Ozone and natural systems: understanding exposure,response, and risk

Research aimed at understanding the response of plants to ozone has been conducted for over four decades but little of it has addressed intact natural systems. Even so, there is sufficient scientific information at this time to support air quality standards that will protect natural terrestrial ecosystems from ozone. What is unknown is the risk associated with continued exposure of natural systems, including both above- and below-ground components, in combination with other stresses including changing temperature and precipitation, elevated carbon dioxide, pests and pathogens, invasive species, and other activities that may fragment the landscape. Research to support an assessment of the ecological risk associated with ozone as it exists, in a milieu of stresses, must include endpoints beyond those addressed in the past, primarily productivity and species composition. To estimate the risk to society of ozone impacts on natural systems, endpoints such as the integrity of soil food webs, the quantity and quality of water supplied from terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife and recreational values, and the transfer and fate of carbon, nutrients, and water within the systems must be quantified. Not only will this research provide the basis for a sound estimate of risk, but also it will improve our understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes.     

Contribution of the sugar cane industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector: the case of Mauritius

The aim of this paper was to present the contribution of the sugar cane industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector. Mauritius is taken as a case study. Sugar cane was introduced in Mauritius during the seventeenth century and production of sugar started around 60 years later. Since then, the cane industry has been one of the economic pillars of the country. Bagasse, a by-product of sugar cane, is used as fuel in cogeneration power plants to produce process heat and electricity. This process heat and the generated electricity are used by an annexed sugar mills for the production of sugar, while the remaining electricity is exported to the national grid. In fact, Mauritius is a pioneer in the field of bagasse-based cogeneration power plant; the first bagasse-based cogeneration power plant that was commissioned in the world was in Mauritius in 1957. The contribution of the cane industry in the electricity sector has been vital for the economic development of Mauritius and also in terms of mitigating carbon dioxide emissions by displacing fossil fuels in electricity generation, as bagasse is classified as a renewable source. Data obtained from Statistics Mauritius on electricity production for the past 45 years were analysed, and carbon dioxide emissions were calculated based on international norms. It is estimated that savings on heavy fuel oil importation were by 1.5 million tons of oil—representing a value of 2.9 billion dollars—thus avoiding 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This figure can be further increased if molasses, a by-product of sugar cane juice, is used to produce bio-ethanol to be used as fuel in vehicles.     

The chemistry of the Beavon sulfur removal process

The Beavon Sulfur Removal Process (BSRP) removes essentially all of the sulfur compounds from Claus plant tail gases. The sulfur containing compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide, are converted to sulfur in over 99.9% efficiency. The BSRP consists of two stages. In the first stage the various sulfur compounds are either hydrogenated or hydrolyzed to give hydrogen sulfide while in the second stage the hydrogen sulfide is oxidized using the Stretford process to give elemental sulfur of good quality. The process is a commercial success with 29 plants operating or under construction in the United States and 4 in Japan. This process can also be utilized in Synthetic Natural Gas plants, natural gas processing, and other similar applications.     

Principles and issues in radiological ecological risk assessment

This paper provides a bridge between the fields of ecological risk assessment (ERA) and radioecology by presenting key biota dose assessment issues identified in the US Department of Energy's Graded Approach for Evaluating Radiation Doses to Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota in a manner consistent with the US Environmental Protection Agency's framework for ERA. Current radiological ERA methods and data are intended for use in protecting natural populations of biota, rather than individual members of a population. Potentially susceptible receptors include vertebrates and terrestrial plants. One must ensure that all media, radionuclides (including short-lived radioactive decay products), types of radiations (i.e., alpha particles, electrons, and photons), and pathways (i.e., internal and external contamination) are combined in each exposure scenario. The relative biological effectiveness of alpha particles with respect to deterministic effects must also be considered. Expected safe levels of exposure are available for the protection of natural populations of aquatic biota (10 mGy d(-1)) and terrestrial plants (10 mGy d(-1)) and animals (1 mGy d(-1)) and are appropriate for use in all radiological ERA tiers, provided that appropriate exposure assumptions are used. Caution must be exercised (and a thorough justification provided) if more restrictive limits are selected, to ensure that the supporting data are of high quality, reproducible, and clearly relevant to the protection of natural populations.     

