NDVI indicated characteristics of vegetation cover change in China��s metropolises over the last three decades

How urban vegetation was influenced by three decades of intensive urbanization in China is of great interest but rarely studied. In this paper, we used satellite derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and socioeconomic data to evaluate effects of urbanization on vegetation cover in China??s 117 metropolises over the last three decades. Our results suggest that current urbanization has caused deterioration of urban vegetation across most cities in China, particularly in East China. At the national scale, average urban area NDVI (NDVI_u) significantly decreased during the last three decades (P?<?0.01), and two distinct periods with different trends can be identified, 1982?C1990 and 1990?C2006. NDVI_u did not show statistically significant trend before 1990 but decrease remarkably after 1990 (P?<?0.01). Different regions also showed difference in the timing of NDVI_u turning point. The year when NDVI_u started to decline significantly for Central China and East China was 1987 and 1990, respectively, while NDVI_u in West China remained relatively constant until 1998. NDVI_u changes in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, two regions which has been undergoing the most rapid urbanization in China, also show different characteristics. The Pearl River Delta experienced a rapid decline in NDVI_u from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s; while in the Yangtze River Delta, NDVI_u did not decline significantly until the early 1990s. Such different patterns of NDVI_u changes are closely linked with policy-oriented difference in urbanization dynamics of these regions, which highlights the importance of implementing a sustainable urban development policy.     

Distribution pattern, behavior, and fate of antibacterials in urban aquatic environments in South China

Occurrence, behavior and fate of several groups of antibacterials were investigated in municipal wastewater, sewage sludge, and urban river water in China. Fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin), macrolides (dehydroerythromycin, roxithromycin, and clarithromycin), sulfonamides (sulfamethoxazole and sulfamethazine) and trimethoprim were ubiquitously detected in the wastewater in China. Fluoroquinolones were generally the most abundant in the raw sewage, with a maximum concentration of up to 6415 ng L(-1) observed for norfloxacin. Sulfonamides and macrolides transported predominantly in the aqueous phase. A median percentage of 67% of sulfonamides and 86% of macrolides remained in the final effluent after treatment in sewage treatment plants. On the contrary, sorption played a significant role in transport of fluoroquinolones and approximately half of the fluoroquinolones finally ended up and persisted in the dewatered sludge. In the urban section of the Pearl River at Guangzhou, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, and macrolides were widely present at median concentrations of 22-735 ng L(-1), whereas fluoroquinolones were only occasionally detected at 2-152 ng L(-1), probably due to their strong tendency of partition to sediment and/or photodegradability. The result of principal components analysis suggests input of non-sewage derived sulfamethazine in the Pearl River. Seasonal variations of the antibacterials distribution in the wastewater are mainly ascribed to different consumption. Dilution effect by precipitation, however, also plays an important role in seasonal distribution of the antibacterials in the Pearl River.     

Effect of alkaline earth metal promoter on catalytic activity of MnO2 for the complete oxidation of toluene

Herein, Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ are introduced to MnO₂ through cation-exchange method. The presence of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ significantly enhance the catalytic activity of MnO₂ in toluene oxidation. Among them, the Ca-MnO₂ catalyst exhibits the best catalytic activity (T₅₀ = 194°C, T₉₀ = 215°C, E_a = 57.2 kJ/mol, reaction rate 8.40 × 10^?10 mol/(sec?m²) at 210°C. T₅₀ and T₉₀: the temperature of 50% and 90% toluene conversion; E_a: apparent activation energy) and possess high tolerance against 2.0 vol.% water vapor. Results reveal that the increased acidic sites of the MnO₂ sample can enhance the adsorption of gaseous toluene, and the mobility of oxygen species and the content of reactive oxygen species in the catalyst are significantly improved due to the formed oxygen vacancy. Thus these two factors result in excellent catalytic performance for toluene oxidation combining with the weak CO₂ adsorption ability.     

Bimodal Cellular Structure Evolution in PBAT Foams Incorporated by Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Nanosheets

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Due to extensive concerns of tremendous environment pollutions, particularly microplastic as an emerging pollutant, the development and investigate on...     

Worldwide cases of water pollution by emerging contaminants: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Water contamination by emerging contaminants is increasing in the context of rising urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture production. Emerging...     

Assessment of popular techniques for co-processing municipal solid waste in Chinese cement kilns

• Municipal solid waste (MSW) was fermented, screened, gasified, then co-processed. • Co-processing MSW in cement kilns could cause excessive pollutant emissions. • Bypass flue gas can be disposed of through the main flue system. • Popular MSW co-processing methods do not affect cement quality. Cement kiln co-processing techniques have been developed in the past 20 years in China, and more than 60 factories now use fermentation, screening, and gasification pre-treatment techniques to co-process municipal solid waste (MSW). There three complete MSW pre-treatment techniques, co-processing procedures, and environmental risk assessments have been described in few publications. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of each technique. The results suggested that the pollutant content released by each pre-treatment technology was lower than the emission standard. To reveal the mechanisms of pollutant migration and enrichment, the substances in the kiln and kiln products are investigated. The input of co-processing materials (Co-M) produced by fermentation caused formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) in the bypass flue gas (By-gas) in excess of the regulatory standard. The Co-M input produced by the screening and gasifier technologies caused the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration to exceed the standard. In addition, the NO_x, TOC, and PCDD/Fs in the By-gas exceeded the regulatory standard. Raw meal was the primary chlorine and heavy metals input stream, and clinker (CK) and cement kiln dust (CKD) accounted for>90% of the total chlorine output stream. Flue gas and CKD were the primary volatile heavy metal (Hg) output streams. Greater than 70% of the semi-volatile heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Tl and Se) distributed in hot raw meal and bypass cement kiln dust. The low-volatility heavy metals were concentrated in the CK. These results indicated that co-processing techniques used in China still require improvement.     

Fabrication of novel bio-adsorbent and its application for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - As eco-friendly adsorption material, hydroxyapatite (Ca5(PO4)3OH, HA) has been extensively applied to the removal of heavy metal ions. However,...     

Testing the efficacy of camera-trap sampling designs for monitoring giant pandas in a heterogeneous landscape

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The use of camera traps is prevalent in the ecological study of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). The reliability of camera-trap surveying...     

What are the disease burden and its sensitivity analysis of workers exposing to Staphylococcus aureus bioaerosol during warm and cold periods in a wastewater treatment plant?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biological treatment in wastewater treatment plants releases high amounts of pathogenic bioaerosols. Quantitative microbial risk assessment is a...     

Fractionation analysis and risk assessment of potential toxic elements in reservoir sediments in central China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The pollution of potential toxic elements (PTEs) in the environment is a persistent issue and draws public attention constantly. However, there is no...