Exploring the risks and benefits of flexibility in biodiversity offset location in a case study of migratory shorebirds

Biodiversity offsets aim to counterbalance the residual impacts of development on species and ecosystems. Guidance documents explicitly recommend that biodiversity offset actions be located close to the location of impact because of higher potential for similar ecological conditions, but allowing greater spatial flexibility has been proposed. We examined the circumstances under which offsets distant from the impact location could be more likely to achieve no net loss or provide better ecological outcomes than offsets close to the impact area. We applied a graphical model for migratory shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway as a case study to explore the problems that arise when incorporating spatial flexibility into offset planning. Spatially flexible offsets may alleviate impacts more effectively than local offsets; however, the risks involved can be substantial. For our case study, there were inadequate data to make robust conclusions about the effectiveness and equivalence of distant habitat-based offsets for migratory shorebirds. Decisions around offset placement should be driven by the potential to achieve equivalent ecological outcomes; however, when considering more distant offsets, there is a need to evaluate the likely increased risks alongside the potential benefits. Although spatially flexible offsets have the potential to provide more cost-effective biodiversity outcomes and more cobenefits, our case study showed the difficulty of demonstrating these benefits in practice and the potential risks that need to be considered to ensure effective offset placement.     

基于遥感数据的PM2.5与城市化的时空关系研究——以成渝城市群为例

采用1998~2013年卫星遥感影像反演的PM2.5全球高精度产品数据集，结合GIS空间分析、地理加权回归（GWR）以及地理探测器等方法，系统地分析了成渝城市群城市化与PM2.5分布之间的关系。结果表明：（1）1998~2013年成渝城市群城市化速度较快，城市区域的PM2.5均值明显高于非城市区域，说明城市化对PM2.5具有一定的影响；（2）近16 a PM2.5重心与城市重心整体上都向东南方向移动，且两者每年在经度上的波动方向基本相反；（3）夜间灯光数据与PM2.5在空间分布上具有较好的一致性，且1998~2013年两者的GWR全局R2在0.86~0.95之间，相关性显著，研究区内城市化和人类活动对PM2.5的分布具有明显影响；（4）地理探测分析表明不同城市化因子对PM2.5影响差异显著，从2006到2013年城区人口密度和建成区绿化覆盖率逐渐成为成渝城市群PM2.5分布的主要影响因子。     

基于国产“风云三号”卫星MERSI的太湖蓝藻水华监测业务化应用

使用无锡市环境监测中心站环境遥感综合处理系统,对2017年7—11月FY-3/MERSI影像数据进行蓝藻水华提取分析,并通过当日与国外MODIS、VIIRS影像数据的蓝藻水华提取结果进行协同比对,验证FY-3/MERSI影像在蓝藻水华预警监测业务化应用的前景。结果表明,3种数据源均能实现蓝藻水华空间分布的业务化运行;由于卫星过境时间的不同,可综合利用这3种数据源观测太湖蓝藻水华在一天中的动态变化,分析蓝藻水华的发生规律。     

汽车排放共享检测——以南京市汽油车遥测试验结果为例

以南京市汽油车遥测试验结果为例,对汽油车的单次遥测数据与年检数据进行分析,结果表明,2组数据之间不存在相关性,这可能是由于车速等检测环境的差异造成的。整体遥测值的变化并不会随着年检值的增加或减少而呈现某一趋势,车辆的单次遥测数据并不具有代表性,不能作为车辆是否超标的判定依据。在对汽油车遥测不合格次数、排放限值设定、遥测年检时间间隔等分析中发现,若将汽油车的NO、CO遥测排放限值分别设为2 000×10-6和5%,当汽油车的遥测不合格次数≥5次,或汽油车的遥测不合格次数达到3次,同时这3次的遥测时间距离年检不超过60 d(遥测在前,年检在后),那么在这些遥测不合格车辆中,有80%以上的年检结果也不合格,遥测与年检的检测结果判定较为一致。虽然两者的检测方法和排放标准不同,但都能有效筛选出排放超标车辆,而且遥测法更快速,也无需停车检测,不影响车辆行驶。     

Contamination characteristics of trace metals in dust from different levels of roads of a heavily air-polluted city in north China

