Ecosystem management to achieve ecological sustainability: The case of South Florida

The ecosystems of South Florida are unique in the world. The defining features of the natural Everglades (large spatial scale, temporal patterns of water storage and sheetflow, and low nutrient levels) historically allowed a mosaic of habitats with characteristic animals. Massive hydrological alterations have halved the Everglades, and ecological sustainability requires fundamental changes in management.The US Man and the Biosphere Human-Dominated Systems Directorate is conducting a case study of South Florida using ecosystem management as a framework for exploring options for mutually dependent sustainability of society and the environment. A new methodology was developed to specify sustainability goals, characterize human factors affecting the ecosystem, and conduct scenario/consequence analyses to examine ecological and societal implications. South Florida has sufficient water for urban, agricultural, and ecological needs, but most water drains to the sea through the system of canals; thus, the issue is not competition for resources but storage and management of water. The goal is to reestablish the natural system for water quantity, timing, and distribution over a sufficient area to restore the essence of the Everglades.The societal sustainability in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is at risk because of soil degradation, vulnerability of sugar price supports, policies affecting Cuban sugar imports, and political/economic forces aligned against sugar production. One scenario suggested using the EAA for water storage while under private sugar production, thereby linking sustainability of the ecological system with societal sustainability. Further analyses are needed, but the US MAB project suggests achieving ecological sustainability consistent with societal sustainability may be feasible.     

MODELING THE BUILDUP AND WASHOFF OF POLLUTANTS ON URBAN WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: A model for urban stormwater quality was developed in this study. The basis for the model is the process by which pollutants build up on the watershed surface. For the wet climate of the study site, it was assumed that there exists an interval of time over which the pollutant buildup equals the pollutant washoff (no accumulation of pollutant). The buildup model was represented by a linear function of the antecedent dry time. The buildup function was then linked with a pollutant washoff model represented by a power function of the storm runoff volume. Various time intervals for no net accumulation were tested to calibrate the model. The model was calibrated to observed data for two small urban basins in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and model results were used to analyze the behavior of phosphorus concentrations in storm runoff from these basins over a long period of time.     

地貌对矿区环境,灾害的影响与对策

论述了地貌对矿区环境、灾害的产生及发展的影响，并以中国几个矿区的实例论述这一问题，同时，提出一些减缓影响的对策．     

Prevention of musculoskeletal complaints in nursing: Aims, approach and content of an ergonomic-educational programme

In 1992 a comprehensive health-promotion project was initiated in seven nursing-homes in the Netherlands. This project was designed to implement an ergonomic-educational programme, with the intention of reducing physical workload and to bring about safe working in order to prevent work-related musculoskeletal complaints. After a period of external support, employees of the nursing-homes should be able to proceed with the programme independently. In this paper the content of the programme and its underlying strategies and theories are described. So far, the programme has got off to a good start in all the nursing-homes. Positive effects of the programme could be demonstrated and guidelines and protocols for safe working were introduced. However, it is as yet too early for definitive conclusions to be drawn regarding the aspect of continuity.     

布袋式除尘器在电厂输煤系统上的应用

针对胜利电厂皮带输煤系统粉尘浓度高、污染环境、影响职工身体健康的问题，用布袋式除尘器替代原有的静电除尘器，并对布袋除尘器辅助系统进行了多处改进和完善，提高了运行的可靠性。投运后粉尘质量浓度由原来的18．3mg／m^3降低至1．68mg／m^3，除尘效率达到了98％以上。     

矿井井筒提升设备绕流的数值模拟

基于经典的流体力学理论,建立罐笼绕流的二维RNGκ-ε湍流模型,分析其初始边界条件,并结合工程实际应用FLUENT计算流体动力学软件模拟罐笼运行时井筒内流场及压力场,得出井筒内流场及压力场的变化规律。研究结果表明:在罐笼运行期间,由于空间受限而引发活塞效应,井筒内压力发生瞬态变化,造成通风系统的压力波动,导致气流运动的动态改变,对通风系统稳定性有一定的影响。     

Rapid amino acid cycling in arctic and antarctic soils

Amino acids constitute one of the largest inputs of organic nitrogen (N) to most polar soils and have been hypothesized to be important in regulating vegetational succession and productivity in Arctic ecosystems. Our understanding of amino acid cycling in these soils, however, is poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the size and rate of turnover of the amino acid pool in a range of Arctic and Antarctic soils. Our results indicate that in polar soils with either high or low ornithogenic inputs the amino acid pool is small in comparison to the inorganic N pool (NO^–₃ and NH⁺₄). The free amino acid pool constituted only a small proportion of the total dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool in these soils. Here we show that these low concentrations may be due to rapid use by the soil microbial community in both Arctic and Antarctic soils. The turnover of the amino acid pool in soil was extremely rapid, with a half-life ranging from 2 to 24 h, indicating that this N pool can be turned over many hundred times each summer when polar soils are frequently unfrozen. The implications of amino acids in N cycling and plant and microbial nutrition are discussed.