Linking landscape development intensity within watersheds to methyl-mercury accumulation in river sediments

An indicator of the disturbance of natural systems, the landscape development intensity (LDI) index, was used to assess the potential for land-use within watersheds to influence the production/accumulation of methyl-mercury (MeHg) in river sediments. Sediment samples were collected from locations impacted by well-identified land-use types within the Mobile-Alabama River Basin in Southeastern USA. The samples were analyzed for total-Hg (THg) and MeHg concentrations and the obtained values correlated to the calculated LDI indexes of the sampled watersheds to assess the impact of prevalent land use/land cover on MeHg accumulation in sediments. The results show that unlike THg, levels of MeHg found in sediments are impacted by the LDI indexes. Overall, certain combinations of land-use types within a given watershed appear to be more conducive to MeHg accumulation than others, therefore, pointing to the possibility of targeting land-use practices as potential means for reducing MeHg accumulation in sediments, and ultimately, fish contamination.     

The effects of forest harvest intensity in combination with wind disturbance on carbon dynamics in Lake States Mesic Forests

Total forest carbon (C) storage is determined by succession, disturbances, climate, and the edaphic properties of a site or region. Forest harvesting substantially affects C dynamics; these effects may be amplified if forest harvesting is intensified to provide biofuel feedstock. We tested the effects of harvest intensity on landscape C using a simulation modeling approach that included C dynamics, multiple disturbances, and successional changes in composition. We developed a new extension for the LANDIS-II forest landscape disturbance and succession model that incorporates belowground soil C dynamics derived from the CENTURY soil model. The extension was parameterized and calibrated using data from an experimental forest in northeastern Wisconsin, USA. We simulated a 9800 ha forested landscape over 400 years with wind disturbance combined with no harvesting, harvesting with residual slash left on site (‘standard harvest’), and whole-tree harvesting. We also simulated landscapes without wind disturbance and without eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) to examine the effects of detrital quantity and quality on C dynamics. We estimated changes in live C, detrital C, soil organic C, total C, and forest composition. Overall, the simulations without harvesting had substantially greater total C and continued to sequester C. Standard harvest simulations had more C than the whole tree harvest simulations. Under both harvest regimes, C accrual was not evident after 150 years. Without hemlock, SOC was reduced due to a decline in detritus and a shift in detrital chemistry. In conclusion, if the intensity of harvesting increases we can expect a corresponding reduction in potential C storage. Compositional changes due to historic circumstances (loss of hemlock) may also affect forest C although to a lesser degree than harvesting. The modeling approach presented enabled us to consider multiple, interacting drivers of landscape change and the subsequent changes in forest C.     

Spatially distributed modeling of the long-term carbon balance of a boreal landscape

Spatially and temporally distributed information on the sizes of biomass carbon (C) pools (BCPs) and soil C pools (SCPs) is vital for improving our understanding of biosphere-atmosphere C fluxes. Because the sizes of C pools result from the integrated effects of primary production, age-effects, changes in climate, atmospheric CO₂ concentration, N deposition, and disturbances, a modeling scheme that interactively considers these processes is important. We used the InTEC model, driven by various spatio-temporal datasets to simulate the long-term C-balance in a boreal landscape in eastern Canada. Our results suggested that in this boreal landscape, mature coniferous stands had stabilized their productivity and fluctuated as a weak C-sink or C-source depending on the interannual variations in hydrometeorological factors. Disturbed deciduous stands were larger C-sinks (NEP₂₀₀₄ = 150 gC m⁻² yr⁻¹) than undisturbed coniferous stands (e.g. NEP₂₀₀₄ = 8 gC m⁻² yr⁻¹). Wetlands had lower NPP but showed temporally consistent C accumulation patterns. The simulated spatio-temporal patterns of BCPs and SCPs were unique and reflected the integrated effects of climate, plant growth and atmospheric chemistry besides the inherent properties of the C pool themselves. The simulated BCPs and SCPs generally compared well with the biometric estimates (BCPs: r = 0.86, SCPs: r = 0.84). The largest BCP biases were found in recently disturbed stands and the largest SCP biases were seen in locations where moss necro-masses were abundant. Reconstructing C pools and C fluxes in the ecosystem in such a spatio-temporal manner could help reduce the uncertainties in our understanding of terrestrial C-cycle.     

