One Hundred Questions of Importance to the Conservation of Global Biological Diversity

Abstract:  We identified 100 scientific questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on conservation practice and policy. Representatives from 21 international organizations, regional sections and working groups of the Society for Conservation Biology, and 12 academics, from all continents except Antarctica, compiled 2291 questions of relevance to conservation of biological diversity worldwide. The questions were gathered from 761 individuals through workshops, email requests, and discussions. Voting by email to short-list questions, followed by a 2-day workshop, was used to derive the final list of 100 questions. Most of the final questions were derived through a process of modification and combination as the workshop progressed. The questions are divided into 12 sections: ecosystem functions and services, climate change, technological change, protected areas, ecosystem management and restoration, terrestrial ecosystems, marine ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems, species management, organizational systems and processes, societal context and change, and impacts of conservation interventions. We anticipate that these questions will help identify new directions for researchers and assist funders in directing funds.     

城市道路绿化带不同植物叶片附尘对大气污染的磁学响应

对上海市金沙江路两侧绿化带内24个常绿植物叶片样品进行了磁性与重金属测试,以探讨城市道路绿化带不同植物叶片附尘对大气污染的磁学响应.结果表明,χ、SIRM值分别在（4～59）×10-8m3.kg-1和（496～6 114）×10-6Am2.kg-1之间变化,S-300 mT在89%～98%之间变动.所有植物样品中χARM/χ〈4,χARM/SIRM〈30×10-5mA-1.磁性参数表明,植物叶片附尘以亚铁磁性矿物为主,磁性矿物颗粒以假单畴（PSD）-多畴（MD）为主.重金属元素Zn、Cu、Pb含量与反映亚铁磁性矿物含量的χ、SIRM、χARM呈显著正相关,可以将磁性参数SIRM作为叶片重金属元素的替代指标.推荐在上海地区广泛种植的广玉兰作为道路植物污染的指示植物。     

基于无人机平台的甲烷监测技术及其在油气行业的应用

对甲烷排放的精准监测是油气行业实现温室气体减排与管控的基础和前提。无人机具有灵活、可操作性强、覆盖范围广、运行成本低等特点,以无人机为飞行平台的甲烷监测技术在油气行业区域甲烷排放监测领域具有巨大的应用潜力。详细阐述了基于无人机平台的甲烷监测技术的优势,梳理了不同的无人机类型,并根据其飞行性能及载荷能力进行了比对,归纳了无人机有效载荷类型、特点及应用场景,总结了国内外无人机甲烷监测技术在油气行业的应用,旨在为基于无人机平台的甲烷监测技术在我国油气行业的应用提供理论和技术参考。     

Safeguarding the Pantanal Wetlands: Threats and Conservation Initiatives

Abstract:  The Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands on the planet, comprises 140,000 km² of lowland floodplain of the upper Rio Paraguai basin that drains the Cerrado of central Brazil. The diverse mosaics of habitats resulting from the varied soil types and inundation regimes are responsible for an extraordinarily rich terrestrial and aquatic biota, exemplified by the bird richest wetland in the world—463 birds have been recorded there—and the largest known populations of several threatened mammals, such as Pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus ), marsh deer ( Blastocerus dichotomus ), giant otter ( Pteronura brasiliensis ), and jaguar ( Panthera onca ). Until recently, deforestation of the adjoining Brazilian central plateau was considered the major threat to this area, but now deforestation is a critical problem within the floodplain itself. More than 40% of the forest and savanna habitats have been altered for cattle ranching through the introduction of exotic grasses. And there are other threats that lead to large-scale disruption of ecological processes, severely affecting biodiversity. Although the Pantanal wetland is a Biosphere Reserve and is considered a Wetland of International Importance, only 2.5% of the upper Paraguai River basin is formally protected. To date, protected areas have been created opportunistically and as such, although of undoubted value, protect only a fraction of the Pantanal's wildlife and habitats. Among the conservation initiatives in the area, the private sector is increasingly participating in the establishment of private reserves. The prospects are far from optimistic, however, and the major challenge is to find alternative socioeconomic models that allow for conservation and economic uses of the land in association with the development of specific environmental legislation that reflects the unique characteristics of the region.     

Antibiotic Resistance of Enterococcus spp. Isolated from Wastewater and Sludge of Poultry Slaughterhouses

Antibiotimicrobial resistance was investigated in 537 Enterococcus spp. isolates recovered from 22 samples of crude inflow, treated effluent and sludge collected in wastewater treatment plants of eight poultry slaughterhouses of Portugal. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in the resistance to each antimicrobial agent with regards to the origin of the sample (inflow, sludge and effluent). Many of the isolates displayed resistance to tetracycline (85.7%), erythromycin (45.7%), nitrofurantoin (34.0%) and rifampicin (17.8%). Resistance was also observed, but to a lesser extent, to ciprofloxacin (10.2%), ampicillin (8.0%), chloramphenicol (4.6%), vancomycin (0.9%) and gentamicin (0.4%). Resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes was present in 37.1% of the isolates. Wastewater treatment resulted in viable enterococci decrease between less than 1 log and 4 log; nevertheless, more than 4.4 × 10⁵ colony forming units (CFU)/100 mL were present in the outflow of the plants and thus resistant enterococci are not prevented from reaching the general environment.     

