The impact of the change in vegetation structure on the ecological functions of salt marshes: the example of the Yangtze estuary

Salt marshes worldwide are faced with threats from rising sea levels and coastal development. We measured changes in salt marsh vegetation structure using remote sensing and its consequences for carbon sequestration, wave attenuation, and sediment trapping ability using remotely sensed imaging, field measurement data, and the published literature data pertaining to the Yangtze Estuary, a rapidly urbanizing area in Eastern China. From 1980 to 2010, the total area of vegetated salt marsh decreased by 17 %, but the vegetation structure changed more dramatically, with the ratio of Phragmites/Spartina/Scirpus changing from 24:0:76, to 77:0:23, 44:13:43, and 33:39:28 in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010, respectively. Carbon sequestration increased slightly from 1980 to 2010, with the dramatic shifts in plant species composition. The total length of seawall inadequately protected by salt marsh vegetation increased from 44 km in 1980 to 300 km in 2010. Sediment accretion increased (from 8 to 14 million m³/year) due to the spread of Spartina, which to some extent compensated the loss of total vegetated area in the salt marsh. Changes in the delivery of functions were not linearly related to the change in the area of vegetated salt marsh, but more from the combined effect of changing vegetation structure, sediment input, and land reclamation. Under threat of sea-level rise, protection and maintenance of vegetation structure outside the seawall are of great importance for the safe economic development inside the seawall.     

The effect of greenhouse vegetation coverage and area on the performance of an earth-to-air heat exchanger for heating and cooling modes

The underground temperature at a depth of about 3–4 m is almost constant all the year round. In summer, the underground temperature is lower than the ambient temperature, but in winter it is vice versa. This potentiality is considered for greenhouse cooling and heating by using an earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE). This paper considers the effects of two parameters as independent variables including the area of greenhouse and the percentage of vegetation coverage inside the greenhouse on the performance of an EAHE system during both cooling and heating modes. The inside temperature, the thermal energy exchange and the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system were considered as dependent variables. The results showed that both greenhouse area and the percentage of vegetation coverage inside the greenhouse had significant effects on the performance of the EAHE system during both cooling and heating modes. However, the COP of the EAHE system was higher in the cooling mode (4.32) than during the heating mode (1.01). The percentage of vegetation coverage negatively affected the performance of the EAHE system in the cooling mode. However, the performance of the EAHE system improved with the increase in the percentage of vegetation coverage during the heating mode.     

The holocene dynamics of vegetation and environmental conditions on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals

Consideration is given to changes in the vegetation and climatic conditions on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals in the second half of the Holocene as reconstructed on the basis of integrated palynological, botanical, paleocarpological, and radiocarbon analysis of material from a peat bog section in the floodplain of the Loz’va River. The results show that the northern taiga zone of the study region in the period between approximately 5000 and 700 years BP was occupied by forests of southern taiga facies, as the climate was significantly warmer than it is today.     

The Holocene dynamics of vegetation and climatic conditions on the eastern slope of the Subpolar Urals

Changes in the vegetation and climatic conditions on the eastern slope of the Subpolar Urals over the past 10000 years have been reconstructed on the basis of integrated palynological, botanical, and radiocarbon analysis of material from two sections of peat deposits in the floodplains of the Lyapin and Man’ya rivers (the Severnaya Sos’va basin). The dynamics of regional vegetation have been traced: from the herb–shrub tundra in the late postglacial time to the spruce–larch forest–tundra and sparse larch–birch–spruce stands in the Early Holocene, to birch–pine–spruce forests with an admixture of fir in the Middle Holocene, and to northern taiga forests with dominance of Scots pine and Siberian stone pine (similar to present-day forests) in the Late Holocene. The results show that the northern taiga zone of the study region in the period between approximately 5500 and 2500 years BP was occupied by forests of middle and southern taiga facies, as the climate was significantly warmer than it is today.     

