The Development of an Ecosystem Services Framework for South East Queensland

Extensive research has been conducted globally into conceptual frameworks for ecosystem services, the most notable being the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Millennium ecosystem assessment: ecosystems and human well-being; a framework for assessment. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, pp 51, 53–55, 2005). The South East Queensland (SEQ) Ecosystem Services Framework (Australia) aims to provide the tools to enable government, industry, business, researchers, non-government organizations and land managers to apply the concept of ecosystem services in their planning and management practices. This article describes the Framework and the process that has produced matrices and maps that identify and illustrate the linkages between ecosystems, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services and the community’s well-being. The matrices and maps derived can identify areas in the region where the most ecosystem services are generated. This allows areas to be considered as valuable natural assets of the region, deserving appropriate protection measures or significant offsets if they are diminished or degraded in any way. Although the Framework requires further refinement and ongoing development, the process applied and the products produced has enabled decision makers to turn the concept of ecosystem services into practical application in SEQ.     

Gas emissions from dairy cows fed typical diets of Midwest, South, and West regions of the United States

Gas emissions were determined for dairy cows fed three diets formulated to represent feed ingredients typical of the Midwest, South, or West regions of the United States. Dairy cows were housed and monitored in 12 environmentally controlled rooms (4 cows diet). Two experiments were performed, representing two lactation stages (initial days in milk were 115 ± 39 d in Stage 1 and 216 ± 48 d in Stage 2). The results demonstrated that the combination of different dietary ingredients resulted in different gas emissions while maintaining similar dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield (MY). Diet effect on ammonia (NH) emissions was more prominent in Stage 1. During Stage 1, cows fed the Midwest diet had the highest daily NH emission, corresponding to the highest crude protein (CP) concentration among the three regions. The differences in NH emissions (39.0%) were much larger than the percent difference in CP concentrations between diets (6.8%). Differences in N intake, N excretion, or milk urea N alone may not serve as a strong indicator of the potential to reduce NH emissions. Lower emissions of methane (CH) per unit DMI or per unit MY were observed for cows offered the South diet during Stage 1 as compared with that from cows offered the Midwest or West diets. No diet effect was observed for hydrogen sulfide (HS) emission per unit S intake, nor for nitrous oxide (NO) emission. The measured NH and CH emissions were comparable, but the NO emissions were much higher than those reported for tie-stall dairy barns in the literature.     

Relationship of Particulate Control,SO2 Removal,and Waste Management

Results with the EPRI 2.5 MW(e) Integrated Environmental Control Pilot Plant (IECPP) indicate the interrelationship of particulate penetration, SO₂ scrubber operation, waste production, and waste properties. Tests compared a fabric filter/wet scrubber and ESP/wet scrubber, the latter operated to simulate 1979 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), 1971 NSPS, and pre-NSPS ESP units. Tests were conducted with low-sulfur coal producing a flue gas concentration of400ppm; flue gas spiking could be used to increase SO₂ to 2000 ppm. Scrubber waste was dewatered in a thickener and vacuum belt filter (to 55 percent solids content), and mixed with fly ash. The pilot SO₂ scrubber—when preceded by an ESP and forced to operate in zero-discharge—captured less SO₂ than when preceded by a fabric filter. Also, scrubber operation with the ESP produced a greater quantity of waste with difficult handling characteristics, as compared to operation with the fabric filter. These difficulties occurred with particulate penetration above 0.10 lb/MBtu, which could reduce reagent utilization to 80percent. These results are attributable to inhibited limestone dissolution due to accumulation of an aluminum/fluoride compound. For both lowsulfur and simulated high-sulfur test conditions, allowing wastewater discharge to purge aluminum/fluoride content restored performance to design levels. Particulate control efficiency also affected solid waste physical properties. The fabric filter/wet scrubber produced the lowest solid waste permeability (10^?8 cm/s). ESP operation at 1979 NSPS and pre-1971 NSPS ESPs increased solid waste permeability to 10^?7 and 10^?6 cm/s, respectively. These results are meaningful for SO₂ scrubbers both for new plants and for retrofit to units with pre-NSPS ESPs, and could become significant with the increasing trend to restricted water discharge.     

Air Pollution In Pittsburgh: A Historical Perspective

Sources and concentrations of indoor air pollutants and aeroallergens were evaluated in the arid Southwest community of Tucson, Arizona. One major purpose was to appraise the interaction of indoor and outdoor human exposures. A rough time budget study showed that 74% of adults spent 75% or more of their time in some indoor environment. Outdoor and indoor concentrations of TSP, RSP, CO, O₃ and aeroallergens were measured for 41 detached dwellings. Small area and basin monitoring occurred for TSP, CO, NO₂, O₃ and aeroallergens; ambient TSP frequently exceeds NAAQS and both CO and O3 do occasionally. Indoor TSP and RSP were lower than outdoors and were of a different composition. Outdoor infiltration falls rapidly for particles and pollen, related to distance Indoors. CO was low and O₃ was very low indoors. TSP and RSP correlated significantly with tobacco smoking and CO correlated with gas stove usage. Temperature varied minimally indoors and relative humidity indoors was similar to outdoor readings In this climate. It was concluded that better particle characterization and better estimates of total exposure are required.     

