Tolerance of transgenic canola plants (Brassica napus) amended with plant growth-promoting bacteria to flooding stress at a metal-contaminated field site

The growth of transgenic canola (Brassica napus) expressing a gene for the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase was compared to non-transformed canola exposed to flooding and elevated soil Ni concentration, in situ. In addition, the ability of the plant growth-promoting bacterium Pseudomonas putida UW4, which also expresses ACC deaminase, to facilitate the growth of non-transformed and transgenic canola under the above mentioned conditions was examined. Transgenic canola and/or canola treated with P. putida UW4 had greater shoot biomass compared to non-transformed canola under low flood-stress conditions. Under high flood-stress conditions, shoot biomass was reduced and Ni accumulation was increased in all instances relative to low flood-stress conditions. This is the first field study to document the increase in plant tolerance utilizing transgenic plants and plant growth-promoting bacteria exposed to multiple stressors.     

中国代表性滑雪场网络关注度时空演变及影响因素

基于百度指数数据,运用指数测度、空间地理分析、回归模型和地理探测器,对2011—2019年中国大陆26个代表性滑雪场网络关注度的时空演变特征及影响因素进行分析。结果表明:(1)时间演化上,网络关注度呈先增后减且逐渐平稳的规律。2015年、2016年为峰值年份,季节性差异明显,共两个波动峰值且为“南北为单,中东为双”的分布格局。(2)空间特性上,全国和地区均为先增后减特征,地区差异显著;变异程度先降后增并趋于稳定,全国分布相对稳定平衡,地区分布呈不稳定集聚特性。省区冷热区域分布总体呈“东北热—西南冷”格局,层级变化以稳定型为主。(3)滑雪场层面上,滑雪场总体偏好层级变动较大,高偏好保持稳定领先,其余层级以下降变动为主。滑雪场冷热点分级呈“北热南冷”的格局,东北、华北两个热点集聚区域演变较为稳定。(4)影响因素上,需求侧影响因素排序为滑雪消费吸引力>受教育程度>经济发展水平>信息化水平>滑雪场建设水平。供给侧的滑雪人次占比、滑雪经济贡献、客运承载力、冰雪旅游资源丰度、官方媒体建设水平解释力较强,其他因素影响并不显著。     

Catalytic conversion of waste tyres into valuable hydrocarbons

Tyre recycling has become a necessity because of the huge piles of tyres that represent a threat to the environment. The used tyres represent a source of energy and valuable chemical products. Waste tyres were pyrolysed catalytically in a batch reactor under atmospheric pressure. Calcium carbide was used as a catalyst to explore its effect on pyrolysis product distribution. The effect of temperature, amount of catalyst and time on the yields of the pyrolysed products was investigated. Char yield decreased with increase of pyrolysis temperature while total gas and liquid yields increased. The liquid fraction was obtained with boiling point up to 320 °C. The physical and chemical properties of the pyrolysed products obtained were characterized. The catalytic pyrolysis produced 45 wt.% aromatic, 35 wt.% aliphatic and 20 wt.% of polar hydrocarbons. The distillation data showed that ∼80% of oil has boiling point below 270 °C which is the boiling point for 50% of distilled product in commercial diesel oil. The oil fraction was found to have high gross calorific value; GCV (42.8 MJ kg⁻¹). Its Specific gravity, viscosity, Kinematic viscosity, freezing point and diesel index were also within the limits of diesel fuel. The char residues were studied to investigate their characteristics for use as a possible adsorbent. Surface area of char before and after acid demineralization was determined to determine the adsorptive features for waste water treatment.     

Sustaining Asia's groundwater boom: An overview of issues and evidence

This article suggests that Asia’s groundwater socio‐ecology is at an impasse. Rapid growth in groundwater irrigation in South Asia and the North China plains during the period 1970–95 has been the main driver of the agrarian boom in these regions. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China account for the bulk of the world’s use of groundwater in agriculture. On the plus side, groundwater development has provided sustenance to agrarian economies and millions of rural livelihoods. On the downside, it has created chronic problems of resource depletion and quality deterioration. While problems of groundwater depletion, pollution and quality deterioration are indeed serious, so are the consequences of the degradation of the resource for those that have come to precariously depend upon groundwater irrigation. Three problems currently afflict groundwater use: depletion due to overdraft; water logging and salinization; and pollution due to agricultural, industrial and other human activity. The pathology of the decline in groundwater socio‐ecology reflects a remarkably similar pattern across regions. The critical issue for Asia now is: what might be done to sustain and revive these groundwater socio‐ecologies vital to the region’s economy? This article reviews a variety of techno‐institutional approaches. However, transposing lessons from the industrialized world uncritically in the Asian context may not work. A more nuanced understanding of the peculiarities of Asia’s groundwater socio‐ecology is needed.     