基于空间替代的环境规制产业结构效应研究

由于具有很强的外部效应,区域性是环境问题的主要特征之一。一个大的经济体内部差别化的环境保护政策容易导致环境敏感型产业在地区间的迁移,这一过程将引致地区之间产业结构的变迁。相对发达地区实行更加积极的环境保护措施,在产业的选择上限制污染型产业的发展,这势必将对原有污染型产业产生影响,加大环境保护投资、转行或者外迁是该区域内企业可能的选择。在环境政策不够严厉,产业的选择更为多样的地区,宽松的环境政策甚至是地方政府招商引资的一个优惠条件,则污染型产业是其发展的可能选择。本文通过对2003—2012年中西部19个省份11个污染型制造业工业总产值占全国比例结构的变迁进行实证检验,结果显示环境规制有非常明显的产业结构空间效应,存在对污染型制造业西迁的促进作用。区域差别性的环境政策确实突出了中西部地区的比较优势,使得环境污染密集型产业向西迁徙,实现了污染产业从中国东部向西部的空间替代。从空间的整体上看,也更有助于全面认识中国的产业升级现象。如果为了缩小地区发展差距,通过环保规制差异促进中西部地区的发展,而不是严格按照功能区进行分类环境保护和要素的自由流动,在这一过程中反映出来的产业结构变迁也是不健康的,东部地区的产业升级中的要素替代作用,尤其是技术进步的作用,无疑就会被夸大。看似中西部地区可能重新步入先发展后治理的老路,受到污染损害的仅是国家的另一片地区,但是由于中西部地区属于环境脆弱区和重要的水源上游,最终受伤害的将会是我们整个国家。     

Experience in quantitative analysis of floristic structure and diversity in Samarskaya Luka

Quantitative methods have been applied to the study of floristic structure and diversity in Samarskaya Luka. The results show that Samarskaya Luka is a floristically heterogeneous area in which six elementary floras can be distinguished. This area has been assessed as a floristically autonomous formation, and its floristic representativeness was estimated.     

Micromosaic structure and phytomass of ground vegetation in main types of dark conifer forests in the Pechora-Ilych state nature reserve

The micromosaic structure of plant communities in dark conifer forests of dwarf shrub-true moss, boreal small herb-true moss, tall fern, and boreal tall herb subsections was studied in the Pechora-Ilych reserve. A typological scheme of microsites was constructed and the alpha-diversity of plants was assessed in microsites of different types; dominant and high-constancy species were identified. The proportions of area occupied by different microsites in test plots were calculated, and amounts of aboveground and belowground phytomass were estimated for every vascular plant species, dominant moss species, and the moss synusia as a whole in microsites of each type.     

The influence of urbanization on vegetation carbon pools under a tele-coupling framework in China

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Carbon emissions will exacerbate the process of global warming, and urbanization can cause carbon loss from terrestrial ecosystems by occupying...     

Dynamics of vegetation in the tundra-taiga ecotone on the Kola Peninsula depending on climate fluctuations

The dynamics of northern forest boundary and the state of vegetation in the tundra-taiga ecotone in the northwestern Kola Peninsula have been evaluated using Landsat satellite images obtained in 1986 and 2005, the years encompassing the period of recent climate warming. Values of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in these years have been calculated to construct a differential index image reflecting changes in the vegetation. Its analysis has revealed an increase in the density of open forests and in the thickness of dwarf shrub vegetation, which has expanded to the lichen tundra.     

