Modeling circulation function in agroecosystems

Understanding the biophysical foundation of agroecosystems is critical to achieve sustainable results. This paper focuses on the efficient flow of materials within an agroecosystem from cropping to livestock-raising and endeavours to establish a functional model of the relationship between motive power and resistance with efficiency measured in terms of material flow within the system. An efficiency constant (K) was created by modeling five integrated factors in the cultivation–husbandry system: single-harvest yield, multiple crop index, waste of forage, feed conversion ratio and circulation volume. Results of a test modeling of K at three sites in north China indicate that small scale agroecosystems are sensitive to material flows and the resulting pressure such flows place on system efficiency.     

Mechanism of the intermittent motion of two-phase debris flows

A typical two-phase debris flow exhibits a high and steep flow head consisting of rolling boulders and cobbles with intermittent or fluctuating velocity. The relative motion between the solid phase and the liquid phase is obvious. The motion of a two-phase debris flow depends not only on the rheological properties of the flow, but also on the energy transmission between the solid and liquid phases. Several models have been developed to study two-phase debris flows. An essential shortcoming of most of these models is the omission of the interaction between the two phases and identification of the different roles of the different materials in two-phase debris flows. The tracer particles were used for the velocity of solid phase and the velocity of liquid phase was calculated by the water velocity on the surface of the debris flow in the experiments. This paper analyzed the intermittent feature of two-phase debris flows based on videos of debris flows in the field and flume experiments. The experiments showed that the height of the head of the two-phase debris flow increased gradually in the initiation stage and reached equilibrium at a certain distance from the start of the debris flow. The height growth and the velocity of the flow head showed fluctuating characteristics. Model equations were established and the analyses proved that the average velocity of the two-phase debris flow head was proportional to the flood discharge and inversely proportional to the volume of the debris flow head.     

Assessing carrying capacities of coastal areas in France

This paper provides the methodological framework for carrying capacity assessment through a set of indicators, as implemented in a French case study. The approach aims to help the State and local governments of coastal areas facing population growth and important touristic flows to undergo a local development strategy that does not imperil their territorial strategic resources. This work shows how situations of dysfunction or saturation points have interlinked consequences on environmental, social and economic resources, justifying a crosswise assessment.     

绍兴平原二种典型农田系统中重金属流及其平衡分析

以浙江省绍兴平原为例,选择水稻（Orgza sativa L.）和蔬菜[大白菜（Brassica campestris L.ssp.pekinensis）]等2种典型农田系统,进行为期1年的观察分析,研究了农田系统中主要重金属元素流及平衡状况。结果表明,研究区农田系统中重金属来源物和农产品及排水中重金属含量有较大的空间变异性。有机肥和生活垃圾中重金属含量明显高于化肥,不同化肥品种中重金属含量：磷肥、复合肥钾肥氮肥。农田系统中重金属的输入量：有机肥施用（60.40%～99.36%）大气沉降（0.46%～39.26%）化肥施用（0.17%～1.45%）灌溉水（0.0016%～1.62%）。农田系统中Pb、Cd、Zn和Hg的输出量：农产品地表排水;重金属总积累量和输入强度：ZnCuPbCdHg。总体上,蔬菜生产系统中重金属的输入和累积量水稻生产系统。     

Boundaries and Corridors as a Continuum of Ecological Flow Control: Lessons from Rivers and Streams

Abstract: Landscape boundaries and corridors are areas of small spatial extent relative to their large effects on ecological flows. The trend in ecological literature is to treat corridors and boundaries as separate phenomena on the landscape. This approach, however, misses a fundamental aspect they have in common: their strong influence on ecological flows. Corridors and boundaries exist at opposite ends of a permeability gradient, differing in their effects on rates and direction of flow. The position of landscape structures along this permeability gradient depends on attributes of both the flow and of the structure itself. We discuss boundaries and corridors in terms of mover specificity, scale, and effects on different levels of ecological organization, using rivers and streams to illustrate our points. We predict which structures will act as boundaries or corridors and at what spatial and temporal scales they are likely to be relevant. Considering the function of landscape structures across the boundary-corridor continuum will provide researchers and managers with a more complete, holistic viewpoint and will allow better strategies to attain conservation goals.     

