Heavy metals in bark of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus massoniana</Emphasis> (Lamb.) as an indicator of atmospheric deposition near a smeltery at Qujiang,China

Goal, Scope and Background Rapid urbanization and the expansion of industrial activities in the past several decades have led to large increases in emissions of pollutants in the Pearl River Delta of south China. Recent reports have suggested that industrial emission is a major factor contributing to the damages in current natural ecosystem in the Delta area. Tree barks have been used successfully to monitor the levels of atmospheric metal deposition in many areas, but rarely in China. This study aimed at determining whether atmospheric heavy metal deposition from a Pb-Zn smeltery at Qujiang, Guangdong province, could be accurately reflected both in the inner bark and the outer bark of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana L.). The impact of the emission from smeltery on the soils beneath the trees and the relationships of the concentrations between the soils and the barks were also analyzed. Methods Barks around the bole of Pinus massoniana from a pine forest near a Pb-Zn smeltery at Qujiang and a reference forest at Dinghushan natural reserve were sampled with a stainless knife at an average height of 1.5 m above the ground. Mosses and lichens on the surface barks were cleaned prior to sampling. The samples were carefully divided into the inner bark (living part) and the outer bark (dead part) in the laboratory, and dried and ground, respectively. After being dry-ashed, the powder of the barks was dissolved in HNO₃. The solutions were analyzed for iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) by inductively coupled plasmas emission spectrometry (ICP, PS-1000AT, USA) and Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS, ZEENIT 60, Germany). Surface soils (0–10 cm) beneath the sample trees were also collected and analyzed for the selected metals. Results and Discussion Concentrations of the selected metals in soils at Qujiang were far above their environmental background values in the area, except for Fe and Mn, whilst at Dinghushan, they were far below their background values, except for Cd and Co. Levels of the metals, in particular Pb and Zn, in the soils beneath the sample trees at Qujiang were higher than those at Dinghushan with statistical significance. The result suggested that the pine forest soils at Qujiang had a great input of heavy metals from wet and dry atmospheric deposition, with the Pb-Zn smeltery most probably being the source. Levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni and Pb at Qujiang, both in the inner and the outer bark, were statistically higher than those at Dinghushan. Higher concentrations of Pb, Fe, Zn and Cu may come from the stem-flow of elements leached from the canopy, soil splash on the 1.5 m height and sorption of metals in the mosses and lichens growing on the bark, which were direct or indirect results from the atmospheric deposition. Levels of heavy metals in the outer barks were associated well with the metal concentrations in the soil, reflecting the close relationships between the metal atmospheric deposition and their accumulation in the outer bark of Masson pine. The significant (p<0.01) correlations of Fe-Cu, Fe-Cr, Fe-Pb, Fe-Ni, Pb-Ni, and Pb-Zn in the outer barks at Qujiang again suggested a common source for the metals. The correlation only occurred between Pb and Ni, Cd and Co in the outer barks at Dinghushan, which suggested that those metals must possibly have other uncommon sources. Conclusions Atmospheric deposition of the selected metals was great at Qujiang, based on the levels in the bark of Pinus massoniana and on the concentrations in the soils beneath the trees compared with that at Dinghushan. Bark of Pinus massoniana, especially the outer bark, was an indicator of metal loading at least at the time of sampling. Recommendations and Perspectives The results from this study and the techniques employed constituted a new contribution to the development of biogeochemical methods for environmental monitoring particularly in areas with high frequency of pollution in China. The method would be of value for follow up studies aimed at the assessment of industrial pollution in other areas similar with the Pearl River Delta.     

Participatory environmental governance in China: public hearings on urban water tariff setting

In the late 1990s China started to expand its market economic reform to the public sector, such as water services. This reform led to major changes in urban water management, including water tariff management. The reforms in water tariff management relate not only to tariffs, but also to the decision-making on tariffs. Water tariff decision-making seems to move away from China's conventional mode of highly centralized and bureaucratic policy- and decision-making. The legalization, institutionalization and performance of public hearings in water tariff management forms a crucial innovation in this respect. This article analyzes the emergence, development and current functioning of public hearings in water tariff setting, and assesses to what extent public hearings are part of a turning point in China's tradition of centralized bureaucratic decision-making, towards more transparent, decentralized and participative governance.     