长江经济带旅游业碳排放效率的综合测度与时空分异

以长江经济带为研究对象，运用DEA-SBM模型和Malmquist-Luenberger指数法，对2001～2016年长江经济带旅游业碳排放效率进行综合测度，从静态和动态的视角考察其旅游业碳排放效率的时空分异特征，并进一步探讨了效率变化的影响因素。结果显示:（1）2001~2016年间长江经济带旅游业碳排放效率的平均值为0.672，距离最佳生产前沿面还存在32.8%的提升空间。研究期内其旅游业碳排放效率ML指数均值为1.092，年均增长9.2%。不同时期的效率变化值表现出较大的波动性；（2）长江经济带旅游业碳排放效率的时空分异特征明显，上游地区呈现出低效率、低增长的特征，中游地区表现为中效率、高增长的特点，下游地区则呈现出高效率、中增长的特征；（3）长江经济带旅游业碳排放效率的增长主要源于技术水平的进步，技术效率对旅游业碳排放效率的贡献相对较小。不同区域旅游业碳排放效率变化的影响因素差异较大。     

生态恢复过程中的种群遗传学考虑

生态恢复是生态科学的最终实验,从种群角度看,恢复的目标是使种群（尤其是优势种或建群种）到具有生长、繁殖和适应进化变化的能力。要达到这个目标,种群遗传学知识必不可少。遗传变异是物种适应变化环境的基础,而局部适应则是种群适应局部环境遗传分化的结果,它们在生态恢复中起着重要的作用。分析了生态恢复过程中影响种群遗传变异因素,主要有取样误差和小种群效应（主要是瓶颈或建立者事件及其以后的近交和漂变等）,在进行     

The United States Department of Energy's Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships program: a collaborative approach to carbon management

This paper reviews the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP) concept, which is a first attempt to bring the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) carbon sequestration program activities into the "real world" by using a geographically-disposed-system type approach for the U.S. Each regional partnership is unique and covers a unique section of the U.S. and is tasked with determining how the research and development activities of DOE's carbon sequestration program can best be implemented in their region of the country. Although there is no universal agreement on the cause, it is generally understood that global warming is occurring, and many climate scientists believe that this is due, in part, to the buildup of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) in the atmosphere. This is evident from the finding presented in the National Academy of Science Report to the President on Climate Change which stated "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, ...". In the United States, emissions of CO(2) originate mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels for energy production, transportation, and other industrial processes. Roughly one third of U.S. anthropogenic CO(2) emissions come from power plants. Reduction of CO(2) emissions through sequestration of carbon either in geologic formations or in terrestrial ecosystems can be part of the solution to the problem of global warming. However, a number of steps must be accomplished before sequestration can become a reality. Cost effective capture and separation technology must be developed, tested, and demonstrated; a database of potential sequestration sites must be established; and techniques must be developed to measure, monitor, and verify the sequestered CO(2). Geographical differences in fossil fuel use, the industries present, and potential sequestration sinks across the United States dictate the use of a regional approach to address the sequestration of CO(2). To accommodate these differences, the DOE has created a nationwide network of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP) to help determine and implement the carbon sequestration technologies, infrastructure, and regulations most appropriate to promote CO(2) sequestration in different regions of the nation. These partnerships currently represent 40 states, three Indian Nations, four Canadian Provinces, and over 200 organizations, including academic institutions, research institutions, coal companies, utilities, equipment manufacturers, forestry and agricultural representatives, state and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and national laboratories. These partnerships are dedicated to developing the necessary infrastructure and validating the carbon sequestration technologies that have emerged from DOE's core R&D and other programs to mitigate emissions of CO(2), a potent greenhouse gas. The partnerships provide a critical link to DOE's plans for FutureGen, a highly efficient and technologically sophisticated coal-fired power plant that will produce both hydrogen and electricity with near-zero emissions. Though limited to the situation in the U.S., the paper describes for the international scientific community the approach being taken by the U.S. to prepare for carbon sequestration, should that become necessary.     