Secondary materials and international trade

The paper develops the international trade dimensions of recycling. It begins by outlining the sources of demand and supply that determine the volume, composition and direction of trade in waste materials. The model is intended to describe factors affecting international flows of any type of secondary material, although its usefulness in an empirical context is restricted in many cases by data limitations and complex lag structures on the supply side. Parts of the model are then applied to the case of waste paper, focusing on observed differences in national recycling rates and the role of trade in reconciling those differences.     

Ground water pollution by pesticides at the watershed‐soil catena scale: Lindane at the lower Colorado river basin (Argentina)

The movement of Lindane from application points at the surface soil towards the underground water and further transport within this compartment at the watershed‐soil catena scale, was inspected by measurements of the pesticide concentration in soil water at a controlled experiment where it was applied at a usual label dose. The concentrations of Lindane in soil water and the upper phreatic level were also measured at successive dates in samples obtained from a net of phreatimeter probes distributed over the area (1,500 km²) of the lower Colorado River basin (Bs. Aires, Argentina). The location of cultivated‐irrigated areas within the watershed was inferred from NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index)‐1 km‐10 day AVHRR images obtained at successive dates during the irrigation season. Feasible paths of underground gravitational water flows were computed by means of a GIS‐simulation model on the basis of local terrain slopes and aspects. The pattern of Lindane distribution over the basin was explained on the basis of the distribution of diffuse sources, the patterns of percolation and groundwater flows and the thermodynamic characteristics of the pesticide.     

The effects of aggregation on the performance of the inverse method and indicators of network analysis

Food webs are usually aggregated into a manageable size for their interpretation and analysis. The aggregation of food web components in trophic or other guilds is often at the choice of the modeler as there is little guidance in the literature as to what biases might be introduced by aggregation decisions. We examined the impacts of the choice of the a priori model on the subsequent estimation of missing flows using the inverse method and on the indices derived from ecological network analysis of both inverse method-derived flows and on the actual values of flows, using the fully determined Sylt-Rømø Bight food web model. We used the inverse method, with the least squares minimization goal function, to estimate ‘missing’ values in the food web flows on 14 aggregation schemes varying in number of compartments and in methods of aggregation. The resultant flows were compared to known values; the performance of the inverse method improved with increasing number of compartments and with aggregation based on both habitat and feeding habits rather than diet similarity. Comparison of network analysis indices of inverse method-derived flows with that of actual flows and the original value for the unaggregated food web showed that the use of both the inverse method and the aggregation scheme affected indices derived from ecological network analysis. The inverse method tended to underestimate the size and complexity of food webs, while an aggregation scheme explained as much variability in some network indices as the difference between inverse-derived and actual flows. However, topological network indices tended to be most robust to both the method of determining flows and to the inverse method. These results suggest that a goal function other than minimization of flows should be used when applying the inverse method to food web models. Comparison of food web models should be done with extreme care when different methodologies are used to estimate unknown flows and to aggregate system components. However, we propose that indices such as relative ascendency and relative redundancy are most valuable for comparing ecosystem models constructed using different methodologies for determining missing flows or for aggregating system components.     

Evaluating the environmental flows of China's Wolonghu wetland and land use changes using a hydrological model, a water balance model, and remote sensing

Environmental flows are critical to sustaining a variety of plant and animal communities in wetlands. However, evaluation of environmental flows is hampered by the problem of hydrological and ecological data shortage, especially in many developing countries such as China. Based on a hydrological model, a water balance model and remote sensing data, we assessed the environmental flows of China's Wolonghu wetland with limited data. The hydrological model provides input data for the water balance model of the wetland, and the remote sensing data can be used to assess land use changes. Integration of these two models with the remote sensing data revealed both the environmental flows of the Wolonghu wetland and the relationships between these environmental flows and land use changes. The results demonstrate that environmental flows have direct and indirect influences on the wetland ecosystem and should be linked to sustainable wetland management.     

