Volatile halogenated organics in swimming pools

This survey undertaken in Greece (Mytilene town) has shown that Volatile halogenated organics (VHO) are present in swimming pool water. Analysis was performed by purge‐and‐trap (PAT) gas chromatographic (GC) technique and samples from two public indoor swimming pools in Mytilene were analyzed for VHO. Water samples were collected every week for a period of three months, and have shown the occurrence of chloroform, dichlorobromomethane, chlorodi‐bromomethane, bromoform (all four are trihalomethanes [THMs]), as a result of the chlorination and the occurrence of tetrachloroethylene and 1,1,1,2‐tetrachloroethane is assigned to their introduction as impurities during the process treatment of water. The levels of concentrations ranged from 4.0 to 26.0 μg/1 for chloroform, from 0.26 to 7.0 μg/1 for dichlorobromomethane, from 0.5 to 3.0 μg/1 for chlorodibromomethane, from 0.07 to 0.9 μg/1 for bromoform, from no detectable levels to 0.07 μg/1 for tetrachloroethylene and from no detectable levels to 0.2 μg/1 for 1,1,1,2‐tetrachloroethane.     

An Evaluation of Vernal Pool Creation Projects in New England: Project Documentation from 1991–2000

Vernal pools are vulnerable to loss through development and agricultural and forestry practices owing to their isolation from open water bodies and their small size. Some vernal pool-dependent species are already listed in New England as Endangered, Threatened, or Species of Special Concern. Vernal pool creation is becoming more common in compensatory mitigation as open water ponds, in general, may be easier to create than wooded wetlands. However, research on vernal pool creation is limited. A recent National Research Council study (2001) cites vernal pools as challenging to recreate. We reviewed documentation on 15 vernal pool creation projects in New England that were required by federal regulatory action. Our purpose was to determine whether vernal pool creation for compensatory mitigation in New England replaced key vernal pool functions by assessing project goals and documentation (including mitigation plans, pool design criteria, monitoring protocols, and performance standards). Our results indicate that creation attempts often fail to replicate lost pool functions. Pool design specifications are often based on conjecture rather than on reference wetlands or created pools that function successfully. Project monitoring lacks consistency and reliability, and record keeping by regulatory agencies is inadequate. Strengthening of protection of isolated wetlands in general, and standardization across all aspects of vernal pool creation, is needed to ensure success and to promote conservation of the long-term landscape functions of vernal pools.     

The social and ecological determinants of common pool resource sustainability

We study a dynamic common pool resource game in which current resource stock depends on resource extraction in the previous period. Our model shows that for a sufficiently high regrowth rate, there is no commons dilemma: the resource will be preserved indefinitely in equilibrium. Lower growth rates lead to depletion. Laboratory tests of the model indicate that favorable ecological characteristics are necessary but insufficient to encourage effective CPR governance. Before the game, we elicit individual willingness to follow a costly rule. Only the presence of enough rule-followers preserves the resource given favorable ecological conditions.     

施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对果园土壤有机碳组分的影响

为研究施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对土壤有机碳组分的影响,以果园土壤为研究对象,从时间、空间维度解析长期施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对土壤有机碳积累、组成及其分布规律的影响,结合CPMI（碳库管理指数）和相关性分析,揭示施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对土壤碳汇的影响机制.结果表明,施用餐厨垃圾调理剂可显著提高土壤中w（TOC）（TOC为总有机碳）,并随施用时间的增加逐渐向深层土壤迁移,改善TOC分布状况.随着施用餐厨垃圾调理剂时间的增加,0~20 cm土壤层中w（NOC）（NOC为非活性有机碳）和30~40 cm土壤层中w（AOC）（AOC为活性有机碳）呈增加趋势,AOC分配比例低于NOC分配比例.随着施用时间的增长,0~30 cm土壤层中w（POC）（POC为颗粒有机碳）显著提高,最大值为42.94 mg/g,MOC（矿质结合态有机碳）分配比例与POC分配比例呈相反变化趋势,有利于提高土壤碳稳定性.各土壤层中CPMI均大于空白对照组,最大值为154.437,表明施用餐厨垃圾调理剂有利于提升土壤肥力.相关性分析表明,w（POC）与pH呈负相关,与含水率、EC（电导率）、w（OM）（OM为有机质）呈正相关,其中与含水率相关性最高（R=0.91）.可见,长期施用餐厨垃圾调理剂对提高果园土壤碳汇、改善土壤肥力具有重要意义,研究结果有助于进一步提升土壤碳汇的新型土壤调理剂的研发与应用.      