Phytoremediation to remove nutrients and improve eutrophic stormwaters using water lettuce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pistia stratiotes</Emphasis> L.)

Background, aim, and scope  

Water quality impairment by nutrient enrichment from agricultural activities has been a concern worldwide. Phytoremediation technology using aquatic plants in constructed wetlands and stormwater detention ponds is increasingly applied to remediate eutrophic waters. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness and potential of water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes L.) in removing nutrients including nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from stormwater in the constructed water detention systems before it is discharged into the St. Lucie Estuary, an important surface water system in Florida, using phytoremediation technologies.     

A comparison of in situ methods for measuring net nitrogen mineralization rates of organic soil amendments

In situ incubation methods may help provide site-specific estimates of N mineralization from land-applied wastes. However, there are concerns about the reliability of the data generated by the various methods due to containment artifacts. We amended a sandy soil with either poultry manure, biosolids, or yard-waste compost and incubated the mixtures using four in situ methods (buried bags, covered cylinders, standard resin traps, and "new" soil-resin traps) and a conventional laboratory technique in plastic bags. Each incubation device was destructively sampled at 45-d intervals for 180 d and net N mineralization was determined by measuring the amount of inorganic N that accumulated in the soil or soil plus resin traps. Containment effects were evaluated by comparing water content of the containerized soil to a field-reference soil column. In situ incubation methods provided reasonable estimates of short-term (< 45 d) N mineralization, but long-term (> 45 d) mineralization data were not accurate due to a variety of problems specific to each technique. Buried bags and covered cylinders did not retain mineralized N due to water movement into and out of the containers. Neither resin method captured all of the mineralized N that leached through the soil columns, but the new soil-resin trap method tracked field soil water content better than all other in situ methods evaluated. With further refinement and validation, the new soil-resin trap method may be a useful in situ incubation technique for measuring net N mineralization rates of organic soil amendments.     

Comparison of three enzyme immunoassays for measuring 17beta-estradiol in flushed dairy manure wastewater

Natural steroidal estrogens are an environmental concern because low nanogram per liter concentrations in water can adversely affect aquatic vertebrate species by disrupting the normal function of their endocrine systems. There is a critical need to accurately measure estrogens in dairy wastes, a potential source of estrogens such as 17beta-estradiol, to assess the risk of estrogen contamination of agricultural drainage waters resulting from land application. Commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kits have been used for measuring 17beta-estradiol in livestock manure, but it is not known if different EIAs provide similar results. We compared three EIAs by measuring 17beta-estradiol in two samples of flushed dairy manure wastewater (FDMW). The measured concentrations of 17beta-estradiol in FDMW differed according to the immunoassay used. The differences were attributed to a matrix interference associated with coextracted humic substances. Future research should develop methods that enable routine measurement of 17beta-estradiol in livestock wastes by more conclusive analytical techniques such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.     

MEASURED AND CREAMS-PREDICTED NITROGEN LOSSES FROM TOMATO AND CORN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS1

Nitrogen runoff and leaching losses from two tomato and four corn field plots were compared to model predictions by CREAMS, a field-scale model for Chemicals, Runoff, and Erosion from Agricultural Management Systems. The tomato treatments were (1) trickle irrigation with one-half of applied N at preplant and one-half of applied N through the trickle irrigation system and (2) overhead sprinkler irrigation with one-half of applied N at preplant and one-half of applied N in two equal sidedressings. The corn treatments consisted of multiple N applications, minimum tillage, and “conventional” management. Soil type appeared to influence the ability of CREAMS to predict seasonal trends and treatment influences. Model predictions for N losses from tomato and corn treatments that were located on sandy soils often disagreed with measured values. Treatment influences and seasonal trends for N losses from corn treatments that were located on a higher clay content soil were more satisfactorily predicted by CREAMS. Even though model input parameter estimation and measurement techniques may be imperfect, the simulation ability of CREAMS for predicting N leaching losses from systems on deep sands probably needs to be improved. Sensitivity analyses indicated that annual NC₃^?-N leaching loss predictions were either minimally or not affected by changes in saturated hydraulic conductivity. Input estimations of the fraction of soil pore space filled at field capacity and soil organic matter were inversely related to annual NO₃^?-N leaching losses, while potential mineralizable N was directly related to yearly N leaching losses.     

基于GIS的气候变化对马铃薯生长的脆弱性评价

利用层次分析和专家打分法构建了气候变化对内蒙古马铃薯生产的脆弱性影响评价指标体系,运用脆弱性的定义及灾害风险的理论建立了马铃薯脆弱性综合指数评估模型,通过分析主产区的敏感性、适应性来评估脆弱性影响程度.结果表明:内蒙古马铃薯生产脆弱性分布呈中部高、东西部低的分布特点.以乌兰察布市中部、呼和浩特市南部、包头市南部及锡林郭...