Differential exposure of alpine ospreys to mercury: Melting glaciers,hydrology or deposition patterns?

Mercury (Hg) is a global contaminant impacting even remote environments. In alpine watersheds, glacial meltwater is a source of Hg, which accumulated in glaciers during the 1960–1980 cooling cycle. The considerable variation observed for Hg exposure of alpine animals in proximal watersheds could result from differences among those watersheds in Hg loading from glacial meltwater. Alternatively, variation may be the result of hydrology, atmospheric Hg deposition patterns, or food web characteristics. To examine those possibilities, we measured Hg in ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), apex predators in 15 watersheds in western Canada. Mercury levels in feathers of nestlings increased with increasing modeled atmospheric deposition rates and decreased with lake size. In eggs mercury decreased with δ¹³C, an indicator of food web structure, and with pH and elevation. Thus, Hg levels in chicks were strongly associated with local patterns relevant when the chicks were growing (e.g. the period post-snow melt: Hg deposition, lake size) while Hg levels in eggs were weakly associated with local patterns relevant during the snow melt (elevation, δ¹³C), with the remainder of the Hg variation in eggs determined by other factors such as possible Hg accumulation by the adult elsewhere. Modeled atmospheric deposition from prevailing upwind locations including Asia, followed by runoff into small lakes, were related to Hg patterns in osprey, with little apparent role for recent melting of glaciers. Our study highlights the importance of physical patterns to the environmental chemistry of top predators.     

农业面源污染现状与防治进展

通过对国内外农业面源污染研究资料的分析,认为农业面源污染的形式主要有:化肥污染、农药污染、农膜污染、秸秆燃烧污染、养殖业污染及水土流失等。农业面源污染导致了土地退化,在全世界不同程度退化的12亿hm2耕地中,约12%由农业面源污染引起;是河流和湖泊的重要污染源,导致美国40%的河流和湖泊水质不合格;是引起地表水氮、磷富营养化的主要因素,欧洲国家由农业面源污染排放的磷为地表水污染总负荷的24%-71%;中国的农业面源污染造成的水体氮、磷富营养化也显著超过来自城市的生活点源污染和工业点源污染。提出目前比较好的防治措施有:最佳农田管理措施、植被过滤带和人工湿地。建议我国控制农业面源污染必须从政策和法律上对农业生产活动进行规范,采用先进的理论和技术实行源头控制,并辅助以过程控制和末端控制。     

前置库技术在水库水源地面源污染控制中的应用

近年来,农业面源污染对水库水源地的水质保护形成了威胁。为防治环境污染,保护水库水源地水体的水质,充分发挥资源的生产潜力,对水库水源地保护区进行面源污染控制尤显重要。前置库技术因其费用较低,可以多方受益、适合多种条件等优点,是目前防治水库水源地保护区内面源污染的有效途径之一。在考虑水库水源地特有的地形特点及其面源污染的突发性、大流量等问题的基础上,阐述了前置库系统的组成并解释其水质净化机理,提出了前置库如何选址及其库容的确定,并对前置库内部生态系统及水生生物配套工程的建设加以分析说明,最后提出了前置库技术在应用过程中存在的局限性。这种因地制宜的水污染治理技术,对减少水库外源有机污染负荷,特别是去除入库地表径流中的氮、磷安全有效,具有广泛的应用前景。     

太湖辐射和能量收支的时间变化特征

湖泊的辐射和能量收支的观测研究对于气象学和水文学研究都具有重要的意义。于2012年采用涡度相关系统和小气候观测系统观测太湖表面的辐射平衡、湖泊与大气之间的感热和潜热通量、水温廓线和常规气象要素数据,分析太湖表面辐射及能量收支的时间变化特征以及环境控制因子。结果表明:(1)太湖2012年辐射收支四分量(向下短波辐射、向上短波辐射、向下长波辐射和向上长波辐射)的年均值分别为146.5、9.4、359.7和405.4 W/m~2,反照率的年均值为0.06,各辐射分量日变化和季节变化特征明显;(2)净辐射和热储量日变化趋势相同,正午最高,午夜最低;湍流能量通量的日变化幅度较小;不同天气条件下能量分配具有一定差别:晴天条件下能量分配以潜热通量为主,阴天净辐射能量主要被水体吸收转换为热储量;(3)通过分析湍流能量通量与环境因子的相关性发现:感热通量变化最主要的相关因子是风速与湖–气界面温度差的乘积;风速与湖-气界面水汽压的乘积是潜热通量的主要驱动因子。本研究结果能为边界层气象学、全球能量和物质循环以及湖泊生态环境治理等研究提供理论基础和数据支持。     