配额免费分配法下市场结构对碳交易市场运行效率的影响

在产品市场和碳交易市场均为完全竞争的市场结构中,碳交易机制是一种有效的环境政策,但在现实环境下,产品市场和碳交易市场往往都是不完全竞争的。本文采用复杂适应系统仿真的方法,构建基于SWARM的碳交易市场仿真模型,建立碳排放权交易市场仿真系统,研究产品市场和碳交易市场结构对碳交易市场的运行效率的综合影响,同时为了降低产品市场垄断企业对碳交易市场运行效率的影响,本文通过增加碳交易市场配额缺口和增加参与交易的中小控排企业数量两种方式,探寻如何在产品市场不完全竞争的环境中设计合适碳交易机制。研究发现:1产品市场垄断会导致碳交易市场流动性不稳定,出现波动聚集等现象。2在产品市场处于相同结构时,碳交易市场垄断会导致成交量和成交额减少,流动性降低。3不同市场结构对碳交易市场的价格波动没有显著影响。4产品市场的市场结构会影响碳交易市场运行的有效性,完全竞争的产品市场下,碳交易市场的收益波动符合随机游走,而垄断力会改变这一特征。5市场流动性随着碳配额缺口的扩大发生显著变化,成交量和成交额随之显著增加,在产品市场垄断的市场结构中,通过加紧配额供给,可以增加碳交易市场的流动性,改变碳交易市场低迷的交易状况。6鼓励小企业参与市场交易对碳交易市场的流动性没有产生显著影响,但会在一定程度上降低垄断企业在碳交易市场上的支配力,从而改善碳交易市场的有效性。     

西北地区城市化进程对产业结构演变的驱动效应研究

基于2005-2012年西北地区51个市(州/地)的面板数据,利用相关指标测度了西北地区城市化进程对产业结构演变的驱动效应,在对其时空演化基本趋势把握的基础之上,利用空间自相关检验及空间计量方法对其空间相关性和时空驱动路径进行了分析。研究结果显示:1西北地区城市化进程对产业结构演变的驱动效应整体程度较低,但大部分市(州/地)存在逐步增强趋势,城市化进程对产业结构演变的驱动效应日益凸显;2西北地区城市化进程对产业结构演变的驱动效应存在块状联接分布,且城市密集区的驱动效应增长较城市稀疏区更为明显,空间自相关检验显示西北地区城市化进程对产业结构演变的驱动效应空间相似值集聚,且低值集聚强于高值集聚,同时驱动效应的空间正向相关性呈下降趋势;3西北地区城市化进程中的经济发展水平、区域开发强度、区域开放程度以及产业集聚等因素对产业结构的演变具有一定的驱动效应,但西北地区经济发展水平低、财政支付能力弱、外向型程度不高和产业集聚水平低的现实,在很大程度上制约了驱动效应的强度;4本地城市化进程中的多重因素在不断驱动自身产业结构演变的同时,还存在驱动效应的空间交互影响,经济发展水平的空间溢出对产业结构演变有着最为强烈的正向驱动,但区域开发强度、区域开放程度以及产业集聚存在的空间竞争效应又在很大程度上弱化了这一驱动效应。未来在通过加速城市化综合进程进一步推动西北地区产业结构高级化的基础上,还需加强西北地区城际间的协调联动发展。     

The transfer of radionuclides from saltmarsh vegetation to sheep tissues and milk

Radionuclides released into the Irish Sea by the Sellafield reprocessing plant are deposited onto tide-washed pastures along the western coast of the United Kingdom. Many of these pastures are grazed by sheep or cattle. This paper describes a controlled feeding study, in which saltmarsh vegetation harvested from close to the Sellafield plant, was fed to lambs and adult female sheep for a period of 8 weeks. Activity concentrations of (60)Co, (95)Nb, (106)Ru, (134)Cs, (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239,240)Pu and (241)Am were determined in edible tissues and transfer parameters estimated. The activity concentrations of some of the radionuclides will not have been in equilibrium with those in the diet. Nevertheless, the study was reasonably realistic in terms of agricultural management as the period of the study was similar to that for which lambs graze on the saltmarshes. A field study to determine the activity concentrations of (137)Cs and (239,240)Pu in the milk of ewes grazing a saltmarsh close to Sellafield is also described.     