Evolutionof Sustainable Carbon Cycling Processes in China

This report summarizes the surveys on carbon inventories and initiatives on sustainable carbon cycling taken by RCEES. The first part of this report deals with the concept of sustainable carbon cycling, the historical evolution of carbon cycling processes in China, carbon pool enhancement, value addition, carbon sequestration and carbon balance. The second part covers the modeling of carbon dynamics, emission inventories of various carbon containing greenhouse gases and their potential abatement measures.     

插板对正庚烷油池火燃烧行为的影响研究

海上石油泄漏常规的处理方法是原位燃烧,加速其燃烧并使其燃尽是降低其对生态环境影响的重要措施之一。以正庚烷为燃料,在油池内插入竖直铝板,研究不同高度铝板对池火燃烧行为的影响。结果表明,插板对池火燃烧速率以及火焰高度具有明显的增强作用,随着板的高度的增加,增强作用先增大后减小,当H_p/D(板高与油池直径之比)为3.5时,增强作用最大。火焰高度、板的温度、热通量以及燃烧速率的变化趋势一致,它们的临界点均在H_p/D=3.5附近。插板后燃烧速率增大主要是因为插板自身的热传导导致了燃料的核态沸腾,使燃料接受的热反馈增大,从而加快了燃料的蒸发,增大了燃烧速率。     

The ecological insurance trap

Common pool resources often insure individual livelihoods against the collapse of private endeavors. When endeavors based on private and common pool resources are interconnected, investment in one can put the other at risk. We model Senegalese pastoralists who choose whether to grow crops, a private activity, or raise livestock on common pool pastureland. Livestock can increase the likelihood of locust outbreaks via ecological processes related to grassland degradation. Locust outbreaks damage crops, but not livestock, which are used for savings and insurance. We show the incentive to self-protect (reduce grazing pressure) or self-insure (increase livestock levels) changes with various property rights schemes and levels of ecological detail. If the common pool nature of insurance exacerbates the ecological externality even fully-informed individuals may make risk management decisions that increase the probability of catastrophe, creating an “insurance trap.”     

Nitrogen availability in relation to vegetation changes resulting from grass encroachment in Dutch dry dunes

The encroachment of some tall grass species in open dune vegetation, as observed in a Dutch dry dune area, is considered unfavourable from a conservation viewpoint. This paper investigates differences in vegetation and soil properties between grass-dominated and still existing open dune grassland plots at four locations along the coast. Soil properties studied include nitrogen and phosphorus pools and nitrogen availability by mineralization. Vegetation properties included are above and below-ground biomass and nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in above-ground biomass. Systematic differences in N-pools between grass-dominated and open dune grassland plots were not observed. However, N-availability by mineralization and its turnover rates are higher in grass-dominated plots than in open dune grassland plots, as well as above and below-ground biomass. In open dune grassland plots, atmospheric N-input is an important source of N, whereas in grass-dominated plots mineralization largely exceeds atmospheric N-input. However, these observations do not explain the mosaic-like vegetation pattern. Grazing intensity is most likely the determinant factor in the dry dune system. It is concluded, that grass encroachment is probably triggered by atmospheric deposition and is enhanced by positive feedbacks in the N-cycle. The relevance of these results for restoration management is briefly discussed.     

中国水稻土碳循环研究进展

文章首先分析了水稻土在碳循环研究中的地位和重要性，进而对我目水稻土碳循环的研究现状作了较为详尽的阐述，对其主要研究结论进行了深入的剖析。中国大而积的水稻土自1980年以来显示出有机碳库增加现象，说明水稻田对大气CO2可能产生汇效应。水耕熟化过程足有机碳的积累过程，水稻土的碳密度是早作土碳密度的2-3倍。水稻土的同碳能力与土壤的微团聚体的粒径有关。但对于水稻土中有机碳的分布和结合状态与农业管理措施、水稻土质量变化、农业生态环境变化的关系仍不清楚。因而建议就这一问题从土壤物理学、化学和生物学的相互作朋与土壤微团聚体中矿物质、有机质和微生物的相互结合关系的层面上进行多学科研究。同时提出了今后我困水稻土碳循环的重点研究方向和领域，即从整体和系统的角度来研究碳循环和平衡，从不同的时空区域来研究碳循环的过程和强度。     

村镇建设中农村污水处理设施的选择

有机废弃物是村镇环境的主要污染源,污水处理已成为村镇建设中亟待解决的问题。受经济发展水平限制,常规的污水处理设施在村镇难以实施,为此必须采用适合村镇经济水平和管理水平的污水处理方式。针对村镇的实施条件,在对几类小型简易污水处理设施特点进行分析的基础上,提出在村镇建设中易推行结构简单、费用低廉、便于管理、实施方便的沼气发酵池和地埋式无动力污水处理设施,以初步解决村镇污水问题。