湖北省湖库洪水调蓄能力及其空间分异特征

湖泊是抵御湖区水系洪水灾害的天然屏障，而水库是现代防洪工程体系的重要组成部分，两者共同肩负着防洪减灾的重任。为探明湖北省湖库洪水调蓄能力，选取湖泊可调蓄水量、水库防洪库容作为评估指标，通过构建湖库洪水调蓄能力评估模型，分析全省湖库洪水调蓄能力及空间分异特征。结论如下：（1）湖北省湖泊、水库综合洪水调蓄量为416.02×108m3，其中湖泊可调蓄水量为79.69×108m3，水库防洪库容为336.33×108m3，分别占湖库洪水调蓄功能总量的19.16%和80.84%;（2）湖泊可调蓄水量较大的地区包括武汉、荆州、鄂州、黄石等地市以及鄂东丘陵、江汉平原，而单位面积湖泊调蓄洪水能力较强的地区为鄂州、黄石、咸宁、黄冈，其值分别为405.99×104、400.31×104、392.32×104和391.22×104m3/km2;（3）水库防洪库容较大的地区主要为鄂西山地的宜昌和十堰，分别为119.18×108m3和 103.03×108m3，占全省防洪库容总量的66.06%，而鄂州、天门和神农架水库防洪库容极小，不足全省水库总防洪库容的1%;（4）湖库综合调蓄能力空间分布特征与水库洪水调蓄能力空间分布相一致；从湖泊、水库洪水调蓄能力的构成来看，以湖泊防洪为主和以水库防洪为主的地市不相上下，水库在湖北省防洪体系中占绝对主体地位，同时湖泊也发挥着不可或缺的作用。针对湖泊萎缩、水库险病等突出问题，可以通过退田还湖、除险加固等工作提高湖库综合调洪能力。本研究可为湖北省湖库防洪建设提供科学指导。 关键词： 湖泊；水库；洪水调蓄功能；空间分异；湖北省     

Transfer of Cs into fish in small forest lakes

The transfer of ¹³⁷Cs into fish in seepage and drainage lakes from 1988 to 1992 was analysed using linear regression. Empirical results for ¹³⁷Cs in lake water and fish were used to calculate concentration factors (CFs). In the drainage lakes the CF decreased during the study period by 9% per year whereas in the seepage lakes the CF increased significantly by 4.3% per year. The transfer of ¹³⁷Cs into pike was significantly (1.6 times) higher than that into perch. The CF increased on average by 3.4% for each 1-cm increase in the median size of perch. The relationship between the water chemistry and the CF differed between clear-water seepage and brown-water drainage lakes.     

Does human activity impact the natural antibiotic resistance background? Abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in 21 Swiss lakes

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging environmental contaminants, known to be continuously discharged into the aquatic environment via human and animal waste. Freshwater aquatic environments represent potential reservoirs for ARG and potentially allow sewage-derived ARG to persist and spread in the environment. This may create increased opportunities for an eventual contact with, and gene transfer to, human and animal pathogens via the food chain or drinking water. However, assessment of this risk requires a better understanding of the level and variability of the natural resistance background and the extent of the human impact. We have analyzed water samples from 21 Swiss lakes, taken at sampling points that were not under the direct influence of local contamination sources and analyzed the relative abundance of ARG using quantitative real-time PCR. Copy numbers of genes mediating resistance to three different broad-spectrum antibiotic classes (sulfonamides: sul1, sul2, tetracyclines: tet(B), tet(M), tet(W) and fluoroquinolones: qnrA) were normalized to copy numbers of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. We used multiple linear regression to assess if ARG abundance is related to human activities in the catchment, microbial community composition and the eutrophication status of the lakes. Sul genes were detected in all sampled lakes, whereas only four lakes contained quantifiable numbers of tet genes, and qnrA remained below detection in all lakes. Our data indicate higher abundance of sul1 in lakes with increasing number and capacity of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the catchment. sul2 abundance was rather related to long water residence times and eutrophication status. Our study demonstrates the potential of freshwater lakes to preserve antibiotic resistance genes, and provides a reference for ARG abundance from lake systems with low human impact as a baseline for assessing ARG contamination in lake water.     

