Comparison of a diurnal vs steady-state ozone exposure profile on growth and yield of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in open-top chambers in the Yangtze Delta, China

Most available exposure-response relationships for assessing crop loss due to elevated ozone (O₃) have been established using data from chamber and open-top chamber experiments, using a simulated constant O₃ concentration exposure (square wave), which is not consistent with the diurnal variation of O₃ concentration that occurs in nature. We investigated the response of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) to O₃ as affected by two exposure regimes: one with a diurnal variation (CF100D) and another with a constant concentration (CF100). Although the two exposure regimes have the same mean O₃ concentration and accumulated O₃ concentration above 40 ppb (AOT40), our results show that O₃ at CF100D reduced biomass and number of pods/plant more than O₃ at CF100. Both O₃ exposures resulted in larger seed weights/100 pods compared to CF. Numbers of seeds/100 pods were reduced by CF100, while numbers of seeds/100 pods in the CF100D chambers were comparable to those in CF. Our results suggest that chamber experiments that use a constant O₃ exposure may underestimate O₃ effects on biomass and yields.     

Modeling the mechanisms for uptake and translocation of dioxane in a soil-plant ecosystem with STELLA

Knowledge of mechanisms for uptake, translocation, and accumulation of soil contaminants in plants is essential to successful applications of the phytoremediation technique. Analysis and evaluation of these mechanisms would be greatly facilitated by the availability of a dynamic model that can predict soil contaminant uptake by roots, transport from roots through stems to leaves, and accumulation in plant during the transport process. In this study, a dynamic model for uptake and translocation of contaminants from a soil-plant ecosystem (UTCSP) was developed using the STELLA modeling tool. The structure of UTCSP consists of time-dependent simultaneous upward transport, accumulation, and transpiration of water and contaminants in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, which was driven by water potential gradients among soils, roots, stems, leaves, and atmosphere. The UTCSP model was calibrated using the experimental measurements and applied to predict phytoremediation of 1,4-dioxane from a sandy soil by a poplar tree. Simulation results showed that about 20% of 1,4-dioxane was removed from the soil by the poplar tree in 90 days. The simulations further revealed that while the mass of 1,4-dioxane in the poplar tree increased consecutively with time, the rates of water and 1,4-dioxane uptake and translocation in the roots, stems, and leaves have a typical diurnal distribution pattern: increasing during the day and decreasing during the night, resulting from daily variations of plant water potentials that were caused by leaf water transpiration. This study suggests that the UTCSP model is a useful tool for estimating phytoremediation of contaminants in the soil-plant ecosystems.     

Distribution of Economic Benefits from Ecotourism: A Case Study of Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in China

Ecotourism is widely promoted as a conservation tool and actively practiced in protected areas worldwide. Theoretically, support for conservation from the various types of stakeholder inside and outside protected areas is maximized if stakeholders benefit proportionally to the opportunity costs they bear. The disproportional benefit distribution among stakeholders can erode their support for or lead to the failure of ecotourism and conservation. Using Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas (China) as an example, we demonstrate two types of uneven distribution of economic benefits among four major groups of stakeholders. First, a significant inequality exists between the local rural residents and the other types of stakeholder. The rural residents are the primary bearers of the cost of conservation, but the majority of economic benefits (investment, employment, and goods) in three key ecotourism sectors (infrastructural construction, hotels/restaurants, and souvenir sales) go to other stakeholders. Second, results show that the distribution of economic benefits is unequal among the rural residents inside the reserve. Most rural households that benefit from ecotourism are located near the main road and potentially have less impact on panda habitat than households far from the road and closer to panda habitats. This distribution gap is likely to discourage conservation support from the latter households, whose activities are the main forces degrading panda habitats. We suggest that the unequal distribution of the benefits from ecotourism can be lessened by enhancing local participation, increasing the use of local goods, and encouraging relocation of rural households closer to ecotourism facilities.     

