Motivation of Japanese companies to take environmental action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions: an econometric analysis

To analyze the motivations of Japanese companies to take environmental actions to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we used FY2006 research data and questioned Japanese industries regarding their reduction of GHG emissions. Empirical investigations revealed that voluntary targets set by industry organizations, government requirements, and advance responses to possible future regulations can positively influence environmental actions for GHG emission reduction; however, cost reductions and corporate social responsibility fulfillment cannot.

A global transport model of lead in the atmosphere

A global atmospheric transport model is used to calculate lead concentrations in the atmosphere. The model performance is evaluated through comparisons with observations in Europe. The model results of lead concentrations in surface air were compared with measurements in East Asia. The detailed comparisons showed generally good agreement for recent decades, although systematic underestimation was found in China. Anthropogenic lead emissions in China are estimated from economic statistics to be 56 000 t yr^?1, which is not small considering the economic scale of China. The underestimations suggest a hidden source of lead emissions. The emissions in Japan and Korea are derived from optimization by the model. The magnitude is about 2000 t yr^?1, which is much greater than that reported by the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register in Japan and Toxics Release Inventory in Korea.     

Nitrate facilitates cadmium uptake, transport and accumulation in the hyperaccumulator Sedum plumbizincicola

The aims of this study are to investigate whether and how the nitrogen form (nitrate (NO₃ ^–) versus ammonium (NH₄ ⁺)) influences cadmium (Cd) uptake and translocation and subsequent Cd phytoextraction by the hyperaccumulator species Sedum plumbizincicola. Plants were grown hydroponically with N supplied as either NO₃ ^– or NH₄ ⁺. Short-term (36 h) Cd uptake and translocation were determined innovatively and quantitatively using a positron-emitting ¹⁰⁷Cd tracer and positron-emitting tracer imaging system. The results show that the rates of Cd uptake by roots and transport to the shoots in the NO₃ ^– treatment were more rapid than in the NH₄ ⁺ treatment. After uptake for 36 h, 5.6 (0.056 μM) and 29.0 % (0.290 μM) of total Cd in the solution was non-absorbable in the NO₃ ^– and NH₄ ⁺ treatments, respectively. The local velocity of Cd transport was approximately 1.5-fold higher in roots (3.30 cm h^?1) and 3.7-fold higher in shoots (10.10 cm h^?1) of NO₃ ^–- than NH₄ ⁺-fed plants. Autoradiographic analysis of ¹⁰⁹Cd reveals that NO₃ ^– nutrition enhanced Cd transportation from the main stem to branches and young leaves. Moreover, NO₃ ^– treatment increased Cd, Ca and K concentrations but inhibited Fe and P in the xylem sap. In a 21-day hydroponic culture, shoot biomass and Cd concentration were 1.51 and 2.63 times higher in NO₃ ^–- than in NH₄ ⁺-fed plants. We conclude that compared with NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^– promoted the major steps in the transport route followed by Cd from solution to shoots in S. plumbizincicola, namely its uptake by roots, xylem loading, root-to-shoot translocation in the xylem and uploading to the leaves. S. plumbizincicola prefers NO₃ ^– nutrition to NH₄ ⁺ for Cd phytoextraction.     

Phosphorus recovery from secondary effluent and side-stream liquid in a sewage treatment plant using zirconium-loaded saponified orange waste

Zirconium was loaded onto orange waste, a cheap and available agricultural waste in Japan, to investigate the feasibility of its utilization for phosphorus recovery from secondary effluent and side-stream liquid, which contain 5.9 and 68.2 mg/dm³ phosphorus, respectively. The phosphorus removal from side-stream liquid by using zirconium-loaded saponified orange waste (Zr-SOW) gel increased with an increasing solid/liquid ratio, and it was found that Zr-SOW gel showed better performance than zirconium ferrite. The prepared adsorbent was effective for phosphorus removal and exhibited a reasonably high adsorption capacity, twice than that of zirconium ferrite. The secondary effluent was treated in a column packed with Zr-SOW gel, and an dynamic adsorption capacity of 1.3 mol-P/kg was attained. The adsorbed phosphorus from the column was successfully eluted as a concentrated form by using a small amount of 0.2 M NaOH. Throughout the elution process, zirconium was not leaked from the adsorption gel.     

Phytoextraction of cadmium by rice (Oryza sativa L.), soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), and maize (Zea mays L.)