Comparative analysis of land use and lake water quality in rural and urban zones of south Chennai, India

Chennai city, the capital of Tamil Nadu state in South India, has been experiencing rapid expansion since the last two decades, resulting in major changes in land use and degradation of wetlands. Small lakes in the peri-urban areas face severe strain on their environment due to transition of rural to urban conditions, leaving at stake their aquatic health and intended uses. This paper studies the role of urbanization and land use changes in the water quality of peri-urban (Rajakilpakkam) and rural (Vengaivasal) lakes. Water samples were collected and analysed for temperature, total dissolved solids, major ions, nutrients and biological oxygen demand as per standard methods. The temperature, pH and biological oxygen demand did not differ between lakes, while total dissolved solids (p = 0.008), alkalinity (p = 0.000), total hardness (p = 0.001) and phosphate (p = 0.000) were significantly higher in Rajakilpakkam. Seasonal and spatial variations in water quality between the lakes showed the direct impact of rapid and uncontrolled growth of built-up areas in the catchment area, in enhancing waste water inflows with inorganic salts and nutrients in Rajakilpakkam lake compared with Vengaivasal lake. Urbanization of the catchment and encroachments in Rajakilpakkam lake tends to reduce the social interdependence of lake and community and promote disuse, leading to decline in water quality. The impending environmental costs caused by urbanization to these lakes will only be tackled, if the main issues of domestic and industrial discharges and encroachments are addressed properly.     

安徽省森林生态承载力及其重心迁移研究

以安徽省72个区县为研究样本,基于PSR(Pressure-State-Response)模型,运用熵权法与专家法确定综合权重,根据综合指数法计算森林生态承载力指数,并对2001～2016年安徽省森林生态承载力进行时空分析,同时在GIS技术支持下对安徽省县域森林生态承载力重心轨迹的演变规律进行研究.结果表明:安徽省森林生态承载力状况整体上得到了很大改善,全省大部分区县处于可载等级;政府林业投资强度、天然林保护面积占比、退耕还林面积占比、林分结构等指标权重较大;省内森林生态承载力水平分布不均衡,超载地区主要分布在皖北平原地区,可载地区则大多分布在皖西南山区;森林生态承载力重心在2001～2006年从西北向东南方向迁移,2006～2009年从东南向东北方向迁移,2009～2016再次向东南方向迁移,且迁移的速度明显加快.     

Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forest trees and forest ecosystems: knowledge gaps

Atmospheric CO(2) is rising rapidly, and options for slowing the CO(2) rise are politically charged as they largely require reductions in industrial CO(2) emissions for most developed countries. As forests cover some 43% of the Earth's surface, account for some 70% of terrestrial net primary production (NPP), and are being bartered for carbon mitigation, it is critically important that we continue to reduce the uncertainties about the impacts of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forest tree growth, productivity, and forest ecosystem function. In this paper, I review knowledge gaps and research needs on the effects of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forest above- and below-ground growth and productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, water relations, wood quality, phenology, community dynamics and biodiversity, antioxidants and stress tolerance, interactions with air pollutants, heterotrophic interactions, and ecosystem functioning. Finally, I discuss research needs regarding modeling of the impacts of elevated atmospheric CO(2) on forests.Even though there has been a tremendous amount of research done with elevated CO(2) and forest trees, it remains difficult to predict future forest growth and productivity under elevated atmospheric CO(2). Likewise, it is not easy to predict how forest ecosystem processes will respond to enriched CO(2). The more we study the impacts of increasing CO(2), the more we realize that tree and forest responses are yet largely uncertain due to differences in responsiveness by species, genotype, and functional group, and the complex interactions of elevated atmospheric CO(2) with soil fertility, drought, pests, and co-occurring atmospheric pollutants such as nitrogen deposition and O(3). Furthermore, it is impossible to predict ecosystem-level responses based on short-term studies of young trees grown without interacting stresses and in small spaces without the element of competition. Long-term studies using free-air CO(2) enrichment (FACE) technologies or forest stands around natural CO(2) vents are needed to increase the knowledge base on forest ecosystem responses to elevated atmospheric CO(2). In addition, new experimental protocols need to continue to be developed that will allow for mature trees to be examined in natural ecosystems. These studies should be closely linked to modeling efforts so that the inference capacity from these expensive and long-term studies can be maximized.     