野生与栽培大别山五针松小枝功能性状变异特征

木本植物小枝功能性状及其变异性是反映植物环境适应性的重要指标。濒危植物大别山五针松(Pinus dabeshanensis)野生型和栽培型种群长期生长在不同生境，其小枝功能性状是否具有显著差异性尚不清楚。以安徽岳西县和金寨县大别山区分布的2个野生和2个栽培种群为研究对象，通过野外调查取样对比分析了不同种群小枝形态、生物量及含水量等12个功能性状的差异性及其协变特征。结果表明：小枝性状变异系数在0.054~0.419之间，野生型一般高于栽培型。小枝性状在不同种群间均有显著差异，其中栽培幼株小枝的茎直径、茎截面积、分枝数、胸径、针叶长度、茎生物量和小枝总生物量均最低，但其茎长和叶茎比最大；栽培成株的茎直径、截面积及茎、叶含水量最高；岳西野生型植株小枝最短而其他性状处中等水平；金寨野生型植株针叶最长但茎含水量、叶生物量及叶茎比最小。不同种群小枝性状协变特征不尽相同，但有8个性状在不同种群间表现出相同的协变趋势。因此，不同生境下大别山五针松小枝功能性状虽然具有较强的变异性，但其协变关系具有一定的种内保守性。     

How does government environmental regulation “unlock” carbon emission effect?—evidence from China

ABSTRACT

The disordered emission of carbon dioxide is an important sign of market failure, making it a must to “unlock” the high emission effect of carbon dioxide by effective means. From the perspective of technological innovation, on the basis of the data of time series from 1985 to 2014 in Beijing, China, this article empirically analyzed the relationship between environmental regulation and carbon emissions through VAR model, impulse response function, and variance decomposition. It is concluded that in a short term, environmental regulation has an inhibitory effect on carbon emissions and technological innovation and has a positive effect on industrial structure. In a long term, environmental regulation can enhance the technological innovation and reduce the effect of carbon emissions, which may even eliminate it. Generally, environmental regulation and technological innovation have a greater impact on carbon dioxide emissions, while the industrial structure has a relatively small effect. Finally, the targeted countermeasures and suggestions are put forward.     

江苏省沿海地区经济发展与碳排放相关性研究

与能源结构和能源效率因素相比,经济发展对人均碳排放的影响最为显著.以江苏省沿海地区能源消费情况为基础,研究得出地区碳排放、人均碳排放,并且1999-2008年该地区碳排放量与人均碳排放量的增加趋势一致.选取人均GDP来代表经济增长数据,人均CO2排放代表碳排放数据,借助环境库兹涅茨曲线(EKC)模型来分析江苏省沿海地区经济发展与CO2排放之间的关系和演变态势.根据环境库兹涅茨曲线研究江苏省沿海地区经济发展与人均碳排放之间的关系,相关性研究结果表明,最优拟合模型中参数α0为0.245 7,α1为3.658 14e-5,α2为1.318 32e-8,α3为-3.298 09e-13,所以根据模型设定判断得出:1999-2008年间江苏省沿海地区人均碳排放置和人均GDP并不符合标准的环境库兹涅茨曲线(倒U型)关系,而是表现为三次方曲线模型.同时,依据人均碳排放量的变化特征,将江苏省沿海地区人均碳排放分为两个阶段:1999-2006年,人均碳排放量随着经济的增长持续增加;2006-2008年人均碳排放量随经济增加趋势变缓.     

Variation among chlorine concentration ratios for native and agronomic plants

Variation among plant/soil concentration ratios (CRs) for important radionuclides requires attention because it is a major source of uncertainty in nuclear environmental safety assessments. For agronomic plants, variation among plant species is easy to deal with because there are relatively few species. In natural settings, there are vastly more species and the question becomes how to develop representative statistical distributions of CRs. Chlorine (Cl) is a good element with which to address this problem, because ³⁶Cl is a key radionuclide in nuclear waste disposal and yet stable Cl is easily measured in the environment. We measured CRs (dry weight basis) for Cl among edible parts of agronomic plants at one site, and found a geometric mean (GM) of 10, a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 1.9 and a range of 5–66. When the GM was weighted by the relative contributions of the various plants to the human diet, it rose to 16. Among native plants at five sites, each site representative of a specific environment, the GMs were 4.0–13 and the GSDs were 2.9–6.2. The CRs for individual species ranged from 0.8 to 170. However, when weighted by relative contributions of the plants to selected animal diets, the GMs were as high as 50. The conclusions are that: the variation in CR for agronomic plants is a subset of the variation among native or all plants, variation among species (the GSD) can be sixfold, and variation among species is large enough that typical diets of specific animals could expose them to several-fold higher amounts of Cl (or ³⁶Cl) than expected from generic CR values.     

