Barriers to plantation activities in different agro-ecological zones of Southern India

This paper analyses environmental and socio-economic barriers for plantation activities on local and regional level and investigates the potential for carbon finance to stimulate the increased rates of forest plantation on wasteland, i.e., degraded lands, in southern India. Building on multidisciplinary field work and results from the model GCOMAP, the aim is to (1) identify and characterize the barriers to plantation activities in four agro-ecological zones in the state of Karnataka and (2) investigate what would be required to overcome these barriers and enhance the plantation rate and productivity. The results show that a rehabilitation of the wasteland based on plantation activities is not only possible but also anticipated by the local population and would lead to positive environmental and socio-economic effects at a local level. However, in many cases, the establishment of plantation activities is hindered by a lack of financial resources, low land productivity and water scarcity. Based on the model used and the results from the field work, it can be concluded that certified emission reductions such as carbon credits or other compensatory systems may help to overcome the financial barrier; however, the price needs to be significantly increased if these measures are to have any large-scale impact.     

Anthropogenic impacts on suspended sediment load in the Upper Yangtze river

Climate change and human disturbance drive catchment erosion and increase riverine sediment load sensitively in small and medium-sized watersheds. This is not always true in large basins, where aggregation and buffering effects have dampen the ability to determine the driving forces of sedimentation. Even though there are significant responses to sedimentation in large river basins, it is difficult to get a precise quantitative assessment of specific drivers. This paper develops a methodology to identify driving forces that change suspended sediment load in the Upper Yangtze river. Annual runoff and sediment load data from 1954 to 2005 at the Yichang gauging station in the Upper Yangtze basin, daily precipitation data from 60 meteorological stations, and survey data on reservoir sediment were collected for the study. Sediment load/rainfall erosivity (S/R), is a new proxy indicator introduced to reflect human activities. Since the mid-1980s, S/R in the Upper Yangtze has dramatically declined from 0.21 to 0.03 (×10¹⁰ t ha h MJ⁻¹ mm⁻¹), indicating that human activity has played a key role in the decline of the suspended sediment load. Before the mid-1980s, a higher average S/R is attributed to large-scale deforestation and land reclamation. A significant sediment decrease occurred from 1959 to 1961 during an extreme drought condition, and an increase in sedimentation in 1998 coincided with an extreme flood event, which was well recorded in the S/R curve. This indicates that the S/R proxy is able to distinguish anthropogenic from climate impacts on suspended sediment load, but is not necessarily indicatory in extreme climate events. In addition, typical drivers of riverine sediment load variation including soil conservation projects, reservoirs construction, and land use/cover change are discussed.     

Land-cover changes in and around a National Park in a mountain landscape in the Pyrenees

The current state of Mediterranean mountain areas has been driven by two main factors: intense traditional human activity and the dynamics of the ecosystem itself. In this study, we examine land-cover changes in a National Park in the Pyrenees mountains (NE Iberian Peninsula), which was designated a protected area 55 years ago. First, we have analyzed spatio-temporal changes in land-cover pattern and forest dynamics from 1957 to 2005. During this period, land-cover dynamics consisted of two main processes: (i) expansion of the forest area and (ii) increasing cover of forests already present in 1957. To analyze the role of the conservation level of the park, we have also compared the results obtained within the park with those of unprotected, peripheral areas. In the two areas with different protection level, dense forests increased throughout the period because of the reduction in forestry activities. The peripheral area showed a higher rate of forest-cover change from 1957 to 2005 compared to the National Park. This higher increase in forest cover in the peripheral area could be related to a higher proportion in the National Park of screes and rocky areas and to the decline and transformation of forest activities in these peripheral, lower elevation areas.     

农垦与放牧对内蒙古草原N2O、CO2排放和CH4吸收的影响

利用优选静态箱/气相色谱法(GC),首次对我国内蒙古草原典型地区进行了人类活动对N₂O、CO₂和CH₄交换通量影响的实验观测结果表明,农垦麦田N₂O平均排放通量比原始草原高出3倍,并改变了草甸草原为CO₂汇的性质,使其季节排放净通量以C计增加14.3 mg·(m²·h).随放牧强度的增加CO₂排放通量呈线性增长,轻牧会引起草原对CH₄吸收的大幅增加,而随着放牧压力的增大,增加值迅速回落.农垦麦田与草甸草原相比地-气间CH₄交换无显著变化,放牧强度对N₂O排放影响无显著规律.土壤湿度和温度是影响草原排放N₂O和CO₂、吸收CH4季节变化形式的关键因子,而人类活动仅影响排放强度.排放和吸收量年际间差异很大,但主要受降水的影响.N₂O和CO₂排放与CH₄吸收峰值相反现象普遍存在.     

