Piriformospora indica confers cadmium tolerance in Nicotiana tabacum

Piriformospora indica, a root-colonizing endophytic fungus of Sebacinales, promotes plant growth and confers resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. In order to confirm the influence of P. indica on growth, proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), chlorophyll, and cadmium (Cd) amounts in Nicotiana tabacum under Cd stress, hydroponics, pot and field trials were conducted. The results showed that P. indica can store Cd in plant roots and reduce leaf Cd content, reduce the concentration of MDA, and increase the proline and chlorophyll content and the activities of catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase under hydroponic Cd stress. RT-PCR analysis showed that the relative expression level of genes Gsh2, TaPCS1, oas1, GPX, and Hsp70 in colonized plants was 4.3, 1.4, 2.9, 1.7, and 6.9 fold higher than in un-colonized plants respectively. Cd exposure significantly reduced un-colonized plants'' agronomic traits compared to P. indica-colonized ones. Our results suggested that P. indica can sequester Cd in roots, so that much less cadmium was transported to leaves, and the increased concentrations of antioxidant enzymes, pigments and proline contents, as well as the higher expression of stress-related phytochelatin biosynthesis genes in P. indica-inoculated plants, may also serve to protect N. tabacum plants against oxidative damage, enhancing Cd tolerance.     

燃煤电厂烟尘超低排放技术措施研究

针对越来越严格的环保要求，介绍了原有的除尘技术，并对除尘器新技术改造方案进行了说明，其中重点对电袋复合代替静电除尘技术、在静电除尘器中增置旋转电极、更改工频电源为高频电源、在电除尘器前加装低温换热器、脱硫后增加湿式电除尘器技术等方案进行比较分析。为了达到超低排放要求，对不同的烟尘超低排放实践工艺进行了说明，并结合东部沿海地区可再生能源发展空间有限的实际情况，提出加快推广超低排放技术在现有燃煤电厂的应用，实现传统煤电产业和环保产业的转型升级。     

Application of the Red List Index for conservation assessment of Spanish vascular plants

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI) is used to measure trends in extinction risk of species over time. The development of 2 red lists for Spanish vascular flora during the past decade allowed us to apply the IUCN RLI to vascular plants in an area belonging to a global biodiversity hotspot. We used the Spanish Red Lists from 2000 and 2010 to assess changes in level of threat at a national scale and at the subnational scales of Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and peninsular Spain. We assigned retrospective IUCN categories of threat to 98 species included in the Spanish Red List of 2010 but absent in the Spanish Red List of 2000. In addition, we tested the effect of different random and taxonomic and spatial Spanish samples on the overall RLI value. From 2000 to 2010, the IUCN categories of 768 species changed (10% of Spanish flora), mainly due to improved knowledge (63%), modifications in IUCN criteria (14%), and changes in threat status (12%). All measured national and subnational RLI values decreased during this period, indicating a general decline in the conservation status of the Spanish vascular flora. The Canarian RLI value (0.84) was the lowest, although the fastest deterioration in conservation status occurred on peninsular Spain (from 0.93 in 2000 to 0.92 in 2010). The RLI values based on subsamples of the Spanish Red List were not representative of RLI values for the entire country, which would discourage the use of small areas or small taxonomic samples to assess general trends in the endangerment of national biotas. The role of the RLI in monitoring of changes in biodiversity at the global and regional scales needs further reassessment because additional areas and taxa are necessary to determine whether the index is sufficiently sensitive for use in assessing temporal changes in species’ risk of extinction.     

