Context matters: matrix vegetation influences native and exotic species composition on habitat islands

The extensive research on plant communities of natural-habitat islands has primarily focused on the "islands." The island analogy, however, potentially limits understanding of processes influencing composition on habitat islands because the nature of their matrix is overlooked. We determine how plant community structure of the surrounding matrix influences vegetation on volcanic outcrops in the modified landscape of Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. Our primary purpose is to address whether the matrix is more important for recently established exotic species than it is for well-established native species and whether such invasion by exotics has led to homogenization of the outcrop flora. To test this, we examined our data at three spatial scales: that of the entire outcrop flora, between individual outcrops and their immediate surrounding matrix, and between individual outcrop faces and the individual relevés of the immediate surrounding matrix. We found that 81% of the native flora and 90% of the exotic flora also occur in the matrix. This high level of species shared between the outcrop and matrix persists at the scale of individual outcrop faces (68% of the total flora of individual faces is shared with the matrix). We predicted that floras from different outcrops would vary in their distinctiveness from their immediate matrix. We found Bray-Curtis distance coefficient values to range from 0.26 to 0.64; these were even higher at the outcrop-face scale. Variability in outcrop distinctiveness relates primarily to the outcrop face properties of area, vegetation height, and soil depth, and matrix properties of vegetation structure and vegetation heterogeneity. The effect of the vegetation structure of the matrix is more pronounced on the exotic than on the native outcrop flora. The component of composition and structure of the matrix that was independent of outcrop properties and local environment accounts for similar levels of explainable variation in total and native composition (29-31%), but considerably more (40%) in composition of exotic species. Our results support our prediction that, as the surrounding matrix becomes more modified, invasion by exotics makes outcrop vegetation less distinct from its matrix.     

广花盆地地下水化学特征及其演化分析

粤港澳大湾区(简称大湾区)建设已经上升为中国国家重大发展战略,水资源保障能力提升是大湾区建设的重点内容。城市应急备用水源建设是解决区内供水风险、保障特殊时期供水安全的重要手段,查明水环境质量状况及其演化对于备用水源地的科学建设意义重大。以粤港澳大湾区应急备用水源地-广花盆地为研究对象,采集并测试了41口监测井水样的常规化学组分,利用主成分分析、元素比值和Gibbs模型等多种方法,探讨了地下水主要离子来源及控制因子,评估了水质状况。结果表明:地下水的TDS变化范围为51.42-1 293.36 mg·L-1,Cl-为1.81-858.65 mg·L-1,淡水样占比95.1%,微咸水占比4.9%,反映地下水化学具有较大的空间差异;地下水阳离子以Ca2+和Na+为主,阴离子以HCO3-和Cl-为主,为HCO3-Ca、HCO3-Na·Ca、HCO3·SO4-Na·Ca和HCO3·Cl-Na·Ca型水;地下水的ρ(Na+)/ρ(Na++Ca2+)值为0.02-0.59,ρ(Cl-)/(Cl-+HCO3-)值为0.03-0.88,Ca/Na值为0.69-52.66,HCO3/Na值为1.28-41.64,据Gibbs模型和元素化学计量分析表明,其化学组成主要受含水层碳酸盐岩和硅酸盐岩风化控制;Na/Cl系数为0.31-6.39,局部地下水盐化明显,在北部高Cl-质量浓度区,其主要受古咸水与现代淡水混合影响,并有Na+与Ca2+离子交换,在南部的高Cl-质量浓度区,可能是海水沿流溪河咸潮上溯和河流侧向补给地下水所致;氨氮为0.05-7.50mg·L-1,有75.6%的样品超过Ⅲ类水标准,其主要来源为农业施肥、人畜粪便。由此,氨氮污染威胁地下水安全,作为应急备用水源应引起高度重视。     

Induction of enhanced methane oxidation in compost: temperature and moisture response

Landfilling is one of the most common ways of municipal solid waste disposal. Degradation of organic waste produces CH(4) and other landfill gases that significantly contribute to global warming. However, before entering the atmosphere, part of the produced CH(4) can be oxidised while passing through the landfill cover. In the present study, the oxidation rate of CH(4) was studied with various types of compost as possible landfill cover. The influence of incubation time, moisture content and temperature on the CH(4) oxidation capacity of different types of compost was examined. It was observed that the influence of moisture content and temperature on methane oxidation is time-dependent. Maximum oxidation rates were observed at moisture contents ranging from 45% to 110% (dry weight basis), while the optimum temperature ranged from 15 to 30 degrees C.     

