Evaluation of the economic and environmental impact of converting cropland to forest: a case study in Dunhua county, China

The Sloping Land Conversion Program (also known as "Grain for Green" or the Upland Conversion Program) for converting cropland to forest is one of China's most ambitious environmental initiatives, and is one of the world's largest land-conservation programs with a budget of RMB 337 billion (over US$ 40 billion). Although environmental impacts have played a vital role in the general reasoning and argumentation for forest plantations, environmental impact analyses have often received less attention than economic analyses in the planning of plantation forestry projects. The overall goal of this paper is to evaluate the program's environmental impact considering the farmer's interests and the potential social benefits due to carbon sequestration in different scenarios based on household and field survey data in Dunhua County. Our findings are that: (1) in many cases, the program did not give adequate consideration to land productivity and environmental heterogeneity when selecting plots; (2) more than half of the reforestation plots were on flat cropland (slopes of less than 5 degrees ); (3) in five of the eight townships, net incomes on reforested land were substantially above or below previous crop incomes, raising questions about the efficiency of the allocation of compensation to farmers participating in the program; (4) the potential carbon co-benefit increased the NPV of the program by 5954-7009 RMB/ha. In conclusion, we recommend that more attention should be paid to the quality of reforestation programs rather than just their scale and note that consideration of potential carbon sequestration co-benefits enhances the benefits of cropland conversion programs.     

Monitoring seasonal distribution of an endangered anadromous sturgeon in a large river using environmental DNA

Monitoring dynamic distribution is crucial to conservation management of anadromous sturgeons, but traditional survey methods are less efficient for low-density populations in a large river. Natural propagation of Chinese sturgeon has been monitored annually mainly at the spawning ground using netting for eggs and hydroacoustics for broodstock. However, absence of spawning was observed sporadically in recent years, indicating further crises for the declining population. We analyzed eDNA of water samples collected from 24 sites across 1360 km of the migratory route of anadromous Chinese sturgeon in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Chinese sturgeon was detected at 9 sites during the spawning season and 14 sites after the spawning season. We found that positive eDNA detection rates remained constant in the middle reaches but dramatically changed in the lower reaches, reflecting seasonal migration pattern of Chinese sturgeon. Invasive sturgeons were detected in the river, indicating their possible escape from aquaculture facilities. This study established a protocol for the use of eDNA to monitor distribution of Chinese sturgeon and could be valuable in making better policies for the conservation of this endangered species.     

Space view of the decadal variation for typical air pollutants in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in China

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) is one of the most industrialized, urbanized and populated regions in China, and thus has been long suffering from severe air pollutions. Space data provide a unique perspective for investigating the atmospheric environment at a regional scale. By utilizing multiple satellite retrievals from 2005 to 2013, this study presented, for the first time, the spatial patterns and temporal trends of typical air pollutants over PRD and its vicinity. As viewed from space, aerosol optical depth (AOD), NO₂ and SO₂ all had their higher values at the central part of PRD, and showed clear descending gradients as moving to the outskirt of this region. As to the inter-annual variation, all these pollutants had decreasing trends in PRD during the study period, which generally agreed with the relevant in situ measurements. However, the satellite retrievals differed from ground measurements when addressing NO₂ and SO₂ in the vicinity of PRD. This work also provides the inter-comparison among PRD and three other metropolitan clusters in China: PRD had relatively high AOD, moderate NO₂ and low SO₂ levels, and it was the only region achieving the effective reduction of NO₂ and SO₂ during last decade. Unlike the previous three pollutants, HCHO observed by satellite showed very special patterns: it had a relatively homogeneous spatial distribution over both of PRD and its vicinity, and presented an opposite increasing trend from 2005 to 2010. Moreover, PRD had the highest HCHO level among all the metropolitan clusters, hinting a considerable contribution of biogenic origins of HCHO in PRD.

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超声波协同纳米铁对偶氮染料橙黄G的脱色研究

采用液相还原法合成出纳米零价铁颗粒,并将其应用于水体中偶氮染料橙黄G的脱色。以橙黄G的脱色率为指标,研究了在超声波协同作用下纳米铁还原脱色偶氮染料橙黄G的过程,并对反应机理进行了初步探讨。结果表明：在无氧环境、室温和中性条件下纳米铁在0.5 h内对橙黄G的脱色率可达99%以上。脱色率随纳米铁用量的增加、pH的降低和反应温度的升高而增大。紫外可见光谱显示,在脱色反应过程中,染料分子中的共轭体系遭到一定程度的破坏。     

Biological detection and analysis of mercury toxicity to alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plants

