Aboveground and belowground effects of single-tree removals in New Zealand rain forest

There has been considerable recent interest in how human-induced species loss affects community and ecosystem properties. These effects are particularly apparent when a commercially valuable species is harvested from an ecosystem, such as occurs through single-tree harvesting or selective logging of desired timber species in natural forests. In New Zealand mixed-species rain forests, single-tree harvesting of the emergent gymnosperm Dacrydium cupressinum, or rimu, has been widespread. This harvesting has been contentious in part because of possible ecological impacts of Dacrydium removal on the remainder of the forest, but many of these effects remain unexplored. We identified an area where an unintended 40-year "removal experiment" had been set up that involved selective extraction of individual Dacrydium trees. We measured aboveground and belowground variables at set distances from both individual live trees and stumps of trees harvested 40 years ago. Live trees had effects both above and below ground by affecting diversity and cover of several components of the vegetation (usually negatively), promoting soil C sequestration, enhancing ratios of soil C:P and N:P, and affecting community structure of soil microflora. These effects extended to 8 m from the tree base and were likely caused by poor-quality litter and humus produced by the trees. Measurements for the stumps revealed strong legacy effects of prior presence of trees on some properties (e.g., cover by understory herbs and ferns, soil C sequestration, soil C:P and N:P ratios), but not others (e.g., soil fungal biomass, soil N concentration). These results suggest that the legacy of prior presence of Dacrydium may remain for several decades or centuries, and certainly well over 40 years. They also demonstrate that, while large Dacrydium individuals (and their removal) may have important effects in their immediate proximity, within a forest, these effects should only be important in localized patches containing high densities of large trees. Finally, this study emphasizes that deliberate extraction of a particular tree species from a forest can exert influences both above and below ground if the removed species has a different functional role than that of the other plant species present.     

The lichen transplant methodology in the source apportionment of metal deposition around a copper smelter in the former mining town of Karabash, Russia

The lichen transplant monitoring methodology has been tested for source apportionment of metal deposition around the Cu smelter and former mining town of Karabash. Transplants of the lichen Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl., collected from a ‘control’ site in July 2001, were set up at 10 stations along a 60 km NE–SW transect centred on Karabash. Samples were collected after 2 and 3 month monitoring periods and analysed using established wet-chemical techniques. The sources of particulate investigated were the smelter blast furnace and converter, floatation tailings, metallurgical slags, local road dusts, top soils and ambient airborne total suspended particulate. From multi-element least-squares modelling the blast furnace was the main source of particulate in transplants close to the smelter (<10 km). Particulate from the converter, with relatively high Pb and Zn, was found to be more widely dispersed, being finer-grained and so having a longer atmospheric residence time. Ambient airborne particulate, sampled in Karabash town using air-pump apparatus, was almost entirely derived from the converter, very different to the lichen transplants from the same area which mainly contained blast furnace particulate. It is proposed that lichens close to the smelter mainly trapped larger blast furnace-derived particulate as they have a low capture efficiency for smaller (converter) particles. The study demonstrates the utility of lichen transplants for monitoring atmospheric deposition and highlights the caution required in their use to assess ambient air quality in human health studies.     

One Hundred Questions of Importance to the Conservation of Global Biological Diversity

Abstract:  We identified 100 scientific questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on conservation practice and policy. Representatives from 21 international organizations, regional sections and working groups of the Society for Conservation Biology, and 12 academics, from all continents except Antarctica, compiled 2291 questions of relevance to conservation of biological diversity worldwide. The questions were gathered from 761 individuals through workshops, email requests, and discussions. Voting by email to short-list questions, followed by a 2-day workshop, was used to derive the final list of 100 questions. Most of the final questions were derived through a process of modification and combination as the workshop progressed. The questions are divided into 12 sections: ecosystem functions and services, climate change, technological change, protected areas, ecosystem management and restoration, terrestrial ecosystems, marine ecosystems, freshwater ecosystems, species management, organizational systems and processes, societal context and change, and impacts of conservation interventions. We anticipate that these questions will help identify new directions for researchers and assist funders in directing funds.     

