Adsorption of Ammonium by Graphene Oxide-Based Composites Prepared by UV Irradiation and Using as Slow-Release Fertilizer

A novel sodium alginate-grafted poly(acrylic acid)/graphene oxide (NaAlg-g-PAA/GO) composite hydrogel was prepared via ultraviolet irradiation, and characterized by infrared spectroscopy spectrometer. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It was employed to adsorb NH₄⁺ from aqueous solution and used as slow-release nitrogen fertilizers (SNFs). Result indicated that the adsorption process for NH₄⁺ reached equilibrium within 50 min, with the adsorption capacity of 6.6 mmol g^?1 even if 30 wt% GO was incorporated. The results of adsorption kinetic and isotherm were well described by the pseudo-second-order and Freundlich model. The thermodynamics analysis showed the adsorption process was spontaneous. The study indicated excellent water-holding ratio of soil with 2 wt% SNFs was 81.2%, and nitrogen release was up to 55.1% within 40 days in soil. Overall, NaAlg-g-PAA/GO could be considered as an efficient adsorbent for the recovery of nitrogen with the agronomic reuse as a fertilizer.     

长江经济带城市扩张的时空特征与生态响应

量化识别城市扩张在不同发展阶段的时空特征，有助于从宏观上认知城市扩张态势，理解城市化的生态响应。以Landsat TM/OLI影像为数据源，分析了近30a（1986~2016年)长江经济带3个省级城市和4个地级市的城市扩张，包括建设用地的时空变化和扩张模式，以及扩张的生态效应。结果表明：(1)建设用地扩张量在过去30a呈线性递增过程，平均扩张速率在2006~2016年降低，表明建设用地由增量扩张向存量开发转型，但地级市的转型滞后于省级城市;(2)蔓延式扩张比例下降而填充式扩张和飞地式扩张不断增加，说明城市扩张模式由粗放蔓延型向紧凑集约型转换;(3)建设用地从快速扩张到稳定扩张的过程与植被覆盖从退化到管控的过程一致，印证了建设用地扩张与植被覆盖度的时空关联性。同时，建设用地扩张导致的生态系服务价值负值不断增加，较大幅度的降低了生态系统服务总价值。面临城市扩张进程中出现的植被覆盖退化和建设用地生态系统服务负值过大的问题，合理而有力的规划政策实施在未来城市发展中尤为重要。     

Systematic review of conservation interventions to promote voluntary behavior change

Understanding human behavior is vital to developing interventions that effectively lead to proenvironmental behavior change, whether the focus is at the individual or societal level. However, interventions in many fields have historically lacked robust forms of evaluation, which makes it hard to be confident that these conservation interventions have successfully helped protect the environment. We conducted a systematic review to assess how effective nonpecuniary and nonregulatory interventions have been in changing environmental behavior. We applied the Office of Health Assessment and Translation systematic review methodology. We started with more than 300,000 papers and reports returned by our search terms and after critical appraisal of quality identified 128 individual studies that merited inclusion in the review. We classified interventions by thematic area, type of intervention, the number of times audiences were exposed to interventions, and the length of time interventions ran. Most studies reported a positive effect (n = 96). The next most common outcome was no effect (n = 28). Few studies reported negative (n = 1) or mixed (n = 3) effects. Education, prompts, and feedback interventions resulted in positive behavior change. Combining multiple interventions was the most effective. Neither exposure duration nor frequency affected the likelihood of desired behavioral change. Comparatively few studies tested the effects of voluntary interventions on non-Western populations (n = 17) or measured actual ecological outcome behavior (n = 1). Similarly, few studies examined conservation devices (e.g., energy-efficient stoves) (n = 9) and demonstrations (e.g., modeling the desired behavior) (n = 5). There is a clear need to both improve the quality of the impact evaluation conducted and the reporting standards for intervention results.     

Socio-demographic determinants of municipal waste generation: case study of the Czech Republic

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Increasing pressure of the European Union on diverting municipal waste from landfills requires an active role of households and commands a radical...     