Land cover transitions and effects of transhumance on available forage biomass of rangelands in Benin

This study examined the effects of transhumance pressure on total abavoe-ground biomass and forage availability on rangelands in Benin. We also investigated the implications of land cover transitions on rangelands over a 31-year period. Our work was carried out in three regions of Benin representing distinct phytogeographic regimes: Ketou, Tchaourou, and Sinende. Ground-truthing and biomass sampling of the herbaceous and phanaerophyte strata were carried out between the 2016 peak vegetation period and the onset of the 2017 rainy season. Herbaceous biomass was determined by destructive sampling, and biomass of shrub and trees was estimated using non-destructive sampling and allometric equations. Historical and present-day Landsat data allowed an analysis of land cover change for the 1986–2002 and 2002–2017 periods. Land cover analyses yielded evidence of significant expansion of agricultural areas, especially in the latter period. The data also revealed progressive landscape fragmentation and transformations to a land cover of reduced total phytomass. There were no long-term effects of transhumance on trees, but likely on herbaceous biomass. Land cover changes in the study regions seem primarily the result of population pressure, infrastructural changes, persisting norms, and traditions regarding environmental management and the increasing popularity of livestock keeping as an insurance strategy. Rangeland transformations had negative impacts on transhumant herds’ mobility and forage availability. As rangeland stability and consent between agricultural and pastoral land users are at a tipping point, informed policies, and land use planning that foster compromises among all stakeholders are needed.

     

Evidence of response of vegetation to environmental change on high-elevation sites in the Swiss Alps

Climate change has in the past led to shifts in vegetation patterns; in a future, warmer climate due to enhanced greenhouse-gas concentrations, vegetation is also likely to be highly responsive to such warming. Mountain regions are considered to be particularly sensitive to such changes. In this paper we present an approach to assess the impact of climate change on long-term vegetation plots at the high-elevation site of the Schynige Platte, 2000 m above sea level, in the Bernese Alps (Switzerland). Records of vegetation spanning the period from 1928 to today at two different sites, each with several plots, were considered. The observed change in the species composition was then related to changes in land use and climate. We used daily values of temperature, snow and precipitation from several high-elevation weather stations to conduct these analyses. The correlation between climate and vegetation patterns revealed that species that prefer low thermal conditions move out of the plots, i.e., their frequency of occurrence is negatively correlated with the average number of degree-days over the last six decades. On the other hand, species with higher thermal demands are seen to be invading the plots, i.e., their frequency of occurrence is positively correlated to the average number of degree-days. Nutrient changes – though independent from climate – also play an important role in the observed shifts in species. Received: 20 June 1999 · Accepted: 14 January 2000     

Plutonium in sheep faeces as an indicator of deposition on vegetation

In order to study the deposition on vegetation of plutonium arising from the testing of nuclear weapons and discharges from nuclear facilities, sheep faeces were collected from the South-west and North of England. The plutonium content of faeces has been shown to be a reproducible and sensitive indicator of deposition on herbage and, with this technique, plutonium discharged from the Sellafield Works of British Nuclear Fuels LImited can be detected 60 km from the site. On moorland pastures the concentration of ^239+240Pu in faeces, expressed as activity per gram of ash, is roughly equal numerically to the deposit of plutonium on 1 m² of vegetation.Some of the plutonium ingested by a grazing sheep is absorbed and the highest concentrations are found in liver. The liver of a sheep grazing on pasture where the ^239+240Pu concentration in faeces was about 2 pCi (74 mBq) g⁻¹ of ash, was found to contain <1% of the Generalised Derived Limit for mutton and offal, and the meat <0·001%.     

First data on the Middle to Late Holocene dynamics of vegetation in the Upper Kama region

A detailed palynological record and the results of radiocarbon dating of sediments from the Dedyukhinskii floodplain massif in the vicinity of Lake Chashkinskoe (the Upper Kama region; 59°23′ N, 56°34.5′ E) have been used to reconstruct basic stages in the Middle to Late Holocene dynamics of vegetation. The results show that in the Atlantic period broadleaf tree species played a secondary role in forest formations of taiga and subtaiga types. Broadleaf–conifer forests became dominant in the Subboreal period, with fir widely spreading in the forests during its second half. During the Subatlantic period, forest formations acquired their recent taiga character.     

