Changes of surface water pollution of Suzhou region:a case study in Taicang County, China

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Changes of surface water pollution of Suzhou region: a case study in Taicang County, China

Environmental pollution is a by product of industrialization when economy of a region is developing. China also suffers from such a problem, especially in the southern part like Suzhou region in Jiangsu Province. In this paper, data covering situations of surface water pollution and social and economic development showed that the surface water pollution in Taicang County, a typical economic zone of Suzhou region, is significantly correlated to the economic growth of this region     

Prediction and coordination of the man-environment system—a case study in Jiaozuo City

In this paper, the new systematical theory and methodology have been applied to the research on the structure, development and coordination of man-environment system in Jiaozuo City. It has been proved that the application of self-organization theory of synergism is successful. Furthermore, on the basis of self-organization theory, a series of mathematical models have been established. The prediction of the status of man-environment system in Jiaozuo City by the year 2010, was made, and the trend of population growth, industrial development, environmental pollution were given. Finally, suggestions for the future development of Jiaozuo City were mentioned.     

Modeling of air quality with a modified two-dimensional Eulerian model： A case study in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region of China

A modified two-dimensional Eulerian air quality model was used to simulate both the gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations during October 21-24, 2004 in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region, China. The most significant improvement to the model is the added capability to predict the secondary organic aerosols （SOA） concentrations because of the inclusion of the SOA formation chemistry. The meteorological input data were prepared using the CALMET meteorological model. The concentrations of aerosol-bound species such as NO3^-, NH4^＋, SO4^2-, and SOA were calculated in the fine particle size range （〈2.5 μm）. The results of the two-dimensional model were compared to the measurements at the ground level during the PRD Intensive Monitoring Campaign （IMC）. Overall, there were good agreements between the measured and modeled concentrations of inorganic aerosol components and O3. Both the measured and the modeled results indicated that the maximum hourly O3 concentrations exceeded the China National Air Quality Standard. The predicted 24-h average SOA concentrations were in reasonable agreement with those predicted by the method of minimum OC/EC ratio.     

Evaluation of oasis ecosystem risk by reliability theory in an arid area： A case study in the Shiyang River Basin, China

Ecosystem risk is a new concept in understanding environmental problems. It is important to study and develop quantitative methods for regional ecosystem risk analysis. In this study, some new indicators and methods for measuring oasis ecosystem risk were established using reliability theory. These indicators are linked to water resource, which is the key restricting factor in arid area oasis ecosystems. They have clear meanings and can also be compared in different arid area oases. A case study in the Liangzhou oasis of the Shiyang River Basin in China shows how to calculate these ecosystem risk indicators. The results of the case study are as follows： the reliability indicator, risk indicator, stability indicator, and integrated loss indicator of the Liangzhou oasis are 0.686, 0.314, 0.743, and 0.301, respectively. This means that the reliability degree of the oasis＇s ecosystem safety is 68.6%; the degree of risk that it is unsafe is 31.4%; the stability degree is 74.3%; and 30.1% of the oasis＇s area is supported by over-exploiting underground water and damaging the lower reaches of the ecosystem. This result can be used as a guide in controlling and managing ecosystem risk in the research area.     

Landscape patterns and their evolutions in the suburban ecotone A case study of the eastern suburb of Beijing

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Bioaugmentation: a new strategy for removal of recalcitrant compounds in wastewater—a case study of quinoline

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Vertical and temporal distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus and relationship with their influencing factors in aquatic-terrestrial ecotone： a case study in Taihu Lake, China

Vertical and temporal distributions of N and P in soil solution in aquatic-terrestrial ecotone （ATE） of Taihu Lake were investigated, and the relations among N, P, ORP （oxidation reduction potential）, TOC, root system biomass and microorganism were studied. As a whole, significant declines in TN, NO3^--N, DON （dissolved organic nitrogen） and TP concentration in soil solution have occurred with increase of the depth, and reached their minima at 60 cm depth, except for NH4^＋-N, which increased with depth. The concentration of TP increased gradually from spring to winter in the topsoil, the maximum 0.08 mg/L presented in the winter while the minimum 0.03 mg/L in spring. In the deeper layer, the concentration value of TP fluctuated little. As for the NO3^--N, its seasonal variation was significant at 20 cm depth, its concentration increased gradually from spring to autumn, and decreased markedly in winter. Vertical and temporal distribution of DON is contrary to that of NO3^--N. The results also show that the variation of N and P in the percolate between adjacent layers is obviously different. The vertical variation ofTN, TP, NO3^--N, NH4^＋-N and DON is significant, of which the variation coefficient of NO3^--N along the depth reaches 100.23%, the highest; while the variation coefficient of DON is 41.14%, the smallest. The results of correlation analysis show that the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus correlate significantly with TOC, ORP, root biomass and counts of nitrifying bacteria. Most nutrients altered much from 20 to 40 cm along the depth. However, DON changed more between 60 and 80 cm. Results show that soil of 0-60 cm depth is active rhizoplane, with strong capability to remove the nitrogen and phosphorus in ATE. It may suggest that there exists the optimum ecological efficiency in the depth of above 60 cm in reed wetland. This will be very significant for ecological restoration and reestablishment.     

