Effects of Topographical Heterogeneity and Dispersal Limitation on Species Turnover in a Temperate Mountane Ecosystem: a Case Study in the Henan Province,China

Species turnover patterns can be inconsistent due to differences in the dispersal ability of different growth forms. Here, species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and bryophytes in the Xiaoqinling National Nature Reserve in China were analyzed to determine patterns of species turnover along an elevation and spatial gradient. Variance partitioning was used to assess the relative contribution of topographic heterogeneity and dispersal limitation to species turnover. Our results suggest that the effect of dispersal limitation is more important than topographic heterogeneity on species turnover in temperate mountane ecosystems in the study area. Dispersal limitation has a greater effect on trees species turnover than on shrubs, herbs or bryophytes species turnover.     

Social justice and mobility in coastal Louisiana,USA

Regional Environmental Change - Louisiana faces extensive coastal land loss which threatens the livelihoods of marginalized populations. These groups have endured extreme disruptive events in the...     

Quantification of nitrogen in the liquid fraction and in vitro assessment of lysine bioavailability in the solid fraction of soybean meal hydrolysates

Soybean meal (SBM) is a product generated from the manufacture of soybean oil and has the potential for use as a source of fermentable sugars for ethanol production or as a protein source for animal feeds. Knowing the levels of nitrogen available from ammonium is a necessary element of the ethanolic fermentation process while identifying the levels of essential amino acids such as lysine is important in determining usage as a feed source. As such the purpose of this study was to quantify total nitrogen and ammonium in the liquid fraction of hydrolyzed SBM and to evaluate total and bioavailable lysine in the solid fraction of the hydrolyzed SBM. The effects of acid concentration, cellulase and β-glucosidase on total and ammonium nitrogen were studied with analysis indicating that higher acid concentrations increased nitrogen compounds with ammonium concentrations ranging from 0.20 to 1.24 g L^?1 while enzymatic treatments did not significantly increase nitrogen levels. Total and bioavailable lysine was quantified by use of an auxotrophic gfpmut3 E.coli whole-cell bioassay organism incapable of lysine biosynthesis. Acid and enzymatic treatments were applied with lysine bioavailability increasing from a base of 82% for untreated SBM to up to 97%. Our results demonstrated that SBM has the potential to serve in ethanolic fermentation and as an optimal source essential amino acid lysine.     

生物法-人工湿地组合工艺处理小城镇混合污水研究

为适应小城镇污水处理高效、低耗、管理简单的要求,开展了生物法(水解酸化/生物接触氧化)-人工湿地组合工艺(A/BCO-CW)处理小城镇片区混合污水的研究。结果表明,A/BCO系统在停留时间为3～6 h条件下,对悬浮物和有机物有高的去除效率,COD、BOD5和TSS去除率分别达到63.1%、67.7%和66.2%,避免了人工湿地堵塞和提高处理效率,减少了所需湿地面积44%。全年运行结果表明,在0.30～0.59 m/d水力负荷率下,垂直流-表面流-水平潜流人工湿地组合系统对COD、BOD5和TSS平均去除负荷达9.4、5.1和7.2 g/(m2.d)(42%、71.2%和85.2%);COD、BOD5去除速率常数为74.6±12.1 m/y、166±30.5 m/y,这些数值均处于文献中k值范围的高量程内。A/BCO-人工湿地系统对COD、BOD5和TSS具有好的处理效果,出水水质能够稳定达到《地表水环境质量标准》(GB 3838-2002)的IV类水标准,2种处理方法有效组合起来,所开发的低成本、高效率、可持续运行的城镇废水处理组合系统,将会在实际应用尤其是高有机负荷污水处理中发挥良好效用。     

藻类打捞对水体营养循环的影响及其生态效果研究

富营养化水体中的藻华是氮磷的富集器,太湖打捞藻样中的总氮、总磷、游离磷及有机物含量分别为98.87g/kg、3.25 g/kg、0.21 g/kg和95.65%。在底泥中沉降藻类的矿质化周期随着温度的升高而缩短;且其向上覆水中释放氮、磷的强度具有随水温升高而增强的趋势。但在水层厚/底泥比不同的区域,这种营养物释放强度又存在显著的差异。实验证明,藻类的打捞是一种人工延长食物链去除氮磷等污染物的有效方法。     

Comprehensive assessment of toxic metals in urban and suburban street deposited sediments (SDSs) in the biggest metropolitan area of China