A model of vegetation pattern at the Verkhneussuriysky Biogeocenotic Station

A model of relationships between forest communities and basic parameters of environmental conditions, which is suitable for making prognostic maps of forest types, has been developed and tested on the territory of Verkhneussuriysky Biogeocenotic Station of the Institute of Biology and Soil Science. A comparative analysis of the spatial distribution of forest communities has been performed according to this model and to the large-scale map of recent forest vegetation on the territory of the station.     

The effect of iron on the biological activities of erionite and mordenite

Epidemiological data has demonstrated that environmental and/or occupational exposure to mineral particulates may result in the development of pulmonary fibrosis, bronchogenic carcinoma and malignant mesothelioma many years following exposure. It has been suggested that the genotoxic effects of fibrous particulates, such as asbestos, is due in part to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from iron associated with the particulates. However, the molecular mechanisms by which mineral particulates induce ROS that results in genotoxic damage remains unclear. The naturally occurring zeolites, erionite and mordenite share several physiochemical properties but they elicit very different biological responses, with erionite, a fibrous particulate, being highly toxic, and mordenite, a nonfibrous particulate, being relatively benign. We are using these natural zeolites as a model system to determine what physicochemical properties of these zeolites are responsible for their biological response(s) and to evaluate the parameters that influence these responses. The purpose of the present study was to determine the mutagenic potential of erionite and mordenite and to determine whether this mutagenic potential was modulated by iron. The results of this study using the Chinese hamster ovary cell line AS52 demonstrated that erionite was more cytotoxic than mordenite. However, the cytotoxicity of both zeolites was increased in the presence of physiological concentrations of ferrous chloride. Ferrous ions (5-20 microM) significantly (p<0.001) increased the cytotoxicity of mordenite, but only at the highest concentration (16 microg/cm(2)) of mordenite tested. Conversely, only the highest concentration (20 microM) of ferrous ion significantly (p<0.001) increased the cytotoxicity of erionite, but this enhanced cytotoxicity occurred over a wider concentration range (6-16 microg/cm(2)) of erionite. Mordenite was not mutagenic at any of the concentrations tested, and the mutagenic potential of mordenite was not enhanced by the addition of ferrous ion. Conversely, erionite was mutagenic in a dose-response manner at concentrations greater than 6 microg/cm(2) and the mutagenic potential of erionite was significantly enhanced by the addition of ferrous ions. These results suggest that while the cytotoxicity of mordenite and erionite may be related to the ability of these fibers to transport iron into a cell, the different coordination state of iron associated with the two fiber surfaces is critical for inducing genotoxic damage.     

The effect of complex formation on the adsorption characteristics of heavy metals

In most aqueous environmental systems, inorganic and organic metal complexes represent a significant contribution to the total soluble metal. Metal adsorption is often a highly pH-dependent phenomena. Such behavior can generally be attributed to changes in metal speciation with solution acidity as well as variation in the extent of surface protonation. Thus, because adsorbability may vary drastically between different metal species, (e.g. Cu²⁺ (aq) compared to CuOH⁺) a knowledge of metal species distribution is essential to understanding and interpreting metal adsorption behavior.Organic complexation has been reported to enhance, suppress and have no perceptible effect on trace metal adsorption. Such differences arise because adsorption depends on factors such as the ligand/metal ratio, adsorbability of the free ligand, and various solution parameters (e.g. pH). Most important in determining the effect of complexation on adsorption is the adsorbability of the resulting complexes. Thus, it is difficult to make generalizations about the influence of organic complexation on metal adsorption.Adsorption of metal complexes is frequently reported to be predominantly coulombic in nature; that is, binding of an anionic or cationic complex to an oppositely charged colloidal particle. However, electrostatic forces can often represent an insignificant contribution to the total free energy of adsorption and can be overshadowed by chemical reactions with the surface, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic effects.