How species interact modulate their dynamics, their response to environmental change, and ultimately the functioning and stability of entire communities. Work conducted at Zackenberg, Northeast Greenland, has changed our view on how networks of arctic biotic interactions are structured, how they vary in time, and how they are changing with current environmental change: firstly, the high arctic interaction webs are much more complex than previously envisaged, and with a structure mainly dictated by its arthropod component. Secondly, the dynamics of species within these webs reflect changes in environmental conditions. Thirdly, biotic interactions within a trophic level may affect other trophic levels, in some cases ultimately affecting land–atmosphere feedbacks. Finally, differential responses to environmental change may decouple interacting species. These insights form Zackenberg emphasize that the combination of long-term, ecosystem-based monitoring, and targeted research projects offers the most fruitful basis for understanding and predicting the future of arctic ecosystems. 相似文献
Insect outbreaks can have important consequences for tundra ecosystems. In this study, we synthesise available information on outbreaks of larvae of the noctuid moth Eurois occulta in Greenland. Based on an extensive dataset from a monitoring programme in Kobbefjord, West Greenland, we demonstrate effects of a larval outbreak in 2011 on vegetation productivity and CO2 exchange. We estimate a decreased carbon (C) sink strength in the order of 118–143 g C m?2, corresponding to 1210–1470 tonnes C at the Kobbefjord catchment scale. The decreased C sink was, however, counteracted the following years by increased primary production, probably facilitated by the larval outbreak increasing nutrient turnover rates. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time in tundra ecosystems, the potential for using remote sensing to detect and map insect outbreak events. 相似文献
Climate change is increasing water scarcity in Sri Lanka. Whether these changes will undermine national-level food security depends upon the ability of the small-scale farmers that dominate rice production and the institutions that support them to overcome the challenges presented by changing water availability. Analyzing household survey data, this research identifies household, institutional, and agroecological factors that influence how water-stressed farmers are working to adapt to changing conditions and how the strategies they employ impact rice yields. Paralleling studies conducted elsewhere, we identified institutional factors as particularly relevant in farmer adaptation decisions. Notably, our research identified farmers’ use of hybrid seed varietals as the only local climate adaptation strategy to positively correlate with farmers’ rice yields. These findings provide insight into additional factors pertinent to successful agricultural adaptation and offer encouraging evidence for policies that promote plant breeding and distribution in Sri Lanka as a means to buffer the food system to climate change-exacerbated drought. 相似文献
In the present context of global change and search for sustainability, we detected a gap between restoration and society: local communities are usually only considered as threats or disturbances when planning for restoration. To bridge this gap, we propose a landscape design framework for planning riparian rehabilitation in an urban–rural gradient. A spatial multi-criteria analysis was used to assess the priority of riversides by considering two rehabilitation objectives simultaneously—socio-environmental and ecological—and two sets of criteria were designed according to these objectives. The assessment made it possible to identify 17 priority sites for riparian rehabilitation that were associated with different conditions along the gradient. The double goal setting enabled a dual consideration of citizens, both as beneficiaries and potential impacts to rehabilitation, and the criteria selected incorporated the multi-dimensional nature of the environment. This approach can potentially be adapted and implemented in any other anthropic–natural interface throughout the world. 相似文献
Ecosystem research focuses on goods and services, thereby ascribing beneficial values to the ecosystems. Depending on the context, however, outputs from ecosystems can be both positive and negative. We examined how provisioning services of wild animals and plants can switch between being services and disservices. We studied agricultural communities in Laos to illustrate when and why these switches take place. Government restrictions on land use combined with economic and cultural changes have created perceptions of rodents and plants as problem species in some communities. In other communities that are maintaining shifting cultivation practices, the very same taxa were perceived as beneficial. We propose conversion factors that in a given context can determine where an individual taxon is located along a spectrum from ecosystem service to disservice, when, and for whom. We argue that the omission of disservices in ecosystem service accounts may lead governments to direct investments at inappropriate targets.