Occurrence of phthalate esters in water and sediment of urban lakes in a subtropical city, Guangzhou, South China

Extensive use of phthalate esters (PAEs) in both industrial processes and consumer products has resulted in the ubiquitous presence of these chemicals in the environment. This study reports the first data on the concentrations of 16 phthalate esters (PAEs) in water and sediments of the urban lakes in Guangzhou City. PAEs were detected in all samples analyzed, mainly originating from urban stormwater runoff, atmospheric deposition, as well as untreated discharge of industrial wastewater and municipal sewage. The Sigma(16)PAEs concentrations in water and sediments ranged from 1.69 to 4.72 microg L(-1) and 2.27 to 74.94 microg g(-1)-dry weight (dw), with the mean concentrations of 2.91 microg L(-1) and 20.85 microg g(-1)-dw, respectively, which indicates that sediment is a significant sink for PAEs. Variability of the Sigma 16PAEs concentrations in water and sediment in the urban lakes was almost consistent. The spatial distribution of PAEs was site-specific. Of the 16 PAEs, DMP, DEP, DnBP, DiBP, DMPP, and DEHP were present in all water and sediment samples. DnBP was abundant in water (53.0-81.2%), while no single dominant congener was found in sediments. The abundances of DiBP were similar to those of DEHP, and DiBP and DEHP collectively accounted for 77.2-97.6% of the Sigma 16PAEs concentrations. Congener specific analysis confirmed that DnBP was a predictive indicator for the dissolved summation operator16 PAEs concentration (correlation coefficient r=0.968, p<0.01), and that DiBP was a predictive indicator for the sediment summation operator16 PAEs concentration (r=0.975, p<0.01). As compared to the results for other studies, the urban lakes of Guangzhou were moderately polluted by PAEs.     

137Cs in freshwater fish in Finland since 1986--a statistical analysis with multivariate linear regression models

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 significantly elevated the 137Cs levels of fish in Finnish lakes. About 6200 fish samples from 390 lakes comprising 20 species have been analysed for 137Cs since 1986. The sizes of the lakes varied from a few hectares to about 1000 km2. Activity concentrations of 137Cs in fish still varied widely in 2003, from 16 to 6400 Bq/kg fresh weight. This paper presents the results of statistical analyses with multivariate linear regression models carried out on the empirical data collected since 1986. The statistical analysis resulted in separate models for two time periods describing temporal changes of 137Cs in fish. The explanatory variables were fish species with various feeding habits, the size class of the lake, municipal division, drainage area, time since the deposition and deposition level of the municipality. The calculated values for 137Cs in fish did not differ statistically significantly from the observed values in the validation data. The explanatory variables explained 58% (the first time period) and 72% (the second time period) of the total variability of 137Cs in fish.     

三峡库区土地资源承载力现状与可持续发展对策

三峡库区的土地资源承载力状况直接关系到三峡库区土地与人口、经济社会发展和环境保护之间的平衡关系,对于实现三峡库区经济、社会、生态的可持续发展具有重要意义。首先分析了土地资源承载力概念的发展历程,将其分为3个发展阶段：人口承载力阶段、综合承载力阶段和生态足迹阶段;并根据三峡库区的特点,设计了一个简单易行的承载力计算方法,运用最新的有关数据,对库区的耕地、森林植被以及饲草的承载力状况进行了分析。研究结果表明库区人地关系非常紧张,森林植被分布不均,而饲草供应则非常充足。最后在此基础上提出了要加强库区植被恢复,发展柑橘业、畜牧业和旅游业等传统优势产业以提高库区土地资源承载力的针对性对策。     