Implementing infrared determination of quartz particulates on novel filters for a prototype dust monitor

Research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has pursued quartz analysis for the specialized filter assemblies of a new worker-wearable personal dust monitor (PDM). The PDM is a real-time instrument utilizing a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM). Standard fiberglass TEOM filters cannot accommodate the desired P-7 infrared analytical method used by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Novel filter materials were tested with the objective of demonstrating this type of analysis. Low temperature ashing and spectrometric examination were employed, revealing that nylon fiber candidate filters left minimal residual ash and produced no significant spectral interference. Avoiding titanium dioxide in all filter materials proved to be a key requirement. Fine quartz particulates were collected on prototype filters in a Marple chamber, either open-faced or through PDMs during test runs. The filters were then subjected to MSHA P-7 analysis and the spectrometrically based analytical results for quartz mass were compared to reference measurements. Also, PDM instrumental mass readings were compared to filter gravimetric measurements. Results suggest that the P-7 method is adaptable to variations in filter materials and that quartz dust analysis by the P-7 method when utilizing the new ashable PDM filters can have accuracy and precision within 10% and 4%, respectively. This is within the declared 13% accuracy and 7-10% precision of the P-7 method itself. Instrument mass readings had modest positive bias but met NIOSH accuracy criteria. Continued work with specialized PDM filters is merited, as they are a new type of TEOM sample amenable to ashing analysis of particulates.     

Assessment of lead uptake in reptilian prey species

As part of an investigation determining the trophically available fraction of metals in a model terrestrial food web, i.e., invertebrate prey to Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis), we evaluated the ability of several invertebrate prey to bioaccumulate lead and to form metals-rich granules, which are hypothesized to be non-available to predators. Crickets (Acheta domestica), tenebroid beetle larvae (Tenebrio molitor), and isopods (Porcellio scaber) were selected as model prey organisms. Lack of standard exposure methodologies for these species has presented a barrier to trophic transfer evaluations, as each species has particular requirements that create challenges for designing exposure conditions. We were able to devise exposure conditions for all three species that allow long-term exposure studies. All prey organisms accumulated lead from contaminated food, and for all species the majority of the accumulated Pb was associated with the exoskeleton (>50%), with metals-rich granules accounting for most of the remaining accumulated lead.     

英国用RFID结合闭路监控打击自行车盗窃

英国政府一直提倡国民采用自行车做为交通工具,一方面是骑自行车可以锻练身体,另一方面也是出于环境保护考虑.然而,据保险公司DirectLine调查称,英国每天都有超过1200辆的自行车被盗.……     

塔机起重作业夜间照明工效的BIM辅助优化研究

为提升塔式起重机施工作业的夜间照明工效水平,采用数学模型和BIM技术相结合的方法,以灯源的光通量及入射角为光学驱动参数,模拟眩光值、照度及其均匀度等光学变量,建立照明工效的光度学BIM辅助优化模型,优化起重作业照明灯源光学参数。研究结果表明：对塔式起重机施工作业区照明灯源光学参数进行组合优化后,夜间起重作业面照度及其均匀度显著提升,眩光值满足起重作业视觉环境条件。研究结果可为塔式起重机夜间起重作业照明方案设计提供科学依据。     

