改性TiO2光催化膜的制备及其光催化降解2,4-DCP的研究

利用活性炭粉末对TiO2光催化剂进行改性,并对2,4-二氯苯酚进行光催化降解.结果表明,改性后TiO2光催化剂的光催化活性较之改性前有很大的提高.在pH=10,活性炭粉末掺杂量为10mg·ml-1时,300W高压汞灯下光催化降解120min,2,4DCP的去除率可达96.75%.     

光电协同催化降解2-氯-4-甲氧基苯酚

以2-氯-4-甲氧基苯酚作为模型物,以TiO2为催化剂,低压汞灯作为光源,采用外循环悬浮态多相光催化反应体系,考察紫外光与电场协同催化降解的影响因素,实验结果表明,2-氯-4-甲氧基苯酚初始浓度为0.0125mmol·l-1,TiO2用量250mg·l-1,循环流量20L·h-1,pH值为10,外加偏压3V,曝气,反应时间270min时,2-氯-4-甲氧基苯酚降解率可达到98.7%.     

氨及其氧化产物对TiO_2/ACF光催化降解甲苯的影响

利用自制的复合材料二氧化钛/活性炭纤维(TiO2/ACF)和自行设计的环境模拟舱,对吸附在TiO2/ACF上的甲苯和氨进行了光催化降解研究。重点考察了氨及其氧化产物对甲苯光催化降解的影响。结果表明,在254 nm紫外灯照射下,氨与甲苯产生竞争光催化降解效应,甲苯光催化降解效率降低;NO2-和NO3-是氨光催化氧化产物,NO2-进一步氧化抑制甲苯降解,而NO3-的存在对甲苯降解没有明显影响;氨及其氧化产物均未导致催化剂失活。     

高铁酸钾氧化降解硝基苯水溶液

采用高铁酸钾氧化降解硝基苯水溶液,研究表明,反应时间、pH值、高铁酸钾投加量、硝基苯水溶液浓度4个因素都会对硝基苯的降解效果产生影响.硝基苯水溶液浓度为55mg·l~(-1)时,初始pH=7-9,高铁酸钾投加量n_(k_2FeO_4):n_(C_6H_5NO_2)10:1,反应时间30min为最优反应条件,硝基苯去除率达到85%左右,COD_(Cr)去除率达到55%左右.通过对反应产物的分析,推测硝基苯首先被高铁酸钾氧化为对硝基苯酚,再进一步被氧化开环生成终产物.     

TiO_2纳米管的制备和光催化降解有毒有机污染物

采用水热法制备TiO2纳米管,利用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)对TiO2纳米管进行表征.并以有机染料罗丹明B(RhB)和2,4-二氯苯酚(2,4-DCP)进行光催化反应,结果表明,TiO2纳米管催化剂对RhB和2,4-DCP有很好的降解效果.通过紫外-可见光谱(UV-Vis)、红外光谱(FTIR)分析和总有机碳(TOC)测定,发现TiO2纳米管/UV体系能使RhB和2,4-DCP发生有效的降解,反应12h后,RhB和2,4-DCP的矿化率分别达到100%和97.12%.同时,采用辣根过氧化物酶(POD)、N,N-二乙基对苯二胺(DPD)分光光度法和苯甲酸荧光光度法分别测定了降解过程中H202和羟基自由基(·OH)的变化,表明TiO2纳米管光催化机理涉及到·OH历程.     

