聚合氯化铝与黏土的改性对富营养水体磷和蓝藻的同步去除

为了解决富营养化水体原位除藻、除磷同步安全进行的问题,采用黏土(凹凸棒土,AT)与聚合氯化铝(PAC)的复合改性,研究了原料本身(AT、PAC)、原料直接复配(AT+PAC)与复配后再改性处理(PHAT)之间的除磷与除藻效果、铝离子与氯离子的残留风险,并对其中的机理进行了初步探讨.结果表明,改性的PHAT和PAC除磷效率高,总磷去除率可达99.14%±0.31%,显著优于AT+PAC,但PHAT的成本仅为PAC的71.10%.PAC去除无机磷(IP)和可溶性总磷(DTP)的效果更优,PHAT去除有机磷(OP)和颗粒态磷(PP)的效果更优.投加PHAT后水体Al3+和Cl-残留量均符合国家饮用水标准.PHAT对蓝藻的去除率显著高于PAC和AT+PAC,去除率可达97.15%±1.35%,且对低密度蓝藻和高密度蓝藻的去除率差异不显著.比表面积测定结果显示,来源于PHAT中的AT比来源于AT+PAC中的AT单点比表面积提高了19.10%,孔表面积提高了11.13%.且来源于PHAT中的AT在处理富营养化水体前、后的Al含量明显减少.这些结果表明,由黏土结构的优化与络合沉淀的协同所增强的架桥网捕作用可能是PHAT更高效除磷、除藻的原因.     

人工湿地处理富营养化水体的效果研究

通过在北京市野生动物救护中心构建表流湿地与潜流湿地相结合的复合人工湿地处理富营养化水体,研究该复合人工湿地对总氮（TN）、总磷（TP）及水体浊度的去除效果。结果表明：人工湿地对TP的去除效果好于对TN的去除效果,经过人工湿地处理的富营养化水体,表流湿地、潜流湿地和复合人工湿地对TP的平均去除率可分别达42%、55%、60%,对TN的平均去除率分别为27%、30%、34%,对水体浊度的平均去除率分别达43%、55%、75%。复合人工湿地对TP、TN以及浊度的去除效果受水体温度和溶解氧（DO）的影响,通过相关性分析发现,TP、TN和浊度的去除量与水体中的DO水平之间存在显著的负相关性,而与水体温度有正相关性,在显著性水平为0.05的条件下,相关系数分别为-0.829、-0.767、-0.765和0.674、0.757、0.774。复合人工湿地对TP、TN及浊度的去除率高于表流湿地和潜流湿地,表明复合人工湿地具有优于表流湿地和潜流湿地的整体性功能,能有效提高人工湿地对TN、TP以及浊度的去除率。     

水力空化联合臭氧氧化灭藻技术的实际应用

在小试和中试试验的基础上,研制了一套水力空化联合臭氧灭藻及净化富营养化水体的工业化水处理系统。在工程运行中,比较了优化条件下复合空化-臭氧、正压空化-臭氧、抽吸空化-臭氧和单独臭氧氧化工艺以及孔板孔径对水体中叶绿素a、浊度、UV254、COD以及氨氮等的处理效果。同时,还对复合空化-臭氧和单独臭氧氧化工艺的臭氧利用率、臭氧和单位能耗的净化效率等经济技术指标进行了比较。结果表明,采用复合空化-臭氧工艺在10或5 m3·h-1处理能力下稳定出水期叶绿素a平均去除率分别达44.5%和88.9%,单位能耗分别为0.89和1.78 k W·h·m-3。同时,浊度、UV254及COD等指标均明显下降,其他各项经济技术指标也均显著优于单独臭氧氧化工艺。因此,利用水力空化-臭氧工艺能快速有效灭藻并去除叶绿素,遏制水华产生,减少因水华爆发及藻死亡引起的生态破坏和经济损失。     