Impacts of sewage irrigation on heavy metal distribution and contamination in Beijing, China

A potential hazard to Beijing was revealed due to the accumulation trend of heavy metals in agricultural soils with sewage irrigation, which results in metal contamination and human exposure risk. Samples including soils and plants were collected to assess the impacts of sewage irrigation on the irrigated farming area of Beijing. Concentrations of the five elements Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb were determined in samples to calculate the accumulation factor and to establish a basis for environmental protection and the suitability of sewage irrigation for particular land use in the urban-rural interaction area of Beijing. Using reference values provided by the Beijing Background Research Cooperative Group in the 1970s, the pollution load index (PLI), enrichment factor (EF), and contamination factor (CF) of these metals were calculated. The pollution load indices (sewage irrigation land 3.49) of soils indicated that metal contamination occurred in these sites. The metal enrichment (EF of Cd 1.8, Cr 1.7, Cu 2.3, Zn 2.0, Pb 1.9) and the metal contamination (CF of Cd 2.6, Cr 1.5, Cu 2.0, Zn 1.7, Pb 1.6) showed that the accumulation trend of the five toxic metals increased during the sewage irrigation as compared with the lower reference values than other region in China and world average, and that pollution with Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb was exacerbated in soils. The distributions of these metals were homogeneous in the irrigation area, but small-scale heterogeneous spatial distribution was observed. Irrigation sources were found to affect heavy metal distributions in soils. It was suggested that heavy metal transfer from soils to plants was a key pathway to human health exposure to metal contamination. However, with the expansion of urban areas in Beijing, soil inhalation and ingestion may become important pathways of human exposure to metal contamination.     

金鸡关隧道渗水变形特征研究及其治理

川藏公路雅安金鸡关隧道于1995年元月开始双洞全线通车运行,但是从2001年左右开始左、右隧道均出现了不同程度的渗水变形,并有裂缝以及局部隆起鼓出现象。通过实地勘查和采样分析,结合前人的研究,认为金鸡关隧道的病害主要是地质原因,即灌口组地层中的膨胀性粘土遇水膨胀造成顶拱和路面鼓出隆起变形;溶解了地层中石膏的地下水沿施工造成的环向裂缝渗水重结晶,其诱发因素为地下水。在研究了金鸡关遂道渗水变形特征的基础上,围绕治理表部和隧道周边的地下水提出了相关的治理方案。     

High mineral adsorption of glyphosate versus diethyl phthalate and tetracycline,during visible light photodegradation with goethite and oxalate

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The increasing presence of pesticides, pharmaceuticals and plasticizers in environmental media is threatening public health and ecosystems. Remediation of...     

Cu2+对普通小球藻的光合毒性：初始藻密度的影响

为了研究Cu2+对普通小球藻的光合毒性以及初始藻密度对Cu2+光合毒性的影响,将初始密度为107mL-1的普通小球藻暴露于Cu2+的6个浓度(0、5、10、20、30和40μmol.L-1)中进行96 h的毒性暴露实验,在2、48和96 h分别利用叶绿素荧光仪(MAXI-Imaging-PAM)测定各项叶绿素荧光参数,同时,针对3个不同初始密度的普通小球藻(2×106、5×106和2×107mL-1),测定并比较了其暴露于0、20和40μmol.L-1的Cu2+12 h后,叶绿素荧光参数的变化。不同初始藻密度的毒性实验结果显示,初始藻密度为2×106mL-1时,20和40μmol.L-1Cu2+可完全抑制普通小球藻的光合作用;当初始藻密度增加到5×106和2×107mL-1时,40μmol.L-1Cu2+对普通小球藻的实际光合作用效率仅有约75%和25%的抑制。这表明初始藻密度越大,Cu2+的光合毒性越弱。但随着初始藻密度的增加,初始藻密度的变化对Cu2+光合毒性的影响减弱。初始藻密度为107mL-1时的毒性实验结果显示,暴露于20~40μmol.L-1Cu2+2 h后,普通小球藻的光合作用即受到抑制,且该抑制程度随Cu2+浓度的增加而增强,并随着暴露时间的延长有所缓解。随着Cu2+浓度的增加,最大量子产量(Fv/Fm)、实际量子产量(Yield)、相对电子传递速率(ETR)和光化学淬灭系数(qP)逐渐降低,非光化学淬灭系数(NPQ/4)逐渐上升。研究结果表明,Cu2+对普通小球藻的光合作用有一定的抑制作用,其机理可能为通过引起PSII系统反应中心的部分失活,导致PSII系统反应中心的开放比例减少,引起电子传递速率降低以及ATP和NADPH的合成减慢,从而使光合作用速率下降;初始藻密度对Cu2+的光合毒性大小有较大的影响,故在进行藻类的毒性实验时,也应关注初始藻密度的影响。     

