pollution of...     

Estimation and inter-comparison of dust aerosols based on MODIS, MISR and AERONET retrievals over Asian desert regions

This study presents detailed analysis of spatiotemporal variations and trend of dust optical properties i.e., Aerosol Optical Depth(AOD) and Angstrom component over Asian desert regions using thirteen years of data(i.e., 2001–2013) retrieved from Aerosol Robotic Network(AERONET), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) and Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer(MISR). These regions include Solar Village, Dunhuang and Dalangzadgad and are considered as origin of desert aerosols in Asia. Mann–Kendall trend test was used to show the trend of AOD. The relationship of AOD with weather parameters and general AOD trend over different wavelengths has also been shown. AOD's trend has been observed significant throughout the year in Solar Village, while in Dunhuang and Dalanzadgad the significant trend has been found only in peak period(March–June).Analysis show high values of AOD and low values of angstrom in Solar Village during peak period. In Chinese desert regions, high values of AOD have been found during peak period and low values in pre-peak period. Significant relationship has been observed between AOD and average temperature in Solar Village and Dalanzadgad whereas rainfall and wind speed showed no significant impact on AOD in all desert regions.     

Boosting freshwater fish conservation with high-resolution distribution mapping across a large territory

The lack of high-resolution distribution maps for freshwater species across large extents fundamentally challenges biodiversity conservation worldwide. We devised a simple framework to delineate the distributions of freshwater fishes in a high-resolution drainage map based on stacked species distribution models and expert information. We applied this framework to the entire Chinese freshwater fish fauna (>1600 species) to examine high-resolution biodiversity patterns and reveal potential conflicts between freshwater biodiversity and anthropogenic disturbances. The correlations between spatial patterns of biodiversity facets (species richness, endemicity, and phylogenetic diversity) were all significant (r = 0.43–0.98, p < 0.001). Areas with high values of different biodiversity facets overlapped with anthropogenic disturbances. Existing protected areas (PAs), covering 22% of China's territory, protected 25–29% of fish habitats, 16–23% of species, and 30–31% of priority conservation areas. Moreover, 6–21% of the species were completely unprotected. These results suggest the need for extending the network of PAs to ensure the conservation of China's freshwater fishes and the goods and services they provide. Specifically, middle to low reaches of large rivers and their associated lakes from northeast to southwest China hosted the most diverse species assemblages and thus should be the target of future expansions of the network of PAs. More generally, our framework, which can be used to draw high-resolution freshwater biodiversity maps combining species occurrence data and expert knowledge on species distribution, provides an efficient way to design PAs regardless of the ecosystem, taxonomic group, or region considered.