基于无人机平台的甲烷监测技术及其在油气行业的应用

对甲烷排放的精准监测是油气行业实现温室气体减排与管控的基础和前提。无人机具有灵活、可操作性强、覆盖范围广、运行成本低等特点,以无人机为飞行平台的甲烷监测技术在油气行业区域甲烷排放监测领域具有巨大的应用潜力。详细阐述了基于无人机平台的甲烷监测技术的优势,梳理了不同的无人机类型,并根据其飞行性能及载荷能力进行了比对,归纳了无人机有效载荷类型、特点及应用场景,总结了国内外无人机甲烷监测技术在油气行业的应用,旨在为基于无人机平台的甲烷监测技术在我国油气行业的应用提供理论和技术参考。     

Toxicity of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides to the grass shrimp,Palaemonetes pugio,parasitized with the bopyrid isopod,Probopyrus pandalicola

The grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, plays a large role in the marine ecosystem, serving as a vital link in the food web between many other species. Marine parasites such as the bopyrid isopod, Probopyrus pandalicola, reduce shrimp growth and reproductive output and may also cause P. pugio to be more vulnerable to the lethal effects of contaminants. The purpose of this study was to determine the toxicity of resmethrin and bifenthrin on the grass shrimp, P. pugio, infected with the bopyrid isopod, Probopyrus pandalicola. A 96-h static renewal test was conducted to determine the toxicity of the pyrethroid insecticides resmethrin and bifenthrin to grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, parasitized with the bopyrid isopod, Probopyrus pandalicola. The results were then compared to similar tests utilizing unparasitized P. pugio. Parasitized P. pugio had lower 24-h LC₅₀ (1.08 μg/L) and 96-h LC₅₀ (0.43 μg/L) values for resmethrin than unparasitized P. pugio. However, LC₅₀ ratio tests found that there was no significant difference between parasitized and unparasitized shrimp when affected by resmethrin (p = 0.1751 and 0.1108, respectively). In contrast, an LC₁₀ ratio test indicated that there was a significant difference between parasitized and unparasitized P. pugio after 96 h (p < 0.0001). When subjected to bifenthrin, parasitized P. pugio had a higher 24-h LC₅₀ (0.049 μg/L6) than unparasitized P. pugio. The LC₅₀ ratio test established that the effects of bifenthrin on parasitized P. pugio when compared to unparasitized P. pugio were significantly different at 24 h (p = 0.0065). However, there were no significant differences between parasitized and unparasitized after 96 h (p = 0.4229). In conclusion, both resmethrin and bifenthrin are toxic to the grass shrimp, P. pugio, regardless of parasite presence, and parasitized shrimp may be more susceptible to lower doses of resmethrin (when exposed in the field).     

Simultaneous, long-term monitoring of valve and cardiac activity in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis exposed to copper

Valve and cardiac activity were simultaneously measured in the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) in response to 10?d copper exposure. Valve movements, heart rates and heart-rate variability were obtained non-invasively using a Musselmonitor^® (valve activity) and a modified version of the Computer-Aided Physiological Monitoring system (CAPMON; cardiac activity). After 2?d exposure of mussels (4 individuals per treatment group) to a range of dissolved copper concentrations (0 to 12.5?M as CuCl₂) median valve positions (% open) and median heart rates (beats per minute) declined as a function of copper concentration. Heart-rate variability (coefficient of variation for interpulse durations) rose in a concentration-dependent manner. The 48?h EC₅₀ values (concentrations of copper causing 50% change) for valve positions, heart rates and heart-rate variability were 2.1, 0.8, and 0.06?M, respectively. Valve activity was weakly correlated with both heart rate (r?=?0.48?±?0.02) and heart-rate variability (r?=?0.32?±?0.06) for control individuals (0?M Cu²⁺). This resulted from a number of short enclosure events that did not coincide with a change in cardiac activity. Exposure of mussels to increasing copper concentrations (≥0.8?M) progressively reduced the correlation between valve activity and heart rates (r?=?0 for individuals dosed with ≥6.3?M Cu²⁺), while correlations between valve activity and heart-rate variability were unaffected. The poor correlations resulted from periods of valve flapping that were not mimicked by similar fluctuations in heart rate or heart-rate variability. The data suggest that the copper-induced bradycardia observed in mussels is not a consequence of prolonged valve closure.     

Tipping point: The narrow path between automation acceptance and rejection in air traffic management

Capacity limits on the air traffic management (ATM) system are of global concern. One solution to increase the efficiency of existing ATM system is through the implementation of advanced automation. However, past experience suggests ATCOs are selective and critical about the forms of automation they are given. Therefore, this study aimed to determine if a threshold or tipping point exists, a point after which users (Air Traffic Control Operators; ATCOs) of automation are no longer willing to accept or cooperate with the automation. 500 Air Traffic Control Operators completed an on-line survey that comprised a series of demographic questions as well as two hypothetical but plausible futuristic air traffic management tools. Each tool contained seven different situations involving different levels of automation involvement ranging from fully manual operation to fully automated. Participants were asked to rate on a five point Likert scale the extent to which they agreed with the statements describing their interaction with the new tools. The results revealed a ‘tipping point’ in automation acceptance/rejection reflecting the point where the applied level of automation shifted the locus of decision-making away from the operator. The results are discussed from a theoretical and applied perspective.     

