Effects of Fireplace Use on Forest Vegetation and Amount of Woody Debris in Suburban Forests in Northwestern Switzerland

Urban forests are popular recreation areas in Europe. Several of these temperate broad-leaved forests also have a high conservation value due to sustainable management over many centuries. Recreational activities, particularly the use of fireplaces, can cause extensive damage to soil, ground vegetation, shrubs, and trees. Firewood collection depletes woody debris, leading to a loss of habitat for specialized organisms. We examined the effects of fireplace use on forest vegetation and the amount of woody debris by comparing disturbed and control plots in suburban forests in northwestern Switzerland. At frequently used fireplaces, we found reduced species densities in the ground vegetation and shrub layer and changes in plant species composition due to human trampling within an area of 150–200 m². Picnicking and grilling also reduced the height and changed the age structure of shrubs and young trees. The amount of woody debris was lower in disturbed plots than in control plots. Pieces of wood with a diameter of 0.6–7.6 cm were preferentially collected by fireplace users. The reduction in woody debris volume extended up to a distance of 16 m from the fire ring, covering an area of 800 m² at each picnic site. In order to preserve the ecological integrity of urban forests and to maintain their attractiveness as important recreation areas, we suggest depositing logging residues to be used as firewood and to restrict visitor movements near picnic sites.     

Review of Agri-Environment Indexes and Stewardship Payments

Agri-environment programs aim to secure environmental and social stewardship services through payments to farmers. A critical component of many agri-environment programs is an agri-environment index (AEI) used to quantify benefits and target investments. An AEI will typically comprise multiple indicators, which are weighted and combined using a utility function, to measure the benefit of investment options (e.g., projects, farms, regions). This article presents a review of AEIs with 11 case studies from agri-environment programs in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. We identify a generic procedure used to define AEIs and explore the implications of alternative methodological approaches. We conclude that AEIs have become an extremely important policy instrument and make suggestions for their improvement.     

Incorporating layer- and local-scale heterogeneities in numerical simulation of unsaturated flow and tracer transport

This study characterizes layer- and local-scale heterogeneities in hydraulic parameters (i.e., matrix permeability and porosity) and investigates the relative effect of layer- and local-scale heterogeneities on the uncertainty assessment of unsaturated flow and tracer transport in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, USA. The layer-scale heterogeneity is specific to hydrogeologic layers with layerwise properties, while the local-scale heterogeneity refers to the spatial variation of hydraulic properties within a layer. A Monte Carlo method is used to estimate mean, variance, and 5th, and 95th percentiles for the quantities of interest (e.g., matrix saturation and normalized cumulative mass arrival). Model simulations of unsaturated flow are evaluated by comparing the simulated and observed matrix saturations. Local-scale heterogeneity is examined by comparing the results of this study with those of the previous study that only considers layer-scale heterogeneity. We find that local-scale heterogeneity significantly increases predictive uncertainty in the percolation fluxes and tracer plumes, whereas the mean predictions are only slightly affected by the local-scale heterogeneity. The mean travel time of the conservative and reactive tracers to the water table in the early stage increases significantly due to the local-scale heterogeneity, while the influence of local-scale heterogeneity on travel time gradually decreases over time. Layer-scale heterogeneity is more important than local-scale heterogeneity for simulating overall tracer travel time, suggesting that it would be more cost-effective to reduce the layer-scale parameter uncertainty in order to reduce predictive uncertainty in tracer transport.     

复合沸石滤床修复北方景观水体的实验研究

以天然矿物质沸石、细砂及煤渣取代传统滤料构建复合基质生态床,表面种植景观植物,采用下向流-上向流运行方式修复北方景观水体。分别进行静态实验及不同循环速率下的动态实验,考察对水体污染物去除过程。结果表明,2种运行方式下对水体NH⁺₄-N去除率都在85%以上,其中以1 h为循环周期的运行方式去除率达97%,较静态提高12.8%;TN去除率最高为84%;TP去除不稳定,过程缓慢。煤渣层对NH⁺₄-N的去除效果差,硝化作用不彻底与反硝化作用的加强使下层出水NH⁺₄-N 、NO^-₂-N及NO^-₃-N浓度均高于上层。提高循环速率有利于对氮的去除。     

土壤中零价铁还原3-氯硝基苯的作用

利用零价铁在常温常压下对土壤中的3-氯硝基苯的还原,对反应物和产物随时间的变化及反应的各个影响因素进行了研究。实验结果表明,零价铁能够有效地将3-氯硝基苯还原为3-氯苯胺,反应过程中没有检测到脱氯产物。其反应速率随铁粉用量、反应体系含水量的增加以及反应温度的升高而升高,随土壤初始pH值的升高而降低。在土壤中3-氯硝基苯含量约为2.5×10^-6 mol/g,铁粉使用量为25 mg/g,反应体系中含水量为0.75 mL/g,pH值为6.8时,在恒温生化培养箱(25±1)℃反应5 h后,3-氯硝基苯的还原率达到92.75％。     