Urban Water Supply Strategies for Hyderabad, India – Future Scenarios

To keep pace with population and economic growth, the city of Hyderabad, India, will need to identify and develop new supply sources almost continually. Increasing population growth rate, declining surface water resources, overexploitation of groundwater, deterioration of ground water quality and poor sewage treatment are the major water-related issues in Hyderabad. This paper reviews the current situation facing policy makers who need to come to terms with the problem of restricted water supply and increasing demand in an urban centre such as Hyderabad, India. The City Water Balance model developed in this study can be used to analyse different scenarios that include water conservation, urban wastewater reuse and improvement of distribution and conveyance efficiency. Water conservation programs, which include a 5% conveyance efficiency improvement, reusing 90 million cubic metres (MCM) of urban runoff and adoption of water harvesting by 0.5 million households together with recycling 120 MCM of wastewater recycling wastewater would be sufficient to meet the water demand by 2031, if the population grows at a rate of 2.5%.     

河道水体富营养化污染综合治理的研究

根据丽娃河及丽娃支河污染现状和河道特征,经充分论证后确定综合整治方案,主体工程包括截污、调活水体、水质强化净化和河道生境恢复等,并付诸实施。对比综合整治跟踪监测结果和治理前河道水质状况调查结果显示,综合整治后,DO有了显著提高,NH3-N、TN、TP从治理前的劣Ⅴ类达到地表水Ⅴ类标准,河道的生态环境有了明显的改善等。结果表明,丽娃河采用水质强化和水生态重建方案并举,是行之有效的。     

The enigma of progress in denitrification research.

Humans have dramatically increased the amount of reactive nitrogen (primarily ammonium, nitrogen oxides, and organically bound N) circulating in the biosphere and atmosphere, creating a wide array of desirable products (e.g., food production) and undesirable consequences (e.g., eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems and air pollution). Only when this reactive N is converted back to the chemically unreactive dinitrogen (N2) form, do these cascading effects of elevated reactive N cease to be of concern. Among the quantitatively most important processes for converting reactive N to N2 gas is the biological process of classical denitrification, in which oxides of nitrogen are used as terminal electron acceptors in anaerobic respiration. This Invited Feature on denitrification includes a series of papers that integrate our current state of knowledge across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems on denitrification rates, controlling factors, and methodologies for measuring and modeling denitrification. In this paper, we present an overview of the role of denitrification within the broader N cycle, the environmental and health concerns that have resulted from human alteration of the N cycle, and a brief historical perspective on why denitrification has been so difficult to study. Despite over a century of research on denitrification and numerous recent technological advances, we still lack a comprehensive, quantitative understanding of denitrification rates and controlling factors across ecosystems. Inherent problems of measuring spatially and temporally heterogeneous N2 production under an N2-rich atmosphere account for much of this slow progress, but lack of interdisciplinary communication of research results and methodological developments has also impeded denitrification research. An integrated multidisciplinary approach to denitrification research, from upland terrestrial ecosystems, to small streams, river systems, estuaries, and continental shelf ecosystems, and to the open ocean, may yield new insights into denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes.     

新安江水库悬浮颗粒物时空分布、沉降通量及其营养盐效应

为分析降雨入流影响下水库悬浮颗粒物的时空分布及沉降特征,在华东地区最大水库新安江水库(千岛湖)的河流区、过渡区和湖泊区(分别对应街口、小金山和大坝这3个水质断面)布设水体沉降物自动捕获器和水质高频自动监测浮标,结合定期水样采集分析,开展了为期1 a的水体颗粒物沉降通量及其营养盐效应观测研究.结果发现,水库水体浊度、悬浮颗粒物浓度(SS)、颗粒物沉降通量与降雨量、入库流量极显著相关(P<0.01),其中浊度与SS的相关性最好(R²=0.86);在降雨较多的春夏季,SS空间差异明显(河流区>过渡区>湖泊区),而秋冬空间差异不大;颗粒物沉降通量具有明显的时空异质性,空间上河流区>过渡区>湖泊区[分别为27.82、 4.34和0.26 g·(m²·d)^-1],时间上春夏季>秋冬季;结合全湖60个点位四季悬浮物浓度调查估算,全库颗粒物沉降通量为2.57×10⁶ t·a^-1,其中春夏季沉降通量高于秋冬季;街口、小金山和大坝捕获沉降物中颗粒态氮含量(PN)...     

新安江水库河口区水质及藻类群落结构高频变化

水库库尾区的水环境多变,是水库生态系统突变的重要策源地.为探究大型水库水源地水环境演变特征及其突变的促发机制,以新安江水库为例,通过库尾河口断面18个月水质浮标的高频记录及3 d一次的藻类群落结构人工鉴定数据等,分析了气象水文过程影响下的水库库尾区的水温、溶解氧、浊度及营养盐等环境指标及藻类群落结构的高频变化特征,揭示了降雨、入流及季节温度变化等关键气象水文过程对水库水质及藻类群落结构的影响机制.结果表明:①在27 m深的河流入库区的水体温度和溶解氧存在明显的季节分层,相应水体藻类叶绿素a和营养盐等指标也同步发生分层,水温分层从气温达到14℃以上的3月中旬开始,至气温降至24℃后的10月中旬结束,期间较大降雨和入流多次破坏水温分层;②河道入库区水体氮、磷等营养盐变幅大,总磷浓度变幅为0. 011～0. 188 mg·L^-1之间,总氮浓度变幅为0. 75～2. 76 mg·L^-1之间,总磷和总氮中的溶解态占比分别为56%及88%,降雨入流对水体营养盐浓度影响巨大,3 d的累积降雨与水体氮、磷浓度显著正相关,3～6月(雨季)的营养盐含量明显高于其...