Using ecological memory as an indicator to monitor the ecological restoration of four forest plantations in subtropical China

A large area of plantations has been established worldwide and especially in China. Evaluating the restoration status of these plantations is essential for their long-term management. Based on our previous work, we used an ecological memory (EM) approach to evaluate four 26-year-old plantations that represent four common kinds of plantations in subtropical China, i.e., mixed broad-leaved plantation (MBP), mixed coniferous plantation (MCP), eucalyptus plantation (EP), and mixed legume plantation (MLP). Comparing them with the regional climax community, i.e., monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (BF), all four plantations accumulated nearly the same pattern of EM during succession. EM was >50 % for soil minerals, light conditions, soil age, soil animals, and soil microbes. EM was about 25 % for soil pollen and 10 % for birds, soil seed bank, and plant species. The total EM value of the four plantations ranged from 50.96 to 52.54, which indicated that all four plantations were in the regional, natural trajectory of succession and between the early and medium successional stages. The results indicated that natural succession processes are unlikely to be accelerated by planting late-stage tree species without sufficient EM. The results also demonstrated that all four plantations were in positive successional trajectories, and the positive succession dynamics were greater in the MLP and MCP. We suggest that the entire natural succession trajectory be used to evaluate the restoration of a site and that the ultimate restoration target be divided into several milestones along the reference trajectory to monitor progress. Forest restoration may be accelerated by starting with a minimum dynamic unit supporting sufficient EM.     

Effects of plant density on the photosynthetic and chloroplast characteristics of maize under high-yielding conditions

The Science of Nature - Knowledge on animal personality has provided new insights into evolutionary biology and animal ecology, as behavioural types have been shown to affect fitness. Animal...     

壳牌公司的环境评价技术方法和应用研究

文章从信息收集、环境危害评价、环境影响控制、应急恢复、HSE例卷管理等方面,分析了壳牌公司环境评价的概念和应用领域,总结了壳牌公司环境管理的经验,并据此提出了改进我国石油石化企业环境管理的若干建议。     

Integrated emergy,energy and economic evaluation of rice and vegetable production systems in alluvial paddy fields: Implications for agricultural policy in China

China is the largest rice producing and consuming country in the world, but rice production has given way to the production of vegetables during the past twenty years. The government has been trying to stop this land-use conversion and increase the area in rice-vegetable rotation. Important questions that must be answered to determine what strategy is best for society are, “What is the reason behind this conversion?”; “Which system is more productive and which is more sustainable?”; and “How can economic policy be used to adjust the pattern of farmland use to attain sustainable development?” To answer these questions, a combined evaluation of these agricultural production systems was done using emergy, energy and economic methods. An economic analysis clearly showed that the reason for this conversion was simply that the economic output/input ratio and the benefit density of the vegetable production system were greater than that of rice. However, both energy and emergy evaluations showed that long-term rice was the best choice for sustainable development, followed by rotation systems. The current price of rice is lower than the em-value of rice produced from the long-term rice system, but higher than that of rice produced from the rotation system. Scenario analysis showed that if the government increases the price of rice to the em-value of rice produced from the long-term rice system, US$0.4/kg, and takes the value of soil organic matter into account, the economic output/input ratios of both the rice and rotation systems will be higher than that of the vegetable system. The three methods, energy, emergy and economics, are different but complementary, each revealing a different aspect of the same system. Their combined use shows not only the reasons behind a system’s current state or condition, but also the way to adjust these systems to move toward more sustainable states.     

镇江市综合防灾系统中消防信息的输入与管理

本文以镇江市消防地图及其相关信息为对象,分析了消防信息的特点和现有的输入方法,以及作者在设计与建造镇江市消防信息数据库的实践中采用的技术路线和具体方法。     

南水北调中线工程对汉江中下游工业发展的影响

南水北调中线工程计划从丹江口水库向我国北方每年调水１４５亿ｍ＾３,汉江丹江口以下地区的水资源量将随之相应减少。汉江中下游地区是湖北省盐化工、机械、石油、食品、化肥、电力的重要生产地区,是湖北省的汽车工业走廊,其经济在湖北省占有举足轻重的地位。由于经济的迅速发展,下世纪工农业生产和人民生活对水资源的需求将从现在的１４０亿ｍ＾３增加到２５０亿ｍ＾３以上,需水量将达到水资源量的５８％,潜伏着严重的水资源     

Spatial distribution of DDT in sediments from estuarine rivers of central Florida

