Ecological and Economic Services Provided by Birds on Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Farms

Abstract: Coffee farms can support significant biodiversity, yet intensification of farming practices is degrading agricultural habitats and compromising ecosystem services such as biological pest control. The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the world's primary coffee pest. Researchers have demonstrated that birds reduce insect abundance on coffee farms but have not documented avian control of the berry borer or quantified avian benefits to crop yield or farm income. We conducted a bird‐exclosure experiment on coffee farms in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica, to measure avian pest control of berry borers, identify potential predator species, associate predator abundance and borer reductions with vegetation complexity, and quantify resulting increases in coffee yield. Coffee plants excluded from foraging birds had significantly higher borer infestation, more borer broods, and greater berry damage than control plants. We identified 17 potential predator species (73% were wintering Neotropical migrants), and 3 primary species composed 67% of migrant detections. Average relative bird abundance and diversity and relative resident predator abundance increased with greater shade‐tree cover. Although migrant predators overall did not respond to vegetation complexity variables, the 3 primary species increased with proximity to noncoffee habitat patches. Lower infestation on control plants was correlated with higher total bird abundance, but not with predator abundance or vegetation complexity. Infestation of fruit was 1–14% lower on control plants, resulting in a greater quantity of saleable fruits that had a market value of US$44–$105/ha in 2005/2006. Landscape heterogeneity in this region may allow mobile predators to provide pest control broadly, despite localized farming intensities. These results provide the first evidence that birds control coffee berry borers and thus increase coffee yield and farm income, a potentially important conservation incentive for producers.     

生态系统服务功能及其价值核算

生态系统服务功能是指生态系统服务与生态系统功能的综合，指生态系统与生态过程所形成及所维持的人类赖以生存的自然环境条件与效用，生态系统服务功能对于人类生存发展具有重要的价值，应该在社会经济体系中得以体现，本文探讨了生态系统服务功能的类型，价值核算方法与理论及其应用研究在完善国民经济核算体系、促进可持续发展等方面的重要意义，并对今后发展进行了展望。     

Prioritization of Sustainable Groundwater Management Needs: The Case of the Israel's Stressed Coastal Aquifer

On-going population growth and resulting domestic demand for water require rapid and effective decision-making as regards groundwater management and control of the various sources of salinization and pollution in Coastal aquifers. Sustainability of water resources for utilization by future generations must therefore be a high priority, not only for the purpose of fulfilling needs for water usage but also for bringing people into harmony with their ambient natural environment.The objective of this paper is to propose an empirical approach for prioritization of the needs involved for sustainable aquifer management. The approach involves a schematic format to:(1) develop a global understanding of an aquifer's hydrological and environmental properties in order to delineate appropriate eco-hydrological scenarios and recommend corresponding operational management activities; and(2) emphasize the importance of educating and increasing the awareness of the population involved as to the need for and viability of socially acceptable measures for sustainable management of groundwater and other resources.The psychologist Abraham Maslow utilized a pyramid to illustrate that until people's most basic needs were fulfilled, higher levels of needs would remain irrelevant. This paper postulates a comparable pyramid prioritizing hydrological needs required for progressing towards sustainable groundwater resources. Two sub-regions of Israel's Coastal aquifer in the Sharon region have been presented as representative areas, each characterized by different stress of exploitation. In assessing these sub-regions situation, specific measures have been recommended for achieving and/or maintaining sustainable groundwater resources in light of the ambient environment, and the level of the population on the pyramidal hierarchy of groundwater needs.     

Isotope tracing of submarine groundwater discharge offshore Ubatuba, Brazil: results of the IAEA–UNESCO SGD project

