湘西花垣矿区主要植物种类及优势植物重金属蓄积特征

矿区重金属污染严重,寻找和发现适合当地气候与土壤条件的重金属耐性植物是矿区植被恢复和污染土壤修复的前提.通过对湘西花垣县锰矿、铅锌矿区植被调查,共记录到高等植物76种,隶属69属,39科.对两矿区的主要优势植物及其土壤重金属含量进行了测定、分析,结果表明,两矿区土壤Pb、Zn、Cd含量均超过国家土壤环境质量二级标准阈值,对矿区土壤造成了污染.主要优势植物均能适应矿区土壤重金属元素较高的环境,对重金属具有一定的耐性,但不同植物对重金属的吸收和蓄积特征不同,油茶、芒萁吸收的重金属主要分布在地上部分,属于金属富集型植物,适于修复湘西矿区重金属污染中等且使用价值较高的污染土壤;灰白毛莓、山莓、毛萼莓、魁蒿、蕨吸收的重金属主要累积在根部,属于根部囤积型植物;芒草、白茅、箬竹、飞龙掌血根、茎、叶重金属含量均较低,属于重金属规避型植物.这2种类型的植物适合种植在湘西矿区重金属污染严重、使用价值相对较低、面积较大的矿山废弃地.     

大宝山铜铁矿区水体重金属污染评价

以公里网格方式在大宝山矿区水系采集水样品60件,进行分析测试,得出了该研究区内Cr、Cd、Co、Ni、Cu、Zn、As、Sb、Hg、Pb共10种重金属元素的分布特征。其中污染最严重是Cd,其次是Zn、Cu、Pb、Cr、Ni、Hg。由元素的浓集中心分布分析得出,污染源主要是矿坑土、尾矿坝、废石堆和民采点。     

酸矿水中重金属人工湿地处理机理研究

人工湿地作为一种低耗高效的污水处理系统逐渐应用于酸矿水的处理。文章对人工湿地去除酸矿水中重金属的各种物理、化学和生物作用发生机理及存在的问题进行了分析,提出今后应加强长期连续的动态监测,深入研究不同类型湿地中各影响因子与处理机理之间的关系,对主要处理机理的定性描述转向定量模型化研究,确立人工湿地接受和处理不同污染物质的最大能力和阈限,为人工湿地污水处理系统的合理设计及管理提供科学依据。     

交通污染对城市土壤和植物的影响

以我国西北地区大气污染严重的兰州市为研究区,分别采集了交通主干道两侧及远离交通主干道的公园及大学校园里的槐树(Sophora japonica L.)叶片和土壤样品,研究了交通污染对城市土壤理化性质和重金属积累以及植物叶片中重金属、氮、磷积累的影响.结果表明:①交通主干道两侧土壤的电导率和有机碳含量显著高于公园土壤而pH值显著低于公园土壤;②交通主干道两侧土壤中Zn、Cd、Hg、Pb、Cu、Cr和As等7种微量元素的含量显著高于公园土壤,表明交通污染导致了这些元素在土壤中的异常积累;③生长在交通主干道两侧的槐树叶片中Zn、Cd、As、Hg、Pb、Ni、Co、Cr、N等9种元素的含量显著高于生长在公园的槐树叶片,同样表明交通污染导致了这些元素在槐树叶片中的异常积累,但是不同元素在土壤和植物叶片中的积累程度存在着差异.     

酸性矿山废水区域沉积物中嗜酸菌多样性研究

采集了酸性矿山废水区域酸性沉积物样品,运用16S rDNA克隆文库技术和变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)技术,研究了沉积物中的嗜酸菌类群以及它们的群落结构.结果表明,沉积物中的嗜酸菌类型较新,大多数16S rDNA序列与已知序列的相似性均在97%以下.这些嗜酸菌主要为Acidobacteria,β/-γProteobacteria,δ-Proteobacteria,Nitrospira,Candidate Division TM7,low G+C Gram-positive类微生物.在这一酸性生态系统中,δ-Proteobacteria类细菌占据主导地位.对酸性沉积物中嗜酸菌多样性的研究有利于发现高效处理酸性矿山废水的方法.     

Reduction of availability of trace metals in urban soils using inorganic amendments

Urban soils in medium- and large-sized cities generally have shown elevated contents of environmentally important trace metals (e.g. lead, copper, zinc). Such high concentrations in soils of green areas, mainly recreational areas, can be a source of potentially toxic elements and pose a risk for human health. Thus the availability of these contaminants is an essential control parameter, as it indicates potential plant uptake and their transfer to humans via inhalation of suspended dust, or direct ingestion (i.e. hand to mouth pathway), or consumption of contaminated foodstuff. Young children are the most sensitive segment of the population. Addition of amendments to the soil is a feasible technique to reduce the availability of trace metals. Accordingly, four urban soils of green areas of Seville (Spain), with relatively high lead contents and moderate copper and zinc contents, were amended in the laboratory with four inorganic materials [acid zeolite (AZ), sodium zeolite (SZ), Slovakite (SL), apatite (AP)], at two rates (1%, 5% w/w) and incubated for 1 year. Significant decreases in EDTA-extractable metal contents were observed in some of the treatments after adding the amendments even before the incubation begun, mainly for SL treatments. The amendment that produced the longest lasting immobilisation effect, compared to control treatments, was AZ at the higher rate. The effects of SZ and SL tended to decrease with time, while the AP effect was almost negligible after 3 months of ageing. This study confirms the feasibility of using certain inexpensive soil amendments to at least temporarily immobilise metals in urban soils for the purpose of protecting human health, especially that of young children.     