Mercury has become one of the major causes of toxic metal pollution in agricultural lands. Accumulation of mercury by plants may disrupt many cellular functions and block growth and development. To assess mercury toxicity, we performed an experiment focusing on the responses of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) to Hg(2+)-induced oxidative stress. Alfalfa plants were treated with 0-40microM HgCl(2) for 7d. The concentrations of Hg(2+) were positively correlated with the generation of O2- and H(2)O(2) in leaves. Treatment with Hg(2+) increased the activities of NADH oxidase and lipoxygenase (LOX) and damaged the biomembrane lipids. To understand biochemical responses under Hg stress, activities of several antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) were assayed. Analysis of SOD activity by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed five isoforms in leaves, but they showed different patterns. Also, eight isoenzymes of APX and seven of POD in leaves were detected. However, only one isoform of CAT was visualized. The total activities of APX, POD and CAT were generally enhanced. We also measured several antioxidative metabolites such as ascorbate and glutathione (GSH), and found that both differentially accumulated in leaves. These results indicate that the increased levels of O2- and H(2)O(2) under Hg stress were closely linked to the improved capacity of antioxidant enzymes. The data not only provide the important information for better understanding of the toxic and tolerance mechanisms, but as well can be used as a bio-indicator for soil contamination by Hg.     

Comparison of receptor models for source apportionment of volatile organic compounds in Beijing, China

Identifying the sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is key to reducing ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). Several receptor models have been developed to apportion sources, but an intercomparison of these models had not been performed for VOCs in China. In the present study, we compared VOC sources based on chemical mass balance (CMB), UNMIX, and positive matrix factorization (PMF) models. Gasoline-related sources, petrochemical production, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were identified by all three models as the major contributors, with UNMIX and PMF producing quite similar results. The contributions of gasoline-related sources and LPG estimated by the CMB model were higher, and petrochemical emissions were lower than in the UNMIX and PMF results, possibly because the VOC profiles used in the CMB model were for fresh emissions and the profiles extracted from ambient measurements by the two-factor analysis models were "aged".     

关于淮北市饮用水环境安全的思考

随着城市的发展和经济持续稳步的增长,淮北市不可避免地出现一系列的环境问题,其中以水污染问题最为突出。淮北市许多地表水均受到较严重的有机污染和无机污染,其中的有害成分可以渗入地下,污染地下水,而淮北市是安徽省唯一依赖地下水生存的城市,淮北市饮用水环境安全问题不容忽视。     

Bio-F生物吸附剂对水中铁锰的去除与特性

以Bio-F（Bio-F生物吸附剂）为材料,研究其对水中Fe2+和Mn2+的去除能力与特性. 结果表明,Bio-F可同时去除水中Fe2+和Mn2+且吸附过程符合Lagergren一级动力学模型. Langmuir吸附等温线能较好地描述Bio-F吸附Fe2+和Mn2+的过程,表现为单分子层化学优惠吸附,其对Fe2+和Mn2+的最大饱和吸附量分别达491和380 mgg. Bio-F对Fe2+和Mn2+的吸附为吸热反应且在pH 6~7范围内可保持86％以上吸附能力(P>005). 较高的c(Ca2+)和c(Mg2+)可明显抑制Bio-F去除Fe2+和Mn2+的能力（P<005),但高c(PO₄3-)则可促进该吸附过程（P>005). Bio-F经10次再生后对Fe2+和Mn2+的去除率分别达9727%和9467%. Bio-F无毒安全,采用Bio-F处理高铁锰饮用水具有应用潜力.      

Environmental dispersivity in free-water-surface-effect dominated wetland: multi-scale analysis

Distinct from the case with width-dominated shallow wetland flows, the longitudinal evolution of contaminant concentration in the most-typical pattern of wetland as dominated by free-water-surface-effect is characterized by a multi-scale analysis in the present study. An environmental dispersion model for the evolution of the mean concentration is deduced as an extension of Taylor’s classical formulation by Mei’s multi-scale analysis. Corresponding environmental dispersivity is found identical to that determined by the method of concentration moments.     

断层形变异常强度在跨断层水准测量中的应用——以安徽及临近地区为例

对苏鲁皖地区布设的跨“郯庐断裂”定点短水准资料及“霍山窗”内流动水准资料进行整理。根据断层活动速率求解断层形变异常强度,基于其变化特征与本区中强地震的对比研究,发现在研究区域断层活动整体处于断层形变强度较低的背景下局部断层活动异常对地震预测有一定的指示意义,中强地震多发在异常强度加强的年份或者其后,可以视为中尺度时间的...