Selecting a phytoextraction plant with high Cd-accumulating ability based on the plant's compatibility with mechanized cultivation techniques may yield more immediately practical results than selection based on high tolerance to Cd. Rice (Oryza sativa L., cv. Nipponbare and Milyang 23), soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr., cv. Enrei and Suzuyutaka), and maize (Zea mays L., cv. Gold Dent) were grown on one Andosol and two Fluvisols with low concentration of Cd contamination ranging from 0.83 to 4.29 mg Cd kg(-1), during 60 days in pots (550 mL) placed in a greenhouse. Shoot Cd uptake was as follows: Gold Dent相似文献   

A sex pheromone component novel to Ostrinia identified from Ostrinia latipennis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Summary. Extracts from the sex pheromone gland of Ostrinia latipennis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) were analyzed by gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC-mass spectrometry. Only an EAD-active compound was detected in the extract, and it was identified as (E)-11-tetradecenol (E11-14:OH). In a wind-tunnel bioassay, E11-14:OH elicited a series of mate finding behaviors from males, although it was far less active than virgin females and crude extract of the pheromone gland. The attractiveness of E11-14:OH to O. latipennis males was confirmed by field trapping experiments. Based on these findings, we concluded that E11-14:OH, which is novel to the genus Ostrinia, is a major component of the sex pheromone in O. latipennis. The significance of the use of alcohol in place of the usual acetates in Ostrinia is discussed in relation to the pheromone biosynthesis system. Received 9 December 1999; accepted 14 March 2000     

Field Survey of Trans-boundary Air Pollution with High Time Resolution at Coastal Sites on the Sea of Japan during Winter in Japan}

An intensive field survey, with 6-h measurement intervals, of concentrations of chemical species in particulate matter and gaseous compounds was carried out at coastal sites on the Sea of Japan during winter. The concentration variation of SO₂(g) and HNO₃(g) were well correlated, whereas the NH₃(g) concentration variation had no correlation with those of SO₂(g) and HNO₃(g). The NH₄ ⁺ (p)/non-sea-salt- (nss-)SO₄ ^{2 −}(p) ratio in particulate matter was mainly affected by the location of the sampling site. One or more concentration peaks of nss-Ca^{2 +} for survey period were observed. Backward trajectories analyses for the highest nss-Ca^{2 +} concentration peaks showed some inconsistency in pathways. We consider that insufficient mixing of the atmosphere and/or insufficient time for the transported air pollutants to react with those discharged locally are the most likely explanations for the discrepancies between the measured products [HNO₃][NH₃] and the calculated values.     

Vibratory communication in the soil: pupal signals deter larval intrusion in a group-living beetle <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trypoxylus dichotoma</Emphasis>

Pupae of several insect species are known to generate air-borne sounds and/or substrate-borne vibrations, but the functions of the sounds/vibrations are not well understood. Here, we present the first evidence of vibratory communication between pupae and larvae of a group-living Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotoma which inhabits humus soil. The last-instar larvae of this beetle construct their own pupal cells to ensure normal pupation and eclosion. These cells are fragile and subject to damage from burrowing larvae because pupae and larvae co-inhabit the same patches of humus. In laboratory experiments, we demonstrated that pupal cells harboring live pupae were less likely to be broken by larvae than those harboring dead pupae. It was also demonstrated that pupae produced vibrations in response to larvae approaching the pupal cells. High-speed video and vibration analyses showed that pupae emitted 3–7 pulses at 1.3-s intervals by beating their pronotum against the inner wall of the pupal cell. The pupal vibration was of low frequency with a maximum energy at ≈ 100 Hz. The drumming behavior was more frequently observed in the presence of an approaching larva than in its absence. When pupal vibrations were played back near to vacant artificial pupal cells, these cells were rarely disturbed by the larvae. These results provide evidence that pupae generate vibrations to deter conspecific larvae, thereby preventing damage to the cells. This larval response to pupal vibrations may have evolved through preexisting anti-predator and/or sib-killing-avoidance behavior.     

Estimation of the amount of dry deposition in an urban area (Kobe city, Japan) by the inferential method

The amount of dry deposition of SO₂(g) and HNO₃(g) in an urban area in Japan has been estimated by the inferential method. The mean annual dry deposition of SO₂(g) (2.91 kgS/ha/year) was close to or less than that in the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) of the U.S. (3.59 kgS/ha/year). The mean annual dry deposition of HNO₃(g) (10.8 kgN/ha/year) was approximately six times larger than that in CASTNet (1.85 kgN/ha/year). The proportions of dry/(dry+wet) deposition for sulfur and nitrogen were 0.301 and 0.785, respectively.     

Role of the bivalveCorbicula japonica in the nitrogen cycle in a mesohaline lagoon

The effect of the bivalveCorbicula japonica on the nitrogen cycle in Lake Shinji, a mesohaline brackish lagoon in Japan, was examined quantitatively based on field surveys and laboratory experiments carried out in the summer of 1982 and 1983. The biomass of the flesh ofC. japonica comprised 97% of the total biomass of the macrozoobenthos in summer. Total biomass ofC. japonica in the lake was estimated 30 986 t fresh wt. The concentration of suspended solids immediately above the lake bottom, whereC. japonica filters the water, was 1.5 to 4 times higher than that in the surface water. In laboratory experiments, the filtration rate was 5.0 litres g dry flesh wt^-1 h^-1, the excretion rates of ammonia and of feces and pseudofeces ofC. japonica were 200×10^-6 g N g dry flesh wt^-1 h^-1 and 33.4 mg dry wt g dry flesh wt^-1 h^-1, respectively at 27°C, the average summer water temperature in the lake. From our study, we estimated thatC. japonica filters almost the same amounts of particulate organic nitrogen produced in the lake by phytoplankton and that supplied from rivers, and that it excretes 30% of filtered nitrogen as feces or pseudofeces and 18% as ammonia.