Training and communication in the implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001): a case study at the University of Gävle,Sweden

Training and communication are essential elements in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This study is based on two main questions: (i) What methods for training and communication will support the implementation of EMS at a university? and, (ii) How did faculty and staff perceive the training and communication activities? The study includes a literature review, a case study of methods for training and communication, and results of a semi quantitative survey of the perception of training and communication. All activities took place at the University of Gävle (Sweden). The University of Gävle was certified according to ISO 14001 in 2004. Practical experiences from the implementation of EMS in industry were used as reference.The literature review indicates that training is a key factor during implementation of EMS, and that training may change attitude and behaviour among managers and employees. Similar conclusions can be drawn from this study. The case study, and practical experiences from industry, indicate that similar methods of EMS training and communication can be shared by industry and universities. However, “academic freedom” and “critical thinking” may result in the need for more interactive training methods at a university than in industry. The results of the survey indicate that the training and communication have increased awareness of environmental issues. A deeper understanding of the personal role in the EMS was also observed. It can be concluded that the EMS training and communication team has a demanding task to introduce the concept of indirect environmental aspects at a university. Lecturers and researchers should be convinced that the greening of a college involves more than, for example, reducing the consumption of paper. The main role of EMS at a university should be to focus on indirect environmental aspects, for example, to introduce environmental and sustainability issues in courses and research.     

Improving flood risk analysis for effectively supporting the implementation of flood risk management plans: The case study of “Serio” Valley

The EU Flood Directive 2007/60 requires the assessment and delineation of flood risk maps. The latter should provide the required knowledge for the development of flood risk management plans (FRMPs), that should deal with all features of risk management: e.g. preparation, protection and prevention, comprising also the phase of the flood forecasting and warning systems, in addition to the emergency management. The risk maps, delineated through the expert-drive qualitative (EDQ) approach currently adopted in several European countries, such as Italy, fail to represent the information base that needed by stakeholders for selecting the suitable objectives and designing the appropriate mitigation actions for flood risk management. In the EDQ approach, the flood hazard and the potential damage degree maps are combined by means of a matrix to obtain a qualitative flood risk map. However, the performance of the risk matrix is not usually rigorous validated and, therefore, presents limits, such as subjective and not careful explained interpretation of rating and poor resolution, (due to range compression), that can produce errors in comparative ranking of risk areas. In this context, this paper proposes the FloodRisk approach that aims to improve the efficacy of flood risk map overcoming the limits of EDQ approach in supplying the knowledge base that allow to analyze costs and benefits of potential mitigation measures. However, the proposed approach is also able to involve the citizens in the flood management process, enhancing their awareness. An application of FloodRisk procedure is showed on a pilot case in “Serio” Valley, (North Italy), and its strengths and limits, in terms of additional efforts required in its application compared with EDQ procedure, have been discussed focusing on the efficacy of the outcomes provided for the fulfillment of FRMPs. The results have demonstrated the ability of FloodRisk, respect to EDQ approach, to distinguish successfully different levels of vulnerability of exposure elements, thanks to the use of asset value and depth-damage curves, that allows a suitably evaluation of the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies. In this light, a successfully application of a cost-benefit analysis of FloodRisk approach on a portfolio of alternative mitigation actions, (i.e. structural and non-structural measurements), has been demonstrated on the proposed study case. However, FloodRisk requires additional information, e.g. water depths assessment and assets values, and it needs a proper analysis and communication of the uncertainty in its results. Although they still exist limitations that impede, at present, the FloodRisk application without an adequate understanding and a critical consideration of the hazard, exposure and vulnerability characteristics of the study area, considerations are supplied on how the utilization of this approach can be maximized in the light of the next flood risk maps revision due by December 2019.     