Results of groundwater and seawater analyses for radioactive (³H, ²²²Rn, ²²³Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²⁸Ra) and stable (D and ¹⁸O) isotopes are presented together with in situ spatial mapping and time series ²²²Rn measurements in seawater, direct seepage measurements using manual and automated seepage meters, pore water investigations using different tracers and piezometric techniques, and geoelectric surveys probing the coast. This study represents first time that such a new complex arsenal of radioactive and non-radioactive tracer techniques and geophysical methods have been used for simultaneous submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) investigations. Large fluctuations of SGD fluxes were observed at sites situated only a few meters apart (from 0 cm d⁻¹ to 360 cm d⁻¹; the unit represents cm³/cm²/day), as well as during a few hours (from 0 cm d⁻¹ to 110 cm d⁻¹), strongly depending on the tidal fluctuations. The average SGD flux estimated from continuous ²²²Rn measurements is 17 ± 10 cm d⁻¹. Integrated coastal SGD flux estimated for the Ubatuba coast using radium isotopes is about 7 × 10³ m³ d⁻¹ per km of the coast. The isotopic composition (δD and δ¹⁸O) of submarine waters was characterised by significant variability and heavy isotope enrichment, indicating that the contribution of groundwater in submarine waters varied from a small percentage to 20%. However, this contribution with increasing offshore distance became negligible. Automated seepage meters and time series measurements of ²²²Rn activity concentration showed a negative correlation between the SGD rates and tidal stage. This is likely caused by sea level changes as tidal effects induce variations of hydraulic gradients. The geoelectric probing and piezometric measurements contributed to better understanding of the spatial distribution of different water masses present along the coast. The radium isotope data showed scattered distributions with offshore distance, which imply that seawater in a complex coast with many small bays and islands was influenced by local currents and groundwater/seawater mixing. This has also been confirmed by a relatively short residence time of 1–2 weeks for water within 25 km offshore, as obtained by short-lived radium isotopes. The irregular distribution of SGD seen at Ubatuba is a characteristic of fractured rock aquifers, fed by coastal groundwater and recirculated seawater with small admixtures of groundwater, which is of potential environmental concern and has implications on the management of freshwater resources in the region.     

地下水波动带中细菌群落结构与水质响应关系

为揭示地下水波动带中细菌群落结构特征及其与地下水环境相互作用关系,选取哈尔滨市第一水源地作为研究区,采集地下水样品以及波动带不同深度（0~5m非饱和带和6~50m饱和带）含水介质样品,分别用于水化学分析和16S rRNA细菌高通量测序,依托冗余分析定量表述地下水质参数与细菌群落相关性.水化学分析结果显示,研究区地下水主要污染物为Fe、Mn、NH₄⁺和有机质,Fe、Mn超标与研究区特定地质背景有关,NH₄⁺和有机质主要来源于人类活动.微生物分析结果显示,非饱和带和饱和带的细菌群落结构差异性显著,非饱和带细菌群落丰度和多样性显著高于饱和带,Proteobacteria、Bacteroidetes、Actinobacteria、Firmicutes和Acidobacteria为研究区优势门,在非饱和带和饱和带的累积相对丰度分别为82.89%和98.64%.冗余分析（RDA）结果显示,门水平上非饱和带中与水质演化强相关的细菌类群是Bacteroidetes、Proteobacteria、Actinobacteria、Verrucomicrobia,贡献率分别为15%、14.8%、8.9%和5.2%;饱和带中对地下水质演化起主要作用的类群为Bacteroidetes、Acidobacteria、Actinobacteria和Firmicutes,贡献率分别为38.4%、19.0%、10.8%和9.1%.属水平上非饱和带中的Pseudomonas和饱和带中的Flavobacterium对Fe、Mn、NH₄⁺生物转化起主导作用.本研究为揭示地下水波动带中生物地球化学作用对地下水环境的影响提供了科学依据,对地下水污染修复具有重要的意义.     

铁锰复合氧化物滤料去除地下水中四环素的效能

以化学挂膜成熟运行5a的铁锰复合氧化物滤料为研究对象,利用静态与连续流柱实验相结合的方式,探究了该滤料去除四环素的效果与机理.结果表明,去除过程符合准二级反应动力学模型;且滤料质量越大,初始浓度越高,对四环素去除的效果越好;当水中共存阳离子浓度为0.01mol/L时,Mg²⁺抑制四环素的去除,而Ca²⁺、K⁺对四环素的去除过程无显著影响.连续流柱实验与发光细菌毒性检测分析,表明,铁锰氧化物滤料对四环素去除效果显著高于石英砂,且铁锰复合氧化物滤料去除四环素后急性毒性降低.此外,机理探究实验结果证实了铁锰复合氧化物滤料去除四环素是吸附与氧化的过程.     

黄海麻坑群沉积物磷的保存与转化及环境效应

基于对北黄海典型麻坑群海域某单位麻坑内部和外缘沉积物中不同赋存形态的磷、甲烷（CH₄）和硫化物等参数的分析,探讨了麻坑独特的环境中磷的转化与埋藏机制、沉积物-水体系磷的释放及对区域磷循环的影响.研究表明,沉积物中碎屑态磷（Det-P）是磷主要的赋存形态（>50%）,其次是有机磷（Org-P）、铁结合态磷（Fe-P）和自生态磷（Auth-P）,交换态磷（Exch-P）对总磷的贡献较小;麻坑内部与麻坑外缘处沉积物中溶解态活性磷（DRP）向水体的释放通量分别为2.84μmol/（cm²·a）和1.03μmol/（cm²·a）,对上层水体的贡献依次为19.6%和3.03%,是上层水体磷的重要来源.麻坑内外磷的埋藏速率与转化过程存在不同;研究区地下水的渗漏是磷的沉积速率和释放通量都普遍高的原因.北黄海麻坑区沉积物中磷的保存与转化还与浅层CH₄的逸出相关,潜在提高黄铁矿的生成速率.较高的沉积物-水界面磷通量必然对区域富营养化等生态环境问题产生深远影响,值得关注.     

