浅议新大气排放标准发布后火电厂竣工验收监测

2011年7月29日《火电厂大气污染物排放标准》发布后,现有火电厂的“三同时”竣工验收监测需执行新标准中的相关规定。新标准还增加了敏感点环境空气的监测,敏感点的确定可参照环评,根据实际情况布设。新标准中未明确指明“重点地区”指哪些行政区划,为此,本文建议需要在新标准中进一步明确“重点地区”指哪些省等行政区域,以利于新标准的执行。     

改良剂对4种木本植物的铅锌耐性、亚细胞分布和化学形态的影响

本研究以4种耐铅锌木本植物夹竹桃(Nerium oleander)、栾树(Koelreuteria paniculata)、泡桐(Paulownia)和苎麻(Boehmeria)为材料,在不同改良剂浓度下(CK组:100%铅锌矿渣±少量磷肥、改良一:85%铅锌矿渣±10%泥炭土±5%菌肥±少量磷肥、改良二:75%铅锌矿渣±20%泥炭土±5%菌肥±少量磷肥),进行了耐性木本植物富集与转移能力以及Pb、Zn在4种木本植物不同部位的亚细胞分布和化学形态分析.结果表明:14种植物种植后基质中重金属的浓度基本低于种植前,夹竹桃与苎麻改良一与改良二之间差异不显著,泡桐改良二效果显著优于改良一,栾树改良一效果显著优于改良二;4种植物地上部对Pb、Zn的富集系数都比较低,但具有较高的转移系数,适当的基质改良有利于提高植物对Pb、Zn的富集与转移能力.2Pb、Zn在4种植物各部位的亚细胞分布以细胞壁组分和可溶性组分为主,在线粒体、叶绿体和细胞核等细胞器组分中分布较少;与CK组相比,两改良组使可溶性组分对Pb的滞留作用和细胞壁对Zn的滞留作用在增强.3Pb在植物各部位的化学形态以盐酸、氯化钠和乙醇提取态为主,其他化学形态含量极少;Zn则以残留态、盐酸、醋酸、氯化钠、水和乙醇提取态这6种形态存在,且都具较高分配比例.与CK组相比,两改良组使植物各部位活性较弱的Pb的化学形态比例减少,活性较强的化学形态比例增加;Zn则是根部活性较强的化学形态比例增加,地上部活性较强的化学形态比例减少.     

Indigenous Systems of Forest Classification: Understanding Land Use Patterns and the Role of NTFPs in Shifting Cultivators’ Subsistence Economies

This article discusses the system of classification of forest types used by the Pwo Karen in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand and the role of nontimber forest products (NTFPs), focusing on wild food plants, in Karen livelihoods. The article argues that the Pwo Karen have two methods of forest classification, closely related to their swidden farming practices. The first is used for forest land that has been, or can be, swiddened, and classifies forest types according to growth conditions. The second system is used for land that is not suitable for cultivation and looks at soil properties and slope. The article estimates the relative importance of each forest type in what concerns the collection of wild food plants. A total of 134 wild food plant species were recorded in December 2004. They account for some 80–90% of the amount of edible plants consumed by the Pwo Karen, and have a base value of Baht 11,505 per year, comparable to the cash incomes of many households. The article argues that the Pwo Karen reliance on NTFPs has influenced their land-use and forest management practices. However, by restricting the length of the fallow period, the Thai government has caused ecological changes that are challenging the ability of the Karen to remain subsistence oriented. By ignoring shifting cultivators’ dependence on such products, the involvement of governments in forest management, especially through restrictions imposed on swidden farming practices, is likely to have a considerable impact on the livelihood strategies of these communities.     

Study of the evolution of aerosol emissions from coal-fired power plants due to coagulation, condensation, and gravtitational settling and health impact

This paper studies the scavenging efficiencies of aerosol emissions from coal-fired power plants under different removal mechanisms (coagulation, heterogeneous nucleation and gravitational settling) as a function of time. It also analyses the ‘health impact’ of the aerosol before and after the above dynamic mechanisms by comparing the respirable dust fractions. The well-known equations of evolution are applied to an average PSD that represents the exhaust particulate emissions from coal-fired power plants (i.e. Aboño power plant in Asturias that belongs to Hidrocantábrico Group, S.A.). From this study it is inferred that respirable dust is scavenged with the greatest difficulty and when compared with the initial volume of respirable dust, roughly 20% remains after 18 h of gravitational settling. Therefore, gravitational settling is the main removal mechanism of respirable dust compared to condensation and coagulation.     

Evaluation Of Ambient Air Pollution Impact On Carrot Plants At A Sub Urban Site Using Open Top Chambers

The present experiment was done to evaluate the impact of ambient air pollution on carrot (Dacus carotavar. Pusa Kesar) plants using open top chambers (OTCs) ventilated with ambient (NFCs) or charcoal filtered air (FCs) at a suburban site of Varanasi, India. Various morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of the plants were studied at different growth stages. Air monitoring data clearly showed high concentrations of SO₂, NO₂and O₃in the ambient air of study site. SO₂and NO₂concentrations were higher during early growth stages of carrot, whereas O₃concentration was highest during later growth stages. Filtration of air has caused significant reductions in all the three pollutant concentrations in FCs as compared to NFCs.Plants growing in FCs showed significantly higher photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency and variable fluorescence as compared to plants growing in NFCs. Protein content also showed a similar pattern, however, lipid peroxidation, ascorbic acid content and peroxidase activity were higher in plants growing in NFCs as compared to FCs. Shoot length, number of leaves per plant, leaf area and root and shoot weight increased significantly upon filtration of ambient air. Total nitrogen decreased significantly in root, but increased significantly in shoot of plants grown in NFCs. Total P, Mg, Ca and K contents decreased significantly in plants grown in NFCs as compared to FCs. The individual pollutant concentrations were below threshold for plant injury, but the combined effect of all the three seems to act synergistically in causing greater adverse impact on dry weight and physiology of carrot plants. The study clearly indicates that air pollutants are high enough in the ambient air to cause significant unfavorable impact on carrot plants. The work further supports the usefulness of OTCs for assessing air pollution damage under field conditions in developing countries.     