Environmental implications of changes in the levels of lakes in the Ethiopian Rift since 1970

The Ethiopian rift is characterized by a chain of lakes of various sizes and hydrological and hydrogeological settings. The rift lakes and feeder rivers are used for irrigation, soda extraction, commercial fish farming, and recreation, and they support a wide variety of endemic birds and wild animals. The levels of some of these lakes have changed dramatically over the last three decades. Lakes that are relatively uninfluenced by human activities (Langano and Abaya) remain stable except for the usual inter-annual variations, strongly influenced by rainfall. Some lakes have shrunk due to excessive abstraction of water; others have expanded due to increases in surface runoff and groundwater flux from percolated irrigation water. Lakes Abiyata and Beseka, both heavily impacted by human activities, show contrasting lake level trends: the level of Abiayata has dropped by about 5 m over three decades because of the extraction of water for soda and an upstream diversion for irrigation. Beseka has expanded from an area of 2.5 to 40 km² over the last three decades because of increased groundwater inputs from percolated irrigation water. Lake Awassa has risen slightly due to land use changes resulting in increased runoff in its catchment. This paper addresses these lake level changes and their environmental repercussions, based on evidence from hydrometeorological records, hydrogeological field mapping supported by aerial photography and satellite imagery interpretations, water balance estimation, and hydrological modeling. A converging evidence approach is used to reconstruct the temporal and spatial variations of lake levels. The results reveal that the major changes in the rift valley are mainly related to anthropogenic factors. These changes appear to have grave environmental consequences for the fragile rift ecosystem. These consequences demand the very urgent implementation of integrated basin wide water management practice.     

Transfer of Sr into fish in Finnish lakes

The long-term behavior of ⁹⁰Sr was investigated from 1987 to 1997 in fifteen lakes in southern and central Finland following the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Both water and fish samples (perch, pike, vendace) were analyzed. ⁹⁰Sr stays long in the freshwater ecosystem; the observed half-lives during the study period were generally around 10 years in water and even longer in fish. One lake exhibited very different behavior for ⁹⁰Sr, with elevated levels in fish and water and very short observed half-life in fish, less than 2 years. Concentration factors of ⁹⁰Sr in fish (Bqkg⁻¹ f.w. in fish/Bqkg⁻¹ in water) among the studied lakes significantly correlated with both the Ca concentration and electrical conductivity of the water. More ⁹⁰Sr was transferred into fish in lakes with a low electrical conductivity and a low Ca concentration. Among other water parameters evaluated were pH, color, total nitrogen, and phosphorus.     

Water quality analysis in rivers with non-parametric probability distributions and fuzzy inference systems: Application to the Cauca River,Colombia

The integration of water quality monitoring variables is essential in environmental decision making. Nowadays, advanced techniques to manage subjectivity, imprecision, uncertainty, vagueness, and variability are required in such complex evaluation process. We here propose a probabilistic fuzzy hybrid model to assess river water quality. Fuzzy logic reasoning has been used to compute a water quality integrative index. By applying a Monte Carlo technique, based on non-parametric probability distributions, the randomness of model inputs was estimated. Annual histograms of nine water quality variables were built with monitoring data systematically collected in the Colombian Cauca River, and probability density estimations using the kernel smoothing method were applied to fit data. Several years were assessed, and river sectors upstream and downstream the city of Santiago de Cali, a big city with basic wastewater treatment and high industrial activity, were analyzed. The probabilistic fuzzy water quality index was able to explain the reduction in water quality, as the river receives a larger number of agriculture, domestic, and industrial effluents. The results of the hybrid model were compared to traditional water quality indexes. The main advantage of the proposed method is that it considers flexible boundaries between the linguistic qualifiers used to define the water status, being the belongingness of water quality to the diverse output fuzzy sets or classes provided with percentiles and histograms, which allows classify better the real water condition. The results of this study show that fuzzy inference systems integrated to stochastic non-parametric techniques may be used as complementary tools in water quality indexing methodologies.     