Benefits of tropical forest management under the new climate change agreement—a case study in Cambodia

Promoting sustainable forest management as part of the reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries (REDD)-plus mechanism in the Copenhagen Accord of December 2009 implies that tropical forests will no longer be ignored in the new climate change agreement. As new financial incentives are pledged, costs and revenues on a 1-ha tract of tropical forestland being managed or cleared for other land use options need to be assessed so that appropriate compensation measures can be proposed. Cambodia's highly stocked evergreen forest, which has experienced rapid degradation and deforestation, will be the first priority forest to be managed if financial incentives through a carbon payment scheme are available. By analyzing forest inventory data, we assessed the revenues and costs for managing a hypothetical 1 ha of forestland against six land use options: business-as-usual timber harvesting (BAU-timber), forest management under the REDD-plus mechanism, forest-to-teak plantation, forest-to-acacia plantation, forest-to-rubber plantation, and forest-to-oil palm plantation. We determined annual equivalent values for each option, and the BAU-timber and REDD-plus management options were the highest, with both options influenced by logging costs and timber price. Financial incentives should be provided at a level that would allow continuation of sustainable logging and be attractive to REDD-plus project developers.     

Air pollution characteristics and their relationship with emissions and meteorology in the Yangtze River Delta region during 2014–2016

With rapid economic growth and urbanization, the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) region in China has experienced serious air pollution challenges. In this study, we analyzed the air pollution characteristics and their relationship with emissions and meteorology in the YRD region during 2014–2016. In recent years, the concentrations of all air pollutants, except O_3,decreased. Spatially, the PM_(2.5), PM_(10), SO_2, and CO concentrations were higher in the northern YRD region, and NO_2 and O_3 were higher in the central YRD region. Based on the number of non-attainment days(i.e., days with air quality index greater than 100), PM_(2.5) was the largest contributor to air pollution in the YRD region, followed by O_3, PM_(10), and NO_2.However, particulate matter pollution has declined gradually, while O_3 pollution worsened.Meteorological conditions mainly influenced day-to-day variations in pollutant concentrations. PM_(2.5) concentration was inversely related to wind speed, while O_3 concentration was positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity.The air quality improvement in recent years was mainly attributed to emission reductions.During 2014–2016, PM_(2.5), PM_(10), SO_2, NO_x, CO, NH_3, and volatile organic compound(VOC)emissions in the YRD region were reduced by 26.3%, 29.2%, 32.4%, 8.1%, 15.9%, 4.5%, and0.3%, respectively. Regional transport also contributed to the air pollution. During regional haze periods, pollutants from North China and East China aggravated the pollution in the YRD region. Our findings suggest that emission reduction and regional joint prevention and control helped to improve the air quality in the YRD region.     

Agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution control function of different vegetation types in riparian wetlands： A case study in the Yellow River wetland in China

Riparian wetland is the major transition zone of matter, energy and information transfer between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and has important functions of water purification and non-point pollution control. Using the field experiment method and an isotope tracing technique, the agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution control function of di erent vegetation types in riparian wetland was studied in the Kouma Section of the Yellow River. The results showed that the retention of agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution by riparian wetland soil occurs mainly in top 0–10 cm layer. The amount of nitrogen retained by surface soils associated with three types of vegetation are 0.045 mg/g for Phragmites communis Trin Linn, 0.036 mg/g for Scirpus triqueter Linn, and 0.032 mg/g for Typha angustifolia Linn, which account for 59.21%, 56.25%, and 56.14% of the total nitrogen interception, respectively. Exogenous nitrogen in 0–10 cm soil layer changes more quickly than in other layers. One month after adding K15NO3 to the tested vegetation, nitrogen content was 77.78% for P. communis Trin, 68.75% for T. angustifolia, and 8.33% for S. triqueter in the surface soil. After three months, nitrogen content was 93.33% for P. communis Trin, 72.22% for S. triqueter, and 37.50% for T. Angustifolia. There are large di erences among vegetation communities respecting to purification of agricultural non-point nitrogen pollution. The nitrogen uptake amount decreases in the sequence: new shoots of P. communis Trin (9.731 mg/g) > old P. communis Trin (4.939 mg/g) > S. triqueter (0.620 mg/g) > T. angustifolia (0.186 mg/g). Observations indicated that the presence of riparian wetlands as bu ers on and adjacent to stream banks could be recommended to control agricultural non-point pollution.