The theory behind,and the challenges of,conserving nature's stage in a time of rapid change

Most conservation planning to date has focused on protecting today's biodiversity with the assumption that it will be tomorrow's biodiversity. However, modern climate change has already resulted in distributional shifts of some species and is projected to result in many more shifts in the coming decades. As species redistribute and biotic communities reorganize, conservation plans based on current patterns of biodiversity may fail to adequately protect species in the future. One approach for addressing this issue is to focus on conserving a range of abiotic conditions in the conservation‐planning process. By doing so, it may be possible to conserve an abiotically diverse “stage” upon which evolution will play out and support many actors (biodiversity). We reviewed the fundamental underpinnings of the concept of conserving the abiotic stage, starting with the early observations of von Humboldt, who mapped the concordance of abiotic conditions and vegetation, and progressing to the concept of the ecological niche. We discuss challenges posed by issues of spatial and temporal scale, the role of biotic drivers of species distributions, and latitudinal and topographic variation in relationships between climate and landform. For example, abiotic conditions are not static, but change through time—albeit at different and often relatively slow rates. In some places, biotic interactions play a substantial role in structuring patterns of biodiversity, meaning that patterns of biodiversity may be less tightly linked to the abiotic stage. Furthermore, abiotic drivers of biodiversity can change with latitude and topographic position, meaning that the abiotic stage may need to be defined differently in different places. We conclude that protecting a diversity of abiotic conditions will likely best conserve biodiversity into the future in places where abiotic drivers of species distributions are strong relative to biotic drivers, where the diversity of abiotic settings will be conserved through time, and where connectivity allows for movement among areas providing different abiotic conditions.     

Remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with organic chemicals using stabilized nanoparticles: Lessons from the past two decades

▪ Overviewed evolution and environmental applications of stabilized nanoparticles. ▪ Reviewed theories on particle stabilization for enhanced reactivity/deliverability. ▪ Examined various in situ remediation technologies based on stabilized nanoparticles. ▪ Summarized knowledge on transport of stabilized nanoparticles in porous media. ▪ Identified key knowledge gaps and future research needs on stabilized nanoparticles. Due to improved soil deliverability and high reactivity, stabilized nanoparticles have been studied for nearly two decades for in situ remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with organic pollutants. While large amounts of bench- and field-scale experimental data have demonstrated the potential of the innovative technology, extensive research results have also unveiled various merits and constraints associated different soil characteristics, types of nanoparticles and particle stabilization techniques. Overall, this work aims to critically overview the fundamental principles on particle stabilization, and the evolution and some recent developments of stabilized nanoparticles for degradation of organic contaminants in soil and groundwater. The specific objectives are to: 1) overview fundamental mechanisms in nanoparticle stabilization; 2) summarize key applications of stabilized nanoparticles for in situ remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated by legacy and emerging organic chemicals; 3) update the latest knowledge on the transport and fate of stabilized nanoparticles; 4) examine the merits and constraints of stabilized nanoparticles in environmental remediation applications; and 5) identify the knowledge gaps and future research needs pertaining to stabilized nanoparticles for remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. Per instructions of this invited special issue, this review is focused on contributions from our group (one of the pioneers in the subject field), which, however, is supplemented by important relevant works by others. The knowledge gained is expected to further advance the science and technology in the environmental applications of stabilized nanoparticles.     

接种比例对酒糟与餐厨垃圾混合厌氧发酵产沼气的影响

采用酒糟与餐厨垃圾作为混合发酵物料,并接种消化污泥进行厌氧干式发酵,比较接种比例(inoculum to substrate ratios,ISRs)(VS质量比)分别为0.5、0.8、1.0、2.0时的甲烷产率和产量、体系VFA、碱度、游离氨等指标。结果表明:接种比例的提高可有效提高甲烷产生速率,缩短发酵周期,减弱较高浓度VFA引起的抑制作用。当ISRs=1.0时产甲烷效果较好,累计产甲烷率为222.58mL/g,VS去除率达83.4%,继续增加接种比例对发酵效果影响不显著。此外,试验中适宜的VFA/碱度值为0.3～1.2,过大或过小都有可能抑制产甲烷过程。     

Influencing factors and degradation products of antipyrine chlorination in water with free chlorine

Owing to its low cost, free chlorine is one of the most common disinfectants for wastewater and drinking water treatment. However, the formation of disinfection byproducts has been found to occur after free chlorine disinfection in recent decades. Antipyrine (ANT), an anti-inflammatory analgesic, has been frequently detected in the aquatic environment. In this work, the removal efficiency of ANT by free chlorine oxidation in ultrapure water was investigated with batch experiments. The influencing factors on the removal of ANT were explored at initial concentrations of ANT from 0.04 to 0.64 mg/L, free chlorine dosage from 0.30 to 1.31 mg/L, and pH from 1.5 to 9.0. The main degradation products were identified by solid phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that ANT reacted rapidly with free chlorine in ultrapure water systems and up to 90.6% removal efficiency of ANT was achieved after 25 sec (initial free chlorine 1 mg/L, ANT 0.5 mg/L, pH 7.0). Higher oxidant dosage, lower ANT initial concentration and low pH favor the ANT removal. The main degradation product in ANT chlorination was a monochlorine substitution product (4-chloro-1,2-dihydro- 1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-3H-pyrazol-3-one), which can be further chlorinated by free chlorine. In addition, the total organic carbon result indicated that ANT is difficult to be mineralized using chlorine.     

绿化植物对城市空气悬浮颗粒物消减效应的研究进展

空气颗粒物对城市环境质量和人群健康的影响越来越受到社会各界的关注和重视,绿化植物能通过捕获、滞留和吸收等各种方式对空气颗粒物起到消减作用.本文在对绿化植物对空气颗粒物消减机制阐述的基础上,比较分析了不同形态特征和生态习性的绿化植物以及不同配置结构的城市绿地对空气颗粒物的消减差异,最后对未来的研究方向进行了展望.     

福建与台湾地震台网测定震级偏差浅析

选用福建地震台网"十五"观测系统正式运行以来记录的台湾地区M L≥3.0地震资料,计算了福建与台湾地震台网测定震级平均偏差、相关系数及拟合方程,并分析了震级差异形成原因。结果表明,福建地震台网测定台湾及其邻近海域的震级偏低,3.0≤M L<4.5,偏差量为0.80,M L≥4.5,偏差量为0.46;量规函数偏小是造成震级偏低的主要原因。