基于TMVOC的地下水位波动带苯系物迁移转化模拟

为探究水位波动情况下苯系物的迁移转化规律,提高石油污染场地地下水污染治理精度,以西北某傍河石化场地为研究对象,基于TMVOC模型对特征污染物苯系物开展泄漏模拟,通过情景模拟比较水位波动对苯系物迁移转化的影响,并从污染分布、相间转化等方面,解析地下水位稳定和波动状态下苯系物迁移转化过程差异.结果表明:①TMVOC模型较好地模拟了水位波动状态下苯系物迁移转化过程.②相较于水位稳定状态下,水位波动作用下苯系物污染深度增加0.5 m,污染面积增加25%,总质量增加12 kg.③水位稳定和波动状态下苯系物"气-液-NAPL（Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids）相"占比分别为0.17%、2.03%、97.8%和0.04%、3.69%、96.27%.④NAPL相苯系物饱和度分布与苯系物质量分布呈正相关,水位波动造成NAPL相初始饱和度降低,且初始水位面以下NAPL相饱和度升高.⑤对于苯而言,水位波动状态下非饱和带中苯在液相中的质量是水位稳定状态下的1.11倍,饱和带为10.15倍.研究显示,水位波动显著地影响了苯系物的迁移转化过程,促进了苯系物的溶解,并使更多的苯系物残留在地下介质中.      

基于野外原位抽注试验和同位素技术的含水层反硝化速率研究

反硝化作用是地下水硝酸盐污染去除最重要的过程.由于水文地质条件和水文地球化学环境的复杂性和不确定性,精准测定含水层反硝化速率是反硝化过程的研究难点.选取潮白河冲洪积扇中部中国环境科学研究院地下水创新野外基地作为研究区,基于野外原位试验和15N同位素示踪法提出一种含水层反硝化速率的测定方法.该方法综合体现了研究区实际水文地质条件和水文地球化学环境对反硝化作用的影响,并充分考虑了硝酸盐在含水层中稀释弥散作用对计算结果的影响.结果表明:①潮白河冲洪积扇中部某地地下26~28 m处于还原环境,含水介质以粉细砂为主,ρ（NO₃-N）平均值为2.77 mg/L.②地下26~28 m反硝化速率在349.52~562.99 μg/（kg·d）（以N计,下同）之间,平均值为450.31 μg/（kg·d）.通过与研究区含水介质、采样深度和硝酸盐背景值相似的国内外案例对比研究,初步评估结果处于合理区间.③测试结果具有一定不确定性,主要来自忽略中间产物NO₂-和NO的计算方法、扰动采样方法、N₂O的操作规范程度及采样频率等方面.研究方法为测定含水层硝酸盐速率研究提供了新的思路,研究结果可为地下水中硝酸盐转化过程机理研究、地下水硝酸盐污染修复及风险管控提供关键的理论支撑数据.      

长江流域2000—2015年生态系统质量及服务变化特征

分析生态系统质量与服务现状及变化特征,有助于准确了解流域生态系统状况与趋势,为流域生态保护与修复的高效管理提供参考依据.采用相对生物量密度与相对植被覆盖度指数以及生态系统服务（土壤保持、防风固沙、洪水调蓄、粮食生产）评估模型,评估2000—2015年长江流域生态系统质量及服务变化特征.结果表明:①2000—2015年,长江流域森林、灌丛以及草地生态系统质量提升显著,56.56%的森林、45.65%的灌丛以及19.26%的草地生态系统质量得到不同程度的提高.②研究期间,长江流域粮食生产、洪水调蓄、土壤保持、防风固沙均呈显著上升趋势,其中粮食生产能力增加13.7%,洪水调蓄功能提升10.1%,土壤保持服务提高19.5%,防风固沙总量增加30.0%.③长江流域生态系统质量不高,处于低与差质量等级的生态系统面积比例在25%~35%之间;受不同类型的自然和人类活动影响,长江流域生态系统质量与服务均存在局部退化现象.研究显示,在生态质量与服务评估的基础上,分区域、分类型实施不同的生态系统保护与恢复途径,是今后长江流域加强生态系统管理的重要途径.