Runoff and dissolved organic carbon loss from a paired-watershed study of three adjacent agricultural Watersheds

Organic matter plays several important roles in the biogeochemistry of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems including the mobilization and transport of nutrients and pollutants. Cropping, tillage practices and vegetative buffer strip installation affect losses of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). While many studies show reductions in pollutant export from agroecosystems where vegetative buffers have been implemented, buffer strips may be a source of DOC and contribute to surface water pollution. Using a paired-watershed approach, the objectives of this study were to determine the effect of grass and agroforestry buffers on runoff and DOC loss, compare runoff and DOC losses between the growing and fallow seasons, and investigate crop effects on runoff and DOC losses. The study design consisted of three small agricultural Watersheds in a no-till, maize-soybean rotation located in the claypan region of northeast Missouri, USA; one watershed was planted with grass buffer strips, one with agroforestry buffer strips, and one unaltered watershed served as the control. Runoff and DOC loss were measured during a six-year calibration period (1991–1997) prior to buffer installation and for a nine-year treatment period (1997–2006). The grass buffer strips significantly decreased runoff by 8.4% (p = 0.015) during the treatment period while the agroforestry buffer system exhibited no significant change in runoff (p = 0.207). Loss of DOC was not significantly affected by grass or agroforestry buffer installation (p = 0.535 and p = 0.246, respectively). Additionally, no significant difference in runoff or DOC loss was found between crops (maize and soybean) or between seasons (growing and fallow). Overall, this study indicates that grass buffer systems are effective at reducing runoff and that DOC contamination of surface waters is not exacerbated by either type of vegetative buffer strip.     

When signal meets noise: immunity of the frog ear to interference

Sound stimulates the tympanic membrane (TM) of anuran amphibians through multiple, poorly understood pathways. It is conceivable that interactions between the internal and external inputs to the TM contribute to the nonlinear effects that noise is known to produce at higher levels of the auditory pathway. To explore this issue, we conducted measurements of TM vibration in response to tones in the presence of noise in the frog Eupsophus calcaratus. Laser vibrometry revealed that the power spectra (n = 16) of the TM velocity in response to pure tones at a constant level of 80 dB sound-pressure level (SPL) had a maximum centered at an average frequency of 2,344 Hz (range 1,700–2,990 Hz) and a maximum velocity of 61.1 dB re 1 μm/s (range 42.9–66.6 dB re 1 μm/s). These TM-vibration velocity response profiles in the presence of increasing levels of 4-kHz band-pass noise were unaltered up to noise levels of 90 dB SPL. For the relatively low spectral densities of the noise used, the TM remains in its linear range. Such vibration patterns facilitate the detection of tonal signals in noise at the tympanic membrane and may underlie the remarkable vocal responsiveness maintained by males of E. calcaratus under noise interference.     

A contact sex pheromone component of the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Analyses of the elytral hydrocarbons from male and female emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, that were freshly emerged vs. sexually mature (>10 days old) revealed a female-specific compound, 9-methyl-pentacosane (9-Me-C₂₅), only present in sexually mature females. This material was synthesized by the Wittig reaction of 2-decanone with (n-hexadecyl)-triphenylphosphonium bromide followed by catalytic reduction to yield racemic 9-Me C₂₅, which matched the natural compound by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (retention time and EI mass spectrum). In field bioassays with freeze-killed sexually mature A. planipennis females, feral males spent significantly more time in contact and attempting copulation with unwashed females than with females that had been washed in n-hexane to remove the cuticular lipids. Hexane-washed females to which 9-Me-C₂₅ had been reapplied elicited similar contact time and percentage of time attempting copulation as unwashed females, indicating that 9-methyl-pentacosane is a contact sex pheromone component of A. planipennis. This is the first contact sex pheromone identified in the Buprestidae.     