Species-specific and context-dependant disruption of temporal population fluctuations resulting from hypereutrophication events

This study quantifies the disruption of zooplankton population fluctuations in relation to two magnitudes of fire retardant contamination events using artificial ponds as model systems. Population time series were analysed using redundancy analysis where time was modelled with a principal coordinate of neighborhood matrices approach that identified relevant scales of fluctuation frequencies. Analyses of temporal coherence provided insight whether population fluctuations correlated with system intrinsic or extrinsic forces. Responses to stress were species-specific and context-dependant. Contamination changed temporal structure in some species. These alterations were associated with an increased intrinsic control of dynamics. In some cases the magnitude of impact was unrelated to contamination severity. Some populations were less tolerant of pollution in the low relative to the high concentration treatment. Results suggest that population-level monitoring of degraded sites may be suboptimal because disparate population responses complicate the selection of specific sentinel organisms to monitor stress.     

Factors affecting the floristic diversity and nestedness in the islets of Lake Bardawil, North Sinai, Egypt: implications for conservation

Island biogeography theory and nestedness are two relevant and important concepts in biogeography and conservation. However, their integration and application has not been examined for maintaining or maximizing species diversity, especially in arid regions. The aim of this study is to investigate the ecological mechanisms related to the observed pattern of floristic diversity and nestedness in the Lake Bardawil islets on the Mediterranean coast of Sinai Peninsula before the execution of the North Sinai Agricultural Development Project (NSADP) that will threaten the ecosystem of the lake. Plant species on 15 islets were identified and categorized into ecological groups related to their life-form, salt tolerance and succulence. Richness of total plant species and their ecological groups were positively correlated with islet area, number of habitats and elevation, and negatively with disturbance index. The temperature calculator detected highly significant nestedness for the entire flora and all ecological groups. Distance from the mainland had no effect on either species richness or nested pattern of total plant species and their ecological groups. Both the analyses of species richness and nested distribution yielded evidence for a positive species-area relationship. Although nestedness was detected for the entire plant species and their ecological groups, many species and islets exhibited idiosyncratic distribution. Idiosyncrasies could be mainly attributed to demographic stochasticity which is an important character for species interaction and diversity maintenance in arid regions. Therefore, in developing conservation strategies for the Lake Bardawil islets, it is important to incorporate spatial and temporal stability of populations.     

Spatial and temporal small-scale variability of nitrogen mobilization in a forest ecosystem with high N deposition in NW-Germany

For conifer stands in NW-Germany with high DIN load (23-35 kg N ha⁻¹ a⁻¹) and a long history of nitrogen export the risk of N mobilization were investigated. Ammonium is the most mobilized N species, pointing towards either conditions not favoring nitrification or, more likely - under the dominant aerobic conditions - a very high amount of ammonium in the forest floor. Independence of net nitrification and net ammonification from each other indicates the existence of two separate systems. The nitrifying system depends very much on biotic conditions - as a function of energy and moisture - and seems not to be directly related to N deposition. In contrast, for the ammonification system (Oe horizon) a correlation with the sum of ammonium deposition three months prior to sampling was found. However, the role of disturbance, i.e. nitrogen export, during the last centuries and the role of recovery of the N balance during the last 150 years is still not clear.     

The effects of direct and indirect constraints on biological communities

Human activities are expected to result in a diversity of directional or stochastic constraints that affect species either directly or by indirectly impacting their resources. However, there is no theoretical framework to predict the complex and various effects of these constraints on ecological communities. We developed a dynamic model that mimics the use of different resource types by a community of competing species. We investigated the effects of different environmental constraints (affecting either directly the growth rate of species or having indirect effects on their resources) on several biodiversity indicators. Our results indicate that (i) in realistic community models (assuming uneven resource requirements among species) the effects of perturbations are strongly buffered compared to neutral models; (ii) the species richness of communities can be maximized for intermediate levels of direct constraints (unimodal response), even in the absence of trade-off between competitive ability and tolerance to constraints; (iii) no such unimodal response occurs with indirect constraints; (iv) an increase in the environmental (e.g., climatic) variance may have different effects on community biomass and species richness.     

