燃煤烟气脱硫副产物在酸性土壤上施用的效果--以豆科作物为例

研究了燃煤烟气脱硫副产物的农业利用价值，该物质在酸性土壤上施用对豆科作物的影响以及对环境的影响。研究结果显示，燃煤烟气脱硫副产物有很好的农业利用价值；在不同类型的红壤上，豆科作物适量施用脱硫副产物均有不同程度的增产和提高品质的效果，并能有效地改善土壤的理化性能；供试物中的重金属含量均没有超过国家的限量标准，故适量施用后，当造作物植株中检出的重金属均低于国家限量标准。     

燃煤烟气脱硫副产物的重金属环境行为

通过理化分析、盆栽生物试验及土壤淋溶试验，探讨了脱硫副产物的重金属农业环境行为。结果表明：燃煤烟气脱硫副产物中的总Pb、Cd、Cr、As、Se、Ni、Cu等指标，基本上都低于国标最高容许量和土壤环境质量二级标准，符合国家控制标准，但普遍高于土壤自然背景值含量。8～10g／kg土的供试物量处理，花生、萝卜、甘蔗和水稻的可食部分重金属均无超常累积现象，未导致农产品重金属的富集残留污染，不影响农产品安全品质。在表土层供试物量达到40g／kg条件下，土壤淋溶试验结果表明，施脱硫副产物未导致土壤淋滤液重金属污染，不可能通过降雨淋溶过程，渗透过1m左右的土层而污染地下水源。     

花生施用燃煤烟气脱硫副产物研究初报

主要研究了施用燃煤烟气脱硫副产物（石膏和粉煤灰）对花生性状的影响。结果表明,在广东浅海沉积砖红壤上,施用脱硫副产物对盆栽花生出苗、根系及其营养生长、花生花针生长发育等均产生一定的抑制作用;抑制程度与脱硫副产物施用量有关。但在添加1%、5%、10%的脱硫副产物条件下,花生根瘤数量及质量均比不施脱硫副产物的处理有成倍地增加,若添加量达到20%则会对根瘤生长繁殖产生明显的抑制。施用脱硫副产物提高了花生的产量,在施用量达到土壤质量1%的条件下,花生获得最高产量,且根瘤生长繁殖受到促进,故该施用量是该实验的最优处理。     

燃煤烟气脱硫副产物在酸性土上的农用价值与利用原理

燃煤烟气脱硫副产物作为废弃物对环境的潜在威胁,促使人们对其资源化利用研究的重视。文章针对红壤地区土壤普遍缺乏营养元素的问题,通过分析盆栽和田间试验结果,探讨燃煤烟气脱硫副产物在酸性土壤上的农用价值与利用原理。结果表明,燃煤烟气脱硫副产物富含作物所需的营养元素,而红壤地区土壤又普遍缺乏这些元素;它具有独特的形态特征和理化性能,在酸性土壤中可以产生协同效应,因而具极高的农用价值。在酸性土壤上适量施用,可以提高土壤养分含量,改善土壤理化性质,提高土壤供肥性能和持水能力,促进作物对养分的吸收,从而达到废弃物农业资源化利用的目的。     

砂页岩赤红壤磷肥活化效果及其机理研究

应用不同活化剂处理不同性质的磷肥，并对其在砂页岩赤红壤中的生物效应及作用机理进行了研究。结果表明，在砂页岩赤红壤上，施用供试的儿种经活化剂处理的磷肥均能显著提高蔬菜生物量。砂页岩赤红壤中的铁、锰质量分数与磷素的有效性有密切的关系，且在还原条件下，土壤铁、锰对磷的固定作用更大；硅、钙可促进土壤中磷的释放。供试活化剂不仅可促进难溶磷的释放，还可控制水溶性磷的释放，使土壤供磷性能平稳；有机活化剂的用量，用于难溶性磷促释时其质量分数为3％，用于水溶性磷控释时其质量分数约为14％。在土壤-植物体系中，活化剂对磷的促释和控释机理是它通过对土壤铁、锰、铝质量分数的调节而实现对磷的活化。     

垃圾肥在潮土上对花生的增产效果

在潮土上施用垃圾肥对花生产量和品质影响的研究结果表明，在较贫瘠的土壤上，垃圾肥单独或与Ｎ、Ｐ化肥配合施用，都有明显的增产效果：单独施用比对照增产率为９．３％～２９．１％，与化肥配合施用增产率为１０．８％～２０．５％。垃圾肥施用量在１５～３０ｔ／ｈｍ２时可获较高的增产效益。施用垃圾肥对花生仁中的粗蛋白质、粗脂肪和全磷含量有一定的提高。尽管所施用垃圾肥中含有一定量的有害元素，如Ｃｄ、Ｐｂ、Ｃｒ等，但花生仁中这些元素含量并不高，说明施垃圾肥是安全的。试验结果还表明；施用垃圾肥能提高土壤有机质、全氮以及有效Ｎ、Ｐ、Ｋ的含量。特别是有效微量元素含量提高幅度较大，Ｚｎ、Ｃｕ、Ｂ各处理平均是对照的２～１０倍，Ｆｅ、Ｍｎ、Ｍｏ比对照提高１７％～３８％。     