藻毒素在传统净水工艺中的去除特性

通过模拟试验及水厂实测数据，考察了传统制水工艺对微囊藻毒素的去除规律，结果表明：富营养化原水预氮化会导致藻细胞内的毒素释于水中，混凝沉淀通过去除藻类而去除细胞内藻毒素，但对细胞外的溶解性藻毒素无去除作用，过滤与氯消毒可去除部分细胞外藻毒素，对细胞内藻毒素的去除作用较弱，传统制水工艺不能保证出水藻毒素达标，必须采取预处理和深度处理措施。     

乙酸钙不动杆菌对富营养化景观水体的净化作用

利用乙酸钙不动杆菌(Acinetobacter calcoaceticus),在室内采用投菌法对富营养化景观水体进行预处理试验研究.通过不同的投菌量ф=0.05×10-3、0.1×10-3、0.2×10-3,对水体进行处理,结果表明,乙酸钙不动杆菌对富营养化水体中的总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、CODcr,均有一定的去除效果,其中在投菌量为O.1×10-3时处理效果最好.通过进一步的连续投菌净化试验,水体中的TN、TP、CODcr显著降低,处理后,水体中叶绿素a的质量浓度为19.1 mg·m-3,去除率为83.7%,藻类基本得到控制.由此可见,乙酸钙不动杆菌能够有效性地去除水体中的有机物、氮、磷,因此具有净化富营养化水体的作用.     

陆生蔬菜浮床对富营养化水体氮磷的去除以及水体、根系细菌群落分析

为了探究陆生蔬菜浮床对富营养化水体氮、磷去除效果以及对微生物群落和反硝化作用的影响,利用16S rDNA高通量测序和定量PCR(qPCR)技术,在分析水质理化指标的基础上,对富营养化水体中氮、磷营养元素以及微生物群落和功能基因的变化开展研究。结果表明,陆生蔬菜浮床对TP和NH₄⁺的去除效果较为突出,水芹、生菜和青菜处理组对TP的平均污染负荷去除率(分别为57.13%、46.91%和40.86%)优于对照组(25.46%);水芹和生菜处理组对NH₄⁺的平均负荷去除率(分别为51.30%和48.16%)高于对照组(27.23%)。对16S高通量测序属水平优势菌种的分析结果表明,蔬菜浮床系统根系表面均富集红杆菌属(Rhodobacter)来进行反硝化;水芹和生菜根系表面会富集大量噬氢菌属(Hydrogenophaga)来增强氢自养反硝化作用;芽单胞菌属(Gemmatimonas)在青菜周围水体和水芹、生菜根系表面较高,该菌属会将N₂O转化为N₂,实现完全反硝化。...     

垂直潜流人工湿地净化北方微污染水体试验研究

为研究垂直潜流人工湿地对北方微污染水体中COD、氮和磷的去除效果及去除机理,在室内选用混合土(由炉渣与种植土按比例混合而成)、石英砂和陶粒作为填料,以天津当地常见植物黄花鸢尾为植被构建了垂直潜流人工湿地处理微污染景观湖水和雨季的初期雨水;除冬季冰封期暂停运行外,通过对系统不同季节运行数据的分析,考察了不同季节环境条件下垂直潜流人工湿地对我国北方城市微污染水体的净化效果及影响因素。结果表明:不同季节条件下,该系统对污染物均有着良好的去除效果和抗冲击负荷能力。微污染景观水和雨季初期雨水经垂直潜流人工湿地系统处理后,出水COD、NH4+-N及TP的质量浓度可分别优于GB 3838—2002《地表水环境质量标准》的IV类、III类和II类水质标准(研究阶段进水TP≤0.80 mg·L-1),COD、NH4+-N和TP的阶段平均去除率最高可分别达80%、91%和82%;TN的去除效果受季节变化波动较大,阶段平均去除率在32%~78%,温度较低季节或原水水质较差时有待处理水回流或辅加其他技术手段以提高脱氮效果。垂直潜流人工湿地对北方微污染水体有着较好的净化效果,能够有效地预防地表水体富营养化的发生,有利于城市水环境质量的改善和水资源的循环利用,具有良好的发展应用前景。     