蜂窝煤燃烧氟污染的控制

以碳酸钙为固氟添加剂,以炉渣及粉煤灰等低氟材料取代全部或部分粘土作为粘结剂来制作蜂窝煤,进行了燃煤降氟的试验研究.结果表明,添加碳酸钙能有效降低蜂窝煤燃烧时候的氟排放,当煤:粘土:CaCO3的质量比为70:17:13时,碳酸钙的固氟效果最佳,氟的排放率可降低64.1%.以炉渣为粘结剂制作蜂窝煤能够显著降低燃烧时向外界排放的氟化物量,当煤:炉渣:CaCO3为80:8:12时,蜂窝煤燃烧排氟量较小且趋于稳定.已拌有一定剂量粉煤灰粘结剂的煤中添加15%的粘土后碳酸钙的固氟效果明显改善,当煤:粘土:粉煤灰:CaCO3为70:15:9:6时固氟效果最佳,此时蜂窝煤氟逸出率仅为18.2%,氟的减排率达到77.9%,显著优于未添加粘土时碳酸钙的固氟效果,蜂窝煤添加碳酸钙固氟剂进行高效固氟时,需同时适当增加粉煤灰加入量,以稳定固氟剂的高温固氟效果.     

基于生态安全的DAT-IAT城市污水处理工艺改进研究

通过正交试验,得到了DAT-IAT工艺和A/DAT-IAT工艺处理城市污水的常规指标去除和生态毒理指标削减的最优运行条件。结果表明,在正交试验的同一工艺中,COD去除最优运行条件的出水COD值优于生态毒性削减最优运行条件的出水COD值,但前者出水的生态毒性较大。由于厌氧池的水解酸化作用,A/DAT-IAT工艺对COD和生态毒性的处理效果均优于DAT-IAT工艺,并且回流总能耗低于DAT-IAT工艺,但是出水COD仍不达标。为了降低进入工艺的COD的总量,以絮凝沉淀做为预处理工艺,并采用Al残留量最小的絮凝剂投药量以降低出水中残留Al带来的生态风险。结果表明,在COD去除最优运行条件下,具有絮凝预处理的工艺对COD的去除效果优于没有絮凝预处理的工艺。絮凝-A/DAT-IAT工艺在COD去除最优运行条件下出水COD为104.46 mg/L,满足排放标准。在毒性削减最优运行条件下,具有絮凝预处理的工艺的出水生态毒性有所上升,但是污染物的总量得到了大幅削减。絮凝-A/DAT-IAT工艺与DAT-IAT工艺相比,在污染物去除效率得到大幅增加的同时,生态毒性得到有效控制,生态安全得到了有效的保障。     

On experimental setup in bioelectromagnetics

Bioeffects created by electromagnetic field (EMF) are the subject of intensive studies. This paper critically considers estimations of exposure to EMF in bioelectromagnetic experiments. Results of calculations presented herein show the significant role of the presence of conducting bodies (the exposure system) near an object under test on EMF energy absorption as well as mutual interactions between simultaneously exposed objects. Our aims herein are twofold: firstly to find a way to refer measurement results to free-space conditions in order to enable comparison of results obtained in different laboratories, and secondly to show that EMF energy absorption in any exposed object is different and that this difference is a function of the size of the exposure system, the number of exposed objects, and the particular properties (i.e., the electromagnetic structure) of the objects. In the authors’ opinion the existence of interactions caused by the presence of the exposure system and other exposed objects is a reason why remarkable differences are observed between experiments performed even under supposedly identical conditions. The presented considerations and conclusion suggest wider participation of physicists and engineers in bioelectromagnetic experiments in order to ensure the correctness of metrological aspects of these experiments.     

Urbanization and its impact on groundwater: a remote sensing and GIS-based assessment approach

The perils of unplanned urbanization and increasing pressure of human activities on hydro-geomorphologic system often result in modification of the existing recharge mechanism, which leads to many environmental consequences. In the present research, an attempt has been made to investigate the applicability of remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) in dealing with spatial and temporal variability of dynamic phenomena, like urbanization and its impact on groundwater. This paper covers primarily, quantitative and qualitative impacts of urban growth on the behavior of aquifer in Ajmer city (India). Urban growth of the Ajmer city in last 17 years has been estimated from the satellite images. Database related to urbanization and groundwater has been created in GIS. Groundwater recharge has been computed using a water balance approach known as Water Level Fluctuation Methodology. Recharge estimation methodology has been implemented in GIS to introduce the spatial variability of hydro-geological characteristics. Further, temporal and spatial variations in groundwater quality and quantity have been correlated with urban growth using overlay analysis in GIS. The study reveals a general decline in water table and quality with urbanization. Further, remote sensing and GIS technologies have been found useful in assessment of spatial and temporal phenomena of urbanization and its impact on groundwater system.     

含磁粉生物反应器处理苯酚废水

采用含磁粉生物反应器对质量浓度为120～350 mg/L的苯酚模拟废水进行强化生物处理.实验结果表明:添加适量磁粉可使废水中DO提高约10%;与不含磁粉生物反应器比较,含磁粉生物反应器工艺使填料挂膜时间缩短1～2 d,填料上附着微生物量增多;质量浓度为350 mg/L的苯酚模拟废水在20 h内的苯酚去除率可达80%,降解时间缩短了10 h.初步分析了添加磁粉提高生物反应器处理废水效率的机理.实验证实了含磁粉生物反应器工艺的合理运用是强化处理含酚废水的有效途径.