黑河流域产业结构与生态环境耦合关系辨识

产业结构作为人类作用于生态环境的主要环节．与区域资源、环境存在着显著的互动关系。在生态环境脆弱、水资源紧缺的西北干旱区内陆河流域,由于产业发展与流域生态环境及水资源的空间分布不相吻合．导致生态环境严重退化．目前亟需深入研究产业结构与生态环境的耦合关系。本文以黑河流域为典型研究区,通过建立生态环境质量及产业结构效益指标体系,对黑河流域上、中、下游的生态环境质量和产业结构效益作了综合评价,并对二者的耦合关系进行了定量辨识。结果表明：黑河流域产业结构效益自上游向下游在空间上呈倒“U”型,而生态环境质量与环境产业协调度沿河自上游向下游具有基本一致的变化趋势,都依次降低,说明现阶段黑河流域沿河自上游向下游,产业结构对生态环境的依赖性逐渐降低,而破坏性逐渐上升。     

Atmospheric versus lithogenic contribution to the composition of first- and second-order stream waters in Seoul and its vicinity

The spatial variations in the chemistry of first- and second-order stream waters (N = 65) were investigated in the easterly bound of Seoul in order to assess the effects of urban air pollution on surface water chemistry. The sulfate (SO4(2-)) was high (range 3.9-17.8 mg l(-1), mean 11.8 mg l(-1)) within 30 km away from the center of Seoul, compared to the levels (range 1.1-7.7 mg l(-1), mean 4.3 mg l(-1)) observed in remote areas (30-70 km away). Both graphical examination and statistical evaluation (variogram) of sulfate concentration data consistently showed the decrease of sulfate concentration with increasing distance. The results of mass balance modeling also indicate that the concentrations of SO4(2-), Cl- and Na+ may be affected mainly by dry/wet deposition. However, the spatial variations of major cations such as Ca2+ and Na+ are well explained by the reaction of rainwater with diverse rocks in the watercourse. The water type was found to change from Ca(-Na)-SO4) type to Ca(-a)-HCO3 type with the increasing distance. It is thus inferred that the pollutants like SO2 emitted from strong man-made source areas of Seoul are transported to the considerable distance (at least 30 km away) by westerlies and that such mechanism may lead to the changes of the anion composition in surface water. In the remote area (> 30 km away from Seoul), the stream water chemistry appears to be influenced more effectively by the weathering of rock-forming minerals.     

四湖地区湖泊水域萎缩及其洪涝灾害研究

采用遥感方法分析了四湖地区的湖泊水域的动态变化,分析结果表明：该地区５０年代至８０年代初由于大规模围湖造田,致使湖泊水域萎缩相当严重。８０年代以后,湖泊水面急剧减少的趋势得到遏制,而９０年代以后,湖泊水面基本处于无显著变化状态。由于四湖地区湖泊萎缩,湖泊的调蓄功能受到严重破坏,致使洪涝灾害频繁发生。恶化了生态环境。因此我们应该全面规划,综合利用湖泊资源,坚决禁止围湖造田,有些地区还应退田还湖。加强     

云南省高原典型森林植被涵养水源功能研究

利用水量平衡原理对云南省高原3种典型森林植被的林冠截留、枯落物持水和土壤蓄水能力进行比较研究。结果表明:土壤蓄水是森林发挥涵养水源功能的最主要途径;从林冠截留量和截留率两个指标来看,林冠截水能力排序为高山松林(209.87 t/hm²、28.87%)>白桦林(194.17 t/hm²、19.82%)>川滇高山栎灌丛(111.78 t/hm²、16.32%);对于枯落物持水能力:最大持水量排序为高山松林(35.79 t/hm²)>白桦林(24.52 t/hm²)>川滇高山栎灌丛(18.49 t/hm²);最大持水率排序为川滇高山栎灌丛(177.42%)>白桦林(152.08%)>高山松林(138.48%);土壤蓄水能力排序为川滇高山栎灌丛(673.19 t/(hm²·a))>高山松林(610 t/(hm²·a))>白桦林(549.84 t/(hm²·a));在同一森林单位面积上,涵养水源能力排序为高山松林(855.66 t/hm²)>川滇高山栎灌丛(803.46 t/hm²)>白桦林(768.53 t/hm²)。研究可为森林生态效益核算和管理奠定基础,且对制定适应气候变化的策略有着科学指导意义。