Using the past to contextualize anthropogenic impacts on the present and future distribution of an endemic Caribbean mammal

Island species are difficult to conserve because they face the synergy of climate change, invasive species, deforestation, and increasing human population densities in areas where land mass is shrinking. The Caribbean island of Hispaniola presents particular challenges because of geopolitical complexities that span 2 countries and hinder coordinated management of species across the island. We employed species distribution modeling to evaluate the impacts of climatic change and anthropogenic activities on the distribution of an endemic mammal of conservation concern, the Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). We aggregated occurrence points for this poorly known species for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the present (1975–2016) based on museum collections, online biodiversity databases, and new field surveys. We quantified degree of overlap between periods and scenarios with Schoener's D. Through a conservation paleobiology lens, we found that over time humans played an increasing role in shaping the distribution of S. paradoxus, thus, providing a foundation for developing conservation strategies on appropriate spatiotemporal scales. Human population density was the single most important predictor of S. paradoxus occurrence. Densities >166 people/km² corresponded to a near-zero probability of occurrence. Models that accounted for climate but not anthropogenic variables falsely identified suitable habitat in Haiti, where on-the-ground surveys confirm habitat is unavailable. Climate-only models also significantly overestimated the potential for habitat connectivity between isolated populations. Our work highlights that alternative fates for S. paradoxus in the Anthropocene exist across the political border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti due to the fundamentally different economic and political realities of each country. Relationships in the fossil record confirm that Hispaniola's sociopolitical boundary is not biologically significant but instead represents one imposed on the island's fauna in the past 500 years by colonial activity. Our approach reveals how a paleontological perspective can contribute to concrete management insights.     

间接蒸发冷却新风机组净化室内PM2.5特性

为有效降低室内PM2.5,指导间接蒸发冷却新风机组的设计选型,推导了新风机组净化效力和净化能效评价指标的数学表达式,并利用自行研制的间接蒸发冷却新风机组,分析了2种过滤器在不同运行工况下净化PM2.5的特性。结果表明,MERV 7+16和MERV 7+13的计数效率均随颗粒物粒径增加而提高,且前者的计数效率高于后者;由于滤材的不同,MERV 7+16的初阻力更小。MERV 7+16的渗透系数更小,其净化效力也要大于MERV 7+13;由于PM10在室内的自然沉降作用更显著,过滤器对PM10的净化效力明显大于PM2.5和PM1。将室内新风负荷作为新风机组能耗的一部分,在对比天津和南宁地区新风机组的净化能效时发现,由于两地区冬季室外温度存在明显差异,导致处于天津地区的新风机组若要在冬季获得同等的洁净空气量,需付出更多的能耗代价。     

Meta-analysis of the differential effects of habitat fragmentation and degradation on plant genetic diversity

Genetic diversity is a key factor for population survival and evolution. However, anthropogenic habitat disturbance can erode it, making populations more prone to extinction. Aiming to assess the global effects of habitat disturbance on plant genetic variation, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 92 case studies obtained from published literature. We compared the effects of habitat fragmentation and degradation on plant allelic richness and gene diversity (equivalent to expected heterozygosity) and tested whether such changes are sensitive to different life-forms, life spans, mating systems, and commonness. Anthropogenic disturbance had a negative effect on allelic richness, but not on gene diversity. Habitat fragmentation had a negative effect on genetic variation, whereas habitat degradation had no effect. When we examined the individual effects in fragmented habitats, allelic richness and gene diversity decreased, but this decrease was strongly dependent on certain plant traits. Specifically, common long-lived trees and self-incompatible species were more susceptible to allelic richness loss. Conversely, gene diversity decreased in common short-lived species (herbs) with self-compatible reproduction. In a wider geographical context, tropical plant communities were more sensitive to allelic richness loss, whereas temperate plant communities were more sensitive to gene diversity loss. Our synthesis showed complex responses to habitat disturbance among plant species. In many cases, the absence of effects could be the result of the time elapsed since the disturbance event or reproductive systems favoring self-pollination, but attention must be paid to those plant species that are more susceptible to losing genetic diversity, and appropriate conservation should be actions taken.