不同雨强对太湖河网区河道入湖营养盐负荷影响

为揭示太湖河网区不同雨强下入湖河道面源污染规律,以太湖入湖负荷最大的河道大浦河为例,通过一周年逐日高频监测水体各形态氮、磷及溶解性有机碳等营养盐情况,结合河道流量及降雨量的自动监测资料,分析了大雨、中雨、小雨及无雨等4种降雨强度下太湖河网区典型河道的流量和营养盐负荷特征.结果表明,作为太湖河网区的典型入湖河道,大浦河时常发生往复流现象,观测的365 d内,有60 d日均流量为负值,占16%;河道流量对雨强的响应较为迟缓,仅强降雨事件( 25 mm·d~(-1))下,降雨当日河道流量才显著增加;中雨期平均流量仅比无雨期高了29%,在统计上不显著.河道水体营养盐浓度在不同降雨强度下差异不显著,大雨、中雨、小雨及无雨事件下河道总氮浓度分别为(3. 00±0. 58)、(3. 34±0. 93)、(3. 55±1. 05)和(3. 37±1. 14) mg·L~(-1),小雨事件当天水体总氮浓度均值最高,而4种类型降雨事件下河道总磷含量分别为(0. 228±0. 068)、(0. 258±0. 121)、(0. 219±0. 083)和(0. 225±0. 121) mg·L~(-1),差异性也不显著,就平均值而言,中雨时河道总磷浓度最高.夏季典型降雨过程分析表明,不同雨强发生之后河道溶解性有机碳和各形态氮的浓度变化不大,但大雨之后次日河道各形态磷浓度有明显增高,持续时间为2 d,中雨后次日河道总磷和颗粒态磷有明显增高,持续时间仅为1 d,小雨后磷浓度基本无变化.大雨、中雨、小雨和无雨时总氮日负荷分别为7. 64、3. 19、3. 21和2. 62 t·d~(-1),总磷日负荷分别为0. 59、0. 26、0. 22和0. 20 t·d~(-1),受入湖流量影响,大雨期营养盐日负荷显著高于中雨及以下强度的降雨;然而,由于一年内大雨出现频次较少,大雨期氮和磷总入湖负荷占年负荷的比重不大,大雨期总氮和总磷分别入湖61. 11 t和4. 72 t,占观测周年的5. 6%和5. 8%,这与山区河道降雨负荷间的关系有着显著区别.本高频观测表明,太湖流域平原河网区河道面源污染汇集过程复杂,入湖负荷受降雨强度的影响相对较小,入湖水量是营养盐负荷的重要影响因素.本研究结果对太湖流域平原河网区湖泊的面源污染的估算及控制对策的制定具有参考价值.     

Safeguarding the Pantanal Wetlands: Threats and Conservation Initiatives

Abstract:  The Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands on the planet, comprises 140,000 km² of lowland floodplain of the upper Rio Paraguai basin that drains the Cerrado of central Brazil. The diverse mosaics of habitats resulting from the varied soil types and inundation regimes are responsible for an extraordinarily rich terrestrial and aquatic biota, exemplified by the bird richest wetland in the world—463 birds have been recorded there—and the largest known populations of several threatened mammals, such as Pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus ), marsh deer ( Blastocerus dichotomus ), giant otter ( Pteronura brasiliensis ), and jaguar ( Panthera onca ). Until recently, deforestation of the adjoining Brazilian central plateau was considered the major threat to this area, but now deforestation is a critical problem within the floodplain itself. More than 40% of the forest and savanna habitats have been altered for cattle ranching through the introduction of exotic grasses. And there are other threats that lead to large-scale disruption of ecological processes, severely affecting biodiversity. Although the Pantanal wetland is a Biosphere Reserve and is considered a Wetland of International Importance, only 2.5% of the upper Paraguai River basin is formally protected. To date, protected areas have been created opportunistically and as such, although of undoubted value, protect only a fraction of the Pantanal's wildlife and habitats. Among the conservation initiatives in the area, the private sector is increasingly participating in the establishment of private reserves. The prospects are far from optimistic, however, and the major challenge is to find alternative socioeconomic models that allow for conservation and economic uses of the land in association with the development of specific environmental legislation that reflects the unique characteristics of the region.