Integrating Environmental Restoration and Ecological Restoration: Long-Term Stewardship at the Department of Energy

With the ending of the Cold War, several federal agencies are reclaiming land through remediation and restoration and are considering potential future land uses that are compatible with current uses and local needs. Some sites are sufficiently contaminated that it is likely that the responsible federal agency will retain control over the land for the foreseeable future, providing them with a stewardship mission. This is particularly true of some of the larger Department of Energy (DOE) facilities contaminated during the production of nuclear weapons. The use of the term “restoration” is explored in this paper because the word means different things to the public, ecologists, and environmental managers responsible for contaminated sites, such as Superfund sites and the DOE facilities. While environmental restoration usually refers to remediation and removal of hazardous wastes, ecological restoration refers to the broader process of repairing damaged ecosystems and enhancing their productivity and/or biodiversity. The goals of the two types of restoration can be melded by considering environmental restoration as a special case of ecological restoration, one that involves risk reduction from hazardous wastes, and by broadening environmental restoration to include a more extensive problem-formulation phase (both temporal and spatial), which includes the goal of reestablishing a functioning ecosystem after remediation. Further, evaluating options for the desired post remediation result will inform managers and policy-makers concerning the feasibility and efficacy of environmental restoration itself.     

Assessing Major Ecosystem Types and the Challenge of Sustainability in Turkey

In recent years, Turkey has experienced rapid economic and population growth coupled with both an equally rapid increase in energy consumption and a vast disparity in welfare between socioeconomic groups and regions. In turn, these pressures have accelerated the destruction of productive, assimilative, and regenerative capacities of the ecosystems, which are essential for the well-being of the people and the economy. This paper describes the structure and function of major ecosystem types in Turkey and discusses the underlying causes of environmental degradation in the framework of economy, energy, environment, and ethics. From a national perspective, this paper suggests three sustainability-based policies necessary for Turkey's long-term interests that balance economic, environmental, and energy goals: (1) decoupling economic growth from energy consumption growth through the development of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies; (2) linking economic efficiency and distributive justice of wealth and power through distributive and participatory public policies; and (3) integrating the economic and ecological systems through the internalization of externalities and ecosystem rehabilitation.     

Bacterial diversity and distribution in the southeast edge of the Tengger Desert and their correlation with soil enzyme activities

The nature of microbial communities and their relation to enzyme activities in desert soils is a neglected area of investigation. To address this, the bacterial diversity and distribution and soil physico-chemical factors were investigated in the soil crust, the soil beneath the crust and rhizosphere soil at the southeast edge of the Tengger Desert, using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA genes amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequenced DGGE bands revealed a great diversity of bacteria. The Proteobacteria, consisting of the α, β, and γ subdivisions, were clearly the dominant group at all depths and in rhizosphere soil. Analysis of the enzyme activities indicated that the rhizosphere soil of Caragana korshinskii exhibited the highest protease and polyphenol oxidase activities, and in the soil crust there were increased activities of catalase, urease, dehydrogenase and sucrase. The bacterial community abundance closely correlated with soil enzyme activities in different soils. The presence of Cyanobacteria correlated with significant increases in protease, catalase and sucrase in the soil crust, and increased urease in the rhizosphere soil of Artemisia ordosica. The occurrence of Acidobacteria was associated with significant increases in urease, dehydrogenase, and sucrase in the rhizosphere soil of C. korshinski. The presence of γ-Proteobacteria correlated with a significant increase in polyphenol oxidase in the rhizosphere soil of A. ordosica. The study indicated a close relationship between the soil bacterial community and soil enzymes, suggesting the necessity of further investigations into bacterial function in this desert ecosystem.     