Concentrations of eight trace metals (TMs) in road dust (RD) (particles?<?25 μm) from urban areas of Xinxiang, China, were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentrations of Zn, Mn, Pb, As, Cu, Cr, Ni and Cd were 489, 350, 114, 101, 60.0, 39.7, 31.6, and 5.1 mg kg^?1, respectively. When compared with TM levels in background soil, the samples generally display elevated TM concentrations, except for Cr and Mn, and for Cd the enrichment value was 69.6. Spatial variations indicated TMs in RD from park path would have similar sources with main roads, collector streets and bypasses. Average daily exposure doses of the studied TMs were about three orders of magnitude higher for hand-to-mouth ingestion than dermal contact, and the exposure doses for children were 9.33 times higher than that for adults. The decreasing trend of calculated hazard indexes (HI) for the eight elements was As?>?Pb?>?Cr?>?Mn?>?Cd?>?Zn?>?Ni?>?Cu for both children and adults.     

Effects of T-2 toxin on histopathology,fatty acid and water distribution of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) muscle

T-2 toxin (T-2), one of the naturally occurring mycotoxins, often accumulates in aquatic animals from contaminated feed. Shrimp (n?=?30 per group) were fed with different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.5, 4.5 and 13.5?mg kg^?1) of T-2 for 20?days. Changes in histopathology, fatty acid and water distribution of shrimp muscle were analyzed. Histopathology of shrimp muscle showed dose-dependent marked degenerative and necrotic changes on exposure to dietary T-2. The T-2 significantly (P?<?0.05) affected the muscle fatty acid composition. ∑SFA, ∑MUFA and ∑PUFA initially decreased and then increased slowly in the high-dosed groups. C16:0, C18:1n-9 and C18:2n-6 were the main saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), respectively. Also, T-2 significantly affected water distribution in shrimp muscle. High doses of T-2 reduced free water content, resulting in a reduction in the water holding capacity and hence changes to the shrimp muscle quality. Collectively, these results illustrated that T-2 significantly affects the fatty acid and water distribution, and also muscle histopathology, all of which would result in a reduction in the quality and nutritional value of shrimp.     

我国中部城市环境全要素生产率的时空演变——基于Malmquist-Luenberger生产率指数分解方法

采用Malmquist-Luenberger生产率指数模型对我国中部地区80个地级市2003～2015年的城市环境全要素生产率及其分解部分进行了核算,在此基础上计算累积环境全要素生产率,运用核密度法分析了我国中部城市环境全要素生产率的地区差距和动态变化。研究发现:中部城市环境全要素生产率和技术进步分别以年均1. 39%、1. 85%的速度增长,技术效率以年均0. 02%的速度减少,中部城市环境全要素生产率增长主要由技术进步推动,技术效率出现退步迹象。中部地区环境全要素生产率、技术效率和技术进步率城市间差距在逐渐缩小,中部城市间出现明显技术"追赶效应"。     

Effects of exogenous acylated homoserine lactones on biofilms in biofilters for gaseous toluene treatment

● Biofilm formation was enhanced by exogenous AHLs. ● EPS production and microbial adhesive strength of biofilm were promoted. ● Exogenous AHLs improved the performance of biofilters treating toluene. Biofilters are typical biofilm reactors, and they usually have poor biofilm formation resulting in limited reactor performance. Exogenous acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) can enhance biofilm formation in many bioreactors based on quorum sensing regulation. However, their effect on biofilm in biofilters utilized for volatile organic compound (VOC) removal is unknown and needs to be investigated. In this study, the effects of the exogenous AHLs on biofilters for gaseous toluene removal were investigated. Analysis of biofilms in biofilters showed that the addition of exogenous AHLs considerably enhanced biofilm growth; the average biofilm concentration increased by 18%. Furthermore, the average biofilm coverage proportions in biofilters with and without exogenous AHLs were 17 % and 13 %, respectively, demonstrating the positive effect of exogenous AHLs on biofilm coverage. In particular, exogenous AHLs promoted the production of extracellular polymeric substances and the microbial adhesive strength of the biofilm. In addition, the exogenous AHLs showed no significant effect on the gaseous toluene removal efficiency of the biofilter. These results show that exogenous AHLs can enhance biofilm formation and can guide the application of exogenous AHLs in VOC biofilters.     

Synthesis of branched allylic sulfones by regioselective boron-catalysed hydrosulfonylation

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Branched allylic sulfones are scaffolds widely distributed in bioactive molecules and organic functional materials. The synthesis of allylic sulfones has been...