小麦秸秆生物质炭对水稻产量及晚稻氮素利用率的影响

选择湖南长沙红黄泥水稻土和江西进贤红壤性水稻土为供试土壤,研究小麦秸秆制生物质炭在20、40t.hm-2施入量水平下与氮肥配施对早、晚稻产量及晚稻氮素利用率的影响。结果表明,生物质炭与氮肥配施情况下,2个试验点不同生物质炭施用量处理间早稻产量均无显著差异,但进贤试验点生物质炭施用量为20和40t.hm-2处理晚稻产量分别比未施生物质炭对照提高5.18%和7.95%,而长沙试验点3个处理间晚稻产量无显著差异。在相同氮素水平下,当生物质炭施用量为40 t.hm-2时,2个试验点土壤有机碳含量与未施生物质炭对照相比最高增幅均在55%以上;施用生物质炭可提高酸性或弱酸性土壤pH值,降低土壤容重;施用生物质炭也可显著提高水稻氮肥利用率,在40 t.hm-2施用水平下,长沙和进贤试验点水稻氮肥吸收利用率分别提高20.33和17.58百分点,进贤试验点氮肥农学效率提高39.81%。在酸性土壤中施用生物质炭可提高氮肥利用率,保持水稻产量稳定或有一定的增产效果。     

含硫及含氯化肥对湘南水田土壤酸度和养分有效性的影响

1990年5—11月,在湖南祁阳中国农科院红壤实验站水稻田布置田间试验,研究结果证实,在早稻和晚稻生长期间,与含氯化肥相比,施含硫化肥更能降低土壤pH而使土壤酸化,因而在南方水田施用含硫化肥时,必须和石灰及生理碱性肥相配合。同时,施含硫化肥能提高土壤有效性磷和钾的含量,增强土壤保肥与供肥能力。对大田水样中养分离子监测的结果表明,施含硫化肥减少钾离子的淋失;而施含氯化肥则减少硝态氮的淋溶,提高水田氮肥的利用率。     

不同农业施肥制度对红壤稻田土壤磷肥力的影响

采用田间定位试验研究了几种不同农业施肥制度对红壤稻田土壤磷肥力的影响．结果表明：（1）在移耕农业、施化学N肥和NK胆施肥制下，农田系统磷素亏缺量大，7年间达140mg/hm2以上，土壤有效磷降低；（2）有机农业和施化学P肥施肥制可促进农田系统磷素平衡，改善土壤供磷状况，提高稻株含磷量和磷累积量；（3）在有权无机结合施肥制下，农田系统土壤磷素盈余量大，7年间共达200mg／hm2以上，并可改善土壤磷组分，增加土壤有效磷含量，促进水稻对磷的吸收．     

施N模式与稻草还田对土壤供N量和水稻产量的影响

通过田间试验研究了2 a定位试验后不同施N模式和稻草还田对双季稻作系统土壤供N能力和水稻生产的影响。结果表明:施用N肥显著增加土壤NH4 -N和可矿化N含量,显著提高稻田系统生产力,且随着稻草配合施用,施N效果更加明显。移走稻草情况下N肥增产率为30.3%~31.3%;稻草还田情况下,N2(全年施N量240kg.hm-2)处理N肥增产率为36.7%,1 kg纯N增产谷粒12.1 kg,均显著低于N1、N3(全年施N量180 kg.hm-2)处理,后者增产率为40.4%~41.1%,1 kg纯N增产谷粒17.7~18.0 kg,且N1、N3处理(施N量相同,但各时期施N比例不同)间差异不显著。配施N肥后稻草还田可以提高土壤供N能力,连续处理2 a,土壤可矿化N比移走稻草处理提高32.1%~50.0%。稻草还田时适当配施N肥增产效果明显,N1、N3处理下稻草还田增产率分别达8.7%和8.4%,而N2处理下稻草还田的表观增产效果降低,稻草还田增产率仅为5.1%。年稻草还田量为7 500 kg.hm-2的红壤稻田系统,年适宜配施N量为180 kg.hm-2,各时期施N优化比例为基肥30%,分蘖肥30%,穗肥40%。     

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.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.