油酸铵改性的高活性TiO2/V-TiO2复合光催化剂的制备及光催化降解甲基橙的研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法,将经过油酸铵改性的掺钒二氧化钛粉末投入到纯TiO2溶胶中,烘干、煅烧,制得带有n-n异质结半导体结构的复合型高活性掺钒二氧化钛光催化剂,并通过XRD、TEM、XPS等技术对样品进行了表征。通过对甲基橙溶液的光催化降解实验来考察TiO2/V-TiO2催化剂的光催化活性。结果表明：TiO2/V-TiO2复合催化剂拥有比纯TiO2更高的光催化活性。其中,V的掺杂摩尔分数为0.5%、TiO2：V-TiO2的质量比为10∶1的最佳复合催化剂,其光催化活性是纯TiO2的5.1倍。     

油酸铵改性的高活性TiO_2/V-TiO_2复合光催化剂的制备及光催化降解甲基橙的研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法,将经过油酸铵改性的掺钒二氧化钛粉末投入到纯TiO2溶胶中,烘干、煅烧,制得带有n-n异质结半导体结构的复合型高活性掺钒二氧化钛光催化剂,并通过XRD、TEM、XPS等技术对样品进行了表征。通过对甲基橙溶液的光催化降解实验来考察TiO2/V-TiO2催化剂的光催化活性。结果表明:TiO2/V-TiO2复合催化剂拥有比纯TiO2更高的光催化活性。其中,V的掺杂摩尔分数为0.5%、TiO2:V-TiO2的质量比为10∶1的最佳复合催化剂,其光催化活性是纯TiO2的5.1倍。     

H2O2热氧化降解硝基苯废水的机理和动力学

利用H2O2为氧化剂,高温密闭条件下对硝基苯废水进行了降解研究.通过正交实验,分析了氧化剂种类、硝基苯初始浓度、反应温度和反应时间对硝基苯降解率的影响.利用HPLC分别对降解过程产物进行了分析,实验结果表明:H2O2在密闭高温条件下形成的自由基攻击硝基苯分子,硝基苯降解过程按硝基苯→硝基酚类→二氧化碳和水的途径进行,降解过程中产生的微量邻、间、对硝基酚类物质不会累积.H2O2在反应过程中消耗不显著,具有相对的化学稳定性.H2O2热氧化硝基苯的降解反应符合一级动力学方程,反应表观速率常数K表观=0.0073 min-1.     

TiO2固定薄膜光催化剂的制备与表征

以钛板为基材,制备TiO2固定薄膜光催化剂.X射线衍射法表征结果表明,TiO2半导体光催化剂主要呈锐钛矿晶型,平均晶粒尺度为35.7nm.电子扫描显微镜法表征结果显示,光催化剂表面形态均匀、致密,TiO2与Ti板结合紧密、牢固.电化学法表征结果显示,光催化剂为n型半导体,外加电场将极大地促进光生电子和空穴的分离,有利于光催化氧化技术效率的提高.苯甲酰胺降解试验表明,外加电场对光催化氧化技术具有较强的辅助作用,电助光催化氧化技术的处理效率远远高于光催化氧化技术,当施加的电极电位为-0.05V(SCE)时,苯甲酰胺在120min时的去除率可达95%.     

LaVO_4/TiO_2光催化复合材料对芥子气模拟剂2-氯乙基乙基硫醚的降解性能

通过可见光响应半导体的复合,成功提高了TiO2对芥子气模拟剂2-CEES降解的光催化活性.TiO2在掺杂1wt%LaVO4时可见光催化活性最高,LaVO4/TiO2在24 h后对甲苯的降解率仍然保持在70%以上,对0.24 g·L-12-CEES的太阳光催化降解率较商业化TiO2提高20%.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Human Influence and Classical Biogeographic Predictors of Rare Species Occurrence

Biogeographic theory predicts that rare species occur more often in larger, less‐isolated habitat patches and suggests that patch size and connectivity are positive predictors of patch quality for conservation. However, in areas substantially modified by humans, rare species may be relegated to the most isolated patches. We used data from plant surveys of 81 meadow patches in the Georgia Basin of Canada and the United States to show that presence of threatened and endangered plants was positively predicted for patches that were isolated on small islands surrounded by ocean and for patches that were isolated by surrounding forest. Neither patch size nor connectivity were positive predictors of rare species occurrence. Thus, in our study area, human influence, presumably due to disturbance or introduction of competitive non‐native species, appears to have overwhelmed classical predictors of rare species distribution, such that greater patch isolation appeared to favor presence of rare species. We suggest conservation planners consider the potential advantages of protecting geographically isolated patches in human‐modified landscapes because such patches may represent the only habitats in which rare species are likely to persist. Influencia Humana y Predictores Biogeográficos Clásicos de la Ocurrencia de Especies Raras     