Economics of reservoir sedimentation and sustainable management of dams

Accepted practice has been to design and operate reservoirs to fill with sediment, generating benefits from remaining storage over a finite period of time. The consequences of sedimentation and project abandonment are left to the future. This 'future' has already arrived for many existing reservoirs and most others will eventually experience a similar fate, thereby imposing substantial costs on society. Such costs could be avoided if sedimentation was minimized and dams were allowed to live forever. The fact that the world's inventory of suitable reservoir sites is limited provides an additional reason for encouraging the sustainable management of dams. This paper provides a framework for assessing the economic feasibility of sediment management strategies that would allow the life of dams to be prolonged indefinitely. Even if reduced accumulation or removal of sediment is technically possible, its economic viability is likely to depend on physical, hydrological and financial parameters. The model presented incorporates such factors and allows a characterization of conditions under which sustainable management would be desirable. The empirical implementation of the model draws upon the substantial amount of technical information available. We analyze the sustainability of reservoirs, with a focus on the trade-off between such sustainability and the short to medium term benefits which a reservoir is expected to produce. The results show that, for a very wide range of realistic parameter values, sustainable management of reservoirs is economically more desirable than the prevailing practice of forcing a finite reservoir life through excessive sediment accumulation.     

Flood regime and leaf fall determine soil inorganic nitrogen dynamics in semiarid riparian forests.

Flow regulation has reduced the exchange of water, energy, and materials between rivers and floodplains, caused declines in native plant populations, and advanced the spread of nonnative plants. Naturalized flow regimes are regarded as a means to restore degraded riparian areas. We examined the effects of flood regime (short [SIFI] vs. long [LIFI] inter-flood interval) on plant community and soil inorganic nitrogen (N) dynamics in riparian forests dominated by native Populus deltoides var. wislizenii Eckenwalder (Rio Grande cottonwood) and nonnative Tamarix chinensis Lour. (salt cedar) along the regulated middle Rio Grande of New Mexico. The frequency of inundation (every 2-3 years) at SIFI sites better reflected inundation patterns prior to the closure of an upstream dam relative to the frequency of inundation at LIFI sites (> or =10 years). Riparian inundation at SIFI sites varied from 7 to 45 days during the study period (April 2001-July 2004). SIFI vs. LIFI sites had higher soil moisture but greater groundwater table elevation fluctuation in response to flooding and drought. Rates of net N mineralization were consistently higher at LIFI vs. SIFI sites, and soil inorganic N concentrations were greatest at sites with elevated leaf-litter production. Sites with stable depth to ground water (approximately 1.5 m) supported the greatest leaf-litter production. Reduced leaf production at P. deltoides SIFI sites was attributed to drought-induced recession of ground water and prolonged inundation. We recommend that natural resource managers and restoration practitioners (1) utilize naturalized flows that help maintain riparian groundwater elevations between 1 and 3 m in reaches with mature P. deltoides or where P. deltoides revegetation is desired, (2) identify areas that naturally undergo long periods of inundation and consider restoring these areas to seasonal wetlands, and (3) use native xeric-adapted riparian plants to revegetate LIFI and SIFI sites where groundwater elevations commonly drop below 3 m.     

Decarbonization of Vietnam’s economy: decomposing the drivers for a low-carbon growth

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Vietnam has witnessed a rapid increase in national-level CO2 emissions due to rising urbanization, economic expansion, export growth, and industrial...     

Regional disparities in Preventive measures of COVID-19 pandemic in China. A study from international students’ prior knowledge,perception and vulnerabilities

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The COVID-19 pandemic needs immediate solution before inflicting more devastation. So far, China has successfully controlled transmission of COVID-19...     

Mapping farmers’ vulnerability to climate change and its induced hazards: evidence from the rice-growing zones of Punjab,Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In developing countries like Pakistan, agriculture constitutes the primary source of support for the majority of rural and the adjacent urban...     

狐尾藻在不同营养底泥腐解过程中胡敏酸的变化

采用平行因子分析方法,结合紫外吸收光谱、三维荧光光谱以及傅里叶变换红外光谱技术,研究了沉水植物狐尾藻在低、中、高营养底泥腐解过程中胡敏酸（HA）的变化,进一步揭示了不同营养底泥对沉水植物腐解的影响机制.结果表明,底泥营养水平越高,狐尾藻腐解得越快（P<0.05）,释放出更多的溶解性有机碳（DOC）、溶解性总氮（DTN）、溶解性总磷（DTP）和腐殖质;底泥营养程度与HA的疏水性、分子复杂性、分子量大小呈正相关（P<0.05）;荧光鉴别出不同营养底泥HA都含有1种类蛋白质组分C2和2种类富里酸组分C1、C3,且类富里酸组分和类蛋白质组分在不同腐解条件下具有相似的组分特征;不同营养底泥不同时间提取的HA红外图谱较为相似,表明不同腐解条件不同时间提取的HA含有相似的官能团,狐尾藻腐烂高营养底泥组提取的HA含有更多的芳香性物质和有机磷.采用光谱分析法对狐尾藻腐烂分解HA成分的化学结构特征进行系统的研究,可深入了解不同营养底泥对沉水植物腐解的影响机制,为湖泊水环境生态治理和修复提供理论参考.