草酸与铁氧化物相互作用及光化学活化分子氧过程的研究进展

草酸与铁氧化物共存于自然环境中,二者之间的相互作用及光化学行为强烈影响着分子氧的活化.而分子氧活化影响共存体系中污染物的迁移与转化,是发展绿色污染控制氧化技术的关键.因此,探讨草酸与铁氧化物之间的相互作用与光化学活化分子氧是目前的研究热点之一.本文系统总结了近年来围绕草酸与铁氧化物相互作用以及草酸诱导铁氧化物活化分子氧的研究成果,论述了草酸在铁氧化表面的吸附与转化特性、草酸铁络合物光化学过程以及活性氧产生与转移途径,同时探讨了上述过程对环境污染物降解的影响,借此加深理解草酸诱导铁氧化物环境光化学行为与活化分子氧原理,并对今后的研究发展方向提出了展望,以期为利用天然铁氧化物和有机质发展原位环境修复技术提供依据.     

植物根表铁锰氧化物胶膜的环境生态作用

许多湿地、水生植物根系都具有向根际环境释放氧气和氧化物,在根表和根际形成铁、锰氧化物胶膜的能力。因其所具有的特殊的物理或化学结构,植物根表的铁锰氧化物胶膜在环境生态中起重要作用。文章综述了植物根表铁锰氧化物的形成与特征,对有害金属和类金属污染物、有机污染物的吸附和富集作用,对富营养化水体的净化作用,以及提高植物的耐酸和耐贫瘠能力。借助新技术或研究手段强化铁、锰氧化物胶膜对湿地或水体有害金属和有机污染物的调控作用,是今后的发展方向。     

医药品和个人护理用品(PPCPs)类污染物氯化转化行为研究进展

针对水处理过程的消毒环节,着重探讨了医药品和个人护理用品(PPCPs)等新型环境污染物在氯化消毒过程中发生的转化行为,并分别针对酚类、醇类、醚类、酮类、胺类等典型结构化合物的氯化转化规律进行了归纳总结.同时,对消毒副产物所引起的潜在环境风险、健康效应进行了评述,为研发、优化该类污染物的处理工艺、提高风险管理水平提供科学依据.     

土壤中锰氧化物的形态及其化学提取方法综述

土壤中锰元素主要来自于成土母质,风化后的锰主要以锰氧化物形式存在于土壤中.锰氧化物因具有比表面积大、表面电荷低、对金属的亲合力强、氧化还原电位高等特性,对土壤中痕量金属的环境行为存在重要影响.化学提取方法是研究土壤中不同固相组分的重要手段.本文首先从土壤中锰的来源及主要存在形态出发,介绍了不同价态锰(+2、+3、+4)...     

污染物环境界面行为的多尺度计算模拟

污染物的环境界面行为研究一直是环境科学领域的核心和热点内容之一.借助于计算方法能够突破实验方法分析水平的限制,提供从微观到介观的多尺度上的污染物界面行为的化学机制与结构特征.量子力学方法、全原子分子动力学模拟和基于粗粒化体系模型的分子动力学模拟及耗散粒子动力学模拟等不同分子间作用计算方法可依次从原子尺度、分子尺度到介观尺度实现污染物环境界面行为的模拟分析,提供丰富多样的污染物与环境表面相互作用信息.本文综述了典型分子间作用计算模拟方法在污染物的环境界面生成、吸附乃至催化转化等方面的应用进展,分析了现有研究存在的问题和不足,并对未来的研究重点提出了展望.     

电子穿梭体及其介导的环境与地球化学过程研究进展

电子穿梭体是一类可通过自身氧化还原介导电子转移的化学物质的统称.在地球表层系统中,电子穿梭体可加速微生物向细胞外部进行的电子传递,参与矿物的微生物还原,驱动碳、氮、硫元素循环,并偶联有机污染物降解和重金属迁移转化.电子穿梭在自然界中存在广泛,对于元素循环、污染物环境行为以及微生物的生存行为影响深远,具有重要的环境地球化...     