Seasonal dynamics of macro-algae in the South Lake of Tunis

The macro-algae communities observed in the south lake of Tunis are characterized by the predominance of nitrophilous algae which are in the order of biomass importance:Ulva, Cladophora andEnteromorpha. We have noted seasonal changes of alga distribution. The wind appears to be one of the most important factors influencing this distribution. The total biomass reaches a maximum in the spring. Rapid decomposition of the biomass leads to a severe ecological imbalance, resulting in crises of anoxia and fish death. A restoration project has already started. It aims at removal of contaminated muds and the introduction of a new circulation system. The main objectives of this work were to collect information on the distribution and biomass of the phytobenthic communities as a first step in the constitution of a database for further comparison.     

Patterns and biases of climate change threats in the IUCN Red List

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments rely on published data and expert inputs, and biases can be introduced where underlying definitions and concepts are ambiguous. Consideration of climate change threat is no exception, and recently numerous approaches to assessing the threat of climate change to species have been developed. We explored IUCN Red List assessments of amphibians and birds to determine whether species listed as threatened by climate change display distinct patterns in terms of habitat occupied and additional nonclimatic threats faced. We compared IUCN Red List data with a published data set of species’ biological and ecological traits believed to infer high vulnerability to climate change and determined whether distributions of climate change‐threatened species on the IUCN Red List concur with those of climate change‐threatened species identified with the trait‐based approach and whether species possessing these traits are more likely to have climate change listed as a threat on the IUCN Red List. Species in some ecosystems (e.g., grassland, shrubland) and subject to particular threats (e.g., invasive species) were more likely to have climate change as a listed threat. Geographical patterns of climate change‐threatened amphibians and birds on the IUCN Red List were incongruent with patterns of global species richness and patterns identified using trait‐based approaches. Certain traits were linked to increases or decreases in the likelihood of a species being threatened by climate change. Broad temperature tolerance of a species was consistently related to an increased likelihood of climate change threat, indicating counterintuitive relationships in IUCN assessments. To improve the robustness of species assessments of the vulnerability or extinction risk associated with climate change, we suggest IUCN adopt a more cohesive approach whereby specific traits highlighted by our results are considered in Red List assessments. To achieve this and to strengthen the climate change‐vulnerability assessments approach, it is necessary to identify and implement logical avenues for further research into traits that make species vulnerable to climate change (including population‐level threats).     

Parasitic wasps orient to green leaf volatiles

Summary Undamaged plants emit low levels of green leaf volatiles (GLVs), while caterpillar-damaged and artificially damaged plants emit relatively higher levels of certain GLVs. Female braconid parasitoids,Microplitis croceipes, oriented to both damaged plants and to individual GLVs in no-choice tests in a wind tunnel, but seldom oriented to undamaged plants. Female ichneumonid parasitoids,Netelia heroica, also oriented to individual GLVs in a wind tunnel. Males of both wasp species failed to orient to the GLVs. These data show that leaf-feeding caterpillars can cause the release of GLVs, and that parasitic wasps can respond to these odors by flying upwind (chemoanemotactic response), which brings the wasps to their caterpillar hosts. This supports the hypothesis that plants communicate with members of the third trophic level,i.e., plants under herbivore attack emit chemical signals that guide natural enemies of herbivores to sites of plant damage. In this interaction, the GLVs serve as tritrophic plant-to-parasitoid synomones. That parasitoids from two different wasp families oriented to GLVs suggests that the response may be widespread among the Hymenoptera.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture