冰封期湿地沉积物碳、氮、磷分布及污染评价

为研究冰封期湿地沉积物污染的变化规律和主要来源,采集了包头南海湿地南海湖中20个点位的沉积物,研究分析总有机碳(TOC)、总氮(TN)和总磷(TP)的空间分布特征,并对其污染进行评价.结果表明,随着采样深度的增加,沉积物污染物的含量均在逐渐降低,且在表层中累积明显;水平分布主要受进出水口、人类活动、水体流动、外源输入、沉积物-水界面物质交换等影响,呈现一定规律.沉积物中C/N均值为10.44,说明南海湖有机物主要以外源有机质为主.此外,由相关性分析得出,沉积物中TOC、TN、TP含量两两具有极显著正相关关系(P0.01,n=20),由此说明C、N、P具有同源性.由评价结果可知,高寒旱区湖泊与其他平原浅水湖泊的碳、氮、磷沉积特征存在明显差异.     

滇池湖滨带沉积物氮形态的空间分布

2008年4月在滇池全湖湖滨带布设23个采样点并采样,通过测量该23个表层沉积物样和16个柱状沉积物样(0～15 cm)的总氮、氨氮、硝氮和有机氮质量分数,揭示滇池湖滨带沉积物氮的李间分布.研究表明:滇池湖滨带各点位表层沉积物总氮平均质量分数为1 667mg·kg-1,低于湖区沉积物,湖滨带对湖水中氮的吸收与净化是重要原因之一.草海的污染水平高于外海,滇池外海湖滨带沉积物污染状况由北向南衰减,但南部海口出湖区湖滨带属于滇池出水口区域,其沉积物氮质量分数高于中度富营养的外海,而低于重度富营养的草海.草海和外海湖滨带沉积物总氮质量分数在2008-1992、1992-1975、1975-1960年3个时间段平均值分别为2 889.07、3 343.68、4010.20和896.57、655.37、845.01 mg·kg-1.,草海湖滨带沉积物中有机氮是总氮的主要组成部分,总氮与氨氮、硝氮、有机氮之间的相关性良好,各种形态的氮与总氮在分布情况上密切相关.而外海湖滨带沉积物中总氮仅与有机氮的相关性很好,两者的分布趋于一致,但各种形态的氮间相关性较弱、分布差异较大.     

模拟氮沉降对木荷人工幼林地土壤氮素、碳素和微生物量垂直分布的影响

以NH4NO3作为氮源,对广州东北郊木荷（Schima superba）人工幼林地进行模拟氮沉降处理,共设置3个氮沉降水平,分别为N0（N：0 g·m-2·a-1）、N5（N：5 g·m-2·a-1）以及N10（N：10 g·m-2·a-1）,每月进行喷施。在连续施氮22个月（当月当次施氮5天后）对土壤氮素（硝氮、氨氮、总氮）、碳素（总碳）以及微生物量（脂磷）在0~60 cm土层中的垂直分布进行研究。结果显示：在3个氮沉降水平下,随着土层加深,pH呈现出下降的趋势,氮沉降存在加剧土壤酸化的风险;在N0、N5、N10水平下,土壤全氮和总碳的垂直分布趋势大体一致,随着土层加深,其含量下降,但在深层土壤（40~60 cm）中,施氮与对照比较,总碳呈现一定的增加趋势;除40~50 cm土层,N5、N10水平下的硝态氮含量在各个深度土壤中都表现为比对照组要高,氮沉降导致土壤一定程度上硝态氮的积累;在浅层土壤（0~20 cm）中,铵态氮水平较低并且其含量明显低于对照组,而在较深的土层中铵态氮有较多的积累,说明存在污染地下水的风险;N5和N10水平下,无机氮比例（无机氮含量与总氮含量之比）在各个深度土壤中总体高于N0水平;用脂磷含量表征土壤微生物含量,结果表明外加氮源对微生物含量有显著性影响,在N5、N10水平下,微生物含量在30~40 cm土层中出现峰值。     