生物滞留池对地表径流中常规污染物及全氟化合物的去除效果

生物滞留系统是实现城市地表径流水量调控和水质净化的新型绿色生态系统,但其对全氟化合物的去除效能尚不清楚。本文构建了将传统填料与2～4 mm沸石(体积占比10%)或2～4 mm的改良煤质颗粒活性炭(体积占比10%)混合的2种柱形生物滞留系统,通过动态实验探究了此系统对地表径流中常规污染物和全氟化合物去除效果,分析了系统近1 a的运行效果。结果表明,生物滞留系统的水量削减率随运行时间的增长呈现下降的趋势,平均削减率为(29.8±8.2)%。改良煤质颗粒活性炭生物滞留池对COD、TN、TP、TOC、NH₄⁺-N的平均去除率分别为67.49%、84.78%、76.43%、80.28%、65.43%,优于以沸石为填料的滞留池。6种目标全氟化合物PFPeA、PFHxA、PFHpA、PFOA、PFOS、PFNA的去除率保持在80%以上。滞留池内污染物空间分布特征表明,PFBA主要集中于种植层,而PFPeA、PFHxA、PFHpA、PFOA、PFOS、PFNA则更集中于填料层。     

Fate and toxicity of endosulfan in Namoi River water and bottom sediment

Endosulfan (6,7,8,9,10,10,-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathiepine-3-oxide) sorption (standardized to 1% total organic carbon and dry weight) was significantly (P < 0.05) more concentrated on the large (>63 microm) particle fraction compared with smaller size fractions (<5 microm and 5-24 microm) of bottom sediments from the Namoi River, Australia. Following completion of the particle size fractionation (6 to 12 wk) and a sediment toxicity assessment (2 wk), the sediments showed large decreases in concentrations of alpha-endosulfan that coincided with an increase in endosulfan sulfate concentrations and minimal changes in beta-endosulfan concentrations. In the Namoi River, similar patterns were observed in the composition of total endosulfan in monthly measurements of bottom sediments and in passive samplers placed in the water column following runoff from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fields. The toxicity of endosulfan sulfate in river water indicated by the nymphs of the epibenthic mayfly Jappa kutera, was more persistent than the alpha- and beta-endosulfan parent isomers due to its longer half-life. This suggests that endosulfan sulfate would contribute most to previously observed changes in population densities of aquatic biota. Measured concentrations of total endosulfan in river water of up to 4 microg L(-1) following storm runoff, exceed the range of the 96-h median lethal concentration (LC50) values in river water for both alpha-endosulfan (LC50 = 0.7 microg L(-1); 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5 to 1.1) and endosulfan sulfate (LC50 = 1.2 microg L(-1); 95% CI = 0.4 to 3.3). In contrast, the 10-d LC50 value for total endosulfan in the sediment toxicity test (LC50 = 162 microg kg(-1); 95% CI = 120 to 218 microg kg(-1)) was more than threefold higher than the highest measured concentration of total endosulfan in field samples of bottom sediment (48 microg kg(-1)). This suggests that pulse exposures of endosulfan in the water column following storm runoff may be more acutely toxic to riverine biota than in contaminated bottom sediment.     

Tropospheric sulfate aerosol formation via ion-ion recombination

We propose a source of aerosols in the lower atmosphere associated with the creation, growth, and recombination of ubiquitous cosmogenically generated ions. This particle source should be favorable in the relatively clean, stable marine boundary layer, providing a uniform, continuous fine particle generator in the presence of dimethylsulfide emissions. Through this mechanism, new sulfate aerosols can be formed at sulfuric acid vapor partial pressures well below the supersaturations required for homogeneous binary nucleation of sulfuric acid/water solutions, which is consistent with numerous observations of new particle formation under sub-saturated conditions. The evolving aerosols in turn control the acid vapor concentration and thus modulate the sizes of the precursor ions and the rate of new particle formation. A simple model representing this nonlinear coupled system predicts that the physical and chemical processes connecting ions, vapors, and aerosols effectively constrain the particle population to a relatively narrow range of values. This self-limiting behavior may explain in part the apparent stability of the marine sulfate aerosol, with mean concentrations of the order of several hundred per cubic centimeter.