Spatial variability of arsenic concentration in soils and plants, and its relationship with iron, manganese and phosphorus

Spatial distribution of arsenic (As) concentrations of irrigation water, soil and plant (rice) in a shallow tube-well (STW) command area (8 ha), and their relationship with Fe, Mn and P were studied. Arsenic concentrations of water in the 110 m long irrigation channel clearly decreased with distance from the STW point, the range being 68-136 μg L⁻¹. Such decreasing trend was also noticed with Fe and P concentrations, but the trend for Mn concentrations was not remarkable. Concerning soil As, the concentration showed a decreasing tendency with distance from the pump. The NH₄-oxalate extractable As contributed 36% of total As and this amount of As was associated with poorly crystalline Fe-oxides. Furthermore only 22% of total As was phosphate extractable so that most of the As was tightly retained by soil constituents and was not readily exchangeable by phosphate. Soil As (both total and extractable As) was significantly and positively correlated with rice grain As (0.296 ± 0.063 μg g⁻¹, n = 56). Next to drinking water, rice could be a potential source of As exposure of the people living in the As affected areas of Bangladesh.     

Medieval Agroecosystems (9th–13th Centuries) in the Region of the Present-Day City of Glazov (Udmurt Republic)

Paleoethnobotanical materials and buried soils from the site of the ancient settlement of Idnakar and neighboring archaeological monuments were analyzed to reconstruct the agroecosystems of the 9th through the 13th centuries AD near the present-day city of Glazov. The results provided data on the main features of the agroecosystem structure and composition, climate, and agriculture in the Middle Ages.     

Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai,Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta-analysis of red-list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions. However, the circa 143,000 IUCN assessments represent a fraction of the world's biodiversity and are biased in regional and organismal coverage. These biases may affect conservation priorities, funding, and uses of these data to understand global patterns. Isolated oceanic islands are characterized by high endemicity, but the unique biodiversity of many islands is experiencing high extinction rates. The archipelago of Hawaii has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region; 90% of its 1367 native vascular plant taxa are classified as endemic. We used the IUCN's assessment of the complete single-island endemic (SIE) vascular plant flora of Kauai, Hawaii, to assess the proportion and drivers of decline of threatened plants in an oceanic island setting. We compared the IUCN assessments with federal, state, and other local assessments of Kauai species or taxa of conservation concern. Finally, we conducted a preliminary assessment for all 1044 native vascular plants of Hawaii based on IUCN criterion B by estimating area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, and number of locations to determine whether the pattern found for the SIE vascular flora of Kauai is comparable to the native vascular flora of the Hawaiian Islands. We compared our results with patterns observed for assessments of other floras. According to IUCN, 256 SIE vascular plant taxa are threatened with extinction and 5% are already extinct. This is the highest extinction risk reported for any flora to date. The preliminary assessment of the native vascular flora of Hawaii showed that 72% (753 taxa) is threatened. The flora of Hawaii may be one of the world's most threatened; thus, increased and novel conservation measures in the state and on other remote oceanic islands are urgently needed.     

北京市菜地土壤和蔬菜镉含量及其健康风险分析

通过对北京市蔬菜和菜地土壤镉含量状况进行大规模调查,研究了蔬菜和土壤镉含量及其健康风险,并筛选出抗镉污染能力强的蔬菜品种.根据蔬菜的消费量同时兼顾品种多样性的原则,在北京市规模化蔬菜栽培基地(采集蔬菜及土壤样品)和蔬菜批发市场(蔬菜样品)共采集97种蔬菜363个样品和54个土壤样品.研究发现:北京市菜地土壤镉积累明显,其范围为0.091～0.971 mg·kg-1,其算术均值和Box-Cox均值分别为0.229和0.187 mg·kg-1,其中有两个样点土壤镉含量(0.971和0.886 mg·kg-1)超过<土壤环境质量标准>(GB15618-1995)中的二级标准(0.6 mg·kg-1);北京市蔬菜镉含量范围、算术均值和Box-Cox均值分别为0.1～101.4、12.8和10.0μg·kg-1;叶菜类和根茎类蔬菜的镉平均含量显著高于瓜果类和特菜;北京市本地产蔬菜与市售外地产蔬菜的镉含量没有显著差异;裸露地蔬菜镉含量显著高于设施蔬菜;小白菜、辣椒、茄子、萝卜和大白菜镉富集系数较高,其抗镉污染能力较弱,而冬瓜、黄瓜、叶甜菜、大葱、云架豆、甘蓝、西红柿等镉富集系数较低,其抗镉污染能力较强.北京市居民每人从蔬菜中摄入镉的量为12 2μg·d-1,蔬菜镉对北京市部分人群存在一定的潜在健康风险.