Influence of supports on photocatalytic degradation of phenol and 4-chlorophenol in aqueous suspensions of titanium dioxide

The photocatalytic degradation of phenol and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in aqueous suspensions with the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) under UV irradiation was examined. The effects of different supporting materials mixed physically with TiO2 were studied to achieve maximum degradation efficiency. Among the three supports, namely activated carbon (AC), silica (SiO2 ) and zeolite (ZSM-5), all exhibited paramount efficiency for degradation of phenol and 4-CP and was better than TiO2 alone. The optimum concentration was found to be 50 mg for all supporting materials. The efficiency order of the three supports was as follows: AC > ZSM-5 > SiO2 , respectively. Whilst, the degradation of phenol and 4-CP was improved from 70.6% to 87.6% and 80.6% to 89.7%, respectively, within 120 min photocatalysis in the presence of optimal amount of AC. The degradation was also comparatively enhanced in the presence of cheaper rice husk and the activity was closed to ZSM-5 and lower than AC.     

Spatial and seasonal variability of CO2 flux at the air-water interface of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Difusive carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions from the water surface of the Three Gorges Reservoir, currently the largest hydroelectric reservoir in the world, were measured using floating static chambers over the course of a yearlong survey. The results showed that the average annual CO2 flux was(163.3 ± 117.4) mg CO2/(m2·hr) at the reservoir surface, which was larger than the CO2 flux in most boreal and temperate reservoirs but lower than that in tropical reservoirs. Significant spatial variations in CO2 flux were observed at four measured sites, with the largest flux measured at Wushan(221.9 mg CO2/(m2·hr)) and the smallest flux measured at Zigui(88.6 mg CO2/(m2·hr)); these diferences were probably related to the average water velocities at diferent sites. Seasonal variations in CO2 flux were also observed at four sites, starting to increase in January, continuously rising until peaking in the summer(June-August) and gradually decreasing thereafter. Seasonal variations in CO2 flux could reflect seasonal dynamics in pH, water velocity,and temperature. Since the spatial and temporal variations in CO2 flux were significant and dependent on multiple physical, chemical,and hydrological factors, it is suggested that long-term measurements should be made on a large spatial scale to assess the climatic influence of hydropower in China, as well as the rest of the world.     

基于信息扩散与自助法的旱灾风险评估模型──以安徽为例

旱灾风险管理是抗旱减灾的科学手段、干旱及旱灾研究的重要方向,定量评估旱灾风险是旱灾风险管理的核心内容。为降低各种不确定性因素影响下旱灾风险评估结果的误差,提高结果的可靠性,提出运用信息扩散法估计旱灾损失的超越概率,结合自助法的区间估计算法,建立基于信息扩散与自助法的灾害风险评估模型,用不同置信水平下旱灾损失对应超越概率的置信区间来反映旱灾风险。将该模型运用于安徽省农业易旱地区干旱灾害风险评估,计算并确定在置信水平为0.75时安徽省易旱地区的旱灾风险区间评估结果合理、可靠,可为抗旱规划提供科学的决策依据。