Plant species in arable field margins and road verges of central Norway

Plant species composition and species number were studied in two types of field margins: 31 arable field margins and 33 road verges. Both field margin types were adjacent to intensively managed grass or cereal fields. Effects of eight variables on field margin vegetation were studied. Despite having many plant species in common, composition and species number differed between the two field margin types, due to different ecological conditions and margin management. Arable field margins were composed of tall and/or nutrient demanding ubiquitous species and were characterised by species of later successional stages than those of road verges. The vegetation of road verges was lower and species numbers were higher than in arable field margins. The road verges contained several semi-natural meadow species that are declining in abundance. A CCA ordination of the field margins and the recorded variables showed that plant species composition was significantly affected by thickness of litter, slope, width, moisture level and type of crop in the adjacent field. Number of plant species was significantly higher in mown than unmown margins and generally higher in margins adjacent to fields with mainly grass production than in margins adjacent to fields with mainly cereal crops. In order to preserve botanical diversity in this agricultural landscape, the maintenance of regularly mown road verges should be prioritized.     

环境监测现场采样质量控制的措施和建议

现阶段我国的环境问题越来越严重,监测环境也有着越来越重要的任务。监测环境的主要目的是使用有效监测方法获得环境信息,使用科学的方法服务于环境管理工作。但因为环境监测工作具有一定的复杂性,如果有一个环节出现问题,都会影响监测结果的准确性。现阶段,在实验室内部开展的质量控制工作取得了良好成果,但现场采样依旧存在着一定问题,这会在很大程度上影响监测结果的准确性。因此本文围绕环境监测现场中的质量控制进行讨论。     

大连市生态遥感野外核查照片管理系统设计及应用

在生态环境遥感解译野外核查中,获取了大量的照片数据集,为充分发挥这些照片在遥感解译中的作用,开发野外核查照片管理系统对这些照片进行统一管理。该系统实现了照片文件名自动重编码、照片数据库管理、照片地物空间定位等功能,实现了野外核查照片与遥感标准假彩色影像关联,为掌握遥感解译标志和积累先验遥感解译知识提供了训练平台。     

In situ phytoremediation of arsenic- and metal-polluted pyrite waste with field crops: effects of soil management

Sunflower, alfalfa, fodder radish and Italian ryegrass were cultivated in severely As-Cd-Co-Cu-Pb-Zn-contaminated pyrite waste discharged in the past and capped with 0.15 m of unpolluted soil at Torviscosa (Italy). Plant growth and trace element uptake were compared under ploughing and subsoiling tillages (0.3 m depth), the former yielding higher contamination (∼30%) in top soil.Tillage choice was not critical for phytoextraction, but subsoiling enhanced above-ground productivity, whereas ploughing increased trace element concentrations in plants. Fodder radish and sunflower had the greatest aerial biomass, and fodder radish the best trace element uptake, perhaps due to its lower root sensitivity to pollution. Above-ground removals were generally poor (maximum of 33 mg m⁻² of various trace elements), with Zn (62%) and Cu (18%) as main harvested contaminants. The most significant finding was of fine roots proliferation in shallow layers that represented a huge sink for trace element phytostabilisation.It is concluded that phytoextraction is generally far from being an efficient management option in pyrite waste. Sustainable remediation requires significant improvements of the vegetation cover to stabilise the site mechanically and chemically, and provide precise quantification of root turnover.     

The use of a lacertid lizard as a model for reptile ecotoxicology studies--part 1 field demographics and morphology

At the European level, lacertid lizards have been proposed as potential model species for reptile ecotoxicology. We studied demographic and morphological aspects of natural field subpopulations of Podarcis bocagei inhabiting similar agricultural habitats which were either regularly exposed to pesticides, or not. Parameters examined in this study included population size and density, sex ratio, adult body size, fluctuating asymmetry in femoral pores and parasite prevalence. In general, we detected few statistically significant differences between the exposed and reference subpopulations. Although field situations are ecologically complex and factors other than pesticides may be acting, the absence of observable effects on field subpopulations is probably indicative that lizards are coping or compensating for this level of exposure.     