Geochemical and biological controls on trace metal transport in an acid mine impacted watershed

Water samples collected in an acid mine impacted watershed indicated that the concentrations of dissolved trace metals were diurnally influenced by mineral saturation, which is controlled primarily by pH and water temperature. Measurements taken suggested that these variations only occur at sample locations immediately downstream from the confluence of acidic and alkaline waters. It is at these locations where initial mineral precipitation occurred and where subtle changes in solubility were most affected, increasing trace metal removal when both the rate of photosynthesis (influencing pH in headwaters) and water temperature were at a maximum. The role of iron photoreduction (increased midday production of ferrous iron) on overall Cu, Mn, and Zn transport was also evaluated, but found to be inconclusive. Iron photoreduction may however influence adsorption and/or coprecipitation of trace metals through associated changes in oxidation state, solubility, and mineralogy of various iron colloids, which are produced upon the neutralization of acidic, metal enriched water. Furthermore, measured values of copper and zinc were compared to relative USEPA chronic criterion for exposure to continuous concentration (CCC) of metals by the calculation of a “toxicity unit” (TU). It was found that average values of both copper and zinc only exceeded the CCC (TU>1) in the acid mine-impacted Leona Creek. In general, zinc toxicity decreased while copper toxicity increased downstream of the confluence of the mine impacted Leona Creek and background Lion Creek (sampled at Lake Aliso), indicating a significant source of zinc in upstream, non mine-impacted samples.     

Atmospheric mercury emissions from polluted gold mining areas (Venezuela)

Soil, waste rock and mud from mercury-gold amalgamation mining areas of El Callao (Venezuela) are highly enriched in Hg (0.5–500 μg g⁻¹) relative to natural background concentrations (<0.1 μg g⁻¹). Mercury fluxes to the atmosphere from twelve polluted sites of this area were measured in situ (6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) using a Plexiglas flux chamber connected to a portable mercury analyzer (model RA-915+; Lumex, St. Petersburg, Russia). Mercury fluxes ranged between 0.65 and 420.1 μg m⁻² h⁻¹, and the average flux range during the diurnal hours␣was 9.1–239.2 μg m⁻² h⁻¹. These flux values are five orders of magnitude higher than both reported world background Hg fluxes (1–69 ng m⁻² h⁻¹) and the regional values, which are in the range 2–10 ng m⁻² h⁻¹. The flux results obtained in this study are, however, similar to those measured at Hg polluted sites such as chloro-alkali plants or polymetallic ore mining districts (>100,000 ng m⁻² h⁻¹). The results from this study also show that Hg emissions from the soil are influenced by solar radiation, soil temperature and soil Hg concentration. Our data suggest that solar radiation may be the dominant factor affecting Hg° emission since the major species of mercury in polluted soil is Hg° (85–97% of total Hg). The simple release of Hg° vapor is probably the dominant process occurring with incident light in the field. The apparent activation energy for mercury emission indicates that the volatilization of mercury mainly occurred as a result of the vaporization of elemental mercury in soil. The degree of Hg emission differed significantly among the soil sites studied, which may be due to variations in soil texture, organic matter content and soil compaction.     

Ancient manuring practices pollute arable soils at the St Kilda World Heritage Site, Scottish North Atlantic

The impact of ancient fertilization practices on the biogeochemistry of arable soils on the remote Scottish island of Hirta, St Kilda was investigated. The island was relatively unusual in that the inhabitants exploited seabird colonies for food, enabling high population densities to be sustained on a limited, and naturally poor, soil resource. A few other Scottish islands, the Faeroes and some Icelandic Islands, had similar cultural dependence on seabirds. Fertilization with human and animal waste streams (mainly peat ash and bird carcases) on Hirta over millennia has led to over-deepened, nutrient-rich soils (plaggen). This project set out to examine if this high rate of fertilization had adversely impacted the soil, and if so, to determine which waste streams were responsible. Arable soils were considerably elevated in Pb and Zn compared to non-arable soils. Using Pb isotope signatures and analysis of the waste streams, it was determined that this pollution came from peat and turf ash (Pb and Zn) and from bird carcases (Zn). This was also confirmed by ¹³C and ¹⁵N analysis of the profiles which showed that soil organic matter was highly enriched in marine-derived C and N compared to non-arable soils. The pollution of such a remote island may be typical of other ‘bird culture’ islands, and peat ash contamination of marginal arable soils at high latitudes may be widespread in terms of geographical area, but less intense at specific locations due to lower population densities than on Hirta.     

乌江流域石灰土中铀等元素形态与铀活性

以中国西南乌江流域石灰土为例，运用逐级提取(Sequential Extraction，SEE)技术，并结合化学成分和相关参数数据，研究了石灰土中铀(U)等元素的形态，并在此基础上探讨了石灰土中U的活动性及释放潜力，旨在增进对U等元素生物地球化学循环的了解，同时也为流域U污染防治提供科学依据。研究结果表明：①石灰土中Mn主要存在于锰(氢)氧化物中，Ca主要存在于碳酸盐和硅酸盐矿物中，P主要存在于硅酸盐矿物和有机质中，U主要赋存于硅酸盐等残留部分中，其次赋存于有机质结合部分和碳酸盐矿物中；②石灰土剖面中活动态U所占的比例为10%~30%，平均17%，说明石灰土中的部分U在酸性和氧化-还原界面等条件下具有一定的迁移活性，即在上述条件下，石灰土中的部分U可释放进入周围水体或植物中；③石灰土中U的潜在释放量为036~150 g/t，平均U潜在释放量为076 g/t，因此，在酸雨和侵蚀等作用下，石灰土U释放可显著提高乌江河水U通量。