煤层气区域开发环境影响和管理研究

煤层气开发激励政策和规划的实施,使其区域化和商业化开发将逐步展开。煤层气区域开发有别于常规天然气,主要表现为井网密度大、疏水降压排采和加压集输。大量煤层排水可能污染地表水、降低地下水位、影响水生态、土壤侵蚀等;井网密度大意味着要建设更多的井场、道路、管线、集气压缩站等,则单位面积地表扰动大,导致景观生态破碎化和生态退化等;煤层气压缩机增压集输、其它油气田重型机械、增加的交通流量影响区域声环境质量;压缩机燃气废气、煤层气放空、扬尘对区域大气环境质量产生影响。针对煤层气开发环境问题的特殊性,提出煤层气开发应以水平井为主减少地表扰动。我国水资源极度缺乏,对煤层排水应合理处置,淡水应考虑综合利用,高矿化度水应考虑回注地下。     

Ecomanagement of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the Mediterranean Sea: concerns and strategies

Marine biodiversity is generally higher in benthic than in pelagic systems, and in coastal than in open sea systems. Sediments are the most human-impacted domain and therefore represent the target zone for both the study and actions needed for the preservation of biodiversity. Losses of marine diversity, higher (or simply more evident) in coastal areas, are generally the result of conflicting uses of coastal habitats. Large difficulties arise from the analysis and evaluation of the actual biodiversity, especially when different environments are compared, as often studies on biodiversity are dependent upon the distribution of the specialists. On the other hand, losses of marine biodiversity might be underestimated, due to the limited knowledge of the ecosystems' functioning, of the species inhabiting various habitats and of the still limited capacity to assess microbial biodiversity, which represents the largest fraction of the global marine biodiversity. Finally, claimed losses of biodiversity might be just apparent, as the sea floor is a bank of resting stages of various plankton species that are likely to spend even decades in the sediment before reactivating and inducing unattended blooms in the water column. The Mediterranean Sea displays high species diversity, but might reach the highest values in terms of adaptive strategies and functional diversity. Moreover, the Mediterranean Sea represents also a key area for the study of the relative influences of the natural and anthropogenic changes on biodiversity and its consequences on ecosystem functioning. Habitat destruction, over-fishing, contaminants, eutrophication, introduction of alien species, and climate changes are producing increasingly evident changes in community structure and biodiversity of this warm and miniature ocean. We summarized the main effects of different disruptive agents on the marine biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea, with special attention on the biodiversity relevance in ecosystem functioning and possible implications in bio-geochemical cycles. The present overview aims at focusing and synthesizing the most important factors potentially affecting the interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the Mediterranean in order to better define possible strategies of conservation and eco-management.     

Linkages Between Nutrients and Assemblages of Macroinvertebrates and Fish in Wadeable Streams: Implication to Nutrient Criteria Development

We sampled 240 wadeable streams across Wisconsin for different forms of phosphorus and nitrogen, and assemblages of macroinvertebrates and fish to (1) examine how macroinvertebrate and fish measures correlated with the nutrients; (2) quantify relationships between key biological measures and nutrient forms to identify potential threshold levels of nutrients to support nutrient criteria development; and (3) evaluate the importance of nutrients in influencing biological assemblages relative to other physicochemical factors at different spatial scales. Twenty-three of the 35 fish and 18 of the 26 macroinvertebrate measures significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with at least one nutrient measure. Percentages of carnivorous, intolerant, and omnivorous fishes, index of biotic integrity, and salmonid abundance were fish measures correlated with the most nutrient measures and had the highest correlation coefficients. Percentages of Ephemeroptera–Plecoptera–Trichoptera individuals and taxa, Hilsenhoff biotic index, and mean tolerance value were macroinvertebrate measures that most strongly correlated with the most nutrient measures. Selected biological measures showed clear trends toward degradation as concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen increased, and some measures showed clear thresholds where biological measures changed drastically with small changes in nutrient concentrations. Our selected environmental factors explained 54% of the variation in the fish assemblages. Of this explained variance, 46% was attributed to catchment and instream habitat, 15% to nutrients, 3% to other water quality measures, and 36% to the interactions among all the environmental variables. Selected environmental factors explained 53% of the variation in macroinvertebrate assemblages. Of this explained variance, 42% was attributed to catchment and instream habitat, 22% to nutrients, 5% to other water quality measures, and 32% to the interactions among all the environmental variables.