Global fallout Pu recorded in lacustrine sediments in Lake Hongfeng, SW China

Studies on the distribution and isotope compositions of fallout Pu are important for source characterization of possible future non-fallout Pu contamination in aquatic environments, and useful for dating of recent sediments to understand the pollution history of environmental contaminants. We present the historical record of atmospheric Pu fallout reconstructed from a sediment core from Lake Hongfeng, China. The Pu activity profile was in agreement with the 137Cs profile. Inventories were 50.7 Bq m(-2) for 239+240Pu and 1586 Bq m(-2) for 137Cs. The average 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio was 0.185+/-0.009, indicating that Pu originated from global stratospheric fallout rather than from direct tropospheric or close-in fallout from the Chinese nuclear testing conducted in the 1970s. Our data suggested that Lake Hongfeng would be an ideal setting for monitoring atmospheric fallout and environmental changes in this region.     

植物根瘤内痕量Frankia DNA的提取及鉴定

建立了一种简捷、快速植物根瘤内痕量Frankia DNA的提取方法,即采集自然态下根瘤,剥离瘤瓣,取瘤瓣尖经液氮研主民粉末,以20g/L CTAB（十六烷基三甲基溴化铵）消化胞壁,然后以d=5-10μm的石英粉吸附DNA,再以无菌去离子蒸馏水释放DNA,所获DNA产率及纯度较酚／氯仿法好。经对辽宁沙棘、色赤杨根瘤的瘤内痕量Frankia DNA及体外培养的9种Frankia菌株DNA分纯,并用于酶切及PCR,获满意结果。图3参12     

城郊土壤共存元素对土壤作物系统Cd、Pb迁移的影响分析——以白银市城郊区为例

通过共存元素对土壤小麦系统Cd、Pb行为影响的调查研究发现：大田条件下共存元素以正对数模式与根系Cd、Pb密切相关,同种元素间相关程度最高;根系Cd、Pb积累主要取决于土壤环境Cd、Pb的含量,共存元素也产生一定的影响,认为要防止重金属通过食物链对人类的危害,就必须降低土壤环境中重金属的总量。     

Atmospheric depositional fluxes and sources apportionment of organochlorine pesticides in the Pearl River Delta region, South China

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have variously been phased out in agricultural activities, but they are still widely detected in air, water, and soil systems due to their recalcitrant nature in the environment. The purposes of this study were to assess potential OCP pollution via dry and wet deposition over the fast developing Pearl River Delta area with 41,700 km², where the main effort has been focused on emerging pollutants such as petroleum hydrocarbons and PM2.5. We quantified both the dry and wet deposition fluxes of 19 OCPs including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), endosulfans (Endos), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs). The results showed that each year about 67.4, 42.0, 15.0, and 8.07 kg of total OCPs, DDTs, Endos, and HCHs were returned to the ground, among which 11.7, 10.4, 0.84, and 0.16 kg were in the dry deposition forms. The large spatial variations in OCP deposition fluxes indicated that OCP pollution in the air is mainly influenced on local scales because evaporation from local soil is likely the major source of the phased out OCPs. Source analysis indicated that DDTs may be still in use as antifouling agent and/or dicofol, but Endos and HCHs were mainly derived from the residual of historical usage. The study suggests that the historical OCP pollutants are persistent at high levels in this area and should not be overlooked, while we tackle emerging pollutants.     