A set of toxic metals, i.e. As, Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr, in urban and suburban SDSs were investigated comparatively in the biggest metropolitan area of China, Shanghai. Results showed that all of the metals except As were accumulated greatly, much higher than background values. Geo-accumulation index indicated that metal contamination in urban SDSs was generally heavier than that in suburban SDSs. Potential ecological risk index demonstrated that overall risks caused by metals were considerable. Cd contributed 52% to the overall risk. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that in urban SDSs, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb, Cu and Cr were related to traffic and industry; coal combustion led to elevated levels of Hg; soil parent materials controlled As contents. In suburban SDSs, Pb, Cu, As and Cd largely originated from traffic pollution; Zn, Ni and Cr were associated with industrial contaminants; Hg was mainly from domestic solid waste.     

Determination of the insecticide diflubenzuron in mushrooms by kinetic method and high-performance liquid chromatographic method

In the present study, a new sensitive and simple kinetic-spectrophotometric method for the determination of the insecticide diflubenzuron [1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(2,6-diflubenzoil)urea] is proposed. The method is based on the inhibited effect of diflubenzuron on the oxidation of sulphanilic acid (SA) by hydrogen peroxide in phosphate buffer in presence Cu(II) ion. Diflubenzuron was determined with linear calibration graph in the interval from 0.31 to 3.1 μg mL?1 and from 3.1 to 31.0 μg mL?1. The optimized conditions yielded a theoretical detection limit of 0.18 μg mL?1 corresponding to 0.036 mg kg(-1)mushroom sample based on the 3S(b) criterion. The RSD is 5.03-1.83 % and 2.81-0.71 % for the concentration interval of diflubenzuron 0.31-3.1 μg mL?1 and 3.1-31.0 μg mL?1, respectively. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically at 370 nm. The kinetic parameters of the reaction are reported, and the rate equations are suggested. The developed procedure was successfully applied to the rapid determination of diflubenzuron in spiked mushroom samples of different mushroom species. The HPLC method was used like a comparative method to verify results.     

Adsorption of arsenic(V) by iron-oxide-coated diatomite (IOCD)

Purposes and aims  

Economically efficient methods for removing arsenic from the drinking water supply are urgently needed in many parts of the world. Iron oxides are known to have a strong affinity for arsenic in water. However, they are commonly present in the forms of fine powder or floc, which limits their utility in water treatment. In this study, a novel granular adsorbent, iron-oxide-coated diatomite (IOCD), was developed and examined for its adsorption of arsenic from water.     

废弃中药渣催化热解制取生物油的研究

利用热重分析仪(TGA)对植物类中药渣的热解特性进行了研究,用Coats-Redfern积分法计算了其热解动力学参数,得出中药渣热解反应符合一级反应动力学方程,其活化能较低,为36.0kJ/mol。考察了热解温度对气体、液体、固体产物的影响,在723K时,液体产物生物油产率最高,为39%。以介孔分子筛SBA-15以及分别负载Al、Sn、Ni、Cu和Mg的SBA-15作为催化剂,研究催化热解对气体、液体、固体产率及生物油组分的影响。研究表明,Al-SBA-15的催化效果较好,液体产率最高,为36%;采用元素分析仪和热值测定仪,得到用Al-SBA-15作为催化剂时生物油的氧质量分数最低,低位热值最高。用GC/MS对生物油组分的分析结果表明,添加Al-SBA-15后,热解产物中脂肪族和芳香族化合物增加,而含氧化合物减少。     

Preparation and Characterization of Hydrogel Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Cross-Linked by Different Cross-Linkers Used to Dry Organic Solvents

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were chemically cross-linked with/without different cross-linkers such as glutaraldehyde and epichlorohydrin, in the presence of a catalyst, or activator (potassium hydroxide) to produce three types of hydrogels. The structures of PVA and the prepared gel types were determined by FTIR spectroscopy, the mechanical and thermal properties, of these hydrogels were examined. The effects of different pH values and temperatures on the swelling properties of the prepared gels were examined. From the obtained results, it was found that, the low concentration of the cross-linker produced hydrogel with moderate properties, but in absence of the cross-linker, the obtained hydrogel exhibited good properties and can be used as friendly environmentally moisture absorbents from the organic solvents. The insolubility and swelling properties of gels were tested in these solvents. The results indicated that these hydrogels can be used as moisture absorbents and solvent dryers.