Dissipation of fenoxycarb and pyriproxyfen in fresh and canned peach

The objective of this work was to determine the dissipation of fenoxycarb and pyriproxyfen in fresh and canned peaches in order to know the levels of residues that can reach consumers in real circumstances. Two field dissipation studies were carried out, one of them at the pre-harvest interval (PHI) with good agricultural practice (GAP) and the other one in a situation of critical agricultural practice (CAP). Two canning dissipation studies were carried out for samples from both agricultural situations in an industrial pilot plant and the dissipation was determined in each relevant step. An analytical methodology was used including acetone-dichloromethane extraction, purification and analysis by liquid chromatography and diode array detection (LC-DAD) with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.05 mg/kg. It was validated under SANCO/10232/2006 Guidelines. These pesticides complied with the official maximum residue limits (MRLs) in peaches at the PHI with good agricultural practices. In hypothetical situation of a second application at the PHI, fenoxycarb and pyriproxyfen residues were above the MRLs in peaches. The canning study reduced the residues to no detectable levels in the cans for consumers.     

Growth, yield and elements content of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in composted municipal solid wastes amended soil

A commercial formulation of composted municipal solid wastes (MSW) was used for amending soil at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 kg ha⁻¹ in which wheat had been grown (field experiments) and element residues of amended soil and plant parts were enumerated. MSW amendment caused a significant improvement in soil quality. Growth (shoot length, leaf number, leaf area, tiller number, plant dry weight and chlorophyll contents of leaves) and yield (length of panicle, number of panicles per plant and grain yield per plant) of wheat increased gradually up to the MSW-amendment level of 200 kg ha⁻¹. Elements, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, and Pb accumulated in plants from MSW amended soil, but the degree of metal accumulation was the least in seeds in comparison to other plant parts (root, stem and leaf). Moreover, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb, were in high concentration in all plant parts. It is recorded that the level of 200 kg ha⁻¹ MSW amendment caused better growth and yield of wheat, but progressive levels of metal accumulation in plant parts were recorded due to increase in amendment levels. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

A field experiment with variable-suction multi-compartment samplers to measure the spatio-temporal distribution of solute leaching in an agricultural soil

Solutes spread out in time and space as they move downwards from the soil surface with infiltrating water. Solute monitoring in the field is often limited to observations of resident concentrations, while flux concentrations govern the movement of solutes in soils. A recently developed multi-compartment sampler is capable of measuring fluxes at a high spatial resolution with minimal disturbance of the local pressure head field. The objective of this paper is to use this sampler to quantify the spatial and temporal variation of solute leaching below the root zone in an agricultural field under natural rainfall in winter and spring. We placed two samplers at 31 and 25 cm depth in an agricultural field, leaving the soil above undisturbed. Each sampler contained 100 separate cells of 31 × 31 mm. Water fluxes were measured every 5 min for each cell. We monitored leaching of a chloride pulse under natural rainfall by frequently extracting the collected leachate while leaving the samplers buried in situ. This experiment was followed by a dye tracer experiment. This setting yielded information that widely surpassed the information that can be provided by separate anionic and dye tracer trials, and solute transport monitoring by coring or suction cups. The detailed information provided by the samplers showed that percolation at the sampling depth started much faster (approximately 3 h after the start of rainfall) in initially wet soil (pressure head above − 65 cm) than in drier soil (more than 14 h at pressure heads below − 80 cm). At any time, 25% of the drainage passed through 5–6% of the sampled area, reflecting the effect of heterogeneity on the flow paths. The amount of solute carried by individual cells varied over four orders of magnitude. The lateral concentration differences were limited though. This suggests a convective–dispersive regime despite the short vertical travel distance. On the other hand, the dilution index indicates a slight tendency towards stochastic–convective transport at this depth. There was no evidence in the observed drainage patterns and dye stained profiles of significant disturbance of the flow field by the samplers.     

基于移动终端设备的环境现场监测管理系统设计与应用

研究了基于移动终端设备的环境现场监测业务数据采集与管理,构建了面向现场监测业务需求的数据采集、存储和传输的业务流程管理,以及与实验室信息管理系统数据共享交互集成的现场监测业务管理和质量控制信息系统。以上海市环境监测中心的现场监测管理系统为例,展示了多媒体及GPS信息采集、仪器数据采集、监测结果录入、原始表单填报和监测布点等环境现场监测活动在移动终端设备上数据管理的具体应用实现。