Integrated assessment of future CAP policies: land use changes,spatial patterns and targeting

The recent and upcoming reforms of the Common Agricultural Policies (CAPs) aim at strengthening the multifunctional role of agriculture, acknowledging the differences in economic, environmental and social potentials within European regions. This paper presents results from an integrated assessment of existing and future policies within the framework set up in the FP6 EU project MEA-Scope. Spatial explicit procedures allow for the MEA-Scope modelling tools to provide information related to regional, environmental and socio-economics settings. The impact of different policy scenarios on structural change, land abandonment and cropping pattern of typical farms has been assessed based on linked agent-based (ABM) and Linear Programming (LP) models at regional and farm scale for two study areas. For the German case study area Ostprignitz-Ruppin (OPR), the issue of policy targeting has been addressed by relating non-commodity outputs (NCOs) to soil quality and protection status. For the Italian case study area (Mugello), changes in landscape patterns in terms of increased fragmentation or homogeneity as affected by changes in agricultural intensity have been analysed using semivariance analysis. The spatial explicit approach highlighted the relevance of case study research in order to identifying response structures and explaining policy implementation patterns.     

Towards a climate change adaptation strategy for coffee communities and ecosystems in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Mexico

The mountain chain of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in southern Mexico is globally significant for its biodiversity and is one of the most important coffee production areas of Mexico. It provides water for several municipalities and its biosphere reserves are important tourist attractions. Much of the forest cover outside the core protected areas is in fact coffee grown under traditional forest shade. Unless this (agro)forest cover can be sustained, the biodiversity of the Sierra Madre and the environmental services it provides are at risk. We analyzed the threats to livelihoods and environment from climate change through crop suitability modeling based on downscaled climate scenarios for the period 2040 to 2069 (referred to as 2050s) and developed adaptation options through an expert workshop. Significant areas of forest and occasionally coffee are destroyed every year by wildfires, and this problem is bound to increase in a hotter and drier future climate. Widespread landslides and inundations, including on coffee farms, have recently been caused by hurricanes whose intensity is predicted to increase. A hotter climate with more irregular rainfall will be less favorable to the production of quality coffee and lower profitability may compel farmers to abandon shade coffee and expand other land uses of less biodiversity value, probably at the expense of forest. A comprehensive strategy to sustain the biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods of the Sierra Madre in the face of climate change should include the promotion of biodiversity friendly coffee growing and processing practices including complex shade which can offer some hurricane protection and product diversification; payments for forest conservation and restoration from existing government programs complemented by private initiatives; diversification of income sources to mitigate risks associated with unstable environmental conditions and coffee markets; integrated fire management; development of markets that reward sustainable land use practices and forest conservation; crop insurance programs that are accessible to smallholders; and the strengthening of local capacity for adaptive resource management.     

应对大型油罐特大火灾的研究——LASTFIRE项目组简介

简要介绍了LASTFIRE项目组的成立背景、组织结构、研究领域、研究目的、研究思路、研究进展等内容,总结了该项目组近几年的研究成果,指出我国的相关企业或研究机构应积极参与这种国际研究组织,实现研究国外资源共享,共同提高大型储罐的安全技术和管理水平。     

2014年1月北京市大气重污染过程单颗粒物特征分析

利用在线单颗粒物气溶胶质谱仪(SPAMS)对2014年1月北京市典型大气重污染过程进行了连续监测,分析了具有正负离子质谱信息的颗粒物共2248225个.同时,利用ART-2a神经网络分类方法并结合Matlab统计分析,将具有质谱信息的颗粒物归为10类,分别为:矿尘类颗粒物(Dust)、元素碳颗粒物(EC)、有机碳颗粒物(OC)、元素碳和有机碳混合颗粒物(ECOC)、钠钾颗粒物(NaK)、富钾颗粒物(K)、含氮有机物(KCN)、高分子有机物(MOC,Macromolecular OC)、多环芳烃类颗粒物(PAHs)和重金属类颗粒物(Metal).结合PM_2.5质量浓度数据和HYSPLIT 4.0后向轨迹模型结果,将观测时间段划分为3个典型污染过程和1个清洁过程.结果显示,重污染期间OC、MOC和PAHs为最主要的颗粒物类型.最后,本文还比对分析了污染过程和清洁期间颗粒物的混合状态,结果表明,污染过程中硫酸盐和硝酸盐较清洁期间更容易与碳质颗粒物结合.     