The objective of this study is to assess human exposure to phthalates and its associations with demographic characteristics of the subjects in the Korean National Human Biomonitoring Survey. The subjects aged between 18 and 69 were selected through nationwide stratified sampling. A total of 1874 urine samples were collected and stored at ?20 °C until measurement for ten selected metabolites of phthalates (MnBP, MiBP, MBzP, MCHP, MnOP, MEHP, MEOHP, MEHHP, MiNP, and MiDP) using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The difference in the level of urinary phthalate metabolites by the characteristics of the subjects was tested for statistical significance using SAS Surveyreg procedure. The coefficients and standard errors from multiple linear regressions were exponentiated to estimate the adjusted proportional change (APC) and 95% CIs compared with a referent level. The proportion of data above LOQ was less than 20% for MCHP, MnOP, MiNP, and MiDP. Geometric means of creatinine-adjusted concentrations (unit: μg/g creatinine) of six other phthalate metabolites among Korean adults were 41.7 (95% CI 39.6–43.9) for MnBP, 17.1 (95% CI 16.1–18.1) for MiBP, 15.7 (95% CI 14.4–17.1) for MBzP, 8.65 (95% CI 8.10–9.22) for MEHP, 17.5 (95% CI 16.8–18.3) for MEOHP, and 38.1 (95% CI 36.2–40.2) for MEHHP. Urinary level of phthalates tended to be higher among subjects with older age, females, and those with vigorous daily physical activity and tended to be lower among drinkers and those with higher income. Our results suggest that the level of phthalate exposure is significant among Korean adults and thus warrants further studies to identify major source and route of exposure to phthalates. 相似文献
Plutonium associated with higher molecular weight molecules is presumed to be poorly mobile and hardly plant available. In our present study, we investigate the uptake and effects of Pu treatments on Solanum tuberosum plants in amended Hoagland medium at concentrations of [242Pu] = 100 and 500 nm, respectively. We found a direct proof of oxidative stress in the plants caused by these rather low concentrations. For the confirmation of oxidative stress, we explored the production of nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by epifluorescence microscopy. Oxidative stress markers like lipid peroxidation and superoxide radicals (O2??) are monitored through histochemical analysis. The biochemical parameters i.e. chlorophyll and carotenoids are measured as an indicator of cellular damage in the tested plants including the enzymatic parameters such as catalase and glutathione reductase. From our work, we conclude that Pu in low concentration has no significant effects on the uptake of many trace and macroelements. In contrast, the content of O2??, malondialdehyde (MDA), and H2O2 increases with increasing Pu concentration in the solution, while the opposite effects was found for NO, catalase, and glutathione reductase. These findings prove that even low concentration of Pu regulates ROS production and generate oxidative stress in S. tuberosum L. 相似文献
This is the first study describing the chemical oxidation of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) in contaminated soil under water saturated and unsaturated flow through conditions. Soil contaminated with β-HCH (45 mg kg?1) and γ-HCH (lindane, 25 mg kg?1) was sampled from former lindane waste storage site. Efficiency of following treatments was tested at circumneutral pH: H2O2 alone, H2O2/FeII, Na2S2O8 alone, Na2S2O8/FeII, and KMnO4. Experimental conditions (oxidant dose, liquid/solid ratio, and soil granulometry) were first optimized in batch experiments. Obtained results revealed that increasing dose of H2O2 improved the oxidation efficiency while in Na2S2O8 system, maximum HCHs were removed at 300 mM. However, oxidation efficiency was slightly improved by FeII-activation. Increasing the solid/liquid ratio decreased HCH removal in soil samples crushed to 500 μm while an opposite trend was observed for 2-mm samples. Dynamic column experiments showed that oxidation efficiency followed the order KMnO4 > Na2S2O8/FeII > Na2S2O8 whatever the flow condition, whereas the removal extent declined at higher flow rate (e.g., ~50% by KMnO4 at 0.5 mL/min as compared to ~30% at 2 mL/min). Both HCH removal and oxidant decomposition extents were found higher in saturated columns than the unsaturated ones. While no significant change in relative abundance of soil mineral constituents was observed before and after chemical oxidation, more than 60% of extractable organic matter was lost after chemical oxidation, thereby underscoring the non-selective behavior of chemical oxidation in soil. Due to the complexity of soil system, chemical oxidation has rarely been reported under flow through conditions, and therefore our findings will have promising implications in developing remediation techniques under dynamic conditions closer to field applications. 相似文献
Dendrimer-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) for heavy metal ion removal from wastewaters were developed. Triazole dendrimers (TD) were built directly onto the carbon nanotube surface by successive click chemistry reactions affording the zero- and first-generation dendrimer-functionalized MWCNT (MWCNT-TD1 and MWCNT-TD2). The Moedritzer-Irani reaction carried out on the amino groups present on the MWCNT-TD2 sample gave the corresponding α-aminophosphonate nanosystem MWCNT-TD2P. Both MWCNT-TD2 and MWCNT-TD2P nanosystems have been characterized by physical, chemical, and morphological analyses. Their chelating abilities towards the toxic metal ions Pb2+, Hg2+, and Ni2+ and the harmless Ca2+ ion have been experimentally evaluated in the two different sets of experiments and at the salt concentrations of 1 mg/mL or 1 μg/mL by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results of these studies pointed out the interesting chelating behavior for the phosphonated nanosystem towards the Hg2+ ion. The complexation mode of the best chelating system MWCNT-TD2P with mercury was investigated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, suggesting a chelation mechanism involving the two oxygen atoms of the phosphate group. The synthesized dendrimers, supported on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes, have shown the potential to be used for the selective toxic metal ion removal and recovery. 相似文献