Plant communities in the zone of gas field development and heavy metal accumulation by them

Heavy metal accumulation by plant communities has been studied in different zones of impact of gas field development. The contents of heavy metals in different blocks of plant communities has proved to depend not only on the location of phytocenosis but also on its species composition. Communities dominated by species of the family Poaceae contain smaller amounts of heavy metals than those dominated by species of the family Asteraceae, especially of the genus Artemisia. The order of precedence in the accumulation of heavy metals in different blocks of plant communities has been revealed.     

Perceptions toward stewardship among residents living near U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

Although stewardship has been widely defined and used in environmental management and planning, there is a dearth of studies that describe how the lay public perceives this concept. A national sample of residents in 14 states who live near DOE nuclear facilities were interviewed to delineate public understanding and awareness of the stewardship program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This study discusses the findings of the survey and discusses how institutional trust influences public participation and resident’s choices of potential stewards. Almost 40% of the respondents could not define stewardship; those who did, believed that ‘responsibility,’ ‘management,’ and ‘accountability’ are key elements of stewardship. In addition, about a third of the respondents identified Federal groups and the DOE as potential stewards. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

Paleosols of the Solonchanka IX site and climate of the Transural steppe zone in the fourth century AD

Studies on paleosols under an archaeological landmark of a rare type (a complex of kurgans with “whiskers”) dating from the Early Iron Age (the fourth century AD) have been performed in the steppe zone of the Transural Plateau. The size and shape of third-order soil polygons under stony ridges (“whiskers”) between the kurgans have been described in detail. The results have shown that the paleosol under the kurgans erected at the turn of the Late Sarmatian and Hun times (1600 years ago) is characterized by a higher humus content and deeper location of the carbonate horizon, compared to the recent soil. This indicates that an increase in atmospheric humidity took place in the fourth century AD.     

环境质量评价的生物方法研究

环境质量的生物评价是以生物对环境污染的表现为基础的.环境质量评价的生物方法包括环境指示生物的选择,环境质量生物评价指标的确定和环境质量分类等3个步骤.论述了环境污染的生物表现,提出了选择环境指示生物的原则,给出了环境质量生物评价的3类指标,建立了环境质量4级分类体系.     

官地水电站竹子坝料场高边坡的稳定性分析及其影响因数研究

竹子坝料场是官地水电站混凝土浇筑骨料的重要来源之一。结合竹子坝料场的地形地质情况,以及料场开挖后形成的东、南、西三段人工边坡,运用刚体极限平衡的方法进行稳定性分析及其影响因数的研究。     

Types of Ectomycorrhiza as Pollution Stress Indicators: Case Studies in Slovenia

Mycorrhiza is the main spatial and temporal linkage between different constituents in a forest ecosystem. The functional compatibility and stress tolerance of ectomycorrhizal types is species specific, and therefore the information on the ectomycorrhizal community structure can add to the understanding of processes in forest ecosystems and can also be applied as tools for bioindication of pollution stress in forest soils. We have studied the effects of pollution (N and S) on trees and forest soils by: (1) quantification of ECM types diversity as in situ indicators in forest stands, (2) determination and quantification of pollution-sensitive or -insensitive ECM types as passive monitors, (3) root growth and development of ECM on nonmycorrhizal spruce seedlings, planted at the studied sites (active monitors), and (4) ECM infection (a bioassay based on mycorrhizal inoculum potential) of seedlings in an experimental set-up as ex situ testers. ECM species richness for Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) showed higher values in unpolluted sites than in polluted ones, while the differences were not significant for European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica). As pollution-sensitive or -insensitive ECM species in spruce forests, we suggest Hydnum rufescens (sensitive) and Paxillus involutus (unsensitive). Mycorrhizal potential in Norway spruce seedlings as a bioassay for soil N and S pollution was effective, and is suggested as an additional, standardized and widely comparable system in bioindication of soil pollution.     

现行财税体制下我国耕地资源数量变化的实证研究

耕地资源数量变化受到人口、经济等诸多因素的影响，而财税体制是影响耕地资源数量变化的更深屡次原因。通过数量关系的初步观察和作用机理分析说明我国现行财税体制对耕地资源数量变化存在正反两方面作用，总体来看，对耕地资源保护不利。计量结果进一步证实了我国现行财税体制对耕地资源数量变化存在显著影响。揭示了其影响的方向和大小。根据研究结果，文章有针对性地提出了增加地方财政预算收入，合理分配土地出让金比例和科学使用土地出让金等相关政策建议。     

Fecal source tracking by antibiotic resistance analysis on a watershed exhibiting low resistance

The ongoing development of microbial source tracking has made it possible to identify contamination sources with varying accuracy, depending on the method used. The purpose of this study was to test the efficiency of the antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA) method under low resistance by tracking the fecal sources at Turkey Creek, Oklahoma exhibiting this condition. The resistance patterns of 772 water-isolates, tested with nine antibiotics, were analyzed by discriminant analysis (DA) utilizing a five-source library containing 2250 isolates. The library passed various representativeness tests; however, two of the pulled-sample tests suggested insufficient sampling. The resubstitution test of the library individual sources showed significant isolate misclassification with an average rate of correct classification (ARCC) of 58%. These misclassifications were explained by low antibiotic resistance (Wilcoxon test P < 0.0001). Seasonal DA of stream E. coli isolates for the pooled sources human/livestock/deer indicated that in fall, the human source dominated (P < 0.0001) at a rate of 56%, and that human and livestock respective contributions in winter (35 and 39%), spring (43 and 40%), and summer (37 and 35%) were similar. Deer scored lower (17–28%) than human and livestock at every season. The DA was revised using results from a misclassification analysis to provide a perspective of the effect caused by low antibiotic resistance and a more realistic determination of the fecal source rates at Turkey Creek. The revision increased livestock rates by 13–14% (0.04 ≤ P ≤ 0.06), and decreased human and deer by 6–7%. Negative misclassification into livestock was significant (0.04 ≤ P ≤ 0.06). Low antibiotic resistance showed the greatest effect in this category.     

Characterization and Identification of the Sources of Chromium, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Nickel, Manganese and Iron in Pm10 Particulates at the Two Sites of Kolkata, India

Monitoring of ambient PM₁₀ (particulate matter which passes through a size selective impactor inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter) has been done at residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) sites of an urban region of Kolkata during November 2003 to November 2004. These sites were selected depending on the dominant anthropogenic activities. Metal constituents of atmospheric PM₁₀ deposited on glass fibre filter paper were estimated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES). Chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) are the seven toxic trace metals quantified from the measured PM₁₀ concentrations. The 24 h average concentrations of Cr, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Mn and Fe from ninety PM₁₀ particulate samples of Kolkata were found to be 6.9, 506.1, 79.1, 3.3, 7.4, 2.4 and 103.6 ng/m³, respectively. The 24 h average PM₁₀ concentration exceeded national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) as specified by central pollution control board, India at both residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) areas with mean concentration of 140.1 and 196.6 μg/m³, respectively. A simultaneous meteorology study was performed to assess the influence of air masses by wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, relative humidity and temperature. The measured toxic trace metals generally showed inverse relationship with wind speed, relative humidity and temperature. Factor analysis, a receptor modeling technique has been used for identification of the possible sources contributing to the PM₁₀. Varimax rotated factor analysis identified four possible sources of measured trace metals comprising solid waste dumping, vehicular traffic with the influence of road dust, road dust and soil dust at residential site (Kasba), while vehicular traffic with the influence of soil dust, road dust, galvanizing and electroplating industry, and tanning industry at industrial site (Cossipore).