2014年北京市PM2.5质量浓度分析及比对研究

本研究选择污染严重的北京作为研究区域,自2013年12月起至2014年12月,通过设在北五环中国环境科学研究院(CRAES)内的定点监测,获得375天有效平行样品(T和Q)。统计结果表明,2014年北京市PM_(2.5)质量浓度从优良水平的6.9μg/m~3到极重污染的422.1μg/m~3,年均浓度值在100μg/m~3左右。T组和Q组线性相关,但T/Q并非定值,冬季最高,R~2=0.974,对应T/Q=1.014,可能由于冬季污染程度较重,滤膜性能差异可忽略。除春季外,其它三季的PM_(2.5)都是T组>Q组,与石英膜的纤维结构不够致密有关。以T组质量浓度数据为准,与国控监测点奥体中心点公报的日均PM_(2.5)进行比对,结果显示二者基本同步,在春冬季呈现较高的污染浓度,在夏季最低。在严重污染时(PM_(2.5)>250.0μg/m~3),在线监测可能低估PM_(2.5)而T组能更客观地记录实际污染状况。统计2014年全年污染等级分布,4~8月份基本未出现重度污染,而在冬季采暖期10~12月份,优良天数不足50%。综合分析风速、相对湿度对PM_(2.5)质量浓度的影响,证实冬季取暖燃煤和无风、高湿、逆温的静稳天气是霾频发的主要原因。     

Water Transactions for Streamflow Restoration,Water Supply Reliability,and Rural Economic Vitality in the Western United States

Across the western United States, environmental water transaction programs (EWTPs) restore environmental flows by acquiring water rights and incentivizing changes in water management. These programs have evolved over several decades, expanding from relatively simple two‐party transactions to multiobjective deals that simultaneously benefit the environment and multiple water‐using sectors. Such programs now represent an important water management tool and provide an impetus for collaboration among stakeholders; yet, most evaluations of their effectiveness focus exclusively on environmental outcomes, without adequate attention to impacts on other water users or local economies. To understand how these programs affect stakeholders, a systematic, multiobjective evaluation framework is needed. To meet this need, we developed a suite of environmental and socioeconomic indicators that can guide the design and track the implementation of water transaction portfolios, and we applied them to existing EWTPs in Oregon and Nevada. Application of the indicators quantifies impacts and helps practitioners design water transaction portfolios that avoid unintended consequences and generate mutually beneficial outcomes among environmental, agricultural, and municipal interests.     

Virus Genome Quantification Does not Predict Norovirus Infectivity After Application of Food Inactivation Processing Technologies

When determining the effect of food processing on the infectivity of any contaminating virus, it is necessary to distinguish unambiguously between infectious and non-infectious viruses present. However, this can be difficult in the particular case of noroviruses (NoVs) because no reliable cell culture model is available. The aim of this study was to assess the use of molecular methods—RT real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and enzymatic treatment (ET) coupled to RT-qPCR—to quantify the infectivity of NoV after application of various inactivating food-processing technologies. RT-qPCR and ET-RT-qPCR gave significantly different (P < 0.01) results concerning the reduction in viral genome counts by all inactivation procedures and conditions used, except for HHP treatment at 600 MPa for 5 min. These findings indicate that the ET prior to RT-qPCR has an effect on the estimation of the reduction of virus genome counts, and may eliminate genomes of affected virus particles. However, no correlation was found between the results obtained by ET-RT-qPCR and those obtained by cell culture. Therefore, the effect is presumably only partial, and not adequate to allow accurate estimation of virus inactivation. Consequently, our results indicate that the quantification of virus genomes by PCR, regardless of prior ET, is not adequate for establishing virus inactivation and/or infectivity. In addition, our results also illustrate that the general effect of virus inactivation is not directly correlated to effects on the integrity of virus genome and protein capsid. Presumably, inactivation by food processing is the consequence of effects on proteins involved in adhesion and invasion stages.