基于探地雷达快速测定土壤含水量试验研究

试验点选择在古尔班通古特沙漠南缘中国科学院阜康荒漠生态系统研究站,以探地雷达为主要数据采集工具。结合探地雷达两种测量方式特点,提出了探地雷达最佳天线间距判定方法,达到快速测定中尺度土壤水分含量的目的。研究结果表明:固定天线间距测量下,得到最佳天线间距为1.9 m,提取了该天线间距下的地面波,进行了土壤含水量计算,测线上30.5 m点测定的土壤含水量与标后的时域反射仪法结果对比,在该试验点探地雷达地面波法测定上层土壤含水量的有效深度为20 cm,其偏差仅为0.015 m³/m³,精度能够满足实际需求,测线0~36.5 m间沙地上层土壤含水量表现出空间异质性,该方法能快速精确测定中尺度土壤含水量,为农业生产和作物灌溉提供科学依据。     

Ecological indicators of global climate change: A research framework

Large-scale environmental research efforts are conducted under frameworks that provide a common basis for evaluating research in many diverse fields. Such frameworks should be subjected to critical review to determine if they meet crucial expectations. In the case of the US Global Change Research Program, we perceive that most research follows a framework that we define as the predictive model framework. We believe this framework is insufficient for resolving the unprecedented predicaments posed by global change. We recommend a complementary framework, the system response framework, which directs research toward useful indicators of change rather than precise predictions. We further argue that, even if research is complementary and effective under the two frameworks, conclusive results prior to decisions should not be expected. The burden of proof must itself be a continuing topic of open discourse and inquiry.     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地冬季近地层CO2浓度变化特征

利用Li-8150系统在塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地进行了冬季近地层(￡6m)CO2浓度数据收集,结合同步气象资料,分析了近地层CO2浓度变化特征,土壤呼吸速率及气温、风速等气象因素对其变化特征的影响.结果表明,近地层CO2浓度日变化曲线呈单峰型结构,白天浓度高于夜晚.沙漠腹地冬季近地层大气CO2浓度主要集中分布在371.6~387.1μmol/mol,日平均最高值出现在12:00,最低值出现在凌晨;近地层CO2浓度对土壤呼吸速率的响应程度较好;不同高处气温与CO2浓度均存在着显著的正相关关系;近地层(31m)的CO2浓度受风速变化影响较大,而风速对0.5m及以下高度CO2浓度分布特征的影响相对较小;流动沙漠腹地,土壤呼吸和微弱的气象条件相互作用,共同调节和控制着近地层CO2的浓度变化.     

Investigating incorporation and distribution of radionuclides in trinitite

Most of the surface explosions in nuclear tests have released radioactivity to the environment in the form of bulk glassy materials originating from the melting of sandy soil in the neighbourhood of ground zero. In view of clarifying issues concerning the mechanism of formation and the radiological impact of these materials, we investigated incorporation and volume distribution of radionuclides in a typical fragment of trinitite, the glassy substance generated following the first nuclear test (Trinity Site, New Mexico, 1945). Specific activities were determined by γ-spectrometry for the most significant fission and activation products. In particular, ¹⁵²Eu activity was used to estimate the original point of collection of the sample with respect to ground zero. After embedding in an epoxy resin, the sample was then sliced to perform cross-sectional β- and α-autoradiograph. α-spectrometry was also carried out on a fine powder obtained by surface abrasion. In the β-autoradiography, hot spots were distinguishable in the proximity of the blast side, over a 1000 times less intense background of sand activation products. Also α-contamination (from ^239+240Pu and ²⁴¹Am) was mostly concentrated within the superficial layer, in a fraction of only 20% of the overall volume of the sample, exhibiting a discontinuous, droplet-like distribution. This evidence would partially support a recent hypothesis on trinitite formation according to which most of the glass layer was formed not on the ground but by a rain of material injected into the fireball that melted, fell back, and collected on a bed of already fused sand.     

Ecosystem Impacts of Geoengineering: A Review for Developing a Science Plan

Geoengineering methods are intended to reduce climate change, which is already having demonstrable effects on ecosystem structure and functioning in some regions. Two types of geoengineering activities that have been proposed are: carbon dioxide (CO(2)) removal (CDR), which removes CO(2) from the atmosphere, and solar radiation management (SRM, or sunlight reflection methods), which reflects a small percentage of sunlight back into space to offset warming from greenhouse gases (GHGs). Current research suggests that SRM or CDR might diminish the impacts of climate change on ecosystems by reducing changes in temperature and precipitation. However, sudden cessation of SRM would exacerbate the climate effects on ecosystems, and some CDR might interfere with oceanic and terrestrial ecosystem processes. The many risks and uncertainties associated with these new kinds of purposeful perturbations to the Earth system are not well understood and require cautious and comprehensive research.