Sediments may act as both a carrier for and a potential source of contaminants such as toxic organics in aquatic environments. This study investigated the spatial distribution of the pesticide DDT [1,1, 1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane] in sediments from the Cedar and Ortega Rivers located in the lower St. Johns River basin, Florida, USA, using field measurements and three-dimensional kriging analysis. High DDT concentrations were found near the junction of the Cedar and Ortega Rivers and at the north end of the Ortega River in the upper 0.5 m of the sediments, indicating that the sediment was enriched with DDT in the top layer although use of this chlorinated compound was banned in 1972. Further study revealed that the influence of sediment grain size or texture on DDT contamination was negligible in this river system and no linear correlations existed among DDT and its metabolites such as DDD [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane] and DDE [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene]. Comparison of three-dimensional distribution of DDT content to the Florida sediment quality assessment guideline or probable effect level (PEL) showed several "hot spots" in the Ortega River sediments, where DDT contents exceeded the PEL value of 4.78 microg kg(-1). Such contamination may pose a significant hazard to aquatic life.     

裸项栉鰕虎鱼仔鱼日摄食量及摄食节律研究

研究裸项栉鰕虎鱼早期发育阶段的日摄食量及昼夜摄食规律,为种苗培育提供技术依据.以孵化7 d的裸项栉鰕虎鱼仔鱼为研究对象,设自然昼夜组(对照组)、持续光照组和持续黑暗组三组,各组每隔2 h取样15尾仔鱼,检查并计算每尾仔鱼胃中的轮虫数,结果表明三组的轮虫日摄食量分别为36.5个/尾、70.7个/尾和1.57个/尾;白天摄食量比例分别为总摄食量的88.0%,67.6%和74.4%;对照组和持续光照组在傍晚(18:00)出现摄食高峰;黑暗组在正午(12:00) 出现一个摄食峰;持续光照组日摄食量为对照组的193.9%,而黑暗组仅为对照组的4.1%,另外,裸项栉鰕虎鱼仔鱼属白天摄食类型,光照对仔鱼摄食影响显著,仔鱼饲育的光照持续时间可比自然白昼延长4 h,投饵主要应在有光时进行.     

检测细胞DNA断裂损伤效应的彗星实验法的改良

为了解决彗星实验过程中常出现的脱胶、细胞核分离操作繁琐、重复性低等问题,对彗星实验方法进行了改良,初步建立了彗星实验的快速操作流程。结果显示,通过对载玻片进行预处理,可确保凝胶悬挂均匀;采用改良机械法分离的细胞核浓度适中;以0.5%(w/v)涂层琼脂糖作为基层、以1.5%(w/v)低熔点包埋琼脂糖作为叠加层的"双层凝胶法",辅以"推片法"铺胶,操作便捷且不发生脱胶现象;细胞核膜经裂解处理后再进行电泳和荧光观察,彗星图像清晰,杂质少。应用改良后的彗星实验方法,操作简便,耗时更短,实验效果良好,可快速检测出细胞DNA损伤效应。     

Leaching-induced migration and compositional form change of Cu,Zn, and Cd from sludge to loess

Land utilization of sewage sludge has become one of the major issues in environmental mitigation in China. This is particularly important in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China. Sludge enriched with organic matter and nutrients might effectively help to resolve the problems of silty loess soils as evidenced by porosity defect, structural alterations and absence of fertility. After sludge flows into the loess, irrigation water contains heavy metals that leach and migrate into sludge and consequently related human health risks may occur that raise concerns; and this situation needs to be rectified. The characteristics of the vertical migration and composition form change of Cu, Zn, and Cd from composted sludge to loess, and corresponding influencing factors, were investigated by performing a soil column simulation test under the leaching treatment of a one-year irrigation water capacity. Results demonstrated that: (1) composted sludge significantly improved loess fertility, and irrigation leaching transported only a small quantity of organic matter in sludge in the plough layer; (2) although some of the Cu, Zn, and Cd in composted sludge migrated to and concentrated in the middle and upper layers of the soil column during leaching, these metals were mostly retained in the plough layer; and (3) after the leaching treatment of the one-year irrigation water capacity, the compositions of Cu, Zn, and Cd (particularly Cu and Zn) in both plough layer and loess began to stabilize with low concentrations in the exudate. These findings confirmed the applicability of composted sludge in loess regions. This study provided a new insight into the sludge reuse in alkaline soils in arid and semi-arid region.