Nutrient enrichment reduces constraints on material flows in a detritus-based food web

Most aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are experiencing increased nutrient availability, which is affecting their structure and function. By altering community composition and productivity of consumers, enrichment can indirectly cause changes in the pathways and magnitude of material flows in food webs. These changes, in turn, have major consequences for material storage and cycling in the ecosystem. Understanding mechanisms and predicting consequences of nutrient-induced changes in material flows requires a quantitative food web approach that combines information on consumer energetics and consumer-resource stoichiometry. We examined effects of a whole-system experimental nutrient enrichment on the trophic basis of production and the magnitude and pathways of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) flows in a detritus-based stream food web. We compared the response of the treated stream to an adjacent reference stream throughout the study. Dietary composition and elemental flows varied considerably among invertebrate functional feeding groups. During nutrient enrichment, increased flows of leaf litter and amorphous detritus to shredders and gatherers accounted for most of the altered flows of C from basal resources to consumers. Nutrient enrichment had little effect on patterns of material flows but had large positive effects on the magnitude of C, N, and P flows to consumers (mean increase of 97% for all elements). Nutrient-specific food webs revealed similar flows of N and P to multiple functional groups despite an order of magnitude difference among groups in consumption of C. Secondary production was more strongly related to consumption of nutrients than C, and increased material flows were positively related to the degree of consumer-resource C:P and C:N imbalances. Nutrient enrichment resulted in an increased proportion of detrital C inputs consumed by primary consumers (from -15% to 35%) and a decreased proportion of invertebrate prey consumed by predators (from -80% to 55%). Our results demonstrate that nutrient enrichment of detritus-based systems may reduce stoichiometric constraints on material flows, increase the contribution of consumers to C, N, and P cycling, alter the proportion of C inputs metabolized by consumers, and potentially lead to reduced ecosystem-level storage of C.     

园林苗圃业存在的隐患与发展对策

苗木是城市园林绿化建设、改善环境质量物质基础之一,为此本文分析了作为绿化材料生产部门的园林苗圃业可持续发展过程中存在的3个方面的隐患及其发展对策.     

4-苯基-2-丁酮微型化合成研究

运用微型化的方法对以乙酸和乙醇为基本原料合成4-苯基-2-丁酮的反应物用量、技术要点与操作步骤进行实验研究,其产率约为61%,研究结果表明此方法可行.表1,参5.     

Shallow fluid flow over an obstacle: higher-order non-hydrostatic modeling and breaking waves

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The simulation of shallow flows over obstacles is an important problem in environmental fluid dynamics, including exchange flows over seabed sills, atmospheric flows...     

Trace Organic Matter in the Ria Formosa, Portugal

The Ria Formosa lagoon, Portugal, receives organic matter from many natural and anthropogenic sources. This paper presents an overview of the contribution these sources made through the use of lipid biomarkers. Sixty-one surface sediment samples were collected and analysed for a range of lipids. Sewage materials were confined to regions within 2 km of discharge points; phytoplankton biomarkers (sterols and fatty acids) suggest production was greatest in the inner parts of the lagoon that also have greatest inorganic nutrient enrichment; terrestrial organic matter was present in relatively low concentrations as shown by both sterol and fatty alcohols; bacteria were widespread although the Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRBs, shown by the presence of 3-OH fatty acids) were located near but not adjacent to sewage discharge points.     

Trace Organic Matter in the Ria Formosa,Portugal

The Ria Formosa lagoon, Portugal, receives organic matter from many natural and anthropogenic sources. This paper presents an overview of the contribution these sources made through the use of lipid biomarkers. Sixty-one surface sediment samples were collected and analysed for a range of lipids. Sewage materials were confined to regions within 2 km of discharge points; phytoplankton biomarkers (sterols and fatty acids) suggest production was greatest in the inner parts of the lagoon that also have greatest inorganic nutrient enrichment; terrestrial organic matter was present in relatively low concentrations as shown by both sterol and fatty alcohols; bacteria were widespread although the Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRBs, shown by the presence of 3-OH fatty acids) were located near but not adjacent to sewage discharge points.     

