The scope for regulatory incentives to encourage increased efficiency of input use by farmers

Managing diffuse water pollution from agricultural land continues to be one of the more intractable challenges for environmental policy. The advent of the Water Framework Directive places the onus on EU member states to identify reasons why water bodies fail or are at risk of failure to meet good ecological status. In such cases, programmes of measures are to be enacted to mitigate the causes at least cost. Failing this, users may ultimately be faced with the full costs of pollution. This paper considers the scope for measures that address nitrogen and phosphorus pollution at source. Specifically the paper relates the diffuse pollution problem to the extent of over application of nitrogen and phosphorus. Data envelopment analysis applied to English cereal and dairy farmers, provides an indication of resource use and evidence of over application. This inefficiency provides a potential basis for either a least cost abatement approach using effective information and advice, or alternatively a pollution charge.     

异养硝化-好氧反硝化菌株的分离筛选及复配菌剂对河水的净化效果

从天然河水中富集分离出8株异养硝化-好氧反硝化(HN-AD)菌株.将单菌株根据其自身的种属类别及脱氮性能复配成5种由不同菌株构成的菌剂,优选出脱氮效果最佳的复配菌剂-2,其包括6株菌株,分别为Pseudomonas stutzeri MR1,Pseudomonas sp. MR2,Pseudomonas sp. MR3,Pseudomonas balearica MR4,Klebsiella variicola MR6和Catellibacterium terrae MR8.将复配菌剂-2投加至COD_Cr/TN比分别为20和5的河水中,其对NO^-₃-N的去除率分别为87.1%和97.5%,期间无NO^-₂-N积累;对NH⁺₄-N去除效果在第1 d分别达到96.6%和57.6%.复配菌剂可以获得对河水较高的反硝化脱氮效率,并可以强化河水中NH⁺₄-N的去除,对实际河水的脱氮净化具有较强的应用潜能...     

Simulated green turtle grazing affects nutrient composition of the seagrass <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thalassia testudinum</Emphasis>

Before populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were severely reduced by human overexploitation, the seagrass Thalassia testudinum was intensively grazed by green turtles in the Caribbean. To explore how nutrient composition of T. testudinum pastures responds to intense grazing pressure, we simulated green turtle grazing in 15 plots (each 3 m × 3 m) for 16 months in the central Bahamas. Comparisons of clipped plots with 15 adjacent control (unclipped) plots revealed that simulated grazing resulted in significantly higher energy, nitrogen, phosphorus, lignin, cutin, and condensed tannin content in blades in clipped plots, but sediment organic content was not affected. By continually re-cropping blades in grazing plots, turtles ingest young, actively growing blade tissue with higher energy, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations. Our 16-month clipping trial did not generate the expected decline in nutrient content in T. testudinum blades under intensive grazing. However, significant decreases in nitrogen and organic matter reserves in rhizomes, with declines apparent after 16 and 11 months, respectively, indicate that nutrient content of blades and/or blade productivity may decline under continued clipping.     

Uptake of radionuclides by vegetation at a High Arctic location

Radionuclide levels in vegetation from a High Arctic location were studied and compared to in situ soil concentrations. Levels of the anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs and the natural radionuclides 40K, 238U, 226Ra and 232Th are discussed and transfer factor (TF) values and aggregated transfer (Tag) values are calculated for vascular plants. Levels of 137Cs in vegetation generally followed the order mosses > lichen > vascular plants. The uptake of 137Cs in vascular plants showed an inverse relationship with the uptake of 40K, with 137Cs TF and Tag values generally higher than 40K TF and Tag values. 40K activity concentrations in all vegetation showed little correlation to associated soil concentrations, while the uptake of 238U, 226Ra and 232Th by vascular and non-vascular plants was generally low.     

The Effects of Urbanization on Net Primary Productivity in Southeastern China

Net primary productivity (NPP) is one of the major ecosystem products on which human societies rely heavily. However, rapid urban sprawl and its associated dense population and economic conditions have generated great pressure on natural resources, food security, and environments. It is valuable to understand how urban expansion and associated demographic and economic conditions affect ecosystem functions. This research conducted a case study in Southeastern China to examine the impacts of urban expansion and demographic and economic conditions on NPP. The data sources used in research include human settlement developed through a combination of MODIS, DMSP-OLS and Landsat ETM+ images, the annual NPP from MODIS, and the population and gross domestic product (GDP) from the 2000 census data. Multiple regression analysis and nonlinear regression analysis were used to examine the relationships of NPP with settlement, population and GDP. This research indicates that settlement, population and GDP have strongly negative correlation with NPP in Southeastern China, but the outcomes were nonlinear when population or GDP reached certain thresholds.     

Eco-efficient concretes: the effects of using recycled ceramic material from sanitary installations on the mechanical properties of concrete

The aim of this research was to investigate some of the physical and mechanical properties of concrete mixed under laboratory conditions, where different proportions of coarse aggregate materials were substituted by porcelain from sanitary installations. The results of the tests show that the concrete produced has the same mechanical characteristics as conventional concrete, thus opening a door to selective recycling of sanitary porcelain and its use in the production of concrete.     

A guide towards climate change adaptation in the livestock sector: adaptation options and the role of robust decision-making tools for their economic appraisal

Economic appraisal and technical effectiveness of adaptation options are key criteria for judging climate change adaptation investment decisions in all sectors. Yet relatively little methodological guidance exists for determining the most appropriate appraisal techniques for different adaptation options. This paper provides adaptation options and scopes relevant appraisal methods in agriculture focussing on livestock production specifically. We find that for many adaptation options for livestock agriculture, standard (expected) cost-benefit analysis is an appropriate tool. For adaptation options requiring long lead times or those with long lifetimes, techniques incorporating uncertainty (‘robust’ methods) are more suitable, including real options analysis, portfolio analysis and robust decision-making. From a comprehensive list of adaptation options in the livestock sector, we identify the most appropriate appraisal technique for each option and describe how the robust appraisal tools could be applied to heat stress, flood risk and water management.

     

Exploring spatial patterns of particulate sulfur and OMH from the Project MOHAVE summer intensive regional network using analyses of variance techniques and meteorological parameters as sort determinants

Project MOHAVE (Measurements of Haze and Visual Effects) encompassed a 1-yr field study in the southwestern United States from September 1991 through August 1992. The congressionally mandated study was a joint partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Southern California Edison, and the National Park Service. A major objective of this study was to quantify the potential haze impacts on the nearby Grand Canyon National Park from the 1580 MW coal-fired MOHAVE Power Project (MPP). Any regional impacts from MPP were from secondary fine sulfate. In this paper, we explore the temporal and spatial patterns of particulate sulfur (Sp) and "organic mass by hydrogen" (OMH) during the summer intensive, conducted from mid-July through the end of August 1992. Using an innovative hierarchical pattern recognition classification scheme, we developed 6 groups of Sp and 8 groups of OMH temporally similar behaving patterns in the sampling region. From a regional understanding of synoptic meteorology, these Sp patterns were explainable. We observed two regional gradients. One gradient was a west-to-east decreasing gradient, most likely the result of major sources from urban southern California, including the San Joaquin Valley. The other decreasing gradient was from south-to-north, perhaps the result of emissions emanating from the large urban centers in northern Mexico. The patterns for OMH were not as regionally homogeneous as the patterns for Sp. A west-to-east decreasing gradient was observed for OMH, along with reduced values in the lower Colorado River Valley and some higher values in central and eastern Arizona. The west-to-east decreasing gradient suggests the presence of the Los Angeles urban plume, while the higher values in central and eastern Arizona may be due to biogenic emissions and increased seasonal fires.