Carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbon disulfide (CS2) exchange fluxes between cotton fields and the atmosphere in the arid area in Xinjiang,China

Due to the important roles of carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbon disulfide (CS₂) in atmospheric chemistry, this study was designed to determine different proportions of COS and CS₂ fluxes contributed from different sources, i.e., vegetation, soil and roots, at monthly and hourly timescales in the arid area in Xinjiang, China. Results indicated that the seasonal net uptake of COS by vegetation was predominant in the growing season. The CS₂ fluxes from vegetation and soils had no significant seasonal variations compared with COS. The exchange rates of COS and CS₂ have been found to be stimulated by the addition of nutrients in the form of urea fertilizer. Compared with the results of plots that were treated only with nitrogen, the treatments with both nitrogen and sulfur displayed no significant difference in the exchange fluxes. The results of compartment experiments indicated that the aboveground plants had the highest uptake of COS and had a vital role in the uptake of COS during the main growth period. The shares of COS emissions from the soil and roots increased to 6–17% and 55–58%, respectively, in the total COS fluxes when conditions, such as drought and senescence, were unfavorable for the developmental of vegetation. Observations of the preliminary diurnal fluxes indicated that the fluxes that occurred at night, with contributions from soils and plants, accounted for 27% of the total daily uptake of COS uptake. These quantitative results may be reasonably accounted for the use of COS as a promising tracer to obtain independent constraints on terrestrial carbon exchange at regional to global scales for their response to special environmental conditions in semiarid area.

     

Quantitative health risk assessment of inhalation exposure to automobile foundry dust

With a growing awareness of environmental protection, the dust pollution caused by automobile foundry work has become a serious and urgent problem. This study aimed to explore contamination levels and health effects of automobile foundry dust. A total of 276 dust samples from six types of work in an automobile foundry factory were collected and analysed using the filter membrane method. Probabilistic risk assessment model was developed for evaluating the health risk of foundry dust on workers. The health risk and its influencing factors among workers were then assessed by applying the Monte Carlo method to identify the most significant parameters. Health damage assessment was conducted to translate health risk into disability-adjusted life year (DALY). The results revealed that the mean concentration of dust on six types of work ranged from 1.67 to 5.40 mg/m³. The highest health risks to be come from melting, cast shakeout and finishing, followed by pouring, sand preparation, moulding and core-making. The probability of the risk exceeding 10⁻⁶ was approximately 85%, 90%, 90%, 75%, 70% and 45%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis indicated that average time, exposure duration, inhalation rate and dust concentration (C) made great contribution to dust health risk. Workers exposed to cast shakeout and finishing had the largest DALY of 48.64a. These results can further help managers to fully understand the dust risks on various types of work in the automobile foundry factories and provide scientific basis for the management and decision-making related to health damage assessment.

     

Structural and technological determinants of carbon intensity reduction of China’s electricity generation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Electricity generation is the largest sector with decarbonization potential for China and the world. Based on the new emission factors, this paper...     

Distillers’ grains anaerobic digestion residue biochar used for ammonium sorption and its effect on ammonium leaching from an Ultisol

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this work was to explore the potential application of biochar from distillers’ grains anaerobic digestion residue pyrolyzed at...     

Implications of genetics and current protected areas for conservation of 5 endangered primates in China

Most of China's 24–28 primate species are threatened with extinction. Habitat reduction and fragmentation are perhaps the greatest threats. We used published data from a conservation genetics study of 5 endangered primates in China (Rhinopithecus roxellana, R. bieti, R. brelichi, Trachypithecus francoisi, and T. leucocephalus); distribution data on these species; and the distribution, area, and location of protected areas to inform conservation strategies for these primates. All 5 species were separated into subpopulations with unique genetic components. Gene flow appeared to be strongly impeded by agricultural land, meadows used for grazing, highways, and humans dwellings. Most species declined severely or diverged concurrently as human population and crop land cover increased. Nature reserves were not evenly distributed across subpopulations with unique genetic backgrounds. Certain small subpopulations were severely fragmented and had higher extinction risk than others. Primate mobility is limited and their genetic structure is strong and susceptible to substantial loss of diversity due to local extinction. Thus, to maximize preservation of genetic diversity in all these primate species, our results suggest protection is required for all sub‐populations. Key priorities for their conservation include maintaining R. roxellana in Shennongjia national reserve, subpopulations S4 and S5 of R. bieti and of R. brelichi in Fanjingshan national reserve, subpopulation CGX of T. francoisi in central Guangxi Province, and all 3 T. leucocephalus sub‐populations in central Guangxi Province.     

Conservation genetics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lumnitzera littorea</Emphasis> (Combretaceae), an endangered mangrove,from the Indo-West Pacific

Mangrove forests, with their ecological significance and economic benefits, are vital inter-tidal wetland ecosystems. Lumnitzera littorea (Combreataceae) is a non-viviparous mangrove distributed in tropical Asia and North Australia. Due to natural and human impacts, populations of this species have been isolated, fragmented, and highly disturbed. In China, L. littorea is an endangered species, restricted to small regions of Hainan Island. The genetic composition of five populations of this species from the Indo-West Pacific (South China, Malay Peninsula, Sri Lanka, North Australia) was assessed using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) makers. At the species level, expected mean heterozygosity (He) was 0.240 with 75.6% of loci polymorphic (P). However, genetic variation was much lower at the population level (P = 37.1%, He = 0.118). A high coefficient of gene differentiation (Gst = 0.515) and low level of gene flow (Nm = 0.470) indicated significant genetic differentiation among populations. AMOVA also indicated that more than half the total variation (58.4%) was partitioned among populations. The high degree of differentiation observed among populations emphasizes the need for appropriate conservation measures that incorporate additional populations into protected areas, and achieve the restoration of separate, degraded populations.     

山一村山地生态系统结构功能和系统调控

本文对山－村山地生态系统的结构和功能、能量产投比、生物量等进行实地调查和研究。结果表明，通过多年生态建设，山地生态系统已显示较好的经济、环境和社会效益。