The Social Meaning of Carbon Dioxide Emission Trading Institutional Capacity Building for a Green Market in Costa Rica

Forests offer good possibilities for the sequestration of carbon dioxide. This service can be commodified by the introduction of carbon (dioxide) credits, which can be traded on a carbon market. The premise of this paper is that the traditional economic view on the construction of these carbon markets is a too simplistic one, particularly, because it neglects the social meaning of a carbon market for developing countries. From their viewpoint as suppliers of carbon credits such a market has a broader meaning. It must be seen as a social mechanism for improving both the living conditions of local people and a more encompassing improvement of the environment than climate as such. What initially might be labelled as a carbon market might better be understood as a more encompassing 'green market'. The agreement between Costa Rica and Norway, officially known as the Reforestation Conservation Activities Implemented Jointly Project (RFCAIJP) represents a clear example of a green market. In this paper, we study the development, characteristics and benefits of that market, asking the question what lessons can be learned from this first practical experiences. More specifically we focus on the conditions that have made this type of agreement successful.     

When experts disagree: the need to rethink indicator selection for assessing sustainability of agriculture

Sustainability indicators are well recognized for their potential to assess and monitor sustainable development of agricultural systems. A large number of indicators are proposed in various sustainability assessment frameworks, which raises concerns regarding the validity of approaches, usefulness and trust in such frameworks. Selecting indicators requires transparent and well-defined procedures to ensure the relevance and validity of sustainability assessments. The objective of this study, therefore, was to determine whether experts agree on which criteria are most important in the selection of indicators and indicator sets for robust sustainability assessments. Two groups of experts (Temperate Agriculture Research Network and New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard) were asked to rank the relative importance of eleven criteria for selecting individual indicators and of nine criteria for balancing a collective set of indicators. Both ranking surveys reveal a startling lack of consensus amongst experts about how best to measure agricultural sustainability and call for a radical rethink about how complementary approaches to sustainability assessments are used alongside each other to ensure a plurality of views and maximum collaboration and trust amongst stakeholders. To improve the transparency, relevance and robustness of sustainable assessments, the context of the sustainability assessment, including prioritizations of selection criteria for indicator selection, must be accounted for. A collaborative design process will enhance the acceptance of diverse values and prioritizations embedded in sustainability assessments. The process by which indicators and sustainability frameworks are established may be a much more important determinant of their success than the final shape of the assessment tools. Such an emphasis on process would make assessments more transparent, transformative and enduring.     

Ecological issues related to ozone: agricultural issues

Research on the effects of ozone on agricultural crops and agro-ecosystems is needed for the development of regional emission reduction strategies, to underpin practical recommendations aiming to increase the sustainability of agricultural land management in a changing environment, and to secure food supply in regions with rapidly growing populations. Major limitations in current knowledge exist in several areas: (1) Modelling of ozone transfer and specifically stomatal ozone uptake under variable environmental conditions, using robust and well-validated dynamic models that can be linked to large-scale photochemical models lack coverage. (2) Processes involved in the initial reactions of ozone with extracellular and cellular components after entry through the stomata, and identification of key chemical species and their role in detoxification require additional study. (3) Scaling the effects from the level of individual cells to the whole-plant requires, for instance, a better understanding of the effects of ozone on carbon transport within the plant. (4) Implications of long-term ozone effects on community and whole-ecosystem level processes, with an emphasis on crop quality, element cycling and carbon sequestration, and biodiversity of pastures and rangelands require renewed efforts.The UNECE Convention on Long Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution shows, for example, that policy decisions may require the use of integrated assessment models. These models depend on quantitative exposure-response information to link quantitative effects at each level of organization to an effective ozone dose (i.e., the balance between the rate of ozone uptake by the foliage and the rate of ozone detoxification). In order to be effective in a policy, or technological context, results from future research must be funnelled into an appropriate knowledge transfer scheme. This requires data synthesis, up-scaling, and spatial aggregation. At the research level, interactions must be considered between the effects of ozone and factors that are either directly manipulated by man through crop management, or indirectly changed. The latter include elevated atmospheric CO(2), particulate matter, other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, UV-B radiation, climate and associated soil moisture conditions.     