九龙江沉积物主要组分对四环素类抗生素吸附性能对比

沉积物作为一种重要的水体环境介质,因其复杂的组成结构和时空差异性而具有巨大的研究前景,抗生素滥用引起的环境污染同样引起了广泛关注。四环素类抗生素(TCs)形态结构复杂,能够以多种方式被沉积物吸附。为了更深入地了解四环素类抗生素在河流中的迁移转化规律,以四环素和土霉素作为研究对象,采用选择性萃取方法分离出九龙江沉积物中起主要吸附作用的组分(铁氧化物、锰氧化物、有机质)并获得各组分的含量,运用等温平衡吸附法在TCs与沉积物质量比为0.01~0.06范围内进行吸附试验,利用Langmuir和Freundlich吸附等温方程拟合吸附过程并进行统计分析,从而研究各组分对TCs的吸附特征、能力和吸附贡献量。结果表明,沉积物及其主要组分对TCs的吸附过程特征符合Langmuir吸附等温方程,相关系数达0.95以上;沉积物中各组分对TCs的吸附能力大小顺序为锰氧化物有机质铁氧化物残渣态;各组分对TCs的绝对吸附贡献量大小顺序为锰氧化物残渣态铁氧化物有机质。其中,锰氧化物在沉积物中所占比例较小,只有0.05%,却对TCs的吸附贡献率最大(56%),所采集的九龙江典型沉积物对TCs的吸附起最主要和关键作用的组分是锰氧化物。不同地理位点的沉积物理化性质差异很大,对TCs的吸附能力与锰氧化物含量有一定的相关性,这验证了前述结论。     

黑锰矿催化氧化Fe(Ⅱ)生成铁氧化物过程及影响因素

自然界中的锰氧化物常与铁氧化物交结伴生,其形成和转化过程相互影响. Mn(Ⅳ)氧化物与Fe(Ⅱ)反应过程已有较多研究,然而有氧环境中低价锰氧化物氧化Fe(Ⅱ)生成铁氧化物的过程尚缺乏系统研究.本工作以黑锰矿为例,研究了开放体系中Fe(Ⅱ)在低价氧化锰矿物表面的氧化行为,分析了Fe(Ⅱ)浓度、溶解氧以及pH对Fe(Ⅲ)氧化物形成的影响.结果表明,黑锰矿在氧化Fe(Ⅱ)形成针铁矿和纤铁矿的同时,自身被部分还原释放Mn(Ⅱ).当反应体系pH值为3.0时,溶解氧氧化Fe(Ⅱ)作用弱,主要为黑锰矿氧化Fe(Ⅱ)并在其表面生成针铁矿.当反应体系pH值升高至5.0,黑锰矿催化加速了溶解氧对低浓度(<5.0 mmol·L^-1)Fe(Ⅱ)的氧化并生成水铁矿,随后转化成纤铁矿和针铁矿;Fe(Ⅱ)浓度升高(>5.0 mmol·L^-1),反应初期Fe(Ⅱ)直接被黑锰矿氧化,形成了以针铁矿和少量纤铁矿组成的包覆层,并导致氧化速率减弱,而溶解氧在Fe(Ⅱ)后期氧化过程中发挥了主导作用.这些结果丰富了表生环境铁锰氧化物的形成与共生机理,为土壤矿物形成演化提供了...     

环境毒理学研究进展

综述了近年来环境毒理学的研究进展,内容包括:环境污染物对机体的影响及其环境行为、环境污染物及其转化物的毒性和评估方法、实验室模式生物、生物标志物以及环境毒理学在其他相关学科中的应用等.此外,还对环境化学品管理和安全性评价、Hormesis(兴奋效应)现象、遗传毒性致癌物的危险度评价、室内环境毒理学分析与研究等热点问题进...     

生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料对红壤吸附铜特性的影响

锰氧化物作为改性材料应用于制造复合材料一直是环境领域的研究热点,锰氧化物改性的复合材料在水处理、空气清新剂等领域应用广泛。但目前,将生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料作为吸附材料改变土壤对铜吸持能力的研究还不多见。采用等温平衡吸附法,测定生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料对红壤吸附铜的能力影响,并应用Freundlich方程Cs=KfCen分析红壤对铜的吸附特征。结果表明：不同用量的生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料加入后,均会明显提高红壤对铜的吸附量。添加0.5%、1.0%、2.0%和4.0%生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料的红壤处理,其铜的吸附量较未添加处理分别增加了63.1%、130%,310%和509%。Freundlich吸附方程能较好的描述不同用量生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料影响红壤对铜的吸附特征。添加0.5%、1.0%、2.0%和4.0%炭-锰材料处理的分配系数（Kf值）分别为0.176、0.286、0.653和0.800。生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料用量为4.0%时,分配系数（Kf值）较对照红壤提高了5倍,生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料加入红壤后对红壤pH值影响不大,对CEC（阳离子交换量）有较大的影响;生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料用量为4.0%时,CEC为5.59 cmol·kg-1,较对照增加了14.1%,温度升高,有利于提高红壤对铜的吸附能力。生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料加入红壤后,红壤在1034.63、537.22、471.45 cm-1处有吸收峰出现,红壤表面-OH、Mg-O、Si-O等活性官能团数量明显增加。生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料增加红壤对铜的吸附机制可能是红壤表面Mg-O、Si-O等官能团与铜形成了Mg-O-Cu-、Si-O-Cu-络合物,提高了红壤对铜的吸持能力。从土壤化学与土壤修复的角度出发,生物炭-锰氧化物复合材料可用于铜污染红壤修复。     

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.