E‐commerce trade in invasive plants

Biological invasions are a major concern in conservation, especially because global transport of species is still increasing rapidly. Conservationists hope to anticipate and thus prevent future invasions by identifying and regulating potentially invasive species through species risk assessments and international trade regulations. Among many introduction pathways of non‐native species, horticulture is a particularly important driver of plant invasions. In recent decades, the horticultural industry expanded globally and changed structurally through the emergence of new distribution channels, including internet trade (e‐commerce). Using an automated search algorithm, we surveyed, on a daily basis, e‐commerce trade on 10 major online auction sites (including eBay) of approximately three‐fifths of the world's spermatophyte flora. Many recognized invasive plant species (>500 species) (i.e., species associated with ecological or socio‐economic problems) were traded daily worldwide on the internet. A markedly higher proportion of invasive than non‐invasive species were available online. Typically, for a particular plant family, 30–80% of recognized invasive species were detected on an auction site, but only a few percentages of all species in the plant family were detected on a site. Families that were more traded had a higher proportion of invasive species than families that were less traded. For woody species, there was a significant positive relationship between the number of regions where a species was sold and the number of regions where it was invasive. Our results indicate that biosecurity is not effectively regulating online plant trade. In the future, automated monitoring of e‐commerce may help prevent the spread of invasive species, provide information on emerging trade connectivity across national borders, and be used in horizon scanning exercises for early detection of new species and their geographic source areas in international trade.     

中型污水处理厂中药物和个人护理品的分布与去除

为了解15种药物及个人护理用品(PPCPs)在中小型污水处理厂中的分布及其去除效果,采用液相色谱-串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)技术对3座A2/O工艺的污水处理厂水样进行分析研究。结果显示,除普萘洛尔、吉非罗平和吲哚美辛在3座中小型污水处理厂各个工艺单元中均未被检出外,其余12种目标化合物的检出频率在90%~100%之间。进水水样中PPCPs的平均检出浓度为2 285.4 ng/L,其中咖啡因(CF)的平均检出浓度最高为973.3 ng/L,酮洛芬(KP)的平均检出浓度次之为844.7 ng/L,两者之和占进水水样中PPCPs平均含量的79.5%,表明污水处理厂的主要污染物为CF和KP。3座污水处理厂对CF的去除效果最为显著,平均去除率为95.3%,对15种PPCPs总去除效率在39.3%~82.8%之间。     

利用卫星遥感评估广西壮族自治区SO_2减排成效

基于2005—2012年OMI卫星遥感PBL SO2柱浓度数据分析了广西壮族自治区SO2污染的时空格局和变化特征,并结合燃煤火电厂SO2排放模型估算与工业经济增长数据,在时间、空间尺度上分析了自治区内不同区域的SO2污染对火电厂烟气脱硫政策的响应以及所呈现出的减排成效。结果表明,广西因火电厂脱硫政策驱动的SO2污染改善具有显著的空间异质性,自治区内高污染区的SO2浓度在2011—2012年出现了显著下降,而低污染区的SO2浓度则在8年中持续增长;排放模型估算结果显示,烟气脱硫驱动的火电厂SO2减排贡献将在2008年后持续下降,而遥感观测结果显示,广西全区SO2半年浓度均值总体呈现波动上升趋势,2005—2012年浓度增加了8.6%、年均增长约0.9%;综合工业经济增长数据发现,近年来其他工业源的增量排放已给广西SO2减排带了新挑战,而这一变化仍未得到相关决策部门关注,存在明显缺陷的SO2统计排放量数据尚未得到修正。针对上述污染变化新特征,政府相关部门应引起足够重视,尽快更新完善污染源信息并启动针对其他污染源的限排措施,以确保环境持续改善。     

Defining the Impact of Non‐Native Species

Non‐native species cause changes in the ecosystems to which they are introduced. These changes, or some of them, are usually termed impacts; they can be manifold and potentially damaging to ecosystems and biodiversity. However, the impacts of most non‐native species are poorly understood, and a synthesis of available information is being hindered because authors often do not clearly define impact. We argue that explicitly defining the impact of non‐native species will promote progress toward a better understanding of the implications of changes to biodiversity and ecosystems caused by non‐native species; help disentangle which aspects of scientific debates about non‐native species are due to disparate definitions and which represent true scientific discord; and improve communication between scientists from different research disciplines and between scientists, managers, and policy makers. For these reasons and based on examples from the literature, we devised seven key questions that fall into 4 categories: directionality, classification and measurement, ecological or socio‐economic changes, and scale. These questions should help in formulating clear and practical definitions of impact to suit specific scientific, stakeholder, or legislative contexts. Definiendo el Impacto de las Especies No‐Nativas     