Effects on non-human species inhabiting areas with enhanced level of natural radioactivity in the north of Russia: a review

Results of long-term radioecological investigations in areas with an enhanced level of natural radioactivity in the north of Russia are summarized. Deleterious changes within animal and plant populations inhabiting areas with an enhanced level of natural radioactivity in the Komi Republic were revealed. These changes are expressed in enhanced levels of mutagenesis, destructive processes in the tissues of animals, disturbances of reproductive functions and reduced offspring viability. Compensatory processes, resulting in animal and plant survival under extremely adverse conditions of radium and uranium-radium contamination, were observed as well. However, obvious signs of adaptation failed to be detected. The findings suggest that adverse somatic and genetic effects are possible in plants and animals in the dose range observed at sites with an enhanced level of natural radioactivity. In contrast, different plant species inhabiting an area with an enhanced level of natural radioactivity in the taiga zone of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) reveal a stimulation of growth processes, photosynthesis, endogenous low molecular weight antioxidant synthesis as well as adaptive response. It is apparent from the data presented that naturally occurring differences in terrestrial radiation level could be of genetic and ecological consequence.     

Examining Community Perceptions of Energy Systems Development: The Role of Communication and Sense of Place

An increasing demand for the development and implementation of low carbon energy systems has furthered the need to understand the factors that influence a community's support for or opposition to local energy developments. Carbon dioxide capture and geological storage (CCS) is one such energy system where it is widely acknowledged that public perceptions and acceptance of CCS technologies are critical to their implementation. CCS refers to the capture of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources and the long-term storage of these emissions in stable underground reservoirs. This case study examines how place attachment and community networks factored into resident's perceptions of a proposed CCS project that was ultimately canceled due to local opposition. Participants were concerned about preserving shared places, spaces, and interactions that were valued by community members. Results demonstrate the need to ascertain how locally affected populations view CCS or other energy developments, especially with regard to their ideas about community, sense of place (ties to area and local relationships), and how they communicate about those factors. Such factors are important given the initiative to develop low carbon energy systems in rural areas.     

近56 a来中国东部地区雨涝事件时空演变特征

采用1961~2016年1 638站的雨涝次数和雨涝日数年值数据,利用多种数理统计方法,诊断中国东部地区雨涝事件时空演变规律。结果表明：（1）在时间上,1961~2016年中国东部地区的年总雨涝次数和雨涝日数均在波动中呈现出增加趋势。在年代际变化上,1990s的雨涝次数和雨涝日数最多,而1960s~1980s,中国东部地区的雨涝次数和雨涝日数均呈减少趋势。中国东部地区年雨涝次数和雨涝日数存在6 a和30 a的周期振荡特征,并在1991年发生突变。（2）在空间上,1961~2016年中国东部地区气候态和各年代的雨涝次数和雨涝日数主要集中分布在华南、云南西部和南部、江西北部、浙江南部、福建北部、湖南和重庆交界地区、四川北部和辽宁东部地区。（3）在变化趋势和波动特征空间分布上,1961~2016年中国东部地区雨涝次数和雨涝日数在东南沿海地区呈明显增加趋势,而1961~2016年中国东部雨涝次数和雨涝日数波动特征则呈东南低-西北高的空间分异格局。     

Specific Features of Interactions between the Active and Passive Population Components in Some Life Forms of Flowering Plants

The soil banks of disseminules (seeds in therophytes and dormant tubers or bulbs in geophytes) can serve as genetic reserves of populations and contribute to the maintenance of a high variation level in the material presented to natural selection. Populations of the liliaceous geoephemeroid Fritillaria meleagroidesmanifest each year no more than fragments of variation, which can be observed in plants of active subpopulations. The differences in individual activity rhythms accounted for statistical significance of the difference between the samples taken from the same population in different years.     

Psychological and sociological approaches to study risk perception

Technological progress and its impacts on humankind has caused an increasing awareness of risk, and objective, statistical estimations are often inadequate to alleviate the public's fright and fear. Research on risk perception using psychological and sociological approaches is trying to bridge this gap. As a first step, a distinction must be made between the technical definition of risk (probability X consequences) and the social definition, in which additional parameters (source, dimensions, timeframe, exposure) need to be included. The methodology of risk assessment, though objective by design, is limited in the interpretability of its results, if the calculation of consequences does not take public perceptions and social effects into account. The problems and advantages of risk assessment are discussed, and the key question for risk perception research are presented. Various techniques are available to study risk perception and attitudes towards risk; selection of a specific technique is determined by the objective of the research, namely sociological implications or psychological cognitions. Several empirical studies in both areas are presented and the results discussed.