Mass-based depth and velocity scales for gravity currents and related flows

Gravity driven flows on inclines can be caused by cold, saline or turbid inflows into water bodies. Another example are cold downslope winds, which are caused by cooling of the atmosphere at the lower boundary. In a well-known contribution, Ellison and Turner (ET) investigated such flows by making use of earlier work on free shear flows by Morton, Taylor and Turner (MTT). Their entrainment relation is compared here with a spread relation based on a diffusion model for jets by Prandtl. This diffusion approach is suitable for forced plumes on an incline, but only when the channel topography is uniform, and the flow remains supercritical. A second aspect considered here is that the structure of ET’s entrainment relation, and their shallow water equations, agrees with the one for open channel flows, but their depth and velocity scales are those for free shear flows, and derived from the velocity field. Conversely, the depth of an open channel flow is the vertical extent of the excess mass of the liquid phase, and the average velocity is the (known) discharge divided by the depth. As an alternative to ET’s parameterization, two sets of flow scales similar to those of open channel flows are outlined for gravity currents in unstratified environments. The common feature of the two sets is that the velocity scale is derived by dividing the buoyancy flux by the excess pressure at the bottom. The difference between them is the way the volume flux is accounted for, which—unlike in open channel flows—generally increases in the streamwise direction. The relations between the three sets of scales are established here for gravity currents by allowing for a constant co-flow in the upper layer. The actual ratios of the three width, velocity, and buoyancy scales are evaluated from available experimental data on gravity currents, and from field data on katabatic winds. A corresponding study for free shear flows is referred to. Finally, a comparison of mass-based scales with a number of other flow scales is carried out for available data on a two-layer flow over an obstacle. Mass-based flow scales can also be used for other types of flows, such as self-aerated flows on spillways, water jets in air, or bubble plumes.     

土壤锌自然消减的研究进展

从影响土壤锌自然消减的因素方面，阐述了锌自然消减的研究进展。土壤锌自然消减受温度、水分、pH值、有机质、改良剂、化学肥料、栽培植物等因素的影响。温度降低、pH升高和淹水均使土壤中锌的有效性降低。种植超积累植物如遏蓝菜、紫花苕子、印度芥菜等，可以超量吸收土壤中的锌，加速锌的消减。土壤中的某些动物和微生物有吸收利用锌的特性，蚯蚓对锌有良好的富集作用。采取农业措施如施用有机肥、化肥、加入改良剂，栽培植物等，都能降低污染土壤中锌的有效性。文章还提出了该方面今后的研究重点。     

Accounting for Cadmium: Tracking Emissions of Cadmium From the Global Economy

This paper examines the flow of cadmium through the global economy, with the aim of quantifying emissions of cadmium into the environment as a result of anthropogenic activities. First, a materials balance methodology is presented as the most appropriate means of assessing cadmium emissions from a wide range of anthropogenic sources. This is then applied to the best available data, from a variety of sources, to arrive at estimated flows of cadmium. Results are presented for 10 geo-political world regions and for a range of economic activities including non-ferrous metals production, iron and steel production, combustion of fossil fuels, fertilizer manufacture and use, cement production and the manufacture, use and disposal of cadmium containing products. Initially, this analysis partitions the total flow of cadmium into three major categories: atmospheric emissions, water-borne effluents and solid or bulked waste arisings. the paper then suggests a probable further partition of the initial emissions into different environmental media.     

Accounting for Cadmium: Tracking Emissions of Cadmium From the Global Economy

This paper examines the flow of cadmium through the global economy, with the aim of quantifying emissions of cadmium into the environment as a result of anthropogenic activities. First, a materials balance methodology is presented as the most appropriate means of assessing cadmium emissions from a wide range of anthropogenic sources. This is then applied to the best available data, from a variety of sources, to arrive at estimated flows of cadmium. Results are presented for 10 geo-political world regions and for a range of economic activities including non-ferrous metals production, iron and steel production, combustion of fossil fuels, fertilizer manufacture and use, cement production and the manufacture, use and disposal of cadmium containing products. Initially, this analysis partitions the total flow of cadmium into three major categories: atmospheric emissions, water-borne effluents and solid or bulked waste arisings. the paper then suggests a probable further partition of the initial emissions into different environmental media.