Effect of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and As) on the ultrastructure of Sargassum pallidum in Daya Bay, China

Concentrations of Cu, Pb, and As were determined in seawater, surface sediment, Sargassum pallidum collected from the Daya Bay, China. The influence of metal contamination on the marine alga was investigated at chemical and ultrastructural level. Mean concentrations of Cu (19.44 mg kg^?1) and Pb (33.99 mg kg^?1) were found to be high in sediment, whereas concentration of As (122.29 mg kg^?1) in S. pallidum was higher than that in water and sediment. The ultrastructure of S. pallidum cells was anomalous and aberrant. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopic analysis revealed that the nanometal particles in the form of comparatively high-electron density substance diffused in the cell structures constituted by Cu, Pb, As, etc. There is a remarkable similarity or correspondence in the anomalous elements between the geochemistry and the botanic cell, and the heavy metals have potential hazardous effect on the ocean ecology system in Daya Bay.     

Dissipation kinetics and residues of triazolopyrimidine herbicides flumetsulam and florasulam in corn ecosystem

The dynamic and residues of florasulam and flumetsulam in corn field ecosystem were investigated using quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) procedure with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The limits of quantification (LOQs) of the proposed method ranged from 0.005 to 0.01 mg/kg. Mean recoveries and relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the two compounds in all samples at three spiking levels ranged 94–110 % and 2.0–9.2 %, respectively. Florasulam and flumetsulam degradation followed first-order kinetics with half-lives 1.7–2.9 and 3.3–8.7 days in soil and 1.3–1.8 and 0.9–1.7 days in plant, respectively. The residues in all the samples were found to be less than the LOQs at preharvest intervals of 53 and 78 days. The results suggest that the combined use of florasulam and flumetsulam on corn is considered to be safe under the recommended conditions and can be utilized for establishing the maximum residue limit (MRL) of florasulam in corn in China.     

江苏省2014-2016年臭氧污染区域特征分析

分析2014—2016年江苏省O₃污染状况,以及苏北、苏中和苏南3个典型区域O₃年度、季度、日变化和频度占比等分布特征。结果表明,江苏省的O₃空间分布呈现北低南高,2014—2016年的O₃超标占比由18.4%上升至34.9%;2016年苏北、苏中和苏南地区O₃-8h第90百分位数与2014年相比,上升2.7%,21.8%和3.3%;3个区域夏季O₃-8h均值最高,春、秋2季次之,冬季最低;O₃-1h日变化呈单峰状态,最低值出现在06:00—07:00,最高值出现在15:00—16:00;2016年3个地区的O₃频度占比均呈正态分布,主要集中在40~80 μg/m³,所占比例均>15%;苏中和苏南区域2016和2014年相比O₃频率占比的变化幅度较大,苏北地区变化幅度不大。指出,江苏省的O₃污染程度在逐年提高,污染范围从苏南逐渐往中部和北部城市扩大。     

城市湿地损失和内涝灾害响应的遥感分析——以武汉市南湖为例

随着快速的城市化,城市湿地不断转化成建设用地,这打破了城市水量循环的均衡,城市内涝灾害的敏感性和危害性随之提高。选取城市快速扩张的武汉市南湖地区,基于1988～2015年近30 a南湖湿地多时相遥感影像,以武汉市南湖2016年7月内涝灾害为对象,运用遥感和GIS手段,分析南湖湿地损失过程、驱动因素以及城市涝灾害的响应情况。结果表明：（1）1988~2015年间南湖湿地持续损失,累计消减1 563 hm2;南湖湿地损失经历了快速损失（1988~1996）急剧损失（1996~2004）缓慢损失（1996~2010）相对静止（2010~2015）的4个阶段,每个阶段南湖湿地转化为建设用地量分别为35.3、135、30、5.4 hm2;损失过程从南湖湿地北部开始,逐渐向南部蔓延;（2）环湖地区房地产发展是湖泊湿地损失的主要原因,52%的损失湿地转换为住宅用地;（3）85.7%的内涝灾害区域位于原湖泊湿地内;南湖地区海拔较低,随着住宅用地以及其他建设用地对湖泊湿地的侵占,南湖地区不透水面面积增加,湿地蓄水排水能力下降,在降雨量较多的时段,原湖泊湿地区域更容易受到内涝侵袭。 关键词： 城市湿地; 湿地损失; 内涝灾害; 武汉市南湖