固定化藻膜去除水中氮磷的模拟研究

针对富营养化水体生物修复和污水深度处理氮磷的去除,将细颤藻、水绵、水网藻、栅裂藻固定在纤维填料上,形成固定化藻膜。用固定化藻膜处理模拟富营养化湖水、实际富营养化湖水、城市污水二级出水、低质量浓度生活污水,考察固定化藻膜去除氮磷的效果。实验结果表明,固定化藻膜具有良好的去除磷、氨氮能力,对水中有机物去除也有一定的促进作用。对TP质量浓度小于5.0mg·L-1,NH4 -N质量浓度小于34.0mg·L-1的污染水体,四种藻膜都有良好的去除氮磷能力,其中栅裂藻去除TP、NH4 -N的能力最强。综合除污能力和藻细胞的可固定性,水绵应是最佳的备选藻种。研究结果显示,固定化藻膜具有良好的除污性能,预示了悬浮载体将在水体生物修复、氧化塘污水处理方面具有重要的潜在应用价值。     

人工介质富集附着生物对富营养化水体的净化作用

研究了人工介质富集附着生物对富营养化水体中藻类及氮、磷营养物质的去除特性,以及不同水深、水体流速和溶解氧、温度、pH等理化性质对去除效果的影响.结果表明,在静态水体条件下,组合人工介质富集附着生物对于NH4+ -N、TN、TDN、NO3- -N、TP、TDP和PO43- -P平均去除率分别为98.90%、45.15%、42.78%、38.13%、76.18%、80.11%和87.02%,藻类叶绿素a(Chl-a)含量则降低了63.53%.随着水深的增加,藻类Chl-a含量下降速度减缓,但对氮、磷营养物质的去除影响不大.随着水体流速的增加,即由静态水体转变为流速为200 L·h-1的动态水体,藻类Chl-a含量降低程度有所增加,TP和TDP去除率也有所增加,其中,静态和动态水体中Chl-a含量分别降低了63.53%和72.17%,TP去除率由76.18%增至85.13%,TDP由80.11%增至83.76%;TN去除率由45.15%降至32.02%,TDN由42.78%降至28.73%;对于NO3- -N,静态对照去除率为38.13%,而动态处理去除效果不佳;而NH4+-N和PO43--P去除率变化不大,NH4+-N由98.90%变为98.59%,PO43--P由87.02%变为86.13%.水体DO、温度、pH等理化性质特别是p(DO)对净化效果亦有一定影响.     

不同水生植物对滇池入湖河道污水净化效能的比较

有关水生植物净化污水的研究已有广泛报道,但现有成果多来源于静态的室内研究,所用植物多为生活型接近的物种.为了比较不同生活型植物对河道污水的原位净化效果差异,构建了由水芹菜(Oenanthe javavdnica)、马尾草(Equisetum flu-viatile)、伊乐藻(Elodea Canadensis Michx.)和狐尾藻(Myriophyllum verticillatum L.)等4种不同生活型水生植物组成的水生植物塘系统,研究塘中不同植物对滇池入湖河道污水中氮、磷等指标去除效能的差异.结果表明:4种植物都具有一定的抗水力冲击负荷能力,能适应河道污水水质和水量均不稳定的动态变化特征,并对污水中CODCr、NH3-N、NO3-N、TN和TP等指标均有去除作用;但各种植物对不同指标的去除能力有较大差异,其中浮水植物水芹菜和沉水植物狐尾藻综合净化效能较强.整个植物塘系统对CODCr的去除率最高,达到41.4%;而对NO3-N的去除率最低,只有5.7%.研究成果对滇池人湖河流及其它类似污染水体的生态治理具有示范作用.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation

Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.