糠醛废水处理工程的调试运行实例

本文就糠醛生产工艺与生产废水水质特点 ,采用中和———厌氧———好氧气浮处理技术 ,对工程试运行中的各个环节及处理问题的措施及小试过程效果的应用 ,作系统的介绍。     

Effect of TiO2 nanoparticle aggregation on marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana

TiO_2 nanoparticles(NPs) could adversely impact aquatic ecosystems. However, the aggregation of these NPs could attenuate this effect. In this work, the biological effects of TiO_2 NPs on a marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana were investigated. The aggregation kinetics of TiO_2 NPs under different conditions was also investigated to determine and understand these effects. Results showed that, though TiO_2 NPs had no obvious impact on the size and reproducibility of algal cells under testing conditions, they caused a negative effect on algal chlorophyll, which led to a reduction in photosynthesis. Furthermore, fast aggregation of TiO_2 NPs occurred under all conditions, especially at the pH close to the p Hzpc. Increasing ionic strength and NP concentration also enhanced the aggregation rate.The aggregation and the following sedimentation of TiO_2 NPs reduced their adverse effects on I. galbana.     

Ecotoxicity evaluation of Cu- and Fe-CNT complexes based on the activity of bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination

The toxic effects of the composites of Fe~0 and Cu~0 with different percentages of CNTs were examined based on the activity of bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination. In terms of the EC_50 values, the toxic effects of Cu~0 on bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination were approximately 2 and 180 times greater than that of Fe~0, respectively. The toxicity increased with increasing CNT content in the Cu-CNT mixtures for both organisms,whereas opposite results were observed with Fe-CNT mixtures. The mean toxic effects of Cu-CNT(6%) were approximately 1.3–1.4 times greater than that of Cu-CNT(0%), whereas the toxic effects of Fe-CNT(6%) were approximately 2.1–2.5 times lower than that of Fe-CNT(0%) for both the bioluminescence activity and seed germination. The causes of this phenomenon are unclear at this point. More research will be needed to elucidate the mechanism of the toxicity of nano-mixture materials and the causes of the different patterns of toxicity with Cu-and Fe-CNT mixtures.     

我国典型钢铁行业主要工艺环节排放颗粒物源成分谱特征

鉴于我国钢铁行业排放颗粒物源成分谱数量不足,有待更新的现状,致力于服务精细化颗粒物源解析的需求,采用稀释通道系统对武汉市某钢铁公司的3个主要工艺环节(烧结、炼钢、炼铁)排放源进行了采样.构建了3类PM_(2.5)源成分谱及3类PM_(10)成分谱,对源谱主要化学组分特征进行了研究,并与国内其他区域已有的钢铁行业源谱研究进行了对比.结果表明:(1)烧结工艺源成分谱中,SO_4~(2-)、Al和NH_4~+等含量高,PM_(2.5)源谱中质量分数依次为22. 2%、4. 5%和3. 5%,PM_(10)源谱中依次为36. 0%、5. 2%和2. 7%,炼铁工艺Fe元素含量最高,在PM_(2.5)源谱和PM_(10)源谱中分别达到28. 3%和24. 5%,炼钢工艺源谱Ca、Fe元素等为主要组分;(2)元素组分中,烧结工艺S元素含量最高,地壳元素在PM_(10)源谱中含量更高,炼铁工艺Pb、Cr等重金属含量偏高,炼钢工艺Cr富集;(3)源谱之间分歧系数的计算显示,同类工艺粗细粒径源谱相似性偏高,烧结工艺与其他两类工艺源谱之间差异性较高,炼钢工艺与炼铁工艺差异性较低.同国内其他区域研究源谱相比,发现Fe、Si和Ca等为钢铁行业排放颗粒物中标识性组分,而碳组分和SO_4~(2-)等组分特征随生产方式、除污设备等不同表现出不同特征.     

信号分子在好氧颗粒污泥形成过程中的作用

采用人工配水成功培养好氧颗粒污泥,针对絮状污泥颗粒化过程中污泥的理化性质、污染物去除效率、胞外聚合物和信号分子变化进行相关分析.结果发现,在好氧颗粒污泥的形成过程中,污泥对污染物去除能力明显提高.与接种污泥相比,成熟的好氧颗粒污泥对COD、NH₄⁺-N和PO₄^3--P去除率分别提高20%、36%和57%.好氧颗粒污泥中胞外蛋白质和多糖含量分别增加了116和31mg/gMLVSS.采用激光共聚焦扫描显微镜对接种污泥和好氧颗粒污泥进行空间表征,发现后者蛋白质含量明显增加,说明蛋白质在污泥颗粒化过程中具有重要作用;磷酸二酯酶活性总体呈现上升趋势,第二信使环二鸟苷酸（cyclic diguanylic,c-di-GMP）含量先增加后降低,与胞外聚合物中蛋白质和多糖的变化规律相似.通过SPSS软件进一步分析得知,c-di-GMP与蛋白质相关系数R²=0.92871,呈极显著相关性;与紧密结合型胞外聚合物中蛋白质相关系数R²=0.89025,呈显著相关性,推测c-di-GMP可能是通过指导紧密结合型胞外聚合物中的蛋白质合成以促进好氧颗粒污泥的形成.