Characterization of shallow groundwater quality in the Lower St. Johns River Basin: a case study

Characterization of groundwater quality allows the evaluation of groundwater pollution and provides information for better management of groundwater resources. This study characterized the shallow groundwater quality and its spatial and seasonal variations in the Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida, USA, under agricultural, forest, wastewater, and residential land uses using field measurements and two-dimensional kriging analysis. Comparison of the concentrations of groundwater quality constituents against the US EPA’s water quality criteria showed that the maximum nitrate/nitrite (NO _x ) and arsenic (As) concentrations exceeded the EPA’s drinking water standard limits, while the maximum Cl, SO ₄ ^2?? , and Mn concentrations exceeded the EPA’s national secondary drinking water regulations. In general, high kriging estimated groundwater NH ₄ ⁺ concentrations were found around the agricultural areas, while high kriging estimated groundwater NO _x concentrations were observed in the residential areas with a high density of septic tank distribution. Our study further revealed that more areas were found with high estimated NO _x concentrations in summer than in spring. This occurred partially because of more NO _x leaching into the shallow groundwater due to the wetter summer and partially because of faster nitrification rate due to the higher temperature in summer. Large extent and high kriging estimated total phosphorus concentrations were found in the residential areas. Overall, the groundwater Na and Mg concentration distributions were relatively more even in summer than in spring. Higher kriging estimated groundwater As concentrations were found around the agricultural areas, which exceeded the EPA’s drinking water standard limit. Very small variations in groundwater dissolved organic carbon concentrations were observed between spring and summer. This study demonstrated that the concentrations of groundwater quality constituents varied from location to location, and impacts of land uses on groundwater quality variation were profound.     

生物基质活性炭对挥发性有机物的吸附

以咖啡渣和柚子皮生物基质为原料用磷酸活化法制成活性炭,探讨了制备条件对活性炭制备的影响,并研究了其对正丁烷的吸附行为。磷酸活化过程中磷酸的用量为生物基质质量的1.5倍为宜,咖啡渣采用超声干燥法,柚子皮采用水热法制备。制备的活性炭对正丁烷均有较好的吸附能力,以柚子皮为原料、磷酸用量为原料质量两倍活化制成的活性炭吸附性能最佳,最大吸附量约为商用活性炭的2倍。吸附剂均能较好地与兰格缪尔曲线相拟合,计算了不同正丁烷覆盖度下的等量吸附热,其变化规律与吸附曲线变化规律相一致。     

利用污泥熟肥作为高含水率污泥堆肥调理剂

采用静态强制通风好氧堆肥的方法,以木屑作为对比,考察了利用污泥熟肥作为调理剂对污泥堆肥过程的影响。结果表明,与以木屑作为调理剂的污泥堆体(对照组)相比,以污泥熟肥作为调理剂的污泥堆体(实验组)升温快,高温阶段(>50℃)持续时间长达10 d,满足粪便无害化卫生标准的要求,而对照组仅持续了2 d;实验组腐熟的堆肥含水率从60%降到39%,下降了21%,pH维持在7.5～8.5范围内,微生物活性较强,而对照组含水率仅下降15%,pH始终低于7.5;实验组种子发芽指数(GI)在第14天就回升到80%以上,基本上去除了植物毒性,而对照组GI在第22天才回升到50%。总体而言,污泥熟肥能显著改善堆肥中微生物的微环境,促进有机物的降解,缩短堆肥腐熟时间,是一种优质的调理剂。     

惊世奇闻:人蚁大厮杀

这是发生在100年前一种特殊战斗,但许多人都觉得好像是发生在昨天的故事。一个夏日的早晨,亚马逊河畔的一个农场。场长西蒙,站在他办公室的窗前,一边凝望着窗外的绿树红花,一边细心地倾听着。正在这时,警察前来通知说:"根据邻近地区得来的消息,有一个长约10公里、宽约5公里的褐色     

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.     

Changes in nitrogen budget and potential risk to the environment over 20 years (1990–2010) in the agroecosystems of the Haihe Basin,China

The nitrogen balance can serve as an indicator of the risk to the environment of nitrogen loss from agricultural land. To investigate the temporal and spatial changes in agricultural nitrogen application and its potential threat to the environment of the Haihe Basin in China, we used a database of county-level agricultural statistics to calculate agricultural nitrogen input, output, surplus intensity, and use efficiency. Chemical fertilizer nitrogen input increased by 51.7% from 1990 to 2000 and by 37.2% from 2000 to 2010, concomitant with increasing crop yields. Simultaneously, the nitrogen surplus intensity increased by 53.5% from 1990 to 2000 and by 16.5% from 2000 to 2010, presenting a continuously increased environmental risk. Nitrogen use efficiency decreased from 0.46 in 1990 to 0.42 in 2000 and remained constant at 0.42 in 2010, partly due to fertilizer composition and type improvement. This level indicates that more than half of nitrogen inputs are lost in agroecosystems. Our results suggest that although the improvement in fertilizer composition and types has partially offset the decrease in nitrogen use efficiency, the environmental risk has still increased gradually over the past 20 years, along with the increase in crop yields and nitrogen application. It is important to achieve a better nitrogen balance through more effective management to significantly reduce the environmental risk, decrease nitrogen surplus intensity, and increase nitrogen use efficiency without sacrificing crop yields.     

Soil warming effect on net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide during the transition from winter carbon source to spring carbon sink in a temperate urban lawn

The significant warming in urban environment caused by the combined effects of global warming and heat island has stimulated widely development of urban vegetations. However, it is less known of the climate feedback of urban lawn in warmed environment. Soil warming effect on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide during the transition period from winter to spring was investigated in a temperate urban lawn in Beijing, China. The NEE (negative for uptake) under soil warming treatment (temperature was about 5℃ higher than the ambient treatment as a control) was -0.71 μmol/(m².sec), the ecosytem was a CO₂ sink under soil warming treatment, the lawn ecosystem under the control was a CO₂ source (0.13 μmol/(m².sec)), indicating that the lawn ecosystem would provide a negative feedback to global warming. There was no significant effect of soil warming on nocturnal NEE (i.e., ecosystem respiration), although the soil temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of ecosystem respiration under soil warming treatment was 3.86, much lower than that in the control (7.03). The CO₂ uptake was significantly increased by soil warming treatment that was attributed to about 100% increase of α (apparent quantum yield) and A_max (maximum rate of photosynthesis). Our results indicated that the response of photosynthesis in urban lawn is much more sensitive to global warming than respiration in the transition period.     

稳定碳同位素示踪农林生态转换系统中土壤有机质的含量变化

为了观察生态系统的转变对土壤有机质的影响,在贵州茂兰喀斯特原始森林保护区内农林生态系统发生转变的地域,分析了土壤有机质含量和土壤有机质的δ¹³C值森林点土壤有机碳含量普遍较高(1.81%～16.00%),而农田点土壤有机碳含量在0.43%～2.22%之间,表明毁林造田加速了土壤有机质的降解,使土壤有机质总量减少;利用C₃植物与C₄植物δ¹³C值的显著差异,对比森林点与农田点的δ¹³C值(森林点:-23.86‰～-27.12‰;农田点:-19.66‰～-23.26‰),计算表明,毁林造田同时也降低了土壤有机质中活性大的组分的比例,使土壤肥力下降.