水源生态净化系统沉积物中营养盐空间分布特征及污染评价

对盐龙湖水源生态净化系统预处理区、挺水植物区、沉水植物区及深度净化区沉积物中营养盐内源负荷及氮、磷的形态空间分布特征展开研究,并评价不同单元沉积物营养盐污染状况.结果表明:盐龙湖表层沉积物总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、有机质(OM)含量范围分别为156. 43—1130. 00 mg·kg~(-1)、615. 23—1580.66 mg·kg~(-1)、5.00%—49.04%.盐龙湖TP含量在预处理单元的沉积物中最高(1508.09 mg·kg~(-1)),在挺水植物区B的沉积物中最低(932.30 mg·kg~(-1)),而TN和OM含量都在挺水植物区A的沉积物中达到顶峰(1126.91 mg·kg~(-1),48.89%),在深度净化区的沉积物中最低(272.47 mg·kg~(-1),5.23%).闭蓄态磷(Abs-P)的含量占总磷(TP)比例最多(75.3%—82.3%),易解析磷(Exch-P)占TP比例均不超过1%;顺水流方向,铁结合态磷(Fe-P)和铝结合态磷(Al-P)含量呈下降的趋势,而Exch-P和钙磷(Ca-P)呈U字型先减后增.弱酸可提取态氮(WAEF-N)占可转化态氮(TTN)比例最高(45.3%—68.94%),强氧化剂可提取态氮(SOEF-N)占TTN比例最低(10.45%—19.08%),沉积物TTN中各形态氮含量分布次序为弱酸可提取态氮(WAEF-N)强碱可提取态氮(SAEF-N)离子交换态氮(IEF-N)强氧化剂可提取态氮(SOEF-N).通过单一因子标准指数法、综合污染指数、有机氮和有机指数法进行评价,发现在预处理区和挺水植物区A营养盐污染最严重,其他处理单元也有不同程度的污染,深度净化区污染程度最低.     

乌梁素海叶绿素a与理化因子的统计分析

利用2008年6月—10月乌梁素海水体叶绿素a浓度与环境理化因子的测定结果,分析了叶绿素a的时空分布特征.运用分层聚类分析法将乌梁素海现有的20个测点分成四类,找出各类测点及总测点中与叶绿素a显著相关的理化因子,建立了多元逐步回归方程.2008年乌梁素海各测点叶绿素a的平均值为6.31 mg.m-3,变幅1.54—26.87 mg.m-3;夏季最高,秋季居中,春季最低,整个区域呈现较明显的东北高西南低的分布趋势.应用SPSS统计分析软件进行相关分析的结果表明叶绿素a与BOD5、悬浮物、浊度、总磷都呈极显著相关,与透明度呈极显著负相关,与pH值和溶氧呈显著负相关.综合逐步回归方程表明,影响乌梁素海叶绿素a的理化因子因不同类型的测点各有所不同,但主要的影响因子有浊度、悬浮物、总磷、总氮、硝酸盐氮和亚硝酸盐氮.     

高原深水湖泊程海氮磷形态分布特征及其与叶绿素a的相关性

湖泊水体氮、磷形态分布特征及其与藻类生长的关系是湖泊富营养化研究的重要方面。采用GPS定位,在程海湖设置了3个断面9个采样点,研究了氮、磷形态分布特征,并分析了各形态氮磷与叶绿素a的相关性。结果表明：总氮（TN）质量浓度为0.773 mg.L-1,总磷（TP）质量浓度为0.046 mg.L-1,叶绿素a质量浓度为0.024 mg.L-1。氮素的赋存形态特征是以溶解态总氮（DTN）占大部分,DTN中又以溶解态有机氮（DON）占绝大部分;磷素的存在特点是溶解态无机磷（DIP）含量比重较大。各形态氮、磷都有明显的季节性波动但区域性差异不明显,叶绿素a则有明显的季节节律和时空差异。叶绿素a很好地响应了总氮（TN）、总磷（TP）、溶解态总氮（DTN）、溶解态总磷（DTP）、颗粒态总氮（PTN）、颗粒态总磷（PTP）的变化。程海富营养化受氮和磷共同限制,控制富营养化必须同时削减氮和磷。     

闽北建溪流域表层沉积物营养元素分布特征及生态风险评价

为了解闽江上游流域沉积物环境的现状,本文研究闽北建溪流域表层沉积物中营养元素的分布特征及生态风险,描述了表层沉积物中有机碳(TOC)、总氮(TN)和总磷(TP)的含量分布,运用单因子指数法进行生态风险评价,并分析碳、氮、磷的比例,阐述其相关关系及其环境意义.结果表明,沉积物中TOC、TN和TP的含量均值分别为3.05%、1858.05 mg·kg~(-1)和624.68 mg·kg~(-1),对多数底栖生物处于安全范围; TOC的单因子污染指数范围为2.0—5.8,TN污染指数范围为2.3—4.4,TP指数范围则为0.4—1.7,具有潜在的生态风险;沉积物营养元素比值中TOC/TN均值为16.9,TOC/TP均值为53.7,TN/TP均值为3.2,表明建溪流域沉积物营养元素受内、外源共同输入影响,且以外源作用为主导,其中林地营养物质输出是沉积物营养累积的主要原因之一.总体而言,建溪流域沉积物TN的生态风险较高且主要受流域面源排放影响,TOC与TP的生态风险较低.因此,应着重加强流域氮素面源污染调查并对重点污染源加以严控,减轻流域总氮的生态风险.     