Level of environmental threat posed by horticultural trade in Cactaceae

Ornamental horticulture has been identified as an important threat to plant biodiversity and is a major pathway for plant invasions worldwide. In this context, the family Cactaceae is particularly challenging because it is considered the fifth most threatened large taxonomic group in the world; several species are among the most widespread and damaging invasive species; and Cactaceae is one of the most popular horticultural plant groups. Based on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna and the 11 largest online auction sites selling cacti, we documented the international cactus trade. To provide an in‐depth look at the dynamics of the industry, we surveyed the businesses involved in the cactus trade in South Africa (a hotspot of cactus trade and invasions). We purchased seeds of every available species and used DNA barcoding to identify species to the genus level. Although <20% of this trade involved threatened species and <3% involved known invasive species, many species were identified by a common name. However, only 0.02% of the globally traded cacti were collected from wild populations. Despite a large commercial network, all South African imports (of which 15% and 1.5% were of species listed as threatened and invasive, respectively) came from the same source. With DNA barcoding, we identified 24% of the species to genus level. Based on our results, we believe that if trade restrictions are placed on the small proportion of cacti that are invasive and there is no major increase in harvesting of native populations, then the commercial trade in cactus poses a negligible environmental threat. However, there are currently no effective methods for easily identifying which cacti are traded, and both the illicit harvesting of cacti from the wild and the informal trade in invasive taxa pose on‐going conservation challenges.     

Conservation of indigenous plants to support community livelihoods: the MGU – Useful Plants Project

Through the MGU – Useful Plants Project (2007–2015) led by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, high-quality seed collections and research information have been gathered on useful indigenous plants selected by communities in Botswana, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, and Mexico. Local communities were trained in seed conservation, plant propagation, and planting activities, while revenue generation was promoted directly through the sustainable use of plants and plant products and indirectly through wider environmental and cultural services. The success of this project was determined by its participative approach, involving local communities in plant conservation activities and using plant research to support it. However, the promotion of sustainable use and income generation highlighted issues that confirmed the importance of using a ‘holistic approach’ to address the objective of poverty reduction and contribute to improved livelihoods in the communities.     

Empirical Trials of Plant Field Guides

We designed 3 image‐based field guides to tropical forest plant species in Ghana, Grenada, and Cameroon and tested them with 1095 local residents and 20 botanists in the United Kingdom. We compared users’ identification accuracy with different image formats, including drawings, specimen photos, living plant photos, and paintings. We compared users’ accuracy with the guides to their accuracy with only their prior knowledge of the flora. We asked respondents to score each format for usability, beauty, and how much they would pay for it. Prior knowledge of plant names was generally low (<22%). With a few exceptions, identification accuracy did not differ significantly among image formats. In Cameroon, users identifying sterile Cola species achieved 46–56% accuracy across formats; identification was most accurate with living plant photos. Botanists in the United Kingdom accurately identified 82–93% of the same Cameroonian species; identification was most accurate with specimens. In Grenada, users accurately identified 74–82% of plants; drawings yielded significantly less accurate identifications than paintings and photos of living plants. In Ghana, users accurately identified 85% of plants. Digital color photos of living plants ranked high for beauty, usability, and what users would pay. Black and white drawings ranked low. Our results show the potential and limitations of the use of field guides and nonspecialists to identify plants, for example, in conservation applications. We recommend authors of plant field guides use the cheapest or easiest illustration format because image type had limited bearing on accuracy; match the type of illustration to the most likely use of the guide for slight improvements in accuracy; avoid black and white formats unless the audience is experienced at interpreting illustrations or keeping costs low is imperative; discourage false‐positive identifications, which were common; and encourage users to ask an expert or use a herbarium for groups that are difficult to identify. Pruebas Empíricas de Guías de Campo de Plantas Hawthorne, Cable & Marshall