重庆缙云山典型林分土壤有机碳密度特征

在全球气候变暖背景下,土壤有机碳库已经成为全球碳循环研究的重点之一.文章对缙云山针阔混交林、常绿阔叶林、毛竹林和灌木林土壤有机碳和C/N的特征进行了初步探索.结果表明,4种林分土壤有机碳含量和密度不同,且都随土壤深度增加有减少的趋势;其土壤有机碳密度的大小顺序为:灌木林(22.40 kg·m-2)>针阔混交林(12.02 kg·m-2)>毛竹林(10.09kg·m-2)>常绿阔叶林(7.97 kg·m-2).常绿阔叶林、针阔混交林和灌木林土壤有机碳主要存储于土壤Ⅰ层,其单位面积有机碳储量分别占总有机碳储量的82.18%、75.37%和68.17%;毛竹林土壤有机碳主要存储于土壤Ⅰ、Ⅱ层,这两层土壤单位面积有机碳储量占总有机碳储量的79.29%.4种典型林分的土壤C/N比也随土壤深度的增加呈现减少的趋势,与这4种林分土壤有机碳的剖面变化吻合,C/N平均值大小顺序为:灌木林(20.08)>毛竹林(9.18)>针阔混交林(8.85)>常绿阔叶林(3.00).     

太湖表层沉积物中多磷酸盐检出的环境意义

在氮限制型富营养化湖泊中,沉积多磷酸盐(Poly-P)可以用来示踪营养盐磷的输入和湖泊的富营养化过程。太湖是一个典型的磷限制型富营养化湖泊,通过对太湖表层沉积物中总有机碳(TOC)、总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、氢氧化钠可提取磷(NaOH-P)以及Poly-P的提取分析,初步探讨了太湖营养盐磷输入的历史记录,并揭示了该湖Poly-P的主要来源和保存机制。太湖Poly-P的质量浓度较低,变化范围为0.004~0.065mg·g-1。NaOH-P占TP组成的22%,是太湖沉积物总磷的主要组成部分之一。结果显示,在湖泊水体藻类生物量较大和NaOH-P是沉积物TP重要组成部分的磷限制型湖泊中,Poly-P也是沉积物磷汇组成的一个重要部分,同时还是一个可以反映由人为磷输入增大导致湖泊富营养化程度加剧的敏感指标。     

竹银水库库底氮磷营养盐释放潜力研究

竹银水库是珠海新建的目前最大的对澳门供水水库,总库容达4500×104 m3。氮和磷是浮游植物生长繁殖的主要限制性营养元素,氮、磷的供应很大程度决定着水生生态系统的初级生产力和有机质的微生物循环,而水体氮、磷营养盐的一个重要来源就是沉积物,即底泥。以竹银水库蓄水前库内不同区域的底泥为对象,对水库内代表不同区域的10个位点底泥进行采样,通过水库蓄水模型装置,模拟无氧条件下各区域底泥在蓄水后短期内向上覆水体释放氮、磷营养盐的情况,并对释放到水体中的总氮、总磷进行2天一次的定期监测,评估该水库底泥氮、磷营养盐的释放潜力。结果表明：竹银水库库底氮、磷营养盐的释放存在空间差异,农业种植区和畜牧养殖区附近的采样点具有较大的总氮和总磷释放潜力;各采样点的总氮平均释放潜力达15 g·m-3,总磷平均释放潜力达30 mg·m-3,磷释放的风险远低于氮,磷仍将是竹银水库最主要的限制性营养元素;预计该水库在蓄水后10 d内最多可释放近1.7×105 kg的氮和1.5×103 kg左右的磷,按满库容计算,则底泥营养盐的释放使水库水体氮、磷营养盐质量浓度分别提高4.25 mg·L^-1和0.038 mg·L^-1。建议对不同区域性质的底泥采取具有针对性的处理措施：对农业种植区与牲畜养殖场区域的底泥应以清淤为主,对于其他区域可采取底泥覆盖等技术降低其营养盐释放风险。     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.